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

Feb 27th - God is good

Friends and Family:

First, thank you to all of you who wrote, called, prayed and texted me with your support after last week's email. It was greatly encouraging to hear. As some of you know, it got worse before it got better, and many things are still not resolved. But our God is good. He is working behind the scenes, even when I can't see Him. He is faithful in His support of Cornerstone, our kids, the church, the school, our staff and me.

Rogers and I had to make an emergency trip to the U.S. embassy in Kampala. They were very supportive, then sent me to the head of Uganda immigration. All the things are straightened out and the people who were making threats against me have been exposed (to Rogers and me) for their lack of authority in this area. That was a huge relief.

Don't know anything more about the little girl who was being beaten. The woman who got saved last week (with the sick baby) didn't come this week - we are continuing to pray for both of them. Thanks for joining us in this.

Some great things are happening in our businesses. I thought you'd like to know:

• Our chickens have begun laying!! The first 2 eggs came on Sunday the 12th. Since then they have laid 182 eggs...2 were broken, so we have 180 eggs. It's so great to have it working this time - those of you who are new don't know that our first chickens (all 200 of them!) died before laying any eggs. It was so discouraging and we wanted to give up, but here we are less than a year later and these 210 chickens are doing great! Now, instead of buying 8 trays a week for breakfasts, we will be selling trays of eggs. And, the bakery will get to use these too, reducing the costs there. 
• The bakery business is really picking up. We are selling at a supermarket in Mbale - they are selling almost everything I bring before its pull date. So far, I have tried brownies, chocolate chip cookies, scones, snickerdoodles, oatmeal cookies, cinnamon rolls, monster cookies and banana bread. The manager told me, "Bring more of those brown ones!" (They love the brownies.) Also, I've found that every Ugandan who has tasted it, LOVES banana bread. Good thing as there are so many bananas here. I can get enough for 4 loaves of banana bread for about 50 cents. I just buy them fresh and let them turn black - the Ugandans think I'm weird...but they love the bread! We sell it for 50 cents a slice or $5 for the loaf. 
• I have someone from the church who is selling bakery items in Budaka also. She started about a week ago and has already sold 30 items, so this also will help with the bakery sales. I also take individual cake orders when someone has a birthday or other event, then make cakes to order. I made a "mistake" cake 2 weeks ago, but cut off the burnt part and frosted the remainder and was able to sell it at the supermarket in Mbale. 
• The name Cornerstone Bakery is getting out there and we have had to hire someone to come and help. We will see where this goes, but I have to tell you our kids love it because they get to eat all the extras or stuff that hasn't sold by it's expiration date! They're in heaven when they get a piece of cake. They also get Cornerstone Bakery bread every Monday morning for breakfast. Monicah told me that when she gave cake out the other day, she heard one child saying, "Thanks, Cornerstone Bakery." 
• The first picture is of my oatmeal container - apparently a rat also thought the oatmeal looked good. :P Rogers killed it (by kicking it - never seen that before!).
• The second picture is of just baked bread (no cooling racks here!) sitting out to cool. When cool, it gets sliced, then goes in the freezer for Mondays for the staff and kids. It takes 5 loaves to feed everyone (they get 1 slice each). 
• Some of you know that Rachael, our cook, got bit by a poisonous snake last Friday in the kitchen early in the morning. Thanks to all of you prayer partners who prayed. I'm happy to report she is back at work and doing well. She got the treatment needed (some kind of medication) and gave glory to God for her life yesterday at church. 

Just one other thing I thought you might enjoy hearing. I was preaching last Sunday and one man (we call him George 3) came up in the middle of my sermon and stood directly in front of me at the podium (the tall one, Pastor Bill!) and laid shs1,000 on my Bible. I was a little taken aback, but continued speaking as he went back to his seat. Afterward, I queried Rogers. He said if someone is really touched by something you are saying, they will signify it by giving you some money. Okay, all you pastors, wouldn't that kind of surprise and take you aback?? Then, as I thought about it, I began to laugh - I've spoken here at least every other week for the past 2 years and this is the first "tip" I've gotten. Also, shs1,000 is worth about 50 cents. Hmmmm...so many things come to mind!

