Dekunlefuji=Michael

Well let me begin by saying that from the time our van delivered  us to the Charlotte airport our timing for this trip went completely out the window. 

God has his own timeline. 

 Our flight from Charlotte to Atlanta went pretty smoothly once we passed through security. Atlanta was another story. We were delayed in Atlanta for about 2 hours sitting on the runway. This caused us to miss our connecting flight in Amsterdam. We were a little worried as we got off the plane as to how long it would take us to get into Entebbe. Actually I am blogging from the airplane now. We are headed to Entebbe by way of Cairo, Egypt. When we left Amsterdam it was -23 degrees and snowing.  We were delayed in Amsterdam so we already know ahead of time that we will not make our connecting flight in Cairo.  This feels like the amazing race trying to get to Uganda. Except when we arrive there we will all be winners!!! What day is it and what time zone are we in?? None of us know----All we really know is that we are in the same clothes that we were wearing in Charlotte and will still be wearing them tomorrow.

     With all of that said, we are still so excited about what God has planned for us. Surely, we haven’t been re-routed across the country and not have a bigger purpose for that. We did have an experience in the Amsterdam airport that made our delay worth the wait. We spotted a table in the McDonald’s ( is there anywhere that there isn’t a Mc Donald’s) and we asked the gentleman if we could share his space. We needed to recharge- our electronics and our bodies. It didn’t take us long to strike up a conversation with a man named Dekunlefuji. His American name is Michael. Let’s refer to him by Michael from here on. It also didn’t take us long to realize that this was on God’s schedule. Michael is a Christian rapper who performs in different churches around the world. He is from Nigeria and was on his way to Paris. He had a friendly demeanor and immediately recognized us as sister’s in Christ. He shared his testimony. He spoke of how important it is to do one small thing for just one person and what a difference that can make to the giver and the receiver.

   Michael shared how he had been able to help a few people in that very airport during his 12 hour layover, even to the point of purchasing a ticket for a gentleman who had been stuck in the airport for 7 days because he couldn’t afford $130.00 to get home. He also had an opportunity to take up for a woman who had been cheated in her exchange rate and didn’t know it. When we shared with him what we were going to Uganda for he told us he felt like it was brave. But, he said, everyone is capable of doing something with their God given talents they just choose not to. It all comes down to choice. Again, we were left shaking our heads at how just a few minutes with a stranger turned out to be the beginnings of a long term friendship. A man in a McDonald’s in the Amsterdam Airport  -who knew?  

God in the flesh! 

  Hopefully the next time we write to you we will be in fresh clothes-Good Night!

     

Baby Face and 3 blondes...aka...Joey and the 3 ladies

Well, our motley crew of 5 has hit the road bound for the Charlotte airport...well actually we’re missing Jack as his first flight is different from the rest of the group.There is a mixture of emotion aboard this church van. For Sarah and Sherry having had experience on several of these trips, they are beyond excitement. For Joey and I- well it is more apprehension than excitement. Although I know God is getting ready to do a mighty work through us and in us I am fearful of the unknown. 

  One thing I do know is God is going to do immeasurably more than I can imagine or expect. The sobering realization hit me this week that there are so many people all over this world that have no idea our great Creator even exist. There are people that have never even heard his name-we are so blessed within our culture to have heard his name and be able to worship him freely. 

  I am praying that the Holy Spirit will permeate our thoughts and actions and that will enable us to show God’s love to all the people in Uganda. In the meantime we have lots of air time to get through. We should be on the ground in Entebbe Thursday evening.  First I have to get through the trip to the Charlotte Airport in the backseat of the church van. Yuck!!!

May 2010 mission trip

To those that sent us and prayed for us... thank you!

click here for the video of this trip

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Worshiping, Trusting, and Waiting on the Lord

In just a few hours we will embark on our two-day journey from Uganda to home. Today we had a perfect send-off with attending worship at Gaba Community Church. Pews packed with somewhere around 1000-1100 people, we all sang, danced, and worshipped together - both Africans and Americans - the same mighty and loving God.

