Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Praise the Lord! The new STAO building is ALMOST DONE! The construction workers are plastering concrete over the exterior, and then it will be completed! We hope that this project, which has been in construction for over three years, will be done by the end our trip. The building is comprised of three gorgeous apartments, each with four rooms. It has a red aluminum roof that slants and peaks over each of the neighboring apartments. The windows have curly designed bars for security, and there will be electricity in every room.
Sam, with his amazing construction management skillz, has been doing an incredible job purchasing materials and paying for labor. You can always see him walking around the big piles of concrete or bricks alongside Sula, the job site manager. Despite all of the financial difficulties (there have been a lot, and have been VERY stressful), Sam has said that everyday, God has provided just enough money to get through the day. God has been so faithful!
We will be purchasing a sewing machine for the building, which widows can use to generate income. We are also planning on buying some computers, allowing STAO to generate income from educational classes.
Thanks for reading, and please pray for God anointing on the building, and give thanks to him for His faithfulness!
Jamie
Dear friends,
Another day of HIV testing at STAO has brought both challenges and joy. Today, fifty foster children sponsored by STAO were brought in for testing and with yesterday’s MIRACLE of 100% negatives, the team and I prayed for nothing less than another miraculous display of God’s power.
Only one of the fifty tested today was confirmed HIV-positive. The team hid our disappointment well as we prayed for 11-year-old Sofia and held her hand, not allowing our tears to worry her or even hint that her status was a death-sentence. And in reality, it’s not.
Sofia will go for further testing and will hopefully be put on ARVs immediately. With these drugs, she should be able to live a full and vibrant life. Pray with us for Sofia - that she would know God’s love and redemptive power in an undeniable way. Pray that though her body may be weak, Jesus will be strong in her and that He will strengthen her spirit. Pray too for access to scarce ARVs and that she’ll be able to go to school soon.
Praise Jesus with us too that of 150 kids tested, only 1 has been positive. Though it is difficult to grasp why our all-powerful God would allow even one positive result, I cling to fact that “as far as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways our higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our own” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Thank you all so much for praying for us and with us. We feel your prayers from here.
Love,
Melissa.
Hello! I feel a bit of pressure to post an exceedingly profound, vivid blog entry right now, because so many things have happened lately. My apologies to the team and to you readers if I can’t give an adequate account. *Note: most exciting news will be at the END of this post.
I’ll start by listing a few things our team has been involved in lately, and then I’ll write about a couple things in more detail.
- Healthcare team finished writing a new 3-page questionnaire to conduct in Mafubira
- Pigs arrived at the sty! There are SIX, and one is pregnant.
- We “performed” at an Acquire the Fire youth conference.
- HIV Testing of the kids at STAO and surrounding area.
- Brandon traveled back to Entebbe – he will leave for the States on Friday, I believe.
Regarding the performance at the youth conference, we arrived at a large, dome-like building and immediately felt the energy of the room. A sizeable group was singing and moving with such soul and excitement that we knew we were going to dampen the mood. Let me give a little context; we found out about our 30-minute stage slot only the night before, and thus we had little planned… basically just a song order (not to discredit Rachel, who did an awesome job mobilizing us). It was time. We were motioned to come up and I heard something about “Mzungu” this or that. Everyone on the team exchanged anxious glances and sauntered up on stage. All in all, our singing went well, the crowd seemed to like us because we were well… trying… to offer something.
After our descent from stage, it definitely got a bit awkward. Jamie, Sam, Kate, and I were summoned back up to serve as a Q&A panel. The MC basically presented us as filthy rich, intelligent, pious Americans: “If you saw their houses in America, you would feel lucky to sleep in their washroom!” Ughh… then I fielded a question about my views on pre-marital sex. Being in a room saturated with Christian conservatism, let’s just say I tried to play it “safe” (no pun intended).
On to the big news, we began HIV-testing with the kids today. This involved grouping them together, sending a child into the makeshift doctor’s office one at a time, comforting him/her as the needle pricked a finger, and then giving them a lollipop as a minor consolation. Given that many of these kids are orphans due to their parents having HIV/AIDS, we as a team braced ourselves for the life-threatening results. Could we handle it emotionally and spiritually to see these beautiful kids wrestle with such sobering news?
We tested 96 kids today. Number of HIV-Positive cases: ZERO.
Hallelujah! Ameen-ah! It is true that some may have the virus in its dormant stage, but… honestly, this is good news. It was soul-warming experience for our team, as many have been fasting and praying intensely. Please continue to thank God in your prayers for these results, and pray for the children who have not yet been tested (perhaps over 100 more). I remember during the testing, a small girl began screaming in terror and pain as the doctor pricked her finger. Weighted down by the despondency of that situation, I found myself outside the office door on my knees. A slow, desperate prayer was uttered amidst the swarm of STAO kids running around. I wanted to see the kingdom of God manifested somehow, and, now I think I’ve seen it.
