May 30th - Greetings, friends!

It's Monday morning here in Uganda...you all are sleeping (well, maybe you're laying awake thinking and praying for us ;) and you will wake up to Memorial Day. I do hope you have a great one - eat some barbecued steak and some homemade ice cream for me! It's not a holiday here, but there is a Ugandan holiday this week. It's Martyr's Day and it's on Friday. It honors some Catholics who were killed for their faith back in the late 1800s. Many people make pilgrimages to their home towns during this week. I have seen 3 groups of people for this pilgrimage here in Mbale - one today and 2 on Friday.

The first picture today is of a monitor lizard that was trying to attack the chickens. (It didn't get any before John, our businessman, killed it.) You will see Abby's hand so you get an idea of how LONG this thing was. Yikes! This is the "baby" whose parent lives out in the back of the orphanage I'm told. Don't want to meet it! Rogers says they use their tails to attack their prey. Yuck. One more thing to be afraid of. I thought it was just snakes and icky insects... By the way, the lizard is dead, which is why Abby is so bold as to put her hand near it.

Margret is finally getting over the mumps - I was so worried about her last week, and just held and prayed for her. Her fever was really high, she was almost comatose, and in lots of pain. Today she is looking a lot better and is back in school, although she sat on my lap for awhile this morning since Mary, our nurse, gave her a shot to help with the pain and possible complications from mumps. But, for Margret, it was just more pain, this time in her bottom.

Moses is walking!! Can you believe it? He has taken as many as 5 steps at a time. And, he can get himself just about anywhere. Monicah, the matron, told me she had to bathe him 3 times yesterday before church because he gets out of the room and scoots around on the dirt outside! He now stands in line for food - he can't carry it, but he wants to be like the others. Someone holds his hand and he goes to the front and can carry at least a piece of bread while someone else carries his tea and g-nuts. It's so great to see him wanting to mature in this way. Praise God for this little boy's life! You will remember that he was only days from death when we found him last year in August. If you want to see additional pictures of him, go to Abby's website. You can see a video of Moses on YouTube.

The second picture is of Magdalene, one of our new little girls, in her school uniform. She is 3 years old. She can now say "Good morning." All of the 6 new children are fitting in so well. The kids who have been here this past year continue to help them, and Charity was even heard saying to Doreen (3 years old) "Stop speaking vernacular! We speak English here." Doreen has only been here 1 week!! Give her a break, Charity.

Abby and I are trying all kinds of new recipes for the restaurant. One didn't make it last night - millet flat bread. Sounded great, but perhaps we have the wrong kind of millet flour. But, most are quite good. One thing I did last week is to have Peace (16, and one of Rogers' nieces who lives with them) go and buy a chicken for us in the market - no packaged chicken over here. Then, she killed it and got it ready for cooking - my first time to watch this whole process. When she plucked the feathers from its neck in order to cut the neck, I said, "that will hurt her!" Peace just laughed at me. I got pictures of the whole process, but am guessing most of you are not interesting in seeing the blood and guts. I did get a picture of the chicken rice curry that we made, so I have A to Z for chicken. That is how we will have to get chickens for the restaurant food also - Abby and I decided we will hire someone to kill them and get them ready for cooking...

We are heading to Kampala today to take Mutwahiru to a rehabilitation hospital that the physio-therapist from France who works here in Mbale has referred us to. Thanks to 2 of you who have offered to pay for him to get this care! The clinic here gave him new crutches last week which make it a lot easier for him to get around. We will see the doctor Tuesday morning.

This week is Saturday School - please be in prayer. It happens 10am-12pm Saturday and we invite all the children from Budaka to join us...targeting especially those who would not be in a Sunday School or church service. We play games, sing songs, have a Bible story, memorize a Bible verse and then give them juice and crackers for a snack. Last month we had over 160, and we have had as many as 300. Rogers said in church that we were ready for 1,000 kids, so everyone should mobilize as many kids as possible from their villages. Abby and I both said we were NOT ready for 1,000!! We'll see what happens...

