Category: Uganda

Catch the dream – you’re invited!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Her dream began in a village in Uganda. A dance major in college, she saw the ability to communicate without words through dance and the arts. That seed of a dream took root, and after college, she studied dance ministry at Hillsong College in Australia. She returned with a massive dream where, like the one-for-one model, affluent area arts/community centers would help to support those less fortunate in the US and around the world. “She” is my daughter, Lauren, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.

Lauren moved to Harlem and worked as a dance teacher in an elementary school for 7 years. During that time, the nonprofit Greenhouse Arts Center was born. Their mission: “to offer a welcoming place of hope where creativity thrives and the arts are a vehicle for the community to grow together and make a difference locally and globally, connecting with other cultures and raising future leaders.”

Greenhouse is and has been making an enormous difference in the lives of students in Harlem. And they are at a crossroads. Even though Greenhouse operates on a shoestring budget, finances are extremely limited. The teachers at Greenhouse are amazing artists who would be paid a lot more somewhere else, but they are committed to the vision and dream. They have seen first hand the impact they are making in their students and community.

Greenhouse needs your help now. To help meet their financial need, they are hosting their first benefit concert next weekend (11/12 in NYC, 11/13 in NJ). If you are local to either event, please click below to purchase a ticket. The events will feature dance, singing, basket raffles, and refreshments. Buy your ticket today – they will not be sold at the door. If you are busy or not local, you can contribute via the link below (you’ll receive a link to view the show afterward).

Beside an evening of great entertainment, with your donation, you can be guaranteed of a few things:

  • You will be making a difference in the life of a child.
  • Your money will be well spent: all the proceeds go to student programming.
  • Your donation is tax-deductible.
  • You are contributing to the growth of a future world-changing enterprise.
  • You’ll feel good having done something very good!

Here’s the link to donate

Here’s the link to buy tickets

Here’s a 6 minute video about Greenhouse (grab a tissue!)

#DreamCreateThrive

A Dream Fulfilled

Posted on by Susan Panzica
And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:21


Jesus said these words to His followers, bringing their attention to the fulfillment of the vision, promise and prophecy of His coming. I share that verse now because yesterday a vision, promise, and prophecy about Lauren’s future was fulfilled in your hearing (or reading ;D). 

Yesterday the Greenhouse Arts Center opened its doors to cultivate the dreams of the next generation and encourage these little dreamers to make a difference in their world.

After returning from one her many mission trips several years ago, my daughter Lauren’s passion for dance and the arts began to develop into something more – a vision for a global arts community. Before going to Uganda, she had wondered what she could possibly bring to the people there that would impact their lives in a positive way. Upon her return, she realized that although she provided meals to those in need and helped to build the local Dream Center, it was when she led them in dance that she saw them experience joy. 

She saw a vision for a global community arts center, one where people in comfortable economic situations could support those around the world who wonder where their next meal is coming from. The arts allow people to express and experience their emotions, gifts and talents, and thus a joy that isn’t found in their daily sustenance. 

In the years that followed, she dedicated herself to learning her craft and the business of running a ministry. After graduating with her BA and BFA dance degrees from MSU, she spent a year and a half in Australia at Hillsong College learning and serving in dance ministry. Through the prophecy of leaders, God confirmed her vision revealing more and more layers and details daily. She saw it form in her mind, and yesterday she saw it in person. As did people from all across Harlem. 

So great was the outpouring of families and students to the grand opening of the Greenhouse Arts Center that they ran out of registration forms and had to add an extra class to accommodate the new students. Her staff of teachers and administrators mingled with the families sharing the love of Jesus through smiles and hugs. 

On what she calls her “golden birthday” weekend (turning 27 on the 27th), she saw what is both the fulfillment and the beginning of her dream. Twenty seven years ago, I held in my arms the most beautiful bundle of baby that the world has ever seen. I never imagined how amazing the journey that we’d experience together would be. 

And it just keeps getting better. 


How Do You Measure Your Life?

