Sponsor me, please!

One of the programs that Food for the Hungry works hard to implement is the CDP -- Child Development Program. This is mainly designed to offer children in remote villages the oppoprtunity to education they otherwise would not receive.

In Marare there are 33 children out of 400 that are sponsored into the CDP. That's less than 10%. The need is GREAT. Families of children registered through CDP have to meet certain requirements as far as basic needs for the child. In some households, some of the children are registered, but others aren't. It's difficult for families living in poverty to provide these basic needs for all children.



Leaving the village of Marare on our last day, most team members had children approach us saying in their limited English "sponsor please, sponsor please". They were desperate for a sponsor family. That was heart breaking, but our promise to them was to encourage more families from Canada to do that.

For $38 a month, you can.


We had the personal joy of meeting our sponsor children (and those of our Northgate families), seeing their homes (generally a mud shack with little or no furniture), and communicating to them through an interpreter. That made it all more than worth it.

For more information, visit the FH website at www.fhcanada.org/Sponsorship/Mbale-Uganda-Children

This lists all the children in the Mbale area (a number of different communities including Marare). If you would like a child specifically from Marare, contact FH Canada at 1-800-667-0605, and ask for child sponsorship in Marare, Uganda.

Construction Project

For the men...the construction project is coming along...ALL manual labor...from the digging, to the cement that was made by hand from scratch (no mix), the bricks (that the villagers make from scratch)...it was a team effort by many -- the women and children included. The soil here is a rich red, perfect for brick formation; but the process is time consuming.


The days on site were started with devotions at 6:30, right on the work site with Moses from FH Mbale leading. In his words, it's important the builders do not build in vain. The day was started with God's leading and ended with thanksgiving to Him.

Building continues; even without us the villagers are excited. We were told that within 2 months the school can be built. Currently we have enough funds to get up to the rafters, so we pray that by that time additional funds will be there to purchase necessary supplies to finish.

Bearing Fruit

First...our apologies in the sporadic posts...internet has been very irregular.

Interestingly, today our sermon here in Rwanda was about bearing fruit, and the harvest. Specifically on Isaiah 5:1-7 (the hard working planter and his failed crops) and Mark 11:12-19 (the fig tree that bore no fruit).

We all found the sermon applicable in the sense that our work in Marare focused on the fruit of the spirit -- we used this as a our Bible lessons for the Marare children, and as a focal point for us as a team. It was refreshing to have that lesson reinforced today.

Going back to our last day in the village of Marare, we were blessed immensely by the community. We savored our last drive in on the bumpy dirt road with the clouds of vehicle fumes all around us, the shack houses, the goats and cows roaming everywhere, the shoeless children, the hundreds of bodas (motorcycles) on the roads, and the unique sounds around us.

Upon arriving at the village, we enjoyed one last session of hundreds of screaming children running to greet us in our mototo (taxi). One last time to feel like celebrities. One last time to have 10 or more children clinging to our arms for just a little attention and love.

We had the honor of the villagers taking time to dress us in their traditional dresses -- the women wore gomas, the men robes with suit jackets. The day was HOT, and us women got to wear at least 5m of polyester fabric on the top layer, and another 3-4 metres of fabric underneath. Some of us also got to wear a polyester head covering. Needless to say, we were honored, but sweating before the second layer was on. We then got to go out in the hot sun, and dance with ALL the village women around the church building to under the trees. The men were just as blessed with snug fitting suit jackets, but lucky them -- they got white cotton robes.

The closing ceremonies were a great reminder of why we were there -- not only to teach and construct, but more importantly to connect with these beautiful people and build relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ. Who they were was a HUGE blessing to each of us, as joy there brought us back to the basics and what our purpose here on earth is.

The last words we heard from the children as we were leaving were "See you tomorrow!" That nearly broke our hearts...the next team will be the children's tomorrow.

Rwanda...

Well... we are all accounted for in Rwanda. I was hoping that Mandy would beat me to the punch, but I know people are waiting to get word.

In North America, I understand that instant information access can make people want to know, so this will have to suffice, because I know Mandy and Shirley are both eager to share also.

