Sept 27th Update

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Good afternoon! It's a VERY rainy Monday here in Mbale. The storm started about 30 minutes ago and there is already standing water outside. So far the internet is on. I'm crossing my fingers that this will work and you will get pictures even.
First, Moses is doing really well! His body is responding well to the medication and he looks lively again. As a matter of fact, on Thursday afternoon, I went over and spent a couple of hours with the kids singing and teaching them games. When I first got there, many of the children came running and yelling, "Pastor Laurie, you are welcome!" and throwing their arms around me. That's not unusual, but in the midst of it I heard this pleading groan from the veranda (the place the kids sit to eat). I looked up and there was Moses, with his hands raised towards me, pleading with his eyes for me to come and pay attention to him. Now, that IS unusual. It's the first time he has ever reached out to me and wanted to be a part of the kids' welcoming. It really touched my heart! I went and sat with him and talked, then he came and swayed while we sang and danced. What a great thing to see all the life returning to him! Thank you so much for praying. Our Father loves this little boy so much.
The first picture is from a "party" I went to yesterday with Betty and Rogers. The woman in the lavender gomes is Agnes, who has recently been saved and comes to everything we do now. Her relationship with Jesus is growing daily. The party was for her and was a kind of shower to help her. They have groups here called "one by one" which are promoted by the government to help people better themselves. There are 18 people in the group and for one of them each month, there is a party like this. That person invites all their friends, plus the people from their group. Everyone brings dishes or linens or money and gives them to the person. So, this was Agnes' party and she had invited Rogers, Betty and I. We were the "special guests," according to the invitation. That means we had to make a speech (Rogers did that...whew!) and I was asked to pray at the beginning of the function. Since the whole thing was in Luganda (the main language - of 40 - around Uganda), I didn't understand much. And because they didn't understand me, I prayed as I heard from the Lord. So, I prayed for all these people to get saved, etc.
The most interesting (negatively!) part of the party was it was to begin at 2:30pm. Rogers said we didn't have to go until about 4pm ("Pastor Laurie, these functions are on Uganda time, not American time."). We didn't leave the house until 4pm, so I was trying to hurry. After all, I was the special guest...or one of them. When we got there (about a mile from the house walking, of course), there were about 20 people there, and music was blaring, but Agnes still had 3 curlers in her hair and an old dress on. I wondered... Anyway, Rogers said he was going to walk on into town to do something and would be back. Betty and I sat there, me wondering and her sure of what was happening. Some people got up to dance to the music, and people slowly filtered in. Are you ready for this? The event actually did not start until 5:55! 3 hours and 25 minutes after it was scheduled to start and 1 1/2 hours after we arrived. The boy in the picture looked like I felt, although I tried to keep a cheerful appearance! The party was still going when we left as I had a phone appt and Rogers had a counseling appt. It was definitely a cultural experience!! Someday I will try to remember to tell you about the whole party - not really what we would call a party!
The second pictures is of some of the kids in Sunday School yesterday. The teachers were having them pray for each other and asked them to lay hands on each other to pray. Some of those in the picture are our Cornerstone kids and some are from the community. Here's your test: can you tell who are the kids from the orphanage?? Have you been studying their pictures? Write to me and tell me if you know who is who.
We have a team from World Race coming next week, and a Crusade in the Budaka area the next week. We are running hard to get everything done. Please be in prayer for us for the crusade that many will hear the Good News and respond to Jesus. We will be "crusading" in these villages and towns: Budaka (Mon/Fri), Kabuna (Tues), Kadaruna (Wed) and Naboa (Thurs). We are working with the pastors in those villages to help evangelize their villages. Our World Race team will be helping us in going door to door, and we will probably have at least some of them share their testimonies at the crusades.
May the Lord bless you today! Be full of His Spirit.
We all love and pray for you.
Laurie

Sept 22nd Update

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Maybe today?

