I'm Home!!!!

I’m Back!!!

It seems so soon, but I’m back in good ol’ Grand Rapids! The last two weeks absolutely flew by. I got back in town for two short days and am off tomorrow morning for a week on Lake Michigan with my family. I’ll have to wait until August to share in person with you all! Thanks again for supporting me in prayer and in your encouraging notes. It wouldn’t have been the same without all of you! I learned and loved so much and I can’t wait to tell you all about how God’s working in Soroti!

The end of my time in Soroti was spent on a camping trip with my fabulous teammates. Thirteen adults and five kids piled into our two vans for a trip to Sipi and Sisyi Falls. We hiked through some gorgeous rainforests and climbed up to powerful waterfalls. The trip began with a hiking accident taking Tim and Moses to the hospital. It was a scary few hours, but we saw God’s hand at work in the beautiful creation all around us and in the family bonds of our team (and they are both recovering well!). We spent a night camping at Sisyi Falls, whose tagline is “The Garden of Eden”. I can’t imagine Eden being any more gorgeous than this park! Some of the scenery seemed straight out of a Dr. Seuss book, while other parts of the park seemed straight out of paradise! The kids played in calm streams while the adults climbed through rocky, slippery waterfalls. It could only be described as a magical place!!!!

Over the last week, I said my goodbyes to the kids at Harmony Primary School, at Amecet, my friends in the neighborhood, and my amazing team. The hardest part about saying goodbye is that I don’t know when or if I’ll ever see these people again! I started some great friendships and I’m excited to see how God will use them in the future.

Thanks again for praying for me and for supporting me on this trip. It was an incredible life-changing experience and I can’t wait to tell you more about it!!!!!

In Him,
Steph

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

Jesus Loves The Little Children!

Out here in Uganda, I spend a lot of my time with some beautiful children.

Five special ones are the missionary kids from my team in Soroti. The Shaarda kids are the blonde ones. Lydia is five and a HUGE bundle of energy. She is such a joy, telling me all about her life and asking me questions about mine. Grace is three and is one of the sweetest kids around. She is a graceful little dancer and a clever storyteller. Luca is their baby brother and an absolute doll. He never stops smiling. The Sliedrecht kids are equally as fantastic. Avalien turns four this week. She is a great big sister and loves to remind us all about Jesus’ love and power. Moses is two and gives the best hellos. Almost every morning, he walks to our door with a “Hello Guys!” and a hug for all. They are such wonderful children and I’m so thankful for the blessings they’ve had on my summer.

Twice a week, I have preschool with Avalien and Grace. We’ve been going through a unit on Trees and Animals That Live In Them (thanks Miss Kristi!!). The girls are having a blast! I teach at my house, which is surrounded by all sorts of fun trees that Tim, our team leader, loves to plant. He’s got some little palm trees, a coffee tree in the making, and a huge vegetable garden. Some days we get lucky and have some animals in the trees that we can study too. It helps that there are two pet monkeys in the yard! This week, we learned that God made trees as homes for lots of different animals. We looked specifically at squirrels and birds. The girls’ favourite part of school is making the craft at the end. They are so adorable and are so excited about school!

I’m also continuing to spend time at Amecet with the babies. They are so beautiful and all have such tragic stories. This week, a new baby named Ruth came in. She is two months old and came into Amecet because her mother wasn’t producing milk and had no money. It turns out that the mother, out of desperation, had buried little Ruth as an infant. She was found half-alive by some kids playing hide-and-seek in the woods. The mother was put into jail for attempted murder, but brought Ruth with her since she was still breast-feeding. I can’t even imagine what is going through Ruth’s mother’s head! The baby is now in loving arms at Amecet, but only God knows what will happen to Ruth’s future. There are so many stories like this one... it’s overwhelming!!!

Praises This Week:
- Developing friendships with the Ugandan staff at Amecet
- A healthy week... finally!!!
- A great team here in Soroti

Prayer Requests This Week:
- Continued compassion for the many people I meet and discernment as I hear so many needs
- Wisdom as I interact with teachers and students at Harmony, a partner school with Amecet

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