July 10th - Ready to go

In 48 hours we will be on a plane heading back home to Uganda. It's been so wonderful to be in the States for the last 11 weeks...

1. to catch up on your lives
2. to meet some of you for the first time 
3. to share the great things happening in Budaka at:

• 6 churches
• 5 schools
• 2 women's groups
• 2 gatherings
• 40 individual appointments

I want to welcome all of you who are new to the email list. It's so fun to share with all of you what is happening in this journey in Budaka...I'm continually amazed at the things God is doing in Budaka as all of us, both Americans and Ugandans, listen to Him and do what He asks. I'm so excited to go back and be a part of it there - and to let you know what's happening each week.

I have included 2 pictures for you. Rogers sent both of these to me last week. The first is one of 3 of our older girls. From the left they are, Sarah, Brenda 1 and Natasha. They are standing out in front of the orphanage fence opening. The second picture is the plants growing in the yard at our house. Perhaps some of you know what it is, but I think Rogers told me these are sunflowers which will be used to make oil for cooking at Cornerstone. I will send a picture when I get back as these get bigger...I'm pretty sure I'll know if they're sunflowers later ;)

I got an email from Rogers this morning that Lisa (you have a picture of her in Sunday School recently), who is about 6 years old, has tuberculosis. Please pray for her healing and that we will find the right doctors and course of action in order for her to get well. I will let you know in next week's email how everything is going.

As I told many of you, I am looking at ways to set up individual accounts for each of our kids' college education. I figured out that if we put $10 each month for each child into an account beginning this year, they will have enough for at least the first 2 years of their post-high school training or college education. If this is something you would like to do, please email me with the child's name you would like to sponsor in this, and I will work on how we can do this.

Okay, I have to go and finish getting everything together and weighed for our trip. Please pray with us as we head out - it's 28 hours on planes and in airports and then we will be met by Rogers at the airport on Friday night at 10pm in Entebbe (that is 12 noon Friday here on the west coast). I will talk with you soon...may God bless you!



Laurie

Jul 2nd - Cornerstone Update

Friends and Family -

A quick update, along with some pictures of Moses in various poses...thought you'd enjoy seeing these photos Rogers took a couple of weeks ago.

• We leave on Thursday, July 12th from Portland to head back to Uganda. Abby and I are so excited to be back with the kids, Rogers, the church and the school! 
• It's been a great time with all of you over on this side of the world. Thanks to all of you for your great love for us, your hospitality and all the gifts you have sent back with us for the work in Budaka! I feel so blessed to be a part of your lives. 
• Rogers is doing well, but is anxious for us to return.
• The children are progressing, and our kids have once again taken the top spots in their classes at school. I'm so proud of their hard work!
• When Rogers was sitting outside with a young man from the church in the evening recently, they saw a large snake coming towards them. They got safely inside and called the neighbors to come help...everyone came with clubs and they were able to kill it. It was a king cobra, over 2 meters long (6-7 feet!). So glad our Father is keeping watch over Rogers, his family and our kids at the orphanage! Please continue praying for us! 
• Johnson, one of our little boys - he's about 7 years old - has run away. Rogers met with him and his extended family members and found that Johnson was thinking life would be easier out in their remote village. (Children have no restrictions, don't go to school and are free to go anywhere during the day.) He came back to Cornerstone, only to run away again. He was brought back again, and then left the next day. So, sadly, we have had to let Johnson go. I have to believe that God has allowed us to have these 2 1/2 years with him to invest in his life and that God will continue to pursue this little boy even though he is not with us now. Please pray for him. 
• Thanks to several of you, we had a wonderful 2 weeks of vacation - one up in the woods near St. Helens and one on the Oregon coast. Such a great time of refreshing. Thank you!
• We are "staging" everything now and deciding what will come with us now and what will come with the next team who is coming in October from Evergreen. So fun to go through all the baby clothes, gifts for the kids and Rogers' family, books for the school, Bibles for the church, etc., etc. Wow, you guys are generous!! Thank you. 

Well, did say this would be quick and now it has gotten long...hope you made it all the way through. Have a great day!

Laurie

May 29th - Vancouver date

I will be speaking at the Vancouver First Friends Church on Monday, June 11th at 11:30. Just wanted to let you know if that place is more convenient for you than the others in the Portland area.
Laurie

May 25th - Update and dates

Greetings, Friends!

I had a great time this past weekend with all of you at The Bridge in Burley! Thanks so much for your expressions of love for my kids in Budaka, and for me. You guys rock.

I talked with Rogers on Sunday and everyone is doing well. School has started and he sent me the picture you have of our kids on the first day of the 2nd term. (I look at the picture and remember how hard it is to get 31 kids to all look forward and smile [or at least look interested!].) It's so fun to see them.

