Thank you again for being involved in our adventure with Christ here in Uganda! We know you are praying & supporting us in many ways. You are a vital part of what God is doing & we know He will reward you. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints. -Colossians 1:3-4
We are so excited to have our daughter, Evie with us for 2 weeks in Uganda with our Missions Team from Project Hope Worldwide & have asked her to do a guest blog for us today. Here’s Evie…
Hi guys!
It's been busy here! We went out to see the kids at Calo on Monday, November 5. It was awesome! They greeted us at the gate and I’m pretty sure every one of the kids and staff gave every one of our team members a hug. They sang and danced and we all walked up to the orphanage with them. They had a big program prepared for us where they did a few skits, sang songs and danced, and every kid introduced himself/herself and told us what grade and which mother was his/hers, and it was all in English! It was really neat! I had my first meal of beans and rice there and it was really good!!! We played on the playground and walked around the grounds with them until they had to go back to school. I don't think I (or any of the visitors) went anywhere without at least one but usually 3 or 4 kids holding their hand :)
The roads here are ridiculous!!!! I just didn't understand until I saw it for myself. I really enjoy driving back home and had hoped Dad would let me drive here, but after seeing it I think I'll be obliged to just be a passenger. There are people everywhere and I don't know how there aren't wrecks and people killed all the time, but the drivers of the cars, bikes, and motorcycles and the people walking all seem to understand each other for the most part, and dodge and veer to safety when they need to. I'm also surprised that Mom and Dad's van is as rugged as it is! The AWD definitely helps, and it sets up a little higher from the ground but there are a lot of times where the road was really bad and it scraped under the van. Some roads are better than others, but there are a few here that I could probably walk on faster because Dad is constantly dodging and almost stopping for potholes in the road. BUT, they fixed the road that we take to the orphanage yesterday!!!! It has made a world of difference and everyone enjoys the drive more now! Pray that it stays good!
Mom and I spent a good part of the day Tuesday walking through the market getting ingredients for dinner that night and looking at all the stuff for sale. It was....different :) At first I didn't know what to think – it’s basically a huge maze, but Mom knew where to go to find what we needed, and she haggled for the right price when necessary! It was pretty overwhelming and HUGE, but I felt safe and everyone was very nice. By the end of the day I felt pretty acclimated and really enjoyed myself. I found some cool jewelry too which never hurts :) We left for a Safari Wednesday morning. We really enjoyed it. We saw a ton of giraffes and crocodiles, Ugandan Cob (deer with weird antlers) Heartabeasts, Warthogs, and Cape Buffalo. We also saw a few elephants and possibly a lion whose head we thought we saw sticking up above the grass, but our guide couldn't say for sure. There were also a lot of cool birds and of course I enjoyed the plants and trees. It's been cool seeing all the plants and trees here that I recognize as tropical plants back home, except here they're about 20 times bigger! I've also enjoyed Mom and Dad's house! It's very clean and nice, seems to suit them well and it feels like home! We had a craft day of sorts with the kids on Saturday. They were fairly good at sharing, and the older kids usually help the younger ones which is neat to see. It was a great first week!
Sunday was church and I LOVED it! The kids definitely outnumber the adults :) I loved their excitement and unbridled joy for the Lord. The dancing and singing was also very impressive and moving! Tuesday afternoon we went hut-to-hut in the village by the orphanage (see picture above). It was an amazing experience! We visited 3 huts and talked with the women there (the husbands weren't home). None of the women accepted Christ but one of the teenage girls did (girl with blue shirt in the picture)!!! Praise the Lord! My mom is doing a new believers class for the kids who have accepted Christ lately and so hopefully she will be able to come to that.
It's much different here, and I didn't expect a lot of things. You have to see it to understand! It's very noisy all day long, and some nights. There are people EVERYWHERE, and it's always busy on the streets. People are also very friendly and helpful which I didn't expect either. I was also surprised to see billboards when I got to Lira but it's pretty commercialized. I saw a sign today for cell phones and it said to "Come celebrate your Ugandanness." Everything is in English so it's fun to be able to read it all, but some of their marketing is pretty interesting to say the least.
I'm finishing this blog by candle light because the electricity is off (it's raining, so it is almost a given that the electricity will be off if it's raining). Life is a little harder in some ways, but the blessings are huge! The people's kindness and joy is infectious and it makes everything worth it!
Thanks for the prayers!!
Love,
Evie, Dennis & Margie
