Sunday, June 22, 2008

Uganda Update


The team made it back to NW Arkansas yesterday evening. The kids and I were excited to pick Karen up at the airport and she and the team were happy to get home! I'm posting some of her photos linked below.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Uganda update for Friday

I talked to Karen on the phone a few hours ago and they were at the Airport in Entebbe getting ready to board the plane. They have one stop in Kenya and then they fly to Belgium and layover a few hours then on to Chicago and then home. They arrive tomorrow at 5pm CDT. The kids and I can't wait to get her back home!!!! more tomorrow after she gets here.

db

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Uganda Update, Thursday, June 19, 2008


From: Chris Thornton
To: ckthorn@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 3:14:13 PM
Subject: Thursday

Our last day of service.... The team was spilt up today as the clinic and childrens outreach teams went to IDP camp Koch Chorom and a 4 person team went to witness and share at the village Opit.

From the reports the clinic and outreach went very good. About 220 patients were seen. Again many were not able to be seen. It was very hot and difficult today, but the team gave of themselves as usual and were a witness for Christ.

In Opit we spent 2 and a half hours doing hut to hut evangelism. We shared why we were there and invited them to the crusade in 2 teams. We then held a service in the UMC church there pastored by Titus. The church is held under a large tree in the middle of the village. The childrens choir sang and led worship and then Jody and Karen shared their testimony. Daphne and I and Jody and Karen then prayed with people. It was a great time. People coming to be prayed for. We literally got down into it today. Kneeling in the dirt with children all around. This was mainly children with a few adults as most of the adults were in the fields tending their gardens. A local team from the UMC is going back to Opit tomorrow to continue to support Pastor Titus and share the gospel.

It was a long, hot, and tiring day. But was a good day. People were helped. The gospel was preached. People were prayed for and God was given the glory. Our time here has been good. A lot of work to be done, but we will be back to Uganda.

Tomorrow we have morning devotions at the World Vision Child Soldier Rehab Center with the staff. Jody is leading it. I am really looking forward to affirming and encouraging these wonderful brothers and sisters for their work.

We will get to spend some time in the local market as some downtime and then our flight leaves Gulu international airport at 2pm for Entebbe. The Brickeys and Libby will leave with Pastor Edward, who is meeting us in Entebbe, to go to Jinja to serve his ministry for 2 weeks. And the rest of us will fly to Kenya and Belgium at 8:40pm Uganda time. I will email Kysia when we arrive in. Belgium. It will be good to see Pastor Edward again. He is a wonderful man. Our hosts in Gulu - Rev David, Paul, and Dr Moses - are wonderful as well. The church in Uganda has incredible leadership. They need our support.

We have a 5 hour layover in Belgium and the team is looking forward to some different food!!!

We thank you for your prayers. The separation of the team went well and God blessed both groups today.

Safe travels tomorrow for us and continued blessings to our families. We cannot wait to see you!!!

As a side note.... Dewey Dykes has officially become the most popar person ever in Gulu town with small children. They are the future and they are asking him to run for mayor. Their slogan for him is DEWEEEEEEE

I cannot wait for you all to see the pics. And for your family member to share their experience..

Tallk to you soon. Good night.

Crt


Uganda, Wed., June 18 Update


Powerful day. We were to spend the day in the camp of Koch Lii, but had some trouble this morning. On the way there our bus broke down. It put us 3 hrs behind schedule. We only had the clinic from 1pm till 4:30pm. The sad thing is if we had been there all day the docs could have seen everyone. being late frustrated the tem and distracted us some. We felt under attack and we were. The only thing to explain it. We prayed while waiting on the side of the road and once we got back to town. Karen pulled jody aside during the clinic and aid something did not feel right. They prayed and things began to so smoother. We realized that the bus broke down on the same part of the road that is stalled on yesterday. Yeah... Spiritual attack. People were disappointed again when they could not be seen. And the camp leadership promised the people all would be seen which did not help. Koch lii is a smaller camp the Koch Goma, but the needs are the same.

Through grace and prayer we worked and supported each other. And God was glorified. Many people asked the pastors and I in the prayer room about Christ. The children’s team did another outstanding job.

