What's new?

Things are going well at the house but have been extremely busy.  This past Saturday was a bit of a crazy day.  In the morning, the boys went to practice football before their actual game. So they played football all morning and into the afternoon.  All of the aunties went to watch the boys play, and since it has been raining so much there was mud everywhere.  On the way home, Carla(one of the aunties) and I(Amanda) were walking back with Emma.  He didn't want us to step in the mud so he put his foot in the mud and told us to step on it.  Of course neither of us wanted to step on his foot for fear of hurting him, so we both stepped in the mud.  I didn't fair so well and almost lost my flip flop in the mud and got mud everywhere.  Emma immediately began telling me how I should have just stepped on his foot and then took my flip flops and began washing them and my feet in the small little stream near by.  It was the cutest and most endearing thing ever.  These boys are so amazingly kind and sweet, helpful and considerate, and would probably do anything for their aunties and uncles.

Later in the afternoon, Emma had an accident.  He was playing with one of the other boys and as boys usually do, they were playing way too rough.  The other boy took off running and Emma started chasing after him.  The other boy ran through the gate and slammed it behind him.  The problem was Emma's face was in the way.  He fell over crying and had a pretty bad cut right by his eye(any closer and he would have had serious problems), a scrape on his cheek, and a huge bump.  We took him to the hospital and he had to have stitches.  He had them cleaned on Monday and will have them removed tomorrow (Wednesday).  He came home from school today complaining of a headache but overall he is in good shape and isn't letting his injury slow him down or ruin his mood.

Since many of the boys are behind in school (This is the first opportunity for many of them to attend.) we have decided to really crack down on their study habits.  We are going to implement a study hour 6 days a week, where even if the boys don't have homework, they will need to work on something educational.  They can either read a book or we will supply them with extra work (Math and English problems).  We will also have reading groups on Saturdays.  Please pray for the boys that they can catch up in their school work and that they won't get discouraged because they are so far behind.

We are still seeking land to purchase to build a new home for the boys.  We are looking for a large plot of land (+/- 20 acres) so the boys can have plenty of space(possibly take in more) and we can begin income-generating agriculture projects.  We would eventually like to build a school and church on the property so we can help the community where we settle.

We also have been going to our street program for disabled people.  We go to them every Thursday and provide a meal and share the word of God.  There are approximately 30 people, but it seems to grow every week.  Most of the group are from villages up north.  The rebels burned and attacked their villages, so they escaped to Kampala and now live on the streets by begging.  They are eager to hear God's word and have us pray with them.  Last week, two of the boys from the house (Peter and Sadic) went to the program with Auntie Carla, Uncle Alex, and myself.  They were amazing and talked with everyone and prayed with them and Peter even shared the story of how Jesus fed 5,000 people.  Uncle Alex is such a prayer warrior and was on fire!!! praying for everyone with an intensity I have never witnessed.  He is definitely a light shining BRIGHT for God and is going to help our boys grow up into godly men.

Our other ministry that has been keeping us busy is Hope House.  The women are doing well and are making great strides in bettering their lives.  The program is a little over a month old. The women are eager to work but don't always take the advice they are given so their jewelry can be perfect.  When the jewelry is made perfectly it is absolutely gorgeous.  We are currently looking for avenues to market their work.  If this is something that you would be interested in helping with, please let us know!  The women also receive counseling and Bible study weekly to help in healing their minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits.  Please keep them in your prayers!




God Bless!