This morning we left our hotel and headed for the Nile! The source of the Nile River starts in Jinja, Uganda and we were able to see it. We left this morning around 8:30, and we were able to drive through downtown Kampala. Kampala is the capitol of Uganda and has about 5 million people in the city. The city is packed! We can't figure out if the drivers here are the best drivers, or the worst drivers. Driving through the city there were 2 stoplights and maybe 1 stop sign, surprisingly people never have wrecks. While we are driving on the streets, we have people on bicycles and walkers just going through the traffic. There are people everywhere. The only thing that I can compare it to would be Chinatown. Imagine Chinatown with all Africans, and the only thing paved is a 2 laned street. The buildings, which are more like shacks, are all on dirt. The places that the people have are really trashy. All along the alley ways you will see wood shacks and lines of laundry because most people live right behind their store. Now keep in mind that we are in the middle of a city. It is almost like the block is outlined with business, but in the middle there are little shacks, kind of like little shanty towns. There are tons of children playing in the streets, not 4 feet from where the crazy drivers are. It really does look just like the commericals show when they ask for money for the kids in Africa. As we drove out of the city, it didn't get any better. Little villages would be farther apart, but they were all living in grass, mud, or wood huts. The drive to Jinja was totally different than the drive to Mbarara.
Our first stop of the day was to see the rapids in the Nile. We were able to see some people in rafts go down the rapids, and it was really fun to see. Hopefully we will be able to do that the next time that we come back. We all went down and put our feet in the water to say that we had touched the Nile! Holland was walking in the water, and she slipped and almost went down with the current, but Jordan grabbed her and was able to pull her back. That was our major event for the day! :) After that we went into downtown Jinja. It was really neat to be able to see the downtown area becuase it was so different than both Kampala and Mbarara. You could really tell that it had been a British colony because of the buildings. Some of the buildings had been built in 1934. We ate a little lunch place and it was actually good food! After lunch we went to see the source of the Nile. I didn't realize that the source was a underground spring in Lake Victoria. We took a boat ride over to the spring and we could see the water bubbling up. The boys were complaining about going today because they didn't want to be in the car again, but after we left Jordan looked and me and said, "That was so cool. I'm so glad that we came".
Tonight our team met and were shared with each other what we loved and didn't like about the trip. We all really want to come back next summer, and I pray that it will happen. We have all fallen in love with Africa, and I know that we are all taking a little bit of this beautiful country, and the awesome people back with us.
Well this will probably be my last post until I get home. Tomorrow we will go to the Marketplace and be able to buy some African goodies! After that we leave for home!!!!!!!!!! Our flight leaves out of here at 10:30 pm and we arrive back home at 4:35 pm on Wed. Prayerfully all of our flights will be on time, and we will have no delays.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Amazing
Hello again! I'm glad that I have a chance to update once again. This week has been crazy busy, but amazing. We had VBS Tues-Wed and it went really well. We were able to go on a African Safari yesterday, and it was so neat to see all of the animals. We drove back to Kampala (more accurately, we bounced back becuase the roads were so bad) and we are staying at the American Recreation Center Tonight.
While some of our team was working at VBS, some others were working with UBI (Uganda Bible Institute). Mr. Monty and Mr. John were leading a session for the gold couples, which is a group of married couples. They were expecting about 90 people, but ended up having 2 groups of about 90! These couples were able to ask questions. Mr. Monty said that most of their questions were early church questions, where you would find the aswers in the NT. Some of them asked if it was ok for a wife to work, or a pastor to work a 2nd job..things like that. I am so glad that they had the oppurtunity to minister to them! Mr. Jeff was in UBI meetings and missionary meetings for most of the first few days. He said that it went very well.
