"Shading" with our CoG kids

St. Nicolaus Primary School is home to about 30 of our nursery age CoG sponsored children. Almost all of these children are from the nearby village of Masesse, and are boarding either because there is not a school accessible in Massese, their guardians cannot care for them or their living conditions are very poor.  When our green jeep drives up they all come running and some are at the gate crying every time we leave. Today, Cassidy, Sylvia and I went to St. Nic's with coloring pages and crayons to let these kids "shade", and you can see from the pictures how happy they were. They rarely, if ever, get to color so it was a very exciting day. Next week we'll go back and teach them what the colors are: red, blue, green, yellow.......

Here's Rachael, who always crys and looks so sad .........

The first time I've seen her smile is when she got to color...........

Sweet Reunion

I'm sure many of you have seen photos of these two adorable children. Jovan and Susan are often at the CoG guesthouse and brighten up our days with their smiles and laughter. 

Jonathon fell in love with these two when he was on a missions trip almost two years ago and has been in the adoption process ever since. He has just arrived here in Uganda with his wife and 12 year old daughter,  and they are all determined to return home as a family along with Jovan and Susan.........

Please pray for them as they continue this unpredictable process.

Pray for Jovan and Susan as they face many changes ahead and as they adjust and become a part of this loving family............................

Street Life

Many people walk through the doors of the CoG office, but today three visitors captured my heart. These three orphans boys have been living by themselves, in a make-shift home for over 3 years. Surviving by begging in the streets and collecting scraps from trash bins is no way for teenage boys to live. ..

They have lived in seclusion and fear for many years, but today they walked through our gates, reached out their hands and asked for help. One of our child mentors accompanied them to their home and this is what he found....

Hidden away, deep in the bush, so no one would find them or harm them - was a home made of sticks and collected trash........

I'm so thankful that CoG is a place where the gates are never closed and children can enter freely. Whether they need a new pair of school shoes, an escort to the clinic to treat malaria or typhoid, or have run out of hope and have no where else to go - they know they can come to CoG and we will care for them in whatever way we can. These boys will spend the next few months in a rehabilitation home - and who knows - after that, maybe they will find sponsors to help them to go to school.

Before and After

Time out for a little fun....

Talapia is a favorite local fish caught in the Nile River. Fresh 'fish tacos' with the fish cooked on the weber grill is absolutely amazing. It is also very good eaten another way, as demonstrated by Mike, the President & CEO of Essrig Taylor Construction (www.etcusa.net) who recently visited CoG on a short term 'vision trip'. Thks Mike for being such a good sport in this shameless act of marketing...anyone want to start an export business?

The Before.....

The After.....

"JaJa's are the hero's of Africa"

I heard a pastor make this statement and I'm sure it's true. We visited this JaJa at her home today. Four of her six daughters have died of AIDS and the remaining two, who are HIV positve live, with Jaja so she can care for them along with her 24 grandchildren. Her words have haunted me today. As we were leaving she asked "why is God punishing me? why is He not happy with me? why do I have to suffer so much?" The words have haunted me because I had absolutely no answer. I don't know why we live under the same blue sky and worship the same God, yet her life looks so different than mine......I do know that God has given me the opportunity to be His hands and feet to this JaJa by showing His love through sponsoring one of her 24 grandchildren. And maybe, just maybe, through the education he is getting his life will look different and he will be able to have a family of his own and watch them grow and love them with the same love his JaJa has shown him.

Can't Catch Me.....

I just had to post this. Joe and Eric are so determined to catch a monkey for Cassidy - they rigged up a trap and will sit in the yard and wait.
The problem is - I'm not sure who's smarter the monkey's or us.

Stayed tuned - We'll see if Cassidy really gets a monkey or not........

Celebrating Children

On Saturday we hosted over 400 people at the new CoG ministry Center. There were students, gaurdians, pastors from the community, headmasters and many other guests. It was truly a day of Celebration as we officially opened the doors of the new CoG Ministry Center. Highlights from the day:
Margaret and her team of cooks set up camp in our backyard and began preparing a feast the day before the celebration. They cooked and sang all night long.

I passed on dinner - we mzungu's have a hard time with the process.........

The students put together the most amazing dances, music and drama.....

And the Ministry Center was dedicated to the Children of Uganda.......
All in all it was a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!