Duffle Bags for Christmas!

'Twas the week after Christmas
And all through the house,
Not a grandchild is stirring,
It's too quiet even for a mouse.
The stockings are packed away,
The ornaments stored with care.
Our last Christmas in TX,
Next year Uganda, we'll be there.
Now, Grandpa and Grandma sit in the living room,
Reflecting and planning ahead.
We are so thankful we were all together,
Our hearts and spirits were fully fed!
We pray you had a great season,
Celebrating with family and friends.
We are thankful for you our readers
To you our love we send.

We are continuing on our journey. A big decision was made this week: we want to sell our  house. This will be a HUGE undertaking for us.  Dustin was home for Christmas, but will be leaving on Dec 31. We don't want to see him go, but he is working out of state. That means the work here to prepare the house will need lots of hands. We hope to have work days and you can come enjoy the time with us: painting, repairing, painting, laying a kitchen floor, packing, painting, rearranging, did I mention painting yet? Well, we are excited to have made the decision, but wow, after 25 years in this house, this is a big change for us. On January 7, we will have our 34th wedding anniversary. God has been so faithful to us and our family. We look forward on the path He is leading and see His faithfulness even more on this big adventure! Stay tuned for more news on work days etc.

And he exclaimed as he rode out of sight
"And to all, a good night!"

update

An updated newsletter about Amani Baby Cottage. This is our destination for our journey. Dustin is the "uncle" part of the dream team. Thank you for reading. Thank you for praying. Thank you for your support. www.amanibabycottage.org

Merry christmas from Amani Babies

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Amani Baby Cottage children!

Visiting Santa, sharing my heart

Blogging needs regular updates, right? We should share all the good things happening with our journey, right? right.

Well, sometimes this journey of our family is not all about the packing and the material things we are selling, giving or tossing away. This journey includes trust, patience, hope, rest and anticipation. At least, those are the things I am striving daily for....trust that all the finances will be here, hope that our vision of building a new orphanage will happen, patience while we are waiting, rest in knowing we are doing the right thing, and anticipation for the day we arrive in Uganda. All of those things are tied up in my heart. We believe God is leading us on this path, HE requires our trust, HE has the appointed day already in His heart and mind, HE gives us hope for tomorrow and rest for today. During this holiday season, I felt that familiar melancholy wave come over me. For the first time, I realized exactly what brings that feeling every year......I can't give enough. I would love to give to every friend, sister, brother, parent, cousin, niece, nephew, and every family I hear about on the radio that just don't have enough. I realized I had a sadness that I couldn't be with every family member at the same time. Through this journey we are on, I have asked God to give me an extra measure of trust, patience, hope, rest and anticipation. HE is the giver of His only Son, THAT is why we have hope. THAT is why we can trust, wait and build ourselves up in HIS strength. Thank you for joining our journey through prayer.....it means a lot to us to have prayer warriors holding up our arms. Thank you for letting me share my heart while on this journey to build brick and stone. HE is also building in our hearts.

On a lighter note, we took David and Courtney to see Santa. He was a patient, child-loving Santa. David felt really older this year and sat on his lap for the picture......just WHERE did the past 8 years go???  After their visit, I told Santa that David and Courtney would not see him here next year, they are moving to Africa! Then, Santa got up and came to talk to me. He has a friend that builds schools in Africa. No, I did not tell Santa what I want for Christmas....tickets maybe?

Construction has begun!

Construction has begun on the first home at Amani Baby Cottage! You may wonder, "Where are the cement trucks? Where are the brick trucks? Where are the lumber trucks?" You see the wheelbarrow? Then you see the "truck". The larger house in the background is the future home of infants and ABC offices. The home being built is one of three cottages that are planned for housing the children. WE NEED TO GET THERE SOON! We are grateful to those that have pledged support and those praying for us. Our house here in Houston has undergone a huge transformation...."clean sweep". If someone in our family is looking for something, I tell them "if it wasn't nailed down or if it didn't fit into a suitcase, then it isn't here any more!" I think they are scared I will sell their beds while they are awake and their possesions while they are asleep! lol Seriously, we are giving away, selling, and tossing anything we can to make the move to Jinja Uganda Africa. We keep the vision in our hearts.....we are going to build homes and hold precious hearts in our hands. God will honor David and Courtney for giving what they think is their best. This house is full of memories, laughter, tears and changes. I have pictures, scrapbooks and my heart to hold all of those. Now, we are going to a new place that will bring new memories, laughter, tears and changes. Soon, I hope to post the funds that have been raised and pledged and what amount is still needed for our journey. Reread just the colored words in this post....they explain it all.

