Merry Chritsmas!

I've been thinking about Christmas past and how I've been so Blessed over the years to be with family or friends celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus. Again this year I'm a able to be with family!

I think this year is extra special because it's been so longs since I've seen or had quality time with my family. Thank you Lord for the gift of family and for the gift of your life.

May all my Blog followers, supporters, friends and family have a very Merry Christmas! Remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Well we have our 1st significant snow fall of the year here in Indiana. Dad and I went to breakfast at Harlan Cafe this morning and when we left there was 1 inch of new snow on the ground and by the time we got out of the cafe there was at least 2 inches. You couldn't even see were he had plowed the drive-way this morning. :)

The snow is so beautiful on the trees in the woods and down the road that Dad lives on! The snow just clings to the trees and flocks them in pure white beauty. The weather is SO different from Uganda but all the snow has got me in the Christmas spirit for sure! It's now time to wrap presents, bake Christmas cookies, then snuggle up by the fireplace! :)

Back in the U.S.

Well I'm back in the U.S.! It's been great being with family and seeing friends. I thank God for them.

I've had a few people ask me since I'm back what I missed most. Well besides my family and friends heres a list of those things; hot running water, electricity every day, being able to brush my teeth with the tap water, a refrigerator, good chocolate, high speed internet, loft cookies and deli meat! :)

I haven't had the "too many things in the stores" freak out yet but you never know when it will hit. :) I will have to say it has been weird to go into Wal-Mart and Meijer (super market). People in the U.S. have so many choices; 7 different kinds of butter and don't get me started on cereal!! :) Just think about it. There is something to say about living simple lives. I'm glad that I'm in Indiana right now and havnen't hit the "craziness" of San Diego yet. :)

Well I just thank God that we in the U.S. can enjoy prosperity. I just pray that we remember that it's by God Blessings that we have received this prosperity. Thank you Lord! I pray for those that don't have it in the U.S. and those in the World that are struggle for just one meal or clothes. At this time of year it seems like this is in peoples minds more but I pray that they don't lose that feeling. That all year long the giving and loveing spirit of the Lord to their brothers and sisters of the world be with them.

Two Weddings and a Funeral (1st Wedding)

I have finally experienced the being of a new life as two and the end of a life as one in Uganda. I went to my first Ugandan wedding a month ago in Mbarara. It was a friend’s brother-in-laws wedding, so I attended the Give Away, the Wedding and the Reception, all in very traditional Uganda style.

The Give Away was on a Friday afternoon. It is always in the bride’s home town, so we traveled about 45 minutes away from Mbarara to Ishaka. We were with the groom’s side, so all the family and friends meet up just outside of Ishaka at a small restaurant and traveled to the site of the give away in a caravan of cars. It had rained very heavily that morning and early afternoon so the whole party was delayed. When we arrived on site for the give away all of the family and friends of the groom stood outside of the hall in a long line of couples, all dressed in their traditional Western Uganda give away dresses and suites. It was a parade of colors as we entered the venue, where the bride’s family had been waiting for many hours. The groom’s friends and family were seated for a traditional dinner; cabbage salad, matooke, millet bread, Irish, deep fried cassava, beans, rice, chicken, beef, pork, chapatti, fruit and soda.

After eating we were moved into the main venue for the give away to begin. The bride’s Godfather was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. He introduced the parents of the bride & groom and welcomed everyone. Soon there were men carrying crates of soda, boxes of washing soap, salt, flour and bags of rice in and laying them at his feet. I was told it was a thank you from the groom’s family. Not long after that traditional music started and the maids and the bride entered into the venue in a slow dance positional. They were dressed in brightly colored yellow and blue traditional dresses. They were ended and sat on mats at one end of the hall by her parents table. Then friends and her mother came up and gave her pearl necklaces (still not sure what that was about). After that the bride started walking around the groom’s side of the hall. I was told she was looking for her potential mate and that this was the Introduction part of the ceremony not the give away yet. She finally found him and took him to her mat with the maids. When that was done they both left the hall and the guest were server sodas and there was entertainment of traditional dances.

About a half hour later the maids and the bride come strolling in again, this time with red, orange and gold traditional dresses on. Ahh finally the give away was to begin. Then the groom and his best man came in and were taken to the mats were the bride and maids were. The bride and groom were joined by the Godfather, told to hold hands, some words were spoken and then everyone cheered! You’d think that was it but no. The groom left and the bride joined her eldest brother at the large table in the center of the room with about 6 cakes on it. They cut a main cake together and then drank from goblets. My friend told me this was a symbol of the family’s last meal with the bride and giving the toast was a blessing to the future marriage. The maids came around with plates with small pieces of cake for the guest to have. Then the speeches started from the brother, the groom’s family, the bride’s family, aunties, brothers, sisters, uncles, friends etc. During the speeches some of the cakes from the table were wrapped and given to family or friends, and there were also thank you baskets and presents given to people that made speeches. This last about 2 more hours. Finally about 10pm the give away was finished. It was time to head home and prepare for tomorrow’s wedding.



The wedding was at the Anglican Cathedral in Mbarara, a beautiful old brick church with amazing stained glass windows. It actually reminded me of my Grandparent’s church in the states. The wedding was supposed to start at noon but it didn’t start till 1pm because the bride and the maids were stuck at the saloon getting their hair done. Anyway, when it did start it was a very beautiful wedding! The bride was beautiful and the flower girl and peg boy (Not a ring bearer because he carries a small broom) were so cute! The Arch Bishop of Kabale even proceeded over the wedding along with the cathedral’s priest, both giving meaningful sermons. After the ceremony and all the pictures were over we headed to the reception.

6 Days Without Power!

Does anyone out there know what it is like to go without power for 6 days? We people from the U.S. never seem to go without anything including power.

It has been a challenge but God is Blessing our time with no power. I've been reading a lot more. It has given me time to really reflect on my time here in Uganda. We have had 2 nights were we sat outside for our Bible studies. We worshiped and prayed by the wonderful moonlight and stars that God has provided all of us. We've also had time to just set and chat with the kids at night were other times we would be working on the computer.

So the no power time has been a blessing. But I've also needed to get some last minute work done before I leave for the U.S. so I've spent quite a few mornings at the internet cafe in town. Thank God for the cafe and being able to get things finished up!

U.S. Thanksgiving in Uganda

Well we had our 1st U.S. Thanksgiving in Uganda. Our dinner was amazing thanks to Jim's chef skills...wow! Jim, Robyn and I had a great talk about the blessings of past Thanksgivings with family and friends. We thank the Lord that we were able to have those memories and able to create a new one this year in Uganda. I will always remember my " 1st Uganda Thanksgiving". Thank you Jim and Robyn for making it so special!

B-Day Ugandan Style

I had a great Birthday yesterday thanks to all my friends and family in the States and especially my FAMILY at Door of Hope! The children here threw me a wonderful party! All day I was kept out of the sitting room because Priscilla and some of the other girls were in and out decorating up a "storm" :) Robyn "got me out of the house" for a girls lunch at Uganda Child Care. It was so wonderful to have ice cream...cold and yummy!! By the time evening came I was only allowed in my room because of the flurry of surprises that were being created in the house especially for me!

It was all worth it because when it was time for dinner the party was starting! :) Jim made my favorite, spaghetti with his "famous" meat sauce and we had sodas for the whole family! Wow what a treat!! Moses was snapping pictures left and right! :) Wow was I stuffed after 2 plates of spaghetti hehe!

Then the big unveiling of the "surprise" in the sitting room happened. Everyone but me and Shadia, my "escort" for the night went into the room. Shadia lead me in and as soon as I entered I was AMAZED at all the BEAUTIFUL decorations and how festive the room was! Then the girls started throwing flower petals on me...wow I felt like a princess (that ones for you Jim). Shadia escorted me to my "special seat" and the festivities began!

Moses was the MC for the evening! He even wore a special "B-Day MC" hat that he made...too cute. Auntie Fatumah opened in prayer and then DJ Matthew and Rock kicked off the tunes. There was dancing my Rob, songs by Jennifer, Shadia, & Sara. Then a skit that was a total crack up about my birth and naming me Rita. I laughed so hard!! Thank you Winnie (Mom), Rob (brother Rob), Jennifer (Dad), Barbra (friend), and David (Doctor) you all made me smile!! I am so thankful to John Travis for the word and preaching he gave last night about God's plan for our lives...thank you!
Then of course it was "Cake Time"! The lights went out and the pink, pancake cake was brought in with 1 big candle in the middle burning bright. I made a speech and a wish and blew! We all ate cake, laughed, and took more pictures. That wasn't the end the music, dancing and drumming started again! Fun was had by ALL!!

