Friday, July 23, 2010
It is Saturday morning and we are trying one more time to send a video to Chardon United Methodist church to give them an update on our projects.
We are in our last week, in fact our last few days, here in Masindi. Our time in Masindi ends Tuesday morning. Our time in Uganda ends Tuesday evening. With your prayers and God’s travel mercies – we will be back in Ohio on Wednesday evening.
The trip has been quite full of adventures and excitement and most of all it has been full of God! This place has found a home in our hearts. Our morning devotional time this week had lots of teary eyes – I have a feeling it won’t be the last time on this trip.
Thursday, we finished a project in the library. For awhile now, the library has been closed. We were able to take everything out of the library, clean, paint, and re-organize. It was humbling to open the suitcases of school supplies, books and medical equipment - then place them on the shelves for easy access. Things that we take for granted are now avalible. What an answered prayer! Hopefully, the video will upload and you will see what we were able to do for the students.
Yesterday morning, we decided to use the library to do art projects with the students. One of the projects was helping the students place their handprint on the bottom portion of the library wall. Another fun project took place outside of the library. Each lower level student had their body traced onto a large piece of paper and then they were given crayons to color. This may not sound like a big deal... but it was! Many of the students seemed to be holding a crayon and coloring for the first time. Their smiles shined brighter than the African sun.
Yesterday afternoon, we organized a field day for the students. Remember the African time Nick told you about... Well the field day was scheduled for 3:00-6:00. At 3:20 a different school let their children out for a break - those students were the first to show up at the field. Then around 3:35 our secondary students began to arrive. By 3:45 the other school students left and finally by 4:20 we had all of our students for field day. The event did not go as planned, however, everyone had fun participating in: frisbee toss, 3-legged race, book balancing, whiffle ball, jump rope, airplane making and flying, relaying fruit on a spoon and trying to keep an OVERSIZED beach ball in the air. As Nick says, “It was a crazy-fun success.”
The boarding students have really warmed up to us and essentially now ‘swarm’ us in the evening as we gather outside before our evening tea and dinner. It is our last few days here together that we will all be trying to take in as many memories as we can… and I am sure it will be many days – even months – before we will be able to process everything and truly see what God has done, is doing and will continue to do in our lives and in the lives of the people of Masindi, Uganda. How bless are we that dwell in the presence of the LORD!
We continue to thank you for sharing this journey with us and we pray that God is touching your heart this day.
We are in our last week, in fact our last few days, here in Masindi. Our time in Masindi ends Tuesday morning. Our time in Uganda ends Tuesday evening. With your prayers and God’s travel mercies – we will be back in Ohio on Wednesday evening.
The trip has been quite full of adventures and excitement and most of all it has been full of God! This place has found a home in our hearts. Our morning devotional time this week had lots of teary eyes – I have a feeling it won’t be the last time on this trip.
Thursday, we finished a project in the library. For awhile now, the library has been closed. We were able to take everything out of the library, clean, paint, and re-organize. It was humbling to open the suitcases of school supplies, books and medical equipment - then place them on the shelves for easy access. Things that we take for granted are now avalible. What an answered prayer! Hopefully, the video will upload and you will see what we were able to do for the students.
Yesterday morning, we decided to use the library to do art projects with the students. One of the projects was helping the students place their handprint on the bottom portion of the library wall. Another fun project took place outside of the library. Each lower level student had their body traced onto a large piece of paper and then they were given crayons to color. This may not sound like a big deal... but it was! Many of the students seemed to be holding a crayon and coloring for the first time. Their smiles shined brighter than the African sun.
Yesterday afternoon, we organized a field day for the students. Remember the African time Nick told you about... Well the field day was scheduled for 3:00-6:00. At 3:20 a different school let their children out for a break - those students were the first to show up at the field. Then around 3:35 our secondary students began to arrive. By 3:45 the other school students left and finally by 4:20 we had all of our students for field day. The event did not go as planned, however, everyone had fun participating in: frisbee toss, 3-legged race, book balancing, whiffle ball, jump rope, airplane making and flying, relaying fruit on a spoon and trying to keep an OVERSIZED beach ball in the air. As Nick says, “It was a crazy-fun success.”
