Sept 5th - Monday update

Greetings, Friends!

It's been awhile since I have sent out a regular Monday email - thanks to all of you who have written, wondering if everything is okay. Yes, we are okay! We had the team from Sunnyside Foursquare with us for the past 2 weeks, so didn't have time to make it to Mbale regularly. The team was such a blessing!! Here are some highlights:

• 10 people came to do camps in Kabuna and Budaka with 100 children and 113 respectively. (I have included a picture of the Budaka camp - the kids are eating their breakfast (porridge and a piece of bread) inside Soul Harvest Church - a building that is connected to our kitchen and play area. I have also included a picture of the team on their way home when we visited the equator.
• They stayed in the other side of our house during their time in Budaka, so were close for getting ready for camps, worshiping together, talking and playing games. (Thanks, Jordan, for loving Scrabble!!)
• Their leaders (Ric and Chris) were wonderful. Thanks, guys!
• All 10 either taught in church, shared their testimony for the church and/or worked with the kids in Sunday School...on both Sundays they were here. 1/2 even went to another church in Budaka and did the same things.
• They brought all the things we were unable to bring in our luggage the last time. Such a blessing for our kids, the school, the church. It was like Christmas, opening all those suitcases. Thanks to all of you who contributed stuff to our kids, the restaurant and the school. We are overwhelmed!
• All 10 of you made the experience of having a team a great one!! 

A couple of other things that are happening:

• We have received enough VIA for about 3 months. Thank you so much to all of you who have sent some - even got another 2 packages from Evergreen today! Every morning that I have coffee, I think about all of you and your great kindness to get us a little taste of home - some of you even remembered that sometimes we drink decaf. Very cool! Thank you.
• We had 115 adults in church last week and 110 kids! It maxes out the 2 rooms (well, for America, they would have been maxed long ago, but in Uganda, if you can fit another chair or mat in, you have room. No fire restrictions here!!) The kids' room is about 30'x30', the adult room is not quite double that size, 30'x50'. 
• School began today - 3rd (and last) term this year. A little more than 1/2 of the kids showed up - pretty normal for the first day in Ugandan schools.
• We harvested the maize from our field and should get about 30 100kg sacks to use and sell. As many of you know, this is one of the revenue sources we began in order to support the Cornerstone work. 
• We will be buying 200 chicks in the next week to raise for laying eggs - another revenue source.
• Inflation has hit 21.4% here in Uganda. Please pray for those in the church as this cuts their buying power by 1/4! Many are having to choose between important necessities like soap, more than one meal a day, etc. (This hits us at the orphanage and school as well: posho, one of our staple foods for the kids, has risen from Shs110,000=/ in November 2010 to Shs170,000=/ today. We go through 100kg in 1 1/2 weeks.) Please pray as we see our way forward with God in charge!
• The business man who owns the property we are in for the orphanage and school has just given us a letter (last week) saying he is raising our rent by 50% in 2012. There is no way this fits within our budget, so we are asking the Lord to give us money to build the buildings on the land we have acquired. We have the architect's work done and are waiting for the money now to be able to build. Please pray that these funds will be available in enough time to build before January. If you know of someone who might be interested in giving toward this special project, please have them contact me. We still need about $170,000 to have our kids' home and the school rooms built. My God owns the cattle on a thousand hills - I'm asking Him to sell a few...Will you join me?

I love you all so much...and as always, could keep going and going, but let me put a comma in my stories. I'd love to hear from you! Thank you for your continued prayer and financial support. We are working hard to have the businesses support the ministry - our goal of being self-supporting in 2 years culminates in January. I don't think we will be totally there, but we are definitely on our way! Thank you for continuing to support as we head to our goal.

God bless you!

Laurie