So I will leave it to them to share when they get a chance, hopefully by the end of Monday {which is about the time you will be waking up} they will have posted something.

Since now you know that we're all ok, I will leave you with a teaser. The sendoff was better then the greeting, if only that we were leaving that left a dent on the entire trip, because none of us really wants to come home.

Until next time guys...

Sayanora Marare...

Or is it... Alinde.. Which is the native language for saying goodbye in Mbale.

Our time here has been well spent. We developed really close relations with the staff here at the Mbale House of Food for the Hungry and we are quite sad to be moving on our way to Kampala and then eventually Rwanda for a field visit there.

The send off was just as amazing as the welcoming we received in the village complete with the village putting us in Ugandan ceremonial dress, to the youth choir putting on a performance and the village mothers putting on a skit.

We also developed a relationship with two Go-ed students studying abroad and we wish them all of God's blessings as they will remain here in Africa until mid December.

Whie we are excited to be moving on to the next leg of the trip, we are sad, but encouraged that we are welcome to be coming back. Paul, Paul, Patrick, Livinstone, Moses, Rebecca, Justine, Stephen and Molex have all been wonderful, consistently preparing meal after meal {13 in total} for us. This isn't an easy process as each chicken must be butchered, defeathered, cleaned, cooked and then served to us as with other sides such as rice, noodles, avocado, pineapple, beans and chipata.

If and when the Lord permits, we will come again.

Day 2 In Marare...

The hygeine lesson that was put together by Shirley, Mandy and Jennie went fabulous. While we had some trouble early on overcoming the language barrier, when we got to this part of the lesson, God really stepped in and oversaw that the people in the village got the message about cleanliness.

Not only did the children 'get it,' but the Mother's in the group put the icing on the cake when a representive came up on the fly and stated that "While they were never really concerned about washing hands after using the latrine, the parents would be stepping up to ensure that the {buck stops here}. And that this won't be an overnite process, they are committed to providing a healthier solution to their children's needs when it comes to disease and germ protection.

I'd say that's a praise item worth noting for God.

Further, I had mentioned earlier that the village purchased four wells. This goes back to last years Christmas present from Northgate Baptist Church to Marare in which the Edmonton church helped to provide a solution for clean drinking water. The church at the time thought that we were only purchasing one source of clean water, a well. In turn, the village was able to secure four clean sources with the money donated and there are four wells, accessible to the entire community in which all of them have access.

Nice job Northgate.

Day 1 In Marare

Getting there was long. The welcome was unbelieveable. The end has yet to be written.

Ohhh, and Northgate, there's four of these with the money we gave.

Almost 48hrs later...

The team is safe here in Uganda, right in the middle of Mbale, the district which includes Marare.

While the time is now 12:20PM MST - it is actually 2121hrs here in Uganda. While I cannot speak for the other teammembers and how they have arrived here, I can say that we are all accounted for, that no one is sick or badly injured. None of our things went missing intransit. We were able to get all of the toothbrushes and toothpaste into the country and we are about to hit the sack.

The way people drive here is incredible. I guess what it really comes down to is awareness and back home in Alberta, I can safely say that people are just not aware. Not after seeing what I've seen.

Anyways, I myself am keeping a daily hand-written journal because my laptop battery just isn't capable of continuous use and the battery life is maybe 30mins.

So I will bid you all adieu, as I go to sleep for my first full night and tomorrow day in Uganda {Even though we landed this morning at 0730hrs.}

In Transit..

Team Northgate is on it's way to Uganda. We are excited and tired already but looking forward to working with 400 children, leading a VBS on the fruit of the spirit and teaching them about basic personal hygeine.  All being well, we will also be starting the foundation for a school.



Please remember to pray for us as we are introduced to the African culture and especially the village of Marare. Pray that they would be as open to us as we are to them and that both of us would see tangible and intangible results from this meeting.

It's TIME

6 weeks ago, we first introduced our church family (Northgate Baptist) to the Marare team with Caley's skit idea: "Is it time yet?"

