5/27/2010 9:50PM
Uganda; day 149

Today was our last full day in Uganda, it was a busy day. We started this morning with white water rafting, we’d planned on going earlier but the company kept having to reschedule it, so it ended up being today. I have to say it was a good way to spend our last day here. We rafted for about 4 hours going between calm waters all the way to grade 5 1/2 rapids. Our raft flipped over twice and a big wave took Kurt out on his own once. It was a ton of fun, and only a little scary a couple of times. We ended our rafting adventure around 6:00 which gave us just enough time to take our last trip to the the home. It was strange going through our normal routine of walking to the taxi park, getting a local taxi to Wanyange and walking the dirt road to the home knowing it was the last time. The children all greeted us with hugs and many more hugs followed as we said our goodbyes. We’re leaving our hotel at 10:00AM tomorrow for the airport. I don’t think it’s sunk in quite yet that this little part of our lives is coming to an end.

The airways have had all kinds of problems lately so keep us in your prayers as we travel home. Pray for safe flights and no delays!

-Brandi

Homestretch

5/24/2010 1:30PM
Uganda; day 146

We said goodbye to our new friends from Cal Baptist University yesterday. They went home after three busy weeks of doing God’s work to their best. They made our last month here very eventful and encouraging.

I’ve learned many things during our time here, and my life has truly been changed because of those things, but last week after being in Uganda for 140 days I finally realized why God sent me to this specific place. We had a job to do here, and we’ve been doing parts of it without even realizing it, and finally God opened my eyes to see. I’ll spare the details, but the situation has reminded me that God’s timing is perfect, and all we have to do is trust him and do what he leads us to do.

We go home in 4 days, the thought of leaving the children is a sad one for me, at this point I don’t know if God will call me back to this place. I will miss their little smiling faces, and their big hugs. But it will also be so wonderful to be with family.

Prayer points:

-that we will finish our last 4 days here well.

-that we will have a safe trip home

-that God will direct us in our next step

-that he will continue to protect and provide for the children at the home

-that he will guide the people in charge of the home as they make decisions.

-Brandi

5/13/10 9:38PM
Uganda; day 135

Things have been so busy lately it’s hard to keep track of all the wonderful things I’ve been able to share in.
We went to a small church yesterday and the team did a VBS for about 30 children. It was a much smaller group then any of the previous have been but I think it was a blessing for the team to be able to relax a little and get to work with the kids on a more personal level.

This morning we started off at Revival Center Church, we worked with the children there with our team in January and really enjoyed it so it was really cool to be able to go back again with this team. They did the creation story for the VBS and it went great. The presentation, and crafts they brought were both really cute and they did a couple sing-a-long songs that brought back many memories of my sunday school days. I loved watching the kids sing them. Once the team was done Moses, one of the local pastors did an awesome job presenting the gospel and we were blessed to welcome more little ones into the family of Christ.

One of the most surprising things about today was that we actually finished on time. It was a really good day for that to happen because we had to be at Calvary Chapel by 1:00PM to help with the youth conference. So after we stopped by the hotel to have a quick lunch of PB&J sandwiches (made with G-nut butter) we headed to Calvary. The first day of the youth conference was even better then I’d hoped it would be. The lessons were good, discussing being doers of the word. Our small group was AWESOME I was working with the oldest group of girls, and they had much more bible knowledge then I’d expected. It made for some very engaging and challenging conversations. I think how much they know is a good testimony of the work the people with Calvary are doing with their normal bibles studies. I’m totally excited about working with them over the next two days.

Today has been one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. I can see so much fruit coming from the hard work people have been doing in different ministries here, and I’m confident God will reward them for their faith.

-Brandi

VBS day 1

5/10/10 9:00PM
Uganda day 132

If I had drawn a picture of what I imagined ministry in Africa was like before I came here, it would have been very close to what I saw today. There were little mud huts, around a small mud church, reached only by an overgrown dirt road. The church was full of children when we arrived, and soon after there were many more outside. Most of the children were orphans, and those that had parents had little more.

They’d expected 80-100 children, but about 250 showed up. The team did a great job working with the children, and thankfully they had enough supplies for everyone. Once the team was done with their craft, message, and song one of the local pastors shared the Gospel. 100 children and 4 adults prayed to accept Christ as their savior. That’s such a large number it’s hard to absorb the impact such a small amount of time in ministry can have. I would have been thrilled to hear even 1 person accepted Christ, but apparently God had bigger plans. I was also happy to hear that all of their names were written down by the pastors in their area and they will be discipled.


I love working with the people that are already believers, but it was so awesome to be able to reach out to the lost today. I’m excited to do more of both in the future. It was an unforgettable day.

Prayer points

-That God will continue to use the team for His purposes this week.

-That He will continue to prepare the hearts of the people we will be ministering too.

-Brandi

5/10/10 7:30AM
Uganda; day 132

Yesterday the team went to Calvary Chapel with us, it was nice to be able to share where we’ve been going to church during our stay here with them. They played some awesome songs, that made you think about serving God with all your heart, which was a great way to start the day. The message was also good, he talked about Romans 13 which is a hard one for some of us to follow.

After church the team headed to the home to work with the children there. We were able to hand out the bibles the team brought with them, so now every child at the home has their own bible. It was really great to see how excited some of them were, and I pray they put them all to use. After we handed out the bibles we split into three groups separated by age and taught them some basic bible study tips, and spoke to them about how important it is to read daily, and to apply it to their lives. It was the beginning of a week of study groups we have to do with them, I’m really excited to be working with them on some of the issues we’ve noticed during our stay here. We’re blessed to have a great team to work with, full of people with different gifts for different ages, which is really perfect, not only for the ministry at the home but also for the VBS that we’ll be starting today.

Having the team here makes such a huge difference with the ministries we’re able to do and it’s been such a blessing to have people here to relate to.

Prayer Points

that the ministries we will be doing in the villages this week will be effective and we will be able to touch the lives of the children there.

that the study groups we are having at the home will break through some barriers, and help the children to grow more in their relationship with Christ.


-Brandi

The team has arrived!

5/6/10 10:15PM
Uganda; day 128

The team is here! They arrived yesterday morning. While we were waiting for them to show up at the airport I got so excited Kurt had to tell me to calm down for once instead of me telling him.

After their long journey they were all pretty worn out, so Kurt and I came back to the home after lunch and left them all to catch up on some much needed sleep. They were all refreshed and ready to go this morning though! We all went to one of our favorite cafe’s in town for some yummy sandwiches and fresh juice, and then after a quick trip down main street we headed to the home.

Watching them, and listening to their reactions and thoughts on being here has brought back so many memories of our first few weeks here. It also made me realize how different everything is now, it’s almost like seeing a before and after picture, sometimes you forget how drastic the change is until you have them side by side.

They hit it off with the children at the home pretty quickly, it wasn’t long before the children were teaching them songs, and games, and vice versa. My favorite part of today I think was watching the team teach the kids the Macarana. They’ll be here working with the children at the home all day tomorrow, and then next week we’ll be doing vacation bible schools for children in different villages. It will be a great opportunity for us to reach out to some of the children that don’t know Jesus yet.

