Wednesday, July 13, 2005

We have arrived in Uganda!  IT was a very LONG trip from Phoenix to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Nairobi and finally Entebbe!!

We are a group of 39!  So we had to split up because no hotel had enough room for all of us.  Our group stayed at a lovely place called Sophie's Motel.  It could have been anywhere.  It just felt so good to lie flat!!

Team members Pat and Diane missed their connection to Entebbe because they flew in from London and it was late so they had to stay in Nairobi.  They will not be able to catch a flight until Friday!

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Rachel & Tom at equator

Today we drove to Western Uganda, near the Congo to visit Queen Elizabeth Park.  Along the way we stopped to stand on the equator and did the touristy thing of taking one another's photos.

We arrived late in the day at the park and were thrilled to see herds of elephants, groups of lions, pairs of wart hogs and hundreds of kobe!

We arrived at the hotel for dinner.  A representative from World Vision brought Josephine to see Kelly & Dawn.  She is a child they sponsor through World Vision.  She is a beautiful child and the three had a great time getting to know one another over dinner.  They were able to give her the gifts they had carried for her.  She was delighted!

Friday, July 15, 2005

Robert feeding elephant

Today we returned to Queen Elizabeth Park.  Our guide took us to Lake George to see the hippos.  A little fishing village is located on Lake George.  The locals all came out to greet us.  They were so friendly and wanting to please.

We were attracted to an elephant bathing in the lake.  As we all gathered at the water's edge watching and hoping to see more of the elephant a few men took their boat out to him.  They coaxed him out of the water by feeding him bananas. As you can see from the photos we were overjoyed to be so close to him.  Brave team members fed him bananas.  They didn't even have to peel them!

What a thrill to be in this village and to observe this huge elephant lumbering through like he was right at home here!

Rachel, "Chicken on a Stick"

Talking excitedly and laughing and taking hundreds of photos we thanked the people and waved goodbye.  Our next destination was Jinga, the mouth of the great Nile River.  We stopped for our traditional meal of chicken on a stick.

Drum maker

As we chattered and snacked and watched the fabulous sights we heard a loud hissing sound.  The bus had a flat tire.  We pulled over and as we piled out of the bus were pleasantly surprised to see we had stopped by some roadside stands.  Locals were making and selling drums & shakers.  A number of team members took advantage of this opportunity to shop!  The drum makers graciously allowed us to observe as they carved and assembled their drums.

Rachel (right) with children by the roadside.

Of course wherever we stop, children gather.  Dawn found some beanie babies and she and some of the women handed them out bringing much joy to the children.  One girl took her beanie baby and danced all the way home!

We arrived in Jinga at a very nice hotel.  We were greeted by Pat and Diane who had arrived from Nairobi earlier in the day.  Our team now complete enjoyed a wonderful meal, hot showers and a good night's sleep!

Saturday, July 16, 2005

After breakfast we gathered for family time.  Tom and Pastor Wilbur briefed us on our final destination of Tororo.  Tom explained the orphan and outreach programs in which we would be involved.  Pastor Wilbur instructed us on how to interact with the local people.

Rachel (center), at the Nile shops.

We then packed our buses and headed for the Nile.  Some team members took pictures of one another with their feet in the river.  This great river flows North into Egypt.   A few thousand years ago Moses was hidden in the reeds along the banks of the Nile.  It was there the Pharaoh's daughter found him and raised him as her own.  When he was forty God called him to lead His people out of Egyptian slavery.  You can read this fascinating story in the Old Testament in the book of Exodus.  It's a good read!  Or watch the movie "Prince of Egypt".

We also had opportunities to shop at our Nile stop.

Rachel, with friends at Godfrey's recently completed home.

 

We arrived at the Rock Classic hotel this afternoon.  We dumped our suitcases in our rooms, ate an early dinner and rushed to our work site where we were greeted by many of our Ugandan brothers and sisters.  Some team members toured the grounds, others enjoyed the reunion of friends-while first time team members mingled and met new friend.

It's going to be a great Week!

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Church

We went to church!!!  For just a few hours.  It went by so quickly as we were in such awe of their worship and dancing unto the Lord.

