Central Mission Team

2009-11-13T05:58:00.002-06:00

Good afternoon from Kampala. Most of us have finished our shopping (although a few are still out; they are die-hard shoppers!) and now we are packing the rest of our bargains and making sure that the suitcases don't weigh more than 50 pounds. Most of us are leaving the majority of our clothing and accessories which has lightened the bags up for souvenirs.

We had a wonderful visit in Nampunge yesterday! It was so awesome to see what has been done to the church since we were here last year. The people in Nampunge had a fund raiser last month in order to get funds to put plaster on the walls and they have cemented the floor; it looks like stadium seating now. Plus windows have been added. It is great to see that the people continue to be proud of their church.

One personal note for Fred and me; we saw our sponsor child, Recheal, again and it was such a memorable experience. Glenna, the missionary nurse who has been in Uganda for five years and is planning to leave in a few months, gave our group a tour of the medical clinic which was our "home" last year (it is so beautiful now) and when we came outside several children were waiting outside and one of them was Recheal.

Our reunion was so precious. Recheal ate lunch with us and we got reacquainted. She was as quiet as last year but this year she smiled quite a bit. During the program that was in honor of Glenna Recheal sat on my lap and put 54 stickers that I had given her on her arms, legs, face, hands and then some on my hands. After that she fell asleep on my lap again! Of course, my heart melted.

Another highlight was getting to meet her mother and siblings in their little shop/home. Recheal's mother is 25 and has five children. Her name is Bette and she is a 2nd wife. Our translator told us that she thought our story (of how we met Recheal and came to sponsor her) was very special. We think so, too.

The last amazing experience in Nampunge was when we presented the headmistress of the school, Cristine, with three tubs of school supplies, games, soccer balls, bubbles, etc. Her face lit up and she kept telling us how grateful she was and that she appreciated it for her students. I have personally seen her work with the children in the Nampunge school and know that the items will be used to benefit the students in the best possible way.

As we bring our visit to a close we are all in agreement that it has been an interesting and exciting adventure. We had some illness, a few minor bumps and bruises, some bug bites that we couldn't identify, among our experiences but all in all we can all say that we experienced the true Africa, the true Ugandan experience and the working of our precious God. Hallelujah, praise God! And Amen!

I know that everyone will have their own unique tales to tell but please know that we appreciate all your prayers from Kansas and other places; we could feel them! Please know that God's work has been done and relationships that will affect eternity have been forged. Thank you, thank you, thank you to our dear family at Central Community!

So, I will bring this long narrative to a close. Some of us will be back in Wichita around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday but 10 of us will be arriving at 9:30 p.m. so that some of us can tour Amsterdam.

Love from: Greg and Carl (who are in Kenya for a few days) Clint, Olivia, Heather, Twyla, Cassie, Ray, Kimberly, Matt, Jill, Grant,
Joni, Jeannie, Fred and Valerie!

2009-11-11T22:27:00.002-06:00

Wow! How to begin to describe our recent journey...overwhelming but I will try. First of all, I want to let you know that we are back in Kampala safely. It was a long journey (and for the goat, turkey and two chickens who rode on top of the van that Moses drove a long, hard one!) but we all made it. Some of us even came back with orange faces from the dust on the road!

Our journey this time was to Ngora in the Kumi district. It took over 5 hours to get there but we got to see the Nile (and two crocodiles) on our way. When we arrived it was pitch black outside but we were expected because as soon as we starting making our way down the road close to the church we heard people whooping and shouting praises for our arrival! How blessed and wonderful was that experience! As we pulled into the church property we could see smiling and singing faces and a glimpse of their mud hut that has served them as their church. We gathered inside and listened to introductions and their expressions of happiness and we all felt so humble! They served us a meal and afterwards we went to our dormitories...and let me tell you, we were happy to unpack and settle in!

Our dormitory was run by a wonderful woman named Jane and she, along with her two helpers, took excellent care of us. Our rooms had twin beds with mosquito netting and our "choo" (bathroom) was in the back. It had two choos for ladies and two for men and two "shower" areas where we could use the warm water to bathe with.

For those of you who have been here, you will probably laugh at this, but this year I brought a portable toilet which has come in handy! And I must say, I am NOT the only one who has used it on the trip. Colleen told me that I was missing out on the "true experience" but I think I am getting plenty of other good experiences and I know many who are grateful. LOL Okay, enough of that.

For the church services we divided into two groups and one went to another nearby church and the group I was in stayed at Ngora. Church was such a blessing with much singing and praising God. Carl preached at our service but Jill, Olivia and I went to work with the children during this time.

I have to say something here regarding our work with children. Last year we were privileged to meet in schools that had teachers to help with interpretation; plus schools that had areas for children to sit and work. This has been an unique situation because neither church has a school attached to it and it really made a difference. We did have interpreters but there were SO many children (at least 300) that it was difficult to do some of our planned activities but as all good teacher know, flexibility is the key and Jill and I just went with the flow!

During the day on Monday and Tuesday we had around 50 or so children that were always at the church/work site but when the local school (down the road) had morning break or lunch break 200 children would come streaming down the road expecting us to entertain or just wanting to watch us. It was interesting to say the least. I will really appreciate my classroom when I return to my school next week! We even had some children with uniforms that refused to go back to school and since I am a teacher I had a hard time not wanting to be the one aiding with their playing hooky! LOL

So many other things come to my mind but I don't want to share it all since Fred will be adding also. I will say that one event that we enjoyed was on Monday night when Greg pulled out the guitar from the Stevensons' and Clint led us all in singing praise songs from the music sheets he had brought. Colleen especially enjoyed it and it was such an amazing time of praising God.

It was so good to see how everyone worked together in the areas that they enjoyed. On Monday morning we all helped move rocks into the sanctuary and Twyla and I tried carrying them on our heads like the women were and Matt did that too although he got laughed at since that is the 'woman' way of carrying! We had a great experience and really got to enjoy the African experience at Ngora!
Valerie

Ngora town is in the far eastern side of the country. It is high elevation, and a lot more arid than the other places we have been. This added a new twist to our work. We are near the equator, so the effects of the sun can be readily felt.

Valerie described our arrival, but it was so much more than just a celebration. This little “country” church, and its congregations was so excited to see us. As we traveled down the road, there was a “sentry” that saw us arriving. We heard first one, then several, then the entire countryside seemed to erupt in celebration. It was so dark that all we could do was hear, there was no way of seeing where the praises was coming from. As the headlights lit up the church, the congregation was standing there, singing songs of welcome, IN ENGLISH, of our arrival. We felt so welcome.

This area uses a different dialect than Kumali, so we began learning the key phrases all over again. It was so exciting

I want to share two stories. First, there was an elderly man who came from a neighboring village. He was there the night we arrived, and was there when we left. He spoke no English, and even with a translator, the conversation was difficult. He had heard about the building of the church, and wanted to see it for himself. So he rode his bicycle many miles, and slept at the church building the entire time. Every day, he was among the first to help with the construction, always with a smile on his face. During the dedication ceremony, he was among the worshipers, evening bringing an offering to the church. He was such an inspiration to watch.

The other is a lady named Martha. Martha is a member of the Ngora church, and loves the lord. Her favorite pastime is to read the Bible, but her eyesight is bad, and she has been unable to. She has no glasses, and has been saddened not to be able to read. At the last minute when I was packing in Wichita, I packed not only my eyeglasses, but also an extra pair of reading glasses. Jill introduced her to me to Martha, and I was able to give her the extra pair. There are no words to describe the pure joy she had to be able to read her Bible again.

God has been blessing each of us in many ways. There will be stories to tell for many weeks when we return.

Today, we are traveling to the Heritage International School, and then to Nampunge village to see the church built last year.

Pray that we continue to reach people for God!
Fred

Home visit in Kamuli town during the rain

2009-11-07T01:54:00.002-06:00

This little guy was bringing Jerry cans to help catch rainwater during a very heavy storm. By Kansas standards, it seems like a normal afternoon thunderstorm, but afterwards, there were many tree limbs laying in the roads.
MAKE SURE TO READ OUR OTHER POST UNDER "OLDER POSTS"!

