Uganda Our Life. Randy & Alisa & Fam...

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2009-10-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

As One Door Closes Another Opens!

2009-10-10T17:26:00.001-07:00

This will be our last blog posted to this site. If you want to continue this amazing journey with us we invite you to go to our new website: vargamission.com
We have tickets to move to Uganda on November 7, 2009 and we would love to have you join us on the road in Uganda.
The journey thus far has been challenging yet exciting all at the same time. We have sold our home of 19 years, along with many of our things as we downsized from a 4200 sq ft house to another house that is only 900 sq ft. We are selling our cars, much of our furniture is either sold or in the hands of our friends and family and the little that is left will be stored. Soon we will move out of our small house and live with some friends for a few days until we leave. Once we are in Uganda our plan is to stay at a small hotel near the orphanage we will be working at until a rental house is found and furnished.
Reflecting back it seems to us that this process has taken a very long time...much longer than we thought it would take. But the truth is, we are just at the beginning of a new life together following our Lord to a place he has called us all to go. At vargamission.com we will keep you posted and share our adventure with you.
Thanks for following us so far,
Randy and Alisa Varga

And the Journey goes on….

2009-07-02T08:51:00.001-07:00

Here we are back in Portland, Oregon, trying to sell our house, property and business. We are tempted beyond reason to be frustrated at the slow nature of all of this, but then we remember that this has to be a critical component of our journey. We had hoped to be living in Uganda, taking care of those beautiful children by now. But we know that none of our circumstances escape God’s watchful eye. If it was in His timing for us to be back there it would be so. Yet here we are waiting on the Lord…

The words song I learned when I first believed in Jesus keeps coming to mind:

I will wait, wait, wait upon Lord.

I will wait, wait, wait upon the Lord.

I’ll learn my lessons well,

In His timing He will tell me what to do, where to go, what to say.

Up until now we have been very busy. After living in our home for 19 years there was so much to sort through, give away, sell, clean, and fix up. But since our house went on the market we find ourselves having a hard time getting back to normal life, whatever that is. I had great dreams that the house would have three offers on it the moment it went on the market. “God can do anything”, I reasoned. While I still believe whole heartedly that He is powerful and powerfully shows up in the lives of every day people, all the time, I have recognized that for today He thinks it is best that I wait.

How much of this lesson will we need when we finally pack up our belongings and go to this new land He has called us to? Waiting… Waiting… If He is to be in control we must be willing to hold still. He says in His Word, “Be still and know that I am God.” We American Christians think we have so many solutions to the problems of the poor in third world countries…but do we really?

I know of some very precious missionaries who when called into service in a far away land, spent the first year of life there just adapting to the ways of the people, learning from them, living like them and with them, forming relationships and being a godly example in their own family. It was only after that year when the people accepted and embraced them as family that they began very slowly to encourage their friends to step out in ministry. They humbly know they don’t have all the answers and are learning from these people every day. But most of all they are completely dependent upon God to show up for all of them every day. That is the way it must be for God’s children who want His very best in their lives and the lives of those they are called to love.

So here we sit in Portland, Oregon, waiting, for the God of the Universe to open a window for us to walk through at a moments notice.

EMI… How to describe them?

2009-04-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Last night was the final presentation from Engineering Ministries International (EMI). With over 1000 hours for work over the last 10 day, I am overwhelmed. With many more hours of work back at home, planning what to bring, packing for a strange land in Africa, thinking the project through… giving up two weeks of earned vacation time. These 8 team members truly gave of themselves. To top it off as we thanked them from the bottom of our hearts and tried to explain what a blessing they were to Show Mercy, they said “stop, it was a blessing to be privileged to be part of something so wonderful”. They were thanking us! This is how God works for the better good in those who love Him and are willing to trust Him and follow Him.

The ideas this team came up with, the drawings, the systems for the water, the waste water, the electrical options, placement of the buildings, what each building would look like, the shape of and the ventilation of each building, the use of the unbuildable acreage, how would it feel as you approach the front “village” area, the view from an observation deck at the top of the water tower, how the children would be living in a family environment, where they would eat, play, pray, where and how the long and short term missionaries would live, the list can go on and on. This team had a calling to serve and serve they did.

The best part of this experience was seeing these people work on this project like I have never seen people work before. They all work in the private sector of business, but this was different. It was service; the fire I saw is not the common but the exceptional. I was blessed to be part of something great.

Michael, Martin, Sam, David, Megan, Sarah, Robert, and Mariette job well done!

After the presentation the two local gals who took care of the EMI team needs, like all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping; prepared a very traditional African feast. When there is a wedding, graduation, big holiday, they make this dinner. They worked all day and were so proud as they served it. One more demonstration of how these people served us, to serve God. Thank you Sheila and Betty. By the way, they were so cute doing this, I will never forget it.

What a day and what a finish to our trip.

See you all soon, and thanks for reading my blogs.

May God bless each and every one of you who prayed us through this journey.

Feed the Children

2009-04-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

It was Palm Sunday, we had been to church, and it had been a great service. During the time of the service several of the women were cooking, cooking up a storm. They were on a mission to feed some 80 children from the village. These are the kids that don’t get three meals a day, maybe not even one meal each day. I am sure that some don’t eat anything some days. When I think of that, it breaks my heart. I know I don’t like to miss a meal.

Today was a day that these kids would eat, and eat, and eat. Drink a soda, and not even care what flavor they got.

When the children had been gathered in the yard of a neighbor’s house, they waited… patiently. Quietly they sat, with a look on their faces not knowing what to expect, oh they knew they were going to eat, but when, and how long were they going to wait.

You could smell the rice, the beans, the cabbage, the chicken… but there they sat. As the women finished preparing the food, three of the older children from Hope Children’s Home were ready to share God’s word. One by one they gave a lesson from the Bible. The Ten Commandments, Jonah and the Whale, and the Good New of Jesus Christ. They all did very well presenting the Word of God. I was glad to see them teach.

In this little court yard filled with kids, the word was given to get in line to be fed. Controlled mayhem would be a good description. They were hunger, but trying to be polite, and with a rush, they were in a line, chest to back and not an inch in between. It was fun to see; they were going to be fed. The older Hope children jumped in and started to serve, I liked to see them learning to help other in need.

As they started to eat you could see the tension unwind, their bellies were filling up. They were starting to be satisfied. They were getting full. Some laid down as they finished. Some brought their bowls back to be washed and used again for the ones at the end of the line. There was a calm that came over all the children.

When they were all done, the children went home and others helped clean up, put the borrowed benches away, haul the biggest pots you have ever seen back the Hope’s Kitchen and sweep up the yard. I was blessed to watch children helping children, Show Mercy supply the food and drink, and know they receive the Word of God.

Hello from Uganda... again

2009-04-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hello from Uganda, once again.

For those of you who might not know, I am here without my wonderful wife Alisa. So that means you will have to put up with my writing.

Did you know, I love being here. It is warm yet cool, not too hot; the people are friendly, they love seeing you and meeting you. Everyone I have met has been warm and welcoming. As I said, I love being here.
We are here to work with a design team from the US and the UK. The team members include architects, engineers both civil, structural, water, and a survey team. They are all wonderful people who are willing to take their 2 week vacation and spend it here working long 14 hr day. God has blessed Show Mercy with a gracious gift of these people.
The first day was to see the land we call the “Field of Dreams”, to hear the vision of our Dreams, what God has asked us to do.

The next day was to see the largest children’s facility called Watoto. Wow is it big. Currently there are over 10,000 kids have been rescued and are off the streets and are living there.
The Third day was to meet with the Architects and designers to begin hone in on actual design of each building. Mike and Doug were at that meeting. The other part of the team was the survey guys. I went with them. We stopped at Hope Children’s home to drop off the Marietta, the team leader’s wife.
NOW the FUN started. As we drove up, the kids had just started their break in school, they were in the yard playing, as we got out of the van, they realized it was us… and we were mobbed by the most wonderful welcome I have ever received. 200 children (and the adults) all wanted to hug us and say Welcome, thank you for coming to see us. I truly had not seen such a welcoming and such love for us. They were disappointed that Alisa was not there with me, but I told them we were planning a return with her. We were only there to drop off Marietta, but I know that it was going to be impossible not to stay for less than an hour. Well, we left to go the Field of Dreams to start the survey. We took two of the older boys Bosco and Vincent, and one of the girls Ruth with us to help. Their job was to gather ripened sugarcane to bring back to all the other kids. We got the majority of the building site survey done. Hiking up and down that hill all day, we were all beat, dirty, and tired. On the way home we stopped for a soda, and the location we stopped at was near a high school that one of our older kid attends. This is Peter Painter’s school and he was outside and saw us. We were blessed to have a minute to visit him! It was a simply gift from God. The day ended with a simple dinner at our hotel. As I think back on the day, I know that God as called us to this beautiful and simple land. I love being here.

Hello one more time from Uganda.

2009-02-04T05:29:00.000-08:00

We have been so blessed to have been able to share our experience, as we have been in Uganda. As you have read over the last three weeks, God showed up in a big way. We have seen His love, His grace, and best of all His Mercy. I have seen miracles, seen the unsaved saved, the sick healed, and hearts filled with love. God has given us the opportunity to show His love to many. I will finish this blog after I am back State side.

Thanks for being part of our journey.

In God’s Hands.
Randy and Alisa

Building Your House on the ROCK!

2009-02-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

The Dance Choir

Our friend Pamela, Leads the Team.

