9 April 2007

While once again it has been a few days and I need to catch you up on things. We have a new house help. Her name is Tabitha and so far she is great. I feel like the stress is gone. Tabitha has a great personality, easy to work with, a good worker, and plays great with the girls. Lydia LOVES when Tabitha gets to play with her. They read books and play house. Tabitha has make food for us and passion fruit juice. She is going to workout just fine. I am SO thankful!

We celebrated Josh's 29th birthday Thursday. It was fun. Lydia and I made cards for him and hung up little thank you notes around the room. We gave him peanut M&M's, the closest thing to Mellow Yellow pop, and a DVD. We made a birthday feast for him: bar-b-q pork, potatoes, cooked carrots, rolls, and chocolate cake. There would have been ice cream too but the power was off most of the day so the freezer wasn't very cold. We ate outside with Tim, Angie, Avalien, Steven, and Tabitha. We sang happy birthday and everything. Tim and Angie gave him books, brownies, and a nice note. Hope he knows he is loved.

Steven, the 12 year old orphan boy, comes everyday. Sometimes he helps the guys with jobs around the house, sometimes he just hangs out. We have been careful with him seeing we really don't know him or his story, but the more we get to know him the more we like him. He loves the girls and the girls love him. He reads books to them and today Lydia loved playing chase in the yard with him. He must be lonely and enjoys having loving families to hang out with. He eats almost every supper with one of us. He use to live in the IDP camp but now lives right by us in a hut with some family. We haven't met the family yet and can't understand the agreement, but we are still learning how this culture works. Tomorrow Tim is going with him to check out the school and get him registered for next semester.

Lydia loves going to town, so today she went along with Tim, Angie, and myself. She went with U. Tim to get meat and came back with stories about the cow and goat heads that people eat. Oh, what that child is going to see here (and begin to think is normal!).

We got a meat grinder today. Angie now thinks she might be a vegetarian. It is a process. I am more than ever thankful for stores. We got the meat, cut the meat (cut the fat off), checked on the girls, wash the meat, helped the girls, put the grinder together, cleaned up spilled blood, ground the meat, found the girls outside, put the meat in bags, changed a diaper, cleaned, washed, and disinfected the kitchen, grinder, bowls, and everything else in sight...did I mention we have no running water. What a lot of work for good meat. And I wonder why I don't get much done – life takes time here. I told Angie they need to ask on missionaries applications if you are willing to be a butcher, cause you will be along with a lot of other things.

We continue to hear about and see the needs of the people here. You could become depressed with all the needs, yet I don't feel that way. I have peace and hope. God is in control. Amazing. Tim and Josh learn Ateso each day at the blind community near our house. They have been great and Tim and Josh are very thankful. They have two teachers Angelina and Francis. Angelina has a son Ben who is dying of throat cancer (he has a tumor(s) in the sinuses and throat). He lies in bed all day. He is thin, can't eat well, and has a hard time talking and hearing. He had treatments until the money ran out. We hope to pay for him to be checked out again and then see if any more can be done for him. She has another son at a Christian University in Kampala who is about to be kicked out because of school fees (he is in his last year). She asked them to be patient but they told her University is not a place for poor people. It would be great if he graduated so he could have a good job and support the family. Angelina can read brail and can type it too. She went blind at the age of five when she had small pox (I think) and they had to take her eyes. It is a great community with a lot of needs. Josh is writing something up for World Missions and hopes to take Gary there when he comes.

Well there is the widow who lives behind us. Today Josh bought flour and toothbrushes for them and we went to give them to her. Our other neighbor came along to translate since the widow only knows Ateso. Her name is Betty. Her husband was killed a year ago by the Karamojong. He transported cattle and was shot. She has six children. Betty also has diabetes and has to take shots everyday. Her youngest child has sickle cell. Five of her children go to school amazingly. They use to rent a house but once her husband died they couldn't afford it and the land lord allowed them to build the hut and stay there for no charge. Betty sells food she cooks at market for money.

On top of all this John, a Christian friend here, came and told us about his sister-in-law who died after giving birth to her seventh child. They have huge debt now and the baby will stay at the hospital or an orphanage till it is two and then go back to the village with the father. I can't imagine.

There is a lot of opportunity for people at home to help here. People could give money to medical needs, send items here to help the people, or come and build or whatever. If anyone asks how they can help tell them to email us or give them the scoop yourself. Thanks.

On a bit of a happier note, we went to Patrick's church Sunday. (The Patrick who teaches at the Bible School. Don't get confused there are a dozen Patricks, Francis', and Josephs around here.) Patrick and his wife Florance have two boys two and under. They are very nice people! The church was great except it went long and Josh thinks the floor is make with cow dung. They have a lot of children at the church and the singing there is great. They had beautiful flowers hanging in the church too.

You can pray about our water. I am beginning to think it is a discouragement from satan or the water people want a bribe. Everyone else seems to have water but us. They, the water people, say it is because we are at the end of the line and too many people are using it. But our neighbor has water. And we didn't have this problem the first few weeks actually the tanks were overflowing. I try not to complain and I am grateful for our power and all we have, but water is so nice. We have workers working on the latrine who need water, our house help needs water to wash, and we need it. Poor Josh and Tim have been making trips to Francis' to get water in our drums. I am thankful we have water available to use.

Living on the mission field may be hard at times, but it forces me to stick close to God. I have to depend on Him in a way I fail to at home. I LOVE being close to God. I fall more in more in love with my Savior the more I read about Him in His Word. He is God! He is love, peace, my refuge, and hope. I wish everyone knew God like this, He does too. God makes it so clear how we are to live. His joy and the blessings He gives is worth every hardship or sacrifice it takes to live for Him.