Team 2

Kamuli Village

2009-11-06T22:36:00.001-06:00

Kamuli Village

We are back with the Stephensons in Kampala, tired, wet, muddy, but also the most blessed. Today we dedicated the Kamuli Central Community Church of God. The people of the new church met us early in the day, and we set about meeting with them in groups of men, women, and children. Through the generous donations of our friends, we were able to leave them with many gifts: shoes, shirts, socks (which went to the soccer team), and toys of every kind.
After we were able to fellowship with our groups, it was time for the dedication of the new building. Because of rain this week, we were unable to actually meet in the church building, but in a large tent just next to it. We knew it was time when we heard of the sound system, “check 1, 2….amen!” (The tech in me was so excited for them).
We entered the tent the honored guests, amid much praising, singing and dancing. We took our honored seats at the front of the congregations (facing them!), and the celebration began. Pastor Moses began to speak a powerful message of dedication for all that God has given them, and it was translated to those who did not speak English. Songs of praise were sung, and it was such a joyous time!
Then it was time to move to the church building. As we moved, the congregation was dancing, singing, and whooping praise to God. As we cut the ribbon, the excitement increased even more with clapping and praising God for His blessings.
We moved to the platform area, and the pastor of the church, along with Carl, prayed a prayer of dedication over the building. But what was as amazing as all of this excitement and praise, was what was going on around the outside of the building. Since rain had slowed the construction, work was going on even as the building was being dedicated. Work on scaffolding, workers mixing concrete, workers that were literally hanging in the rafters stopped their work during this time. These are people whose only association with the church is that of employment. Imagine their thoughts as they witnessed the movement of God through the body of believers. It was an amazing moment.
We returned to our tent service where we heard from various officials of the area, and then it was time for more celebration. The youth of the area presented a drama about the effect of AIDS that included interpretive movement, music, and singing. There was also a group of dancers that performed for the congregation.
Then it was time for our group. We presented the song “How Great is Our God” to the church, and it was well received.
The keynote speaker of the day was the Minister of Urban Development for Uganda. This is something that rarely happens. He spoke with many moving words, commending the Stephensons and the Kamuli church for working to share the Word of God with others.
After the ceremony, we walked through the jungle to the pastor’s home for dinner. Everyone has been most gracious with what little they have, and they are all so happy to see us. It is very humbling to be a part of this experience.
A three hour ride home, and here we are, ready for the next village. Anxiously awaiting what God has in store for us there!
Fred for team 2

As Fred has shared, our day of dedication was wonderful but for my part I will speak of working with the children. Those of you who are teachers, imagine working with a group of 40 students (that were supposed to be 25 but I’m used to that by now) that range in age from babies carried in their siblings’ arms to teenagers. Add to that fact that these are children who have NEVER attended school. Throw into the mix a “school” that consists of 4 benches in the middle of a field with no grass (a.k.a. mud) and the hot sun (or a monsoon rain) and you can imagine our first experience ‘teaching’. Oh, and your students don’t speak
English (I mean, really DON’T speak English) and there you have it!

Thankfully there were many more plusses than minuses because we were greeted with 40 beautiful, smiling faces who were eager to see what these crazy white ladies were going to do next! We had a beautiful translator (Rehaina I think although I’m not sure of the spelling) and she was a joy to work with. I found out that Rehaina was a former Muslim who was converted recently and had been a teacher for 2 years.

We shared the Kansas book that Brenda and Jill worked so tirelessly on and then played BINGO with three groups. We used macaroni for the BINGO holders and had to make sure to tell them not to eat it! The BINGO cards had pictures from the Bible and it was really gratifying to see our little students gazing at the pictures to match them on their boards. Getting them to yell “BINGO” was difficult at first but once they got the hang of it they didn’t want to stop!

As Jill, Alexis, Cassie and Olivia prepared for the next activity I led them in some songs. Actually Rehaina and I did that! Then it was on to making ‘tambourines’ with macaroni and paper plates. When they started shaking them and singing we knew that a special connection had been made!

We ended that session with bubbles and the parachute. That was a big hit and I’m sure they will enjoy the parachute (since Jill presented it to Rehaina at the dedication service) for many years to come.

I do have to mention our afternoon session. We were told that we would begin around 3 o’clock and that this group would be bigger – around 40. Of course I told Jill and the others that we should expect at least 60! (I’ve learned!)

We began with the Kansas book and this time asked if they had any questions. We had some funny ones (1st question was “where is your husband?” directed to me. It was nice to be able to say that he was with me this year in Africa!) At this point I want to mention that we had squeezed all of the children and benches in the shade of a tree because this was the hottest part of the day!

Next on the agenda was a story about Jesus calming the storm and all of a sudden the wind began to blow! (Great timing right?) Next we felt some raindrops but had experienced that before so we continued on. All of a sudden, rain came pouring down and our students rain home (I believe Rehaina shooed them home!) So, class was dismissed!!! Okay, all my teacher friends – have you ever got to go home because it rained! LOL

After that we ran to the van that was left (the other one had left with Colleen, Fred, Clint and Heather going on TAPP visits – visiting Aids patients) and poor Matt almost made it to the van but did a beautiful slide, not into home base but into the mud! We sat in the van while the rain poured and after it stopped Moses tried to back the van out but it was stuck! Oh, and while we were waiting, several very silly people ran out into the rain to ‘play’. I won’t mention their names (Joanie, Cassie and Olivia) but suffice it to say I’m sure they were the talk of the village!

The men who were working at the church came to try to push the van out and it took many tries. We finally climbed out of the van but found out later that they wanted our weight! When the van was free of the mud we ended up walking to the main road in the mud. I mention mud a lot because I seem to be spending a lot of time in it. And water! Oh, well, this is the rainy season, right?

We were finished for the day after that and went back to our ‘motel’. I have to comment on our accommodations because they were much nicer than we had anticipated. Our group stayed in an enclosed type of hostel where we had access to Western toilets (one of my personal favorite things) and cold showers – another wonderful asset! Fred and I were even fortunate to have a deluxe suite with a private bathroom (sink, toilet and shower) which we shared several times with Matt, Clint, Joanie, Jeannie, Grant, Jill and others for the sink – Carl and Greg. We even had evenings with technology!

As I type this breakfast is being served but I haven’t made it down yet and this is going to be a busy morning! We have been ‘shopping’ for treasures at the Stevensons’, our child of Promise (Jordan) is coming and more craftspeople will arrive soon! Plus we have to pack for a 4 day trip and get our totes ready for more teaching/home visits/services. So, I better wrap this up. I do want to say one more thing – our first day we were able to see our 2nd child of Promise, Recheal. What a blessing to see how much she has grown and learned. She wrote her ABC’s and numbers for me and she has only been in school for about 8 months!

We won’t be able to post again until Wednesday night but know that we are in constant contact due to Fred’s technology. We love you and miss you all! Know that we are where God wants us to be!
Team 2 and Valerie

We Made it!

2009-11-03T21:11:00.002-06:00

Have you ever watched the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"? Two men are trying to get home for Thanksgiving and they have some adventures that felt similar to what we encountered over the weekend. Part of the movie even occurs in Wichita. We felt like we were part of this movie as we waited in the airport on Saturday and had some similar experiences throughout the weekend.

As most of you probably know, we arrived at the airport on Saturday with our bags, totes and more bags, ready for our adventure. The first thing we saw when we walked into the airport was that our flight was canceled! After a long three hour wait we were told that nothing could be done and that we would be leaving on Sunday. We were disappointed but knew that God was in control and figured there was a reason.

Sunday arrived and during church we learned that PART of our team would be going but the rest wouldn't. To make a LONG story short, six people left Sunday afternoon with some interesting stops (Dubai and Addis Ababa) and the rest of us (10 in all) left on our original day, Monday. So, I said all that to say, that we finally did make it and all 16 of us are now at the Stevensons' home! Praise God!

We have been told that we will be leaving this morning to spend two days in a village but more details will be coming later this morning. As we hear more, we will post that. This is just to let you know that we are here and are safe. Thank you for your prayers!

From Uganda for team 2, Valerie.

As Valerie has already told you, to say this has been an adventure already is a huge understatement. With each of the flights, we were exposed to an increasing amount of diversity, something that can get us out of our comfort bubble. I promised my FaceBook friends an update, so here it is!

We touched down in Entebbe about 8pm local time. ( We are 9 hours ahead of you if you are keeping track). From the time we stepped off the plane, we could tell this wasn't home. The sounds and the feel was just different. We got through customs (the first time I have ever been an immigrant), and continued out of the airport. Retrieve our luggage, and we are moving again.

We met our driver, David, at the front entrance. David is a great guy, with a great smile. He showed us to our bus, a large van really, and we loaded up.

