Fruitful Lives

Yesterday our pastor shared a message using the acronym LIFE. He shared with the graduates from the Orphanage that when they received Jesus they began a long race. They had a great start, but now they (and us) need to continue the race and have Longevity ('L') to finish strong. We must live in a manner to love others.  The letter 'I' stood for Integrity. The letter 'F' stood for Fruitfulness.  The letter 'E' stood for Equipping others to continue the work the orphanage started.

It was FRUITFULNESS that stirred something inside of me. Pastor mentioned the fruit of a Christian is his/her relationships. As I have mentioned in the past, I've learned life is about love and relationships.  Well today our team did skits and songs at two places.  One was the orphanage (Siita) and the other was the Rivers of Life Church.  It was at the church that I met Annet, a nice young lady that graduated from Siita and now works for Amazima. Amazima is the ministry founded by Katie Davies, author of "Kisses from Katie".  It was fun to learn how the church in Hawaii helped Annet connect with Amazima and how she eventually was hired from a pool of 600 applicants. And it was great to see how Annet's new relationship with Amazima may help other Siita graduates as Siita's graduates need jobs and Amazima needs workers.  Above all, it was great to learn that Annet is cultivating relationships with so many children in Amazima in the same manner that she grew up, surrounded by children at the orphanage. Fruitfulness indeed!

Not that we should cultivate relationships expecting something in return, but simply we should do so out of love. I am guilty of not doing a good job in maintaining relationships.  This is something I really need to work on. At least now I am more aware of this.

Thanks again for joining me in this journey.

Siita's 15 Year Anniversary

Today we visited the orphanage, Siita Nest, during their 15 year anniversary celebration.  We had a chance to see the kids, though we didn't have much of a chance to interact with them due to the activities. The celebration lasted for hours. It included a few performances by the kids and messages by a few people involved with Siita, including our pastor, and Mama Alice (Siita's founder).  

One of the highlights was seeing so many of the graduates from Siita visiting the orphanage. Many of them are successful professionals that are involved with Siita not only to give back, but also because Siita is where their family is. 

I was able to find my two kids. I hugged them and told them I love them, but didn't have much of a chance to really spend time together.  I can't wait to see them again tomorrow. 

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.