Share the Sweetness

0 CommentsThursday • May 9, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

For those of us in the SixtyFeet family, the month of May usually means one thing: CUPCAKES.

So many of you know the unlikely story of how The Cupcake Kids got their start. It was a story that only God could inspire — something we could never have dreamed up on our own.

But did you know this?:

100% of all funds raised by The Cupcake Kids go directly to our mission and work on the ground in Africa? 0% goes toward overhead, administrative or operational expenses of SixtyFeet.* That means that every time you buy a cupcake, sell a cupcake, purchase a virtual cupcake or do anything to help make a Cupcake Kids stand a success, you are making a difference.

In years past, we’ve found various ways to include our precious friends from Uganda in the cupcake fun. After all, who could be more deserving of a cupcake than the actual children our ministry serves? But this year, we decided to provide a way for YOU to get in on the fun as well.

In late May, the SixtyFeet team will be serving up cupcakes in Uganda. Our plan is to provide a cupcake to every child we serve — those inside the remand homes and also those children in our sponsorship programs. We’ve actually already done a little pre-baking and taste testing:

Will you consider contributing to this Cupcake Kids stand? For every $10 raised, we can serve cupcakes to 20 children. And honestly, we can do a whole lot more. These particular cupcakes provide more than just a sugar rush — they provide counseling, medical care, education, justice and the gospel of Jesus Christ to hundreds of children throughout Uganda.

Please click on the cupcake below to share the sweetness and sponsor The Cupcake Kids in Uganda.

Donate

A Reminder Of A Warning

0 CommentsThursday • April 18, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

For our first anniversary a couple of years ago, we posted something entitled Warning! Your Life Will Never Be The Same which received a lot of comments and feedback from you. In fact, someone commented that it was something that we cannot be reminded of enough. We think so too, so we decided to post it again for those of you that had missed it before and also as a reminder to all of us that God’s call on our lives can often make others uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.

Originally posted April 11, 2011 as Warning! Your Life Will Never Be The Same

In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.  John 16:33

It is hard to believe Sixty Feet began a year ago this month. What an awesome year it has been – glorious, overwhelming and tearful.  We’ve experienced joy like never before. We’ve laughed and wept. God has stretched us beyond our imagination, and strengthened us in ways we never knew possible.  It’s exactly what we prayed for – more of Him!  After experiencing Him, you can’t help but want more.

Lately, we’ve been getting more comments from friends and family about “balance.”  People have suggested that maybe we’re taking this a little too far.  I mean we all have families, careers, responsibilities.  There’s no need to get out of hand here.  A trip or two to Africa is one thing, but now it’s starting to interfere with…. life.

Really?  I didn’t realize Jesus wasn’t supposed to disrupt our lives.  Is He supposed to just blend in where it’s convenient?  I thought He was transformative and made all things new (including me).

We don’t expect our lives to make sense to people who don’t know Him.  The cross is foolishness to the world.  Unfortunately, we’ve learned that our lives don’t make sense to some who do know Him!  Apparently, there is no shortage of people (family, churchgoers and, sadly, pastors included) willing to discourage you from stepping out in faith to fulfill God’s call on your life.

It’s sad but, for most of society, the culture influences our lives and our Christian walk more than Biblical truth. Once you deviate from the cultural norm, you better brace yourself.  We deviated a long time ago.  The question is will we stay the course.

The beauty of all this is Christ and the Good News.  His promises are true and we hold fast to them.  Family and friends may be uncomfortable with what we do, but we choose Jesus.  We’d rather be found in Him and embrace the abundant life He offers than seek the approval of man.  How could we do anything else after what He’s done for us?

Jesus said,“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62. Our hands are firmly set on the plow. We know our lives will never be the same.  Frankly, we pray they never will be.

The Redemptive Love of Christ

5 CommentsMonday • April 15, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

The following perspective is from our own Austin Goss who moved to Uganda with his wife in late 2012 and are working with Sixty Feet full time. Austin has been helping coordinate children in our Sponsorship program and his wife, being a nurse, provides daily medical treatments along with our medical team. As you will read below, God often has unique ways of breaking into our lives and pulling us out of our despair. May He break our hearts for the things that break His.

