New Year, Same vision

It's been a while since I sat down to write a blog again, a year to be exact. A year that has flown by in so many ways. A year of joy, happiness, testimonies, and success stories, but also a year of loss, heartache, struggles, and unknowns. With every situation and circumstance that the Lord has brought me through, I continue to praise Him for the work he is doing here. I have seen people healed and people killed. I have seen progress and set backs. I have seen good and evil first hand. But, God. God has never failed me, he has never failed this ministry, he has never failed these boys, and most importantly He won't start now!

As always, I have so many stories and so many things to share, especially after being silent for some time on this platform. I hope to start sending monthly newsletters and at least quarterly blog posts with more detailed updates. Time tends to escape me, but I'm going to set reminders and try to do better! There's always so many God stories, every single day!

When I first came to Uganda, I went to a sweet friend's house for dinner with her and her family. One of the things that she told me was that every day they go around the table and say how they saw God that day. From that day forward, I adopted that practice. I like to call it my "God wink". In doing this, even on the most stressful of days, the days I come home saying "Uganda got me", I am forced to stop and look for God's goodness that day. I've never had a day pass where I can't see something amazing God has done here. As we enter a new year one thing that continues to be laid on my heart is that God has done amazing things here, he is doing amazing things here, and he won't stop doing amazing things here as long as I walk in obedience to HIM.

Let's start with a few big events that happened in 2023.

January/Feb- We were able to send 32 new students to boarding school. This was a huge task and a huge celebration for so many! Boarding schools here literally only provide a bed frame. Students are tasked with bringing everything else from basic school supplies for 3 months, a mattress, bedsheets, mosquito nets, bathing soap, laundry soap, toothpaste, shoe polish, vasoline, cleaning products, reams of paper, brooms, mops, and more. We pack their metallic cases full and load them up to drop them off. All of our students performed very well this year, improving each term! We had some even in 1st and 2nd position in their class by end of year. We had 9 finish vocational training and go for their end of program internships, where they are able to stay and have their first job earning money. We also welcomed in 40 new boys to the project. 40 more boys who now have access to the word of God weekly! Praise the Lord for that!

March/April- These months held some of the highest highs and lowest lows for us. 2 of our boys graduated their year long bible college! These are boys who are also house managers for the project house. They disciple and lead so well and we are so thankful for them! Ivan was in the English course and Abraham took the Luganda course. They both learned so much and were able to finally graduate a course, complete with caps, gowns, and a whole ceremony. They were both gifted study bibles and cherish them so much! We held a pastors training conference around the same time of graduation and had 120 pastors in attendance. We were able to teach them truth that some of them had never heard before. With so much mixed theology and false teaching here, we have been blessed to train many pastors throughout the 3 years I've been here. In April we participated in International Day of the Street Child, here in Jinja. This is where all of the street connected children and organizations come together to have a parade, assembly, and food together, while also providing medical care, HIV testing, and games for the children. This is always a huge event and a large task to take on, but it's so fruitful and such a blessing to be a part of. This year we witnessed many of our older boys helping to set things up, organize the function, control chaos, take drugs from other children, and help to serve their fellow brothers and sisters. It's always an honor to watch how much they've changed, only by the grace of God! April also brought one of the hardest events of my time here. One of my boys, who had been with me since the beginning, was shot and killed by police. Unfortunately the police here are very brutal to the street children and their first course of action for a guilty person is either shooting or beating to death. While he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing, he never deserved to die. Ashlaf was only 19 years old. He was a humble kid and was trying to change but kept hanging around bad peer groups and falling into temptation. He made a very poor decision that night that lead to his death. When I found out the next morning, myself and one of my partners went searching for where he was taken. We were told he lived for about 2 hours while in the emergency department, but they didn't work on him because no one was there to pay, so he died. Unfortunately healthcare is like that here. If you can't pay, you don't even get the slightest care, even at the government hospitals that are supposed to be free.  All I kept thinking was, in that 2 hours of suffering did he confess his sins, repent, and ask Jesus to save him? I won't know this side of heaven, but that bothered me so much for a few weeks. Was he suffering alone? Or did Jesus take his pain away? There were many more horrible things that revolved around Ashlaf's death and burial that I won't go into detail about. But it was things I never thought I'd have to do, or see, or experience. It was really hard honestly. I had vivid dreams for a couple of weeks, no one understood what I witnessed, and it was hard to talk about. But God knew and he let me cry out to him, and he used it all for his glory. We were able to talk to the other boys about what happened and why it happened. We were able to use Ashlaf's story as a warning for them. We had several boys come to Christ in the following weeks, and still to this day they are different young men! We praise God for that!

May/June-In May I had an intern with me for several weeks, to show her what long term missions looks like. We stayed busy all day, every day, while she was here, but I think she realized it's much different than a short term team trip. We had to order, pack, and prepare for second term of school, and I was super thankful for the help this time! We also had 5 boys graduate from a faith based business course! They spent a couple of months, every day, learning how to run a small business, save money, how to treat their customers and so much more, with one of the local youth pastors I know here. He began the course with a trauma training session to help the boys realize what traumas and unforgiveness they were still holding on to. All of the boys said it helped them so much and they were able to forgive their parents or people who had made them come to the street. After they graduated we were able to start their small businesses. All but one are doing very well still. It's amazing to see the change and growth in them, and the hope that that they now have in Jesus! We also had a boy that was seriously beaten and ended up with 3 skull fractures and a pretty large brain bleed. We spent several days in the hospital before he came to the project to continue recovering. I'm thankful for the medical wisdom and background the Lord has given me, for just a time as this.

July/August- In July we went for second term visitation for our school boys and they all had been performing very well. Everyone's grades had improved and we got such great reports from the teachers and directors. We had a team here who spent 2 days on one of the islands in Lake Victoria evangelizing, and a day with the street kids in our project doing bible study and worship together. It was one of the shortest team trips we've had here so we crammed everything in just 4 days and sent them home as tired as they were from jet lag. In August I went back to America for about a month. It was the longest I had been gone from here, but my partners did such an amazing job maintaining the organization and only had a few issues we had to solve when I got back. I'm so, so, blessed to have such an amazing group of leaders working with me! I have 4 Ugandan partners and 4 boys who are in leadership roles at the project. I couldn't do any of this without God and them! My time in America was honestly hard. At that time I had been here about 2.5 years and there was a lot of culture shock, hot/freezing cold that made me sick, I had some hard conversations, and it was just flat out busy. Uganda is a different type of busy. A slow, hurry up and wait, busy. It's not the same. I was overstimulated by lights and temperatures. I was overstimulated by choices in the grocery stores and having to pump my own over-priced fuel (not a thing here in Uganda). I did have such an amazing time with family and close friends though. But in all honesty, I felt out of place. The weird in between of that being my home country and the changes of being gone for so long that people didn't know how to interact and things were so different. I struggled being back there for that long, but my partners kept giving me encouraging reports from here and everything was handled very well! They also got all the boys picked up at the end of 2nd term and back to school again for 3rd term in that time period. It took a lot of team work, but we have a great team! Praise the Lord!

