It is amazing what a big difference two years makes, when the Lord is in control. Today, we went to the PCM orphanage and school again. When we went on Saturday, I was so busy knocking out the to-do list of video, photos, and testimony we needed to stop, look around, and appreciate what God has done. I had the opportunity to do that today. In just two short years, God has used the faithfulness of all of you to: i) provide clean water for the kids, rather than pulling it out of the river, as before; ii) completing the dorms (what will soon be only the girls’ dorm) with plaster and a portico on the outside, protecting the kids from the rain; iii) nearing completion on another set of dorms, which will house the boys; iv) two new classroom buildings, one a dedicated classroom, and one that serves as a classroom during the week and the church facility on the weekend; v) bathhouses and bathroom facilities that provide much cleaner, safer, and more modest facilities for both the boys and the girls; vi) a major gate entrance and fencing surrounding the entire property; viii) a culvert that diverts water and prevents erosion that was eventually going to destroy the school kitchen, and ix) landscaping throughout the facilities that, again, prevents erosion during the rainy season.

That’s not to mention uniforms, blankets, better food, mattresses, teacher training, and dozens of other things that Bub could remember, but I can’t. The point is that I was completely overwhelmed by God’s goodness and provision, working through the hearts of so many of you. I know I’ve said it several times during these blogs, but thank you again for your generosity and faithfulness. God has used you to perform a dramatic work in the lives of these kids.

We traveled to one of the churches in Kakagate, pastured by Januario (which sounds kind of Latin, don’t you think: “Don Januario”). Anyway, the purpose of our trip there was to preach to his church and several others, as well as several of the pastors in Emmy’s network. The funny event of the day came during the preaching portion of the service. Emmy led off with about a 10 minute introduction of Rumpf. Rumpf did a very good sermon about being available to God and not prejudging others, preparing to share the gospel at any time, in any place, to any one. It was your standard fare, 35-minute American sermon. Emmy asked if I planned to teach, and I said “no”, thinking with my American brain that the service had gone on long enough. Little did I know that Emmy was going to do a 30 to 45-minute “summary” of Rumpf’s sermon, adding his own points for good measure. When he finished, Pastor Januario stood and told us that these pastors had done such a good job presenting God’s Word that he was not releasing us, requesting instead that we continue preaching. And, the people agreed! I had a couple of barely illegible notes on spiritual gifts, based upon extensive preparation from the 25- minute van ride to Kakagate over bumpy roads, but it was all we had. So, I presented it. Emmy followed with another summary, this time a “brief” 15 minutes. We were afraid that it would keep going, and that we’d have to remember our commencement addresses from high school and give those. Fortunately, however, I think my message beat them into submission.

In an American church, or certainly one in my hometown, the congregation would have responded to two hours of preaching by calling out a mob to lynch the pastor. But these folks were staying with us, following along in God’s Word and taking notes. Amazing.

On our way back to the school to say our goodbyes, Rumpf drew some interesting comparison to Uganda, which has more of a western, Christian worldview, and other nations he had visited that were predominantly Islamic or Hindu. Rumpf was impressed by the relative lack of poverty, the depth of the people’s joy, and the cleanness of the area as compared to the surroundings of those other nations (trash everywhere, a heavy feeling of oppression, lack of education and personal freedom, and the like). It caused us both to reflect and give thanks for the redemption we enjoy in Christ, not only through salvation from death but also from the common grace that comes from a nation operating from a basic Christian worldview. The Church brought not only the gospel to Uganda (and to America, for that matter), but Christian values that resulted in hospitals, strong liberal education, (in the original sense, meaning an education focusing on reading and writing, with literacy with the goal, so that people could read and understand God’s Word on their own), the rule of law, private ownership of property, and many other things that come with a nation that originates from a Christian worldview. I was grateful to have come from a nation built on the gospel, encouraged that these things are being taught in my own school back home, and that they are being taught in the PCM school. As Rumpf observed, these are the potential future leaders of Uganda, and they are being taught everyday from a Christian worldview. To a great degree, the kids have a remarkable faith. As we left the school, all 200 of the kids laid hands on us, praying for us and sending us off. The depth of those little prayers was incredible, and it’s an awesome thing to have 200 little hearts who innocently love Jesus praying for you.

Rumpf summed the day up well when he said:

I’m impressed by the lack of extreme poverty resulting in starvation, the depth of joy, and the humility of Pastor Emmy. “He’s the real deal. I’m excited about the future value of a partnership with PCM. We’re really seeing future potential leaders of Africa here, coming out of this church and school.”