Wednesday was our second day of VBS and it was my favorite day. On our first day, we had gotten our group assignments and my kids were ALL boys! Let me tell you that I was a little discouraged because I wasn't too sure how I was going to relate or communicate with African boys. Thankfully I had one wonderful boy who spoke English really well, and he was able to help me. Our craft for that day was the bead bracelet that explains how to become a believer. You have the yellow, black, red, white and green beads. I had gone over every bead carefully, and slowly and would ask questions at the end. The kids really seemed to be getting it, and they seemed to be having fun. I was trying to ask questions about themselves, but they were really quiet. Towards the end, I asked if anyone would like to profess their faith in God and become a believer, but I received no response. I was a little discouraged, but told them that I was praying for them and told them to talk to me at any point if they had questions. We finished up with the craft and then we had play time. At the end of VBS, we had a Ugandan lady (Grace) sum up what we had learned that day in Ancholi, which is they language that they speak. She summed it up just to make sure that everyone got the message. The children were so attentive, but we really didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden about 40 children stood up and started praying the same prayer. We realized that Grace was saying the sinners's prayer and these children were becoming believers! Grace asked them all to walk to the front and sing a song. Well one of my little boys, Brian, was up at the front! I cannot express to you how full my heart was. I know that out of 40 children, 1 is not that many, but it did my heart good. Our group helped to spread God's word and it was powerful. It was the best day ever! After this happened, our team was invited to the school's chapel. We were able to see a group of about 12 kids sing and dance an African song. It was great!
Our last day of VBS was on Wednesday and it was wonderful as well. We went to our tarps and we gave the children journals, cloth bags, and balls to color and decorate. We gave them the bag because we wanted to put all of their new gifts in it. I told my group that we had a surprise for them and they all had smiles. I took them to the front of the church and we took polaroids of the children individually. THEY LOVED IT! It might not seem special to us Americans, but this may be the only picture that these children have of themselves for their whole lives. Mr. Monty told me that he wanted me to be in the picture with each boy, but I said that they could choose. I didn't want them to be stuck with me in their picture if they didn't want me! :) All of them wanted me in their picture! It made me feel so good becuase I wasn't to sure if they were enjoying me because they weren't talking to much. They all had HUGE smiles on their faces when they got their picture. After taking pictures, we went inside and they all got a new pair of shoes. Alot of the kids don't have shoes so it was so fun to see their excitement! They also received soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, waschlothes and new bibles. They were so excited about their bibles. Each one of them was really good at looking up verses, which surprised me. They seemed so happy! VBS was a huge success. The african children blessed me in ways that I can't even express. They are so precious and beautiful. They could sing so well and they were so joyful. It was wonderful!
Thursday night we were invited to dinner with the UBI graduates. We gave them all a new shirt and tie. It was great to see how happy they were.
Friday was the Uganda Bible Institute's (UBI) first graduation! We had to sit through a 5 hour ceremony. Although it was very long, it was really neat to see. It was something right off the discovery channel! Ceremonies in Africa tend to be very long, because the more important something is, the longer the ceremony will be. 5 hours was a very short ceremony time compared to most ceremonies.
