Welcome to Calo Me Lare!!!

Calo Me Lare is a beautiful place! This is where the Project Hope Worldwide children live. It is in Northern Uganda. Uganda has been called the Breadbasket of Africa and you will soon see why.

It is hard to capture the rolling hills and beautiful foliage of Calo Me Lare (Village of Redemption) with a camera, but Dennis has done his best to give you a glimpse.

                                                                                                                                                                

Our first photo is the driveway leading from the gate to the Administration Building. Actually, this photo is taken from the Admin Building looking toward the gate.

The Admin Building was designed by our first Director, Andy Flege who along with his wife Cami began directing this monumental work. They are skilled cabinet makers, so we were very fortunate to have him design many of the buildings at CML.

The homes are built in circles. We currently have 1-1/2 circles and when funds become available Project Hope Worldwide plans to complete the second circle. Each circle contains 8 homes with an open building in the center which we call the Center House. This is the meeting place for children and Moms who live in the homes.

Each home contains 8 children, either girls or boys and a house mother who is a widow. Our original intention was to care for the widows and orphans. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” (James 1:27) We have a mixture of children and moms from different tribes in Uganda. The mothers love the Lord and train the children in the ways of the Lord, teaching them responsibility and building character into their lives.

We have a playground and a full-sized football (soccer) field which the kids use a lot! They always have the ingenuity to come up with new games, i.e. dodgeball with and old rolled-up sock.

We have three classroom structures which currently house Primary and Nursery classrooms. Our oldest children are finishing P7 (primary level of education) and we are working toward adding the senior level beginning in January 2018. The school is open to the community and currently there are about 250 students.

Our Medical Clinic was a huge gift to Project Hope Worldwide by generous donors! It was completed around 2014. We are so happy that one of the young men from our church at CML completed his education as a Clinical Officer and is now practicing at the clinic. We have a lab and this Medical Clinic can service not only the needs of our own children, house moms and staff, but also the surrounding community. This is such a huge blessing to the project!

This is the church building, thanks to the generosity of donors to Project Hope Worldwide. We must say, this church was God’s idea and as always, it has been wonderful!!! When the first children came in the Moms, the Directors, Administrators and their families began teaching them Bible Stories and worshipping with them on Sundays. When the group became too large for the Center House they moved to a large room in the Admin Building and invited the community to join them. When we arrived in 2012 there was breathing room only!  The church was built and a pastor was called. The pastor’s and director’s homes were built the same year. Now the church is thriving!!! About 200 people attend each Sunday.

This is the Drip Irrigation Garden installed in July. It is a joint effort of PHW and Field of Hope. The garden is fed from a well on the property powered by a solar pump. We are harvesting tomatoes and green peppers now. Pumpkins, egg plants, onions, carrots, watermelon and cabbage are growing also. This promises to be an amazing blessing during the dry season. The peppers and tomatoes are some of the first produce from that garden. It rivals any from Lira markets!

PHW has purchased a piece of land across the swamp where maize (corn) is being grown. Maize is a staple in Uganda. The maize is eaten fresh or ground into “posho flour”, the main starch used in the diet of Northern Ugandans. We also have an orchard with oranges and mangoes. Cassava is grown on campus also.

We have begun a poultry business, where we are raising about 550 chicks. Some will be used for meat and about ¼ of them will produce eggs for those living in the homes. This was a gift from the government of Uganda to help these children. We are grateful to the government for them and are thankful that God put it in their hearts to help some of Uganda’s most vulnerable children!

Thank you again for visiting our blog and visiting Calo Me Lare! Thank you for your prayers for the children, staff and us. They are very much needed and appreciated!

If you want more information about Project Hope Worldwide in general or about sponsoring a child, please visit the website, http://www.projecthopeworldwide.org.

Welcome to our Uganda Home!

Lira, Uganda is a great place to live although it is much different from America. We are feeling quite at home since we have lived here before. Our transition time was minimal.

We arrived in Uganda on Thursday, September 7; traveled to Lira on Saturday, and moved into our house the following Monday and Tuesday.