There is a popular song in Uganda, referring to this nation as “the Pearl of Africa”. Though by no means perfect, an underdeveloped country by most any standards, Uganda certainly has the potential to be a shining jewel of hope for Africa. And, PCM is a big part of spreading that hope throughout Uganda and, maybe some day (Lord willing) Africa.

Heading to Kampala tomorrow, by way of a world-wide church tour (just kidding—about four churches). I’ll talk about the Cows for the Kingdom program with the pastors tomorrow, assuming I can get the Internet in Kampala.

Hey everybody.  It’s Deuce! (Justin)  and I hope you’re enjoying your Saturday morning.  Today we are going to focus on three different people in our PCM family.  I hope you enjoy learning more about them and praising God along with them!

First, we want to introduce you to Milly.

Milly is a ten year old girl at our Mbarara school.  She is in grade P3 at school and her favorite subject is Bible.  Here is her story:

“We were abandoned by both parents and we now live with Pastor Emmy who is our uncle.  We are four children.”

Milly’s favorite verse is Hebrews 11:6 which says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

When she grows up she wants to be a nurse, and she also loves to sing as you can see.

She is sponsored by Brett and Lisa Patrick. (By the way, Lisa is also a nurse so I’m sure Milly looks up to her!)

We had the opportunity to interview Milly while we were in Uganda in April. Here is part of the interview:

Next, we have a praise for Pastor Johnson. He was greatly in need of a bicycle, so he has now been given a bicycle by the Gentry Sunday School class at Green Acres. Thank you for the help!

Here is a brief email from Pastor Emmy.

Beloved Epa,
Johnson has been always borrowing a bicycle while he needs to use it. It has not been easy for him to get it from the owner. He told me that this is a great blessing for him to receive this bicycle.  He has asked me to thank the sponsor whom God used to give him this bicycle. Thank you very much.
Emmy

Also, here is a picture of his church where he pastors.

Pastor Reuben has also received a tremendous gift, but I will let him tell you in his own words:

Beloved Epa,
I  have asked Bishop Emmy to write to you my own words to you
because I don’t know how to use the Computer and also my English is
not good.(tears out of his eyes as he speaks out your
name and he has been silent for some few seconds), This is really
beyond my own understanding Sir. You have made me to be a big boss in
my own village. Because people have been so amazed when they saw me
having the Cow, then I built for my Cow a pen which all the people in
my village came and wondered. I am the only one in the all subcounty
who is having the pen like that. Then today,my eyes cannot believe
what I am seeing now. Is it really true that poor Reuben is now owning
this motorbike? I have suffered for along time walking long
distances in the village going to Minister in Churches but now I will
be flying there in a short time. I am asking God to bless you all who
have contributed for me to get this Motorbike.
All will here and give thanks to God for me.
Thank you thank you thank you very much.
Yours Reuben

Pastor Reuben will also be able to use this motor bike to drive to English classes which he will be taking over the next year.

We are also excited to show you some pictures on the new land. Pastor Emmy had the opportunity to take some of the teachers, pastors, and Elsam out to see it. I wish I could have been there to see the looks on their faces as they see what God is providing for their school and their ministry. We are excited to say that we now have ten acres spoken for out of the sixty-five that we need thanks to a good friend donating this week. Enjoy the faces of those we support!

Here they are at the front of the land where there is a small wooded area.

Checking out the banana plantation which is on the back part of the land.

And at the top of the hill where a house stands.  Imagine getting 65 acres of land including a house for $130,000 in the US!

Have you ever seen children so excited for text books?  Well, here you go!  Thanks go to the ladies behind the CCC Sale,  Laura and Tess for donating English textbooks for the children of all grades. We had some general fund donations (thank you Chuck and Ann) and we were able to purchase enough for the children to have books for all their classes.  They will share one textbook per desk which fits about 3 students.  Look at the true joy on their faces.

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what HE has done.” 1 Chronicles 16:8

On our last trip we asked the teachers for their #1 request.  It was simply textbooks.  One month later,  the books are in their hands. Praise God.

THREE THINGS TO PRAY ABOUT:

1.  Please pray for Adrine……..here is a portion of a recent email from Pastor Emmy

Her dad died of HIV AIDS recently and her Mother is also very sick,by the time her dad died he had already sold the only land they had looking for money for his treatment and he never recovered but instead he died. Now Adrine’s sick Mother has no home but staying with relatives. We have stood very close to Adrine to make her not feel that big gap in her life. I am glad that she is happy now with our Parental Care love we give her.