Thank you family and thank you God for Blessing me!!

Three Weeks till I leave for the U.S.

Wow I can’t believe that I only have 3 weeks left in Uganda! I remember writing when I had only been here three weeks and it just seems like yesterday! So much has happened to me and the children here since I arrived at Door of Hope on February 11th. When I head back to the U.S. on December 6th it will be almost exactly 11 months that I’ve been in Uganda. When I get to the states I’ll be going to visit my parents and family in Indiana for a month over the Christmas and New Years Holiday. I’ll then be heading to San Diego to see friends, clean out my storage unit, and sell things, so I can do what God has directed me to do….”COME BACK TO UGANDA”. I’m even going to sell my little, red, Honda Civic, so if anyone know of someone that needs a great car, with low miles please let me know. Thanks!

It’s amazing to me what God has allowed me to be a part of at DOH. I have seen these children physically grow, become leaders within the house and at school, deal with many emotional issues, develop their faith, learn to love again, and know what it is like to have a family for the FIRST time in their lives!

As a missionary for Door of Hope (DOH) I have wore many “hats”; from shopping at the market, to administrative assistant to the director, to Bible Study leader, to counselor, to project coordinator, to the children’s Auntie. Each role, along with others that I didn’t mention, fills my day and has brought me closer to the Lord. It has allowed me to show His LOVE to these children and in turn I’ve received it back ten-fold.

I could keep telling you about ALL of the wonderful things that God has done in the last 10 months, but I have to stop and get to the point. The Lord has called me to continue serving Him at the Door of Hope Family in 2010. In doing that I am putting all my faith forward that the Lord will provide for all my needs, as I am volunteering for Him. So I ask you to please consider sponsoring me again in 2010. It is by God’s grace I am here and I’m getting through. I never discount the LOVE and HOPE that God gives me as long as I have the FAITH!

Thank you for all your prayers, support and love! God be with you all!

In Him,
Rita

Village Life

What can I say; village life is even a different experience then how I live at the house Masaka. Yes all both are living in Uganda but the village has its own challenges and rewards!

You remember back in the 1800’s when people would have chamber pots and pitches & basins in their rooms? Well when I was told to use a plastic basin to urinate in at night because I couldn’t get out of the locked house and down to the latrine in the dark I had to remind myself that I was using a chamber pot of the 1800’s in 2009. In the morning I used my make-shift pitcher & basin too. I would pour water from a plastic pitcher into another basin and wash my face, legs and feet, then get dressed to go outside.

Each morning as I walked out of the front door of the house to go to the latrine, I was greeted by about ten of the St. Mark’s students that had already arrived for class. I walked down the dirt hills in the compound, carefully making sure I didn’t trip, and dodging the cow piles, down to the mud walled latrine. I then dumped the contents of my night basin into the small hole in the dirt floor of the latrine and then I proceeded to rinse the basin out with water from a jerry can that was by the latrine.

From there I walked back to the house, always greeted again by the small children. By then breakfast was ready. Usually breakfast consisted of tea, small yellow bananas, bread or buns, and jam. Pretty much everyday I’d eat with Charles and Edith, the owners of the house, but sometimes by myself. When we’d eat together we had very pleasant conversation of how our night was and what was planned for the day. From there I would go onto teach at St. Mark’s but that is another blog.

Lunch time was usually around 1:30 or 2:00pm. Charles and I would gather in the sitting room as we had for breakfast, around the coffee table, to have lunch. Lunch varied from time to time but most days in consisted of matooke, g-nut sauce mixed with something, and Irish or rice. Charles and I would chat about the morning, how classes are going and what we wanted to do in the afternoon; go to market, rest and read, visit the church or compassion project, or go visit a house in the mountains for prayers. So my afternoon was usually busy walking around with Charles, with Rosette into Kisiizi or one of the other teachers, usually Teacher Mercy.

By the time I would return from my afternoon adventures it was warm enough outside (usually) to bathe. Bathing was another experience; there was a small mud & plaster building with a partial cement floor used for the bath house. In the afternoon I would tote a washing basin, wash cloth, soap, pitcher and large jerry can full of water to the bath house. Then I would have to come back to the house change into my robe, put on my shower slippers, wrap a towel around my waist and walk though the compound dodging the mud, and cow piles to the bath house. As you could imagine bathing was like a camping shower. I always prayed it was warm outside cause if it wasn’t I was so cold!

Every afternoon was spent on Rosette’s cement porch of her small house talking and preparing food for supper. It was usually Grandma, Rosette, Dorothy, and the three of the 6 children that lived on the compound. They’d chat about the day or life, usually in Rukhiga, Rosette would translate for me, and peel matooke or Irish. By night fall the kerosene lanterns were lit, as there was no electricity, and everyone would head into the main house or by the cooking fire to stay warm. About 9:30 every night supper was served. Supper always consisted of matooke and g-nut sauce with a few additions each night. Sometimes rice, Irish, or sweet potatoes and occasionally we had beef, pork or tripe (stomach & intestines). After supper we’d always pray and then Charles would say it’s time to go to bed, so we’d all say good-night and head to our rooms. I usually would stay up and read my torch light (flashlight) or candle light tell I was tired.

Life there had its joys as much as the challenges you read above. I think my biggest joy was the love that the family and my co-teachers showed and expressed to me daily! Just caring for me; making sure that I had meals, water for bathing, that I was comfortable and never bored. That showed such kindness and love. Even when I got sick for a few days and was down in bed with a cough and fever the family, especially Rosette, Charles and Edith would check one me a lot. When I got a little stronger Edith even took me to Kisiizi hospital to get checked, tests and medicine. Every morning the Grandma (Jajja) and I would hug. She did not speak any English but I knew that hug every morning expressed LOVE. All in all the LOVE that I experienced there far out weighed any kind of “American discomfort” that I experienced. This experience thought me that I could grow in God’s love and gain strength from Him in any experience that I have! Thank you God!

Sights and Sounds of Kisiizi

As I step up the driveway incline, through the gate and onto the red dirt road leading into Kisiizi a rush of sights and sounds come to me. I see the little children across the road chasing their bicycle tire with a stick, the only toy they know. Of course I’m greeted by them with the only English they know, “How are you”. I reply, “Good” and they go about playing. As I walk down the road a breeze rushes through rustling the matooke tree leaves. I’m surrounded by matooke plantations on either side of me. It is such a beautiful sight, all of the green banana looking trees, very exotic, I know I’m not in the U.S.. From the matooke plantations I look up the lush green hills to see pine and hard wood trees. It is an amazing sight to behold! I think to myself, God is so creative and full of majesty. I then come to an area of the dirt road that has turned to mud because the water running down from the hills. The water has created a small stream across the road which runs clear with small rocks at its base. It’s wonderful to hear the babble of a stream, something very tranquil about it. I jump across and keep walking.

As I walk I occasionally see a small wood or mud houses with tin roofs on them. Out in front of the houses are children running around the front yard, of red dirt, playing as men set outside on the ground or on a bench talking. I’m greeted by some of the small children, “Agandi teacher Rita”. They are some of my nursery school students. Agandi means how are you in Ruchiga (Lu’chi’ga), the local tribal language. I greet them back, ni gaahe, meaning ok. I keep walking peering out at the green hill sides and see boys walking up them with their cows and goats in a row climbing the hill for grazing. Naturally I have to look down quite a bit because the road has many ruts, holes and some mud on it, so I can’t be looking up at all the beautiful scenery surrounding me as much as I’d like. I have to stop walking to do that.

That’s what I do next because the matooke plantations have stopped and the valley has opened up to fertile farm ground. I see women, with their colorful pagnes wrapped around them, out in the field digging the dark black soil. The color contrasts are a sight to behold. The dark black soil is just waiting to produce crops of sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes or beans for the next season. The women look up at me at wave and I wave back. I’m almost to the Kisiizi trading center now, just a few minutes ahead of me, and I hear a pig snorting. He is tied to a small tree, routing in the dirt for something. I have to giggle at his sounds. I cross over a small bridge and look below me at the river water rushing by. Then see to the left of me pasture, cows grazing and up the mountain side thick group of trees. Wow how beautiful! The road opens up to a canopy of very large trees beckoning you into the trading center. As you head up the road you see Kisiizi Hospital Primary school, then the Hospital. You finally reach the trading center, with its makeshift wooden stalls, with women selling tomatoes, passion fruit, Irish, and small bananas. Opposite of this are 10 or so small wooden huts selling everything from candles and soap to feed for chickens. This is Kisiizi!