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I had another post in mind to share with you today, but a quick check on facebook this morning sent me in a whole new direction.
First I saw – and shared – this picture:
Then I scrolled down and saw my daughter Lauren’s – totally unrelated – status update:
“stop thinking about what you don’t have and start thinking about what you do have.
well that’s my convicting moment of today. thank you Jesus.”
Seems a theme is going on today, yes?
When Lauren was on a mission trip in Uganda, she spent time teaching at an orphanage. The children there owned nothing but what could fit in a cigar box. And yet they eagerly shared their most prized possessions with the Americans. One young girl gave Lauren her baby picture so she would remember her. Another girl unraveled the end of the sleeve of her sweater to give Lauren a piece of yarn for a bracelet. She literally shared the clothes off her back.
Lauren didn’t want to take these treasures, but to refuse would crush these children’s hearts, as they’d mistakenly think she didn’t want to remember them.
It was a powerful lesson to appreciate what we have rather than longing for what we don’t have. Yet sadly, she – and we – have to learn this lesson over and over again.
And it’s not just “things” that we yearn for. With my mother-in-law and my dad experiencing devastating effects of aging, it’s easy to see how much they no longer have. It requires devoted effort to look past the infirmities and be thankful for the abilities that they still possess. Doing a crossword puzzle would be sheer joy to someone who lost their eyesight or mental acumen. Walking across the living room with a walker would be a thrill to one who is wheelchair-bound.
From prison, Paul wrote to his beloved friends in Phillipi, “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Phil. 4:4-9 MSG)

If I measure my life by what I have, my measuring cup overflows – with Jesus, my loving family and friends. When I find myself contemplating what I don’t have, I make the choice to follow Paul’s advice to meditate on what’s true and gracious, best not worst, beautiful not ugly… for that’s the secret to peace. 
How do you measure your life? 

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Something That Matters – Part One

Posted on by Susan Panzica
This afternoon, my daughter takes off for Hillsong International Leadership College in Sydney, Australia. One giant step closer to realizing her dream.

It seems like yesterday but 20 years ago, Lauren took her first dance lesson starting a lifelong love of dance and all things “arts”. Middle school spirit team introduced her to worship dance.

In high school, she started teaching others what she had learned. Mission trips expanded her understanding of the world and increased her compassion for those in need.

This month, she graduated college earning two degrees – a BFA in dance performance and a BA in dance education. And now she’s off to study Leadership in Dance Ministry at Hillsong in Sydney.

Why?
Why study more?
Why so far away?
Everyone asks these things [especially her dad wondering why she wants to go to the other side of the world for a year – and possibly meet some nice young Aussie gentleman – horrors!]

She smiles when she responds. Actually she more than smiles. She glows.

She has a dream, has had it for years. It sprung up from seeds planted and has grown and developed in unimaginable ways.

Her mission trips have taken her to remote undeveloped areas of the world. And she wondered what she can bring these people whose basic needs of water and food are barely met. Don’t you need to feed them before you can share the gospel? Yes. But she discovered something else. Through her dance and the arts, she was able to communicate love, and everyone needs love. Dance and art transcend language barriers. They connect different cultures.

Here is Lauren last year teaching preschoolers in northern Uganda, a region slowly healing after the world’s longest civil war: http://tinyurl.com/74dye2r 

Lauren’s dream, in a nutshell, is creating an Arts Center – a place for students to hang out, learn dance, art, acting, all varied ways of expression. But there’s more…

In 2006, a young man named Blake Mycoskie founded a shoe company with a new premise: “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for one.” Blake traveled to Argentina, saw the disease and the dire need for shoes for the children there, and founded a company that would provide a quality product and also meet that need.

Lauren wants a “One for one” program for her future Arts Center with a “sister school” in Africa. Every student here will support a student in Africa. Lauren has the vision. Her studies this year will provide the leadership training she’ll need to bring it to fruition.

Our family asks for your prayers as Lauren takes this next step of her life journey. You can follow her throughout at the year at:
Blog: laurenpanzica.wordpress.com
Twitter: twitter.com/laurenpanzica
YouTube: www.youtube.com/LaurenElizabethDance

I’m traveling to Australia with Lauren, spending a few days helping her get established.

My next post is a review of Blake Mycoskie’s book Start Something That Matters. As part of the review, I will be giving away 2 copies. It tells the story of TOMS shoes and inspires us all to purse something that matters. Keep tuned!!

Here’s The Latest!

Posted on by Susan Panzica


Here I go asking for you to keep me accountable and then no update for almost a month! Please accept my humblest apologies, but what a month it’s been! Crazy busy, but all good!  


