As I lay in this bed at Hotel Africana with about 3 hours of sleep ahead of me (and zero sleep behind me) I cannot help but reflect on this journey so far....:
Our flights were very rushed due to a delay during the first leg which meant we were rushing to board before the gate closed on every flight that followed. Luckily, we made our flights and landed safe and sound in Entebbe. Although our bodies made it, our baggage did not. So we are left with what we packed in our carry-ons, which for me meant....nothing. I at least had deodorant and a good attitude so those count for something! During the baggage delay fiasco we met a woman named Dallas. She was so nervous her hands were shaking as it was her first trip to Uganda, she was traveling alone, and she could not get a hold of her friends. With the help of the team and Bishop Charles she was able to get her phone working with Uganda's network and we invited her on our bus to ride with and to stay at the hotel in Kampala where she can call her friend the next day. To say she was thankful is an understatement. Through this I learned that no matter the situation in life, God always takes care of us. We just have to find Him, whether that’s in the friendly face of a stranger or the reassurance that Charles’s wife will loan this bum a skirt for church tomorrow ; ). Worrying is just the enemy’s way of putting doubt in our hearts against our good, good Father. Tomorrow (actually in just a couple hours) we head to Jinja for the beginning of this leadership trip and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for this team under the watchful eye of our Lord.
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Kelly TurntineAs we sit at the airport I can’t help but ask myself this question which has been floating around my brain for the past couple months. If you told me one year ago that I would be working for Hearts & Hope I would have laughed in your face saying things like “never” and “only in my dreams”. However, God sure does love to take our “nevers” and turn them into “realities”. I’ve just been pinching myself the whole time anyway.
Hearts & Hope is thrilled to announce that we have a new member of our team - Kelly Turntine! Kelly has accepted a full-time position with Hearts & Hope as the US Business Development & Marketing Lead. Reporting to the Executive Director, Kelly will have overall responsibility for marketing and business development to support the mission of Hearts & Hope. In this role, Kelly will be focused on leading our mission trips to Uganda and developing, implementing, and coordinating all aspects of fundraising and identifying new partners in the US. Kelly is a passionate supporter of our mission in Uganda and many of you may have already met her on one of our mission trips or at one of our events where she has worked as a volunteer. Kelly first got involved with Hearts & Hope in 2015 when she sponsored two students, one in Butangala and the other in Kainagoga, and then joined us on a mission trip in June of 2016. Since then, Kelly has been moved to sponsor five students in all - 2 in Kamuli, 1 in Butangala, 1 in Kainagoga, and 1 in Nakabango! She has also joined us on numerous mission trips since 2016. Most recently, Kelly volunteered in Uganda this summer with another organization. Kelly lived there for 2 months, helping teachers in a primary school and also used her free time to venture into the slums of Kampala to help the poor families living there. Kelly is a registered nurse and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. Her experience serving others, dealing with people of all backgrounds, and dealing with sensitive situations will serve her well. After Kelly's first mission trip with Hearts & Hope, she shifted from full-time to contract-based nursing in order to provide her with the flexibility to travel to Uganda. Her experience traveling and living in Uganda will also give her a unique perspective to share with everyone she meets. But most importantly, her contagious love, excitement, and passion for the kids of Uganda will help us to further our mission in Uganda. Here's Kelly sharing why she fell in love with Uganda and decided to answer the call to join Hearts & Hope: "I've always known there was immense poverty in the world, fundamental needs that were not being met - education being at the top of the list. When I first traveled to Uganda with Hearts & Hope I actually saw this need with my own eyes and a seed was planted in my soul. A seed of love, passion, and yearning to help these fellow brothers and sisters. I am humbled and overjoyed to have the opportunity to be a part of the organization that introduced me to the people of Uganda. With the help of friends, sponsors, and donors I will strive to educate more students, inspire more minds, and change more lives. I thank you all in advance for your kind welcome and support." We are so thrilled to have Kelly join our team! Kelly had already committed to help as a volunteer with our Party With a Purpose event, so if you're joining us on Saturday, 8/25 you'll have the chance to meet her in person! God's Blessings! Todd Larkin Executive Director & Co-Founder This was my 6th trip to Uganda. Each time I go I leave there with a full heart. Full of love, full of sadness, full of hope, full of awe..full of so many feelings. But, this trip will hold a special place in my heart. On this trip I got to see our work, our trips, our love, and how it has made a real difference. I have never doubted that by traveling there and spending time with the kids and ladies that it is time well spent and that we are truly being the hands and feet of God, but this time I have 100% clarity on the mission. To explain this, I have to go back to my very first trip to Uganda. On this trip, there was a day nearing the end that we went to the town of Jinja and had lunch in a little cafe and did some souvenir shopping. As I sat at the table eating lunch, I saw Pastor Schlie go sit on some steps on the side of the store next door. Next thing I know, he is talking to a “street” kid. This little boy had a smile from ear to ear as he tried to overcome the language barrier and communicate with this funny Mzungu. This “street” kid was Abraham. He also had a buddy - Ashraf. These two boys became a part of our hearts that day (especially Pastor Schlie and the Bishop in Uganda - Pastor Bameka.) Over the next few years, we started working with them, putting them in school, boarding them and trying to get them off the street. It was not always easy. Growing up on the streets lends itself to many bad habits that are hard to break. But we never gave up on them. They had many people praying and supporting them. Fast forward to this trip. I sat in a village in a dilapidated structure that they call church/school. If you have never been to church in Uganda, well, you need to settle in. The services are long and hot. So, I sat there singing and enjoying the service when I realized it