Remember the Poor

shared by Andrea Thiele

“Fetch God?” Doesn’t that sound so blasphemous, but, isn’t that what we do in a way..throw God a bone? I mean, He doesn’t ask for our left overs, He has asked for our “First Fruits.” Giving anything BUT our first fruits is blasphemous.

Here are some facts:

30,000 children died today and will die tomorrow of preventable diseases, like diarrhea and starvation. Children like these.

Here is another fact:

Last year, the American Church spent $10 billion on church buildings and programs. Buildings and programs like this:

Please understand, that I don’t know these churches (I found the pictures on the internet), and while they are hopefully reaching the lost, I just believe that there needs to be equality. So, if a church can spend $10,000 (that is modest figure) on a new sound system, or comfy chairs, or some catchy program, should it also be able to spend $10,000 to feed starving children, or house homeless widows? We try to mask it all in the name of Jesus and what we NEED to serve him better but, lets face it, when we reach heaven, I can’t imagine Jesus saying “Well done my good and faithful servant, you sure did dial in that worship mix well, and the lights…whoa…I particularly liked the the foyer with the flat screen TVs.”

Jesus will however, say something more along the lines of this if we are not careful:

“Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and you name drive out demons and preform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Jesus was not speaking here to irreligious people, atheists or agnostics. He was not speaking to pagans or heretics. He was speaking to devout religious people who were deluded into thinking they were on the narrow road that leads to heaven when they were actually on the broad road that leads to hell. According to Jesus, one day not just a few but many will be shocked-eternally shocked-to find that they were not in the kingdom of God after all. ~ Radical by David Platt

My heart is broken today as I sit and think of my sister in Africa, who just watched a 23 year old friend, weighing 37 pounds die of something preventable like starvation. There is NO need in the world for that to happen when we have been given so much. Our thinking is upside down. Instead of worrying about TRUTH we worry about the lies that Satan has spoon fed us in our churches today.

We also see no verse in the New Testament where God’s people are ever again commanded to build a majestic place of worship. Instead, Gods people are told to be the temple-the place of worship. And their possessions are to be spent on building, not a place where people can come see God’s glory, but a people who are taking God’s glory to the world. ~Platt

The Temple of the Old Testament full of riches. Adorned with gold, silver, bronze, and jewels.

The Temple of the New Testament:

Cara Murray (in back) and Seggy Hannington (in blue t-shirt in back) with Pastor Cyrus and the children at Helping Hands Orphanage.

We are the church, the temple of the Living God. We don’t need to adorn ourselves or our buildings.  We must grow weary of serving ourselves and start to burn with passion in serving others. NOT with just our time and talent, but with our money. We need to grow weary of our church buildings being “Well Fed”, when they are not eternal. Human lives are eternal.

We need to be passionate to want to serve and stand before a HOLY God who will say to us “Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter My Rest.”

‎“I ask you one thing: Do not tire of giving, but do not give your leftovers. Give until it hurts, until you feel the pain. Do not be afraid of loving to the point of sacrifice. Jesus’ love for us led him to his death.” – Mother Teresa

shared by Cara Murray

I am in love with the people of Apelleun and Alelesi.

I have been home from Katakwi for a few days now and keep thinking about the time I spent with the people there. For several days I spent time with people who have endured extreme hardship for their entire lives yet they continue to press on and rise above all of that. These people have spent upwards of 30 years in IDP camps living in fear, knowing their homes and crops no longer exist. A few years ago the area experienced severe flooding that ruined all their crops and last fall there was a horrific famine that took the lives of many. However, many are starting to return to their land, they are trying to rebuild their homes and plant crops. They may have no shoes or money or lack the basic necessities most of us take for granted but they do not lack courage or strength.

I have seen great change in these villages in the 3 months since I have been visiting them. They have come together. They have elected borehole committees, constructed protective fencing around the borehole, identified leaders in their communities and worked together to improve their lives. The location of the borehole in Apelleun is on the property of an older gentleman. He has sacrificed his land for his community and made the announcement on Tuesday that he would clear more and for a church for the community. I don’t think we realize how generous this is. This man has very little; the only thing he really has is his land. The people depend on their land for food and possibly to generate a bit of income for their family and this man has sacrificed what he has for his community.

