Back in America

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am back in the states at home safely! Not so sure how I feel about that... I already miss Uganda like crazy!!!!

Two days ledt in Africa :(

So, I have procrastinated in writing this blog..ha, mainly because I don't even know where to begin. These past few days have been a-m-a-z-i-n-g!! Tuesday was our last day with the kids at the orphanage. We had an amazing day with them! We took them to the agricultural show in town which had some zoo animals. They had a python, some monkeys, a crocodile, a cheetah, and some donkeys that you could ride. There was a snake show so all the kids got to pet the snake. They loved it... some were a little freaked out. Then we bought them all drinks and cookies. Also, we paid for all of them to ride the donkeys. They were too cute! The agricultural show also had some circus rides there, so we let them ride them. On the way back to the orphanage, we bought them all ice cream. I will never forget the joy on their faces all throughout the day! These kids pretty much go to school and to the orphanage. With close to 50 kids, it's a little hard to get them anywhere. But we wanted to show them how much we loved them. We just hung out with them the rest of the day. Every night, they sing and pray before they go to bed. This night after they sang and prayed, we shared the Gospel with them and talked about head knowledge versus knowing something in your heart. Then we just told them how much they meant to us. And how they will not be forgotten. We also shared with them the huge blessing to us they have been this summer. Within the second sentence, I started bawling. Then Tiffany followed. Then we could hear sniffles from the kids. All of us... Ms. Agnes, Grace, Stella, Tiffany, me, and the kids just sat in the silence crying. We gave them all hugs- some held on tight, others weren't so sure what to do. When it was time for the kids to get to bed, Tiffany and I walked to the toilet only to find about 3 girls crying their eyes out. It was so hard. I did not know a group that big could become a family so quickly! It's amazing! I am going to miss them SO much! We are going tomorrow to tell them our final goodbyes!
Wednesday morning we headed back to the hotel to work with Kelly Green Evangelistic Association. We went with the evangelism teams into some schools and marketplaces. It was awesome! Then that night we had a team meeting, which was amazing! The doctor, Jim, gave a devotion. It was amazing. Then we all prayed for the lost at home. We ended with worship and testimonies from the day.
Thursday was a very interesting day! Tiffany and I went with the evangelism teams again. At one of the schools we went to, a girl started almost like hyperventilating and rolling around on the ground. We took her outside and we all started praying for her. At first, everyone thought she was having a seizure, but she got up and started running around like a crazy person. It took about 4 or 5 people to contain her. The Ugandans were shouting out to God for this 13 year old girl. When you walked towards her, you could seriously feel a heaviness around her. She was demon possessed. We continues praying and she calmed down. Then she said a prayer to accept Christ into her life. The second she did that, you could literally feel the heaviness around her leave. The Lord's presence was there like I have never felt before. The enemy knew he would be defeated so he was using anything he could to distract. This precious girl started saying “Yesu, Yesu, Yesu...” which means “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. It was amazing at the change in her life in a matter of minutes. There is NO LIMIT to what the Lord can use! I have realized that the presence of God is so strong here, therefore the presence of the enemy is very strong. The Christians here get up at like 4 am to pray EVERY MORNING! Prayer against the enemy is a matter of survival here. We have so much to learn. I think the enemy is very present in America, but we do not take it seriously. We rely on ourselves way too much, but the power of God is stronger than anything we could ever imagine doing on our own! After a few more schools, we went to a bible study at a church here. This church was an orange tarp held up with sticks in the middle of a field. But talk about some on fire for the Lord people. At the end of the study, we asked if anyone needed prayer. Many people came up asking for prayer for sicknesses and things of that nature. But one 7 year old girl, very soft spoken, came up and asked for prayer for wisdom... yes, wisdom. Wow! Within a matter of minutes, a 9 year old boy came up and asked for prayer for knowledge. Unbelievable. When I was 7 or 9, my prayers would have probably been for something so materialistic... never would I have asked for knowledge or wisdom at that age! Not long after these kids came up, a woman name Francis came up and prayed that she would be able to care for orphans. I was talking to her after the service was over and she told me that her and one other lady are caring for 16 orphans in her home!!! Her dream is to be able to care for more. I am just amazed more and more by the people here, children and adults alike.
Friday we went with the evangelism teams again. It was once again an amazing day. At the first school we went to I shared my testimony. As I was sharing, I noticed a Muslim lady standing in the back listening. During the skits, she was crying when Jesus was crucified. I could not stop looking at her. God really laid her on my heart for some reason, even though there were probably 200 kids before me. After the Gospel was presented and people were just hanging out before we left, I went over to talk to her and another Muslim lady that had come up. Over and over, she began to say thank you for the work that was done there and the message we brought. She then kept asking me when I was coming back. Even more amazing, she gave me her phone number and asked if we could stay in touch. God was really moving in her heart. I did not ask her if she had accepted the Lord because of another Muslim woman was with her. If they accept Christ, they basically are ostracized. But I have her phone number and plan on calling her soon to find out what God was doing in her heart. The last school we visited, I was sitting next to a 13 year old girl named Morrine. She kept asking me questions while people were sharing... deep questions though. Things like “Do people in America have the same struggles as people here?”. Then she told me that she was a born again Christian... Amen! When we were about to leave, she took me aside and said she wanted to talk to me. She began to cry and tell me her life story. Her father died when she was in about 3rd grade. Her mother could no longer support them, so she lives with her grandmother now. Her brothers are not in school because they can not afford school fees. She is in school only by the grace of God. She asked for me to continue praying for her that God would continue to provide fees for her to finish school. Then she handed me a bracelet that she was wearing and said “I want you to keep this, because I don't want you to ever forget me. Can we still be friends when you go back to America?”. Wow. I am speechless.
Saturday, I helped with a dental clinic, then went into town to be a tour guide for souvenir shopping with the team...ha!
Sunday was our last day at Pastor Henry's church. It was an awesome service. Afterwards, we were just saying our goodbyes and getting contact information. Man, I will miss them!
Just those few days have been overwhelming and so amazing all together. I have one day left here in Jinja. We fly out Wednesday night. I am not ready to leave these people! They have captured my heart!!!