was time for Baptisms. This is something they do a lot when they know there will be a mission team in the service. I watched the babies being brought to the front and then I saw him, one of our “street” boys going up to be baptized. As if that was not enough, there were confirmations after that and both boys were also confirmed. I can tell you that I bawled like a baby at this. To see full circle how far these boys have come made my heart so full of joy! Their names are now written in the book of life. I will someday walk with them down streets of gold, praising the same Heavenly Father. THESE BOYS ARE GOING TO HEAVEN!! Two boys who were living on the streets in cardboard boxes just stood before me declaring my God as their God. If mission teams accomplish nothing else in Uganda (which I know won’t be the case) we have been the hands and feet of God to these two boys. We have loved them and many more. God led them to us and allowed us to be part of their lives. So, this trip was special. I still tear up when I picture those boys coming forward. My mind flashes back to that day years ago. God is Good. He knew these boys needed Pastor Schlie and Pastor Bameka in their lives. I thank God that he let me be a witness to what good we can be. He let me know that being his hands and feet really does make a difference. I will forever be grateful for him allowing me to travel to Uganda People in my generation often travel to "find themselves." We talk about living our truth, discovering our passions, and spiritual awakening as if Instagramming ourselves in Bali for a week will really profoundly change us on some unknowable level. Admittedly, I can be one of those people - endlessly fascinated with "getting to know myself" through Myers Briggs tests, self help books, and adventure. But Uganda was a different type of travel - that, for once, wasn't about me. I had done a lot of work in the weeks and months prior to our trip prayerfully considering what God was calling me to do and how He could impact the lives of others through me. During that time, I was at a crossroads in my life - personally, professionally, and spiritually. So I prayed for Him to reveal His presence, to show me who I truly was and who He wanted me to be. Even though I was excited for our trip, I wasn't really sure what role I'd play in Uganda. I worried about the fact that I don't consider myself a kid person. I don't have the overwhelming urge to pinch babies cheeks like some of my friends do, and my mothering instinct has definitely not kicked in yet, considering sometimes I forget to feed my cat. I also identify as an introvert - I love people, but I need my alone time to recharge and gain energy for my day. Knowing alone time is fairly sparse in Uganda, I was concerned about how I'd handle all of that togetherness. When we arrived in our first village in Kainagoga, as kids tugged on my arms in a dusty field in the hot sun, my first feeling was pure panic. My introvert and not-a-kid-person identities were in full alert mode, and I had a sudden longing to find a shady spot where I could take a few deep breaths, alone. And then, as many of God's answers do, His response to my prayer came simply. I looked into the face of the girl that was clinging to my pointer finger and smiling shyly at me, and I felt a sense of divine peace. I knew in that moment that holding the hand of a little girl in an oversized, dirty t-shirt was all that mattered - because my identity is not this amorphous thing that I must seek to discover. If I want to know who I am, I just have to look to Christ - and strive to be his hands and feet alive in this world today. So for the rest of the week, I just gave it to Him. I trusted Him to reveal how He wanted to me to spend my time with those kids, and not worry about the "roles" I was playing or the carefully crafted plans that I needed to execute. I set aside my control-freak identity and grabbed a parachute to play made-up games with 100 kids in a field. I laid down my alone-time and privacy-seeking persona to intentionally seek out community. I found myself, the professed not-a-kid-person, sitting in the dirt holding a baby named Geoffrey and not caring that I was imminently going to be peed on. Our God is a God of disrupting plans. Of breaking down preconceived notions and biases and self doubt, and building all things new. Of asking us to set aside our quest for personal fulfillment and self identity, and instead look to him, our Creator. Sometimes you just have to grab a parachute, smile, and say "let's go" to a 100 screaming Ugandan children. Sometimes you just have to look to God, say "you've got this," and keep forging ahead into beautiful chaos. In Uganda, I didn't find myself - but when I looked, I found Him. And that's more than I could ever ask for. I expected to just ‘watch’ and ‘see’ a lot of thinks in Uganda with Hearts & Hope. Prior to leaving on our trip, I selfishly did not want to get too connected to what I was doing or experiencing because I did not want to be overly impacted. When we arrived at our first village school, I was amazed by what should be obvious, children are children no matter where in the world you are. They are funny, shy, happy, and sad. I was humbled by how happy they were to see someone come to visit them. Before long it became clear that these children had true joy and their needs were as simple as those of all children; they just wanted to spend time with someone, hold someone’s hand, play and laugh with someone. I was humbled by how much the adults that made up the villages and schools gave their visitors. They gave us food that they could not afford to give away, and they gave it to us abundantly and with smiles. The greetings we received and the activities we participated in at the schools and villages allow you to understand how important we all can be to each other, if we listen to what God has put in our hearts, and allow ourselves to be. One morning, prior to us leaving for a village, one of our team members provided a devotional based on a book she had read. In the book a mother described one of her children that played with their trash. While the mother felt it was indeed trash, the child found it to be something different and found joy in playing and creating with it. Later that afternoon, we visited the home of a young boy (Moses). Moses had a goiter removed from his neck during the course of 2017, benefiting from people listening to God and doing His work through Hearts & Hope. As we walked toward Moses’ house we saw the following that he had made: I believe that God, our Father, works everything together for the good of His children and pays incredible attention to all details. Our visit with the children and people of Uganda allowed us to pay attention to some details. It allowed us to understand that God’s love, generosity, loving kindness and hope are manifest in each of us. It is a choice that we all make, every day, to reveal God’s love to each other.
