Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Team Disperses

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts....doesn't equate to lack of action!

Monday morning we did a good day of work, played with the kids in the afternoon, and then headed for Entebbe (airport) to stay overnight in a guesthouse and start our debrief process. After a good meal and a good first group discussion we all went to bed. I awoke to my roomate puking...and throughout the night I heard others. Food poisining! How many? I wondered throughout the night.

The morning revealed that four of us ate something wrong: Cam, Gabby, Farrah, and Matthew....and possibly Geoff. They were all sick during the night and spent the next day lying in bed trying to recover. Most of them were still a little sick by Tuesday night....but were definitely on the road to recovery.

The rest of the team did meet to do our debrief, and then went into a market in Entebbe and a late lunch by the shores of Lake Victoria.

Tuesday night we started saying our goodbyes and Scott, Farrah, Gabby, John & Cam left for the airport for their 12:30am flight. Sherri and Cheryl went with the Dycks to spend a few more days up in Jinja....and five guys (Allard, Geoff, Jan, Mark, & Matthew) were off on a safari the next morning.

Thus the 'team' portion of the trip has reached it's conclusion, and members are going their separate ways.

As I write, the first 'batch' to get home are in Heathrow airport...sleeping and anticipating being home soon!

Thanks for your prayers!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sunday's Update

Hi Everyone,

First, there are new pics up of the team in action on Jeff & Shannon's blog so be sure to check them out (blog address in a post below).

Sunday was a great Sabbath. Cameron & Goeff taught adult Sunday School, Mark & Allard taught the Young Adults, and the girls had the kids for both Sunday school and during the service. Scott preached again....and for the first time, Muzungu's dedicated babys! Farrah and 'Elder John' got the privilege of doing so and, in typical Ugandan fashion, it was planned a bit 'last minute'. This became evident when Joshua, one of the 8-9 babies being dedicated (there was only supposed to be 6!) got dedicated twice!! Or at least one and a half times....we're not sure! Ahhh Uganda.

After church we headed to the Equator (30 min drive) for our traditional team picture. Unfortunately Jim could not join us as he as a bad head cold....so he stayed on the 10 acres and slept. You can pray for a quick recovery. On our drive, we passed, and then stopped to look at, a 10 foot python that had just been killed on the side of the road...that was a bonus!

After the equator, we stopped at Michael & Juliet Masembe's house for a light supper. Michael shared his story with the team and I think we all left there thinking that we have a LOT to learn about 'expanding our lives' so we can make an impact on other people. It was, once again, humbling to hear him tell stories about people we have met here or who even work on the 10 acres that were given a chance a life because of their generosity (which includes opening their home and having children live with them for years on end...sometimes as many as 14 at a time!).

Have I mentioned before that we have a lot to learn from our Ugandan brothers & sisters?

Now it's off to bed to prepare for our last work day. Thanks for your prayers!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Experiencing Kampala

Morning Everyone,

Saturday morning...after some morning showers the team is back working outside on the buildings and with the kids.

Yesterday, after a full day of work, the team drove an hour into Kampala to go to an Anglican guesthouse for a somewhat North Americanized Ugandan meal. Kampala is very different from the rural setting of Mpigi....and it's always great to see the looks on the team's faces when they see the throngs of people in the streets, the apparent chaos of traffic, and the city life....there is a lot to take in!

We enjoyed a great BBQ meal...and arrived home late. Tomorrow the team will lead three different Sunday school classes and Scott will preach at the service...so our 'free time' is spent preparing for Sunday.

Thanks for your prayers

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Thursday Morning Update

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your continued prayers for our team. As I write this, it is Thursday morning at 9:40am, it's humid, and there is the possibility of rain...although that is always difficult to predict.

A small group (Jeff, Geoff, Sherri, Michelle, & Jim) have already headed out to do our second day of Care & Compassion visits (Yesterday Cameron, Farrah, John, Jan, & Matthew went)...another group are hard at work putting the water system on the second building (the kid's eating shelter)...and the girls are almost half way through their morning VBS program.

