Plane Hopping

Today we gathered our gifts and clothes. Said our thanks to William, Dickens, Anita, and Fred. William said a prayer over us, we loaded the bus and took off toward the airport in Entebbe.  We ate at Java Cafe, which is more American style food ( We had KFC, which was better than home for dinner last night.) and did some quick shopping for ourselves. Goodbyes are such sweet sorrow.

We barely made our plane from Entebbe because of lines. Some people were really sick on the planes again. Otherwise getting to Seattle was uneventful. Chris and Hunter left Dubai after us. At Seattle the drivers to Portland left us to catch their ride. The rest of us took off for our flight to Portland.

Please keep praying for health and safety.

To God be all glory!

Danelle

Last Day of Mission

Today was our last day at Kacungwa and the clinic. The doctors requested Jill and a few others to go help in the morning,  so we bypassed tea at Pastor Sylver's house to jump right into clinic work. Jill, Angel, Jossy and I got off in Sixteen and got to work testing blood and sorting pills. The critical ward wasn't as busy but we still saw about 300 people again today, so over the 3 days they saw 850-900 people.
That is a lot of blood tests and pills! And a lot of being on your feet.
Please pray for the doctors and nurses who gave their time and energy to that ministry. That they would be healthy and recover their strength quickly.

The coolest part about this morning was I was allowed to fill medicines and hand them to the nurse outside. I had help, of course. I'm far from a pharmacist. We've also been counting pills, so I've been breaking the law for God. It feels good.  :)

We left about 3 to have lunch at Pastor Sylver's.

Brandon never made it out of Mubende with us this AM. He and Dickens stayed in town to check out feed prices and other pig related things.

Anita taught us a song. Mine, mine, mine, Jesus is mine. Mine, mine, mine, Jesus is mine. Mine, mine, mine, Jesus is mine. Jesus is the son of God. Wange, wange, Yesu wange, wange, wange, Yesu wange, wange, wange, Yesu wange. Yesu mwana waka tonda.

Then we all went into the church and they had a whole ceremony to say goodbye. The mama's cooked rice and a piece of meat with broth for each of us. We had JUST come up from lunch, so it was hard to eat, but we did our best to not be rude. The school choir sang and a few tiny kids. They then called up each of us to give a gift. All the mothers got clutch bags, the girls got bracelets (Mariah and Maria got one because they are younger?). The men all got food pots with lids. We also received random gifts of avocado, pineapple, knitted items, shoulder decor, seeds, etc. There were group photos and tears and hugs and so many I love you's from everyone! It was overwhelming!! It was so humbling!!

After, we slowly waded through the sea of love, and got on the bus. There were a few more tears from the girls.

We then went into Mubende to grab our packed suitcases and drive off to Kampala for the night.

What an amazing and blessed last few days!

Danelle

Last Kacungwa Day

Today is Sunday again, which means we are almost finished here. People are making plans to return with programs for kids and other needs they see.

Big Brian gave his testimony of being a sponsored child and he just graduated from University. He sang. His brother got up and is a teacher in his first year in the field. They are a good example of what the people's kids can be if they stay in school

The children's choir is called Spirit Filled. Crescent is the name of the choir leader.

Michelle led the teens in Beautiful Things and How Great Is Our God on her guitar.

Brandon preached on Matthew 9:29, Hebrew 11:6,8 , Roman's 14, and Luke 17:5 . James 1:2-3, Jobs 7:17-18, 1Peter 1:5-7, Jonah 2:7, Isaiah 48: 10, Exodus 16:4, Luke 16:11, 2Chor 8:8-7 and a others. Faith
Is 64:4
God uses trials, commands, money and delays to build our faith. Amazing sermon from God. Rejoice continually , obey immediately, give generously, wait patiently. All of us were blessed by it.

Brandon and I had some family meetings and got to visit our kids homes, so we didn't make it to the clinic again. The rest of the team got there about 3PM. It was later than we expected, but they still saw 250-300 people today. Christopher, Angelica, Ida, Kenneth, Dennis, Francis, Christine, and all the others work almost tirelessly and do the best they can with what they have.

I am looking forward to more clinic work today,  which will be our last day at Kacungwa.

Please pray for health still. One person will improve and another gets attacked. We are almost there!

Love in Christ,
Danelle

1st Day Medical Mission

Wow! Today was amazing. Thank you, God for  the strength to make it through!!

We had tea at Pastor Sylver's home and then off to the clinic. We sorted pills into prescribed amount, took temperatures, comforted and wiped people's brows, did lab tests, organized, numbered and directed people, guarded the food for the doctors, and whatever else we needed to do.

The day went fast, but we saw about 300 people today with lots of malaria, some typhoid and surprisingly few HIV positives.

We all loved it so much! The people were so appreciative and kind. They wore their best even when feeling their worst. One lady bowed when handing off her urinalysis test strip.

I started sorting pills and ended in the lab doing blood sugar testing. Loved it!