September/October-In September we started the process to upgrade from a CBO to an NGO. We have been registered as a Community Based Organization since 2021, but needed to upgrade to a Non-Governmental Organization because my current visa expires in April and I needed to get a work permit to continue staying here and working. It's a long drawn out process, but it's almost complete, Lord willing! In October one of the boys came to me with a pretty severe pain in his upper abdomen. We went for scans because he didn't seem ok. All of his scans looked fine, but he had a significant bout of Malaria. We ended up staying in the hospital for 2 days getting infusions, but the morning we were supposed to leave the Lord laid it on my heart to ask for another scan. Something just didn't seem right and I wasn't comfortable taking him home yet. This scan revealed appendicitis. The surgeon I usually use was about 6 hours away, so I called him to come. He has done surgery on 12 of our boys and they have all had amazing outcomes. I wanted my preferred doctor to perform this one as well. That week, while my boy stayed in the bed, and me and my partners alternated staying on the floor, we were able to do bible study with him, pray with him, play worship music for him, and he gave his life to Christ that week! I've never seen such a drastic change in someone so fast. He said God saved him from dying so how could he not follow God? Ibra had his surgery, we stayed a few more days, and now he's at a teen mission program sharing the word of God in the village. God is so so good to us!

November/December- In November we had another team and soon after picked up all the boys from their last term of the year! We had 2 who performed 1st in their class, 3 who performed 2nd in their class, and the rest were all within the top 15 in their class! We were so proud of all of them for trying so hard. Several of our students were also in elected class positions throughout the year, which was super rewarding for them.  I was able to spend Thanksgiving with some friends from my weekly Bible study, which was super sweet and a special evening for all of us. They made some amazing dishes that reminded us all of a true American Thanksgiving spread! December was very busy for us. We always do a big Christmas event for the street kids of Jinja to feed them, give them clothes and shoes, and a day of fun and relaxing. Planning starts as soon as Thanksgiving is over, for me. Along with planning for Christmas, we also were sending 30 boys to a bible youth project for 5 weeks. At this project they do a bible boot camp for a week then they are sent out in teams to villages throughout Uganda to do evangelism, community service, and preach the word of God. So far we have heard amazing testimonies and I can't wait until they come back to hear more! God has connected us with so many amazing organizations around the area that continue to build up our boys in Christ. We are so thankful for these connections. God is good! December also brought year 39 for me (at least I don't look as old as I feel most of the time!). I never in a million years thought I would be here, in Uganda, doing what I'm doing, but I also can't imagine being anywhere else. December also brought a separation from our funding church, but God has already opened so many doors for the way forward. I know he's not done here. I keep having a vision of pruning and after this season of stripping and changing, I can't wait to see the beautiful things he brings to us as we continue to walk in obedience. God is good to us. We praise HIM! We ended the month with such a sweet weekend of Christmas celebrations with the boys. We got to take the house leaders out for a special dinner, had a Christmas party with all of our boys, I had Christmas eve/morning with my sweet friends from bible study, and 2 of the boys came over for Christmas spaghetti, ice cream, cake, and soda on Christmas night. It was one of the best Christmas seasons I've had in a while. Such a sweet time of reflection and togetherness. We also welcomed in 30 new boys to the project and I can't wait to see the Lord change them like he has so many others!

So, what's to come for Experience Hope? 

We began this New Year with the same vision and mission the Lord has continued to give us. To continue to show these boys the love of Christ through bible study, church, discipleship, mentorship, education, medical care, and housing. God continues to grow us and provide for us in ways we could never imagine and we know he won't stop now. In this new season of change I'm now more focused on fundraising and reaching out. I got really comfortable with the funding we were getting, and God helped me to see that when everything happened in December. He helped me to see that I depended on that monthly deposit more than I depended on him to provide it, but if I turn my eyes back to him for financial help, he will provide an abundance more. I admit that fault, and repent of that, and I now see clearly the way forward. Fundraising is hard for me! I love telling everyone what God is doing here, but I hate asking for money to support it. But is that really fair? I read the book, "The God Ask" a few years ago, and I recently pulled it out again in light of the current situation. One thing that the author, Steve, said is "I stopped thinking of it as the 'Steve Ask' and started thinking of it as the 'God Ask'" He goes on to share that our responsibility as missionaries is to simply be faithful and ask. The responsibility of accruing the funds is up to God. My calling and all things he provides me with belong to God. My job in raising support is to ask God for provision and trust that where He guides he will provide.  And after talking to God, my job is to ask others to join in what God is doing, trusting that God will guide the way. It takes the pressure off of me in a way because when I trust God to provide, he will not only provide the funds but also the people who send them. 

So, I'm asking you, as we step into 2024, will you partner with us as God continues to work in the lives of so many street children? Will you pray with us that they hear the good news, that they feel the love of Jesus and that God provides for us all along the way? Will you pray about giving so that we can continue to provide a safe place for them to come, proper medical and dental care and surgeries, nutritious food, housing, schooling, and basic needs such as clothing, shoes, and hygiene items? You can reach out to me thens1213@gmail.com for any further questions you may have. The ways to donate are listed on the side of this blog. 

Prayer requests:

-Health and safety for my boys and my partners and their families

-Wisdom in the way forward as I seek to join a missionary sending organization, not only to provide a tax deductible link for donating, but more importantly for member care for me as a missionary.

-Wisdom in who to reach out to and how we can bring more people on board with this beautiful journey God has me on

-Housing for myself as I need to leave the current place in Feb

-Overall provision

Katonda Mulungi (God is good)

Blessings

Tara

Isaiah 1:17 (CSB) “Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.”

                                            

2022 Recap and Welcoming a New Year in 2023

Happy New Year to you, my friends and family!  As per usual, its been a busy season here in Uganda, but God is doing amazing things! As we enter another new year I just wanted to send a little recap and praise God with you all, for what He has done for us, this year. 

2022 in summary:

January: Schools finally reopened, here in Uganda, after a 2 year closure, due to COVID. We were able to send the first 4 boys back to primary boarding school and they were beyond excited for the opportunity! We found a school about 45 minutes away so the temptation of escaping and going back to their former way of life was a little harder for them. When we got to school on the first day and they got to open their metallic boxes for the first time they were all so grateful for what God had provided them. They had enough school supplies, boarding supplies, and snacks to get them through the term. All of them commented that they'd never been given everything they need before, and they were so humbled and thankful. We also had 2 boys start their businesses and they were so excited for the second chance! We praise God for His provision for these guys to begin their new education and business journies. We had 3 boys in January have surgery, and while 2 had some minor initial complications, all recovered very well in the end. We praise God for His provision in providing good medical care for these boys! We were able to complete another mainland Following Jesus class for 25 Pastors, thanks to the work of Thomas and Titus, while I was in and out of the hospital with one of the boys. We praise God for His provision in the amazing staff we have, and for allowing us to continue to train the local pastors. At the end of January we had the first team of the year. I was able to go to one of the islands with the team, this time, and witnessed God move mightily among the people. We praise God for such a loving and serving church who sends people to walk along side of us in this ministry! 