Care & Compassion is always one of the most impacting things we do on these trips. Last night the team that were out on C&C during the day told the story of a grandmother who was taking care of 11 grandchildren because all 7 of her children were dead....and she has been blind for the past 8 years. It is difficult to process those kinds of visits...and the ensuing state of shock/numbness/confusion/etc... is where we ask for the Spirit of God to come and speak His words to us. It's a chance to grow and change.

Yesterday, our day started out a bit 'unique'. At 7am a large lid was banged by one of our kids signaling the beginning of breakfast. Each team member grabbed a coffee mug and found a place in line with the other 52 kids who call this place home. We were served a runny cupful of maize and a hard boiled egg and sat in the eating shelter to eat with the kids. Surprisingly, most of us found the maize easier to get down than the egg....let's just say the yoke was unlike the yoke we are used to in Canada. It is difficult imagine eating the same thing every single morning...every day....every year, no matter how tasty. We are blessed.

Last night Pastor Geoffrey and his wife Rose-Marie joined us for our dinner and shared their story with us. They are a great couple who have much to teach us about what it means to walk intimately with God.

In other good news: we didn't lose our last soccer game! We tied. Today we are having a shoot-out to determine the winner of that last game. I suspect another loss will soon be upon us! The boys love playing soccer with the 'Muzungus'...Canada vs. Uganda...and with 15 of them on a under-sized soccer field, it is difficult to move without tripping over a small Ugandan! Losing is worth it (not that we are trying to!)....just to see their joy.


The trip is now at the half-way point....just 6 days until we start the flight home.

Blessings on you all back home...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Uganda Pics

Hi Folks,

Want to see a few pics of the team? Shannon Dyck has been able to load some on their blog site. Go to http://jeffshan.blogspot.com/ to see a few pics of the team in Uganda.

Posting from Mpigi

Hi Folks,

Technology is pretty amazing. Buy a little gadget the size of a memory stick, plug it into your computer and you're somehow connected to the internet. Don't ask me how....just happy to be able to update you from our 10 acres.

It's Tuesday afternoon here and the teams are hard at work. Our work on the chicken coop is going quicker than we planned and our work on the water systems is going slower than planned...but relationships are developing between our team and the Ugandan workers that are working alongside us.

The girls are giving great leadership to the 52 kids. Each day they spend 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with the kids teaching them lessons on Faith, Hope, & Love. They love the attention, the great teaching, and the fun games and crafts.

I warned the team ahead of time that when it rains in Uganda it pours.....but the other day we experienced the strongest rainstorm that any of us (including Jeff & Shannon) have ever seen. In fact, it hailed too. That's right...hail in Uganda. It blew one tree over on our property and a part of the chicken coop wall also. Strong winds, tons of rain, & hail...lots of fun!

This afternoon is full of more work & kids...dinner...and a team meeting. Pastor Michael, who gives overall leadership to our program, is coming today to sit and talk future vision with myself and a few others on the team who help give leadership from Canada....it's always good to visit with him.

Pastor Geoffrey, who gives leadership to our church on the 10 acres, visited us briefly last night. It was humbling to listen to him describe his sleeping patterns: In bed by 10pm....up at 3am to pray until 5am...and then back in bed until 6am when he is up for the day. It's at those times that I think that they should be coming over to Canada to teach us stuff because we have so much to learn.

It's always humbling to visit Uganda.

I'll try to post a bit more consistently now.....technology permitting.

Grace & Peace,

The 2010 Team

Sunday, January 17, 2010

A New Post!!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of updates....no internet in Mpigi. Jeff Dyck and I (Scott) are in Kampala today and by tomorrow (Tuesday) we should have a device that will let us update the blog more regularly.

Short version: Everyone is fine, healthy, and the building projects are going well.

Longer version: We had a no problems arriving....missed one bag but we are picking that up today. We arrived late and got to bed but that didn't stop the men from putting a hard day of work on the chicken coop and water systems on Saturday. No one is dealing with sickness so that is a blessing...although some of us are still trying to adjust to our new sleep schedule.

It's been great connecting with the kids again too. You past team members will be glad to know that we've already lost a soccer game to Uganda! Sunday was 3 hours of church--amazing to see their joy during worship--and the team's first boda ride (small motorbike) to the drum store.