Did you know that every 14 seconds another child becomes a victim to AIDS virus by the loss of one or both parents.  Not all of our children at the Mbarara site are orphans, but even the ones who have a mom and/or dad are losing them to this terrible virus at an alarming pace.  We are so thankful for your support to be able to love these children as He has loved us.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”  John 14:18

2.  Pray for Emmy and Sarah.   Emmy’s stepmom is in a coma.  Many of you remember the story of Emmy’s stepmom and her mistreatment of Pastor Emmy as a child.  At one point she even tried to poison his food but the Lord allowed Emmy’s sister to tell him not to eat it. A few months ago, Emmy reconciled with her and with the help of another board member they even found a way to help fix up her home. We are still getting info about her illness so please pray for them.

Pastor Emmy just emailed me and told me there has been some improvement in her mental status but she still is not recognizing anyone.

3. Finally please pray for Pastor Reuben and Hallen. Hallen’s father died this weekend of kidney diseases and the funeral is going on this weekend.  I have no other details here but I do know that Reuben and Hallen are precious people and I am sure their parents are too.  Thank you for praying for her.  In addition we would like to thank the  families who have contributed to Reuben’s English scholarship fund (Langfords, Stevensons, and the Eichelbergers) . As Emmy’s #2 in charge, he realizes his English must improve to increase his communication and effectiveness with the ministry.  We are proud to announce he is starting class this August and will attend for 3 terms (1 year).

I know everyone is wondering about Sunday night’s open house and share time.  Well, it was incredible!  Thank you so much to all of you that were able to come and help us celebrate what God is doing through Parental Care Ministries.  We had over 100 people come throughout the evening, and it was overwhelming to see how much this ministry has changed over these past two years.  For those of you who are really into numbers, here is some exciting news!

We now how 180 children sponsored with only about 70 more kids to sponsor to finish our Mbarara site! These children will be so excited to know that they have all been chosen someday very soon.

At this point we have 18 cows sponsored for pastors! The 15 pastors receiving their cows will go through a 5 day training at our PCM Uganda office on May 29th before receiving their cows later in June we hope.  These pastors feel so blessed to now have a way to earn their own income.  In fact, here is one pastor’s remarks concerning his cow:

We also have some VERY EXCITING NEWS about the future of Parental Care Ministries.

Here are Pastor Emmy and Reuben in our favorite new area.

Can you believe that?  Yes our long range goal is to eventually have a large piece of land to farm and raise cattle on in order to provide the operational funds for the school as well as to eventually move the school to this property.  Well this goal is becoming a reality!!!!  MUCH SOONER THAN WE COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED.

We have found an amazing 65 acre piece of land that is the perfect fit for our ministry.  On top of that, we have an anonymous donor who has helped us SECURE THIS LAND  AND is willing to match every dollar donated  up to $65,000 to pay it off in full.   “WAHOOO” is what Pastor Emmy is saying.  “Acres for Orphans” is now officially a new project. Many of us have dreamed of one day owning our own land.  Well, for $1,000 you can own an entire Ugandan acre! You can even purchase a smaller plot if you like less upkeep and fewer bananas on your property (a half acre is $500 and a 1/4 acre is just $250). No gift is too small with this new project.   Everything will be matched by our donor.  We will even let you walk this precious land of milk and bananas and you will soon see why we have chosen this place as the site for our future work in Uganda. The view from this land is literally amazing.  It is in a very rich agricultural hotspot with banana plantations in every direction as far as you can see.    The front of the land is flat where we will be able to have a real playground and soccer field.  Tons of space to run and be a PCM kid.

On the hill we will construct our main campus and even have room for the firstborn of all the firstborn calves of the pastor’s cows. At the top of the hill there is a banana plantation. In the back of the land is many many acres for our PCM farm.This place truly has EVERYTHING WE COULD EVER NEED to start a farm and eventually build a school on.

We presented this vision on Sunday at the open house and already have 9 acres spoken for. Mukama Asiimwe!!  Please pray that God will bring  other sponsors who would be willing to invest in our future at Parental Care Ministries.

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” 1 Pet 1:8

Thank you so much for what you are doing to invest in the lives of these people in Uganda.  All the pastors, teachers, and children are filled with so much gratitude for what we are doing.  I think it is a reminder to us how blessed we are, but we are blessed for a reason.  We can choose to use our blessings just to make our own lives a little more comfortable or we can forever change the life of someone else or many others!  Thank you for your eternal investment.  Here is a video showing a little bit of what we experienced on trip 5 as well as some others along with a big thank you from Pastor Emmy:

Blessings to all of you,

Deuce

Here is a 2 minute video that was made by Deuce and shown to the children during Trip #5:

Hey everybody, it’s Deuce again.  Today was going to be another day of many firsts for me: first time at chicken church, first time at the Church of Light, and first time to have to say good-bye to the children.

