Dec 27th - Christmas Week Greetings!

This email was going to be quite different, but the morning's events have changed the direction. Let me first tell you some of the more fun, mundane things that have happened this past week:

• Amos (about 6 years old) told Pastor Rogers last week that "before I was saved, I used to be a thief," in answer to how things have changed for him since being at Cornerstone...for 2 years. Yes, my friends, Amos was a thief up to his 4th year...Love a child's perspective and heart for God! On a more sober note, he talked about watching his dad try to kill his older brother. We knew his grandmother rescued him after his mom died, but didn't know about what was happening with his dad. So many stories...31 of them, actually. 
• The kids all came to my house on Friday morning for pancakes - 31 of them with their mom and dad, Rogers, Betty and I. That's 36 people in my living room. It was really crowded, but so fun. After they finished, we told them they got to go home that day. So much cheering!! So, they are home now until this Friday. I am missing them, but know that for the most part, they are having a great time. 
• A little contest: in the first picture, can you identify what the object is that the men are carrying to put in my back yard? What is it and what is it's use (2 points total possible...;) [SORRY, picture did not come though]
• The second picture is of the front of church all decorated for the Christmas service. They do a lot of decorating with balloons at Christmas here. The Christmas tree is there to the left of George and David (David is running the service and George is the interpreter). Church here on Christmas is traditionally very small - the opposite of the States - as people leave the towns to go back to their home villages to visit parents, family and clans who still live out there. So our attendance was just about 1/2 of normal. 
• The 3rd picture is of Moses in his suit (thanks, Maria!). He does stand, walk, etc. by himself, but was being goofy and refusing to stand and look at the camera, so one of the boys stood him up for the picture. He has become quite a character - loves life so much! 
• We had a Christmas/Boxing Day party for the church yesterday - Cornerstone Bakery (me) made the cakes (7). We had about 200 people...2/3 were kids who heard we were serving cake and soda. People had lots of fun. It started at 3pm...which meant only a handful of people were there until 4:30 when everything really got started. We gave out all the extra soap, mouthwash and some of the toothbrushes brought with the team in August (thanks, Sunnyside Team!!) and asked each person to give their item to someone in need in the name of Jesus. BTW - that's what Boxing Day is about - giving out of your abundance to those in need. 
• The whole foundation is dug and this morning they were throwing big rocks (about 20-30kg each - 50-65 pounds) down in it. Later today or tomorrow they begin pouring cement and whatever else they do with a foundation. Sorry, I'll report as it happens, but I don't have much experience with the building process. We're so excited to receive the Evergreen team in 2 weeks - they are coming to work on the building with our Ugandan builders.

Okay, now to what happened this morning. Seemed like a normal morning till I got a call from Rogers that we had been robbed. Someone came during the night and stole valuable things from our kitchen - the 4 large pots we cook in, 3 flasks (thermoses), 41 plastic plates, 7 ceramic plates, 10 mugs, 46 forks, 2 trays and 4 serving spoons. The police wouldn't come, so Rogers went there and made a statement, after which they asked for a "tip" and he had to give them Shs10,000 (about $4) in order for them to process. But, they won't come to the site or do anything else but have it in the file. I have done all the investigation that will be done. All the neighbors came and "tsk, tsked" for an hour or so (so helpful-HA). We have a night watchman who supposedly keeps these things from happening...we will see what happens with him. Anyway, we're glad the kids are safe (they're at home except for the 4) and the person/people didn't do any physical harm to any of us.

There was a warning from the US Embassy this past week for Americans in Uganda about credible evidence that terrorist groups are targeting Americans and American interests in Uganda during the holiday season, and a Ugandan pastor in Kampala had just finished his Christmas service Sunday morning when someone walked up and threw acid in his face. He is now blind and in extreme pain. We are being very vigilant right now, as you might guess.

I usually don't share these kinds of things with all of you, but felt you should know and thank God for our safety and pray as you are led. Thank you so much!

We are having a New Year's Eve gathering, but may change the way it is organized and the location so we are not so "seen." I trust all of you will have a Happy New Year's. Can you believe it's already 2012??

Thank you for your continued prayers, thoughts, cards, financial gifts and wishes for us. Please pray as you are led - you never know what you are preventing and/or bringing into being for Cornerstone, our kids, staff and church. God is at work!
Laurie

Dec 24th - Merry Christmas!