Pastor Brad wasn't aware he was on the agenda to preach until Pastor Wilber announced he was the next speaker!  He stepped up to the task and did a great job.  Pastor George was next.  He had been forewarned and he too gave an inspiring message.

Don and Marilyn attended a local Catholic church and were able to give out 600 rosaries made by Marilyn's group, "Our Lady's Rosary Makers."  They also delighted the priest with a new prayer shawl.

Robert (second from left)

Visiting hospital

New hospital under construction

After church we had a little time to greet our friends and were wisked away to the Hope4Kids farm for lunch and to see a few kids.  The women had spent hours preparing a meal for all of us.  The men had set up a tent and brought chairs from the church to be sure we were all comfortable.

As the time passed more and more children arrived.  They were waiting to see if we were going to do something with them.  We lined them up at the gazebo and handed out bracelets and fun glasses. 

Some of our team then went to a local hospital.  They teamed up with our Ugandan friends visiting & praying for the sick.  The team was so moved by these people in such sad conditions.  Most who come to this hospital come to die.  We are very anxious for our new hospital to be built.

Some of us sorted ministry bags.  We sorted the flip flops according to size, sorted clothes, school supplies, etc.  Southside Church from Spokane sent 53 bright yellow Bible school t-shirts.  When Pastor Wilber saw them he thought they would be great for the choir to wear!  So they are going to use them for the choir uniforms and pair them with black skirts.  They say they will look "smart".

The rest of the team went to the crusade where Pastor Brad was a featured speaker.  This time he did know ahead of time!  There was a lot of dancing and singing going on too.  Our "California girls", Sage & Bethany wowed everyone as they sang at the crusade and during the church service.  They will be rehearsing with the choir this week and will perform with their Ugandan sisters next Sunday.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Waiting at the clinic

Today was a full day!

People were lined up at the clinic waiting to see the mzungos (white foreigners) & to receive free health care.  Our midwife, Debbi teamed up with the Ugandan midwife.  Brad and Carla assisted the dentist-pulling teeth, etc.  Marilyn worked in the optical dept.

A team went to a rural area to give medical treatment.  Candice Price was on that team and here is her excellent report from there:

Monday morning the rural med team along with Annette & Gertrude from our clinic set out for a village located just north of Lake Victoria called Marumba.  On the way we stopped at a rural hospital and picked up Doctor Charles (a 32 year old ophthalmologist) and his assistant, Harriet.

When we arrived, benches and tables from throughout the village appeared in the 20X10 half-completed shack.  This was now our clinic.  One family donated a straw mat to use as a partition for privacy and a woman gave us her dress to hang as a curtain.

Raianne, Dr. Charles & Gertrude saw patients.  "Dr" Kelly & "Dr" Josh & "Nurse Gaylord" (Matt's name) tested visual acuity using a chart with the Bible verse John 3:16.  We dispensed over 100 pair of reading glasses.

Patients took their prescriptions to Candice, Laurielee and Annette, who dispensed Ibuprofen, antibiotics, antifungals, worm and malaria pills. 

Annette also did inoculations.

At 4PM we packed up and stopped at a group of huts belonging to the family of one of our Tororo brothers.  They escorted our entire team into the hut.  We sat on couches and chairs and ate fresh fish, rice, salad & cold coca cola.  This was such an honor.  We were all taken back by the generosity of this family.

We have much more to do tomorrow at this clinic with treatment of dental infections and some people returning for injections.

Clearly this was a day the Lord had made! This was an immense privilege as we worshipped Him in this service to His children.

Pat & Don brought trumpets and clarinets to give music lessons.  They were assisted by Emily, Bethany & Sage.  The instruments will be left here in Uganda.

Brad sat in with one of the church choirs and received much applause as he learned to sing along with them.  Others continued to organize, practice puppet shows & played with the children.

Robert presented his electricians with uniforms, caps, gloves, power tools, etc.  They were each given their own tool bags filled with tools & supplies.  They were so pleased!  They put on their safety sunglasses and strutted proudly around the site.  Keith & Stanley instructed them on the use of some of the tools.

