Another God moment

Just gotta tell you about this one.

We spent a few days in northern Uganda at a beautiful national park called Murchinson Falls. Beautiful place as you can tell from these pictures.

The power of the Nile river as it descends down a very narrow gorge is breathtaking.........

But the story is about another God moment. We had some issues with our vehicle....

hired a park ranger one morning to guide us on a beautiful early morning game drive.

Then we spotted 2 young male lions and a mature male lion out hunting and turned off the car so not to scare him....it wouldn't restart.

God had another vehicle just in front of us to help jump start ours again, and fortunately our guide had a big shotgun just in case the lions "disturbed" us while we changed the battery..........

The next day as we started our return journey out of the park, once again had to jump start...and keep the engine running the entire day...including crossing the river nile in this VERY Ugandan ferry.....

As we left the park on a very 'dirt road', made 'last minute' decision to visit top of Murchinson Falls, so we turned off the main road 14 km...with a number of warning lights flashing on the instrument panel!!
As you can imagine, we are not in an ideal place to get "stuck".

We get to the top of the falls and pull into a 'parking lot'...meet 2 'retired' couples from South Africa who are on a 20000k, 3 month road trip around Africa retracing the steps of their great-grandfather a Christian missionary to Africa in the late 1800s.  With their grandfather's diary in hand, they stopped at every village he had ministered to so many years ago. They stopped at Murchison Falls just to dry out some camping equipment.

Just so happened that one of our engine belts had broken...with the only 1 remaining 'just barely'. Our new found 'good samaritan' friends came to the rescue. Mike was a mechanic.....'just so happened' he had 2 spare belts that he had replaced before they started their trip...and instead of throwing them away as usual, he tossed them in his truck for the journey.

After a circle of prayer with our new friends....witnessed by a non-Christian couple from Netherlands who 'just happend' to be there passing through....we left there with restored engine and our new friends from the Netherlands, dropping them off in a town about half way back to Jinja. 

Without the good samaritans, we probably would have been 'stuck' somewhere in rural uganda with a broken down vehicle....Not good.......

But the Lord had His plan all along....He 'engineered' the journey such that a few folks who love Jesus connected with just the right experience and equipment to keep us safe and secure in our long journey home.

Another day - Another journey............

Back to Jinja

We finally made it back to Uganda after an unimaginably long journey to get here. After spending two days in New York and another 24 hours in Dubai, we arrived and were greeted by 20 guests from the U.S..
Last week we joined the team as they spent their days teaching, doing crafts, singing, dancing, playing, ect........with the students at Salt & Light Academy. It was heartwarming to see the kids smiling faces as we drove up each morning with our bus full of Mzungu's.
Here were a few of the highlights from the week:

Watching the kids read the books the team brought over was a joy.........

The students learning to brush their teeth and hold a toothbrush, many for the very first time. 

One of my favorite things was seeing the kids faces light up as we turned on the music and taught them new songs with hand motions..........

Playing peek-a-boo....Too cute!

A Day to Celebrate!

You may remember one year ago after only a few weeks here in Uganda, we helped one of our staff with her new baby born with A congenital and life threatening birth defect. Doors were opened to have surgery in Kijjabe, Kenya. The Lord has a wonderful plan for baby Solomon's life.

Happy Birthday Solomon

Baby Solomon recently celebrated his 1st Birthday. His mom and dad had a birthday celebration for him with family and friends. It was a wonderful party that Solomon enjoyed with big wide eyes and lots of smiles and 'talking'.  What a thrill to see him growing and so full of life. Though he does face further medical procedures to sustain life, we praise the Lord for giving Solomon such loving parents and a strength that truly matches his God-given name.

A glimpse into our World

Paul is back in Uganda, and Cassidy and I will be joining him in early August.
We've had a great time visiting with friends and family this summer. The question I've been asked over and over is "what is it that you're doing in Uganda?" It's hard to explain all that we do, but I think this video, put together by Meagan and Holly will give you a glimpse into our world and what we are doing with Children in Uganda.

The village you see in this video is "Massese". We sponsor many kids here through Children of Grace, and as you'll see, there are many, many more waiting.................

Good Times

Probably noted - We've been off-line" for a while. We've been in the states since mid - May visiting family and friends. While here we've had the opportunity to attend the weddings of the two young flower girls in our wedding, 24 years ago. Our niece, Grey, was married May 20th on Bald Head Island and Erin, a family friend on June 19th, in Princeton, New Jersey. In between these two events we've been able to connect with family and friends in many different states. At times it's felt a bit like a traveling bus tour, with stops in different places every 3-4 days, but we've had great times and most importantly have been able to catch up with our own children. It seems we're all going in different directions, but it's been good to meet up in some of our favorite spots.

Time at the beach in Carmel - missing Andrew............

Marin Headlands at Sunset - missing Meagan

People ask how the past year in Uganda has been. Are we going back? What have been our greatest challenges? Our biggest blessings? All good questions, but the answers are not so "straight forward". Uganda and America are just different worlds in every aspect - it's difficult to connect the two. We don't have answers to all the questions we've been asked these past weeks, but we do know that Christ's love is constant and that serving those we find right around us, no matter where we are, is what we are commanded to do. Even when we don't have the answers, we can rest and know that God has given each one of us unique gifts and we are called to "love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our minds and love our neighbor as ourselves". 