We were going to visit two churches first and then go out to the school one last time.  So, we drove about an hour out to the first church.  (I don’t remember much about the drive because I was dozing off the whole time). 

The church was very nice and there were about 25 people gathered there on a Saturday to greet us and worship with us.  They shared some of their worship music playing the drums and dancing while they sang.  It was very uplifting. 

Then on to the Church of Light.  On the way, though, we made a stop.  We stopped at a spot in the middle of nowhere where there were three mud huts with thatch roofs.  When I asked why we were stopping Supermom said we had to deliver a letter to a sick kid and produced the letter.  It turns out that it was the letter my in laws had written for their sponsored child!  Joshua was at home sick.  He was at the clinic, but we got to see him on the way back through.  He was looking pretty good but said he was still sick.  It was cool to see the lengths we are willing to go to in order to hand deliver these sponsor letters!

We also stopped to meet the first cow we purchased for Cows for the Kingdom.  This cow belongs to Pastor John Juanuario. He introduced us to his cow and shared with us how much it has impacted his life.

He has a real sense of pride knowing that he owns something like that and seeing that he can provide income for his family through it.  He also showed us the pen he had built for it which was right between his house and the church.  It was great to see one of our goals come to fruition.  Thank you so much to those of you who have purchased cows for these pastors!

This evening we went out to the school one more time.  We all knew we only had a few more hours with the children, but we played games as if we had forever.  Epa played several rounds of bingo with the older children while I got to show the younger children what a matchbox car racetrack was.  I must say it was kind of chaotic but well worth it.  I showed them how to piece the tracks together in different ways to make the cars do loops or ramp.

Then I handed out the cars.  There were only about twenty cars for over 100 children so I had to fight off all the hands in my face while trying to hand them out and yelling the word share!  It was extra special for me because my son, Carter, had chosen several of his own cars to give to the kids.

Well the kids loved the whole experience!  They pushed those cars all around the classroom making all sorts of motor and horn noises.  We tried to let them play for as long as possible before having to take all the cars back up so they would survive for another day.

A little while later we saw Moses and Alon come zooming into the school on our two newest bikes.  At the beginning of this week they just had one old bike.  Well I’m happy to say that they now have four new bikes to add to their one to make five bikes that they wanted to have.  Special thanks to Jason and Carrie Bigbie, James E. White, and Jerry and Debbie White for giving the money for these bikes!

Our hunt all over Mbarara for apples unfortunately turned up empty.  So, we chose to feed them ice cream one more time. 

We figured since some of them had eaten it for the first time this week they wouldn’t be tired of it.  So, we lined up the kids once again and raced the coming rainstorm to hand out all the ice cream.

They loved it of course, so that gave them something good to end on before the big announcement.

We gathered all the children together and Epa, Pastor Emmy, and I climbed up on the truck to give some final instructions and say our good-byes.   We asked them to be praying for several things including the land that we are asking God to give us.  (We had heard earlier in the morning that some of the children had chosen to fast the day before and pray for the land on their own.  I don’t think I even knew what fasting was at their age, except break-fast.)

As we got ready to leave we wanted to pray with the children and one of the children, Abias, volunteered to pray.  It was a very sweet prayer followed by a spirit-filled prayer by Pastor Emmy.

After praying we had one more surprise for them.  BUBBLES!  Even though it was sprinkling and getting dark we wanted to have a few more minutes of fun.  Epa had brought some big bubble wands that we used to make big bubbles over all the children.  They had a lot of fun jumping and trying to bust the bubbles.

When that was over it was time for hugs.  It was getting pretty late so you couldn’t see the children’s faces too well but many of them were covering their eyes to hide the tears.  They hugged us tight and I found myself telling as many kids that I loved them as I could.  I know that they get a lot of love at Parental Care, but I couldn’t help but wish I could be a parent for any of them that has that void in their lives.

As we said our last good-bye’s I was thinking of many children and staff who will be etched in my mind:

Elsam, who cooks for 250 kids three times a day over a wood-burning fire and loves to laugh as well as occasionally dancing with goats

Teachers Jonathan and Emmy who are very well educated and pour their hearts into making sure these children get the best education possible.

Diana, who is a leader among the students and a mother figure to some of the smaller children, leading worship with this 250 voice choir.

Shallon, whose smile is evident every time you see her and is very contagious.

Supermom, whom all the kids call Mommy, listening to each child patiently as they tell her what they need or just get their few moments with her.

Moses, who helps wherever he can whether it is cooking with Elsam or holding an umbrella so Epa doesn’t get a sunburn on his head.