Just a short note to say Merry Christmas from the other side of the world...from all of us at Cornerstone! Have fun celebrating the birth of Jesus.

We love you!

Laurie and Rogers...and the staff and kids at Cornerstone

Dec 19th - Late Monday greetings!

Goofed up this morning and forgot the cord to my computer. We haven't had power for 36 hours, so the computer was dead. Went back to Budaka and came back to get this message off to all of you...also to spend the night here and get some rest after a couple of really busy weeks with no days off.

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! Amazing how you can miss it when there are no Christmas carols playing, no decorations up, no lights on houses or businesses, no Christmas cards from friends (hint, hint...), and no kids' Christmas programs. Actually, it really helps me stay focused on the real Christmas. I will get to celebrate with my family here on Christmas morning at church, then for a Christmas meal at noon. On Monday (Boxing Day here) we will have a Christmas party for the church with cakes from Cornerstone Bakery! That means lots of work for me between now and then, but this is fun work!

This past week we began the work on the children's home and the school - it's so exciting! Thank you to all of you who gave so sacrificially so this building can be built! The first picture is of Rogers and I swinging the first pick axe to dig the foundation. The second picture is of one of the guys who is helping dig the foundation (there are about 30 men working each day). In front of him is a rock which he is breaking up with his sledgehammer. This area of Uganda is known for all the big rocks, and we have found many, many that have to each be broken up. The foundation is about 7 feet deep as of today...all hand dug. (E team - aren't you glad you're not doing THIS part of the building?? Ha!) I turned to Rogers this morning as we were looking at all the big rocks they have dug out and said, "Well, it is CornerSTONE." ;)

The third picture is a little gift from God to me yesterday. I was missing some traditional Christmas kinds of things and went to our bakery (next door to our house) and there was this little moth on the wall. It looked so much like a candy cane! The Lord is so good. No, I didn't eat the moth (for all you smart alecks who thought that!), but it did give me a little Christmas cheer to see the colorings. And, another amazing bug here in Uganda. God is creative!

A couple of other things:

1. We have a new "dad" for the boys. His name is Gusta and he is Rogers' much younger brother who is off for 9 months between his S6 year (like 12th grade in the States) and University. He needs to make some money and was willing to come and do this work. We already see a change in the boys behavior and are so happy he has come. Please pray that he will quickly acclimate and help these boys in their relationship with God, each other and all of us. 
2. Margret (aged 4 or 5) came to me 2 days ago really upset. She said, "Pastor Laurie, look at my ears!" I asked what the problem was...was she in pain? She said, "No! But they are going out. I told Aunt Monicah and she won't do anything about it!" I had her show me what she was talking about - her ears don't lie flat against her head and she wants them to! She is upset that her "mom" won't do something to make them lie flat. This girl is something else! I just told her that God made her that way and He wanted her ears to be like that. She said, "No! I want them down." Ah, the trials of a young child... 
3. I ate my first grasshopper today. It's quite a snack in western Uganda and Rogers and Betty just came back from there and brought some with them. Rogers said, "You should take the head off before you eat it because your stomach probably can't take it." I let him pull the head off and then I ate the rest. (The legs are pulled off before they're fried.) Kind of tasted like chicken...just kidding...it tasted like a salty crisp cracker sort of thing. Weird, but at least I can say I ate one. Just thought you'd all like to know! 
4. The kids are going home this Friday (shhh...don't tell them - they won't know till Friday morning when I have them all up to the house for an American pancake breakfast before they leave!) for one week. Going home means to their clans and/or relatives who are still alive. Most are so excited to go, but some are reluctant as they go home to very little food, beatings and lots of sickness. The kids always come back with skin infections, malaria, worms and other conditions. Please pray that this will be a time of joy as they celebrate Christmas with their relatives. (For those of you who are new to these email updates - the government requires that they go home once every 4 months so they keep touch with their traditions and families. It's hard for us to send them, but we don't have a choice. And, we know it's important for them to keep touch with their roots. We have 4 that have no family to go see and they stay behind and we do special things with them.) This time Pastor Rogers and I will be taking them home in a car - highly unusual - and taking a kilogram (about 2 pounds) of beef for each child so the family has something special to eat on Christmas. 

