Second Saturday has traditionally been our on-ramp for getting involved with local partnerships for the past few years. After much time in conversation and prayer we’ve decided to take a different direction in the coming months. That being said, we will not have a Second Saturday for the month of February.

While the complete vision and reshaping of this event is still being finalized, we do know that we will be scaling back to four Saturdays in the year 2011, and the time that we have serving together will be a little longer than it has been in the past. We are working to be more intentional about structuring a day that will offer people of every age and gifting an opportunity to take part in some way or another, as well as how to connect more fully with some of our local partners.

We’re currently communicating with local leaders at different levels the best way Cornerstone can respond to some of the gaps that they are seeing. Pray for this transition over the next month with us that God would be clear on our next steps and how you can get involved with us.

Uganda Invitation from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

If you’re a part of Cornerstone church, we want to invite you again to join us in this movement in 2011 by going on a trip with us, sponsoring a child in Buloba, the community we work with, supporting someone who will be going on a trip and partnering with us as we pray for Buloba and the story that is unfolding in this community.

The trip dates:

May 10th-20th (application deadline January 9th)

July 5th-15th (application deadline January 30th)

July 18th-28th (application deadline February 6th)

October 3rd-13th (application deadline May 1st)

We’d love for you to be a part of this. email mission@cornerstonebuzz.org for more information on these trips.

Cornerstone has been in a series on Nehemiah now for the past seven weeks and we have one more to go. I was excited about this series when we started because I though it was going to be about ‘personal vision’ and long term thinking, real 30,000 feet view kind of ideas, etc., etc. And it has certainly touched on that. But honestly, I think I’ve been more impressed by the nitty gritty areas I’ve found myself changing in. Thoughts like this from my friend Lee are where I feel like we’ve been changing the most; looking for where we are to be a part of a movement and be ‘repairers of broken walls and restorers of streets with dwellings.’ It’s interesting when you approach a new sermon series the things that you think you will communicate and learn and then find yourself in the middle of it changing completely.

For me it’s been the idea of injustice. I’m seeing the stories everywhere. They’re breaking my heart and challenging me to be different. To see see the world different. To love different. Here’s the story of Haiti Nutrition Project. Check out their site. Pray for them. Read their blog. Find out how to get involved. Maybe this is where you have been called to be a rebuilder and a restorer.

Haiti – Canaan Orphanage Malnutrition Initative from andrew hudson on Vimeo.

Sponsoring a child is one of those areas that over the past few months I’ve come to view as one of the ways that we can fight injustice in this world. It’s a small way for sure from our vantage point at only $35 a month. But for Isaac and his family, it’s huge. That $35 dollars provides a uniform and a hot meal every day. Moreover, it’s providing him with an education that otherwise this family might not have been able to give him. It’s also contributing to the local economy as teachers and administrators are being hired as more children in Buloba are sponsored. It’s also affecting the local body of believers in that the people who are employed are also attending Buloba Community Church, actively participating and tithing.

I don’t say these things to puff myself up. Honestly, it took us a while to join in on this movement. I’m just sharing because I want to tell that sponsoring has already done something big in my heart and I’ve seen it first hand, in action, in Buloba. I’m excited to be a part of the movement now joining with nearly 250 other people at Cornerstone who has said, “We can make a difference here in the life of this one community and bring hope even if we may never step foot on their soil. And, the people of Buloba are going to make a difference on me as a result.”

We still have roughly 50 children left to sponsor to reach a goal of 300 that we set back a year and a half ago. We would love to finish that goal by the end of this year. It’s not something to step lightly into as this is a long term commitment of 10-13 years. But the difference this sponsorship program is making is massive, and I’m convinced that it’s God’s heart that respond when he calls us to bring hope where we can. This is a place where you can bring hope.

This past Saturday we were able to knock out good portion of a privacy fence that has been on the ‘to-do’ list. The weather was sticky for sure as the heat and humidity in East Alabama has been quite stifling for the past few weeks and the ground was not forgiving in the slightest as we dug holes for the fence posts. But the team pressed through and worked together and accomplished more in 3.5 hours than I thought we would.

I’m thankful for the Big House and their burden to minister to foster families. I’m thankful that God has placed on the hearts of Blake and Micah Melnick a desire to be rebuilders and restorers and bringers of hope, not of places but of hearts and minds. And I’m thankful for the willingness of believers who will give up a few hours on a Saturday to unite for the same purpose.

Well, I’m bringing them in to the story now. Here’s the comment mom left on yesterdays post.

“It is simple. As I read your post I thought of this ‘Snglse’ girl that has suffered with a toothache for more than a week. A simple act of providing funds for her to go to the dentist, I believe, is loving her where she is, freeing her from the pain she’s been dealing with, and hopefully, allowing her to see Jesus more clearly…day by day, moment by moment.”

What a beautiful story. You know what my reaction is to that. This simple, no, huge story has got me thinking, I’m going to get with my friend Scott (when he has some free time) and find a way to get a place on this blog for us to share these stories of where God is using his people to bind up the broken hearted, preach the good news to the poor, set the oppressed free, and love people wherever they find themselves in need of hope and love.

What do you think?

pray for the persecuted church around the world today.

Another killer sunrise. Hard to beat watching that come up over Lake Victoria. The team had the opportunity this morning to go and see Bethany Village. Bethany is an orphanage/school that has been around for around 11 years now. Bethany is a true testament to the transformational power of Christ. Even having been once already it was great to see and hear again the story that is being written there.

As a basic rundown, there are 11 homes with 15 children each. Each home is run by a mother and the children live as brothers and sisters learning how to cook, clean, grow food and live in community.

On a side note, most of team was jacked to be able to ride across Lake Victoria and then (drum roll) ride the boda boda’s up to the village.

Part the Second—Buloba

As tradition has set, one of the first things we do in Buloba is to walk down to the old well and carry water back up to the hill. It’s about a ¾ to 1 mile journey (and as one team member described it, “up a 4000 foot mountain”). It’s always a real eye opener to see what is normal in Uganda and how it contrasts with our life in the States, and it can sometimes be a little overwhelming.

We also began working today by tossing bricks from the ‘baking pile’ over into position where they will be placed over the next few days as we finish bricking up the church building.

The most encouraging part of this trip is to watch this team interact with the church members here. Its amazing to see how people who have never met form immediate bonds with one another because of the same Spirit that is in each of us and then fellowship and communicate as if they were long lost friends. This is why we are partnered with this church, to join together to advance the kingdom. And these relationships that are being built are a demonstration of that.

Part the Third—The ride home

I’m now an official Uganda driver. That’s right, I moved from boda boda’s to the van…on a main road in Kampala. (It wasn’t pretty, but we’re all alive and no vehicle damage was sustained…perhaps some psychological….)

Check out Lee’s day here.