All Photos

Notice the Mosque in the distance. There are tons of Muslims in Uganda. I have come to realize that the statistics that say Uganda is a Christian country are very wrong.

There are always guys walking around with these guns. They don't actually work or have ammo but its intimidation, plus it could be used to beat someone us.

This tree is FULL of birds nests. It was really cool.

My sister Charity and me before bed.

Our cook at the babies home making Chipati.

David. If I could I would adopt this boy in a heart beat!

This is me holding the chicken that I caught at Bethany Village. It took me quite some time to finally catch it but I did. (the 7 year olds were being more brave than me)

My two favorite boys at Bethany, Timpthy and Jonathan.

This is me with my friend Timothy.

This is a typical bug in Bethany. they don't really do much except look nasty and gross me out.

This is Becca playing with some of the Kids at bethany.

This is Angel. I thought for the first 3 days that it was a boy, I was wrong. She is a girl.

Just hanging out with Becca as a chicken walks by.

This is a really big and awesome lizard that was hanging out on the wall of the toilets at the clinic.

This is Coryn, Jamesdon and their newly adopted son Daniel in front of their home.

Clothes drying at bethany village.

This is the view from the dock at Bethany Village. Beating a view of lake victoria like this is hard to do.

This is my house mom and Mercy and her kids. Mercy works for Coryn and Jamesdon and she is also really great friends with the mom from my house. Her kids are Ian, Ryan and Emma (Emmanuel.)

This is Jonathan. He lives at Bethany village and he stole my heart. He is a total sweetheart. During the week with him I told everyone that he was my brother and in my heart he is.

This is my sister Charity washing the floor. The children in the house all had tons of chores. The floor got washed 3 times a day.

This is one of the HUGE spiders that guarded my bathroom. This wasn't even close to the first one that I saw. These things got to be 8 inches or so. Spiders are one of my biggest fears but I made it out alive.

This was the fishing village near Bethany.

This was just a house we passed on the way to Bethany. It doesn't look like much but it has lakeshore property on Lake Victoria. You can't really beat that.

This is Joshua. Ugandans pronounce his name as Jesh-uwa. He is currently living at Loving Hearts Babies Home. He loves to give hugs and he is really mature for his age. He has a family waiting for him in the US but there is a lot of legal adoption stuff that needs to happen first.

This is Derek. He is such a wonderful kid.

This is me getting the boys ready to go outside and play. I was helping them get their shoes on.

This is Daniel being taken on a walk with his parents.

More of the family outing. I was asked to take these pictures for their announcement for Daniel.

Bethany Village

On Thursday June 17 Becca and I left around 4pm to go serve for a week at Bethany Village. We were so excited to be able to spend some time with older kids. Becca had heard so many incredible stories about Bethany from her friend Juliet who lived at Bethany for three months and she shared many of them with me. Bethany Village is on an island or peninsula. I was never quite able to figure it out. I know that the only two common or possible ways to get there involve being in a boat. We traveled the long way around by boat. We landed at the dock of Bethany. From the lake it looked like a beautiful camp area but when we stepped onto the dock we realized that it was more rustic than it had looked.

We met up with Uncle Francis who is Ugandan and his wife Adrienne who is Canadian. They gave us a tour of the whole community and showed us each to the homes we were staying in. There are 11 homes at Bethany and I was staying in Hope house. There were five boys ages 8-16 and three girls ages 12-15. And of course the mom of the house whose name is Ruth. When the children got home from school the welcomed me very timidly. I had been given an individual room and I started unpacking. I was in a three layer bunk bed. I chose the middle bunk and threw my mosquito net over the top bed. That way I didn't have to worry about tucking in my net above my head. It just fell perfectly along the edges of the bed. I also put on my sheets and set up my bed nicely. I knew that there were probably going to be cockroaches on the floor so I put all of my things on the bottom bed. After dinner I was exhausted so I went straight to bed.

I couple of things that I forgot to mention were that after all the children greeted me they worked until it was too dark to see. They have so many chores! They had to wash their school uniforms, make dinner, get water, sweep the back yard, hoe an area of the garden and do anything else the mom asked of them. There is also only electricity for 2.5 hours a day. It comes on around 7:30 and is off by 10pm.

