Hello PCM Bloggers,

We have a very big prayer request.  Pastor Emmy and Sarah are leaving Mbarara on Monday 2/8/10 for Kamapala to visit the US Embassy on the morning of February 9th. This  will be the middle of the night Monday night our time.  Please pray that the US consular officer who gets to talk to them carefully evaluates the work that he and Supermom have done over the past 18 months. We have many things to show the officers.  We just want them to look at them before they make an immediate decision.  So much has changed as you know. So many of you have joined us in support of Parental Care Ministries USA.  We really need your prayers Monday night. I will be updating the status on FACEBOOK while he is at the Embassy.  You can sign up to be a friend of the ministry on Facebook on our main page on the bottom left corner.  We would love for each of our sponsors and supporters to meet Emmy and Sarah this spring.  What a blessing that would be!!!!

Here is a letter we obtained from one of the cabinet officials in Uganda.  Take a look at it.

What else has been going on?  

Well Monica made a visit to Dance and Drill studio to say Hi and thanks to Mrs. Lynn and Mrs Jeanie for their huge support with the PCM Dump Truck campaign. Way to go DND !!

At Grace Community School,  PCM Board members Karla Foreman and Myles Cunningham have been hard at work with our project for the P6 classroom:  Hearts For Change.  Students of the elementary campus have collected change over the past few weeks and deposited them in the big red buckets in the cafeteria.  It has been a joy to see the kids make such a huge difference in the lives of our Ugandan P6 students by just gathering the change we all tend to disregard in our homes and cars. This project runs through February 14th. You don’t have to be a Grace student to give your change.  You can stop by Grace Elementary anytime during the day to give to this project.

Here is PCM Board member Myles Cunningham talking at chapel on his experience in Uganda this summer. He told the students basically, you “can’t judge a book by it’s cover.”  He was amazed ( a jaw dropping phenomenon by his accounts) of what he saw at this humble school.  1 Sam 16:7  The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Monica made another trip to Grace this February to teach art with Mrs Thomas.  She taught the chidren some of the 800+ verses on the heart and then helped each child make a heart based on one of these verses.  Unbelievable beautiful creations were the result from these 5th grade Grace students.

Pastor Emmy and Sarah have been busy on their return from the United Kingdom 1/19/10.  They have had a youth conference at our school for hundreds of high school and young adults. Here was the theme of the conference:

Not to mention they made time for the Ezra School of Ministry by gathering nearly many of our 43 pastors together for a conference and teaching time.  When does Emmy ever sleep?  Amazing!!

School is back in sesssion in Mbarara and the children “are with much Joy” as Emmy says thanks to your prayers and support.  Just look at these genuine smiles.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for what you are doing.

We would love to announce that Emmy and Sarah have a visa on Tuesday,  but we also know Ecc 3:1 “there is a time and season for everything.”  Our work will continue whether they get to come this spring 2010 or some time thereafter.

Updates will be on Facebook  as i get them and the blog when we have a final answer.

Love greetings this valentine season from Emmy and Supermom…….

Bub and Monica

PS  Check out the Pictures Button for the 153 pictures that Christie loaded from Trip #4.  Way to go “DC.”  What we we do without you??????

Grace Community School has embarked on a campaign, called Hearts for Change in early 2010.  By collecting small change until Valentines Day, they are trying to raise $5000 for a new school building at Parental Care School in Mbarara Uganda. Anyone is welcome to donate change for this project.

Here are two videos:

The first explains the Hearts for Change project  and what PCM is doing in Uganda……Click here

The second is a short video of what happened at GCS Elementary Chapel on 1/12/10 with a song from the GCS Elementary children to the orphans in Uganda…….Click here

“…My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.” Hosea 11:8

Join us in prayer for Pastor Emmy and Supermom’s trip to the US Embassy for a visa on 2/4/10 in Kampala. It will be middle of the night on 2/3/10 for us in the states.  (see prayer button for more details)

A Texas sized thank you goes from PCM to a special lady in East Texas!

Lynn Ramey is a godly woman who daily serves the Lord through her dance studio, Dance N Drill in Tyler.  When I think of Lynn, I always think of her growing up in Humble, Tx. (pronounced “umble”) which is just up the road from where I grew up in North Houston.