February: This month we were able to send 3 more boys to primary and secondary school, as well as start up 2 more businesses and enter 2 boys in welding programs. We praise God for the provision in allowing these boys a second chance at education/training so that they can learn more about responsibility and be able to sustain themselves and a future family, in a healthy way vs the street life they had. We had an extra 50 boys show up to join the project after the January team, however after hearing all of the rules I have, only about 30 of those came back. We want to be very firm and very consistent in our rules and how the project is ran. We're not just here to give them all they want. We're here to share the word of God with them and teach them how to be responsible Godly young men. I do have many many rules, but if they truly want to change they stick around and follow them and man is God changing hearts and minds through this! We praise God for His goodness, grace, and mercy in the lives of these young men. In Feb we also started having boys teach at every bible study. We had started seeing so much growth and change in so many, we wanted to give them an opportunity to study and teach in front of us, so we could correct and guide as needed. It's been so amazing to see them volunteer each week and be excited about teaching their brothers the word of God! Praise God for His wisdom and fire in these boys for Him!

March: March brought 2 more surgeries, 10 more boys to bible study, 2 trips out of the country in 2 months because of visa issues, and a sweet visitation day with the school boys, who all did very well on their midterm report cards. I also got to spend some time at Prayer Mountain here in Uganda, with my sweet friend and the bible study group I was in. It was such a sweet day of prayer, community, and refueling that I needed. Praise God for the times of refueling and being filled up, when day to day I'm pouring out so much! I also became "mother" to some of our boys on birth certificates we had to get for them, for school testing, for a total of $3.42USD! This was quite an experience and still makes me laugh to this day that it's even a thing. However I am 100% written down in the town council book as mother and Ugandan to some of our boys! 

April: In April, we participated in our first public event, as a Certified CBO, here in Jinja, recognizing and celebrating with the street children, for International Street Child Day. We had so many from our project come to represent us as an organization, and I was so proud to see our boys cheering for one another during competitions, helping to set up and clean up for the day's events, and helping to take away drugs and monitor the younger boys. God really showed me how much change some of these boys have had, only by His grace and mercy. We praise Him alone for all of those amazing changes! Thomas and his team also finished another Following Jesus class on one of the islands, in April. They had about 40 pastors in attendance and had such a great response to the teaching. We praise God for the work He's doing in training these pastors correct theology and providing bibles so they can actually teach truth each week to their congregations! I also was involved in an "accident", that was completely done on purpose. You see, life is hard here for locals. They work all day but barely get paid. They use the little money they get on things they think are important, but in fact aren't always important necessities, so they continue to be starving and hurting. One thing that happens, more often than not, is that some people are just sick and twisted and try to cause accidents, but try to make it look like it's not their fault, to get money from someone. Often this does happen toward the "muzungu" community, as the general consensus is that if someone is white, they have money. I was driving back from bible study one day and a boda guy (motorcycle) pulled up beside me, saw I was white, slowed down, then immediately cut in front of me to make me hit him. I saw in his eyes what was about to happen and started slowing down, but still hit the bike when he cut in front of me. He knew exactly what he was doing, so he jumped off, as not to get hurt in the process. Within seconds my car was surrounded with people saying it was my fault and wanting me to get out of the car. I rolled all the windows up and refused, and what felt like hours later, but was probably only minutes, an off duty officer came to my window, showed me his badge, and said he saw it happen, it was the other guys fault, and just don't open windows or doors. He got the crowed cleared, but man was it scary! I had just a few scratches on my car, and didn't have to pay or do anything for the other guy since the officer witnessed it wasn't my fault. Praise God for his protection always! We also sent 2 of our boys to a seminary school in April. They are both boys who stay at our project house and manage everything without complaint and I'm going to be sad to see them go when they graduate this year, but I also can't wait to see how God uses them! Praise God for these opportunities and for other ministries here teaching truth to our future church leaders! I also had my first personal Ugandan hospital experience in April. I had a debilitating migraine for several days and nothing was helping it. In the States I've had to get Magnesium infusions with some other vitamin cocktails mixed in it for them to stop. So I'm super thankful for the hospital I use here, and the doctors I work with, who listened to me on what I needed, even though they've never heard of the mixture, and it took away my migraine in about 3 hours. We picked up boys from first term at school, and also celebrated Easter together. We were able to feed the boys a nice meal after church, thanks to our wonderful supporters. And then, at the end of the month, we welcomed another team from my home church! They held a marriage conference since it was 4 married couples on the team, did bible study with the boys at the project, evangelism on the mainland and at the islands, and helped with a large street kid day function. Again, super thankful for such a loving and servant hearted church! Praise God!

May: We began the month by sending the 7 boys back to school and my car overheating on the side of the road while trying to take them back. Luckily I have a great mechanic and one of my boys training under him, so they came to the rescue. We still sat on the side of the road for hours, but they got it fixed and had me on the way with no other problems. Just a day after that happened, my partner called me that her neighbors son was in the hosptial not doing well. I went to visit him and after reviewing his chart saw that he had incredibly low blood counts, needing a blood transfusion days ago. I then learned that here in Uganda, you have to find your own blood if the hospital doesn't have it. Well this hosptial didn't have it, and his mom and my partner, didn't know where to begin looking. I got on the phone calling everywhere asking for his blood type, but all of the local hospitals were out of blood. Long story short, we finally found blood at a hosptial about 1.5 hours from Jinja, so we loaded up sweet Jowally and took him there as fast as we could. I made a promise to him that day that I would find where to donate blood and donate as much as I possibly could. Well about a week later, as I was riding through town on a boda, I saw a blood donation tent on the side of the road. So I had the boda pull over and drop me off, and I fulfilled my promise. What an experience all of that was! My sweet little friend is doing much better now and an even bigger praise is that his mama gave her life to Christ after witnessing Jesus work in Jowally's life! Again, we are so thankful for those who support our mission to help others in need. The next week I got a call that the boys house had been broken into while no one was home. There wasn't a ton that was stolen because of how the windows have bars, but it still was an eye opener to beef up security there. So we added razor wire to the top of the fence and fixed the broken window. We work with street kids, both those who truly want to change and those who only want the perks of an organization. I'm honestly surprised it took a year for one of them to break in there. We had suspicions of who did it, but never had total proof. After the April team left, we had 65 boys come to the project wanting to register. We had to make the decision to hold of on bringing in more at that time because we needed to truly be intentional with those we did have in the project, and focus on quality over quantity. We invited them to church and told them when we were able to accept more they could have first dibs. Some of them have been coming to church since then, and others haven't. We've been able to add a few here and there since May, if boys have graduated from programs or stopped coming, but we still have a line waiting to come in. May is also when I felt so strongly called to ask Joy to come work with us. Praise God for all of His sweet children He sends us!

June:  In June, I took a trip back to Tennessee for almost 3 weeks. I was super intentional about the dates I chose because I really wanted to go to our church's worship night that they have on the square every year. While there, I was able to spend time on the water with my dad and with some friends, see some of my sweet littles I've been missing, and of course be filled up by family and friends and my home church family. It was a wonderful time of respite for sure! But also much more hot and humid than it ever is here! About 2 weeks before I left for America, Joy began coming to our project to learn the ropes and rules, so that while I was gone to America, she could help Thomas and Mary, and also kind of use it as a time to see if she'd be a good fit for our project. She immediately asked me for a list of the rules and disciplines that I enforce and studied them like she was going to have a test. She wanted to come in prepared, knowing that street kids will manipulate and try to get one over on her as the new person. When she first came she also wanted to learn how to do the basic medical we provide so that she could assist with that. I made a list and she studied it and is a huge blessing in helping with that! Thomas, Mary, and Joy held down the fort very well while I was gone, all while Thomas had another team here too. While I was away I also had many meetings with the church and made a promo video for Uganda to hopefully spread more awareness at our church. We have an amazing creative team at ECC! When I got back, everyone, including Joy, agreed that she was a wonderful fit with our group, and she officially became EHI staff in June! We are so blessed to have her! We praise God for adding more help for us, and giving Joy the heart to love these boys so well. 

