Hello all!
Well, it has been a week since I arrived in Africa. On one hand, it seems like it has been a very long time, but on the other, it seems like this is just routine life.
I think that all of our hard work days are over and that from now on we will be doing more work on building relationships with different organizations. We will probably work on cleaning up two different orphanages next week just to help them maintain their productivity. There are so many mouths to feed, diapers to change, and faces to wash that some of the upkeep on buildings is overlooked.
Yesterday was the first rain they have had here in months (they got no rain during the normal rainy season). Generally the storms roll in, dump lots of rain, and roll out 10 minutes later. Yesterday was a torrential downpour for a couple of hours. it was definitely a different experience being in a tin roofed building with leaks in it instead of in the basement of my house in the midst of the storm. God was showing His might for sure!
The rain didn't keep the kids away during VBS though...we had over 200 village children there to sing, dance, have a snack, and do crafts. It was chaos, but they enjoy seeing the white people (mzungu) in their village. Two little boys, Michael and Joshua, stole my heart! So cute !
Today at church our 3 pastors gave the message so it was a shorter service than usual for the Africans...but it was still 2 1/2 hours long! At the end our team went on stage to pray for any villagers that wanted to be prayed over - we women prayed in teams of 2 for women & children. So amazing to hear that some heartaches are the same around the world, but also that so many here are affected in some way by HIV/AIDS and they wish to be healed from that.
The villagers had made us lunch so we ate inside the wooden church structure made of limbs and bark. Amazing how little they get by on for church buildings in some places.
Yeah for Sunday! Week 2 in Africa has begun! Excited to see what all God has in store this week...please keep praying for us all - some have been sick. Thanking the Lord that I have not been sick, no headaches, and no major injuries!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Apologies!
Hello friends and family!
I apologize for the lack of photos (and updates!) so far!
Today (Wednesday) we were able to go to an African market and do some bartering for items. Some were a good deal and some were not, but hey, that's the breaks of the game. I do not barter well. I figure that I have the money and they don't, but I did my best.
After that we risked our lives by running through the traffic here (something like Amazing Race traffic!) to go to a place for pizza. It was tasty, but not sure death by boda (motorcycle) was worth it!
The women then went to Hope House which is a program for women from the slums that have had rough prior lives. Many of them have several children and just needed someone to believe in them...and someone did! So they make jewelry (GORGEOUS!!) in order to make some money for food for their families. So inspiring - we all shared our stories which was awesome!
Then the team went to the slums and worked with a feeding program they do 5 nights a week for about 40 children. We (well, 6 of our team) played soccer with them in the heat of the day for about 30 minutes or so...we mazungu (white folks) played with the assistance of the adult helpers and won the game! The boys were disappointed! I was just exhausted! :) But it was a whole lot of fun!
The past two days our team spent outside a village about 30 minutes from Kampala building a house that will be a home for 16 boys from the streets! We threw bricks for 2 days and I was able to get out in the 'bush' and take a machete to it! Talk about hard work! But what fun - and worth it to get an orphan off the streets!
It has been such an experience and we still have a week of work left! Please be praying for the Pastor's conference that will be happening tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday. They are expecting up to 800 pastors to show up! It will be amazing.
The majority of our team will be building a kitchen for a school tomorrow. Lots of heat and lots of work mean a good night's sleep! :)
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support...I will do my best to keep updating the blog.
Blessings!
I apologize for the lack of photos (and updates!) so far!
Today (Wednesday) we were able to go to an African market and do some bartering for items. Some were a good deal and some were not, but hey, that's the breaks of the game. I do not barter well. I figure that I have the money and they don't, but I did my best.
After that we risked our lives by running through the traffic here (something like Amazing Race traffic!) to go to a place for pizza. It was tasty, but not sure death by boda (motorcycle) was worth it!
The women then went to Hope House which is a program for women from the slums that have had rough prior lives. Many of them have several children and just needed someone to believe in them...and someone did! So they make jewelry (GORGEOUS!!) in order to make some money for food for their families. So inspiring - we all shared our stories which was awesome!
Then the team went to the slums and worked with a feeding program they do 5 nights a week for about 40 children. We (well, 6 of our team) played soccer with them in the heat of the day for about 30 minutes or so...we mazungu (white folks) played with the assistance of the adult helpers and won the game! The boys were disappointed! I was just exhausted! :) But it was a whole lot of fun!
The past two days our team spent outside a village about 30 minutes from Kampala building a house that will be a home for 16 boys from the streets! We threw bricks for 2 days and I was able to get out in the 'bush' and take a machete to it! Talk about hard work! But what fun - and worth it to get an orphan off the streets!
