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