INTRODUCING...The Hands 4 Uganda 2014 Fall Team

It's crazy to think our team of 6 will be leaving on October 29th!  I would like to introduce you to our Hands 4 Uganda 2014 team:

Introducing the team from First Assembly Community Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana...

Cathi Delp & Connie Tolley

Connie Tolley
I've always supported missions and have seen my husband and kids go on mission trips but had not until last year. I had the opportunity to go to India. Now I get to go to Uganda and be with all the lovely people I've heard so much about. What an opportunity God is giving me in this season of my life."

Cathi Delp
When I was in elementary school we had pen pals from other countries. My first pen pal was from Africa & from that time on I always dreamed of going to Africa. In 2013 that dream came true as I joined a team from Idaho & was introduced to Jinja, Uganda! Now, one year later, I'm going back.


Syd Hair

Syd w/sponsored child, Sammy

I developed my love for Uganda in 2008, my first visit! I met and fell in love with Abdu and Betty Wasswa and their heart for reaching the children of Mbiiko Uganda with the love of Jesus, through education! In 2008 there were 11 kids attending Rock of Ages. In 2010 God put together an amazing team to return to Uganda! Through that team, Hands 4 Uganda, our non-profit organization was birthed!!! The school has grown to over 220!  
My goal and hope with this outreach is that God will provide opportunities for us to share the stories of the unsponsored children and that by the time we return these remaining 69 children will have sponsors! We will also be delivering new shoes to ALL of the children...and THAT....is a big deal, to these precious children!!!

Our Iowa teammates from Eastside Christian Church:

Pam Lindemann
I am excited to be the photographer for this mission. My hope is to capture emotion, beauty and the souls of the people inJinja. I started this journey over a year ago. God has opened doors in my education and developing my photography style. So get ready Rock of Ages school to show me your SMILES and JOY!

Lynette Bayer

My name is Lynnette Bayer. I live in Treynor, IA. I have been married to my wonderful husband for eighteen years.  We have two children, Kelsey (14 years old, in 9th grade) and Cole (12 years old, in 7th grade). Our church has greatly supported us in this mission. 

I did not sign my teaching contract this year because I wanted to focus on being a wife and a mom. I have prayed, "God use me!"  God spoke to me through the book, Kisses from Katie and my lovely friend Pam, which led to an invitation to this trip to Uganda.  My daughter Kelsey and I are getting the opportunity to say 'yes' to God. I look forward to meeting these beautiful Ugandan adults and children of God!

 

Kelsey Bayer (Our youngest team mate)
Just simply said, I love Jesus. He is my Superhero!  I am in ninth grade, at Treynor High School, in Treynor, IA. I have an interesting pet, a hedgehog, (Ginger) and a cat named Mo. I enjoy coffee, Dr. Who, gnomes, baking, and being with friends. Laughing is my favorite! I absolutely love being with children and old people! I desperately try to show Christ's love to others, by demonstrating His free joy! My dream in life is to SHINE FOR THE KING!!!!!!!



Our team hopes you will follow our adventures and journey to Uganda!  All of us wish to say THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for your support, encouragement and prayers!!!  

Blessings
Syd Hair

Who Am I that I should go?

Syd Hair, a Hands4Uganda board member and one of  our founders is preparing to leave for a short term missions outreach at the end of the month.  You will hear more about  the team and their trip in the coming weeks but I wanted to share a short devotional she  wrote for her team. It  is one of the best answers  to the question. "what will I do?",  that folks often ask when we invite them along on a trip. 

Syd writes:

Good morning team!!

God has really been laying some things on my heart so I wanted to jump start our devotionals by sharing this morning! I will be sharing along the way as we prepare the final few weeks before departure!

I remember the first time I went to Uganda in 2008.  I was struggling with my "American

Syd blessing a mom with a baby blanket in 2010

missions" mentality while I was there....I kept seeking the Lord's answer to my daily burning question "why am I here Lord?"  I felt as if I had to "accomplish" something in order to bring a report back to my church, friends and family of all the good I had done on my mission trip.  It was Easter Sunday while we were in Uganda and I remember it VERY well.  We had attended an amazing service and then headed back to the compound.  We spent the rest of the day inside as it was a torrential downpour.  As I sat in quiet meditation once again seeking the Lord to answer my burning question....It was SO clearly laid on my heart these words from the Lord...

"Syd, I have brought you here to love, Betty!  You have sacrificed to get here so that I can show my love to her"  As soon as I received that I was good to go!  Yes, Lord!  I will love Betty!  So I spent the remaining week...falling in love with Betty and the work God had called her to do at Rock of Ages school!  At the time we were there she had just started her school in this well known prostitution village of Mbiiko with 11 kids. 

