Mar 26th - Running Water!!!

After a year in my house, the landlord has finally come and connected me to the town water pipe. Now I have running water...to the back yard. One spigot. But, hey, running water!! The first picture shows you me using the tap for the first time. The second picture shows you the leaking BRAND NEW pipe the next morning. At least the leak is before the meter...They came later that day and turned off the water, so I had to buy water again. But within 2 days they had fixed it so it only leaks a little...and I can take the jerry cans to the back yard and get water (at night and in the morning only) right there at my house. It's a great convenience!

Reminds me - we are now over a month with no electricity. Nothing left to say about that...

VD was Saturday...okay, it's not what you thought...VD stands for Visitation Day for schools here. We had about 1/2 of the parents show up to see how their children are doing. Many had such good things to say about how their children are speaking English so well, how their handwriting has improved since being at Cornerstone and how healthy they are looking from the good nutrition (for those who board). It was a good day. Rogers and I spent quite a bit of time going to all 31 of our kids' classes and looking at their work with them, seeing their test results, etc. I am happy to report that five of our children were #1 in their classes. They are doing so well! Also, we sold banana bread, brownies and cinnamon cake (coffee cake for all you westerners) from Cornerstone Bakery to parents and kids. It was a great day all around.

We just on Wednesday got the okay to sell our bakery products at the "supermarket" (think smaller than a 7-11) in Budaka. We took 8 things...6 of which sold by Friday. That's good news. And, they misunderstood me and sold them for shs200=/ [$0.08 USD] more than they normally sell for...and they sold! Maybe we should raise the prices!

We were able this week to secure a property for the church. As a church, we have raised well over shs3,000,000=/ [$1,217.04 USD] (about $1,500) toward the purchase of property. The man who owns this property wants to sell in the next year or two, but is willing to rent to us for now, with a part of our rent going to the purchase price. It's great for us! And, the property is right near the middle of town - just where we wanted to be! And, there is already a fairly large house on the property in which we will have Sunday School. We will build a temporary structure there for the adults. People are so excited to have done this themselves!

The 3rd picture I've sent is a child dedication this weekend for Hellen, a very involved member of Cornerstone who loves Jesus with all her heart. (She was the first person to get saved at the crusade in Budaka in February 2010.) Her three children are, from left, Mercy, Pretty and Valan. She asked last week if she could have one of her children dedicated and I said yes, talked with her and asked why not the others. She said she thought you could only dedicate one :). Anyway, yesterday, when I asked her to introduce her children to the congregation, she told the story of Mercy being named. Hellen was distraught over family issues when she was pregnant and decided to commit suicide. At the last moment, she changed her mind and felt like some force told her this child needed to be born. So, she named her Mercy because her life was saved...as well as Hellen's. I had never heard the story and was a little choked up as I prayed for them. Isn't our God good...even before we know Him??

Yesterday at the end of the first service, a woman everyone in town knows - she is one of the prostitutes in town - came into the church. A little gasp from some. She sat down and when Rogers asked for visitors to introduce themselves, she introduced herself and said she was tired of the life she was living and wanted to get saved. So wonderful! A new sister in Christ! And, it taught all of us a lesson at the same time. God is at work in Budaka...even among those "sinners."

It looks like we have a lead on the thieves who robbed us in January of all our kitchen pots/pans, etc. When the cooks were doing a "deep clean" two weeks ago, they found a voter registration card of someone none of us knew. Apparently, it had fallen out of the man's pocket when he was stealing our stuff. So, Rogers took it to the police. They said they would follow up, but it would require shs40,000=/ [$16.23 USD] for "transport" to Naboa. The actual costs of that transport is about shs5,000=/ [$2.03 USD]. Another bribe for "justice." Rogers takes it all in stride...but it bugs me every time I'm asked to pay a tip for something that should be a service. Anyway, the police went, didn't find the man at home, so they called him (he was in western Uganda at the time - maybe selling our goods?) and they told him to come back, that they were going to arrest him. I'm pretty sure you can guess what has happened. Amazingly, he has not returned, but they would be glad to go get him in western Uganda...if only we can give them "transport" money. O, Uganda.

Okay, enough for now. Thanks to all of you who have responded with the things you are going to pick up for the kids, bakery, church, etc. Things still needed: Bibles, preschool toys, baby clothes. If you are planning to get any of these for me to bring back, please let me know.

Thank you all for your continued support and love for the kids here! You are such a blessing in my life, too! See you all in just a few weeks now.

Love,

Laurie

Mar 19th - Sweet rain...

