I only have 18 minutes on this computer, so here is a quick update on the past week...
Saying goodbye to the team was pretty hard. I met some absolutely amazing people, but they left me with wonderful, encouraging letters that I have loved reading when times get tough. I love you guys!
I have moved into my room on the mountain and it's actually quite nice to have my own little place to retreat to once the day ends. I spend two hours a morning with the nursury class helping them paint, sing, and draw. They are probably the most precious kids in the world and I am loving the time I get to spend with them. The rest of my morning is spent doing random projects for Jim and Robin...whether typing or painting rooms. The afternoon and evening are spent with the kids. I didnt think that it was possible to fall more in love with these kids, but they are so amazing. I love getting to know each and every one of them.
I had a rough day earlier this week feeling lonely, unproductive, frustrated by the language barrier, but God is faithful and blessed me with special words from a child and hugs and smiles all around. I know that there will be rough days, but in the end, it is so worth it.
Jim and I toured Uganda Child Care earlier this week and got a bunch of ideas from them. They support 6 different schools with sponsorship and have been developed for quite some time so they had some great ideas. My plan for the rest of my time here is to focus on a family group a week for each of the six weeks remaining. During that time, I will have all of the kids write letters to their sponsors, take new pictures, update the database with the children's information and take video of different aspects of their family life (family worship, meal times, tours of their dormitories). The videos will then be available for the sponsors.
The woman who is in charge of the sponsorship program arrives next on Friday, so pray that we will be able to work effectively together and that she will be open to my ideas.
Thank you all for your support. I love and miss you guys, but I am really enjoying my time here and am dreading the day that I have to say goodbye to my kids. Yes, I said MY kids. haha. :)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Masaka
Wow, the last week has been so busy! We are now in Masaka, which is where I will be spending the rest of my time in Uganda! I will try to recap the past week as much as possible, but I am sure that there will be details that I will forget about. Anyway, here goes...
The first day here, I was overwhelmed with the idea of going back to Jireh and not seeing Mackie. I actually spent about twenty minutes crying that morning. (Yay for being open about emotional breakdowns! haha.) Luckily, there were a couple people on my team who knew the story and they provided a lot of comfort and support. One of my friends told me that even though I had lost one, I had many more to reach. That really encouraged me and helped prepare me to go.
Robin and Jim (the founders of Jireh Ministries) met us at the hotel and rode with us to Jireh. As we reached the top of the mountain and could see the Children's Center, Robin said "Welcome home, Lauren." Immediately I felt a peace and knew that this is exactly where I am supposed to be.
One of the first kids I saw when I got off the bus was Susan, Mackie's sister. She seemed very happy to see me, but at the same time, she seemed unsure. A group of other girls from last year crowded around and they were talking to each other in Luganda. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I kept hearing Mackie's name and then they would point to me every once in a while. I kept saying, "I know about Mackie," but they didnt understand me. Finally, one of the girls said "Mackie is dead." I told them that I knew and then I gave Susan a hug. I told her that I was there to spend time with her and with all of the other kids there. She smiled, and she has not left my side ever since. I have a sweet group of girls and a couple of rockin' boys that I spend most of my time with and I am really excited to get to know more of the kids.
The biggest highlight to the week was a mzungu (white people) vs. Uganda football (soccer) game on Thursday. We basically got a bunch of street kids and village people together and had them watch the mzungu Americans play a ugandan team. At half time, one of the pastors spoke and shared the gospel. My team leader, Natasha, and I were able to talk with a very confused man about Jesus. He asked a lot of questions and the Lord gave us a lot of answers and his mind was cleared and he accepted the Lord. It was an AMAZING experience and I am really glad that I got to be a part of it.
The team leaves tomorrow and I am not excited about saying goodbye. I have met a lot of great people and they have become a great support system and encouragement for me. It will be really different to be on this journey by myself, but I am really excited to see how it goes. I found out that I will be living in a back room of the clinic at Jireh. It's quite...quaint. It will be an adjustment, but I think it will be good. I will only be using the computer about once a week when I can make it into town because there is no electricity at the Children's Center.