 Upon my return in 2014 you will experience over 220 kids now attending ROA!!!  When I returned from Uganda the first time, the Lord led me to start a sponsorship program!  It just amazes me, what God can do with relationships!  I wasn't called to Uganda to do anything, but LOVE my brothers and sisters there!!!

So my reading this morning and the title of my devotional was "Who am I that I should go"?  This is the answer for us now, that God has brought together the six of us..

I/We should go, because I AM is the Who!   

Let me explain....

God showed me this week that really NOTHING else in this life matters but the "WHO's" he places in our path.  It's not the house, the car, the job, but the Whos' along the journey!  It's the SAME reason he is leading us to Uganda!  He loves you so much that he wants you to meet the "who's".  Our faithful brothers and sisters in Uganda!  

So, as people ask you "what" you will be doing in Africa, let them know, it's not about the "what"....it's about the Who!!!!

You will meet people that God will place in your path that will plant a seed in the garden of your heart that  you will carry forever!

It may be a child; for me it was a little boy named Henry in 2008, a boda driver named Peter, the founder of school named Betty, a cook named Grace, my African brother named Abdu....all in a place called Africa!!!

May our God; who provides, guides and leads us daily, assure your heart and spirit, the reason you are going thousands of miles away from family and home, sacrificing time and money; is for His purpose and His glory alone!

The best African word I ever learned was "Tomanya".  Which means; "you never know"

You never know what to expect; but one thing I do know....God is with us!

Hope in Saddness

Jessica, her mom and brother

Betty likes to keep us updated on major events in the lives of  the children attending Rock of Ages Academy.  That includes both  the good news and the bad.  Her update today is a sobering reminder of how difficult life is for the children who attend the school.   We received the following  news about  Jessica, an eight year old in Primary 1. She was living with both her parents, a rarity in this village.  Her mom was the primary support of the  family, digging( in gardens) for other people. Sadly, last Saturday her father died unexpectedly. Betty writes:

"Here is a brief account what the mum of Jessica narrated when I went to her home to pay tribute.

It started   as a light fever on Wednesday night that wasn’t taken so serious and some pain killers were given as a precaution to the general body weakness. They all retired to their beds to sleep and wait for day break. Little did they know that it was more serious than they thought.  Later  on Thursday his  health worsened so  they went to a better hospital to seek more advice.  Still the doctors ran all tests that they could but discovered no serious illness.

On Friday more tests were done and nothing found but he still had  difficulty breathing. They prescribed oxygen for him as it was the best option available. However, the family could not afford oxygen but they did buy some medicine.  They opted to go home and pray and wait.

Later that day surprisingly he was much better and he went home. They spent Friday night peacefully until Saturday evening when the situation worsened and at 8pm Saturday night he breathed his last.

Arrangements were made and burial was done on Sunday. We were informed on Monday and Wednesday Jessica reported to school. I asked Jessica to take me home so I could talk to the mother." 

Fortunately Jessica's school fees are paid for by her sponsors who also bless this family extra food each month.  There is hope in her future because of the compassion of another family, half way around the world, 

A New Cook Stove for ROA

ROA cooks preparing lunch with  new Stove.

Betty, the director of Rock of Ages School, believes that  nourishing the mind, body and spirit of her students is the best way to help them achieve their potential. She recently noted  that providing a meal each day for the children not only fills their bellies;  it improves their concentration in class and ultimately their academic performance.  For many of the children, this may be the only food they receive that day.

The school needed a new stove.  Betty requested funds to make a purchase and  described the problems in her request:

1.   The stove is worn out. It has been used for a long time and the rust has weakened it and made it difficult to repair.
2.  With the increase in school population, the cook has to prepare food in batches in order for everyone to get a meal and she has to take extreme care as not to spill the food as the cooking pot balances precariously on the weakened, rusted structure..
3. The  old model of the stove  is inefficient and uses a lot of more charcoal than necessary  to make meals. 

Top View of Stove. You can see that structure to hold the pots are rusting away.

Side view.

Rice cooking on old Stove

Fortunately, one of our partner organizations, Juneau2Jinja, was able to provide the funds to buy a new Stove that is safer,  more economical and  has a larger capacity.

We Will Miss You!

 Saturday 

It's Saturday morning and the end of this journey is drawing near. Such a bittersweet feeling...excited to see our loved ones at home & sad to leave this new family of loved ones in Uganda.