Well, it finally happened! Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon about 2pm it started raining...and it rained and rained (about 4" in an hour). People were rejoicing here - some had planted their crops several weeks ago when we had a little rain and have lost all their seeds from the dry weather (there is no irrigation here). So, now after one more good rain, everyone will be able to go out and begin planting. The rains usually start by the end of February, so this is quite late and many will run out of stored food before these crops are read. Because they are at subsistence level, they will be unable to purchase food. So, everyone is rejoicing that the rains have finally come. And, for my little selfish part, I'm glad because it has gotten cooler. I actually used a sheet to cover with last night.

We are now on our 28th day with no electricity. I've stopped going to the electric company to complain - they promise, but I've found they are just placating me. Oh, well... The generator I bought 4 months ago for just such occasions has broken down for the 11th time. Gotta love flashlights and lanterns!

Oliver is doing well now. You'll remember we had to take her on an emergency basis last Monday to the hospital as she was having a seizure. She has been on malaria meds and now anti-seizure meds and is doing quite well. Lisa has been sick, but Mary (our nurse) put her on a "drip" to give her more liquids and she is doing well - apparently dehydrated. And, she's a really tiny little girl, so we will be encouraging her to drink more.

Last night, I was down visiting the kids and heard Charity screaming. I went to check it out and, after getting her calmed down, found out that Moses had bitten her finger. (Now, of course, knowing Charity, there is more to the story, but...) I called Moses over and said, "Did you bite Charity?" He looked up at me, smiled, and said, "Yes!" with all the glee a little boy can muster. So hard to muster any corrective stance or words when he's so adorable!! But, I said sternly, "Moses, we don't bite here. You may not bite anyone. If you bite again, I will spank you. Do you want me to get a stick?" To which he replied, "Yes!" Oh, the joys of parenthood...

Some of you have asked what things I want to bring back for the children and the ministry here. Here's a list of some of the things Rogers and I have come up with. If we get more than I can carry back, I will leave some for the next team to bring.

• reading books for up to 3rd grade level. As much as possible, we want to stay away from American-looking things, but it will probably be inevitable. So, if you have some we can bring back, that would be great. We will put them in the school library. (Please, no books on American history - not really applicable here!) Also, paperback will be the easiest to transport because of weight.
• Small, durable toys that the baby class (preschool) can play with during breaks of the day. We have given them stuffed animals, but other kinds of things would be great. Remember, the lighter the better for transporting here. I have some Duplos that some of you gave last time, and those would be great - there are not enough for them to play with at this time. 
• a couple (ONLY A COUPLE!) good flashlights and extra batteries for the parents (Monicah and Guster) to have at night when there is no power - like right now!! - when they need to go check on a child. The flashlights and batteries here are not durable or consistent in their output. 
• fine-tipped permanent markers
• containers for the bakery for transporting goods - need to be airtight because of bugs
• a small digital clock that will stick to the podium at church so we can keep time (they always borrow my watch - they call it "the church watch") 
• some Bibles for our leadership Cornerstone kids. There are 9 kids in this group at present. 
• some Bibles for church for those who can't afford them.
• labels that for the computer and printer that we can use to mark bakery goods. I am presently labelling (by hand) about 150 items every week. Would love to be able to do it by computer! 
• newborn baby clothes (gently used is fine)

Okay, I'm sure there will be other things, but there you go. Please let me know if you are planning to get any of these things and I will put the word out to everyone so we don't end up with 400 fine-tipped markers ;).

One more thing - something I learned this week on Thursday while baking. Monicah couldn't come and help me that day due to not feeling well, so I was all alone. I was cutting the scone dough with a very sharp knife when out of my periperal vision, I saw a weird bug climbing up my right arm (the same arm that was holding the sharp knife.). So, not thinking, I swatted at the bug...and pierced my left wrist at the same time. Happy to report the bug was gone...not so happy to report that my left wrist now has a hole in it. Took some time to bleed, but then could hardly stop it. Lesson learned - don't swat icky bugs when holding sharp knives.

The 2 pics this week - first is Eyalama and his mom, Loy. He was dedicated last weekend. One of you gave the onesie he has on - thank you! Loy is a Sunday School teacher and has 3 children at our school. Eyalama means Thanks be to God. It is a word from Lugisu, her native tongue.

The 2nd picture is of Moses last week while eating breakfast. Doesn't he look relaxed with his leg up? As he was eating his g-nuts (like peanuts), he would occasionally touch the bottom of his foot (please note how digustingly dirty it is!!), then use the same hand to put the nuts in his mouth. Children!!

Okay, I love you and thank you again for loving me, Rogers and his family, the children and our staff...oh, and the people at the church. We all appreciate your prayers, thoughts and support in so many ways. I will be there in a little over a month and hope to see all of you. The schedule is coming together and as soon as it is a little more firm, I will let you know where I will be and when. Have a great Monday!

