HOME AT LAST

After almost 29 hours of traveling, we finally landed safely in the LAX airport at about 1:30 this afternoon. Praise the Lord for keeping us all safe! A special thank you to everyone for keeping us in your prayers, not only during our flights but also over the past 18 days. It was a blessing to have all of you as a special part of our team. Your prayers and your support were just as important as what we were able to do over in Uganda. All of you made it possible for us to be there. We greatly appreciate each and every one of you very much. The Lord did great things, but we ask that you continue to pray that it doesn't stop here. Thanks again and God bless you all!

A Beautiful End to an Amazing Trip

Early this morning we went straight to a Buganda Road Primary School right down the street from our hotel. When we arrived, there were a couple hundred little kids standing outside waiting for us. They ranged in grade from about kindergarten to fourth grade. As we walked through the gate to the area they were all standing in, they all began to cheer and scream very loudly. The noise that came form those little kids seemed like it could be heard for miles and miles. They made us all feel like famous people. They just wanted to touch us and hold our hands. It was so cute! Sadly, we only had about ten minutes with those kids, and then they had to go back to class. Then we were given about 45 minutes with the older grades, which included fourth grade, sixth grade, and seventh grade. We had a lot of fun with those kids as well. After our time with the older kids, the schools choir kids performed some amazing songs and dancing for us.

After the elementary school, we spent a couple hours shopping at an outdoor market place where they have every African souvenir imaginable. We also enjoyed that part of the day!

Tomorrow...we are checking out of the hotel early afternoon, and our flight leaves early evening. We have to be at the airport at about 6:00 PM, and our flight is supposed to take off at 8:10 PM. We will be arriving in London early Thursday morning for a short layover, and then we will be in California around 2:00 on Thursday afternoon!!! Please keep our flights in your prayers. We are all very torn about leaving. We are looking forward to going home, seeing our loved ones, sleeping in our own beds, and even eating our American food, but, at the same time, it is very sad to think that we are going to be leaving Uganda behind. We strongly believe that the Lord is definitely not done using us yet. He still has a lot of work left for all of us to accomplish in His name. It doesn't stop here!

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Lightning, Thunder, and Tears

The day started off with rain pouring down, thunder rolling, and lighting flashing. It was pretty disappointing because we were planning on spending the whole day outside with our Compassion kids*, but the Lord still worked it out. We spent most of the day inside talking with our kids, doing a craft, playing games, and eating lunch. At about two o'clock, the sun came out, and the skies completely cleared. Then we were finally able to play outside with our kids. We did a lot of fun things with them, including soccer, volleyball, jump rope, frisbee, whiffle ball, and painting faces. We had an amazing day with our sponsored children. You could see the joy on each child's face. It blessed us so much to be able to bless those kids. We were also able to hand them the gifts that we brought for them from home, and it was amazing to see how excited they got about every little thing. Yes, there were some tears when it was time for us to leave, but, over all, it was another great day in Uganda! Thanks again for all the prayers.

*The sponsored children that we saw today were only the children that are sponsored by the people on the team, and we had a total of 22 kids.

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Consuming Fire

We spent all morning and most of the afternoon at Agape Chapel. Pastor Frank Plummer taught the service this morning, and it went really well. Some of us had the opportunity to sit in on their Sunday school classes, and that was really fun too. Then we went straight to a high school in Luwero, and we only had about an hour and a half there. A lot of the kids at the school were very hard and not very receptive to us. They just recently had a fire in one of their dorms, and some of the students lost everything in that fire. Pastor Geoffrey Crosson did the teaching at the school again today, and, once again, the Lord did great things through it. We did not do an altar call today, but we believe that many seeds were planted. Please pray that the Lord continues to do a work at that school and to soften the hearts of those students. Tomorrow we are just spending the day with our personally sponsored Compassion children. How fun is that!? We are all very excited about tomorrow.

 

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What a Mighty God We Serve

God did some amazing things today! We started out by going to the Compassion project at Agape Baptist Church, and we spent about four wonderful hours there. The men helped move bricks outside, while the ladies ministered to the kids inside. We had a great time of songs, stories, and testimonies with the children. Then we were all given the privilege of serving the kids their portage and then we were able to just hang out and play with the kids. After the project, we went straight to a high school. It was a huge boarding school, but we started out with a very small group of about thirty students. They continued trickling in, and by the end, there was around two hundred kids there. Our time there was limited, but the Lord still did great things there. We were able to leave each of them with a discipleship booklet, and it was a blessing to be there. After that school, we headed straight to Green Hill Academy, where the Lord worked mightily. We had hundreds of kids, and I couldn't even guess the exact number. We had kids from about sixth grade through twelfth grade. They were surprisingly open to what we had to say, and they were very receptive to hearing the Word of God. After worship and our skit, Pastor Geoffrey Crosson did the teaching, and led MANY to the Lord. About three-fourths of the students that were there raised their hands to accept Christ as their personal Savior. It was amazing! After the teaching, they were all very anxious to talk to all of us and ask us lots of questions. It was so cool to be a part of God's ministry and to be used by Him to lead people to eternal salvation. It is so comforting and reassuring to know that we are in the center of God's will and that we are doing exactly what He wants us to. It was very encouraging to see so many kids receive Christ today. A lot of them desired to get serious in their walks with the Lord, and I am glad that we were able to go and help them get started. Tomorrow we will be going to Agape Chapel for church, and then we have another high school tomorrow evening.