Sure love you all! Thank you for praying for us, supporting us financially, and keeping in touch through emails and texts. It's so great to partner in the Kingdom of God with you. Let me know how your Memorial Day is.

Laurie

May 23rd - A couple more pics

 Here's a picture (first picture missing, never came though) of one of the "roads" we had to go down to get to the homes. This one happens to be a "road" - we would call it a small path - to Joel's grandmother's house. We got stuck in the mud a couple of times, but were able to have people help us get out.

The second picture is of our Cornerstone kids welcoming the new ones. The new 6 are sitting on the bench - you can only see 4 of them (and a little bit of Lisa) as Betty is standing with Moses in front of them.

One more thing I have to tell you - I forgot in my letter to you...Moses took 2 steps by himself today. WOOOOHOOOOO!! He is really moving along, thanks to Abby working with him each day. He also said "shoes" for the first time today. He has signed it, but today he spoke it. Such great things.

There are always SO many things I want to tell you about, and always only limited time and space. If you have specific questions about kids or what we're doing, please write me. I haven't told you about the chickens, the crops we're growing, the restaurant, etc., etc. Let me know if you'd like to know about those or something else.

Again, God bless you all for making this possible. I'm so glad to partner with you.

Laurie

May 23rd - Last but not least

The next little one is Brenda. She and her sister, Doreen, were living with an aunt and uncle who already have 9 children of their own. Their father died and their mother left them - no one knows where she is.

Our oldest girl, Brenda, has taken this Brenda as her special friend. She calls them "Brenda 1" and "Brenda 2". Brenda 2 seems to be adjusting well and loves having the kids help her.

Doreen is also adjusting and reminds all of us of Charity at the beginning. Oh, boy, another Charity!! Ah, well, this is what we signed up for. We asked God to send us just the children he wanted us to have.

May 23rd - 2 more new ones

Next picture is of Beatrice. She is from a family that has been headed by a 14-year-old boy after the father died and the mother abandoned the 5 children. We only took one of them as we have decided not to take any children over 6 years old anymore. (We want to be able to raise them and help form their character and feel this is the age from which we can still do that.) She is doing great - loves the orphanage, tries really hard to speak English and be a part of what is happening. She even ran and gave me a hug this morning when I went over.

2nd picture is of Joel and his grandmother. She is raising about 10 grandchildren as 2 of her children died and the mothers abandoned the children. by the way, this is common here where a woman has few rights over children, and fewer still opportunities to make money to support children. So the mothers abandon the children and marry someone else and have more kids. There are so many of these "throw away" kids in Uganda!

Joel is full of life and little mischievous. He seems to love being with us and wants to be in the middle of all the games and activities. He even misbehaved in Sunday School yesterday, so we know he's feeling a part ;)

May 23rd - Pics of new kids

First picture is Lisa. You already saw her with her bio mom and family from the last email.

2nd picture is Lisa's half-sister, Magdalene. I didn't tell you before that Lisa's mom is a co-wife of the man who died. Magdalene belongs to the other wife, who abandoned her 3 children with Lisa's mom. This picture is the best one I got of her - she wouldn't look at me - was quite scared of my skin color and even of Pastor Rogers. But, then she got in the car and went with us and didn't cry again until later in the afternoon. Now she has been with us 2 nights and seems to be getting adjusted with her new friends at the orphanage. Please pray this adjustment will continue for her.

May 23rd - It's cold in Uganda!

Greetings, Friends and Family!

It's the end of May and I have a sweatshirt on. I thought I was in Africa, but am beginning to think I might be in Oregon or Washington :-). My guess is that it is in the mid-60s. Quite cool for here. I'm not complaining, though, just enjoying this respite from the heat.