Slience is Broken

I'm sorry I've been silent for a month but I've been in Kampala in the riot, Tanzania at a University and for the last 3 plus weeks in a village in Western Uganda...Kisiizi. Kisiizi has NO internet, so I have lots of my adventures and experiences to blog about. I'm actually at a small internet site at Lake Bunyoni...outside Kabale right now.

Please look for these fun, interesting, and informational blogs to be post upon my return to Masaka; The Riot, Sights & sounds of Kisiizi, Village Life, St. Mark's Nursery/Primary, One Wedding & a Funeral, and Four Hour Roller coaster Ride! :) Just know that God is opening my eyes to so much and setting my direction to what He has for me! God Bless!!

Little Angels

Are John and Moses Little Angels? Well they are 10 and 11 year old boys, so you can answer that one! But they are great kids and two of my boys, so in my heart they are my “little angels”.



Actually “Little Angels” is the name of the Sunday School group at our church, MPC. Today was their BIG Sunday performance at both services. John and Moses have been practicing hard all week with the group and were both very excited to perform today. Moses even had the lead vocals on two songs in the second service. Of course I was the proud Auntie and was taking pictures like crazy! They both did a wonderful job and I’m happy to say the congregation enjoyed as much as I did!

Being Mothers to the Motherless

Wednesday night I came home form mid-week service and set down for dinner and a quick e-mail to my Mom. This time was soon interrupted when Aunt Fatumah came in the main house and got me because she was scared. She had been in the girls dorm and found one of our older girls, Shadia, crying and in extreme pain from a headache.

We immediately went up to assess her situation. As soon as I walked in I found all the other girls gathered around her trying to comfort her as she wailed, and cried out in pain. I couldn’t believe how bad she was, but had to keep a level head and help her. I knew right away she had a migraine, so I sent the girls out to pray, turned off the lights and tried to calm Shadia down. Fatumah got a cold cloth and it was placed over Shadia’s head and eyes. I got her the only thing I had for a headache, three extra strength Tylenol. We calmed her down by softly praying for her and rubbing her back. She still moaned in pain but wasn’t crying or screaming anymore. Slowly she fell into a peaceful state. Aunt and I stayed with her silently praying and humming worship songs tell she fell asleep. I thank God that we could be there for Shadia, and be her mothers’ in her time of need.

Prayers Needed Please!

As you know I'm getting ready to leave for a month in the village of Kisizi in Western Uganda. I had some unsual things happen in the last 24 hours that is telling me that we need to pray hard to break any strong holds the devil has on this trip or on me.

Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

The first thing that happened is that I was at mid-week service last night and the visiting pastor laid hands on my head and cast out any evil against me. Second my brother called me last night after service and told me that he had a dream that morning that I was violently killed in Africa. Then I spoke to another friend this morning that I'm very close to and told him of my brothers dream. He said that he dreamed last night that someone close to him died and there were ghost flying around in his dream.

As you can see the Evil one is working to stop this and scare me. I will not stand for that because our God is stronger then that and I'm going to do His work. So please pray to break any evil that could fall upon me! Thank you so much!!

Romans 8:38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

May God watch over you and bless you all!

Goat Farm Field Trip

Goat Farm Field Trip
August 26, 2009

The DOH children, Jim and I went on a field trip last Wednesday to a working goat farm. We had a great day seeing how the farm was run African style. This is a dairy goat farm with about 150 goats, 10 Frisian/Black and White Holstein cows, chickens, dogs and 2 donkeys. Our friend, Dave Dowdy, has run the farm for the last 15 years. He and his wife started that project as a Deliverance Church J.O.Y. youth project and it is still going strong. Dave will be handing over the project to a new couple, John and Ali, in a few months but says he’ll really miss being on the farm.



Dave’s back ground is as a chemist, so he gave us a very detailed and entertaining teaching tour of the farm. We learned about the types of goats, how they are breed, the type of plants and tree leaves they are feed, and what the farm does to keep it’s self sufficient. We even found that the goats like the banana peels that we had left from lunch...see Robert feeding one of them :)



The farm has 2 main types of exotic milk goats, Saanens, Toggenburg and 1 type of exotic meat goat, the Boar from South Africa. We learned that Uganda has no milk pure goats’ only meat goats in the country. By introducing the exotic goats into the country they were able to give the peoples a cheaper way to bring milk to their families in the villages. The farm breeds these goats and sells them to the villages. The project also helps out local village children that do not have ability to go to school. They come and work on the farm and in turn they are given funds to provide for their primary or secondary school fees and some go on to vocational training and university. It’s given many children over the years wonderful opportunities to an education they never thought they’d have!

By teaming with Dave and J.O.Y. we were able to give our children an educational day that they may never have had. The children really enjoyed their day and at least 2 of the boys want to go back to learn more...me too! And nope I didn’t try milking a goat, but I hope to soon!

Wow 7 Months in Uganda!

Greetings All~

Wow, I can’t believe it's been 7 months since I left the U.S. on this mission adventure with God! I’ll have to say the time here in Uganda has had its ups and downs, just as life would, but one thing I do know is that God has me here in Africa for longer then just an 11 month stay. I know I'm supposed to be back here to live!

With that said, I do have to head back to the U.S. to see family, friends, close out my storage unit and sale my car. I’m planning on leaving Uganda in early December and then heading back sometime in mid-February. I’m not exactly sure what God has for me when I return, so please keep that in your prayers. However, He has reveled to me that I’m to go to Western Uganda around September 12th for a month. The village I’ll be going to is near the town of Kabale , and it is called, Kisizi. (If you want to look it up on a map) I’ve been ask to work in a primary school there and do evangelism in the village for a month. While there I will be doing assessments on the school curriculum, and the needs of the school, and people in area. This village primary school could be the next mission field for me, I don’t know.

However, I do know that the way God revealed this task to me in an amazing combination of events. I was at my church at a training conference and we were all asked to write down the prayers that we would like God to answer. One of my prayers was for Him to reveal what He has for future ministry work for me. We then all prayed for those prayers to be answered. The next morning a friend of mine rang me and asked me to come to Kisizi and work at the village primary school. This answered prayer was further confirmed when I thought back on two separate visions friends from San Diego had last year about me. They both envisioned me working with small children in a village, in Africa , next to a river. Of course, the village of Kisizi has a river that flows through it! God works so amazingly!!

As you can see, I know that I need to be serving the Lord in some capacity here in Uganda . So I ask that if God puts upon your heart to support my mission journey in any capacity please heed His call. I know that He will provide for my needs and if it is through you I thank Him for the Blessing!

Send support to the below address:
Faith Hope Love Missions
C/o Rita Beach
14234 Stoney Gate Place
San Diego, CA 92128

Thank you too for being such amazing supporters of my mission work this year and in years past. I hope you know how God is using you even if you aren’t physically here in Uganda! :)

Take care and God’s Blessings to you all!

Song of Deliverance

I came to realize in my 5 days in Gulu that there are no birds left or at least they aren't singing the sweet song of deliverance! I say deliverance, because in April of this year the IDP (internally displaced peoples) camps were closed and people were allowed to return back to their villages. This was a huge step because in the Spring of 2007 the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) that was waging the war there for the last 20 years had moved its conflict to the Congo. Just as the Israelites moved back to their land from Egypt the Acholi peoples are now able to be delivered to their lands again.

I hope that the sweet sound of the birds finally come back. It was such a strange realization for me to not hear the birds. After living in Masaka for the last 7 months and hearing the tweet and chirping of birds outside the windows all the time I found it disturbing. Had all the joy left Gulu with the birds? I pray that the joyful sounds of song return very soon! Just as Prophet Miriam sang a song of deliverance in Exodus 15: 20-21, I pray the song comes back to Gulu very soon!

The Gulu

Francis Sterling Palmer, Adam & Michelle's soon to be adopted 3 year old, calls it The Gulu! :) Well he is correct it is The Gulu....a place that has seen the ravage of a 20 year war on its land and its people.

