A cheapskate goes to Africa...the follow up!

Well, I'm back! And I know everyone is ready to hear about the "big trip," so here goes.

I had originally thought I would do a recap breakdown of activities and places visited day by day, but not only could that get tiring to try to do in just one post, my friend Lauren actually posted on her blog several times while we were in Africa, and it's ten times better than anything I could ever write...so you should go check it out here.

Instead I have decided to just post a TON of pics (since that's really what everyone wants to see :) but also try and sum up what I learned from this experience. This too, was extremely overwhelming to me at first, but after leaving church Wednesday night, I finally had clarity on what I had been trying to put into words over the past few days. I've always known that it's funny the way that God works. That you think He's trying to teach you one thing, only for you to go "Ohhhhh. I get it now." and it's completely the opposite of what you thought it was about. That's exactly what my "aha" moment was like last night.

I went into this trip thinking I would go and show love and be loved and come home happy and grateful for all that I am truly blessed with here with my life in the U.S. While that is perfectly true, I did do all of those things, I also realized that still wasn't the big picture. I still felt like something was missing. I felt like those kids I saw, especially at Canaan's the last few days, were just so happy and content. I have so much more than they do, I have seen this, I know this, so why am I still struggling? Then we read this verse at church from Rev. 3:17 "Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." Boom. Done. That was it. I had been thinking the whole time that I was going so I could know first hand how lucky and blessed I am because I had good food and a job and more than one pair of shoes. And I do get that, but I think overall that I realized those exact blessings also keep me from realizing just how much I need Him. Those blessings come from Him and are only temporary, so IF I have those things only, well, I am truly in trouble. It was an eye opener for me and makes complete sense to me in this moment, and I can only hope the same for you readers as well.

Ok, I'll quit the intense discussion, but one other quick thing. I also thought I would come back all liberated and "above" this world and things in it and not care about fashion and would feel guilty about blogging on such "trivial" matters when I had seen more of the world and its problems. My photographer and I even joked about it. Well, guess what...again, not the case! Which I am excited about, of course. Instead, I am so excited to keep trying to find more ways to save money, especially on clothes, accessories, beauty products, etc so that I can send that money I am saving elsewhere to a much better cause. And I hope to encourage my readers to do the same. So get ready for lots of good upcoming posts, but be patient, I'm still trying to get back into work mode.

And here goes the pictures. Enjoy!
(disclaimer: Fashionplate Cheapskate does not approve of 80% of my wardrobe choices in my photos. But hey, I was on a mission trip in Africa, what more do you expect?)

The whole team outside our hotel.

I painted a LOT of tiny little finger nails that day!

The kids were fascinated with my feathers. They asked if I was "produced" (born) with them. Hilarious.

Cutest picture of the twins eating.

Precious boys at M1. 

Part of the amazing donations our team gathered together.

I only thought I was going to lose weight...turns out I had no trouble eating in Africa. 

Miss Abigail teaching me a thing or two in her classroom.

Playing "red light, green light" with the kids at Royal Hope.

Adorable children at Royal Hope. 

Me with the little "Princess" I picked up

Beautiful sky and trees at Kingfisher Resort

Adorable children at Canaan's school

Just one glimpse of how the women do it all in Uganda. 

precious. 

As my friend Lauren noted on her blog, "children taking care of children. it takes a village"

The beautiful women of the Karamajong tribe we visited.

#love

One of my favorite pictures I took.

Part of the amazing ministry at Amazima.

That's a whole lotta beans!

I hope Lauren doesn't kill me for this, but I think she rocks the African fashion like no other.

Sweet baby boy and the airplane I gave him.

Beth and I take time to goof off while sweet Sarah is fast asleep.

Miss Florence prayed hard for all of us single ladies...I think she has her work cut out for her! 

The "real world Uganda cast." Love these ladies. 

Our safari driver Ahmed was hands down THE BEST. God definitely provided. 

Hello African sunrise. 

Just a little piece of Africa.

Hippos and boats at the fishing village.

Hungry, hungry hippo?

This elephant means business.

Beautiful sunset.

Zebra! (photo: Lauren)

Funny little buffalos. (photo: Lauren)

Ahmed took matters into his own hands and we finally see a lioness! 

I still laugh that we willingly went into a forest with a man we don't know and his big gun.

Hey baboon.

The most amazing view from our hotel the last morning.

Hallelujah, the Bham ladies make it back safe and sound to sweet home, Alabama.

