STORIES FROM THE LULU TREE
All of life is made up of stories. The Lulu Tree is dedicated to preserving our family’s stories, and representing the glory of God in every story we share.
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Stories from the Past…
Becoming Family in a Third World Country
I’m seated with dozens of other mothers under a pink jasmine tree in the Pearl of Africa. The air is sweet and sticky, like toffee melted in the 95 degree sun, and we’re hunting shade by the long wall that circles this two acres of school dorms. Pink feathered...
A Day by Day Account of Christmas with the Wierenga’s in Uganda
It's been a dream of mine, this bringing of my husband and children to a land I fell for five years ago, head over stumbling heels. A land of fresh avocado and shoe-less children, of wide smiles and giggling babies and mothers that can't sleep for their hunger. A land...
The Union of Two Worlds (and, a Gift for the New Year)
Post by Erica Hale, VP of The Lulu Tree It's hard sometimes, living in two worlds. Here, in the United States, a skiff of snow dusts the ground and the frozen grass pokes stiffly through. In the waning light, Christmas lights start to blink on one house at a time--the...
In which we spend Christmas in Uganda
Hi dear friends. This is Emily. Since founding The Lulu Tree four and a half years ago, my husband (Trent) and children {Aiden (9), Kasher (7.5) and Aria (3.5)} have patiently put up with my coming and going to Africa, with my tears and my sleepless nights and my...
Holding the Rope
by Joanne Viola, The Lulu Tree Treasurer When you follow The Lulu Tree for years, since the beginning of its formation, a mystery takes place in your spirit. The people, the faces, the growth all become personal as the mystery of an attachment begins to root deeply in...
In Which We Give Thanks
Today we want to focus entirely on God's goodness to The Lulu Tree and all the beautiful ways He is moving and answering prayer for His Name's sake and the good of His children all over the world. Next Thursday is American Thanksgiving, so you will not receive a...
The Orphaned Church of Kakola Village
By Mommy Emily Outside the church building, morning glories rise, white petals lifted like pale faces to receive the sun. We pile out of Pastor Sonnel’s van on our visit of 14 villages and the churches we partner with through the microloan program here in Sierra...
The Boys in the Rice Fields of West Africa – Vision Trip to Sierra Leone, 2018
By Mommy Emily I’m doing dishes at the kitchen sink, autumn leaves skipping like giggling children across the yard. I’ve been home for five days now -- having led a team of four (three board members and a social media director) to Sierra Leone, West Africa -- and my...
The Shepherds of Sierra Leone
By Erica Hale, VP of The Lulu Tree He weeps as he speaks of the struggles his people face, and I can see the way he carries the weight of Sierra Leone on his broad shoulders—the way his heart breaks open a little wider every day, making room for the flock he shepherds...
We Did Not Go To “Help” Them: The Lulu Tree Vision Trip to Sierra Leone, October 2018
By Haley Simmons, Social Media Director When I share of my time in Africa, it will not sound like your normal mission trip. We did not go to Sierra Leone to help build houses, play with children, nor provide for the local people. Rather, we went to witness what God...