A Beautiful Ugandan sunset!!

Praise and Worship time!

Jess, Laura and Sarah at the market.

A produce market. So beautiful!

Beautiful feet!

Laura doing Carol's feet.

Jess doing Sumaya's feet.

Sarah doing Eva's feet!

A gorgeous Ugandan sunrise!!

The market...

Week 5!!

Hello to all my dear friends and family!!!!

We are in our 5th week here in the beautiful country of Uganda. Time is flying by so quickly. It is hard to believe!! Sarah and I have grown to love the people here so so much. They have been such a blessing to us, more than we could ever bless them.

Tomorrow we are going to go on a trip to Western Uganda and visit a game park. We are excited to camp a couple of nights at Queen Elizabeth National Park. Hopefully we will be able to see some elephants, giraffes, lions and other big animals. Although we are very excited for this experience we are also very sad to leave our kids. We absolutely love to just spend time with them.

Some of the leaders of New Hope decided to give Jess, Jon, Sarah and I new African names. Jessica’s new name is Kwagala, which means Love. Jon’s is Mukisa, which means Blessing. Sarah’s new name is Mirembe, which means Peace. And my new name is Sanyu, which means Joy. The kids at New Hope love calling us by our new names. It is taking awhile to get used to our new names when they call. They call me Auntie Sanyu. It’s precious!

Saturdays are very full days. It is the day that all the children are there because there is no school. We try to make Saturdays especially fun for the kids with songs, color pages, dance and games. We have learned about love and the love that God had for us to give us His only Son. Also, we have taught about not being afraid and trusting God when we go through hard times. We have learned about the Armor of God as well. These kids have been like little sponges, just soaking up as much as they can about the Bible and Jesus. I am constantly amazed at their eagerness to learn.

Sunday was a very special day for us. We got to help plant a church called New Hope Christian Mission. It is a church that meets at New Hope because it is very hard for them to transport all the children to church on Sundays. We were blessed to be able to pray for the church leaders that the Lord would continue to bless them and grow many people up in the Lord. I love worshipping here in Ugandan churches. They really know how to worship Jesus with their whole bodies. There is a really big excitement that comes when praising Jesus.

Last night we all decided to go to New Hope to have a sleep over with the kids. We brought them all cookies and juice. Then we had a time of praise and worship. We all danced around and praised Jesus. The boys all went with Jon and played capture the flag late into the night. Jon said that they were really good and they were really hard to see. But Jon stood out like a beacon of light. :) Jess, Sarah and I took the girls and told them the story of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. We told them that Jesus was a servant and that He put others above Himself. We told them that we wanted to serve them by washing their feet and doing their nails. Each one of us had a basin of water, soap, nail polish, and lotion to give the girls pedicures with. After finishing their nails we prayed with them a prayer of blessing and encouragement. It was a great night. Many of the girls came up and told us that we had done a good thing and they thanked us for serving them. It was a very special time for all of us.

Thank you so much for your prayers. You are all wonderful! May the Lord bless you greatly for all that you have done to make this trip a possibility. Love you!!

In His Hands,
Laura (Sanyu)

Praise the Lord!

