rethink

The Last Post

It's our last night here in Uganda and it has been an incredibel trip.  God has done some awesome work in the lives of our team members by giving them all a glimpse of His heart for those who have less than us.  We were able to serve many people here but in the end we were more blessed than anything we accomplished or gave to them.

Fred, Gerry and Jolene were able to finish the milking stall for the cows which will be installed once we leave.  Fred is standing beside their work of art in the pic below.  Shawn was able to spend some time with Hulda (see pic below) who was the little girl that he had the blessing of rescuing with Pete and Pita last time he was in Africa.  Hulda was around 3 months old when she was found abandon in the streets.  Now she is a healthy little girl surrounded with love and care, which is just one small taste of what happens every day here at Noah's Ark Children's home.

We also got to spend a day travelling to Jinja which is where the Nile river begins at the mouth of lake Victoria.  What an amazing and powerful river as it takes 3 months for water to travel all the way to the Mediteranean Sea.  On the way we got to enjoy a Ugandan specialty - 'Chicken on a Stick."  Everyone enjoyed it and some even tried some 'Chicken livers on a stick.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and followed us through this blog.  We will have many more stories to share with you once we get home.  See you all Thursday night.

Love - Team Canada in Uganda

More News From Africa

The weather has been comfortable the last few days as the team has been working hard on a number of different projects.  Gerry and Fred continue to milk twice a day with the local workers showing them how to get the best production from the four cows they have.  The workers are getting a good handle on how to use and clean the milking machine and how much to feed the cows during milking. 

They have also, along with Jolene been working on building a milking stall for the barn to make milking much easier.  We have been able to scrape up a bunch of old metal piping, cut it up and then Jolene has been putting her welding skills to good use by putting it all together.  It should be finished on tuesday and ready to install in the next phase of the farm buildings.

Wendy continues to work in the children's home playing and loving on the kids.  As you can see she has her hands pretty full.  

We were able to split the team up and accompany one of the teachers from the school for a home visit.  This is where we walked to a home in the surrounding community and visited with a child's family.  we were able to bring a small gift of sugar, soap and salt which are luxuries for these folks.  Each team had a different story to tell from their visit.  It was a clear picture of poverty while at the same time a clear picture of how a family can still have joy and contentment amidst very little.  We in the western world really do not know what it means to have nothing and we can learn a lot about contentment from these people.

  On Sunday we as a team helped out in Sunday School by singing a few songs and performing a skit on the story of Ananias and Saphira.  The acting skills were amazing and we think Fred may have found his purpose in life :)

After Sunday School we attended church where Hiebert and Shawn led the worship.  Shawn had the priveledge of dedicating a new little boy to the Lord (Isaac) who had just recently come to the home.  It was a great morning worshipping the Lord together.

We finished up the day with a BBQ at Piet and Pita's home and enjoyed an evening of laughter and sharing.  At the end of the night we concluded by singing with the kids and sharing in their bedtime prayers.

A few more days and we will be home.  In the mean time we have few more things to get done.  Keep praying and we will try and post at least one more time.

Thanks for the comments - keep them coming :)

The Faces Of Uganda

Today we thought we would post in pictures.  Enjoy some of the faces and places we have been experiencing the last few days.

 

 

 

 

Uganda 2010

Well, it has been a couple of days since we last posted and those days have been quite an adventure.  Fred and Gerry were able to work with the dairy that PCC set up and teach the locals how to use the milking machine that we had purchased for the cows.  Four cows are now producing up to 30 litres of milk per day and with some slight changes in their feeding regime they should be able to double that production.  Both of these 'retired' farmers are once again getting up early to help milk the cows each morning.

Hiebert was able to teach a few art classes to the children in the Elementary School.  He was teaching them the use of shapes, color mixing and landscape drawing.  He discovered that some of these kids have a real natural talent for painting.

Jolene spent the day helping in the woodworking production plant where they were builidng children's beds and cribs.  We still hope to get her working in the machine shop doing some welding.

Wendy spent the day changing diapers, feeding babies and playing with the kids.  There are so many kids that love having one on one time and there never is a shortage of kids to play with.

On Wednesday and Thursday We were able to take two days away from the Children's home and experience an African Safari.  After a six hour trip we entered the largest animal sanctuary in Uganda and saw up close the beauty of God's creation as we encountered Hippo's, crocidiles, elephants, buffalo, girraffes, lions and so much more. 

On our way home we had the joy of experiencing FOUR flat tires, turning our six hour trip into a 12 hour journey.  It was quite an adventure watching and working with a culture that handles these kinds of inconveniences very differently than from us.  We all got a lesson in patience and learned to just relax and enjoy the moment.  It will be an adventure that no one will soon forget.

Today we will continue to help out in diferent areas around the Children's home.  Fred and Gerry are going to begin writing out a dairy plan and procedure list for the locals to follow.  The girls are going shopping for groceries and Hiebert will continue to teach art classes in the school.  At the end of the day we will be heading out to do some home visits where we will get to meet the families of the children who attend the school but do not live in the home.

We will continue to keep you posted.

PS - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KANDAS :)

Well we continue to adapt to the culture here in Africa. We had the oportunity tour the compound and saw all the great things that Noahs Ark is doing. The farm is running very smoothly. They have added another barn with pigs and have cleared the surrounding land where they can graze the cattle and plan for future crops (wish we could show you pics - but the connection is to slow to upload them). Piet has begun working on a fish hatchery as well as figuring out ways to prodce certain crops all year long. He is very innovative and has some great vision for prearing and equipping the children with skills that will set them up for future success.

We were able to deliver all the kids clothing, farm equipment and of course some Dutch cheese to Piet and Pita. Along with doing all this we usually have a handful of kids hanging off of us which always brings a lot of smiles and laughter.

Today we are planning to do some work projects around the compound and will update again tomorrow.

Thanks for all your comments and thoughts.

Talk to you soon :)

We Made It

After three flights, six on flight movies, a few books and 9 hours of layovers we finally made it... and it only took about 30 hours :)

Everybody is doing great and adjusting well.  We have very slow internet connections but will do our best to update as frequently as we can.  The team got a quick tour of the compound when we arrived and there has been no sortage of children to play with.  We got to sing and play with the kids as well as attend church yesterday.  Today we get a full tour of the ministry here and will plan out our ministry and work oportunities.  The weather is a little overcast so not to hot right now. 

We are praying for you all back home and we will talk to you soon.

Please remember to post messages on the blog for the team to read.