Where to begin...

We had an amazing time in Kampala! God did some amazing things. I will give details later because I am in an internet cafe and only have about 20 minutes to write. Needless to say, there is way too much to write about in that short amount of time! But we worked with the rally teams and actually got to go visit an orphanage called Kampala Children's Center with some girls we met from Vancouver, Canada and Manchester, England! The last day we were there, Pastor Ken called us and asked if we would go to Mbarara with part of the team to help with children at a women's conference. We were driving there and had to drive through a national park. We saw a herd of elephants (I took many picture for you Aunt Becky!!). We also saw warthogs, water buffalo, hippos, and antelope. I felt like I was in Lion King or something. The team we went with was absolutely amazing! There is no doubt that that team was put together by God. We became like family in a matter of days! They are from a church in Texas so...road trip to Texas sometime this year!!! We got there and ended up not working with children. We went with the evangelism team to schools and prisons. Yes, prisons. It was awesome. God used me to speak to men in prison! Like 500 of them. I could not have done it without Him enabling me! Then I fell in love with the people of Mbarara. We helped speak to single women at a women's conference. These women captured my heart.
After much prayer and talking, Tiffany and I are spending our last night at the orphanage tommorrow night. We were torn because Kelly Green Evangelistic Association's team is here and we want to work with them, but we still want to be with the kids at the orphanage. So tommorrow, Tiffany and I have arranged to take all the kids from the orphanage to a Circus they are having here! It is going to be an amazing last day with them! And last night Tiffany and I slept with all the girls in the classroom. It was so much fun!
I am in total disbelief that we only have about a week left here in Uganda. As excited as I am to see family and to share what God has done, I am going to miss this place. We have developed some of the most amazing friendships. We have seen the joy of the Lord and passionate hearts like never before. We have seen orphans singing that Jesus is all they need when they are living with close to nothing. We have seen people who have nothing give all they have to the Lord. We have seen true worship. We have seen demons cast out. We have had God reveal so much to us personally. We have met people who's lives are harder than we could ever imagine, yet Jesus is their everything. I could go on and on, but above all, we have seen the Lord orchestrate every little detail and work in mighty mighty ways! I wish all of you could have been here to experience it with me! There is no way to express everything. I just know one thing... this summer has changed my life forever!