My next update will be after Christmas. I wish all of you a great time rejoicing in the birth of Jesus, our Savior! Have a little plum pudding for me!

Laurie

Dec 13th - A day late...

Sorry to all of you who were worried - everything is okay here. We had a "study tour" to Kampala yesterday all day with our Headmaster, David, our builder, Stephen and Rogers and I. We visited schools that are considered excellent here to get ideas for classrooms, stairs, banisters, bulletin boards, book racks, etc., etc. It was a very worthwhile investment as Rogers and I got to share our vision and picture...more than the blueprints and so much better than just talking about what we want.

So, here I am in Mbale on Tuesday (instead of Monday) writing to you, and as always, so much more to tell than can be told in one email. But let me try to give you at least a little picture of our life here this past week.

• On Wednesday night, the kids learned about the birth of Jesus and then made stables and the characters from the story out of sticks, leaves and mud. I have included one picture of all the kids standing behind their creations, but if you want to see all of them, get on my FB pictures and look at Christmas in Budaka (2011). They are really creative. This Sunday night, I will show them a video of the Christmas story. 
• The 2nd picture is of a small group of kids at my house playing with legos. Thank you all for your gifts of legos and duplos to these kids. the legos stay at my house and I have a group of 4-5 children each week who come and spend 2 hours with me. I read them a book, they build something with legos and they get to talk to Abby on the phone individually. The kids in the picture are, from the left, Sarah, Mutwahiru and Dovico. 
• On the past 3 Sunday nights we have had our weekly movie night with the kids at Pastor Rogers' house (he has a TV) and have been watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The kids were enraptured! They kept asking me questions like, "Pastor Laurie, will they get the car?", "Pastor Laurie, will the man get the children and kill them?", "Pastor Laurie, will they all die?". They can't wait for the ending! But, at the end when the bad guys got their comeuppance, all the kids started clapping and cheering. It was so fun to watch them enjoy it so much. AND, they really enjoyed the songs and dancing. Thanks to whichever one of you it was who sent me back with this movie. There are many more to watch...
• We sold our first order from the bakery. I was so excited! It was to the 3 Peace Corps workers who come visit occasionally. You will see them in the 3rd picture as they hold their goodies and are handing me money. They have since ordered 2 more times...and told me they are going to hire a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) driver to come pick up orders and take to their homes. They said, "we will go back to America fatter, but at least we are supporting the kids!" Ha! 
• I made 150 snickerdoodles and a loaf of bread (which I cut into small pieces) and took to church for everyone to try as an advertisement for Cornerstone Bakery. (Hope it's not like money changers in the temple...) People loved both things, but kept commenting, "Americans sure like sweet things!" about the cookies. 
• Our kids go "home" to their clans/families next week on Friday the 23rd for a week so they can celebrate Christmas in a cultural way and enjoy their extended families. 
• I saved the best for last: BIG NEWS! We officially begin building our kids' home and school TODAY! Stephen (our builder) is measuring, looking at the plans, and hiring day laborers now. We have a building team coming from Hillsboro, OR, in early January who will join Stephen for 10 days. He is so excited to have the expertise and help from some Americans. THANK YOU to all of you at Evergreen who gave sacrificially so we can begin the building. It is amazing. For those of you who are not from there, at the direction of Pastors Ann and Jared, the church collected a Christmas offering for the orphanage of over $42,000! We were overwhelmed. We should be able to be in the building right after the school year begins (in late January). God is so good and His people are so generous. THANK YOU again. 

I think that is enough for one day. I hope you made it all the way to the end with me. I know Christmas is coming and you are all busy with so many activities. May you be blessed as you celebrate Jesus' birth. Thank you to all of you who are helping the people of Budaka come to know this baby and our Savior in a real way.

Full of God's love,

Laurie

Dec 8th - Of snakes, corruption and Christmas

Have I mentioned lately how much I dislike reptiles? 

Those who have been receiving my emails from a year and a half ago will remember when I accidentally killed a poisonous snake.

