Reflections

     Sunday morning, when I woke up, I was brought to tears. Everything that I saw reminded me of where I have just been, and what I have just seen. When I looked at my bed, it reminded me of the kids who slept on a dirt floor. When I looked at my room, I was reminded of the mud huts that were not even that size. When I looked inside my closet, I saw the children who only had one pair of clothes that were all torn up. When I looked at my shoes, Isaw the bare, dirty feeet on the chilren dancing in worship for the Lord. When I looked at my school work I was reminded of the kids my age struggling to read. When I looked at my shower, it reminded me of the people who have never taken a warm bath. When I looked at my breakfast, I was reminded of the posho(the food that we delivered, that is alot like grits, but much dryer) that the lucky children ate for both of their meals every day. When I looked at my bible, I was not only reminded of the way that these people loved God and longed for him, but also 2 Chorintheians 8:2 that is at the top of this blog, and says, "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty, welled up in rich generosity."  Thi verse is such a true statement towards the people in Uganda. These people face the most severe trials and circumstances. None of the people that we came in contact with lived in a house as nice as the worst trailor in America. None of them make as much money in a montha s an American would make in a day. All of them labor tirelessly in the sweltering heat in order to provide for their family as much as possible. kids, at as very young age  are expected  to not only take care of themselves, but also their siblings. Countless times, we saw kids taking  care of other kids. At the first orphangae that we visited, there was a boy about my age named Joey. Joey did not play soccer woth the other kids his age, instead he watched his five year old brtother named Edwin, who had been rejected by their parents, because he was special needs. Other children we saw would be as young as six years old, and have a baby around their back! The women of Uganda also face many trials, as they are the primary workers and caretakers of their families. Overall just by the living conditions, you can tell that it is a never ending struggle for survival.
     Out of these trials, there is an overflowing amount of joy within these people, these people who have nothing. People around the world belive that money will bring them happiness, but I have just experienced extreme poverty, and found the happiest, most joyful and thankful people. This joy is contagious. When you are in their presence, they make your broken heart that you have for them full of joy! God has done great things in me and though me during this experience, and now when I look at my life, I see that I am not living in the right way acording to God. I have just seen people who have nothing, yet give their life completely to God, and are happy, and are thankful. I have lots, but I do not spend nearly enough time with God who has given it to me. If I did, maybe I would be more happy and thankful. Because of this trip, I can no longer look at my life in the same way! Thanks to all of you who helped make this trip a possibility!

Hope

Sad Good-Byes!):

      Today was the last dayof Vacation Bible School in Iganga, Uganda. Over the past three days we have really had fun playing with the kids while also being able to share the gospel with them. Several kids accepted Jesus as their Savior, and many learned new stories from the bible that they never heard. All of the kids really enjoyed being able t play outside, sing songs, watch puppet shows, and be told that they are loved!
      As much as we possibly impacted them, the impact that they have had on me is nowhere close. They have tought me that all the money in the world can not maqke a person happy. These kids have nothing, yet they are the most happy and grateful people who worship God for what He has given them. American are usually to consumed with themselves to even stop and say thank you.
      Even though these kids are grateful, that does not mean that they don't ask for what you have. Ugandans are trained that American are here to give them stuff, which we do, so they will ask for anything. This kind of agrivates me, and makes me not want to give it to them, because the word PLEASE is unknown. I must then stop and think what I would do if I were extremely poor and someone "rich" came to "help" me. I might be asking for a new school bag, some bracelets, or even braces. The head mistress actually took me into a different room, sat me down, and told me that she needed what was on my teeth. One of the other team members had explained the day before whatthey did, so she knew that they were supposed to make your teeth look beter. She was going to a wedding this weekend and wanted her teeth to look better. I had to then explain that they were super glued to my teeth!:)
       As we left today, tears arrived in the eyes of both the team members and the children. I hated to say good-bye, but hope that this is only until next year! Tomorrow we are are leaving early in the morning to go to Royal School and Orphanage were the children who come to America every year come from. It is sad that this journey is almost over, but I can't wait until tomorrow!!!