I’ve found it’s really easy to complain here. When I can’t just run to Walgreen’s to get some cold medicine or when I can’t sleep because I feel like I swallowed a porcupine or when I wake up craving a Sausage McMuffin… some days, I feel like a round American peg jammed into a square African hole.

All that said, none of the “challenges” I face compare to the lives of some of these kids. I find myself constantly wondering how these facilities exist. The overwhelming feeling I’ve gotten from being here so far is the sense that we have failed; as humans, as Christians, as people. I ignored this for much longer than I am comfortable admitting, and still feel a certain sense of shame in knowing that I was content with a life of chasing comfort and stability.

One of the many challenges facing us now, as well as the city as a whole, is the issue of the Karamojong people. Karamoja is a region in northeast Uganda that is war-torn, arid, and wrecked by famine. Because of the inability to earn income or feed their families, the Karamojong will migrate to Kampala to beg on the streets. Most often, the parent or guardian will take their small children (sometimes only 1 or 2 years old) to the streets, train them to sit with their heads hung low and their hands outstretched, waiting for food or shillings from people that can’t really afford charity in the first place.

Part of Kampala’s answer to these children is to round them up and carry them by the truckload to the facilities we work in. Recently 65 new Karamojong children were brought to one of these facilities. Sixty-five.

Some of these children end up getting taken back by their families, returned to the streets, and forced to beg again. Some leave on their own, just looking for something better. Most of them, however, stay.

I’ve found that this experience can rob a child of the basics; love, joy, grace, and the like. Many of these children are broken on a level far beyond my comprehension. Their life has done nothing but proven to them that they are forgotten, worthless, and unlovable.

These children really are the “least of these.”

This story, in particular, is about a very young, very broken little girl. Since I can’t publish her name, I’ll call her C. I first met C about a month ago during a visit to one of the facilities. Upon learning her name, I greeted her with a smile… and was greeted in return with a response of pain. No smile, no words, no eye contact. She just hung her head and turned away. It was made painfully clear to me that day; this girl’s spirit was broken.

I tried everything I could to get her to smile… a laugh, a goofy face, tickling. C wouldn’t even flinch. It broke my heart to see a child with a frown forever etched on her beautiful face; so damaged that she couldn’t feel anything but sadness.

Fast forward to this Monday, and the same story persisted. Over a month had passed since our first meeting, and not one of us had seen her smile or heard her speak. She can usually be found on Missy’s lap during the medical clinics; a silent assistant to the wound bandaging and medication dispensing.

I’ve been bringing a football to this particular facility, as there is really no easier way to connect with some of the older kids than throwing, kicking, or launching some kind of object around. At a lull in the action, I walked into the medical clinic and found C standing alone, watching the other kids play and receive treatment. I knelt down and presented the football to her, hoping she would take some interest. She slowly grabbed the ball, still looking down. After a little coaxing, I convinced her to throw it. It was a heartwarming experience in itself to see her actively participate in something as simple as tossing a ball. We repeated the hand-toss-catch process a few times…

Then it happened. Her lips curled ever so slightly at the edges, a barely perceptible flash of joy on the face that had never expressed it before. She threw the ball again, and it grew a little bigger. After a few more tosses, she broke into an expression that I can only describe as pure redemption.

Sensing the moment of breakthrough had come, I asked her; “C, do you like football?” Much to my surprise, with a smile still on her face, she uttered a timid “yes.” I asked her again, and she said it a little louder this time, “Yes!”
 I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced the redemptive love of Christ in the form of a football. Let me just say, God taught me a lot that day. I couldn’t help smiling, knowing that this girl had found her voice. I’ve wondered, since then, if she had ever smiled before that. I also can’t help but chuckle at God’s irony: using the big, sweaty, goofy man with a ball to get the sad, broken young girl to smile again.

I’d love to say that I orchestrated all of this; that this was some genius plan to use a game I love to breakthrough with a girl who probably didn’t give a darn about it. Try as I might, I only find myself praising God for what happened the other day. It may not have happened in the history of his life, but I’m pretty well convinced; Jesus was a football on Monday.

