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...