The community fenced the borheole to keep animals out

In Alelesi a retired teacher was digging a pit latrine for his family when he came across water. Up until they received their borehole, the entire community used this water. He is in the process of building a big home (by their standards) and told us he plans to use it for protection for the entire community should they face problems. He gave his land for the construction of a pit latrine for the community and now spends all his time improving the lives of the people in his community.

I feel so blessed to be able to know such people but it makes me sad that I know so few people like this. Whether or not they know it, these people are living Biblical lives. They are sharing what they have with others, they are persevering through the difficult times and they are working hard to improve their lives and the lives of those around them.

With all that said, I will say that it is extremely difficult for me to spend time with people who truly lack the basic necessities. At our training on Monday in Apelleun, out of 70 people, I saw 4 or 5 people wearing shoes. That is not an exaggeration. I saw little kids feet split open and covered in sores from walking without protection.

(Yes, the shoe drive is still on. See 8/4 post.)

The results from Amuge’s tests revealed that he is HIV negative and that the only thing he needs is food. Amuge is severly malnourished and I hate that. I hate that we can’t ask other people in the community to help out because most of the children are malnourished and need more food. I hate that Hellen wasn’t able to go to the hospital for her follow-up appointment because they didn’t have money for the transportation or medical bills. Can you imagine what would happen to this little girl had she not come to the training on Monday? She would continue to grow and I assume experience a lot of pain as the skin on her arm would not grow with her.

Hellen's hand was so severely burned that she lost her pinkie finger.

To keep Amuge busy during the training, I took out a pen and paper. I am not exaggerating when I say that he had no idea how to hold a pen and was shocked when it made marks on the paper. I almost cried.

2 Corinthians 8:13-15 states:

“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written, ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.’”

I have the Life Application Study Bible and it says that Paul wrote this letter to the church of Corinth and Christians everywhere. While we rarely see this lived out in our society and in this world, it absolutely should not be like this. This letter was written for us. This is the Word of God and it applies just as much today as it did when it was written. This means that Amuge should have a pair of shoes and plenty of food to eat. Equality does not mean that some people get to have 2, 3 or 4 homes while others go without a roof over their head. Equality does not mean that some people get to travel the world and stay in the nicest hotels while others have to walk over 3 miles to get water. Equality is not children in some parts of the world owning 20 pairs of shoes while others walk miles to school in bare feet. Equality is Biblical and as it states in 2 Corinthians, it requires some people giving to others in their excess. And the truth is that there is true joy in this. It may not be easy to give up what we have for the sake of others but it is always worth it. I can’t imagine somebody giving up their weekly manicure appointment for the sake of children eating or going to school and later regretting it. I am 100% confident it would be worth it. I don’t think it would cause too much pain to buy generic brands over expensive brands so somebody can sleep under a mosquito net or own a pair shoes. God rewards those who obey Him, while they may not be earthly rewards or rewards we’ll see in this lifetime, it is His promise and His people are worth it. Every person on this planet that goes a night without food is worth it. Each child that goes to bed hungry or goes to bed with Malaria is worth it. The 26,000 children that die everyday due to hunger or a preventable disease are worth it.

It makes me furious to think of the inequality in this world, but for now I am going to pray about it and focus on the joy of the people in Apelleun and Alelesi. They are wonderful people and I cannot wait to go back. In fact, I hope to go back within the next month. It isn’t a cheap trip but it is worth every shilling in my mind. I’m not sure what I will do when I go back but I’m sure it will be wonderful. And maybe next time I’ll be able to bring Amuge back with me 🙂

Cara and Seggy were both recently out in Teso (Katakwi)  in the two villages where new boreholes were drilled.  Cara wrote two blog posts about their time in Katakwi, one of which is below.  The next one will be shared later this week.  If you can’t wait, you can go here. 🙂

shared by Cara Murray

God is Love. Ateso is a language I didn’t know existed until May. Yesterday over 90 people received the Word of God in Ateso. That is love in every language. Hallelujah!!!

Today is my third day in Katakwi (although this won’t be posted until I have returned back to Entebbe – no internet out here) and I feel like I have so much I want to share but am not sure I’ll be able to express it in words so please forgive me if this is poorly written and way too long.

Last night when I spoke with Ivan on the phone I told him it had been one of my favorite days since I’ve been in Uganda and I wasn’t kidding.

