Newsletter #2

UGANDA Mission Team – Update
July 30, 2011
HaPpY BiRtHdAy Jeff Albertson! Love & miss you! Cindy

Now for the team stuff………

“I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 what an appropriate verse for our trip so far! We have been on the go non-stop and truly cannot do any of it apart from Him. He has been teaching us much about solely relying on Him. On Friday, we woke up bright and early to make our way from Gulu to Kitgum; a 60 mile distance which took our bus 3 hours to drive because of the “rough roads.” These roads are nothing like the ones in America, they were unpaved and pot holes galore! To say it was an incredibly bumpy ride is an understatement, but we still had fun with it!  Once we arrived at Faith Academy, the 4 year old students greeted us with a song that welcomed us while holding a welcome sign up. It was so precious! Then, we split up into groups between four classrooms and taught the students the story of Jesus’ birth. We used stickers, games, and other arts and crafts to help describe the story. It was interesting to watch the children use stickers for the very first time! In the meantime, Cole went around all the classrooms teaching the “Chicken Dance” to the students and teachers. He had a great time! Don’t worry someone got it on video  A little background on the school, Faith Academy has been under operation for a little over a year now by Faith Alive Ministries led by Pastor Clayton and Pastor Alex. They currently have 102+ students at the school ages 4 and 5. We enjoyed getting to know the teachers and spending time with all the children! Later that afternoon, Cindy, Rhonda, and Susan educated locals on the importance of health and sanitation. While Deborah, Amanda, and Brandy spent time giving words of encouragement to the teachers while discussing different challenges they faced. That evening, we ate dinner at Clayton’s home. Monica (Clayton’s wife), Santina (Alex’s wife), Florence, and many others worked all day preparing the food for us. It was delicious! Cole tried posho for the first time and honestly wasn’t too fond of it LOL. Posho is the main dish that Ugandans eat; it is similar to ground up grits. Cole did enjoy the chapatti and G-nut butter with honey though! After our bellies were happy and full  pastors Alex and Clayton gave words of encouragement, and then led us in prayer to thank the Lord for the amazing day He gave us.
On Saturday we set up a medical clinic for the locals in the neighborhoods surrounding Faith Alive Ministries. The clinic was organized in separate stations which included: Susan, Rhonda, Cindy, and I at the diagnosing/ wound care treatment section. Amanda, Brandy, and Deborah were at the Pharmacy Clinic; Cole and Ryan gave parting gift bags (stuffed with handmade washcloths, crayons, and sweeties); Mike did evangelism using the FAITH outline and led some to Christ. We saw over 384 people at the clinic. It broke my heart to see so many children with malnutrition, infected wounds, and burns untreated. Many people suffered with HIV/AIDS and multiple bouts of malaria. There is very little access to any type of healthcare here and it always leaves me feeling so burdened for the tremendous unmet needs.
We went to Clayton’s home for dinner. We ate and sang under the mango tree. Amanda played guitar as well as some of the men from the church. Uzziel gave devotion and some of us shared thoughts about the day. We had prayer and headed back to the bus and to the hotel.
It has been an amazing experience here in Uganda and we have enjoyed fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, rejoiced in new believers trusting in Him, and having a great time learning the culture. Praise God for it all and to Him be the glory! “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8
In Christ,
Uzziel and Cole