Saturday was our team Safari day! WOW!!! It was incredible, and we saw so many animals. The drive to Mweya was gorgeous. There were mountains and valleys at every turn. Everything was green, but in all different shades of green. Tea plantations lined the mountains and it was gorgeous. We got to the National Park and drove around in taxi vans, not the best for a safari! Haha. The first animals that we saw were Kob and some type of buffalo. We were headed to lunch when we saw elephants. We were driving and all of a sudden they were there. It was AWESOME. We had passed a herd of elephants and had driven for about 2 min and we came upon a baby elephant to our left. We were oohing and awwing over him, and we started asking where the Mama elephant was. Well as soon as those words came out of our mouths, we looked to the right and that Mama was standing right next to us and she was not pleased! She started flapping her ears, and screeching her long horn at us. Mr. Jeff freaked out and started screaming at our driver to get us out of there. It was so funny! It was by far the best part of the day. We then went on a boat ride where we saw lots of Hippos and even more elephants. Seeing this many elephants is a very rare thing, so we were so excited that we saw them. We were about 10 minutes into our boat ride and we came upon about 5 hippos. They were going under water whenever we would come up and so we lost sight of them for a few minutes. At the same time, we saw a crocodile slide into the water. All of a sudden this hippo head pops up right by Mr. Johns arm! We all started screaming and we jumped like a foot into the air. It was hysterical. I will post the video when I get home! :) We were also able to see elephants bathing in the water! We ate lunch at the Safari Lodge. We then went on a Crater Run, and it was absolutely beautiful. Words cannot describe, so I will post pictures on later. On our way out of the park, we saw a leopard in a tree. Some of our team got out of the van and were taking some up close pictures. I of course stayed in the van, and I was slightly freaking out for them. All of a sudden the leopard jumps out of the tree. Can you imagine how fast those people ran back to our van. I started freaking out and screaming at them! Haha. I mean people were jumping across seats, jumping through windows and everything. Everyone was safe and the animal didn't come near us, but it was fun excitement for awhile! We were also able to see bamboons (SP?) on our way out and feed them. They are mean animals, we saw 2 get into a fight and tear the skin off of each other. We all had so much fun! Bless and TJ Magezi also came with us and we had fun getting to know them. Their father, Amos Magezi went to RTS in Jackson and is now a pastor and working at UBI. It was so neat to get to know their family.
While we were at the hotel in Mbarara, we were able to befriend a few of the workers their. Milton and Saturday became our friends and we were able to witness to them. Seeds are being sown, and I know that God will use others to grow them.
Today we went to All Saints Church, and were able to witness a African church ceremony! It was really neat to see. We drove back to Kampala this afternoon, and we are going to Jinja to see the beginning of the Nile River tomorrow. Tuesday we go to the market, and our flight leaves that night.
Please be praying for our health and safety as we are here only a few more days. A few team members have had stomach problems, and Jordan had a sore throat, but thankfully all has passed. As you pray for us, please keep all of the people that we have touched in your prayers as well.
While some of our team was working at VBS, some others were working with UBI (Uganda Bible Institute). Mr. Monty and Mr. John were leading a session for the gold couples, which is a group of married couples. They were expecting about 90 people, but ended up having 2 groups of about 90! These couples were able to ask questions. Mr. Monty said that most of their questions were early church questions, where you would find the aswers in the NT. Some of them asked if it was ok for a wife to work, or a pastor to work a 2nd job..things like that. I am so glad that they had the oppurtunity to minister to them! Mr. Jeff was in UBI meetings and missionary meetings for most of the first few days. He said that it went very well.
Wednesday was our second day of VBS and it was my favorite day. On our first day, we had gotten our group assignments and my kids were ALL boys! Let me tell you that I was a little discouraged because I wasn't too sure how I was going to relate or communicate with African boys. Thankfully I had one wonderful boy who spoke English really well, and he was able to help me. Our craft for that day was the bead bracelet that explains how to become a believer. You have the yellow, black, red, white and green beads. I had gone over every bead carefully, and slowly and would ask questions at the end. The kids really seemed to be getting it, and they seemed to be having fun. I was trying to ask questions about themselves, but they were really quiet. Towards the end, I asked if anyone would like to profess their faith in God and become a believer, but I received no response. I was a little discouraged, but told them that I was praying for them and told them to talk to me at any point if they had questions. We finished up with the craft and then we had play time. At the end of VBS, we had a Ugandan lady (Grace) sum up what we had learned that day in Ancholi, which is they language that they speak. She summed it up just to make sure that everyone got the message. The children were so attentive, but we really didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden about 40 children stood up and started praying the same prayer. We realized that Grace was saying the sinners's prayer and these children were becoming believers! Grace asked them all to walk to the front and sing a song. Well one of my little boys, Brian, was up at the front! I cannot express to you how full my heart was. I know that out of 40 children, 1 is not that many, but it did my heart good. Our group helped to spread God's word and it was powerful. It was the best day ever! After this happened, our team was invited to the school's chapel. We were able to see a group of about 12 kids sing and dance an African song. It was great!