True Vine Ministries has 13 rural churches.  Some don't have buildings.  They meet under a tree or in a rented "house".  Hope4Kids is looking for churches in the US to sponsor these little churches.  Our church, Gilbert Family Church, has stepped up to sponsor one of them.  Pastor Peter is the leader of this little country church.  Today Elizabeth and I came across him.  This usually bubbly man looked so tired and sad.  I asked him if he was feeling okay.  He said his daughter was very sick and hooked to an IV at the clinic.  We immediately went to pray for her.  She is a sick little girl.  In the photo Pastor Peter is trying to get her to eat.  Please put little Jane in your prayers.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Donna found you cannot purchase postcards here so she got real creative and dreamed up a project.  Stephan helped her find card stock in town.  The women of the church came and cut them into postcard sizes.  She has them designing and creating postcards for us with crayons and markers.  She then offered our team members the opportunity to buy these original creations. 

All the money will be presented to women's ministry.  It will be used to pay the sewing and knitting instructors and for their outreach in the 13 districts.

Don, Sage & Emily taught trumpet lessons in their little tent again.  They now have three regular students and several drop-ins!  Today they played "Hot Cross Buns".

Bethany & Pat found a shady spot in front of our new store to teach clarinet lessons.  They were also teaching names of notes.  The students are very eager to learn.  They played "Hot Cross buns" also and then wanted a new song!  When they mess up they laugh and say, "Let us start afresh!"

Two teams were sent to the rural areas.  One went to Busia.  When they arrived a little building in the middle of a field had been prepared for them.  It was all set up for their clinic.  Exam rooms were separated by banana leaves and bamboo.

Matt tested people for reading glasses.  The chart is John 3:16.  Each line is progressively larger with the strength of the glasses off to the side.  They were calling the glasses "language converters" because when they were first tested people couldn't see or struggled to read-as soon as they received their glasses-they could read!!

Rusty worked in the pharmacy and optical.  Bonnie & Seth were also in the pharmacy.  Marilyn did vaccinations while Debbi worked with Dr Hillary .

Here is the report from Candice who was on the Marumba rural team:

The Marumba team brought Dr Charles, Harriet & Eliger this time.  After a short walk some of us began inventory.  The dental was set up under a tree.  The clinic began straight away!  As I explained before the clinic building was only half complete and the roof complete up to about a three feet wide gap running the length of the building.  This made things very interesting when the skies opened up.

The dental team "Dr"Mark , "Dr" Brad & "Dr" Michele had just injected a patient needing an extraction and even the patient grabbed her treatment bench and ran for cover.

To protect our medicine we immediately packed them up and ran for our bus while Raianne , Dr. Charles and Annette stayed behind in a dry corner.  Matia predicted it would rain for an hour.  We waited and when it didn't stop decided to open up the pharmacy from the bus (which was also leaking from the roof).

15 teeth, many people and hundreds of prescriptions later we packed up to find dinner delivered to us today.  After this honor we boarded our bus and proceeded to say long goodbyes only to get stuck in the mud.  With the help of the village men using strength and wood for traction we were headed back to our hotel.

I think the general theme for us so far at the rural clinics is that you WILL face challenges!  Remember when all is said and done Who carried you through it.

 

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Another full day!  Our rural teams were back out pulling teeth, treating people and fitting them for reading glasses.

Pastor George

Pastor George has been holding a leadership seminar and has around 70 in attendance.  He says they are hungry to learn & to grow.  He has been talking about small group leadership.  He had 63 books which were group Bible studies for the new believer and understanding the Christian Faith.  The book was also geared toward Christian growth and discipleship.

In the evening Pastor George and Pastor Brad have been speaking at a local crusade.  Bethany & Sage have been singing at these crusades.  People call them the "choir from America."

Our word for the day was a quote from Mother Theresa. 

"If you can't feed 100 people, feed one."
 

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed by all the needs we have to stop and remember that we can change lives-but just one at a time.

We are putting the finishing touches on our new store.  This will be a general store and will sell soap, food, clothing.  This is also where the orphans will come for their food allotment.  Carla headed up the painting.  Robert's electricians began the wiring.

The music lessons are coming along nicely.  A little crowd of spectators gathers while they learn.

The ground is being prepared for the Hope4Kids office/suite .

Things are moving along!

Thank you for your continued prayers.

To be continued...