Monday, April 14, 2008 - continued
After finishing my blog, I walked back to the guest house and Barbara had just returned from Kampala with the families. The legal process went very well and faster than usual but the final ruling will not be available until Thursday. If it goes as expected, the process continues with passports and final paperwork before the children can leave Uganda.
Once the families returned, it was determined that the children can now move out of the orphanage and move in with the families at the guest house. Mandy and the families got the children and now they will not go back to the orphanage except for one last time to say goodbye just before they leave. So, we had children sounds in the guest house. The children has responded well with their new Mommies and Daddies.
We had a good dinner at the guest house and this is the first time the children joined us. Now there are 14 of us staying at the house. After dinner, we sat around and watched as the families got to know each other better. We decided to go to our room and relax and read before going to sleep.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Today will be packed with a lot of activities. Up for breakfast at 7:30 and wash day. Barbara did a load of wash (this involves washing the clothes in a small sink and hand rinsing and then hanging them up on a clothesline inside a room). After the wash was done, we headed to the orphanage. We fi
nally got to unpack our final bag.....this is the one that had all the clothes from the church. It was impressive once they were stacked on the bed to see the amount of clothes that was donated from our congregation......THANKS A BUNCH, TCT!
Barbara headed to the kitchen to mix up a couple of cakes for a party this afternoon. One of the children was having a birthday - Ben, a AIDS child. It took awhile for the cake to bake as the oven was not as hot as should have been. We also set up a DVD projector that Luke and Mandy brought over for the village ministries. It worked well and the teams will be able to go to the villages and show christian movies to draw the crowds and then minister to them. We headed to the Source for lunch (The Source is a good restaurant, Internet cafe and gift shop in town). Once we returned back at the orphanage, Barbara iced the cakes and the children was shown into the dining area for the birthday party. It was great. The children had cake and gummy bears. They really enjoyed the eating.....It is only a special occasion where they get something like this. Of course, Ben was the center of attention. It is tradition that a the honored one wears a small paper crown. Ben had his crown.
I made another one from balloons and gave it to him later....He liked wearing it....and grinned very big once he looked in a mirror and saw himself.
After the party, all of us, with the families, headed to a place on the Nile River called the Bujagali Falls.
This is a place that has rapid that are classified as level 3-5 for white water rafting. It was impressive. We even got to see one of the locals go through the level 5 rapids with a kayak. The Nile is amazing....even at the source, the Nile is very wide and runs swift. This is where the Nile starts and ends at the Mediterranean Sea 4,000 miles later. Later this week, we will go to the the actual source and beginning of the Nile River.
After we left, we stopped by the Seminary where Jose and Sol works. It is a school where local pastors get further education using some of the Assembly of God materials. It is a beautiful school and facilities.
We arrived back at the guest home and had a dinner of talapia, pasta, cabbage and veggies. A very good meal. Luke and I walked to the orphanage and retrieved a laptop so I could update my blog here at the guest house (put the information on a flash drive to go to the Internet later). This will make things easier.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Today will be a new adventure. We had an early breakfast so we could be at the Home to meet with a ministry team. We are going to a village. Some of the team was late but we had to leave to catch the boat and not everyone went with us. Barbara and I plus Luke, Russell and Tallat went with Josephine and Perez to meet Pastor Timothy and his ministry team to cross a small inlet of Lake Victoria. This small inlet took us an hour and a half to cross! The boat is a small fishing boat that is about 4 feet wide and 20 feet long and with 2 x 4 planks to sit on. The boat was long and narrow so it could cut through the water easily. The water was calm so the boat ride was pleasant. We had thought that it was going to be only 15-20 minutes.
Once we arrived, we were met at the shore by a few adults and lots of kids. This is a very poor village of about 800 people. 
We walked through the village to the school and saw a lot of kids...most dressed in tatters and some without clothes. The children didn't know what to think about us.
They were friendly but a little hesitant. However, once Josephine got out the bubble mix and started blowing bubbles, they warmed up and was very loving. This was a traditional (in my opinion) African village with mud huts with grass roofs. Some of their clothes were drying on the roof and some clothes were drying on the ground. We left the school and headed to the church building. This building was partially constructed by funds from Welcome Home Ministries. As a side note: Mandy believes in helping the people in the villages as well as caring for the children in the Orphanage. Once we arrived at the church, the children had all run ahead of us and was seated very quietly on mats waiting for us. We had around 20-30 adults in the church also. The school teacher/administrator was the master of ceremonies as we started a brief (or so we thought) program.