Here we are, halfway through our trip! We’re standing a point where we can look back and see how far we’ve come as a team—we can greet and carry casual conversations with the locals, we’ve learned how to cook some of the cuisine. Praise God for bringing us this far.
I’m still trying to get used to this whole “blogging” business…it feels weird to share my thoughts to possibly the entire population of internet-users. So, pardon my awkwardness.
As Victor mentioned in his post, the healthcare team has been going to the neighboring villages of STAO to do a participatory assessment. This has been extremely exciting and difficult at times. But I feel that it’s giving us good exposure to the needs and struggles of our brothers and sisters here in Uganda. The culture here is so beautiful; everyone we pass will ask us how we’re doing, and those we approach to survey are always welcoming. In doing these assessments, I really feel that God is aligning our hearts to His heart for STAO. We’ve been praying for moldable hearts that are open to see His people the way that He sees them.
Today we continued our surveying and also sang at a youth conference held in Jinja. It was amazing to see so many other youth our age gathered together to learn more about our God. It felt amazing to worship our God TOGETHER—the God that is the same God in Seattle as He is in Jinja, the God that knows each of us by name, the God that created our inmost being, the God that sees us in the depths of our brokenness and extends His mercy to redeem us from our sins.
Please be praying for our final two weeks here. Pray for plenty of time to spend with the kids, and for time to complete the HIV testing, the second building, and the surveying. God has been so good to our team. Thank you for being part of this journey!
whoo hoo! my first post! i expect profound and witty comments.
…what a draining yet inspiring 2nd week it has been in uganda. praise God. physically, we are all doing well, with the exception of a few minor aches and wounds but continue to pray for physical health and safety please.
i am biased to write about what the healthcare team has been up to, so i shall. a typical day is nonexistent at stao. the 5 of us-jessica, shawna, danielle, dale and i-have been working on a participatory assessment to identify the medical conditions and needs of 6 neighboring villages around stao in preparation for a future clinic based at the orphanage and a traveling clinic to meet the needs of the even more destitute. it has been trying for us because our western mindset is so wrapped around results and to-the-point answers and the first day of home visit surveys left us frustrated and rather demoralized. however, with pastor nelson’s approval we have begun to revise the survey in hopes of clarifying obscure topics. it is humbling to realize that pastor nelson and stao KNOW what is needed and that we are not here to force feed our opinions or administer our own tactics; therefore, the blessings of pastor nelson is appreciated for it allows us to find a happy medium culturally, for the ultimate purpose is the same: to serve stao in the best possible way while showing God’s love for the children of stao and the people of mafubira.
however, african time often leaves tasks unaccomplished…which is another difficult but sobering reality to wrestle with…for the 5 of us are unexpectedly asked to take sick orphans to the medical clinic for treatment, drugs, blood tests, etc. as was the case yesterday. we are beginning to understand some aspects of the healthcare system here in uganda, and the more we see, the more we are infuriated. much corruption exists and treatment often goes to the highest bidder, so for a bunch of orphans to enter a private clinic…you can almost visualize the distain they receive. heartbreaking yet completely real. yesterday, we took two young boys to a private clinic. these two brothers were from child-headed households and started living at stao after we arrived so they are amongst the poorest of the poor in mafubira. stao’s headmaster realized they had many chiggers burrowing under their hands and feet (tiny parasitic worms) which caused immense pain and swelling. the doctor decided he would test them for HIV and syphillis and prescribed ointment for what he stubbornly deemed ATHLETE’S FOOT. given the situation, we were all very frustrated and wanted so desperately for the doctor to understand that they were indeed parasites, not fungus. however, he would not believe, so the headmaster grabbed a safety pin from out of his pocket, popped open one of the blisters and pulled the worm out. sorry for the details, but indeed that was the only way for the doctor to believe us.
but God is God who seeks justice and loves the poor. as helpless and small as we felt yesterday, i was uplifted and reminded that He was there and i was so proud of my teammates for showing such love and compassion. now, we are little more prepared to deal with the healthcare situation here in uganda. we must not use our western standards for comparison for that will only frustrate us more, but we must understand that what happened yesterday is a reality for millions of ugandans and if conditions are to ever improve, it must rise from within. our job, right now, is to love the kids and be with them in times of physical pain and discomfort.
sorry this is dragging on, but there is so much to be said. of course i cannot give every last detail but i will briefly comment on the team as a whole. morning devotions are a blessing to us all as we continue on with Luke (who was a physician) and nightly de-briefs are a way of sharing thoughts, feelings and suggestions. the SIG group has completed the piggery so hopefully after church tomorrow we can go visit the newest members of stao. the education team is essentially holding summer school for the stao kids, and they absolutely love it.
the healthcare team’s goal for the following week is to finish revising the survey, get more responses (300 is the goal) from the 6 villages, and begin HIV/AIDS testing for 150-200 kids along with HIV/AIDS prevention and care education.
the time is passing by so quickly and so much needs to be done. but i am always reminded that time is for God to use.
continue to keep us in your prayers as we miss you all, but as for today’s rest day, we are going to kick back with some mashed potatoes and fried rice and maybe crowd around dale’s laptop to watch ocean’s 12 together. or maybe a chick flick. who knows.