Hello Friends and Family!
Oh my goodness I am so excited and overjoyed to be sharing this with all of you. We wanted to do something special with the children so some of them suggested that we have a sleepover and we thought it was a great idea. Last night we went to the store and bought lotion, nail polish, soap, cookies, and some juice and we got ready to have an amazing night with the girls in their dorm. We praised God for a while with everyone and we danced around and shouted with joy and then we broke up into boys and girls to have our night. Jonathan took the boys and played capture the flag in the dark with them which they really enjoyed, and me, Laura, and Jess took the girls to do a feet washing with them. We explained to them how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and that we were so excited to be able to serve them that night just as Jesus did in the New Testament. I cannot explain to you the overwhelming amount of joy I felt as each of the beautiful girls sat in the chair in front of me and I had the opportunity to serve them. To be able to love them like Jesus and scrub their feet no matter how dirty, they were still precious. I had the opportunity to pray with each of them after washing their feet and encourage them, let them know that they are loved, and spur them on in their race of faith. We had such a good time with them and I know that each one of them felt special. It was so amazing to see the light in each of their eyes and hear them thank us for serving them. It could not have been more wonderful!
The Bible teaching and other lessons have also been going very well with all of the girls and children. Just recently we taught on the armor of God and they understood so well. It is so encouraging that they have such a hunger and a passion to read God’s word and learn more and more about him. They have no idea how big of a blessing they are to us and how much we can see Jesus in them everyday. Each and every one of the kids has gone through so so much and in spite of it all they shine the love of Jesus like no one I have ever seen. Everyday when we praise Jesus with them I get chills all over my body because I know that God is moving incredibly in them and in that place and I get overwhelmed with joy.
Recently we let Ken know that we had two digital cameras for him to keep and use at New Hope. He said that he is so incredibly humbled, that he has been praying to God for a camera for years and that he never expected to get one soon or at this time. He could not believe he just jumped for joy so thank you for blessing him and this place so much! God has really been showing me lately that you don’t have to build a house, or do a VBS to impact lives. Simply being around the kids, loving them, talking to them, and serving them has been a blessing. Everything here is about the relationships and spending time with someone can mean so much more than anything else. Even though we may not be able to see what God is doing through us physically, he has given me a peace that he is doing a mighty work. I thank him everyday for what he is done, doing, and is going to do. I was given an African name by Ken and the New Hope staff it means peace and in Lugandan you say it Mirembe. God has a funny way of teaching us things and even before I was given the name I was struggling with getting peace about some things. God has been teaching and helping me to have a peace that he has everything under control, I am just his vessel and it is only through him that I can do his will! Peace was truly the perfect name for me to remember everyday not to worry but to put my trust, hope, and all in Jesus!
Thank you all so much for everything I cannot say it enough and I cannot express to you what you have done here in Uganda and at New Hope. God Bless all you!
In Christ,
Sarah (Mirembe)

A few pics...

Bunches of Bananas!! (Matooke!)

Hi Everyone!!!!

I hope you are all enjoying this first month of summer!! You are all probably pretty busy, because that’s the way summers normally are.

Things are going really well here. Everyday is a full, event-filled day. We are either teaching English, Bible, Life Skills, doing counseling, getting involved in the community or just loving on the kids at New Hope. But we absolutely love it! God has been so good to us by letting us be His hands and feet in this wonderful place. I can’t begin to describe to you how beautiful this country is and how beautiful the people are. They put America to shame when it comes to hospitality and friendliness. They also are pretty laid back when it comes to time. When Sarah and I first arrived Ken would tell us that we walk so so fast. He said that we walked like Americans. Isn’t it funny that even the way that we walk portrays our busy American nature? Ugandans walk at a slow pace and when they greet someone they take a couple of minutes to do so. He laughed how we would greet as we were walking by someone at a fast pace. Ken still has to remind me to walk Ugandan sometimes but I actually really appreciate the laid back nature of the Ugandan people.

Wednesdays are our community outreach days. We have set aside these days to go out into the community and reach out to the hurting in hospitals, prisons, poor sections of town, and anything else were we might need to bring encouragement. This past Wednesday we went to visit an orphanage in Jinja. It was sad to see how an orphanage operates without very much financial help from the outside. The orphanage is actually supported by a group of widows. We sang some songs with them and we hope that we were able to bring some encouragement to them. Then we went to a hospital that was also located in Jinja. Talk about heart wrenching! My heart ached for those people. We visited bed after bed, ward after ward and laid hands on people and prayed for them. Everyone was so glad to have a visitor. I could tell that even a simple smile brought some hope to them. There was this one lady who was in the corner of the ward with her back to the wall. I have never ever seen someone who was just skin and bones like that. Her eyes were so full of fear. She was just waiting to die. How do you bring comfort to someone like that? When we got to the babies ward there was a little child whose body had been burned. The mother said that a candle had fallen onto the baby’s bed. How do you bring comfort to the mother? For most of the patients I had no idea what to tell them. I pray that Jesus used us to bring encouragement to His precious children. There was a big miracle that happened however. There was a man who Jess had prayed with who asked for a Bible. For some reason before we left Busia I felt the Lord tell me to bring my Bible with me. So as soon as Jess told me that this man wanted a Bible I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me to give him the one in my bag. I told the man that I would give him my Bible if he promised to actually read it. Then the Holy Spirit nudged me again to tell Him about Jesus. So with Ken interpreting and Jesus speaking through me we were able to lead this precious soul to Christ. He is now our brother in Christ. I told him to start with the book of John. He was so filled with joy and later when I went to check on him I found him diligently reading the Bible. I thank the Lord so much for that opportunity that He blessed me with.