<---Pastor and Police Chief (seated) Everyone, of any importance in the village, was at the meeting. We had the Police Chief, the LC1 - the highest government official, the BMU official - local government official that works to catch illegal fishing, and the Pastor of the church. Each of these official had at least one underling with them. Each official was introduced and had a statement. Then we were introduced and each of us greeted the village. When Luke and Tallat shared, they gave a short message. In between the speeches, we had songs and dances from the school children. We also had a solo from one of girls in the school. 
We also had a solo from one of the worship leaders. Then we had a performance from the church choir. After all this was done, they then said that we would hear from the man of God (Tallat) with a message. (He had already given a message). So, as any evangelist, he had another sermon ready. He spoke for another 20-30 minutes with physical illustrations - he is very good at getting people involved in his sermons....keeping their interest. After he finished, we had another performance from the school children. By now, we were starting to be weary in our backsides from sitting so long. Some of the officials were starting to leave discretely. Next, we had a woman start preaching (we found out later that she was a pastor from another village and came to see us). 
She finally finished and at this time, we had been in the meeting for over three hours. We finally got to stretch our legs as they were bringing in the food. We got to visit with the Police Chief and the Pastor. The Pastor was very appreciative of the work and help from Mandy. Through her ministry, the church had a corrugated tin roof to keep the weather out. The Police Chief told us that not only does he and his four deputies keep peace for the 800 villagers but also for another 1200 people in the area. He says most of his problems involve too much drinking and the resulting fighting. There was a lot of food but all of the official came back to eat so there was not wasted food. We had talapia, chicken, rice, matoke (smashed bananas), sweet potatoes, beans, posha (corn meal mush) and a couple of other things that I didn't know. BUT it was all very good. And, it was their best. After lunch, I went over to a hut where they had a 
gasoline/diesel engine that ground their flour. They gave me a short demonstration. This village had a well in the center of town there they all came to pump their water. Everywhere, children was going to and fro carrying water on their heads or taking flour home. The children were now very warm to us and everywhere we went, they were always around. They loved to have their picture taken. And they loved having video of them. My video camera's screen can be reversed so they can see themselves as I video them. 
By this time, it was approaching 3pm and we started to go to the shoreline to get in our boat. We received a big farewell from the villagers. This trip is one of the highlights so far. We have been impressed with how Mandy and Luke have ministered to the surrounding communities. The village was very poor but the people were loving and friendly and so thankful for what they had. We will forever remember these people and especially the children. At least, we know what to expect on the return trip or so we thought. As in each afternoon, the wind comes up and we were traveling against the wind. The boat cut thought the waves OK but the spray from the waves got most of us wet. Barbara and I did not have a hat so we sat under an umbrella shielding us from the sun and the water spray. After sitting for over 3 hours in the meeting and now sitting on the small 2 x 4 plank for 1 and 1/2 hours plus, our behinds were hurting. But it was all worth it....the experience of seeing the village. On the way back, we stopped at another village to for a couple of the ministry team to leave the boat. We finally arrived Jinja and Mandy was waiting for us. By the time we arrived, it was time to go to the guest house to eat. Again, we had good food to eat. It was a full day and by the time we got to bed, we were all exhausted and ready to sleep.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Up for breakfast and ready to go. Luke, Russell and Tallat left to meet Pastor Timothy for another boat ride (this time - 2 hours in a little bigger boat) to another village to minister. Barbara and I decided to stay at the Home to help Mandy. Barbara went to help in the preemie house and I worked on the computer. Mandy and Luke have found a local man that is knowledgeable about computers, phones and Internet. They will be hooking up a connection that will be as fast as the local Internet cafes in town. This will be easier for them to communicate from the US.
This catches you up through midday on Thursday.
Love all
DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara
Mema & Papa
After finishing my blog, I walked back to the guest house and Barbara had just returned from Kampala with the families. The legal process went very well and faster than usual but the final ruling will not be available until Thursday. If it goes as expected, the process continues with passports and final paperwork before the children can leave Uganda.