The docs and pharmacy teams were awesome today. Effecient, smooth, organized, kind, and graceful. They saw 160 some people in half the time. God provides.

Once mike Adelman was the man. He handled crowd control with grace, organization, and humor. It is not easy to tell people to line up and deliver news that they will not see the doctor. He is an inspiration to me.

Tonight after dinner we had a team meeting and got the opportunity to share about each team member. It was a special time. I cannot tell you how wonderful this team has been. They are supportive, encouraging, helpful, hard working, and just plain awesome. it has been my honor to serve and support with them. I am blessed to have spent this time with them.

You should each be proud of your family member. It is not easy to do this for them or. you. They have missed you and been the hands and feet of Christ to a place that is not easy to be. This is definitely outside the comfort zone, but they have blessed me. Wow. I cannot say enough. God is doing a great work in them.

Tomorrow the team is split up. 4 go to the village of Opit to share the gospel and pray. And the clinic is set up in Kock Chorom. It will be a long day. We need prayers for strength as the team is spilt up. Be with the clinic as they minister. And be with the team in opit as they share and pray. Neing apart will be different as the enemy will use this to distract us. As a team we are there for each other. Apart we will need an extra measure of grace and prayer to do the work. God calls us to do.

Some of the team is still sick. Getting better, but still need healing. Dewey was bitten by the Ugandan Tetsi fly and could now have African sleeping sickness. We are watching him to make sure he stays awake at all times!!! [Of course he is fine. He did get bit by something, but it was not the dreaded tetsi fly. We keep telling him it was, but..... Humor has been an important part of this trip]

Good night to our friends and family. Our work, this trip, is almost done here. We look forward to seeing you. Please keep us prayed up.

Talk to you soon.

Crt

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Uganda Update, Tuesday, June 17 in Gulu


Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:11:25 PM
Subject: Tuesday in Koch Goma

Praise God for He is good and answers prayer!!

Today was an excellent day. As you know we were unsure how it would go in the camps due to the situation from the war. Well..... All prayers were answered.

First... Due to the relative stability the last 2 years a lot of people have left the camps to go home. There were still many people, but the numbers were managable. The doctors saw over 200 patients today and the process went smooth. We still could not see everyone and people went away disappointed, but great work was done. We worked on how to make the process better and God answered your and our prayers.

The pharmacy is a hopping place as it never slows down once the clinic starts. Daphane, sylvia, and pam were joined by dewey and charles to handle the volume. Great job by all. They helped each other and covered for bathroom breaks [this is a whole other email!!! It is interesting to go to the toilet as they say. Your families will fill you in. And I think we have pics!] And for water and food. No lunch today. We ate snacks and stayed hydrated.

Childrens ministry went very well. It was very hard and there were still a lot of kids. Keith, tamara, preston, and libby did fantastic. They were helped by dennis who was awesome. Dennis is a former child soldier abducted from his village. He spent 6 yrs in the rebel army. Both his parents were killed by the rebels. He has a 10 and 13 year old sibling and he works so they can go to school. He would like to go. Back to school someday, but now he is the only caretaker for them. This is the kind of stories you hear. Wonderful brother of Christ who is taking of his family and serving God. It was an honor to meet him and see him work with the kids.

Keith was awesome with the kids. He got them to call the hogs!!! And sing the figt song among others... He is an expert in blowing bubbles and is a killer balloon animal maker. He also shocked and awed them with his futbol skills!!!! Keith is a hero of mine as he gives of himself and does whatever is asked. He loves people and is always bringing a smile to the kids.

The prayer room was great today. I met many believers and got to pray for every single patient today. The needs and suffering can overwhelm me but when it was starting to be drained from all I saw and heard God brought someone to us that praised God even with sickness and sufferimg in their lives and the lives of their family. It was a great day.

The team is tired and hot and sore. Libby and preston got sick a little bit due to the sum today, but both are better. We have many on the team battling stomach issues and headaches. There was a nice breeze today that helped and we did well on water. Sore muscles and aching joints are also abundant. A lot of standing, bending over, kneelingn etc. Please pray for continued healing and rest and strength.