We arrived at Hope around 10:30 am this morning, ready to celebrate the Lord’s Day with our Uganda family. Pastor Prossy had asked Randy to preach and the Lord had given him a word for these precious people we have come to love. In fact, the Lord had given him several things to share. The first service was just finishing up when we entered the church. The speaker was encouraging the people not the cry about all their problems but to have faith in God and not lose hope. The speaker continued to say that when you are crying, you are lifting up your problems to overcome you. They have overcome so many problems by looking to God rather than their circumstances. They have seen miracles, signs and wonders because they believe in the power of prayer. This word was such an encouragement to us.

The second service started with personal testimonies of God’s goodness, special music people had prepared, introduction of visitors and the choir. This took well over an hour. Soon it was time for Randy to preach. The Pastor introduced him and shared how he is a man who married a woman with six children and loved his step children. In Uganda even among Christians it has been an acceptable practice to get rid of or abuse children of a spouse that are not yours. The stories of many of the children at Hope include this tragic occurrence. When Randy began his sermon He talked about the difficulty and more importantly the blessing of raising 6 children that were not his biological children. He then encouraged them to do the same. After that he shared about a dream God gave him where there was a huge earthquake and his whole city was destroyed; nothing was left standing except one house that was built on a rock. The man who owned the house was seen outside just sweeping his sidewalk like nothing had happened. He told them Jesus is the rock and that building our lives on Him is the way we can experience abundant life. First we must accept Him, then trust Him, follow Him, and share Him with others. After the service many people confirmed that this was a word for them from the Lord.

The afternoon held two delights for us. First, Miriam the cook at Hope had prepared a special lunch for us of beef, onions, and peppers, seasoned with curry and cumin as well as chips (French fries) mango and bananas. I think it was the best meal we have had since arriving in Uganda. Then, we had the opportunity to walk to Pamela’s house. Pamela is a young woman we met last year. She is a single mom who is a teacher and she is on the worship team at church. So we walked quite a ways with her, Angel (her daughter) and our friend Lia. Her house is quite humble, one room with a curtain hung to make a bedroom, a mattress on the floor, no running water and no electricity. It is part of the same building the school is in where she teaches. While there she pulled out a mat to lie over the concrete floor for us to sit on and disappeared for a few minutes to buy sodas for us and juice for Angel (water for herself). Our hearts ache as we experience her circumstances and we wonder at the smile she always has on her face.

What you see is more than half of the room Pamela and Angel call Home.

Finally when we arrived back at Hope, and then enjoyed our first ride in a taxi. Prossy and Ezra went with us in a 15 seater taxi back to the road where we could walk back to our hotel. It was a great experience, crammed into this vehicle which stops regularly to let people off and on. What a day!! Praise the Lord for His goodness and love.

Here is a 15 Pass. Taxi. At one point there were 18, yes 18 inside.

1-30 Manna From Above

2009-01-31T21:33:00.000-08:00

Today I (Alisa) want to share something the Lord brought me in my quiet time this morning. It is from a daily reading by C.H. Spurgeon:

Genesis 28:15 – “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest’

Do we need journeying mercies? Here are choice ones – God’s presence and preservation. In all places we need both of these and in all places we shall have them if we go at the call of duty, and not merely according to our own fancy. Why should we look upon removal to another country as a sorrowful necessity when it is laid upon us by the divine will? In all lands the believer is equally a pilgrim and a stranger; and yet in every region the Lord is his dwelling place, even as he has been to his saints in all generations. We may miss the protection of an earthly monarch, but when God says, “I will keep thee”, we are in no real danger. This is a blessed passport for a traveler, and a heavenly escort for an emigrant.

Jacob had never left his father’s room before: he had been a mother’s boy, and not an adventurer like his brother. Yet he went abroad, and God went with him. He had little luggage, and no attendants; yet no prince ever journeyed with nobler bodyguard. Even while he slept in the open field, angels watched over him, and the Lord God spoke to him. If the Lord bids us go, let us say with our Lord Jesus, “Arise, let us go hence.”

As I sit here this morning, mosquito bitten, bathed with a bucket of water, fed beans and rice for several weeks, watching out my window as the rain pours and turns the ground to cement like mud, I am yet so grateful to Him for all He has done for us. Jesus has been with us every step of the way. When things have been hard we have asked for help and He has blessed us, when there looked like no way could be found He led us on. In truth here in Uganda, Africa we have found a new freedom. Jesus has freed us of the need to take care of ourselves and instead do His will in loving others. In that love we have found Joy and Peace like we have never known before.

I wonder today if that is not available to all of us wherever we are if we are in His will. All we need to do is forget about ourselves, our needs and serve Him faithfully in love reaching out to those before us and asking Him to show us their need.

Here are some of the pictures of children He let us love today:

Boys Will Be Boys

2009-01-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

Today at Hope we got to see the children in everyday action; with no big teams on the compound life gets back to normal. There were children doing their laundry, helping with kitchen duty, watching a movie (We brought a few “G” rated videos from the states), and even more children just running and playing outside.

It reminded us of our own home and bringing up eight children, seven boys and one girl. They all had their chores and their free time. Even though we have many boys, we felt it was very important to train them up to know how to take care of themselves. This means cooking, cleaning, laundry and dishes. That way when they were grown they could either do things for themselves or appreciate their wives’ care of them from a first hand knowledge. We see this at work at Hope as well and we approve of all the children pitching in to help so no one person has to bear the burden of all the hard work.

That said we want to relay two incidents that happened today that show children are not so different across the world. In the morning I (Alisa) was working with Lia (another team member on an extended stay) to interview all the children to add information to their files when some noise and then crying broke out in the front yard. Knowing that sound quite well, I went out to see what was going on. As it turns out, two little boys had been playing and had collided with each other. They were both hurting, crying and a little mad at each other. Pulling them both up on my lap, I just held them and cleaned their faces and dusted their clothes. It brought back the memory of my own little ones who would get into altercations. As soon as they knew they were loved and cared for the tears dried up, smiles came back to their faces and off they went back to play again.

Later in the afternoon all the adults were sitting in Pastor Prossy’s office once again when BANG went a very loud noise! We all sprang into action to see what had happened. As it turns out the sound was glass breaking as a ball sailed into one of the front windows. The big boys had been playing soccer and lost control of the ball. That really took us back in time to our house. How many times have we had to replace windows because of our boys? As Randy cleaned up the mess, making sure all the glass was cleaned up; Alisa relayed a similar incident to Pastor Prossy. After the second time one of our boys (who will remain nameless) broke a window, Randy told him he would need to pay for it himself. Prossy then asked if our son had a job earning money at the time. I replied that he did not, but Dad gave him one and he earned the money for the broken window.

A little while later after the clean up, Prossy called the big boys into her office. As is their custom they came in on bended knee to face their punishment. She then told them that she would be arranging for them to do some work in the neighborhood to earn the money to pay for the window. She said she would not buy the window until the work was done. It was so sweet to see them smile and clap their hands after they heard their fait. You could see they were relieved that they could do something to make up for the loss of a window to their home.

So boys will be boys all over the world and parents can be parents if they have the love in their hearts to raise them well.

Lets Talk Shower.

2009-01-29T02:29:00.001-08:00

Most of you know what an electric water heater is. We know where they belong in a house and the job they do. As you look at the photo, you may notice an electric wire going to the showerhead. That’s the waterheater. As a contractor of 30 years, I have become knowledgeable of some of the wiring codes. Here is one I remember… NO LIVE WIRES IN THE SHOWER! NEVER, EVER, GOT IT. Well as you might remember from other blogs, This is Africa (TIA). Here they put live wires in the shower and with in reach of the person showering. So this is how they work. When you are ready to get hot water, you turn on a switch, which they have located outside of the showering stall (not sure why, it must be for some safety reason, like “Honey, I’m being electrocute!!! Hit the safety switch… HURRY). You wait for a few minutes and you either get water from the roof’s holding tank at its current temperature which is almost cool enough to drink but not warm enough to call it shower water, or you get scalding hot water that actually burns you. There is no way to adjust the temperature. We let it collect in the laundry tub they supply you with, then dilute it with water (from the roof again) from the sink, and with a liter water bottle cut in half, you dump it over your head and body. The next thing you know… you’re clean and ready for the rest of the day. I love it here. Who ever thought I could blog about a shower?

More of TIA. It is now 1:30 and I have been waiting since 10:00am for my ride. I have call my friend who are to pick me up, but they can’t get something printed because there is no electricity where they are, and I don’t have a printer to help them out. I have had a wonderful morning and now a wonderful mid-day. I have hope they will arrive soon as we are running out of daylight in just 5 hours and that is about what it will take to accomplish today’s task.

See the electrical tape!

To the left of the door is the "safety?" switch.

Randy's first time behind the wheel. Note the right hand steering wheel. This is not easy over here.

My friend Patrick is in the passenger's seat.

A New Uganda

2009-01-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

Our Children of Hope,

We love them dearly.

Isa 1:17 – Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

These are the things God calls His people to do; these are things that are good in His sight. As we are here in Uganda we see the need so clearly. There is much injustice. There are many who are oppressed. There are more orphaned children than adults and many of the adults have been abused so much in their lives, they don’t know any other way. So, the cycle of abuse continues on. Then there are the widows…too numerous to number, who have been left alone from the ravages of war, aids, malaria, and other harsh realities of life in Africa. Their lives are a struggle, they need help.

Driving through the streets you see so much need. The need is greater than we can comprehend. We ask ourselves “Where do we begin?”

