Week 2

Me, after Rachel braided my hair and the children (Olivia, Harriet, Lubowa) put flowers in it 

Silly faces with Okello and Lydia 

My best Katniss impression with Martin 

Week 2 Africa

Already we have gone through 2 full weeks in Africa! This week was incredible and it is hard to give it justice in a short blog, but I’ll try. It was our first full week at the center and our team really began to get into the swing of things. I never thought before this trip that I would see a negative cast being made with a bicycle tire or that I would have the opportunity to lead a Bible study in Africa, but both of those things happened this week.

Tonight our team threw a birthday party for the teacher at the rehabilitation center, Juliet. She had never had a birthday party before because it is not tradition in her tribe. We made her an American meal (breakfast for dinner) and taught her to how to play spoons. She looked at the pancakes ( called Kaballagala in Luganda) like they were from outer space, but she seemed to enjoy playing spoons. Instead of giving too many details about everything, I want to give a short story of a person at the center. I hope it inspires you.

Snapshot- Soloman (17 years old)

Soloman was in a brutal car accident a year ago. He was walking down the street with a group of his friends and was hit by a drunk driver. When the woman hit him, she accidently hit the accelerator instead of the brakes. Subsequently, the woman drove into a pole while Soloman was on her hood. After hitting the pole Soloman fell about 30 feet to the ground. By the grace of God, Soloman only broke his femur.  Unfortunately it was about six months before Soloman could get any medical help.  By the time that Soloman got help his bones were growing on top of one another causing more damage. He had surgery to correct the break and is now doing rehabilitation at Affayo.

Amazingly, Soloman thanks God for all that has happened. He told me “Before the accident I didn’t know why I went to church every Sunday, but now I know that God was with me the whole time. Now I have renewed faith and my future is with God.”

Praise the Lord for people like Soloman  2 Corinthians 5:17  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is gone has come.” 

Pray that God speaks through me as I get to share the Gospel with a group of new/not-yet believers at church tomorrow. 

Pray for Soloman's future 

Pray for the Rehabilitation Center to continue to get funding (the founder is the main donor and he is ill) 

First Days at Acheru

Me at the center with Okello, Olivia, and William 

Olivia and I on a bodaboda in Kampola

Neighborhood children call us "Muzungus" (white people/ foreigners) 

We finally have a complete team and have made it to Acheru. Praise God! The first days here have been fantastic. The children here have all had difficult lives, but Acheru is a place where they can receive affordable housing and care. Our team has a wide range of abilities and therefore each person is doing different activities. The three nurses/nursing students are dressing wounds and sores. The pre-med student (Ethan) and pre physical therapy student (Michelle) shadow the centers physical therapist. The speech therapist student (Olivia) and teacher (Debbie) work with the centers teacher.  Aaron (MSW) and I do office work and filing for the center.  Through this work I've found that a lot of the children at ACHERU were paralyzed after getting Intravenous Shots for Malaria. A small amount of others were in bodaboda (motorcycle) accidents.  

The way of life is slower here and people care more about relationships than they do tasks. The children speak Luganda here and our team has learned a few basic phrases. 

Hello- Ollelotia 

Good Morning- Waszotia 

Waberly Nuo- Thank you 

Savo- Sir

Nyobo- Maim 

En zay- My name is 

Please Pray for our team to guard against Satan and his attacks and to put on the full armor of God each day. Pray that we master the language quickly and build relationships despite language barriers. 

Ephesians 6:10-18

Made it Safely

Hey Everyone,

I have officially made it safely to Uganda. The Lord provided in that everything went smoothly. Right now our team (minus Aaron, Emmy, and Debbie) is staying at the Matoke Inn Guesthouse in Kampola. There are very nice accommodations here including running water, flush toilets, and a beautiful garden. Please pray for Aaron, Emmy, and Debbie as they have been delayed by flight difficulties. Thank you again for your prayers and support!

Orientation Group

Our Orientation Group in Peachtree City

Today, in less than one hour I head to the airport for the biggest adventure thus far of my life.

Preparations

Hey Everyone, 

     Today is a mere 5 days from when I depart for Uganda! There are a lot of emotions that I am feeling right now including both apprehensiveness and enthusiasm. Fortunately, the Lord has also given me a wonderful sense of peace as I prepare to do His work during the next six weeks. 

      For those of you who do not know, I will be going to the Acheru Rehabilitation Center through Africa Inland Mission from June 14th to August 1st. While in Uganda, I will have the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the everyday activity of the rehabilitation center by working alongside staff members and long-term missionaries. Some of this will involve doing office work and file upkeep. I will also get to spend significant evening time with the children reading Bible stories and singing songs. Most importantly I’ll be representing Jesus in a tangible way to the children and families at the center. 

     Right now I'm praying that God gives me a sense of flexibility and openness as I prepare to depart. I want to make sure that I am doing HIS work, not pushing my own agenda. Please pray for me and the other members of the team in the next few days to prepare physically, spiritually, and emotionally for this experience. 

Matthew 28:16-20 

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

To Find out more about where I am going here is the site of the center: 

www.acheru.org