Seggy and I came back to the Katakwi area on Sunday night to meet with the two villages that recently received boreholes. We hired the Dept. of Water and Sanitation of Katakwi to put on training for each village and we both wanted to join the training and visit with the people. We thought it was extremely important to give the people training on the importance of clean water and how to keep the borehole water safe. The training also included sanitation and borehole maintenance. In addition, we had previously arranged to bring brand new jerry cans for transporting water and Bibles in the local language.

On Monday we started out the day with the Word before we went into the training. I spent 20 minutes sharing with the community and really wanted to stress that the Word of God was far more valuable than the water we brought. I wanted them to know that we didn’t do anything other than pray and obey God. The truth is that without God, we would have never found the tiny, remote village and the community that was in desperate need of water.

The previous water source in Katakwi

As I shared from Luke 15, the parable of the lost sheep the community cheered and clapped as I told them how precious they are to God. I told them that we had brought Bibles in their language and that they would be available for purchase the next day. Also – let me back up for a minute. On our drive to Katakwi, Seggy and I discussed our concern for each village since neither seemed to have a church. We talked about getting more information when we met with the church leaders. Monday was a huge success and the training was extremely well received.

I tell you all this as background so you will understand why yesterday was so great. Tuesday as we drove up to the training location we were greeted by over 100 people cheering and hollering. I stepped out of the car and immediately hugged two of the cutest old ladies I have ever seen. I couldn’t understand what they were saying but it was clear by the look in their eyes that they were extremely grateful. As we all sat down, one of the community members opened up the day by saying that the very land we were sitting on would soon be turned into a church. The community had met after we left the day before and decided that they needed a church. I couldn’t believe it. It was as though they knew what I had been thinking. God answered our prayers and I felt this huge sense of joy and peace and gratefulness and excitement. I know that water is important but I wanted so badly for these people to have a place to learn about God and worship Him. I wanted to jump for joy as I listened to them. I am almost positive that before this Apelleun didn’t have a church nearby.

Seggy then shared the Word with them and we finished the training. The Secretary of the Borehole Committee had a list of all the people who had paid for the jerry cans and Bibles so we handed them all over to him and watched as people received their new gifts. While we donated the Bibles and jerry cans, each person paid a small amount for each item. We think it is important to give them a sense of ownership over their new things. In addition, the money that was collected will be used by the community as they see fit, whether it is for farming tools or supplies to build a pit latrine. As people were given their new Bibles, they cheered, they danced, they waved their hands in the air and I felt overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness to be able to witness the wonderful event. I know that the 90 Bibles will do far more than any amount of water. You need to know that some of these people have probably wanted a Bible for years but due to the high cost and difficulty finding one in their local language, they have been unable to get one. I wish I had a video recorder and could share with you all what I saw.

On top of all that I need to tell you about the two little kids I fell in love with (I’m sure this is not a surprise to anybody). In May when I came to this village I took a picture of a little boy and when I saw him I could tell he wasn’t healthy. I went back, posted my pictures on Facebook and my dear friend immediately emailed me about him. She asked us to follow-up with him the next time we returned so that is what we did. On Monday he was not at the training but we showed his picture to a few people and they made sure he was there on Tuesday. He looked just as I had remembered, only a bit cleaner. He was absolutely terrified of me at first but with a few cookies and the fun of my camera, we were best friends within minutes. He proceeded to follow me around the entire day and I told Seggy I wanted to adopt him (and I’m not kidding). He is an orphan that has lost both of his parents to AIDS and is currently staying with his aunt. He is probably 5 years old and has the cutest smile in the entire world. Check out his many pictures on Facebook – his name is Amuge. Before we left on Tuesday we made arrangements for his aunt and him to meet us in town at the clinic for testing. I almost cried when I had to say good-bye to him Tuesday afternoon.

Amunge

The other little child that captured my heart was Hellen. I noticed Hellen on Monday within 10 minutes of arriving at the training. She is 4 ½ years old and has severe scarring on her right arm from a burn. The reason I noticed her was because the burn covered her elbow and the skin above the elbow and below the elbow wasn’t stretching enough for her to straighten her arm. I told Seggy we needed to do something. Again, we made plans for her mom and her to go to a hospital a few hours away for medical review and asked that they let us know what the doctor said. We will work out a deal with them to help pay for her future medical bills.

