A week already?!?!

I can't believe it's already been a week since the Plymouth team left! The time has flown by as I've had a very full week all over the place. Sorry this is rather long, but I still want to give you a recap:

Monday: I had my first taste of the Soroti Hospital today. I went to visit two very sick babies from Amecet (the childrens home). This place is unlike any hospital I've ever stepped foot in. For example, patients have to bring along their own caregiver since nurses do VERY little. Some patients even have to bring some of their own supplies. Els (the director at Amecet) knows the drill so she isn't thrown off by any of their shortcomings or dirty atmosphere.

I spent my evening with my three roommates: Karen, Amos, and Rachel. Karen is from Ontario and has been here since March. She wrote on the blog earlier! She's so fun and a real encouragement. Amos is from Calvin Seminary and is spending two months of his summer here. It's fun to have someone my age here (and from GR!). Rachel just arrived from Ontario. She's a nurse and is moving into Amecet staff housing soon.

Tuesday: Today was my first day teaching preschool to two of the missionary kids, Avalien and Grace. They are such sweet students and really excited about school! In the afternoon, Rachel and I biked around town a little, making plans for the rest of the week. It's fun to be able to bike around and have a bit more independence that way. We spent the evening taking a walk around the neighborhood and eating dinner at Josh and Mandy's house (other missionaries in Soroti).

It's funny because EVERYWHERE we go, we are stared at. Biking around town, walking around the neighborhood.... everyone stares and most say hello with a big smile. They give such huge and friendly welcomes! If you know of anyone with a self-esteem issue, send them this way!!! :)

Wednesday: Today was a very long day. I headed out the door at 9 with my roommates and Tim (our team leader) to Obalanga, a village two hours north. When we arrived, we met up with John Patrick, the chairman of the area. When the LRA raided the area, John Patrick was the only leader who actually stuck around to help out. He is very much respected in the area for this. We saw his office and a huge line up of people waiting to file reports of abuse against the LRA. The town is putting together a huge case against the LRA. Next to the office is a mass grave site for victims of the LRA. We visited the site last week, but it was cool to see the improvements that were made. (Side Note: The mass grave site is sponsored by The Ride For Refugees. The team here was very involved with that, as well as the Brouwers from Plymouth!)

Our job of the day was to uncover the bones of a few LRA victims who had fallen in the brush of the surrounding area. I was unsure of what this would entail and was surprised when we came upon two partial skeletons laying under trees, completely exposed on top of the ground. We found two of these sites and then a third site that was completely different. Here, a body had previously been found but was then buried at the side of the road. A few men from the village dug up an entire skeleton (complete with clothes). This one looked the most like a person and thus caused the most restlessness among us. Really, it's crazy to think that these young men and women were shot by LRA soldiers right where we were walking. And to think that this only happened in the last 5 years!!! And even worse... to think that some of these crazy soldiers are still running around other parts of Africa!

Thursday: Today was a very enjoyable day. We had a nice team meeting in the morning, outlining the next few weeks. I had preschool in the afternoon with two beautiful girls who behaved themselves so nicely! But the highlight of the day came after dinner when the women of the team met for a Bible study. There are six women all together and it was a joy to sit down with them and just talk. We talked about how to make time with God a part of our daily routine. We discussed both joys and struggles of the mission field. We had a great night of fellowship and it was wonderful to spend quality time with this group of fabulous Christian women!

Friday: Today was my first full day at Amecet. It flew by! I played with some beautiful babies and spent another hour or so at the Soroti Hospital for some infant immunizations. There are some crazy stories among these babies and I hear more and more each time I'm at the home. It's overwhelming to find how many of these gorgeous children are HIV positive and how many were neglected as newborns. It is beautiful to see how loved they now are at Amecet. They are truly loved and it's a wonderful thing!

I spent the evening over at Tim and Angie's (our team leaders) next door. It was Tim's birthday today and we had a nice evening with our whole team, eating cake and playing games. I do love the team here and it has been fun getting to know such passionate people.

Thanks for reading all of this... I know it's long but there's been so much going on! Continue praying for my health (I'm still a little shaky now and then) and my energy as I find more of a routine next week. Please pray for the town of Obalanga this week as they finish up their mass grave site and dedicate the bodies they do have.

Thank you for your prayers and support. I'm thinking of you all too!!