We go to kock lii tomorrow. This camp was smaller than koch goma last year, so all should go well again. Please keep praying for a smooth process, organization, healing, rest, supplies, and childrens ministry. The childrens ministry is so important and so tough. There are kids everywhere. You see 5 year olds carrying the infant sibling on their backs. Malnutrition. Rags for clothes. And great big smiles and laughtet. These children are incredible.

The children can be very aggressive during activites. You cannot give anything away as it turns to chaos. Older kids take things away from younger ones. They hit and beat others. It is heart breaking. So please pray for fun activities and stories, and grace. These children know war and suffering. We cannot expect them to be kind and polite. The smallest thing [empty water bottle, gum, balloon] is valued and treasured like gold because they have nothing. Pray for childrens team.

One last note...... As the team rumbles down dirt roads in a bus that has seen better days we have bonded. I mean gotten really cozy. In the sun. And heat. And I can say with confidence that at the end of the day we STINK!!! Some may tell you the did not, but trust me.... They did. And I am the chief. I can get down right rank. Nothing like 17 hot and sweaty muzungus riding in a bus with no air conditioning [thank goodness for windows] in the sun and heat and dust and dirt and fumes in africa to create a whole new smell!!! And we are no longer 17 white people. We are now 17 slightly reddish brown people. Don't be alarmed after our first couple of showers at home. They rust color is normal. It will go away... Eventually.

We are all looking forward to opening our our ugandan restaurant when we get back. NWA is ready for some posho, chapate bread, mangos, matooke with g nut sauce, cassava, rice amd beans, nile perch, and roasted goat!!!! Yummy!!!

I love the food, but you can tell we miss home.... The bus ride turned into what foods we miss. Chick fil a. Taco bell. BBQ. Cheeseburger and fries.

We miss you all. We are so thankful and appreciative of your prayers. We love you and cannot wait to share our stories and pics with you. God has been glorified by this team. It is my honor and I am blessed to have served with them.

But we are not done, so please keep up the prayers.

Good night and Shalom

Crt

Uganda update, Tuesday, Jun 17


Subject: Tuesday

We are heading to koch goma. Please be in prayer for us to seize the moments today. We will see a lot of suffering and poverty, but we also will see Christ. He is here and we will have opportunities to show grace and truth to people. Lord let us be your hands and feet.

Thank you for your prayers. We are looking forward to getting out and loving people.

We miss you all so very much, but we need to be focused on today.

God bless

Monday, June 16, 2008

Uganda update, Monday, June 16 in Gulu

Subject: Monday in Gulu

Well we arrived in Gulu today. It was a travel day for us as we drove the 2 hrs from Jinja to Entebbe. We flew to Gulu on a 19 passenger twin prop plane and landed safely at the Gulu International Airport. [Tongue is firmly in cheek]

Our hosts were waiting for us. Rev David, Paul Lakuna, Dr. Moses, and Pastor Titus and Soloman are all with the United Methodist Church.

We got situated in our hotels and went to visit the World Vision Children of War Rehabilitation center. This is a special place for me. I first heard about the war and the child soliders from an article about the center in a World Vision magazine. We got a chance to tour the center and met with the director Mark. Mark is a hero of mine. How he does what he does all day with love, grace, hope, faith, and humor I will never know. He invited us to come join the staff on friday morning [the day we head home] for devotions and to share. This is very exciting as we will get a chance to encourage the workers. We found out that Pastor Titus, who is one of our hosts, was once at the center after being rescued. He is going to share his story with us while we are here.

We also got to see the land where the UMC in Gulu purchased land for a training center and guest house. This was funded by Central. They plan to use the guest house to generate money to be put back into the ministry. And the training center will house their office and they will train pastors for churches in the villages. Very cool day for sure.

Here is our plan for our time in Gulu:

Tomorrow [tuesday] we will be setting up a clinic and child outreach in the IDP camp of Kock Goma. We will be there all day. This is a camp we visited last year.

Wednesday we will be setting up a clinic in the IDP camp of Kock Lii. Jody, Keith, and I are excited with this because on the scouting trip last year a man said we would never be back. We hope he is still there.