Hellen

This may not sound like an amazing day but that is because writing is not my strong point. My pictures on Facebook may do it more justice but you need to believe me when I say it was truly an amazing day. I was able to witness the joy of people as they received Bibles. I saw people rejoicing and laughing. This community has been oppressed and living in camps for the last 30 years because of violence. They are trying to return to their homes and land but it is not easy. They have endured severe flooding a few years ago that ruined their crops and then a horrible famine last fall that killed many people. To know all that and then see their joy and love for each other was a gift from God. We brought water and through God, these people are forever changed. Over 90 people have Bibles and they are starting a church. The village of Apelleun will never be the same. God is so good.

Photo: May 2010, Cara Murray, Katakwi, Teso, Uganda, village of Apeleun

I look at this face and think, “Turns out I don’t need new shoes or another dress or a $75 haircut. It is absolutely my responsibility to do something about this beautiful child who doesn’t have water or shoes. How was this ever a question in my mind?” ~ Cara Murray

If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work? Proverbs 24:12

Photos: August 2010, Seggy Hannington, Katakwi, Teso, Uganda, village of Apeleun

We have the rare opportunity to shop for children in Uganda!

In October, several people will be traveling from Phoenix to Uganda.  Requested items include black school shoes, Kool-aid and toothbrushes.  Would you like to help?

Like Betty and the little boy above, many of the children in Kochgoma, Gulu, Uganda do not own a pair of shoes.   And if a child can have only one pair of shoes, black school shoes are what they request.

So, if you would like to contribute, here’s what we are recommending/suggesting:

• Black dress shoes (boys or girls, ages 4 and up). We recommend secondhand shoes in good condition over new shoes from Walmart or Payless. Savers, Goodwill and Salvation Army have shoes between $3 and $8 a pair. (Savers has 99 cent shoes on Mondays. Donate one item and receive a $3 coupon off of a $10 purchase).
  

If you would like to insert a couple of goodies inside the shoes:

• Small 1-oz Kool-aid packet (with sugar included)
• Toothbrush (no toothpaste due to weight)
• $5 will provide supplemental food (protein) for one month
• $5 will provide clothing for several children

When asked if Kool-aid would be appropriate, Experito responded in typical Experito-fashion:  “I inquired about the Kool-aid and saliva immediately began to run down like a river. You can include it without any difficulty.”

• Drop point is at Frank’s office (RE/MAX Professionals) at 7111 W Bell Road between 8:30 and 5:30 M-F or 9-4 on Sat. Please e-mail us with any questions.
• Deadline for shoe collection is Wednesday, September 8th
• We anticipate being able to take between 85 and 90 pairs of shoes.
  

Cara has bought shoes for several of the children in Nkumba.  Below is one of her recent blog posts that gives a glimpse into the life of the shoeless.

shared by Cara Murray

I’m confident that most people, like me, are victims to the Target syndrome, the syndrome where you walk into Target with a list of 3 things and walk out having spent $150 or worse. Of course all the things you buy are somehow justified and at the time you were pretty sure you ‘needed’ them. It turns out I have found my Target here in Uganda. It looks a bit different and is really more of a collision of a Target and Goodwill, but nonetheless Target Syndrome kicks in.

Markets are very common in Uganda and each Friday our village has their market. It is a place where you can find food, light bulbs, extension cords, shoe polish, soap, hair extensions (something I am not tempted to buy), radios, fabric, new shoes, secondhand shoes, new clothes, secondhand clothes, bags, bread, mangos, on and on and on. I love market days and look forward to them each Friday.

A few Fridays ago I found myself having experienced the Target Syndrome. Honestly, I went to the market with a list. I needed 4 items: light bulbs, a padlock, 1 pair of shoes for a student and flooring for my room. I walked out with the following:

Flooring for my room

A padlock

2 pairs of shoes for 2 different students

2 kilos of sugar

4 plastic cups

A loaf of bread

A slip or petticoat as they call them here

21 pieces of clothing for kids (secondhand) – that is always the kicker, I can’t help myself. I love love love buying kids clothes.

Bananas

The reason I bring this up is because as I was spending money like it grew on trees, I thought it may be interesting to share with you the cost of things here in Uganda and provide a bit of insight to how things are not that cheap here, especially when given the monthly income of most people.

