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