July: In the beginning of July we had another visitation day for the school boys, in term 2. Another round of good midterm reports and praise reports from the teachers. We had another boy have surgery the following day, who had went to the hospital with Joy and a serious issue while I was at visitation. This was one of the boys we've had constant trouble with, but we will help any of the street kids when it comes to medical issues, no matter what they've done to us. We thought we saw a change in him while he was recovering at the boys house, however about 3 weeks into recovery, when it was time for him to shift back to his room, he stole things on the way out and showed us he was the same as he's always been. We started 2 more boys in welding programs in July, met with one of the vocation schools about enrolling 5 boys in their next open enrollment in September, and Thomas and team completed another Following Jesus class. This one was one of my favorites because they were so excited about the teaching and what they had learned, many of them rented caps and gowns to wear to their "graduation". We had 5 boys who were ready to start a business. I heard about an organization here that does small business training, including budgeting, money management, business etiquette and other important aspects of being a business owner, as well as teaching all of this with a biblical base and even doing bible study with the boys. So we enrolled these boys in the program and they graduated at the end of the month. The teacher said they all did wonderful, and the boys all commented on how much they learned. They really enjoyed learning more and have put those practices into their businesses now. One of those boys got his tonsils cut out in a mud hut in the village the day before class started. He was super sick and super weak from blood loss, but thanks to God, we were able to treat him and he only missed one day because he wanted to go so bad! At the end of July/beginning of August we had another team here from ECC! They had a rocky start to the trip with flight delays and having to split up to make it to Uganda, but man did God show up and change lives! This team was a pretty young team, but they handled all of the changes and issues very well and were up for anything. Many people were set free from demons on the island, many people were baptized, including another 37 of our boys, and many people got to hear the word of God for the first time, thanks to the obedience of this group. I was also super excited for Abraham, one of the boys who stays at our project house and is Seminary, and Joy join the team on the islands. We praise Him for all that He's doing in us and through us!

August: Well, August started off with a bang. I woke up one morning to a message from my mom that my dad had fallen, may or may not have passed out, and broke his ankle. Anyone who really knows me knows that my dad and I became really close during 2020 when my plans of coming to Uganda were brought to a sudden standstill and we spent the entire year hiking, working in the yard, doing projects, and enjoying a cup of coffee together. This was the first big thing that had happened back home in TN, since I came to Uganda, and it wrecked me. Knowing he would have to have surgery, knowing his heart history, knowing too much medical stuff, it brought me to my knees because all I could do was pray. He had surgery a few days later and came out with 9 screws and a couple of plates, and was non weight bearing for a long time. I praise God for bringing him through that and giving me an amazing church who stepped in and helped me find someone to build my dad a ramp, since every entrance into their house had stairs. Q went to work as soon as we talked and was such a blessing to my dad. My dad is now into everything again and doing fantastic! He really is a good therapy patient! I went to the local Agriculture fair where I saw a King Cobra and a viper behind very thin sheets of plexiglass, with a "zookeeper" making them mad to strike on the other side. Don't care to see either of those in person, but also didn't care to see the Black Mamba I saw in person last year, but it happened anyway! Titus went back to the island the team was on in July to stay for 2 months, teaching Following Jesus and helping to grow leaders within the community. God did amazing work through him! We picked up boys from 2nd term at school, and all had done very well on their end of term reports too. August also brought my sweet baby Tara, Thomas and Mary's 3rd child, and my namesake! She was born a sweet, healthy little chunk, and loves her Auntie Tara something fierce! It's now to the point if I walk in and talk while she's breastfeeding she stops eating to look for me...oops! Less than 24 hours after birth, myself and her other Auntie (Thomas's sister) loaded baby Tara up in the car and took her for vaccines. We didn't have to sign her out, we didn't have a nurse with us, nothing...just us and a newborn driving away to get shots. So many new experiences here all the time!  I also got to go to my first Ugandan introduction ceremony and wedding! It was super fun getting all dressed up and being immersed into their culture, as these were things I had never been a part of here before, but wow were they long days! I was able to get so many baby snuggles in and I absolutely love being Auntie Ta-a to Thomas and Mary's kiddos! We also had to complete our CBO renewal this month. After all of the paperwork and fees, we had our inspection in September, while I was out of the country, and got our approval for another year! Praise God! 

September: The beginning of September, we were able to send another group of 7 to school for the first time, along with the others who were already enrolled. 5 of these boys started at a vocational school in town in a special certificate program mechanic course. They were all so humbled and excited to start and voiced they never thought they'd have another chance at school. We praise God for His provision to allow these things to continue to happen for these boys! September also brought another surgery for one of the new boys. This one had a few more complications than others have had, but after a couple of months he was back on his feet and moving around well. Each time the boys have surgery I stay overnight in the hospital with them so they're not alone and so I can be their advocate if needed. This time, my sweet Joy, volunteered to stay overnight since I had been there all day. We alternated days and night caring for him. She's such a blessing to me! It's not easy staying in the hosptial overnight anywhere, but especially not here. Another boy started a welding program, and then I had to leave the country again. While it's a pain to leave every month, I always use the time to really seek God and be present with Him because I don't get the refilling I always need, as much as I pour out. So it can be looked at as both a curse and a blessing to leave every 3 months, but I choose to see it as a blessing as it always falls at the perfect timing of needed respite and also I'm getting to see places I never thought I'd see. This time I went to Cape Town, South Africa, went whale watching, and went to the southern most tip of Africa, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. What an amazing God we have! While I was in South Africa I felt more tired than usual for no reason, so when I returned I went to the lab and ordered some labs for myself. (Medical care is much easier here!) It came back that my platelets were low, which is often a sign of a gnarly parasite we have here called Bilharzia. I had a test for that at home, so immediately took it and it was positive. So for the next 8 weeks I had to treat for this bug. I had no other symptoms other than unwarranted fatigue, however after taking the 9 pills each time I had to treat, I was super sick for over 24 hours. I felt worse with the medicine than I did with the bug. I've since finished treatment and retested and I'm happy to say I am parasite free! Praise God! It's just a fact of life living here that you'll get some sort of parasite at some time. Again, surprised it took this long. We also got news of Ebola in the country while I was in SA. At first it was contained to one area, but quickly spread to other parts of Uganda. It took until November to reach Jinja, but it didn't have a huge outbreak here like it did in other places. Praise God! 