I made my way into bed and I had to get a couple of mosquitoes out of my net. I had made the mistake up tying it open to make crawling into bed easier. I thought I had got them all out but apparently I missed one. I worked for a while to get it out but after the electricity turned off I figured I could just sleep with my head under my sheet for the night. After several hours of not sleeping I was getting very hot and the mosquito was still pestering me. I am pretty sure that it was trying to fly into my ear. I had my flashlight so I turned it on to kill the mosquito. As soon as I turned it on I saw several large cockroaches right above my head. They started running around because of the light. One of them even fell into my bed on my sheet. I turned the light off right away and pulled my sheet quickly over my head. After several minutes of praying that God would not allow them to attack me I tucked my sheet nicely around my whole body.

After that I was wide awake for the rest of the night. The night noises were so loud that it would have been impossible for me to sleep anyway. I heard bats flying around on the inside of out house, there are no ceilings only rafters. I also heard the rats running around on the corrugated metal roof. Around 5:30 the sun started to come up and I could see things going on in the house. I saw one of the rats. It was HUGE. Probably the biggest rat I had ever seen in person. It was running around on one of the rafters.

Shortly after that the kids in the house got up to do chores before leaving for school. It is their routine that before chores they sing. Even after a horrible night I believe that God was showing me his love and protection for me. It was one of the most peaceful moments I have experienced on this trip so far.

I never felt fully connected with the family that I was staying with but God used many other things at Bethany village to teach me more about Himself and the love He has for me. Becca also had a rough time but God used that to bring us closer together and strengthen our friendship. It has been such a blessing to have her with me.

I am very thankful for the time that I was able to spend at Bethany but I am very glad to be back in the city away from huge spiders, mosquitoes, cockroaches, snakes, frogs, rats, bats and all the other creepy crawlies that I encountered. I don't have a lot of stories to tell but here are a few pictures.

Adventures with public transportation. Part 2.

Getting back from the coffee shop to the taxi park was pretty much the same as getting there. I just walked towards a bota driver and he waved me over. I was immediately given the right price so I hopped on and we took off. Since it was getting a little later in the day there were many traffic jams. My bota driver was able to navigate safely and quickly through the traffic. We drove on a side walk and in the median. We also swerved in and out of small holes in the traffic.

We drove down a small and very bumpy road. The sides of the road were filled with botas. I did not see any women anywhere. That is where I was dropped off. The guy just pointed into a narrow opening that was packed with taxis and told me that was the taxi park. I paid him and went into the taxi park.

This place was unlike anything I have ever seen. It was the size of a Wal-mart parking lot but it was dirty, not paved and there hundreds of people selling there goods throughout the lot. There were taxis parked in every direction and angle. Some of them were parked within an inch of another. The only semblance of organization were the signs that stuck up a couple feet above the taxis. They had names of places on them. I saw several towns that I knew such as Jinja and Entebbe. Coryn had told me a little about the taxi park and that if I found a sign for Gaba there would be a taxi there.

I started walking around aimlessly just hoping to stumble across the sign for Gaba. Finally some guy who was munching on sugar cane asked me "Mzungu, where are you trying to go?" I told him that I was going to Gaba and he pointed me in the right direction. I stopped two more times and I finally saw the sign for Gaba. I was so relieved to know that I was not going to be lost or stuck in Kampala. I found the taxi that was leaving and the conductor greeted me with "Mzungu we have been waiting for you, lets go!" I hopped in and again I was off.

Like I mentioned earlier there were many jams in town. As we left the taxi park I knew that I was in for an interesting ride. The driver went out of what I understood to be an entrance only part. He had the conductor get out and stand in front of the incoming traffic. We barely avoided getting hit and hitting others several times. We drove down what seems to be the main fashion area. Both sides of the street were 3 stories high with clothes. They were almost all western clothes. I saw some really cute stuff and wanted to get out but I knew that it would be getting late by the time I got home already. After about 35 minutes we made it out of the city and we were back onto Gaba road which I recognize. I was taken all the way to the bottom of the hill where I am staying for a thousand shillings or about fifty cents. then I caught a bota up the hill so I could get back before dark.

I have been moving around (Ugandan term for going places) a lot this week. I am beginning to feel quite confident in my ability to use taxis, botas and even private taxis. I am starting to recognize many places in town and I generally have a good idea of where I am going. Overall I love the convenience of traveling in Uganda and I love how inexpensive it is.

Adventures with public transportation. Part 1.

On Sunday Coryn took me and Becca into downtown Kampala for the first time. I remembered some of the things from last time I was here but overall it was a totally new and crazy experience.

