A good Day

Monday 9th
Another good working day on the site. Good weather helps and today was fine all day. Colin forged ahead making the window shutters, and has several fitted and others cut ready to weld together. Window sills were fitted to all windows in both houses today. Lots of walls were brushed down ready for sealing. The toilet/washroom walls are all completed up to ring beam level, and the cavity between the fired brick and mud brick walls at the end of the dining area was filled at each end, and a mud render on the exposed fired brick part of the dining area wall is almost complete. Lots of stuff done. The team is working really well together and enjoying what we are doing. The roofing team completed the last of the sheets and the capping on the roof of house 1, it looks a treat. The frustrations continue with the contractors who do the ring beam. Its almost a week since we finished the walls to ring beam height in house 2, and so far only 2 walls have the ring beam poured. unfortunately we have plenty to do after they finish, and the roofing team is held up also. Maybe tomorrow! The culinary department at YWAM must have known that we had a good day - we had fish for dinner which was a first and very tasty.

Sunday @ church

Sunday 8th
This morning we were off to church at Pastor George's church. Pastor George is the one who lives here at YWAM and whose eyes lit up when I was introduced to him as Pastor Ron. He was excited to have us in his church, the first Australian team to visit. The bus arrived nearly 30 minutes late to pick us up, but it was OK as we were following Pastor George, so I guess it couldn't start until he arrived. On the way the bus driver had to borrow some money so that he could buy fuel, as he did not have enough to get us to the church. At about 10.45 am we arrived at the church for a 10.00 am service. There were only a few people in the church, and they were praying loudly, probably for the previous 45 minutes. Pastor George was quick to grab my bible, notebook and glasses and proceeded straight to the stage where there was a couple of chairs for us. The rest of the team found seats at the front, although John and Bert were a little further back, until Pastor George interupted the service and called them up to special seats at the front! In what was called the 'first service', after some worship that was so full of energy and praise, I was introduced and given the opportunity to introduce the rest of the team. I began by sharing about the horrible fires at home, and we all joined in prayer for the people at home, and those who have suffered loss in the fires. As soon as we mentioned that Sam was a part of the worship team at home, he was given a guitar and told to tune it up and lead in a song. The whole team joined him as we sung "Our God is an Awesome God". A couple of the guys came up and gave brief testimonies. After much encouragement and many 'welcomes', the 'second service' began immediately. By this time the congregation had swelled to fill all of the seats in the church. Once again there was some brilliant worship, and much of it was in english, allowing us to join in. A group of children came and performed several dances that Pastor George explained to me were about being saved by God. There was a brief time for testimony, an offering, and then the most over the top introduction of the visiting pastor that you could imagine. Preaching was both an honour and very hard work, having to stop after each phrase while it was translated. It makes flow difficult, and humour impossible, but we managed to get there. I worried a couple of times when Pastor George took about 50 words to translate the 5 words I had spoken, but I am sure he was just adding bits to fire up an extra "amen" or "hallelujah". When we finished he did a bit of a wrap up, then called for people who wanted to be prayed for. Before they could come, he started into a testimony of a lady in the church who had had difficulty conceiving a child, had been beaten by her muslim husband, who had eventually suffered 2 miscarriages, and who finally had given birth to a healthy girl. Having shared that he called for other 'barren' women to come forward for prayer, and decided that I would be praying for them. There were others who also came out with various illnesses, and so we prayed for them. We were humbled when Pastor George called for a 'love offering' to be given for us. He explained that whilst it might seem strange Ugandans giving to Mzungu, he saw it as a good thing to do, so we were blessed as a number of people came and put money in the basket. Finally after 3 hours, we were finished. It really is a wonderful experience to share with people on the other side of the world in praising our one true God who unites us together, no matter whether we are white or brown (or red, as the sun caught me a little yesterday)

The Roof Appears

Saturday 7th
The day started today with cloud cover, but no rain. We got stuck right into the work and made lots of progress. It was good to see the roof sheets start to go on house 1, and the ring beam on house two is beginning also. We are almost finished the brickwork on the washrooms, and a lot of extra work has been done washing down walls and fitting window sills and shutters. John and Calista slipped out over lunch to visit the child they sponsor through Compassion. They found it a little confronting in terms of the conditions the family lived in, but it was also good to see the program that was helping so many kids. This afternoon it’s a bit of R&R in Jinja for us all.

