I started volunteering for Lahash in March 2006 after watching several movies set in East Africa (such as Invisible Children documentary, The Constant Gardener) then heard Daniel Holcomb speak at my church about his fledgling organization, Lahash International. I emailed Dan that night, and by the next afternoon, we were having coffee in a Starbucks near my office. I doubt there has been any other 24 hour period of time that has changed my life as dramatically.
I started volunteering every week to help organize finances for the organization and served on the board. In December 2006 I traveled to East Africa for the first time, and then I was really hooked. I continued volunteering, and traveled again in August 2007. I traveled twice in 2008 and joined the Lahash staff part-time in anticipation of moving to Africa. In September 2009 I joined Lahash International full time and moved to Tanzania. All this to say, for 9.5 of the past 10 years of Lahash's existence, I have been on the front lines, watching as God has used a diverse group of volunteers, travelers, sponsors and donors to have an effect on the lives of hundreds of children in East Africa and thousands of people in the Western world. Check out some of the work God has done through Lahash.
And Number 11: Me. I might be the person most totally and dramatically affected by my involvement with Lahash International. If it weren't for this organization, I wouldn't have ever met my husband, my kids, and my life here in East Africa. I thank God for bringing Dan and Lahash across my path at a crucial time in my life, when I was struggling in my faith and frustrated in my career. It was a dramatic right turn away from selfishness and the American Dream toward social justice, engagement with the poor, cross-cultural relationships and, most importantly, closer to the heart of God.
It's been an incredible decade. Thank you, Lahash, and thank God for you.
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