Hope

Vacation Bible School

     Yesturday was our first day of VBS in Iganga, Uganda and over 400 kids shopwed up. Today their was about the same amout!! There are only 7 to 10 team members working with the kids, so it has been a little overwhelming! Although there is a whole lot of chaos, it pays off when you see how uch fun the kids are having.
     We have worship time where we sing songs and dance to them several times throughout the day. It has been amazing to see how quickly the children have learned these songs. Today we sang several of them without any music! I really see God working through these children! It is so exciting!
      After singing, we do a bible lesson, but the kids have a hard time listening to a story in three word phrases so that it can easily be interpreted, so then we break for them to play a mutitude of games outside! Some of these include soccer, the Ugandan version of tug of war, duck, duck, goose, and red rover! While the kids are playing Makayla(the other teenage girl on our team), and a couple of the other women on the team, watched the babies that children take care of, so that they could have fun.
      One of the babies was very well taken care of and had rolls of baby fat on top of rolls of fat, and had a diaper on! This is a very rare sight here. It actually rare to see a baby anything on! Others were not nearly as fortunate. Several had malaria, all were malnourished, and all of them just wanted to be loved on! One of them was being taken care of by two girls who said they had to watch him while his dad went to burry his mom and twin sister who had recently died! This story is even more sad than what it may sound, because this baby is not going to be raised by is father, because his father must support himself and work, which leaves no time to raise a baby. Baby Benny will must likely be sent to another family, or if he is lucky, be sent to an orphanage.
        Time to go prepare for tomorrow now! Sorry for all of you who want to see pictures. It is practically impossible for them to load, and I have tried every night! If this continues, I will definately post them when I get back! By the way..... Our Lost Luggage finally came today!!!!!!!! God Is Great!!

Hope

Praise God! Amen!

     Yesturday, I dod not get to post, so I am going to catch you up on the past two days. Yesturday(Saturday) was our touring day. We visited Bujagali Falls and the source of the Nile River where we saw lots of MONKIES. On the way back to our Guest House we stopped by a few shops to shop for souvenirs and ate at an American Restaurant for the first time! That night we also ate dinner at an American restaurant, so I ate to good meals yesturday!
      Today was church day, so our team divided up and went to 6 different churches to preach. My dad taught Bugari Bapist Church. It was my first time going to a church that is not in the U.S., so it was quite the experience. In this church, the people were very expressive in the way that they worshiped, unlike in the churches that I am used to, where people are really reserved. After we finished the service and all gathered back together we ate yet another American meal!
      Tomorrow marks the first day of the Pastor's Conference/VBS. We should have several hundred kid to watch and teach, so please pray for us. Pray that we will be able to handle the children, and that they will learn and come closer to God. Also pray that my dad and Pastor Jason will get their message across the pastors who will come from many different villages. Good Night! And as the Ugandan 's like to say, Praise God! Amen!
    

Down a Bumpy Road

Today was our last day visiting orphanages. We went to three today.Because of the fact that we went to three, we did not get to spend much time with kids. At every orphanage that we went to over the past three days, they have made sure to prepare a performance, speeches,and time for us to talk. They really find it important to impress us so that we may continue to trust them, and help them. Most of the schools were very similar in the way that they run the school. I have really enjoyed being able to help these people.
     At the last orphanage that we went to today, there were several kids with medical needs. One little girl was missing an eye, and another was hit by a motorcycle on the way to see us, just to name a few. I am sure that most of them had malaria also. These problems did not affect their happiness, though! It has really amazed me just how happy everyone is, even though they have nothing!
     Each orphanage that we visited has been quite a distance away from where we are staying, so we have spent lots of time in the bus. This is where I get my sleep, and when others get sick. There are no paved roads that are not covered in pot holes, and the dirt roads are only worse. To occupy the hours that we have on the bus, we started to wave to the people living on the sides of the "roads." It is interesting to see how they take the time to stop what ever they ae doing to be friendly and wave back, some even jump up and down. People in America are usually to contained with themselves to take the time and simply wave to somebody.
     Tomorrow is our touring day, and the day that we will be shopping. On Sunday, we will attend church, and the remainder of our timewillbe spent working at VBS and the Pastor's conference.

Hope

By the way, I got some sleep last night, thanks to some earplugs and herbal medicine that is supposed to help you sleep! Only, I can't take the herbs any more, because last night after I took it, my dad read the label and it said not to take it unless you are 16 years old or older. Wish me luck:)

Day 2

Today we went to two different orphanages to deliver food. Both of them were much more tribal than the one we visited yesturday, and most of kids did not speak English. One of the orphanages was the one that my school sponsered to feed. Overall, we did not get to spend as much time with the kids at either today because of time restraints.
It is amazing how grateful and happy these people are even though they have nothing. We could spend hours just sitting next to a kid or holding their hand and the would be satisfied where as the children in America can't even go an hour playing with their hundreds of toys without needing a screen in front of them. This trip is really making me see the way our lives function differently.
Right now, I am exausted and hungery, but it doesn't seem like I will be slepping anytime soon. Even though it is 9 o'clock Uganda time, there is a bar across the street that plays really loud, creepy music until about 3 o'clock in the morning. It kept me up last night, even after taking medicine that is suposed to help you go to sleep. Thankfully, Mikayla, one of the team members had extra earplugs!:) Wish me luck!

Hope

So this is Africa!