God is so good and I can't wait until tomorrow!
Danelle

Friday

Today was kind of a down day. Brandon spent all day organizing for the Co-op meeting and holding it in the afternoon.
Most of us went into Sixteen to help set up tents and other things for the free medical mission Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  They also had a chance to buy some basic supplies for their kid's families and visit some of their homes.

I could not visit one of my kids because he lives too far away, but hopefully the other three when I am up to it.
I was not feeling so good, so I was just hanging at Pastor Sylver's house for a while. Which was good. One of my kids, John came and I finally got to talk with him where we weren't surrounded by noise and others. He's very soft spoken, quietness is humbleness here, and he's also harder to understand. So God can use diarrhea to bring a blessing.

I had a nice visit with Twatwa. Allen fed him left over bread and another lady 3 bananas. He he ate and a few people were laughing at his antics. He came and hugged me and I played him my videos from the safaris. He gave me lots of hugs and then he left. He's so smiling and loving. He has a sad story. His mother died and his whole family has basically rejected him for having downs syndrome.  Sylvia, the social worker, found him with chiggers in his hands and feet. She has been bathing him and teaching him what she can. He can't go to school because they don't have a program here for him. There is a school in Kampala, but it's expensive.

Those who weren't visiting hung out with kids and talked and played. Some of us had to have a tough talk with our kids about going to school. We tell them we love them and that if they don't go to class then the program will cut them off. We don't want to be taken advantage of and they are stealing school from someone who wants to go but can't if they are not honest with us. So go, or say I'm finished.
If a child doesn't pass a grade, then they are given the option of trade school. That would be sewing, hair dressing,  kitchen work, hospitality for a hotel... Not glamorous,  but better pay than digging dirt.

I have to go to breakfast,  but today is the first mission day, so I will try and post again tonight.

Please keep praying!!
Danelle

African Massage

The last 2 days have been awesome! We had showers that were warm, meals that did not include matoke for a change, and saw so many animals that we didn't see last time. Included on the list are:
Lions
Spotted Hyenas
Elephants
Water Buffalo
Water Bucks
Crockodiles
Hippos
Kingfishers
Fish Eagles
Wide Tailed Swallow
Giraffes
Heartbeasts
Oribi
Marabou Stork
Egyptian Geese
Wart Hogs
Baboons
Butterflies
Guinea Fowl
Abyssinian Brown Hornbill
Ugandan Kobe
Sudanese Kobe
Denim Bustard Bird
Brown Snake Eagles
White Backed Vulture
Tapas Monkeys
Egrets
Many more I couldn't hear the names of.

Dickens and Anita both went with us on the safaris, as well as Anita's daughter Brandy and Michael, the owner of the tour company. A great time was had by all!

We had lunch at New Courtview Hotel, which was good and you can rent huts there that have warm showers and are nice, according to an Italian couple we met who are helping with an orphanage here. It is closer to the game park as well.

We drove back to Kampala where Ken, Renee, Mariah, Michelle, Adam and Tim spent the night for their trip to Jinja on Friday. The rest went on to Mubende for the night to be in Kacungwa on Friday.

Please keep us in your prayers again. Some of us are having minor health issues.

Thank you for upholding us!

Danelle

PS. In case you are wondering, an African Massage is what you get driving on the roads. Bumpy, rocky, sometimes bruising.

Bethany Village

Today we woke up early and drove from Mubende to Kampala, Gaba suburb. We visited the ARM head office and had lunch with our city kids. We all got on 2 boats and went across Lake Victoria to Bethany Village. I had never been, so I was excited to see it.

It has 7 functions. They are the orphanage, clinic, school, farm, child sponsorship, community outreach and free vaccines, and retreat center to give city people a break.
We saw the inside of one of the homes, Wisdom House where Betty is the mother. She has 8-15 kids in her home at a time and they function as a family. There are chores and meals, study and school, sleep and love.
The farm is pretty impressive. They have pigs and chickens, fish, bananas, cabbages, sweet potatoes, cassava, tomatoes, beans, and corn. Most is grown to feed the kids, experiment with techniques and teach others how to grow, and the rest is sold to keep the village running.
They school is a primary school and the secondary students board at school in Gaba, but have holidays back at the village with their families.
This is one place your clothes donations were going too, so thank you so much for that blessing.

After Bethany Village, we had dinner with Alex and Faith Mutagubya. We had Indian and Chinese. It was great food and we talked about the City Church. They bought a piece of land and are looking at building a multi level church so they have parking. It is closer to the road, but smaller. The place where the tent is has given them 3 years to move, so they are hoping to build debt free if they can.
Faith is also working as the principal for The Fields kindergarten until they find someone to fill the position.

We are staying at the Victoria Hotel in Kampala and we leave early tomorrow for our safari day. I think I speak for everyone that they are happy to see new things, but wish we were still in Kacungwa with our kids.

Yours in Christ,
Danelle