The trip I took to Gulu is a 4 year prayer request that finally came to be Aug 01- 05. For a missionary that has lived in Uganda for the last 7 months it's hard to imagine that I'd still be processing the spiritual effects it has had on me...but I am!

I noticed the scar that the was has left on the children on Sunday, our 1st day of outreach. After Sunday service the team went back that afternoon to Calvary Chapel Gulu. Our team of 17 missionaries did VBS and played football with over 500 children from the area. Nice ratios huh? :) Well the Calvary Chapel Gulu Sunday School teachers were an absolute God send with helping us with translation, song, and just handling the children! :)

Teacher Mary, Amy, Brian and I had the 5 and younger group. They are SOOO cute! Anyway, we sang songs and told the story of Daniel and The Lions Den to them. Actually, Brian became Daniel and the children the lions, as we acted out the story...to fun! It was a great time with the kids but when it came time to interact these kids were unusually "skittish". Most Ugandan children have to learn to hug and show affection of any kind but these kids were like "little statues". :( When anyone would try and put their arm around them they would almost jump (flinch) as to be scared. It was so sad to me how war around them and not having love has changed them. I obviously don't know if any of these children had been in the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps or seen the horrible things that the war had brought to here area but it sure seemed like it. I hope and pray God's love came through in the little time we spent with them that afternoon! I pray it showed them that there is love and it is from GOD!! John 13: 34-35

Gifts from Gulu

Last Friday, Aug 7th, I felt like I had the flu so I took the nessacary meds for it. But of course I have to remember that I'm in Africa and flu symptoms don't always mean flu! :) Of course I got worse so by Wed this week I was in clinic. They tested me for malaria, typhoid, and gardias. Sure enough I had 2 of the 3, tyhoid and gardias (paracites)...yuck! Two gifts from Gulu!

I'm on three meds now and improving daily. I'll have to say that the health care here is very cheap in comparission to the U.S.. My doctors visit, 3 lab test, and all my meds were only 38,500 shillings ($16.50 in U.S. dollars). So what's wrong with the U.S. health care system?? huh? Anyway, that's another blog but think about it. :)

So I have to remember I'm still a Muzungo and I can't trust the water....even if it is in yummy passion fruit juice! :)

Prayer Request: I wasn't the only on to receive these "gifts from Gulu". Nine other team members got what I have too so please pray for them!! Thanks and God Bless!

Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do

June 27, 2009

Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do

Saturday was an amazing day of beautiful music, and dance. Jim, Robyn, Stacy (our short term volunteer) and I went to see our Primary children perform in the second round of Masaka District choir competition. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when we arrived at Bishop’s Secondary school it was like a carnival atmosphere. There were students everywhere and there was an amazing sea of color from all of the different school uniforms the children were wearing. By the time we got there some of the primary schools were already performing. Jim, Robyn and Stacy found seats up front but I opted to stand in the back and be loose to take pictures. After I watched the first school perform I took off to find our children.

Down the hill from the competition I found all of the yellow clad Blessed Sacrament students under a large banyan tree. Most of the students were all sat patiently waiting to be called to perform, but of course I found our boys were running around and playing their drums. I was able to meet some of the boy’s friends and take pictures of them. Unfortunately that caused quite a stir amongst the students. I had to stop the pictures for a while and just visit with our children, Winnie, Imelda, Rock, Rob and Matty. We all had a great time talking, laughing and joking around before they went on.



They were finally called to perform their 1st of 3 performances so they lined up! I could tell some were nervous so I encouraged them.

From Muslim to Christian

June 25, 2009

From Muslim to Christian

Per usual after dinner each night we have a Bible study with the children sometimes I lead, or Jim and on occasion one of the children lead. But last night was special to me because Matthew wanted to lead.

Let me give you a brief background on Matthew. (Please see the attached word doc for his testimony) Matty, as we call him, used to be Mohammad a.k.a Maddy. When he came to The Door of Hope Families back in March it was a very different experience for him, as he had lived on the street for the last 10 years. As a street boy he experienced no food, shelter, fighting, steeling, and drugs. But Matty is a natural leader and when Aunt Fatumah told him about Jesus and he became a moloaka (born again Christian) he naturally told all the street boys that would listen about Jesus. He became the head of the moloaka street boys! It was such a different life from what he had lead with his uncle as a Muslim. He knows he has a savior now! Living in a Christian environment at the Door of Hope Matty has “blossomed” into an amazing prayer leader. He has also committed himself fully to strengthen his walk as a born again and changed his name from Mohammad to Matthew. It is amazing to see the change in him and He loves the Lord so much now! I love how God works when we allow Him to work in our lives!

The Downside of Cultural Issues & Misunderstandings

June 11, 2009
The Downside of Cultural Issues & Misunderstandings

Ok if anyone asked me what are some of the interesting downsides of your long term missionary trip I’d have to say cultural issues and misunderstandings. Unfortunately cultural issues get in the way of ministry and lately for HWP they have got in the way a lot!

In the last three weeks all these things have happened; a nasty termination of our house Daddy/Social Worker, accosting of myself by an elected official, the robbery of the Door of Hope house and extraction from the house of a young man we were assisting temporarily. Does it sound like spiritual attacks? Is Satan alive and well in Masaka? Or is it cultural issues and misunderstandings. I think all 3!

The vast majority of the African population has grown up with the “hand held out” mentality. This mentality has been predicated by American, UK and other foreign NGO’s and Government organizations giving, giving, giving! From child sponsors for school fees to food handed out in lunch lines from the government. Many don’t have to “work” for any of their provisions, expect muzungos to be rich, give them money or things and/or then be all loving and non-confrontational. I’ve had Ugandan pastors say that the things we are experiencing are cultural misunderstandings. They say that Ugandans don’t have the same work ethic or understanding of business as Americans. They also say things like, we need to understand that Ugandans weren’t raised with an open communication to people like Americans are, that Americans are “too free” with their way of communicating and with their lives. Cultural differences, yes, but not able to work with the people? I don’t think so! How is it that Ugandans can be praising God, with hands held high, and be in reverent prayer and then an hour later be yelling at you and trying to extort money from you?

This may sound harsh coming from a missionary and someone that is supposed to love and care about the people of the nations. I guess living and seeing this mentality in most of the people in Uganda makes you re-think how you have to approach a 3rd world culture like Uganda. All of the cultural classes, the short term mission trips and mentoring from pastors doesn’t completely prepare you for “living it”. Don’t get me wrong, I love the people here!! Really not all the people are this way. You’ve all read my other Blogs. I’ve been so Blessed and I’m continually excited by all of the things God is doing here, with the children, the people and in me. It is just hard to go through the trials we have had in the last three weeks. Please keep us ALL in prayer; He Will Provide Ministries, Robyn, Jim, the 15 children and me. Thanks all and God’s Blessings!!

1 Peter 3:17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, then to suffer for doing wrong.

Touch of England in Uganda

June 09, 2009
Touch of England in Uganda

Today is National Heroes Day in Uganda so the children were out of school, so we planned a "field trip" for them. This morning we had the pleasure of going to see an English Garden in Uganda. Beryl and Allan Went are from Essex, England and are full time missionaries here in Masaka. They have a ministry called Love in Action; primary schools, training young men and women for life and running a internet cafe in Masaka...they aren't busy at all :)

Anyway, they have lived here for 6 years and in the last 4 years have bought a house, a plot of land and have developed it into a beautiful English garden. I say developed because when the plot was purchased it was nothing but weeds, rocks and rubbish when they purchased it.

At 10am all 18 of us walked over to their home and had a tour of the gardens. We saw every kind of vegetable, including strawberries which you don't have in Uganda. We saw beautiful flowers both exotic and English, sugar cane, bamboo, and fruit trees like mango, guava, pomegranate, and apple. It is amazing how God can develop something of rock and rubbish into a garden of beauty and peace.

DOH Outreach with Gospel Truth Ministries in Rakai District

May 24, 2009

DOH Outreach with Gospel Truth Ministries in Rakai District

Door of Hope had an amazing village outreach yesterday in the Rakai District. This district was the 1st place that AIDS was found in the world so there is still a lot of pain suffering and loss of hope there. :( But we brought them the faith, hope and love of God!