Sorry if this is messy, I dont have time to proof-read. I hope that all is well with you in the states, I can't wait to get some emails and hear some stories! All my love!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
On traveling, babies and prayer.
So, I suppose I should begin this by saying that I am safe and sound in Uganda and completely loving my time here already. I would like to tell you as much as I can about this past week, however, it is currently 12:12 am on Friday morning and we have breakfast at 7am, so I should probably attempt to get some rest!
Traveling here was long, and...well, long. We arrived at the hotel at 5:30am on Saturday, my direct flight to London left at 1:10pm. We had an eleven hour layover in London and we were able to leave the airport and experience the city. We rode the Underground, visited Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (saw the changing of the guards), and Big Ben. You know, the works. It was quite wonderful until we arrived back to the airport to find that my baggage claim tickets were the only ones of the group that had been misplaced and they did not know where my luggage was. Due to the fact that I had not truly slept (with the exception of a two hour nap on the plane) since Thursday night, I broke down in tears. in the airport. in front of my team who were strangers to me. Not the highlight of the trip. Anyway, they were able to locate my luggage (personal and ministry bag) and I was able to identify it and see it put on the plane before we took off for Kenya. We had a four hour layover in Kenya and then landed in Uganda on Monday morning. Luckily, my ministry bag made it to the airport in Uganda, unfortunately my personal bag did not. Bummer. Long story short, it arrived by Wednesday. Yay for showers and clean clothes!
This year, our orphanage ministry in Jinja has been quite different because we are working at two different orphanages, instead of staying only at Amani like we did last year. My half of the orphanage team spent the first two days at Diedra's orphanage which is quite amazing. Diedra grew up in California, but moved to Uganda and started a beautiful orphanage which she built from the ground up. She also has a primary school (preschool) on site. Much of our time spent there was spent doing work projects such as washing the walls, curtains and cushions, painting and whatnot. The kids there were wonderful and it didnt take long for three of them to find their way into my arms and heart. One was Benja (short for Benjamin) who actually started out at Amani, but because he is HIV+ and had slim chances of being adopted was moved to Diedra's. That child was so full of life and energy that it was impossible not to smile when he was around. I dont really have huge stories for Robert and Nora, but they were precious as well. When I said goodbye to Robert, he said, "But Auntie, I love you!" and he kissed me on the cheek. Nora simply said, "I will just go with you." PRECIOUS.
Today (Thursday) and tomorrow was/will be spent at Amani. We are doing work projects in the morning and playing with the kids in the afternoon. This morning we cleaned all of the cribs and kid's beds, mopped floors, and cleaned walls. This afternoon, my heart was once again taken captive (maybe I am not holding onto it very tightly?) by an adorable toddler named Nathanael. He was the first child I picked up today and the last one I put down, for the sole reason that he would not LET me put him down. Tonight our whole team went and had dinner at Amani and they let the toddlers come out to visit. Immediately, I felt a tug on my arm and turned around to see him standing there with arms wide open. I picked him up and he stayed in my arms until he fell asleep and I layed him down at the end of the night. I can't wait to see him tomorrow!
I really need to get to bed, but I just wanted to share that we have implemented a 24-hour prayer room for the trip and people are allowed to sign up for hour-long blocks of time to pray. Well, two friends and I decided to take the hours of 4-6 am this morning. We didn't sleep well, so we went down to the room at 3:15 and stayed there until 6:30. There were six of us total in there praying for eachother, for our team, for the people of Uganda and for our families and friends back home. It was a really amazing time...probably the most memorable and powerful times I have ever spent in prayer. To show the effects of prayer, today was also the most AMAZING day of ministry for all of the teams! We serve a mighty God who is mighty to save and faithful to His people!
