Mid June Update

I hope this day finds you doing well.  Last night we celebrated the birthdays of two boys, Shafik and Kataregga Derick. We had so much fun.  Birthday cake, popcorn, pineapple, and soda.  Today is Amanda's birthday so she was a part of our fun as well.  The boys are all doing well.  None are sick although we have gone through the Flu and Malaria.  The boys have been back in school for almost a month and most seem to be doing well.  Some are still struggling with reading.  It is hard for them because they are older than they should be.  Big Bashir is almost 16 and he is in P-5, fifth grade.  But he has a great attitude..  The majority of our boys are in P-3.  The school does not provide ANY books so I have been buying them books to use.  That will allow them to work better at home.  They are very diligent with their homework.  We have had a team here from Colorado and they came and spent an evening with us.  52 people!  

The most exciting news is the progress that we have made on the house. The walls are roof high and they are framing the roof in.  They have dug the toilets and have laid out the foundation for the kitchen,dining room.  We are very excited about that.  The other news as far as the boys are concerned was culture day yesterday.  We bought all of the boys the traditional long white tunic, called a kanzu.  The boys would have also liked to have a suit coat to wear over it, but at least they had a kanzu.  Amanda, Caitlyn (the summer intern) and I went to the boys school and took them treats during lunch.  They were excited and embarrassed all at the same time.  Not too many families come with three white women.  Davis and Emma had no embarrassment whatsoever.  They wanted to take us all over, show us where things were and hang all over us.  It was really sweet.  I took them Ugandan Moon pies, a new pencil and a pack of candy coated gum.  The gate guard at the school was so drunk he could barely talk in Lugandan, to say nothing of English.  I guess you have to do something to make the time go by faster.  Several of our boys got in trouble for fighting in school, and I wanted to say that maybe if the school guard was sober, he could have stepped in.  But I think we got it all worked out.  Our counselor is going to start going to the school and seeing the three boys that are struggling, during their breaks.  All of us want to see the boys succeed and are doing everything possible to make sure that it happens.  They have all come so far from when Abby originally took them in off of the street.  Like all of us though, they have not arrived yet.  Keep praying!

Some prayer requests are:

1. pray that the counselling will help the boys release their anger

2. pray that they will continue to improve in school.

3. pray for the construction of the home in Bombo

4. pray for the health of the boys and staff

5. praise that the boys' behavior has continued to improve over the last month

6. praise that God has provided all of the funds for the house in Bombo  

Week one in Uganda

My two month break was wonderful.  I was able to meet so many new people and get all of the boys "special friends".  Every boy in our home now has two families that are supporting him in prayer and help.  The boys love receiving letters (don't all kids).  I wrote to them all twice while I was back in the US.  I was able to tell stories at MVBC for all of the services in March.  I also spoke to several Bible study groups and of course to all of the great kids at Moon Valley!  But really the time went by too fast.  I was anxious to get back to see the boys but very sad to be leaving my family. In early March what I had originally thought was going to be just a visit to Vangie and Josh in Colorado ended up being a moving trip as they moved down to Phoenix. They are staying in my house.  Scarlett, my oldest granddaughter is really at a great age, 19 months.  She is talking and of course mimicking everything she hears. Ruby was born in early March as well and she is cute as a button.  I was able to get sod laid at my house and we were able to enjoy it for a few weeks before I left.  I spent many fun hours with my precious friends and family.  But still I knew I wanted to return.  So as the temperatures were rising in Phoenix I left for Africa.  I arrived on May 8, Mother's Day.  I was greeted at the airport by a group of the wonderful women from our program and Amanda.  Too fun!  Monday I started back to work.  A Perfect Injustice expanded the programs to the street kids.  They hired three additional Ugandan young men to help. One of the young men is named is Abdul, he is a youth Pastor and works at a home for boys.  The other two were street boys themselves, David and Lawrence.  They were bead boys.  They are all such sweet young men.  They now do something with the boys every day except Saturday.  Monday Wednesday and Friday they have a full program that includes a mini clinic, (bandaids and ibuprofen), a lesson, a Bible story, games and a meal of posho and beans.  Tues and Wednesday the program includes medical clinic, a Bible story and porridge (porridge is dilute corn flour, water and sugar).  Amanda runs this program and their is another missionary from Chicago named Cara who works with her.  I did medical with her and told the Bible story one day.  Friday was jst one of those days.  It started with me taking Peter to the hospital with swollen lymph nodes.  I was afraid that he had strep throat.  I did NOT want that to be passed around the house.  Then I went to the street program.  Amanda was already doing medical.  Laying on some plastic on the dirt was a little boy named John, 3, crying and covered with flies.  So I picked him up and found the guy who usually takes care of some of the boys in Kivulu, Robert.  Robert is a woodcarver and he exploits the boys by training them to carve and then not paying them and he is known for beating them and smoking weed in front of them.  Great Huh! But none-the-less John stays with him. So I gave him a bath and Robert gave me some clothes for him and I took him to the clinic.  The poor baby just clung to me. He had a very high fever-malaria.  They gave him IV fluids and medicine.  Some of the best $18 I have spent in a long time.  After that I left little John with Robert and went to find Amanda.  She had taken another VERY sick little boy, Yahayah, about 8 to the hospital.  He had typhoid fever.  I got to hold him too while the nurse tried 6 times to find a vein that would not collapse to give him an IV.  Amanda went to get him some clean clothes and I sat with him.  He was eating a piece of fried donut called a mandazi.  And he wanted to share with me.  I almost cried.  Generosity in spite of such a horrible life.  Saturday we went to a play put on by a school and took ten of the street boys.  After the play, one of the boys, Richard started spiking a fever and had chills...typhoid as well.  Amanda took him to a clinic and then spent the night with him there.  Amanda truly is gifted in working with the boys on the street.  Sunday I took another boy to the clinic because he fell and I think he broke his wrist. Oh brother!
But I have done some fun things as well.  I went to the market with a couple of our boys from the house and we had lunch out.  I also went out to lunch with Amanda and Cara at an Ethiopian place.  I also ordered a desk for myself and a new chair.  I have had a great time hanging out with our boys and uncle Alex.  I really missed them. I bought the boys a couple of new movies to watch: Rio and Megamind.  Both really cute movies.  Several people donated money specifically for a sewing machine and I can't wait to go and get it.  I haven't used a treadle machine in a long time.  The boys on the street and in our house have SO many clothes that need repairing.  I also replaced a lock on a door.  Funky, but it works.  I brought a few tools.  I just can't imagine living without at least a few tools.  I need a few more and I will start to collect them as I go along.  This leg of ministry is six months long.  I return to the US on October 28.  Thank you all for your support!