Update and picture

Hey guys.  Just a quick update.  The last day the crew is there, I finally learn to Skype.  In case you don't know, if I "Skype call" to Kim's Ugandan cell phone, it is $0.15/minute.  Otherwise, it's about $2.50/minute.  In other news, this Sunday in church we will be taking a collection to pay my phone bills next month.  Ha!!!

Just a couple of updates from yesterday, Kim said they did not finish the hut, but did get it framed.  The villagers will then go back and fill in the "mud" for the remainder of the hut.  Also, on Amina, there is a lot of paperwork that is required for her to be able to stay at Sonrise, and be cared for.  Please continue to pray for God's Hand to be on this situation with this precious child. 

Today, the team visited several other children's homes in the area.  One was for special needs children.  Another was strictly children that were HIV positive.  Another was a home that Katie Davis with Amazima helps with.  So they stayed busy. 

When I talked to Kim they were getting ready for their farewell dinner tonight.  She said it's a big deal to say goodbye in Uganda, and the staff is planning a big celebration.

I've mentioned this before, but wanted to reiterate it after talking to Kim a little while ago.  Please be in prayer for the team's departure.  Kim was crying about having to leave those babies.  I'm sure the rest of the team feels exactly the same way.  They've been there long enough to bond not only with the children, but also the nannies and staff, and saying goodbye will be very difficult for all involved.  Although, God willing, it will not be the last time any of them see Sonrise again, it will still be hard.  I think it's pretty safe to say that every one on that trip has seen God move over the last week and half in ways that they never imagined, and to have to leave where that took place is very difficult.  I know she wants to see me and the girls, and everybody else wants to see their families as well, but I also know that a part of them will stay at Sonrise.  However, I have a sneaking suspicion that this is only the beginning and that fires me up!

There flight leaves Entebbe at 9:05 a.m. local time (that will be 1:05 a.m. our time).  They land in London around 10:00 a.m. our time tomorrow).  From there they have about a 23 hour layover.  I believe they plan on getting a hotel room to rest, get showers, and maybe sight see in London some before flying out Thursday at 11:00 our time.  They will land in Atlanta at 6:00 (our time). 

Oh yeah, and I wanted to throw in a picture she sent me from the birthday party yesterday!

Prayer points:
-Continue to pray for them emotionally as they leave
-Pray for on time flights, smooth travel, and no issues with baggage, etc.
-Pray for God to work out what needs to be done for baby Amina.

We love you guys!

Winding down.....

Hey everybody!  Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to Kim today, but our friend Tammy (whom I owe her and her husband SEVERAL steak dinners) did get to, so the information I have is passed on.  When she spoke with Kim she said physically they were all spent!  They built the hut in the village today.  From what I gathered, the use of power tools isn't quite as rampant in Uganda as it is in the U.S.  Apparently they will all be sporting some blisters, torn up hands, and sore bodies when they get back to us in a few days.  I believe they got it finished though.  And Kim and the ladies found out that carrying buckets of water on your head is much harder than it appears (please, Lord, let there be pictures)  They also threw the birthday party for the babies.  She said they all had blast.  The kids loved it!!!!

The big news of the day was Amina.  (Sorry, I'm not sure if Amina is a boy or girl.)  But this baby was brought to Sonrise, because she (I'm going with she) was severely malnourished.  The father is in prison, and the mother basically left the baby with the villagers for them to care for her.  In desperate poverty, they obviously can't take care of the baby as needed.  So they brought her to Damali.  (Again, please remember this information is being passed on from the other side of the world, so please bear with me on the details.)  I don't have many details of the condition of the child, but I did understand that she was not well. 

