Thank you for your interest in our journey towards life in Uganda. Many of you have questions and our aim is to answer some of the most common ones. But, as always, please feel free to contact us directly if you do not see your question answered below or if you would like further details.
Blessings,
The Torps
1. How can we pray for you?
We love this question because it gets at the core of who we are. We know that apart from God we cannot do this. We covet the prayers of people who recognize that prayer moves mountains. Here are some prayer requests that we need answered: 1) Our desire is the same as Mose’s in Exodus 33:15. Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here”. We ask that you pray God’s presence and favor over every step of this journey. 2) Christian needs a job working in the field of law in Uganda. God has given him an amazing skill set and tool in the form of his Law Degree. His desire is to use those skills to make a difference in Uganda. We cannot move forward until this prayer is answered. With Law School loans coming due, we cannot afford to move to Uganda without a means of income for Christian. 3) Provision. We are so blessed to have friends and family who love us and support our dream. But, this journey will take a great deal of funding (see how much in question #3). We know that one of the names ascribed to God in Hebrew in the Bible is Jehova-jireh. He provided the ram in the bush for Abraham and we know He will do the same for us. 4) Logistics: We will need work Visas, a house with reasonable rent in a safe location, reliable transportation, and for the airlines not to lose our cats. In short, we need so many little things to come together to create the big picture. We ask you to pray that the Lord hides us from the schemes of the enemy as we move towards the goals He has given us in our hearts.2. Why Uganda? Don’t we have problems here in the United States that need to be addressed?
We have to respect people that would ask this question. It is by far the #1 question we are asked at speaking engagements, by friends and family, and by complete strangers. 1) The Holy Spirit confirmed the call in our hearts. We have prayed and fasted, and sought very wise council from people who speak into our lives regularly. We know in our hearts and Spirits that this is the direction God is taking us. However, we will continue to serve where ever and however God leads us. If He is “no respecter of persons” then He is no respecter of neighborhoods. And, for us our neighbors are indeed here in the States, but also in Africa , and all over the world. 2) The Bible. Mark 16:15 says “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Not everyone is called overseas. The “body of Christ” is made up of many parts. He may be calling you to reach your neighborhood, your city, or our Nation. But, he is calling us at this time to reach out to Africa. And, our reaching Africa does not mean we stop there. We will continue to support ministries in the States as well as other places abroad with our prayers, our financial giving, and our support. 3) We too believe the United States needs a revival. If you have this question we would ask you what you yourself are doing in the United States to help? Again, we are committed to serving God wherever He has us. For us, to ignore this call would be ignoring the Gospels. As philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said “The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take a few words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly.” We also believe as Mother Teresa did that “Calcuttas are everywhere ; we only have to have eyes to see”. If you are concerned with America (and you are right to be) and do not yet have a place to serve out your convictions, we would be happy to put you in touch with some amazing ministries doing amazing work here in the U.S. Partner with them to make a difference.3) How much money are you trying to raise?
The budget we need to raise is $2000 per month. This may sound like an extravagant amount for a third world country but, we must give you some context. Our rent in the United States is $500 per month. We were shocked to learn that it will roughly be the same in Uganda. The electricity and water are very unstable in Uganda. When the water is not available, we will need to buy large containers of water for eating, drinking, and bathing. Because of the lack of proper medical facilities we also need to purchase insurance that would allow us to be flown out of Uganda and to a better equipped hospital in South Africa if we were injured or fell gravely ill. The cost of that insurance is nearly $400 per month. We need to remain on Malaria medication and de-worming medications on a regular and consistent basis. Medication is an additional expense. The price of petrol (gas) in Uganda fluctuates but is currently somewhere near $7 US per gallon. Kampala, Uganda is roughly 5 hours away and is where we will need to obtain supplies once per month. Uganda is not like the West. We cannot transport our bed with us and there are no Mattress Discounters there. We have to have the simplest things, such as a bed , made from scratch for us. Finally, besides food, utilities, and other expenses we need to raise money to come to the United States once per year in the month of June for Christian to complete the necessary credits he needs to maintain his Law License and good standing with the Bar Association.4) Will you be safe? I mean, the war has been going on for over 20 years and the rebels are still fighting!
We are blessed by the love and concern of our friends and supporters. But, our view on dying for the Gospel can be summed up by Christian martyr Jim Elliot’s famous quote:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
We are not brave, special, or “super spiritual”. We have to rely totally on Christ, not our own power. We are Christ-followers who are answering the call no matter the cost. We truly believe it is worth the danger to see people set free. Poverty, war, rape, murder, and helplessness cannot be the legacy of such a beautiful people. God sent His Son to redeem the lost and we need to make sure that we do everything we can to relay that message. He sent the Holy Spirit to give us the power to do what needs to be done.
This does not mean that we will not be wise. We will most likely need to hire an armed guard. And, we will take all necessary precautions to be safe. But, we will not let fear deter us from going where He called us.
5) How can we give to your mission trip?
We are blessed by the fact that you would like to support us and we are eternally thankful. Without donations we will be unable to get to Uganda. There are two ways to give:
1) Send a check or money order made out to Zion Project. It is very important for you to be able to receive credit as a tax deductible donation that you NOT write the check directly to Christian and I. In the memo line please designate that this is for our mission trip by writing “Mission Trip“. That will alert Zion Project’s accountant that the money is to go into a fund designated for our trip. They will send you the proper tax deduction information during tax season.
Please mail the checks or money orders to:
Christian and Tanya Torp 328 Ohio Street Unit B Lexington, KY 40508Once per month we will mail any funds that come in directly to Zion Project after we record the information for our personal records as well.
2) Pay Pal. If you are unfamiliar with PayPal, it is a quick, secure, and easy way to use your donations utilizing several different payment methods that are available check, debit card, and credit cards are all accepted. It is fast and secure. Below is a link to a dedicated Pay Pal account for Christian and I.
<form action=”https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr” method=”post”> NOTE: We are having difficulty with the link. It should be fixed prior to March 1. 2011. We apologize for the delay.
Good luck and God bless.