Right after my last post, I served 5 days at the Touch The World training camp, teaching child evangelism and kids Bible stories to youth going on mission trips to Haiti, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Uganda. It was exhausting. And exhilarating. [btw- my son just got back from Uganda. He’ll be sharing with you in the near future.] 
I spent the following week preparing the message for our church’s Sunday morning sermon. I was week #2 in a four part series on John 11. We four each shared a different aspect of the raising of Lazarus story. My assignment – Mary and Martha. Click here to listen to the message for a different perspective on these two well-known women of the Word. Hint: “Martharization”  [click on download, not streaming]
The following week took me on a trip to Phoenix to visit my mom’s sister who has terminal pulmonary fibrosis. It was the living definition of “bittersweet.” My aunt has survived 2 years beyond expectations, but it is not without increasing difficulty. Despite that, my mom, sister, and I had a wonderful time with our extended family. Hours were spent reminiscing, laughing, eating, driving, eating, swimming, eating. Did I say we did a lot of eating? Please keep my aunt and her family in prayer during this difficult time. Thanks.
As for writing, I’m working on refining my book proposal which I hope to share with an interested editor or agent at the Philadelphia writers’ conference in August. Looking forward to connecting there with blogging friends Jeanette Levellie and Susan Reinhardt. If you’re a blogger, maybe you and I will connect face to face one day! If you’ll be at the conference, please be sure to let me know.
Well that’s the latest news. I will tell you – after the writers conference and a [long overdue] family vacation, be on the lookout for the promised “i am” series featuring a wonderful cast of characters!
Still need that accountability though. It’s so-o-o-o-o easy to get distracted. 

Hope you’re all having a fantastic summer! What’s new with you? 

And if you listened to the message – has your view of Mary and Martha changed? If so, in what way? 

Finishing Well

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Many thanks to all for your prayers and good wishes for AJ. He finished well!  He experienced some knee and hamstring issues about 3/4 through, but pressed on. 


He finished in 3:22:19.62 (8 minutes ahead of his goal time) qualifying him for the Boston Marathon. He placed #114 out of 1856 runners and in the top ten of runners age 20 -24 (he’s 20). 


Here’s some pics (thanks to Lauren, Anita, and Phi Sigma Kappa):


bright and early – start of a great day




before the race – mental prep




crossing the mile 4 & 8 bridge
“AJ’s running a marathon, yet still takes great pictures” Dave M.




“gonna fly now” (Eye of the Tiger – Rocky theme)



greeting his Phi Sig brothers at mile 11




approaching mile 23 hydration station (leading the 2nd pack)




mile 23 – recharged!! 




heading home!
“cue Chariots of Fire music here” Lauren




roommate James running the last mile with him




FINISH LINE!!! 




“Run in such a way as to get the prize
…to get a crown that will last forever.”
1 Cor. 9:24-25



I’m so proud of this boy. He sure isn’t perfect that I know. I don’t want to be  one of those blind “can you top this” moms. But he accomplished what few do. 
And it wasn’t just completing the marathon. 

He had over 30 supporters there – family, school friends, church friends. These wonderful people to whom I am most grateful sacrificed time and money to be there at the crack of dawn and lend their support to this zany kid (“he’s the happiest runner” Dave M). I know others wanted to be there, but supported him in other ways. Why? One of his fraternity brothers summed it up in a text “AJ’s always there for us. Let’s be there for him.”  

We reap what we sow (Gal. 6:8). Sunday’s victory was not gained on that day. It was the months of preparation that allowed him to go the distance. And the support that he received was because of his daily investment in the lives of others, over months and years of relationship.

“whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” 2 Cor. 9:6


http://www.razoo.com/story/Ajpanzica

Who Would Have Thought???

Posted on by Susan Panzica
When he was just a kindergartener, he was the smartest player on the soccer field. As all the little players swarmed the ball like bees around a hive, AJ waited patiently outside the crush for the ball to emerge, then singlehandedly (or singlefootedly?) ran the ball down the field to the goal. The coaches and parents marveled, “He’s going to be a great soccer player!” 
Until he quit. 
“I don’t like soccer. You have to run all the way down the field, then run all the way back again.” From then on, baseball was his true love, playing year round. 



In eighth grade, his homeroom teacher, Mr. Allen, was also the cross-country coach. When AJ told us he was going to run cross country, my husband and I fell over laughing, literally. But when he started finishing in first place, we stopped laughing. Turns out that it was “useless” running that AJ didn’t like. All that down the field and back again with no scoring was boring. But running through the countryside or down streets toward a finish line – in increasingly faster time – was an achievement. 