The 2nd picture is of our maize growing. As you may remember, we rented land for 2 years for the restaurant. We were not able to build the restaurant, and are now doing the bakery instead, but we are using the land to grow crops for food for the kids. Thanks for praying - we continue to listen and learn to adjust. We should get several bags of maize from this land, which will give our kids posho for a couple of months. (Posho is a staple of Ugandan food.)

Here are upcoming scheduled times I will be speaking and/or presenting pictures and videos of Cornerstone. Would love to see you!

• Hesperia CA, New Life Chapel, Sunday, May 27, 8:30 and 10:30 am services
• Santa Fe Springs CA, Florence Avenue Foursquare, Wednesday, May 30, morning chapel
• Newark, CA, Saturday, June 2, 4pm
• Hillsboro, OR, Monday, June 11, 7pm
• Hillsboro, OR, Sunday, July 1, 1pm
• Cottage Grove, OR, Sunday, July 8, morning service 

Thanks so much for all the clothes, shoes, books and baking items you all have given us to take back. Some of you have said you are still bringing things. It would help a lot if we could have everything by July 1 so we can get a good idea of what will go back with us and what will come with the next team. We are still in need of:

• reading books (up to Grade 3)
• fine tip permanent markers
• small digital clock

Have a great Memorial Day and weekend.

Laurie

May 16th - Budaka pics- Hillsboro and Newark

Now you have 2 choices to hear about what's happening in Budaka, you Hillsboro folk...

• Monday night, June 11, 7pm
• Sunday afternoon, July 1, 1pm

And, 2 times in Fremont/Newark...

• Thursday night, May 31
• Saturday afternoon, June 2, 4pm

Call or email (pastorld01@gmail.com) for more info or locations.

Hope to see many of you at one of these!
Laurie

May 15th - Hillsboro area Budaka update

All of you who are in the Hillsboro area - we will have at least 2 presentations. Here is the one I know for sure the date of:

• Monday, June 11th, at 7pm.

If you would like to come and see pictures and videos of the work in Budaka on this date, let me know.
If this date doesn't work, but you would like to see what's going on, we will make sure there is another time.

Laurie

May 14th - Update...from Eugene this time

Greetings, Friends.


I thought it was hard to keep up on once-a-week communication from Uganda, but it is proving harder from here in the States...sorry it's been a couple of weeks since I've written.

I've had a great time with many of you either one-on-one or at your churches and schools. Still waiting to see many of you in the next 4 weeks!

Wonderful to be with DaySpring Fellowship yesterday. Thanks to my mom and dad for opening that door, and to all of you "DaySpringians" for graciously welcoming me to tell about what is happening in Budaka.

I was so sorry to miss my time with Vancouver Friends last Sunday, as well as many individual appointments due to putting my back out :( I was down for several days, but, thanks to our Lord and a wonderful chiropractor here in Eugene, I am on the mend and able to move again without pain. Thanks to all of you who pray for me!

I leave Eugene tomorrow and then will head to Burley, Idaho on Thursday. So excited to be with The Bridge this Sunday. Then on to southern California with New Hope in Hesperia and northern California with Broken and Mending Ministries.

I talked with Rogers and things are going well there. The children (except the 4 who have nowhere to go) went for their required clan visits last week, Monday through Friday. Since we don't tell them exactly when I will return, they were apparently having discussions about if I would be there when they got back on Friday. Ronald (our oldest boy) told all of them he "knew" I wouldn't be back then, but others disagreed. Wish I could have been there when they returned - it would have been fun. But my time is coming!

Cornerstone is so blessed by the Lord to have so many friends here in the States. Thank you all for loving my kids, the staff and the people of Budaka. Rogers has been trying to get pictures to me, but the internet has been down there more than it's been working, so we will have to wait. When he sends them, though, I will send them on. I have included a picture of the presentation in Austin TX at Winkley Elementary 2 weeks ago. Thanks, Ann...and Chad who got us connected originally!

Some have asked about the arts/crafts made by Ugandans. (BTW - thanks to AHB School in Austin whose kids, teachers and parents purchased about $400 worth of items to support Cornerstone. Wow!) I do have many kinds of crafts with me and take them to the places where I speak, but if there are particular things you would like to purchase, just let me know. We have jewelry (paper bead necklaces, earrings and necklaces made from cow bone, seed bracelets), bookmarks (made from tree bark), African fabrics (3-yd pieces), baskets (papyrus and banana fiber), Ugandan men's shirts, keychains with Ugandan money, and many other things. You can see some in the picture from Winkley Elementary - they are on the table in the foreground.

Hope to have more information and pics from Budaka for you next time I write.

Love you all!

Laurie