African worship is much more expressive than what most of us are used to - starting with the music. There was about an hour of praise and worship music before the sermon began, with singers accompanied by drums, keyboard, and an acoustic guitar. Africans were dancing in the pews as they sang - expression not only on their faces but with their gestures and body movements. Music was upbeat, spirit-filled, and moving. Much of the music consisted of traditional rhythms and cadence indigenous to this part of the world. It was a unanimous celebration - everyone in the church fully participated - no one was simply standing there observing. Every soul was a part of the celebration.

We were welcomed by many of the church members, and were brought on stage and introduced by Patrick. Sarah spoke of how the relationship formed with Patrick and Gaba and how ekissa is the response of God's call for ministry in Uganda. Kirsten was asked by Patrick to give an impromptu testimony to the church about having children with special needs and how she was able to minister this week to a mother and young Ugandan boy in Gaba Church who suffers from Type I Diabetes, just like her son, Jake. She spoke about God's provision even in difficult times.

Patrick gave the sermon this morning which focused on trusting God in all seasons of life. In Africa, they have two seasons - wet and dry. He paralleled the wet season to those times in life where things are flourishing, where things are going our way. The dry season was used in reference to trying times in our lives. We should praise God in wet (good) and dry (hard) seasons of life. Not only praise God because something great has happened, but also praise Him when something terrible happens. God is undoubtedly using that experience to teach us something or to strengthen our faith. He talked about Paul and Silas in Acts when they were thrown into prison, and how they immediately started singing hymns and praising the Lord. He talked about Noah going through a dry season of life after God asked him to build the ark. Noah had every right to doubt God: he'd never even seen rain, he lived 100s of miles from the nearest ocean, he didn't know how to build a ship, and it was 120 years between the time God called Noah to build the ark until the floods came. Yet Noah did not give up or get discouraged during that time - he continued to praise the Lord even when it didn't make sense.

We learned about waiting on the Lord and how God's delay never destroys His purpose. Trusting God is an act of worship. Patrick's sermon referenced people from scripture who waited on the Lord - Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, and even Jesus. Through scriptures we see that these people learned to trust in God and through their trials realized that His timing is perfect. We can certainly learn from these people who have gone before us. Everyday we have opportunities to learn to trust in God - faith is trusting in the unknown. Thank you, Patrick, for these reminders.

Pray for us and for safe travels as we leave in just over 2 hours. We look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Last Day Reflections

Saturday, May 29th

As we began our last full day in this beautiful place, we have mixed emotions. We're ready to get home, but sad to leave our friends. As we prepare to see our own children, we cannot help but think of the children here who desperately long for a family. While we are excited about getting back to our homes and families in America, many of us will no doubt feel a sense of homesickness for our beautiful home and those we have come to think of as family here in Uganda. Many of us are nervous and anxious about the "re-entry" into our normal lives, yet we hope things never get back to the same "normal" we had before our experiences in Uganda. Some of us are ready for American foods we have not had here (milk, orange juice, cereal, steak, cold sodas), yet we'll miss how Florence, Betty, Jennifer, & Isaac took such great care of us, introduced us to local foods, and prepared our meals here with love.

Today we started the day shopping at an African market in Kampala. We went vendor to vendor, haggling with the locals over the shillings for handcrafted items. We picked up many items to remember our trip as well as souvenirs for those at home. After our morning of shopping, we headed to get a taste of home at I Love NYK (I Love New York Kitchen). We loaded up on NY style cheesecake, NY style pizza, and cold sodas. We even tasted some hand-squeezed passion fruit juice, which was absolutely delicious.

After filling up at lunch, we rode back out to the land ekissa is planning to purchase in order to do a prayer walk there. Robert, the owner of the land, came over so we all joined hands and said prayers as a group. As we continued to pray, the breeze gradually intensified, almost as if God was giving His affirmation and blessing through the wind. As our prayer subsided, so did the wind.

Some of us came back to the house and cooked another chicken pie and cake for dinner. The second half of our group went back out to Bweya to pass out the remaining mosquito nets we had purchased.