Yesterday was quiet but quite fulfilling. We took JaJa Ssempa shopping. She is the grandmother of Syd's sponsored child who is raising 6 of her grandchildren. She was so sweet and tiny and overcome by the gifts of love she received. She went home with food supplies and a new mattress pad for one of the children. When we left her home, she insisted we take a chicken or eggs as a token of her appreciation. All we needed was one more hug! Thanks Syd..she held tightly to the envelope sent to her by you.

Back then to Rock of Ages school. All but one class, P4, was attending the Ag Fair. Jayde and Jared purchased icicles/Popsicles for them and we gave them all balloons & taught them a new song "We Love You So Much".

Back home for an afternoon/evening of packing and playing. Jayde, Jared & Dennis are preparing to take one last boda ride into Jinja for some last minute shopping. Then we leave at noon for Kampala where we will reunite with the safari team for some shopping & pizza before going to the airport. Our flight to Amsterdam leaves Entebbe at 11:30 p.m. Thanks to Jayde and her skills, we're already checked in. Once there we will say good-bye to the Fowler crew as they continue on to Idaho.

Good-bye UGANDA!!! We will miss you!
Cathi Delp

Friday

It's Friday morning here and as i sit on the back porch sipping coffee & thinking about this experience, many things come to mind that will never be forgotten.

Things like the quiet morning sky and listening to the neighbors working at cutting trees and doing morning chores. Betty & Abdu's children preparing for school..the older one, Sarah, and Uncle Dennis get them, dressed and fed and ready for their morning boda ride. But today they miss school so Daddy can take them to the Ag Fair. Excitement builds!

I look out and see the homemade volleyball net made of rope and dried stalks and can hear the laughter of our team (and finally some of our Ugandan family)
as they battled to win. Also, our sweet moments of sharing devotions, prayers and life stories..often ending with tears of joy and sometimes pain. Handing off the $2 that Abdu planted in the palms of my hands last Sept 2012 so that I might see my dream to see Africa come true, to Dennis...so that he can now see his dream of "coming to America" come true.

I think of Jordan and his love for food...Jayde her open appetite for chapti's & our favorite little convenience store "The Igar" where we went wild buying snacks regardless of the time of day. Katie, Corrie & Jayde getting their hair extensions and braids and even me letting Susan put a few in my own hair. Katie aka Mrs. Uganda, Corrie aka Miss Uganda, Jayde aka Miss Africa, Keri aka Auntie Keri and me aka JaJa Mark. And of course, Randy and his puns and all the ribbing he took for being ADD/MD and Keri..for keeping us all in line and on time. Tyler's pool event and us planning the wedding for he & Corrie.
It's so good to know that Christianity prevails here. One of the first evenings here we could hear from afar the echoing of Muslims and Christians battling over who was right. This is a daily event on a local road corner not far from here. Thankfully I know Who Reigns!! I'll close by sharing one of the sweetest memories I will  take home. Last evening after dinner while we sat in the living room and played on computers and cell phones, Abdu had some christian music playing. His 6 yr old son Moses sat on my lap and taught me a game all the while singing every song that came on right along with his daddy.

This is just a bit of what i'll be taking back to Indiana with me......Cathi

Bonding for LIfe

Baptism in the Nile!

By Cathi

Wednesday we headed out to Nile Bungee Jumping in Jinja..where 4 team members...Jordan, Tyler, Jared & Randy plus our favorite taxi driver and Christian brother, Kennedy took the plunge over the Nile!!  Since it was a first for all but Randy there was a lot of anxiety & excitement for all..especially the jumpers. The guys did a great job and were all ready to go again.  After that, we all met at the Nile for baptisms.  Pastor Jimmy, from Jesus Life Christian Church (where we worshiped last Sunday), was there to  pray and do the baptizing of Corrie, Tyler, Katie, Cathi & Jared. Afterwards we celebrated these two experiences that we'll never forget and has bonded us ,again as a team, more for life. Next stop was the Black Latern campground & restaurant, where the Idaho group stayed the night before heading out for their safari. We enjoyed a yummy late night dinner there.  The trip there was another opportunity to toss balloons out the window to the little children!  Never a dull moment with this group.

Today, Adbu and Betty took the remaining 3 of us to the Jinja Agricultural Fair.  Besides the fact that the President of Uganda was supposed to be there, it was packed!  We saw cows, pigs, chickens, goats,lots and lots of school children & even a John Deere tractor.  After a quick stop for groceries and milkshakes, we're home.  Betty's friend, Susan, known for her famous hair braiding and now chapti making, is teaching Jared how to make chapti's. Dinner smells good!   

Note: Chaptis are an unleavened flat bread, a favorite both of the locals and visitors.