Above is a very tragic story, but it's one that happens literally every hour of everyday all over the world.  We don't really have to think about it, because it's not constantly in our face.  But to be perfectly honest, I just did the readers of this blog a huge disservice by disclosing that information.  No longer will any of us will be able to stand before God one day and say "My bad, God, I had no idea."  So the question is, what do you do?  What will you do?  Continue to look the other way or live out Matthew 10:42 where Jesus says, "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." ?  Will you reach out to the "least of these" who are abandoned by their own parents, or continue to build up treasures that won't last?  Will you love the fatherless or continue to build bigger barns (Luke 12:16-21)?  Give more than you think you can give.  Love more than you think you can love.

Prayer points:
-Pray for God to bring baby Amina back to health.
-Pray that the staff will be equipped to care for her. 
-Pray for a "sponsor" quickly for Amina if they can take her in.
-Pray for a smooth "final" day for the team tomorrow.
-Pray that God will prepare them emotionally for leaving Sonrise on Wednesday.
-Continue to pray for Amy and the Washington family as she remains at the home.

Miracles through a bag of cookies????

So, after I talked with Kim a little while ago, there's so much to share that I'm not even sure where I need to start.  Hopefully I won't lose anybody, but hear it goes.  The adventure started last night, when Kim, Amy, Betty (Damali's cousin) had to make a late night run to the hospital with Musa.  He has pneumonia and they had to take him, get him checked out, and get him some meds.  She said it didn't take too long at the hospital, but they do have to go back tonight to give him his next round of medicine.  They said he would be fine, but did need to start the medicine.  Kim said most of the kids there carry around a cough that the nannies call the "African cough".  Please pray for Musa and his recovery.  Hopefully it will be quickly. 

Today they got the babies dressed for church.  Kim said it's definitely interesting getting 19 babies dressed for church, but they did.  Everyone got to go today, including the nannies (who don't typically get to go).  Kim said their worship was awesome.  The pastor of the church prayed over all the babies, and prayed over Amy, Kim, Charli, Jeremy, Mandy, and Kate (she is another American that's there).  Then all of them had to speak in front of the church individually.  If any of you know my wife, you know what a terrifying experience that would've been, but she made it, and I'm sure did an awesome job.  A man even came and got saved during the service.

Now, all of that is good stuff, but here's where it gets truly awesome!  Toward the end of the service some of the babies started getting restless, as do all kids during church.  Apparently that's not just an American thing!!!  Kim and Kate decided to take them outside so as not to disturb the others worshipping.  When they were outside, they were letting the little ones snack on little cookies.  It wasn't long before nearly the entire village of children was gathered around them wanting some of the cookies.  Kim said the team came equipped with a very small pack of snack cookies (just to feed the smaller children during church).  She told me, as the kids came she literally started praying "God, please multiply these cookies.  Please don't let us run out until every one of these little ones has one."  (Not exactly the prayer she thought she'd be praying I'm sure).  The children kept coming and by the time it was all said and done, she said, again through tears "Josh, every one of those kids got a cookie, including our Sonrise children, and we had about three left over."  Something similar comes to mind from the Bible.  I don't know, something to do with fish and loaves.......maybe you've heard of it.  By the way, in case you didn't know, our God is a God who provides.  Below is a picture of Kim outside of the church, post-cookie hand out! (she was able to send me a couple via Facebook.)

That's a bunch of kids!!!!

Also, today they were able to get some brownies cooked, which apparently takes much longer using an African oven, than here.  Something to the tune of about 4-5 hours!  If I heard her right, they are going to try the birthday party tomorrow.

The projects are coming along better than they had hoped.  For the beds, they got all the mattresses, and got the lumber ordered, but they aren't sure if it will get there by the time they leave.  It's not a huge deal, because Kim said they would probably have to have someone else put the toddler bunk beds together anyway.  The new mattresses are what they really needed.  They have those and they are working out great. 
Jeremy was able to get the shelves finished up.  Kim said they look great, and the home really needed them.  Now each baby has their own "space" for their stuff!!!!

As for tomorrow, they are going to work on the hut they are going to build.  Also, they are going to get a "cooking shelter" built at the children's home.  The nannies cook outside, and currently the workers at the children's home have to walk to the baby home to cook.  This will be a huge help for them. 