I bought 2 pairs of secondhand shoes for students at the school, one pair for $7.50 and the other pair for $12.50. Shoes for $7.50 isn’t so bad until you figure the same pair of shoes would cost around $3 at Goodwill in America. I bought 2 kilos of sugar for $1.25 each. The bread was $1.20, the clothing for around $.50 each piece and bananas for $.50. By American standards these prices are really good but consider that the average household here makes probably between $30-$100/month and it changes everything. Most people probably pay between $10-$40/month for rent for their one or two room apartment. If you are making $50/month, one pair of shoes for $7.50 is really expensive and children’s clothing at $.50 a piece is by no means a bargain. Please also take into consideration how quickly children grow. Given the high cost of school fees and cost of the uniform, it is not surprising then that children may go without shoes to school or only have 2 or 3 outfits. You can see how foods like bread, butter and sugar quickly become luxury items. Other locally grown foods are also extremely expensive given the income levels of the people.

I’ll be the first to admit that I often times look at children without shoes or socks for school or clean clothes and wonder why their parents can’t provide these things for them. But when I take a minute to think about Abdul’s mom who works 6 days a week, over 10 hour days and makes less than $50/month, I understand why Abdul didn’t have shoes for school. It makes me terribly sad to think of a little 5-year-old boy walking over a mile to school everyday in bare feet (one pair of shoes was for him). I truly cannot imagine how difficult it must be for parents in these situations. I have never experienced anything close to this in my life. I try to be careful with how much money I spend and go without things I don’t need (although ‘need’ is a very relative word) but I have never been in the position where bread, soap, butter or sugar were luxury items. Can you imagine bringing soap, toothpaste, salt and sugar as Christmas gifts for somebody? These are the very items we gave to people in our community for Christmas and they were so incredibly grateful for the help. It is truly unbelievable.

What’s also incredible is that if you were to visit any of the people in my community, they would gladly share with you their food, tea, sugar and anything else they had. You would be welcome in their homes, regardless of what they had, and you would experience true joy. Abdul is a joyful child who is always smiling and he is one of the many blessings in my life. I believe that these people choose to be joyful and they choose to be grateful. I would guess that many of them have discovered something many Americans have missed – God is truly all we need and He absolutely provides for us all. Sugar or no sugar, bread or no bread, shoes or no shoes, God is it and He means more than salt, mangos, clean clothes and school shoes.

I suppose I should get off my soapbox now but I hope this provides a bit of insight into the lives of the people here. I pray that as you put sugar in your coffee, have toast and butter for breakfast and use soap to wash your clothes, you are reminded of the dear and wonderful people of Uganda.

Tonya Brown has just arrived in Uganda, her new home.  This is her first blog from the Pearl of Africa.  You can catch future posts here at Minus-One-More (as in minus-one-more-orphan. Her son, Christopher Reign (CR), is adopted from Guatemala.) She’ll eventually be up in Gulu with Pastor Experito and Justine.

If you haven’t met Tonya…well, you might want to! If you don’t have a trip planned to Africa, you can catch her on facebook. On March 3, she resigned from her career, just one day after she wrote this post (new normal), and prepared to move to a continent she had never even visited.  (I feel like I’m writing the biography of a missionary who lived 100 years ago.)

She came to know Christ 5 years ago, and every cell in her body exudes joy in Jesus.  I’ll let her do the rest of the talking…

shared by Tonya Brown

“Mommy, I love our new home.”

Journaled July 18th after our travels and first day in Uganda.

We are here! It’s nearing 1am, and I am eager to tell you about our first day in Nkumba….. as I sit here typing nicely tucked under my mosquito net, or “caves” as CR calls them. We had relatively uneventful flights, minus the man in Chicago who exited the plane with my carry on bag instead of his. Praise God he heard his name paged and came back quickly. Also, Drea left a 50 lb. bag of aid and gifts at the Ug airport thinking she grabbed it (updated, we got the bag!). I am blessed with a child who was made to travel. CR did excellent! He slept in few hour increments on the plane and in the airports, and when not sleeping just had a great time watching his movies and eating. I love Turkish Airlines! The food was beyond good and the flights were comfortable. The Istanbul airport was awesome but it was HOT in that place. If you stop there I recommend the tortellini with goat cheese from the only pasta place in the food court. Probably the best pasta I have ever had. Truly.

CR, on his way to Africa!

Istanbul Airport – The Bizarre and Ice Cream Joksters

We arrived in Ug at 730a. When we walked outside the double doors, much to my surprise, there was no Seggy… Cara was standing there with my sponsored child, Betty! I really couldn’t believe it. I mean how many people sponsor a child half way around the world and then get to meet them?!? Betty had never been to the airport before. She was shy, but spoke English well so we were able to talk and get to know each other. Her birthday is tomorrow, although when I asked her what her birthday was she said she didn’t know. RTPs records indicate that it is tomorrow and that she will be 14. I have gifts for her and we will invite her over for dinner. Seeing her first thing was such an amazing way to be welcomed to Africa.