The Door of Hope partnered with Gospel Truth Ministries which is lead by Pastor
Moses Umar Zzimbe. Pastor Moses has a church in Masaka and a daily morning Christian radio program on Equator Radio 93.0- Masaka. I’ve worked with Pastor Moses before on the 2006 Believers World Outreach (BWO) evangelism team outreaches in Masaka. He is a great man and has an amazing testimony from being a Muslim to becoming a Christian, but that’s another blog! :)

Our day started out at 10am when all 15 children, 4 adults (Jim, Robyn, Julie and I), and Pastor Moses boarded our hired “mini-bus” taxi. As we drove through Masaka town we picked up Dr. Mawana and another Pastor. Gees I thought the “bus” was crowded already then we packed them in too! So down the road we all went with the packed mini- bus of people and supplies for the outreach.



We arrived in the village of Rwamba in the Rakai District about 45 minutes later full of energy, excitement and anticipation of what the day was going to bring. We pulled up to the village church and all climbed out thankful for the safe journey and to be able to move our legs again. Immediately we were introduced to some of the church members and the people that were going to guide us on our door to door evangelism. We broke up into four groups, each going north, south, east and west, to cover the whole village area. The Pastor prayed for God’s favor and then we were off to spread the word of the Lord!

Our team was Pastor Moses, Shadia, Rock, little John, Barbra and me. As we walked down the dirt road I couldn’t help but notice the natural beauty of the area. Laid out before me were lush green hills, the village gardens of; matooka (banana) trees, g-nuts (peanuts) and tomatoes and the beautiful wild flowers. How could an area of such beauty have had so much death surrounding it? I pondered that as we walked to the first house.


To Be Continued……..Look for the 2nd part of the posting tomorrow

The Door of Hope Families is Doing So Much! by Jessica Winblad

Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Door of Hope Families is Doing So Much!
I just wanted to share how impressed I am with all the amazing things Robyn and Jim are doing at the Door of Hope. Until I started getting involved in updating the website recently, and receiving pictures from Jim for the website, I had no idea they were doing so many projects!

They're really doing an amazing job of not only providing for the physical needs of these kids, but providing a house of discipleship. They're teaching the kids servant-leadership by example, taking the kids out into the community to pray for the sick at the hospitals, to clean up the trash on the road, and many other things. I couldn't get over how many smiles I saw on these children's faces at Door of Hope, because I'd spent a lot of time with some of these children when I was in Uganda, and yes, I've seen them smile, but now, I see radiant smiles. And it makes me so happy to see photos and updates that they've been going on outings to visit the relatives of the children when they are able! They really act like a family!

By Jessica Winblad- Technical Assistant to HWP Ministries/DOH

I also wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures of Door of Hope and their ministry actives:
Look at the Dormitories at Door of Hope:


Those bright pink beds in the girl’s dormitory look so inviting! And no only are the beds new and not in disrepair or otherwise dangerous, the beds are properly outfitted with sheets, blankets, and pillows. Maybe that doesn't sound so amazing from an American mindset, but I saw more than enough beds that did not have so much as sheets that could be washed on them, and pillows were quite few and far between.

And did you notice the beautiful painting on the walls inside and outside the dormitories? Volunteers painted the walls in the girl’s dormitory with butterflies, flowers, and scripture. It looks so inviting and welcoming!
Volunteer art teacher came to paint the girls dorm Volunteer artist came to paint the girls dorm



The kids are all receiving a quality education at local primary and secondary schools. They look so sharp (or "smart" as the Ugandans would say) in their school uniforms!
Kids at the school with Daddy Brian Shadia, Winnie, Sara, John, Jennifer, Barbara, Rock, Imelda, and Moses


They celebrate birthdays at the Door of Hope. Can you see those bright smiles? I think many of those kids have never had their birthdays recognized, let alone gotten treats like blowing out candles on a birthday cake!
Happy Birthday Winnie'


Some more favorites:

Robyn is the cheerleader Barbara family pictures 055.jpg

And the kids even go on outings, such as this one to the beach. They look like they are having soooo much fun!


Door of Hope family Cleaning trash of the street for an outreach project:


Babra praying for the sick at the hospital:

Speke Rd Clean Up Outreach

May 5 and 9, 2009

Speke Road Clean Up

On Tuesday and Saturday last week the children and staff of the Door of Hope did another community outreach program! We started the morning off with an introduction by Jjaja Jim of why God wants us to keep our world clean. Genesis 2: 15 states The Lord placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it. He said, “This world has been given to man to take care of and us as a family need to do our part in our neighborhood and in the community to take care of it.” Jim also talked about how one little “sweetie” wrapper that you throw on the ground starts to grow into all the rubbish that we see on our road today. So look for the smallest thing and pick it up!

HWP Speke Rd Clean Up Outreach!

Market Day in Masaka

Dr. Sam Leading the Door of Hope Hospital Outreach

Market Day in Masaka

May 8, 2009
Market Day in Masaka

It Friday and it is market day in Masaka! Robyn and I are taking the younger boys, Moses, Little John and Rob to the market to get some t-shirts and shorts. We’ve just turned the corner onto the main street and the crowds appear before us. There are vendors on the median, and the sides of the road. Their tarps spread out before us with every kind of cheap Chinese ware you can imagine on them for sale. When we walk by into the main market place I hear the calls of mazungo, mazungo what are you buying from me. As we enter the market to head to the second hand cloths stalls all you can see are people, colors, sounds of chickens, and the barkers shouting their deals for the day. It is controlled chaos at its best!

We reach the first stall and Robyn and I start picking out shirts. Do you like this one?, we ask. No, no, no are the boys responses. They start sorting through the piles and don’t find anything either so we are all off to the next stall. John and I start weeding through the piles of shirts and ahh we’ve found a match, and another. I find out John likes strips on his shirts! We bargain with the lady and get the 3 shirts down to 2,500 shillings a piece. But Moses and Rob are another story; we can’t seem to find anything they like yet, so we are off. We push our way through the crowds down the slope to another stall. This lady we’ve bought from before and know she has good clothes. The boys take over the small wooden stall and start picking up shirts left and right, Auntie do you like this one or this one? Moses finally comes to me with 2 shirts, which are both great! He has such different taste then John in clothes, football jerseys and shirts with pictures on them. So off we go with a Sea World t-shirt and a Manchester United goalie jersey!

Market day doesn’t end there; we still need to get our fruits and veggies. We all head over to our usually veggie stand and buy 8 onions, 2 green peppers, 8 tomatoes, all for about 1,000 shillings a piece. The guy we buy from is great; he and his son run the stand and always greet us with a smile! Then it is over to the fruit lady to buy bananas, a big bunch for 1,500 or 2,000 shillings depending on the ladies mood.

We pick up a few more things for the boys, a belt for John and school socks for Moses and then we are headed back to the house. What a day at the Friday Market!! :)

Door of Hope Hospital Outreach

April 30, 2009

Door of Hope Hospital Outreach

We all had the pleasure of going to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital (Mulago) for an outreach last Thursday afternoon. It was the first experience for all but 4 of the 15 children. Fifteen of the children, Robyn, Uncle Sam and I all took the 45 minute walk over to the hospital. It was a fun walk, as the children talked about the things they expected to see. When we reached the hospital front gate we were all meet by our friend, Dr. Sam. He briefed the children on how to act in the hospital, what they may see and what wards we were going to go to. We broke up the group into smaller groups, two to three children with each of the four adults.

I headed to the children’s ward with Maddy, Barbra, and Shadia. It was my sixth time to the children’s ward, but as many times as I’ve been, I never completely get used to the over flow of the children lying on mattresses outside the ward sections or the smell of the ward. It is hard, but I know God is stretching me when I go and this time I had to be a strong leader for our children.

We headed in and went to the far end of the ward to pray for the babies and children. When we walked in our children, Maddy and Shadia, weren’t hesitant at all to start praying for the babies and children. We went to the first crib and asked the Mother if we could pray for her child. Shadia interrupted for me as I talked to the mother. We found out that she was from a village surrounding Masaka and that she had been at the hospital for 5 days because her daughter, Margaret, had malaria. The daughter was much better after her stay and they were getting ready to go back to their village. We continued through the ward we able to talk to, share stuffed animals & sweeties with and read stories too many mothers and their babies. Most of the babies we prayed for had malaria with complications, like pneumonia, sever diarrhea or meningitis. We had finished showing love and praying in two of the sections and it was time for the group to move onto another ward. As we passed through the corridor congested with babies and parents I saw a tiny little baby on a mattress on the floor. It caught Shadia’s eye too and we all decided to pray for the baby. As we all knelt down we could hear the baby coughing and gasping for air. I could tell it was very, very sick!! We all started praying fervently asking for healing and then the Holy Spirit took over—I began to pray harder and cry. I could hear Shadia crying through her prayer too. It was very moving and amazing moment for all of us!