Headed to Kampala

So, praise God! I am better!! Thanks to all who have been praying! This is just going to be a quick update. Yesterday Tiffany and I were able to visit the orphanage for a few hours. It was awesome to see the kids again! It's only been a week and I missed them like crazy! It's amazing how quick a place can become a home. They greeted us with giant smiles and hugs!
We are headed to Kampala, Uganda today until Saturday. We will be working with Ken Gallyean and his wife as well as a team from the US that comes in today. They are through a ministry called Call to Africa. We will be doing evangelism rallies, women's conferences, and some other things. Please be in prayer that God would do mighty things! I will update you when we get back.

Rough Day...

Today has been an extremely rough, emotional day! I was feeling much better today. So Tiffany and I decided to go into town. Well after being in town about 15 minutes, I threw up again. So we came back to the hotel. I had an emotional breakdown. For about 2 hours, I just cried. I am just really discouraged by all this. I don't see purpose in it. I didn't come to Uganda to sit in a hotel room. I feel like an inconvenience to every one around me. I want to be with the kids at the orphanage or out doing ministry- not sitting in a hotel room. I am homesick. I guess just sitting in the same room for 5 days makes you more emotional than normal. Then, I talked to my parents. My mom tells me that they stopped a bible study to pray for me. Then, Ms. Agnes was here. She tells me that there are about 6 people (Grace, Stella, and some of the kids) at the orphanage who have been fasting and praying for me today! Then she prays over me for healing! It's just been an emotional roller coaster today!!! I know God has purpose in all this, but I just don't see it right now!

We're Not Gonna Get Malaria...ha!

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So, it has been a week since I have blogged. I have been in bed the past 3 days with malaria. Most of you already know this! Tuesday I woke up feeling really sick... fever, vomiting, headache, chills, sweats, nausea, diarrhea... basically everything in one. I just dealt with it pretty much all day Tuesday until about 5. I then decided I should go to a clinic so I did. They drew blood and found malaria. Tuesday night I was up all night throwing up. Wednesday I was feeling better. I held down breakfast, but not lunch or dinner. Yesterday I held down everything I ate, which is a good sign. It has been a rough few days. I still have nausea, but everything else is good! Malaria is very common here, so it is nothing to worry too much about. It is only deathly if not treated. There's a funny story about all this though. Tiffany was watching something on her computer last night and laughing really hard. I asked her what she was watching. We have been making videos since we got here and she was watching the first video we made at the orphanage. We were under our mosquito nets and she said “I feel pretty chlostrophobic”. I started chanting, “It's ok, cuz we're not gonna get malaria”... ha... and look who has malaria. It makes me laugh- the irony in it all.

But this past weekend was really good at the orphanage. Saturday we made banners with the kid's handprints on them along with Ms. Agnes, Grace, and Stella. They turned out super cute. On Sunday we went to church at the orphanage. It was awesome. The kdis have their own little praise team and choir. It was too cute!  

Almost a month here...