Now I have heard about the driving conditions in Uganda, so I had to make sure I got the full exposure. Since no one was riding "shotgun", I took that role. What an experience. If you like roller coasters, I would definitely reccommend this. By this time, it is quite dark, and the drive was like nothing I had ever seen before. The smell of charcoal from the roadside grills, mixed with a large amount of deisel fumes, created quite a sensory experience.

There are people everywhere. Walking down the side of the road, standing in groups around grills, gathered in groups around their scooters - everywhere you look, even the side roads, there are people. I looked up information about Kampala, the city we are staying in, last year, and it is about 2 million strong. Most of them were on the streets. Our missionary, Tim, tells us that Kampala never really sleeps, but it is more accurate to say it rests. There are times when the amount of people and traffic are less, but by no means are the streets ever empty.

The posted speed limit is 50 kph. I know we were on the healthy side of that. Driving in Kampala can best be descibed as a cross between a good game of chicken, and a ballet. Many times, there looked to be no where to go, and suddenly the hole would open up, allowing us to move on.

Did I tell you about the people on the streets? Pedestrians just "go for it". I tend to think I have pretty good distance vision, as well as night vision, but a lot of times, I really couldn't tell who or what was just outside our headlights. Just like the cars, the people, just start moving towards a hole in the traffic, and go. This reminded me of the game Frogger. You couldn't really figure out how you got there, but somehow you did.

The most difficult time of the trip came when we stopped. By best counts, there were only two stoplights during the hour long drive from Entebee to our quarters. We stopped at the red light, and a young boy (8), came to the window with hands out. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but the motive was clear, he was asking for help. He was soon joined by a young mother (his?) carrying a small baby. I had heard from the groups last year, that this is common, and you have to ignore it. This was the hardest thing I have had to do. I am sure there will be other moments like that in the coming days.

Stay tuned for more! Fred

(Valerie again) We are going to wrap this up for now. Breakfast is in an hour although to me I should still be sleeping. I know from experience that I will soon get used to the new time but right now I'm still experiencing some jet lag and am a little foggy. We will be writing when we can. God is good and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day here in Kampala, Uganda!

It Takes a Village...

2009-10-30T08:48:00.003-05:00

Monday found us headed east to Kabusule in the district of Bugwere. Alternately, dense foliage and tall trees encroaching on the road gave way to gently rolling hills iced with low grasses and dotted with palms followed by swampy areas overgrown with papyrus. New sights, sounds and smells mixed with the old, familiar ones compounded our sense of being far from home. Checkerboard fields of low-growing tea plants; food markets with fresh pineapple, mangos and tomatoes carefully piled one on top of another like blocks; almost identical strip malls with shanty door fronts in each town giving the impression of going in circles; everpresent smell of smoke; clusters of round thatched huts formed family neighborhoods; trees with leaf pom-poms at the end of each otherwise barren branch.

We stopped at the source of the Nile for lunch for a brief interlude. Crocodiles, black meribeau storks and white cranes cohabitate with many other unseen animals and birds as they draw life from the murky water of the Nile.

The first sight of the white hostel enclosing a lovely courtyard made us hopeful that our stay in Kabusule would include the luxuries of hot running water and flush toilets... But our initial excitement faded as we inspected our rooms and found neither. Still, a roof over our head and a bed off the floor during the rainy season was a blessing.

Our complaints shamed us when we arrived at the village and saw the living conditions in Kabusule which is twice as poor as Kasenke. Children with malnutritioned bellies in dirty rags made us so aware of our affluence. Even in poverty, they still sang and smiled when they saw the 'visitors.' The people live in very small, dirt floored, round huts.

It was quite different from our experience in Kasenke where the children met us. Here, women gleefully squealing in a high pitched warble and joyfully hugging us were our welcoming committee each day.

Again, we split our days with the men working on the church and the women doing crafts and playing games with the children and youth, sharing with the women about their lives and making TAPP and grandmother visits. It was during the home visits we could see how poorly the people live. Yet they have joy in the Lord and love to give Him praise. Efforts have been made to begin a project for the women to earn money, but, without education, they have not been very successful in managing their profits.

Because of heavy, blowing rain on the second day, the roof did not get completed for the dedication. However, we still joined with the congregation in celebration knowing soon the dream of a place of worship large enough to hold them all was very near. The church was festively decorated. Bunches of yellow flowers from nearby plants adorned the tops of sticks as you approached the church and were stuck in crevices in the walls.

Praising the Lord was a joyous occasion as we shared songs and laughter. We were presented with a goat, turkey, chicken, rabbit and various produce as gifts for our part in helping build their church. After the three hour service, lunch was served since it is tradition that if food is not given visitors when they leave, the friendship is broken.

We left our new friends in Kabusule on Thursday to spend our last night in Uganda at the Stevensons.

Everyone is now busily completing their packing after last minute shopping in Kampala. We're excited about seeing our families and friends after two weeks of being emotionally and physically challenged. However, we've already shed tears as we said goodby to 'Mama' Colleen since she left early for the Rain Festival with Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (Alexis) and a couple of Bumblebees (daughter Tiffany and granddaughter Sahara)... I'm sure there'll be more wet eyes as we board the plane and fully realize we're leaving behind Africa and so many people we love.

Pray for safe travel. Blessings to all...

Let It Rain...

2009-10-26T01:31:00.003-05:00

We awakened to sunshine on Sunday anticipating another beautiful day. But God had other plans.

Our team was asked to split up so three churches could have visitors - the people here are ALMOST as excited to see us as they were to see the King! Just think how much commotion and celebration will accompany the return of the King of Kings!

Pastor John was assigned 'sermon duty' at Kasubi which is the Churoh of God East Africa headquarters. Cheri took on the responsibility at the Mutungo church which we built two years ago. And Jerry was 'pseudo-pastor' at Murchison Bay, where many orphans are schooled.

We arrived at the churches almost simultaneously with the rain. Inside the churches, some of us were protected from the pouring rain once inside the church, but the glassless windows at Murchison Bay and the driving wind had us shifting from side to side to avoid an unintentional baptism.

The rain pounding on the roofs was in harmony with the drums - a crescendo of hail added to the 'musical' mix of instruments and voices. The praise and worship continued until God calmed the storm. Then testimonies and messages were offered in each church - unaware of what each speaker would say, the theme was consistent. Amazing how we find God's hand in everything.

Following services, we all met in Mutungo for lunch and a program in our honor. Some of the Children of Promise made their way to their sponsors, recognizing them immediately even after a one or two year separation! More singing, dancing and sharing from the Children of Promise, the TAPP women and the Central Community Nursery students and teachers. What a wonderful work is being done here through all of these programs.

After the program, we met with the sponsored children - hugging, crying, laughing... The children are all so precious - it's heartbreaking to know many do not have sponsors and are unable to attend school or have any hope of a better life. In Norm's words, 'perhaps we need to learn to live with less so we can give more.' However, we also see such love and faith in these children that it's makes it hard to know what 'a better life' looks like. Praise God that through our faith we have the certainty of spending eternity with Him without the trials of this earth.

Our bags are being loaded on top of the vans as we prepare to leave for the next village. Keep us in your prayers as we leave for three nights in Kabasule.

Church of God Kasenke Dedication

2009-10-26T01:20:00.003-05:00

Pastor John cut the ribbon on the new Kasenke church as the crowd made a 'joyful noise!'

Let the Son Shine...

2009-10-24T13:51:00.010-05:00

Five days ago, our team, along with Tim, Coleen and Moses, crowded into three vehicles for the journey to the small village of Kasenke, in the district of Mubende. This is our story...

The drive to Kasenke took us past rows of crudely constructed wooden shacks leaning precariously and displaying an assortment of wares along with rusty tin roofed buildings and spindly thatched huts. The man-made world contrasted severely with the untouched and untamed landscape of lush tropical plants.

Children in school uniforms waved excitedly as we passed. Women, almost always in brightly printed dresses or skirts, carried water containers on their heads while men rode bicycles loaded with charcoal and bananas.

Annie, who works with Colleen at the District Office, is from Kasenke and met us in Mubende town where lodging had been arranged for us. The 'villa' had BEDS and RUNNING WATER with FLUSH TOILETS - a big step up from the tents we semi-expected. Even though there was no hot water in our showers, we could fill jugs from a large hot water tank in the middle of the complex. After we got unloaded, we headed for Kasenke.

