Imani Tumaini Upendo: A new adventure has begun!

Today, I was flipping through my bible. Yes, that is exactly what I was doing flipping through it like a magazine trying to find some bright picture to feast my eyes on.

Obviously, I was not going to find a picture, but the Lord is pretty funny because He knows everything. He knows that I have a lot on my mind and there is a lot going on with the semester wrapping up and other exciting things occurring (I will go into detail later in the email). So as I was flipping through my bible, He brought me to the first page. This was not the first page of Genesis, but literally the first page in my bible before the table of contents and on that page I had written two phrases.

“Earning the right to be heard” and “are you a crowd follower or a disciple?”

I have no idea why I wrote these, but the Lord knew that I would find them today and it would hit hard.

I then flipped a couple pages over to Genesis 1:27 and it simply says: “So God created human beings in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

How glorious is that! I have to be reminded everyday that we are made in the image of God. So I ask you, Do you reflect the character of God?

Actions speak louder than words, so have you earned the right to be heard?

I pray for each one of you that you do not give up on the Lord, for He is our Almighty Father who is worthy of all our praise!

I want to update you on the wonderful vision the Lord presented to me a little over a month ago. It was the vision of helping small ministries in Africa and providing them financial backing. I woke up in the middle of the night with the word boutique in my head! The lord had presented the answer with so much clarity. I presented the idea to my friend Rachel about creating an online boutique where we could sell things from Africa (Kenya, Uganda, etc.) to help financially back different ministries in Africa. She was excited and joined the team! I then met a new precious friend, Kaylene on my Haiti trip in March. I shared the vision and she explained to me the Lord had been leading her to non-profit work. The Lord brought affirmation after affirmation to this ministry. So, we decided that us three girls would pull together and with the Lord’s strength and wisdom create a non-profit organization.

On April 8, 2011, Imani Tumaini Upendo (Faith-Hope-Love in Swahili) became an official corporation of the state! As of now we are in the process of filing our 501(c) 3 with IRS and are moving quickly.

I am still in the process of building our website, but would love for you to visit it!

The website is: imani-africa.com

You can also find us on facebook under Imani Tumaini Upendo.

Or twitter @imaniministries

Our mission is to support ministries who are living with, loving on, and caring for the children of Africa. In support of those wholeheartedly serving, our primary goal is to ignite a passion in individuals to join us in our vision.

If you would like to donate or become a monthly donor, all donations are tax deductible through Imani. You can donate on our webpage: imani-africa.com.

So again, as I was flipping through my bible the Lord reminded me that I am a disciple of the Lord and should live a life glorifying to Him!

Reflect God’s character and remember you are forgiven because HE IS RISEN!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and God Bless!

In Him,

Jenny

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “it is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

- John 19:30

Prayer is like taking a breath of fresh air

It has been three weeks since I went to Carrfour, Haiti and life has been moving at record speed.
I have four weeks left of school, test, projects and everything you can imagine is needing to be turned in. Can you beat the Heat 5k that Run4Change is hosting is on May 1st, so I am in the process of getting all those details together. On top of that, I have got 91 days to finalize the details for the mission team in July and I am in the process of beginning a non-profit! Everything that is happening is such a blessing in my life and coming together flawlessly, but sometimes I feel as if I do not breathe!
So, this week I have been reflecting on my trip and trying not to get caught up in this fast moving American life. I was remember flying into Port-au-Prince Haiti and seeing the sea of tarps and tents. We were surrounded by destruction, but at the same time surrounded by individuals filled with joy. The Haitians have so much love and happiness even with the worst circumstances. Me and you can leave a place of destruction and come back to this life of comfort, but they are stuck in it everyday and they still have a smile on their face. I was amazed by their great faith.

One of the days, we went for a walk to get to know our neighbors, hear their stories and learn exactly how we could pray for them. One of the houses we came to was a home of this elderly woman. Her name was Ms. Lavell and she spoke so many words of wisdom. One thing that she said that I will never forget is she spoke so highly of the importance of prayer. She said, "Prayer is like the air we breath. You can not live without Prayer."
I was in awe of these words because as Christians I believe we all struggle in this area and this is the easiest thing to overlook. I left her house and was in such peace.

I encourage you all to spend more time in prayer and to be bold in your faith. Go to your friends, family, co-workers, strangers and just ask the simple question: "How can I pray for you today?"
They might look at you and just ignore you, or they might share with you concerns on their heart. Take the chance and be strong for the Lord. Jesus died for us, so why can't we kill our pride and live everyday for Him.

God Bless
In Him,

Jenny

"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ"
- Colossians 2:2