We will not be at the hotel this weekend. We are not going on the safari either! We are staying at the orphanage so we can go to church there on Sunday! But the rest of this week has been good! Thursday we just stayed at the orphanage. It was a nice day to journal, read, and spend time with the kids! One of the girls got a package. It was so awesome! It was her birthday package from a couple in the states. Babra did not even know it was her birthday. I can't fathom that! But she was so thankful. It was awesome to see! She prayed, thanking God for it before she even opened it. I have never seen a little girl so excited to get crayons, paper, a doll, and 2 shirts! She was truly thankful. She could not stop smiling! It was beautiful!
I am sitting here, in disbelief that it has already been one month here almost! I can not imagine leaving these kids. It is going to be so hard! I have gotten so attached to them. Maybe I will finish college and move back next year... we'll see where God takes me!

Short Update!

This week has been so busy!! Monday we left the hotel and came into town. We ate lunch at The Source... our favorite restarant here! We meet so many "mzungus" that are all here on either mission trips or adopting children! When we got back to the orphanage, the kids were so excited! I didn't realize how much I could miss them in one weekend!
Tuesday was awesome! We came back into town. While eating lunch, a lady came and started talking with Ms. Agnes. They have been friends for a really long time. This woman has a ministry for women getting out of prostitution. She has 8 girls that she is counseling right now! We are going to set up a time and go check out her ministry. I'm not sure what we will do, but I'm super excited! We then went to Pastor Henry's church to practice puppets and drama for Evangelism. I got to hold a 1 month old baby for a long time! All of the people at Pastor Henry's church were laughing, because I always have a baby in my arms if there is one around! When we got back to the orphanage, Tiffany and I put on our African dresses that we got made and TRIED to dance the Ugandan way! It didn't work so well, but the kids got a good laugh! Then we taught them the Cha Cha Slide! They loved it!
Today we are in town again. We were on the bus to town and I was once again holding a baby. The man in front of us turned around and said "How is it that you can produce a black baby?" It was so funny! Well, I know this is short, but that is this week so far! Oh, and Tiffany and I may be going on a safari this weekend!!!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Daddy! Happy Father's Day!! I love you so much and miss you! You are the greatest dad in the world! I could never express how much you mean to me and how much you have changed my life. I look around and realize that so many people do not have a good father in their life! I am unbelievably blessed to have a dad like you! I could never thank you enough for all the times you have been there for me. You do so many things for me! So many times I take you for granted, but being here working with the children who have no parents alive, I realize that God has put an amazing man in my life as my father! Your love for our family is such an example of God's love! You work so hard to support the family! It means so much to me! I hope that one day when I have a family of my own, I can take the lessons you have taught me and teach it to my children! Thank you so much for always being so supportive of everything I do! I know it scared you when I was 12 asking to go to Africa, but through it all, you have supported me! And when things are tough, I will always remember the way that you encourage me to pray! You are such an amazing dad! I can't thank God enough for the blessing you are in my life!

More of this week...

Wednesday night at evangelism in the village of Wakisi with Pastor Henry's church about 10 women accepted Christ. It was amazing to be a part of experiencing! I love doing evangelism with the team from the church. It's like a big party when someone accepts Christ. They are truly excited from the inside out that another person has joined the family of Christ!! They sing and dance without holding back, giving glory to God! The passion of these people amazes me more and more everyday! I am learning so much here!

Thursday was really good. About 4 or 5 of the kids were at the orphanage because they were sick with malaria. Here, malaria is a very common thing. The kids just take some anti malarial medicine when they get it and it is gone within about 3 days. But since the kids were sick, we got to hang out with them. They taught us how to make different things out of the fibers of banana trees. We made balls, dolls, jump rope, and Stella even made me some flip flops as a joke!

As we were making things, we heard music coming from outside. In fact, "It's a Small World" was playing. We asked what it was. Grace and Stella told us it was the ice cream truck. I decided that since there were only a few kids, I could buy them some. We go outside and the ice cream "truck" is a boda boda with an ice chest strapped to the back. It was homemade and he just scooped it out with a regular metal spoon. It was so good though. And the kids were SO excited. It was definitely something they do not get very often. It was awesome to be able to treat them to some!