Turning off the paved road, we bounced over the ruts in the narrow dirt road on the last leg of our journey to the village. As soon as our vehicles came into view, the people began chanting 'we are welcome' as in one united voice and swarming around us. 'Welcome' was pronounced with three syllables - 'welecome'... every day we were greeted in the same manner with the same enthusiasm - how very special we felt! All the children wanted to touch our white skin and soaked up our attention. How humbling it was to have even the tiniest of girls kneeling in respect before us as they held our hand...

Our days were busy - mornings in the village were filled with working on the church, teaching and playing with the children and TAPP visits. TAPP is a Church of God program which gives aid and hope to people diagnosed as HIV+. Afternoons found us divided up again to work on the church, lead the women and meet with the pastors.

It was easy to fall in love with the children. So many beautiful barefoot children of all ages wearing tattered, dirty clothing excitedly joined in the games and activities. We found them all to be attentive and, although their surroundings were very primitive, they learned quickly with the aid of the interpreters.

As we took turns visiting homes of TAPP clients and grandmothers, we experienced a plethora of emotions. We were up close and personal as we sat and visited with them. From a distance, the settings are quietly picturesque, but, as you get closer, they are quickly transformed into pictures of overwhelming poverty. Their houses are crude structures of cane frames packed with mud (some are plastered with dung). Usually a single room with dirt floors houses an entire family. To see the conditions in which they live is heartbreaking, especially knowing their lives are at risk without medications. Most don't have the 20,000 shillings to register for treatment.

Our lunches and dinners were spent up the hill at Pastor Fred's, the superintendent of the district. We ate beneath the sprawling canopy of a tree with battery powered lights hung from the limbs and alternate nights displayed heavenly lights from stars or lightning.

Pastor John and Cheri met with the pastors and discovered a real need for material in their native language - they hunger for more information and training so they can preach God's Word more effectively.

The women responded enthusiasticly to our efforts to engage them in sharing. We found them to be like us in so many ways and bonds of friendship were quickly formed. They seemed pleased that we asked them to demonstrate how to make mats from swamp grass and how to weave table coverings. They're all so outgoing and full of life and love.

We were amazed at the speed with which the 80 tin sheets became a roof! The floor took a little longer as a platform was constructed, rocks were moved and dirt was leveled. The village boys loved to assist with the wheelbarrow in returning it for another load of rocks after it had been emptied onto the church floor. The privilege to man the wheelbarrow was so prized, the men on the team had to good-naturedly manage the queue of over-eager boys. Even the women, many with babies tied on their backs, and smaller children of the village helped shovel and carry bricks. What a blessing to see the procession of our team members intermingled with the villagers as we worked together. Language, culture and skin color became unimportant. Our God is big enough to break down all the barriers.

After the scrim (cloth screen) our church purchased for Tim and Colleen was stretched on a LARGE wooden frame, the Jesus movie enthralled the entire village. The next night, another movie entertained them - the only thing missing was popcorn!

Although a heavy rain shower on the second day delayed pouring the concrete for the floor, the church was otherwise complete and provided the setting for the dedication service. Officials and pastors from neighboring villages had been invited to share the joy. It was a time of singing, dancing, celebrating and exchanging of gifts. Cheri, as our leader, was presented with a male goat which she graciously accepted while others were given chicken. The menagerie was secured on top of the van and, based on the bleating, road uncomfortably all the way to Kampala.

Only intermittent rain showers interrupted our bright, sunny days, but we saw the Son always shining in the faces and lives of those we tearfully left behind in Kasenke.

We came as visitors to the small village - we left as friends.

As we traveled home, there were excited people lining the roads in all the small villages awaiting a peek at the King of the tribe of Buganda. They had worked themselves into quite a frenzy since the King had been expected much earlier. We carefully made our way through the crowds, dodging the oncoming parade of motorcycles and other vehicles preceding the King's personal vehicle. Some of our team actually caught a glimpse of him as he passed. We were all glad to make it safely back to the Stevensons - thanks to our excellent drivers, Tim, Colleen and Moses.

Our story continues tomorrow as we head to our second village...

NOTE TO DEBBIE PAULY FROM LARRY: Wart hog dog is alive and well, but still can't kiss!

In Uganda Again!

2009-10-19T08:28:00.003-05:00

Our long trip began at 5:00 AM Wichita time on Saturday, the 17th... Fifteen of us - all a little sleepy, but excited about the opportunities ahead of us, met at the church, loaded up our baggage and headed to the airport. Our orange t-shirts attracted a lot of attention at each stop and allowed many of us to visit with others about our mission. Arriving in Entebbe, we found a much more modern airport than we remembered. Praise God that ALL our tubs and luggage arrived at the same time we did! Certainly, for Pastor John and Debbie, their reunion with their daughter, Alexis, was a far greater blessing than the luggage! Alexis has been serving with missionaries Tim and Colleen since September.

The familiar smell of smoke from charcoal fires and sounds of screeching brakes wafted through the open windows of the vehicles as we were transported through the darkness to the home of our host missionairies. Blurs of brightly dressed people, glimpses inside open roadside stands, visions of bright lights, burned into our senses as we flew past.

Our long trip ended when we finally arrived in Kampala, Uganda on Sunday, October 19th around 10:30 PM Kampala time (2:30 in Wichita) after an hour ride from the airport... Fifteen of us - all a little sleepy, but excited about the opportunities ahead of us to touch the lives of those we meet.

For those of us who have been here before, reunions with Tim and Colleeen, Glenna (missionary nurse), Pastor Moses (who was in Wichita last summer) and so many others were joyful... like coming home.

A sunny Monday morning revealed the beauty of our surroundings. It came early for some being awakened by the 'laughing' birds and crowing roosters, others managed to sleep in before starting our busy day of preparations. All the crafts and gifts we brought crammed into 15 plastic tubs had to be sorted and divided for the two villages we will be visiting. Miss Brenda's preliminary planning and amazing teamwork resulted in a stress-free time with everything ready before supper giving us plenty of time to pack for tomorrow's journey west to the village of Kasenke. We'll be spending four nights there building a church and friendships. Our team will be assisting with roofing and flooring of the church along with leading activities for all ages and visiting AIDS patients.

Brenda and Hannah were surprised by the arrival of two Children of Promise during our orientation... Both children sat quietly with excitement in their eyes while we finished up our meeting. The adults were just as excited! What a joy! (Hannah met with Carol Bentley's child while Brenda got some quality time with hers.)

We ask for your prayers as we start our next adventure tomorrow.

Packing Complete - Uganda, Here We Come

2009-10-14T14:15:00.005-05:00

It's been a busy week of preparations. Sunday evening's Gospel Music for Missions event was a big success! Contributions were given to cover the cost of the laptop for the missionaries, the screen to show the Jesus Film on, the water drill bit, the two drills that are to replace those that were stolen, and the four study Bible to be presented to each of the pastors at the churches we are finishing and dedicating this year. In addition to those generous gifts, there was an offering taken up for the teams for projects God will show us during our journeys. Over $6000 was raised for these special projects! We praise God and thank each of you who gave so generously.

Last evening both teams met to pack the totes with gifts for Children of Promise, new tools, project materials for the kids, gifts for women and men and even much more! Team One brought their luggage which was weighed and packed away till this weekend. We were able to pack up an incredible amount of items and we feel great about all the things we are bringing with us this year.

Travel begins for Team One on Saturday morning. We will meet at the church at 5:00 am and set off for two days of air travel. We hope to arrive in Entebbe, Uganda Sunday evening.

Preparations Are Being Made for the 2009 Trips

2009-10-02T14:54:00.003-05:00

Team One will leave October 17 for Uganda. During their first week, they will travel back to Kasenke church in the Western region of Uganda. The Kasenke Church had to relocate because of a dispute over land ownership so two years ago many of our team began work on the foundation for the new church building. On this trip, they will complete the building and dedicate the church along with working with the kids, youth, women and men, TAPP (Tumaini AIDS Prevention Program)visits, and pastoral training sessions. On Sunday, they will worship with the Mutungo Church, visit Children of Promise and then on Monday depart for Kabaule Church in Bugwere. After a week of completing the building of this church along with ministry opportunities, this church will also be dedicated.

Team Two leaves Wichita on October 31. They will complete the church building in Kamuli Town in East Uganda. They, too will have ministry opportunities with the kids, women, youth, men and pastors along with TAPP home visits. After a church dedication service, this group will depart for Ngora near Kumi. Along with ministry opportunities, they will complete the church and have a church dedication service. They will return to Nampunge which was built by 2008's Team Two, reconnect with the people there, have programs and lunch with them and then return to Kampala.