I began on Monday, but got a call from the orphanage: Moses was very sick. So, I headed back to Budaka, picked him up and brought him back to Mbale to the hospital. All the way coming here, his breathing was labored. I kept praying as I thought he might die on the way. We got into the top specialist in this area for kids with tuberculosis (that's what our nurse thought was wrong), and after getting an xray, he confirmed that Moses does have TB. Now, 30 days of treatment and he will be better. Already he is looking (and breathing) better! I have included 2 pictures of Moses - one is the first day he was with us. The second was taken yesterday, Wednesday the 22nd. Sorry about the white on his face - I tried several pictures and this is the only one in which he is smiling, but you have to put up with the porridge on his face. Thanks to all of you who got the news and were praying for Moses. This little boy has one uphill battle after another with his health. Please continue praying - perhaps post his picture someplace where you will remember to pray for him.
The doctor was amazing - he was on his way home, but stopped and saw Moses in his office, sent us for an xray (about 3 blocks away), which had to be redone once and took us about 45 minutes total till we could take one back. The doctor was still sitting there, and had waited for us, seeing how sick Moses was. Praise the Lord!
So, Monday was shot for being able to send an email...for a good reason, of course!
Tuesday I headed back to Mbale and wrote the email only to have the internet go down as I was ready to send it. Wednesday is too busy a day to come to Mbale, so here I am on Thursday. Maybe the Lord is trying to say something - like only email on Thursdays??
I taught Sunday School this past Sunday - we had 60 kids in a room about 20'x20'...no chairs or tables, just mats on the floor. We played the Hokey Pokey (remember that old skating rink song??) in a double circle so we would all fit in the room. I got to tell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. In the midst of it all, I had quite a bit of trouble with some of our children from Cornerstone. So, now we (the kids and Rogers and I) are on a new track of discipline. And I thought raising one was a lot of work :-). Anyway, one of the funny things that happened Sunday was I had made playdoh on Saturday. I have made it many many times in the States, but of course, this was a bit different. I cooked it over a charcoal stove - stirring is much different as it gets thick because the pan just slides off the stove. Also, you have to cook outside on the veranda. And, I had all the ingredients except Cream of Tartar and food coloring. So, I made it. It was great that night, kneading it until it was cool and then putting it in a baggie to take the next morning. When I got to Sunday School, there were 3 girls there who spoke no English, so I thought the playdoh might be a great way to build a relationship with them. I reached in the bag and took a hunk out, but to my surprise it was extremely sticky and my hands were coated. It would not form any shape. Apparently Cream of Tartar is necessary :-). Of course, there is no running water, so had to get a bucket of water to get the gunk off my hands. Ah, well. Those girls must have thought I was some weird American...Maybe they're right... Abby said she will send Cream of Tartar the next time she sends a package.
Sure love you all! Will try to catch up on answering all your emails today...sorry if it's not till Monday, but I'm sure you can understand.
Thank you for your continued financial and prayer support for what we are doing. God is great!

Laurie

Sept 16th Update

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My Friends:

The internet was working fine when I began on Monday, and then, when I hit the send button I noticed that the whole thing was down. So, here I am again in Mbale, writing to you. So sorry you missed your Monday morning Uganda news :-). Here's what I wrote (so glad I copied and saved it!!):


Greetings from wet Uganda. I don't think this is really a hot part of the world! I was so cold last night, I even used a blanket (but then I got too hot and turned on my fan - HA!).
Beginning with yesterday:
We had 70 children and 69 adults at church and we had our first guest speaker, Pastor Stephen. For those of you who came over last year to Kiwangala on the team, you met Pastor Stephen. He was the one who fixed the drain when we poured porridge down it :-). He is from Masaka and is pastor of a church in one of the villages near Kiwangala. He is also a builder, so today Rogers and I met with him to talk about the potentials of building the new orphanage and school. It was a good time of fellowship and work. He will call us in a couple of days to let us know what to expect cost-wise with the buildings.
The 1st picture is of our staff (minus Teacher Loy) with their new t-shirts on that the kids at ECC made for them. Thanks, all you wonderful kids! The kids also wrote letters to each of the staff members, and a letter, a picture and a name sign for each child. Everyone was so jazzed!
The 2nd picture (f it comes through...difficulty again today with the internet - sound familiar yet?) is of Teachers Loy (left) and Dennis (right) teaching Sunday School. They have from 1 year olds through 14 years old together in a way-too-small room, but the only other place we can have anyone. Hopefully we will build the large hall for the school near the beginning and be able to meet there with adults, with kids in classrooms of the school. I have a meeting with our 12 Sunday School volunteers next Sunday to talk about how the past 6 weeks went and what we can do. Oh, did I tell you that there are 2 outlets in the room that have live wires sticking out...so we have to sit the children in strategic places so they won't get fried while we talk about Jesus. So far, so good.
Last Wednesday we had a meeting with pastors from the villages where we will be holding crusades in October. We treated them to lunch and told them the plans we felt the Lord had given and that Cornerstone was here to serve them. They were so touched and excited and said they have been waiting for this - that the Kingdom of God should be being built instead of each pastor's personal kingdom. Amen! It will be great to work with them.
On Tuesday, a woman from the church asked us to come pray for her daughter. We went and prayed, but also found that she had prepared lunch for us. We politely (I guess...I don't understand Lugwele!) told her that we could not stay, but culturally we needed to. She had prepared meat and rice and had a soda for both of us (Rogers and I). This represents a week's pay for this woman. Rogers instructed me (as had Abby before I came) to just eat some and leave the rest (including the soda) and the children and adults would eat what was left when we were gone. I can't tell you how humbling this is...and how much I wanted to refuse and give them back their food. But, again, culturally that would have been so bad! Instead, we later made sure she got some $ surreptitiously (look that one up, BAMMers!).
Okay, looks like pictures are not going to come. Just imagine those teachers and staff. LOL!
We have secured a house to begin our poultry farming. More about that next week...maybe even a picture, it all is working!