When I asked for Seggy, Cara said he couldn’t make it, however, he was outside waiting for us with welcoming arms. It was great to see him again! Mark, who also works with Nkumba Ministries, was there as well. We loaded all of our bags into two cars and headed to Pastor John’s in Nkumba. Seeing the photos come to life was spectacular. Uganda is amazing. I sat in the backseat with CR on my lap and Betty beside me. It was that moment I had waited for and I never want to forget it. I was reminded of the first time CR was placed in my arms in Guatemala; driving through the streets of his country taking in the sights and smells. I was in awe that this was our new home.

It was obvious that the Lord had prepared our hearts for this move. It felt like home immediately. When we arrived at Pastor’s house, CR instantly took to his three oldest children, who are 2, 3, and 5. They have an 8 month old daughter as well, that was in my arms the second her nanny put her down. The children were squealing with delight as CR shared his toys and books. It was a matter of an hour before he was using a few Luganda words and pretending to speak the language completely by using his own rendition. Pretty comical indeed. We had tea and bread and butter for breakfast and then headed out to the school.

When we pulled up all the children came running and circled around CR. It was just a few moments until they were all playing in the schoolyard together. It is Saturday so school was to end at noon for the older kids, and the primary age are out for the day. There was no shortage of children however since there are hundreds that live at the school. It was laundry day so the bushes were all covered in clothing, just like the photos. The school is so different in real life; the pics do no justice. Seggy and Cara took us around the campus. The children just flock to you and want to touch you, hold hands and be carried. We made lots of new friends today. Josie loves white people, or so I heard, and she loved me and CR. She would hold my hands around her so that I couldn’t touch anyone else, and she kept petting CR’s hair. While inside the girls dorm CR asked if he could tell me a secret. When I bent down he whispered in my ear “Mommy, I love our new home.” Only God could do something this spectacular.

We went out to lunch at a local restaurant on the main road in Nkumba. CR had an orange soda, which made him love this place all the more since he doesn’t get to drink it in the states. We ate everything local, down to the matooke smothered in a purple peanut sauce. I love peanut butter; I do not love purple peanut sauce! We made stops to Cara’s apartment and then to Mark’s new house that is nearing completion but still under construction. Pastor John’s three oldest were with us and the kids had fun playing wherever we were. When we got home I tried putting CR under the cold shower… let me interrupt, it’s sticky here, humid, and although not Phoenix, it is hot. There is orange dirt everywhere. We had been on an airplane for 2 days. My son sweats anyway, so that coupled with all of the above factors… he needed a cleaning! There is no hot water here unless boiled. When I sprayed his feet he gasped, so like any good mother I just soaked him. He cried a cry I have never heard before and then asked me why I was doing this to him. Broke my heart. So we didn’t get to the part where you actually use soap, instead I just dried him off, brushed his teeth and we laid down for a nap.

I woke up nearing dinner time. Pastor and his wife had arrived home and we sat talking for a while. CR could not be woken up despite my multiple attempts. Dinner was served. Beef and fish are different here. I enjoyed the sauce that they cooked them in, and over rice it was good. The sweet potatoes are great, and the “Irish”, or russet type potatoes boiled and then fried to crisp the outside, are delightful. Matooke is the diet of champions… I hope to become a champion… it’s not easy for me to eat…. yet! The power went out smack dab in the midst of dinner, to which Pastor so calmly said/prayed “Jesus.. oh, God”. The boys were quick to grab candles and get them lighted. Fun fact, Ugangan cell phones come with a built in flashlight. I found out the use at dinner. It was awesome! And convenient!

After dinner our hosts so graciously boiled water for us to bathe. I took my very first sponge bath with bucket water. Today it was much more appealing than standing under a freezing cold shower. Round 2 of bathing for CR was much better! He didn’t eat anything for dinner, and I didn’t force it. I figure when he gets hungry, he will eat. He was just so exhausted.

Tomorrow is church. I can’t believe we are here. After all the time on my face before God seeking his purpose for my life, after all the preparation, after flying around the globe.. we are here. We are home.