In Christ,

Steph

Monday, June 22nd

Always Another Adventure...
Today is Monday and I have been left behind in Soroti! The rest of the team is now safely at home in Grand Rapids, ready to enjoy the rest of their Michigan summer. When you see them, make sure you ask LOTS of questions. It’s hard to answer, “How was your trip?” Try some specifics like: “Who was the most interesting person you met?” or “What was the hardest issue for you to leave behind in Soroti?” or “What are you going to follow up with and how can we help?”
Thank you all so much for praying for our trip! We couldn’t have done it without all of your prayers and with strength from our God.
Now for an update on our adventures!!!!
This weekend, we got to enjoy a trip to Murchison Falls, a National Park in NW Uganda. We left Thursday morning for a long trek to the park. Once inside, we drove two hours to Red Chilli Rest Camp, our home for the weekend. On the way we saw giraffes, elephants, baboons, antelope (or waterbuck??), tons of birds, water buffalo, and LOTS of warthogs. We spent the evening with a drive to the falls, admiring the mighty power of our awesome God.
On Friday we took a drive through the game park with a guide named Simon. He showed us around the park where we again saw TONS of giraffes, elephants, and more wildlife. We were REALLY excited when Simon received a call that a lioness was a couple kilometers down the road. We had been outside stretching, but rushed excitedly to the van when he yelled, “Lion!” Poor Avalien thought the yell meant there was a lion right outside the van, so she screamed and ran for mom... it was pretty cute!
We spent the afternoon on a water cruise to the falls. We had a private safari boat which took us two hours to the falls and an hour back. On the way we saw dozens of hippos, a bunch of elephants near the water, and a few crocodiles. Let me tell you, hippos are scary!!! On our way towards the falls, we accidently got a bit too close to one, driving over the camouflaged hippo. It was obviously unsettled, knocking our boat and scaring one our team members SO badly that she completely leaped over the seat into fetal position in the center aisle. It was funny!
The trip ended well with a debrief Friday night and a Saturday drive into Kampala. We stopped for a pizza and milkshake lunch for a little taste of home at “I Love NY”. We spent the afternoon at a Kampala craft market, picking up some homemade gifts. Before dropping off the team at the airport we had dinner at the Windsor Lake Victoria hotel. It was a beautiful place to sit and relax before heading out for some long flights!
The team is now home after three flights and only a little trouble. There were some delays and a missed flight, but everyone made it home safely!
Now that I’m still here, I want to keep updating the blog for you all! I’m starting to settle into a routine and will begin teaching preschool this week and working a couple of shifts at Amecet. I’ll let you know how everything works out.
Please continue praying for the team as they enter back into Western life. Pray for them to be patient, understanding, and a bit unsettled as they look at Western life with fresh eyes.
Please continue to pray for me as I settle into life in Soroti without the team. Pray for physical strength as I fight a little bug I’ve got and for mental, physical, and emotional strength as I continue to experience life here. Pray for spiritual strength as I struggle with the hardships I see every day and for a positive attitude as I continue searching for God’s place for me here!
Love,
Steph

Wednesday, June 17th

Good evening friends at Plymouth Heights.

Once again, I, Karen, am writing on behalf of the team because they are all busy shoving clothes and souveniers back into their suitcases. Tomorrow morning at 6 am we are departing for a two day safari before the Sliedrechts and I bring them to the airport. I am not sure if you will get another blog from the team or not on this side of the ocean.

Yesturday Carolyn and Bob continued with their trainings. A few team members spent quite a bit of time hanging out with local friends and enjoy the scenery of Soroti. Others spent time in prayer for the sick and needy in the area.

Both yesturday and today Judy, Ernie, and Bonnie were able to assist at a local YWAM primary school - reading one on one with a few of the students and they absolutely loved it.

The team was stretched today by an eye-opening visit to the hospital. Cats and chickens roamed the halls. IV's were just attached to sticks, or nails, or whatever could be found. Caregivers slept under the beds of the patients. Weights are tied to the feet of children who are having broken bones pulled back into place. The team was invited to watch a delivery, but they turned that down. :)

Debriefing, packing, saying good-byes, and journaling their thoughts about their very rewarding trip has filled a lot of their day.

Thank you Plymouth for continuing to pray for and encourage your fellow church members.