If your heart is feeling torn and you'd like to give or want to educate yourself about ministries and projects in Uganda, here are just a few places to start. I know this is only the tip of the iceberg:
• Amazima ministries
• My Father's House
• Sixty Feet
• Canaan's Children Home
• Return Ministries
• The Voice Project

I also uploaded a ton of videos to youtube that you are welcome to check out if you have some time to kill. Click here.

Gone to Africa

A cheapskate goes to...Africa!

Photo taken from visitingorphans.org

Yes! You read that correctly. I will soon be traveling across the world to Africa, more specifically Uganda. Me. A cheapskate who has never traveled overseas. Bananas. Hope you have your coffee handy because this post is going to be a long one!

It all began earlier in the year when my friend Lauren emailed a group of us asking if anyone would be interested in serving somewhere in Africa because she had been longing to go back since she traveled there the first time. Her original plan was to stay a couple of months. Well, I'm not a teacher, so summer vacation doesn't exist for me anymore, so I thought nothing more of the opportunity, said thanks but I couldn't possibly go. Then the plan was altered to going for a couple of weeks instead of months and all of a sudden I was interested. Lauren and I had coffee to discuss the trip seeing as I have never traveled anywhere further than the Bahamas...on a cruise. I had many questions and was nervous about the travel and the money (of course) and also what we'd be doing.

See, there's a small group of us who are part of a larger group who are going to serve orphans in Uganda with an organization called Visiting Orphans. I have never participated in a mission trip either, so clearly this is a BIG trip for me. I absolutely love that my first stamp in my passport will be Africa AND that it's there because I am going to help others who are in need, particularly children without parents. I have been so blessed in the family department with two awesome parents who have done whatever they could for me, and also with a great brother, sister-in-law and nephew, that I am so happy to go and serve and bring that family joy I have experienced to children in need. And something tells me they will in turn give me joy and love as well. You can learn more about the trip I am taking to Uganda on July 22, 2011 here. Overall, we will be working with children at Return Ministries, My Father's House, Amazima Ministries, Canaan's Children's Home and SixtyFeet. I have no idea what I will see or experience, but I can tell you that I am so excited to go and will hopefully hit the ground running with open arms as soon as we arrive in Uganda.

As you can expect from anyone going on a trip like this, I have a few requests for friends, family and my blog readers. Basically, I need help!

There are five major ways you can offer your assistance:

1. Money. Of course I have waited until the last minute and I have less than two weeks to raise $2K towards my trip. But I have decided that nothing is too big for God. So if I'm supposed to raise $2K in two weeks, then it will happen! If not, I have money in savings and He will just provide for me (as He always does) later down the road. So if you are able to donate just even a few dollars, I would be so grateful. Because a little truly does go a LONG way! Especially in Africa, according to our trip leaders.

Here's how you can donate money. Just go here, type in how much you are able to donate, click on on the July 22 - Aug. 2nd Uganda trip from the drop down box, continue to fill out the remaining fields with your payment information, then click continue at the bottom of the page. Somewhere on the following page there should be a field to enter "Christen Lewis" as to the person you are donating the money to. It's pretty simple really! You should receive an email with a letter for tax purposes, but if you don't, please let me know and I will be sure to take care of that for you.

2. Buy a magnet. My sweet friend Ashley at Magpie Magnets has created a magnet called "One Love" specifically for my trip to Uganda. She is donating ALL the proceeds from the sell of these magnets to my trip! Just another illustration of how a little goes a long way. Plus, wouldn't it be a great reminder to have that image on your fridge to remind you to pray for that country and those orphans every day?

3. Buy stationery. From now until the end of July, everything I sell from my personal stationery collection will go towards my trip. I had hoped to already have some Africa-themed stationery designed, but life has been a little too hectic lately. Hopefully I will have some new designs uploaded soon though.

4. Items for donations. If you are in the Birmingham or nearby area, I will also accept donations of items that are needed at these orphanages. Just let me know when and where to pick them up and I will do that for you sometime before July 22nd! Here's just a quick list of items I know have been specifically requested:
• granola bars
• hair elastics
• good coffee
• peanut butter
• crayons and coloring books
• school supplies of ALL kind (pens, notebooks, pencils, chalk, whiteboard markers, rulers, maps)
• sports items
• first aid/medicines (particularly baby medications)
• children's clothing and shoes

The list could honestly go on and on, but I thought I'd just put the smaller items I felt I could fit easily into my luggage. (btw, doesn't it just make you want to cry when you see this list and all these things that are so trivial that we take for granted all the time?!)