Our last day of VBS was on Wednesday and it was wonderful as well. We went to our tarps and we gave the children journals, cloth bags, and balls to color and decorate. We gave them the bag because we wanted to put all of their new gifts in it. I told my group that we had a surprise for them and they all had smiles. I took them to the front of the church and we took polaroids of the children individually. THEY LOVED IT! It might not seem special to us Americans, but this may be the only picture that these children have of themselves for their whole lives. Mr. Monty told me that he wanted me to be in the picture with each boy, but I said that they could choose. I didn't want them to be stuck with me in their picture if they didn't want me! :) All of them wanted me in their picture! It made me feel so good becuase I wasn't to sure if they were enjoying me because they weren't talking to much. They all had HUGE smiles on their faces when they got their picture. After taking pictures, we went inside and they all got a new pair of shoes. Alot of the kids don't have shoes so it was so fun to see their excitement! They also received soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, waschlothes and new bibles. They were so excited about their bibles. Each one of them was really good at looking up verses, which surprised me. They seemed so happy! VBS was a huge success. The african children blessed me in ways that I can't even express. They are so precious and beautiful. They could sing so well and they were so joyful. It was wonderful!
Thursday night we were invited to dinner with the UBI graduates. We gave them all a new shirt and tie. It was great to see how happy they were.
Friday was the Uganda Bible Institute's (UBI) first graduation! We had to sit through a 5 hour ceremony. Although it was very long, it was really neat to see. It was something right off the discovery channel! Ceremonies in Africa tend to be very long, because the more important something is, the longer the ceremony will be. 5 hours was a very short ceremony time compared to most ceremonies.
Saturday was our team Safari day! WOW!!! It was incredible, and we saw so many animals. The drive to Mweya was gorgeous. There were mountains and valleys at every turn. Everything was green, but in all different shades of green. Tea plantations lined the mountains and it was gorgeous. We got to the National Park and drove around in taxi vans, not the best for a safari! Haha. The first animals that we saw were Kob and some type of buffalo. We were headed to lunch when we saw elephants. We were driving and all of a sudden they were there. It was AWESOME. We had passed a herd of elephants and had driven for about 2 min and we came upon a baby elephant to our left. We were oohing and awwing over him, and we started asking where the Mama elephant was. Well as soon as those words came out of our mouths, we looked to the right and that Mama was standing right next to us and she was not pleased! She started flapping her ears, and screeching her long horn at us. Mr. Jeff freaked out and started screaming at our driver to get us out of there. It was so funny! It was by far the best part of the day. We then went on a boat ride where we saw lots of Hippos and even more elephants. Seeing this many elephants is a very rare thing, so we were so excited that we saw them. We were about 10 minutes into our boat ride and we came upon about 5 hippos. They were going under water whenever we would come up and so we lost sight of them for a few minutes. At the same time, we saw a crocodile slide into the water. All of a sudden this hippo head pops up right by Mr. Johns arm! We all started screaming and we jumped like a foot into the air. It was hysterical. I will post the video when I get home! :) We were also able to see elephants bathing in the water! We ate lunch at the Safari Lodge. We then went on a Crater Run, and it was absolutely beautiful. Words cannot describe, so I will post pictures on later. On our way out of the park, we saw a leopard in a tree. Some of our team got out of the van and were taking some up close pictures. I of course stayed in the van, and I was slightly freaking out for them. All of a sudden the leopard jumps out of the tree. Can you imagine how fast those people ran back to our van. I started freaking out and screaming at them! Haha. I mean people were jumping across seats, jumping through windows and everything. Everyone was safe and the animal didn't come near us, but it was fun excitement for awhile! We were also able to see bamboons (SP?) on our way out and feed them. They are mean animals, we saw 2 get into a fight and tear the skin off of each other. We all had so much fun! Bless and TJ Magezi also came with us and we had fun getting to know them. Their father, Amos Magezi went to RTS in Jackson and is now a pastor and working at UBI. It was so neat to get to know their family.