Please be in prayer for our teams and come and show your support at our Gospel Music for Missions Night on Sunday, October 11. We will have a carry in dinner at 6:00 pm in the Atrium, followed by worship and a focus on this year's trip to Uganda.

Our hearts break as we say goodbye to Africa once again

2008-10-10T07:25:00.001-05:00

What an incredible journey the last 30 days has been for our church and the 32 team members who traveled to Uganda Africa. We have gone from fears of the unexpected, weeks before our travels began, to the over powering of emotions that can’t be explained or understood. We have seen and heard many new things that at times sent confusion to team members and at times so much laughter that we could not breath.

We have had the privilege to visit many different villages and schools while here: Nyrambie, Awillow, Nebbi Town, Nampunge, Kasula, Busuujja, Kasubi, and Heritage International to name a few. We have spent time with the women, children, and pastors in order to help us understand and appreciate the life these Ugandan people live. We worked side by side with them in efforts to build stronger communities and to build lasting friendships in the name of Jesus Christ. We worshipped with them and gave praise to God for all He does for each of us each day. We are all God’s children whether we live in the US or Africa. We might not speak the same languages, but God understands us all.

We have seen many levels of poverty and what we in America would consider unthinkable living conditions. Water that is so unclean even the Ugandan’s can not drink it. Homes so small and have so many people crowed into them that there is no room for furnishings. Food in the city is expensive and hard to come by when your yearly wages are less than we as Americans spend eating out one meal. Work is hard to find and many have opened businesses in hopes of just feeding their children each day. With the number of vendors selling the same products right next to each other the competition is high and you must cut prices to in order to sell anything. Each day the total of their sales might feed some of their children and does not come close to paying for rent and school fees, so many people live on the floor of their shops. Bathing conditions are no more than a bucket of water to wash up in. And the bathroom facilities are a hole in the ground that most of the time you share with flies and mosquitoes.

The many different medical facilities experienced by the teams were at best scary. They ranged from small clinics to one of the largest complexes we had ever seen. Some were for children only and some had a wing for every kind of problem. Each was as if you had walked into a movie about WWI. The very large wards with no less than 30 metal beds full of people; with personal care givers sleeping on the floor beside their loved one. The screams of babies sick and hurting fill the air. The smell of human waste and the site of the dead in hallways waiting for family to claim them, was more than our hearts could take.

We’ve witnessed the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, as can only be seen in the skies of Africa. The colors and textures of the country side so lush and green. We have seen the natural habitats of Gods creatures as they were meant to be seen, not behind fences or living in cages.
We have been shown true friendship and felt the warmth of other peoples souls exposed at its most vulnerable times of life. We have seen the beginnings of new life and of the finality of death. We witnessed 100’s beginning baptized. We have been accepted and loved by the people of Uganda.

We have grown closer to people we see on Sunday’s for years, but never really took the time to know these people before now. 32 people will forever be tied to a place and time, to an experience greater than ourselves.

We shared laughter and tears, excitement and discouragement, aching backs and aching hearts. We worked hard, played hard, and learned to adapt to the many personalities among the teams and the at times very strange culture differences. We explored new and interesting foods, and some tested our true missionary spirit at times. But we did not seem to lose any of those extra pounds we thought we might. We did eat a lot and often as each group of people wanted to share their thanks by way of food.

We met the little lives that we sponsor and now those pamphlets have real faces, little hands, big eyes, and very hurt expressions as to the lives they endure. They also have very big smiles when pictures are taken and small packages are opened. A piece of candy brings the biggest thanks you will ever receive. Can we really make a change to the little lives of Uganda? I think we all saw first hand the lives we personally have impacted so far, and gave us the encouragement to continue to fight for the future of these children.

Many of the children have many fears here like being female, as many things happen to them like rape, being beaten, and not being given the chance to get an education because they are a girl. They all have seen war, death of family members from Aids, and poor relationships of their parents. They see parents in drunken states and abuses of mothers by fathers. They can see this cycle of poverty and are hopeful that change can happen, but as they get older they are pulled in many directions and many times fall right back into the cycle.

The culture is so strong and so present in everything they do, from the daily chores of gathering water to the rich excitement of music and dance. The sear skill it takes to play the drums, sing and dance; and they can do it all as each skill continues to be passed down from generation to generation.

As Americans we seem to come with the intention to teach and to show new things to a 3rd world nation. A nation so seemingly behind the modern times we feel compelled to show them the way things should be done. Instead we leave here having learned so much about ourselves, our shortcomings, our mistakes, and how far we have to go to gain what these people already possess, love and compassion of the heart and for one another.

The 2 team’s dynamics were completely different from personalities, expectations, management styles, leadership styles, personal comfort zones, skill sets, and attitudes. But the mission was the same, to change lives. If truth be told it was our lives that were changed the most.

On behalf of Teams 1 and 2 the time has come once again to say with tears in our eyes and much love in our hearts Goodbye for another year. We take with us untold images that will forever be burned into our hearts and minds. You will be in our thoughts and prayers. Until we meet again

Thank you so much for the love, support, and prayers you have said for the two teams.
God Bless and keep you in His everlasting arms

With Much Love Kimberly
And
Team 1 Cheri, Larry, Tammy, Jeff, Janell, Teri, Genda, Emily, Jen, Debbie, Fredo, Delbert, Dan, Seth, Tim, Bill
Team 2 John, Debbie, Alexis, Brenda, Patti, Valerie, Steve, Carolina, Hilary, Heather, Carl, Mark, Scott, Chris, Grant

An apple a day...........

2008-10-09T16:39:00.001-05:00

We have seen many different facilities in regards to health care in Uganda. The village medical clinics were filled with Malaria, Syphilis, HIV, and expecting mothers. The doctors that came with us are used to treating running noses, coughs, and the occasional cut needing stitches. The rooms are about 10x10 and have 3 or 4 patients in them. You might have a mix of HIV, Malaria and a woman in labor in the same room. Those with less threatening needs must wait hours for treatment and some wait and sleep on mats over night while waiting. Cost depends on services rendered but usually a few thousand shillings.

The children’s hospital is a place where children are taken for birth defects, serious injuries and accidents. One might see large tumors on the faces of very sweet little girls, small baby‘s that have major burns from crawling into an open fire, or a little boy who at a year old contracted polio and after crawling for 8 years in the dirt was able to have the surgery to fix his legs. The facility was outdated and the wards had about 15 beds in each one. A family member must stay to take care of the child but food does come with the daily charge. They did have a workshop were they made wheelchairs and braces for little legs. In order for the children to keep up with studies there is a classroom for the kids and a teacher to help them. What a great improvement in this culture. This was a place were there was hope as most of these children had waited years in order to get the medical help they needed. The true heart break is actually the little ones still out there hurting and with broken bodies that have not been helped yet.

The next facility was run by the Catholic Church and had very pretty grounds. Again the facilities were very outdated kind of like when you watch a movie from the 40’s. But it was clean.

The next was a hospital where we took a baby for his immunizations. Heaven was here as we saw no less than 100 babies all waiting with their mothers. It was a very hot day and many of these women had been waiting at least 2 or 3 hours already. They promote whole family values so if a woman comes with her husband they get to move to the front of the line. Fathers are not generally family oriented so this is their way of trying to get them involved.

The last hospital seemed the worse one. It is a state owned facility and is free for the bed but everything else must be provided for by the family. It can take many many hours to be seen or admitted. Babies crying from being in pain and sick waiting in the hot sun are the sounds one might hear. If the doctor prescribes meds the family many times must go get it and bring it back to their loved one. The family is also responsible to feed the sick family member and must stay and take care of their every need. The family member will sleep on the floor under the patents bed. If you have ever watched a horror movie where the main character was being chased at a hospital this was it. The halls were very long and dark. The wards were huge with maybe 30 or more beds and very few nurses. The floors were dirty and the equipment that looked to be from WWI. The thoughts were if we get sick please just let me die don’t bring us here. As we walked the halls an eerie feeling was inside us just wanting to leave to get out. And the smells of human waste penetrated our senses. It was the one of the scariest places felt on the trip. At times dead bodies are left in the halls waiting for family to claim them.

Next time you have to wait a little longer for the doctors appointment or need to go to the hospital you might remember the people in Uganda. You might just go with a different attitude.

