Personal Update

We enjoyed a wonderful 3 day “respite” with Pastor Micah and Grace.  We have so enjoyed the hospitality and the joyful personalities of all of Grace’s dear sisters, nieces and of course their daughters Reba and Grace. We have been able to sleep in, take naps, Pastor Micah taught Jonas some tips when playing checkers, played UNO with Grace, soccer in the backyard, the kids even got to watch a little TV!, got caught up on some laundry, delicious meals, and lots and lots of tea (chai)! It has been a perfect break in between our busy schedules and full agendas, and so nice to be able to just “hang out”.  And of course the worship at UCF on Sunday was a powerful, refreshing experience….a dream come true to be under that green and white striped tent!  We are hoping the next time we get to worship with them it will be under the roof of their new building!

We are all doing great health-wise!  We cannot tell you how much we appreciate all your prayers as we have not had one single episode of stomach or bowel issues!  (The one time Alea threw up was from overheating on the bus with no air, it was not an intestinal issue).  And we’ve barely seen any mosquitos!  Alea has lots of other little bites (not sure what they are) but they do not itch or bother her at all.  Jonas has lots of chigger bites on his legs, everyone has sunburns that are peeling, but we are seriously doing great!  The food situation has been the opposite of what you’d expect….we are usually so stuffed! Definitely not losing any weight here! Even just the large amounts of tea that we drink fill our bellies!  And the kids have drank more pop here in Africa than they have in their whole lives (we don't let them have it back home in the US!) Sad to think that soda is more readily available to drink here than clean water! Also, the only cold showers we've had so far were at Mombasa (at the coast), and it was so hot and we were so sunburned that they felt good!

We just got back to Kampala (using Micah and Grace's house as our "home base"....seriously feels like we are coming home....we are welcomed so lovingly and cheerfully!) after a wonderful visit out to Musana Camp (where Syd & Andrea Sparks serve with New Hope) on beautiful Lake Victoria! It was a loong bumpy ride to get there, but it was such a great time of fellowship with the other missionaries and staff there.  We had an extensive tour of the camp, enjoyed more delicious food, slept in a tent, and swam in the lake.  The kids all had fun playing together and running around the camp. It was neat to see all the development and progress the camp has made and to hear about the wonderful plans in store that God has for the future of the camp!  It is definitely a very special place! (more photos and a very special story to come).

Tommorrow we are meeting up with our 2nd team to head out to Kasana Children's Center (with New Hope) and will get to finally meet our 10 kids!!!  That is when the cold showers and mosquitos will begin. Uganda has definitely been hotter than Kenya...there were many times that we were down-right cold in Kenya.  

Thank you for your patience as we have had such limited access to internet.  The electricity goes out here in Kampala every-other-night, Pastor Micah's computer was giving us trouble....so there's always something.  Uploading pictures has been very slow.  For every picture we post, there are 25 more we are not posting.  And for every picture we take, there are 100s more we are not taking.  Our famous last words are "that would've been an awesome picture...." as we go zooming past in the van.  Often it has not been appropriate to take pictures where we are....the people are human beings not scenery.  We must protect their dignity.  Often it is not safe to have our camera out.  We just have to pray that these sights and images we are seeing will be permanently impressed on our hearts and minds.  You truly have to be here yourself to capture it...a picture does not even come close.  Thank you again to all of you who have allowed our family this tremendous opportunity to see and experience it all....we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude! 

First Love Kids



Joey teaching Annette to read.  At 12 years old, this is her first year in school (she and her sister Purity just joined First Love in May).  Being the oldest, Annette had to stay home from school to care for their ailing grandmother and make items to sell for the family's food.  Purity (age 9) was in school and can read.  Annette is very bright, motivated and a quick learner!  She just simply needs more time and 1-on-1 instruction.  Anyone want to take an extended trip to Kenya to become her personal tutor?  She is a complete joy!



The 7:00 jam session....the most lively family devotions you will ever experience! Drums and dancing and singing
to God at the top of their lungs!  Definitely a highlight of our trip so far!  We all have those songs stuck in our heads, even now in Uganda, we can't get them out! Praise God!



Purity, Anissa, Annette, Alea....a new family united by Christ's love!



Modeling their new dresses and holding new clothes after their "shopping spree" from all the clothes we brought (from our church's Clothing Outreach Center, the Clothes Closet in Lake Geneva, and some of you who personally dontated...thank you!!!)

Reading to Purity.

First Love's first ever weenie and marshmellow roast!  They just built the fire pit the week we were there and we had our devotions around the fire that night!  Something about drums and a bonfire!  It was awesome!  Instead of hotdog buns, we ate them with chipates (tortillas).

Joey and Immaculate.

The kitchen staff and Irene making chipates for the big wheenie roast!

Balls are made out of wadded up socks, plastic wrapped up and wadded (like Alea's holding), anything they can tie up in a round bundle.  We even saw jumpropes made out of long pieces of grass tied end to end.

Joey reading "The Jesus Storybook Bible" for devotions....we read through as much of it as we could the two weeks we were there, then left it in their dorm library for them to finish on their own.  Devotions start off with 20-30 of drumming/dancing/praise music, then they all sit in these plastic chairs for the teaching (which Joey and Anissa took turns doing each night), then it ends with the entire room on their knees for a closing prayer, a worship song, and a benediction recited in unison!  Talk about a powerful experience!  Can you imagine having that joyful communion with the Holy Spirit every single night!?!  We never made it through with a dry eye!

Mud houses on the way to Mombasa

Jerry cans are vital here for carrying water.

Just as Alea did not choose to be born in the USA, this little girl next to her did not choose to be born in a 3rd world country.  There is no difference between the needs of these two children.....both need food, shelter, clothing, medicine, protection, education, and love.  None of us get to choose if we are born into abundance or poverty, but we do get to choose how we use the resources we have been blessed with....skill, finances, time, talents, education, etc.  Aside from one boy burned and marred all over his body, we have not been approached by a single African begging for money....they approach you with things to buy...handicrafts they have made, fruit they have picked, etc.  They take pride in "earniing" a living; they do not beg for handouts.  But yet you can hear the desperation in their voice and the pleading in their eyes when they ask you to buy something.  In America, we work hard at our jobs, then go home to our comforts...in Africa they work hard from sun-up to sun-down just to survive.  Everything takes effort...washing clothes by hand, hauling and boiling water, cooking with charcoal over a tiny stove, and trying to sell just one item to buy food for the day. 

Samuel, from Raila School who befriended Jonas and stole our family's heart gave so generously out of what little he had...one day he brought us a DVD (which are a very popular, quick sell in the slums so he could've gotten money for it; a very valuable item)...one day he brought us a small Bible (which he assured us he had another one at home)...one day he brought a chapter book....and one day he brought this green hat that Jonas has worn almost every day since.  It is one thing to give out of abundance, but it is another thing to give out of what little you have.  We have been so blessed by the joy, the generosity, the sense of gratitude and the contagious smiles of those who have so little,