Sunday Sabbath!

This week was another exciting one and I want to thank you all for keeping me in your prayers and for all of your encouraging notes. I'm thinking of you all and I'm sorry that my updates have been few. I'm excited to get home to tell you more stories!!!

This week has been another full one, but great! I feel like I have gotten into a comfortable rhythm here that I will definitely miss!

My Sundays have been a huge joy, allowing me to visit various churches around town. Last week was a six and a half hour long service with a guest praise team. I visited the church with some of my new friends from Amecet. It was fun to see their church, but the length was a bit overwhelming! This Sunday, I visited the church that Tim and Angie attend. It's a small church that meets in a school on the other side of town. They are such a happy community and so glad to have visitors. My housemate Karen leads the Sunday school program at this church, teaching to almost 90 kids every week. She has such a good time and the congregation appreciates it so much. Church is done much differently here, as you can imagine! My housemate Amos preached, which was really cool! He did a great job of giving hope for a future heaven here on earth. He reminded everyone that while we are here, our job is to build peace. The congregation was really accepting of our visit and his teaching, which was really encouraging!

Our Sunday afternoons are spent in typical CRC fashion with a nice nap! :) We then finish the evening with a team visit to Amecet for worship. The babies are all there, looking beautiful as always (check out Isaac, above)! Most of the staff joins us, as well as the group of older kids from the Amecet building nextdoor. This group is made up of about 10 orphaned teenagers who are all HIV positive. They are such beautiful, sweet young people. More than any other kids here, my heart really feels for them! It's encouraging to know that this is age group that I feel called to work with. I visit them a couple of times a week for a Bible study with Amos and to read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" with them. We play lots of games too! Brenda is in the last picture, holding little Moses who was just sent home with his father. They are two of my favorites here (is that allowed!?!?!). Brenda is in Primary-3, which is similiar to the 3rd grade level in the U.S., but she is 13. I'm not sure why there is such a delay with these kids. She is so sweet and loves the babies. She is one of two who were just recently "transferred" from living with the babies to living with the older kids. Most of the older kids have spent many years together at Amecet. They are well loved there, which is so great to see!

Thanks again for all of your prayers this week!

Praises This Week:
- A safe arrival of three visitors from Michigan: Becky and David & Heather Breen (formally Duyst!)
- Growing relationships among Ugandans. I'm having so much fun getting to know the workers at Amecet and our neighbors in town!
Prayer Requests This Week:

- Health among our team. It seems like everyone has gotten a little sick this past week!
- RAIN!!!!!! There is a huge lack around here and everyone's crops are dying. It'd be great to have some rain!

Much love,

Steph