Thursday we will be spilt up for most of the day. A clinic will be set up at IDP camp Kock Chorom all day and one team will go to the village of Opit which we visited last year. They will be sharing the gospel and praying with people. This village is where our host Pastor Titus leads a church.

On friday we will have devotions and share with the staff of World Vision and do some shopping in the market and our plane leaves Gulu for Entebbe at 2pm. We arrive in Entebbe at 3pm and meet Eastor Edward who has some of our bags!!! He will take Tamara, Charles, and Libby back to Jinja where they will spend 2 weeks with him in ministry and then they go to Tanzinia to spend time with Charles Wiggins and his wife. Please be in prayer for them as they minister.

The rest of them team will hang out with pastor edward until our plane leave for Nairobi, Kenya at 8:40pm. Them on to Brussels, Belgium where we have a 5 hour layover. Them on the Chicago and then home some time saturday night. Not sure of arrival time but will email that when I talk to Jody.

Not much excitement today. The bus got stuck at the site of the land purchase, but it got out without too much work.

We are excited to be here, but we request prayer. Many on the team are physcially sick and need some healing. Sinus and stomach issues. We need prayers for the childrens team. The estimate are 200 kids at each camp. They are a little overwhelmed. We will have 2 Ugandan doctors seeing patients at each clinic in addition to our team, so prayers for the phamarcy as this can get bottle necked. Also pray all goes smoothly. It is a little more desparate in Gulu; We do not have enough time, doctors and medicines to see every person that comes.

Also... Some of the team would like to send out messages to family to have your cell phones ready. We have purchased 2 cell phones here and they will be calling to talk because we all miss our families!! [I am supposed to make sure and give a big hint hint to Aprils husband].

We appreciate and love you all. Thank you for letting us come and minister. And thank you for your support and prayers. We need them to finish strong in this good work.

Another prayer request..... Plenty of water. We have struggled with adequate water each day. It is hot and we are working long days.

Talk to you tomorrow. Time for sleep.

Shalom

Crt

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Uganda, Sunday, June 15, 2008

Subject: Sunday

What a wonderful day!!!! The team needed a day like this after 2 intense days of clinics. Very refreshing and uplifting.

We started off by going to His Mercy Church out side of Jinja. This is Pastor Edwards church. The place was packed!!! Wait till you see the pics. The building is a wooden shell with a metal roof. He needs a new building which will also be a school and a community center. This is a prayer request for the team. We got to hear the choir sing, the childrens choir sing, a bible study, and each team member introduced themselves and shared a few words. Jody brought the message and many people came to faith in Jesus. The team then prayed for people and spent time with the people. We were there for three hours and as we left they kept church going!!! African church services are very active. The singing invloves dancing and movement. I love church in Uganda.

Karen shared her testimony this morning as well and let me say she rocked it. She was nervous, but we prayed for her and she just shared from the heart. It was powerful and uplifting. I heard pastor edward complement her later. It was truly a wonderfl time.

We then went to some local tourist spots. We first went to the Bujagali falls which are amazing. The pics don't do it justice, but God knows how to create a natural beauty. It was here that we also got to encounter a truly epic international encounter. We had our group photo in front of the falls with Kim Jong IL II, the communist leader of north korea. I know it seems crazy, wait till you see the pic. It was him and he was drinking a pepsi and his group jumped right into our photo. It was great. You have to see the picture to understand. Wild to say the least.

We also went to the source of the nile river which is just cool. To see the start of the longest river in africa with so much biblical history is a great benefit.

We then we to a village about an hour outside of jinja for a mini crusade. Pastor edward's organization runs a school here for orphans which we got to see and tour. A muslim man approached the ladies and said he wanted to become a christain and jody, edward, and sunny witnessed to him and he says he has committed to Christ. Wow. At the crusade there were around 600 people. We heard a choir and a childrens choir sing. Due to time jody shared and many people came to faith. The people were open and welcoming. Just like all the places we go. Lovely people.

On the way home we got to stop and visit edwards father and stepmom at their home. This was special as we were able to affirm how we feel about edward to his dad. Very special time.