This is my third trip to Uganda which has quickly become my happy place. The place I go to in my mind when I'm feeling sad, mad, or just plain bored. It constantly grounds me and enables me to appreciate my abundant blessings. The past few trip posts I've written were full of examples of the many ways Uganda has made me a better person and enriched my life. last time I even mustered up the creativity to form these feelings into a poem. This time however, I'm going to explain the ways Uganda has made my life worse. First of all, it has opened my eyes to the true meaning of poverty, the haunting suffering that doesn't only exist in newspaper articles and TV commercials and the suffering that doesn't just happen to the "bad guys" of the world. It happens to kids, babies even, and truly God-fearing people who seem to never stop trying to better their lives. Uganda has given me a face, many beautiful faces in fact, that now represent this issue personally. This has forced me to ask questions to God that maybe I don't want him to answer. The obvious question being 'why?'. I find myself asking God, Why do you allow all this poverty, war, and suffering to happen in this world to such innocence? Can't you do something? Perhaps He is responding to me with the same question. He says, "Kelly, I have given you the answer, you.... you are my body, you are my hands and you are my feet." God created us to help and care for one another and maybe the realization that we as a human race aren't doing our job is just too uncomfortable an answer for me to accept. The second way Uganda has made my life worse is because it has ruined many major holidays... Halloween, for example. I can no longer take my nieces and nephews trick or treating without seeing the faces of my kids in Uganda and wondering how much fun they would be having, if only... Watching kids gets bellyaches because they ate too many Reeses and wondering how many empty bellies are aching from no dinner on the other side of the world. I can no longer handle aspects of American Christmas when I recall that Santa Claus, jewelry or the newest iPhone have nothing to do with the birth of Christ and this consumerist waste of resources could be doing so much good for others. You see, Uganda has in some sense ruined me, but through the ruins I am slowing being rebuilt. Rebuilt into a human being who will be and will do better for the world and for my brothers and sisters at home and abroad. Thank you, Uganda, for being the key to my soul's renovation. -Kelly On our last day at the Sunset, I’m eating a full breakfast of cheese pizza, watermelon, and toast, while watching a nature documentary with our four servers. We’ll miss this place!
We fit a lot into a relatively short amount of time in Butangala yesterday. Butangala is a partner village of Hearts and Hope, but doesn’t yet have a permanent structure - so our packet-giving-out system was tested! We were still able to give out the packets in record time, and to spend some time with the kids helping them open them and read their letters from their sponsors. Butangala has an amazing dance, singing, and drama program, and we loved watching the kids perform for us! Richard, who is now a member of the Hearts and Hope staff, used to be the headmaster at this school - he’s credited with the success of the fine arts programs. We watched several dances and songs, as well as a poem about health and the importance of handwashing. This warmed our hearts, since we recently installed a new hand washing station near the latrine in Butangala. Julie was also able to announce that Butangala’s partner congregation, Immanuel Wentzville, had raised enough funds to being construction on a semi-permanent structure in the village. As you can imagine, this was met with much celebration! We had a good amount of free time for playing with the kids yesterday, which is always a blessing. More than any other village, this one includes many children who do not go to school - so we loved giving them some special attention and love while playing with the parachute and frisbees, and doing three-legged races. Since this was our last sponsored village, we had lots of supplies left over from our activities - so we used some of them to draw pictures with the women of the village. They are some of the most hardworking and loving people in the world, and they always appreciate when we can spend some time with them. The village sponsorship assistant of Butangala helped us pass out paper and markers to draw pictures of their homes. We let them choose if they would like us to take them with them or give them to us, so we received some beautiful artwork that we assured them will be displayed prominently in the US! In this village, we were able to do two home visits to sponsored kids’ homes. Often, this is a heartbreaking but important part of our village visits that helps us understand more about the daily lives of the students. We visited Bataganya Moses’ and Nangobi Prossy’s home, as well as Nambi Angela’s. Their guardians and parents were proud to greet us and show us their homes, kitchens, latrines, and gardens. We were also presented with a jackfruit, which has proven to be a polarizing taste among the team! From Butangala, we headed to the Hearts and Hope soccer match! A crowd of kiddos surrounded us while we sat near the pitch, and we gave them hugs and covered them with shiny stickers while we watched the game. It's amazing how much it means to kids to receive some undivided attention and be able to sit on a lap for just an hour. Today, we’ll stop by Kainagoga for an hour or two before heading back to Kampala. The week has simultaneously gone very fast and very slow. We’re grateful to be able to have some time in the next few days to decompress and reflect on what we’ve seen and experienced. Jessica Stroder ~ Mission Team Member Good morning from our last full day at the Sunset! We got to visit two villages yesterday, both in the Kamuli district. Pastor Schlie offered a devotion to start the day, and shared a verse from Romans 8: The resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Dad?” This was a sentiment we carried throughout the afternoon - asking God to guide us in what he wants us to see, do, and experience, and feel, in constant conversation with him. What a powerful reminder of why we’re here and why we’re doing what we’re doing. First up yesterday was the village of Kamuli, a community that we’ve partnered with for several years now. We were so impressed with the dancing program we received in their school building! Terry, Rooney, Kelly, and Toni were even selected to join along - what a treat. Next, we handed out sponsor packets, bags, and picture frames for the activity. Violet did a countdown to when the kids were allowed to open their packets, and there were nothing but smiles as they pulled out their letters, cards, and toys from their sponsors. One thing that warms our hearts is seeing kids share what they received with their friends. Often, we’ll see students look through photos from their sponsors, and then pass them around so everyone else can take a look. Two girls in the back row of the school enjoyed coating each other’s faces with the stickers from their packets. These small gestures are just one example of the relational and community nature of the people of Uganda. At dinner, we asked Mariah and Violet more about the huge, warm welcomes we receive from each village. They said children are taught that they must be hospitable and kind to everyone, even