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Bread for the Broken

"For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;" -Matthew 25:35

"...'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." -Matthew 25:40

The things that we saw and experienced today can never be forgotten. Each child's face will always be remembered, and every song they sang for us will forever play in our minds. We visited a church school in a very poverty-stricken area, and it broke our hearts to see the hurt and pain they experience every day. The Lord humbled each of us in many ways, and gave us a love for each child we saw. Before we went into the school, we were taken through the village to see the living conditions of these kids. It was poor, dirty, smelly, and heart-breaking to see. We saw a community in need of so much and in want of so little. There was only about forty kids that went to this school which was located at a small church in the area. These are kids that cannot afford schooling, and so the church provides it for them. They ranged in age from about three to ten years old. They definitely needed our love, and they clung to us very tightly. We had so much fun singing and dancing with them for a couple hours. Then we had the privilege of taking them to a hotel to eat lunch with us. We gladly sacrificed eating dinner tonight, so that we could pay for their lunch today. It was so sad to leave the children when it was time, but what a blessing of a day! Tomorrow we will be going to a Compassion project at Agape Baptist Church, and then we have two high schools to minister at in the afternoon.

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Day of Ministry, Night of Fun

Yesterday, we spent several hours at Maranatha High School in Gaba. Our time to disciple them was brief but very valued. We believe that many seeds were planted in the hearts of the students, and we trust that God will do His work in each one of them. After ministering there, we went to the Masikos' house for an amazing dinner and a great time of fellowship. We felt very much at home there, and it was a huge blessing to spend some time with their family and others from the church. The meal was the best we have had the whole trip, and they even made us a cake. It was so cool to see the Lord shining through their lives.

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Gulu!

After our safari on Tuesday, we drove for about another four hours up to Gulu. We went to the Invisible Children office, and they told us all about their ministry in Gulu. Then they took us to one of their schools called Gulu High School. We were only given a very short time at this school. We were basically only able to take a tour of the school, but it was still a blessing to see. We headed to our hotel afterward, where we were blessed to meet two pastors from a local church in Gulu.

"...what He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no can open." -Isaiah 22:22

This verse came very much alive to us while we were in Gulu. God opened and closed many doors. It was comforting to know that He was in complete control of everything while there. The Lord made a way for us to go to two schools on Wednesday. Though we only had a short time at each, we know that the Lord worked at both places. The first was a high school, and it was a miracle that we were able to minister there. The second was an elementary school of about 400 kids, and it was a blessing to go there. Praise the Lord for His perfect plans!

Today we will be going to another high school in Gaba, which is right outside of Kampala. Then we will be going to the Masikos' house for dinner tonight. Thank you once again for all of your prayers.

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The Safari

We started off with traveling in the bus for over five hours early Monday morning. Once we arrived at our destination, we took a two-hour boat ride on the Nile River. We were able to see hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and other animals on this cruise. Then we went to Murchensen Falls, which was absolutely gorgeous! After lots of pictures, we went back to the place where we stayed. We got up early again on Tuesday morning, and we traveled through the jungle for about four hours. We had a lot of fun, and it was nice to just relax for a few hours.

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Agape Baptist

We had a great time at church today. God spoke mightily through Pastor Frank, and the people were very receptive. For those of us that have been to Uganda before, we were able to see a lot of familiar faces, and we were all able to meet some beautiful new ones as well. The worship this morning was amazing, as usual. It is incredible to see how passionately the Ugandan people sing praise to our Lord. I just hope that none of us lose that passion when we go back to America. It is quite convicting to see them whole-heartedly worship and to truly give God all that they have. Although Pastor Frank taught at both services, the rest of the team only attended the second service. We were all immensely blessed to be there at all though. The people are just genuinely sweet and loving. We didn't take many pictures today, because we only spent a short time there and then went back to the hotel. Tonight we went to watch a cultural dance presentation, which was actually very exciting. We enjoyed getting to just relax and have a little fun. Tomorrow we will be leaving for our safari up north. We will be there both Monday and most of Tuesday. On Tuesday afternoon, we will travel a little farther north to Gulu, where the Invisible Children are. We will be staying the night there on Tuesday night, and then spending a few more hours there on Wednesday morning. Once we leave Gulu, we will have a very long drive back to Kampala, and we will be going back to the same hotel that we have been staying in thus far. We believe that God has huge plans for us the next three days, and we ask that you will all continue to lift our team up in prayer. I will not have internet access the next few days while we are gone, but please just keep us in your thoughts and prayers that whole time. I plan to either write again late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, but that will just depend on what our schedule is like those two days. Thank you all for staying connected to us through this blog and through prayer. It helps so much to have the support of our friends and family back home. We could not do it without each and every one of you. We thank the Lord daily for placing you in our lives and for your being a part of this team in so many ways.

