Support Letter (see below for VIDEO!)

Here is my support letter... kind of edited to be a blog version!


Hi! It’s me… Brynn!

Well, I’ve seen or talked to SOME of you recently, but some it’s been far too long! But if you got this letter it means you are an influential person in my life and I care about you, and I want to update you on what I’ve been up to lately! I also want to share with you what the next year has in store for me.

I am currently finishing up my second year of school at the University of WI- Milwaukee, pursuing a double major in Film and Global Studies with an emphasis on Communications. The “college life” is everything that I hoped for and more. I have wonderful and fun friends, I am involved in a nearby church called Epikos, my classes are challenging and interesting, I work at a restaurant called Anaba Tea Room, and I tutor two first graders at a homeless shelter once a week. I am incredibly busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One big thing that has been on my heart for the past few years now is Uganda. This beautiful country is currently in the midst of what is now Africa’s longest running war. For over two decades now, a rebel group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has terrorized northern Uganda- abducting children and forcing them to fight and kill. The northern Ugandans (the Acholi tribe) have been forced to move into Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, but the conditions in the camps are not good and food is scarce. Currently, the LRA is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda has thus been “at peace” for two and a half years. But it is not secure. No one knows when the rebels will return, but everyone expects that they will eventually.

As some of you know, last summer I went to Uganda with my friend Bryce. We went simply to help with a young organization (now 3 years old) called Village of Hope (www.villageofhopeuganda.com). VOH is currently in the process of preparing 100 acres of land for 400 orphans and ex-child soldiers of the war. The land is in an area of Uganda that is safe and war-free (so the kids won’t have to worry about being abducted again) and VOH is building houses and schools as well as planting acres and acres of agricultural fields for subsistence farming. Their goal and vision is that these kids will be safe and have hope for a future- for themselves as well as their future families. Last summer, Bryce and I spent five weeks there meeting these amazing kids who have escaped from the rebels, learning first-hand about the horrors of the current civil war, clearing land for agricultural fields, setting up solar panels so the village will have power, and hauling water for the construction workers.

Needless to say, my heart is stuck in Uganda. I can’t learn about the conflict and meet those kids and NOT go back to help. I believe and support the mission that VOH is fulfilling in Uganda right now; I want to see these kids safe and full of hope. The only way this can happen, though, is if VOH gets the rest of the needed funds as soon as possible! The more people who hear about VOH, the more funds will come in. Here’s where I can help… this fall for four months (August 18-December 19) I will be leading a team to Uganda to make a documentary for VOH. The documentary will tell the story of how VOH began, the stage it is at, and where it is going. We are hoping to highlight a couple kids who are currently living in the IDP camps, but will eventually move to the land. Documenting this transition will be huge, and will help people here in the United States see that change is taking place and that their money is helping!

I have already bought my plane ticket for this trip, which was $1700. I feel so blessed to have been able to buy that, but I can’t make this trip a reality on my own. I still need about $3000 for transportation, food, lodging, and film equipment. I would like to invite you to partner with me by supporting me financially on this endeavor. If you would like to contribute, just send cash or a check to my personal address (email me for the address)! If you would like to receive a tax-deductible receipt for your donation, make your check out to Village of Hope, but please put my name in the memo!

Even more importantly, please pray for our team as we are preparing for this trip and while we are in Uganda. We have a lot of planning, work, and hardships ahead, and it will not be possible without the power of prayer backing everything we do and every decision we make! Prayer is a huge way that you can be a part of our team.

I wish I could introduce you to all of my amazing team members… but since I can’t, we made a video that introduces us all and explains a bit about our goals for this trip! Please check it out at www.filmforhopeuganda.blogspot.com. This is our team blog, which we will update throughout the trip with stories and photographs from our four months in Uganda. I also have a personal blog, www.whereisbrynn.blogspot.com. This is the blog that I will be using to write more personally about what’s going on in my heart and my head, and what God is teaching me. Save both sites to your favorites and be sure to check them regularly for updates! Lastly, we have a team email as well. If you’d like to join our email list (we will send out updates whenever we update our blog, etc), shoot a quick email with your name to filmforhopeuganda@gmail.com.
THANK YOU! Feel free to contact me with ANY questions!

Also, take a look at my photographs from Uganda last summer at:
www.brynnungertravels.carbonmade.com
(You have SO many websites to look up! Don’t get overwhelmed!)

Thank you!
Brynn Unger