Lastly, I wanted to post a picture of Kim, Steven, and his dad that was taken yesterday.  I can't wait to see the video that was taken from that meeting:

Prayer points:
-Pray that God will help baby Musa to recover quickly from pneumonia. 
-Pray that the team will be able to get all of the building projects (hut and cooking shelter) completed.
-Pray that God will prepare the team emotionally as they get ready to leave.  (As much as they are all ready to see their families, it is going to be very difficult for them to say goodbye.)

"Amazing" day.

I spoke with Kim this morning, and so far she's been able to put into words what's been going on.......that is, until today.  She told me they went into some of the villages where some of the babies are from.  They were able to take some gifts and supplies to the villages and minister to some of the families of the children.  (Some of the kids at Sonrise have families, they are just unable to provide for the child.)  She said everyone was so appreciative and kind.  She also said the surrounding villages are nothing like Jinja.  I believe the words she used were "the living conditions at Sonrise are 10,000 times better than the villages where these children come from". 

............And then they went to Steven's village.  Kim got to meet Steven's dad.  This is where she choked up.  She said she couldn't tell me over a broken cell phone conversation, but that it was "Amazing".  She just kept saying it over and over again, "Amazing".  After he found out she was Steven's sponsor, he and Kim walked hand in hand down to the Nile (holding hands is a common sign of love and friendship in Uganda).  They were followed by the rest of the village.  I don't know what went on next (it almost sounded like some sort of ceremony), but Kim said God was all over that little village in Uganda this afternoon.  Once again, amazing.  For those that don't think sponsorhips of children overseas (whether it be Sonrise, World Vision, Compassion Int'l., whatever)  "really makes a difference", talk to my wife when she gets back.  Your perspective may change. 

After that (this is where several of you ladies will get jealous........ahem, Joy Hutzler), they went to visit Katie Davis at Amazima.  A lot of you know who Katie is, if not, look around this site for a while,  http://amazima.org/ .  Katie is one of Kim's modern day "heroes of the faith" (kind of like if I got to meet Francis Chan! Ha!).  Katie runs an orphanage and school outside of Jinja as well.   It was late in the afternoon when Kim and everybody got there, so they didn't get to help with the feeding program, like they were hoping.  But they did get to hang out and talk with Katie for a while. 

Overall, it sounded like the most impactful (is that a word?) day so far.  Like I said, Kim could barely talk me through it.  Tomorrow they plan on going to church with the kids, and then having a birthday party for all of the kids!  None of them have ever experienced a birthday party, and many don't even know when or what a birthday is!  I can't even imagine the screams and laughter that will take place.  On Monday, they are going into one of the villages to build a hut.  The team is pitching in and can build one for $200 total!  They are also going to try to hit an "American" restaurant in Jinja for some pizza.  That's a welcomed change for them.   I think it's pretty safe to say my family won't be having any rice or beans for dinner for a while when momma gets home!

Prayer points:
-Pray that the "birthday party" will go off without a hitch
-Pray that the construction of the hut will go well
-Pray for God to continue to open doors to share the Gospel with those who may not know Him
-Pray for continued health for the team

Love you guys!

Baby Duty.......

What's up guys and girls!?  It's me, Josh, yet again.  I just got off the phone with Kim again.  She probably won't be able to post much because the internet coverage is so spotty.  She said it's all she can do to get a Facebook post up.   Everybody is still doing well.  Everybody's healthy and good.

Kim and Charli were pulling "baby duty" tonight.  Donna, help me out with this, but what I gathered is that baby duty is when some of the volunteers sleep with the smaller ones to give the nannies a break and let them get a good night's sleep.  Kim just so happened to be sleeping with Steven tonight.  I wonder if that was rigged ;).  When I was talking to her, I could hear him "talking" and just like any other little one, trying to play instead of going to sleep!!  She's loving it! 