October: In October my best boda guy, Bandy, called me one day that he wanted me to go visit his mom in the village and pray with her. He had been telling me for a couple of months that she was super sick and eaten up with cancer, somewhere in her abdomen but he didn't know how to tell me in English. A few days later we loaded up in my car and made the trek about an hour away to go see her. His sister had passed away just a few weeks prior and left behind 3 kids that his mom was also watching over. When we got there we saw that mama could barely get out of bed and the kids (ages 5, 7, and 10) were really caring for her. We spent some time there and then prayed over her before we left. Bandy told me the next day that mama had energy again and could move around out of the bed, which is something she's not had in months. Mama has continued to heal and we praise God alone for the miracle of life and health. Of course I got plenty of baby snuggles, and actually had to wear a hoodie outside here several times. I looked up the weather on those occasions and saw that it was 70 degrees...my blood is definitely adapting to Uganda weather if 70 is cold for me! We got to do something super special for the boys in the project in October too. A few months prior my Uncle had sent me some money to do some sort of special meal for the boys. Well, the boys rarely get chicken, because it's a more expensive meat option, so we opted to do chicken for all the boys at bible study. Let me just say, it was a huge hit! They celebrated and were so appreciative of such a special meal! We wanted to make sure many of our regular boys were there from school and other events and it was the perfect time for it. Baby Tara and I got a Solly wrap from another missionary family, who was leaving Uganda, and it became her favorite place to be snuggled up! (also mine, I can't lie!) At the end of the month Mary called me, with a hysterical Reuben (her middle child) in the background. He had been burned by hot beans on his foot. I rushed that side to her house with all of my burn supplies and my sweet buddy had a terrible burn. We treated it for weeks and it finally healed and has minimal scaring now. He still likes to say "you see" and point to it every now and then so he gets Auntie kisses! We praise God for healing my buddy! Thomas and his team held another Following Jesus class and the participants were super excited about hearing truth and getting bibles, as many of them didn't have a complete bible, if they even had one at all. I also started filling in teaching spinning classes on Thursday evenings, while our usual instructor was out of the country. I was super nervous at first, but it's always a lot of fun and we had a blast! 

November: I started November with a visit to the boys at vocation school, and seeing how happy and excited they were just melted my heart. They were so grateful for what they'd been given that they all talked my ear off for some time. Later that evening I got a call that one of the boys, who's not at all consistant in coming to the project, and really only comes when he has a big medical need, fell off of the rubbish truck and hit his head and was having seizures. So we went to the local government hospital where he was and they don't have CT scan or most medications there. I had to load him up in my car and take him to another hospital for CT scan then bring him back, again no paperwork, we just left for another hospital like it was nothing. Sure enough he had a skull fracture and blood on the brain. We went back to the other hospital where I had to go to pharmacy to pick up his seizure medications and pain medicines for them to use, and monitor him overnight. I couldn't stay at this place because the wards are literally beds everywhere in one giant room. He had a friend with him, so the friend stayed and had my number if there was any issues. We got word the next morning he walked out in the night even though he was still seizing and no one told me, and no one could find him for over a week. We finally saw him in town a couple of weeks later, back on the rubbish truck, like nothing happened. We praise God for watching over him. Later that evening when I got home they had built a makeshift wall down the alley by my house so they could tear down an old building. Well that wall had fallen and was blocking my way into my driveway so one of my boys had to come help move it so I could park my car. A few days later I had another team on the way, but they also got delayed due to cancelled flights from a strike in Kenya. We had already planned to feed the street kids after church on that Sunday, so I continued with that plan and the boys were so happy. The team came in later that night, early in the morning. As they were getting ready to pull in the alley, a van full of thieves got caught like deer in the headlights stealing everything from behind that broken down wall, while the local security guards stood by and watched. They ran so fast to get in the van and take off we never even got a good look at them. I was watching from my gate and the team saw it from the entrance to the alley. What an adventure. While the team was here we were able to minister in Masase which is the slum area of Jinja. It's where most of the boys we work with are from, and where the worst of the worst live. Theres always murders, prostitutes, drinking, drugs, and all forms of debauchery happening in Masase, day and night. We really felt called to minister there and connected with a pastor that Abraham does evangelism with on Sundays. So many lives were changed and so many people gave their lives to Christ! We had a big church service on Wednesday evening to conclude our time there and even more came forward to be prayed for and to accept Jesus! It was also super cool to see some of our boys translating for us and sharing the word of God with their neighbors! We praise Him for his work there! The team also went to one of the islands where more lives were saved and God really spoke to the community. After the team left the island, Titus stayed behind again to teach and train leaders. While the team was here I also experienced such an outpouring of love and community after one of my boys in the mechanic program, took my car to be serviced and drove further than he should have without someone with him, and had a bad accident. After the accident people were trying to kill him, they stole his clothes, his bag, his phone, and so many things from my car. He had no choice but to run because they were literally trying to kill him. The thing about Uganda is so many people opt for "mob justice". So if you cause an accident or cause an issue, others try to kill you for justice. I saw my car when Bandy heard about the accident and took me, and I immediately knew that the boy was injured, but no one knew where he was. A few tearful hours later he showed up and explained how he was being beaten to death and had to run. We took him to the hospital because he was having severe chest pain, abdominal pain, and head pain. He had thrown up 3 times at this point. We scanned him head to toe and other than a bunch of bruises and contusions, the majority of his injury was a bleed in his brain from hitting the windshield so hard. He was sore for days, but he's now recovered, with only PTSD from the trauma. He's remembered bits and pieces from the accident since then, and has great remorse for what happened. I'm just thankful he's alive and ok. We have had a battle fixing everything since then because the people he hit ran my number plate and saw my white girl name. They've been trying to get more and more money simply because of that, so Thomas, Bandy (my boda guy), and Andrew (my rolex-the food not a watch-guy) were at police every day for several weeks. We finally got everything settled the beginning of December and started working on the other car. Luckily my boy is in the mechanic program, so he's learning from his big mistake in more than 1 way. One of my favorite American style restaurants here in Jinja had a Thanksgiving meal, and man was it delicious! The owner is a woman from Texas and her Ugandan husband, so they did it right! That was my only Thanksgiving celebration, but I do have so much to be thankful for this year and overall in my life! We also got notice that schools were closing early because of the Ebola outbreak so Thomas and I had to tag team to go pick up all the guys from school. We finally got my car brought back home from police impound at the end of the month where it sits until I can fix it totally. Baby Tara has figured out she loves hammock time with Auntie and laughs the whole time she's in it, until she falls asleep! Praise God for my sweet Ugandan family/community who is always here for me! 