Pastor’s children: Caleb, Caiphus and Carissa with CR

Chloe

First night in his “cave”..   🙂

Drea had her camera at the school so I didn’t bring mine. I am excited about showing you Nkumba Christian School and May College (High School), as well as introducing you to some of the kids. Photos to come! Also, a friend of mine posted these words to her blog written by Vince Giordano from Children’s HopeChest. It is so good, and so close to my heart, that I wanted to share with you.

Those of us who spend our time focusing on the poor, the oppressed and those who serve them are sometimes confronted with grim realities. The fact is that there are too many problems out there…there are too many children that need help…there are too many women and children who are stuck in sex-trafficking and too many people starving. So, you read a book or you adopted a child or you went on a trip and you were overwhelmed with poverty and injustice. You never imagined that things were so bad. You couldn’t believe how cheap it was to solve individual problems – medicines for less than $10, mosquito nets for $5, school fees that are less than your monthly starbucks budget. You thought to yourself – I have to do something – I am GOING to do something.

You return to America or you finish your book and your mission begins. You start telling your spouse or your best friends. This is unbelievable – we have to do something now. We have to act. Some of them seem interested but most of them try to wait it out hoping you will get over this latest obsession. But you know in your heart this is not an obsession… It is a new awareness that the kingdom of God has to extend out from you and reach the least of these. You keep going.

Your friends initially tolerate you and then some just quietly phase you out, but you are undeterred initially. You press on KNOWING people will want to make a difference. You start reading the Bible with fresh eyes and asking yourself why you had never seen that or read that before? Why did I not hear this in church? You listen to sermons with fresh ears and you hear the repetitive beating of a drum that seems to resound with a self-centered rhythm. It isn’t supposed to be all about me is it God? Why are we only focused on making our great lives even better when kids are starving, when young children are being prepared for sexual exploitation every two minutes? I guess that will all just go away if I can truly develop the purpose driven life, right? Or if I just keeping doing more Bible studies with my accountability group?

For some of us, the hard reality is that we simply need to move on from some of our old ways and old friends into the fullness of the gospel. The true religion that we know He is calling us to. You won’t be popular, but quite frankly neither was Jesus among the religious crowd. You may find yourself testing the patience of some of your closest friends who would just rather plan their next big vacation and not hear about the sexual exploitation of children or starving kids or children who are alone and without love or hope. That stuff is just too hard and depressing and doesn’t fit with the trajectory of my life that God is making so pleasant and easy.

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that everything we do will have an eternal impact in the lives of individuals and it matters. Your small choices can make a big difference in the lives of the hurting. The bad news is that you will not be popular, it will not be easy, you will lose friends, people will tire of you constantly beating the drum for the cause of justice. People will avoid you and criticize you and tell you to lighten up. But, I want to challenge you. I want to challenge you to be a louder voice than you have ever been. I want to challenge you to scream for those who have no voice. I want to challenge you to ask God to use you in places and in ways that others don’t want to. I want to challenge you to fight against the apathy that plagues our churches and society. I challenge you to be His hands and feet to the least of these. I challenge you to allow your life to be a seed – which falls to ground and dies and in so doing it produces much fruit. I challenge you to swim against the current of our church culture that seeks to find comfort in a personal gospel and personal salvation, and passionately pursue God with a reckless abandon for those that are helpless. I pray that we would have the spirit of a warrior that has counted the cost and said with boldness – Lord I give you my life today – ALL of me – spend me extravagantly on the poor and the oppressed.

Patrick Kassaija

Shared by Pastor John Mugabi

Dear Friends,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity of sharing the gospel with many people of different walks, in prisons, villages and in other countries of the world.  This has exposed me to so many things and issues. Today I know some of the reasons people do not want to fulfill the Great Commission.  Reasons include:

1) Do not want to disturb
2) Fear some people will not receive them
3) Lack of confidence that they can do it

Recently I went to visit three government Prisons very far from Nkumba, and I went with a team of 8 young boys.  By the time we got there (300 km away), I was very tired and I asked my team who of you is ready to share?  All kept quiet till 1minute was over.  Then this boy called Kassaija Patrick in a loud voice said, I am ready to preach, then another one Richard Kiguli said I am ready to give a testimony, then Jonathan Kimuli said that I will lead worship and praise. This did not only bring joy to me but also satisfaction that children who were nothing are now something.