(If you want to read about it, go to www.cornerstoneministriesuganda.blogspot.com and to the June 7th, 2010 email.)
Quicklink: http://cornerstoneministriesuganda.blogspot.com/2010/08/jun-27th-update.html

Well, this week has been trying again with reptiles. First, a lizard jumped on my shoulder from the roof of the latrine as I was going in. (It would have been so much better AFTER I had been in!!) Then, 2 days later, I was out back and found a snake skin...you know, the ones they shed as they grow bigger? Well, it must be quite big now! Then, as I was headed to Mbale on Friday, there was a snake in the road that had been hit by a vehicle, but only 1, so I could still tell it's size...about 5-6' long and 2-3" in diameter. YUCK! Then, about 1/2 mile from there was a dead monitor lizard in the road. I am SO over reptiles right now!!

Corruption - something we talk about and get upset about occasionally in America, but it is a way of life here. Here's some info from the Uganda Monitor newspaper this past week.

"Ranked among the most corrupt nations, Uganda is at position 143 of 183 surveyed countries in the 2011 corruption perception index released yesterday by global graft watchdog, Transparency International (TI)...Countries are scored on a scale of 0(highly corrupt), to 10 (very clean). Uganda scored 2.4."

Last week, the District Inspector of Schools (DIS) came and inspected Cornerstone Learning Centre. He looks for how our children perform in testing, how the facilities are, if the teachers all have credentials, what curriculum we are using, etc. He gave us a big thumbs up, then put his palm out. Of course the 2 things happened at separate times, but he insisted that we give him Shs400,000 (about $175) if we wanted to get licensed. The license costs Shs50,000 or less. The rest is to line his pockets. I was incensed! Headmaster David tried to negotiate to a lower sum, then Pastor Rogers tried. But he said there was no negotiation. I said, "Let's report him!" Rogers meekly said, "We can, but he will close the school down if we do." Some things are so hard to stomach from my western viewpoint! Of course, this isn't the first, nor will it be the last time we have to deal with paying "tips." I try to stay out of it as it just frustrates me, as you can see.

Okay, let's move on to Christmas. As I read your emails and Facebook posts, I realize it is the Christmas season. But, here the holiday is celebrated on the 25th. There is no exchanging of gifts. There is no Christmas music. No sermons talk about the Christmas story (except on Christmas Day...oh, and except for mine yesterday). So, on December 1st (last Thursday), I decided to play some Christmas music from my iTunes (the iPod was stolen, so had to settle for the computer). Peace, one of Rogers' nieces that he cares for, was at the house and wanted to know what music that was. I told her I was listening to Christmas music and she said, and I quote, "Pastor Laurie, it is TOO early for Christmas music!" So funny to think about the States where you can't go anywhere after Thanksgiving without hearing Christmas music.

One more thing...we had Saturday School out in Kabuna this past Saturday. The first picture is of the kids (well over 100!) waiting for us as we arrived an hour before the whole event was supposed to start. Those of you from the Sunnyside team, you will remember this kind of thing every day as we went out for camp! I shared the Christmas story with them (I know, too early in the month, but whatever...), we sang songs (see the video, those of you who can get it), played games and gave them a piece of bread and a small bottle of juice. The 2nd picture is of Sarah, our newest Cornerstone Kids member, handing out bread to these children. She has developed into quite a leader within Cornerstone and at Sunday School. We so love this girl! I took 4 of our kids to help out in Kabuna: Brenda 1, Ronald, John and Sarah. Really cool to watch them serving other children. Oh, and we had 336 kids - that's more than we have ever had in Budaka! And on our first time to Kabuna. The Lord is touching people all over.

Two of the men who come to Cornerstone Christian Centre (our church in Budaka) from Kabuna have asked us to begin Cornerstone in Kabuna for all those that come from there. We had 77 kids from the Saturday School come to Sunday School yesterday - yes, they walked 3 miles to come to Sunday School! Not quite ready for a church plant, but you never know.

I love you, and thank all of you for your participation in the Gospel that is being spread here in Uganda. God continues to amaze us with His love for the people and direction for the work He wants to do here. Thank you for making it possible for us to do this work with your financial contributions, your prayers and your emotional and spiritual support through emails, texts and phone calls. What a great team we are together! (A special thanks to all of you at ECC who have been going without, selling things, and raising money other ways for our kids home to be able to be built. May God bless you as much as you are blessing us!)

Laurie


VIDEO on YouTube: http://youtu.be/0ysB6kpoI4I