God bless,
victor
Today is not my “blogging day”….but here I am, blogging. Wanted to share some stories of the day that are weighing pretty heavily on my heart. Working in Mafubira, heartbreaking stories become all too common as I spend much of the day reading, laughing, playing, and singing with children of which most have experienced unfathomable losses of parents, siblings, and friends. Today I was reminded that there is so much here that can never be planned for or expected. Though, it is these raw, heart-wrenching, unexpected situations that perhaps need the most prayer.
Two young boys came to live at STAO last week because they had been identified as a child-headed household (kids who live on their own when the parents or other family die and there is no one to care for them). Today, we found out that the boys had been hiding serious parasite infections in their feet and legs, not wanting to be teased by the other STAO kids. Medically, it’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever seen firsthand. Thousands of small parasitic worms embedded in their toes, feet, legs, and even arms. I won’t go into too much detail about how they are removed, but it is truly horrible and unimaginably painful. Being that I am not good with anything medical, I am extremely grateful for our healthcare team that is spending another long day at the clinic with the boys. Please pray for them, as well as the boys, as they are currently still at the clinic dealing with the removal of the parasites.
Later in the day, young woman walked onto the STAO property with a young baby on her back. Hearing her story, we learned that she is 22 years old, with 3 children—ages 5, 3, and 1. Her husband died of AIDS only 3 weeks ago, and she has now been left to care for her 3 children as well as find work to support their family. She could not afford the 8,000ush (about 5$ US) monthly rent, and today was forced out of their home by the owner. Having nowhere to go, she came to STAO. After talking and praying with her, the team chose to support her for a couple months until she can start earning income. Hopefully, with STAO planning to put in a small community center in the new building with sewing machines to be shared by widows in the village, she will be able to learn sewing skills and make an income.
Please pray for the boys, the young woman, and the team as we are pretty tired after a long, busy week. We will rest tomorrow, as we take Saturdays off—and then get geared up for another vibrant Sunday at church and dive into another whirlwind week of work.
with peace,
kate
PS–For parents: we have a team cell phone—though it’s much cheaper to have us call you than the other way around….some of the team will probably call home this weekend, if you need to call us, the best time is between 7-11pm our time (10 hours ahead of Seattle).
The number: 0256-773-422-614.
Hello all! This is Rachel. I think we’re starting to get used to life here in Uganda (sidenote-typing, at least on this computer, is a slow process because certain keys don’t type what they’re marked as…y and z are switched, comma=shift+bracket, quotations=shift+2. It’s like a treasure hunt =) another sidenote-I’m sitting in the internet cafe listening to “All Things Are Possible”)
Anzwaz, ahem…anyway, all three of our teams are settling into their routine. The Healthcare team decided to revamp the survey they’re using to assess the needs of the surrounding communities. They’re also continuing to take kids to the hospital and health clinic. Some of the kids they took on the first day are doing a lot better. Yesterday, Sandra, who is often bedridden, was actually jumping rope! And the little girl with the tear duct problem is looking a lot better as well.
The Income Generation team is still hard at work on the pigery, it should get finished today. This morning, the Education team taught small groups of young kids some phonics and read them some books.We also taught 10-11 yr olds some prepositions and verb conjugations. It looks like the education team will be teaching English lessons to both younger and older kids everyday from now on. The kids are eager to learn and pay attention better than most kids in the states.
I think we’re all falling in love with the people here, especially the kids. They are so so beautiful. Pray for these kids. Pray that God will guard their health, bless their studies, provide money for food and secondary school, give them jobs in the future, and draw them ever closer to Him. I wish you could see these kids worship at church. It makes me cry. (sidenote—i basically spend my days singing and clapping and dancing to song after song with the kids. They love “Deep, deep, whoa deep down down.”) God has blessed these kids with amazing joy and resilience and with wonderful, caring people here at STAO. Pray for the STAO staff as well. They are doing life-changing work.
Thank you all! It is such a blessing to know that we have a team of incredible people back home supporting us.