Then, we drive into “Hope Children’s Home.” Things are not perfect here either; at first glance you see 94 children, orphans, living in one large home and one smaller one. But they are children who after being rescued from horrible circumstances are now being fed, clothed, cared for, schooled, bathed and loved. Children who once had no hope of a future are now filled with hope. The Lord has looked down upon this small corner of the world and reached clear across to the other side of the world to touch the hearts of men and women who are willing to answer the call of injustice, respond to the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widows. This is the work I have seen here; the work Show Mercy is doing in Uganda. But Show Mercy is not just a humanitarian organization started by two well meaning people. It is a movement of a God who says “The plight of my people in Africa is not OK with me”, it is the obedience of His children to hear the call and lay down their lives to follow Him faithfully. Show Mercy is all of the people who give to sponsor children, build buildings, feed hungry people, help those in need or join a team to serve as missionaries, short-term and long-term here in Uganda. We together are Show Mercy; a family of partners working to raise a family of children who will one day be the new face of Uganda, end the cycle of poverty and abuse, and usher in a new day in Uganda.

We can see in our minds eye a day when all the good seed that has been sown into these children will come to a day of a fruitful harvest. We see a day when they are grown, schooled, working and returning to their community the goodness that they have enjoyed. These are the faces of the new Uganda. Your sacrifice is making a big difference. Thank you.

Together with Him,
Randy and Alisa Varga

As For Me and My House We Will Serve the Lord!

2009-01-27T22:43:00.000-08:00

Today we got a taste of what life in Uganda will look like. Having much to accomplish, we separated today and went to work. Alisa went to Hope for the day while Randy hit the road with Patrick the builder to get some errands done.

At the home I (Alisa) found a more peaceful version of the children. With only Lia and I there as visitors we found the children more into their daily routines. It was nice and a lot quieter. We started off the day by continuing the interviews we had started when the team was here. We are attempting to talk to each of the 94 children and ask them questions to update their files. This worked great until the battery ran out on Lia’s computer (Hope had no electricity today). So then we went to plan B, “Sock Day”.

All the Kids with socks.

A portion of the socks that our children raised were handed out to the children of Hope. They were so cute coming in one by one choosing a pair they liked and fit them. They smiled from ear to ear with excitement. When the children all had their socks, the staff each selected a pair themselves as well. Then, came some of the people who live in the village, pleased that they were invited to share some of the blessing; choosing a pair for themselves. Finally we commemorated the event with a picture. Later in the day we had lunch, walked to the boy’s home, visited with friends and read stories to the children. I brought a book out and just sat on the front steps. Soon I had a crowd around me and began to read. But before I could read, two of the boys began to take turns reading to the rest of the children. When the book was over they said “we want to read it again!” So of course we did. Life is slow here. We can take time to visit, to walk, to read a story once again. I noted that this is the life the Lord is calling me to and I think it suits me well.

I (Randy) on the other hand went to run a series of errands; we went looking for a mobile modem for our computers and found the only office in Uganda that sells them! Next we were off to look for a medical clinic to see what they have to offer. Yes Randy went to look at a medical clinic. It not what you would expect to see in the States, but more of a rundown country business run out of a side room of your house. When you get inside, you see they were rather adequately supplied. There are 6 British and/or Ugandan trained MD’s along with a few specialists, two ambulances (I have only seen one on the roads in the past two weeks), and I was rather impressed. After a lunch of a packet of Costco peanut butter crackers and some bottled water, we were off to look for a 4 wheel drive vehicle. The story is the Ugandans bring in Japanese cars and trucks and sell them by the 1000’s. The newest one I saw was a 1999; the good ones were 1995 to 1997. They are in great shape and only have between 60K to 110K miles! I can only figure they drive about 2000 to 3000 miles a year in Japan. The fun part of all of this is the used car salesmen over here could have come from the “schlocky” dealers on 82nd Drive in Portland! They used the same lingo, the same pressure, the same everything. I had to laugh at this. We did find a great 96 FourRunner, if I was ready to buy for around $11,000. Then it was time to try to cross town to get back to Hope and pick up the gals. An hour later we arrived tired and worn out, but with more knowledge of what we are getting ourselves into. After spending the day with Patrick, I know that God has brought both Show Mercy and myself a great Friend. I feel our lives here are beginning to gel.

Thanks for following along with us on our journey of life in Uganda.

Laundry Day.

1-26-09 This is Africa…

2009-01-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

Hudson's Church.

Stephen, the oldest boy. He takes care of the little ones.

One cute little girl who loved the camera!

As we sit here in our new hotel room (but really old),very loud thunder and heavy rain outside, tiny little mosquitoes and the first cold water shower inside; we are faced with the reality that “This is Africa!”

Yesterday was our last day with the team so we have checked in to a more “economical” hotel. Yes, we have moved to “Hotel Ivory”. Located in the town of Nansana, very near Ganda Village, where Hope Children’s Home resides, Hotel Ivory is not exactly a five star hotel, but it is a reasonably priced place that is clean.

Today was a very full day. Our plan was to go to the city of Lugazi to visit Pastor Hudson, the Pastor who has stayed in our home twice over the past two years. It is about a 2 hour trip, and Patrick, a friend we have made here offered to take us there and back. Patrick is a builder here in Uganda, who recently built the two new classrooms for Hope. He is also helping with the constructions plans for the “Field of Dreams”, which is the name given to the property where Show Mercy (God willing) will build a mission base, children’s homes, a school, clinic and more. As for our trip, let’s just say it took well over 3 hours (for a 45 miles drive) due to numerous traffic jams to get there. But as we are learning “This is Africa” and the unusual always is the usual. When we reached Pastor Hudson’s home we had a treat in store for us.

Hudson, His wife Mercy, and their 4 Kids.

Hudson and Mercy.

His wife Mercy had prepared a wonderful lunch for us and we had a long leisurely visit. While there we spent time at their home, their children’s home with about 50 orphans living there, and their church. Hudson and Mercy are warm gracious people who have the gift of hospitality and blessed us with a wonderful day. Mammas and some of the Girls at Hudson's Children's Home.Mercy in one of the rooms.

The way home was much faster than the way going and we arrived back at our new “home” weary but satisfied. We had dinner with another team member Lia, who is also staying at Hotel Ivory and will be here a week after we go home.

I can see that God is bringing very special people into our lives, as He is preparing a place for us here. God is good!

1-25 Sunday: Saying Goodbye…

2009-01-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

We spent the day at Hope today. As we arrived, we were ushered into the church were Pastor Simon was teaching. At Bethel church, the service starts early and continues throughout the day. We were honored today to have Dr. Nsaba Buturo, Minister of Ethics & Integrity (One of the President cabinet’s members), his wife Edith and children join us today as they were invited to preside over a dedication service for the two new classrooms Show Mercy and their partners have built for Alpha Omega School. The service was beautiful, lively, and inspiring. Our Hope children had prepared a dance (to worship music) that was dedicated as a thank you to our team. Tears ran down my face as I watched them dressed in white shirts, with ribbons tied to their hands and around their heads praising the Lord with their African dance moves so gentle and sweet. As I watched, I heard the Lord whisper to me, “This is what it’s all about. They are why you are here. I love them so much and want them protected and brought up in my ways.” These children have lived such hard lives for their years, but now they know they have been saved by a God who knows them and loves them. Their souls are at peace, they are in a family, their needs are being met and they give all the glory to God.

When it was time to pray for the people in need of healing, salvation and deliverance it was not our team who was called to come up to pray for the people. Instead we called the children of Hope to come up and step into their destiny of service to their people. One by one they stepped forward and so did many people in the church that were in need of prayer. Our team surrounded the people in support of our children, praying the Lord would hear their prayers and do a work of His Spirit. The Lord honored all of our prayers this day and it felt to me like a beginning. For many Ugandans the white man has been seen as an answer to their problems. But I see the Lord is doing a new work. It will be a work started in the hearts of these children; children who have seen the power of His name, children who love Him and have experienced His love, children who desire to be all they can be for Him.

After church came the dedication service, lunch, then some visiting and goodbyes. As the team headed back to the hotel, someone asked “What one word sums up this visit to Uganda?” One said “Wow’, another “Missionary”, my answer was “Fellowship”. The fellowship of believers has been so sweet. The team, the children, the Ugandan church, the house mamas, cooks, teachers and staff have all worked together and sacrificed to produce a beautiful perfume for the Lord’s enjoyment.

It was sad to say goodbye to our team as there are many from other states that we may not see again. But we are glad to have shared this time and experience together.

Goodbyes are Hard to Do

2009-01-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

The morning meeting was a bit rough as the team realized this would be the last full day as a team at Hope. As a team we have done very well together. Everyone has enjoyed each other’s company and we all have functioned as a team. It’s hard to believe our time together is drawing to an end. Randy and I of course will remain for 10 more days, others will stay longer. But most of our team will leave tomorrow night. It is sad to say goodbye to those who have been our fellow workers in the Lord.

As we headed out to Hope today, it sounded so easy; we planned to stop, pick up some water jugs to set up a hand washing station for the children, a few gifts and 20 pineapples for the lovely people who serve the children at Hope. But then I guess we forgot where we were. This is Africa…. And after boarding the bus which was over an hour late due to a flat tire, we were on our way. How do I describe our stop to shop? Let’s just say we Mazungus were the morning entertainment! The first store was like an old five and dime store of the past and luckily we found most of what we wanted. We soon were on our way only to turn back because we had not realized the area was the only place we could stop for pineapple as well. Only problem was there was nowhere to park and a traffic jam so we parked the bus at a gas station and some of us got out, walked along the street and waited while on one side of the street while our Ugandan friends bargained for the best price on the other side. This is where the entertainment for the street people came in. I guess we were quite and unusual sight. While waiting we ran in to two girls from Hope, Ruth and Virginia who were shopping for groceries. Unfortunately, Ruth gave some groceries to a boda boda (motorcycle) driver telling him to take them to our bus, only to have a lot of confusion thinking he had not delivered them. Not only that, but standing across the street we lost sight of Simon and Edward (our friends) and headed back to the bus empty handed while Randy went to find them. All in all our stop was about 2 hours but the good news is we all made it to Hope and one of our team members, Danny even led one of the street vendors to the Lord in the process!! God is so good!

