Jul 16th Update

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Hey, Everyone!

Sorry there was no email last Monday – the internet has been so slow lately and after 20 minutes of waiting for 2 emails to go through, I realized this was not the day to send pictures and emails. Apparently a cable in the ocean was cut or came apart (or whatever they do) and so last Friday there was no internet for all of Uganda for some hours, and then it is slow. But, I have to tell you that the internet has been slow so many times in my 6 months here, that I’m sure that cannot be the only reason. As I write this email, it is Thursday, July 15, and I am hoping to get the email out tomorrow, Friday, when I go to Mbale to spend the night (Friday night LOUD prayer service is tomorrow at the church across the street).

The pictures this week are of 1) Oliver’s teeth. When the kids came to us, many had never used a toothbrush. The result of this are teeth like you see. These kids often are in pain from the decay and we treat the infections that come and the pain, but the root cause we cannot treat. There are dentists here, but their ability to treat is minimal. They are not trained as they are in the States. We are praying and asking the Lord about how to help these kids and have felt that perhaps the Lord will send over some dentists from the States to at least begin the process of treating the children’s decay. If any of you have any ideas of dentists or dental assistants who might be interested in this kind of ministry, let me know.

The 2nd picture is one I took this morning of the boys playing a kind of Chinese jump rope game. But it’s done with a rope, not an elastic band. They were having a ball doing it. The boys whose faces you can see are, from the left, Dovico and Barthlomew. They were doing this during their recess in the morning. By the way, in the background on the top right side, is the roof of our "kitchen" which has been taken off while the owners add to their buildings. See the rest of the story about this in a couple more paragraphs below.

I’m sure you all have gotten the news about the bombs that went off in Kampala on Sunday night during the final game of the Football (soccer) World Cup. Many of you have already either written or texted to make sure I was okay. Thank you for being concerned. I actually was in Kampala and was across the street from the Rugby Club in Lugogo where 2 of the bombs went off, killing more than 50 people at that location. I was there for several hours on Saturday, the day before the bombing. I also was in a bus on my way back to Budaka and went right by the Rugby Club about 4 hours before the bombs exploded. Then, yesterday I read that there was an unexploded bomb found in Makindye, about ½ mile from where I was staying for the weekend. It’s all very sobering, as I’m sure you can imagine. (Update on Friday: yesterday there was a bomb scare in Mbale, where we go every week - someone left a parcel in a bank and they evacuated everything within 2 blocks, called in the army, etc.)

It’s given us a good chance to learn and teach about fear and faith at the church – I taught last night. Many people are scared to do anything, go anywhere, etc. I’m sure all you Americans remember how this feels from our experience only 9 years ago. There are many stories coming out about what al Qaeda is now planning, etc. One of the places they have said they are targeting is Mbale, which is city we go every Monday for shopping and to use the internet. We, obviously, will be careful and will listen to the Lord regarding our plans, but we will not just sit in fear and do nothing. I have shared all of this to ask you to pray for us for safety and the ability to keep functioning in the midst of fear of what might happen.

The 2nd thing is a much lighter subject. The people who own the building the orphanage is in have come in and are finishing the 6 rooms that are across from where our kids sleep. This means we have many workmen, supplies, etc. all over the small yard we use. As a matter of fact, if you look in the picture with the boys, you will see in the background on the right the roof of our kitchen area that they have taken down in order to finish off that “room.” We will still be able to use it as a kitchen for the balance of our rental agreement (through December of this year). We are figuring they will want to raise our rent now that they are more rooms available. This is common for buildings here – another reason we want to be able to buy our own land and build our own buildings. When we can do that, we will have upkeep costs, but no rental costs that continue rising.

If any of you have ideas or words from the Lord about how we can raise the money to acquire our own land and buildings, let me know. We currently have about $2,200 in that account from the art sale at ECC and a couple of individual contributions. The amount needed is about $175,000 to buy 8 acres and construct the orphanage and school buildings. (The orphanage will be large enough to house 100 orphans and their caretakers, and the school to accommodate 200 students, including our orphans.)

Okay, enough stuff for today. I trust that all of you are doing well. Thanks so much for the emails to keep me in touch with how everything is in your families and your lives. I love hearing it!

Thank you to all of you who help in supporting these kids. We thank God for you, as do the children. (I also use you in examples with the kids. For instance, when we find they have been writing on the walls, tearing their blankets, or some such thing, I will ask them if they think you who are sponsoring them would be happy to know that they are destroying property, costing the ministry money. They always hang their heads in shame and say no. And, things get better for a couple of days, then we start all over with it…ah, children. The same everywhere, eh?)

So, thank you for all your support and prayer. I am so glad to be partnering with you in the ministry in Budaka. May the Lord continue to bless you and reward you for your faithfulness in praying and giving.

In His great love,

Laurie