As we debriefed and enjoyed our last night here, Bob played the guitar and we shared several laughs and stories from the week. Please pray for us as we travel Sunday and Monday back home. We leave Sunday night from Uganda and (if our flights are all on time) we should be back Monday afternoon/evening. Pray for the people we leave behind in Uganda and for those who we have blessed and who we have been blessed by. This truly has been a life-changing trip that has pushed many of us beyond our comfort zones and has strengthened our faith. Many of us have conquered fears and been exposed to the Holy Spirit like we've never experienced before. We have seen God's hand and His love and understood better how we can show the love of Christ to others. We have learned that obedience in God is more important than acceptance by the world. Everyone was impacted in a unique way and we cannot wait to share these things with our families and friends. Undoubtedly, none of us will ever forget the time we spent here. We thank those of you who were instrumental in helping make this trip happen - through donations, supplies, and most of all, prayers.

Wooden Canoes, Boda Bodas & the Southern Cross

Friday, May 28th

What does a wooden canoe, a boda boda, and the Southern Cross constellation have in common? All describe amazing adventures that our team experienced today.

This morning we met up with the Sozo group and walked down to the Gaba docks where all 19 of us climbed into a long, narrow, old, wooden canoe and were pushed out into the lake by some locals. A crowd of 19 muzungus on a boat had gotten the attention of a crowd of local passersby, especially when we had been pushed off and our engine wouldn't start! I think they were all wondering what this boatload of muzungus were going to do. Thankfully another boathand was able to quickly change out the motors. We were then headed across Lake Victoria, the largest lake in the world, in a boat that reminded us all of something in which the disciples would have journeyed. The canoe ride provided breathtaking views of Uganda as we puttered along with the 5-horsepower engine canoe. After a 30-minute boat ride, we came ashore across the lake, climbed out of the canoe, and immediately jumped helmet-less on the back of boda bodas (motorcycles), some of us riding with 2 people behind the driver. We held on tight as the local Africans whisked us along winding dirt roads into the Ugandan countryside. We were greeted by people in the yards outside their thatched roof huts, with children smiling, waving, and shouting "muzungu, muzungu!"

Our boda boda drivers led us to Bethany Village where we were introduced to Francis, the director of the children's home. After riding the boda bodas we were so glad some of us had baby wipes to wipe the dirt off our faces! We toured the facilities and were in awe at how polar opposite this children's home is from Mercy. In just a short boat and boda boda ride, it was like we were in a different world. The children were happy, well-behaved, well-mannered, and well-kept. The model for this children's home is cottage-style, where the cottages are set up like families. House Mothers parent and spiritually shephard an average of 15 children per cottage. These cottages have a living area, dining table, food preparation/kitchen area, windows with bars and curtains, inspirational Bible verses and pictures on the walls, and a front porch with flowers, plants, grass, and trees everywhere. Betty, the House Mother of the cottage we toured, explained that she teaches the children to be completely self-sufficient, growing their own food, cleaning up their own messes, and respecting their fellow housemates.

We came back home to relax and fellowship with each other during the afternoon. Some of our teammates went out to purchase baby gifts for one of our African helpers, and a group of us took the gifts to his house after dinner. He and his wife had a baby boy just a few weeks earlier and since the baby is so young, they could not yet take him out of the house to visit with us. This young family didn't have much for the baby, so we wanted to get baby items to shower and bless them with. Just before we left for their home, Sarah pulled me aside and told me that this family is Muslim. I did not have a chance to share that with the rest of the team, which was exactly God's plan. Diana prayed over the new family, which was undoubtedly divinely inspired, and we loved on them through our visit and gifts. What a blessing it was to be with them and to show them God's love. The team was able to fully show the love of Christ without intentionally or unintentionally filtering what was said/done becuase of the family's Muslim faith. After a few minutes and final hugs, we walked out of their modest African home and the Southern Cross constellation was in plain sight in the sky just before us. It's like God's presence was so visible right there in the sky and God gave us that present to let us all know that He hasn't forgotten about this family. Please join us in praying for this family's salvation.