New Hope Orphanage

I told you that I would save a post for the Orphanage. This is part one. I'm posting some photos and the link to the church/school website.

Todd and I have left Uganda with Pastors Chris, Agnes, and the Kids at New Hope firmly in our hearts.

A few more pics.....

Here are Winnie and the Praise Team worshipping God in Kampala at Salaama Full Gospel Church International. What an awesome Team! Enjoy the pictures of this amazing group!

Here is my friend Vivien that I have written about several times. She is the most amazing worship leader. When she begins to usher us into the presence of God, you feel like you can reach out and touch Him. I miss Vivien!

Here is a picture of London. Doesn't it look British?

Here is a monkey that greeted us at the airport in Entebbe.

We're Ba-ack!

Home sweet home! Boy it's great to see the kids! I woke up with one husband and three kids in my bed. It was nice to get up this morning and take care of the kids. We were always waited on hand and foot while we were in the hotel.

There is so much to tell about our trip. I really don't know where to begin. I'll be able to post pictures on my next post. They are all saved on my work computer which is not currently online.

I guess I'll start at the beginning and post a little at a time. God worked things out for us on our trip over. Todd and I were able to sit together on each flight. We made all of our connections. Our malaria pills did not make us sick. My asthma wasn't great, but resting for hours on end on the planes really did help. Rest is the best thing for me when I'm not breathing well.

We were able to go into London for a very short while. It was fun though! We didn't feel confident that we had enough time to tour around and see any major sites, so we just took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and walked around town. We got a few pictures and sent the kids a post card. The dollar is very weak right now, so London was very expensive for us. It's not the best time financially to visit Europe!

We flew from Tampa to Chicago, Chicago to London, London to Nairobi, and Nairobi to Entebbe. Once we finally got to Entebbe we discovered we were short 3 out of 4 bags. I stood in line with about 20-30 Ugandans reporting our lost bags. As it turns out, the plane from Nairobi to Entebbe was very full. Not everyone's luggage could fit on the plane. There was another plane coming over a few hours later, so why not put some of the luggage on that plane? It's all going to the same place, right? So, a few hours later our bags arrived.

Pastor Ken and Pastor Chris (a Ugandan pastor in Kampala) were late picking us up. Since I spent so much time in line reporting our lost bags, we didn't actually wait outside too long. All of the Ugandan cab drivers were very helpful. We had at least 5 different drivers offer to call Pastor Ken for us. Uganda is a very friendly country! We saw several monkeys at the airport. That was very cool.

Our first 4 days were spent in Kampala. As I posted before, the air quality is very poor. It was extremely difficult for me to breathe well. I'm curious as to whether or not I would have done much better if I had not already been sick.

We loved Pastor Chris and his wife Pastor Agnes. Yes, Pastor Agnes. They were both wonderful! I'll post pictures of their church service later. The praise team/choir was incredible! The worship leader, Winnie (yes, another woman leader) did an amazing job. Worshipping in Uganda is so free and natural. The masks that we tend to wear at church do not exist in Uganda. No one tries to appear like "everything is fine." There is an unashamed dependency on the Lord that we don't often have here in the states. It's just something I hope each of you can experience for yourself someday.

We met Karen and Sandy Baird from Manna worldwide. Karen spoke along with me and Renate at the Women's Conference. Manna sponsers feeding centers all around the world. One of the newest feeding centers is Pastor Chris's orphanage in Kampala. I'll save a post for the orphanage. It was really amazing! We enjoyed Karen and Sandy. They will be coming to FishHawk in October for our missions celebration. I hope all of you FishHawk people will make it a point ot meet them!

Well, that's enough for now. I will post more later with pictures.

The Wild Nile!

We did it! We white water rafted the Nile River today, and I am still here to tell about it. Yes, I went swimming a lot. We went over two class 5 rapids. I'll admit, I was scared, but we had a really good time. Todd, my new friend Vivian from Botswana and I were the only ones to go today. The rest of the group will go on Tuesday or Wednesday after we are gone.