After praying we meet up with the other groups and we all headed to the women’s ward. Dr. Sam said that many of the ladies in the ward were suffering from complications from HIV and most were in stage 3 or 4 of the disease. Most of the women had pneumonia, herpes, cancer, TB (in another ward), and many gastrointestinal diseases. It was sad to see but praying for them, talking to them and showing them the love of God helps them through their rough life.

Next we were on to the men’s surgical ward. Some of the children didn’t want to go into this ward because of the suffering that they see on the persons faces after surgery. As soon as we entered we saw a man and child from our church. The boy has had several surgeries to repair a problem caused by a malaria IV. I’m not exactly sure what was wrong but we prayed for heal for the boy and for the Lord to provide for all of the financial needs for the medicine and surgeries. As we went through the ward we saw men that were recovering from accidents, panga (machete) injuries, heart and intestinal surgeries. We prayed for many of them and they were very glad to know that people were caring about them.

The last ward we visited was the psychiatric ward or the “mad ward” as the children call it. At first many of the children were very hesitant to even walk down the hill to go on to the grounds of the ward as they could see many of the patients outside walking around, and one boy lying on the ground. As soon some of the adults walked down to the grounds and started talking to the patients, more of the children felt comfortable enough to come down and even walk into the ward. Robert, one of our elder boys, knelt down to the boy on the ground and started praying for him. Others joined in and soon you could hear singing from within the ward. It was our children praising the Lord and praying with the patients inside. It was such an awesome, proud feeling for me! The Lord definitely gave them the strength to move forward in boldness!

After about an hour we all headed out of the hospital. The children were all chatting about their experiences that they had received that day and were asking me if we were all coming back next week! What an awesome day for the Lord and for the children at Door of Hope!!

Robert's Trip to Masaka Regional Refferal Hospital (Mulago)

HE WILL PROVIDE MINISTRIES
On 25th,April,2009

DOOR OF HOPE FAMILY.

TRIP TO MULAGO HOSPITAL, MASAKA DISTRICT,with
Jajja Robin
Doctor Samuel
Robert Twinomujuni
David Mukisa
Joseph
Phillip

The trip was as follow after reaching at the hospital;

We visited ward for those who have been operated after giving Birth [It was the second stage after they have been operated on]

Again we visited the first female surgical ward for those who have just give Birth, those who are still in bad condition and those who have been just operated on.

We by-passed at the X-ray/scan, where they take picture of those who have got accident and
those who have problem inside their parts of bodies like Lungs, Livers and many others.
We continued, we even passed at the ward of those who are suffering from T.B
we did not enter the ward, because Doctor Samuel told us that it could be very dangerous to our lives
[It is spread easier from one person to another and we were surprised of the building that it was constructed in the year of 1927]
We also visited the surgical ward for male people, the number of people was big especially those who are having the problem inside parts Body, like Lungs, Livers ,cancer and many others including accident.

We again visited the children surgical ward, the number was big but not like the adults same who were born with like cancer and others not.

The next to visit was male ward, those with malaria fever, heart attack .There we prayed for an individual Person whose life was in bad condition and he accepted that Jesus is his personal savior

From there we went to visit the ward of the people whose brains are not working properly [mad people] the number was not too big like other wards we had visited, but there was especially there was young people of the age bow 35.

In the same way we went to visit the ward of the people who are HIV/AIDS positive; the number was high especially those of the age below 45.

From there we visited Children's ward those who had malaria and those are in bad condition, there we found woman who had young baby of two weeks, she was feeding her baby on the bottle, when we asked? She told us that she is HIV positive, immediately she started crying because she was lonely due to being infected with HIV. We took the opportunity; we gave her courage in Christ.
We told her,” If you believe in Jesus Christ to be your personal savior from today and on, you still have opportunity to be cured[healed]”and we told her that, “Its the right time for to seek GOD “We left her with big smile.

We passed at the Laboratory but we could not enter because it was closed due to weekends-days, we passed also at the hall where the pregnant Mother go to test and to know if the pregnant is in good condition.


BRIEFLY DOCTOR SAMUEL EXPLAINED TO US SAME OF THE PROBLEMS OF THE HOSPITAL, are the following:

1-Lack of not enough equipments medicine
2-Lack of enough Doctors according to the patient in the hospital.
3-Poor hygiene in the hospital.
4-Lack of enough structures according to the number of the sick People in the hospital.
5-High chances of spreading of diseases from Patient to the Doctors.

On behalf of us students who visited the hospital we learned a lot of things and we shared them with our fellow members whom we left at home


We thank very much HE WILL PROVIDE MINISTRIES, The great work they are doing, and the arrangement they did for the trip to the hospital to together with the staff of DOOR OF HOPE FAMILY. Even not forgetting all those who SPONSOR He will provide Ministries.


LONG LIVE HE WILL PROVIDE MINISTRIES

LONG LIVE OUR SPONSORS

LONG LIVE DOOR OF HOPE & THE STAFF


MAY THE ALMIRTY LORD, THE LORD OF GLORY “BLESS YOU VERY MUCH.

YOUR'S FAITHFUL


TWINOMUJUNI ROBERT S.3 DOOR OF HOPE FA MILY.

Sounds of Saturday Morning

April 25, 2009

Sounds of Saturday Morning

As I woke I could hear the whoosh, whoosh of the African broom along the cement driveway and I knew the boys were up sweeping. It was Saturday morning and the children were doing there weekly house chores. When I ventured down the hall to the bathroom and could hear Jim snoring. As I reached the bathroom I could hear little Deon and Duke in their room chattering in little kid Luganda to their Mummy and Daddy. Walking back by the kitchen Robyn greeted me with her cheerful”Robyn Good Morning”. When I greeted her back I could hear her preparing coffee and the bubble of the coffee pot. The house was full of morning sounds, of people waking from their slumber and stirring about to start their day.

I headed back to my room to read the Bible. While I read God’s word, I could hear the pounding on the cement of little John and Moses feet, as they run by my window. The next thing I heard was the joyful sound of their laughter. They were on the tire swing in the front yard. I tried to focus on my reading, but couldn’t help but listen to their sounds of happiness. Not long after that some of the other children joined in. Their laughter and voice melded into a harmonious sound of friendship, love and happiness.

Bodas and Buses

April 17, 2009

Bodas and Buses

My weekend holiday to Kampala started at 8am at the front gate of the house. Mummy Eunice arranged with Jimmy Boda to take me to the Holiday Center to catch my bus. I had know idea where that was but I did know it was going to cost me 2,000 shillings.  I set side saddle on the back of Jimmy Boda’s motorcycle as he precariously balanced my rollie suitcase on the gas tank. Then we were off!!

As we whooshed by traffic it began to sprinkle. Up went the hood of my raincoat—thank God I was prepared! The Holiday Center turned out to be on the other side of Nyando—much farther then I had expected. No wonder it cost 2,000 shillings to take me there! When we arrived Jimmy unloaded my suitcase and he was off leaving me to fend for myself. I was excited to board my first bus in Uganda but as I looked around in the rain there were none in sight. What I did see were many taxis and a few coasters (mini-buses). Of course, as Jimmy left and I was standing there by myself in the rain I was mobbed by about ten guys saying, “mazungo, mazungo, taxi, taxi to Kampala!” Thank God I’ve traveled a lot in 3rd World countries and I was able to talk my way out of their aggressive offerings. I insisted that I was going to wait on the BIG BUS!

I moved away from them, rolled my suitcase through the mud and stood under a thatched canopy to get out of the rain. As I waited, I watched the commotion, the bartering and the people move up and down the area. It was quite a sight! After about 20 minutes I asked a guy when the big buses were arriving and he said in about 5 minutes. I thought to myself “yea right” but sure enough in about 5 minutes a bus came rolling up, passed me and parked on the side of the road. Just then a man in a trench coat came up to me and said you’re looking for the big bus to Kampala lets go! He grabbed my suitcase and I ran after him, as he said “hurry you don’t want to miss it”. I rushed on to the bus and realized it was very full. As I moved down the aisle to look for a seat I got calls for the people, “mazungo, mazungo sit here”, “are you going to Kampala”, “how are you mazungo”. I moved to the back of the bus and found an open seat with a girl and a guy. I introduced myself to my seat mates, Jessica and John and the bus was off. Whew I was on! Thank God!