Driver Emmy (aka EmmyD), who tirelessly runs people wherever they need to go and dreams of one day owning his own land and getting to visit America.

Julius, whose mom died and dad has AIDS so he was given to supermom, giving me a big hug on my leg like only a six year old can to tell me bye for now.

And of course Pastor Emmy, whose wisdom and sensitivity to the Spirit provide the perfect foundation for this ministry.  His gentle quiet spirit is respected by young and old.

These are the people that you have chosen to invest in.  These are the people whose lives are changing daily for the better.  These are the people whom God has shown his faithfulness to through your faithfulness to God. 

2 Corinthians 9

¹²This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

The Deuce made it back to the school today as we still had more to do with them. We waited until their term exams were finished in the morning. That was a treat to watch them complete their final exams for the semester.

We had planned to bring apples again but we looked at every supermarket in the city before arriving.  No apples.  We decided on 25 loaves of bread (a snack they rarely get) and juice bottles for all of them.

Then we started to serve lunch.  What a thrill it was to reach in to that big giant pot and spoon out a huge serving of rice. We are to serve Him with all our heart as the Bible says.  Well, both of us tried to do that, but as you can see, Moses quickly ran up and showed us what serving was all about.

I am telling you these people have huge servant’s hearts.  Just when you try to help them, they show you another way to serve you. 

An exciting event today was the completion of the roof for the boy’s dorm. The final bricking was occurring as we watched.

Here are the children with Pastor Charles, our master builder, and by themselves in the window eagerly awaiting the day to get inside and sleep here.

Here is Samuel (our cook’s son) showing off his toothless grin with some of his buddies.

Next up was passing out an Easter coloring book Mike and Annette Childress had made especially for them. 

Have you ever seen 250 children get so quiet in a hurry.  I sat off to the side of the room with my new Canon friend camera and watched the light come through the roof and the windows.  A beautiful sight it was.

As another treat for finishing their exams, we cut the sugarcane and watched them go at it.  Basically you take the cane,  bite  (rip with your teeth) a piece , chew it,  and suck all the juice out of it, and then throw it to the ground. It was a sweet treat I will definitely share again with them.  ;o)

The Deuce then took the lead as he led them through the colors of the wordless bracelet. Then we managed to put one on every child.  They were so proud and honored to be wearing these simple bracelets.

Finally the highlight of the day was the sunset worship.  The children gathered in their PE uniforms and were led by Ronath, Marion, and Penlope through various songs of worship. 

With one beat of the drum these children erupted in spontaneous worship.

Wow……..if you could only be here to see it and experience it.  So wonderful. So honoring of our Lord. So beautiful. That is why we love this place so much.

Until tomorrow,

Love

Epa and the Deuce.

We woke up with a surprise 30 minute early phone call from Emmy.  It was a little after 7 bells.  We were headed to market.  I let the Deuce sleep and wanted to get an idea of how our Happy Little Dump Truck helps us. 

I thought the market was in town but it was about 25 minutes outside of town. When we got there Supermom, head cook Elsam and “One by One” were already there in the truck.  On first scan, this monthly market was in full swing.  They had a huge variety of everything that grows in the ground or on a tree.  One of the advantages of having a truck now is to travel here and enjoy the terrific prices. We are saving 25% of our food budget plus we are getting foods besides beans, potatoes and bananas from the plantation. We put together the gifts of Wes and Shelly Tyler along with the Klinefelter family and collected an ENTIRE TRUCK FULL of food the children hardly ever get to eat.  Amazing. 

We got everything from sweet potatoes (a bag big enough that I couldn’t even pick up as you see Elsam lifting in the truck), pumpkins, a whole bag of eggplants, onions, sugarcane, tomatoes,  and a box of 250 fish. 

How about that for more protein for the children. I couldn’t hold back on the extra large 50kg bag of ground nuts. As Kiconco says,  “peanuts and potatoes”  that is what we are going to grow someday.  Someday very soon.

We also got all the oranges in this picture as Superdad Emmy picked up the goods that Supermom Sarah bargained the orange lady down.  $10 for all of these that you can see in this picture in front of Pastor Emmy.

Supermom is in her element at this market.  I know you would all be proud of how far she can stretch a Ugandan shilling.

Two things we didn’t see at the market.  Any “muzungus”  or white people. I was the only one.  I got a lot of offers to buy just about everything but my main goal was to stay away from Supermom as not to be a detriment to her negotiations due to my white skin.  In fact can you find Emmy and Supermom in this picture?