Monday, June 15th

Greetings friends of the Plymouth Heights team.
I, Karen Lubbers, an International teams short-termer, wanted to write to you today. I have been hosting your wonderful team ever since they arrived. I had the privilege of picking up your group of nine from the airport and introducing them to Uganda. For the past week they have been living in the guest house with me – for that is my home. The team has been a joy to serve!! And they are blessing us immensely.
Today was another diverse day. Carolyn continued her teachings on the Book of Philippians and many of the attendees are asking amazing questions or sharing relevant stories about joy in suffering. Bob started part one of a Business seminar, which will hopefully give people a small grasp on how to start a business or continue on with one wisely. Ernie continued on with handyman projects at Amacet, the orphanage. Most of the gang also went back to Amacet throughout the day to play with babies and rejoice in the small steps. Babies who couldn’t crawl a few days ago from weakness are now giggling and scooting around. Laughter, singing, and encouragement is all happening at the orphanage.
A few members of the team spent the day pondering how the Lord is working in Uganda, praying for the nation, and for the many people they have met. Tonight we witnessed a miracle... a baby that looked like it was on the verge of death yesturday in Karamoja arrived in Soroti today with it’s head held high and clarity in it’s eyes. Tomorrow the baby will see a doctor for a full examination.
This evening we all watched “An Unconventional War” and we just shook our heads at the horrors of a spiritual war that has been happening in Uganda for over two decades. Why have we never really heard or been educated on the happenings of the LRA and Joseph Kony? The brutality. The destruction of innocence for young boys and girls.
Please pray for the continued healing of Uganda as a nation... as they still recover from war.
Please continue to pray for the team as they serve for two more days in Soroti before beginning their journey south.
To God be the Glory!
Karen Lubbers

Sunday, June 14th

Sunday, June 14, 2009
We started our day thankful for a good night of rest and good health. We anticipated a day of worship with the people of Apeitolim (a village about 60 miles away). The trip out there was very long and bumpy, worse than the bumpiest street in Grand Rapids. We passed through the town of Amuria, where there is no running water or electricity. It is where Tim stayed when he ran a Freedom Camp for IDP refugee soldiers. While traveling through the middle of nowhere (it seemed) we asked if there was phone reception. Tim said there was. Amazing that there is reception there and not in Pentwater. We arrived at the church thinking that there were about 30 members. Really there were about 150 people there. Many were extra people just looking at Muzungus (foreigners). They got to hear the message too! We had a good worship service, and a dust storm during Pastor Carolyn’s sermon. After church we toured the IDP camp there. It was very hot out. We were having a really hard time seeing how they lived. We then went a little way to a small body of water and witnessed about 30 baptisms – that was a real blessing. It was only the second time of baptism for that church. We finally left at around 3:45. Then it rained. We stopped in Obalanga (where Tim ran a Freedom Camp) and saw the mass graves of the Teso people murdered by the LRA and by tribal warfare. We did eat snacks and hard-boiled eggs in the van, having lifesavers for dessert. Home looked really good to all of us. This was the hardest day we’ve had so far. It was good to talk about our day and our feelings, and to take a shower.

Saturday, June 13th

Saturday, June 13, 2009
Today’s update will be short. I am tired and the electricity just came back on after a windy/rain storm. My understanding is that we are very fortunate it came back so soon. We were told it could be an hour or it could be 10 days before the power comes on. We were fortunate that it returned after about 2 hours. Sleeping has been difficult enough, but without fans it would be worse.
Today we made coffee. We started at 6am and we finally had our first sip/chew at approximately 11:45am (it was supposed to be two hours long). We have a new appreciation for the “work of living” here in Uganda. We planted, transplanted (including the use of “natural fertilizer” aka manure), picked, dried, pulped, cleaned, fried aka roasted, and ground our coffee. We Mzungas decided we would bring the western concept of coffee filters to Uganda. We chewed, sipped, and spit our coffee. After we were done with our coffee we spent some time hiking around the Sipi Falls. The falls were gorgeous, fun, and quite an experience.
We then headed over to Mbale via the very confident driving skills of Tim. We experienced Indian food at an open air (open rain) café. As we sat there we listened to Tim talk of their dreams of a baby shelter in Mbale.
Then, back to the compound to shower our dirty bodies, participate in worship with those of us staying at the compound and a few friends both Ugandan and American.
A couple of other updates – I have experienced what I believe is the most mosquito bites of the whole team. Three to be exact, all of them in the Entebbe airport parking lot. We brought along scads of mosquito spray- certainly not needed thus far. No true illnesss. A couple of “oh, I better take some pepto bismol” but not much more.
In my opinion the group is getting along incredibly well. We are having so much fun getting to know each other and always talk about the next time we come. Bob says he’s not coming until they move Uganda about 24 hours closer to home.
Hope you all are doing well.
Jane

