Oct 30th - Early update

Greetings on this cool, rainy day in southwestern Washington. I will be leaving tomorrow morning, so decided to send an update today so you don't have to wait 2 weeks till I get settled back into Budaka.

Abby and I have been packing for the past 3 days, getting the most into the 3 suitcases, 50 pounds each. 49.7, 49.8 and 48.0 so far, - have to leave a little as the airline scales are slightly different than mine.

The first picture you have is of the matchbox/Hot Wheels cars, trucks, etc. that all of you donated to my kids. There were a total of 228 vehicles!!! Also, there were 102 stuffed animals (Beanie Babies and small teddy bears). These will be used as allowance prizes and incentives. Thank you all so much. I heard many stories of sacrifice, and wanted to tell you a couple:
one 3-year-old who was busy with TV, came over to see the pictures of my kids, and promptly left the room. After some time, he came back with his dozen or so favorite Hot Wheels and pointed out which car was to go to which boy in the picture.
3 children from one family went through all their things and gave some of their prized toys when they heard that the kids at Cornerstone don't have toys.

I am taking back many legos...we received 40 pounds of various sized legos. I will use these for special times with small groups of kids at my house. They will be great for beginning to teach critical thinking skills.

Many, many of you gave clothing for the kids. Thank you! You can see from the picture that we have a lot - way more than I can take back on this trip. What you can't tell from the picture is that many of the clothes are layered 20 deep on the table. The team that is coming in January will be bringing the rest of it.

I also received 4 world maps and 4 inflatable world globes - those will help so much as we teach the children at school about the bigger world - virtually no schools in Uganda have maps beyond those of their own country.

We got enough underwear for the kids, an ice cream machine for the restaurant, most of the movies I asked for plus many that I hadn't thought about. 31 tennis balls were given, enough for 1 for each child, until a certain little dog found them and took one for herself ;). We got swimming suits, shoes, legos (25 pounds!!), teacher planning books, prizes and toiletries. We actually had so many items donated that we had to use the E! church van to get them up to Washington - it wouldn't all fit in my car!

I'm excited, too, to go back with letters, pictures and videos from students in Texas and Oregon and adults and kids at several churches in Idaho and California.

Many of you bought craft items and calendars to help support the work. Some of you gave monetary gifts. Some of you welcomed us into your homes and families while we were home.

WOW! Thank you all for participating with me in this great venture in Uganda. I feel full and blessed by our Father through you.

Have a wonderful Sunday, and I will be back in touch next Monday from Mbale (unless the electricity is off, the internet isn't working, we can't get to Mbale, or a myriad of other Ugandan reasons ;-).

Love you all!

Laurie


(By the way, we have had to re-order calendars - a great thing! - so, if you didn't get a Cornerstone Calendar and want one, just shoot me an email and we'll make sure to order them for you. They are $20 each and have pictures of the Cornerstone kids, the church, the businesses, etc. They will make great Christmas presents.)

Oct 24th - Monday update

Greetings, Friends and Family!

It's a great day here at the Oregon coast - cold, but fairly clear! Abby and I are here resting for a couple of days before I return to Uganda. It has been a wonderful trip to the States - thank you for all your affirmations about what we are doing, for your blessings of words, clothing and toys for the kids, money and prayers. I feel so full going back.

Welcome to all of you new friends to these emails! You are so welcome to join with us in rejoicing in what God is doing in the children and adults of Budaka.

Both pictures I am sending you today were emailed to me yesterday by Rogers. The first picture is of Moses. Rogers told him the picture was for Teacher Abby and Pastor Laurie, and he smiled for us. All of you who were at the presentations got to see him walking in the video - this boy wants to be just like the other kids. And, according to Monica, he gets his clothes dirty like this at least a couple of times a day! Glad we could share "our" picture with you ;)

The second picture is of our girls washing. Just thought you might like to see how we get our kids' clothes clean. The girls are, from left to right, Margaret (a school boarder), Sarah (our newest child), Natasha and Brenda 1. The woman helping them is Rachel, who we hire part time each month to wash and clean the girls' things so Monica has time to work with allowance and the Wednesday night program for the kids. Those of you who saw Abby and/or me in our gomesi dresses, please note that Rachel has on a gomesi also.

