Home Sweet Home!

We're back home now. Thanks so much to all of you for your support and prayers. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to share all of our pictures and videos with you. The trip home wasn't without adventure. 5 of our 7 team members were stricken with food poisoning or some other kind of stomach bug-very very unfun. But we're home safely and that's the most important part.
Talk to you soon!

Building Homes, Building Relationships

It is with a sad heart that we post this last blog from Uganda. We are settling our bill and out the door for a VERY long car ride back to Kampala. We are excited to get home but sad to leave this place and these people. We all feel this was a most important and meaningful trip of our lives. We thank you all for your support and prayers while we travel-keep them up!

See you all soon! We land at DFW around 1:30 on Wednesday and I'll update when I get to our house.

Thanks!

The Mission Team

Saturday Morning in Uganda

Hello again! Our time here is almost done and while we're excited to go home, there is much to be done while we're still here. Yesterday we returned to Mukongoro where the students danced and sang for us for an hour. Allison, Emily and Cindy led the students in "Jesus Loves Me." I hope the guys don't mind if I reveal that they were a little emotional while we did this! We left there and went to the Bishop's Primary School. We met with several of the teachers and toured the facilities to get an idea of what we can do to help the teachers with their curriculum. While the ladies talked with the students, the guys played volleyball with the students. We got to meet and have tea with the Bishop of Kinkizi. He invited us to spend the day with him on Sunday, including going to his church and lodge for dinner. When we returned to the guest house, we got to eat a proper Ugandan dinner of metoke, groundnut sauce, rice & beans-so so so good! We ate too much but enjoyed every bite.

Today we're off to Kihembe to connect the reeds that will frame a new mud hut for the chairman of the Batwa Development Program.

We will see you all soon. Get ready to view lots and lots of photos and videos-we're averaging about 200 photos each day and about 10 videos each!

Thanks again for all of your support!

The Mission Team

There are no words for today.....

Today was the most physically and emotionally draining that we've had yet. First we walked approx 1.5 km straight up the side of a mountain to our destination of Mukongoro. Then we toured a school with 200 kids-in 3 grades. The P1 class, consisting of 4-8 year olds, had 120 students. There is no power, no desks, no paper system but the students' will to learn was inspiring. We introduced ourselves to them in Rukiga which they found very funny. The missionaries from St Johns were able to pass out their t-shirts which were a big hit! Then came a huge shock for us all. The leaders in Mukongoro had arranged a special lunch for us. There was a table set for us with plates, folded napkins, coffee cups, etc-all inside a mud hut home. They proceeded to treat us to a feast akin to our Thanksgiving. It was truly humbling. They rolled out the red carpet for us. By the time lunch was over, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Their hospitality and warmth was so genuine....I'm at a loss for words. A special thank you to Charlotte Wiles. We gave the cross necklaces to them after lunch and to say they were well received is a huge understatement. Wade said that his wife couldn't be there but Rev. Hope quickly corrected him; she is with us. I could go on and on but words don't do it justice.

We have felt all of your support and prayers! Thanks and please keep them going.

The Mission Team

Mukama Asiimwe!

That means Praise God. Reverend Hope is teaching us a few more words in Rukiga-apparently we need a refresher course! Yesterday we handed out T-shirts from St James to the villagers of Biumba. Wow! What a treat. In gratitude, they danced and sang for us and asked us to dance with them. We made fools of ourselves but did it happily. We took several pictures and videos which we can't wait to share with everyone. Today we are going back to Biumba to work. The building that was a school is being turned into a medical clinic. Some of us are painting and some of us are just cleaning. During our lunch break, Allison, Emily and Cindy played with the children. This was challenging b/c many of them are terrified of white people. The braver ones played Ring Around the Rosey with us and seemed to enjoy it.

We miss all of you and appreciated your continuted support and prayers. Oh and thanks for all of your comments; they really brighten our day.

Love to you all,
The Mission Team

Agandi again from Uganda!

Life has been very exciting since our last blog. On our drive to Bwindi-our final destination-we were able to see a leopard, several monkeys, and 7 lions. We were within spitting distance of the lions and took approx 865 pictures of them. Apparently they saw us as a non-threat b/c they posed for us. We are leaving now for the Bwindi Health Center to start (officially) our ministry with the Batwa. We're on our way to deliver shirts and Bibles to the hospital and Batwa community. More later. Thanks, as always, for your constant prayer and support. We have felt them both!

Love,
The Mission Team

We're Here!

Agandi from Queen Elizabeth National Park! After 2 days of travel, we finally arrived in Uganda. We spent one night in Entebbe and then were off to Kampala to pick up supplies for our mission. We were able to purchase 132 Bibles in the Rukiga language thanks to the generous donations from St James and St Johns' churches. Over 8 hours including a brief stop at the equator for copious pictures and lunch-incl guacamole!-we finally arrived last night here at Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here to greet us were a family of elephants, 2 lions, a puff adder and a very friendly hippo-he was eating his dinner next to us as we ate ours. This morning we were able to see more elephants, a leopard, herds of water buffalo and antelope, lots of warthogs-who are actually much cuter than you might think. Our team is slowly adjusting to the time and culture changes. The people along the roads have greeted us warmly with shouts of "Muzungo!" (spelling approx) which means "white person." Tomorrow we leave here and head to the Bwindi forest en route to meet the Batwa. Thanks, as always, for your support and prayers. Pictures will be forthcoming as bandwidth allows.

Miss you all!

Love,
The Mission Team