Our time in Iganga was very sweet. The women's conference there was amazing. The clinic was very busy, and many ladies had their hands full trying to do a VBS with the children. I am learning to speak Lungandan and am working on their traditional dance. I have a few songs now that I can sing in various African languages. I hope I can remember them at home!

We spent yesterday in Njeru which is in Jinja. Todd spent most of the day in the clinic. Vivian and I were in charge of the VBS, which turned into more of a school visit. Long story. It was fun though. Vivian, Lindsey (from Alabama) and I went over to town to see the soccer clinic going on. We got a tour through the villages and market. That was really nice. The soccer clinic went well, the tournament is going on right now. The last teams are playing and it's tied 2 to 2.

Yesterday afternoon Todd and I both had a chance to watch the Rally Team (made up of young adults/teens from Jinja) do some street evangelism with puppets and drama. They drew quite a crowd! They did an incredible job.

I'm only giving the very briefest thumbnail sketch of what has gone on here. We have seen many people accept Christ. We have seen many women blessed by Bibles, the spoken Word, and gifts. We have loved on children. (We have even had 2 girls ask us to take them home with us.) It has been an incredible experience for us. I hope to be able to share more detail later.

Keep my mom in your prayers - she has the kids now until we get home Monday night! We have a banquet tonight, church tomorrow, and then we begin our journey home on Sunday afternoon. See you soon!

We Are Here!

Hi everyone!

We are here in Uganda! I will write little because I am paying by the minute for the internet connection......

We arrived in Kampala on Saturday. We have had an amazing trip so far. I have had some asthma issues while in Kampala. The air quality is very poor. You can literally see the pollution. We were greeted at the Entebbe airport by monkeys! They were so cute! We lost 3 of our 4 bags, but they were found within the day. God has been very good to us!

There are not enough words to describe the experiences we had in Kampala. From Pastor Chris's orphanage which houses 800 children, to the amazing worship at his church, to the women's conference where we saw a muslim girl give her life to Christ........I could go on forever. After experiencing Sunday's worship, we were satisfied with our trip.

We are now in Jinja and the air is clear. Hallelujah! We are headed to Iganga today and tomorrow. I will speak at the women's conference. Todd doesn't have his assignment yet. He was the pharmacist at our last conference. He said he sampled a little of everything.......

Keep us and our family in your prayers!

We're on our way!

Well, we are finally almost on our way. Unfortunately, I (donna) have come down with a cold. I'm sure I will get lots of dirty looks on the plane. Todd and I checked in online tonight, and we don't get to sit together from here to Chicago! That means I'll be coughing on 2 complete strangers. Not likely to make friends that way! We do get to sit together from Chicago to London. It's too early to check in for London to Nairobi or Nairobi to Entebbe. I just hope the Lord grants me (and the people around me) rest on the plane.

We have promises of being online while oversees, so please check in from time to time to see what's happening. I hope to add a bit every few days. We'll see!

If all the flights are on time, Todd and I will have time to tour around London for a few hours. We plan to get lunch and see some sights. Pray that they'll give us visas with my red snotty nose and croupy cough. Better yet, pray that I lose the snot and croup!

Enough about us (me), that's not why we're going. Please pray for the people of Uganda. Pray for the women who will be attending the conferences. The Lord has laid a message on my heart for the women about the calling He has for each woman. Pray that they will feel loved, begin to see their worth in the eyes of the Lord, and feel a special touch from the Holy Spirit.

Pray for the orphans in Uganda, that they will feel the embrace of their heavenly Father. Pray for the students and villagers who will hear the gospel message. Pray for the Pastors, that they will be educated and receive a fresh touch from the Lord. Pray for the doctor on the team as he seeks to treat patients with limited resources.

Pray for our team, many of whom have never been to Africa, some who have never been on a mission trip. Pray for health, safety, and unity.

Pray for our family. Pray for us. We'll be in touch!