At my home, I hire one of Rogers' older daughters each month to wash my clothes 2x per week. It gives each some money to spend, plus I put money in an account each month for their college education. It works great for all of us: I don't have to spend the hours and back pain to wash and they get money. Great all the way around! And, when I go back in a few days, one of them will spend the night at my house each night so I am not alone (not safe, being one of only 3 foreigners in Budaka).

Well, I am going to go walk on the beach with Abby. Thank you all for your GENEROUS gifts to take back for the kids. Thank you, too, for continuing to pray and listen to how God wants you to be involved in Cornerstone. God bless you today!

Laurie

Oct 21st - Hot Wheels cars

Someone donated a bunch of hot wheels cars in original packaging from his collection (at shows and the like) over the years. I am wondering if any of you know if there is value above what the kids at Cornerstone would get out of them. We have lots of match box and hot wheels cars to take back besides these and don't want to miss the opportunity if it would be better for Cornerstone to sell them to a collector or on ebay or whatever.

If one of you knows about this, shoot me an email.

Thanks.

Laurie

Oct 16th - Suitcase obtained

Thanks for the quick response about the suitcase needed for the trip back. Happy to tell you we have one donated to go back with more things to Budaka.

Laurie

Oct 16th - Early update

Hey, Everyone!

We are leaving in the morning on the next leg of our 3-state trip for Cornerstone, so thought I would get an email off to you tonight (Sunday) before I leave.

I had the privilege of meeting again with all of you in Burley this morning - thanks so much for the clothes, toys and other gifts you gave for the kids in Uganda! What a blessing you are to the ministry. We will head to the Bay Area tomorrow to meet with BAMMers for a few days. Really looking forward to reconnecting with old friends there (REALLY old...you know who you are!). Then back up to Hillsboro for a last weekend at Evergreen. It's been great to do a road trip with Abby as we contemplate being on different continents again for some time.

I have sent you a picture of Mutwahiru...well, actually Mutwahiru's leg and the metal apparatus that has been in there since his second surgery in May. This week, on Thursday, they were able to take the apparatus out as his bone is healing so well. Praise the Lord. Thank you all who have been praying for this boy. He is so happy, as reported by Rogers to me 2 days ago. They will now wait about 8 months-1 year and then begin the process of lengthening his leg. The doctor is very pleased with his progress!

The 2nd picture is of Isaac - just being goofy as he waits for porridge at breakfast. I actually only know he is waiting for porridge because of 2 clues in the picture: 1) the cup in his hand and 2) his clothes and body are clean, meaning he has only been up a short time ;). I love getting these pictures from Rogers when I am in the States - must be how some of you feel when I send pictures of the kids. I just want to see that they are happy and doing well.

The chickens are doing well...none have died. By this time with the last batch of chicks, we already had 20 dead. I think our "chicken man" learned a lot the first time and is doing much better this time. If all goes on schedule, we should have chickens ready to lay by the end of January. I know, I know: Don't count your eggs before they're laid...or something like that.

The school is going well and more parents are paying school fees than last term, so we should have a positive cash flow there within a few more months. Money is coming in, but the upfront money to begin the school and run it the first 2 terms still has them behind. As a business, it should be helping Cornerstone within a year or so.

We are still believing the Lord to bring in the money, supplies, personnel, etc. needed to begin building a home for our kids and the school very soon. Please continue to pray with us about His miraculous provision. To build this first phase of the buildings will be about $150,000. Our God is able and willing. Thanks for trusting Him together with me!

One small thing that perhaps one of you could part with is a used suitcase that can hold up to 50 lbs. Someone has offered to pay for an additional suitcase so I can take a total of 150 lbs (instead of only 100) with me. Do you have an old sturdy suitcase that could find a new home in Uganda? (When I take additional suitcases, and when the teams leave suitcases, we use some for storage and the others we sell to help support Cornerstone.)

Thanks, everyone, for your wonderful encouragements, financial support and prayers for all that is happening with the Cornerstone children in Uganda. I feel your partnership so acutely when I am here in the States and talking with you in small and large groups. May the Lord bless you.

Laurie

Oct 13th - Website help

Richard, who created and has maintained our website so well for the past 2 years needs to give his attention to other things now. Thanks, Richard!

If any of you have time to help Cornerstone, and have skills for designing/keeping up a website, please let me know! You can see the current website at www.cornerstoneministriesuganda.org. Would love to get this going before I go back to Uganda in a couple of weeks.

Thanks, everyone!

