Back in the States

Hello all,

I am terribly sorry that there were no posts while we were on the ground in Uganda. The internet at the place we were staying was extremely scarce and didn't load our blog page well (it would take 5-10 minutes to load an email page).
But we are all back safely even though we had some health scares at the end. But again, God is amazing and His hand was at work even though being sick. No one got sick until the end, meaning that we were all healthy to do our ministry effectively.
Speaking of our ministry, wow.......In Kampala at Lugogo Baptist Church's HopeAlive! center, we all bonded well with the kids. We had a wide range of kids from 6 years old to 20 years old, and we each made lasting friendships. Some peope even gave us presents! That has never happened with a short term team that came to HopeAlive!, so that shows how much we made a impact on these guys as well has how much they made an impact on us.
As you know, we did VBS with sports ministry. Amazing. Mikayla and Maria were in charge of music, Rick, Erin, and Jessie were in charge of sports, Katrina and Elia were in charge of crafts (we did tie-dye bandanas) and hygiene, and Kristy and I were in charge of Bible. Our theme was Philippians 3:14, going towards God's goal.

We also went to Watoto, the Ugandan children's choir that tours the States, Europe, and Australia, and we did a one day VBS and sports day with them. They are all orphans that live together with a house mother in their own village. God has blessed them tremendously by providing 3 villages and a baby home, as well as schools on their land.

In Gulu, we got to see more of the impoverished side of Uganda. We went to HopeAlive! Gulu feeding center, which is in the middle of an IDP camp (Interally Displaced Persons). This is where people came to live to be protected from the war. As we drove, there were so many camps, and small plots of land where IDP huts were clustered together. At HopeAlive! we spent 2 days doing VBS and sports and then Saturday we helped the kids write letters to their sponsors. It was amazing to hear more about their stories and how they are so thankful for their sponsors. Their sponsors help pay for school fees and supplies, which leaves the money they make at home to go towards food and clothes.

Education is very important, so families will go without food in order to go to school.

There were kids with open sores where the flies were just eating at them. Last night, as I was looking through my pictures, I made the observation that many kids in Gulu have developmental and physical disabilities. It's because the lack of healthcare in the camps, along with prenatal care for mothers, clean water, clean food....You name it.
There was a communication barrier in Gulu because we had a lot of young kids, but also, education is scarce, so English was not being learned as fast as in the city. However, these kids were amazing. Some of the girls taught us traditional Acholi dancing. They mostly just laughed at the Bazungu (white people) trying to dance and shake our hips the way they do, but it was a great bonding time with the girls! I also learned some Luo words (their language) and how to count to 10. That was a great time because I had all the kids surrounding me from all ages, helping we learn how to count. And there were also those jr. high-aged boys that kept trying to trick me into saying the wrong words :)

We got to leave a brand new basketball hoop and some balls at Gulu, and also 2 hoops and more balls at Lugogo. That time, when we revealed our gifts, it was astounding to see the gratitude from the kids and workers alike. Sports is such a great pasttime in Uganda, and keeps them from doing other bad things in their spare time.

It was sad saying goodbye to the Gulu kids and our last day of ministry. My goal this trip was to bring hope and joy to the kids, at least for just a couple days, and teach them that true hope and joy comes from Christ alone. I think we accomplished that goal, as well as bringing a new found look on life for us as a team.

----------------------
Then we were off on a safari! We saw elephants, giraffe, cob, bushbuck, and 5 lions! We also got to see a kill, that was amazing. We also got attacked by baboons. You should ask us about that story. I almost died by baboon; THE most scariest moment in my life!

As Mikayla and I were sitting on top of the van, we were admiring God's beauty and I came to a conclusion:
God spent extra time in creating Africa. Because they are so poor, God gave them natural beauty of land, as well as of the people. The people are beautiful inside and out; and they also have gorgeous landscape and wildlife to continue to give God the glory.

The last week was when everyone got sick. We had to make 3 trips to the clinic within 3 days for everyone, meaning 4 trips total (Rick hurt his finger pretty bad at Watoto playing basketball. He's okay though). This being said, our last week of plans got changed many times, depending on who was sick and who was able to get out of bed. But all in all, we continued to see God's handiwork in all that we did.

Saying goodbye is always the hardest. Saying goodbye to the Davis family and their kids was an emotional time, as well as to all our friends we made throughout the trip. But good news! If we aren't able to see them again in Uganda, we will see them one day in heaven :)

This is just a short overcap of our time in Uganda. Each of us has different perspectives on every even that happened within our 2 1/2 weeks in Africa. I encourage you all to take the time to sit down and hear the stories of individuals. Ask what God was teaching them. Ask what they learned. Ask about the relationships built.

From my experiences last year and coming back to the States. I had a difficult time because I felt like no one wanted to listen to my stories and what God taught me. Not just the fun things that happened, but the deep emotional and spiritual struggles and high points.

So please, go out to lunch or something. Sit down for an hour or so, and just listen and ask questions. God did amazing things in us and through us and we just can't wait to share with our friends and families.

Thank you again for all your support. None of this could have happened without you. God has blessed us all (your support and our going) in seeing God work in Africa, as well as the team.

Thank you also for making the 9 of us a family :)

--Tiffany--