Since the last time that I posted, we have spent time in London, and arrived in Uganda. In London, we started our day on the the Undergroud Tubes. Once we reached London, from the Heathrow Terminal, we rode The Eye! This allowed us to see the majority of the city. Once the 35 minute tour was over, we walked around the city past, Big Ben, Parliment, Westminister Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedrials, Victoria Station, and the Buckingham Palace. Somewhere in there, we ate the original Fish and Chips!
Our flight to Entebbe, Uganda left at nine o'clock, so when we woke up this morning, we only had an hour left of the trip. We checked into the airport and paid t get into the country. When gathering our luggage, we realized that one of our three checked bags did not make it to Uganda. It just so happens that the box that was lost was the one that contained our soap, deet, Zane's Science fair project testing materials, and the peanut butter and craker that we were relying on for lunch over the next nine days!
We loaded up two buses that drove us to exchange our currency where we got a metal boot put on a tire of the bus by a man in their military for being parked for more than 15 minutes in a gas station parking lot. Once we paid to get it off, we finished the three hour ride to Arise Africa, where we are staying. Along the way, we had several kids come and ask for food/money, and got mobbed by teenagers sellinf chicken on a stick. One thing that we are trying to find out is what it means when a man winks at you three consecutive times,as this happened several times on the drive as well.
     When we arrived here at Arise Africa, we had one hour to turn around and leave for our first orphanage. The Bukaya School has about 125 students attend, so we bought enough food for every student to eat for at least three months. This school has no one supporting them, so they were very grateful. One of the kids who really touched my heart was a boy named Joey. He was about my age I would quess, and he was so sweet and caring. His five year old brother Edmond, was left for him to take care of, but not because his parent are dead. Edmond definately has a learning disability, and cannot talk. He would randomly just start crying also. Joey told me that his parents will not take care of him because of his problems, so he knew that he had to. Instead of running around with the other kids, he took care of his disabled brother, who will most likely never improve.
     I probably painted 500 nails tonight also, girls and boys. Once you would finish, they would decide that they wanted a different color and this cycle continued. Zane played soccer wit many boys, and I could tell that he really enjoyed it. We delivered the posho(the food) and were on our way!

Up, Up, and Away!

     In less than two hours we will be departing from the Atlanta Airport, and will be on our way to London, England! I am now getting a little nervous, but but I am so excited about what is to come, that it is easy to forget that we are not already there. A couple of the people that are coming on this trip with us have traveled to Uganda, and other countries for missionary work. Hearing the stories that they have been telling us, I can't wait to see what lies ahead!
     We have now been in the airport for almost three hours, and I am truely amazed by all of the people whoare interested in what we are doing! All of the team members traveling with us on this journey, are wearing matching t-shirts that are purple with bright yellow letters. Even just at dinner, we had several people read our shirts and ask what we were doing on this trip. One man walked up and asked us what part of Uganda we were going to be in, and when we told him, we found out that he lives in Uganda, near where we will be, as a missionary! This really makes me wonder who all these hundreds of other people are, who are all here for now, but are on a journey to some place else. We coukd all be going in a hundred different directions, and yet there is a God who loves each and everyone of us, and will watch over everyone of us, no matter where we are going! Our God is an AWESOME God!
     I can't wait until we load the plane and this journey begins, although it really began months ago when God called us to this mission! Please pray for us to have a safe trip to Uganda, as anything could happen! I will try my best to post tomorrow, but don't know if we will have time in between flights.

                                                                                                                                      Sweet dreams,
                                                                                                                              Hope

The Day Is Almost Here!

     If you are reading this blog, you probably already know that tomorrow marks the day that has been long awaited! Tomorrow, my Dad, my brother Zane, and I will be traveling to Uganda, Africa. Preparations for this trip, especially expenses, have all been taken care of, and have exceeded our expectations. I am happy to say,that because of your help, either financially or through prayer, we were able to raise around $7,000 dollars more than what we personally needed to be able to go on this trip. This money can now towards feeding the orphanages that we will visit! This is a true testament of what God can do.
     As we are now counting down the hours before we will be on the airplaine headed for London, England, (our layover before we reach Uganda), reality has finally hit! We are now frantically trying to pack. Packing usaully is not hard for me, but because of the fact that we will be traveling though three completely different climate zones (from Locust Grove where it is in the 70's, to London where it is in the 50's, and lastly, to Uganda, where it is in the 90's), and because we each have two carry-on backpacks that we have to fit all of the things that we will need for twelve days into, I am finding packing as quite the challenge!

     Thanks again for all of your support for my family and I so that we are now able to go tomorrow, to this country that so desperately needs to know that there is a God who loves them and has a plan for their future. I am so excited to see how God will use us to share the gospel with the people in Uganda. Please pray that we will be able to teach them, and them understand, or if they have a a question, for us to have the right answer. I plan to keep you posted on a regular basis of what we will be doing while we are there.

Also, thank you so much to everyone who took part in the ONE Campaign at Luella Middle School! We raised a total of $750! Look forward to pictures and videos of the Bukungu School and Orphanage (our sister school) receiveing the food that will be purchased as a result of your donation!
                                                                                                                                            Much love,

                                                                                                                     Hope
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