strangers, and are taught good manners and how to greet visitors warmly from a young age. They found it hard to believe that in the US, if we have guests in our homes, they typically only stay for a few days - and sometimes we’re ready for them to leave sooner! In Uganda, if you visit your relatives or friends, it’s rude to only stay for an hour - you must stay the whole day, and they would prefer if you stayed for a month! When it comes to kindness, friendship, and community, we are seeing that we have a lot to learn from the people of Uganda. As the day went on, we also enjoyed spending some time with a few of the secondary school students. We distributed small notecards for them to write a message to their sponsors on, and they took this task very seriously. Several of the students took out their letters from their sponsors to make sure they answered each question thoroughly. We did a few crafts with the kids, and after lunch, presented some library books and new Kamuli school shirts to the staff. Lunch in the village was absolutely delicious - homemade potato chips were a favorite among the team! We wrapped up a little earlier than usual to head to our next village in Namwemwe. This village doesn’t have an official partner, but does have a borehole well that was purchased through Party with a Purpose in 2016. The well was dedicated last year, and many team members noticed the marked improvement in the health of the children because they now receive clean water. We fit a lot into the hour and a half we were able to spend with the people of Namwendwa! We loved holding the many little babies of the village while the head pastor offered a devotion, and the choir sang a welcome song. About the time we started painting faces, a storm hit - which clearly showed the community’s need for a more permanent structure. It was mass chaos as the team, the women, men, children, and even chickens of the village huddled together, dodging the rain coming in from the sides and through holes in the roof. Despite the rain, face painting was still a success, and we went through the faces of about 100 kids in a record-breaking 20 minutes. Some of the kids are a bit confused about what we are doing and why we’re painting suns on their foreheads - but the fun for many of them is just getting some undivided attention for a while. We presented some tote bags to the women, and purchased some crafts from them before heading back to the Sunset to clean up. We loved getting to head to the All Friends Restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious - but the star of the show was really NIcholas’ baby boy, Austin. We can’t believe it’s our last night at the Sunset tonight after Butangala! We’re looking forward to the day, but it’s bittersweet knowing it’s our last village. Jessica Stroder - mission team member Good morning from Uganda! What a great day in Nakabango. This is always such a special day, especially for the members of the team from Messiah.
Each morning of our trip, we set aside time with the team to reflect on what we’ve seen and experienced, and to hear a devotion to help set our minds and hearts for the day. Julie shared a moment from the day before that can only be described as a “God thing.” Before breakfast on Sunday morning, Jessica was chatting with another mission team that was staying at the Sunset. They shared that part of the work they were doing was handing out Days for Girls kits, which provide washable supplies for women so that they can still go to school while they’re menstruating. This is an organization that Hearts and Hope has also been involved in - we handed out several kits to women on our February trip, and Layet Dorothy in Nakabango is a trained educator for the program. Julie asked them about their work with Days for Girls later on in breakfast, and they shared that they’d been praying for guidance because they were almost out of kits. It so happens that Hearts and Hope had 70 kits stored in their office, just waiting for an opportunity to be distributed. We’re bringing the kits to the team later today. Suffice it to say that there were many hugs, tears, and thanks to God for this small miracle. Our day in Nakabango began, as usual, with a wonderful welcome from the kids and women of the village. We received a tour of the community, which included the school and church buildings and various income-driving projects like a piggery, carpentry shop, and the catering company. The caterers were inspiring to many of us - they were able to purchase new plates and new uniforms with money they’ve raised from their work. This self-sustaining model, where income is used to make their business better, is something we hope to replicate with other projects. A little girl named Patricia is always a constant on our trips to Uganda. Patricia has a developmental disability that makes her very small, even though she is twelve, and has a hard time expressing herself verbally. Most of the time we’re in the Nakabango, her feet barely touch the ground because of all the time she spends in the arms of team members. The best way to describe Patricia is “a hoot,” and we loved spending time with her. Programming, including songs, speeches, and poems, followed our tour. One of our favorite parts was the poem that the school choir recited about education. “Education, education, education. I am a policeman because of education. I am a doctor because of education. Education is the key to success.” School leaders presented a report of how the Nakabango Primary School students performed in 2017 - twenty-two of the twenty-three students who sat for their PLE entrance exams (to allow them into secondary school) were admitted, which is a huge deal! How exciting to see how far we’ve progressed since sponsoring Nakabango ten years ago. Three other mission team members join us today - Pastor Chuck Schlie, Rooney, and his wife Terry. They jumped right in, and we’re thrilled to have their gifts and see our team finally completed! Abraham, Dan, and Timothy Mark also joined us, and they’re always a huge help at organizing the kids and keeping the peace. Packets and crafts with the sponsored kids were next on the agenda. The team loves getting to sit with their sponsored kids and friends’ sponsored kids while they open their packets of small toys, letters, and photos. There are many secondary school kids that are sponsored in Nakabango, so it was a blessing to see them and talk to them about the gratitude they feel for their sponsors at home. One inspiring part of the day was reading with the P4 (fourth grade level) children in the library. We presented some books to them, and let them select a book to read to us. The team was really impressed with the high level of reading skill, and the kids enjoyed being able to show off their knowledge. At this point, the team feels that we could write a book about the fine art of face painting and giving out candy - we have it down to a science! We also closed out the day with the parachute, a presentation of soccer balls, and lots of hugs. We’re thankful for the time we were able to spend with the people of Nakabango yesterday, and are looking forward to two more villages today! We had an excellent Super Bowl party in Nairika yesterday! :) This was our first time in this village. It’s always a good perspective to see unsponsored villages and witness the work that’s still to be done in most of Uganda. Violet joined us today, so it was wonderful to be able to catch up with her and watch her at work in the village!