If you would like to Get Involved and participate from right where you are in the amazing work of Christ in the lives of these children, there are many ways to do it. You can host a Cupcake Sale, Donate Online, and even just by liking SixtyFeet on Facebook. Above all, pray for these children daily. Thank you.

Calling All Missionaries

1 CommentThursday • April 11, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

“…Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” — Ephesians 4:1

Last week I led a mission trip to Uganda including 8 women, 5 teenagers, 3 pre-teens and 2 nine year olds. It was some of the most rewarding time I’ve ever spent on the mission field.



In my wildest dreams, I would never have imagined that God would call me to lead women’s mission trips to Africa. I would never have fancied such work to be within my skill set. I still don’t.

But if this is the way that He wants to use me:


Then I’m all in.

Our week was spent serving alongside our wonderful team in Uganda who work tirelessly with the children each day. We spent a beautiful Easter with our church partners and friends and enjoyed the beauty and excitement of Uganda. All of this with 18 amazing women who gave up a week with their husbands and families to experience a little bit of what Sixty Feet does every week of the year.

Although our 2013 mission trips are full, SixtyFeet will soon announce our 2014 trip schedule. Check back soon for more information — if you’re feeling called, then we’d love for you to join us in Uganda next year. Let us know by emailing Trips@SixtyFeet.org

Photos courtesy of Mama Sparrow

The Foundation of Your Hope

0 CommentsMonday • April 1, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

 
This guest post is written by a pastor and friend of Sixty Feet, Gorden, who just returned from Uganda. Especially in light of holy week culminating in Easter Sunday last week, this post is pertinent for each one of us. What is the foundation of your hope?

I don’t know where to even begin. In fact, I have rewritten this sentence probably a dozen times. My heart is heavy. I met the abandoned and the brokenhearted. I met children in facilities designed to hold 50, that now hold 200. I saw dirt. I saw disease. I saw sickness. I saw joy. I saw smiles. I saw love. I saw beauty. What stark contrasts – what contradictions. I held, for hours, a beautiful girl who had been seriously injured by a family member. A girl who just wants to feel safe or worthy of something. I kissed the disfigured hands of a little girl that bore scars inflicted by someone she trusted. I told her, “I love your hands, they are beautiful.” I saw tears in her eyes as I left, then mine ran down my face for the hour ride home. I learned that often times the most important thing for a person to hear is not, “Jesus loves you,” but “You can be loved.” Who can ever believe that Jesus loves them unless they first believe that they are capable of being loved.

I saw beautiful pictures of the Gospel and of grace. We met 17 children who are involved in a school sponsorship though SixtyFeet. On visitation day for one of the particular schools, I saw a glimpse of something I will never forget. A family, from North Carolina, was at the school meeting for the very first time a girl that they were sponsoring. They looked all around the school for her, asking people if they knew where she was… When they found her, the mother, walked to the girl, held her face in her hands and told her, “I love you. I love you so much…” The whole family put their arms around her and they held each other for several minutes. “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you an heir.” Galatians 4:7

Friends, I could go on and on. But I won’t. I knew it six months ago on my first trip to Uganda, that I will never be the same. And I say it again. I know more now about the depth of my sin, and more so the depth of The Father’s love for me. I know that my adoption into God’s family is not because I was one child of a list of many that was randomly assigned to Him. I know that He came for me – in all my sickness, bloodiness, and shame – took me in His arms and said, “Gorden… I want YOU. You are mine. I love you. I would and WILL die for you. I choose you.” I am so thankful to know this.

Thank you all for joining with me on this. As I say goodnight, I will leave you with the words of pastor Paul Tripp. These are words that I have leaned on the last few days as I struggled to find hope for people who have little hope. “The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of your hope. Hope, to be hope, must fix what’s broken. The resurrection guarantees that.” I long to believe that is true.

Your brother in the struggle,

Gorden

Beauty From Ashes

2 CommentsFriday • March 22, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

We love sharing pictures of children who are clean, smiling and happy. We love it because that means someone is caring for that child and they are receiving what they need, as all children should.

Here’s a great example of a little girl we know. Taken just last week

Would you believe this is the same little girl, just 10 months earlier.