I wish I could go into more detail, but my time is up. I love you and thank you for your support. Amazing things are happening here. Continue to pray and I will do my best to update as often as possible. To those who have sent me emails, thank you! I read them all but dont have time to reply. Mom and Dad, I haven't been able to get the phone to work yet. My friend Tyler is going to take a look at it in the morning. We shall see. I love you guys big time!!
Traveling here was long, and...well, long. We arrived at the hotel at 5:30am on Saturday, my direct flight to London left at 1:10pm. We had an eleven hour layover in London and we were able to leave the airport and experience the city. We rode the Underground, visited Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (saw the changing of the guards), and Big Ben. You know, the works. It was quite wonderful until we arrived back to the airport to find that my baggage claim tickets were the only ones of the group that had been misplaced and they did not know where my luggage was. Due to the fact that I had not truly slept (with the exception of a two hour nap on the plane) since Thursday night, I broke down in tears. in the airport. in front of my team who were strangers to me. Not the highlight of the trip. Anyway, they were able to locate my luggage (personal and ministry bag) and I was able to identify it and see it put on the plane before we took off for Kenya. We had a four hour layover in Kenya and then landed in Uganda on Monday morning. Luckily, my ministry bag made it to the airport in Uganda, unfortunately my personal bag did not. Bummer. Long story short, it arrived by Wednesday. Yay for showers and clean clothes!
This year, our orphanage ministry in Jinja has been quite different because we are working at two different orphanages, instead of staying only at Amani like we did last year. My half of the orphanage team spent the first two days at Diedra's orphanage which is quite amazing. Diedra grew up in California, but moved to Uganda and started a beautiful orphanage which she built from the ground up. She also has a primary school (preschool) on site. Much of our time spent there was spent doing work projects such as washing the walls, curtains and cushions, painting and whatnot. The kids there were wonderful and it didnt take long for three of them to find their way into my arms and heart. One was Benja (short for Benjamin) who actually started out at Amani, but because he is HIV+ and had slim chances of being adopted was moved to Diedra's. That child was so full of life and energy that it was impossible not to smile when he was around. I dont really have huge stories for Robert and Nora, but they were precious as well. When I said goodbye to Robert, he said, "But Auntie, I love you!" and he kissed me on the cheek. Nora simply said, "I will just go with you." PRECIOUS.
Today (Thursday) and tomorrow was/will be spent at Amani. We are doing work projects in the morning and playing with the kids in the afternoon. This morning we cleaned all of the cribs and kid's beds, mopped floors, and cleaned walls. This afternoon, my heart was once again taken captive (maybe I am not holding onto it very tightly?) by an adorable toddler named Nathanael. He was the first child I picked up today and the last one I put down, for the sole reason that he would not LET me put him down. Tonight our whole team went and had dinner at Amani and they let the toddlers come out to visit. Immediately, I felt a tug on my arm and turned around to see him standing there with arms wide open. I picked him up and he stayed in my arms until he fell asleep and I layed him down at the end of the night. I can't wait to see him tomorrow!
I really need to get to bed, but I just wanted to share that we have implemented a 24-hour prayer room for the trip and people are allowed to sign up for hour-long blocks of time to pray. Well, two friends and I decided to take the hours of 4-6 am this morning. We didn't sleep well, so we went down to the room at 3:15 and stayed there until 6:30. There were six of us total in there praying for eachother, for our team, for the people of Uganda and for our families and friends back home. It was a really amazing time...probably the most memorable and powerful times I have ever spent in prayer. To show the effects of prayer, today was also the most AMAZING day of ministry for all of the teams! We serve a mighty God who is mighty to save and faithful to His people!
I wish I could go into more detail, but my time is up. I love you and thank you for your support. Amazing things are happening here. Continue to pray and I will do my best to update as often as possible. To those who have sent me emails, thank you! I read them all but dont have time to reply. Mom and Dad, I haven't been able to get the phone to work yet. My friend Tyler is going to take a look at it in the morning. We shall see. I love you guys big time!!
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