Checking In

Hi friends,

Just a quick update - a lot has been going on!  My friend, Jason, was visiting here in Uganda all of last week, and he was able to do a lot with us the whole time he was here - including a trip just outside of Kampala to take mosquito nets to a school for blind children and a trip up to Kaberamaido with Jade, Harriet and myself.  We went out there to meet up with the ten widows and ten "Arrow Boys" who we are investing in over the next year to do agriculture training, and to formally begin the program with a nice little MOU signing ceremony.  It was so exciting for me to see the things we have been discussing and praying about for so long put down on paper and to know that they are being put into motion!  We also feel good about the people from the community who will be leading the trainings and helping facilitate things.  It really seems like they genuinely want to see change in the community, starting with these two small groups, and that they have caught the vision of how this small number of people can extend the benefits to the larger community.  So it was a great trip up to see them, and I was able to take individual portraits of each of the participants, which I hope to upload soon so you can see who you can be praying for.

But that's not all!  My three great friends - Kristen, Will and John - arrived on Monday, and we've also been moving around just in the few days they've been here.  We went out to Kapchorwa on Tuesday morning and stayed a couple days.  We met up with the pastors there and went out into the rural areas to distribute 200 more mosquito nets (left over from the team's visit last month) in new locations and went out to Greek to check on the community center we are helping build out there.  Phase one of the construction is completed, and the foundation is laid!  The work is going along quickly, and the engineer I spoke with hopes to complete the building just as soon as we can get the resources out to them.  The center will serve as a meeting place for church and for other community meetings, area church functions, etc.  Look out for photos of the construction site on here soon!

So John and Will have been on a whirlwind around-the-world (literally!) trip, which has taken them to Malaysia, Ethiopia and Uganda so far.  Their next stop is Rwanda, and Kristen and I are tagging along for the ride!  We board the bus for Kigali bright and early tomorrow morning, and we'll stop in a town in northern Rwanda to visit with a church that's actually the sister church of the church that Will attends in DC (which I also attended when I lived there!).  Then we'll move down to Kigali and find whatever awaits us there!  I'm excited.  And tired.  I only have a couple of hours before it's time to get up and go, so I'll end here with the promise of photos and more stories to come when I get back to the computer... and life as usual.  If there is a "life as usual" here. : )