Laurie

Oct 12th - Wednesday update

Greetings from Eugene, Oregon! We have been here for 3 days and will leave today, heading for Burley, Idaho! I had the chance to speak at Day Spring Fellowship on Sunday, then to go to 2 schools, a preschool in Eugene and an elementary school in Elmira. The first picture you have is of Abby and I with the preschool class. We have had a great time with family, at Day Spring, the schools and with many of you we have been able to meet individually. Thank you all for your support of Cornerstone and the kids in Budaka!

The second picture is of a school in Austin where we shared with all the 3rd graders. We showed pictures and had a table with items made by Ugandans. The kids got to file past and look at all the stuff, as you can see.

Great news from Rogers: 6 of our kids were selected to be on a radio program in Budaka. The host interviewed them about their experiences at Cornerstone Children's Home and Cornerstone Learning Centre (the school). He said he keeps getting calls from people who heard the broadcast, asking about having their children at the school. People have been amazed at how well our children present themselves, and how good their English is! Basically, this became free advertising for the school. We are praising God for it.

Would you pray with us for Sarah, our newest child? Although the sore on her leg is healing, another patch has begun on another part of her leg. Betty (Rogers' wife) will be taking her back to the doctor today to find out what is going on. Also, the medicine she was taking began making her sick, so we need to find something that will help her without making her sick. Please pray for her today.

Mutwahiru goes back to his hospital tomorrow - please pray for the trip (4 hours) and that the doctors will have wisdom. We are hoping he will get the metal apparatus out of his leg this time. The plan is that once the apparatus is out, they will wait about 8 months and then begin the process of lengthening his leg. The doctor has told Mutwahiru that he will play football (soccer) again, and he is really excited!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement in our endeavors in Budaka. God is at work...and we get to be a part of what He is doing there. Have a great day!

Laurie

Oct 7th - Greetings from Austin!

It's early Friday morning and I woke up thinking about all of you and the great work that God is doing through all of us doing our part to see His Kingdom established in the lives and hearts of the people of Budaka. Thank you for being a part of that, even by reading these emails and praying for the work!

I have included 2 pictures today to show you the contrast between just one of our children. The first picture is of Moses when we found him and his siblings (Natasha, Vanessa and Isaac) fending for themselves. Many of you will remember that Moses was only days from death at this time. The second picture shows the amazing work God has done as you see Moses, after 1 year, being goofy at the camps in August. The team made tissue paper flowers with the kids, and this is what Moses did with his (with a little help from someone, I think!). God has done a great work through all of us to bring this child to this point, don't you think??

As I get to travel in the States, it's been so exciting to see all of you and feel that partnership with you in person. Thank you all for your warm welcomes and your participation in the Gospel.

Yesterday, we were able to go to 2 schools here in Austin to share with children (130 3rd graders in one and 60 K-6th graders in the other) and staff about our kids in Budaka at Cornerstone. We showed pictures and videos, displayed arts and crafts made by the Ugandans and handled Ugandan money. Our goal is for the children to 1) know about our kids, 2) know about a bigger world and 3) get a heart for the work that needs to be done. The children at one of the schools had collected t-shirts for our kids - there were 4 or 5 large bags of t-shirts. Thanks, Eliza!

On Tuesday, we got to be with a group of people in Vancouver, Washington to share about the work. It was great to share in the work together with these wonderful saints! Thanks, Donna and Arla, for setting up that time.

On Sunday, we got to share at both services in Clackamas, Oregon and then be with the team that came over in August. In between these meetings have been many one-on-one meetings, and it has been so great to see all of you and to meet all you new people who are coming on board.

I'm excited to get to see you Eugene, Burley and Fremont people very soon also!

Things are going well in Budaka. Rogers and I talk and email often during this time. We have several kids who have been sick with malaria, but all are on the mend now. Rogers reported that someone tried to break into my house a couple of days ago, but our night guard saw it and chased him off. They weren't able to catch him, but we're sure the word is out now that someone is guarding the house! Please pray for physical protection for the kids, for Rogers and his family and for me as I return.

Also, 3 of the people from the church in Budaka have lost family members during this past week, so I trust you will join me in praying for comfort for them. They are Difusi, George and a woman who got saved 2 weeks ago. Each lost a close family member.

God bless you as you continue to do His work...in His way! Thank you for all you do for Cornerstone!

Laurie