Living room - larger table is coming!

This is where we are living. We feel blessed to have such a nice house. It is well-guarded with friendly people. There are 10 2-bedroom units in this complex. The night guard for the complex is standing on the right. We found curtains in town that make the rooms look homey. We are still waiting for our tables to be built. As you can see, this one is a little short. We have two bedrooms, so come for a visit!

Our front porch.

Guest room - bed will come.

Our bathroom is tiled and very nice except it has no mirror and no water heater. Oh well, it’s Uganda! Most days a cold shower feels pretty good!

Our bedroom.

The kitchen.

The kitchen is small but it smells of home cooking. Most cabinets have no shelves, so we have purchased quite a few baskets and containers to accommodate our needs. The kitchen has very high shelves, so it is not made for women. Oh well, Dennis enjoys helping in the kitchen.

The closets in this area consist of a piece of wood nailed to the wall with hooks on them to hang clothing. Therefore, we don’t need wall decorations. J We are waiting for our clothes rack.

This young lady helped me with cleaning and laundry today. We are thanking God for her. She was recommended by a friend and she was delightful! She looks like a teenager but she 23 years old. She had to drop out of school for lack of school fees, but I know God has a special purpose for her.

As you can see, we have settled in pretty well with the exception of the furniture being made.

Our days have been busy, welcoming the children into the homes after their break between school terms. Dennis has been working with the Director on financial issues and Margie has been working with the auditor. We thank God for sending us at just the right time. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

The Lord has shown up in so many ways already and we look forward to what He will do during our time in Uganda. We appreciate all the prayers being offered in our behalf.

We will try to communicate with monthly blogposts. Thank you again for visiting ours.

Special Tribute to Joyce Cribbet

Welcome to our blog! We are thankful that you took the time to read about our experiences in Uganda.

We left Uganda in July of 2015 and really did not know at that time if we would return for a long period of time again or if we would only take part in short-term mission trips. But God has called us to return, this time for three months. This photo was actually taken last year, but we use the same pink suitcase every time.

At this time I (Margie) would like to pay special tribute to my sister Joyce Cribbet, who went to be with the Lord in April of this year. She always provided at least monthly updates on our family back home. (My sister Kathy is doing this now and we are so thankful). Joyce was one of our faithful Prayer Warriors. I was saddened that Joyce would not be around to pray for us this year. You see, we recognize that we are in God’s capable hands, but that He works in response to prayer. This year God was so good to show me in many ways that she is still part of this trip and I know she is in heaven now praying for us along with many who went before her. This is a photo of Joyce and her husband Butch. You can see she was always full of life and love!

Carol Wells,a dear friend who is part of our Community Group at Discovery Bible Fellowship has offered and given us transportation to the airport one almost every trip to Uganda. Carol and Dennis loaded our baggage in her van as I did the final inspection to make sure we had included everything. When I arrived at the van Carol handed me an envelope and said, “This is from Joyce.” You can imagine my surprise!!!

Now, the explanation: My sister Joyce and her husband Butch owned a hardware store in Collinsville. One day shortly before Dennis and I left on one of our trips to Uganda, Carol was in the store with me. Joyce told me that she was sorry she could not be at the airport to “see us off” as she was slipping some cash in my hand, “for things you may need while traveling or something you see that you want to buy for yourself.” Carol took note of that and that’s why she gave me the money in Joyce’s name. (What a sweet reminder from the Lord)!

After arriving in Uganda we stayed in Entebbe one night. Due to extra shopping and business in Kampala we stayed an extra night. Everything was fine until we awoke at 3am to a familiar, high-pitched sound we immediately recognized. A mosquito was under our net! The net was made with a slit in one area for easy entry. . We had closed it at bedtime, but our blanket had pushed the slit apart. Dennis put his hand near where the mosquito landed, I swatted it from outside the net, and that mosquito was “a goner”. Neither of us was bitten. Dennis said he could hold it shut the rest of the night in case there were more, but how could he sleep like that? Then I remembered the safety pins Joyce sent the first year we came to Uganda. I had used 2 or 3 in the 4 years we ventured back and forth. Those pins did the trick and we have not seen or heard a mosquito since!!!