It didn’t take long for some of the other passengers to start talking to me. As I looked around I noticed that everyone was younger. I asked Jessica, my seat mate, why everyone on the bus was young and she said that they were all students from the same university in Kabele. They were traveling home for Spring Break. They all had started their journey east at 2am that morning, so they’d been on the bus for about 7 hours already. She said she was getting tired, but the others on the bus were very lively. There was music and chatting and the two hour bus ride to Kampala flew by! I meet some interesting people and had some great conversations. I made it very easy since they all knew English very well. I’m so happy that my first experience on the BIG bus was a great one!

An Evening at the Door of Hope

April 09, 2009

An Evening at the Door of Hope

I was thinking it would be fun to share with all of you what a typical night is like here at the Door of Hope. I say typical because we try and stay on a nightly schedule and have a consistency with the children. As you may know with 15 children there is always bound to be a hiccup!

The primary children, Rock, Rob, Maddy, Winnie, Imelda, John Jr., Moses all get home from school about 6:00. It is so great hear the energy in voices and spirits when they come in the gate! One of the first things they do after changing from their school uniforms to “play clothes” is to come into the main house and greet all of us. We get and give BIG hugs to them and welcome them home. Then they are off to do their nightly duties of washing their uniforms, socks, bathing and napping before dinner.

About a half hour later, as we are preparing our dinner in the mzungu kitchen, we hear the secondary children coming through the gate. Shadia, Sarah, Barbra, John Travis, Priscilla, David, and Jennifer immediately head to their dorms to change and rush to do their washing and bathing before dinner at 7:00pm.

Mummy Eunice is busy in the other kitchen putting the finishing touches on children’s African style dinner. Imelda and Winnie usually help Mummy by carrying in the large serving bowls of posho or rice and groundnut paste or beans, and cabbage to the dinning room tables. The girls also help cut up the fruit, as Mummy is portioning out the food on the 20 dinner plates in front of her!

All the children, adults and the two little toddlers file into the dinning room, it is 7:00pm and time for dinner! After blessing the food, we all dig in….yummy! There is a buzz of voices about the room as we ask how there day was and what they learned in school today. Of course it is a mix of English and Luganda as the children share with each other about their day or the day’s football (soccer) match between their mates at school or Arsenal and Manchester United! As the clanging of plates and utensils and chatter of voices subside, we break out the Bibles for our nightly Bible Study.

Bible Study is always a fun part of our evening! One child an evening has been leading the nightly study groups, but this week we started a new study. We are going through a study book nightly for the next 16 weeks. At the end of the study the children are all going to be able to get Bibles from the Masaka Bible League at half price. This is a fantastic program that the League offers, as most of the children don’t have their own Bibles.





This is a great way for them to learn about the Lord and earn a Bible for their very own! They are very excited about this study! Last night we were learning about abiding in the Lord, John 15:1-8. They had some great insight, as we worked through the questions and filled out the work books. About 8:30 we whined the study down and pick a girl to lead a worship song and then one of the children to do the final prayer. As the room is filled with the beautiful sounds of song and praises to the Lord I can’t help but to be filled with joy and the Spirit of the Lord. It is amazing!!

After worship we all start to pray out loud! There are voices of prayer in English, Luganda, Rwanda, Swahili….I think it sounds just like what Heaven will be like! Then the person for final pray starts. These children have such a marvelous gift of prayer and thanksgiving. As everyone starts to head out of the room we give hugs and talk. Most nights a few children stick around to talk about the study, ask questions that have about things they have encountered during their day, or read the Bible more. The rest head to their dorm and prepare for the next day and for bed. As I work on the computer or read on my bed, I can hear murmuring of the children’s voices and laughter until lights are out 10:00pm.

I hope you have enjoyed an evening at the Door of Hope!!

Saturday at the Lake!

March 28, 09

Saturday at the Lake!

Well I had a much needed mental and physical day off on Saturday….1st one in a month.  I spent the day at Lake Nabugabo with my friends from Kampala, Christian, Lidia and their family. They were camping at the lake for the weekend with a group of friends from the embassy, so it was a perfect day to visit them. The lake is only about 45 minutes from my house on a Boda Boda (small motorcycle). We had a great day, talking, playing with the kids, playing volleyball and backgammon. We even had a monkey raid….those little sneaks stole a loaf of bread and a fork. Yes, we have sophisticated monkeys here in Uganda…they use forks!

Of course the mazungo (white person) got burnt....I didn't put on sun screen until it was too late! :) I sure have been paying for it since! :) I so love what I’m doing here but it sure was great to have a day away at the Lake! 

We Now Have 15....Oh My!!!

March 31, 2009

We Now Have 15…oh my!

We now have 15 children at the He Will Provide- Door of Hope home!!! The kids run the gamete of personalities! With the boys John Travis is quite and reserved and Rock is always smiling and joking around. With the girls we have Winnie that is smiley, and always talking and Imelda who is quite because she is shy about speaking English. But when she is asked to lead a Bible study she is bold and has an evangelism, pastor heart. All the kids are amazing! I can write a little about each of them sometime soon.

Here are all their names and ages:
Maddy, 16
John Travis, 18
Rock, 17
Winnie, 13
Jennifer, 14
Barbra, 16
Sarah, 15
Priscilla, 14
Shadia, 16
Imelda, 15
Moses, 11 (we think—don’t have a year he was born)
John Jr. 10 (we think—don’t have a year he was born)
David, 16
Robert, 17
Rob, 12

Until I write a bit on each child please continue to check out my Blog for the stories or the He Will Provide site at http://hewillprovide.blogspot.com/

Only Monkeys in Trees Please!

March 31, 09

Only Monkeys in Trees Please

Well we had our first accident at the house last Friday afternoon! Friday was the Masaka Primary Schools Athletic competition. One of our older boys, Rock, was not participating in any of the events so he stayed home. As boys do, he thought it would be fun to climb the guava tree in the back yard and eat a few fruits. He was at the top of the tree when the branch broke and he went tumbling out, landing on the cement. Thank God he wasn't seriously hurt but we immediately took him to the clinic.

After waiting in the clinic the doctor sent him to the x-ray & ultra sound department. Of course this department is in another building that has a flight of stairs down to reach the department entrance...hum isn’t that crazy. Only in Uganda! Thank God Uncle Sam was with us and he was able to carry Rock down the stairs because he couldn’t walk! We did get right in and got x-rays of his head, pelvis and arm. After the x-rays were complete it was back up stairs to see the doc again. He referred us to an orthopedic surgeon, which surprised me that Masaka had one. So we were on our way again. The ortho doc was great!! He said that Rock only had a broken wrist in 2 spots and there was no need for pins! Praise the Lord!! He put on a temporary cast and we were off.

Rock is doing good now!! We went to the orthopedic surgeon again yesterday and he put on his permanent cast. As always Rock is in good spirits and was able to go back to school today. Boys will be boys huh!! I told him only monkeys are allowed in trees! :)

Worker Bees

March 16 and 17

Worker Bees

By God’s grace the owner of the house came by last week to see the house that He Will Provide is renting. It’s God’s grace because Robyn had dropped off a letter of house improvements and pictures to the property manager that morning and before he had even seen the letter the owner dropped by the house to talk to Jim. This is the first time that the owner had came to the house since Robyn and Jim had moved in, as he lives in Geneva, Switzerland. As he took a “tour” of the Door of Hope house he realized what was being done here for the children. Within an hour of the owner leaving the property manager phoned and gave permission to have all of the improvements to the house done. I love how God works!!

We started with the most essential repair projects, the leaking water tank, plumbing issues and the holes in the window screens. This started the flurry of worker bees coming into the compound! :) On Monday the plumbers showed up. Not just two but four and five at a time. They were running around the compound in their blue overhauls busy checking pipes and toilets working on the leak in the water tank. The next thing we knew there was another knock on the main gate, yes another worker. This time it was Godfrey, the window screen repairman. He comes walking in with a big roll of screen and all his tools. As he started pulling off the old screens and hammering on the new the BUZZ in the compound grew. Then before we knew it evening was upon us the BUZZ had subsided and the children were knocking on the gate, they were home from school. The day had slipped away but it was wonderful to see all of the new things being done!!

Romans 8:28
And we know that God caused everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Top Chef Jackie Chan Visits Masaka, Uganda!