Once at Hope the children were so excited and we spent some time enjoying the day with them. Another thing we did was call in all the teachers and moms to give them the “hand washing lesson” and pass out small gift bags we had prepared for them. It was a wonderful time of blessing and we even game Miriam, our cook a baby shower “American Style”. After all that we had more time just to spend with these people we have come to know and love. Each one is such a treasure.

Randy and I are glad we have more time here. There is much we want to do for ourselves in our remaining time here but we are also grateful for some more time to spend with the children and helping Show Mercy in their mission of love in Uganda.

Our Trip to Jinja

2009-01-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

There comes a time for all missionaries to take a day of rest. On Thursday morning we packed up and headed to Jinja to see the head waters of the Nile and Bujagali Falls. It was a long ride (about 2 1/2 hrs) to reach our destination, but along the way there were lots of sights to see, lunch to take in (Alisa had a hamburger and French fries!) and shopping to do. As you can see by the pictures the head waters of the Nile and the Falls are well worth the drive and it was a relaxing day. After our sight seeing spent the night at the “Paradise on the Nile” hotel. That is where we took the picture of the bats, see the posting below.

In the morning after breakfast we headed back to Kampala. We had plans to make stop at a hospital in Lugazi’s local hospital, but we received a phone call saying that they already had too many visitors. So, this gave us some free time. Some went to the Equator, Alisa stayed to go shopping and Randy went to Uganda Immigration Office to find out what it will take to move here and get a work Visa.

Tomorrow’s plan is to spend the day at Hope cleaning and getting ready for the dedication service on Sunday. We will be dedicating two new classrooms and Uganda’s Minister of state, Ethics & Integrity is planning to join us. Now this man is the 3rd highest political member of the Uganda government. He reports to the President of Uganda! Mike, Lori, Randy and Alisa went to dinner with him and his wife. During dinner Randy simply invited them to join us for this dedication, not ever imagining him accepting. Well he did. Now the panic is on to get the place ready!

Most of the team will leave to go home Sunday night, but Randy and I will be moving to a hotel located near Hope where we will spend more time with the kids, take care of some things for Show Mercy and try to make more connections for our up and coming move to Uganda as long-term missionaries.

We don’t know how many posts we will be able to make since there is no internet at this hotel but we will try, as there is an internet café near by.

God has been good and has shown up in many ways. It is good to know we serve a true, faithful, and wonderful God.

Oh My... There were Bats!

2009-01-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

We were at Jinja, about 75 miles to the east of our usual location of Kampala. We had been at Head waters of The Nile river and were heading to our hotel, when some noticed bats... lots of bats. I took this photo from our hotel balcony. The black specks are huge bats the size of crows. The sky was filled for a mile wide and they flew past in this quantity for more than 30 minutes, until the sun went down and it was too dark to see them, but you could hear their wings and chirps. It was an amazing sight.

We Gave Your Socks Away Today…

2009-01-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

The Church (yes it's a Church and not a barn).

My favorite thing to do... photograph my kids.

Playing ball on holiday.

The Village Watering Hole. A good one!

A New Beliver In Christ. Alisa prayed the Salvation Pray with.

A Child with Cancer.

Our son’s Elijah and Gabe with the help of their sister Leilani took up the challenge before our trip to gather socks for us to give out in Uganda. They called the drive “Socks of Love for Uganda.” Their efforts brought great success and the night before we left we counted 514 pairs of socks!! Since we had so many socks to hand out we have been able to spread a lot or love to the Ugandan people. It is amazing to me how the thoughtfulness of people clear across the world can lift the spirits of people who have so many struggles in life. Elijah packing the Socks!

We had an early morning wake up call today, so sleepy eyed we went to breakfast, had a short prayer meeting and headed to the bus. Our early morning destination was Mulago Hospital’s Cancer Unit. Last June the Show Mercy team began to forge a relationship with this hospital. Our hope is to help them in many positive ways, but first we must build a trusting relationship. Last June we brought little stuffed animals; today we brought blankets made especially for the children and socks and soap for the adults. The Hospital administrator led us through each ward one at a time. The plight of the people there seemed more than we could bear, yet as we spoke with them, prayed with them and handed out our gifts of love we saw a light come to there faces and hope spring up in their hearts. A happy patient with new socks.

While there I (Alisa) met Christopher, a man suffering from liver cancer. As I talked with him he shared that he is born again. Finding that we have Jesus in common was joyful for both of us. We talked about how we will dance together when we are in heaven!! I prayed for his healing and before we left he was up and walking around. Alisa and Christopher

Life in Africa is hard. When you are sick, you think a hospital is a good place to go but we were told that many people die in the hospital simply because they do not have anyone to take care of them. If a family member is not there, they do not get fed and if you don’t have the money to pay for the medicine you need, you will not get treatment until you are able to buy the medication and bring them over to the hospital.

In the children’s unit there were sometimes more than one in a bed and the tumors which would have been removed routinely in America were not dealt with. This leaves many little ones disfigured and in pain.

I (Randy) had a huge blessing from God today. I was walking through the ward (yes I was in a hospital) when I came upon one man. He was so weak he could barely hold up his head as he sat on the edge of his bed. I went over to him. I asked him if I could pray for him and if he was born-again. He nodded and then pointed to a bible written in the local language, and he replied he knew the Lord, “see my bible”? We prayed for a few minutes and you could see the peace in his eyes knowing there was someone who cared enough to share Christ’s love. I saw another and went to pray for him. He was too weak to even move. He was hurting; you could see the pain when he tried to move. I ask him if he was born again. He said he went to church but was not a “Born again” and there he was a few minutes later, a Brother in Christ. A new Christian, with Angles sing and dancing in heaven. We serve a great God, one who loves us and wants the best for us. I am so blessed to be part of His plan.

We are going to another hotel for a night in a town called Jinja. It is at the headwaters of the Nile River. If I can find an internet café, I will post another blog.

We love to see your comments, please keep them coming.

A Day Filled with Overflowing Emotions

2009-01-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

We gathered in the morning to go to the village of Kaliti to hand out blankets and mosquito nets. It’s about an hour drive from our hotel, but with extra traffic it seemed to take a bit longer. The last several miles are on red dirt roads, but today we had a bit of rain which turned the roads into a very slick surface. At times we all wondered if the old bus would make it or get stuck. We arrived to see a crowd of children screaming and shrills of excitement! They all knew we were coming to distribute blankets and nets. The recipients of the gifts were a group of disabled villager, some blind or deaf, some with birth defects, some with sever injuries; but all with hearts are all full of love and appreciation for what they were receiving. I am amazed each and every time with the graciousness and honest gratitude people show for our actions. The smiles and the hugs are priceless.

Afterwards we drove another mile or so to the property we call “The Field of Dreams”. We walked the area dreaming and trying to visualize the homes, the dormitories, the social hall, the kids’ cottages, and everything else that will make this area a home to so many. I looked over the area and imagined the 100 or maybe 200 kids running around and the short term missionaries playing with them. I imagined the sound of life in a new community where kids will be raised up knowing and loving the Lord, where they are raised up know they are safe, knowing they will eat every day, where they will receive a good education. My dream keeps going…

The hard part of the day came when we returned to Hope Children’s Home, it was later than we had planned and everyone was waiting for us. They were ready for something, but we did not know what. We gathered in the social area and were told that the children had testimonies to give; testimonies of their lives before Hope. The children, one by one, told their stories. Their stories were filled with horrific things, unspeakable things. They shared how their days had been full of torture and neglect at the hands of those who should have loved and cared for them. They seemed to just recite their stories, one more time; but then the oldest girl at the home, Ruth, would translate them into English. When they heard their stories retold, it appeared the reality hit them, that this was their life. The pain was great. Their tears rolled down their cheeks, some would have to stop, and they tried to be strong. They wiped the tears away, only to have more tears flow. One by one our team member’s went to hugged, hold and comforted them as they finished. For a long while they came and sat on our laps. One girl was only two chairs away, and I could see her crying for the next 20 minutes. It was true raw grief. I spoke with Pastor Prossy afterwards and she thanked us for listening to her kids. She said it was part of their healing process. I know she is right, but it was heart wrenching. I praise the Lord we were all there to love and hug these kids. When I see these things, I know why we send teams to Uganda; to simply love these children and help them heal.

The meeting before we handed out the blankets and sleeping nets.

A little boy who received a blanket and sleeping net.

Children at Hope that still need sponsors.

We finished the day celebrating Lori Salley’s birthday, not sure which one, but we went to a nice Chinese dinner at Fang Fang’s. A must when you visit Kampala.

1-19 Another Day in Paradise!

2009-01-19T21:58:00.001-08:00

Today Randy and Alisa were split up!! Randy went on a wild ride in Kampala searching for mosquito nets, blankets and generators. It was a very challenging journey as today was College graduation day and the streets were completely full of people coming to celebrate the great accomplishments of their children. Traffic was as bad as I could ever imagine. There were cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles all moving within inches of each other jockeying for position. There were tens of thousands of people EVERYWHERE. It was astonishing how crowded it was, but we got all of our tasks done!

Alisa on the other hand went back out to Hope. The mission today was to begin to interview each and every child living at Hope to find out more information for their files. It was a wonderful experience and opportunity to get to know the children better one on one. In the afternoon it was time for some village ministry. We went out in groups to meet the neighbors, introducing ourselves, giving gifts of socks and soap, asking if we could pray for them and inviting them to church. All the village people we met were open and receptive. One woman prayed to accept Jesus, praise the Lord!