Friday, June 12th

From Steph –
Friday, June 12
This morning, our alarms woke us at 5:15 AM. We’ve been getting a little better at the whole sleeping thing here! We discovered that we’re sleeping from 4PM to midnight, Grand Rapids timeJ. We’re also getting better at making coffee in our French press. We’ll all tell you – it’s an art!!!
This morning, we were headed for the much anticipated hike up Soroti Rock. We grabbed some granola bars and made the short drive to the bottom of the large rock hill (small rock mountain…?). We heard the climb wasn’t hard because of a staircase to help us on the way. Well, we never knew that “stairs” was a relative term! J The side of the hill we climbed was terraced and a railing was present most of the time, but flat ground was hard to come by and loose rock was everywhere!!! After a quick climb, we were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over the city of Soroti. We spent some time meditating on our own, and then prayed together for the people of Soroti.
We came home for a quick breakfast and then headed on our separate ways. Ernie went to the Shaardas’ home to help with some handiwork. Josh and Mandy Shaarda are other missionaries with International Teams that live just down the road. Many and Angie are sisters! At the Shaardas, there were shelves to be built and a little plumbing to fix. Ernie was a trooper!
Pastor Carolyn headed up her first of three workshops on the book of Philippians. Over forty members from the community came to hear her teach!!! She was blessed to have high participation of the attendees who were all eager to learn from each other.
Bonnie headed to a local Christian school to help with some students with special needs. She met with two students to read and write with them. She also got to spend morning break with the kids. In many of the classrooms, there are over 50 kids with 1 teacher!
Bob met with a couple of missionaries in the area to explore the issues with local businesses. He learned a lot about the philosophies of local business people. He has been preparing to lead two workshops on “Business and Money Management” next week.
Kari, Lisa, Jane, Judy, and I spent our morning at Amecet, the childrens home down the road. We couldn’t believe how many babies were being taken care of! Two more mothers came in throughout the morning, attempting to drop off their babies. The need in this community for proper baby care is great, but Amecet offers hope to the babies they take care of.
In the afternoon, the women of the group got to learn about artwork in the community around Soroti. Saul taught us how to make paper beads, and we even got to make our own necklaces. Robert taught us how to paint batiks (a sort of canvas wall hanging). He helped a few of us to draw pictures and then some of us got to paint.
We had dinner back at our home with Josiah and Sarah (two other missionaries with International Teams), Sarah’s sister, Emily, and our housemate Karen.
It was a beautiful and busy day, but we need to make sure to go to bed on time… we have another early rise tomorrow!!!!
Thank you for your continued prayers. Continue praying that we remain healthy, with open eyes, ears, and arms to receive and embrace God’s people in Uganda!