The kiddos in Nairika were super smart. Many were a bit apprehensive about the team until they warmed up to us, but once they did, it was nothing but love. As is typical, our numbers grew throughout the day. When we showed up there were around 25 kids - within a matter of an hour, there were close to 200. We had a great time playing games like duck, duck, goose and doing the hokey pokey, while showing a little bit of extra love to kids who lingered on the perimeters. Every member of the team fell in love with the sweetest baby in the world named Geoffrey. His sister - who must have been around 8, and hardly bigger than he was - was carrying him around, and we were happy to hold him for her for a while. What a joy to be able to show God’s love to the littlest of his kingdom. After a few hours of playing, we headed into their structure for the worship service. Most of the service, including the hymns, were in Lugandan. Karen was the star of the show when it came to pronouncing and singing the songs - Violet said that she could have been Ugandan! Pastor Schult preached, and Bishop Charles translated the sermon, the baptisms, and the confirmations. Speeches followed, where many of the community leaders urged the congregation to stay strong in the faith. It was clear that a more permanent structure for worship and classrooms were needed in order to serve the growing community effectively - and this was confirmed by these leaders. One of the most powerful parts of the service was seeing the six baptisms and twenty-six confirmations from the congregation - including Ashraf’s baptism, and Dan and Abraham’s confirmation. These three boys have been connected with Hearts and Hope for several years now, after living on the streets in Kampala. Julie served as Ashraf’s sponsor, which included choosing his Christian name on the fly. She chose “Timothy Mark” - and Ashraf has already changed his name to Timothy Mark Stroder on Facebook! We had about an hour for activities after the service and speeches, which included a lightning round of face painting, bracelet making, and coloring. Lunch is always a necessary part of our visits to villages, as this is a way the communities like to show their thanks and appreciation. We were all proud of newly-confirmed Abraham for offering our prayer in flawless English. If you would have told us Abraham would be praying over our meal a few years ago, we may not have believed you! After that, we had some time to say goodbye to the kids and give some new clothing to the little ones that were most in need. A presentation of soccer balls to the headmaster of the school was met with much excitement! Dan, Timothy Mark, and Abraham accompanied us back to the Sunset for a meal and entertained us with some dancing - what a treat! God was clearly at work in Nairika. We’re looking forward to a full day at Nakabango today! After a good night’s rest for most of us, it was time for the 3-hour bus ride to the village of Nalwire. This village is east of Jinja, where we stay, and is on the border between Uganda and Kenya. This was this team’s first exposure to the dusty red roads that Uganda is know for; the roads that provide an “African massage”! Pastor Paul and I couldn’t help but recall the good old days when that’s the only kind of road we traveled here. (Uphill, in a snowstorm?)
Pastor Nicholas who serves in Nalwire and his wife joined us on the bus ride. We also picked up two sweet girls that are special sponsorships in Iganda, who also joined us for the day. We arrived to find a throng of beautiful kids - and lots of adults. We enjoyed some dancing and reports from the head of the school and the church inside their small mud structure. Pastor Paul and Beth Schult serve at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Redwood City, California. Redeemer is partnering with this village through Hearts & Hope. What a thrill for them to see the new well that was funded by the generosity of their members! Life changing! They brought shirts for the Nalwire leaders from their friends at Redeemer. They were also able to present musical instruments to the church - a precious gift, especially in a community that expresses their joy through music so well. We made bracelets with the women and then enjoyed lunch. Afterwards, the parachute came out and the face-painting and tattoos began! The line never got shorter over the next hour but there were a lot of kids walking around beaming with a flower or soccer ball painted on their foreheads! All too soon it was time to climb back on the bus. We got back to the hotel after 7:00 and ordered dinner before heading to the shower. For the second night in a row, most of the team headed to their rooms before 10:00! We are looking forward to worshipping in a new village today - even our staff has never been there. It is sure to be a great experience. Photos to follow! What a productive day in Kainagoga! It was packed with activity, but even with all that we had to do, we were still able to enjoy plenty of precious moments with the kids and women. Being able to turn in early for the night was also a blessing so we can catch up on some sleep.
We began the morning at 9 am sharp - also known as 7 am Africa time, according to Nicholas! A two-hour ride from Hotel Africaana brought us to our home-away-from-home, the Sunset Hotel, where we took a quick pit stop before making our way to the village. I think we could see and hear the kids in Kainagoga a half mile before we even reached the school! We celebrated with singing and dancing programming from the students, parents, and even some of the staff! We toured the new Kainagoga library, and were able to present some new books to the teachers to add to it. Thirteen of the checked bags were full of packets for sponsored kids this year - that’s 650 pounds worth of letters, small toys, photos, and notebooks! We enjoyed handing out over one hundred of those packets in Kainagoga. As always, the most celebrated and treasured items are the letters and photos from their sponsors. And just like American kids, Ugandan children who received fidget spinners were enamored. Along with their packets, sponsored kids in the village received Hearts and Hope tote bags (always a hit!) and were able to decorate a picture frame and name card that will be sent back to their sponsors. After lunch, we participated in some activities with the women and guardians in the village. Paper bead making is a popular art and way of making income for women in Uganda, so we learned how to make the perfect beads out of calendar paper wrapped around a needle, glue, and resin. Mavis had to take a remedial course in bead-making from a few of the women, but after a few false starts, she rolled the perfect bead - which was met with celebration! Saying goodbye is always difficult, but knowing we’ll be back to the village on Thursday made this one a bit easier. Once we were back to the Sunset, we ate a quick dinner with the staff and with Pastor Schult and Beth. and turned in early to catch up on some sleep from our travel. We’re excited to hit the ground running in Nalwire today! Jessica Stroder - mission team member The latest Hearts & Hope mission team has arrived safely in Uganda! We pulled into the Hotel Africana around 12:45am - a little unsure of what morning it was, but today we have decided it is Friday!
