My Niece in Uganda (Not RESCUE Related)

My college aged niece Hillary is in Uganda helping orphaned children and gathering packets of children who need sponsorship from the villages. We are extremely proud of her committment to the children there and we read her blog faithfully, although she doesn't write very much since she is so busy. They visited Kenya for a while on this trip and when she got back to Uganda she had this to say:

(source: http://sellfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/trip-to-kenya-and-back.html )

"May 22nd (Back in Uganda)

"Yesterday we went to the village of Lugazi back in Uganda. We set up a medical clinic there. It was really fun because I got to hold a lot of babies. I held a baby named David who was around 2 months old. Right now I am not really sure what illness he is suffering from. Pauline (doctor) told me it has something to do with his lungs not working properly, I am going to talk to her again here in the next couple of days to get the complete details. He has a cough and a lump on the side of his stomach and he can’t breathe. I held him in my arms, helplessly watching his tiny stomach and throat trying to draw in air. I couldn’t even be sure that air was getting inside of him except for the fact that he was still alive.

"Why am I telling you all of this? I need your help. The only way for this little boy to live the life that God had planned for him is to get a surgery, which no one can afford. Please, please pray that God will miraculously heal this innocent child. Even with faith that moves mountains or prayers that never cease, his death might still be a reality. But I know that prayer is one of the most powerful things we can do. So I beg that you will pray with me that he will survive this impossible trial. You may look at the problem and use that word “impossible”, and with man it is. But with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)..."

Evening of Light, and Horizon Community Church

Last Friday (5/18) RESCUE sang at an event called, Evening of Light and Vancouver First Church of God in Washington. It is a benefit concert for needy children that RESCUE has been involved with in the past and were very happy to support again. This years recipient is a 5 year-old girl named Kaitlin who was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia a couple of years ago. Her first year of treatment cost $176,000 and the bills just keep coming in.

Kaitlin is a little singer! Her mom says she learned over 200 songs by the age of two. She has been in a very weakened state since the diagnosis and treatment began she has had to give up many of the things that children love to do, although her family has worked hard to keep her life as normal as possible. Her mother said, “After she was diagnosed, it was such sweet music to our ears, when after almost a month of not hearing her sweet voice sing, she started singing, 'It’s me, it’s me, it’s me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.'”

We enjoyed sharing the stage with many great, God honoring, performers and we were glad to be a part of a special evening.

We also spent Sunday morning (5/20) with Horizon Community Church in Tualatin, Oregon.



We sang four songs in both of their services and really enjoyed the worship and the pastor's message on godly time management. With our busy schedules, that message came at a very good time!

Gladstone, Good Shepherd, Salmon Creek

Dear Prayer Team,

On Saturday (5/5) we traveled to Gladstone Park Adventist in Gladstone, Oregon for their morning service. We heard lots of, “amens”, as we sang and were very encouraged. That night we had a full concert and people from many churches all around the area filled the house.

After the concert I talked to a little boy that has been to a few of our concerts. He said, “You know it’s really a good thing to like a singing group. I really like you guys!”

I told him about when I was a kid, there were ministries that affected me a lot like a ventriloquist that came to our church and especially when my dad got to fly a skydiving Vacation Bible School speaker over a church and he jumped out. I got to be in the back seat! I told him, “There are all kinds of ways you can be a blessing to God and minister to people!”

He told me about his desire to one day have a skateboarding school where he could teach kids tricks and then say, “Without God you wouldn’t even be able to do any of that! You wouldn’t even have legs!”

I had to chuckle a bit, but I did have a little tear in my eye. He was just so happy and full of the moment. In the dressing room one of the other guys told me that the little guy had asked, “Can you believe that you get to sing with a guy who can talk like a DUCK???”

Now THAT’S a kid with some TASTE!

Another gentleman came up to Steve and I at the CD table and said, “Thanks, guys. You brought me back home tonight.” Steve said, and I agreed, that it doesn’t take many comments like that to make it all worth it.

On Monday and Tuesday (5/7-5/8) we joined Good Shepherd Community Church to sing for their annual Mother Son Banquet. Steve and our sound tech, Will brought their moms to the second night. It was really touching as they gave all of the men some time to personally express their love and appreciation to their moms. There weren’t a lot of dry eyes in the house on either night.

On Friday (5/11) we went to Salmon Creek United Methodist Church in Vancouver, Washington. We remembered that we had done a concert almost exactly a year ago at the same church and that it was the first concert we had after receiving our new in-ear monitors from Martin Audiology (they took a little getting used to), plus Over was very sick. We remembered that concert not being one of our best vocal performances but that we were warmly received nonetheless. This time we really wanted to make sure it was solid.

I woke up that morning with some extreme vocal problems and was worried about how it was all going to come together that night. Our regular sound tech, Will wasn’t there that night and Mike Z. was filling in for him, which would be a daunting challenge for anyone.

God really blessed our time there! It was actually one of my strongest nights, vocally, since I started taking on the challenge of singing more lead vocal parts! I have NO explanation for that other than God. Mike did a wonderful job! I just love seeing firsthand how God rescues…RESCUE!

We were also very happy to be a part of their effort to send youth to assist Katrina victims. PRAISE GOD!