Lynn’s place of origin fits her heart  desire- to humbly serve her King all her days.  Our own two girls had the pleasure of attending her dance studio for years and many other children and young ladies have had the honor of learning dance in all it’s splendid forms from her and her great teachers throughout the years.

She serves the community of East Texas in many capacities: As a mother of two, a business owner, coordinator for the Tyler Rose Festival, Tyler Golden Girls and Grace Community School’s drill team the Cougarettes.

Well, this fall the Lord put it on Ashley Ferguson’s heart to approach Lynn to see if she would consider praying about  supporting PCM through her dance studio.  Ashley’s timing was perfect as she ended up asking Lynn just a couple of days before Lynn would spend time in prayer deciding on just the right mission project for her students to be involved in. She quickly felt a nudge to support PCM and with hugs said “I can’t wait to help out!”

Here are some of Lynn’s own words to explain what her desire has been for her studio’s involvement in reaching out to others: “ Our Christmas project began around 12 years ago when I began to think of ways D-N-D could help teach the real meaning of Christmas “in action” by doing for others.  I also challenged the students to think of “these people” that they helped first on Christmas morning instead of themselves and what they would be receiving that day.  The focus was to be on what they would be giving as a birthday present for Jesus, one that would make him smile!  This is a list of what we have been involved in since:

St. Marcus Compassion House

Miss Choy and the orphanage in China

The Moses Project

Full Circle Ministry

Missionaries from Grace Church

The Samaritan’s Purse

Mercy Ships

Various other ministries

The parents and students really love to help!  Dancers go home and spread the word at the dinner table at night and with their friends at school.  We even sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus as we circle the jar of money we have collected before we turn it in.  Certainly a wonderful memory and gift to all.”

Lynn happily accepted the offer to have “show and tell for Jesus” and what He is doing through PCM.   They decided to help Pastor Emmy have a very Merry Christmas and raise money to help fund the work truck that would supply fresh foods to the orphan children and PCM school, carry construction supplies to help build the school and dorms and also to evangelize areas that are remote and have no access to the Good News of God’s love for them.

From right after Thanksgiving up until Christmas the teachers gave the opportunity for the students to hear about this unique work in Uganda and to give spare change towards the work truck.  We had a fun time with an old Golden Crown Book called “The Happy Man and His Dump Truck!” A Parallel story to Pastor Emmy’s desire to have a fun time helping his friends!

Mrs. Jeannie Hines read the book to the younger classes as they attentively listened and then she passed around a jar to allow them to add their sweet little coins.  Their sparkling eyes said it all really - children know how to give wholeheartedly to Jesus!

Mrs. Lynn was so excited to give of her time to tell PCM’s story and this precious little studio ended up raising over $3,500! The most they have ever raised for a ministry. Wow!!!  As Ashley says, “How Awesome is that!”

How awesome is our God indeed!!!

Our friend Justin Hayes sent over a scripture to encourage us recently and I think it really sums up what the LORD was working in all of this….

Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.

Hebrews 10:24

That’s the bottom line and that is what God wonderfully worked out in all who were a part of this story.

LOTS OF LOVE AND LOTS OF GOOD DEEDS!

Blessings to Mrs. Lynn, Mrs. Jeannie and all of Dance N Drill’s students for considering  Jesus’ call to care for His Ugandan friends!

We made a quick trip to the “mall” in Kampala.  We have never been there.  You could see the excitement on Libby’s face. She could relate to this place. It is a multi level structure and just kinda a walking ramp like you would find at any big NFL stadium.  We made our way to the top of the structure and then entered Woolworth’s.  Three items later we had a bill of $350. Higher than in the US is what we thought for some average products at best.  We soon discovered that this was not the place to be and left without a purchase.   Emmy and Sarah had thought we would not like their market…….but we were up for the challenge.

We traveled through the hustle and bustle of Kampala and immediately began to wonder…….where in the world were we going to park this Miracle Van.  Driver Emmy proceeded with much confidence to a nearby lot just off the market area.  The only problem was this lot was entirely full. How would we park here?  Ahhh…..we proceeded to meet up with “the guy” who runs the lot,  another friend of our awesome driver.  We let this man park the man behind the locked fence and we were soon off.  It pays to have a driver who knows people.  One by one we channeled our way past all the vendors yelling “hey boss”  ”muzungu”  ”come and see”.   We were all hanging on to each other literally.

