I last updated you all saying that we had begun our sports camp and that the first day had been a success. The other days proved just as exciting. Things were more organized at that camp than I had ever seen in Africa. The kids showed up, stayed in groups and went from station to station all while having a good time and learning some skills. We went over soccer and volleyball and really made some good friends. Two little boys in particular stand out to me most. One was Douglas, he was 12 or 13 and deaf. He was so sweet. And he always gave it 100%. It was fun to have to get creative when trying to explain things. But thank goodness for pantomime and gestures. Another little boy named Aaron came out to camp but wasn't able to participate like the others because he was crippled. We spent probably thirty minutes praying for him one day, asking God to do a miraculous healing for this little boy. Nothing that we saw came to fruition but we're confident that God is at work in his life even now. On the final day of the camp we had one final tournament and presented the gospel at the end. I wrote Douglas a letter telling him how special he is and all about Jesus. I didn't want him to miss out on the very important news all the other kids got to hear.
Wednesday the 10th was our final afternoon to visit Gulu Army Secondary School and we had the smallest turnout yet. They were all in the middle of finals but a few made the effort to come out, have some worship and hear more about Jesus and His word. As I sat there and looked at those students I just became aware once more of how much God loves them and how these young people are going to be nation changers. The fact that they are as close to God as they are already makes thinking about their futures really exciting. Jenny and I said goodbye and it was pretty difficult. I realized then that the end was just around the corner and that that goodbye was just the first of many to come.
We had a good time being in Uganda for the start of the premier league soccer season. On August 13th Jake, Tyler, Jacob, Eric and I went to Alululululu pork joint with some of the boda drivers, including Apong, to watch a match. Sports and pork. The boys were in heaven. I've got to admit, I sure loved that pork too. Smoked pork on a skewer, kasava fries, tomatoes and onions. All for 2,000 shillings or 80 cents. Thank you, Lord! But the fellowship with our friends was even more worthwhile.
On our final ministry Monday Jacob presented the women of the vocational school with a business plan that he had been working on. He said goodbye to them then and laughed to himself that on the original paper we filled out ranking our interests, working with the women's vocational school had been his lowest but now he feels such a connection with them.
Tuesday afternoon (16th) after the sports camp the majority of us went out to Apong's family's village to spend some time with them and to have dinner. We spent close to 8 hours travelling by van and foot but it was well worth it. We got to meet his son and see his mother and brother at a local hospital. His brother suffers from sickle cell anemia and he was in the clinic getting treatment. We appreciated their hospitality and they appreciated our visit and for loving on their son.
Wednesday afternoon (17th) we drove out once more to Francis' village. It was raining pretty hard the whole way out there and sure enough the van got stuck just enough that the men had to get out to push. They were muddy and soaking wet, but they got the job done. We talked with Francis' family and friends and near the end we presented the gospel to them and offered to pray for any requests. I had the honor of praying for Lilly, Francis' sister who has 5 children and HIV from being attacked by the LRA. Francis also presented the families with woven baskets he had made. He is so sweet. It's amazing to see his life and how God has carried him through such difficult times.
Thursday afternoon (18th) we went to the ministry one last time to say goodbye to the children and to pray over the land and people once more. We left them with a few toys and Josiah gave Bruce his Perry the Platypus boots and you would have thought it was Christmas morning for Bruce. He was so proud of them.
Friday (19th) we woke up at 4 to leave the house by 5 to go on safari! What a cool experience that was. The land itself was beautiful and even on the way out to the park we saw a huge elephant on the side of the road. We also saw a rainbow in the sky before we began. It just felt like God was confirming His presence with us that day. We saw lions, giraffes, impalas, water buffalo, warthogs, elephants, monkeys and countless gorgeous birds.
Saturday (20th) was full of cleaning and packing and last minute runs into town. We all went to dinner and invited Cie Cie and Sarah (our fabulous cooks) to join us. We will be missing them very much. Come later that night it was time to say goodbye to Apong. I don't think there was a dry eye there. Definitely not after Jacob told him that we'd be seeing him in heaven someday because of the decisions he had made while we were there. We hugged him, prayed for him and cried like babies with him. Who would have thought that we go to work with a ministry in northern Uganda and the person who impacts us the most is a boda driver. That's a God story if we've ever heard one. Even the music playing in the background as we said goodbye was perfect.
Sunday (21st) we got up early again to go to Jinja. We made it to the YWAM base and settled in. We ate dinner at a delicious Indian restaurant, even though it took what felt like hours to get our food!
The next morning (22nd) we said goodbye to David. We got him settled into his DTS and cried once more as we said "see you later" to this incredible man of God. We had enough team money to pay for all of David's lecture and outreach fees. We were so blessed to be able to bless him in that way. After goodbye they took us to the Kingfisher Resort Safari and we were in awe of how beautiful everything was. There were gorgeous flowers, a pool, good food and a view of Lake Victoria. We relaxed at the pool and later went into town to do some souvenir shopping. After dinner we had our first debrief meeting and everything went very well. I'm so thankful to Tyler and Jake for being such great leaders to our team.
August 23rd was a really special day to our team for a few reasons. One it was Josiah's birthday, two Isaiah accepted Christ into his heart and we went to the Nile river to baptize people from our team. Jake baptized Eric first, Jacob did Josiah, and Jake then baptized Shannon, Jenny's SBS roommate who joined us for a few weeks before going to help staff DTS in South Africa. Before all was said and done though Tom and Jerrica expressed their desire to be baptized together. That was a very cool experience and I could not be more happy for them and really everyone who was baptized that day. It's amazing to think that that water will make its way into the Mediterranean Sea and to the Middle East in a few months time. May that water bless others. Eric and I then had one more date while in Uganda, coffee and shopping in town. We had a lot of fun. After lunch we all took a boat ride out onto Lake Victoria and to the source of the Nile river. It was neat to see the humble beginnings of such a powerful river. We had more team debrief after dinner and stayed up way later than we wanted to trying to pack to get everything put in there securely. But nonetheless we made it to bed excited to think that the next day we were leaving to go back to the States.
Travel was long but relatively smooth. One of my favorite parts was while we were in Ethiopia we saw a lot of Muslim women from Saudi Arabia. I watched them watch and laugh at Savannah and encouraged Savannah to go say hello. That then gave me the opportunity to go and talk with the women. The whole exchange really gave me the desire to visit a Muslim nation someday.
The kids were great on all the flights and all the luggage except one family's made it. They got their bags in D.C. but they were then mixed up on their way to Denver. Prayers that they're recovered quickly!
So now we're back in the U.S. and although we're weary and worn out, we wouldn't have it any other way. We gave it our all up until the end and we definitely felt God telling us to rest, relax and dwell with Him on debrief and I still hear Him instructing us to keep doing so. It's still so surreal that we just spent two months halfway around the world. We will always remember our friends made there and look forward to seeing them all again, either this world or next.
Thank you all for taking the time to read these updates and for all your love, prayer and support. We are excited to see you all very soon!
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