Once all the kids got home, Sarah, a 13 year old at the orphanage, began braiding my hair. Then a few of the other girls joined in. It was so funny. I had about 3 girls braiding my hair. And they just kept saying "Oh, your hair is so different. It's better, it's better". Then about 3 other girls began to do Tiffany's as well. I don't know what it was about Thursday, but the orphanage really felt like a home to me. I think we are really connecting with the children and with Ms. Agnes, Grace, and Stella. It's amazing! It's even to the point that walking through town, Ms. Agnes just says that we are her daughters!

Friday we just hung out around the orphanage and helped make necklaces that they can sell in July when teams come to visit the orphanage. There will be a team here on July 3rd, then another on July 17th. July is going to fly by. I can't believe we have already been here almost a month!

Saturday, we went to the home of Ms. Agnes' family. We met her daughter, husband, and grandchildren. She took us around and showed us her garden. She has everything imaginable in the garden- mangos, jackfruit (African fruit shaped like a watermelon with a very weird taste and rubbery texture), potatoes, etc. She even wanted to take a family picture, but she wanted Tiffany and I to be in the family picture. It was awesome. Her family is amazing!

Today at church was the most interesting week by far. As the guest pastor from Kenya was speaking, a little girl fell asleep on my lap. She has slept on my lap the past two weeks, so I thought nothing of it. But this time, I felt something really warm on my lap, then something running down my leg. The little girl peed in my lap- a lot. Tiffany and I could not stop laughing. I felt so bad. We could not focus, but it was so funny. I told Carol, the girl that was sitting next to me. She said "Well I hope it didn't go through on the other side. Then the people will think you wet yourself." Then after the service, I was telling our friend Brenda and she told me that because I got wet on, I was ready to be a mother. It was so funny. I don't understand that comment, but it was funny to hear her say it! When we finally refocused, the pastor had a really good message. He was talking about counterfeit christianity versus authentic christianity. He said that authentic christians were FAT- faithful, available, teachable.

Please continue to pray for us. We are doing really good in every aspect. I also have 2 special requests. One of mine and Tiffany's friends, Blake, is in Burkina Faso serving as a summer missionary with the IMB. He has malaria. I think he is getting better, but just keep him in your prayers. Also, a couple from our church in Hattiesburg is in Kampala, Uganda trying to adopt 2 children. They are running into a lot of issues with the embassy. We are probably going to meet up with them next week because they will be in Jinja. They were scheduled to be able to return home next Sunday with the children, but it is not looking that way now. They are really having a tough time, but know that God is still faithful through it all. Pray for them though!

Tiffany and I have been so blessed on this trip. We have had no problems. The people go above and beyond to take care of us! Especially Pastor Henry and Ms. Agnes. They are amazing people! I am learning so much from them day by day! I just wish I could bring all these people back to America so all of you could meet them and understand what I am talking about. There is no way to describe the presence of the Lord and the passion in these people!!! They have very little compared to us in America, yet I can not describe the difference in the joy of these people compared to most Americans.

This week so far...