We’ll be running on only a couple hours of sleep but adrenaline will push us through today. We are excited to be here and can’t wait to get to Kainagoga! Hoping to enjoy some time with a LOT of sponsored kids. We appreciate your prayers for safe travel! Another mission team is prepping for a trip to Uganda this week! Most of the team will leave this Wednesday, January 31st; three team members will leave on Saturday. The team has been busy packing - both their own personal bags and the supplies that will be used during the trip.
A primary focus of the trip will be to deliver over 600 packets to sponsored students in five of our partner schools. We will also be spending some time organizing games for the entire school and craft time with the women. Something new - we are delivering hand-washing stations to the schools and helping teach the kids how important it is to wash their hands! Follow the team on this blog and our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Pray for the team and their families as we get ready to leave in the coming week! Some of the students in the Hearts & Hope sponsorship program have been receiving support for over 10 years now! They may have started as they entered Primary 1 and are now in secondary or vocational school, or even university.
As more kids reach these advanced levels, Hearts & Hope is working hard to accommodate the needs of this age. One recent addition to our program is an Advanced Student Conference, hosted by the Hearts & Hope staff in Uganda. The first conference was held on January 5th at Nakabango Lutheran Primary School. David Kulaba, the HH4U Advanced Sponsorship Coordinator, said "the conference was intended to bring together students in the program for interaction, understanding Hearts & Hope, understanding the Lutheran Church in Uganda, Education Counselling, and students' general counselling." He reported that 156 students were invited, but attendance grew to over 200! The facilitators at the conference included: Rev. Charles Bameka, the bishop of the Lutheran Church in Uganda, the Jinja District Inspector of Schools, Mr. Eria Kisambira, Ms Deborah Nalukwago a professional Counselor, Nicholas Bateganya, Director of Operations for HH4U, and David. David also reported that, after the presentations, the students agreed to form a body to keep the group together and coordinated. They elected a committee for coordination with mobilizers from each village. Commenting on the conference later in the day,the LCU Bishop said it was a success and that he wished it it could be made an annual event. We are thrilled with this inaugural effort and hope to make it an annual occurrence. Many thanks to our staff and to those donors who support our education programs! The photo on the left was when Moses was visiting the doctor to seek his first treatment last fall. The photo in the middle is Moses with one of his doctors yesterday and the photo on the right is Moses - with NO MASS. Thank you! Many of you have followed the story of Bateganya Moses for some time now. He is a boy who lives in Butangala - where one of the Hearts & Hope partner schools is located.
He was living with a large mass on his neck that was growing larger. Eventually, it started to effect his breathing and eating. He became a very sick little boy. Our staff in Uganda paid to get Moses on a list at a hospital where surgery could be performed to remove the mass. The cost would be over $750 - a lot of money anywhere, but especially in Uganda. Friends of Hearts & Hope, just like you, rose to the occasion and donated those funds, plus more, to cover the expenses. Moses entered the hospital in late September where he received a treatment to reduce the size of the mass. This was going to be necessary before surgery could even be considered. Moses stayed in the hospital while he received the treatments and they soon found the procedure was making permanent changes. Eventually it was decided he might not need the major surgery after all; perhaps only a minor operation! He remained in the hospital with his mother for over a month. Thankfully, funds donated covered their expenses. Moses was dismissed in early November and was told to return in 6 weeks for a check up. Today, we received news that the mass is totally gone! And not even a minor surgery will be required! Prayers of thanksgiving for this precious child. And many thanks to our staff in Uganda for their diligence in getting Moses appropriate care and for all of you who donated to our Major Medical Fund which allowed us to fund this treatment. We are grateful! Moses is now sponsored and will get to begin the new school year in Butangala very soon! A few months ago, you may have seen some posts on Hearts & Hope's social media platforms about a young girl in our sponsorship program in Nakabango who was pregnant. Catherine is a true orphan; no parents, no grandparents - no siblings willing to take her in. She was starving and receiving no prenatal care.
Many of you responded to our plea for help. You donated funds that allowed our staff to take her to a clinic and buy her food and supplies to get her through her pregnancy. She gained weight and the reports at the clinic indicated that her baby was growing well. Three weeks ago, a healthy baby David came into this world! Catherine and her baby are doing well and yesterday we had the chance to visit both of them in her small one-room home. The love she has for that small child was evident from the moment we stepped inside. She showed him off with pride and thanked us over and over. "I don't know what I would have done without your help," she said. Layet Dorothy, the Hearts & Hope Village Sponsorship Assistant, who stayed with Catherine during part of her pregnancy, said that Catherine had more supplies at the hospital than any other patient, due to the generosity of our donors! Others sent clothes, blankets, and toys with us for the baby that she handled with great care when she took them out of the backpack they were delivered in. The bags of Skittles and Gummy Bears were a great treat as well! Catherine and David's lives are not easy. She has not even completed primary school. But she has an added reason to survive now. She has a mother's love for her baby - and support of friends of Hearts & Hope. We will be checking on them during our visit in February as well and will continue to pray for their well being. Many thanks to everyone who helped this story continue to be a good one! Tuesday was a long day for the Hearts & Hope leadership team! We visited two of our partner villages, Kamuli and Mbulamuti, and had a 4-hour meeting discussing how to improve our schools that didn't end until 11:00pm! It was all time well-spent, as we walked away with a tangible plan for researching and implementing some new ideas. Thank you to our Uganda staff as they had done a lot of work prior to our arrival to prepare!
