James 1:27 In Action

On Monday we went to an orphanage far out in the bush (the country). This orphanage was started by Pastor John. It's not just an orphanage though, the model he makes is an orphanage attached to a church. This model is exactly how it's supposed to be according to James 1:27. The church would be the people in the village and they would support the orphans in the home and the caregivers for the children would be the widows in the church. Pastor John has built many models like this in so many villages around the Kampala area. I was so impressed with this model. I have not seen many like this before! I am sure God will bless them abundantly because of the way they are doing it.

We came today to set up the bedrooms in the home, so they could take in children in 2 weeks. International Voice of the Orphan supplied 11 bunk beds, bedding, nets, supplies for the kitchen, and chairs for the church. It was such an honor to help set everything up, carry in the beds, make them and pray over the children and staff that will be living here.

There was a small village school right beside the church/orphanage and the children were curious about what we were doing. So we took a break and went over to greet them. The children have not seen many white people so they were really excited. They loved getting their picture taken with us and seeing it on our camera screens. They thought it was the coolest thing ever.

There were a few children who didn't have the money to go to school and had no food for lunch who came up to us while we were eating lunch. We gave them our leftover sandwiches, and they loved them! They may have been a little confused as to what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was, but they ate them anyway. Who knows when they had eaten last. The big smiles on their faces showed their thankfulness.

A Village Church

We began our first Sunday in Uganda visiting a church in a village about an hour outside of Kampala called "Christ Restoration Church". Going to a church in the village is always an awesome experience! So much different than any church in America.

If you look closely you can see a butterfly flying by at just the right moment!

Our pre-welcome. Soon after we were surrounded.

I am with a team of 8 (from the US and The Netherlands). Our team leaders Dwight and Emma Saunders started International Voice of the Orphan and The Gem Foundation. Dwight preached an amazing message today for the church and we also did a prayer time afterwords. You could really tell the congregation were getting a lot out of the message and were so hungry for God. We had them come up for prayer at the end if they had any requests. We had so many come up to us and ask for prayer for things like provision for jobs and land, wisdom in school, a way to support their families and for sicknesses. We gladly prayed for each of their needs and asked God to bless them in mighty ways. It's so eye opening to realize how hard their lives must be as we heard some of their stories. They were very encouraged by our prayers and thanked us many times. We heard later that one man actually received Christ during the prayer time! We were all encouraged by that and decided that made the day! It wasn't us that made the impact on them, it was God working through us that changed this man's life forever! All glory goes to Him! We are so thankful to have been a part of that!

Dancing, of course, and a lot of it!

And I want to thank all my supporters as well. If you hadn't have prayed for me or donated to make this trip possible this may not have happened! Because of you there will be at least one more in Heaven! How amazing is that?

Since this congregation had been so generous to our team leader Emma in the past (giving her highly praised gifts, such as a pig) and had welcomed us all so well we wanted to give back to them. So we brought gifts for the pastor and his wife and gifts for all the children. We handed out toothbrushes and lollipops to all the kids at the end. It's the simplest things that they are so thankful for! Their faces were beaming!

What an amazing day in Uganda!

Countdown to Uganda

10 days to go!!

$480 left to riase!!

Let's do this!!


Link to my online fundraiser if you'd like to donate:
http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/help-send-sharon/150423