Once the families returned, it was determined that the children can now move out of the orphanage and move in with the families at the guest house. Mandy and the families got the children and now they will not go back to the orphanage except for one last time to say goodbye just before they leave. So, we had children sounds in the guest house. The children has responded well with their new Mommies and Daddies.
We had a good dinner at the guest house and this is the first time the children joined us. Now there are 14 of us staying at the house. After dinner, we sat around and watched as the families got to know each other better. We decided to go to our room and relax and read before going to sleep.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Today will be packed with a lot of activities. Up for breakfast at 7:30 and wash day. Barbara did a load of wash (this involves washing the clothes in a small sink and hand rinsing and then hanging them up on a clothesline inside a room). After the wash was done, we headed to the orphanage. We fi
nally got to unpack our final bag.....this is the one that had all the clothes from the church. It was impressive once they were stacked on the bed to see the amount of clothes that was donated from our congregation......THANKS A BUNCH, TCT!
Barbara headed to the kitchen to mix up a couple of cakes for a party this afternoon. One of the children was having a birthday - Ben, a AIDS child. It took awhile for the cake to bake as the oven was not as hot as should have been. We also set up a DVD projector that Luke and Mandy brought over for the village ministries. It worked well and the teams will be able to go to the villages and show christian movies to draw the crowds and then minister to them. We headed to the Source for lunch (The Source is a good restaurant, Internet cafe and gift shop in town). Once we returned back at the orphanage, Barbara iced the cakes and the children was shown into the dining area for the birthday party. It was great. The children had cake and gummy bears. They really enjoyed the eating.....It is only a special occasion where they get something like this. Of course, Ben was the center of attention. It is tradition that a the honored one wears a small paper crown. Ben had his crown.
I made another one from balloons and gave it to him later....He liked wearing it....and grinned very big once he looked in a mirror and saw himself.
After the party, all of us, with the families, headed to a place on the Nile River called the Bujagali Falls.
This is a place that has rapid that are classified as level 3-5 for white water rafting. It was impressive. We even got to see one of the locals go through the level 5 rapids with a kayak. The Nile is amazing....even at the source, the Nile is very wide and runs swift. This is where the Nile starts and ends at the Mediterranean Sea 4,000 miles later. Later this week, we will go to the the actual source and beginning of the Nile River.
After we left, we stopped by the Seminary where Jose and Sol works. It is a school where local pastors get further education using some of the Assembly of God materials. It is a beautiful school and facilities.We arrived back at the guest home and had a dinner of talapia, pasta, cabbage and veggies. A very good meal. Luke and I walked to the orphanage and retrieved a laptop so I could update my blog here at the guest house (put the information on a flash drive to go to the Internet later). This will make things easier.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Today will be a new adventure. We had an early breakfast so we could be at the Home to meet with a ministry team. We are going to a village. Some of the team was late but we had to leave to catch the boat and not everyone went with us. Barbara and I plus Luke, Russell and Tallat went with Josephine and Perez to meet Pastor Timothy and his ministry team to cross a small inlet of Lake Victoria. This small inlet took us an hour and a half to cross! The boat is a small fishing boat that is about 4 feet wide and 20 feet long and with 2 x 4 planks to sit on. The boat was long and narrow so it could cut through the water easily. The water was calm so the boat ride was pleasant. We had thought that it was going to be only 15-20 minutes.
Once we arrived, we were met at the shore by a few adults and lots of kids. This is a very poor village of about 800 people. 
We walked through the village to the school and saw a lot of kids...most dressed in tatters and some without clothes. The children didn't know what to think about us.
They were friendly but a little hesitant. However, once Josephine got out the bubble mix and started blowing bubbles, they warmed up and was very loving. This was a traditional (in my opinion) African village with mud huts with grass roofs. Some of their clothes were drying on the roof and some clothes were drying on the ground. We left the school and headed to the church building. This building was partially constructed by funds from Welcome Home Ministries. As a side note: Mandy believes in helping the people in the villages as well as caring for the children in the Orphanage. Once we arrived at the church, the children had all run ahead of us and was seated very quietly on mats waiting for us. We had around 20-30 adults in the church also. The school teacher/administrator was the master of ceremonies as we started a brief (or so we thought) program.