I love you all so much and can’t wait to talk with you personally about all of these experiences. Continue to pray for increased health care and education for the Ugandan people. Also, pray for Christ to raise up servants to serve at New Hope in a more permanent way. Lift up the people in the hospital to the Lord. Pray that they will find hope and comfort in Christ. Thanks once again for all of your prayers, they mean so much. May the Lord bless you all!

Laura

Jon being his amazing self!

Me, Sarah and Jess at the Jinja Orphanage.

Praise and Worship

One of the baboons that we saw on the way to Jinja.

Teacher Sarah. :)

Hi from Sarah!

Hey Everyone!
I hope that all of you are doing well. We are having such a wonderful time here in Africa playing with the children and teaching them English. I have also had the opportunity to do some counseling with the teenage girls and that has been really enjoyable. On Sunday we had the opportunity to go to an awesome church in Tororo and the people were so friendly and we were dancing and singing throughout the entire service. Just recently we visited some of the larger hospitals in the area and I was absolutely appalled at the conditions. The patients had no IVs or monitors and the entire time we were there I saw only two nurses. Some of the HIV patients were just bones lying in there beds, it was so heartbreaking. We were blessed to have the opportunity to pray with each of the patients and talk to some of them about Jesus. We also prayed with the mothers of some babies who had been burned quite extensively. On the way back we rode in a taxi and there were 25 of us in a 16 passenger van! That is just Uganda for you as many can fit in the car the better, some people even hang on outside the door the entire way. I was sitting on Laura’s lap going over every bump and we were just laughing hysterically because the car was so full that the back end of it was dragging. Yesterday we went to a house of an American missionary family and we got to help cook American food with our Ugandan hosts so it was really a wonderful time of fellowship and fun! God has been blessing us with so many opportunities here from talking to street workers to everything that we have been able to do with the children. Each and every one of them is so precious and we have been so blessed to just be able to love on them and be there big sisters for a couple months. With your support and prayers we have already blessed the orphanage so much through you. We were able to get them Bibles, a guitar, some teaching materials, games, and a couple of other random items that they needed. Thank you so much for partnering with us on this trip and for all of your prayers and support. Everything we do here is God doing it through us because we are completely incapable of doing any of this on our own. Mom and dad I love you so much and thank you for everything that you do and have done for me.
~ Sarah

Hello Everyone!!!
As I am writing this it is pouring rain outside. The people here fear the rain because they think that it causes malaria.

Everything has been going really good here on our end. God is so amazing and faithful to help us when we feel completely inadequate. I feel that He works best when we feel the most inadequate.

Two new volunteers came to join us in ministry. They are really nice and friendly. I love them already. :) Their names are Jessica and Jon. They are our age. Last night the rats were running all over our room. One ran across Jessica in her bed! So the three of us slept together in Sarah's and my bed. It was cozy. :) It is so great to have them with us!

A couple of days ago we did a lot of counseling with some of the children. I was almost brought to tears knowing what some of them have been through. Jesus spoke through me when I had no words. I thank Him for that. They would ask me why there parents have died. Three of the girls just lost their dad. He drowned while he was working as a fisherman. They told me that almost every night they have horrible dreams of their dad drowning and them falling into the water. Another girl wants to be a nurse but can't afford schooling. She needs money for next term which equals about $6 US dollars. I prayed with her and told her that God is the Father to the fatherless and that He cares about everything that she is going through. I also told her that Jesus asks us not to worry and to cast our cares upon Him. When we were done praying she was crying but somehow she seemed relieved. I pray that the Lord brought comfort to her broken heart.

I am falling in love with the precious people here in Uganda. They are constantly amazing me with their kindness and hospitality.

Sorry that I can't write long. I'll try to write more later. :)

Much love,
Laura