While we were at the hotel in Mbarara, we were able to befriend a few of the workers their. Milton and Saturday became our friends and we were able to witness to them. Seeds are being sown, and I know that God will use others to grow them.
Today we went to All Saints Church, and were able to witness a African church ceremony! It was really neat to see. We drove back to Kampala this afternoon, and we are going to Jinja to see the beginning of the Nile River tomorrow. Tuesday we go to the market, and our flight leaves that night.
Please be praying for our health and safety as we are here only a few more days. A few team members have had stomach problems, and Jordan had a sore throat, but thankfully all has passed. As you pray for us, please keep all of the people that we have touched in your prayers as well.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What A Journey!
Well we made it! I only have a few minutes so I will do a quick update. After 28 hours of air travel, 1 1/2 hr of rain delay and 2 flat tires we finally made it to Mbarara! After our flight landed, we spent the night in Entebbe and then stopped at the African Bible University in Kampala to visit with the missionaries there. It is amazing to see what God has done there in just 4 short years. Finally we got to Mbarara around 8 o'clock at night, on Monday. Today (Tuesday) we had our first VBS. It went wonderful! We taught the children songs and dances and we also performed a short skit. They were so special and precious. They are beautiful and it was wonderful to see the joy in their faces. After VBS we headed back to the hotel for some free time for the "kids" and the women went to the women's retreat that UBI was putting on. At 4 we went to Mbarara Highschool and played a game of basketball. Jordan, Jeffrey, Robert, Mollie and Holland were the starting 5! After a while we got a few Africans to join our team. We were named the Mizogoo's which means "white people". We were able to ride boda boda's (african motor scooters) back to the hotel. It was so fun!
Two of my favorite moments have been amazing. After our long, tiring, frustrating journey to Mbarara we arrived and there were 5 women waiting for us to greet us. They were so sweet. They hugged us and sang us a song and danced with us. After such a tiring trip, it was great to get some joyful encouragement. My other favorite moment was when the African children were singing us an African song. I looked up and this beautiful little girl had her hands raised high and her eyes closed singing to our powerful, Lord and Savior.
Please keep us in your prayers. We are all exhausted! The trip has been amazing so far, and I know that it will continue to astound me. Hopefully I will be able to update again in the next few days.
Two of my favorite moments have been amazing. After our long, tiring, frustrating journey to Mbarara we arrived and there were 5 women waiting for us to greet us. They were so sweet. They hugged us and sang us a song and danced with us. After such a tiring trip, it was great to get some joyful encouragement. My other favorite moment was when the African children were singing us an African song. I looked up and this beautiful little girl had her hands raised high and her eyes closed singing to our powerful, Lord and Savior.
Please keep us in your prayers. We are all exhausted! The trip has been amazing so far, and I know that it will continue to astound me. Hopefully I will be able to update again in the next few days.
Monday, June 15, 2009
God is Good!
All of the support needed for our team has been raised! It is such amazing news for all of us to hear. Jordan and I were struggling with support, as well as the whole team. It was so neat to see how God pulled it all together at the end. It was very much a time of trusting Him! :) Thank you all who have sent in finacial support, we greatly appreciate it.
We leave this Saturday and we are so excited to go! Please be praying for travel mercies, as well as praying for all of our luggage to get to us in Africa.
We leave this Saturday and we are so excited to go! Please be praying for travel mercies, as well as praying for all of our luggage to get to us in Africa.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Our Calling
We are so excited that we have been given the opportunity to go on this trip. I have been on several mission trips over the past few years, and I know how amazing they are. I have felt the Lord calling me to go on a mission trip for the past year, but there was never an opportunity for me to go. I was home one weekend from MSU and in church on Sunday I saw that Highlands was sending a team to Uganda. Immediately I felt called to go. I prayed about it all throughout church and for the next few days. I asked my brother and dad if they wanted to go and they both felt like they wanted to. Well a few weeks went by and I still felt called to go, but I hadn't really had time to look into it. I was home for another weekend and talked to my family and we decided that Jordan and I should both go. We signed up for the trip and we are amazed at how quickly the time has gone. We leave in just 9 short days!