This week has been an emotional roller coaster - we had to take one of our boys (Ben) home to his family on Wednesday. It was necessary, but very difficult to see him go after being with him for the past year and a half. This, too, is part of raising these children, but not the part I enjoy. Here's the skinny: we found out that Ben's father is alive...and living with the family. He is the pastor of a church we went to for orphans. He deceived us to get us to take Ben...said he was an orphan. Then we started having trouble with Ben stealing, lying, being a bully to the other kids, talking and acting in sexually inappropriate ways to the girls. After several warnings, we gave one last chance and told him if even 1 thing happened, we would have to take him home. Then, last week we found a school book in his possession - he had stolen it from one of the classrooms. I have to tell you, I have really loved this boy, so it was heart-wrenching to drive him home.

On Thursday, Rogers came in the evening to tell me that Rachel (she was our "mom" till December) had "lost someone." That's the Ugandan way to say someone has died. One of her older daughters died of TB that day. We went to console her and, as is usual here, there were many people from the community at the house. I sat with Rachel for a few minutes and then one of the women came and said, "Do you want to see the dead body now?". First time in my life someone has asked me that question. Anyway, I went in and saw her daughter. Later found out she was 19. She left 2 children, a 6-year-old and a 3-week-old. They brought me the baby to hold. She is quite fragile - looked to be less than 4 pounds. I just held her and prayed...and cried for this little one (Babirye is her name) and the difficulties of this situation...wondering what God has for her...wished we could take her at the orphanage (we can't - not set up or licensed for babies)...cried for a woman who died at 19 of TB in a world where it could have been treated...cried for a 13-year-old girl who had a baby and now, 6 years later, is dead.

Okay, enough of the down side of the emotional roller coaster. On Saturday, we got 6 new children at the orphanage, as I wrote last week. I have included 2 of their pictures and will send more emails with the others and their names. Rogers and I went to Kabuna (his home village) Saturday morning. We had contacted his dad to find orphans for us. The first place we went was so deep in the village - I have seen lots of poverty here, but not like this! The father had died some months ago, leaving his wife with 11 children. She is illiterate and does not have enough land to grow crops to feed them. The first picture you have is of 2 of our new ones from there - Lisa and Magdalene. Lisa is in the front in the "white" dress. Magdalene is the one crying on the right. Lisa is about 5 or 6 and Magdalene about 3. 2 of her other children are at an uncle's house being raised. The other 3 who aren't in the picture are out in the field working on the crops. The girl in back on the left is her oldest daughter, who is 15. What you can't see in this picture is that no one has shoes. I also sent you a picture of the other children in the area who came to see the car and the white person...note there are also adults in the background. Not one person had shoes. You can see what their clothing is like - out this far, these would be their only clothes, according to Rogers.

We went from Lisa and Magdalene's house to 3 other homes and got 4 more children. All had very similar stories - I will send their pictures, but here are their names: Joel (about 6), Beatrice (6), Brenda - yes, now we have 2 Brendas! - (5) and Darlene (3).

Our kids were so excited about getting new kids - Abby had them singing as the new ones came (in Lugwere, of course, so these kids would understand). Then, they attached themselves to one of the new ones and showed them the ropes. First thing was lunch - more food than they've seen before at a meal! Natasha called me at one point - she was helping Darlene - and said "Pastor Laurie, Darlene needs to poop, but she's fearing the latrine!" Sure enough, she had never used one before and was afraid of the hole that went down so far. So, Auntie Monicah came and helped get her to actually poop in the right place. (Sorry for all of you for whom that is too graphic!) Having these new kids reminds me SO much of when our first 20 came and couldn't speak English, didn't know how to eat in a "civilized" way, how to bathe, etc, etc!

We are all having a great time together - Magdalene is having the hardest time, but with everyone helping she will make it. She has been standing next to a wall, facing out and "holding" the wall with her hands out at her sides.

Okay, now you've heard my roller coaster of the week. Will send some more pictures in a few minutes. Thank you to all of you who make it possible for us to take more kids, to reach more families in Budaka (the District) with help for orphans. Please know that we are praying for you as we know all of you have emotional weeks also.