A most Blessed Easter

Like all our holidays this year, this Easter was unique and special and I'm sure one we'll never forget. We began the day at Acacia Church with worshiping and praising under the shade of the beautiful palm trees. During the service, we had the blessing of seeing a crippled mom who lives across the street from us receive her first EVER wheelchair after 'walking' on her arms/hands since birth. Her joy was overwhelming!

After church, we accompanied another family from America (who is going through their African experience) for lunch by the river Nile.

wow..those Gibson girls are gorgous...as well as our "adopted" daughter Holly.

After lunch we had the amazing opportunity of witnessing the Dad baptize their 10 year old daughter in the Nile River. 

"Say No to Bad Behavior"

Couldn't resist this one...........

Meet my friend Isaac

Isaac is an Artist, with a capitol "A".  He has an amazing ability to see the world through a lens of color and beauty. Where ever he may be standing, he sees the most beautiful thing and focuses on it - then when he can he sits down and draws it.  I recently paid him a visit at school and was escorted to his "favorite spot"  at Nile Vocational School.  Standing there on the third story, overlooking the entire school all I could see was a decaying building, peeling paint, over crowded classrooms and mud everywhere. He asked me what I saw, and when I told him he responded "No-No, look beyond that, don't you see that beautiful tree? - look at all the colors in it"  I realized then that I have a lot to learn from Isaac. In a third world country, like Uganda, it's easy to get caught up in all that is wrong and miss the beauty of God's creation all around.

Last December, a donation was made that enabled us to purchase paints and paper for Isaac - something he had never owned before. He was so excited that he went back to school and asked to paint a mural on the wall of a new classroom, which was being built for vocational students to teach preschoolers. I couldn't believe what I saw when I walked in the classroom. Isaac had painted a beautiful Mural that stretched from wall to wall of the classroom. If you've ever been in a classroom in Uganda, you would know that this is not what kids usually see. I know the children will be so happy and have big smiles on their faces when they walk into this classroom for the first time. Thank you Isaac for helping us see the world as you see it and for making us smile.

Election time in Uganda

These are the people of Uganda. They are gentle, fun-loving, kind-hearted people who love their families and their country. They have been ruled by one president for the past 25 years. This Friday is election day for president, members of parliament as well as local offices. Elections in Africa are not always a pretty thing. Please pray for the people of Uganda as they go to the polls that the process is fair, safe and free of any violence.

Most schools, a lot of businesses as well as the CoG office will be closed a few days before voting until a few days after. Just for precaution sake, Janet, Cassidy, Meagan and Holly will get a short vacation in Tanzania....Zanzabar to be exact. I will hunker down at the CoG compound.

THE PEOPLE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY NEED ALL OUR PRAYERS RIGHT NOW

Those boys....excuse me, Men

Phillip and Andrew from a proud papa.................

Phillip was here in Uganda for about a month...left for Rwanda a few weeks ago.

Andrew's first visit to Africa was a short 1 month...he returned to San Diego this past week

Both had experiences that will be a 'marker' in their lives....changes for the good I'm sure!

For me....well I can only say the time with those boys showed me the men they have become

They are at two completely difference places in their life journies right now...but to see the love they shared for their mom....sisters.....and yes even this one.....it was truly a time to cherish.

Andrew and Phillip....I love you dearly and miss ya much already!

Dad

Caroline & Josephine

There are many, many stories here in Uganda - some will break your heart and others will fill your heart with joy. The story of Caroline and Josephine have done both for me.

It was mid-September when COG mentor Diana and COG supporter Mike Essrig discovered 2 1/2 year old twins, Caroline and Josephine in the village of Buzeka. Diana and Mike, braving some of the roughest road’s in Jinja, went to Buzeka to do a routine visit and assessment for one of COG’s sponsored children, Jovia. Jovia a bright young student has done well in the COG program, so needless to say, it came as a shock to see Caroline and Josephine, sitting on the ground beside their Jaja  looking severely malnourished. 

Caroline’s legs were too weak even allow her to stand on her own. Josephine sat near her, cross-eyed and lethargic, unable to keep her own head up. Their eyes told a story I had never heard before. Needless to say, Diana, Mike, and the rest of COG knew that something needed to be done to help these two little girls. It was clear that their Jaja, who is also the grandmother of young Jovia, cared for them deeply, but was simply unable to provide for them.

The girls were brought to a malnutrition rehabilitation center called Serving His Children - run and founded by an amazing 22 year girl named Rene. After three months of careful attention and scheduled feeding, the twins were healthy enough to go home. The twin’s Jaja was brought in once a week to spend time with her grandchildren and to go through classes on nutrition and health, so that when the babies were returned home they would return to a family that understood their needs. This is a standard part of Serving His Children’s amazing program. 

Just last friday we picked up Jaja for the last time to help her gather up her two healthy grandchildren and bring them home. I’ve never seen a smile as big as the one across Jaja’s face when she saw baby Caroline standing on her own two feet and baby Josephine, who’s cross-eyed vision has been fixed, walking on her own. It was truly a miracle.