We want to thank all of our faithful Prayer Warriors. Without your prayers our efforts are fruitless and ministry is ineffective. “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). May God pour His abundant blessings on you because of your prayers and support!

The Rains Have Come

After surviving three months of hot, dry, dusty, uncomfortable weather it is already a distant memory as we enjoy pleasant temperatures and lots of rain. Everything has returned to its normal green lush beauty. It’s much like spring at home except that we know the weather here will stay pleasant and rainy through December. See pictures of an unidentified flower, bougainvillea and a very popular colorful bush. Everyone knows it’s gardening time and they spend hours and hours digging up the rich soil with a hoe. A few use oxen and a plow, and the ground richly rewards their efforts. The only way most people survive is by growing maize (our corn) beans, g-nuts (like our peanuts), millet and a few lesser crops. The offerings at church should increase, with people bringing offerings on Sundays of produce from their gardens & fruit trees. These are auctioned off for the offertory. (Yes, we do that)!

The spiritual rains have been abundant as well. We have gone hut to hut sharing the gospel several times in the past few weeks and had the joy of seeing 15-20 people accept Christ. We held an Evangelism Class at the church and 19 people came to learn how to share their faith. They were very excited to go out and practice what we had learned. But the devil is also hard at work and has many people addicted to alcohol and all the problems that are the result of drunkenness. 



Today I (Dennis) was teaching a Sunday School lesson to 14 adults on how we can prepare ourselves for rough times. We were talking about our hope in Christ and how we can know with assurance that God will see us through any difficulty. We ended up on the topic of assurance of going to heaven and out of the 14 people in class (some church leaders) only one person raised his hand when I asked if they knew without a doubt they would go to heaven when they die. So pray for us and the church, that God would open their hearts and minds to understand their salvation and position in Christ.
We want to share some Easter photos with you. Last year one of the children asked that the mothers would get new clothes for Easter. Someone donated money and we were able to purchase a new dress for each house mom. They were very excited, clapped their hands and made the shrill sounds which in Uganda mean great celebration. 

We also made special treats for the kids this year. Margie’s sister had sent special candies to decorate them. It was fun seeing the kids’ excitement about them.

We asked the kids to dress up on Easter. Here are some of their pictures along with Dennis:

Alal Susan, the Director of Project Hope Uganda threw a great Easter party for the staff the day before Easter. It was fun to share a meal together and interact with the staff. We were very happy that there was a spiritual emphasis in the party. Susan planned a time of reflection. We sang several worship songs. Then Dennis & Susan both shared some thoughts from the Bible about Easter. This is a picture of our intern accountant, Jackie with Margie at the party.

We continue to enjoy our time here and we know that your prayers and support are just as important as our presence here. We’re hoping and praying that the road we travel on to the orphanage from Lira which is 5 kilometers will be repaired SOON. It is taking a toll on our vehicles. Our van has been in the shop for 2 days. They are trying to weld it back together (literally). 

Our time here is moving on quickly. Thanks for your prayers.

Love to all,

Dennis & Margie

Uganda 2014

The Lord has done so much for me; I cannot tell it all,

I cannot tell it all, I cannot tell it all,

The Lord has done so much for me; I cannot tell it all,

I cannot tell it all.

This is a song the people sing in the village where we serve in Uganda. We feel that way. God has really blessed our ministry in Uganda these past seven months. We have been blessed with opportunities to disciple kids and adults, good health and energy to serve Him and a great group of missionaries in Lira for mutual encouragement. We are just so thankful for those who welcomed us with open arms as we returned. We are so grateful to all of you who have prayed for us and supported us. Your prayers have been answered and we praise God. 

Dennis is pictured here with some of the kids we work with. Mentoring kids was mainly done by just spending time with them. We taught Character First to the staff on Mondays…the teachers taught it to the kids…the whole staff worked on living it out and helping the kids live it.