Please be in prayer for Kim, Charli, and another girl named Kate as tomorrow they are going into Steven's village, to meet his birth father and minister to him and Steven's other siblings.  Steven's mother died during child birth and due to poor living conditions, Steven's twin brother died shortly thereafter in their village.  Financially, Steven's father couldn't afford take care of him properly so he was brought to Sonrise.  (You can read more of Steven's story here:  http://www.sonrisebabyhome.org/meet-the-babies/steven/)  I'm sure this will be very emotional for everyone involved.

Other than that, she said they just hung around the home today.  They got a chance to get to know the nannies much better.  Kim said they are all so kind, loving, and happy.  Most of the staff live at the home, but have families and children in other villages.  They have come to Sonrise to make money to send back to their families.  One in particular Kim was talking to, said she was had a one year old back home, and she was trying to raise money to go to school, so she could make a better life for her baby.  Oh, the things we take for granted here in America!!!! 

Prayer Points:
-Pray for the ladies ministering to Steven's family tomorrow.
-Pray for those building the beds, that it will continue to go smoothly.
-Pray for Kim as she is leading devotion for the team and nannies tomorrow.
-Pray for continued health, strength, and rest as the week goes on.
-Pray for the nannies at Sonrise, that those who don't know Christ will come to, and those who do will be strengthened and encouraged in their walk.

Thank you to everyone who is praying.  Kim says they feel it over there.  We love you guys!!!!!   

How Beautiful Are the Feet.........

Paul says in Romans 10:14-15 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!' ". 

I got off the phone with Kim this morning (Verizon will thank me for that next month!), this is the passage of scripture that immediately came to my mind.  Why?  Thanks to a little device called a Proclaimer.  A Proclaimer looks similar to an alarm clock.  It is produced by a ministry called Faith Comes By Hearing.  It can be charged through a wall outlet, solar power, or hand cranked, so it can work anywhere.  But basically, it plays someone reading the New Testament in whatever different language you choose.  Before Kim left, a good friend of ours (Kandy Sanders) contacted Faith Comes By Hearing and was able to get us three Proclaimers in Lugandan, Uganda's native language (yes, it is Lugandan, not Ugandan, no typo), to take with them and leave there.  Anyway, I was talking to Kim this morning, and she said they got all of their stuff unpacked, including the Proclaimers.  They showed the staff how to use them.  The ladies there loved them, and immediately began listening to them while the babies were playing.  The team left to run into Jinja for supplies for the beds and shelves, and when they returned a couple of hours later.........the ladies were STILL listening to the Proclaimer.  Why is this so important?  Not all of the staff at Sonrise are believers!!!!  This could have absolutely HUGE, ETERNAL implications.  Please pray for God to open eyes and ears!!!

Other than that, Kim sounded MUCH better than yesterday.  They had gotten some good rest last night, and she sounded like a brand new person.  Like I said, they went into Jinja and got matresseses for the children's bunk beds they are building, and got the lumber orderded.  They got all their supplies unpacked.  She also said the staff went absolutely crazy (happy) when they got their new scrubs and Sonrise T-shirts!!!  She's got video of everybody singing and dancing.  It sounded like another very productive day.

Kim's actually been eating some local food, and said she loves the African tea they've been drinking.  She also said the weather is perfect, high's in the 70's and lows in the 60's.  Keep in mind, as she was telling me this, I was standing in my driveway at 7:30 pouring sweat as the temps approached 90 already!!!!  I believe thanks to some sleep and rejuvenation from the Father, the team is in much better spirits!!!! 

Some specific things to pray for:
-That God will allow the men and women to "hear and believe" His Word through the Proclaimers. 
-That construction of the bunk beds will go smoothly.
-That the team will continue to rest well when they can.
-They will all remain healthy.

Thanks everybody!

They've arrived!!!!!

Hey everybody!!!  It's Josh again.  I may have to be posting more for Kim on here, because she said the internet is very spotty.  Anyway, the team has arrived at Sonrise.  I got a call from Amy's (Washington) mom about 3 a.m. this morning saying they had arrived in Entebbe.  But I'm not sure what time they actually made it to Sonrise.  I talked to Kim about 1:30 our time (9:30 Uganda time). 