It’s so great to have people from home here, and I’m sure we’ll be doing some awesome work together!

-Brandi

The beginning of the end

4/30/10 12:00PM
Uganda; day 122

The teams arrival is just around the corner! I’m so excited they’re almost here, not only because it will be awesome to have some company from home but because of all the ministry opportunity’s we will have while they’re here. We’re going to be able to work with a couple different churches, doing a vacation bible school at one, and helping with a youth conference at Calvary Chapel, which I’m totally looking forward to. There’s also a chance we might be able to do some ministering in one of the villages, and of course we’ll be working at the home. I’m so ready to be busy doing God’s work!

For those of you that aren’t aware we’re in our last month here. We leave for Seattle in 28 days. I think this month will be a great ending to our trip, and I’m so going to enjoy spending time with my family in WA when we leave. What comes after that, only God knows . . . I sure hope He fills us in soon.

-Brandi

Soft Power

4/23/10 12:40PM
Uganda; day 115

We are at the end of another week, which brings us one week closer to the teams arrival! Yesterday Kurt and I volunteered with an organization called Soft Power. We heard about them about a week ago and it seemed like a good use of our time. They have a program where you can volunteer anywhere from one day to three months. After touring one of their preschools and their education center I have to say it’s the most organized thing I’ve seen in Uganda. They originated out of England about 10 years ago so they’ve had some time to get things together but I was impressed non the less with everything they are doing. They have multiple projects, they have two preschools, an education center where they offer training for local trades, computers, agriculture and various other things. They also work with 45 primary schools (middle school) they rotate the students through the education center for their special training, and they also refurbish, or if necessary add to the buildings, as well as keep up the maintenance on them. And they do community work teaching family planning, conservation, hygiene and health classes. Needless to say it’s a huge project. They have quite a few universities that participate in their volunteer program and it appears that’s where most of the funds come from, as each volunteer is asked to make a donation to help cover the cost of the work they’ll be doing and they have about 1,000 volunteers a year. So after we toured the facilities we spent a few hours at one of the schools they work with in Bugembe painting a classroom. We got a good tip for making a mud stove for the home that will cut the firewood usage down about 75%. So it made for an interesting day, and a good learning experience.

-Brandi

4/15/10 11:00AM
Uganda; day 107

Well our time since returning from Kenya has been pretty uneventful. We’re back to our daily routines that don’t ever seem to change much here. There are times when I enjoy having free time, and times when I crave the busy life of being home. Once we’re back home I’ll have to find some middle ground between the two.

It feels like we have a very short amount of time left here. It keeps coming up as we try to make different plans that we won’t be around much longer. One of the things about Uganda that you have to get used to pretty quickly is that nothing happens on time here. Now that we’re leaving I think people are starting to realize if we don’t get it done very soon they’re going to be on their own, which seems to have motivated some action from them, though still not enough to keep us very busy.

Our next adventure here will be white water rafting grade five rapids on the River Nile. Kurt and I went white water rafting together years ago on the Kern River in California, it was a lot of fun, but I was hoping for something a little more exciting. Well, I don’t think it gets much more exciting then grade five rapids on the Nile so I’m totally looking forward to this little adventure before we leave.

The team from Cal Baptist University will be arriving in less than three weeks, I love working with teams. I’m really looking forward to being able to do that for our last three weeks here. We will certainly be busier then we are now when the team arrives, which will be nice.



-Brandi

Back from Kenya

4/3/10 10:40
Uganda; day 95

We’re back in Uganda. The trip to Kenya was one of the best trips we’ve ever had. Meeting Paul and his family turned into a whole cultural experience because his family is Maasai, so they live in a Maasai village. We went to the Compassion project center first and were welcomed by all the staff, some of the kids, and a very shy Paul. We spent some time there touring the small compound, talking to the staff and hearing what they do, and looking through Paul’s folder. It was really cool to see his church, and school, and get a feel for what he does during the day. Once we were done at the project we went to his home, where we were welcomed by many Maasai people singing and doing their Maasai dance, they escorted us into the families small home where we got to meet the rest of Paul’s family, and exchange some gifts. They gave Kurt and I Maasai bead necklaces. We gave them the gifts we brought for the whole family, and then I gave Paul his soccer ball, after that he didn’t seem to care much what else we had for him. He held onto it for the rest of the time we were there. After spending some time in their home talking to the family they took us outside to show us the animals that Paul has because of the special gift money we were able to send to them. He has a heifer that he named Moosa and five sheep. The Maasai measure wealth by how many cows they have, so that Paul already has his first cow at six is pretty cool. After seeing the animals we headed back to the project center and had lunch, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. After thanking everyone and giving Paul a hug we got back in the car and started our 4-5 hour trip back to Kisii. We found out we were the first sponsors they’ve had visit that project, I hope that they continue to welcome people like they did us, because it was an unforgettable experience.

The next day our safari adventures began. Edwin, our driver picked us up at 7:30 in the morning to start our trip to Maasai Mara. We ended up going on the same very bad, long dirt road we’d taken to Paul’s home, just a little past his village is the west side of the Mara. We entered the Mara there and drove across it for a couple hours to get to our camp. It was an awesome drive, we saw so many animals right away, including a whole family of lions with nine cubs walking around. Edwin couldn’t believe it, he said it’s not unusual to see one or two lions but to see all of them together in the open is very rare.

Our camp was basic but nice. It didn’t have any of the luxuries of the larger lodges, or luxury camps, but we had warm showers and flush toilets, and the food was really good. We got to the Mara on Wednesday and left on Friday. We had so much fun watching all the animals, and the only ones we missed seeing were Rhinos and Leopards. We even saw a cheetah, which is also rare. On Friday we started our trip back home at 6:30, it had rained the night before which didn’t seem to be a problem until we got to one of the small rivers on the Mara that had flooded the road. We sat there for a few minutes while Edwin talked to another driver and then a park ranger, I figured he was probably asking how to go to get around it. After he was done talking he looked back and said “there is no other way” I thought for sure that meant we were going back to the camp and would miss our bus home but just as I came to that conclusion he said “do you want to try it?” I didn’t even think that was an option, but it’s his van, if he’s ok with it I’m all for it. So with everyone watching us, cameras ready we went for it. The water came almost all the way to the window on the van, and once we were in the middle it seemed even more impossible then it had from the road but the van just kept right on going and we made it out. Everyone got really excited, including the people from the other side watching us, I’d love to have the pictures they took. We were almost out of the Mara when we passed another safari group and they pointed at the grill on the van with very confused expressions, turned out to be a casualty from the river crossing, we hit a catfish. Out of all the possible animals you could hit on a safari, a catfish would be the furthest from my mind.
After we left the Mara we were back on the horrible dirt road, which was now a mud road. After some pushing, making new roads, and praying we finally emerged onto pavement 2-3 hours later. All of the problems only added to the adventure of the trip. I loved the Mara, the land is beautiful, the animals are awesome, and I hope we get to go again sometime.

-Brandi

Off to Kenya!