May God bless you!

Laurie

May 16th - Lovely May to you all!

Greetings, Friends and Family!

It's been a wonderful weekend of electricity. The first picture is our first light that began working. This is in our living room - gotta love the electrician without a shirt, eh? But, when you think he was in the attic when it is 100 degrees outside, I guess the shirt off isn't bad. Poor guy! So, we have 4 overhead light bulbs that are working, 3 that are not yet working, 3 outlets that work and 1 that doesn't. (Yes, here in Uganda 4 outlets in the whole house is a LOT!) There is not an outlet in the kitchen area, but there is an overhead light. Be thankful...be thankful...be thankful. Keep reminding yourself, Laurie, last week you didn't have electricity. Other "fun" things about getting electricity:

• the electricity has gone out 4 times (in 48 hours) since we got hooked up - 2 times for a brief time and 2 times for more than an hour
• the electric company guys cut our barbed wire fence for no apparent reason (Shs95,000 for a roll of barbed wire - that's about $40) 
• they showed up with no tools to do the work (except, apparently, wire cutters for the barbed wire), so we had to supply the tools
• they put the pole in the wrong place
• they cut down our laundry lines which were across the yard from where they were working (no need to cut)
• they used new Luganda words Abby had never heard - our staff was embarrassed for her
• after the crew hooked up power to the house, it was found that the electrician had not wired the house correctly...new electrician called
• electrician gets some outlets and overhead bulbs working, will come back later for others "on Monday" which, in Uganda, means way off in the future, maybe never
• electrician needed a ladder, so borrowed one from a neighbor. That's the 2nd picture - inspires confidence, doesn't it??

Okay, there are other good things going on, too! I will list them so as to be somewhat succinct:

1. Moses is doing SO well - he is standing for good periods of time by himself and pushing people away who want to help him. He is so proud of himself! Yesterday, Abby had him down at the house and we showed him a video of himself at Saturday School, singing. He started laughing and waving to himself and babbling about what was happening, then singing the song with the video. He watched the video 6 times - Abby has taught him sign language while his verbal skills develop, and he kept signing "again." We just sat and laughed watching him enjoy the video. This little boy, you will remember, was brought back from the brink of death by our Father, who loves him so much and has great plans for his life. 
2. Last week, we got back late from Mbale - it was already dark, so it was after 7pm. We bring back the fish the kids are to have for dinner, so their dinner was delayed (they usually eat at 7). When Abby and I went into the orphanage while the food was being unloaded, the kids were all talking, and they came running over and said, "Oliver says we're not going to have dinner tonight. Is that true? Are we going to bed now?" My heart broke for them - they have been used to that kind of life. Sometimes there is food and sometimes there isn't and if not, everyone just goes to bed hungry. Even though they have been with us over a year, they still feel at any time it could go the other way. We assured them they were getting dinner, but they weren't convinced until the cooks came through with the food. 
3. We are beginning this week to get 6 more orphans. Both Rogers and I have felt the Lord say to fill up the beds we have. Our staff is doing well...we have good people in place...we can easily now take the 6 more and have our current kids be leaders as new ones come in. I'm excited to walk through this. I will send pictures and news as we find the little ones God is rescuing at this time in this way. Please be in prayer for us. 
4. Abby and I are experimenting with recipes for the café. Yesterday I made millet pancakes. Learned a lot :-). Like, you have to let the millet flour soak for awhile in the liquid or they come out grainy and not very appetizing. I served Abby hers first and she was not impressed. By the time I made mine, though, the flour was great and the taste is good and earthy...milletty, I guess you'd say. 
5. This week we will pick up the stove, refrigerator, microwave, furniture and microwave for Cornerstone Café and Bakery. We went shopping for them 2 weeks ago in Kampala, and had the rattan furniture made - even watched the guy making it. All will be ready by the end of this week. 
6. Chickens begin laying in a couple of weeks. Crops are growing great (we've had GOOD rain and sun for this) and within a month or 6 weeks we will be harvesting our maize, g-nuts, eggplants, and beans. We will store what we can and sell the balance. John, who is in charge of our agriculture and poultry projects, has planted over 100 tomato plants in our yard, so when those come to fruition, we will be using them for cooking, as well as selling the extra of those. It's so exciting to have these business ventures finally begin to make money. Thanks for those of you praying for my patience!! 

