Below is a link to few some pictures of some of the work God has blessed us to be a part of. It is hard to believe our journey here is quickly coming to an end. We have church tomorrow & have one more day of ministry in a very impoverished village on Monday. While we are anxious to see our family and friends at home, it will be very hard to leave our friends here, they have left such a sweet thumbprint on our hearts. We pray the God's light has shown through us into the lives of those we have ministered to.
We do have some desperate prayer needs we would like to share with you:
Martha - young daughter of our friend and driver, with malaria and pneumonia
Aaron - young boy with abdominal abscess, liver & spleen complications, & severe glaucoma, from which he is losing his sight
Bernard - 8 month old boy in Nzigu village with hydrocephalus is great need of medical treatment
Uganda July 2014 Pics
"And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." Ephesians 3:17b-18
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Morning ya'll.....evening here ;)
July 11,
2014
The high for
today was in the low to mid 90’s with a slight breeze and extremely comfortable
in the shade of a beautiful, full Acacia tree.
Evening temperature is in the low 70s providing a comfortable sleeping
temperature for those enjoying serving the Lord in Africa. We had a wonderful
day full of adventure. After a delicious
breakfast and morning devotion we set out for a morning of African style evangelism
(i.e. hut-to-hut). We divided into 4 teams to cover some of the area around the
local missionary church. Each team had very different experiences. Testimonies
were given, questions were asked and answered, and there was rejoicing for
salvations. Rhonda and I, decided to see if we could get a Bible club going. With
2 to 3 children present I started reading from a Bible story book and before we
knew it we had 17 children gathered. We went from one story to another and then
gave out stickers – we had great fun!
Upon
returning to our host missionary family’s home, we enjoyed homemade chicken
salad sandwiches for lunch and then we all headed to the children’s hospital.
We found our good friend Florence (head nurse for the hospital), she gave us a
small tour of the new section where we distributed beanie babies. The hospital visit
and handing out the beanie babies has become a tradition that we’ve carried on
for several years now. Though there have
been some recent renovations the suffering and crowded conditions have not
changed.
By the end
of the day we had searched through all our trunks to find story ideas and craft
materials for over 200 children that we expect to work with tomorrow. We thank God for getting us one step further
out of our comfort zone and allowing us to serve Him. We have made our plans
for tomorrow, but we never truly know what tomorrow holds.
We would
like to request prayer for Martha who is the daughter of Andrew (our long time
friend and driver). She has malaria and pneumonia.
Susan
------------------------------------------
Well, I had
a very interesting day, I was assigned to go out knocking on doors to spread
the gospel today. This was way out of my
comfort zone after living a very sheltered life in my Christian growth in the
states. We had another Missionary with
her daughter and an Interpreter from the local Church to go with me. We stopped at 5 different homes talking with
them about Jesus. We had 7 young men and
one young girl to pray the salvation prayer with us. We hope they will come to services on Sunday and
learn more about Jesus , his life, what He wants us to do with our lives, and to show others how to live.
Deb
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
"You are WELCOME"
July 9, 2014
Here goes
the team’s last day in Gulu. I believe I can speak for all of us, when I say
that we all have enjoyed the children these last 4 days. Seeing their faces glow like the sun and
their learning expanded day-by- day makes the lost luggage, the long hours of
drive worth the wild. Today was a rather eventful day to say the least. We
started out with our daily breakfast and devotion. This morning’s devotion was
lead by Cindy, and was one of great reflection. We talked about how at times we
try to put God in a box, and rather than allowing the Spirit of God to lead, we
try to lead with our minds. We all concluded that God’s ways are much higher
than our ways, and daily we must seek to know His plan even when it doesn’t
make sense to our finite minds. He knows best and our faith should be fueled on
His perfect plan for our lives.
After
breakfast we quickly reported to our designated classes. The look on the student’s
faces was simply breath taking. As soon as we stand on the first step, their
eyes are directed towards us. They wait for us to enter and they all say in
concert,”You are welcome”. They were all ready and eager for whatever
activities we prepared for the day. We went over bible stories, namely the
story of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. As we reenacted the birth of
Jesus, the K2 and K3’s face lit with such amazement as they watched Susan
deliver “Baby Jesus” from under Tameka’s dress. Can you say birthing 101 is in
full effect? The children continue to laugh even minutes into the rest of the
story. In addition, we revisited some of
the classes on hygiene. It is amazing how much their minds absorb. It just
confirms that our desire and availability to allow God to pour in their hearts
and minds through us will never be lost. We are preparing the next generation
to have an advantage. Just as the Bible says,
as children of God we must renew our minds daily. That is applicable in the
spiritual as well as the physical realm. These children have a chance for a
brighter tomorrow.
Evening
approached and a heavy downpour came. Jenny and Elizabeth expressed that the
rain hadn’t fell that much in some time. After the rain cleared, everyone
gather at the pavilion for the student’s special Acholi dance. They looked like
little men and women as they performed with such confidence and pride. The dancing was followed by a science lesson demo on the qualities of air, then the P4 class singing a farwell song to us. Each of
the team members was then given the opportunity to express appreciation for the
students, teachers and staff’s welcome.