The other thing we didn’t find is apples. There are several of you who have contributed to the apple fund for this trip and I want to reassure you we will be getting apples again……….it is a PCM favorite of the children.

So we left the market, traveled down the road with the truck leading the Miracle Van in the pot hole race for home,  PC Mbarara School.  Upon arrival I was overwhelmed with joyous children. 

They were jumping up and down, saying “Praise God.” Thank you.  Have you ever seen a kid jump for vegetables?  These kids do and for good reason. They are so thankful God is providing for their needs. They understand I think better than we do that our Lord is our Jehovah Jireh.   Here is Balam, one of our unsponsored boys,  holding up a fish.

Of course besides all those oranges and huge pumpkins, we had to get something sweet and we did.  Check out Innocent holding the raw sugar cane that everyone will be gnawing on. 

Look at the love these girls have for their “Supermom.”  She is an amazing mom to 250.  Her crown in heaven will be so full of jewels she is going to have trouble wearing it.  ;o)

I went back to the hotel to pick up Deuce and we arrived back at school in time for the debate. 

Has the political party in charge done more harm or good?  The smaller children were debating boarding schools vs regular schools.

It really is impressive to watch not only the public speaking ………………………..but the ability to make an argument……..that makes sense too. 

We continued with our interviews and picture taking later in the afternoon but that could only last so long.  It was game time again.

Today we would bring Twister, as well as some big frisbees and nerf basketball.  Alon scaled the new wall of the P6/7 building with a rock and a nail and put the goal in the wall.  Then the kids lined up 1 by 1 to take one shot.  Amazing willingness to wait for just one chance to throw a ball.

Next up would be worship time!!  All we said is let’s do it.  Before you knew it Matthew, Jude and Lydia had the drums ready.  The praise team was positioned in front and the rest of the kids gathered.  One by one they sang nearly every praise song they knew. It was flat out awesome. There is no way I can describe what this experience is like.  True worship with true orphan children.

The Deuce says…..”I was in awe of the fact that in one word they all broke out in to spontaneous worship.  Some were on their knees, some were by themselves, but all were praising their living God. None wanted to stop.” Boy’s patron, a true orphan himself, closed with a prayer and thanked the Lord for this chance to praise HIM.

As soon as we finished here came Driver Emmy in the Miracle Van.  What he would have inside would be a first to so many of the children.  We decided to use the money from the precious gift of Roger and Cindy Rice from my church for this blessing.  As we walked forward with the huge bags of medium sized containers the children could see it was something special.  ICE CREAM.

Many had never had this before and you could soon tell which 1/3 that was.   They didn’t know how to even open the plastic cup.  Some of course were the younger kids and some were a bit older.  Once we got their cup open, then they still were a bit perplexed on what to do with the tiny plastic spoon Emmy had given them.  The Deuce and I started to feed them and it took about 2 bites for the kids to catch on.  They were loving this treat. Many of the older children were amazed that this was given as a gift.  They knew full well how the 60 cents could have bought a ton of bananas.  Tonight we weren’t buying any bananas.  In fact, there was such a surplus that all the kids who wanted more got to have more…………wow…………the Deuce and I sat on the steps to the boy’s dorm and watched them .  This was our treat.  I hope many of you can experience something like this at our school someday.  Finally with still a few cups left they begged us to eat with them.  We finally obliged the request as everyone had had plenty.  We each took one and ate it in the dark.  What a night this had been.  And it wasn’t over yet.

We moved to the new building for movies and dinner.  You see we had to eat the ice cream before dinner or it would have melted. The kids brought their dinner and we watched the movie I had made after our Christmas trip this year.  The kids loved seeing Bailey and Libby but most of all their Kiconco.  Next up was Mike and Annette Childress’s video of their two beloved doggies,  Sophie and Molly.  They entertained the children and there was much joy and laughter. I am sorry I didn’t get a picture of them,  all you could see that night were about 500 eyes………….Finally the Deuce made a 3 minute video of our trip and showed it to the kids.  They loved that too. It was almost 9:30pm……………it had been another full day of blessings.  On the van ride home Pastor Emmy said,  “it is like Christmas all over again.” 

Thank you Lord for letting both of us experience these wonderful people here in Uganda. We shall never remain the same.

Sula Bulungi

Epa and the Deuce

Hey everyone, it’s Deuce (Justin).   Well today has been another amazing day as all the others.  It was actually cloudy today and a little bit cooler, which worked really well with the intense sunburn I got yesterday.  I have a “Ugandan red neck.” It will be gone by the time you see me but just thought you would like to know.

Today we had a lot more to do at the school, so we spent the whole day there.  Of course we had to take care of our top priority first, which was playing football with the kids.