Kim said Damali (who runs the home) picked them up from the airport and had Steven with her.  Steven is the baby that Kim and I sponsor from Sonrise.  She said Amy handed him to her and she (Kim) just broke down crying when he grabbed hold of her.  She got to hold him the entire ride back to the home.  I think if she left tomorrow, she would say the trip was worth it, just for that. BUUUUUT they are not leaving tomorrow, and now have to get to work.  They will be heading into Jinja tomorrow to buy supplies for the bunk beds and shelves they are building for the children's home.  

She said everybody is doing well, just very, very tired.  They didn't sleep well on the flight to Entebbe either, so that makes approximately 2 days with very little sleep.  Other than that, she is very excited about the upcoming week.  She said it was like Ella, Avery, and Addi multiplied 6 times.  But she's in heaven.  Hearing her voice, I could tell it's going to be a busy, tiring, but awesome week. 

A couple of things in particular to pray for:
-Pray for each team member specifically by  name: Kim, Charli, Amy, Jeremy, and Mandy
-Pray for God to grant them a good night's sleep so they will be well rested for tomorrow. 
-Pray that all will remain healthy and no one will get sick.
-Pray that they will find favor in Jinja tomorrow and be able to get all supplies needed at a reasonable price.
-And lastly, continue to pray for a physical, spiritual, and emotional hedge of protection around them

That's all for now.  Oh yeah, she said they shared the flight from London to Entebbe with the Watoto Children's Choir.  They are a Ugandan kids choir that performs worldwide.   Go to Youtube and search "Watoto Children's Choir".  Very cool.  Either Kim or I will post updates when we can!!!!!  Thanks for the prayers!

A Husband's Perspective

Okay, so I have successfully hacked Kim's blog and am taking the first "official" post of the trip.  (Just kidding.  I told her I was going to post some and she gave me the okay.)  I wanted to take a minute to address some of the questions that I know are swirling around in many people's heads right now.  Namely they why's and how's.  (Disclaimer:  I am speaking for myself, but I can say with a 98.9 degree of certainty that Kim's responses would be nearly word for word the same as mine.)

Let's start with the why's:
1.  "Why the sudden interest and passion in caring for orphans?"  That's an easy one.  James 1:27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their time of distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  Why is looking after an orphan in their time of distress considered pure and faultless?  Simply put, because it's an absolutely beautiful picture of the Gospel.  Think about it.  An orphan is fatherless.  An orphan is helpless, defenseless, and has no representation in the world.  An orphan, without some sort of help will die (literally thousands do, everyday).  Now, before I was a follower of Christ, you could fill in my name where "orphan" is in the few sentences above and it would've been a perfect description of my life.  Before we knew Jesus, we were fatherless, defenseless, starving, helpless, and as good as dead.  Because of what Christ did, I am now an adopted son of God (Ephesians 1:5).  Adoption is a perfect illustration of what Christ accomplished on the cross.  And just in case that's not enough (it is, but just for argument's sake), IT MATTERS TO THE FATHER, SO IT HAD BETTER MATTER TO ME. 

2.  "Why Sonrise/Jinja, Uganda?"  Again, an easy one.  Because this home and this country is where God has undeniably called our family to minister to (another very long post and I won't get into how we know this).  Now, why did He call us to focus our attention there?  You'd have to ask God.  But He did.  Kim and I both know this, and that's really all we need!  Next question.