December:  December brought another visa trip out of the country, but such a sweet time with wonderful friends. 2 of my friends from the States met me in Switzerland for my trip out of the country this time/aka my birthday trip! It was the most amazing and most beautiful place I've ever been! It was like a Hallmark Christmas movie everywhere we turned. It was freezing cold, so I'm super thankful for all the warm clothes that were brought to me! We traveled by train throughout the country and I learned how to ski in the Swiss Alps on my 38th birthday! What an experience! We had so much chocolate and cheese and amazing food. We had so many laughs and just sweet sweet time together that I needed so badly after the month that November had been! Praise God for these sweet moments! When I came back we had 4 days to prepare for our huge Christmas event for the street kids. Every year we set aside a day on Christmas eve or Christmas day to celebrate with the boys. We invite all of the street kids, not just those in our project (which is not something that ever happens here with other organizations). We have games with prizes, music, a time of bible study and prayer, a time for those who want to surrender to Jesus, a time of fellowship with tons of good healthy food, and we always end the day by giving out clothes to everyone. I look forward to this day every year! It's so beautiful seeing the laughs and the joy on these kids faces, because they don't often have the opportunity to just be present and be a kid. It's also so beautiful to see the ones in our project step up and help out. They know my rules and they know my expectations and they help enforce it without even being asked. They help monitor those who are on drugs or trying to do drugs, they watch the gate and they help with cooking, serving, and handing out clothes. I am so proud of them and how far they've come, because a few of them were the roughest ones even just a year ago! Praise God for these kids of all ages and for those who love us so well to allow these things to happen every year! This year we had over 350 kids attend! It grows every year, and event though I don't know the names of over 1/2 of them, they all know me and they all respect me and our team. On the night of Christmas or sometime early the morning after a group of boys broke into the boys house compound again and killed and slaughtered our New Years goat, Gus. We know it was some of the boys because one of them left his hat behind and it had identifiers on it that we recognize. The group of boys that are in that particular gang haven't come to bible study in over a month, and never have been super consistent. When they did come they would frequently steal things, even our light bulbs. But we continued to give them grace and mercy and show them love, because that's what our Jesus has done for us. Again, it's no surprise, just disheartening that people would do such a thing. 

Today on New Years day, as I look back at what all God has done this year, I am just in awe. I'm in awe of the partners and community he's given me here. I'm in awe of the growth and opportunities these boys now have. I'm in awe of my home church in TN that loves and gives so much to us. I'm in awe of every moment I've been able to witness God at work. Last night on New Years Eve I got a message from one of the boys, who started school this past September. He asked me to go to the village for his 2 month holiday to see family he hasn't seen in many years. The text he sent was this (spelling and all exactly) "I thank you antie for changing my life coz i was almost dieting of alcohol, even they wondered in the village. may God bless you and you continue with that spirit" WOW! I've seen him change but to read that sweet message and know that it was nothing that I could ever do, and only GOD who could change him, melted my heart. I wish everyone could see the before and after of these guys. Some you wouldn't even recognize. Praise Him over and over for His work here in Uganda!

We had our fair share of downfalls this year too. We had businesses fail because of the temptation of money and world. We had boys leave the project because they were tired of following rules. We had heartache and tears. We had sickness and pain. We had stressful moments and frustrating moments with the boys, and we had humbling teachable moments. But through it all, God has never left us for abandoned us. He's always here, he's always working, and he's always moving. We are thankful for this year, for the good, bad, and ugly. We are thankful for lessons learned. We are thankful for the changes and growth. We are thankful for brothers and sisters who stand with us and for us. And we are thankful for our supporters who love us and make all of this possible! 

Happy New Year from Experience Hope International! We love you! Here are some photos since the last update!

                                        

A journey of a thousand testimonies

You have a testimony. I have a testimony. We all have a testimony. No matter what your life has looked like up until this very second, God has always played a part in it, whether you believe in it or not. God has brought someone, who's reading this, through a bad car accident and saved their life. He's brought another through a severe illness and extended their time here on Earth. God has brought at least one of you through addiction into sobriety. He's given someone their rainbow baby after a loss, or even many losses or years of trying to have a baby. He's given someone another day with a special loved one, that seemed impossible in the eyes of medical professionals. God has restored hope in someone's life when they had no hope at all and were on the verge of taking their own life. He's been there for all of us through thick and thin, because that's just what He does. He's a healer, a helper, a miracle worker, and a good, good Father. Personally, I've experienced His goodness, graciousness, and mercy way more times than I could ever begin to deserve. Even when I didn't feel His presence or want to have Him close in my life, He continued to rescue me over and over. He saved me from more than one accident that I never should have walked away from. He saved me from multiple suicide attempts, drunken years, and a very deep dark brokenness. He saved me from myself, because I was destroying myself. In Mark 5:19 Jesus tells a man who's just been set free from demons, "Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you." This is how we should all be living our lives, and it's how we are trying to raise up the street kids we work with. Your testimony is too good to keep to yourself, so share it and tell everyone of the power of Jesus over your life. Some of these boys already have powerful testimonies, and many more are seeing their testimony unfold rapidly. We have so many who have stopped drugs, Praise God! We have so many who now teach at our Bible studies, Praise God! We have boys who passionately praise and worship the Lord, Praise God! We have boys who preach in church service, Praise God! We have boys who want to move away from the area they once wanted a room in, to get away from the evil that lies within, Praise God! God is moving so much, and so rapidly, here in Uganda, so here's another (probably pretty long) update!

Since the last update, in May, a lot has happened, to say the least. To begin with I took a quick, 2.5 week furlough trip back to Tennessee in June. It was pretty jam packed, but a wonderful break. I had some amazing meetings with my home church leaders, made a video update for the church, got to attend church service at all 3 of our church campuses, see so many sweet friends, and give updates to many of our supporters and friends. But one of my most favorite things was being on the city square praising and worshiping our Lord and Savior with thousands of other people! It's always one of my favorite things our church does, and to be able to be there in person after missing the last 3 was wonderful! I got to spend time kayaking with my dad and some great friends, and hung out at the pool with my little nephew too. A healthy balance of "work" and rest. Overall it was a super fast, but super sweet trip. While I was gone everything went smoothly here in Uganda, thanks to the great work of Thomas, Mary, and Joy (our new partner). There were only a couple of hiccups, but nothing that couldn't be handled by them. I'm so blessed to have such a great team that I love and trust. I never wanted this journey to be about me or revolve around me, and when I take trips like this and the organization continues like a well oiled machine, I know the groundwork was done well. Praise God! This was only week 3-5 for Joy to be with our team and the boys and was kind of the test for us all to see how she'd fit in. Let me just say, she's amazing and I'm so blessed to have her working along side of us! She has a heart for the street kids and is enforcing all of the rules and regulations we had already established without any hesitation. Joy is truly a joy to work with! Praise God for a sweet friend who introduced us! Here's a pic of us celebrating her birthday in July at the project. She was so surprised and the boys loved it so much! They have welcomed her with open arms and respect her and she's amazing with them!

 

   
         