Finally we met the street and were going to need to cross. Problem is there was about a foot between each of the vehicles and most were moving.  So we followed the lead of our driver and made it successfullly to the other side. Whew.  Soon we were in a clothing area and were able to find 2 nice outfits for Reuben, Hallen and Mary.

They were so excited.  Pastor Reuben otherwise known as “Air Time” also got an upgrade on a nice shirt tie combo.  We spent quite a bit of time waiting on the ladies to complete their outfits with shoes and a purse that we started talking to the cell phone man.  You see Pastor “Air time ” has to walk 3 km to charge his cell phone and that will just last him 3 days at the most.  He would need a new cell phone, one with 2 batteries that would last him 6 days.  Wahoooo for “Air Time.”  Pastor Emmy had left us for some other business in Kampala earlier in the day.  We asked if we could buy him a new shirt and tie for the UK trip.  His answer would stun me.  He said, just use the money you will give to me for food for my family this month.  Wow………ok…….that is what we indeed did.

Next up was the craft area.  You see Bailey and Libby sat so very patiently waiting on the ladies now it was their turn. The craft area was in another busy area but not quite as busy. Still there was no parking. No worries……Driver Emmy tells the police woman he has a van full of shoppers and they escort the Miracle Van to inside the craft area where no other cars are parked. Amazing. We collected several neat gifts and were on our way back to the hotel. We all took a quick shower, packed our bags, and made it to dinner for our last meal together with Driver Emmy/ Mary and Reuben /Hallen. It was another great meal. We all loaded in the van and headed toward Entebbe airport. First though we had to make a stop. You see Supermom had on flip flops. This wasn’t going to work in for the freezing temps in London or Wales for 3 weeks. So we pulled over at a nearby shop near the gas station, parked next to the guys siphoning gas for their motorcycles and Supermom came out with some brand new white high tops. ;o)

We said our goodbyes to the rest of the van and made it inside the airport. So different this time for Emmy and Supermom to be “inside the glass” going with us. What a blessing. There we made it to the security line and eventually in the airplane. It was about 1230am. We had been given three of our six seats upgraded to business class: we would send Monica up with Emmy and Supermom. Soon, Supermom was in the air………..It was a good flight…..not too bumpy. Supermom had made her first flight. She was now in a new land. Culture shock would be an understatement. Once we got in Heathrow there would be another first…….her first escalator. Monica said when they went up the escalator Supermom was grabbing her hand quite tight. ;o) We got in a taxi and were off to the hotel. There Supermom would experience another first….a revolving door. She had never seen one of those. Supermom had heard us talk about the Christmas trees we have in American and asked if everyone had one like this giant one at their homes in America? We rested in the lounge till our room was ready hearing from them, “if this is what London is like, what will America be like?” Hopefully we will soon know. They were so blessed to be sitting with us in London. They said more than once…….”God is so good to have blessed us to come here with you. You are treating us like a king and queen.”

Once in London, we would soon meet up with a few of our PCM board members: Jay Ferguson and Karla Foreman.

We had a beautiful board room and Jay led our group as we spent much of the next two days planning the next 3 years of PCM. Way to go “Mr Ja.” You are so gifted at leading meetings like this. Thank you Karla for your wisdom and great questions. You always have some good ones for us on any continent.

It was so great to have Jay and Karla join us. Much was accomplished for sure. It wasn’t all business though. On the side, Karla played social director as she had plans for Emmy and Sarah to see their first London show, “A Christmas Carol.” For New Year’s Eve we had some great reservations near the river as we ushered in the new decade together. It was very crowded in the city and not easy to get there as they had shut down the city to taxis and subway traffic but we made it. Yeah!!! We couldn’t quite see the fireworks on the Thames but we heard them! We even got split up trying to find a better view but all of us enjoyed the walk back to hotel as we passed all forms of humanity. Quite an interesting walk for sure.

We all slept in and woke up for some London shopping.

We found some nice shoes for Supermom and enjoyed taking some final pictures together in the city. It was hard to believe but our time was coming to an end with Emmy and Supermom.

Their hosts from Wales for the next 3 weeks had arrived at our hotel. More on them with our next blog. We exchanged some hugs and tears. God is so good.