Okay, this got really long - sorry! Our kids continue to pray for you as we talk about those who are helping us at Cornerstone to have food, clothing, education, etc. We all love you and thank you for your support in this work that God is bringing to Budaka, Uganda. As we all are doing our part, God is bringing a great harvest in His Kingdom. May He bless you!

Laurie

May 13th - Quick update

In Mbale today for the internet and a meeting and got a call from Abby in Budaka - Umeme (the electric company) showed up and we have electricity at our house. WOOOOHOOOOO!

Just wanted to share with you! I'll tell you more on Monday (like that they didn't bring tools, so it was a good thing we had pliers at our house, etc.).

Love you all! Thanks to those of you who were asking God to give us light.

Laurie

May 9th - Two pictures

2 pictures - the first is of a very cool bug I saw. I ran inside and got the camera and thought he would be gone, but the wind was really strong and he was hanging onto the wall so I got this picture. Doesn't it look like a Bugs' Life animated sort of creature??

The second picture is a Hidden Picture - you have to find what is hidden. Let me know if you find it...

Laurie

It's Monday...

Greetings from Uganda! We have had a great week this week with the children coming home, having some relaxing time with them, having Saturday School, a great week of dividing up our Sunday School kids, and so much more.
The first picture I have sent is of some of the children arriving for Saturday School. The wheelchair was great - very resourceful of this family. They have nailed a lawn chair into a wheelchair base for this little girl to get around. It is her first time with us and we had fun involving her in games which normally a child with a handicap would not be included in. We played 4 Corners and Abby wheeled her around to the different corners. She so obviously was having fun - it was great!
We had 158 children this month - about 1/2 of what we have been having. Rogers says it's because of the rain. Children have to go and dig in the family garden to get crops ready. Without the crops, these people would not eat.
That reminds me that this morning, when I was having breakfast with the children, I asked them what they had at breakfast last week when they were home with their extended families (clans). Many of them kept quiet, and when I was able to get an answer from them, I found out they had nothing to eat for breakfast, or they had a cup of black tea. Silly me - I have to remember not to ask these kinds of questions. They were embarrassed for their families...that they don't have enough to feed the children when they are home. Some kids came back with stories of relatives who have died or are dying. We had 3 or 4 who asked if we could please take one of their siblings at the orphanage. I forget how life and death the existence is here! Friday night, when the kids came back, we had a great devotional about God's plans for their lives AND the lives of their families. It's so heartbreaking sometimes, but I know we are doing what we can with the 24 we have. Please continue to pray that we can expand and take in more of these vulnerable little ones. Thanks.
The second picture is of Jessica. She is the little girl who had some a horrible skin condition that the Lord healed last year. I wanted you to see an updated picture of her. The transformation from very sick young girl to one who is looking like a healthy pre-teen is amazing, isn't it? Praise God for His healing power and His love for every child here in Uganda...and particularly for those in Budaka.
Yesterday for the first time we split the Sunday School into older and younger kids. Thanks to those of you who are consistently giving to this ministry, we were able to buy some learning toys for the little ones and Abby took them into a room and got to spend time playing, singing and telling a Bible story to them while the older ones were with their regular teacher.  I have included a picture of this small class - there ended up being 9 in there, with Abby and 2 older children helping. The room is about 6'x6' and actually is an apartment in the building we rent for church. We use it for storage of the sound equipment during the week, but since it is empty during church, it will work well for a Sunday School class.
I am going to try and send some more pictures in another email, so let me finish this one for now. If you would like to see updated pictures of our kids, go to our website, www.cornerstoneministriesuganda.org. Richard has just put up the newest pictures of each child.
May God continue to bless you - you are a blessing to me...and to all of us at Cornerstone!
Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!
Laurie

It's May in Uganda!