5. PRAYER. I possibly should have put this item first. Prayer is always welcome, always helpful and it's free! Please pray for our group's safety and health. Pray that we are what the children need and can tend to them in the way they need to be cared for and tended to. Pray that we are able to bring them more than what we or they expect us to bring—whether that is the physical or intangible items. Pray for those who are serving these children on a daily basis, those who have dedicated their life to caring for them every day because no one else can or will. Most of all just pray that God's will be done on this trip. I think that should cover everything if that's your prayer!

Ok, I think that is actually everything! Sorry for the long post. And if you have any questions or wishes or problems with donating, anything at all, please feel free to e-mail me at fashionplatecheapskate{at}gmail.com. And of course, expect an AMAZING update post after my return from Uganda in August. And for those of you who are able to fund a part of my trip, I would love to hopefully come back with a little something special for you :)

Swept away

Today's post has a dual meaning. It's both sad and happy and revolves around how I spent my Saturday.

The first meaning of course is in relation to the tornadoes that "swept away" much of Alabama last Wednesday. I received a phone call from my good friend Jessica on Friday asking if I had plans for Saturday yet. I told her I was trying to figure out how I was going to help the tornado victims, to which she responded that I could go with her and a few other people that go to church with my parents to the small community of Shoal Creek to help clean up some damage. I said, "Done. Where should I be and when?" So early Saturday morning I set out to meet them with my car loaded up with as much supplies and tools that I could manage. We finally made it to our destination and rode down a tree strewn road looking for homes that needed the most help. We happened to stop at the Sanders' residence and I can't imagine a better place where we could've stopped.

I don't want to give out too much information about the Sanders' family since I didn't ask permission to share their story on my blog, but I will say to please keep them in your prayers. They have truly experienced loss. I feel very thankful that we were able to help out what little we could. I mean, we did a lot, but how much is ever enough? We were able to recover some personal belongings and photos and cards that surely had special meaning to them. We went through most everything and was able to help make several piles of things to keep, throw away or burn. We stopped to take a break around lunch and as I looked up I realized that the number of people now on their property helping out had at least tripled in size in the past couple of hours. I also happened to meet the "grandad" Sanders who survived the storm (somehow?) though his home didn't and he was the sweetest, most appreciative man. I still regret not standing up to hug him as he came over to shake our hands but I was truly in shock that I was meeting someone whose home was on that property.

Anyway, here are just a few pics of the destruction to help put it all in perspective. And if you are in the Birmingham area and want to volunteer, here's a great resource on how you can serve. You can also help the Tuscaloosa tornado victims by purchasing a car decal from my friend Taylor who owns Spruce Boutique. The decals are only $3, and $2 goes directly to the Tuscaloosa tornado relief efforts. For more information/to order, you can send her a message here.

Here is the first Sanders house we passed as we walked down the driveway.

Here's some debris as we kept walking down the driveway.

And here's "what's left" of the second Sanders' home. 

A big mess.

Here was their foundation.

And then I turned directly around and took this pic of the floor.

It's hard to tell, but this tree and its root was huge. Trust me. 

On a much happier note, I ended my day with an impromptu Avett Brothers concert with a spectacular view from the 3rd row! My friend and former guitar teacher Tim had been with us helping clear debris on Saturday and we were talking about the Avett show that night at Samford that I was going to miss. Lucky for me he came through (big time!) with a last minute offering of a free ticket to the show so I got ready in 10 minutes flat (no kidding!). It turns out that the reason the ticket was available was because its original owner lived in Cullman and were still dealing with the tornado destruction there and couldn't make it to the show, so of course I couldn't accept the ticket for free...even I'm not that much of a cheapskate! So I insisted on writing a check for the ticket amount and the show itself was worth every penny anyway! One reason was because I saw/heard them play "Swept Away" live for the first time ever. Such an appropriate title. Love those Avetts.

Here are some pics I attempted from my terrible phone. Wish I had known cameras were allowed! I could've got some great shots. Oh well, next time. (yeah right, when am I ever going to be 3rd row at an Avett show again?!)

Ok, I promise to get back to my "typical" blog editorial tomorrow, but I had to make one more tornado post since it's all we can think about here in Alabama right now.