       

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AGAPE!

We spent almost the whole day at the Agape Children's Village today, where we were on Tuesday as well. It was great to go back and see all of the kids again. They sang songs for us, and welcomed us once again. We played some games with them, painted their faces, made them balloons, and then ate lunch with them before we left. It was a lot of fun just to be there. Tomorrow we will be going to Agape Baptist for church, where the Masiko family attends church. We are looking forward to it, and we are excited to visit the people there. Please pray for Pastor Frank Plummer, as he will be teaching at both of the services at the church tomorrow. The Lord has great things in store for those two services I am sure.

I also wanted to thank all of you who have been commenting these posts. It has been a huge blessing to hear from the people back home. I have been reading all of your comments and emails aloud to the whole team, and it has been very encouraging. Please continue to pray for us as we are continuously fighting a spiritual battle. Praise the Lord for all that He is doing!

                      

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Just July 4th

Today was in no way the Fourth of July to us; it was simply July 4th. It was just another incredible day of doing God's work. Our plans for today changed very early on, but God still had great things in store. We went to lunch near the source of the Nile River, and then we headed to the Amani Baby Home. We only had a very short time at the baby home, and every moment counted. None of us wanted to leave when it was time, but we had to go to another high school. The kids at the baby home just needed love, and we were happy to give them ours. We went to an all boys high school called Mwiri College, which had kids varying in age from Jr. High to High School. We hope and pray that many seeds were planted and that the Lord's work was accomplished. Many kids accepted Jesus as their Savior after Pastor Geoffrey Crosson's teaching. Tomorrow we will be going back to the Agape Children's Village to play with the kids at the orphanage for most of the day. So far we haven't seen much sickness amongst our team, and we ask that you please continue to pray for our health and strength for the rest of the trip. Thank you!!!

                      

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      pictures at the baby home                              at the high school

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Busy...

Yesterday was great! We went to a clinic in the morning and got to play with the most adorable kids there. We sadly left the hospital and went to another high school, and our opportunities there were numerous. The day was very tiring, and we had some difficulties with the roads and stuff. God is good through it all though. We had a very late night last night, and now we are about to begin the work that the Lord has for us today. We are going to two more high schools today, so please pray that the Lord uses each of us mightily.

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Kyambogo

Today was an amazing day! We spent about two hours at Kyambogo Secondary School which is located here in Kampala. The students at the high school led us in a great time of worship as soon as we entered the building. We then played a fun game with them to get them to be more comfortable with us, and afterward Josh Masiko led us in a few more songs of worship. We performed one of our skits for them, and Pastor Frank Plummer talked and exhorted the kids for a few minutes. Then we were given the opportunity to meet with the students in small groups and take them through the discipleship book that we brought for each one of them. As you can imagine, this was a very exciting time for us. The Lord definitely did great things today.

I am also very happy to report that Kathy Fox's suitcase arrived today. Praise the Lord! We are still missing one of our ministry bags, but we are just thankful that Kathy's bag is here now.

Tomorrow we will be visiting an evangelism outreach ministry for a few hours, and we will be ministering to kids of all different ages. We will also be ministering at another high school tomorrow evening, and it will be very similar to what we accomplished at the high school today. Please pray that the Lord goes before us tomorrow.

If any of you would like to send an email to someone on the team or to the team as a whole, feel free to email us at walkkeepanddo@gmail.com. We hope that all is well over there, and we, again, thank you for lifting us up in prayer.

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Agape Children's Village

After quickly stopping by our hotel yesterday, we headed straight to the Agape Children's Village where we were warmly welcomed. We were only able to spend a few hours there, but we enjoyed every minute of it. They fed us very well, and then we were given the privilege of doing a craft and playing with the kids. We then headed back to our hotel where we were able to sleep in a bed and get a good night's sleep for the first time since we left. Our first full day of ministry is just beginning, and later this afternoon we will be doing our first outreach at a public high school. Thanks for all your prayers.

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LONDON, then KENYA...and we finally made it!

After spending about ten long hours on the plane, we took an eight-hour tour around London. We were all very exhausted from the long flight, but it was also quite exciting to see some of the biggest hot spots in London. Then we got back on to the plane for another eleven hours of traveling, but we are happy to report that we made it safely to Uganda at about 9:30 yesterday morning which would have been 11:30 pm on Monday in California, because we are now ten hours ahead of you. We had a short two-hour layover in Kenya first, but after a total of thirty-six hours of traveling, we are finally here! Praise the Lord for keeping us safe! Two out of our 35 suitcases are lost, so please pray for the delivery of these bags. One is a personal bag belonging to Kathy Fox and the other bag is filled with some of our ministry tools. Thank you!

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MEET THE 2008 UGANDA TEAM