Sunday, May 20, 2012

You're in Uganda

These huts are near the entrance to our orphanage, Calo Me Lare. You might see huts like this in town as well.

The mounds of dirt we saw throughout Uganda were intriguing to us…until we found out they are termite mounds. This is why homes are not built of wood here. The only way to eliminate a mound is to dig until you destroy its queen. Very interesting…

 This is a picture of the street we drive on to market or to Calo Me Lare. People everywhere…walking, riding bicycles or motorbikes, cars, vans, trucks. Day or night, there is never silence. Birds singing, people talking as they walk by, the band playing at the bar down the street, church services, or the cry for prayers at the local mosque. And then there is the goat sounding very much like a kid trying to get attention. (Maybe it is)!

Our family has partner-sponsored Elizabeth at Calo for a couple of years. She is a very soft-spoken six year-old girl. In this picture she is wearing the backpack our granddaughter, Emma, crocheted for her.

 It rains almost every day in our area & the foliage is lush! Dennis planted cucumbers & zucchini after we arrived & they are doing well. He planted a flowerbed beside the entrance to the Administration Building. Everything is done the hard way here, as you can see in the above photo where men are cleaning up extra dirt around the new houses, loading fill-dirt into a truck by hand. They loaded 3 loads one afternoon.

These are photos of our house, living room, 2 of the kitchen & the bedroom.

Wednesday night we attended a sharing & prayer meeting in the neighborhood with several people who are living in Uganda now but who are from other countries. It was a wonderful time together! The electricity went off just as we are starting (much like it does every evening), we had sharing & prayer by candle-light, & just as we finished praying the electricity came back on. God’s ambience is amazing!

This week Margie had the privilege of spending time getting to know some of the moms & praying with them, which was a delight!

The Bunga Bunga Bible Fellowship is very different from our church back home. The people are definitely more animated. They have been very welcoming. Pastor Dennis’ love for the Lord oozes out of him to everyone around him. This is a church with many new believers who are eager to learn. We met with the Elder Board after the service today. They were most welcoming. Pastor Dennis invited us to dinner in his home Monday evening. We look forward to serving together.

Andy & Cami Flege have been so helpful with our transition to Uganda. We will try to get photos of them for our next update.

Thank you again for your prayers & financial support.

Blessings,
Dennis & Margie









Sunday, May 13, 2012

Hello from Uganda

Thank you so much to our family, friends and church family for all your prayers! We have seen God at work in many ways. We have been in Lira one week. What a beautiful time of year to arrive. It thunders and rains almost every day, with an occasional loud crack of lightening which reminds us of home.

We’ve learned a whole new way of shopping as the pictures will indicate. People are everywhere, mostly walking or riding bikes. They are very friendly! Early in the week Dennis had his first experience driving on narrow, crowded streets on the left-hand side of the road, filled with potholes (some huge).

We now know a few of the children by name and it frustrates us that we have to keep asking their names, but eventually we will know them all. Nancy is a very good dancer and Gloryia has a perpetual smile. Elizabeth is shy but sticks close to us. Harriett is very busy. They all got their heads shaved on Saturday which makes them even harder to distinguish. What timing!!!

All plumbing and electrical issues are finally resolved!! PTL! We have a very good landlord who has helped so much getting things in shape in the house. PTL for Andy and Cami with Project Hope, who have been wonderful and most helpful. Things would never have happened this quickly without them!!!







The first six pictures are of the market and buying furniture. There is a picture of our van and a picture for Logan and Zach of the best climbing tree in the world located in our front yard..

Dennis and our security guards who also work as lawn keepers have really done a great job of getting the property cleaned up and looking nice. To begin with it really was a jungle trek in our backyard! But now it's beautiful! We'll send photos another time.

Love,
Dennis and Margie



Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Crunch Week

We're packing and re-packing, weighing and re-weighing and set to go. A BIG "thank you" to all those who have been supporting us in prayer and financially. God is doing amazing things through you! Special thanks to Andy and Cami, our hosts in Uganda. A couple of days of flying, travel and setting up before we touch base again. Blessings to you all!