Much Love Kimberly

October 10, 2008

2008-10-09T16:02:00.000-05:00

This will be my final blog from here in Kampala, Africa. I can't believe how fast the time has flown! It seems like we just got here and we are almost ready to depart. In fact, by this time tomorrow evening we will be on our way back!

Today was a relaxing day of massages, shopping, pizza and movies. Tim and Colleen have been so good to us. They planned a wonderful day of relaxation and we all took advantage of it. Some of us went shopping in the morning while the others had massages and then in the afternoon we switched and the rest of us visited some shops. Such wonderful items for sale and helpful business people. I'm afraid I probably disappointed many of them because I'm just not good at doing the bargaining but we have several who are very good at it including Hilary, Chris and Scott. I do have to add Carolina because Steve mentioned to me that she was looking at a particular item and when the shopkeeper wouldn't bargain she left, hoping to find the item in another place!

When we all met back after our enjoyable day, Tim and Colleen had ordered pizza and made the most wonderful chocolate dessert. So delicious!

Then Tim set up his 'big screen TV' (projector and wall) and we watched “Blood Diamond”. It had special meaning for us since much of it was filmed in Africa (probably most of it) and it was a moving film about the diamond trade here in Africa.

Following the movie Brenda led us in a wrap-up type of devotional and talked about thankfulness by sharing areas and talents that each one of us brought to this team. It was very moving and we ended the evening by making a bead bracelet to represent God's love and faith in us. Patti led us in two songs and then Carl closed us in prayer. Our worship here has been so marvelous; God has truly touched us and been in our midst!

Tomorrow will be a busy day as we will be getting up to go to the church that the teams from last year built and see the students from the Central Community Preschool. Those of us who sponsor a child (and I believe it's most of us) will be meeting our students and we are all excited about that. For those of you at CCC who also sponsor a child we will be greeting them tomorrow and presenting them with your gifts.

After a program and a few other events we will be rushing back to the Stevenson's to change, grab our suitcases and head to the airport. With the terrorist alert that Kampala has been under we want to be sure to get there in plenty of time. Speaking of that, in case you have heard about that, be assured that the police and other military personnel are doing their jobs. We have seen more police in the past few days and we can see that they are taking security very seriously. None of us feel worried for two main reasons: God is in control and our wonderful missionaries are following His lead. Praise God!

Well, for the last time from Uganda, thanks for reading the blog and praying for us. We will see you soon!

Valerie

October 9, 2008

2008-10-08T16:43:00.000-05:00

We made it out of the jungle and back at the Stevenson's! What a fantastic time of seeing another beautiful part of God's world and the amazing animals that He created for us to enjoy!

We left @ 7:00 a.m on Monday morning in two safari buses. As we bounced along we all wondered what would happend and hoped that we would see many different types of animals. When we came to the equator we all got out and took our pictures and did some shopping. A few of us paid 200 shillings for the privilege of using a Western toilet; then the businessman didn't give us our change! OH, well.

We stopped for lunch at a village/town along the road and had some great American type food. I even had French fries with real ketchup. Yum! Mark had a 'pizza' that was closer to a thick tortilla shell but he pronounced it as 'delicious'. Several of the others had onion rings and a few tried more exotic fare (Patti had something with lentil beans and Heather ate 'chicken on fire'). Everything was really delicious and best of all; another clean Western type bathroom. :-) (As you can see it's the simple things that make us grateful).

After about eight or so hours of traveling (it could have been longer but I lost count) we arrived. The name of the park is Queen Elizabeth Park. We started seeing animals such as zebras (along our way), monkeys and large herds of elephants. That was so exciting because we were so close to them that if they would have been in the mood to charge us we would have been vulnerable. As it was we were able to put the roof up on the bus, stand up and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery and get some great photos.

After checking into our rooms and eating supper (along with a devotional time) we all went to bed since we were to be up and ready to leave @ 6:30 the next morning.

We met in the morning and drove around and found many more types of animals: (hopefully I get all the names right) water buffalo, wart hogs (ask Hilary about getting real close to take their pictures!), a type of deer, and lions! That was so exciting. We stopped when we saw other groups looking across a lake at them and it was really hard to see them but we tried. After a few minutes we got back in the buses and our guides took us to another spot where we saw several lions – two or three females and two or three cubs. This time we were closer and were able to get some great shots. In our bus we were praising God because we had been asking Him to show us different types of animals and within a few minutes He did. What a great God we serve! He cares enough about us to answer even those types of prayers.

After our great morning we went back to the hostel where we were staying for some breakfast. Then we had time to explore or rest until lunch at the lodge and then off for a boat ride @ 5:00. Some people did rest but others went and checked out the museum that was on the grounds and some went to the lodge.

Our late lunch was very nice at the lodge and we were able to eat on the veranda where many birds tried to join us, even coming around when someone would leave their plate unattended. A mongoose was found under the table and one of our group (not saying his name but his initials are “Chris Hanson”) even fed it and we got some great pictures.

At 5:00 we all went on the boat and enjoyed a two hour cruise on the canal that is between Lake Edward and Lake George. During our cruise we saw many, many groups of hippos and tried to get some good pictures of them opening their mouths! Many large crocodiles were spotted close to the hippos and other animals which made us wonder how they all seemed to be so peacefully cohabitating. Probably the answer is that our guide told us that crocodiles only eat around once every three months so the animals must have felt safe! :-)

We saw many types of birds and one that seemed especially impressive was the African Bald Eagle: very similar to our Bald Eagle. It looked so majestic whether it was flying around us or sitting in a tree.

On a hillside we were fortunate to see a group of hyenas. They were very difficult to see with the naked eye but with a zoom lens one could see them and take their pictures.

We all agreed that the boat ride was relaxing and very enjoyable and a great way to end the day.

This morning we got up even earlier and left @ 6:00 a.m! We were hoping to see some chimpanzees and when we pulled up in front of a couple of huts and two guides with guns ran out throwing on their shoes we had no idea what to expect. They joined us in our buses and after driving a few miles away our drivers stopped and everyone got out. I wondered (as did a few others) what we were doing.

Imagine my surprise when we were told we were going INTO the jungle to track chimpanzees! Me, with my green flip flops! Hilary changed her shoes as did a few others, but alas, I had left my tennis shoes back in Kampala! I know, great planning!

I toyed with the idea of staying in the bus but then decided that I wasn't coming to Africa and wasting this wonderful opportunity! So, thanks to Dr. Steve, my dear new friend Patti and our guide with the gun, Jack, I made it down the slippery slope! They held onto me when the going got tough. That is true love for your fellow man!

We were really in luck! Our guides led us to an area where we saw three chimpanzees grooming themselves. We watched them for a while and then they decided to come down the tree and cross the bridge (think “Indiana Jones”) that we had just crossed to look for food! They found it. It happened to be coleus monkeys and we were witnesses to the screams and yells that the chimps made as they got excited (over finding the monkeys or calling to each other; I'm not sure) but the chimps were successful and a mama monkey lost her baby this morning!

To witness something like that and the chimps in their habitat was such a unique and unforgettable experience! We will never forget it.

After that we went back to the buses, took some pictures, and drove our guides back to their huts with many thanks. Then it was time to get on the road again. We ate lunch at the same American type restaurant on the way back and then did a little roadside shopping on the way.

Driving through Uganda is such an experience of holding on to your seats, trying not to gasp at all the bumps and sharp turns (or when a cow runs into the road) that I am sure when we get back to America we will all be so thankful for the good roads that we have there! Just going through Kampala takes an hour and traffic is just horrendous. We have been told that Kampala is under a terror alert but we know that God has his loving hands around us. That is the only way to explain how we keep making it safely back to the Stevenson's. That, and the wonderful drivers we have here!

I know that this blog was a little long but I wanted to share some details of the safari that we experienced and let you know that we are all healthy (except for a cold that Brenda has picked up) and looking forward to coming back to America and sharing in more detail what God has done in us and through us. What an awesome God we serve!

Well, it is late and except for Alexis (who is watching a movie) I am the only one up so I think I will sign off for now. Thanks so much for your comments on the blog. We enjoy reading them and knowing that you all are praying for us.

In God's loving shelter,
Valerie

My new favorite perfume is "Off Insect Repellent"

2008-10-05T15:34:00.002-05:00

Sorry this is a long one as we were gone for so long.