Thursday, June 11th

Thursday June 11, 2009
Yoga aka hello -me again…
Well, I got my “dog howling” card punched last night. In other words I was able to enjoy that experience and don’t feel like I need to do it again. Some of us are still experiencing sleep problems. Falling asleep doesn’t seem to be a problem for most, but staying asleep is a problem. Not sure if it is still the time change or what. Although we have fans, the mosquito nets seem to block the majority of the breeze. Please pray for better nights of sleep so that can wake up feeling refreshed and stay healthy.
Speaking of healthy, I would knock on wood if the termites hadn’t eaten it, but so far so good. Carolyn and I are concerned that lack of sleep will decrease our ability to fight off illness.
We will continue to attempt updates, but the internet access is quite unreliable. Lisa was able to get our update posted, but could not, for anything get an email through to let you know.
Bob is going to attempt to make the coffee this morning … we have a French press coffee maker. It will be interesting.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we went through an orientation with Tim. We learned a bit more about the culture along with acceptable practices, phrases, team rules, suggestions for how to use your free time, safety concerns, and more. We continued our discussion from the night before.
After that we proceeded past the gates of the compound. I ached to do this earlier, to see what was outside, but was thankful for the orientation which gave me more confidence and was able to see and take in more. Tim and Angie have provided us with an exceptional pre-field manual and now continued training.
We walked over to the IDP Camp (Internally Displaced People). These people are in this camp because the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) has destroyed their home. Many have been forced to fight as child-soldiers. The conditions are not good. The huts are small, the UN has provided a couple of porta-potties, there were a lot of school-age children – not in school, but there were smiles on many of their faces. There is a market in the center that we visited. Some of the common products were tomatoes, mangos, casaba (potato like starch), and charcoal. We had an experience I never even considered. Kids were absolutely trembling in fear at the sight of a mzunga (white man). They were not sure if we were ghosts or some other type of spirit – they had never seen a white person before today. We brought along bubbles and stickers. We simply interacted with the kids while the mom’s watched in the background. Young kids continued to follow us along our walk – across the “highway” somehow they must have found their way back home.
Tim purchased some fried ants while we were in the market –many of us tried them upon return. Some more excited than others. I still think I have some stuck in my teeth.
We headed off to the market after lunch and a 20 minute rest period. Try to picture 100’s of people crammed in a very small area, selling everything from shoes to legumes, tea to raw meat. People sleeping on the tables, under the tables, trash, odors, crowds …there were even some of the guys taking pictures of us (OK Kari) with their camera phones. We also hit the internet café, the Om (supermarket wannabee), and the bank to exchange dollars into shillings.
Last scheduled activity of the day was to get a “brief” tour of Amecet. Amecet is a baby shelter run by YWAM (Youth with a Mission). They take babies on a part-time basis and work to return them to their family or at least their community. Some of the babies have come right from the hospital after their mother’s died in childbirth, others of AIDS, or other illnesses. There was a 3 month old who Angie’s sister noticed in the market. Her name is Rukia she weighs 5 pounds. Do I need to say more?
This is where many of us will spending our time Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. Ernie will be doing some handy work, Lisa, Kari, and Bonnie will be feeding and holding babies, I will be working with the director to see what can be done at the shelter to enhance growth and development. I hope to do some education with the workers about early intervention. I hope to head over to the hospital to see what is going on in their feeding program.
This morning, Thursday, we went to a larger market called the Arapai Market. Booth after booth after booth of dried fish, grains, deep fried snacks, pesticides, tire sandals, chickens, baskets (of which we bought a few for 2500 shillings each or $1.25), bike parts, pesticides, rugs (once again purchased) and other items of which we are not sure we could identify.
After our return we listened to Francis tell us his story. Francis was captured by the LRA when he was 13 years old. After one week of training he was chosen to be a commander. He told us from his heart of the time he spent in the LRA and his escape. He told of his prayers and pleas for forgiveness and for release. He was involved in one of the Freedom Camps that were funded in part by the ride for refugees. He shared a poem he wrote while in the camp. He continues to receive assistance through the CAAF (Children Affected by Armed Forces) organization. They continue to help him process his thoughts and are assisting him to attend vocational school. Tim presented him with a Bible (in the past he had a Children’s Bible). He was just elated.
This afternoon we went to visit people who are involved with the SACAB (Soroti Agricultural and Crafts Association of the Blind). They describe being reformed through the organization. Before they became involved with SARAB they were considered helpless. Now they can read, cook, grow crops, and even knit. They sell their products for a profit. After that we moved on to a vigorous game of Goal Ball against the blind. A game we would love to bring back to the youth group at church.
We had lovely dinner at the Shaardas (Angie’s sisters) house. It was good to hear their stories and experiences of missions.

