Many Blessings!

Greetings from Uganda! Those are three words I never thought would come out of my mouth, but God is good! I am happy to report that we have had another successful day in Bukeeka. We started the day with breakfast at Robert and Sarah's which consisted of toast, bananas and sausage. Also, there is always a cold glass of mango or passion fruit juice to drink. After breakfast, Martha organized the gifts to take to the families in the bush and Marilyn and Monita separated the sponsor gifts to prepare them for distribution at the school. I do not recall what the rest of us were doing, although Pastor Paul (from Next Generation Ministries) came by for a quick visit. We loaded everything in the van and Robert's car. Todd had the opportunity to drive Robert's car today (with Robert) and he did a great job! Driving in Uganda is not easy, especially when you are not used to driving on the opposite side of the street. We stopped to bless two of the ladies, whom we met yesterday, with a new mattress, soap and a washcloth. They were both elated! We also stopped at the home (small mud hut with a thatched roof) of a woman who attends True Worship Center. She lives with her sister, son and grandson. Her daughter has left to complete her schooling. The conditions they are living in are very poor. The hut is so small and they have no mattress. She cooks from inside the hut, so they breath the smoke from the fire when she cooks. Also, at night they tie their goat up in the hut as well because they are afraid it will get stolen. We spent a little time with them and gifted them with rice, beans, flour, sugar, soap, a mattress, washcloth and an apron. She was so grateful! As we were walking out of the village, a man, who we had seem earlier, asked us to pray for him. His heath was not good. So, Pastor Kenny (as Sarah and Robert call him) prayed for him. After the prayer, he asked to receive Jesus into his life. Pastor prayed again with him, with the help of Elisha, and he received Jesus into his heart. We continued on our journey and ended up back at Fountain of Hope School. We had a list of all the children we need to buy shoes for and had them come to get their feet measured. It went quite smoothly. We had lunch at the school. Robert brought chapati and eggs, mandas and there were also beans to eat. When lunch was over, we had the opportunity to hand out a number of gifts to sponsored students. They are sooo happy to receive these gifts. It means so much to them! We took pictures of each child with their gifts and helped answer any questions they had about the items. You may think that our day ended there, but no...there is more!! We met with high school students for about an hour and a half after handing out the sponsor gifts. There are 200 high school students in three grades. (Senior 1, 2 and 3). Next year, FOH will add Senior 4 and continue adding a new grade each year until they have Senior 1-6. The students led us in singing a few songs before we had a question and answer session. The seven team members had the chance to share a brief message with the students and then answer several questions. With questions answered, we got into the van to head back to the Sityo's home. We rested a bit and then had a well prepared meal of chapati, beans, meatballs, rice and pineapple. I could eat their rice and beans everyday! Before we went to bed, Robert shared the story of his childhood with us. He had many, many struggles growing up, but is so faithful to God. I am sitting in bed now, with my mosquito net draped around me, and can not help but give thanks to God for the adventure I am having, the people who love me in the States and in Uganda, and the opportunity to show God's love to those around me. Be safe and take care of each other!

Sarah M.