It has been such an experience and we still have a week of work left! Please be praying for the Pastor's conference that will be happening tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday. They are expecting up to 800 pastors to show up! It will be amazing.
The majority of our team will be building a kitchen for a school tomorrow. Lots of heat and lots of work mean a good night's sleep! :)
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support...I will do my best to keep updating the blog.
Blessings!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Finally
In Uganda finally! We arrived yesterday morning and went directly to the work site and started building a house...well, we threw about a thousand bricks down a human chain from the main pile to the other end of the house. They allowed all of us lay a single brick, but I'm guessing they redid it when we left. On the way for day 2!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
London...
Is it possible to "see" London in a day? Well, technically yes, but you can't see it well! We hit all the cursory landmarks via tour bus and ate fish and chips for lunch. Doesn't get much more British than that!
I will say that I was not cut out to be a tour guide or lead a group of people around a city. So, I shall keep my day job!
Not much to report from the day. We were just tourists...tired tourists, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Flying out of London in 4 hours!!! Uganda, I'm praying that we are coming your way!
I will say that I was not cut out to be a tour guide or lead a group of people around a city. So, I shall keep my day job!
Not much to report from the day. We were just tourists...tired tourists, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Flying out of London in 4 hours!!! Uganda, I'm praying that we are coming your way!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Greetings from....
LONDON!
I'm guessing most of you weren't expecting that one! But it is the truth...kinda. I should say greetings from Windsor seeing as though the Queen's castle (one of them anyway) is 200 meters up the street. I'm staying at The Windsor Castle Hotel curtousy of American Airlines!
I also got to stay the night at a Crowne Plaza in Chicago on Friday night because our flight to Brussels was cancelled. Our new route to Uganda (that only accepts international flights every other day) included a nearly 24hour layover in London! so just another stamp in the passport and a day less in Uganda.
The other half of our team arrived in Uganda safely earlier this evening and will begin with church tomorrow morning. We will join them after an overnight flight on Sunday arriving at 8 am on Monday morning (midnight in Wichita).
There have been many hiccups so far for our part of the team, but everyone has reacted positively and we are just being flexible right now!
Please continue praying for us and for the other part of our team that has safely made it to Uganda!
Oh, quick funny tidbit...no one in England is from England! Our cab drivers were both from Afghanistan, our hotel staff were from Japan and India and my new friend,Andi, is from Scotland! Andi was attempting to give me directions for our day of sightseeing tomorrowand when he read our team tee shirts that say "International Voice of the Orphan"...his response was "I'm the International Voice of the Whiskey bottle!" it came from a man easily 6 feet 5 inches tall with red hair and a thick Scottish timber in his voice. at 1 am it was funny and 3 of us looked at each other and said "that is blog material"...so, now it is on a blog!
I don't know when I will be able to update again, but wanted you to know that I never made it to Brussels, but instead get a mini vacation in London! God is never predictable!
Have a great Sunday with your church families worshipping our Lord and Savior!
I'm guessing most of you weren't expecting that one! But it is the truth...kinda. I should say greetings from Windsor seeing as though the Queen's castle (one of them anyway) is 200 meters up the street. I'm staying at The Windsor Castle Hotel curtousy of American Airlines!
I also got to stay the night at a Crowne Plaza in Chicago on Friday night because our flight to Brussels was cancelled. Our new route to Uganda (that only accepts international flights every other day) included a nearly 24hour layover in London! so just another stamp in the passport and a day less in Uganda.
The other half of our team arrived in Uganda safely earlier this evening and will begin with church tomorrow morning. We will join them after an overnight flight on Sunday arriving at 8 am on Monday morning (midnight in Wichita).
There have been many hiccups so far for our part of the team, but everyone has reacted positively and we are just being flexible right now!
Please continue praying for us and for the other part of our team that has safely made it to Uganda!
Oh, quick funny tidbit...no one in England is from England! Our cab drivers were both from Afghanistan, our hotel staff were from Japan and India and my new friend,Andi, is from Scotland! Andi was attempting to give me directions for our day of sightseeing tomorrowand when he read our team tee shirts that say "International Voice of the Orphan"...his response was "I'm the International Voice of the Whiskey bottle!" it came from a man easily 6 feet 5 inches tall with red hair and a thick Scottish timber in his voice. at 1 am it was funny and 3 of us looked at each other and said "that is blog material"...so, now it is on a blog!
I don't know when I will be able to update again, but wanted you to know that I never made it to Brussels, but instead get a mini vacation in London! God is never predictable!
Have a great Sunday with your church families worshipping our Lord and Savior!
Friday, June 3, 2011
T-Minus NOW!