We are so thankful for these past two weeks with Emmy and Supermom. Thank you all for your prayers, support and messages of encouragement. We appreciate so much everyone going with us on this journey.

We have successfully made it home and the Nnyanzis are now in Wales speaking and raising support for the ministry. Thank you for your continued prayers for them during this time.

Blessing to you all our faithful supporters and Happy New Year.

Mark, Monica, Bailey and Libby Barret and the rest of the PCM Board

So,  the van was loaded and off we were to Kampala.  This would be a trip of many firsts.  Inside the van were 4 Barrets, Driver Emmy and his wife Mary,  Reuben and his wife Hallen, our leader Emmy and Supermom.

We packed our bags this morning, loaded them on the Miracle Van and headed straight for the school. First though we had to stop at the fruit guy to load another bounty of pineapple.

$20 buys about 40 pineapples. Amazing. We reached the school and soon noticed subdued excitement on the children. They knew time was short. We didn’t waste it either. We presented the final blessing, took some more pictures and had them sing us a few praise songs. “My God is Able” is one of our favorites all time ones for sure. I wish I could describe in words how these kids can worship the Lord.

Soon we turned around and one by one these children were walking up to us and bury their precious heads in our bellies. “Thank you” “God bless you“ were the common statements heard. Some didn’t say anything……they I am sure felt like we did. There was not much to say……we were all saddened and didn’t want to face this day but it had once again come too quickly.

I told them we were working hard to find ALL of them sponsors where we would be able to provide more food, more variety on their diet and even MORE FRUITS. A thunderous cheer erupted on that one.

We loaded the van and looked back……..it had been a terrific Christmas week, unlike any other our family had ever experienced.

Soon the van stopped at Driver Emmy’s home and we picked up his lovely bride of 4 years Mary. She was excited to be going to Kampala with us. She had never spent a day away from her 2 children much less ever stayed at a hotel. Welcome aboard Mary.

We then traveled a bit further down the road and made a stop for our friend Pastor Simon. You see transportation is a huge issue for every Ugandan, especially if you are a pastor and live in the village. We made a stop to see Pastor Simon’s motorbike and help him a bit with the balance. He had paid off nearly all of it, but he was forced to miss the last day of the crusade because he was traveling to convince the owner to give him a bit more time to pay off the final third. The Lord provided a way to help Pastor Simon with this last $150 he had needed. It was a true joy to present him with this gift.

We loaded him with cookies and some water and were soon on our way. Pastor Simon always reminds me of “Mowgli” the black panther from the jungle book. He also has one of the best smiles of all the 43 pastors. We were soon on our way and then noticed in my rear view mirror on the side of the Miracle Van. Pastor Simon had taken all of the cookies he had just gotten and was giving all of them away to the children around him. Oh Lord help me to be this generous. When I have been given a blessing, help me to share it with others……right away with such joy as this. One particular PCM supporter did just this before our trip and we are forever grateful. They made a promise to make a donation before God had even provided. And then he provided the exact amount this family was wanting to give to them in a Christmas bonus. They gave the entire $200 to PCM. We are so grateful to them and all the many others who are helping us with this work in rural Uganda.

And then we picked up our last two Miracle Van riders……….Reuben, Emmy’s #2 and his wife Hallen. This is a most incredible story and I will send part 2 of this blog later today.

Mukama Asiimwe “Praise God”

Barret Family

We awoke ready for church.  Emmy stayed home again to rest and take his medicine. It was the right decision.  As we arrived of course…….the church was in full swing of worship as usual. We passed out the streamers the Jeske family had made and voila………a beautiful display of worship with all the children smiling.

I had to join in the action and sit among the children.  They were packed like sardines and I experienced some unusual odors, but I was right next to Abais, 2 over from Esther and right in front of Milly and her contagious smile.

They were fascinated with the pictures and video and loved to see themselves digitally.  Edward and Beatrice’s daughter claimed the middle aisle with her red hat and stole the attention every once and a while.

We thought it was appropriate to present Bonny with the umbrella hat.  It so matches his lovely personality…………

We made our way back to the hotel and made a quick change, and grabbed some food.  Emmy’s daughter Julie was with us for lunch.  She sang “Open the eyes of my heart Lord” for the table as she devoured the chips (fries) by the handful.  She has really matured in the last 6 months.  She is always a treat to hang out with us at our hotel when we get dropped off.