The boarding students have really warmed up to us and essentially now ‘swarm’ us in the evening as we gather outside before our evening tea and dinner. It is our last few days here together that we will all be trying to take in as many memories as we can… and I am sure it will be many days – even months – before we will be able to process everything and truly see what God has done, is doing and will continue to do in our lives and in the lives of the people of Masindi, Uganda. How bless are we that dwell in the presence of the LORD!
We continue to thank you for sharing this journey with us and we pray that God is touching your heart this day.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Back from our Safari
First, we want to thank everyone for their comments and keeping tabs on us. This experience is having a huge impact on our lives and it means a lot to us that you are interested in sharing it with us.
Second, we want to apologize for the time that has past since our last posting. We tried to send something from the hotel on the Nile… but no luck. Hopefully this will make up for the absence.
Sunday morning we left Masindi at 6:00am to begin our two day excursion to Murchison Falls National Park. At our first stop we went chimp tracking. I (Christina) am not so good at keeping things short, but I will try to highlight a few of our experiences.
Our guide was a soft spoken woman who led us on a very quiet walk into the jungle. For some time I wondered if we would see anything. Then, we paused on our path and sure enough we saw one chimp, then another, then we called the rest of the groups. The guides led us off the paths till we were right under the chimps. Soon there were about 20 chimpanzees in our area- how cool! We saw mammas with babies and young chimps playing. On our way back to the cabin, a large male chimp came right down the tree in front of us and continued on his way to find a female. We were truly blessed that they allowed us to share that time with them.
After the chimp tracking Nick and I broke our fasting of meat and had some chicken and “chips” for lunch – it was delicious! Then we got back in the vehicles to make the 2:00pm boat ride down the Nile River… yes, the Nile River. I often have to pause on this trip and remind myself 1.) We are in Africa! 2.) We are on the Nile River and 3.) All of the animals we are seeing are in their natural habitat. .. most of the time this feels like a dream.
On our boat ride, to Murchison Falls, we saw: hippos, crocodiles, elephants, a python stuck in a hole in the side of a huge rock formation and many different types of birds. As we got closer to the falls, our guide told us many stories about fishing for perch on the Nile. The largest he has seen was over 140 kg!
The falls were really neat and the stories that went along with them are really cool. I think we will be telling stories for months after we return. We have lots of videos and pictures (including one where we got out of the boat and sat on a rock in the middle of the river) but due to the internet capabilities… we may have to wait on sharing some of those.
After our viewing from the boat we were invited to exit the boat and hike to the top of the falls. Again, we captured many photos and videos along the way. It was breath-taking! After our hike it was getting dark and day one of adventure was coming to an end.
Monday morning we also woke before sunrise. Yemen, our driver wanted to be the first on the ferry across the water and by 7:15 the sun was rising and we were beginning our safari.
Our vehicle allowed us to sit on top of the roof and stand inside of the car to see the animals. We made it within 10 yards of: giraffes, kob, antelopes, oribi, wildebeests, lioness’, many different birds, a leopard and more!! Our guide even let us get out of the vehicle and walk for about an hour. The day trip was about 5 hours and the optional night trip (which only 4 of us took advantage of) was about four hours. On the evening trip we stood in the road while giraffes crossed about 30 feet in front of us, we saw a rainbow and we chased a lioness until she reached the bush for her evening rest! It was exhilarating!
Well… it looks like I didn’t do a very good job of keeping in short, but I hope that you have stayed with me and enjoyed the update. Today Nick and I are trying to post another video to YouTube. We have been here for about an hour and I have a feeling there will be many more hours to come.