While it was a long day it was a good day. The team needed this to prepared for our trip to gulu tomorrow.

Please pray for us in gulu. We really do not know what to expect. The situation is so dire due to the war. The camps are depressing and it is going to be tough. Please pray for things to run smoothly. Supplies to stay full. Rest and comfort for the team. Strength for the team as they work on patients. Organization for the child outreach team. They may have a great and trying time in the camps with so many kids.

Everyone is anxious and excited. We are trusting God.

We do not have our program yet, but as soon as I get it I will email it out so you know where we are to be for prayers.

Thank you so much for the prayers. We are sustained because of you. The covering is felt for sure.

Goodnight and talk to you tomorrow.

Shalom

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Uganda, Saturday, June 14. 2008

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Chris Thornton
To: ckthorn@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2008 3:24:17 PM
Subject: Saturday is over

Another incredible day. Powerful and tough. The doctors saw another 180 people today. It was a full day of clinics. The hard part was we could not see everyone. The people today were ones who could not be seen yesterday and still more people came when they heard a doctor was in the village. A lot of people were sent away disappointed and the team struggles with that, but we are trying to realize we cannot do it all. We can only do our part and let God do the rest. It is still tough. Crowd control got crazy a few times today as people kept trying to sneak in and cut in line and plead their case as to why they should see the doctor. Mike was a rock as always. I got to pray for him today for a few minutes to help sustain him. I loved being able to do that. He has been wonderful.

Our pharmacy ladies are still going strong. They continue to take care of all patients with grace and love. They always point out special needs so the prayer team can pray for them. They need rest and strength please.

April needs sleep. She has been awesome assisting the doctors, but she os having trouble sleeping. Rest for her.

The child outreach team was fantastic today. I saw the largest game of duck duck goose I have ever seen!! Balloon animals were a surprise hit with kids and adults!! Preston, libby, and tamara are really treating the children well.

The construction team painted 2 schools rooms over the last 2 days. They have done anything asked of them even helping separate medicines to help the pharmacy. Charles, dewey, and keith need rest and relaxation tonight.

Dr cross and fossy continue to go the extra mile. We were supposed to end at 2pm today, but they stayed till 6pm to see everyone who had been promised to see the doctor. Just awesome.

Sunny is fast becoming every child and parents best freind. She has assited the docs amd helped child evangelism. She even began to provide shampoo and tooth brushes and paste to some young women and mothers today.

Karen moved to assisting the docs today and her experience was a huge help to dr fossey. Karen is a huge blessing.

No more adventures for me today. I went to town with pastor edward again but in a car. We bought some bibles and I went with him to visit an elderly church member in the hospital. I am tired and beat up spiritually and physically. The prayer room is great and hard. So many needs and issues. I have made 8 trips on the roads in the last 2 days. Ugandan roads are not the best. I have been bumped and thrown a lot. I am tired of riding in a vehicle!!!

Tomorrow is church, the crusade, and some local toursit spots for relaxation. Please pray everyone gets rest tonight. All are tired after 2 long full days.

Happy fathers day to all our dads out there. To our kids... We miss you and love you!

Monday we leave for gulu. Please pray for the following:

Supplies to stay full
Rest and sleep
Sickness to go away
The team would be ready to pray and be a blessing to the villagers tomorrow

Thank you to all of you. We could not be doing this without prayer support.

Talk to you soon. Good night.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Uganda Update closing out Fri, June 13

From Chris Thornton:

Wow.... What a day today!!! The first clinic is done and while tough all went well.

I believe the doctors saw around 200 people today. The process was chaotic at times, but the team is flexible and trusting on God and He has provided.

Tamara is better and will be able to go out with us tomorrow!!

Libby got dehydrated today and was sick the afternoon. Please pray that she feels better and can join us again. It is very hot and lots of sunshine. We were low on water today, but do not plan on that happening again.

Children’s outreach was great though overwhelming for the team. The sheer numbers of kids was a lot to handle. The team was planning tonight for tomorrow and again being flexible. They are just playing and helping and loving the kids. Pray for them to find strength. The laughter and smiles I saw told the story. And bubbles are a big hit!!