Sunday was our biggest ministry day. We taught a Mentorship Class on Sunday afternoons at 4pm. We explored six scriptures each week together with the class. It was fun for us to dig deeply into each verse, trying to anticipate the questions we would be asked - questions revealing the great differences in their culture and ours. We went through a series of 30 topics. Dennis group finished 24 lessons, whereas the women finished 22 lessons before we left. Since then the remaining lessons were finished, taught                                                                                         by Pastor Fred Musungu, his wife Moreen                                                                                     & Grace, who was Margie’s translator.

One highlight of the women’s classes was our friend, Nastanzia, who came each week & is totally blind. She has a great sense of humor and demonstrated a lot of faith as she walked down the road each week being led by her very young grandson. Most of the village men & women do not speak English.

The September team gave us a Prayer Seminar during the normal Bible Study time. It was wonderful! It was a great encouragement to everyone in our Bible Study groups. As the team shared their life stories of how God worked through prayer the people connected with them. Most of our church members came up for prayer at the end of the session. It was our joy to be part of that prayer team. Five teams from the U.S. visited this year. Team members are a great encouragement to the kids, staff and us personally. Praise God for calling people to serve in that way. Here we are eating with our hands during the lunch that day.

  

In August we helped teach a marriage seminar, which God really used in the village to change the lives of the people. On the first day it was to begin at 9:00am. One couple came and waited until noon when others began arriving.

We spent quite a bit of time with Pastor Fred Musungu & his wife Moreen. They are a lovely pastoral couple. This picture was taken at a lodge less than two hours away where we went to enjoy God's creation, have lunch, see the animals and the Nile River.

We arrived home on October 28th. Some long-time friends have a great one-bedroom house adjoining theirs, which is so nice! Sari and our family had stocked the kitchen and the other rooms with everything we need. We are so thankful to them and to the Lord.

We plan to return early next year but the date is uncertain. “Thank you” to our wonderful prayer partners. We value your prayers so much. Please ask God together with us to send others to Uganda who will love and care for the kids, the house moms, and the church.

We volunteer with Project Hope Worldwide. If you would like to know more about this vital ministry, or if you would like to support in prayer, please visit http://www.projecthopeworldwide.org.

Blessings,

Dennis & Margie Baltzer

Easter Celebration!

Easter is the second most celebrated day in Uganda, second only to Christmas! In Uganda Good Friday and the Monday after Easter are national holidays. Calo Me Lare (the orphanage where we serve, sponsored by Project Hope Worldwide) and Hope Alive Fellowship also went to extreme measures to celebrate Easter.

There are no Easter bunnies or egg hunts included in the celebrations here. Everyone knows it is Jesus resurrection we celebrate. Families try to come together to have a special meal, singing, dancing and games. How would we make Easter special for our CML (Calo Me Lare) family?!

A few days before Easter our Administrator met with the moms, child representatives from each home, the Social Worker and the three of us volunteering from the U.S. with the specific purpose of planning Easter Day. He wanted the children to tell us what THEY would like to see at Easter and then wanted us to try to arrange it. Singing, dancing, & eating were at the top of their list. One of the girls, Lucky, wanted the moms to have new clothes for Easter. This is how it played out:

Rachel had clothes that the December team had left for the moms. She had given out the kids’ Christmas clothes and had run out of time and energy. Little did she know that God was keeping the mothers’ clothes “for such a time as this.” Rachel & I went through the clothes and were able to give each full-time mom and each step-in mom one outfit plus an extra garment. It was amazing to see how God had prepared in advance for this!

We had a great service Sunday morning. There was much singing, dancing and jumping up & down in praise to our Savior. The children love to sing and worship Jesus. Pastor Fred delivered a powerful sermon about the resurrection of Jesus. Because Jesus is alive we know we also will live with Him in heaven when He comes again! While He was preaching the children’s teachers were telling them the Easter Story. Each child got a sweet (hard piece of candy), which is a very special treat for them. There must have been about 150 children.