Randy and Alisa connected again at dinner where we met up with Megan Espinoza an architect (raised in Portland) who works for EMI a Christian engineering nonprofit here in Uganda. We also met with Patrick our builder and our friend Pastor Hudson joined us as well. It seems the Lord is helping us make so many connections we need. We feel like we are watching His plan unfold before our eyes. Amen!

Sunday, a Day of Rest??

2009-01-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday was not a day of rest for us missionaries here in Uganda. But, it was a great day of ministry! We started out with team members being dropped off at various churches in Ganda Village (near Hope) to join with Ugandan believers in their services. Randy and Alisa got dropped off together at Pastor Samuel’s church. As we walked in the small church with banana branch walls and a tin roof we were met very kindly by about 20 adults and 15 children. We couldn’t help but smile as they praised, worshipped, danced and encouraged each other with testimonies of God’s goodness. Although English is the national language, most people in the village speak Luganda, so we had Pamela a young woman we met last year as our interpreter. Soon, it was our turn as visitors to share. Each of our six team members got up and shared a message the Lord had laid on our hearts. The last one to share was Randy, and boy can he preach!!! It was amazing and the Ugandan people really enjoyed his humor, his delivery and his message. Afterward we stayed to pray over everyone who wanted prayer. From the oldest to the youngest, they all came forward so we could lay hands on them and pray for them. Soon we were back on the bus heading for Hope, having lunch and getting back on the bus going to a prison. We went to the same prison we went to last June. As we arrived another team of missionaries were there meeting with the prisoners. They must have really paved the way for Jesus because after our team members finished speaking almost every hand went up to accept the Lord!! One of our staff members told us he heard them comment that the Lord must really love them because so many visitors had come to see them that day.

Pastor Simon, a pastor at the church that meets at “Hope” has a real passion for prisoners and was so happy we had gone with him.

The last stop in our mission filled day was to go back to Hope and host a showing of the Jesus Film. The church was full of children and adults from the village. It was so cool to hear the children cheering Jesus as the super hero that He is!! No batman or superman for them.

We were all very tired when we finally got back on the bus to head to the Hotel, but we all thought it was a very good day.

Are you ready to have fun?

2009-01-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

“Did you know they didn’t sleep last night?” Teacher Paul told us as we greeted him. “Some of them were so excited they were awake by 3 in the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep!” We all laughed as we entered the amusement park the Show Mercy team had arranged as a treat for the 94 orphans that live at Hope Children’s Home.

Located in Kampala, Didi’s Adventure World Park is much like an amusement park you might see in an old movie. It is not quite Disneyland but to these children it is a happy place!! There is the Pirate Ship ride that swings from one end to another, the Octopus ride that scrambles you around as you go up and down, the Caterpillar ride that is a roller coaster of the small variety, a water slide that empties you out into a small pool, and more. Today Show Mercy hired three small busses to bring all the children to the park for a day of fun.

(Even Mike was having some fun).

As they walked into the park we asked them “Are you ready to have fun?” And of course like any other child in the world they replied a resounding “Yes!” And fun they had, going on rides, walking around, and playing with the Mazungus (white people) who love them. With only one exception everyone had a great time they will not soon forget. Unfortunately, little Eric came down with Malaria. He was at the park and his fever spiked to 104 degrees. After praying for him and asking the Lord to heal him he went with Pastor Prossy to a near by clinic where he received a malaria test and a treatment for his illness. But even little Eric rallied after his treatment and was able to have a little fun. This is Africa. These kids face a hard life, but our God is faithful and today He blessed us all. There is so much poverty, sickness, death, and injustice in this part of the world. Words cannot express all we have seen here. It struck us today though that these are our kids. We may not be able to solve all the worlds problems but we can invest our lives in these 94 orphans and make not only a difference in their lives but also the lives they will touch as they grow up in a harsh country showing others the love they have been shown themselves. One of the older kids is named Peter. We call him “Peter Painter” because he is an artist and loves to paint. He is home for Holiday right now and we found out he has been elected President of his class. He attributes this directly to the love he has been shown by Jesus through Show Mercy. His life before coming to the home was unspeakably tragic and he doesn’t like to think about what his life would have been like if not for the love and care he has received at Hope Children’s Home. We can’t tell you what a privilege it is to have the opportunity to serve the Lord in this way.

Mission Begun!

2009-01-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

Today the team set out with many objectives to accomplish. There were pictures to take, a medical clinic to set up, crafts to make and belated Christmas gifts to pass out. If that seems like a tall order you are right.

After breakfast and a team meeting we again headed out to Hope Children’s Home. Full of excitement the children rushed to greet us. Once inside the home we broke into groups and began our day of service. Randy went to a nice outdoor spot where he began taking pictures of the children one by one. Have you ever tried to take pictures of 94 kids (plus a few neighbor kids) in alphabetical order and without torn/tattered clothes? I thought it might take 2 hours at the most… well it turned out to be an all day adventure. The good news is I was able to meet each one of the kids and put a name with each face. I will try to remember as many as my feeble mind can handle.

Alisa on the other hand, took a group of team members into a room called the “cafeteria” and began to organize the handing out of about 100 gift bags donated by Show Mercy sponsors, supporters and friends. In each bag were simple toys, stickers, pens, etc that people sent in as Christmas gifts for the children. After coming up with a game plan we began to call the children in. We brought them in small groups to receive their presents. After the children had looked at their gifts and read their cards it was their turn to write a thank you notes. It was very touching to see them open their gift bags up one by one looking at the things people had given them. You could see that they were really blessed by it all. Even more dear was the way they took their time writing thank you notes to the people they know care about them. I was struck with what a privilege it is to be a part of the lives of these children who are happy with the simple things of life and are so thankful for all the blessings that come their way. I am sure the Lord looks down at them and smiles as He says “those are My kids”.

All in all it was a great day and we as a team accomplished what we set out to do…I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Some of the team set up a mini-clinic and tended to some medical issues.

Safe and Sound in Uganda!!

2009-01-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, here we are back in Uganda. We arrived about 10:30pm Uganda time on the 14th, headed to the Hotel, checked in, unpacked and then spent the night trying to sleep. Excitement and endless thoughts won the battle against the sleep we should have gotten, but soon morning came and after a brief team meeting and prayer we were off to Hope Children’s Home.

Off the beaten track in Ganda Village “Hope” is a place we love to go. Usually when we arrive our bus is engulfed by a mass of beautiful African children anxious to greet, touch and love on their strange visitors from America. Today however, they were prepared with a little surprise for us.

We could hear the music as soon as the bus engine stopped but where were the children we have come to expect and love? Walking a few steps further we understood. They were prepared with a welcome fit for a KING!! Lined up along both sides of the pathway were our children singing a welcome song to us. Continuing down the path more children with matching outfits were dancing on the front steps of the building. Then, as we were ushered into the building we found even more children with bright shiny faces greeting us and directing us to sit down.

That is when the real fun began. The children had prepared a whole welcome program for us. It was complete with testimonies, songs they had written, introductions, and speeches all giving glory to Jesus for the bridge that has been built between these children who were once orphans and people from very far way who love and care for them. Then it was our turn to get up one by one to give a greeting and share our hearts with them. These children clearly are grateful for all the generosity shown to them, but in truth they are the generous ones for their love is so evident and so pure that it can’t help but bring richness to your soul.

Lunch was next on their agenda and the Vargas were very ready to enjoy the meal we are so accustom to being served at Hope. Beans, Chapatti, pineapple and bananas followed with a Chai Tea that is the best ever. It was fun seeing our new team members enjoy their first meal there.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with greeting old friends, meeting new ones, having our hair braided (not Randy’s and you know why), walking around and seeing all the new additions to the campus including the two new classroom, taking pictures, hugging, holding, and playing with children, sitting and talking and just spending time together relaxing on the porch in the warm sunshine. Now that is paradise.

We are tired tonight and are hoping we will sleep well. We are glad for this day and look forward to tomorrow. We are also thankful for those of you at home who love us and are praying for us. Your prayers are truly priceless.

Our Final Day, June 29th, 2008

2008-12-29T20:34:00.000-08:00

Sunday 6-29-08 Our Final Day

Our team meeting this morning was one of tears, thanksgiving and appreciation. This has been an amazing mission with an incredible team of people who have given selflessly and touched the hearts of the people and the hearts of each other as well. Though we are going home I believe all of us will be leaving a piece of our hearts here in Uganda.

We all attended Church together at the Church that meets at Hope Children’s Home. There are about 200 people who worship in this place so the building is comfortably full. The spirit is rich, joyful and loving there and the worship is lively and sweet. This morning Randy and I were chosen to give a word to the people and they were so welcoming and receptive to all we had to say. I was able to talk about forgiveness and how as soon as we ask our God to forgive He does so and takes our sin as far as the east is from the west. The Lord also gave me Psalms 20 as a blessing to read over them. Randy encouraged the Church to share the “Good News” of salvation with everyone and not loose opportunities to share. Lori got up and shared next about God having a plan for their lives and encouraged them not to give up. It was a wonderful service that none of us will soon forget.

After Church, it was time to say our goodbyes. This is a lot easier said than done. There was not a dry eye in the compound. All of us were so sad and not wanting our time together to end. We have all been touched through each other by the hand of God and none of us will be the same again.

After leaving Hope we went back to the Hotel where Randy and I packed up, shopped for a few souvenirs and headed to the airport around 6:30pm. It was a long grueling day and night for us traveling home. 37 hours from Hotel to Home. When we finally opened our own front door, much to our pleasure there were all our children to welcome us home. They each had had their own adventures to share, which was fun and we were all so happy to be together again.