Wednesday June 10

Wednesday AM June 10, 2009
You got me again.
I am currently sitting in out in the lawn in a walled “compound”. The grass in green, the chickens are wandering around, the monkeys are waking up, and the sun is shining. We just heard what I believe to be a lot of kids walking in the street on their way to school.
We drove to Soroti (so row tee’) in style. We were picked up at about 10:00 yesterday from the Airport Guesthouse in an air conditioned 20 passenger bus - just enough room for all of our luggage and a seat for the 10 of us (including Karen the teammate who met us in Entebee) and a seat to spare. We headed out of Entebbe and through Kampala along Lake Victoria with our very capable driver, Nixon. The city driving seemed quite chaotic. What made it a little more stressful for me was the whole left sided driving thing. I have enough trouble with the “round about “ concept in the states, and then to do it from the left side of the road just throws in a whole new angle.
The views out the window were a bit difficult to absorb. There was so much to look at. There is obviously no OSHA here. There were many buildings half-constructed, small shop after shop after shop selling similar items, schools, churches, huts of all shapes and sizes. Cell phones are a big item. Karen was telling us that the poorest of the poor has a cell phone. They may not be able to put food and the table, but they have a cell phone.
As we headed out to the country we saw more of the tea, sugar cane, mango, corn, and rice fields along with more huts. Some made out of bricks and others were made of clay most with either thatched roofs or corrugated metal. People were everywhere, many on bikes, some waiting for taxis, others working or simply hanging around. Cows and goats were tied to trees like I said, so much to take in and difficult to describe.
We stopped along the way for bottled water, “squatties”, and simosas (vegetable filled tarts). We finally arrived in Soroti at about 3-4pm (I have no watch) and were met by the Sleidrechts and the Shaardas.
We are staying on a small compound with a lovely duplex. One side the has the Sliedrechts and the other is the guest house. Our side has 4 bedrooms (one is Karens), a living room, dining room, kitchen and a bathroom. The house is complete with tile floors, running water, fans, electricity, bunk beds, mosquito nets, and a guard who takes care of the yard and protects the property at night. We feel very safe here.
We had dinner and then began the first of many discussions. We talked about the history of Uganda. How it got to where it is. We heard about the Karamajong and the Teso and the strife that has occurred between the tribes. We talked about the average age of the population at 15 and how that impacts Tim and Angie’s work here. We talked about the challenges of the country – one of the main one being distrust. And we talked about the strengths – being the fertile land and the kind hearted people. We talked about the high percentage of people who say they are Christians. Tim said that in general, Christianity is a mile wide and an inch deep. Many people say they are Christians, some go to church, yet many do not know the story of the gospel. Again, many people say they are Christians but don’t live their lives for Christ. Many have what Tim describes as an animistic worldview. They their roots in spiritualism where you can influence the gods through bribes to get what you want and also in fatalism where the belief that nothing I can do will ever change the poor situation that they are in or a “waiting for someone else to come in and solve their problems”. This worldviews breeds weakness, despair, and hopelessness. The goal would be to change the core worldview to a biblical one where God has a plan and in time he is working to redeem creation from the effects of the fall. This affects the way we live our whole life and breeds joy, strength, and hope. Tim does a better job of describing it.
We finished off the night with Mango crisp and a campfire with many different conversations. The sun goes down by 7:30 so we have a lot of time in the evening for talking and debriefing.
People experienced varying degrees of sleep last night. Some heard the dogs or sheep howl or bleat (still to be determined), some were awake from about 3am on, yet others struggled to find their way out of the mosquito net to hit the potty, while others slept the whole night through.
Off to orientation …
~Jane

Tuesday June 9

My plan at this time is to write updates on a regular basis and then update the blog when we get to a spot that has internet. So, you may notice multiple day updates at one time.
Tuesday AM June 9, 2009
Well, we are here. Africa. Still can’t believe it. It only took 32.5 hours from the time we left the house until the time we put our bags in a room in Entebbe. We still have a 7 hour drive to Soroti but at least we were able to stretch out in a bed (complete with mosquito netting) in the guesthouse here in Entebbe.
We were met at the airport by a team member (Karen) and dropped off in two trips at the guesthouse. Now we are sitting on the porch in non-humid 68 degree weather listening to the different sounds of birds and other s creatures, inquiring about the smell, and observing a huge variety of vegetation.
I’m not going to lie…I am not looking forward to getting on a plane again. The only reassuring thing is that we will be traveling much lighter on the way home. We had to get all those bags onto the plane, reclaim those in Toronto and move them to the next spot in the airport. The sleeping arrangements were rough, but they fed us and fed us and fed us. According to Judy, each time she dozed off she awakened to more food on her tray. Otherwise all of the connections, travel, immigration papers, baggage claims … could not have gone smoother.
Off to breakfast…
~Jane