Laurie

Mar 12th - What a week...

It seems like a month since I have written to you, but it's only been a week. Let me start from this morning and move backwards through the week:

1. Today marks our 22nd straight day with no electricity. After getting the generator fixed 7 times, it seems to be holding its own and I run it about 3 hours 2 times a day to keep the refrigerated bakery things fresh. So, up at 5:30 this morning so it can be on 3 hours before I go to Mbale.
2. Rogers and I got to Mbale about 9:30, and within 20 minutes got a call from Betty (Rogers' wife) that Oliver was having a seizure. This happened several months ago also with Oliver (a girl, by the way). We raced back to Budaka and picked them up and brought her to the good hospital here in Mbale. Turns out she has malaria again with convulsions, and they are suspecting epilepsy. She is on her way home now with medications for both the malaria and the seizures. We will bring her back in 2 weeks for a check up. Thanks for praying for her. 
3. Yesterday, the baby we prayed for a couple of weeks ago (with his mom, of course) was back and she said his head is becoming smaller. She was giving glory to God. I have included a picture of him. We continue to pray for his complete healing. Thanks for joining us in this.
4. On Saturday and Sunday I repaired and/or sewed buttons on 33 of our children's pieces of clothing. I started by keeping track of how many buttons, but got overwhelmed...I know for sure 8 shirts with 3-4 buttons each that were missing. Thanks for the white buttons - can't remember right now who sent them, but they really came in handy this weekend. Thanks, too, for the sewing machine, thread, needles, etc. that several of you have sent. Couldn't repair these clothes without you!!
5. One of our students at the school, Ephraim, died this week from Sickle Cell. I knew who he was, but didn't know him well. He was a 2nd grader and passed away on Tuesday night. We went to the burial on Wednesday with 5 of our students to represent the school, Headmaster David, 2 teachers, Rogers and Betty and me. So hard to watch this mother and father in such grief. The service and burial are all in one and occur within 1-2 days of death here. People are buried at their extended family home, so we travelled about 1/2 hour to get there (and got lost on the way...). As soon as we arrived, we were expected to see the body. Question always goes something like this, "Would you like to see the body now?" So, they open the casket and we all filed by. Then, they continued with the "service." Seems the father belongs to a cult, and so the head of this cult church talked for about 45 minutes - it was partially interpreted (from Lugwele to Luganda) and Rogers re-interpreted for me. Seems this cult believes among other things that, 1) people should not be wearing clothes (pretty unusual to hear at a burial...and BTW the speaker kept his clothes on), 2) that there is and never was anyone named Jesus Christ - there is only God, and 3) (apparently) the word "conclusion" doesn't mean the same in his "bible." He said 8 times, "And I conclude with this...". Also, I was not aware till he spoke that "all American weddings are so big because it is the homosexuals getting married. That's also why they have so many cars at weddings there!" Now, if you're not getting the past few statements, GOOD JOB! They didn't make any sense. But, I have to say, he was fervent! In the middle of his fervency, a woman jumped up (there were about 150 people there sitting under the various trees in the yard) and began yelling and running away. Other people followed her, until there was a steady stream of 3-4 dozen running. Seems her house caught on fire - she could see it from where we were. We found out later no one was hurt, only the contents of the house were destroyed. There are very few fire trucks here in Uganda, and certainly none out that far in the village. So, they had formed a bucket brigade to put out the fire. At least it was more interesting to us sitting there than the "sermon." Anyway, the 2nd picture today is of our 5 kids throwing dirt into the grave as Ephraim was buried. That is Brenda 1 looking at the camera. The other child you might recognize is Emma. The other 3 are day scholars. (Kids and adults are so used to death here that they seem to just take it in stride. On average, I would say Rogers goes to at least 2 burials a month of people from his village.) 
6. We did a baby dedication 2 weeks ago for a single mom, Harriet. There is a picture of us standing with her at church. She has so touched my heart. We take a baby outfit to each new baby that is born (thanks to one of you who gave several newborn outfits the last time I was home!), but somehow we missed her. So, after the dedication, I told Rogers we should invite her to my house and give one to her. We did, she came, and I gave her the clothes. She immediately put her head down in what we, in the US, would see as a sign of humility. She speaks no English, so I asked Rogers what was going on. He said this is the first gift she has received for the baby...and he's pretty sure the first gift she has ever received in her life. She looked up when he called her name and tears were streaming down her face. God wants to reach this woman with His intense love for her. Please pray with us for her and for this little one. 

I love you all - sorry this email got so long...I have 3 other stories to tell, too, but you'll just have to wait till I'm back in the States in 5 weeks...