It has been a long week here in the pearl of Africa. On Wed morning we were given the opportunity to go into a high school room at Kasubi. We were there to teach social studies. One might think these kids are very much behind the times and not really on top of current events. If you have that mind set you would be wrong. These kids asked questions that our kids probably don’t know or understand. Some of the questions were about racism, conflict, the war, Bin Laden, nuclear weapons and how we became a super power. They were interested to know how we broke away from England as Uganda was also a commonwealth of England. They wanted to know how our government is run and how we felt about this year’s presidential election. They wanted to understand our way of free time and what that really meant as they start their days before dawn and get home as the sun sets. They use candles to do their homework by, and clean up to start over the next day. The whole concept of having time to watch TV or play games was to say the least very unusual to them. They wanted to know if we had deeply rooted culture in America. I had to say that we are such a melting pot of many different backgrounds that we really don’t have specific cultural traditions anymore. The one question that was very funny was “did aliens from mars land in New York” I told them no it was New Mexico Ha Ha.

Nampunge Village

We didn’t have to travel but an hour to get to our village this time. We worked on the church that was already in progress. We arrived to find the columns built and some of the floor work done. To our absolute amazement the church was almost complete by dedication on Sunday. Mainly the men worked on the church. I went over one of the afternoons and helped move dirt. Let me tell you that was a job. One of the funniest times was when the last load of dirt had been delivered. John Henry ( Senior Pastor) stepped in front of me as I was shoveling and said “ here move” , Ok those of you who really know me understand I don’t take that lightly as I am a very hard worker and had just as much dirt on my shovel as the men. So John stepped in like he was gonna really get this job done and on the first scoop his shovel broke in his hands. I just had to laugh. To save face he kept shoveling with just the actual shovel head. He finally turned to me and said I could go ahead and finish.

I was very fortunate to be able to spend some time in the medical clinic that they have there at the village. It is unbelievable the conditions that this health clinic is in and still considered a health facility. When you come to a clinic or hospital you must bring everything you will need while you are there. Including someone to take care of you, feed you, bath you, and help you use the bathroom. If you are there to have a baby you must bring cotton to clean you and the baby up with, a blanket to put the baby in or your clothes will be used as a blanket, and any thing else that is needed. A person with non-critical needs could sit for a day or more before care is given.
The types of cases we saw in one afternoon were many cases of Malaria, Typhoid, HIV diagnosis and 4 women in labor. All are within a few feet of each other. Stop and imagine a newborn in the same room as someone with the high fever of malaria?
I was fortunate to get involved with two of the women in labor. One was 19 and this was her first child. The other was 22 and this was her second. I walked and talked with both and both were then taken to the “labor room” (a sheet away from the rest of the people). I sat and helped each one breath through their pain. I rubbed their backs and gave them support.
The first to deliver was the 19 year old to a beautiful little girl. The mother was kind enough to allow me to stay for the event and was very to let me hold the baby. It is the story of the 22 year old that breaks my heart. She already had a 2 year old son waiting for her at home. She was in extreme pain, and ladies these girls are tough as nails, they never once screamed in pain. They controlled it all. This mom was in a lot of pain and I was rubbing her back trying to help reduce it for her. I put a cool towel on her head to help make her more comfortable. She would smile and thank me. Her water broke but the baby never came.
The “Dr” there, really he is a PA, said he would check her in 4 hours. And still no baby. As Americans we understand that after 4 hours of this situation we would most likely be taken for a C section. This young mother was left there for the next day and a half. We had no say as to what to do. The baby’s heart rate of course got very weak. Finally the “Dr” sent her to the city to the hospital. The midwife said most likely neither the baby nor the mother will survive. I was completely heart broken as I had become close to this girl, and now she was just gone because of senseless ignorance. The price is about 5000SCH =$3.

Family members and even patients sit under trees on mats if the clinic is full. As you become less critical you are moved to the yard. Some are there to get shots for whatever they have. So since it is so expensive to travel back and forth if you need a shot every 6 hours you get the shot and sit around for the next shot. If you need them for three days you are sleeping under the stars until your treatment is over.

One of the sweetest things I saw was a little girl had been given a doll by one of the team members. She wrapped it up in a piece of cloth and immediately started pretending to breastfeed the doll. She was doing what she knew. Here in America you see little girls grab for a bottle, but here in Uganda you see the purest most natural things. We are so worried about one of the most natural, normal acts there is that our children don’t understand what really happens and how they were most likely given sustenance as babies.

I was also given the honor of working with many women in many villages. They usually sit down look at us like “sure these rich white women are going to tell us western ways to do things”. Soon they understand we have more in common than they thought. We all have trouble with kids as they grow up and rebellion. We all have issues in marriage, and we all seem to be the backbone of the family.

We did crafts with them and one was to decorate flip flops. Taking strips of cloth and tie them to the flip flop. Ok so some of them looked at us as though we had lost our minds. Looks like “what are they doing asking us to tie this to our shoes, don’t they know we could use that cloth?” But then others where very excited to get creative with the different colors and such. They got so excited when they were done they danced around showing off their shoes.

Another craft we did was creating color of faith necklaces.
Black = Our sin, Red= the blood of Christ, White= a pure life washed clean, Blue= our faith in Christ Jesus, Green= Continue to grow in Christ, Yellow= our eternal life in heaven, Purple= the majesty of Christ.

For the most part none of the women can read or write so we went over these numerous times and with this necklace they can share their walk of faith with others.

They did have many questions of us. And as always the question of our hair comes up. Is it real? How do you get it so long? Can you tell us how we can get hair like yours? Other questions are in regards to abuse of husbands to wives and how we deal with it? Can they come to America and change to become white? How do we bury people, why do we only have 2 or 3 children? This is the question that we are waiting for as I have learned. This gives us the perfect opportunity to talk about family planning. And yes we went into detail. I sat through the missionaries’ lesson once and for 4 more groups of women I was giving family planning lessons. Their biggest fear is their husbands will go find new wives of they do not continue to produce children. But that is another lesson in itself.

On Sunday, today, we dedicated the church we went to help build. As I said earlier it was about half way finished when we arrived. Today the walls were up to the headers above the windows, the roof was on and the floor was level. What an amazing couple of days to see the amount of work done in such a short time. Each church shared testimonies, songs of praise and gifts of thanks to each other. The one thing that most churches here do not have is places to baptize people. This church was given a baptizing pool. For many the travel to distant churches to be baptized is a great expense and for many they are unable to make that journey. John Henry of CCC and pastor Patrick of Muntunge began the baptism and the line grew longer and longer. Many other churches in the area including Mutungo, the church we helped to build last year came to participate. The line seemed to never end. Today we baptized 100 people to Gods army. Some have wanted years for this final pubic proclamation that Christ is first in their lives. I think I heard the singing and dancing as the heavenly angels celebrated this day. So many things again we take for granted in America. The emotions were great and many of the visitors had many tears rolling down their cheeks as we had never witnessed such an act of love and surrender to Gods love.

The team is off to a safari and will load the bus at 7am. I will be out and about Kampala visiting the children’s hospital tomorrow.

Please continue to keep us all in your prayers
Much Love Kimberly
.

October 5, 2008

2008-10-05T12:53:00.001-05:00

Wow, what a day of celebration! The service here was so beautiful, exotic and so unique from what we experience in America. We heard many words of greeting from pastors here and sang songs as we cut the ribbon to enter the church. Our group was given a place of honor at the front of the church. The congregation had decorated the church with palm leaves and balloons and it looked beautiful!

Hilary sang a lovely solo “Eye on the Sparrow” and then Kimberly gave her testimony. Patti and Alexis led the congregation in an echo song and then a quartet made up Carl, Debbie, Grant and I (Valerie) sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. Grant then gave his testimony.

There were other wonderful parts to the service with everything being translated by either Moses or Adrian – wonderful interpreters! Then Pastor John preached and it was wonderful watching him preach and then hearing his words being spoken with the same enthusiasm. Very powerful.

The service (which began a little before noon and ended around 4:30 or so) included a baptism ceremony that was unlike anything we had ever seen. I lost count of how many were baptized but suffice it to say, it was more than most of us had seen at one service. It was wonderful to see God working in so many people's lives. He is Lord of all of us, not just in America but here in Uganda, too.

Oh, before I forget I want to share with you the gifts that we received. From the Nampunge church we received a big clock with the flags of the USA and Uganda inside with a message. Pastor John received a goat and a huge bunch of bananas. I'm not sure how we will get the goat home! LOL (I'm just kidding; I know it stays here).