Next stop was the fruit guy.  In ever our quest to meet the need of fruit for the children,  we pulled up the Miracle Van to the melon stand.   It would be his “big day” as Supermom said.   We bought about 20 watermelons as Driver Emmy demanded that he taste them to ensure freshness.

Soon they were all in the bottom of the Miracle Van rolling all around as we took the not so smooth path to school.  It didn’t matter……we had arrived at school.

The girls went right to work with making snowflakes.

The children all sat quietly and then began to fold their paper after being taught.  Each then took scissors with precision and began to create little masterpieces.

Finally the glue was applied and they were brought to the glitter box where they loved putting silver and blue glitter all over these snowflakes.

As you could tell ……….this was a big hit.  But then as some began to finish, another blessing was shared with them.  You see Mrs Annette had made each orphan child a special Happy Birthday Jesus coloring book.

They moved to the back of the classroom and soon you could hear a pin drop.  They divided the crayons and followed the lead of some of the older girls.   They just love coloring………It is such a joy just to watch them do it.  THANK YOU MIKE AND ANNETTE.

Then we made it outside for some pictures as I told the children to go to their dorms and get their Christmas present.  They of course all ran and were back in no time to show the camera.

Wow,  $5 ………such joy………what a great Christmas present this was for all of them.

It was time for a special snack of watermelon. Many of the girls showed us their talent of balancing these delicious treats on their head like many of the Ugandan women in the village.  Nobody dropped one either.

Then it was time to eat this treat.  Oh my goodness,  what a treat it was to watch and listen to the many “mmmms” as they ate this melon.  No portion was spared either……..it was all the way to the rind.

The night was getting darker……..we played some games with balloons and then I took several of the older orphans to interview in the single light bulbed classroom.  You shall have to hear what they said too………

We all packed back in the Miracle Van and as we approached Driver Emmy’s house he pulled over.  It was time for him to pay up on our deal from last trip.  You see PCM Team #3 all pitched in $50 each and bought the store a refrigerator for having cold drinks.   Emmy took our order and then opened each bottle carefully and gave us all straws.  He said this treat was from him as I let him bless us.   Then I told him here is your tip ssebo (sir) .  He graciously took it……..It is very difficult to outgive these Ugandan people.  They really know how to bless us and have done so every day all trip long.

We arrived at the hotel………thoroughly exhausted.  Driver Emmy and Supermom said “dis was a very special day………the children will remember it for a long time.”

So will we………..

Sula Bulungi

The Barrets

Thank you for praying for Emmy.  He is improving.  Pray for us as we travel to London tomorrow.  It will be Supermom in the air for the first time!!!!

The day began very early.  0700.  We loaded the Miracle Van minus one Emmy.  Pastor Emmy had to stay home and rest as he was still really weak from the malaria.  We had a nurse at home for him.

No worries, Supermom would fill in very nicely in this leadership role.  We started our journey and noticed something……the road.  It looked really nice but it was terrible.  Nearly the whole trip was spent going over various uneven parts of the dirt road.

This went on for nearly 2.5 hours.  Bull riding with noise…..I will have to tip my hat to my 3 girls.  No one complained.  Everyone held it all day …….;o)  if you know what I mean. We would soon arrive.

My last visit to Rwemikoma was November 2008.  Pastor Hillary is our lead here.   I was immediately struck by how much more organized the school seems. They have done a lot of work.  We recently paid off the land to the surprise of all the neighbors.  For $6000 we own this property now consisting of some sloped land and an elongated building with several classroom divisions.

It is serving the whole community as a day school as we don’t have any overnight guests nor are we serving lunch.  The children bring with them what they will eat for the day and I am sure that is not much.