Mbulamuti and Kamuli both have established schools with quality structures. It's always a thrill to drive up to both and watch the field flood with dark red uniforms and giggling kids! We met with sponsored kids in both schools and enjoyed entertainment from the school choirs. They are great kids and we love spending time with them. Many of them were some of the first kids sponsored through Hearts & Hope and they are growing up! Our meeting was a great discussion about education in Uganda. We learned a lot about some cultural norms here that were definitely new to us. Our goal is to continue to improve the quality of the education our sponsored kids are receiving and we are excited about the numerous possibilities to make that happen! Thank you for your prayers as you support this team during our time in Uganda. We are traveling to Butangala today and more meetings are planned for this afternoon and evening, with a boat ride on the Nile squeezed in between. The Hearts & Hope leadership team is currently in Uganda for a week of village visits and meetings with our staff. While meetings are never the highlight of a day, having this time to spend with our staff is priceless. So much of our work is done via email throughout the year that we value this time of being in front of one another to have meaningful conversations about the work we do and how to be more effective doing it.
Last night's meeting topics were "Staff Roles and Responsibilities" and "How Can We Help You Do Your Job More Effectively?" The results of both subjects will help us attain one of our goals of maximizing our impact here in Uganda. These meetings always bring to the surface some of the cultural differences between the US and Uganda. Those discussions sometimes are the most eye-opening. Our expectations of conduct and deliverables may conflict directly with a cultural stance here in Uganda. Our goal is never to inflict US culture on those we serve and work alongside. However, certain accountabilities are necessary in order to meet the requirements of donors in the US. A lot of time is spent finding a balance that fits in with the needs of those on both sides. What an honor to work with a staff so willing to adapt and learn! We look forward to the remainder of this week as we align ourselves even better to serve more children in Uganda. Not many little girls in the United States grow up hearing words like "Uganda" and "Nakabango" frequently in their homes. I feel so fortunate that this was the case for me. At Messiah, I have constantly and consistently been surrounded by loving people who are dedicated to going wherever God tells them to go. The first time I went to Uganda, I thought that I had a clear idea of what to expect. And to be completely honest, a lot of what I had heard about this country was true. Children surrounding you and wanting to be near you, even if you don't have anything to offer them besides a weak, "how are you?". (The answer is "I am fine" by the way). Despite all these preconceived notions, of course there were so many surprises. One thing that struck me was the strong relationships that I saw between family members. Each individual person, no matter how old or how young, seemed to be doing whatever they could to support their family. It really stops a person in their tracks, to think about what a blessing God has granted us, when he gives us our families and friends. The bond between siblings, or between parents and their children, is simply international. If I thought that I had high expectations for my first trip to Uganda, they doubled in size for my second trip. This time, I had spent an entire year with this African country in the back of my mind, to the point where I would be wondering where the "matooke" is at lunch. I will be forever grateful to Hearts and Hope and to Messiah for giving me the opportunity to come back. During my second trip, I had my own personal mission to accomplish. I was going to attempt to capture, through video, as much of this unpredictable and incomprehensible country as possible. I am currently in the process of taking hours and hours of footage and cutting it down to a few five minute videos. It feels a lot like writing a blog post, a futile attempt to grasp a weeks worth of thoughts and emotions and break them down into a couple of easy to read paragraphs. It also reminds me of when I first came back from Uganda, and my friends, who had never heard of Hearts and Hope, would ask about my trip. I had no idea how to tell them about all the things I had seen and heard without going into a full on sermon about it! I know that it will be impossible for me to create videos that will literally make a person feel like they've been to Africa. Still, I firmly believe that there are few things more captivating than a Ugandan child's face. They make my job so easy. For the past few years, I have struggled with this concept- God's plans are always better then my plans. I had the opportunity to meet my sponsored child on my most recent trip. Lovisa is a beautiful and intelligent young girl. Meeting her in person was so touching, but the moment when my heart broke was when I met her aunt. The woman was old enough to be her grandmother, and when I was introduced she explained to me that Lovisa didn't have any parents, and she was the one taking care of the child and her family. She then sincerely thanked me for paying the Lovisa's school fees. It struck me so hard, because of how easy it was for me to help this family. God has given me such an abundance of wealth that at such a young age I can change the life of this girl and her family. Wow. I want to empathize again the importance of everything that is done at Hearts and Hope, and everything that could not be done without God's interference. I can't pretend that I could help Lovisa by myself. It required the work of the Hearts and Hope staff, a group of people who commit their lives to connecting the countries of the United States and Uganda together. And it takes the passion of every person at every church who donates their time and their money towards attempting to improve the lives of people they've never met. This is a passion that can only come from God. God's plans are always better then my plans, and I wait with anticipation to see what he has in store next in Uganda. In addition to our sponsorship program, Hearts & Hope has, for the past few years, awarded scholarships for secondary school and university to the "best and brightest" with the greatest need. Wyclyff Wambuga is one of those recipients.
