Transition to Babies Home

Recently Laura and I have been helping with a conference funded by
Americans from Raleigh that are here for two weeks. It has been a real
blessing to us, and such a learning experience.  We are learning more
than I could have ever guessed about our place Biblically as women.
We are so blessed to be working with a good group of people who love
the Lord and help us to learn Ugandan culture and language.  After
staying in Jinja (the big city) for some weeks we are transitioning
into living in Bukaleba with the Babies.  We have spent time with the
Children and have become so attached! A few days ago we were dropping
some Americans at the babies home and Laura and I were staying in the
car to go on to the conference.  But the Babies were screaming "Auntie
Lola I see you!! Auntie Vevicka Come!" It was the sweetest beconing.
Of course we had to get out and visit for a few minutes.  The babies
have become so precious to us!

In so many ways I can't imagine leaving Uganda and all of our friends,
but we are planning to return earlier than expected-- January 9th.
Once we were in Uganda and began to understand what the organization
really needed, and it was so obvious to me that our place was to serve
them in Jesus' name in any way God allowed.  In Uganda there is not
healthcare in the American sense.  Disabled children are hidden under
beds, roped to staked to the ground, starved etc.  Among non beleivers
they are seen as a bad omen for the family.  Therefore it is rare for
families to bring those children out to meet Americans.  It is the
Ugandan way to be extremely hospitable and polite to visitors from
over seas.  Bringing out their weakest children is not an easy task.
Also, we found that the disabled children need so much more than
physical therapy, they need food, medicine, love and care, and
education.  We have seen some disabled children during our visits to
villages, and in the babies home and they have improved in their
mobility Mukama ye Bazi Bwe (Praise the Lord!). What this trip has
been is a starting place for a partnership, where more can be
accomplished.  Laura had been studying Luganda (the most commmon
language) and we have been trying to absorb the culture as much as
possible.  There are no words to describe how different the culture in
Uganda is from American culture.



With that in view, most of the donations have gone to food for ladies
and children in the different villages that we were in each day,
transportation for us and for the ladies to be able to come, and daily
living costs.  Nothing replaces time spent in Uganda when it comes to
becoming integrated with society. But my hope and I think Laura's hope
too, is to return to the US to get jobs and be a financial blessing to
them until the Lord allows us to come back.

I've found out that I couldn't show up in Uganda and plan something on
my own..ever. Even if I thought I could, I quickly found out that
something had changed and actually we are packing our  bags and going
somewhere else, do to circumstances we couldn't control.  Part of that
is because of the culture, but another part is probably because being
a part of any biblical body means being flexible and patient. In
American terms the best way to get what you want, or what God wants is
to pray about it. When we agreed to go to the villages and speak with
the Ladies, we ended up meeting some disabled children.  But most of
all we have a relationship with those churches and they know what we
look like and who we are.  It's a relationship that is so necessary if
we are going to be part of their lives long term.

30 village Tour de Uganda is finished

Greetings!!

We have now finished our tour of the villages speaking on Nutrition, Hygiene and Disease Prevention.  We have a 3 week follow -up scheduled to re-visit some zones and see if the ladies have made changes.  We are not sure how this will be scheduled.  The Director of AAI is very busy with year ending reports and planning for the next financial year.  They hope to begin more than 200 new churches next year.

To celebrate the ending of this section we went with one of our interpreters (we will re-schedule with the other) and our driver, Ali, to the Source of the Nile.  It was breath taking and we got on a small boat and saw where the water springs up from the ground and makes swirls and bubbles on the surface.  In the boat were lots of Indian nuns from a convent near-by.  They were very rowdy, splashing a lot and getting every one very wet.  I thought it was hysterical.  Our good friend, translator and speaker, Agnes, was not pleased.  After we went to a restaurant called the Source.  She liked that much better!  Ali said he wouldn't forget it until the day he died.

We are healthy, getting good sleep and well hydrated.  Pray for us that we will be able to see God's hand clearly at work and that he will use us for his glory.

It seems very likely that we will be back in mid-January.  After the meeting with Pastor Godfrey, the director, we will know for sure and keep you posted.

Love you all, Laura and Rebecca

belated update

Rebecca and I are really enjoying our time here.  The first month we have visited a different village everyday speaking about the Lord, nutrition, hygiene and disease prevention.  We have met 2 disabled children whom are now walking; Praise the Lord.  These children are hard to locate.  Saturday we found a home for disabled adults but it is in a sad state of disrepair and there appears to be poor management.  It is not in any way affiliated with Arise Africa. 

Thursday through Saturday a large group of women are meeting for a time of prayer and fasting.  Pray for us that we will glorify the Lord and have a blessed time learning with breakthroughs.  I feel that there will be more opportunities to meet disabled children after this prayer meeting.  I will keep you updated.  Our family has mailed a camera, so pictures are coming soon.  We have been using the mission camera, but the wire to upload the pictures is lost, at this time.  TIA.

One funny story:
We surprisingly stayed in Bukaleba, where the AAI orphanage is instead of the guesthouse in Jinja.  So we didn't have a change of clothes.  So the next day we got a change of clothes.  We wore them to the orphanage and the babies had diaharrea while R and I wore holding them.  So the next day we didn't go by the guesthouse either so we had to wear our 'dirty clothes' which looked clean to us then.  Sadly we met the pastors wives on Monday in the same outfit we had worn Friday as if we were wearing the same clothes for the 4th day.  HOW embarrassing!!  But then we realized we were going to wear the same clothes for3 days.  As if it really matters between 3 days or 4, but I'm telling you we rolled in the floor when we thought about giving a talk on hygiene.

Love you all!!

Please pray for breaking the bondage of the mindset of poverty.