We were greeted first by the staff.  They were all dressed in their Sunday best.  Currently they are working for no pay.  Ouch.  Whenever Pastor Emmy has some excess he tries to send it their way. I can’t imagine how he feels some time.  We had known this and we had brought a blessing to each of the 7 teachers…….100,000 shillings or the equivalent of $50 USD. It’s about 1/2 of our Mbarara teachers but we are just getting started. What I told them is as we gather some sponsors for these children, we could talk about trying to be more consistent to our support.  What we wanted to do on this trip is establish ourselves on this land and tell them we are coming with the support. We are not sure when or how fast…….but it is coming soon….. Each teacher waiting patiently as I handed them this blessing.  None extending a hand for anything until it was offered.  It is rather amazing here in Uganda.  No one hardly sticks their hand out and asks for anything.  They are a humble meek people.  I LOVE THAT.  Next we gave them all a PCM orange staff shirt.  Oh my goodness…….every one of them put them on right away………on top of their button down shirt and ties.

THANK YOU Jeff and Stef Bice for outfitting all 43 of our pastors, and now 27 of our teachers via GoinPursuit.com.   They were a huge hit.  In fact we saw one of the Rwemikoma teachers in Mbarara the next day and guess what…….he still had his on.  Amazing……..they love em.  Thank you!!

Next up was our primary mission……pictures of all the children.

PRAISE THE LORD FOR ASHLEY FERGUSON.  She had not only made all of their name plates and decorated them so beautifully, but she put every class in a packet and we brought each class to the photo classroom and voila………we were done in no time.  WAHOO……..THANK YOU ASH !!!!  Bailey entertained the other classes while we were taking pictures.  Way to go girls!!

Next up we went outside for some fun and games.  Amazing how much fun these kids can have with nothing besides themselves. No video games, no TV, no other electronic distractions.   They are so over rated.

We heard tons of laughs and squeals.  We knew they were going to need something to refresh themselves so I sent Pastor Hilllary to the village store…… back he came with bananas and drinks for all of them in crates. Coke, Sprite, Fantas…….he bought one for each of them.

I am sure they never get one of these very often as they rather drink the water drawn from the local lakes.  What was more surprising is all the children held on to their snack until EACH child had one.  Quite a feat…….no one spilt a drop and everything was thoroughly enjoyed.  We had brought some small candy canes for each of them and shared the story of the candy cane with them.

It was a hit with many of the local town people who had begun to gather.  You see we feel a sense of urgency to spread God’s Word.  For twenty cents a day per child,  we can influence nearly 200 children with a Christian education from licensed teachers. You see one of the things I have noticed on this trip is that Islam is creeping in to the villages more than ever before.  We need to do something……….We have to act……..time is short…….

What we will take away most from this experience is what a ripe opportunity this is.  It is some major low hanging fruit. These children are beautiful and deserve to be helped.

They are not near a major city or some huge relief organization.  Rather they live in the rural Ugandan village. Not many Muzungis come here but today there were 4.    For hardly anything…….$1000 a month we can fullly staff this school, provide the needed supplies and influence the whole community for Christ.  As we grow in our sponsorships……..this work will be easily accomplished.

We gathered back in the Miracle Van after a beautiful short service at Pastor Hillary’s church.

We made it over those same seemingly thousands more pot holes and rivets in the road.  Funny,  no one seemed to care.  It was so worth it.

We are so thankful to partner with people of Rwemikoma.

Good Night

the Barrets

This is an account of our travels on Christmas Eve………..we visited 4 rural Ugandan churches.

We were not long for the road when we immediately pulled over to the left and noticed 14 zebra right next to the road.  WOW…..how beautiful.

First stop was Pastor Januanario’s church.  We arrived and were immediately impressed with his home.  You see he has constructed a home built of stones that he has carried from the nearby mountain.   The only house of stone of all the pastors we had seen yet.  We sat in his living room and immediately noticed the tons of flies everywhere. We tried not to make much notice but my heart feels for this man.  This is the land of milk, and if it is the land of milk it must be the land of cows, and if there are cows there will be flies.  Anyway, we were able to present him his Proclaimer, audio Bible and you could just see the excitement on his face and that of others.

We stepped outside and watched them hold this Proclaimer and start listening.  This has to be one of my favorite pictures of the week.  We were surprised to see Elsam (our chief cook) and Pastor Charles here at his home.  We would learn they came to pick up our Christmas meat……some Ugandan “Buuuullll” as Elsam says. Can tell you it was actually pretty good. Monica and I had some the next day………We left before the processing fun began….Driver Emmy had to take return after taking us to the hotel with the seats out of our Miracle Van to transport all the tasty treat to our school.  The PCM Dump Truck was at the plantation collecting food and was not available……… Before we left Pastor Januanario he told us of an incredible story of his bike. I will share it in a future post or story.