Our dear friends, I do not have enough words to express my joy and happiness but I am happy and content. Your labour and sacrifice is not in vain; this will bring a revival in Christ’s Church.

I remember when I was in Southern Sudan 8yrs ago. A man approached me and asked, Preacher, tell me if the will of God is for you to have a shirt, pants shoes and we are naked? I did remove my shirt and gave it to him.

Patrick in the picture above did not only preach the Word but also came back without a shirt. He did give it away to one of the prisoners who was naked. I shed tears for I remembered…

I am grateful to God and you, our beloved friends, for the works of the Great Commission which you are doing through us.  Your children are not the same any more, and from this trip I learnt that God can use everyone, no matter the circumstances. I request you all to keep all our Children in prayer.

Be blest and God be Glorified,
Brother John Mugabi.

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. I John 3:17-18

“When I told Justin that he will be able to move out of hospital on Wednesday he laughed and asked me if I have found money. When I told him that they are sending hospital bill today, Justin said Amen.” ~Pastor Cyrus, Kisii, Kenya

13-year old Justin in the front

Justin's legs and burns

Justin and Fred. Fred is one of the older boys who lives at Cyrus's home, and he stayed at the hospital with Justin. True brothers!

Justin was born in our village.  Justin’s parents died leaving him in the hands of his sister. The sister was married and left Justin without help. Justin was attending our fellowship and explaining to us the hardship he is undergoing. Justin is now at the orphanage and he attends the school. He is an obedient, humble boy. He is a hard working boy in school who has a vision to be an engineer in the future.~Cyrus

Around 7:45 pm after evening devotion and supper, I was inspecting all the books of our kids on how they perform in class.

My dear wife Eucabeth was in the girls dorm, and they were having some funny with the girls and other boys.

While I was in my inspection, I heard a scream from our little sweet boy John.  Running out, I found the boys’ dorm has caught with fire. John is outside calling Fred who was in the upper side cleaning his bicycle.

Reaching boys’ dorm, I found the whole dorm has caught fire and Justin is inside trying to put off fire. Justin had lighted a match box and put on the lantern for light (there is no electricity in their village, and therefore no light after 6:30 p.m.) and all of a sudden he found a furnace of fire coming up.

I pushed Justin out and I tried to put the fire out where we found that some boys clothes have been caught with fire. The others mattresses and blankets and sheets of the other boys were almost caught with fire.  From there I don’t know what stopped fire (but the hand of God) which did not burn all the dorm, mattresses and other beddings of the boys.

So I praise God for I can’t believe what he has done. I praise him for His mercies and I praise Him for He is our God.

At around 8:25 Justin was complaining of a lot of heat in the stomach and his legs and arm.  Looking at him I noticed burn wounds on him. I failed to know what to do for we are very far from hospital, no transportation, no one to help me.  I encouraged myself and tried to carry Justin on my back to the dispensary 6 km away.  There was slippery muds on the way for it had rained, and I have pains on my leg since I tried to walk a big distance.  (The week before, Cyrus had been walking 3 hours home from the market, at about 10:30 at night, with a heavy load of food on his back.  It was completely dark, and he stumbled into a hole and hurt his leg.)

At the dispensary, we were told to go to Kisii Level 5 Hospital for the treatment. (45 minutes by car) From here I had no option than taking Justin to the Gucha Police Station where I pleaded for transportation. We were asked to wait until the order comes from the commanding boss of the station where he managed to give me a policecar which rushed us to Kisii hospital at 10:00pm.

Beloved up to now I have seen a very big change since Justin was seriously crying, but now he is doing fine a little even if he has pain.

Despite the many and lot of obstacles we do experience we are so thankful that some times you do help us to reach the goals and needs of our orphans. My board is very thankful with you all and I can’t express how much you are of importance to us all.

Be blessed and may our Living God bless you so much as we continue endeavoring over His mighty work. You are welcome here and have a nice blessed moments.

Justin was in treatment for 12 days.  The Kisii Hospital (which does not provide meals and is more than a 3 hour walk or a $45 taxi ride from Cyrus’s home) does not release its patients until the bill is paid.  Through help from friends, money was sent over almost immediately to cover the medical bill.

When Cyrus told Justin that he would be able to leave the hospital, Justin laughed and asked Cyrus if he had found money. Indeed, he had found some money!  Money that was simply redistributed abroad…

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
“He (the righteous man) has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.” 2 Cor 9:8-9