After the baptism the entire congregation went outside and Carl took the cover off of the dedication plaque. What a wonderful moment!

We are back at the house now and just finishing up supper. The food has been so delicious. Any thoughts of losing weight these two weeks are going right out the window! We will be having devotions soon and will be packing for our safari tomorrow!

Our trip will begin at 7:00 a.m. and will be about a seven hour trip to Queen Elizabeth Park. Although we are tired we are looking forward to it.

I am told we will have some time to get on the internet so I will see if I can blog. If not, we will be back in touch on Wednesday evening.

God is so good and He is working through the lives of His precious people here in Uganda. The others who have come before us were right; we will be leaving our hearts here with the lovely people here.

In God's love and grace and will,

Valerie

October 4, 2008

2008-10-04T12:27:00.000-05:00

We are back at the Stevenson's after several very exciting days in the village of Nampunge! So much to tell and so many wonderful sights that we saw. I know that I will leave things out but please be assured that we are safe and sound and enjoying a reunion with hot water/toilets! No, really, with Hilary and Heather. They have had some exciting adventures of their own. They went with Glenna and visited many medical clinics so we're anxious to hear their tales.

We still have a group that is on their way back from Nampunge. Colleen brought six of us back to her home and the others stayed until a little more work was finished on the church. It is beautiful! I am so looking forward to the dedication tomorrow, as we all are. We almost had Pastor John convinced that visiting pastors had to sing before their sermon but we gave in and told him it was a joke!

Dr. Steve and Dr. Carolina had quite a visit with the medical clinic in Nampunge. They saw two new cases of AIDS, some malaria patients and even one with typhoid. They fielded some interesting questions about being doctors in America. They will have much to share when they return. Just an extra side note on that: the clinic is open 24 hours a day and we have heard many babies crying all night long. Plus several were born while we were there.

We came back tonight because the ladies of the church have spent so much time feeding us that in order for them to have time to prepare a feast for tomorrow's dedication service we needed to go back to Kampala! The food has been wonderful and we have tried many new and exotic dishes. The villagers have been so wonderful, loving and giving. We have felt so loved and welcomed.

The children are so precious. Everywhere we go we see them and they watched us in the medical center where we were staying. If you looked outside you could see them looking in and they love it when you wave to them. It's a special wave and it took a few of us (not mentioning any names!) a while to get the hang of it! :-)

Six of us had the privilege to teach in two more schools. What fun that was! There is nothing like doing the story of “David and Goliath” with hand puppets or teaching children how to play with a parachute or giving out 'sweets' (candy). We in America have so much and these children have so little but are so joyous!

Today we enjoyed sharing time with the women of the village. Together we made flip flops, the story of salvation necklaces and shared a question and answer section. Then the ladies danced for us; what a thrilling experience. We even were invited to join in and one male member of our group danced along – not saying his name but his initials are 'Grant Fisher'. LOL

I just heard that the other group is on their way back and I know that supper will be starting soon but I wanted to share with you a little taste of what we have been enjoying. Let me tell you, after sleeping on the floor (my mat lost all it's air) the bed tonight will be very appreciated!

God is so good to us! Thank you for your prayers. We can feel them here and as a team we are very appreciative. This is such a wonderful team! We have bonded and know that God is allowing us to both receive a blessing and give some also.

In the heart of Uganda,
Valerie

The Faces of the Children of Uganda

2008-10-02T10:44:00.010-05:00

These are the faces that we will never forget! 80% of the population of the country of Uganda are under the age of 15 and many of those are orphans due to AIDs, other illnesses and war.

Team Two has arrived at their village where they will work until after the church dedication on Sunday and then they will be traveling to Queen Elizabeth Park for a Safari. Please keep them in your prayers.

Children of Central Community Church of God Nursery

2008-10-01T14:46:00.004-05:00

A Few Pictures From Team One's Trip

2008-10-01T14:34:00.006-05:00

This is the church we built last year. It's called Mutungo Church of God.
The nursery school meeting at the church was named Central Community Church of God Nursery School.

October 1, 2008

2008-10-01T00:28:00.004-05:00

Good Morning from Uganda, Africa! Currently we are eating breakfast and getting ready for our newest adventure.

I did not get a chance to tell you that yesterday the team members that did not go on Home Visits were able to paint part of the floor and the stage at the chapel at Kasubi. Kasubi is the headquarters for the Church of God. Our medical team met with the nurse and other medical professionals and answered questions and gave medical presentations.

Today those who are medical on our team (Steve, Caroline, Hilary and Heather) will be going with the missionary nurse, Glenna, to visit other village medical personnel.

Last night we stayed up late getting things ready to go today (repacking our bags and the totes) and in our room we got a little goofy (saying 'goodnight' to John Boy, Mary Ellen, Sue Ellen - not in the same show but close, haha) and I think it was because we were tired and full of anticipation for today's events.

This morning I woke up and when I looked at my watch (which is still set on Kansas time) I thought it was 8:00 and breakfast was in 15 minutes! So I woke my roomies up only to discover that it was only 7:00! This from the person who had to be woke up before. But we all decided it was a good thing since we had many last minute preparations to do before breakfast which began at 8 instead of 8:15!

God is good to us here and I want to give him all the glory and honor for what he is doing in all of our lives! Believe me, He is here with us as well as with you all at home.

Well, this will be it until Sunday. Pray for us that we will stay healthy and do what God wants us to do. And, on a personal note, that the latrine conditions will be something that we can all get through successfully!

Love you all and miss you!

Valerie

Pictures of the Church Team One Built

2008-09-30T17:56:00.005-05:00

This is a picture of the church Team One built on Dedication Day just prior to cutting the ribbon and entering the church for a wonderful Sunday morning service.

September 30, 2008

2008-09-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, what an incredible day! First of all, I have to say thank you to everyone who sent me birthday greetings; that made me feel so loved! And I want to thank my wonderful team since they sang “Happy Birthday” to me at breakfast and made me feel very special.

We went to the Kasubi school today. Unfortunately it was an official Ramadan holiday (Eid) so most of the students were off. That didn't stop us from having exciting plans. The group that I was in (Grant, Mark, Debbie, Alexis and I along with our interpreter Annette and Rose a missionary from Canada) went to do home visits to grandmothers. What a blessing those ladies were! They were so happy to see us and kept thanking us over and over. We were given seats of honor and made to feel like very special guests. We saw one grandmother and her granddaughter peeling bananas and preparing them to steam. They sang songs for us and danced a little. In another home we barely made it into their house before the rains come pouring! They invited us in and we sat on mats and listened as the rain beat down upon their tin roof. Debbie had her feet baptized by the rain! It was almost fully dark but the grandmother instructed her granddaughter to put the lamp on. We sat almost fully in the dark and sang songs and prayed with this family. It was such a surreal feeling but we all could feel the presence of God with us. Praise the Lord!

Others on the team were able to go to Home Visits in the afternoon to the TAPP program (the program to provide assistance to those people with Aids. They were moved as well as they met many families who are enduring heartache and pain and yet are so welcoming to us who visit them.

We were serenaded by the wonderful High School choir with several beautiful songs. A few people got up and danced with them (I won't mention any names but you would know them if I said them!) and it was a blessed experience. We didn't want to leave!

After another wonderful evening meal we had devotions and talked about what is coming up the next few days. We will be going to Nampunge tomorrow afternoon but since we were unable to see the children at the Kasubi school (at least most of them) several of us are going to be teaching! I am so excited about this! Brenda will be teaching P.E., Debbie and Alexis will be teaching the Nursery school (Pre-K) and I get to teach High School Social Studies! I am excited and nervous but looking forward to this. Debbie, Alexis and I got to spend about an hour with eight high school girls this afternoon and what precious young ladies. Please pray for all of us.

After we leave the school it's off to the village of Nampunge! I will try to tell you more about that in the morning but suffice it to say, we won't be back here (except the medical team and they will be coming back in order to get ready for more medical visits) so unless I can get on in the morning, this will be it until Sunday night. Pray for us that God will use us in a mighty and fabulous way.

One more thing: I love this wonderful team! They surprised me with a little Debbie's cake, a birthday card, song and some genuine African articles. I have felt very loved today and I want to thank all of them. They are so loving.

Well, it's time for a shower and then off to bed. Hopefully. We are all still preparing for the morning.

Love and miss you all!

Valerie