Mike Adelman is the best crowd person I have ever worked with!!! He was taking care of people. Giving and receiving high fives. He was grace and love in action.

The pharmacy ladies are tired!! They were busy from start to finish. It was hopping and they handled themselves wonderfully. Pam, Daphne, and Sylvia are my heroes. They were strong, kind, loving, organized, and just awesome. They need rest though. Sylvia needs prayers for her back tonight.

April and sunny assisted the docs and were a wonderful complement. They stepped up and just did what needed to be done.

The docs are just blessings. Both Dr. Cross and Dr. Fossey were focused and treated people like people. Great work they did today.

Our construction is half way done with their project. They even stepped in to take photos, fill vitamins bags, move furniture, and whatever needed to be done.

Saturday is the same as today. We go back to the village of Lubani and set up the clinic with the construction team and children’s outreach. Please pray for the following:

Rest tonight
God to multiply the supplies like the loaves and fish
The process to run smooth
God to be glorified
Relationships to be formed
Strength and wisdom for the team

Thank you all..... We feel each prayer. While today was crazy it got done, our hosts were so very thankful, and people received physical relief along with spiritual healing.

Talk to you tomorrow night.

Oh yeah.... My motorcycle adventure was awesome!!! I was scared, but it was thrilling and something that can only be down in Africa.

God bless,

Crt

Uganda update for Friday, June 13

From Chris Thornton:

Subject: Uganda Friday 13

Prayer request are listed within. Please also pray that our group will not be overwhelmed with the need, but lean solely upon Christ.

First thing in morning
Tamara is sick and unable to go out with us today. Prayers for healing.

Libby Haney is heading up child outreach is Tamara's absence. Preston, Sunny, and Karen are helping in this team.

Sylvia is heading up pharmacy team with Daphane and Pam

Dewey, Keith, and Charles are heading up the construction team to paint a school

Mike Adelman is head of crowd control

Dr cross and Fossey are treating patients

April is assisting the doctors

Jody and I are in the prayer room

The excitement is high.... The team is ready to go out and love the people

Talk to you soon

Thank you for the prayers

Special message from Pam to Palmer - "I Love you!" (Palmer e-mail her back even if it is through me, sweetie. I'm not sure which address you are staying right now)

Four hours later…
This is insane..... It is controlled chaos with needs everywhere. Children are everywhere and the team, while stressed a little seems to be doing well. More to come later.... I am off to buy more medicines and 100 mosquito nets to hand out.

The doctors are being the hands and feet of Christ and the pharmacy ladies are incredibile. April is a machine helping people.

Mike has the crowd control down with grace and love for the people.

The construction team is just getting started. More later.

The child outreach team is rocking it. Bubbles are a huge hit!!!!

I am about to ride 10 miles on the back of a motorcycyle to town with pastor Edward and a local doctor. More on this adventure later!!!!

Two hours after that…
Talk about an African adventure all for me!!

I rode as the third person on the back of a motorcycle 10 miles to jinja from the village of lubani where we are set up for the day. I went to buy additional medicines the doctors need as well as 100 mosquito nets we will hand out to families to combat malaria.

2 Africans and a muzungu (white person) flying down a dirt rode in Uganda.... Had to be a sight. I loved it!!!!

Headed back now to eat lunch, at 2:45pm, and continue the clinic the rest of the day.

Not sure how the rest of the team is yet. Will update tonight.

Keep prayers going for organization, rest tonight, supplies to not run out early, and grace to be on the team. It is crazy in the clinic, but everyone seems to really be out there serving and giving of themselves.

Prayer room is awesome to have the opportunity to pray for healing and blessing in peoples lives.

We are flying down a dirt road back to the village in a car. Picked it up in town...... Would have loved to ride the motorcycle back!!!! Not sure how fast we are going as the speedometer does not work......

Keep up the prayers!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Uganda update #2 directly from Chris Thornton's blackberry

This message was typed on a blackberry by a tired missionary. Please excuse the typos.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Chris Thornton
To: ckthorn@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:41:36 PM
Subject: Thursday

What a crazy day.... We were late getting to jinja due to the money issue..... By the way they ended up giving us $200 to much!! So we are going to return it next week when we fly to gulu....