Thank you again to those of you who have been checking in on us. We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
Second, we want to apologize for the time that has past since our last posting. We tried to send something from the hotel on the Nile… but no luck. Hopefully this will make up for the absence.
Sunday morning we left Masindi at 6:00am to begin our two day excursion to Murchison Falls National Park. At our first stop we went chimp tracking. I (Christina) am not so good at keeping things short, but I will try to highlight a few of our experiences.
Our guide was a soft spoken woman who led us on a very quiet walk into the jungle. For some time I wondered if we would see anything. Then, we paused on our path and sure enough we saw one chimp, then another, then we called the rest of the groups. The guides led us off the paths till we were right under the chimps. Soon there were about 20 chimpanzees in our area- how cool! We saw mammas with babies and young chimps playing. On our way back to the cabin, a large male chimp came right down the tree in front of us and continued on his way to find a female. We were truly blessed that they allowed us to share that time with them.
After the chimp tracking Nick and I broke our fasting of meat and had some chicken and “chips” for lunch – it was delicious! Then we got back in the vehicles to make the 2:00pm boat ride down the Nile River… yes, the Nile River. I often have to pause on this trip and remind myself 1.) We are in Africa! 2.) We are on the Nile River and 3.) All of the animals we are seeing are in their natural habitat. .. most of the time this feels like a dream.
On our boat ride, to Murchison Falls, we saw: hippos, crocodiles, elephants, a python stuck in a hole in the side of a huge rock formation and many different types of birds. As we got closer to the falls, our guide told us many stories about fishing for perch on the Nile. The largest he has seen was over 140 kg!
The falls were really neat and the stories that went along with them are really cool. I think we will be telling stories for months after we return. We have lots of videos and pictures (including one where we got out of the boat and sat on a rock in the middle of the river) but due to the internet capabilities… we may have to wait on sharing some of those.
After our viewing from the boat we were invited to exit the boat and hike to the top of the falls. Again, we captured many photos and videos along the way. It was breath-taking! After our hike it was getting dark and day one of adventure was coming to an end.
Monday morning we also woke before sunrise. Yemen, our driver wanted to be the first on the ferry across the water and by 7:15 the sun was rising and we were beginning our safari.
Our vehicle allowed us to sit on top of the roof and stand inside of the car to see the animals. We made it within 10 yards of: giraffes, kob, antelopes, oribi, wildebeests, lioness’, many different birds, a leopard and more!! Our guide even let us get out of the vehicle and walk for about an hour. The day trip was about 5 hours and the optional night trip (which only 4 of us took advantage of) was about four hours. On the evening trip we stood in the road while giraffes crossed about 30 feet in front of us, we saw a rainbow and we chased a lioness until she reached the bush for her evening rest! It was exhilarating!
Well… it looks like I didn’t do a very good job of keeping in short, but I hope that you have stayed with me and enjoyed the update. Today Nick and I are trying to post another video to YouTube. We have been here for about an hour and I have a feeling there will be many more hours to come.
Thank you again to those of you who have been checking in on us. We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Food for Thought #1
As we have been on this trip, there have been some things that have enlightened me. I am going to try to share one thought per post as I come back to the hotel to upload videos.
Here is thought #1
On the trip, someone shared this information and I thought it was quite powerful...
In America, we measure our worth by how much money we have in the bank (our assets). In Africa, your worth or joy is determined by how little you need to survive.
People in Uganda are very joyful hospitable people. They do not have much, but what they have they cherish. Us Americans (yes, I am putting us all together, sorry to offend anyone) we have so much but yet struggle to find joy in our lives. Yes we are happy when we get that new Playstation, TV, or House, but does that make us joyful? What makes us eternally joyful - being saved by Jesus Christ and knowing we are going to an eternal heaven. But what makes us joyful while we are living?
I don't know, like the title says, Food for Thought. It was a interesting thought provocking comment that someone made.
