Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Recap on Africa
So the hardest question to answer when you get home from a trip like we were just on is "So how was your trip" It is like trying to answer the question "What is it like to be a parent" There is more than you can possible wrap into words. But here is my attempted. 27 men set out to take on a task that was far bigger than ourselves, that demanded more from us than we could give on our own, that took us to places we could not have imagined even if we were told, allowed us to meet people who know Christ in a way that we seldom can describe, see God's beauty in a way that in indescribable, saw human suffering at a level that we don't understand in America and walked with God in a way that took us to some of the deepest places in our souls. God opened something in our hearts and lives that we all will never be able to adequately explain, but we are called to tell the story. So here is my details.
Gulu Uganda, a place ravaged by a civil war for almost 20 years. We spent 3 1/2 days here. We served alongside Aloysius Kyazze and the Sports Outreach staff at several ministry sites. The first day we helped serve at the Kirombe Center in center of town Gulu. We helped paint a school and build a fence while children came all around from the surrounding villages. We shared in song, dance, prayer and smiles together with the Ugandans for the day. The next two days were spent at the Koro Farm and the Good News Center. A place the Eagles went 2 years ago to break ground on this 32 acre haven in Gulu. Since then, the staff have built a church/school building, a brick making house, guest houses, a piggery, barns, cattle farm, goat farm, two well, and a cooking center. It is a place of life, teaching, Christ and Hope. Our days there were spent at church worshipping, making bricks (658 of them), an night prayer and worship meeting, having meals, sharing in dance and being alongside our brothers and sisters in the Lord. The evening were spent playing soccer matches against local teams and sharing the Gospel with the group after. In these two days we saw 50 people come to know the Lord. We worked hard, played hard, prayed hard and enjoyed serving together.
The net day we went further out into the bush to a village called Lugutu. This is a place Sports Outreach is expanding into. We took our brick making machine and spent the day making bricks for the school they are on the process of building, We carried water from the well, cut grass, visited homes, prayed for them and again ended the day with a soccer match and Gospel presentations. It was a long, hot, tiring day, but God gave the strength to press through and make His name known Lugutu in words and actions.
From there we went to nairobi. We spent a day in the Mukuru slum, where 500,000 people live in about a square mile. I don't have any other way to explain this place except for calling it Hell on earth. And in this place, the Sports Outreach staff lead by Franklin run a school and feeding program with about 300 kids in it, do a weekly HIV program with 70 HIV positive mom's involved, help a micro finance program called Project Lydia and run soccer based outreach programs for kids. It is one of the hardest places to comprehend and digest, but praise the Lord that Sports Outreach and the staff work so faithfully in this place.
We ended our time with a safari. One of the most beautiful displays of God's creation. We enjoyed a day together seeing His creation and enjoying a day of rest before our return home.
Those are the brief details of what we did. But it does not tell the story. The story is best understood by coming and seeing. I hope and pray that one day you can go with me so you too will understand the full story. Until that day, just know that 27 men came back changed by what we saw, heard, smelled and took in. I pray that it makes us stronger warriors for our One True King, better husbands, better fathers, better friends and workers,
Thanks for praying, and following the trip with us, God did great things in our lives.
YT
Gulu Uganda, a place ravaged by a civil war for almost 20 years. We spent 3 1/2 days here. We served alongside Aloysius Kyazze and the Sports Outreach staff at several ministry sites. The first day we helped serve at the Kirombe Center in center of town Gulu. We helped paint a school and build a fence while children came all around from the surrounding villages. We shared in song, dance, prayer and smiles together with the Ugandans for the day. The next two days were spent at the Koro Farm and the Good News Center. A place the Eagles went 2 years ago to break ground on this 32 acre haven in Gulu. Since then, the staff have built a church/school building, a brick making house, guest houses, a piggery, barns, cattle farm, goat farm, two well, and a cooking center. It is a place of life, teaching, Christ and Hope. Our days there were spent at church worshipping, making bricks (658 of them), an night prayer and worship meeting, having meals, sharing in dance and being alongside our brothers and sisters in the Lord. The evening were spent playing soccer matches against local teams and sharing the Gospel with the group after. In these two days we saw 50 people come to know the Lord. We worked hard, played hard, prayed hard and enjoyed serving together.
The net day we went further out into the bush to a village called Lugutu. This is a place Sports Outreach is expanding into. We took our brick making machine and spent the day making bricks for the school they are on the process of building, We carried water from the well, cut grass, visited homes, prayed for them and again ended the day with a soccer match and Gospel presentations. It was a long, hot, tiring day, but God gave the strength to press through and make His name known Lugutu in words and actions.
From there we went to nairobi. We spent a day in the Mukuru slum, where 500,000 people live in about a square mile. I don't have any other way to explain this place except for calling it Hell on earth. And in this place, the Sports Outreach staff lead by Franklin run a school and feeding program with about 300 kids in it, do a weekly HIV program with 70 HIV positive mom's involved, help a micro finance program called Project Lydia and run soccer based outreach programs for kids. It is one of the hardest places to comprehend and digest, but praise the Lord that Sports Outreach and the staff work so faithfully in this place.
We ended our time with a safari. One of the most beautiful displays of God's creation. We enjoyed a day together seeing His creation and enjoying a day of rest before our return home.
Those are the brief details of what we did. But it does not tell the story. The story is best understood by coming and seeing. I hope and pray that one day you can go with me so you too will understand the full story. Until that day, just know that 27 men came back changed by what we saw, heard, smelled and took in. I pray that it makes us stronger warriors for our One True King, better husbands, better fathers, better friends and workers,
Thanks for praying, and following the trip with us, God did great things in our lives.
YT
Saturday, January 24, 2009
We got snow!
We had a very exciting Tuesday! The boys woke up at 6:15 and started yelling "Mommy wake up, it really snowed!" Wow, it was early and they were excited! We waited for Ava to wake up and then ventured outside. We were in and out until 2:30 that day! The kiddos loved it for short spells. My "southern" babies just couldn't handle the cold like a "northerner" can!
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