So Sunday we went to Pastor Henry's church again. It was awesome! I feel like we are really beginning to develop relationships with the people of the church. After church, while waiting for a ride back to the orphanage, we just sat there for about an hour playing with one of the babies there and talking to his mother! Once we got back to the orphanage, the children showed us how to make purses out of the beads that they make!
Monday, I got to carry a baby on my back like the mothers here in Africa do! Then we went into town and met with the Chairman of the Board for the orphanage. It was awesome meeting him. I want to share something that he said! He was talking about the challenges they have been through with the orpahanage and he said "It's been hard, but Ms. Agnes' love for those children will not let her be defeated." I thought it was so true! Ms. Agnes loves those kids so much! She had made so many sacrifices to care for these children!
Also on Monday, we met many Americans. It's cool to meet them here because it's almost like there is an instant bond. Everyone we have met is here either on a mission trip or adopting children. It's amazing to hear their stories. A family from Texas we met is adopting 3 young boys and they have a daughter and two sons of their own!
Monday night at the orphanage we had some adventure! A bat started running through the orphanage and the kids had to catch it! I didn't even know bats could run. Of course Tiffany and I started asking tons of questions about bats. The kids thought it was SO funny that we were asking about bats!
Tuesday was a resting day but the kids ATTEMPTED to teach us how to dance!!! Attempted being the key word!! I also got to help some of the older children with their homework. It was good bonding time! They are precious!!
Today we are in town again. Two years ago I was looking into orphanages online. I found one called Amani Baby Cottage. I wanted to visit it so bad last summer but did not know how to go about it. I knew it was in Jinja but no more then that. Well today, Ms. Agnes', knowing my fascination with babies, said she was going to take us to a baby home ther her friend works at. We get there and it was Amani Baby Cottage!!!!! I love that place! There are kids from 10 days old to 6 years there! It's an amazing place! God is really moving there!
So I just wanted to write an update of this week so far. Pray for us as we are going to do evangelism again with Pastor Henry's church!!

Contact Information

I figured since we have a cell phone here, I should post the number just in case any of you would want to call or email. The phone number here is 011256771651457. My email is harrison_amanda@bellsouth.net. Thank you so much for all of you who have been praying for us this summer! It has been amazing so far! All the comments on this blog are such an encouragement to me! I love hearing from all of you!

Falling in love...

Everyday just gets better and better. I am falling in love with these children. They are so beautiful and have such joyful hearts! I want to bring them all home with me! We are beginning to learn some of their stories of how they got to the orphanage. I am amazed at the joy they have even after all the things they have been through!Sunday after going to Pastor Henry's church, we went back to the orphanage and had so much fun! The kids danced for us and attempted to teach us how to play the drums. One of the dances was about Moses leading people into the promised land. All of the children got stuff to carry with them into the promised land. One of the girls stuffed her shirt to make her look like she was carrying a baby. Another boy went outside, untied the goat and brought it inside and was bringing it with him. It was so funny! These children bring so much joy to my life! After dancing and attempting the drums, we went outside and played Yes Ball. Basically you have teams and you try to keep the ball away from the other team. Our team won, so the children began saying "I am the winner!" but it sounds like "I am the winna". I wish I could express how they say it! It is too cute. I might just bring home the Ugandan accent :)
Monday was pretty laid back. Ms. Agnes went into town and Tiffany and I stayed at the orphanage with the other two women that work there. Stella, one of the girls that works at the orphanage is 19. We have really connected with her. So Monday was cool just hanging out and playing games with her!Tuesday the kids were out of school for a public holiday so we had all day to spend with them. It was so much fun! We also ate casava! It's a tree root that is fried. It tastes kind of like a potato chip and french fry combined!

Tuesday I also painted all the girls' fingernails and they absolutely loved it!! Then they all wanted to paint mine, so each of them painted a different fingernail, then it moved to my toes as well. It was so much fun! They were so excited! That night the kids were trying to teach us some Lugandan. It was quite funny!Wednesday we went to the school that the church runs. We went to the kindergarten class and these kids obviously do not see very maney "mzungus". They were just touching us, even our toes. And they just crowded around to watch us. It was so funny! We also went with Pastor Henry's church and did evangelism in a village called Wakisi. We did dramas and puppets. Some of the guys preached and it was amazing! They are so unashamed of the Gospel. And they have so much passion for the Lord!
Thursday and Friday we just hung out around the orphanage and once the kids came home from school, we just played with them. We were teaching them some American games.
Today we are at the hotel. It's almost like coming home. We are developing relationships with the people here at the hotel. It's great!
So I am loving Uganda. The people here are so amazing! I just see passion like nothing I have ever seen before!