We took a taxi to the taxi park in the center of town and then walked around to get food and do some window shopping. When we had finished Coryn showed us how to get a bota bota. For those of you who don’t know a bota bota is a motorcycle taxi. It is quite a bit more expensive than a traditional Ugandan taxi but they don’t wait for traffic and they take you exactly where you want to go rather than relying on a predestined route.

After learning from Coryn I felt confident enough to be able to navigate Kampala for myself. It wasn’t long until I had my chance. On Monday afternoon I had planned to meet my friend Andrew and get a nice camera lens from him. He didn’t need it and was going to send it home weeks ago until I asked him to save it for me. Anyway Andrew and his friend Ben were hanging out at a coffee shop for a couple of hours and He told me that if I wanted it I would have to come get it.

Some of the guys that work at the babies home were headed into town to do some shopping so I grabbed my wallet and I was off. I rode with them about half way into town then they stopped at the bank. From there I caught a taxi that took me all the way to the taxi park in the middle of town.

I should explain here that Ugandan taxis are nothing like US taxis. I taxi here is a square van with 5 rows of seats. The front row is the driver (on the right side) and 2-3 passengers. Then the other 4 rows are all accessed through one door. There is a walk way to the back row but once the van fills up there are retractable seats that are then folded down into the walk way so that no space is wasted. There is room to seat 3 people comfortably in each row, however it is totally acceptable to squish up to 5 people in a row. Each taxi drives a set route and people are picked up and dropped off along the way whenever they want. If someone is standing still on the side of the road it means that they want a ride. There is a conductor who sits in the front of the back 4 rows. He is responsible for collecting the money and opening and closing the door. When there is traffic the conductor will hop out of the taxi and stand in front of other cars so that his taxi can get through. Taking a taxi is the cheapest form of transportation but it can be quite slow. Every time someone gets out everyone that is in the way also has to get out. Then they get back in and move towards the back of the taxi. It is also not uncommon for the Taxi to stop and get gas along the way.

I finally reached town and I knew that I had to get a bota to the coffee shop to meet Andrew. All I had was the name of the place, a street name and the name of a market that was across the street. This might not seem like a problem but when there is a language barrier and the city is just a jumble of roads, buildings, horrible streets and crazy traffic it could be a problem. After negotiating an appropriate rate with my driver I was off. The driver got me to the right place and made very good time. There was a lot of weaving in and out of traffic and we also drove the wrong way down what I think was a one way street. But I made it.

Being sick in Uganda is no fun.

I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat. I popped some Advil and later some Tylenol cold but I didn’t think too much of it. Throughout the day I continued to feel worse and worse. By evening I was feeling quite sick. I did not sleep well last night even with the miracle drug (Nyquil). This morning I was feeling very poor. My tonsils were so swollen they were nearly toughing and they were covered in little bumps. I had a fever of 99.8, a migraine headache, and I couldn’t keep food down. With the encouragement of Becca I stayed in bed and slept until about one in the afternoon. I had a couple of visits from the workers here who prayed for me and Becca brought me some tea and buttered bread. I also kept taking Tylenol cold and around one I was feeling better. It is so hot here that it has been quite hard for me to sleep. I think that was one of the reasons that I got sick so quickly. I also have been spending a lot of time with the kids and I know that some of them have colds. I think that because I am not used to the cold bugs here I just caught it easily. I am still not back to 100% so I would really appreciate your prayers for healing!

For some better news the Baby’s home got a new baby yesterday. It is a boy probably around two months old. He has not been given a name yet. I just saw him for the first time this morning. He is so tiny and fragile looking but he is beautiful. I am sure that he is in good hands here and will soon be healthy and growing well.

Last night Becca and I attended a showing of the first match of the world cup. The match was used as an outreach to the community. It was shown at Gaba community church which is ARMs main church. There were probably about four hundred people who attended. It was so much fun to experience the game in this setting. The church was very hot and no one wears deodorant here so it smelled of body odor. When South Africa scored the whole place went crazy. People jumped around and screamed. During half time there was a hip-hop dance performance and a mini concert. Then Apollo (Michael’s older brother) shared the gospel and invited people to trust Jesus. I believe that people were saved that night. Becca and I had ridden the taxi by ourselves to the church but since it was dark by the time we left Michael rode with us to make sure we got home safely.

I also got to see my friend Andrew for a couple of minutes. Andrew has been in Uganda since May 14^th. We hardly talked because he had been up the whole night before riding back in a bus from Rwanda. But it was fun to see a familiar face.