His high school coach, Mr. Apol, a model of what coaches should be, challenged and encouraged each student to better themselves according to their own ability. Cross country taught me so much about running the race of life, my early blogposts were peppered with XC stories. (Stay tuned for more on this next week!)



Now AJ, college student, is running the NJ Marathon! On Sunday May 1st, he will run 26 miles through several NJ shore towns. Once again, family and friends will be there cheering along the sidelines and at the finish line. 


This time, he’s raising money for a summer mission trip to Uganda. 


Now for the mom-pitch! Would you consider supporting AJ in this endeavor? 
First, please keep him in prayer:
– that he would run well and finish well 
– with no injury! (He’s been having some knee trouble during training.)
– that the weather would be favorable.


And second, if you feel so led, financial donations toward his mission trip go to Touch The World and can be made at: 

Donations can be made in any amount large or small, flat or per mile.


He, and we, thank you in advance for your prayer and/or financial support. 


Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith… Consider Him …, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb. 12:1, 3


ps – couldn’t resist adding this poem that AJ wrote and posted on facebook this morning:



‎’Twas the night before race day
and everyone knew
That twenty-six mile was
a whole lot to do.
My bones are all aching
my muscles all sore
Nervous cause no Panzica
has tried this before.
But I have a secret that
I want all to see
And that is my God
that lives inside me.
Cause when I cannot do it
and am falling apart
He holds me together
From my feet to my heart.










Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Posted on by Susan Panzica
A dear friend, Lynn Mosher, over at Heading Home has been doing a wonderful series, How To Behave Like a Christian, based on Romans 12:9-21. She graciously asked me (and other bloggers) to guest post. So today and next week, I’ll be sharing over there. Please check out today’s post on “sharing with God’s people who are in need” based on Romans 12:13a, and leave Lynn a comment.
“distributing to the needs of the saints,” Rom 12:13a NKJV

My 2 children have traveled the world on various short term mission trips for the last 9 years. This year’s trips have had perhaps the most profound impact of all their trips. After seeing a school in Uganda without a blackboard, my daughter’s team decided rather than simply purchase one, they’d try to raise awareness in their community of friends. The goal was to raise $100. They raised over $1000. Another girl, after seeing the bleeding feet of barefoot children, is working with Tom’s shoe company to donate shoes to children in Haiti. My son wants start a ministry to raise support for impoverished children to attend school. These youth have been called to “distribute to the needs of the saints.”

Since their trips, I have found myself “accidentally meditating.” A lyric from a favorite worship song, Hosanna, is just stuck in my head. “Break my heart for what breaks Yours…” Over 60 years ago, Dr. Bob Pierce prayed similar words: “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” In 1947, as a war correspondent and evangelist, he traveled to China with Youth for Christ, and his heart was broken by the needs of one little girl. Pledging a monthly sponsorship for her, Dr. Bob Pierce began World Vision to help children orphaned in the Korean War. In the decades that followed, World Vision has fulfilled the calling of Romans 12:13a “Share with God’s people who are in need” by providing global relief using clean water as an entry point into communities, following with other activities that create change and ultimately bring transformation through the gospel.

Last Christmas, our family participated in the Advent Conspiracy and substituted gifts for each other with the purchase clean water, sewing machines, a stocked fishing pond and a flock of sheep for those in need overseas. And closer to home, we take part in our church’s homeless ministry that meets the needs of men from a local Christian shelter.

All these ministries seek to meet the needs of those in need. But there are many NON-Christians who also care for the poor, who sacrifice life and limb to live in impoverished nations, who serve in the Peace Corps, the military, the inner cities, Indian reservations, homeless shelters, safe houses for abused…

As my meditation continued on what breaks God’s heart, I began to realize some other things, some personal things that break His heart. I silently but loudly heard His question to me: You can love people around the world, but can you love the person sitting next to you?

What breaks God’s heart? Not just children dying in Africa. I realized that it breaks God’s heart when my attitudes and actions represent the enemy more than they represent Him. While we need to care for the “least of these,” we ought not to do it out of obligation and then have Him say, “I never knew you.” (Matt.25) It grieves God when His people act like they don’t know Him. He’s not as grieved by sinners who act like sinners as He is by Christians who act like sinners. If we meet the physical needs of the poor, but are judgmental, critical, envious, prideful, angry, or filled with false Pharisee holiness, we are not obeying His call to holy living.