<---Pastor and Police Chief (seated) Everyone, of any importance in the village, was at the meeting. We had the Police Chief, the LC1 - the highest government official, the BMU official - local government official that works to catch illegal fishing, and the Pastor of the church. Each of these official had at least one underling with them. Each official was introduced and had a statement. Then we were introduced and each of us greeted the village. When Luke and Tallat shared, they gave a short message. In between the speeches, we had songs and dances from the school children. We also had a solo from one of girls in the school. 
We also had a solo from one of the worship leaders. Then we had a performance from the church choir. After all this was done, they then said that we would hear from the man of God (Tallat) with a message. (He had already given a message). So, as any evangelist, he had another sermon ready. He spoke for another 20-30 minutes with physical illustrations - he is very good at getting people involved in his sermons....keeping their interest. After he finished, we had another performance from the school children. By now, we were starting to be weary in our backsides from sitting so long. Some of the officials were starting to leave discretely. Next, we had a woman start preaching (we found out later that she was a pastor from another village and came to see us). 
She finally finished and at this time, we had been in the meeting for over three hours. We finally got to stretch our legs as they were bringing in the food. We got to visit with the Police Chief and the Pastor. The Pastor was very appreciative of the work and help from Mandy. Through her ministry, the church had a corrugated tin roof to keep the weather out. The Police Chief told us that not only does he and his four deputies keep peace for the 800 villagers but also for another 1200 people in the area. He says most of his problems involve too much drinking and the resulting fighting. There was a lot of food but all of the official came back to eat so there was not wasted food. We had talapia, chicken, rice, matoke (smashed bananas), sweet potatoes, beans, posha (corn meal mush) and a couple of other things that I didn't know. BUT it was all very good. And, it was their best. After lunch, I went over to a hut where they had a 
gasoline/diesel engine that ground their flour. They gave me a short demonstration. This village had a well in the center of town there they all came to pump their water. Everywhere, children was going to and fro carrying water on their heads or taking flour home. The children were now very warm to us and everywhere we went, they were always around. They loved to have their picture taken. And they loved having video of them. My video camera's screen can be reversed so they can see themselves as I video them. 
By this time, it was approaching 3pm and we started to go to the shoreline to get in our boat. We received a big farewell from the villagers. This trip is one of the highlights so far. We have been impressed with how Mandy and Luke have ministered to the surrounding communities. The village was very poor but the people were loving and friendly and so thankful for what they had. We will forever remember these people and especially the children. At least, we know what to expect on the return trip or so we thought. As in each afternoon, the wind comes up and we were traveling against the wind. The boat cut thought the waves OK but the spray from the waves got most of us wet. Barbara and I did not have a hat so we sat under an umbrella shielding us from the sun and the water spray. After sitting for over 3 hours in the meeting and now sitting on the small 2 x 4 plank for 1 and 1/2 hours plus, our behinds were hurting. But it was all worth it....the experience of seeing the village. On the way back, we stopped at another village to for a couple of the ministry team to leave the boat. We finally arrived Jinja and Mandy was waiting for us. By the time we arrived, it was time to go to the guest house to eat. Again, we had good food to eat. It was a full day and by the time we got to bed, we were all exhausted and ready to sleep. Thursday, April 17, 2008
Up for breakfast and ready to go. Luke, Russell and Tallat left to meet Pastor Timothy for another boat ride (this time - 2 hours in a little bigger boat) to another village to minister. Barbara and I decided to stay at the Home to help Mandy. Barbara went to help in the preemie house and I worked on the computer. Mandy and Luke have found a local man that is knowledgeable about computers, phones and Internet. They will be hooking up a connection that will be as fast as the local Internet cafes in town. This will be easier for them to communicate from the US.
This catches you up through midday on Thursday.
Love all
DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara
Mema & Papa
posted by Jerry Northcutt @ 5:26 AM
1 Comments:
At 4:34 PM,
Unknown said…
Wow! Very exciting. I know we will all want to hear about everything when you return. When you said you and Barbara were in the boat coming back I could picture the old movie "The African Queen". Can't you just see it?
Jaime
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