Safari

After our first night of rest in Uganda we got back on the road for an eight hour drive on bumpy roads to a safari destination, the Mweya Safari Lodge in the Queen Elizabeth National Park.  On out way here we stopped at the Equator line in Uganda.

Once we  arrived at our destination we did a quick drive to try to see some wild animals before spending the night at the lodge.  This morning we got up early to drive around the park. Between last night and this morning we've counted six lion sightings, three elephant sightings, a few hippos, and several other types of animals. Late today we will go on a river boat to hopefully see more wild life.

Here is a picture of a female lion we saw last night. She was hiding behind some shrubs next to the road keeping an eye on some antelope. We speculated she was patiently waiting for nightfall to hunt.

As we continue team building and enjoying Gods creation we have been preparing to meet the kids. We've been practicing our songs, skits, etc. We are also studying Romans 12:1-21. I leave you with this: "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."  I find it encouraging that through your faith and prayers we are together in this journey and are one body in Christ. 

UPDATE

We just got back from the river boat. We saw plenty of elephants, water buffaloes, hippos, a couple of crocodiles, some baboons, and tons of birds. 

Aloha Uganda

We are in Uganda. It was another long day of travel from Brussels. We are in Entebbe in a rustic place for one night. Tomorrow we will drive to a Safari destination.

I'll write more later. Keeping this blog up from a phone and limited wifi is a little challenging, but I am glad I can do it.

Blessings!

Greetings from Brussels

I met with the team in Newark, NJ. It was great to see so many of my friends from KCC. I am excited to spend time with them again.

Our team arrived in the morning of 12/28 in Brussels, Belgium. We were tired and wishing to go to sleep, but decided to go out to town instead. We took a 15 min train ride to the down town area. We visited the famous Grand-Place area. I'll try to upload some pictures soon. 

We spent the night here. We'll be heading out to the airport soon for another long flight to Uganda. We arrive there at 8:35PM.  

I'll try to write some more later.  

Blessings and thanks for following along. 

Getting Ready to Visit Uganda Again

It's been about three years since I last wrote.  As some of you may recall, this journey started as I began discovering that life is about love and relationships.  It never occurred to me that I would one day be going to another country simply to cultivate this.  After my first trip to Uganda I couldn't imagine not going back.  Here I am, continuing this blog, because once again I have this awesome opportunity to travel to Uganda.  I will be going with the same church I went with last time (Kailua Community Church).  I left many good friends in Kailua and I am very excited to see them again.  Not only that, I left many good friends in Uganda.  Most importantly, I have two kids there (Jessee and Norah) that I can't wait to see. 


I've explained this a few times, but I think it is worth repeating that although Rebecca and I sponsor Jessee and Norah through KCC and Siita Nest (the orphanage), my relationship with these beautiful kids is a little different than what you would expect.  Suffice to say that they call me dad.  Yes, it was hard to wrap my mind around that, but if you understand a little of the culture in Uganda and understand that kids grow up with many moms and dads because their real parents may not be around, then things start making sense. 


I still have to catch up on things with the team, but I understand we will be visiting one orphanage and three churches.  We have three teams; a medical team (I am unsure about this), a skit/games/crafts team, and a team that provides good and sound advice to the young adults we will be visiting.  On top of that, our pastor and another good friend will spend some time and provide training to some of the local pastors. 


We fly out the day after Christmas and we return January 15th.  This time we will be traveling via New Jersey, Brussels, and Uganda (Entebbe).  My friends ask me how I can get away from my wife and kids during the Christmas break and not get in trouble.  Well, I am blessed.  Rebecca knows what a life changing experience this was for me and realizes this is such a unique opportunity. 


I'll be missing my family, but I trust they'll be fine.  Here is a recent picture of our family doing some work outdoors.

More About Siita and Sponsoring Kids

Let me tell you more about the Siita Nest Mother's Love Home orphanage we partner with and visited during our trip to Uganda.  Siita is located in Jinja, which is a couple of hours East from Kampala.  Jinja is also a major city and it is located on the shores of Lake Victoria.  The orphanage is ran by an amazing woman, Mama Alice.