Well, enough for this week. Again, thank you all for your prayers and words of support last week. You helped me and Cornerstone through a difficult week. May God bless you for your participation in the Gospel in Uganda.

In His peace,

Laurie

Feb 20th - It's been a day from....heaven?

So, last week's email made you think everything that happens here is amazing, wonderful and full of God's life. Let me share just the last 2 day's "situations" and you can see the first 2 don't always happen, but the 3rd can always be true!

• As I was walking back to my house after sharing at devotions with the staff, a woman was walking quickly the same direction. She got far ahead of me and started yelling. As I got closer, I saw an 8- or 9-year-old child, the object of this woman's ranting. The little girl was obviously scared, and her mom (I guess) jerked the school books out of her hands and threw them on the ground, then began hitting the girl repeatedly in the head, slapping and punching her. Many people walked by as this was happening, and one woman even yelled something apparently in support of the mother, as they both laughed and the mother continued the beating. Culturally, I could do nothing. And, culturally, it's okay for this mother to behave this way. But, for me, I headed into my house and cried and prayed for the little girl. (Can't pray for the mom yet...but I'm sure I will get there at some point.)
• Had to meet with the Criminal Investigator for Budaka District this morning regarding my being in the country. There was no telling what this was about. This is a "secret" police force that, according to him, works with the US embassy and the Ugandan government to keep nefarious US visitors out of Uganda. (He didn't use the word "nefarious," by the way.) He wanted to see my passport and visa...noticed that the passport number on the visa is different than the actual passport number. I explained that his embassy in the States is the one that wrote it there. He had me fill in a form (with ink lines drawn on in not-so-straight rows) with my name, the country I am from (I wrote USA and he said, "but, what country?") Now he wants a record of every visitor that has been here with Cornerstone, and from now on a list and passport numbers for every visitor that will come. It's amazing - I've been here over 2 years and suddenly I am suspicious. Every person in Budaka knows where I live - I was the only white person for the first year, and now there are 3 of us - should be fairly obvious, I think. They know my comings and goings. It's very hard to be discreet when your skin shines in the dark of night! (BTW - we gave him a "tip" and everything was suddenly fine with my being here.)
• Yesterday at church, a woman came to get saved. The woman who told her about Jesus (her name is Rose) got saved just 2 weeks ago! So cool. She also brought her baby, who is 3 months old. His head is unnaturally large and she said it's been growing this way for about 2 months. So we prayed for him, and I thought, if this boy was in the States, his doctor would have noticed at the very beginning and there would have been medical intervention. For this woman, her husband has kicked her out of their home with the baby because he is "obviously" possessed by demons who are making his head grow so abnormally. We are waiting for a miracle - please pray with us! 
• Rose's situation - she is in her mid-20s and married a man near 60, arranged by her family. This man beats her every day. The last time, she woke up in the hospital. She had run from him, he caught up and continued beating her and some friends found her unconscious and took her to the hospital. So, she is now living in a separate house, but he is threatening her daily. 
• We went to get on a matatu (mini-van taxi) to come to Mbale today, and a piece of metal was sticking out on the inside as went to my seat and it tore the back of my skirt (good thing it was thick denim - or it would have torn my skin too!). So, I had to go back to the house and change - about 1/2 hour time waster! 
• Our 2 cooks got in a big fight yesterday (we only heard today) and it ended with Cephas throwing water on the fire that Rachael was cooking over so she had to start over, delaying the kids' dinner. Now, who are the children here???
• There are days that are so overwhelming emotionally here - the woman who has been kicked out of her house because her baby son has a tumor, the young girl being beaten by her mother, Rose being beaten every day by her husband, corruption in the government that affects me and therefore Cornerstone, immature staff, transportation that is anything but efficient, etc., etc.