I was going to post pictures of the packing process, but really, they would not have been pretty! My mom came over to help me pack (aren't moms the best?!?!)...and I determined that I didn't have a space issue. I have so much more room for stuff - my issue is weight! Not my body, in the suitcases. Good grief!
I have a luggage allotment of 150 pounds...and have about 160 pounds of stuff! After arranging, rearranging, pulling a little bit out of each, rearranging, repacking, reweighing, pulling more stuff out, rearranging, etc...I'm PRAYING that the scales at the airport weigh the bags the same as my scale...because all 3 bags are cutting it CLOSE!
So thankful for my parents' help - dad is an expert laundry fold-er and dish wash-er - those every day things that I haven't been keeping up on very well! He also fixed my toilet! What a guy!
I got my carry-on bags packed to the gills...my little one may weigh the same as my big ones! Deacon is all packed and ready to go on his 2 week adventure in a house with a 6-year-old and 3 other dogs and 2 cats! Not what he's used to, but he will love having playmates! My fear is that he's not going to want to come home after this!
At this point in the day, many of my teammates are already in the air (from San Antonio and Durango) and the rest of us will be on our way before the afternoon is over. So excited to meet these people that I have only met via short paragraph introductions on email. What an adventure awaits.
The nerves have not set it so I'm going to pray they stay away! I have a few more last minute things to take care of, make my bed, and out the door I go! Good bye Kansas, Hello Kampala!
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers! God is amazing - He has shown Himself so very plainly in the midst of this trip preparation and shown Himself extravagantly!
BLESSINGS!!!
I have a luggage allotment of 150 pounds...and have about 160 pounds of stuff! After arranging, rearranging, pulling a little bit out of each, rearranging, repacking, reweighing, pulling more stuff out, rearranging, etc...I'm PRAYING that the scales at the airport weigh the bags the same as my scale...because all 3 bags are cutting it CLOSE!
So thankful for my parents' help - dad is an expert laundry fold-er and dish wash-er - those every day things that I haven't been keeping up on very well! He also fixed my toilet! What a guy!
I got my carry-on bags packed to the gills...my little one may weigh the same as my big ones! Deacon is all packed and ready to go on his 2 week adventure in a house with a 6-year-old and 3 other dogs and 2 cats! Not what he's used to, but he will love having playmates! My fear is that he's not going to want to come home after this!
At this point in the day, many of my teammates are already in the air (from San Antonio and Durango) and the rest of us will be on our way before the afternoon is over. So excited to meet these people that I have only met via short paragraph introductions on email. What an adventure awaits.
The nerves have not set it so I'm going to pray they stay away! I have a few more last minute things to take care of, make my bed, and out the door I go! Good bye Kansas, Hello Kampala!
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers! God is amazing - He has shown Himself so very plainly in the midst of this trip preparation and shown Himself extravagantly!
BLESSINGS!!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Just a Few "Items"
72 hours from now, I'll be running around doing the final, very last minute errands before hopping on a jet plane. It could be an emotional morning for me, possibly! I mean, I'm leaving my precious Deacon behind! (and yes, he does have a body & back legs, they just aren't showing in this picture!)
Today I am doing the fun chores...laundry, cleaning, and preliminary packing. Some of you may be wondering why I need to do 'preliminary' packing instead of just packing. Well, here is the stuff I am trying to fit into my suitcases.
VBS supplies:
Beads and supplies for at least 300 bracelets/necklaces
2 sets of face paint/brushes
11 boxes of 24 crayons
2 boxes of 48 crayons (I can split these up into 5 or 6 crayons per snack size ziploc if that helps)
5 boxes of colored pencils
70 pencils
25 pens
24 pencil sharpeners
500 sheets of construction paper (all colors)
150 sheets of notebook paper
THOUSANDS of stickers
8 coloring books
5 pair adult scissors
8 pair kid scissors
CANDY/FOOD:
300 dum dum suckers
400 mini tootsie rolls
a few smaller packages of misc. candy (bubble gum, pixy sticks)
60 granola bars
TO HAND OUT:
9 pair flip flops
93 beanie babies
12 matchbox cars
3 soccer balls
4 footballs
27 yo-yos
25 jump ropes
random McDonald's toys
24 toothbrushes
400 bandaids
14 bottles of nail polish
bubbles
socks and onesies
100 sandwich ziploc bags
50 snack size ziploc bags
Maybe photos will be able to more accurately convey the enormity of this! Sorry about the quality of the cell phone pics!
Thank you all for your generosity in not just sending ME, but sending me with all kinds of love for the kids of Uganda!!
Now I just need to find room to pack my toothbrush and deodorant!
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