3/29/10 10:15AM
Uganda; day 90

Yesterday was a great day! We went to church in the morning and afterwards we headed to a place called Jinja on the Nile with some new missionary friends we met at church. It’s a little resort overlooking the Nile, once you walk through the doors it’s hard to remember you’re still in Uganda. We had a good lunch, and got to hang out with a lot of great people. Just hanging out, playing games and talking is probably the thing I miss most about home so I really enjoyed getting to do that yesterday. We also got to hear a lot of things that people are working on in the area, some of which sound pretty intense. We’re hoping to have a chance to check out the work their doing here when we get back from Kenya.

Today is the day! We leave in a few hours for Kisii Kenya, by this time tomorrow I’ll be talking to Paul and his family. This is going to be such a great experience!

-Brandi

3/25/10 11:00AM
Uganda; day 86

The past week has been a good one, the Wednesday night bible study did turn out to be a good, we went again last night. It’s really cool how much information you can get out of a seemingly simple verse.

This week we’ve been able to start gathering information on how the home can become more self sustainable. It’s one of the goals of Raining Hope to help the people here become less dependent on the states. I got some good information on some local crafts they can make at very little cost, and even found out they will train them how for free. So that was pretty cool, we’ll continue looking for other things they can do while we’re here.

I’ve learned a lot about the children and their families that I didn’t know this week. I’ve been updating their profiles, so I’ve been asking them a lot of questions about their backgrounds, most of them have 6 or more siblings that live in other places. It’s sad to see families split up so much.

I’ve also been getting ready for our trip to Kenya this week, we leave on Monday. I can’t believe how hard it is to find simple toys, coloring books, or story books here. We went all over town without much luck, but I was able to find a few things. Thankfully Paul’s favorite game is soccer, and there are plenty of soccer balls here. I’m so excited that the trip is just a few days away now.

The first school term is coming to an end the second week of April. When the term ends most of the children leave to spend their holiday with families, or guardians. I was surprised to hear the term was ending so soon, it seems like it just started. So the home will be very quite for their 4 week break. The next team from California should be arriving about the same time they get back. Which is another thing to look forward to!

-Brandi

3/17/10 12:07PM
Uganda; day 78

We’ve crossed the halfway point, we only have ten weeks left in Uganda. That’s not very long at all really. The first half of the trip was full of getting used to a new country, and learning a new culture, which I’ve enjoyed doing. Now that all of that is out of the way, I’m curious what the next ten weeks will be like. We have our trip to Kenya in less then two weeks, I’m sure it’s going to be awesome on so many different levels.

I cut Kurt’s hair yesterday, if it hadn’t looked so bad to begin with that would have been a scary thought. But we both agreed even though I had no experience cutting hair it couldn’t look any worse. We were right, it looks much better, not perfect by any means, but better.

We’re going to a bible study at Calvary Chapel tonight, it’s supposed to be a really good in-depth study. We’ve avoided going to town at night ever since our first encounter with it, which was a little unnerving. But now that we’re more comfortable with our surroundings, and the people in them, we’ve decided to venture out more

Unfortunately the situation at the home has only gotten worse in the past week or so. Three schools that the children attend have sent them home because we have no money to pay the school fees. Things just seem to keep getting more behind with every week. We did receive money this week, it was just enough to get beans and firewood, which is a relief.

-Brandi

3/8/10 12:50PM
Uganda; day 69

We woke up last night to the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard, it’s been raining off and on ever since. We went to town this morning anxious to get answers on some things from the states, but still no word. Almost everything was closed for a holiday. I guess it’s national women’s day today. After battling the muddy road to get back to the home we’ve decided to remain indoors for the day.

The needs of the home seem to get more desperate everyday. They’re almost out of food, the firewood (for cooking) is almost gone, and five of the children have malaria now. I feel badly for the foster father here, he has so much on his shoulders right now. I can do nothing but pray, and try to encourage people here that God will provide. I know He will, it is just a matter of time. That brings me to prayer points, for all of you wonderful people that have been keeping all of us in your prayers here are some things to focus on.

-Shadrach (the foster father) pray that his faith will remain strong, and that God will take the burden off of him, and give him peace.

-Pray that the children that are sick will be healed quickly, and that the rest will remain healthy.

-Pray that God will use Kurt and I to encourage, and bring the focus back to him at all times.

-Brandi

3/6/10 7:34PM
Uganda; day 67

So today we went back to town to find out why our wireless modem wasn’t working, and found out that we were misinformed when we got it. We had been told that you buy a certain amount of “airtime” and you use it until it’s gone, or two months time has passed. Well, we’ve had it for one month, and we were being careful not to use it to much so that it would last two months, unfortunately now they’ve changed that so it expires after one month. So we’re back to no internet at the home. We will see how we do with waiting to go to town to get news from the states. The connection was so slow we couldn’t do anything but check our email anyway.

After that we went to the Source Cafe for my dose of caffeine in a yummy mocha latte, and to check my email for any sign of hope that money would be coming soon for the needs of the home. Unfortunately there was no such hope. Maybe there will be tomorrow when we go to town for church.
We tried a new spot for lunch today, it’s called Ozzie’s. It was pretty good, the prices are cheap and the food, including hamburger buns is all homemade. They had some homemade chocolate cake that looked delicious but I managed to restrain myself . . . this time.

As soon as we got back to the home we decided to go for another long walk. We were just going to do this on days we didn’t go to town, so we could get out of the house and stretch our legs, but we’ve enjoyed them so much we’ve been going everyday. Today we decided to go all the way to the top of the hill we walked up a few days ago. It took about an hour, and we got to see a bunch of monkeys hanging out in trees along the road. There were even some baby monkeys hanging onto their moms for dear life. So cute! We got about halfway down the hill when it started raining. By the time we got back to the home we were completely drenched, it was coming down so hard we weren’t sure if it was rain, or hail. It may not sound like it but we had a lot of fun! We were laughing the whole way, and I felt like a kid again, running through mud puddles.

-Brandi

3/5/10 7:20PM
Uganda; day 66

It has been one of those days, when one thing goes wrong it seems that everything goes wrong.

The water was shut off at the home, there was no money to pay the bill so they disconnected it. The power has been out all day, and the internet is also down. Just as I was discussing using the last of the home’s emergency money on beans for the children, and water that they can buy and carry back in containers. I was told one of the girls has a serious case of malaria and needs treatment. The children will be out of beans in 3 days, which leaves them with maize flour, they boil it in water to make porridge, or posha. It’s not very nutritious, or good, but at least it’s better then no food at all.

It is discouraging times like these where I have to keep running James 1: 2-4 through my head “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

I definitely feel that we’re being tested here at the home. I do have faith that God will provide, as He has promised, and proven repeatedly. I just pray that it is sooner rather than later.

-Brandi

Quick update and prayer request.

3/4/10 2:15PM
Uganda; day 65

The rainy season has officially begun. I actually had to wear a sweater the other night, which I thought would never happen here. It’s been raining almost everyday, anywhere from a quick shower to all day long. From what I’ve been told the rainy season here is only one month. I was also told that February is the hottest month of the year, so next month should be pretty good weather. I keep hearing news that the states are getting hit with one storm after another, I have to admit I wouldn’t mind seeing some snow right now. It sounds like the snowboarders at home are getting quite the season.