When I returned to Uganda, of course it was time to hit the ground running. But, so many cool things are happening these days and I was coming back with some big surprises! I was able to come back with 500 bibles ordered awaiting production here in Uganda, 150 Gideon bibles for the boys in the project, and several sponsorships for boys to go to school or get businesses, which they have well earned. We had a lot to prepare and a lot to do to get them started in their programs. One of the first things we did was to get 5 boys into a small business/finance program in preparation for the businesses they wanted. We found out about this program after we had sponsored the first 7 businesses and knew it was something we needed to do, to benefit the boys, after several hiccups and set backs. This class is a business class taught with biblical foundations and principals, including information on start up, successful businesses longevity, and financial planning and saving. One of the teachers is also a former street kid from here in Jinja, so he was able to share his testimony and encourage the boys as well. All of the boys really enjoyed it, and even the 2 who were annoyed that I made them go appreciated it after it was all said and done. They all said they learned a lot and found out they actually had no idea about business like they thought they did. All 5 boys graduated and got their certificates and recommendations and will be getting their small businesses set up in September! Praise God! The day before the class started I got a call from Ivan (one of the boys who lives at the project house) that one of the boys, Swaibu, was very sick at home and I needed to check on him. I sent my boda guy, Bandy, to bring him to me from the village since I wasn't sure what was wrong and didn't know what medical stuff to take. When Swaibu arrived he looked horrible and miserable! He was the most pale African I've ever seen. Swaibu doesn't speak much English so I had Ivan translating for me. As Swaibu was talking I could tell he was guarding how he talked, like his throat was hurting him. A few sentences into Swaibu talking to Ivan, Ivan looks at me and says, "Auntie, you're not going to like this..." and proceeds to listen as Swaibu tells him more. Ivan's eyes got really big and he stopped Swaibu. "Auntie, Swaibu had surgery this morning." So of course my mind goes into action and I proceed to ask where and what for, etc. We have a great Dr and hosptial we use, so it was weird to me he went somewhere else for surgery, and was out and about already, as it was only about noon. Ivan proceeds to tell me that's the part I'm not going to like. You see, Swaibu had a sore throat that morning and apparently many people in his village had been sick with strep throat lately. The issue was, someone who lived there decided it was not a true sickness, but yet a curse, since so many people were having the same issue. This man took it upon himself to proceed to cut out the tonsils of people who were sick, in their huts, without medication, etc, to get rid of the "curse". Something that antibiotics or a legit monitored surgery could have taken care of turned into this, simply because he didn't know. This explained why Swaibu was so pale, because he lost a lot of blood. The man (who was not a doctor of any form by the way) also told him to not eat or drink anything at all for 3 days. Praise God that his roommate called Ivan to tell me to check on him, because otherwise Swaibu may have died from infection or dehydration after such a major trauma. I tried taking him to the hosptial but he refused, so we gave him antibiotics and plenty of fluids and pain medication and I followed up with him every few hours for the next few days. Swaibu was supposed to attend the business class on Monday, the following day, but of course he was not feeling up to it. By Monday evening he finally had energy to walk out of his house, had regained color, and started looking and feeling much better. To my surprise, when I went to check on him Tuesday, he had went to class because he didn't want to miss out! These boys are fighters! I'm happy to say Swaibu had no more complications and is doing very well now, but wow what an experience! He promised me he'll never let the local village guy do anything to him or his friends ever again. He learned his lesson for sure. Never a dull moment here! Praise God for Swaibu's protection! 

At the same time this business class was going on, Thomas and Titus had started another Following Jesus class in a village about 45 minutes away. We had about 40 pastors and many church members attend this session. I was able to pop in for the second day to supervise and also on the final day of the program for the graduation and handing out of bibles. I'm so blessed to have the team that I have. Thomas and his team are doing amazing at this teaching and I always hear so much positive feed back. On the last day of the class we always do certificates for the pastors, because those are very important here if you ever want to get a Passport or anything of status in Uganda. At this time we also present them with bibles, because like I've mentioned before, some pastors don't even have bibles here. We tell the pastors if they do have a bible to share it with another church member or leader, someone who doesn't have one. Even if it's only part of the bible, we want them to always pass it down so someone else has the opportunity to read the word of God. I've been to a few of these "graduations", but never one like I experienced with this class! We finished the last topic and had a small break before closing remarks and certificates. Next thing I knew 40 pastors and church leaders were walking into the church in caps and gowns! These pastors were so proud of the class and so proud of what they learned, that they used what little money they had to rent these caps and gowns. It wasn't a show, it wasn't because I was there, it was genuinely because they were so honored to have been taught truth and it meant so much to them! For anyone to attend any sort of classes here, the attendees have to pay their own transport, usually their own lunch, and contribute something to the classes. I am so thankful for the people who pour into our ministry so we can offer classes like this for free to the pastors. They appreciate it so much and they let me know all the time how much it's blessed them. I'm humbled all the time at the faith and joy all around me. Praise God!

During this same time we had another boy have surgery, although this time it was a legit surgery, at the hosptial, with a legit medical Doctor! He had a strangulated hernia. This guy has been with us for years, even before I came. He's known for being one of the ones who fights everyone and steals everything. He can talk the talk, but then when he thinks you're not looking he gets sly and sneaky...he thinks. I don't care who comes to me, they're all getting the same care and attention, especially if they're sick. We spend all day at the hosptial after surgery, but luckily this time we got to go home instead of staying overnight. Typically when the boys have surgery they stay at our project house for recovery, at least for 2 weeks. Mainly so there's someone else watching them and if they need more medicine or attention the 2 who live there can call me and I can go check on them easier. Well when people found out Medi had to have surgery, they all started talking about how he can't stay there. They were all warning us that he'd steal everything or do something bad. That's a chance we had to take. I can't just put him on the street after a major surgery. I told the boys who lived there to just keep their stuff locked up and let me know if there was an issue. We were all praying for God to change his heart because of this circumstance he was in. During recovery all went well, he was humble and kind, respected the boys at the house and their property. About 2 weeks post op another boy was playing around with him and didn't know that Medi had surgery recently. He picked up Medi with his shoulder directly in the spot of his surgery site and it took Medi to his knees, on the ground, in tears. Medi couldn't move for a few minutes because of the intensity of pain. We got him some ice and pain medicine and had him lay down for a while because he didn't want to go for a check up. The next day I got a call that Medi couldn't urinate and was in severe pain, so off to the hosptial we went. We did a scan on him and went home with more medication and monitored him closely again for a week. We praise God because now Medi is totally healed with no further complications! But, we still pray for Medi's heart and soul. He was good for the first few weeks after surgery, even preached a great lesson at one of our bible studies, but just this week he's stolen stuff from the project and even tried to take the pipes from the bathroom. I'm not one to give up on the boys, but they get punished when they do wrong. Medi is now suspended again, but we continue to pray for him and try to bring him closer to Christ. 

While Medi was having his post-op issues, I also had a team here from my home church in Tennessee. Their whole trip was a whirlwind and an adventure to say the least. Starting with airline delays and half the team coming to Uganda at different times and 2 days late at that, we had a busy few days of changing plans...luckily here in Uganda I'm used to the ever changing plans and times. I went to pick up the first half of the team on Wednesday morning and when we got back to Jinja they hit the ground running doing evangelism in a local village, but only after we got pulled over twice by the police wanting money because they saw a car full of Mzungus! In the village were able to meet with several people who gave their lives to Jesus, including a lady who was a bar owner and after giving her life to Christ she wanted to sell the bar and get out of that business. Late that evening the rest of the team finally arrived to my house. They all got a little sleep then got up early to head to an island for 2 nights and 2.5 days. The team encountered much evil and darkness on this island. It was fairly small so they were able to reach every person on the island to share the word of God and pray with many people, as well has have 2 crusades, over the 2 days they were there. While there, many people were set free from demonic possession, and many people gave their lives to Christ and were baptized! Praise God! One of my boys, Abraham, had asked me before the team even came if he could join them on the island. (Abraham is the one who has 1 leg and goes out and does evangelism every week in one of the slum villages here.) Of course I had no issue with him going, he's amazing and loves spreading God's word! One of the things I love about him is he will never let his crutches and 1 leg stop him from anything. I received a picture the first day they were on the island of Abraham and another teammate in the water baptizing a man. This man was a muslim and when they shared with him the Gospel and talked to him for a while answering questions, he wanted to give his life to Christ and immediately wanted to be baptized! Abraham and Andrew went immediately into Lake Victoria and baptized him! Oh the celebration! God is so so good! We didn't get to have our big street kid day like we usually do with teams because of the timing and the issues with the team arriving late, so on Sunday we went to the church the boys go to for both services. After 2nd service we served them food, as well as other street kids who came because they heard we were doing food. All in all there were about 190 boys present. Then we went down to the lake and baptized 37 more boys! Praise God! We had been talking to the boys about baptism and the meaning behind it for some time. Thomas, Joy, and I really tried to make them understand what it meant for them to get baptized. Back in August of last year we baptized 49 and this time we baptized 37 more! God is moving in these boys, friends! Praise HIM!