After church we all went to the Center House for our special Easter meal which the children chose: chicken, rice (the moms added cabbage) & sodas. They were all so happy. The children sat in groups in the center house; it was great! J (The moms are wonderful cooks! Each mom cooks for her own children and each day one of them cooks for the staff as well).

Above, Dennis & Rachel are eating lunch and playing with some of the kids.

After lunch Walter, our Social Worker, played some worship songs we would be familiar with in our churches in the U.S. He showed pictures of the children before they came to CML and had them guess who each one was. That was a special time for the kids & staff.

Next, there was a dance contest for everyone who wanted to participate. The kids lined up in fours and competed against each other, dancing to local music. The winner of each group was in the final competition and two boys were the overall winners. The kids had so much fun! There was a lot of laughter. J

Each mom gave her children a small gift, a bookmark which was left by Connie Madden, our President’s wife, last March. The verse on it was John 3:16. I challenged them to memorize it and over half of them did.

Now it was time for the football (soccer) competition. The older kids competed against the moms. The kids won 3-0, but everyone had fun! The moms really seemed to enjoy being with their kids on Easter.

In the evening everyone had supper and we saw The Ten Commandments at the church. Actually, we only saw half of it when the power went off, but it was 9:30 and some of the kids were sleeping so we were dismissed. What a wonderful day!!! 

We are so thankful to be here and share some of these joyous memories.

Thank you for your prayers and may God bless you abundantly for all you are doing to support us and these precious children.

Dennis & Margie

Here We Are Again!

Thank you for your interest in our blog. We arrived in Entebbe late on March 28th. We spent a few days resting up and preparing to come to Lira, Uganda. We arrived the evening of March 31st.

Our first day at Calo Me Lare, the orphanage where we will be working, was April 1. The children and staff welcomed us warmly! They told us they had been praying that we would decide to return. We told them that we wanted to come back, but that we are here because God called us to come back. We have enjoyed the children and staff so much! 

We spent a few days in a bunkhouse located beside our apartment and moved in to our cozy little furnished home away from home on Friday. It came complete with a few furnishings, dishes and a few kitchen items. We purchased a few more things to make cooking easier. 

This is  the kitchen. The cabinets are really nice. We even have an oven, sort of. J I baked a pizza last night, using a long stick to keep the oven knob in place so the stove would stay on. It took about an hour and never really got brown, but it was thoroughly cooked. Dennis adds, “And good.” The staff at the cafe has offered to bake whatever I mix up. Sounds good to me!!!

We have a little patio outback which is really nice. It is shaded and gives us a cool, peaceful place to sit when it is hot inside. The birds’ singing is interrupted occasionally by a chicken or neighbor’s pig.

Our neighbors are directors of another large orphanage, and they have done everything possible to may our stay a good one.

Things are definitely built differently here. The bedroom has a wash basin. The shower room has a commode and clothes rack. They may be in a different location than we are used to, but we have everything we need and more

We live adjacent to “The Path Café”. This is a definite expatriate hangout, with a peaceful atmosphere. We can get a meal there if necessary. Included in our rent is morning tea or coffee and a cinnamon roll or muffin. The café opens at 8am, so we usually cook breakfast or pick up something the night before from the café. The menu includes a bowl of beans and rice for 5,000 shillings (about $2). They also serve hamburgers and chips (about $6). Every once in a while they make fresh ice cream (soft serve), so don’t feel sorry for us. J

Palm Sunday is very much celebrated here. We wish we had stopped to take pictures that day. In town at one spot we saw about 100 people standing near a tree, waving palm branches (and some with yellow flowers attached) and singing. It was quite the sight! In Hope Alive Fellowship (at CML) we also celebrated! Many of the children and adults brought their palm branches to church. Some of them were braided, some with yellow flowers. At one point in the service Pastor Fred explained the significance of waving the palm branches. He told us to sing “Hosanna” to Jesus our King while waving our palm leaves. We sang, “Hosanna” several times. It was a very worshipful morning.

Our next blog will be about Easter. Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement.

Blessings,

Dennis & Margie