Kurt and I took a little nature walk up a hill/mountain yesterday, it was a great walk with a really rewarding view of the whole area, and Lake Victoria. It took about two hours, and was very refreshing, so we will be doing some more exploring whenever the weather allows. At some point when I get to an internet connection that isn’t working at the speed of a snail I’ll upload some more pictures.

After we got back to the home we spent some time playing with the kids. They had a long jump rope, and Kurt decided even though he was three times as tall as the people swinging it he would try to jump it . . . as you can imagine it didn’t work so well. I got my camera out which I haven’t done enough since we’ve been here and started taking pictures of the kids. They LOVE having their pictures taken, they always get excited when I take their picture, and then run over to see what it looks like.

I have a special prayer request for today, I received it from a friend earlier, I don’t know the family personally but I know most of us have felt how devastating cancer can be. So I just ask that you keep this family in your prayers.

-Brandi

Prayer request for Gary and Cindy Hogman by way of Faith Presbyterian Church.



Gary is serving in Iraq while his young wife is fighting cancer here.  See his Request below.





My name is Gary Hogman.  Some of you receiving this know me, some do not. My wife, Cindy, is 32 years old and has just been diagnosed with stage 4 Cervical cancer. Her chances for survival are very slim. She was pregnant with our second child and had miscarried recently at 3 Months; and now we know why. This is a request for you to forward this e-mail to everyone you know asking for prayer. The more people that pray for her to be healed, the better. Pray and forward. It only takes a second to hit 'forward.' Please do it and don't delete this. Your prayer can, and perhaps will, save her life. Please pray and ask everyone you know to pray for the HEALING of CINDY HOGMAN And the removal of all cancer from her body, so she may enjoy all that life has to offer, and to continue to be the wonderful mother to our 5-year-old son Michael. The power of Prayer is unsurpassed. I want the whole world to have her in their prayers the next few weeks. God will hear our cry. Please do not be offended by my plea. This is only a request for your help. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this and helping with our request for healing! No words can express the power we have when we each do a little to come together.



Regards, Cindy's husband -
Gary

Thank you,
and please send it to the far reaches of our world

Reflections. . .

2/26/10 7:30PM
Uganda; day 59

This week has been one of reflections, and realizations. Having been here for about two months I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions. There have been some good days and some challenging days. The challenging days are the ones where I find myself questioning if we’re really doing any good here. If what we’re trying to teach them on budgeting is really going to stick, or if they will return to their old ways as soon as we’re gone. If I’m making any impact in the girls study group, or if they’re just sitting through it to humor me. I didn’t have clear expectations for what a mission trip would be like, but I didn’t expect it to be like this. I pictured having more impact on people’s lives, on making a significant and noticeable difference. I came because I felt like God was telling me to come, i didn’t know why, but I was willing to do whatever he put in front of me. . .

Two months later, I find the only thing in front of me is His word, and a lot of free time. I’ve come to understand what it’s like to meditate on His ways day and night. To give glory to Him even in the small things. I have a deeper understanding of the relationship that’s possible with Him. And most importantly, I feel like I’m beginning to understand in a way I’ve never seen before, the love He’s given to us, and the love He commands we return, and share with others. If you had asked me two months ago if I needed to go across the world to figure these things out I would have told you no, I probably would have even thought that I already knew about those things. But that’s just it, I knew “about” them, I’ve read the bible, I know the greatest commandments of love, I’ve followed the rules, I’ve talked to God, but I wasn’t grasping the fullness of it. Now I realize that the significant and noticeable difference i was looking to see in other people has happened within me. That though I had a plan of helping others, apparently God had a different plan for me first.

I may go home wondering if I’ve really helped anyone on this trip, but I will leave with a renewed heart and mind for God.

-Brandi

Calvary Chapel

2/21/10 9:10PM
Uganda; day 54

It has been a wonderful Sunday. Kurt and I started the day off by taking a taxi to town, and then walking about 25 minutes to Calvary Chapel of Jinja. We got there just in time, and were pleased to see that there were no electronic sounds coming from the band. We got to listen to songs we were familiar with for the first time in two months, and the message was in English. Aside from just being happy that I could understand it, it was also a great service. We will definitely be going back. It also gave us a chance to meet some other missionaries that are living in the area, and we’re excited to get to know them better.

-Brandi

2/20/10 3:45 PM
Uganda; day 53

It’s a rainy day here in Jinja, one of those days you just curl up inside and enjoy the sounds while staying dry. The power went out again last night around 1:00 AM which was actually before it started raining. It just came back on a few minutes ago. It was to hot for sleep, even after 53 days of getting used to the heat, sleep is impossible without a fan. Being here has definitely made me appreciate all of the comforts of the states that much more.

The kids received a truckload of supplies this week, it’s unusual for them to receive things from the states because the cost of shipping is so high. But it was wonderful to see them get so many things that they truly needed, there were clothes, bibles, shoes, towels, and toys. There were even some Tom’s shoes in the bunch, which made me smile. It was great to see how excited they get over getting such basics, and how grateful they are for them. Unfortunately when it comes to buying food, or clothes for the kids we have to go with the more immediate need and buy food, so it’s good that God is providing their needs in other ways.

I’ve contacted Compassion International and they are arranging my visit to see Paul in Kenya. I’m really excited about it. We have it set up for March 29. Our 3 month Visas expire on March 28 so if there are any problems with renewing them we will be able to go to Kenya that day on the visas we will have there. I would have done it sooner but they require 8 weeks notice which I wasn’t aware of. They’ve been really helpful and are making an exception to let us meet that soon. We’re also going to take advantage of being in Kenya, since they are known for their safari’s we’re looking at a 3 day 2 night camping safari which sounds awesome. It’s at one of the best reserves in Africa, the Masai Mara Reserve. So I’m really looking forward to that little adventure.

-Brandi

2/17/10 9:30 PM
Uganda; day 50

Yesterday brought more sad news from the states, my Grandmother passed away yesterday morning. I didn’t have a close relationship with her, but it is difficult to get this kind of news from so far away. It has been just over 7 months since my Dad passed away, and it breaks my heart that my Mom has to deal with the loss of another loved one so soon. There is little I can do from here to offer comfort. I pray that God is offering her the comfort that I’m unable to. Please keep my Mom and the rest of her family in your prayers.

