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