Africa Again!!!

We are thrilled to be returning to Kenya & Uganda for our 3rd mission trip June 10-Aug12, 2015!!!  We got our plane tickets back in Dec and plans have been underway ever since (it literally takes Anissa 6 mths to plan all the details of our trip and coordinate with the various organizations where we will be serving).  After Spring Break Joey always starts his annual countdown until school gets out, so now we also have our countdown to Africa going! We leave on our 20th wedding anniversary and can't think of a more fitting way to celebrate than flying to the 2 beloved countries that have a huge piece of our hearts!  This time we will be going to Uganda first and Kenya last (the past 2 times it was the other way around), which means Jonas will get to have his 12th birthday in Uganda and celebrate with those brothers and sisters this time around! (He turned 8 yrs old in Kenya in 2011 and in 2013 his 10th birthday was in the air as we were flying thru time zones and over continents)!  Once again, our hearts are full of anticipation as the date gets closer & closer...we can't wait to wrap our arms around all of our kids (big and small), hear their voices & laughter once again, see their faces break into a smile and look deep into their eyes!  There is sooo much to share; so much growth (physically, personally, spiritually, educationally, emotionally) that happens in 2 years! Each time we go we make more new friends and form deeper bonds with old friends.  So we also can't wait to wrap our arms around all the amazing staff at the children's homes, the teachers at the schools, the cooks in the kitchen, the aunties/uncles who care for the children, the drivers, the gardeners, the smiling gatekeeper named Alphabet, the special needs students in the Treasures Class, the Deaf students at Najib's Deaf School, sweet little Shakirah who had the heart surgery, one of the school teachers who has been battling cancer, the list goes on and on.....!  Not to mention all the hundreds of other children we will get to interact with and love on! So many children, so many needs & desires, so much love to lavish, so much joy to share!

As always, we covet your prayers.  As most of you know, Kenya has been in the news lately.  On the first trip, Anissa was sick the last 3 days and on the plane coming home. On the second trip Joey got a bacterial infection and really high fever.  We have gotten ring worm and jiggers and have been stung by safari ants. All minor incidents that have not taken away from the work we went there to do. Our children have not been sick on either trip.  We praise God for his protection and provision! We whole-heartedly THANK all of you who prayed for us throughout our past trips and once again ask you to partner with us in prayer! We trust God in every detail of this 3rd trip.  We know that He has called us to go back and so we step out in obedience. We know that He has a purpose and a plan for our family. It is our desire to bring Him glory.

We will be serving at the same orphanages and organizations as in the past, doing much of the same types of outreach...mostly child evangelism (kids clubs, VBS, etc), tutoring, feeding programs, visiting the AIDS Clinic, Deaf School and the special needs program, but also some manual labor and work projects. Every time we go God has new things in store for us!  We can't wait to see what He will do this time! We will once again be leading a small team from our church here in WI that will fly over for 2 weeks to meet us there.  Also an exciting bonus this trip is that Anissa's cousin and daughter will be serving with us in Kenya for 2 weeks!

In addition to pray partners, we are also looking for financial partners. If any of you feel led to contribute to that part of our trip, you can make a tax-deducatble donation to:
Calvary Community Church
PO Box 1200
Williams Bay, WI 53191
(please do NOT write on the memo line, rather include a note stating that it is for the Haywood's African Mission Trip)

A sincere THANK YOU for all of your support, on so many levels! It is so encouraging to have so many people from all walks of our life, step forward to support us!  We have never experienced the power of pray more strongly than when we've been in Africa!!  Thank you for being a part of our journey!!!
For God's Glory,
Joey, Anissa, Alea & Jonas