Here is thought #1
On the trip, someone shared this information and I thought it was quite powerful...
In America, we measure our worth by how much money we have in the bank (our assets). In Africa, your worth or joy is determined by how little you need to survive.
People in Uganda are very joyful hospitable people. They do not have much, but what they have they cherish. Us Americans (yes, I am putting us all together, sorry to offend anyone) we have so much but yet struggle to find joy in our lives. Yes we are happy when we get that new Playstation, TV, or House, but does that make us joyful? What makes us eternally joyful - being saved by Jesus Christ and knowing we are going to an eternal heaven. But what makes us joyful while we are living?
I don't know, like the title says, Food for Thought. It was a interesting thought provocking comment that someone made.
Update Thursday July 15
Hello, and good morning! It is 7:30am here (12:30am at home) and I am at the Hotel Masindi attempting to upload another video for Chardon United Methodist Church. I kind of enjoy being the "upload boy" because it allows me to blog a little bit. We were able to find some fairly quick internet here at the hotel, but it is a little pricy... 10,000 shillings for 6 hours (roughly $0.75/hour! I will take that price anytime!)
The team is doing well. Yesterday we learned how to make bead necklaces out of paper. It is a very beautiful art form and I am sure Christina and Chuck are going to bring that back into their classrooms. The apron that we have been building is moving along. The gentlemen that have previously went to Rock Foundation or have been sponsered by someone back home have been coming to help us. They are amazing workers and are very helpful because they are teaching us their trade. The bricks are laid, the hardcore is broke up and we have started laying the concrete on top of the step. We hope to get that one dome today and possibly start on the next one tomorrow.
Tonight (Thursday) we are going out to the new land where Rock Foundation bought 100 acres outside of town to be able to construct a secondary and trade school. We are going there to bless the land, walk it and make a presense so all the squaters will know that crazy white people will be building something there soon!
The team is doing well. Yesterday we learned how to make bead necklaces out of paper. It is a very beautiful art form and I am sure Christina and Chuck are going to bring that back into their classrooms. The apron that we have been building is moving along. The gentlemen that have previously went to Rock Foundation or have been sponsered by someone back home have been coming to help us. They are amazing workers and are very helpful because they are teaching us their trade. The bricks are laid, the hardcore is broke up and we have started laying the concrete on top of the step. We hope to get that one dome today and possibly start on the next one tomorrow.
Tonight (Thursday) we are going out to the new land where Rock Foundation bought 100 acres outside of town to be able to construct a secondary and trade school. We are going there to bless the land, walk it and make a presense so all the squaters will know that crazy white people will be building something there soon!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Update
Hello from Masindi!
First of all we want to let everyone know that we are ok. The bombing in Kampala was very sad and we are keeping them in our prayers.
Today we finshed laying bricks for an apron around one of the school buildings. There are many hands and the work is enjoyable.
We have been painting a few of the classrooms as well as the kindergarden room. This week we hope to do a little bit of art work using some of the talent of our team members and some of the older students. We also hope to do some exterior painting.
The people have been very helpful and very kind. Even the young children want to help us while they are on thier break. Christine has made us feel at home. In the mornings and evenings we enjoy sitting together singing and laughing and listening to stories.
God is truely in this place. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Nick and Christina
First of all we want to let everyone know that we are ok. The bombing in Kampala was very sad and we are keeping them in our prayers.
Today we finshed laying bricks for an apron around one of the school buildings. There are many hands and the work is enjoyable.
We have been painting a few of the classrooms as well as the kindergarden room. This week we hope to do a little bit of art work using some of the talent of our team members and some of the older students. We also hope to do some exterior painting.
The people have been very helpful and very kind. Even the young children want to help us while they are on thier break. Christine has made us feel at home. In the mornings and evenings we enjoy sitting together singing and laughing and listening to stories.
God is truely in this place. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Nick and Christina
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