Mar 22nd Update

Click to enlarge

Greetings, my friends in America!
I hope all is well with you and your families. We are doing well here in Uganda. Actually, I'm doing great today - it is raining and the temperature is way down in the 70s! My kind of weather...The Ugandans are freezing, of course. You will see from the picture I sent that the children wear sweaters - we had them made a couple of weeks ago - something like $100 for 22 sweaters to be hand knit. Anyway, the kids can wear them when it is "cold."
If you are at BAMM, ECC or Vancouver Friends, your church has received, or will soon receive, a video from Rogers and I telling you how things are going here. Also, Dina Poulin has been here for the past 2 weeks and has just returned to the States. She has many many pictures. I also sent pictures with her to Abby, who can send you some if you would like.
I sent some Ugandan batiks home with Dina and they will be framed (thanks, Toni!) and then be available for sale through ECC. This is one of the revenue streams we are trying out. Contact the church office there in Hillsboro if you are interested and not at that church. These are not made by the kids - we'll be able to teach the children some traditional crafts like mat and basket weaving soon, but not yet - but by Ugandan artists. They are Ugandan life scenes. I sent several different color schemes - hope something fits for you!
Thanks to all of you who sent a return email last week - it's so good to hear from you and to know at least some of what is happening in your lives.
I spoke at church yesterday about working in the Kingdom of God and asked people to come forward in response - it was touching to see 10 people come forward to recommit themselves to working with the King in His kingdom. We had 66 people yesterday - we've just about maxed out our room we rented. We'll see what is next...Easter is in 2 weeks, and we are praying for many unsaved to come and hear the Gospel.
The kids are doing great - sicknesses here and there...pink eye was running through them last week - but overall everyone is doing well. The kids are becoming very much like a family, fights and all :-). Good thing I've had a little experience working with kids...
We are buying a sewing machine (thanks to a family from ECC) soon and will begin either teaching some of the older children to sew, or renting the machine as another revenue stream. I'll let you know as we go.
We are looking at propane ovens this week to see the feasibility of buying and using one to begin making breads, etc., that we could sell in Budaka. I am excited that we might have some good bread - they only have 1 kind here - no taste. We would hire someone to go and sell the bread to homes (huts) and businesses and see if people want something new. BTW, we can't advertise in a traditional way as there is a 60-75% illiteracy rate in Budaka.
We were able to buy a speaker and microphones for the church this past weekend and so the Word is going out in a louder way. It is one of the only ways to "advertise" the church to people around. Young people in Uganda (up through their 30s) are drawn to music and sound systems...who knew? Several came yesterday to see what was up. Thanks to Dina who convinced me this was a good purchase. My ears will never be the same :-)
Thanks to all of you who are praying, giving, sending emails and/or calling. I feel your support here and praise the Lord that we are in this together. God bless you.
Laurie