So I wanted you to know that not everything is cheery and wonderful...but God is good and He is continuing to work and touch peoples' lives. Thanks for listening...oh, and I've sent you 2 pictures from yesterday of all our boys and girls (except Brenda 1, who has malaria and was in bed). When I play with these kids, talk with them and listen to their many stories, I am encouraged again to go on, regardless of the emotional cost.

Thank you so much for praying for me, for these kids, for the church and the school. We continue to believe God to do great things in Budaka. God bless you all! Thank you for continuing to support the work financially. Without you, we could not do what we are doing!!

Sitting with him in my overwhelmedness...
Laurie

Feb 13th - Amazing weekend!!

Wow! What can I say??

We did our 2nd Saturday School in Kabuna this weekend. The team from Hesperia (Bill, Ray, Kristi, Susan, Rich, Lisa, Haley and Brandi), along with Pastor John Kamanzi (the Foursquare country supervisor) went with us. The last Saturday School (an outreach to unchurched kids) in Kabuna was in December and we had over 300. So this time we expected about 400. We had enough snacks and materials for 500. You can see the game we played in the picture. We had 2 teams and a very large blow up globe (thanks to whoever sent this one - it worked great for this outing!). They had to sit on their bottoms and hit only with their hands and try to keep it in the air. It was fun and crazy! Lots of dust (it's the dry season) as they wiggled around to get it. The kids loved it!

I kept thinking, this seems like we must have 500-600 kids. We all just rolled with it. We split the kids into 2 groups so both could be in the shade of a large mango tree for the story and songs - they couldn't all fit under one tree. I just about lost my voice trying to sing loud enough just for my group and I kept thinking how hard it is to sing loud enough for 250 kids to learn a song.

The Hesperia team was doing the story in one area, then we switched places and I did the songs and games in the other area while they did the story in mine. It was hectic and I kept thinking...well, you know by now...this seems like we must have 500-600 kids.

So, then, we lined them up for snacks and juice (we had enough for 520 kids). We thought we might have to go get more biscuits for the maybe 80 more kids. Then we began handing out the biscuits while Rogers went to get the extra biscuits. We had 2 lines - you can see a part of one line in the picture - and I asked someone to go and count how many more biscuits we needed, expecting possibly 100 more. So, the first person came back and said we needed 140 more. Wow - way more than I thought. I called Rogers and told him to get more. But just as that person was telling me, another came and said, "But in my line we need an additional 183!" Okay, now we have 313 more we need. Called Rogers again. Now, we are at 833 kids. I'm totally floored, as is Rogers (who bought out the trading centers around Kabuna of all their biscuits!). But then another person comes and says, "In my line we just need 367 more." WHAT???? Are you sure you're not counting the same kids??? No - there are 3 lines and mine needs 367 more! I call Rogers again and both of us are speechless!

Have you added it up yet?? We had 1,200 children on Saturday. And not enough snacks...for juice they each got about 1/4 of a cup of the koolaid and had to share cups (we only have 300!). No wonder it felt so big and difficult to communicate!!!

The Hesperia team was wonderful...as were the Ugandans helping us. We were all amazed when we realized how many children we had just shared the Gospel with. WOW, GOD!

If you have fb - go and see the video I posted of the kids running to greet us as we drove to the site. It was overwhelming (but, of course we had no idea there were over 1,000 kids!).

I think everything else I could share with you right now pales in comparison with this...maybe next week I can share all the other amazing things God is doing...but I'm kinda stuck on this one right now. Please stop and praise God with us for these 1200. Isn't He amazing how He does things so far beyond what we can imagine??

I love you all - thank you for praying for me, for Cornerstone, for our kids and for all these kids we get to touch. God bless you today. Have fun rejoicing with us. You all are a part of the reason we can do Saturday School in Kabuna. It's like you were right there with us.
Laurie