This really was the beginning stages of our planning! Miraculously, in those 6 weeks, we were able to raise required team funds of $35,000 through many fundraisers, gifts from our friends & families, and donations from our church family. We also collected 400 toothbrushes, toothpastes, soaps, face cloths, pencils, pencil crayons, scissors, glue sticks, and more! And, we developed a VBS curriculum (from scratch) on the Fruits of the Spirit, as well as hygiene lessons. All together, Wow! For future teams...I wouldn't recommend working on such a short time line, but for us, it was what we were given and God made sure we would get there!

What seemed impossible at the beginning was made possible by God. I remember our Tuesday night meetings, where we were generally stressed about the mountain ahead of us, and prayed endlessly that God would carry us through.

And, HE DID! Last Sunday, our church family openly prayed for us, and gave us their love and support. Today, we're packing our suitcases and preparing our homes for our absence. It really is time!

One week to go

One week tomorrow and we leave. It feels like a dream. When I look at all the supplies laid out all over our family room floor I still find it hard to believe that we will really be in Africa, working with the children and getting to know the village people. I've been looking at pictures that Sieg, Tim and Gary took last year and I'm just in awe that we will be there, with those people.

I remember in June, 1972... the day we drove out of Zambia heading south to Cape Town... through my tears I vowed to my mother that I'd come back to Africa one day. If we had known it would be 38 years! I know that Mom, looking down from heaven, is excited for me too.

We have been so blessed by the many people who have supported us in so many ways to prepare for this trip. We couldn't have prepared the VBS program without Judith and Madhu. And our wonderful church secretary, Marlene who reminded me so many times to send her bulletin updates and was constantly asking what she could do to help. For so many prayer warriors who have been praying all along. For financial help from so many people who gave sacrificially to make this happen. For Kent, who encouraged me in so many small ways. For the Sinclairs who helped with the popcorn maker for the movie night, and put together the "Hunger" skit so well from Mike's idea. For one of my favorite seniors, Edith, who I know would love to come with us (and who we would love to have) but is, instead, staying home and making, along with a friend, 400 wash mitts for the children. For Wanda who found a supplier where we could buy some of the supplies we needed. For someone at the Health Services unit who gave me a website to order the Glo Germ products to help with our hygiene lessons. For all the individuals and companies who donated so many valuable things for the Silent Auction. And the list goes on and on...

God has blessed our team with a wide variety of ages, personalities, experiences, gifts and abilities. Are we ready? ... no. But God will use our inadequacies and bless the people of Marare!

Learning the language!

With much thanks to Christine (who recently moved here from Uganda), who tried to teach us common phrases, the Lord's Prayer, and more in Luganda. We were difficult to teach, at least that's the feeling I had. But, I did notice she had a lot of fun laughing at us too.

We did learn the Mbale (the city that we are staying at in the evenings) is to be pronounced with a silent 'm'. If the 'm' is pronounced it has a completely different meaning: circumcision. Christine pointed out that this is the season of circumcision, so if you do pronounce incorrectly it may be addressed.

Deon (16 years old) asked if that meant the babies are being circumcised. When Christine explained it was boys 12 years of age and older, his eyes almost popped out of his head. That, she said, is the start of their manhood. Deon WILL know the correct pronunciation of Mbale.

We also spent time preparing our hundreds of supplies donated by so many friends and family members! We've got full suitcases already, with still more to come. We spent a lot of time sharpening pencils with electric sharpeners. We got a long way, until Brian overheated most of the sharpeners (4 sharpeners in 30 minutes)!

Please keep us in your prayers...

10 days left to prepare and plan! In general, we're all feeling anxious, unprepared, and incapable, ...well, except Gary who's experience in this area is greater than the team's put together. We're thankful for him, and learning to lean on God, know that without His Holy Spirit working in each of us we are incapable. We're also excited; at our meeting last night, all of those feelings were present! What an opportunity to serve!

This song by DC Talk (What if I Stumble) has been stuck in my mind the last little while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egM_jQVsfxI (copy and paste the link in the address bar if you're unable to click on it).