Epa showed his veteran talent by scoring several goals.

Then when it looked like he was approaching heat stroke, I relieved him and played a game.

Those kids are pretty good even if we are playing with a ball made out of banana leaves!

We had an opportunity to sit down with the teachers during lunch time and thank them for all the work that they are doing.

We were also able to give them a special thank you from Mike and Annette Childress. Just look at Elsam as he carefully opened and read from the first to the last word.

Teacher Jonathan expressed a desire to have more mathematical “sets” and we obliged. For 75 cents a piece we bought 100 sets:  compass, ruler, protractor.  He was thrilled.

Today was also a day that we have been looking forward to for weeks.  Today was the day that we got to hand out all the letters to the children.

We handed them out by grades, and every child waited patiently for his letter or picture.  Moreover, after they got them they were overjoyed and shared them all with each other.

One of the purest examples of joy we saw all day was from a new sponsored orphan named Hope.

She received a notebook of letters from the 9^th grade Green Acres Sunday school class. She was so thrilled to open it and had no hesitation sharing her joy with all her friends. Thank you 9^th graders for your gift  of love you brought Hope today. She has been beaming ever since she put her hands on this book of encouragement.

My family has been looking for a new child to sponsor.  So, yesterday I noticed Shallen, who always gives me the biggest smile. 

Today I was still thinking about sponsoring her and God confirmed the decision.  When we were finishing up with the kids in P4 all of them had gotten a letter except one, Shallen.  As she stood there all alone my heart broke.  I called her over and gave her a card someone had made without a name, and I asked her if it was ok if my family sponsored her.  She was very excited and I got a little teary eyed.  Of course, the little bit of tears mixed with the sunscreen near my eyes and then the tears began gushing! It was a special moment that I won’t soon forget.

I have to give a special shout out to my Green Acres family.  Many of our high school students helped us by making pictures for kids with no sponsors.  Well, they loved them as you can tell.

Thanks so much for your investment in my new ministry!  Also, thank you so much to Luke Bilberry and his students in Chandler for writing over 50 cards for more of our kids!

Epa here:

One of the other blessings was to be able to watch a few of the children talking to their sponsors.  The network is not good where we are at school, but here is a picture of beloved Esther talking with her sponsor.

We hope to do more of this in the future and are actively pursuing a high speed modem for SKYPE communication with our sponsors.  Stay tuned.

There are always certain things that jump out at you that is the norm for them.  We forgot to mention that the generator was damaged at the crusade as the electronic system backfired to it.  That means without a generator there is no water to pump from the well.  That means if the tanks are low, and eventually run dry, it’s back to the river for more. We decided to follow the children to the river’s edge to draw water with them tonight. 

The first thing you noticed was the eagerness to take the 5 gallon jerrycan containers and literally run down the slick slope to the river. There our leader Elsam was already in the river taking the containers and filling them.  This was the same exact location that Emmy’s nephew got swept away in the current in the fall of 2008. Our well is named in Robert’s honor.  No one would be injured today praise God. The well has been functional since February of 2009. It was amazing to see the children turn back the clock and get in line for their chance to fill their container with water and carry it back up the hill to the school.

We think the girl volunteers even outnumbered the boys.   This water was to be brought back up the hill and used for bathing tonight. 

Oh my Lord, we are so incredibly thankful for Robert’s well.  We are so thankful not to have to drink this water anymore, but my heart aches for having to watch them even bathe with this brown water.  You would think you would see disappointment on their faces, but their faces were so happy as they began to climb the hill with their bathing water. I know I would be disappointed if the well wasn’t working. Lord, please give me pure joy like the orphans in the midst of something that could seem discouraging.  Give me a happiness like them that doesn’t depend on my circumstances.  Help me to eagerly serve others when my circumstances can be construed as difficult.  Thank you Lord for showing me how to serve when it is difficult and how to smile when it is tough to do so.  Both of us will never forget this experience with the children. We are thankful for generators and the ability of others to fix them. Emmy says tomorrow the generator should be working again.  Please pray that it does. 

There was one more thing to be joyful about………24 brand new basins for the children to use for bathing and washing. Mukama Asiimwe.

The kids were happy for another reason as well.  You see our day began with a trip to the local store for some rice.

So thankful for Marion’s sponsor, the Michaels family, for providing this treat.

Their gift of 100 kg of rice will feed the orphans for 3 meals.

They get it rarely as a special treat and last had it as a treat for Easter. Today it was a big blessing.  One after another these children came up to us and said “Praise God.” “Thank you for the rice.” 