We definitely look forward to all God has in store for the months and
years to come.
We concluded
the evening with Deborah’s delicious chicken and dumpling. We sat around and
watched “Journey to Jamma” and “The Perfect Game”, two great movies to end our
last night in Gulu. Nothing can compare to the laughs, love and the peace of
God resting upon us these last few days. We are truly blessed and we are grateful
to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us all in every way. Just as God led the
children of Israel with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, He will
surely continue to guide and protect us for the duration of our journey. ---Tameka
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
5 Short Term Missionaries + 3 Resident Missionaries + 2 National Missionaries + 400 students + 18 Teachers = a fun day of VBS!!!!!!
July 8, 2014
Last night we had a wonderful time of praise & worship with a visiting team headed to Far Reaching Ministries in South Sudan. After a time of prayer & singing we had communion. What a special time it was on the eve of our VBS.
Today we had our first
full day of Vacation Bible School (VBS) ----- boy did we have fun…I think the
kids did too J
After our crazy intro of the chicken dance at morning assembly we loaded up our
supplies & headed to our respective class rooms. There were Bible Stories,
games, songs, crafts, snacks & health education for all.
Here are some
highlights:
· Susan “supervised” as Tameka washed 102
pairs of hands as she taught the K2 & K3 classes proper hand hygiene…she
was a little wrinkly by the end.
· Deborah was very happy to find that the
P2 class, which she had last year as P1, had matured so much…especially since
there are 50 of them.
· Cindy’s class got to dig for “treasures”
in the sand bucket while learning about “digging” for all the treasures God has
for us in His word.
· Rhonda was so encouraged to see the
excitement of the children as they worked the “simple” games of a floor puzzle
& memory matching game while learning about being a part of the team – the body
of Christ.
One of the greatest
highlights of the day was the 68 children in P5 – P7 who made commitments today
to be Health Mentors. We had met with them yesterday & did some intense
health education. At the end of the classes we talked with them about becoming
a “Health Mentor”. While the word “mentor” was new to them we explained that if
they choose to they would be responsible to not only maintain good personal
hygiene and first aid, but would be responsible for watching out for the
younger children. These responsibilities would include helping to educate them,
as well as, reinforcing good personal hygiene by the younger ones.
It is not uncommon in a society, such as here, that there is a lack of knowledge in things that we in America take for granted. When you live in a mud hut in the dirt, have to walk miles for water that is usually not safe or clean, and your parents are struggling just to survive simple things like proper personal hygiene and first aid are not a priority. By educating the children to take responsibility for themselves and others we prayerfully hope to instill a sense of empowerment that they do have control over, at least, part of their lives, and they can make a positive impact on not only their future but the future of others. They were very proud to receive their “SOG Health Mentor / Matthew 25:20” dog tag necklaces and their Certificate of Completion for the teaching.
It was very encouraging
to us that so many of the P5 – P7 children remembered the teaching they had received
yesterday. Some of whom have already put their new knowledge to work.
Tomorrow is another day
of VBS fun with some amazing, bright eyed, eager, beautiful children!
Sunday, July 6, 2014
God;s Divine Timing
Uganda
Newsletter #2 July
6, 2014
Tameka here: We started
our journey early this morning from Entebbe in route to Gulu. We arose and
loaded all of our trunks; that we are so grateful to have finally picked up
from Entebbe Airport yesterday. Prior to
pulling on our journey, we took a few minutes to thank God for His divine timing,
and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. We took our first stop at a
local café, which was totally warranted since some of us are professional
coffee drinkers.
So we
arrived, and as the newest member of the team, I (Tameka), describe Gulu as a
breath of fresh air. We met the newest members of Sanctuary of Grace (SOG): Teresa,
Jenny and Elizabeth. We then quickly began unpacking supplies for VBS and got
settled in our spaces (preferable bunks). Before long it was time for dinner.
The Coggins were so grateful for the smallest things like parmesan cheese and
ranch dressing. It was quite the finishing touch to our delicious spaghetti
dinner. We sat around the table like a big happy family and began telling of
how we all came to meet. In that very moment we all realized that nothing can
compare to God’s divine timing.
The Bible says
“obedience is better than sacrifice” and we as children of God, should always incline
our ear to the heart of God. This is when we can firsthand experience God’s
perfect will and not just His permissive will. God’s timing is always perfect no matter how inconveniencing
we find it at times. He reassures us of His promise, His guarantee that He will
never leave us nor forsake us, and His timing is not our timing. We look
forward to all that He has in store here at SOG and are marveled of all He has
allowed to happen. Tomorrow is pregnant with possibilities.
Rhonda here:
how Blessed we all feel to be serving within Gods will for us. He knows just
who to bring together to make a complete “team” with each bringing the special
gifts that He has nurtured within them.
No matter how many times I’ve been before with Cindy, Susan, & Debra
each time, to include this one, is filled with new Blessings. There is always so much to write about, but I
want to share what I wrote today in my journal as we took the 8 hr bus ride
from Entebbe to Gulu (awesome experience within itself). Each page in my journal has a “Thought for
the Day” & a scripture to go with it.