On Our Own

Friday 6th
Well it’s just us now, no longer can we check with Paul about how things are meant to go or rely on Andrew to do all of the organising with Robert and Ivan. But the way things have gone, we seem to be coping OK on our own. Work is continuing with the building of the toilet / washrooms going well and the plumbing and electrical work largely complete. A torrential downpour at lunchtime made the site a lot harder to work on, and motivation levels were down a little as we were frustrated with some local contractors not turning up to do the things they were expected for.

Farewell Team 2

Thursday 5th
Work continued on the site today, our last with Team 2. At lunchtime, the family next door who have washed our clothes, fed us breakfast and helped in any way they can put on lunch and a performance to farewell Team 2. It was a lot of fun, with us all lined up in their yard, eating beans and posho and cabbage and noodles using our hands. The entertainment involved most of the family and there were speeches from George and Florence as well as their pastor – quite a send off. We continued to work while team 2 packed up in the afternoon, and then we al cleaned up and hit the town for a nice dinner at ‘Two Friends’ restaurant.

Progress

Monday Tuesday
Two days of hard work on the site have been very productive. House two is now ready for the concrete ring beam at the top of doors and window height. Doors and windows are being installed on house 1, the septic tank has been bricked up all of the way and has been rendered, the kitchen / bathroom unit for the two houses is well on the way and the plumbers have finally climbed out of their trench, been to town to get fittings and pipes, and are beginning the process of laying all of the pipes to get water in and out of the bathrooms. It has been great to see the willingness of every person to work hard and do the jobs that have been required, not just the ones they like. We really have functioned as a team, and it has been a lot of fun and it’s great to see the way the site is changing so rapidly.


Wednesday
Today a small group of us visited Hope Community Secondary School just a short 10 minute walk from Hope Village. The school has been built and financed by Robert who is a part of the HopeBuilders team and it opened on Monday. It was fun to see the school and meet the students and teachers. We had a look around and then sat with the students on their morning break and chatted with them for about 40 minutes. It was exciting to be there at the beginning of something that God has called into being. It was also challenging to see the needs that they have at the school, some of which are huge, and some of which can be easily fixed by a relatively small financial outlay in our terms, but that is money that is not so readily available to the school. Pray with us that God will provide for this school whose vision is to provide quality education at a price that is affordable to a wider section of the community than the other schools in the area
The girls in the kitchen preparing lunch for the students!

Afternoon at Care4Kids

Sunday 1st – Afternoon at Care4Kids


“Chaos!” would just about sum up today’s visit to the care for kids orphanage.
Within seconds of leaving the safety of the bus, everyone had kids jumping on them and throwing vortexs at them. I made the mistake of opening a pack of lollies and got mauled. A little girl named Samin did not let go of me the whole time. No words were needed, all she wanted was someone to hold her hand.

Cam

Buenos Aeries! Spanish is some what non-existent here, just in case you were confused. Sundays are always great, on Sundays you expect to see God move and not for any particular reason other than purely because it’s a Sunday. Today He didn’t disappoint, from our church service this morning we heard of how we are all ambassadors or Christ, that we should resemble Christ like attributes; to actually living that out. Spending time in the orphanage was heart breaking, and I’m certain I am yet to fully appreciate it all. Seeing how happy they were to see us and we didn’t even talk, just standing along side some of them was all the affirmation they needed. After 20 seconds of talking with a beautiful young girl named Grace, she said I was her ‘friend’. I didn’t deserve that honour, but I will uphold it!
They, most certainly, are the most valuable in the Kingdom of God! Who needs gifts for a birthday present, when I get to experience that!

dan dean


Hello hello, well today was certainly something I have never experienced. As you’ve read above we went to visit the orphanage and the welcome we got was amazing. To see how happy and thankful the kids are when all we do is just hang out with them, and how thankful they are to God for the position they are in. It really put into perspective how much I take my whole life in Australia for granted, I don’t even thank God every night for what he has provided me back home and yet these kids offer everything to the Lord. It was truly a humbling experience. Can’t wait to go back and spend more time with them.

Sammy Buscombe.
P.s I think I’m going to bring one of the kids home, they give you a look you can’t refuse.