Questions and Answers

Q:When are you leaving?
A:When the Lord releases us to go and we have all our funds ready.
Q:How much funds do you need?
A:If we are able to leave in January, the tickets are $2000. Our monthly support for cost of living in Jinja Uganda is $2000.
Q:How much of the funds have been raised?
A:$900 from our garage sale towards the $2000 for tickets. One pledge of $150 for monthly support.
Q:How can we help? How can we donate or pledge monthly support?
A:Click on the pay pal button to give, email us for our address to send checks payable to Christ covenant Church(nuttall family missions in the memo), tell your friends and family, share our blog, pray pray pray. The children will need various sizes of things as we are there. We have a list of what they need, email us for information if you feel led to give.
Q:Do you fully trust God to bring the needed funds and support?
A:With all our hearts. HE will not fail.Isaiah 40:31 "Our hope is in the Lord,  HE will renew our strength and mount up with wings like eagles. We will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not be faint." We trust Him.

FAMILY

December! Just where has this past year gone? With us, it has gone with family, family and more family. We have been blessed to visit with family in five states this past year! When asked what they were thankful for on Thanksgiving, David and Courtney both said, "FAMILY!" Maybe you spent time with your family, maybe you were far from those you love. Some families do not get together, feeling it is too much work to get along. My response to our young children was, "Can't you think of anything else you are thankful for? You always say family." Now that I reflect on their answer, my heart is full of gratitude. David and Courtney have FAMILY. Our lives were changed beyond our wildest thoughts in December 2004.....we brought those two babies home to our FAMILY. Now, they have been loved and nurtured by all our extended family and they love them right back. So, when they say they are thankful for FAMILY, they really mean it. Our hope is to go to Uganda soon. Dustin is needed for the building of the new homes. We want to love, hug and hold the children who don't know what FAMILY is in the same sense that we do. They are loved, hugged and held by precious mommas and volunteers... FAMILY in the truest sense of the word for those orphaned and abandoned children. We are thankful for FAMILY and we are thankful to you that read about our journey. May you find joy and peace with your FAMILY as we celebrate the birth of God's own Son, FAMILY.

Garage Sale

No, he didn't go to our garage sale!

Three days of garage sale. Three days of wonderful ladies and loving family helping. Three days meeting neighbors. Three days greeting people looking for "treasures". Three days closer to seeing our trip become reality. We are thankful for those that contributed to the sale, those that sorted, priced, bought lunch, and stood on their feet.....three days. Someone asked,  "will you miss what was sold?" My answer, "No, I am not holding onto things. If it doesn't fit into a suitcase, it doesn't go with us." Three days of seeing items coming from our house of 25 years. Three days of cleaning, selling and earning.  We are grateful.

New Beginnings

Greetings from the Nuttall family: As many of you know, We feel that God is calling us to an extended mission service at Amani Baby Cottage in Jinja Uganda. This is the ministry that serves orphaned and abandoned babies. Amani is currently home to more than 40 babies and children. The ministry has immediate needs and positions that we will be able to fill. Dustin will be supervising new construction and ongoing facility management. Mary will be managing the adoption process, helping orphaned children find permanent homes, and making a loving home for David and Courtney. We will also be serving the orphanage leadership in whatever capacity needed.


The big task ahead of us is the transition from Houston to Jinja. We have lots to do to settle our affairs here in Houston along with raising our monthly support and moving expenses. We are asking all of our friends and family to prayerfully consider financially supporting us. In our hearts, we feel the urgency to travel soon, but we are waiting for the Lord’s final release and the finances. We covet your prayers. Please pray daily as the Lord leads. This is a big move for us, but we are excited about what the Lord is doing in our family. If you feel led to support us, you can Email us for more details or click on the DONATE button. 

In His Service,
Dustin & Mary Nuttall