Today (Monday) the girls are starting their 'official' VBS program with the 52 kids from the home....although there has been lots of crafts and games already.

We will try and keep you posted throughout the week....thank you for your prayers.

Now off to Entebbe to pick up our bag...

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Word From Uganda

We can all rest easy,
5am text this morning, (apparently Scott forgot the time difference), let me know the team is on the ground.
Internet being what it is, (TIA), he'll try and post on behalf of the team soon.
Please continue to lift them up in your prayers and keep checking back in for updates.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent White (Outreach Intern at Peace Portal)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

We Made it to Snowy London!

Hi Everyone,

We made it to London! It's pretty cold and trying to snow....we're hoping that the snow will hold off so our flight is not delayed from London--that would make our arrival into Uganda even later. The trip here was uneventful and most of the team members got between 3 and 5 hours of sleep. We're anticipating a bit more tonight as we overnight in London at the Ibis Hotel. We fly out again in the morning at 10ish.

Because we were delayed slightly upon our arrival and check-in at the hotel took a little longer than normal..we decided to not make the trip into London. Well, most of us did. It seems the shopping in London was a call the girls could not resist so off they went.

Now, we are moving to our respective rooms (that are much smaller than you might think) to sleep on soft beds (that are much smaller than you might think) before enjoying breakfast (that is, not surprisingly, much smaller than you might think).... it seems we do everything BIG over in Canada/USA...even compared to our 'first-world' neighbors.

I will attempt to confirm our safe arrival in Entebbe via the blog.

Until then...thanks for your prayers.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

And Away We Go!

Bags are packed and we're in route to the airport!
'What,' you ask,' are you doing there?' Well I'm glad you asked...have a look below


Team Schedule:

Tuesday January 12: Departure from YVR @ 8:50pm (Via one night lay-over in London)

Thursday January 14: Goodbye London, hello Uganda!
(Arrive in Entebbe @10:10pm and drive to the 10 acres)

January 15: The guys sets-up and begins to survey the work projects (chicken coop)

January 16: Work begins on the chicken coop
First team pow wow after dinner

January 17: Church...lots of church/cardio, oh yeah and time with the kids as well

January 18: Work projects continue (chicken coop, installation of two water tanks, rain gutters and clearing of land)
Ladies start the VBS program
Team processing time #2

January 19: Feel the burn...still working
VBS continues

January 20: Care & Compassion visits in the community
VBS continues
Work continues
Post-diner team meeting #3

January 21: Next round of Care & Compassion visits in the community
VBS still continues
Work continues (provided tools are intact)

January 22: Final round of Care & Compassion visits in the community
VBS still continues
Work continues (backs ache)

January 23: Work projects near completion (God willing)
VBS wraps up
Team check-in time

January 24: God gave the sabbath to dance and sing praises
Day of rest with the kids

January 25: Final touches on the work projects and Good-byes to PPCC
After lunch the team heads into Kampala and then to Entebbe for debrief round 1

January 26: Team spend the day in reflection and processing the trip
Fly out at 10pm (Homeward bound)

January 27: Touch-down Vancouver (6:40pm)

As you can see our team will be busy, please remember to keep us in your prayers for not only our health and safety but also are hearts and heads during this time.
Thank you for your support and keep checking back for updates from the ground in Uganda.



Saturday, January 9, 2010

Heading Out Soon...

Hi Folks,

Thanks for your interest in our 2010 Uganda Missions Trip. We are hoping to be able to keep you up-to-date on our experiences....but the reality is that internet access in Mpigi is sketchy at best. We'll do our best...but don't stress out if you haven't heard from us for a while.

You might know one or two people on the team....here's the rest of the team:
-John Isaak
-Cameron Biffart
-Jim Fedorchuk
-Jan Karnik Sr.
-Jan (Matthew) Karnik Jr.
-Mark Link
-Allard Ludwig
-Geoff Roberts
-Farrah Gregory
-Sherri Anderson
-Michelle Anderson
-Cheryl Butler
-Gabby Beaumont
-Scott Dickie

We all appreciate your interest and we'll appreciate your prayers for us while we are gone.

3 days and counting...