Why hello :D
Sunday church in Uganda isn’t exactly the most exiting part of the week for a 14 yr old girl. Although it was very different.
But watching all the Ugandans praise the lord was only slightly more than I expected.
Was fair wow.
I knew they would be full on into church but seeing it for myself was truly amazing.
The woman next to me cried and I just put my arm around her which seemed to help.
The children came into church after singing some gorgeous songs. One little girl named Fiona sat behind me.
She reached ever so lightly reached into my hair so I felt nothing, then pulled out a single hair.
Little bit ouch… she tapped my shoulder and I turned around she showed me the hair and asked if she could keep it with a big smile on her face. I was surprised than something so little but foreign (my straight blonde hair) could bring a smile to her face. I glanced back many times only to see her playing with that single piece of hair.
The orphanage was a highlight.
Quite amazing.
When I first got there I was greeted with hugs and children holding my hand.
After talking to a few kids I went to a small house thing. There were 3 kids in their 2 girls about 5 yrs old and a 3 yr old boy.
They were a little hesitant and stayed in their little house until I played chasey and tickled them out.
I played chasey with a large handful of kids and the group kept getting bigger. The kids had endless energy but after a short while I was puffed. Chasing 15 odd kids was hard work!
I took them all behind a shed in the shade and taught them how to play duck, duck goose.
Then they taught me how to play some of their games.
Then everyone scattered and only a few girls from the previous group stayed and insisted on teaching me how they dance.
I taught them a bit of my dancing… one girl kept laughing whenever I moved my hips to show them (bottom out hand out…)
Africa is very amazing and I am really enjoying myself.
I have two African admirers one who asked me to marry him… nice kid: D we’re good friends.
Miss my family and friends-
Kirstie C:D




Hey, well care 4 kids was really a huge experience for me, I don’t really know what to do with young kids, so was kinda confused as to what to expect, that combined with a rolled ankle meaning I couldn’t run around and just play sport, I was expecting a challenging arvo, it took me a few minutes to settle in, but after a bit I realised all these kids want is time, love, affection, just the simple act of holding a kids hand was enough, the smiles on their faces said enough! It was hard to believe that kids come from such hard circumstances, they are happier than anything. It was really moving to spend time with kids who have been given an opportunity, and to really think about the fact that what we are doing is changing lives, its not just bricks and mortar, It was awesome! If your reading this and haven’t been over here, you totally should, if the opportunity arrises, I would strongly recommend.

Mark Matho Matheson


I stepped off the bus with a soccer ball in my hand. I thought the kids were coming up trying to get the ball, but actually they wanted to grab me and hold my hand. As I kicked the ball away, a couple of kids chased after it, but others hung around us and wanted to be picked up and held. The place became chaotic as kids and team members ran around kicking balls, throwing vortexes and climbing all over each other. Other kids who were less energetically inclined hung out with some of the team who were also less energetically inclined. We all had an awesome time, no-one wanted to leave, and we are all looking forward to going back. The best part for me was that it gave a glimpse of what we are building here at Hope Village.

Ron


Uganda, red mud, dirty clothes, posho and beans, a shower that doesn’t work, shopping in a village where mzungu are easy pickings …… why would you want to be here. White teeth, sparkling eyes, radiant smiles, snotty noses and kids that just want to hug you are just hold your hand, that’s why. As the ‘good book’ says ‘what ever you do for the least of these you are doing for me.’ Now not saying the people here are the least as they bleed the same blood that I do and they are cherished by our heavenly father and they are his children just as I am. It is really hard to get your head around the wealth/poverty line, the haves and the have nots. So if you’re reading this you have access to a computer, millions in this country have never seen one, think about what you can do to make just one person or child’s life different.

John


How can you have expectations for what we have all stepped into…. The work is sweaty before breakfast has even been served and I wonder why I have taken holidays to get my hands blistered and cut, so dirty that I only can remember what colour they once were, even after washing. Then one afternoon we take a bus down a track that could be described only as that… A bumpy dusty track which brings us to a large gate, before the gate has even closed behind us they all start appearing, a few at first with glowing eyes and eager smiles, there is a child clinging to my hand before I have stepped off the bus. And then it begins, an eruption of noise and energy we have arrived at the ‘care for kids’ orphanage. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced, completely overwhelming, however the kids are like any other in any other place…They want someone to play with, the time of an adult, and to be picked up and held, there are so many, I realize why I have taken ‘holidays’.

Colin

Being a nanny and a waitress I didn’t really think that I would be able to contribute much to this whole ‘building an orphanage’ thing… as I can’t build! But since coming here I have realised that this project is so much more than that. As important as the actual building is, building relationships with the people here is as equally important… and that is something I can do!!! In fact, here in this country, building relationships with people isn’t very hard at all, as all the people here are extremely welcoming and accepting. Within minutes of meeting you they classify you as their friend and they have even been referring to people from team one (who spent only three weeks with them) as some of their best friends. This is incredibly mind blowing for me, as in Australia it usually takes a fair while to establish a relationship.
As challenging as this experience has been for me, so far, both emotionally and physically I am very thankful that God chose me (a mere nanny/waitress) to be a part of this amazing project that will change the lives of many people… more than I realised it would!

Calista