-Brandi

Political unrest

2/15/10 2:00PM
Uganda; day 48

The atmosphere here in Jinja has changed over the past week. I noticed small differences on Sunday when we went to town, but nothing major, just enough to notice that something was up. Today however, was a different story. On our way to town men walked in front of our taxi in Bugembe, they were yelling something in Luganda, and it appeared they wanted the driver to stop so they could talk to the passengers, the driver steered right for one of them and didn’t slow down until the man jumped onto the curb out of the way. Something similar had happened on Sunday, so I became curious as to what was going on. I mentioned it to Kurt, but since we don’t speak Luganda we were left in the dark. So we headed to our normal spot, the Source Cafe, on Main street. As we were sitting there drinking coffee a political parade went by, tons of people on motorcycles, bikes, trucks or walking, all holding signs. Most of them said things like “Homosexuality is an abomination”, “God love’s homo’s but hates homosexuality” you get the idea. From what I’ve heard they are having a vote, something to the effect of, if people are caught doing homosexual acts they should be put to death. So this is pretty serious stuff, I’m going to find out more details so I understand exactly what they’re voting for. But in the midst of all of this I’ve noticed a definite change in attitude toward us as we’re walking in town. I can only attribute it to the fact that most of the population here appears to be against homosexuality, and everyone is well aware of how much of America not only accepts it, but supports it. People were, giving us odd looks, and making comments to each other as we passed by, some of them even called out to us asking if we agree with everything going on in our country, another asked if we think homosexuality is ok. Considering how high tensions seem to be here over this vote, it tends to make one nervous when your getting put in the group of “opposition” just because of the color of your skin.


-Brandi

2/14/10 12:45 PM
Uganda; day 47

We spent the morning walking all over Jinja, we were looking for Calvary Chapel. We finally found it, but they were nearing the end of their service so we decided to go next week. I’m excited about going though, I could hear the translator from the street. My main dilemma with churches here has been even when there is a translator I can’t hear, or understand them. So next week it is.

I gave the message at the nightly devotion at the home on Friday. It was a first for me, talking in front of people has never been my thing. But with God’s help it went better then I expected. And if they got nothing else out of it they at least learned what the two greatest commandments are, which I was surprised they didn’t already know.

Kurt and I keep getting emails, and comments that different people are praying for us. Just thinking about it gives me warm fuzzy feelings. Not only is it nice to know that our friends and family haven’t forgotten us, but to know that we’re being covered in prayer is very reassuring. So thank you to all of you that continue to do so.




Prayer focus

That God will be behind everything that we do, that he will guide us, so we use our time wisely.

That he will use the study group to reach these girls, that they may live a life for him.

To Give or not to Give . . . what is the deciding factor?

2/13/10 12:08 AM
Uganda; Day 45

From a biblical standpoint, when if ever, is it ok not to give when someone in need asks something of you?

In the states you have the occasional beggar, or homeless person that will ask for money. If you go to any homeless shelter training they will tell you not to give money but to give food, or supplies. That’s understandable, you want to know that you’re actually helping the person, not contributing to his/her addictions. But in the states, you can ask a person what their need is and provide it, without dealing with a language barrier, or a different culture full of unknowns.

Now I’m in Uganda, every time I step out of the home I’m faced with the needy, the sick, the hungry, the least of these. . . the training books tell you while your on a mission trip keep things in perspective, know and understand that you can’t remove poverty from the world. On a large scale I understand that, there will always be poverty. However, not being able to remove poverty from the entire world, or even one country doesn’t mean that you can’t meet the needs of those within your reach. That brings me to a question, every verse I’ve read in the Bible about giving, says to give without reluctance. To give to the poor. Paul tells us we don’t have to give to the point of having nothing, but to give that their may be equality. So if all of these verses say to give, to not worry about the possessions you have on this earth, but to know that by giving to the needy you are storing up treasures in heaven. Where have all the training books, and people come up with all the rules on giving? Are they rules of the world, or rules from other verses in the bible that I’m not familiar with? Are we following the commandments that we’ve been given, or changing them to fit into our culture? Is it up to us to take control in deciding what is best for the people in need who are asking for money, food, etc? Or are we to depend on the verses below and know that God is in control of every situation, and that we are simply called to give.

I want to hear thoughts on this, leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Matthew 5:42 (New King James Version)
Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Matthew 10:42 (New King James Version)
And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Matthew 19:21 (New King James Version)
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Luke 12:33 (New King James Version)
Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

2 Corinthians 8:8-14 (New King James Version)  
8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; 11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. 12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.
13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 (New King James Version)
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written:

      “ He has dispersed abroad,
      He has given to the poor;
      His righteousness endures forever.”

2/9/10 7:40PM
Uganda; Day 42

Another week is passing by. Today was the first big rain storm we’ve had since we’ve been at the home. It poured outside for about 30 minutes. The rain is very welcome here, it drops the temperature down to a comfortable level, and I know it’s needed for all the crops around. The power went out again for a few hours, but thankfully it’s back on now.

Kurt and I went to church on Sunday with the younger children, they have no transportation here at the home so we walked to the Nazarene church that is very nearby. I would say Sundays are the days when I’m the most homesick, I miss our churches, being able to understand the message and the music, and fellowship with friends. It’s come to my attention that there are a lot of missionaries from the states in the area. We’re going to check out a church that is run by a missionary couple, hopefully this Sunday.

I’ve started a study group with the older girls here at the home, we’re going over the book Purpose Driven Life, I read it a few years ago and loved it. I think that it will be good for all of them, and I’m looking forward to getting to know each of them better. If you’ve never heard of it you should pick it up and grab a friend to join you, it will challenge the way you think about things.

The children are going back to school tomorrow, school officially started last week, but we weren’t able to purchase the school requirements to send them back until this week. Thanks to some wonderful supporters in the states they will be able to go back. God is good.

-Brandi

2/5/10 9:45PM
Uganda; day 38

So posting pictures isn’t working out so well, I’ve tried a couple times but I think the internet connection is just so slow it times out. I’ll keep trying.

The Power was out for about 24 hours, it made for a very hot night. Kurt got up and started walking around outside around 2:00AM trying to cool down. Lets hope that doesn’t happen very often.

It’s so nice not having to go to town everyday, it was getting kind of old having to take a taxi everyday. So now we have more time to do things at the home, and we’re saving a lot of money.

Kurt played a worship song today at the devotional, all the kids go so excited when he came out with his guitar. It was cute, they didn’t know the song but they had fun dancing around while he sang it.

For those of you that have been asking we now have a post office box. It was really cheap, and easier then getting one in the states so it worked out great. We brought all the necessities like toiletries and such that we will need for our stay here with us, but that didn’t leave any room for snacks or goodies that we can’t get here. So any yummy food we get will be devoured with much joy. If you’re sending something our way just give us a heads up and let us know how long the post office says it will take so we can go to town and check for it.

The address is:
Brandi Hennigan
P.O. Box 1953
Jinja Uganda, East Africa

For all of you that have been praying for Martha, I saw her mom yesterday and she said she is doing much better, and thanks everyone for their prayers.

-Brandi

Let there be internet.