My scripture today (06 Jul) is from Mark 1:15 (NIV), “The right time has
come. The kingdom of God is near. Change your hearts and lives and believe the
Good News!” It is the “Thought for the Day” that got me thinking, it reads:
Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes
on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.
I wrote…”absolutely, especially if you travel as a missionary to a 3rd
world county where there is extensive poverty that is increased by an enormous
lack of clean water & health care & education. It’s more of a reality when you’re physically
staring at it, when you’re shaking its hand, when your sharing the Love of
Christ with it. Really, what is 1,000 of miles & money when you’re serving
God? All you have means nothing if you are not serving God. How far would you
walk to church carrying your own chair to sit in simply to hear God’s message
& be part of the body of Christ? Oh, the walk is in the heat of noon, on
red dirt roads/paths, & without shoes. Do you really mean “use me God”
Saturday, July 5, 2014
TRUST, FLEXIBILITY, & THANKFULNESS.....That is the name of the game.
Thank you Lord!!!! First off everyone arrived safe & sound & everyone is doing well. It never ceases to amaze me how God can bring a group of people together, some of whom we have never met before arriving in Uganda, and everyone works together like they have known each other for years :)
Again we say...Thank you Lord!!!! ...since arriving late Thursday night we have been stretched, flexed, and the sifted...all we can say is we are so thankful that God is control. We arrived minus over half of our trunks, which translated into having less than half of the ministry supplies needed for Gulu. We were told they would be in on July 6 & would be delivered to us in Gulu in about 2 more days....For those of you who have been to Uganda you can certainly understand our concern. Time here has a whole different meaning & what you think, and are told, should take an hour or so, can easily turn into several hours to days.Prayers were sent out that everything would arrive the night of July 4th & we would be able to get them the morning of July 5 & head to Gulu - having missed only one day of ministry activities. We headed to Jinja to rest, wait on our trunk, & were able to catch up with some friends. Prayers answered - the trunks arrived & we headed to Entebbe this morning to get them & head to Gulu....well at least that was the plan. As things turned out by the time we had them it was too late to get on the road & head to Gulu....change of plans again....we are staying in Entebbe for the night & will leave early in the morning.
What does all this mean???? Well in short it means that God certainly has a reason we were not to be driving to Gulu yesterday or today. Do we know why???? No, and we may never. But there is one thing we are sure of...He IS in control. We came to serve as He directed us & we will continue to follow His direction....regardless of the "schedule" we thought we would have.
Please continue to pray for us - safety, good health, and for the ministry work God has in store for us.
We are so thankful to be here & be available for whatever He has in store for us!
Cindy, Susan, Rhonda, Deborah, & Tameka
PS Internet has been very unreliable so we will post when we can.
Again we say...Thank you Lord!!!! ...since arriving late Thursday night we have been stretched, flexed, and the sifted...all we can say is we are so thankful that God is control. We arrived minus over half of our trunks, which translated into having less than half of the ministry supplies needed for Gulu. We were told they would be in on July 6 & would be delivered to us in Gulu in about 2 more days....For those of you who have been to Uganda you can certainly understand our concern. Time here has a whole different meaning & what you think, and are told, should take an hour or so, can easily turn into several hours to days.Prayers were sent out that everything would arrive the night of July 4th & we would be able to get them the morning of July 5 & head to Gulu - having missed only one day of ministry activities. We headed to Jinja to rest, wait on our trunk, & were able to catch up with some friends. Prayers answered - the trunks arrived & we headed to Entebbe this morning to get them & head to Gulu....well at least that was the plan. As things turned out by the time we had them it was too late to get on the road & head to Gulu....change of plans again....we are staying in Entebbe for the night & will leave early in the morning.
What does all this mean???? Well in short it means that God certainly has a reason we were not to be driving to Gulu yesterday or today. Do we know why???? No, and we may never. But there is one thing we are sure of...He IS in control. We came to serve as He directed us & we will continue to follow His direction....regardless of the "schedule" we thought we would have.
Please continue to pray for us - safety, good health, and for the ministry work God has in store for us.
We are so thankful to be here & be available for whatever He has in store for us!
Cindy, Susan, Rhonda, Deborah, & Tameka
PS Internet has been very unreliable so we will post when we can.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
The journey begins....
By this time tomorrow 3 team members will be on our way to Uganda from the US, 1 team member will be getting ready to leave Tanzania to meet up with us in Uganda & 1 other team member will be leaving Korea to join the team...Can't wait for the team to be together! So excited to see what God has in store for us this year. The focus will be on children's ministry with 350+ children for VBS at one location & ???? number of children for Bible Club at another location. We had originally planned on also having a medical clinic in a remote village, but due to new requirements for visiting nurses we have had to cancel the clinic.... disappointing, but we trust the Lord will reveal a better plan for us. Looking forward jumping into the next 2 weeks of ministry work & watching God do some amazing things in our lives & those of whom we are going to share HIS love with!
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