Quick Update :)

Sunday we got to go to Pastor Henry's church! It was amazing. The people were so welcoming! The worship there is so free! They truly show what it is like to be the brothers and sisters in Christ. I saw many people that I worked with last summer, so it was also a time of reuniting. It was awesome. The joy of the Lord is in those people like I have never seen. They dance and shout to the Lord! It's amazing to be a part of!
Things at the orphange are going great. Yesterday the kids had a public holiday from school, so they were out. We got to play with them all day. It was wonderful. I painted all the girls' fingernails and then they painted mine. It was so much fun! They enjoyed it so much! I am falling in love with these children. They are wonderful! Last night they were teaching us some Lugandan, which is their language. They were enjoying us trying to speak it with our southern accents! I will write more later. We are at an internet cafe and my time is almost out! Thanks so much for all your prayers and support!

First Days at the Orphanage

We are back at the hotel for some rest tonight! The first night at the orphanage, we only got about 4 hours of sleep. All night, we heard banging. We thought someone was trying to break in! It turns out that there are bats in the storage room next to us, so they were banging against the door all night! Last night was much better rest. The bats were still active, but we knew what they were so it wasn't as scary. The first day at the orphanage was good, but somewhat difficult. We didn't really know how to relate to the kids because most of them do not speak english. Also, the women that work there wanted to serve us like guests, which is not what we were expecting, but it is a cultural thing and it is what they wanted to do. Yesterday was good with the kids. They came home from school and we just played outside with them. It was really good! They are so precious. I want to bring them all home with me!! Maybe one day I can adopt some of them :). Today was really good! We got up and went to the water pump with the kids and got to help them pump water to bring back to the orphanage. Soon I am going to attempt to carry it on my head! We will see how that works out! After getting water and eating potatoes for breakfast, yes potatoes for breakfast, we watched the kids make necklaces. They are gorgeous and this is how the children help support the orphanage. We made some beads as well. They laughed at us quite a bit... I was not so good at the whole bead making thing! But it was good. After that, Tiffany, Ms. Agnes, and I caught a taxi. By taxi I mean 14 seater van that about 23 people cram into! It's a great experience. Today the whole way into town a little girl from one of the villages was sitting on my lap. I am in love with these African children!!! Once we got into town, we got on a boda boda (not sure how to spell it). Basically, it's a motorcycle with a seat on the back and they serve as taxis. It was so much fun! I got on and these are the questions that were asked to me. First, "are you married?". Second, "do you have a boyfriend?". Then he said "I need some mzungu friends!". Mzungu means "white person". It was a fun experience though! The days here keep getting better and better. We are getting into somewhat of a routine. The first day at the orphanage was pretty hard. We felt a little lost and weren't sure what to do, but the kids are beginning to feel comfortable around us as well as the women that work with Ms. Agnes. It's going to be a great summer! Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement!

Uganda

We got to Jinja around midnight on Monday. Tuesday we got up and went into town to get some neccessary things like a phone so that we are able to communicate with the pastor and the other locals who are helping us out while we are here. We met a girl, Whitney, from Texas who will be a missionary for a year here. Her parents are in the process of planning and building an orphanage here. She has been a great help to us the past 2 days! While in town eating, we sat at a table with a man from Texas. We got talking with him and it turns out he has been a missionary in Calcutta, India for like 28 years and is now in Africa! Even more awesome, he was one of Mother Teresa's friends. Mother Teresa even nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize! I think if Mother Teresa nominates you, you must be doing something really awesome. He even showed us the news article!! He has built hundreds to thousands of orphanages, schools, and hospitals all over the world, mainly Africa and India. He was great encouragement!!
We also met with Ms. Agnes, the lady who runs the orphanage. She said that the kids keep asking when their visitors are coming! We are so excited! Tommorrow we will be going there for the summer!!! We have been in a hotel the past 2 nights just to get some rest.
Today we took Whitney to the airport. She will be going to Kenya for a week, then Zambia for 2 weeks. Pray for her as she works with different ministries in those countries! Then we went to Pastor Henry's church. I saw a bunch of the people we worked with last summer and they remembered me! They are such amazing people who love the Lord. They were on their way to do evangelism in the marketplace! They give so much time and energy for the gospel to be proclaimed. They are truly unashamed and excited about the Gospel of Christ!!
I love love love love it here! It's only been 2 days and I can't even imagine being anywhere else. It's going to be so hard to leave this place at the end of the summer! I might just have to stay! Haha.