If we truly want to love our neighbor as ourselves, that includes loving the unlovely. “If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Any sinner does that. … In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” (Matt. 5:48 MSG)

As Christians, we must “share with God’s people who are in need.” And we must do so with the assurance that as we do, we are ministering to Jesus Himself. “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’ Matt. 25:35-40 NLT

My prayer today is found in the surrounding lyrics of “Hosanna”:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity

May it be your prayer too!

Get Wrecked

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Normally, I’d never suggest getting wrecked in any way. But yesterday the youth shared about their mission trips with us, and after sharing about his time in Haiti, Alex’s closing comment was “God wrecked me for the ordinary.” WOW – now that’s statement worthy of repeating repeatedly! I even used it for my facebook status. 

The youth were anything but ordinary as they shared their experiences on the mission field and since their return.  James and Dave were in Ireland developing relationships with the Irish youth and establishing drop-in centers where they will continue to serve as safe hangout places throughout the year. One highlight for James was an Irish teen that remembered him from last year and sought him out to further grow their relationship. It was a confirmation, not only that God wanted James to be there, but that the work that began last year bore fruit and would continue to increase.


Chanel was a team member on the trip to the Bahamas that AJ led. At 13 years old, she “knew it was time for me to go.” Oh, that we adults would have such assurances from the Lord, and that we would act on them.

Bahamas seems like an idyllic spot for a missions trip, doesn’t it? But the team there (all junior high-ers) did back-breaking heavy-duty construction work for Camp Bahamas, a camp for inner city children from Nassau. On Eleuthera, there is no fresh water supply, so the young teens had to descend into a huge “pit,” a giant cistern to capture rainwater, and use jackhammers to level out the bottom to prepare it for cement. It was 15 degrees hotter down there than the 100+ degrees on the surface. Idyllic? Not so much. They also did hard landscape construction work. Then, in the afternoons, they ran a VBS for the local children.


AJ is planning to write a post himself regarding his experiences, but let me just share his closing remark – “I’m trying to structure my day so that at the end of the day, I’m not embarrassed to talk to God.” Again, the Lord mightily used a youth to minister to us “wise” adults.


You’ll be hearing lots more in a later post regarding Lauren’s trip. So much to share! But for now, this was her closing comment regarding the Christians and the church in Uganda – “Instead of trying to move God, they let God move them.”

O Lord, please keep me from trying to persuade You to my feeble desires. Help me to sense Your leading and be obedient to it. Please move me that I might align with You. Move my spirit to complete dependence upon You.

In one of the slide show pictures, I spotted a child in a t-shirt that read JUST DID IT. As I listened to the testimonies, I thought that it was so appropriate. Nike says “Just Do It.” These teens DID it! I wanna do it too! Do you? Do you want to get wrecked for the ordinary?


Shower of Blessing

Posted on by Susan Panzica

To celebrate our anniversary, Tony and I spent 2 lovely days at the Jersey shore. After a day of salt, sand and surf, my time in the shower was awesome, not just cleansing, but revitalizing. My thoughts drifted to Jesus describing Himself as “living water.”

As the water poured in a steady stream, my thoughts drifted some more. I thought of my daughter, Lauren in Uganda using a bucket for her shower, and how much more will she enjoy a “real” shower when she gets home.

And then I thought about the people she is serving, the people who live there permanently and will only ever have bucket showers. My daughter’s team is small part of a year-round ministry to provide these people with a new well (as well as a sustainable farm and a vocational training center). How much more do these people know what the term LIVING water really means. Their lives depend upon the life-giving water from the well.

When Jesus met the woman at the well, He told her “whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   John 4:14

Thirst is a craving – drinking water quenches our physical need. Jesus, of course, is talking about providing “water” that quenches our soul’s needs. Too often, we seek after earthly means to meet those needs: work, relationships, food, drugs, entertainment. But, as Jesus said, these do not satisfy. We will thirst again and again. Only He can truly satisfy our deepest needs.

As with the Samaritan woman at the well, God comes to us where we are. He meets our needs and arouses in us a thirst that can only be quenched by Him. May we respond as she did, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty…”

To support the life-giving work in Uganda, contact www.ttwuganda.com.