The following are some comments from Wyclyff, sent to us, after he was asked how receiving a scholarship from Hearts & Hope had impacted his life: With my school, I am now at the university. Hearts & Hope sponsored me from high school level and I am now getting my Bachelors degree of Procurement and Logistics Management at Kyambogo University in Kampala. (I have three years to go.) I personally am from Kamuli, my homeland, and my mother died while I was at age of 2 years. (She died of HIV/AIDS) I was in the hands of my father but afterwards he couldn't manage to take care of me so I went to live with my grandfather. He managed to give me a primary education. Later he was broke and afterwards became very poor due to age and being job less. Right now my grandfather is very sick. Before, we used to do agriculture on a small scale - like livestock rearing, maize growing and pineapples. The reason why I needed help from Hearts & Hope was that I felt I deserved to be at school and I always believed God could set me free. And yes, here was the organization! I couldn't even buy a book or a pen or clothes to wear or put on. I had lost faith. That's when you came by and gave me hope by providing me an education. It changed me forever and that's how I can now see a smile on my face. I hope to prosper in my education and meet those who can help me impact my people positively. Over the years, I have been amazed at the number of times the thought “some things are universal” runs through my head while I'm in Uganda. I think I originally believed that a culture so different from ours in the US would differ from us in EVERY way. I worried about all the differences; how would we ever relate to one another? During the last Hearts & Hope mission trip, I was struck, once again, by a huge similarity in how we all, particularly women, are wired. During some of our village visits, I ask our staff to arrange for us to make a home visit. I want the team to see how the kids live: where they lay their heads at night, how they eat their one meal a day, what keeps them dry when it rains. This is always an eye-opening, sometimes even shocking, experience for team members. As we left the village of Nakabango, where Messiah Lutheran partners, I was told we would be visiting the home of Mary Ozele. Mary is sponsored by Elmer and Sheryl Williams; she is a beautiful little thing who always seems to have a smile on her face. As we bumped along the road to Mary’s home in our bus, I was struck again at how many homes were tucked in the area around where the church and school are situated. So many people on the periphery! No wonder the number of kids always grows during the day of our visit! We stopped on a narrow road and started to get off the bus. There were 16 of us plus 5 staff members, along with an entourage of kids who had followed us on foot. We walked along a well-worn path that opened up into a beautiful compound of small structures and a palm tree. Mariah directed us to one of the homes where a woman stood outside. Her hair was covered in fabric and there was a piece of cloth wrapped around her body, covering her dress. Violet spoke with her in the local language and translated for the team. As always during these visits, the woman was thrilled that we had come to her home. Her smile gave that away. Ugandans ALWAYS make guests feel welcome. Not just to sit outside, but welcome to come INTO their homes. Homes that are 4 mud-covered walls where five adults couldn’t stand comfortably at the same time. Violet reiterated to us that we were “most welcome” by the woman, whose name was Jennet. She is Mary’s mother. Violet continued to translate Jennet’s words and explained that she was embarrassed that she had just come from the fields, harvesting maize. Violet explained that the next day was market day and the woman would take the maize to sell the next day in the local market. This would be her income for the week that she would use to feed Mary and her five siblings. When women work in the fields, they wrap their bodies in cloth that protects their dress (maybe their ONLY dress) from getting dirt on it. Jennet was still wearing the cloth and you could see that she wished she had known we were coming. She would have been prepared; she would have looked more presentable. I stood amazed that this woman, who had spent the day picking corn, was most concerned that she wasn’t presentable to her guests. This woman who had probably been working since 5:00am in a dusty field was distressed that she didn’t look her best. Oh my – do I know that feeling? Haven’t we all been there, ladies? Guests drop by unannounced, and we take a glance in the mirror as we go to answer the door, wishing we hadn’t thrown our hair up in that pony tail at the end of the day and that we changed into a shirt that didn’t have an ice cream stain on the front? Jennet slowly unwound the fabric from her hair as she continued to speak to us through Violet. She apologized over and over again, as we tried to convey our appreciation for her hospitality. This woman, so beautiful, smiled through it all, even when she covered her face in embarrassment. Oh my, she was gorgeous. My mind raced with gratitude for her hospitality and for God showing me, once again, how similar we are. I loved her in that moment. I wanted to make her feel better; I wanted her to know she was perfect. Isn’t that what God wants? For us to know we are presentable to Him, just as we are? I knew the team was feeling it too. They looked at me with eyes that said, “what can we do?” I asked Violet if I could buy some of her maize for the team; not at “normal” cost, but also not at something that would demean Jennet. I ended up giving her 40,000 for eight ears of corn – outrageous by village norms, but the equivalent of $12 in US dollars. It was equivalent to almost two weeks’ wages for most Ugandans. Mariah and Violet sorted through the ears of corn, selecting the best eight. They made the transaction legitimate by insisting on the largest, firmest of the crop. In the end, Jennet tried to give us all of her harvest – maybe 30 ears of maize. We finally convinced her to keep the extra and still sell it at the market the next day. As we walked back to the bus, my mind buzzed with Jennet’s response to our visit – welcoming, but she wished she looked her best. I was right there with her; she’s a woman and we care about how we look! No difference between us when it comes to vanity. I pray for Jennet. I thank God for introducing us to her and for showing me our similarities. And I pray for a great harvest for her before this week’s market day. Julie Stroder Missions Coordinator Hearts & Hope for Uganda |
About USHearts & Hope is a nonprofit organization focused on unlocking the potential of people in Uganda through relationships with people in the US. Archives
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