Top Chef Jackie Chan Visits Uganda!
(This is a on going Blog--this ones for you Cory)

What did he eat on his visit to the He Will Provide- Door of Hope compound? Well being a Mazungu he loves to eat a variety of foods. Unlike his Ugandan friends who rarely like variety. His Ugandan friends really only like beans, rice, matooka and poshu, but Jackie has been able to introduce some new fruits and vegetables into their diet. Foods like green beans, eggplant, bitters, avocado, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, and sweet potatoes. His new friends really enjoying the variety in their menus and they are all feeling healthier too! Jackie is very pleased to see his friends happy and healthier!!!

But what has Jackie eaten this week?
Mazungu Menu
Monday:
Breakfast
Eggs, french toast, bananas, and passion fruit juice

Lunch
soda and ice cream

Dinner
chapati, taco meat, spanish rice, guacamola and tomatoes

Tuesday:
Breakfast
rosemary eggs, avocado, toast, jam and tea

Lunch
left over spanish rice and bananas

Dinner
beans and rice

Wednesday:
Breakfast
breakfast burrito; chapati, scrambeled eggs, avocado and tomatoes

Lunch
rice with chili sauce

Dinner
meat samosas and veggie pizza

Thursday:
Breakfast
pancakes, scrambled eggs, and banana

Lunch
rice

SO DON'T FEEL BAD FOR JACKIE OR HIS FRIENDS THEY ARE ALL EATING VERY WELL!!!

3 Day catchup!

March 9-11

3 Day Catchup!

What's been going on at He Will Provide:
Sorry I haven't written in a while we have been busy but also the power has been up and down the last 3 or 4 days and then that plays havoc with the internet! :( Anyway, things are great here! Monday was a rest day and a de-brief with the 2 guy volunteers, Sam and Rob, since they were leaving on Tuesday to go back to the states. It has been quieter around here since they left and a bit sad because they are really great guys and the kids loved them so much!

Yesterday was meeting day here! We had a 3 hour staff meeting and then Pastor Tom, the youth pastor from Masaka Pentecostal, came over to talk about a crusade with Youth Country Missionaries Club, another branch of the ministry here. Both were great meetings and we accomplished a lot in both! I can't wait to see what the Lord does with the ministries in the months to come!!

Also a girl from Holland, Catherina, that we meet on our family outing to Lake Nabugabo, has volunteered to paint a mural in the girl's dorm. Catherina and her art teacher friend, Martin, came over yesterday and started painting the mural drawings that "Daddy" Bryan had drawn. It is so beautiful!!! Lots of flowers and butterflies! :) The girls were so excited to see the beautiful, colorful pictures when they came home from school last night!

I hope all is wonderful with all of you and I hope to hear from many of you in the coming days!!
Love you!

Praising God!

March 12th

Praising God!

Each morning as I sit on my bed reading my devotional for the day I am serenaded by the beautiful sound of children's voices singing praises to the Lord. This lovely, harmonious sound streams up the hill from Eagles Wings Children’s Center below us. It softly streams into my bedroom window as I read the word of God and brings me such joy. What better way to start my day then with the Lord blessings me with a praise choir every morning!! Thank you Lord!!!

Exodus 15:2
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise him—
my father’s God, and I will exalt him!

Rainy Days and Tuesdays...don't get me down

March 03

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

Morning all! Yes, it’s raining cats and dogs here. It started about 5 this morning. What a beautiful sound as it beat against the roof top. It made me want to stay in bed all day. :) You don’t hear that in Southern California. I wish I could send some of this rain to you cause I’m sure it would help! But the rain is why it is so lush and green here. I thank God for His life giving rain.

March 01

Where 2 or 3 are gathered

This morning we were late for going to church because by the time all 12 children had breakfast and got around church had all ready started. It was also a 45 minute walk to the church so we would have been very late. With that we decided to have service at the house. It was an awesome decision! We broke out the drums and the children burst into praise songs. Shadia, one of our 17 year old girls, lead the service.

After our praise and worship to the Lord a few of the children and some of us had testimonies of how God had blessed us this week or in our lives. Winnie’s testimony of how she came to be an orphan and then to know the Lord touched my heart so much! It is amazing to me what these children have gone through and they are only 12 or 13 years old. It makes me appreciate the blessed life I’ve lead. Anyway, after testimonies I lead a short teaching on Matthew 18: 19-20 and Philippians 4:6. I’m always amazed at what the Holy Spirit prompts me to say and what comes out of my mouth. I can’t believe He uses me to teach! After I taught from the word, Jjaja Jim (Grandpa in Luganda) spoke on our decision to come to Jesus. It was awesome how he related it to the song that we had sung earlier, and to the children’s lives….“I have decided to follow Jesus”. We truly were gathered as one before the Lord today! I really enjoyed our little family service.

After service Sam and Rob put up a tire swing on the big tree in the front yard. The 2 youngest children, John 10 and Moses 11, were the first to jump on. Actually they ran and jumped on! I had never heard them laugh so hard!! It was so awesome to see! After about a ½ hour of the boys playing and having a “blast” the girls that “feared” the swing at first were ready for their turn. It is so special to me to give these children the simple things that children in the states take for granted. The simple joy and pleasures of life!

My Grandpa

Feb 28
My Grandpa

I’ve been blessed to have known all my grandparents, but my Grandpa Walt was so special to me. The memories that I’ve been blessed to have of him and with him will be held close to my heart for the rest of my life. I think the first memory I have of him is going to church with him and Grandma at the original Harlan United Methodist Church. They would take me when I was little. I would fall asleep in the pew during service and he would always pick me up in his arms when the service was over. How comforting that was to me.

When I got older I remember riding my bike down to his market to visit him. Many times he and I would sit outside on the stone bench in front of the store chat, and have a nice cold bottle of soda (pop). It was very refreshing after a long ride and fantastic to spend time with him. As a child I sent many weekends over at my Grandparents house. Mostly because of my close age and friendship to my Aunt Lisa. One thing I loved was sitting with Gramps in his big old brown recliner as he told stories to me. On Sundays during the summer he’d make home made ice cream. We’d put the ice cream in these big pink bowls. He taught me to put chocolate on it and swirl it around till it was mushy again. That ice cream was the best I’ve ever tasted! When we were eating the wonderful goodness of cream, the whole family would sit in the living room and watch Wonderful World of Disney and Wild Kingdom. What a great memory!

I have so many more memories of my Gramps that I could tell but I think what is so awesome to me is the life that he lived. He lived simply, off the land, did things his way and loved life! He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, and traveling. His fish stories were bigger then life and his love of nature was awesome! One memory that comes to mind was the first time he took my family and I morel mushroom hunting. We went out in the woods to one of his favorite spots and sure enough we headed home with bags of morels. That night he and Grams cooked them up. They sure were yummy! He also loved people and it showed in the last few months of his life, with all of the cards and people that visited him that they loved him back.

I was so blessed to have been able to spend the last week and a half of my time in the U.S. with him. I thank the Lord for that time and the conversations that we had during the last few weeks of his life. He was an awesome man and I’m so glad that he knew the Lord and is in Heaven watching over all of us smiling and telling a dirty joke! 

Praise the Lord!!

Feb 19th
Praise the Lord!!

Praise the Lord for many things today!! We visited a hospital, and Stella Maris- a boarding school, went to Uganda Child care for dinner at the cafe and went to their pray & worship night and then God answered my prayers....we got the internet at the house up and running!!! Thank you God! :) So please check out the blogs I just posted. Love you all!!

Muzungo's Painting

Feb 16th
Muzungo’s Painting

After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs and pineapple, Rob, Sam and I went to work on painting the 2nd coat of bright white paint on the walls of the girl’s room. We had a great time getting to know each other more and asking questions. At times I think there was more pain on me then on the wall and trim I was painting. After lunch of guess what, beans and rice, we started in on clean and preparing the 2nd room in the girls quarters for painting. We had to take down these useless wooden brackets that were all over the room. It was actually pretty fun to do demolition with the flat bar and hammer. We are making that room a study room for the girls. We took a break and then it was on to painting the 1st coat of paint in that room. By the time we were finished the 2nd coat of paint was done drying and we were able to move the girl’s new bright pink, triple-decker bunk beds into the room. It was so cool to see them in there! What was even more exciting was to see the reaction of the girls when they came home from school. They were so thankful!! They kept saying, wabala, Auntie, wabala. Which means thank you, thank you! 