I don't know exactly how many kids there are at Siita but I know we invited 250 of them to join us at a pool party at the hotel we were staying at.  They have kids of all ages there.  As I mentioned before, the kids are very well cared for.  They are clean, they looked healthy, they are receiving a good education, and they have great manners.  I know they receive a good education because their English is much better than other kids we visited.  In addition, I met Siita graduates who are professionals or are in college, pursuing a degree.

Our church has partnered with Siita for a few years now so we have seen the positive impact Siita has had on the lives of kids.  As we continue to see the benefits of sponsoring kids and gain assurance that whatever funds we send there are being used wisely, others want to contribute.

Over the last two weeks we've been sharing with the congregation at church about our trip and our visit to Siita.  As you know, being a kid in Uganda is rough.  Aids and violence have left many kids orphans.  A place like Siita provides a loving home a loving family, and education to many of these kids.  Last weekend we had a sponsorship drive, to try to get more sponsors for kids at Siita.  So far we know of 50 new people that have made a commitment to sponsor a kid. That's totally awesome!  $35 dollars a month can change the life of a kid.  We will have at least one more drive so we may even get more sponsors.

Mama Alice and her staff will have to open their arms to a few more kids.  I don't think that'll be a problem.  Speaking of Mama Alice, I recently heard she is in the hospital.  Please pray for her.  

If you are interested in learning more about how to help or even sponsor kids, check out this site.  http://kailuacommunitychurch.com/BlessAfrica.php.  Here's a link to Siita's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SiitaNestLoveHome?fref=ts and some other info from that page.

A Thank You Letter To Friends and Family

Here is a thank you letter I sent to friends and family who contributed financially to this trip.  Some things I may not have shared here yet.  

Hello again and most importantly, thank you, for joining me through your contribution and prayers, in showing love to kids in Uganda.  I hope you’ve been able to read the blog I started to share with friends and family about this journey.  I’ve been blessed tremendously in so many ways and I trust you have been blessed too, as you’ve read or heard about some of the things that took place during this trip.  I am confident God will continue to bless you, for when you take care of His little ones, He’ll also take care of you. 

Mark 9:36-37 reads: 36 He took a little child whom He placed among them.  Taking the child in His arms He said to them, 37”Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."        

You may not realize it but you have certainly welcomed several of these little ones.  We opened our hands to them, we opened our arms to them, and we opened our hearts to them.  Every single time I extended a hand to one of them they reached out and grabbed it.  In fact, often I extended a hand to one of them and two or three others also came to grab my hand.  Every single time I opened my arms to one of them they embraced me, and others also came looking for an embrace.  I was blessed to be there physically but I know I also represented you and your heart towards these little ones. 

As you know, the main purpose of this trip was simply to give love to these kids.  We did this through songs, dancing, plays, holding hands, embracing and lots of smiles and laughter.  (We also had a medical team and a life skills team focused on counseling young adults but it all revolved around giving love).  

Why was this so important?  Many of these kids are orphans or come from broken or dysfunctional families.  Remember Aids has rampaged through Uganda.  In some of the best case scenarios, care givers are often consumed with trying to provide for the basic family necessities and may not be there for the little ones.  We saw some very crude realities too.  I met a little girl with a beautiful smile but with a broken front tooth.  I tried asking her what happened but she backed away as she covered her mouth.  Later I found out that relatives sometimes break the teeth of little girls to protect them from child sacrifices.  I didn’t inquire much, but I understand such things do take place.  I also heard of young women sharing stories of rape and sexual slavery.  I also saw a kid whose face had been cut with a knife. He had a long scare on the right side of his face.  He was likely a victim of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).  The LRA is known for killings and ruthless treatment of kids.  I heard some stories that are so horrible I would rather not have heard and I would rather not repeat.

It is not surprising that these kids loved us back so much.  They are not used to someone simply loving them.  The funny thing is we thought we would be going there to give love but we were the ones receiving.  In the process, my life was changed.  I didn’t know I was capable of pouring out my heart like this and being filled like this.  I realize most of us have not begun to understand how vast love can be and how powerful it is. 

By now, you probably know Rebecca and I will be sponsoring two kids from the Siita orphanage.  As I’ve shared before, this is very different from any sponsorships we’ve been involved in in the past. 