Still, in the time that has passed since we arrived home I find in my heart a longing. I don’t know how well I can express it, but I will try. My prayer six months ago was “Lord I pray you would show me the work you have planned for me before the foundations of the world”. I have also prayed that Randy and I would be on the same page. Randy and I both know that we know, the Lord has a work for us that does not involve building up our own lives, but instead being poured out to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Our time in Uganda has shown us beyond a shadow of a doubt that “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Our cups overflow with the joy of the Lord and we believe that this is what we were created to do.

Yet the question remains how do we get from here to there? We have so much stuff, what will be best for our kids? How do we change our lives completely around? I think the answer is we continue to look to the Lord. We continue to trust Him day by day and soon we will find ourselves moving in His Spirit and living the life He has destined us to live.
Please pray for us. We want to do that which He has for us and not miss anything. And please pray for the people of Uganda, that they would come to know Jesus as their personal savior and be blessed and helped by Him all the days of their lives.

11 Children that need Sponsers

2008-06-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

During the Party for the Kids, Lori called 11 up front, these are the ones that still need a sponsor. Some live here, and others come here for school.

There are three postings today, so take a look farther down the page.

What an honor it has been to be here and to witness all of the wonderful things. We were warned when we first arrived, to look at the "glass" half full, not half empty. I am truly overwhelmed that the "glass" is not full, but it is overflowing. I have seen true happiness and love in these children's live, like I have never seen before. Thanks for being a part of our journey through this blog.

May God Bless you, each one of you, who have read and prayed for us.

See you soon,
Randy

Photos

2008-06-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

This is what we did in Uganda, Simply Loved the Kids.
A Song sung to us.
A boy with a new shirt.

One last blog... Maybe

2008-06-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday 6-28

Today was a good day, but a hard day for all of us. You see, this was our last full day at “Hope Children’s Home.” Our plan was to have a party for the kids and staff, so we prepared gift packages and all met in the church. The children sang and dance several songs for us. It was very touching as they used the name “Show Mercy” in all their songs; they called us their parents and gave the Lord all the praise for bringing us together. Then to break the mood one of the boys, Hakim, gave us 3 different “Brain Teasers”. We were able to solve one, but failed miserably on the other two. But it didn’t matter because they love us anyway.

Now it was our turn, so we shared some words of love with them after which it was time for gifts! Lori called up all the teachers one by one and recognized their efforts on behalf of the children. Then she had the older children come up, had them hold their teachers hands to pray for them after which each teacher was presented with a small gift of appreciation. When the teachers had received all their gifts it was time for the children. One by one their names were called out and they received a bag with toys and candy.

There was a lot of time just to hang out today. Some helped organize, some just sat on the steps, holding kids and talking, some went into the village. I was able to go around with some of the children to all the sick children in the home and pray for them. Some of them even prayed with me. A friend of mine Heather ended up in the village with a small group of children praying for people. Soon she noticed that a man was following her. She wanted him to go away because she thought he was drunk. Soon as she approached a house she found out it was his daughter’s house. He then came up to her and told her “I want to be born again”!! Yes, she got to pray with him as he asked Jesus into his heart. After that he lifted his hands to heaven and praised the LORD. His sins have been forgiven. Heather prayed that the Lord would break the spirit of drunkenness and he was free. His daughter also became a believer today. My other friend Jessica was able to pray with her. It was Jessica’s first time to pray the prayer of salvation with someone. I am sure the Lord is enjoying all the parties the angels have been throwing these past few weeks.

Randy and I had to leave the home early to go to a meeting with Mike and Lori, but in the late afternoon the children watched the children’s version of the Jesus movie. From the sounds of it the bus home was a mixture of laughter and tears. We have all made deep relationships in the past few weeks. We have all been touched by Hope Children’s Home, Ganda Village and the country of Uganda. None of us will be the same again.

The Lord is here, you can see Him, you can hear Him, you can touch others with His love, and as best as I see it now, that is abundant life!

Tomorrow we go home… We will attend church one more time at “Hope”, then head back to the hotel, freshen up, and will be driven to the airport at 6pm to face our 37 hour transport home. For all of you who have followed our journey with us, we love you and we miss you. We are excited to see you again and bore you with all our stories and pictures. Thank you for loving us, thank you for caring about us. We will see you soon!

Sula bulungi (good night)
Randy and Alisa

"TIA"

2008-06-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

Friday 6-27

I just got back to the hotel after another amazing day at Hope. There is a phrase that we have learned the meaning of here and it is “This is Africa”. We say it so many times that we have shortened it to TIA. When it is said we know we are in for an interesting adventure. Today as we set out we had one plan and as the day went on it was totally changed to God’s plan. When you are in Africa for any length of time, you learn to lay down your plan and die to your own needs as you help others. In the end it is much better…for sure. Randy and I were separated again today because he went with Mike Salley while I went to “Hope” with most of the team. The plan was to get right in and distribute all the shoes & clothes that were generously donated to the children. What was supposed to be an orderly organized effort soon became very chaotic, but not in a bad way. The first children to receive their clothes were those who do not live at the home but are sponsored by people in the States to go to school. There was so much excitement in the air as each one got a new outfit and shoes!! Many of them have probably never received anything like this before in their lives. While that was going on I was helping with the shoe distribution. Each of the “Hope” kids that needed new black school shoes tried them on and got their picture taken. Soon it was time for lunch and then it hit…TIA… The event we had planned for tomorrow was misunderstood and was happening today. So we broke into two teams and went to work. One team stayed at the “Hope” to help each girl in the home try on and select a brand new dress. This was according to our plan. The other team went to do a “Rice and Meat Feed” to 50 poor children in Ganda Village whom Pastor Prosy had invited. I went to the village “Feed”. It was simply wonderful. Even though we weren’t prepared to do so much the little ones who greeted us made us forget about our plan and bless them with all we have. It was so sweet. Lori led the team and talked about the dream Jesus had given her to feed the hungry children in the village. She shared that they weren’t to thank us but to thank Jesus who cares about them and loves them. She shared about how very, very, very BIG our God is and how He spoke the world into being. She told them to share their dreams with the Lord and ask Him to help them accomplish everything in their lives. Then we served them a heaping bowl of rice, meat and gravy which we thought was more than we could eat, but most of those little ones cleaned their plates. There were probably many children who were tasting meat for the first time. After that, we got to visit for a while before heading back to the home. Back at the home all the girls were dressed in their new dresses. They were so beautiful but they use the word “SMART”. Since they were all dressed up we decided to have a “Tea Party” just us girls. Looking at the girls all dressed up in new clothes they looked no different than kids back home and you could see that it was a real blessing to them. From there we went into the church for pictures. Now it was time for the boys of “Hope” to receive some new clothes. Each one received something that was new to them. Along with the clothing donations others had brought, I had brought some things that Gabe has outgrown and it touched my heart to see the boys who selected something that Gabe had once worn. As we entered the bus at the end of the day it hit me, soon we will be going home. I will miss the “TIA” days. Some tears welled up in my eyes at the thought about it. Being here has touched a place in my heart that has never been touched before. The Lord has taught me some very valuable lessons here. It is much more blessed to give than to receive. Being His hands, being His feet, loving with the Love of Christ, laying down my own agenda, serving others without regard for myself, dying to my own self are the things that make us truly rich. Knowing that you were able to encourage, bless or lighted the load for another person should be our life’s ambition; and if it were, our lives would be changed and we would be free indeed! My the Lord’s blessings rest upon you today.

The Team Visited a Hospital in Lugazi

2008-06-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

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Thursday 6-26

Randy was a little under the weather today so he stayed back at the Hotel. There is a 24 hour bug that has tackled the team one by one and it was his turn. Please pray with me that I don’t get it. Some of the children at the home have had it as well.

Our mission today was to take medical supplies to Lugazi Hospital and go through the wards praying for the sick. I was paired up with my team member Virgil Ricks, who is an incredible preacher and prayer warrior, and our interpreter Simon our bus driver, who recently rededicated his life to the Lord while the first team was here. We approached each bed respectfully and asked for permission to pray for the sick men. It was heartwarming to see their openness. Each one wanted prayer and explained where they hurt. After praying originally we would ask them if they felt any better. Most of them said they did feel a little better so we would continue to pray until we saw that the Lord had worked to improve their condition. We saw two men who were bed ridden get out of bed and stand! The best part though is that 8 of the people we prayed for were not yet Christians, but they took today’s opportunity to accept Jesus as their Lord and savior. It was not only the patients but also the wives who are now brothers and sisters in the Lord. They now have hope that goes far past this life we are living and into the eternal future. I know there was an incredible party in heaven today!

One man we met was a 70 year old believer. He told us that he thought he would get well as soon as God would forgive him. He thought he was being punished by God. It was our joy to tell him that God was not punishing him, that Jesus loves him and that all His thoughts are good towards him. I looked into his eyes and assured him that this is true only to see the first tear trickle down his cheek followed by many others. He had an injury to his foot and I could smell the infection. We prayed and he said with confidence that he knows for sure now that he will be ok. I am glad he is in that ward with all the other new believers to encourage them. I pray they will all grow and thrive in the Lord and count their sickness as a blessing because through their sickness they have encountered the Living God!

After the hospital we went to Pastor Hudson’s home for lunch. We had the privilege of having Pastor Hudson stay with us a while ago, so it was so nice to meet his wife Mercy and their children. We also went to his children’s home “Faith Children’s Home” in Lugazi, where the children sang for us. It was so sweet to see these precious children that once were orphans but now have been adopted into a home of there own with brothers and sisters who love them.