Greetings, Friends and Family!

It's been another full week of life in Budaka. We began the week, as you know from last week, taking the kids to Sipi Falls. And, we ended the week with our first water baptism service on Friday morning. What should have been an uneventful time turned out to be anything but...We hired 2 matatus (size of mini-van in America with up to 25 people in each) to carry everyone to Mbale to a hotel with a pool. The matatus were 15 minutes late coming...delay...delay... When they were there, we only had 8 adults and our 5 kids who were getting baptized...delay...delay... We finally left 45 minutes late with 39 people...delay....delay... One matatu had 2 flat tires on the way...delay...delay... We arrived at the hotel (where the pool was that we had rented for baptism) and one of the matatus didn't come for some time...delay...delay. By that time, I was getting quite frustrated with all the delays (I know, I know - Laurie, get used to the African culture...). We finally got down to the pool (after having to explain to the Ugandans from the villages how to use porcelain toilets) and there were bugs in the pool that had to be cleaned...delay...delay. Then Rogers informed me that the people had not come in the clothes they would be baptized in, so they all had to go get changed...delay...delay... Finally, we got started and had a wonderful time baptizing. You have 2 pictures of the great event: the woman in the picture just got saved a couple of weeks ago. She was Muslim and converted after seeing Jesus in her husband over the past few months. She asked, when she came into the water, if we were going to give her a new name since she has a Muslim name (we're not!). She is a new person! (BTW - her shirt has a picture of President Museveni, the Ugandan head of state.)
After the baptism, we took the other picture you see of the 5 of our kids who were baptized. They are, from the left, Ben, Natasha, Brenda, Charles and John. It was such a privilege to get to baptize them and hear their confession of Christ again.
Then, we all headed up to get back on the vans to go back to Budaka. As we were getting on them, one of the drivers got a call from a colleague who said there was violence in Mbale town. 2 police officers had been shot and government vehicles were being burned. There is only one way out of town, so we had to stay at the hotel for safety. We kept monitoring the situation and ended up having to stay for about 3 more hours before the demonstration was over and it was safe to leave. Even when we went through town, though, there were many soldiers with guns at the ready, piles of tires that were still burning, lots of shops that were closed and locked (including gas stations). People had left and gone to their homes to get to safety. Anyway, what I realized by the end of the day is that all the delays were actually God's protection over our lives. He is so good to protect us, even when we think we know a better way!!
Just a couple more quick things and I will send this off:

• Our Cornerstone kids have gone home today for 5 days with their clans. Please pray that they would remember that Jesus is with them and loves them. Pray that they will have a wonderful time reconnecting with their extended families, and that they will be ready and excited to come back on Friday afternoon.
• This Saturday is Saturday School. Abby will be running this - her first time. She has decided to share with them about new life...an Easter message. Please pray as we play, teach, sing and hang out with these kids.
• One idea has come to me for a fundraising business and I am asking the Lord for more direction. That is, I want to make a Cornerstone Calendar for 2012 with pictures of the ministry on each month. Are any of you designers and/or know of designers we could work with for this? How about how to print, distribute, etc.? Then, would any of you individuals or churches be willing to sell these beginning in maybe Sept/Oct this year? That's the idea...need some help to go forward with it. Let me know if you can and are willing to help. If we can do this annually, it will be one more business that will generate the base support for the ministry.

Enough for today...I love you all and thank you again for your support in so many ways! May God return the blessings you have shared personally and to the kids and the rest of Cornerstone. You are greatly loved here! I will send out a couple other pictures separately after this.
Laurie