The love God has placed in my heart for these two kids baffles me considering I’ve only spent a few days with them.  I think of them often and I pray for them every day.  Rebecca and I are still discussing this, but I can’t imagine not being part of their life in a somewhat tangible manner.  We don’t know what this means but at a minimum I think it means we’ll be making more trips to Uganda.  Again, I thank you for your prayers.    

So we went to Uganda to love kids.  We did it, it was great, and we’ve been blessed tremendously but that’s not all.  We also loved young adults and adults.  I personally built relationships with a few of them but must importantly, our church strengthened its relationship with many of them.  See, our church has been involved in the lives of many kids in Uganda for a while.  Some of these kids grew up and are now young adults.  It is very rewarding to see how through the Siita Nest orphanage and the partnership with Kailua Community Church (KCC) and people like you, kids that were once orphans now have a huge family.  They have a family with many moms, many dads, many brothers and sisters at Siita and at KCC.  Some of these kids have grown now to be responsible young adults contributing to society and giving back to their family at Siita Nest.  I met several college students that are orphans, grew up at Siita and are actively involved at Siita.  I know of a young man who will graduate as a lawyer in 3 months and intends to go into politics to affect the lives of Ugandan’s in a global manner.  I know of a young woman who is a nurse and continues going to school.  She is currently, by default, the main healthcare provider at Siita, though she has two jobs.  I know of a sharp and eloquent young woman who is studying mass communications and has a promising future.  I know of a young man who started his own business and wants to expand it to the US via the internet.  I know of another young woman who is about to graduate from college, who is also a distance runner.  I don’t know her times, but she is good enough that she has been invited to international competitions.  All of these young people consider the kids and staff at Siita as their family and they are becoming mentors to the little ones. 

Two of the staff at Siita had a calling to start a church.  They did and the church is growing.  This is the Rivers of Life Church.  We spent a few days there too and interacted with some 200+ kids.  These kids are not necessarily orphans but they clearly come from poor or broken families.  The point I want to make is that through partnerships of various sorts, Siita Nest is having a tremendous impact in the community.  

This is also the case at the Gospel of life Church.  This church is in the slums of Kampala.  A few years ago the building was in such bad shape that it actually collapsed during a storm.  KCC partnered with the Gospel of Life Church and financed the construction of a solid and large concrete structure.  This church brings hope to many families in the slums.  We also spent a few days there and we interacted with some 400 kids. 

Finally, I want to close with a quote by Jim Elliot.  “He is no fool, who gives that which he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.” 

Thank you again and may God bless you richly as you have welcomed His little ones.

How Is It Possible I Care for These Kids So Much?

I drafted this post several days ago but I hesitated to post it.  I've shared much of what God has been doing in me but some things are a little more difficult to share than others.  Most of all, I have to search my heart and find out what my true motives are for sharing.

If you know me, you'd know I am not (or was not) the type of person who reaches out to people to build or establish relationships.  I hardly even keep up with friends.  I am not (or was not) the type of person who would just all of the sudden grow a love for someone whenever or wherever.  In fact, much of my married life, Rebecca has accused me of lacking empathy.  Sadly, I was even proud of this.  I can be calculating and cold.

So what happened?  Well, God happened.  He trully has been working in softening my heart for a while.  First, I have to say the simple messages I've been hearing at church for the last several months began to speak to me more than usual.  I don't know why.  Then I started meeting with a great group of guys who challenged me in the areas God was already working on.  Then God sparked an interest in me for the book "Kisses from Katie."  Just look at the title.  Does that look like the type of book any guy would want to read?  No way!  You'd be surprised to know that I went to the book lady in the house (Rebecca) and told here I wanted to read the book.  God used this book and placed that first seed in my heart for Uganda.

Then God created an opportunity for me to go to Uganda. Then he caused me to have this extraordinary love for kids that I have barely known.  I can't even begin to understand how it is possible to love James and Sarah as much as I do after having spent only a few days with them.

This isn't me.  This isn't what I do.  This is Him and this is what He does.  I have been transformed.  I have tasted what He has given me and I want more.  My desire for more of Him reminds me of Phillipians 3:10

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death

For whatever reason, He chose to do this work in me.  If anything, what I've done is I have asked Him to use me and to certain extent, I have allowed Him to work in me.  The journey continues because I know He is not done with me.

Please continue praying for the kids in Uganda.  May God bless you richly.