The last stop in our journey was the radio station where Pastor Hudson preaches to 7,000,000 people. There, two of our team members spoke and one of our team members sang to the country of Uganda. I can hardly wrap my brain around that.

In the evening we had a meeting with a man who is staying at our hotel, and had been in the area where we were meeting and praying this morning. He was so touched by the presence of the Lord that he came to offer his help to Show Mercy any way he can. He is in pharmaceutical sales and wants to facilitate funding and much needed drugs for the Children’s Cancer Hospital that we want to help. He is not a believer yet, but we asked if we could pray for him tonight, and after we did, he had a huge smile on his face. God is working incredibly!

I am reminded of the song we sang to our kids… “Our God is so great, so strong and so might, there is nothing our God cannot do…” I am seeing a God like that.

Thanks for all the comments and prays, we know we are loved by all of you.

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Some photos for 6/25

2008-06-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Who could imagine what one blanket could mean?

2008-06-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 6/25 (Gabe’s birthday)

I hardly know where to begin to share what today was like. The property that Show Mercy has purchased and has plans to build on is in the village of Kaliti which is about 30-45 minutes away from Hope Children’s Home. The village is predominantly Muslim and over the past few years has been resistant to Mazungus (White Man) coming in. But Show Mercy has persisted in showing love and care to the people of the village when they are there. They have handed out mosquito nets, radios and flashlights.

Today the plan was to hand out blankets to the widows. It is a poor village and many do not even have a blanket to cover themselves at night. Show Mercy had asked the village leaders what they would like and this is what they wanted. We were told before we arrived that we were not to mention Jesus’ name and to only pray silently for the people. When the buses pulled up and we got out, we found all the widows seated on the grass beautifully dressed in their Sunday best. We greeted them, took some pictures and spent some time just getting to know one another.

Soon it was time to start. Lori walked by our group and quietly told us that it was a good time for us to pray silently for the Lord to be present. It turned out that it was a very official meeting, and the “counsel” of the village all were introduced and welcomed us. The leader said that next they would offer prayers. At that I was a little concerned that it would be a Muslim prayer. But when he began to pray it was a Christian prayer that was spoken out to all the people of the village and all the glory for the day was given to Jesus!!! We all felt the presence of God fall on that place and we saw three white doves fly over head and then dip down and fly off again. It was as if our Heavenly Father, Son and Holy Spirit were saying “We are here and we love you all!” It was an amazing moment. In turn each widow was called up by name and given a blanket by one of our team members. The women were so grateful, they hugged us many times and one lady even did a little dance. It was so beautiful.

As it turns out, there are believers in this village, and Show Mercy’s acts of kindness are enabling them to be bolder in their faith. Bette was one such woman who I connected with. I gave her a picture of our family and we agreed to pray for each other. After the meeting we spent some time looking at the property after which we climbed back in our bus to continue on with our journey.

Randy and I went with a team back to the Children’s Cancer Hospital. We were able to talk with the Director and he gave us permission to hand out toys and soaps to the patients there. We were able to stay quite some time and we got to hear some very hard, sad stories, pray over some very sick children and bring a smile to parents and children alike with toys, hats, soaps, bracelets and the love of Jesus. I met a little boy there named Moses. I put a hat on his head and made his little toy dance around. When it was time to go I signed to him that I loved him and with a smile on his face he did the same to me. I prayed for him and continue to pray for him tonight.

Tonight as I continue to think over the day my heart is touched at how easy it is to show someone a kindness and how much it really means to someone who is poor, sick or hurting. God is so good and we are so grateful to be in this place with Him right now.

The evening ended with Mike, Lori, Randy and I meeting with a builder who took our ideas from the other day, and put them into drawings of what the “Field of Dreams” Compound might look like. Then we had a second meeting with a retired pastor from the States who has build 50 churches around the world, two of which are in Uganda. This fellow offer to help us with our building project. It is amazing how God can orchestrate all of this, for His Glory.

Blessings to all and thanks for praying for us.

A day at the Source of the Nile River at Jinja

2008-06-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

We took a day off and went to the source of the Nile River, saw a few moneys, thousands of beautiful birds, a few croccodiles, and amazing waterfalls that are huge, fast, and a ton of water going by every second.

Photos of the Day.

2008-06-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Please read the Blog below for a bit more...

We are at the Field of Dreams.

A neighbor farming the fields, pregnant and with child on back.

The drilling equipment.

Praying for Water and the Equipment.

Field of Dreams and the Hospital

2008-06-23T12:33:00.001-07:00

Monday 6/23

Oryotya (Hello)!

Randy and I spent the morning in different places, as he went to see the land (Field of Dreams) Show Mercy has purchased and is now digging a well on. When we got to the land, it looked very tropical and very green. Neighbors had planted potatoes, and kava. There were pineapples, sugar cane, avocados, and half a dozen things growing, I didn’t know what they were. We met the well drillers and I will be amazed when they get water out of that hole. See the photo of the drilling equipment and you will know what I mean. We met with the local “County” official and were trying to work out some better access “deals”, we will have to wait and see how that works out. We will continue to pray for better access. Overall the 25 acres are beautiful and buildable. I can’t wait what God is going to do here.

I (Alisa), on the other hand went to the government’s children’s cancer hospital with Lori and Heather another team member. It is the heart of Show Mercy to partner with the cancer center and aid them in whatever way they can. This was the initial visit to begin to build a relationship with them. As we met with the head nurse and asked her what they needed she said quite simply “everything”. As we walked the small ward we saw so many unspeakable things. It was heartbreaking to see all the suffering. There were two children to one bed and many more children on the ground outside sleeping on mats. We were able to pray for one of the nurses, Gertrude who asked us to pray God would give her courage. She has been working there for 4 years and they are understaffed, don’t have enough meds and it is so hard to go on. We are hoping to send a team out later this week to hand out toys and soap packages to the kids and encourage them in any way we can.

After leaving the Hospital our small team headed back to Hope. It was very quiet when we arrived because the children were still in school and the other team was still out visiting the land. As school was let out three boys found me and gave me my first Luganda language lesson. They were so sweet and patient. They told me I will have an exam on Wednesday so I had better study. I asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up and they told me:
Silage – Pilot
Ronald – Business Man
Moses – Pastor
I pray God uses them all.

The team soon arrived back and we all had lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging with the kids, having a medical clinic, playing games, etc. We also organized soaps, shampoos and lotions into zip lock bags that can be given out at hospitals, or given to widows and teachers in the village. A big thank you to Melanie Russell for her donation!!

At one point I started to look for Randy and it seemed he was nowhere. I finally found him in one of the classrooms, giving a math lesson. Randy was totally in his element with a captive audience. It was so fun. The kids were learning and having a wonderful time.

Instead of eating at the hotel tonight we went to Fang Fang’s Chinese Restaurant. It was a real treat; great food, artistically displayed! Another great day, it is so good to be a servant of a GOOD GOD!!

Sunday, Truly The Lord’s Day

2008-06-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday 6/22/08
Today was truly the Lord’s Day in all of our hearts. The morning started out with everyone sharing, at our morning meeting, of their experiences yesterday. It was so exciting to hear how the Lord had moved in all the activities we were involved with. It turns out 6 people in Ganda Village were saved yesterday and many more people than that were blessed. After our meeting, we were off to the village again where we split into teams and preached in 4 different churches. Randy and I were assigned the church that meets at Hope Children Home. The service lasted about 3 hours and was filled with joy, healings and celebration. Both Randy and I were asked to share and the people were so gracious in accepting our words of love to them.

When church was over we gathered the whole team together and went to a prison to preach to the prisoners. No pictures were allowed there so I will have to try to describe the time we had with the prisoners. As we walked into the prison yard there were about 126 men sitting on a concrete porch of the prison. The men were sitting shoulder to shoulder, packed in pretty tight, and three rows deep. We were all standing across from them and the service began. We started by singing Amazing Grace in English, followed by Pastor Simon and his team singing it in their native language as we hummed in harmony. The men in this prison Pastor Simon told us are “treated no better than donkeys.” They are forced to do very hard labor, eat spoiled maze for food, no blankets, no clothes other than what they were arrested in, sleep on the concrete floors, rejected by friends and family, abused, and they are truly forgotten. The message that was spoken to them was of love and not condemnation. Several of our team spoke and also the Ugandan team, some of whom have experienced prison themselves. As our teams shared, I watched the faces of the men. They started out hard and cold and as time went on, they began to soften and I could see in their eyes they were thinking “Could this be true? Could it be that God really loves me, that He doesn’t condemn me? That today I can accept Jesus and be free?” It was very powerful and by the time Pastor asked if there were some who wanted to turn their lives over to the Lord 30-40 men accepted Jesus as their savior!! It was so moving I cannot do an adequate job describing what went on. All I can say is God was present and His love abounded in that place. After that, our whole team prayed for the sick and passed out bread rolls and soap. There was such a sweet presence there in this cold hard place. Their hands were so gentle, as we held them in prayer and they were so accepting of the love offered them by these strange white people who loved them in the name of Jesus. Soon it was time to say goodbye to our new brothers in the Lord. They wanted so badly to have Bibles, but none of them read English and we only had English Bibles. My prayer tonight is that the Lord provides His word for them and that it falls on fertile ground. Will you hold them up in pray

er as well, those of you who are Christians? Will you pray with me that the Lord will put a few B

ibles in that place to give them hope and that God will grow their faith as they abide in Him?

Tonight we find that we are very tired but we wouldn’t have changed a single thing about today.

The photo is of the dirt road we traveled for a hour and a half to get to the prison. This is one of the better stretches.