As shocking a contrast as that is, our intention isn’t to be shocking. We merely want you to see what a beautiful difference You have had on this child’s life. Yes, you. Because you cared enough to donate, to pray and some of you have even gone yourselves. Thank you!

Be Still And Know

2 CommentsMonday • March 18, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:41-42

Stillness (or solitude) is one of those spiritual disciplines that has been lost for many of us.  We live our lives with such drive and frenetic energy it really shouldn’t be a surprise we have a tough time resting in the presence of God.

John Piper said that one of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove that prayerlessness was not from a lack of time.  It’s painful to think how much I can relate to that statement. Lately, when attending meetings, I have started to watch how long it takes people to check their email or how often they do.  It’s truly remarkable.  If we can’t be still before one another, how can we expect to be still before God?

A few months ago, our family was bothered by how hard it was for us to do this. We were feeling a little overwhelmed and somewhat overcommitted. Between work, travel, ministry, school and kids’ activities, there was little time for much else. What we truly wanted was to settle down and rest in “silent and undisturbed union” with Christ.  That’s it.

But silence is a rare commodity in our home.  With 4 kids, by definition it’s never silent and I’m generally disturbed most of the time – at least that’s what my wife tells me!  Yet without silence there can be no stillness.  The difficulty lies in finding stillness amidst the craziness.  I’m convinced it’s possible but it takes intentional and deliberate action.  Jesus was very deliberate about this and frequently took time for solitude and prayer.

So at the beginning of this year, our family deemed 2013 the year of “no.” We decided that this is the year we say “no” to some good things, in order to focus on the great things.  Unfortunately, society doesn’t seem to value this.  Our culture makes it hard to pull back and rest. Statistics abound at how bad Americans are at taking vacation.  If you desire to rest, or practice any form of moderation and temperance, you may be viewed skeptically.  Or you may experience an underlying sense of guilt for not doing enough (whatever that means).  Saying “no” is just difficult.

But it’s worth it.  Whether you work at home, in an office, or on the mission field (perhaps especially if you are on the mission field) and no matter how crazy life may be, we all need to cultivate a stillness before our Father and rest in those periods of solitude with Him.  There are no hard and fast rules. Ultimately, it’s more of an attitude.  A posture.  A disposition of the heart manifested in practice.  And one well worth nurturing no matter who or what you have to say “no” to.

What Are You Running For?

0 CommentsTuesday • March 12, 2013 • by Sixty Feet

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” — Hebrews 12:1

I am a runner. I fell into this hobby accidentally but now it’s become a way of life. An almost daily activity for me. I run because I enjoy the fresh air, because I love the time alone and because I’m pretty keen on the health benefits that come with it. But what I most love about running, particularly long distance running, is the way it parallels the Christian life.

Since I started running, Hebrews 12:1 has literally come alive for me. The concepts of perseverance and endurance have new meaning in my life. The uphill climbs, the injuries, the days of rest, the all important training partners – they’re all such metaphors for the Christian walk.

This spring, I’m meshing my love of running along with another passion of mine: the imprisoned children of Africa. Over the next two months, I’m running two half marathons in support of SixtyFeet. The first race is this weekend in Atlanta and I’m running it alone. The second race is next month in Nashville and, thankfully, I’m running it along with 20 other runners on the SixtyFeet half marathon team.

The team running in Nashville is comprised of veteran runners, first time runners, walkers and everything in between. We might run at different levels but we’re united in purpose: we’re all running in support of the five pillars of SixtyFeet – Gospel, Justice, Counseling, Medicine, and Education .

We’re all running for him:

and for her:

And for them:

Please consider supporting our team in this effort. 100% of all proceeds raised by our half marathon team goes directly to mission work in Uganda. 0%* goes to overhead or administrative costs for SixtyFeet. You can donate on my personal page here. Or perhaps you could donate to Katie or Flo or Kirby or Matthew. You can visit our team page, scroll to the bottom for a full list of runners, and click any name to support any (or all!) of us.

Our team is in the last few weeks of training — please help us finish well!

*All of SixtyFeet’s administrative and overhead costs are funded through our sister organization, Friends of SixtyFeet.