Second stop was Pastor Stephen’s home.  We visited his church in July and now it is covered with some beautiful orange flowers in front.

We pulled up the Miracle Van in front of his 4 circular grass huts all of which he has built. Amazing resourcefulness.  The floors are covered with animal skins.  We presented him his Proclaimer and he couldn’t have been happier.

In July he was the Pastor that was the most happy to receive his cell phone………He jumped higher than all the other 43.  I love to see him smile.  We reloaded the van and were off again after praying with him some of sitting on his animal skin carpet.

Third stop was the “singing church”  Pastor John’s church.

Why do I call it that?  Well it has the most beautiful acoustics due to its concrete floor and cleanliness.  Here is one of the little cleaners.

Last time Jay and Monica sang the Revelation Song here.  Pastor John was not here. Instead we had to go through the village to his home.  Driver Emmy said to be on the lookout for Promise, one of our school children as we passed through.  Unfortunately we did not see her.  We did pull up to Pastor John’s home and were struck by its beauty.  This man is doing fairly well.  Beautifully decorated flowered yard and colorful home.  We took a picture on his beautiful patio and headed inside.

There were seated very comfortably in his living room.  His wife was not there but several of his children were there.

He then said he was “closing the year very well.”  We were not sure what he meant.  He said the Lord was blessing him today.  Pastor John said he had never had a white man in his home before.  Now he had 4. We were so grateful to be the first.

I think if I could pick anywhere to live in rural Uganda, this is where I would want to be.  We had a nice time visiting, and the Barret girls played some songs in his home and then we took off again.  I asked again as we drove through the tiny village nearby if we could ask if someone could find Promise. Several of the village children went to look for her as we pulled off the side of the road.  I kinda felt like “Dog the Bounty Hunter” looking for people but I really wanted to say Hi to her and give her a hug.  We are saddened to report that she had traveled on Christmas Eve to some nearby family.  Sorry Danny and Susan.(her sponsors) ……You will just have to join us in 2010 in the Miracle Van.  ;o)

Our fourth stop was the most beautiful church and it is still under construction. You see another Pastor Reuben and several of the people from his village had decided to build a church on top of a hill.

It is not easy to get to,  but once you make the climb you are amazed at the beauty.  You can see a long way and it is a terrific blessing just to be there.  One of our PCM friends from Mckinney, Texas,  Arch and his wife Sherry, have just recently donated the funds for the roof.  We were so amazed at this roof.  You see it is blue, unlike any church in the area.

It is a very special iron and Pastor Reuben is so thankful to have this very special roof.  The roof is nearly up but many of the workers left for Christmas delaying its completion.  This place is special is all I can say.   We will be back here to glorify the Lord on top of the hill.  I can’t wait.

Our final stop was the beloved Chicken Church.  One of my favorite places on the earth.  This is a picture of the new floor at the church.

This mud hut church taught me how to give.  I used to think I was generous but not until I met this man, Pastor Johnson.

His wife was there and greeted Monica again quite warmly.

This place can really rock with worship let me tell you.  Today everyone at the church was busy at home preparing for Christmas.  I asked Pastor Johnson if they would be there tomorrow and of course he said yes.  At 10 oclock this place would be full Christmas Day.  It is the first place these Ugandans go on Christmas.  Oh Lord do they have it right……… As we were getting ready to go Bailey and Libby said,  “Look dad there are my pants.”

Sure enough they were there.  Some how I am sure Supermom had spread some of the blessings we had given them and a few years later we met these pants again.  It made me think if I could just take my closet or my girls’ closets and dump 90% of it here I would. One of the things that struck me at the crusade is that we saw kids there for three straight days.  One thing was the same for nearly all of them……..they had the same outfit on everyday. Nearly everyone of them. ……..Oh my…………Lord help me to live a simpler life and be a better steward of the dumptruck of blessings you have given me.

We are all 4 so blessed. We are so thankful to be here ……to see this………to be with them this Christmas

Sula Bulungi.

The Barrets

PS Pastor Emmy has been slowly improving. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS>  Now on oral malaria therapy.  We have kept him home these last 2 days.  Pray for more strength as we are traveling soon.