Introducing the Sisters

Kelli Moles

Kelli Moles is currently living in New York City, and her heart for Africa began when Kyle and Kelli decided to do what few couples would do and spend their honeymoon in Africa. The first week of the honeymoon was spent in Kenya on a safari, and then they joined Kelli’s sister (Amy Shackelford) and her three friends for a week and volunteered in an orphanage in Uganda, Africa. Kyle and Kelli began their marriage serving some of the world’s poorest people together.

Seven months after her return to the states, if Kelli had forgotten Africa, it hadn’t forgotten her. Inside Kelli’s body was a disease called Malaria that had been dormant for seven months. After twelve scary days of battling for her life, the disease was identified and Kelli was given the medicine to fight it.

As Kelli lay in intensive care, she began to think of the small children she had met in Africa that had fought this disease and were not given the medical attention they deserved. Her heart began to break for the people in our world who do not get their basic needs met. Kelli vowed that day to fight for people who deserve a chance to fight a treatable disease.

The following Spring, Kelli organized multiple fundraisers and raised $6,000 to provide medicine and mosquito nets to people in Africa. She found joy in joining people together to see change in the world. Her husband Kyle and her decided, “We haven’t done enough, there is still more we can do.” This is when the dream of building a health clinic was born.

Kelli talked with her friends and coworkers to brainstorm ideas for events. Ultimately, the team planned six events, from a three-on-three basketball tournament to a cocktail hour. The team ended up raising $38,000. Kyle and Kelli’s first trip to Africa changed their lives, so they decided to organize a trip to Africa so others could have the same. In September of 2008, thirteen of their friends traveled back to Ghana to work on construction of the health clinic.

Kelli believes that God will continue to use her in Africa. When the opportunity came around for her to apply for “Bankers without Borders,” a project that partners her company, J.P. Morgan, and the Grameen Foundation, she jumped at the chance. Please see the website for more information about the foundation: http://www.grameenfoundation.org/

The Grameen foundation focuses on fighting poverty through microfinance. The foundation focuses on mainly women and loans them small amounts of money so that they can start small businesses.

Kelli will combine her finance skills and her passion for Africa together to work on this project.

Amy Shackelford

Amy Shackelford went with three of her best friends to Uganda, Africa for nine weeks in the summer of 2006. The girls served at an orphanage and taught at a local school. It was that summer that the girls founded a women’s ministry called Unveiled Women’s Ministry that is in operation today. It is also that summer that Amy fell in love with a little boy named Tony and her life was forever changed. She had promised herself that she would never fall in love with one kid; because she knew it would make the reality of poverty so much more clearly to her. She knew that her world would never be the same if she had a clear face to poverty. To learn more about the "Four Hearts" trip to Uganda visit http://www.xanga.com/fourheartsforafrica

The four girls dreamed of doing more in Africa and the Lord opened up the doors for the girls to facilitate adoptions out of the orphanage they were working at. The adoptions were a miracle because in the past people had to live in Uganda for three years before they were allowed to adopt. Through the grace of God the doors were opened and the new adventure began.

The process was not easy and if it weren’t for the brave men and women that took these children into their homes, there is no telling where the children would be today. The first three children were brought home and then another one followed. In the summer of 2007, Amy and her friend Bethany went back to help with four more adoptions. This trip was extra special because this time it was Tony’s turn to have a family. Eight children later and her heart completely changed, Amy is forever connected to Africa.

Unveiled Women’s Ministry has continued to work in Uganda and currently has two girls in Africa for six months. To read about their mission you can visit: http://loveforugandanorphans.blogspot.com/. Two more girls will be joining them for two months in May. The Director of Missions, Stacie Shaw, is currently researching opportunities for Unveiled Women’s Ministry to make the biggest impact possible in Uganda, Africa. To read more about Unveiled Women’s Ministry go to: http://www.unveiledwomensministry.org/ensministry.org/.

Amy is excited about the opportunity to assist her sister with this new project in Ghana Africa. She can’t wait to get back on the continent and do the work the Lord has called her to do.