God bless you. Thank you for partnering with us to see kids and adults touched with the life of God.

Laurie

BTW - 3 stats: 

• the chickens are laying 150 eggs a day!!
• we have over 200 children at the school
• we are selling over shs100,000 ($40.73 USD) every week from the bakery

Mar 5th - It's early Monday morning for you...

Greetings, Friends and Family!

It's a fairly cool day both in Budaka and here in Mbale today. The rainy season has begun and things have really cooled off. My room gets down into the mid-70s at night now...quite refreshing! The days are only in the low 90s.

This week has been full of baking (8 loaves of banana bread, 1 pan of brownies, scones, pineapple cake and something else I can't remember now), speaking (3 church services, 1 Bible study, 1 staff devotional), having 2 kids (Brenda and Mutwahiru) to my house as a reward, and many other little things that add up to a full week! (For all of you who have said you think I only work all the time, I did watch Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Rings this week on my computer. Thanks, Tim, for getting that one for me!) Here are some of the highlights:

• Margret, one of our girls who is about 5 years old now, told us she wanted to use the cup of one of the day scholars. This day scholar is Pakistani - her father runs an NGO in Budaka. When asked why she wanted to use her cup, Margret replied, "If I drink from it enough times, I will become a muzungu (white person) like her!" 
• Rogers' son, Prosper, who is 6 years old, got a pretty good size bump on the head. I asked where he got it, and he said, "I ran into the wall." I asked for specifics and he told me he was going for his 3rd helping of tea (he's supposed to only have 1!), and "Jesus was annoyed with me, so he made me run into the wall." Ha! So much to teach about God's love...and about only taking what you're supposed to!
• The children have been studying patience as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) this past month - thanks, Abby, for writing the lessons - and the reward promised was whoever was noticed being especially patient throughout the month would get to spend 2-3 hours at my house playing with legos, and other surprises. Well, 5 children were recognized, but 3 of them got in a lot of trouble from fighting with others this week, so they missed out. But, the 2 who got to come were Mutwahiru and Brenda 1. Their picture at my house is attached to this email. We played legos (with the animals the Hesperia team brought - the kids built an ark!), I taught them Concentration with cards, let them choose one treat from the bakery (they chose a scone and an oatmeal cookie), and then I read 3 children's books to them. It was a great afternoon for all 3 of us! And, of course, when they went back they told about all of it and now everyone is working on the next prize, hoping to come to Pastor Laurie's house! 
• We added a couple new things the kids can "purchase" from the allowance bag this week. One was a Spirograph type thing. In the picture, you can see Monicah showing 4 of our boys how it works. They were mesmerized (well, except for Junior, as you can see). The boys are, from left, William (behind Monicah's head), Junior, Dovico and Johnson. I am thinking about getting a couple of the larger Spirographs when I'm in the States in a few weeks - seems like a great thing to use in math class as a supplemental learning aid. If any of you have one you'd like to donate, just let me know. If you know a good place to purchase them, let me know that, too.
• The other picture is from church yesterday. I walked to the back as we were worshiping the Lord, and saw this little boy. What expressive eyes! I don't know him...his dad was with him and they were visiting Cornerstone. By the way, we had 264 people yesterday - it seems to be growing every week steadily. There were 98 adults in the first service - that seems to be the service to be at these days! The church is raising money for a plot of land in town on which to build a church. We are about 1/2 way to being able to buy a plot after only 4 months. So exciting for the people to see themselves doing this! 
• The children's home and school building is "setting" right now. They say that the foundation needs to have time to set - at least a month. We are waiting on the Lord for the further resources necessary to continue the work. We will build as we can to finish. About 1/2 of the first floor is done to the interior walls being up, and the ground ready for the cement slab to be poured. Both Rogers and I are SO thankful to all of you who have prayed, given and worked here and in the States for this building to get built for our kids. THANK YOU! We know God will help us in finishing it in His time and in His way. Please continue to pray with us. 

Okay, enough for today. As always, there are so many more things I want to say. I always have notes left from the last week that I think will fit in this week's email, and there is never enough room! Maybe in Heaven we can all sit down and rejoice together over all the big and little things He did here in Budaka and there in your lives. Thank you for being faithful to help these children, the staff, the church and the school. You are truly a blessing to us!

Remember, I will be in the States in late April for a few weeks. I am hoping to see as many of you as I can. At this point, my travels will take me to Idaho, Washington, California (both north and south), Oregon and Texas. Let me know if you're along the way and can have coffee...As always, I will be bringing Ugandan arts, coffee, and even some new things this time... If there is anything in particular you would like, let me know!

God bless you!
Laurie