Highlights Live

Our whole team is now home, except one with an extended stay in Europe. We flew from Entebbe to Brussels to New York. We had a glitch in New York with a very short layover and did not have enough time for all of us to make is to our gate. We held the plane as long as possible and then made later arrangements for half the team to fly into LAX a bit later. At 10:15am this morning, our remaining two will be back. Travel can be hard with a large group but for two weeks our team did a wonderful job of going from place to place all over Uganda. The team rallied well over and over again despite 10 to 12 hour car rides, an earthquake, and bombings. We are so grateful as to what God did in each of our lives and for bringing us all home safe!

Greetings from UGANDA!

We apologize for the delay in communication, but we have had no internet connection whatsoever until now. We have had a wonderful trip and the team is getting along wonderfully. Rest assured, even though there were bombings in Kampala, we are completely safe in a small mountain town that is home to the Juna Amagara Ministry School. Here are some highlights from each day from the trip thus far.
Day 2. –We arrived in Kampala and were united as a team. We stayed in the Close Motel and visited the Source of the Nile. We also visited a secondary school where are team did an impromptu devotion and worship at their afternoon assembly for 1800 kids. Sam and Hilary did a wonderful job engaging the kids in their testimonies even through a faulty sound system and large crowd. Anthony finally arrived and our team was complete.

Day 3- It was a travel day. We were told it was going to be a 10 hour drive, then we were told it was to be a 6 hour drive, when in actuality the drive was approximately 14 hours. The Ugandans however, track actual driving time which according to them was 10 hours. It was indefinitely a very long car ride but well worth it. During this adventure we got a flavor of Ugandan life and scenery. We saw zebras which is a rare sight in the country. We also stopped at the equator . On our way to the mountains we stopped in Mbarara at the Children’s Home for linner (lunch/dinner) and met the wonderful staff members. Upon our arrival to our final destination of Kishanje Village, we were grateful and very tired.

Day 4- Our team awoke to gorgeous scenery of the Ugandan Alps . We drove to the local village church and were warmly welcomed. Our team took a great part in the 3 hour long service. Amy and Anthony shared their testimonies, our entire team lead two songs of worship, and Dennis did a great message on Matthew 15:21-28, which seemed to be received well by the church members. It was really neat for our team to see how the whole community participates in the service while the kids, mostly preschool-aged, sat in the front the entire time. We have never seen such well-behaved children. In the evening we were debriefed by the school’s headmaster as to what we would be doing during the day at Juna Amagara.

Day 5- Every morning the school begins with an optional worship service called ‘Morning Glory.’ The worship and sunrise were truly beautiful. The team participated in the morning devotion and Hilary gave a word of encouragement from Proverbs 16:20. Throughout the day, various team members were used effectively in the primary school and vocational school. The highlight of this day was seeing Nancy and Amy work with the 8 girls in the vocational school, many of whom don’t speak English, and teaching them to knit. By the end of the day a couple girls were proudly sporting their new scarves. A few team members were able to attend the Primary School Assembly where the teachers and students joined together to worship, read scripture, and even did a traditional Ugandan welcome dance for us.

Six members of our team (Anthony, Sam, Charlotte, Shannon, Dennis and Trevecca) drove into Kabale, a nearby city, to speak at the Bishop Buran University chapel as well as to three local High School assemblies where we shared worship music and testimonies. Dennis was delighted to discover a classroom at one of the schools dedicated to Azusa Pacific University because of a partnership with APU students.

Day 6 – Once again our team enjoyed Morning Glory and the sunrise. Anthony gave the words of encouragement and our team once again dispersed. Jacqueline and Charlotte visited the medical clinic and met the resident nurse. Roz, Sally, Hilary, Shannon, and Trevecca taught English at the Primary School and became familiar with how the school runs. The knitting ministry continued and the girls began to open up. In the late afternoon, Hilary, Jacqueline, Charlotte, and Shannon met with some of the girls in the Secondary School and discussed puberty and health. The girls were extremely receptive and encouraged by the talk. During the “girl talk”, the rest of the team went to the Teacher’s Fellowship where Dennis preached from the book of Hosea and Laura gave her testimony. This was a highlight for all who attended.

Day 7- After Morning Glory, where Roz shared words of encouragement, the team went to breakfast and broke off into smaller teams for the day’s activities. Sally and Dennis traveled 45 km to the main road to speak and encourage teachers at Secondary Schools. Most of the group read short stories aloud at the primary school. Shannon and Jacqueline organized their library. Marsha, Nancy, and Amy worked again with the vocational school and were blessed by the girls once again. Sam give instruction on guitar playing to a couple of the boys. A few team members attended the weekly community revival where Dennis preached. The worship and testimonies of the students and community members were very encouraging. Hilary and Roz stayed behind to learn how to cook in a Ugandan kitchen and helped make part of our dinner.

More recapping to come….hopefully.

Greetings from Uganda! Yes, we are all just fine and safe in the beautiful mountains of Kabale about 10 hour drive away from Kampala where the bombing occured. We will not return to Kampala for another week. Ben has been keeping us very, VERY busy doing ministry at several schools and churches, all is going very well, God is blessing our ministry (both our ministry to the people here as well as their ministry to us!)

Since we are in the mountains at the end of a very long, very dusty and rutted road ) we do not have internet so I am down in the city of Kabale at the Anglican Guest House borrowing internet from a very kind Swedish student here. Part of our team came here last evening to speak at the University and two high schools while the rest of the team is still at Juna Amagara teaching at the orphanage school this morning. Our team is really bonding and we all believe that every person on the team has been ordained by God to make us this team.

We will try to send pictures and update for HighlightsLive as soon as we are able to make that connection. Uganda is amazingly beautiful and the people are so welcoming we are very anxious to seen pictures for all to enjoy! BTW, Shawn, Shannon is doing great, she tells the students at the schools we visit that she is 14 and all the students identify with her and make a bee line to her after we speak. With three beautiful, young blonds on our team (Shannon, Charlotte and Jacqueline) we are a big hit )

More latter, thanks for your prayers, we feel them.

Trevecca Okholm