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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pray that we continue to reach people for God!
Fred

Home visit in Kamuli town during the rain

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

Team 2

Kamuli Village

Kamuli Village

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We Made it!

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

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

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

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

From Uganda for team 2, Valerie.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned for more! Fred

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

It Takes a Village...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pray for safe travel. Blessings to all...

Let It Rain...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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