Tomorrow Becca and I have been asked to share a lesson with a Sunday school class after church. It is a class of mostly older kids from Senior 4 and 5 I believe. So they are ages 14-18. I have been given the choice about whether I want to share my testimony or teach about a topic. I am not sure what I am going to do yet so I would really appreciate your prayers for guidance.

I think that is all for now. I am going to try to get a little more rest.

Finally in Uganda

I am finally here! After months of planning, preparation and fundraising We (becca my travel buddy from texas and I) arrived safely in Uganda Tuesday afternoon. After traveling for about 42 hours I was finally able to relax. We were met at the airport by Michael, Joshua and Coryn (a mazungu – or white person) from ARM. Yes, everyone here calls it “ARM” not “A-R-M” *cough*mom*cough*. Uganda is just as I remembered it. There is a lot of poverty, red dirt and stray animals oh and I do not think that there is a stick of deodorant in the country.

We are currently staying at loving hearts baby home (LHBH). There are 12 abandoned babies that live below us and the upstairs portion is a guest house. The babies are great. I am loving spending time with the littlest babies, mercy and cherish. The older babies 1.5-2 years are also great. However I have found that I do not have much patience for some of the younger toddlers. They are all beautiful through. Today while I was holding Cherish who is just over a month old I learned her story. She was found when she was just a day old. She had just been delivered and her mother must have abandoned her. She was found tied up in a plastic grocery bag in the middle of the street. She had almost been run over several times but some how she was still fine. I truly believe that God was watching over her and must have a plan for her. She is such a beautiful and peaceful little thing.

We also got a tour of the ARM main offices. It was a really intense place. There were tons of people working and we had to meet and greet them all. There were also lots of kids going to school and playing in the streets. The younger kids seem to love us and they will (when they get over their brief shyness) come up and give us hugs and climb all over us. The older ones who are high school aged are much more reserved and do not seem to want much to do with us. It has been interesting to see how the Ugandan culture is when it comes to accepting and greeting strange people like us J.

The first shower that I got to take here was yesterday morning. I turned on the water and instead of the shower running the sink started running. When I turned off the sink the toilet started filling up. Once that was full then the shower finally started. The shower was very cold. I have also learned that in order to get the toilet to flush well I have to first turn on the shower. Coryn has assured me that not all Ugandan plumbing is this finicky.

Coryn is a young missionary woman who is married to a man named Jamesdon. They have been in Uganda for just over a year now and they are an incredible couple. They recently adopted a little boy named Daniel from the Baby home that I am working at. They had only planned to stay in Uganda for a year but since they are adopting Daniel they are going to stay for several more years. Apparently there are some legal issues surrounding adopting in country that are different from just adopting internationally.

I have really appreciated all the help that Coryn has given us. She took us to a good place to get meat, she has helped us to know what to do, she taught us how to ride in the taxis. Most importantly she has made us feel totally welcome and at ease. She just seems to be so comfortable here and that has worn off on Becca and myself. She has told us about the safety precautions that we need to take but she has also told us what we can do and still be safe.

Tomorrow is the first game of the world cup and I believe that Becca and I are going to head into Gaba and watch it at Gaba Community Church. They are using the game as an outreach tool. I should also be able to connect and hangout with my friend Andrew tomorrow which will be cool.

Please pray for continued health for myself and Becca. So far we have not been sick at all and it would be nice if it could stay that way. Also pray that the Lord would make it very clear how we should be spending out time each day. There is a lot of stuff that we can be doing and I want to make sure that we continue to use our time wisely. Also pray for Coryn, Jamesdon and Daniel as they are waiting on Daniel’s paper work to be able to travel back to the US and they could be finding a new ministry to serve with in Uganda. So please be praying for wisdom and guidance for them.

I have really appreciated all of your e-mails and words of encouragement! It really means a lot to me knowing that I have so many people at home who love and support me. I can not wait to share some more stories and pictures with you!

Oh and the food is delicious., I am eating more than enough J

Half way there

Well Becca and I made it safely to Dubai. The flight on Emirates was incredible. I watched four movies, a couple episodes of two and a half men and started 2 other movies which weren't very good. I also got a couple hours of sleep and had an interesting conversation with a drunk Indian man who sat next to me during the whole flight. Becca and I decided to take a night tour of Dubai. It was really cool. We got to see many of the incredible buildings, we drove around the palm tree island, and got to go inside the atlantis hotel. We also got cold stone ice cream and the guys who served it were the best servers I have ever seen. We are going to try to get a couple hours of sleep now before our flight. I will post a more detailed update sometime soon. Thank you for all your prayers!