2/3/10 9:50 PM
Uganda; day 36

The days have been going by much quicker lately. All of the kids have returned from their holiday visits with family. It’s great to have them all back, the home is much more lively with everyone here. School started on Monday, unfortunately some of them aren’t able to go back yet because we don’t have the money to get their required school supplies, but we have faith that God will provide what is needed.
Today has been a great day, I spent the afternoon playing bible card games with the kids, we had a lot of fun. Kurt and I headed to town around 3:00, we did our usual routine of walking to the main road to wave down a taxi, as soon as we got in the Taxi we noticed the interior was new. Most of the taxi’s here are on their last leg. Just as Kurt finished saying “this is a legit taxi” the “legit” taxi died, we ran out of gas. So everyone got off and we started walking and waiting for another taxi, we thought it was pretty funny when the taxi that had run out of gas happened to be the first taxi that had room to pick us up. So after that short delay we got to town and finally we were able to pick up the modem we have been waiting on. So we now have internet at the home, yay! So we stopped at the Source Cafe for a coffee (thank God for coffee), picked up a few supplies and grabbed another taxi to head back to the home. We made it about one mile before a police pulled the taxi over and made everyone get out because the tags weren’t current. So Kurt and I found ourselves walking once again, waiting for another taxi. Thank goodness we went to town later than usual because it was much cooler, and walking wasn’t bad at all. We got back to the home just in time to get dinner started and go to the daily devotion. Now I’m sitting in the dark, as I was writing we just got really crazy wind out of nowhere and the power went out. The power goes out a lot here, I don’t think their system is very stable. It’s a good thing the laptop just got done charging. So now that we have internet at the home, I’ll have more time to update, and post pictures.

-Brandi

Prayer Mountain

1/27/10 4:30 PM
Uganda; day 29

Kurt and I just got home, it has been a very hot and long day.

We went to a place called Prayer Mountain yesterday, it’s just a few minutes outside of Kampala, which is the capital of Uganda. Prayer Mountain is a mountain that is dedicated to praying and fasting. People go for anywhere between a day to a week and they spend most of their time there praying, or listening to various pastors that are there. It was a new experience to be sure, I’ve never heard of them before but I guess there are several in other countries also. It’s a really peaceful place to be, there is lots of grass, and trails going through the trees, with monkeys jumping about playfully. Kurt and I went with our friend Godfrey, we spent the day alternating between individual and group time with God and then at night we went to what they call the Alter (no we did not sacrifice any animals). They light a fire and set up benches, and anyone that wants to comes over to go through a cycle of praying, singing, and preaching. Kurt and I went between that and listening to my ipod so we could actually understand what we were singing. At one point Kurt and I decided to go get some hot tea since it was much colder there then we anticipated and just as we were leaving this lady that hardly spoke any english called us over. She tried very hard to explain that she was a prophetess and that God told her there is a message in Psalms 23 for us. We’re both familiar with it, but of course read it again to see if anything hit home, we’re still not sure about that one. They have the Alter service from 9:00PM-6:00AM Kurt and I made it to about 2:30AM before calling it a night. I had a tent to stay in but Kurt didn’t because they don’t allow guys and girls in the same tents even if they’re married. Kurt had opted not to get a tent and just sleep outside, but that was before we knew how cold and wet it gets there. So because of the combination of him being stuck outside and my tent being in the middle of a very dark forest on the other side of the compound I opted to just sit with him and try to get a few hours of sleep outside. That was when a couple of ladies that work there noticed us, (it’s hard not to notice being the only white people there) and came over and asked why we were sleeping outside, after I explained they talked amongst themselves for a few minutes and said they had a solution. We tried to insist that it was no big deal and we didn’t mind staying outside but they wouldn’t have it. They told us that usually the guys would stay in their own tent across the compound from the girls, but they had a room in the office that wasn’t being used and they said that one of us could stay in that room while the other stayed in the waiting room right next to it. It was unusual to see people going out of their way that much to help complete strangers. We took them up on the offer and got a few hours of warm sleep. We met a lot of really nice people while we were there, they come from countries all over Africa to pray there, it’s a pretty big deal for them here.
We left the mountain around 10:00AM and headed to Kampala, to look for a new converter for our computer since the one we brought got fried by a power surge Monday night. We walked all over Kampala for a couple hours looking for one with no luck in finding what we wanted. While we were walking this lady that appeared to be homeless came up behind me and grabbed my water bottle, as a reflex I latched onto it and turned to attack my assailant, but about the same time I realized I was much stronger then her I also realized I was fighting over a bottle of water that I would have given to her had she simply asked so I shrugged and let it go. It wasn’t an experience I’d care to repeat. About an hour later, sun burnt, tired, and hungry we gave up and started our journey back to the home. Here we are at last, dinner is cooking and I’m more then ready to eat, take a cold shower and get some much needed sleep.

-Brandi

1/24/10 4:30 PM

Uganda; day 26

Today was the first day we haven’t gone to town since we’ve been here. It was really nice to be able to eat without leaving home for a change. We made beans, peas, and noodles for dinner. We’ll have to get used to cooking things that aren’t ready in 30 minutes. It took 3 hours. With the charcoal stove there’s only one spot to cook on so everything has to take turns. The food was still hot and delicious when we got to eat it though.

We checked on getting internet at the home yesterday, they had to order the part but we should have it soon. That means pictures are coming soon! They do internet a lot different here, most people here use wireless which they treat like a pre-paid cell phone. You buy a certain amount of time each month and once you’ve used it you go buy more. Hopefully we won’t use it to quickly because it’s more expensive here then at home.

-Brandi

1/22/10 10:30 PM

Uganda; day 24

To top off yesterdays “good day” I found out the hot water heater in our bathroom isn’t broken after all. When we came to stay at the home Shadrack told us it was so we’ve been taking very cold showers for the past two weeks. I just happened to notice an odd switch that appeared to go to nothing in our bedroom and thought I’d give it a try just in case. It made my night.

Today has been a full day, I woke up and spent a few hours doing our laundry and cleaning, then we headed to town to check our email and get lunch. Afterwards we went back to the local market, to pick up some Maize flower and sugar, and then headed home just in time for it to start raining. I think the rain brings everyone outdoors here, rather then at home where we all go inside. The kids all got excited and started playing games in the front yard, and Kurt and little David were taking turns chasing each other.

Once little David got the best of Kurt we headed inside to relax and get our daily reading time in. We’d just finished and were talking when a bat came out of nowhere and started zipping around the dinning room. He was acting like a dive bomber going in for low passes and so fast it was hard to keep track of him, had we been at home I would have thought it was no big deal, but I have no idea if they have poisonus bats here. I grabbed the first thing I could to hit it with in case it came in my direction which happened to be a bible, while Kurt decided he’d turn the light on and that might chase it out of the room, which it did. It seemed to tick him off really well and he headed right for us at the speed of light. I decided to take a less combative approach, and dove behind one of the couches as he zoomed just over my head. Kurt and I decided it was time to retreat, did a countdown and using the Bible as cover made a mad dash for our room. I’m sure we’ll find out tomorrow that the bats here are just as harmless as the ones at home, but if nothing else it made for an entertaining experience.

The devotion tonight was an encouraging one, Anne started the message by leading the kids in singing “the lords army” which was something we taught them when the team was here. I could still hear them singing it as they walked through the compound after the devotion. It’s nice to see them enjoying it as much as we did when we were kids.