Now a couple of the how's:
1.  "How are you guys doing this?"  Completely and 100% by faith.  We've been talking a lot in our Sunday school class about living our lives engulfed in situations that if God didn't show up, we'd fail miserably.  That has been what this is.  When the opportunity to go on this Uganda trip and the other one in November came up, along with me going on two trips to Haiti, my first response was "No way."  Financially, on paper, there is no way this could be pulled off.  I am in the mortgage business.  If any of you know anything about what's going on in the mortgage business right now.......well, let's just say the word "lucrative" isn't used in conjunction with my profession much anymore.  Kim told me repeatedly "God can do it."  She was absolutely correct.  We gave it fully to Him.  And He has been more than faithful.  We can no longer use "lack of funds" as an excuse not to do missions.  Again, it would be another separate post, but His provision  has absolutely blown us away!  There is no way this trip could've been pulled off without God's Hands all in it!  To God Be the Glory!

2.  And lastly, (in light of yesterday's tragic bombings in Kampala) "How can you let your wife still go over there with all that mess going on?"  I will answer that with a question of my own.......how can I not?  Just because terrorists bombed some restaurants, does that mean those children all of a sudden don't need to experience the love of Christ anymore?  Does that mean that since it's now "dangerous", that it's not as important that the non-believing Ugandans they WILL come in contact with hear the Gospel perhaps for the first time?  First of all, I couldn't stopped her with a platoon of Navy SEALs.  Secondly, the thought didn't even occur to me to try.  God has called Kim and the rest of this group on this trip.  That has been made clear.  I don't for one second want to attempt to remove her from the will of God, to protect our comfortable, safe life here in Gardendale, Alabama.  He has a plan and a mission for this team.  Regardless of what happens, He will get the glory for it!

So, hopefully that clears up a few things you may have been wondering about.  I'm sure Kim will be along in a day or two to reprimand me for posting first!  All joking aside, please continue to pray for this team.  As much as Satan has tried to derail this trip, that tells us that God has got something huge planned for them while they are there!  Stay tuned for more posts from Kim!!!

Getting there....

I thank God that he holds me up with both hands!  Without Him none of this would even be close to being possible.  Tired is not even the words I have for the state I'm in today.  I believe a bit of my sanity is gone but that's OK.....all for the glory of his name!  Demanding kids do not help the situation at all, but I do love every single one of them a little more for making me work harder at JUST packing supplies.  It does sound simple, but with two mamma's on little sleep and crazy ideas running through their heads, not to mention 4 kids running around, nothing is simple.  But how it blesses my heart at so many willing people to give so much!  The stacks of medicine, shoes, diapers, books, vitamins and formula we just didn't know where to start.  But I promise you we filled as much as those red duffel bags could be filled without busting a seam along with a few suitcases.  God is so good and he uses amazing people to do his work, and I thank all of YOU amazing people out there that have helped and sent in supplies.   

 In all the packing of supplies, the beautiful Sonrise T-shirt has arrived!  It's the best shirt ever and if you haven't gotten yours, well then you should be ashamed of yourself.  Email me and I can get you one!  Or click below and we can get you one shipped. (after the trip of course)

http://sonriseministriesinc.com/babyhomedonation.html

Getting closer!!!!

This is a picture of some of the babies and nannies at Sonrise. I will be traveling to Jinja, Uganda on July 12th with my new found friends Mandi, her husband Jeremy, Charli and Amy Washington the Co-Director of  Sonrise Baby Home.  Damali Wattier the Founder & and Co-Director of the home is in the center (2nd row) holding Steven. Sonrise is currently home to 19 children, with ages ranging from newborn twin boys James & John and some of the oldest being 4-6 years old. Sonrise has just expanded to have a separate home for the older children who are now attending preschool.

If I could you could hear me right now, you would hear me SCREAMING...... AHHHHHHH! I can't wait to step foot on the ground in Africa. (can't think about the flying....whole other story) I have been thinking about the people there for about a year now and now I get to finally go. I am soooo excited that God has chosen me to go and do this amazing thing.  At times I don't even know what "it" is that I am suppose to go and do and other times I know that I am just to go and do.....do His work. I once heard it told by someone that had me in tears, "You never know what God will do if you just take one obedient step at a time". I just know that my heart has been called to these children, this home, these ladies. So, here it goes, my obedient steps and may I offer my heart completely to the One who gave it all for me!