Jordan and I both haven't received all of the support that we need, but we are trusting that the Lord will provide! I know that money is such a small thing for God and He can bring in the support.
The Lord calls people to pray, serve and give. Even though only a few can go and give, many can still pray! I ask that while we are getting ready for this trip, and as we get to Africa, that you please be praying for us. Please pray for the team going from Highlands, and pray for the people in Africa. I know that the Lord can do mighty things, and I pray that we are obedient servants for Him in the next coming weeks.
While we are over there I might not be able to update you every day, but I hopefully will be able to every few days. While we are over there our team will be very busy! Our schedule is as follows:
Saturday June 20- leave Jackson
Sunday June 21- arrive in Entebbe
Monday June 22- drive to Mbarara where we will be ministering
Tuesday June 23- VBS at the Nkokonjeru Primary School; Women's Bible Study; Sports Outreach; Men's Outreach
Wednesday June 24- VBS; Women's Bible Study; Sports Outreach; Men's Outreach; dinner with the the mission family stationed there
Thursday June 25- VBS; Sports Outreach; Womens Bible Study; Men's Outreach; supper with all UBI graduates
Friday June 26- UBI graduation day; we will be helping with the school doing whatever work needs to be done to put the graduation on; this is a huge honor for the graduates and they are all very excited!
Saturday June 27- day off; Queen Elizabeth National Park
Sunday June 28- All Saints Church; we will be able to worship with the Africans!
Monday June 29- travel back to Kampala; Westminister Theological College
Tuesday June 30- travel to Entebbe
Wednesday July 1- arrive back in Jackson at 4:45 pm
As you can see, we have a very busy schedule ahead of us. As we go we will be able to fellowship with the missionaries there and encourge them in what they are doing. Please be praying for us!
Jordan and I both haven't received all of the support that we need, but we are trusting that the Lord will provide! I know that money is such a small thing for God and He can bring in the support.
The Lord calls people to pray, serve and give. Even though only a few can go and give, many can still pray! I ask that while we are getting ready for this trip, and as we get to Africa, that you please be praying for us. Please pray for the team going from Highlands, and pray for the people in Africa. I know that the Lord can do mighty things, and I pray that we are obedient servants for Him in the next coming weeks.
While we are over there I might not be able to update you every day, but I hopefully will be able to every few days. While we are over there our team will be very busy! Our schedule is as follows:
Saturday June 20- leave Jackson
Sunday June 21- arrive in Entebbe
Monday June 22- drive to Mbarara where we will be ministering
Tuesday June 23- VBS at the Nkokonjeru Primary School; Women's Bible Study; Sports Outreach; Men's Outreach
Wednesday June 24- VBS; Women's Bible Study; Sports Outreach; Men's Outreach; dinner with the the mission family stationed there
Thursday June 25- VBS; Sports Outreach; Womens Bible Study; Men's Outreach; supper with all UBI graduates
Friday June 26- UBI graduation day; we will be helping with the school doing whatever work needs to be done to put the graduation on; this is a huge honor for the graduates and they are all very excited!
Saturday June 27- day off; Queen Elizabeth National Park
Sunday June 28- All Saints Church; we will be able to worship with the Africans!
Monday June 29- travel back to Kampala; Westminister Theological College
Tuesday June 30- travel to Entebbe
Wednesday July 1- arrive back in Jackson at 4:45 pm
As you can see, we have a very busy schedule ahead of us. As we go we will be able to fellowship with the missionaries there and encourge them in what they are doing. Please be praying for us!
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