Tonight was our first dinner at the house since the team left, woo hoo! Also our first time cooking on the charcoal stove, which seems like it will be very easy to use for full meals. We had porridge for dinner, which tastes very much like Cream of Wheat to me. I’ll have to look at the ingredients when we get back and see if it’s the same thing. So tomorrow we are going to buy our own charcoal stove and make our first full dinner here on our own. I feel like we’re getting more settled now that we’re able to get some of these supplies.

Prayer requests

-That God will provide all the funds needed to pay for the bills, school fees, and food.

-Martha, one of the little girls here got malaria and was admitted to the hospital, pray that God will heal her quickly.

-Brandi

1/21/10 8:15 PM

Uganda; day 23

Today has been a good day! We spent the morning working with the staff on budgeting and then headed to town in the afternoon. We were down to our last $5.00 so we were praying that our money had arrived from the states. Our first stop was the bank (of course) we asked to withdraw some money and were told that it hadn’t arrived yet, BUT we were also told that we were misinformed when we opened the account. We were told we had to keep a minimum of $100 in the bank to keep the account open and today the lady told us that for our account that wasn’t the case. What a relief! I celebrated by getting a hamburger for lunch which was the biggest meal I’ve had in the past 11 days.

We were able to go to the local market and pick up some of the supplies we needed, and once again I was surprised at how cheap everything is here. We bought two pans, two cleaning basins, pot holders, a wooden spoon, and a stick of soap for laundry, for about $7.00.

Soon we will be able to cook here at the home instead of going to town for our one meal a day. It will be much less expensive and much better tasting. We’re also looking forward to getting internet at the home, hopefully next week.

Once we got back to the home, Kurt decided to start making ear piercing whistling sounds while we were talking outside. He was using a blade of grass and of course the kids were just fascinated with a loud annoying noise, so in a matter of seconds he had a crowd around trying to figure out how to be just as loud and annoying. Thankfully they didn’t figure it out, I can just imagine 15 kids running around the compound making noises like Kurt. It was fun to watch them try though.

-Brandi

1/16/10 6:50 PM

Uganda; day 18

The past two days have been the hottest since our arrival here. The temperature is about 90, throw in the humidity and I’m about ready to go jump in the Nile. If it was culturally acceptable for me to don my swimwear I would have already done it. As it is the heat has done a number on me, I’m tired and I look like a radish.

It’s hard to believe we’ve already been here 18 days, I don’t keep track of dates anymore, or time for that matter. Everything runs so differently here than in the States. Everyone moves slower, it really seems like time doesn’t matter. All the kids are on holiday from school right now. Most of them are gone visiting family until school begins again in February. The handful of kids that are here spend most of the day playing various games, or doing chores. They have a devotion every night at the home. Right now because there aren’t many kids here almost everyone is involved in it each night. They all sing and dance, and then someone will share a word from the bible. It’s refreshing to see how open all of them are to discussing, and praising God. It took me a while to get used to one of the most common greetings here, instead of saying hello they say praise God. Amen was the first word I learned in Luganda, it’s the usual response to that greeting and a very commonly used word here.

I had my first coffee since leaving the states yesterday, it was like a little piece of heaven. The Source Cafe has become one of our favorite hang out spots, Eydie introduced it to us while they were here. It’s where we go to get online, it’s also where we’ve been eating our one meal a day since the transfer of our funds from the states hasn’t gone through yet. Once it does we’ll be able to get the supplies to cook at the home. The people at the Cafe are very nice, I think it might be owned by Americans, it’s the closest thing to home we’ve seen since being here. Anyway, I got pretty excited when I saw they have lattes and cappuccinos. I miss the food from home dearly.

Kurt and I did our laundry today, hand washing isn’t to bad, although I did make a mental note not to wait a week anymore. For some reason the idea of us washing our clothes the way the locals do was very funny to everyone here at the home. Even Shadrack started laughing when he saw us come out with them. All of the older kids kept offering to do it for us but we insisted that we could manage just fine. It was pretty funny, they all lined up outside and just watched.

1/19/10 3:15 PM

Uganda; day 21

It’s another hot day in Jinja, 100 degrees outside, I think I’m melting. Things are going pretty slow this week, not much activity to write about. Kurt and I got word that our funds will be transfered to our account here tomorrow, we should have them on Friday. That is a relief, I look forward to learning how to cook all the different food they have here, and especially look forward to eating it.

I expect things to pick up next week when the children get back from their holiday from school. Hopefully we will be able to work with them after school.

I’m also going to look into how difficult it would be for me to go to Kenya to visit little Paul, I sponsored him through Compassion International a little over a year ago. It would be great to go meet him and his family sometime while we’re here.

1/13/10 4:30 PM

Uganda; day 15

Kurt and I just got back from town. We went to check for updates from Eydie and to see if we can access our bank account yet. We opened the account before Eydie left to make sure there wouldn’t be any problems with us getting one here. A few days later when Kurt and I tried to go withdraw money they said they forgot a step and we can’t access our money. So thankfully we had enough cash on us to get us through a couple more days. They said we should have access to it tomorrow. We are starting to get the hang of getting around. The town is a bit confusing sometimes, because there are hardly any signs, and it all looks the same. Once we get internet at the home I’ll have more time to post pictures. I’ll also have more time to write to those of you that have been writing me. It’s nice to know your following our little journey and I appreciate all of your prayers.

My dear sister-in-law just wrote me an email saying her mom passed away on Jan 7th. My heart goes out to her, losing a parent is such a hard thing to deal with, at any age. Keep her in your prayers that God will comfort her in this time of mourning. “Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted” Matthew 5:4

1/12/10 1:00 PM

Uganda; day 14

Another day, another new experience. One of our main purposes for being here as far as the Living Hope Children’s home goes, is to train the staff here how to budget. Today Kurt and I got a list of all the bills, and honestly I wasn’t quite sure where to begin. It appears they’ve been hanging on by a thread for a long time. Kurt and I were discussing how if we were at home in this predicament we would just go out and get another job, or cut back on some things we didn’t really need. Here it’s completely different, they already have the bare minimum. They don’t have many things we would consider necessity, so there’s no room to cut back. From what I’ve seen so far there isn’t much in the way of jobs here either. One of Eydie’s goals with Living Hope is that we will be able to help them learn different trades so they can support themselves more, and not have to depend so much on the States. I think it’s really important that we work towards that.

So we went to town today to pay a few bills and pick up some food. It was another new experience, we walked all over to save money on taxi’s. We went to the local market, where they have all kinds of foods, they have different meats just laying out on tables, lots of produce everywhere, as well as some piles of clothes and other household items. After seeing the meat laid out I’m considering becoming a vegetarian for the next 6 months. Once we were done with our errands we decided to take a “Uganda taxi” back to the home, which is just a van full of as many people as will fit, and in our case also a chicken. It’s much cheaper than having a car.

I think Kurt and I have both been frustrated over the past few days when trying to buy things. Because we don’t know what a fair price is for anything here yet we continue to have problems with people trying to rip us off. It’s gotten to the point where I’d rather just wait until one of the staff can go with us until we learn what is normal.