Today was a PR day. We arrived in jinja and got our rooms. We spent a little time at a house for single mothers and widows with HIV\AIDS. This is run by the evangelizing sisters of mary in partnership with cyorf. Wonderful time with them. We are going back tomorrow for a few minutes as well.

We also spent time with the cyorf board and discussed some future needs and they thanked us for the support we have provided so far. Very grateful.

We them had a visit to a housing project cyorf is working on. They build new perm houses for widows and we got to see one under construction. $2,500 for a brick house.

Them we had a meeting with the vice chairman of jinja district. He is equal to the governor of arkansas. He thanked us for our support of cyorf and is providing us a guard during our stay to protect the medical supplies. This was a big deal for us to meet with him.

We have eaten and sorted the supplies and are ready for the clinics and the construction projects tomorrow.

We met another group of 56 from all over the states doing medical, construction, evangelizing, etc in jinja. They are staying on our hotel.

That is all for now..... The team is getting along very well and bonding. Everyone is excited to get started tomorrow.

More to come later..... Thank you for the prayers. We are felling them.

I love you. Talk to you soon.

Crt

Uganda update #1 for today from Kysia Thornton

Psalm 120:1 "In my distress I cried unto the Lord and he heard me."


The team got to work today. Before going into Jinja though they had to exchange their money. They were shorted by $1000 and had to go back through the process again when they realized it. Chris said, "The Holy Spirit guided us through and everything worked out." Thank you for all who are praying for the team out there. I believe
this "guiding" to be a result from your prayers.

The team is closing in for the evening in Jinja. They have hired widows from CYORF to prepare their meals while in Jinja. Tomorrow (tonight for us) they will hold another medical clinic and hold Discipleship classes. In the Evening (Our mid to late morning Friday) they will hold a Mini-gospel Crusade.

Special prayers:

For Tamara as she leads the children's ministry programs.

Jody as he leads the Discipleship classes.

Prayers for empowering the whole team to be able to express God's grace and be bold with their faith.

The younger members of our team Sunny, Preston, Dewey and Libby we pray for special wisdom and safety as they work alongside the team. That they would carry "a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7) in their testimonies.
The people of Jinja and the surrounding villages to be open to God's call on their hearts.

Thanks so much!

Kysia

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Uganda Mission Trip



I thought I'd post an update for those who follow Karen's blog. Today Karen left with a group from our church, Central UMC, on a medical mission trip to Uganda. This mission is headed up by Jody Farrell & Chris Thornton who have been active with Worldvision and CYORF helping the people and children of Uganda. This is an exciting trip and Karen is thrilled to be able to go and help out! As you may guess, her health is good and she is doing well. We are going to miss her greatly over the next 11 days!

They will be traveling from Arkansas to Chicago to Brussels to Entebbe and finally ending up in Jinja, Uganda tomorrow. Their plans are to work in Jinja and then travel north to Gulu and work there toward the end of their trip.



Please pray for their safe travels and that they will have a positive physical and spiritual impact on the people and children of Uganda. I will post the update emails I receive on this blog so you can check back in on their progress. Here is the first update from Kysia Thornton:
--------------
Psalm 34:3- Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.

The Mission Team for Uganda is heading out. They will fly from XNA to Chicago to Brussels to Entebbe then into Jinja, Uganda. They will arrive in Jinja ready to work by Thursday. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and that their hearts will be prepared upon arrival to begin their work in both medical clinics and community projects.

Our Team members are Jody Farrell, Chris Thornton, Keith Hoggard, Dewey Dykes, Mike Adelman, Karen Blasingame, Carol Fossey, Michael Cross, Sunny Cross, Pamela Hays, April Steeps, Preston Thibodaux, Sylvia Wulf, Charles Brickey, Tamara Brickey, Daphne Wright, and Libby Haney.

"Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then said I, "Here I am; send me."" (Isaiah 6:8)

Kysia Thornton
-----------------



Thanks! Daniel Blasingame, daniel.blasingame@nominum.com