Thank you all for reading and writing back. So fun to communicate with you.
Our deep thanks to all of you who give monthly to meet the costs of Cornerstone Uganda Ministries. You touch our hearts with your generosity.
Thanks to you challenge-takers. Each $1,000 that comes in is another set of bricks and mortar for the buildings...or a piece of land...or some beams...or bags of cement. THANK YOU!
See you all (hopefully - depends on where you live!) in a couple of months!
God bless you.
Laurie

Sep 6th Update

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Greetings on the first Monday in September...oh, yes, you all call this Labor Day! Here it's another Monday. I rejoice with all of you who get a holiday, though! Have a good one. Hey, maybe since you have the day off, you will email me and let me know you're alive and you really read these emails :-)

Many things to share today...as always!

On Saturday, we had our 2nd Saturday School. You may remember that the first one, in August, drew 190 children from all around Budaka. This time there was a huge rain storm (my best guess was about 8" of rain) Friday night I said to Rogers, "I don't think anyone is going to show up but our kids." He said he had been thinking the same thing, that after a storm like this parents expect their kids to "dig" the next morning because the soil is soft. We had bought enough for 400 kids, but all stuff we could use the next month. So, in the morning I walked over to the orphanage about 45 minutes before we were to begin and there were about 20 kids waiting for the start! I was greatly encouraged. We ended up having 201 kids...many more than we expected. I have included a picture of all of them playing Duck, Duck, Goose out on the lawn of Wilta Inn. They loved the game! It is a bit different to play D,D,G with 200 participants - it's a long way to run around!!
The other great thing that day - I shared the Gospel in a simple way (from the story of Nicodemus in John 3) and somewhere between 20-25 kids responded that they wanted to become Christians. Please pray with us that they get grounded in the church family and in God's Word. Just think, because you are praying and giving to this work, another 25 people have come to know Christ! Thanks for partnering with us.

Then on Sunday morning I got to church and there were already 26 kids there from Saturday - they were early and ready for Sunday School. We ended up having 73 kids yesterday for church and 53 adults. I have been developing teams to work with the kids and we currently have 6 teams of 2 people each who rotate every 6 weeks. The 2 who worked with them yesterday, Jennifer and Peace, had a great time and said they work next week if I wanted them to. Those of you who have taught Sunday School, imagine 73 kids, 2 workers and in a room that is about 20' x 20'. So much for having the optimum of 35 sq ft per child, and 1 teacher for every 7 children. Ha!

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At the end of church, a group of about 10 kids from Saturday School (and Sunday School) were hanging out when Rogers and I got ready to leave. As we walked out, they followed us. (Remember that we have a 3/4 mile walk home - no car here!) They kept walking right behind us as we talked about the service and the kids who had come, then one of the girls (about 10 years old) reached up and took my hand, then another and another took our hands till all 10 kids and Rogers and I were walking hand in hand back home. Rogers asked (none of them speak English except to say "Hello, how are you?") where they were from. They come from a village about 2 miles away. They walked to church and were on their way home, but wanted to walk with the pastors. They walked us to our house and then continued on their way home. It was really touching to me and we got to share much love with them.

There is so much else I want to share, but time is running short, so I will just give you the bare bones of the next couple of things.

1. The other picture is of a moth that was in my room the other day. Just thought it was beautiful and amazing with the geometric shapes on the wings.
2. We are having a crusade the 2nd week of October...2 days in Budaka and 3 in surrounding villages. Please pray that many will hear and respond to God's love for them.
3. We will be buying land within the next 2 weeks and are meeting with 2 builders next Monday to begin to develop plans for the land we are buying. Thanks to those of you who have taken up the $1,000 challenge. thanks to those of you who are continuing to pray that God gives us His grace to help more orphans and the people of Budaka. 
4. We have a team from World Race coming in October. There are 7 people staying with us for almost a month. They will be helping with the crusade (door to door evangelism, being at the crusade services, etc.), working with the kids (in art and music and many other things), helping clean up Budaka (picking up litter all around town), helping clear land (we are trusting we will be at that point when they are here), and everything else we can think of for them to do.
5. I will be coming home mid-November to mid-December with Rogers so together we can see schools, churches, orphanages, etc. and develop a bigger picture of what God can do here in Budaka. Please be in prayer about this time. If you know of one of these places which you think would be good for us to visit, please email and let me know as I will be putting together a schedule very soon for that time. We will be in Oregon, Washington and California (Bay Area). We would love to meet with as many of you as possible also who are available. First come first serve. 

So much to share and so little space! Hope you made it all the way through this email. I so appreciate your participating in the Gospel here in Budaka! We pray for you...and I know you are praying for us! May the Lord bless you today.

In His grace and mercy,
Laurie