Prayer Focuses

-that opportunity’s will present themselves for the older children to learn trades

-continue to pray that we will receive the funds needed to keep the home running

1/11/10 10:00 AM

Uganda; Day 13

It’s hard to believe it’s already been two weeks. The team left yesterday, I was sad to see them go. I’m surprised how close we got over such a short period of time. I think Kurt and I will have the most adjusting to do now that they’re gone. When the team was here we stayed at a hotel, and we had a rented van for us to get around in. Now that they’re gone we’re staying at the home at Living Hope. We’ll have to get a taxi to pick us up when we need to go somewhere. I have to learn how to cook the foods they have here, they offered to cook for us but I think it would be better if I learned how. They use what they call a charcoal stove, which is much different than our stoves back home. I don’t think it will be difficult to use though. Kurt and I went to the American Supermarket yesterday, hoping to find some familiar foods, but they basically had the same things the other markets here have, which is rice and noodles. We’re going to start going with Shadrack, the foster father when he goes to the market so we can get used to things. So basically my team bubble has been burst, and now it’s time to be submerged in the culture. There will be a lot of adjusting to do, but I think I will learn a lot more about the people here this way.

The weather here reminds me a lot of Louisiana, it’s not quite as hot as a Louisiana summer but the humidity level feels the same. Which isn’t surprising with Lake Victoria and the River Nile right here. We took a boat ride to the actual source of the Nile while the team was here, it was pretty cool. 10% of the water in the River Nile comes from underground so the water bubbles up right at the source.

Eydie had a meeting with the landlord of the Living Hope property while she was here and found out that they have raised the rent, and they want the rent for the whole year up front. Between that and school fees that are due they will need to raise a lot of money in a very short amount of time.

We don’t have internet at the home yet, I’m not sure when we’ll get it. So my posts will probably be spread out. I should have more time to write now though.

Prayer requests

-that we will raise the money needed to pay the rent and send the children to school.

-that God will use the team as they return home.

-that Kurt and I will be at peace in our new home and continue to instill hope in the children.

Also if anyone is interested in supporting Raining Hope please go to Raininghope.org to find out how you can help.

Today is the day

1/3/10 11:00 PM

Uganda; Day 5

We had our first Sunday service in Uganda today, at Cornerstone church. Eydie introduced the team again, and after she told everyone Kurt and I are married we got a round of applause. This has happened every time it comes up that we’re married. So today we were talking to Godfrey about it and he explained that it’s a really big deal to see a married couple in Uganda, they take it very seriously. They actually respect married couples more than singles. He also told us that divorce is illegal in Uganda, which explains a lot of that. I enjoyed the service, but I need to hurry and learn some Luganda so that I understand all the songs they sing.

Godfrey is already becoming a good friend to Kurt and I. He’s moving next week to plant a church in a town nearby. We’d love to make that our home church while we’re here, we’ll have to find a way to get there since we don’t have our own transportation here. The area that he is planting the church in has a lot of evil at work, there are a lot of witch doctors there and children have been used as sacrifices. He’s had offers to work at local church’s but feels God is calling him to this new area.

Kurt and I had our baptism interview with Godfrey today. It’s hard to believe I haven’t been baptized yet, since I was raised in a Christian family, but I’m pretty excited that I get to do it here. Kurt was baptized when he was little in a Mormon church so we’re going together on Wednesday. We’re going to Lake Victoria, which is the source of the Nile River. We have a full week ahead of us, the team leaves next Sunday.

Prayer requests

-Please pray for Godfrey, that his move will go well and that God will bless the new church he is starting. Also that he gets the funds he needs to start the church.

-Please pray for the team, that we will be able to bring a lasting hope to the children this week.

-Brandi

1/6/10 10:00 AM

Uganda; Day 8

The past few days have been busy ones, I haven’t had the energy to do anything other than take a shower before passing out. We’ve been cleaning the home, and getting it ready to paint, along with working with the kids each day. It’s a big project, it’s a five bedroom 4 bathroom house, but it’s going to look so much better once we’re finished. I think it will be good to have a fresh start.

Today is the big day! Kurt and I are going to be baptized at 2:00. I’m really excited about it. It’s going to be great having the team with us, it’s been such a blessing having each of them here.

-Brandi

Update

12/31/09 6:34PM

Uganda; Day 2

Today was our first full day in Uganda, we started the day with a devotional time with the hotel staff. They meet almost every morning. It was inspiring to see how thankful some of the locals are for the small things that God has done for them through the year, even in the wake of great loss. They truly count their trials as joy. We’ve spent the day so far here at the hotel with the team. Tonight is New Years Eve so we’ll be leaving for a church in Kakira Village shortly to see how they celebrate. We will probably be there most of the night. Tomorrow we get to go to the home and meet our new friends.

-Brandi

1/1/10 10:00PM

Uganda; Day 3

Today is the start of a brand new year! We had our first overnight as the locals call it yesterday. We spent the night worshipping God and thanking him for the past year. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the states. I’ve been in charismatic churches before, but they just don’t match the energy and enthusiasm we saw from the locals last night. There were 7 churches that came together to celebrate the new year. The preaching and singing would alternate between English, Swahili, and Luganda, though even the English is at times hard to understand. There was no misunderstanding the passion they have for worshipping God though. The night was filled with singing, dancing, cheering, and preaching. It was a good way to start the new year.

We got to see the Living Hope Children’s home today. It was eye opening to see where the kids live. We were able to bring some games to them that had been donated, so we spent the afternoon teaching them how to play various games, and getting to know them. After the games we had a devotional with everyone and Eydie announced that Kurt and I would be staying for 3-6 months (depending on the visas), it was encouraging to see how excited everyone got when they heard that. I can see from today there will be a lot of adjusting to do as we move into the home, and I’m sure God has a lot he wants me to learn from it.

-Brandi

1/2/10 11:00 PM

Uganda; Day 4

After having breakfast at the hotel the team took a trip to town today. We got to meet some of the local shop people that Eydie has made friends with and do some shopping. Afterwards we stopped by the hospital to visit David one of the toddlers from the home. The poor guy has malaria again, he just got over it a short while ago. I learned that they put an IV into their head, I had no idea. Godfrey, who is one of the men that helps with the home and church, was explaining to us that in many hospitals in Uganda the children will die because the nurses/doctors are trying to find a vein in their head to start the IV. He told us people come from all over the country to the children's hospital here in Jinja, because they are more careful or better equipped to take care of them.

After we visited David we had lunch at the hotel and headed over to the Living Hope home. We had a wonderful time with the kids today. We had them all paint pictures, that Eydie will be taking home to mount or frame to sell them, to raise money for the kids. I know they are excited that they’re able to be a part of earning money. We spent the rest of the day playing with the children, they taught us some of their games and we were all laughing as we tried to figure them out. We had a great devotion tonight at the home, a lot of the older kids and even a few of the younger ones were singing songs. They have really pretty voices and it’s surprising to me how good the songs sound even with no instruments. Although Kurt bought an African drum today and brought it to the home, which the kids seemed to love.

Today was full of blessings. I know that God is working in the home and in our team and I’m looking forward to what he has for us next.

-Brandi