One More Day in Paradise

2008-06-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday 6/21/08

Today was another amazing day in “paradise”. I say the word paradise not because we are living in luxury but because the Lord has so filled our days with Himself that we are overwhelmed with His joy. This morning we were told it was time to move into full gear. The first few days we were able to just hang out and get to know the kids, but now it was time to go to work. There were lots of things to do. Some took kids to the field to play, others organized things we had brought into bags for each individual child, a medical crew looked over each little one and treated the issues they found and still other teams went into the village to get to know the people there. In the village our team was met with openness and the Lord worked to heal one woman who could not walk. That same woman is now a new sister in Christ. Several other people accepted the Lord today! As we arrived back at the hotel each one of us was tired but joyful as we considered all the Lord had done today.

I (Randy) had a banner picture day today. We hope you enjoy this photography and can see as we do the beauty of these people we are serving. I keep looking into the eyes of these children, and behind the dirty clothes, bare feet and rag-a-muffin look, there lies a beautiful individual. I have been blessed to see these kids and love they have for one another. When a younger one cries, the older ones (10 or 12 yr. old) stops doing what they are doing, to pick them up and comfort them. This is His action of love at work.

Cooking for 200+ is no small task!

2008-06-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Simple Pleasures- Washboards-A Gift Well Received

2008-06-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

Mission Accomplished!!

2008-06-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Friday 6/20
I want you to meet my new friend Olivet. I met him as I was sitting on the porch of Hope Children’s home today. Olivet is a little boy about 3-4 years old. He walked out the front door crying with tears rolling down his cheeks. At first I thought he was sick, so I felt his head to see if he had a fever. One of my friends Nancy went to see if she could find some Tylenol to help him out. But before she returned, I was able to find another older child who acted as an interpreter and found Olivet’s brother. As his brother talked to him we found out the problem was that Olivet didn’t want to go home to yet; instead he wanted to stay at Hope with all the other kids. Needless to say we let him stay.

About 100 children live at Hope and another 100+ just go to school there and then go home. Olivet is one of the ones who has parents and a home to go to. The rest of the afternoon I held him on my lap and cuddled him as I have my own little ones in years gone by. When I got up, he went with me, clinging to me as if I was his Mama. Soon his tears stopped, still no smile, but about 2 hours later with the help of a little “sweet” (that’s what they call hard candy),Olivet finally smiled (YEAH!!). Mission accomplished! When the bell rang for the older kids to go home, Olivet was finally ready to go and he went merrily on his way.

When I got back I relayed the story to Randy who said “I guess even in Uganda we still have the Party House.” For those of you who haven’t been over to our home yet, it is known by most children who visit as “The Party House”. Many a child has been known to cry or hide as their parents try to take them home. It always blesses us when children want to stay because we believe it is the presence of the Lord that really draws the children and makes them feel loved and cared for.

2 Corinthians 1:3 – Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

"This is Africa" Update

2008-06-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

I got internet access today, so there are some new photos.

Here is the road or better the trail that our 30 passenger bus went up

She’s my Muzungu

2008-06-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Th 6/19/2008
I met many children today at Hope, but the one I would like to share about today is Winnie. She came up to me (Alisa) first thing, grabbed my hand and was at my side most of the day, she braided my hair putting flowers in the braids and when we were suppose to go to a different area she would come to find me and take me there. She spoke a little English, but I don’t think she cared to talk much. She just wanted someone to hold her, smile at her and have as her own. As other little ones would come up to me she would tell them (in her own language), no, she is my Muzungu (white person). Later on in the day she got a piece of paper, drew a picture for me and told me she loved me. It touched my heart so much to see that it took so little to make one little girl feel loved and special. Later, I found out that she is one of the newer children. She came to the home in September. Both her parents have died and a man who had taken her and a few other children in could no longer care for them so Show Mercy took them in. What a blessing it is to be a part of what God is doing here.

Welcome Home!!

2008-06-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

Th 6/19

Randy and I have anticipated this day for a long time (over 8 or 9 months) and it didn’t disappoint us. The long ride from Kampala to Ganda Village was interesting to say the least. The Ugandan people have their own creative way of getting around. Whether by foot, bike, boda boda (scooter), car or in our case a tour van they have a transportation language that includes honking, staking your ground and other givens hard for the foreign mind to understand. After driving on terrain we would not consider roads in the US we finally pulled into our destination “Hope Children’s Home.”

Because of the love God has shared with these once orphaned children through Show Mercy the greeting we received was nothing short of a Welcome Home celebration! They greeted our team of 26 as though we were family; big smiles, warm hugs and as many children as each one of us had fingers for. While at the home today we hugged kids, played games, ate lunch and hung out together. Even though an onlooker might have thought it was complete chaos going on, if I had to describe what I felt most it would be peace.

James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.

One thing our Pastor likes to tell his flock quite often is “Holiness is happiness”. In other words if you follow God’s ways and His plan for your life you will be happy.

Today was a very happy day here in Uganda.

Angel in the Airport

2008-06-19T12:48:00.001-07:00

6/17
It was with great joy & expectation we woke up at 3:30am. Quickly we got ready and were out the door and soon arrived at the airport for a 7:05 flight. I bet you didn’t know there is a “prayer angel” who masquerades as a worker at PDX. She is a woman of color who has a great smile, warm hugs and can pray like no other. We met her on a previous trip to take Show Mercy’s Mike and Lori to the airport. She told us to come back to her when we left so we did. She prayed a prayer that touched our hearts and helped to carry us through our day. It helped me remember in our long, hectic plane ride(s) to Uganda that the Lord is to be found in many, many places; you just need to look for Him.

Where is your sandcastle going to be?

2008-06-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Where is your sandcastle going to be?

I want to relay a story that touched my heart. As we have prepared to leave on our trip to Uganda there have been many things along the road that have been used by God to prepare the way for us. One story that Randy told me the other day keeps coming back to mind so I think I am suppose to share it:

All of you who know my husband know he is a man of many stories who always has something to share with the people he meets. This is not limited to family and friends at church, for he sees his mission field as anyone around him who will listen. This past week he had the opportunity to speak with a former client who is by most people’s standards very wealthy. He shared about our upcoming trip to Uganda and about how giving to the orphans of that country has changed our lives. The man, after pondering all Randy had told him asked the question, “How do you know where to give? I want my money to go to real need and be sure it is not being misspent.” Randy thought about this for a moment and then replied.

He told the man that it’s kind of like going to the beach walking to the sand and deciding where to build your sandcastle. You look at the lay of the land, give it your best assessment, go to a spot and begin to dig. Before long you will just know whether it is the right place. If it is, you dig a little deeper and begin to build, if it is not you move to a different spot and evaluate that situation. Before long you are settled in and a sandcastle is taking shape and being built.

This made me think about our journey in life to find the work the Lord has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10) We want to discover what we were created to do, we want to yield ourselves to Him and find life to the full. But to do that we must be willing to set aside our own agenda, listen for His voice and follow Him to the best of our ability. We may go out, stake our ground, find it is the right place, dig deeper and begin to build. Or, we may realize no this isn’t the right place and need to move to a different spot and access that situation. But with the Lord’s help we will eventually settle in to a place He has prepared for us and He will show us one day at a time how to build our little sandcastles to the glory of His name.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10

Pre-Mission Musings

2008-06-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

It is funny how a mission trip starts even before you leave and how God uses the time well to prepare your heart for the journey. It seems as if day by day the Lord has been prying our fingers one by one off our lives here. Everything from business challenges to personal times with Him tell us that He has something “new” for us. What exactly that something is we really don’t know. What we do know, is that we want to find out. We are confident that our upcoming trip to Uganda is the next step of this amazing journey.

We are scheduled to leave June 17th and return on the 30th. It seems to us to be a short time to spend given the choices we are considering but our eyes are on the Lord and we are depending upon Him to show us the next step after this one. I have long noted the Christian life is one where we are often left in what I refer to as “limbo”; with lots of “balls up in the air” waiting for the Lord to show us the next right thing to do. Not anxious, panicking or fearful but confident that our trust is well put in Jesus and in His timing we will see the way to go. We have experienced this with our children, our business, our churches and even our marriage. “Patience” the Lord says, “I will show you in My timing.” and He has never failed to see us through. So, we wait with anticipation to discover His plan for our lives.

While waiting He has given us much to do, Leilani’s Graduation, Gabe’s Birthday and packing our 3 youngest kids for their own “Mission” trips while we are gone. The other thing it seems we do each day is check the other Blogs that are out there for our dear friends who are also in different countries serving the people of Africa.

Show Mercy (who we will soon join in Uganda): http://www.showmercy.org/category/updates-from-uganda-june-2008/

And my dear friend Jill who is in Liberia with a small team consisting of her son Jeremy, young friends Keilah and Brandy and herself: http://www.liberiatravels.blogspot.com/

As we read about their Missions we are excited for what the Lord is doing in and through them in Africa and just like Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10 we want to climb that tree so we can see Jesus too. Our prayer is that we won’t miss anything He has for us in the time we have left on this earth.

Thank you for tuning into our Blog and being interested in our journey. We would really appreciate your prayers if the Lord brings us to mind. We would like prayer for safety, health, direction, in filling of the Holy Spirit to minister to the people of Uganda, spiritual discernment and of course joy in the journey. We love you and pray the Lord’s blessing on your day.

Randy and Alisa Varga

Our Skype name is: randyvarga

2008-05-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a map of Africa, and you can see I marked where Uganda is.

Our Skype name is: randyvarga

Getting Ready to Go to Uganda

2008-05-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Hope Childern's Home in Uganda, and one of our first stops, where we will meet all the kids and staff.

Our Skype name is: randyvarga