Nat in Uganda

2013 End-of-Year Newsletter

Thanksgivin g celebration
This year many new missionary families moved to Mbale. It has been wonderful getting to know them through community gatherings, ladies Bible study, and coffee dates. We ALL gathered (not just the Americans) to enjoy a Thanksgiving celebration and have many Christmas activities planned.

She calls me a hippie Living in Uganda, there is a need

to prepare meals from scratch because convenient canned goods are either unavailable, or they are super expensive. I have taken to trying new things like grinding peanut butter, collecting wild grains, and making jam. Therefore, my housemate, Tiffany, often refers to me as a hippie.

Serving the Lord

What a blessed life - to be in the middle of the Lords will. Sometimes this truth initiates a wellspring of praises from my heart. Other times confidence in this truth is what I cling to, instead of calling it quits. Likely, you have the same experience within your own context and corner of the world. I am so grateful that the Lords grace allows me to keep serving him at Lulwanda Childrens Home (LCH). These children are such a blessing. What a privilege it is to be part of shaping them into image bearers of the King of kings.

May in the USA

In an effort to be clever , here are my TOP 30 favorite things of my 30th year of life. (I will be turning 31 in January.)
1. The kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance. 2. The privilege of participating in these childrens lives as they grow up and form their own personality and opinions. 3. Sweet friends who laugh with me, cry with me, challenge me, and encourage me. They love me for who I am as we walk this life of faith together.

I made an unplanned (and fully funded) trip to the USA to be the maid of honor in a dear friends wedding. What a joy to celebrate with this friend (and get to see my family)!

I am excited to spend Christmas in Uganda this year and celebrate with the children the birth of our Savior.

4. Trusting the Lord with all the details.

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6. Participating in door-to-door evangelism and lunch outreach in Mbale town.

7. Seeing one of our girls flourish at a school for children with special needs. 8. Sweet fellowship with the Mbale missionary community, and the new friends I made this year. 9. Spontaneous fun afternoons with the LCH children during school holidays. 10.Leading a weekly Bible study with the older children during school break. 11.The gorgeous sunrises over Mt. Wanale during my morning runs. 12.Welcoming visitors at LCH throughout the year: four teams, one family, and more then 10 individuals. 13.The encouragement of letters received from the children that say how much they love me. 14.The privilege of participating in Backpacks of Promise and Buckets of Hope, where we went into the village and delivered the love of Christ through meeting practical needs of school supplies and food. 15.Faith increased, hope sustained, obedience required, and mercies that are new every morning. 16.Beginning the year spending time with family in Texas, and two LCH children visiting me in Austin. 17.The gift of spending May in the USA. 18. Participating in a friends youth outreach ministry by putting on an educational music/drama show at a local primary school. 19.Through administrative work for LCH, interacting with the citys top government leaders. 20.Praying Sunday mornings from a church in town that has worship songs in English and great teaching.

My favorite times of year are when the children are on school break. I love getting to play games, tell stories, or teach the children something new. They are just so fun to be with.

Moving house
That is right, I am moving to a new house. I am blessed to live with Tiffany in her organizations house for girl volunteers. As part of a house reshuffling for that organization, we will be shifting at the beginning of January. In all reality, this move is an upgrade to an even better house, in the same neighborhood, with more rooms for hosting visitors, and an awesome screened in sunroom (therefore I can sit outside in the evening

21.Fun celebrations and competitions with the Lulwanda children.

22.Studying biblical love at the ladies Bible study I attend with other missionary women. 23.The excitement of the LCH kids to visit the little ones at St. Kizito Babies Home 24.Hosting children at my house for a meal, playing, celebrating, or just relaxing. 25.LCH visitors who have become dear friends. 26.Game night, every Tuesday, remains one of the highlights of each week.
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27.The fun, busy, creative, hectic, awesome season of summer teams to LCH and all the opportunities and experiences they facilitated for the children and staff.
28.Having the world at my fingertips as Tiffany and I hosted more than 11 visitors in our home from all over the world for anywhere between two days to nine months. 29.Travels: Jinja weekends, Safari at Murchison Falls, accompanying a friend to Kenya, exploring Karamoja 30. The daily smiles and greetings of the Lulwanda children who intentionally come to my office to greet me if they have not seen me around the Home.

Prayer Requests
For Me
As I kick off 2014 by moving into a new house, I am reminded of the necessity for flexibility, and that this world is not my home. The hope of heaven awaits. I pray that in this new year I will be intentional and purposeful in all that I do. That I will have an ever increasing hunger and thirst for the Word. Continued good health and protection over my life. The Lords provision of finances through the people of God. Patience, direction, and wisdom in something special God is doing. That I will be a woman full of grace in all that I do.

Looking Forward to Next There is always much toYear anticipate as a new year begins. I
leadership, and myself.

For Lulwanda Childrens Home For each child at LCH to trust Jesus as Savior. That the banner over LCH would be Love. Smooth transition as the Palmer family joins the Lulwanda family. Continued unity, wisdom, and creativity for the GICF board and the local leaders. That each staff member would work diligently as if unto the Lord.

look forward to seeing the Lord move at Lulwanda Childrens Home in the lives of the children, the staff, the I also am eager for the arrival of new teammates. Through the Lords leading, the Palmer family hopes to move to Uganda in early 2014. Outside of LCH, I am grateful to build relationships with the missionary community, as new families and individuals continue to move to Mbale. And I look forward to more opportunities to use my gifts to

For us to be disciple makers and not merely

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Thank You!
I am beyond grateful for all the family and friends who continue to encourage and pray with me as I fulfill Gods calling upon my life to love the orphans at Lulwanda Childrens Home. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your notes and comments on Facebook. Thank you for staying in touch. It is truly my joy to get to be with the children everyday and invest in their lives. My heart overflows as I see Gods mercy poured out over my life and their lives. What an awesome God we serve!

I have been enjoying Advent readings in the Jesus Storybook Bible with some of the younger children.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
All financial support for my ministry is tax deductible. To support through CHECK: please make checks payable to Midland Bible Church, and be sure to write "Natalie Rolfe" in the memo line. Mail the check to: Midland Bible Church 5900 Whitman Drive NEW! Online Donations! Midland, TX, 79705 You now have the option to provide financial support to me on-line using your credit card. Its easy and safe. Simply go to the website for GICF ( www.ugandaorphans.org ), click on the box in the lower left "Natalie - Our Program Coordinator", When on my page, click on the "Donate Now" button. This will transfer you to a secure server at Network For Good. You have the choice to make a one-time donation or set up a recurring payment. Please select Missionary Support Natalie in the pull down Designation menu. A tax receipt will be issued by email to you from Network for Good Although GICF are kindly accepting online donations and sending the funds to me, checks should only be sent to Midland Bible Church.

A Request
The life of a missionary usually means believing God will provide through His saints. I depend on the generosity and obedience of others. And, I love boasting in how faithful God has been in the past six years. I have never had to count my shillings and hope that they will stretch to the end of the month. Praise God! Because His people are overwhelmingly loving in their giving. As a self-funded missionary, I have loyal supporter who give on a monthly basis, and others who lovingly give a one-time donation. As I mentioned previously, I am moving into a different house. The rent for this house is twice as much as I currently pay. Therefore, I need an additional $130 a month to cover this increase. Would you pray with me that the Lord will stir in a few peoples hearts to commit to

My Contact Info in Uganda

Natalie Rolfe PO Box 1650 Mbale, Uganda, East Africa natinuganda@gmail.com +256 792 458 957

Stay Up to Date!
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