Love,
Rachel
PS. In case you’re wondering, after over a week in close quarters, all eleven of us still like one another. We’re having a great time studying the book of Luke in the morning and jamming on guitar and djembe at night. We’re also getting good at doing laundry by hand, sifting rocks out of rice, and sleeping through5am mooing, bleating, and cockle doodle doos =)
Our second full day spent at STAO today. Coming in to meet Sandra (see Sam’s post), and then diving into sorting out the dozen boxes of donated clothes and books we brought with us proved interesting….eventually, the team emerged from underneath a mountain of clothing intact and we were able to give new outfits to around 25 kids. Their huge smiles were definitely worth the chaos of clothes sorting.
Our afternoon was spent in an orientation meeting with Pastors Nelson, Ivan and David. It was great to hear some of the plans for the rest of our time here. The rest of this week will be spent taking a few sick kids (including Sandra) into Jinja for treatment, visiting homes throughout Mafubira conducting needs assessments of families and child-headed households, and working on building a pigsty (no joke) so that STAO can start a sustainable income generation project of raising pigs. Jamie, Sam, and Brandon will be hard at work on that the next couple days–please pray for strength for them!
We’re so grateful for the prayers and support. We are learning and wrestling, culture shock is intense, but know that we are encouraged that so many are alongside us, half a world away.
with peace,
kate
Today we were suprised after getting ready to go that we would not be visiting STAO as we had originally thought. Instead, we visited a village where STAO supports a secondary school and where many widows and orphans live. We later learned that they had been expecting our visit for months, and so they had an amazing program worked our for our arrival. We got there and all the widows were cheering and wanted to meet us. We then watched some amazing native dances performed by both the girls at the school and by the widows. It was beautiful because they are all so full of life and joy when they dance, and the dancing itself is unbelivable; no one should be able to move like that. After the perfomances they showed us the school and sugar cane fields and then took us to meet the widows. The widows all know how to weave and paint, and had so many beautiful mats that they sell for income. Many of us bought mats. The hardest part was that the widows would give us fruit as a present and want our phone numbers in return, which we were told not to give for obvious reasons. But they were all so friendly and welcoming that we felt loved regardless. Then we went to visit bujagali Itanda falls and eat with the headmistress. The falls were more beautiful than anything I could have imagined. They are enormous and terrifying and stunning all at once. God is inexplicable in his craftmanship. We finished the day by visiting the kids at STAO just to say hi. Good day! we love you all and we miss you! thanks for posting and keeping us in your prayers!
Praise the Lord! What joy and smiles we have experienced! When we arrived, children flocked around the van, and I found myself looking down in two big eyes that had a pair of arms wrapped around my leg! Who would embrace so easily? They are fearless lovers - these kids who have no mother or father. Even muscles Sam had kids hanging off his arms 
Church is held in a brick, open-air structure with a rumpled aluminum roof. There are tiny pin prick holes in the ceiling, with small streams of sun making stars on the ground. The kids are in the front rows so they can see, with muzungus (they call our team “muzungus”, which means foreigner) specked on the benches, each bouncing a small child on their lap. We are smile magnets. Irene, a dynamic and shining Sunday school teacher, called up the children and they sing “Move, move, move and claim the land!”. Kids from two to twelve years old do the “Calypso” strut across the stage, back and forth, with a seemingly innate rhythmic ability that even rivals my skillz.
John Mark and Nicolaus played “Children of Africa, we were not born to suffa”, and invited Rachel and Danielle to the stage to sing! They did a great job, even when the song switched to singing in Lusoga! They team was also invited to the stage, and we introduced ourselves to the 100 or so congregates. Pastor Nelson wanted us to sing something, so we sang “You are Good” with Dale and Danielle as leads, and Rachel on the keys. We were better than Hillsong, fa sho. Glory to God!
Pastor Nelson preached from Revelations, declaring that Jesus - who has perfect authority and perfect wisdom to break the perfect seal on the scroll - this Jesus has come to set us free from our sins. With zeal he preached the good news, and with equal enthusiasm Pastor Ivan simultaneously translated to Lusoga or English. I could feel the Holy Spirit moving and the people responding. At the end of service, the music busted out, and we all know that I got some moves! Sam got some kids to clap a sweet beat, one girl taught Shawna how to shake it, Danielle - well… she tried, and I showed the kids how to embarass oneself by booty-shaking. I learned it from my mom. It was great! STAO sure knows how to make church fun
Something I’ve been really proud of the team for is that no one complains. We have no furniture and our floors are so hard, our skin is constantly sticky and oily, the goats bleet bloody murder at 6am, and the kids swarm around us like the ants around our now spoiled loaf of bread in the cupboard. But praise the Lord - we know He has called us here, and we are privileged to be in His will.
All is well, and we are getting along great. We have the confidence that the Lord wants us to be here. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your prayers!
– Jamie
