Libraries of Love Letter

Dear Blog Followers,
Hello! I hope this letter finds you happy and healthy. I have news that may surprise you! I recently made the decision to go on a trip to Uganda, Africa. I, and other members of my church, have decided to participate in an amazing organization called Libraries of Love. I will be leaving in June and will be in Uganda for about 20 days. I have begun the not so fun process of getting my traveling shots, but it will all be worth it because of what I will be doing in Uganda.
Our team will be going to help with Libraries of Love, which is a nonprofit group that provides libraries for public schools. We will be traveling to Uganda to build bookshelves, arrange the books in proper library order, and decorate the libraries. We will then train the students and teachers to use their libraries. We will also be helping to restock 7 existing libraries in Uganda.  As a teacher, I know how essential a fully stocked library is to a child’s education.  This trip will allow me to use my teaching skills and my love of children to help change their community for the better. While there, I will also have the opportunity to visit some orphanages, help in other community projects, and share my faith with others.
I will be raising all of my own funds for the trip and I hope you are able to support me on this journey.  A donation of just 20 dollars would supply me with food for an entire week! Any amount will help and your prayers during June would also be greatly appreciated.
I also have begun a blog at http://forkintheroad318.blogspot.com/ to document this remarkable experience. I plan on writing about my reasons for wanting to work with LOL, the trip itself, and reflections on it after the mission has been completed. Please help me to spread the word about my trip to all that you know. If you have any questions or would like more information about the trip, you know how I love to talk! Thank you for all of your support and consideration.

Sincerely yours,

Lani  Maldonado

P.S. Take a look at www.librariesoflove.org for more information!

Short and Sweet

WOW!!! So after the Blizzard of 2011, I survived. I had almost a whole week off of school, and unfortunately was sick the entire week. In a weird way, it was a blessing that we didn’t have school so I did not have to use any of my sick days. Funny thing, is that I keep seeing God work his amazing blessings throughout this week.
    I am so thankful for everything that he is doing in my life, and those around me. I have been reading a lot in Nehemiah from start to finish and then back again. I truly believe that after fervent prayer just like Nehemiah “ the hand of God” has been laid upon my life. It is so interesting to see that when my mind is focused on visualizing positive things and I am having a child-like faith, that God is working so hard in my life. We have been learning a lot about having dreams and with those dreams come the passion that leads us to continue on with living out those dreams. I feel so strongly right now about how God is using this knowledge as a tool to something even bigger. Please keep me in your prayers as I have put my deposit down for Africa and so far everything has just been going so well. I am sorry this post is so short but it has really been a crazy week of getting back into the swing of things. Please also send any thoughts, questions, comments to maldonadolani@gmail.com if you are not able to post on the blog.