Life In Kampala

I've been in the capital city of Kampala for 24 days now. Kampala has a population of about 1.209 million people. It's the largest city in Uganda. Many people come to the city to work during the week and go back to their village on the weekends. So as you can imagine it's a very busy place and there is rarely a quite moment. At every hour of the day and night there seems to be something going on. From all night prayer meetings/worship services to weddings that last for several days to the sound of constant traffic. No matter where you go you will probably be stuck in a traffic jam for some period of time, so if you need to be somewhere at a curtain time leave early. Although, everything runs on African time anyway, so more than likely you'll still be early. Kampala is an exciting place and there is a lot of variety when it comes to stores and restaurants, which is great when you are spending a lot of time here. Here are some pictures from around Kampala: 

An average small grocery store. 

The Local Market. You will find several local woman selling the 

produce they have grown themselves. It's such a colorful place!  

Taking a walk to the local market.

This is a chapati stand.

 Chapati is an African flatbread that tastes quite delicious!

You can find children anywhere! 

I love finding children playing admits 

the busyness of the city.

Driving through the city can be quite entertaining! 

This guy is carrying hundreds of plastic bottles 

to recycle them for only a few shillings each.

This is the view from a larger market called Tusky's. 

It has 3 floors and could be compared to Wal-Mart 

(Ugandan style).

Our security guards work long hours to make sure we are safe. 

They even carry a poison tip arrow, just in case.

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

Getting Involved

I leave for Uganda in 34 days! 

I'll be staying for the whole summer serving with 3 different organizations that work with orphans/children-at-risk in the capital city of Kampala. I do still need to rise a good amount of money before I leave. If you would, please prayerfully consider donating, I can guarantee you will not regret it! It will not only be a blessing to the people of Uganda and me, you will also be blessed through it! Your support will play a part in sending me to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the children of Uganda! 

Here are the things you would be providing for through your donation:

• Building a playground for special needs children! 

• Showing God's love and providing food to children who live on the streets!

• Taking care of abandoned babies who need love and attention!

• And loving on orphans of all ages!

Would you like to make an eternal difference in the lives of beautiful children just like these?

Than, please consider donating! 

No amount is too small!

There are currently 3 ways to give:

1).  Make a donation of any amount, 

on my online fundraiser:

http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/help-send-sharon/150423

or through paypal:

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=Dc_SQZRfyYZnpg3Ac3LC6eMH5-4uCGb6lawTnZZq1OjmKhfaosTsPf2yvgG&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d8cdcf517b037b4502f6cc98f1ee6e5fb

2).  Purchase something from my online store, here is the link:

https://squareup.com/market/heart-4-orphans

    3).  Send items for me to bring to Uganda to give to the organizations I will be working with. (Items like baby blankets, clothing, shoes, craft supplies, small toys for children). Please email me if you are interested in sending me anything and I will send you an updated list of supplies they need. 



                               Thank you so much!! 

(An awesome video from last year with my team from YWAM Madison. This is a great example of what it looks like to give to children in need! The joy on their faces is priceless!)

Heading to Uganda in 46 days!!

(Photos by Dwight Saunders). 

Booked my flights to Uganda today!! My sister-in-law and I leave on May 22nd! I am beyond excited to join International Voice of the Orphan for the first 9 days of my summer!

We will be building a playground for a special needs orphanage, loving on babies, visiting many orphanages in the area, and working with street kids. 

Please join me in praying that the rest of the funds come in soon. 

If you would like to donate towards my trip you can do so here:

http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/help-send-sharon/150423 

Thanks so much!

Christmas Update

I know it's been a while, (sorry) but I wanted to update everyone on what's been happening with me:

First off, I want thank you for your continued prayer and encouragement during this season in my life. The past 9 months (since returning home from YWAM) have not been an easy transition, to say the least, but God has taught me so much through it all. Also, He has blessed me more than I could have imagined. It has been refreshing to be home with friends and family once again. I am working as a nanny again, with the family I was with before. They now have 3 adorable little boys, and have opened their home to me. I am incredibly blessed to be a part of their life! Since I get the summers off from nannying, I plan on returning to Uganda! The plans are beginning to come together, and I couldn't be more excited! I also know some people that are interested in joining me! So, at this point I need to decide if I will be leading my own trip, or going with an organization that works in Uganda.

If you could, keep me in your prayers as I plan this trip, that the details would begin to come together and all the glory would go to God! Also, I've been experiencing some pain, due to a pinched nerve in my neck, since coming home in March. At this point there hasn't been much improvement, even with regular visits to the Chiropractor. I am really hoping this won't interfere with my plans to return to Uganda, but if I'm still experiencing the same amount of pain it would be very hard to travel. So please be praying that the pain will be gone before the summer. Thank you!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, Sharon

My sister, one of my brother's, and I at a soccer game.