Peru 2

We are now in Uganda and it is so amazing! But let me finish telling you about Peru and then I will move onto Africa!
I look back and see God's provision throughout so many things that happened on the trip. The first day, a man busted the window of the car we were in to try to steal our bags. The window shattered. One of our flights got cancelled. There was a strike going on and when we got off the bus there were hundreds of strikers holding spears, chanting. The strike was not directed at tourists... thank goodness! Because of the strike, our train ride was cancelled. We had to walk 12 kilometers down the train tracks through the jungle of Peru. Supposedly there were some cannibal tribes through the part we were walking... still don't know if they told us that as a joke or not! But we didn't get eaten, so we're good! Then after the hike we had to drive 6 hours up the mountain to 13,000 feet above sea level. While driving up the mountain, our van went over a rock slide and started fish tailing towards the edge of the cliff. We serisouly thought the back wheels were off the cliff. The van drove on the edge of these mountains the whole time. Through all these things, God's hand of protection was over us. Never in my life have I been on a trip where there were so many setbacks, yet I believe it is one of the best trips I have been on. The team and I went was amazing! We got along SO well- maybe a little too well at times. :) Let's just say we know too much about each other now, but in a good way.
The ministry in Peru was awesome! We went into the schools in Jimbe and taught English as a Second Language. In the afternoons, the guys would play soccer and the girls would just hang out with the girls in the village. We had the opportunity to givr gifts to the teachers and they offered so much encouragement. Most of them were from low incomes, yet they all had master's degrees because of their hard work. One night, we showed Fireproof in the community and a few people accepted Christ!! The men that went with our team did training for church leaders. Cool story about this: Brett, one of the men that went with us had gone to a village in Peru about 3 years ago. While there, a little girl named Ibete burned her face so Brett took her and her dad, Sylvia, down the mountain to get medical care. While driving, he shared the gospel. It turns out that Sylvia and his family were at the training for chruch leaders! And he is donating family land to build a church. Also, while we were there, Sylvia was baptized. It really showed me the effect that sharing the Gospel with just one person could have on an entire community.
I must say, I fell in love with little Ibete! She is three now and the most precious thing ever! She would come running to me, yelling “mi tia, mi tia” and would grab onto my legs and reach up for me to hold her. When I picked her up, she would give me kisses. “Tia” means aunt in Spanish. She would tell her mom over and over again that she loved me! One day, she was playing with my hair and looked me in the eyes and said “You are very pretty like my mommy” (in Spanish of course). I never knew that one little girl could impact my life so much after just a few days! She was a precious, precious child of God!
So to end, I loved Peru! Just about as much as I love Africa! I never thought I would say that, but it's true- Peru has captured my heart!

Peru!!!

We have been in Peru since Monday evening! It has been amazing so far! We have been working with a local church in Jimbe doing Pastor training as well as teaching ESL in the schools here! The people are so beautiful! The children just sit outside our window day and night and just look into our window. It is amazing! Last night, we showed Fireproof at a community center here and had a few people accept the Lord as their Savior! Today we went to a village called Cancha and experienced baptism in the river! The church that was involved in the baptisms was a church plant. Today was the one year anniversary of this church!!! It was amazing! I have so much to say, but it is quite complicated on a Spanish keyboard in an internet cafe! Just continue to pray. There have been a few stumbling blocks but God is still moving!