While the team was on the island I got news of some issues with the lead pastor and with prayerful consideration I really felt the nudge from the Lord to have Titus, our partner who helps with Following Jesus, stay there for a month or 2 training the pastor and teaching the people. There was so much evil and then such a drastic change on that island in just 2 days that we needed to make sure they had a strong foundation to build their faith on. After returning we went to work on seeing what that would look like for Titus to go, getting approval and budgets, and making very clear rules and guidelines for him. This was not a mission for Titus to go and take over this church or plant a new church, it was for him to train the current pastor and help the current church become organized and biblically based so that the new believers and others on the island would have a place to go that speaks biblical truth. The goal is for the first month  Titus teaches our Following Jesus class to the pastor and new believers while watching for people with leadership capabilities to train up. The second month he's there, Titus is to choose those leaders and train them and supervise them as they lead bible studies and teachings, all while helping the church leadership structure grow. Thanks to a wonderful donor, we were able to send him Titus 2 months. He's still there now but I keep getting amazing updates from him on how it's going there. He said so many people are coming to the classes and learning and so many more have confessed the name of Jesus and have been baptized! He's given great reports on the pastor and his willingness to learn and be taught truth so he can better shepherd his flock on the island. Praise God for the willingness of Titus and the heart of those of you who support us! Here's Titus!

I also got to experience my first time going to an Introduction ceremony and wedding here in Uganda a couple of weeks ago. An Introduction ceremony is a cultural tradition and one of the first steps in engagement to be married, here in Uganda. When 2 people are dating and decide to get married, the man is introduced to one of the paternal aunts first. Then, if the aunt approves of the marriage they set up and Introduction ceremony. The purpose of the ceremony is to introduce the groom to the bride's family. The groom's family members are considered visitors to the ceremony and many gifts are brought to the bride's family. The ceremony was quite long, and we didn't even stay for the entirety. I was with the friends and family of the groom, so we had to meet first to get the plan of the evening. Once everyone was present we packed into cars and drove to the site of the party, where the bride's family was already attending. Once we arrived we stood outside for a while waiting to be invited inside and had to wear a small pin signifying that we were with the grooms party. Once inside we sat together and the bride's family and friends came out to greet us and the groom in small groups, where they were given presents from the groom's side. I got nominated to go with some of the other ladies to present gifts to the uncles and brothers of the bride. There was much entertainment and talking (most of which I couldn't understand), but it was a fun event. We ate supper around 630 then the bride came out around 730. She was taken around while music played so everyone could see her and then even more gifts were given. After some time she was taken out to change into another gomesi (the local wear for introductions and ceremonies) and the grooms family and friends unloaded a huge truck full of gifts that were part of the dowery for marrying the bride. He had to bring couches, chairs, animals, and baskets on baskets on baskets of gifts. It was a fun experience and I loved getting dressed up for it, but I was wore out when it was over! 2 days later was the wedding. This couple had a traditional church wedding, so it was slightly familiar to me, with just some few cultural differences. After the wedding I had to deliver some cakes for Mary then we went to the reception. Another very long, yet fun day!

Another fun surprise from the last few weeks is that Mary and Thomas had a beautiful baby girl, Hosannah Ekirabo Tara, my Goddaughter and namesake! (Ekirabo means gift in Luganda) Mary was well over due and very ready for her to come, and she finally made her appearance on August 14th.  She is the most perfect squishy baby and is doing very well, as is mama! I can't wait to see her grow up and love on her as much as I can. Her big sister and big brother were not so sure of her at first, but now they're loving her. Big brother is still not a fan of me holding her, but has finally started coming to me if I'm holding her at least. Sister just had her 4th birthday last week, and brother turned 2 yesterday. Thomas and Mary have their hands full, but they are wonderful parents and great examples to their children. Praise God for a sweet healthy and happy baby and family!

Along with surgeries, teams, new babies and weddings, I'm getting 18 boys ready for school last week and this week. We got 5 of them back last week and the rest will be starting tomorrow, Monday. It's a job to get all of their school requirements, as we put them in boarding and each school requires different things. It's not like we can just go to Walmart or Target and pick up everything we need. Getting requirements here involves going to many stores and markets and getting what's available at each of them. Between me and Bandy, my boda guy, we had my living room looking like it's own shop this week, but I finally got everything packed in their metal cases for school and they're all ready to go! The other thing we have to do is pay school fees. This involves filling out a paper for each student and standing in line at the bank for sometimes hours to get it all sorted out. But of course all schools don't just use 1 bank, so this time we had to go to 6 different banks to pay all of the fees. Luckily Joy helped me out with that and saved me a few hours and some sanity! For 5 of these boys this is their first term going in many years. They're starting at a vocational boarding school for mechanic training. We give the boys options of going for vocation or for garage apprenticeship training. Most choose the latter, but these 5 really had their heart set on vocation. They had to wait a month before the program started, but they can't wait to go tomorrow. I'm so thankful for the amazing supporters we have who make all of this possible for these boys. They are growing and seeing Jesus every day and I can't wait to see where their testimony continues to take them. 

We are so blessed to have such a great team of Ugandans working with us. Thomas, Mary, Joy, and Titus, along with our consistent translators have a passion for serving the Lord and serving others. They make my life so much easier here and I couldn't do any of this without their loving help and assistance. I'm so thankful for all of them! 

Prayer requests:

-Please be praying for all of the boys going back to school, getting businesses, and going into trade jobs. We have about 40 total over the next couple of months who will be starting, then 15 who are starting in January back to primary or secondary school when the new class begins.

-Baby Tara to continue growing well with no health issues and Mama Mary to continue healing from delivery. Their whole family, Thomas, Mary, Charity, Stella, Reuben, and baby Tara with adjustments in having a new baby around.

-Prayers for wisdom, as we are getting more boys into programs we want to be able to open the doors of the project to more new boys but to do it well and in the right time.

-Prayers for the country. Prices here keep climbing at ridiculous rates, yet most families are not making enough money for even a simple meal a day for their family. Schools all cost money to attend and prices have more than doubled over the last year, so many kids are forced to stay home and help their parents work for money rather than go to school. This causes many issues, such as more kids coming to the streets, young pregnancies, abuse, and abandonment. 

-Prayers in preparation for the next team that will be joining us here, in November. That their hearts and minds are opened to whatever God has in store for them.

-Prayers for me as I travel later this month to South Africa. I, along with many others here, have been having issues with our visas. So I'm having to leave the country every 3 months right now. While it's cool to see other places, it's an extra cost and time away from the ministry. Prayers for my partners as I'm away and that the Lord brings me back home, here in Uganda, safely each time.

God bless you my friends!

Tara