We sat with them tonight as the sun was going down, just listening and watching every child eat every single grain of rice on their plate.

This had been another fun day………a full one and a fun one.

We awoke this morning refreshed and ready to head to the school after I fell asleep holding the computer with the first letter “d” typed of this blog.  Much work was to be done today.  It was going to be a fun one.

We arrived and the children were in school with all the teachers commanding attention. 

There were of course the occasional glances through the window or door at us but school went on as planned today.

One class at a time we brought forth the children to complete the pictures we needed.

Each of them stood with their nameplate and provided us with a “seka” smile with much ease.   We had a chance to interview several of the children in depth and will be happy to show you some of their comments very soon.

We got to talk to some of the older boys who get a chance to ride the single PCM bike down the road to run errands for Supermom and Elsam our cook.  Here is Alex returning with some tomatoes for Elsam.

We are thankful for this one bike and want to say thanks to Mike and Annette Childress for their purchase of a second bike for these boys.  I told them I was going to try to get them a total of 5 bikes.  Here they are receiving that news with much joy.

Supermom lets out a very big praise of thanks in the Miracle Van after hearing that news.

Next up were some group photos…………..Here is Supermom and Superdad with the children.   There is “much joy” as Emmy would be saying.   Can you find Emmy and Sarah in this photo?

We of course had to join in with the traditional trip “Where’s Waldo photo?” 

Justin interviewed some teachers and children on video while I proceeded into the classrooms. 

One by one I hit them all, stopping at last in Jonathan’s class. The class was about to have a quiz so I told them they should quiz me instead.  I got 5 points for each right answer and less than that if teacher Jonathan thought I was off.

I got to answer a whole variety of questions ranging from “what is an ethnic group?” to “what is a nuclear family?”  They asked me about the layers of the earth and I told them you don’t always have to know all the answers………and that I have some very good friends who know all about dirt (Les Jeske) and he helps me when I need to know something. 

I got a “0” on that one and all the kids erupted in laughter as I showed my disappointment with my first 0.  Then they asked me ………..”what are germs?”.  I told them “germs are very very good.  They pay for food for me and food for you. “ I went on to explain that my job is to kill germs.  I got 5 points for that one.  It was a great time. 

As a doctor you spend much of your time teaching,………teaching is fun………teaching these kids is SO FUN.

Mr. Cha they are asking for your return. It’s time to plan a teaching trip for 2011.

Next up was time for lunch as we all took a break.

The weather has been good this week but a bit hot. Everything is so green.  This is trip #5 and 4/5 trips have been green and one was a “brown out” with the land so dusty from no rain.  Not the case this time. We got some extra time at lunch to speak with teacher Fausta who had been gone last time with her new baby. Now 9 months old.  Precious.

Also at lunch I was able to show Pastor Januanario and Pastor Charles some of the pictures of the church that a few of our November team has built in Kenya.  They studied the diagrams and we talked and toured the land site where we hope to erect this building in November. Very exciting.

Next up it was game time.  Pastor Charles ran to the front and took on Edison, who I believe is our best football player.  He has some real gift and talent on the pitch. So it was the master builder Charles vs Mr Coordinated Edison.  They got up to level 32 in Jenga.  A record for the week.  Edison was the WEEENER as they say. 

I brought Connect Four for the smaller children.  Here is one of our sponsored kids Mark going vertical with his strategy.

It was quite fun watching the smaller children play this game.  It took them a long time to figure out that they needed to block their opponent from getting four in a row, so many of the games consisted of both players just stacking their first four and whoever went first won!  Maybe there was a communication breakdown somewhere in there.  At any rate, it allowed many kids to play!

Finally it was time for a new game.  CHESS.  None of them had ever played it.  I found a big one to place on the floor as the checkers has always been a hit.  Pastor Charles volunteered to play me and learn.

There is something so special about this man. He loves to learn about the Lord, but he also loves to learn new things.  As I took him on it was so fun to watch him think through each move. The kids learned so much from game #1 that they were ready to play themselves. Deuce jumped in and helped with some of the kids. 

Jude was the first one to play of course.  He is one of our champion checker players.

Finally before leaving we had one more treat.  A bubble blowing contest.  Each grade had a volunteer blower.  Everyone got three pieces and we went at it.  It wasn’t as easy as I thought for them since they never get to chew gum.  Well, this was the first of many of these contests I hope.  Much fun…………….

We piled back in the Miracle Van and headed home. It had been another full day.  A great one as usual. I don’t think it is possible to come away from this school compound without an overwhelming sense of pure joy.

Thank you Lord for letting us experience this once again.

Love and thanks to our supporters

Epa and the Deuce