Friday 2/17/17

We were able to go to the bank today and we were happy to get that official business out of the way. From there we went to the project house to say goodbye to the girls. I don't think they quite understood that today was our last day together. Rachel tried to explain that we were only here for a very short trip this time, and that we would be back soon. It is very hard to explain to them the distance between us. Their whole world has only been the short distance they have traveled to get from the slum or from Karamoja to the house. Nor do they understand airplane travel and the time and expense associated with that. So their faces vary between sadness and confusion as we leave them.
They began a game of ball in a small piece of yard right before we left. The sweet innocence and joy that we witnessed left our hearts full of gratitude. That is the way it should be for all children everywhere - but it's not. Oh, I forgot, they were having this much fun with a sad little deflated ball that they kept trying to blow into as they played. (Just in case you are wondering, we made arragements for a nice new ball to be purchased 😀.)
When the girls profile pictures are taken for the first time, there are no smiles. And when they arrive, there are very few. It is as though they have forgotten how to smile or if they ever did. So to not only see smiles but to hear laughter is a greater joy to me than you can imagine. And so once again, I Praise God for His faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Thursday 2/16/17

Our plan was to go to the bank today with Rachel for business concerning the property, but it was closed for a holiday. So instead we decided to go back to the new land and take another look now that the plans were complete.
Here is a little background of the weather in Uganda. They only have 2 seasons- dry and rainy. We were there during the dry season. The weather will say that there is a chance of rain almost every day but it seldom does actually rain. The last bit of rain they had was about 2 weeks prior to today. Also, I occasionally feel a slight breeze, especially by Lake Victoria or when we are on a high point, but only slight.
We drove about an hour to reach the village where our land is located. As we pulled into the property and opened the car doors, a strong wind (stronger than I've ever experienced in Uganda) blew across the land. Hard enough the the tree limbs were bending. And as we began to walk, raindrops began to come down.
In the Bible, the Hebrew word ruach means "wind," or "breath" - "spirit." And in Biblical times, rain was considered a great blessing from God.  Rachel, Emmanuel, Matt and I all just stood in amazement. I can honestly say that it was something none of us will ever forget.

Deuteronomy 28:8 The LORD will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 

As in the Old Testament concerning the Israelites, this is our prayer - that God will bless us. We pray that we will always remain obedient to Him as He leads us forward in His work. 

Wednesday 2/15/17

Today we met with our land contractor - all day. We planned and discussed and revised for about 9 hours and we were able to accomplish so much. It is a great deal easier to do something like this in person, than Skype, and of course we realized the extreme importance of meeting and discussing face to face. Once we were finished, we felt that we had thoroughly discussed every detail of every building as well as plans for the remaining land which will not have buildings. There are 5 acres. You will enter through a gate and this will be where a security officer will remain 24 hours a day. The first building will be the classrooms and training center. Then, the latrines and bath house.  The girls dormitory is next, followed by the kitchen. The layout of the above buildings is kind of in an "L" shape.  There will be a chapel to the right as you enter the property. This was very important to me and I had alot of input as to how I wanted it to look. It will hold enough space for not only the girls and staff, but for the local villagers who would like to attend as well. It will have a baptistry in the chapel and be lined with wooden pews. I can't wait to see it finished. The rest of the land will house their chicken coup and a small amount of livestock. There will be a large garden so they can begin growing a portion of their own food.
The entire campus will have a fence around it for safety.
It is going to take a lot of folks coming together to make this dream a reality. We will need to fundraise when we return on a whole new level. We are all joined in prayer that God will move hearts and create in people a passion to join us. This is not just about giving the girls a proper place to live and learn, but also so that the girls who have been left behind due to space limitations, can be brought into the program.
And there is an urgency - because remember that the girls left behind are starving and abused (beaten, raped) daily. For others, time will run out because they will end up kidnapped and trafficked before we can get to them.  None of us would delay if this were our own daughters, grandchildren, sisters, nieces.  It can become difficult to put all of this in that perspective.

Please, if anyone reading this wants to help in any way possible, please go to our website at 91four.org or contact us through facebook or instagram (both found under the name 91four.)  Or, if you know Matt or me, just contact us.
The real truth here is - when you help - you are literally changing a girl's life forever - and quite possibly saving her life.

Matthew 25:35 “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."

Mon 2/13/17 & Tues 2/14/17

It is Wednesday morning here.  I have not posted until now because I only have service when I'm at the Inn and I'm only at the Inn to sleep. And speaking of sleep...when I get home from a very long day here, all I can do is think of sleep. So I am sorry for the delay in writing but I've literally been too exhausted to think. 😪

On Monday morning we were finally able to meet our new girls! There are 27 girls living in the house. 3 are graduates who have remained for additional time, 1 is only 4 years old and 23 are new to the house. We were beyond excited to to see one another, because we had been waiting 6 months. After lots and lots of hugs, we were able to begin spending the rest of the day together. On Sunday I mentioned my friend, Mary Albaugh - founder of Amazing Grace Pillowcase Inc., who has a pillowcase ministry back home. She heard me speak and her heart was moved to help the girls. She asked me if she and her team could make pillowcases for each of the girls, small children and staff who reside in the house  - a total of 32!  A prominent textile company from New York donated the material - Thank you Henry Glass & Co.!!!! 😚😚😚  They say, "Jesus Loves You" on them so that this will be the last thing they see before they close their eyes each night.

I can not begin to explain the happiness and love and amazement that I feel during times like this. The realization that these girls have just started a journey that will forever impact their lives is beyond words. They have lived lives of horror until now and you can sense that they are still uncertain as to how to understand that something this good could have happened. We explain that it is only because of the love of Jesus. He loves them and has sent His children in one place - to help His children in another place. We explain that their sponsors and donors work tirelessly to provide for their needs and that they have a large group of their family in Christ - whom they have never met - praying for them daily. We tell them that distance separates them from their "mommas", "papas", and "friends" now, but that someday they will meet them all and spend eternity with them!  They clap and cheer when they hear this and so do we!! 😄🤗

On Tuesday, Matt and I traveled with Rachel, Emmanuel and Simon (our general contractor here in Uganda) to see the new land we purchased. A few months ago, through the generous donation of others, we were able to purchase 5 acres of land.  It is located in a remote village about 45 minutes east of Kampala on the way towards Jinja.  It is breathtaking and so peaceful. It is close to a trading center so that will be a great benefit.
The purpose of this land is to build a new campus for the girls. Currently they are housed in a single dwelling. They sleep about 8 to a room and train in cramped quarters. The girls obviously do not realize the need for more space because they used to sleep on the ground outside, but we have definitely outgrown our sweet little home. Not only that, but there are so many more girls that have had to remain on the streets due to lack of space. They cry and beg Rachel to bring them too but there isn't any room left...
That brings us to the purchase of this property. Our hope is that we can build a dormitory and classrooms large enough to hold 100 girls.  This land will also be a place where they can grow their own food and house their poultry.  This can only be accomplished with the help of others through donations. It seems like a daunting task, but like I keep telling Matt that I believe, "God's got a ram in the thicket. "  We just have to be faithful in our trust and obedience to Him. These are His daughters so we believe that He will move His children who are in a position to help - to join us. Please pray fervently for His Will to be accomished in this - not ours - His.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Sunday 2/12/17 We Arrived!

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting outside under a shady tree at our Inn. Matt is asleep - he is exhausted and congested. Me - I'm too happy and joy filled to sleep. God is so close and so good and I can feel it in my entire being. Sometimes I feel like I can't breathe when I think about how much I love Him and how awesome He is. I don't feel this way because I live a problem free and perfect life. Far from it!!!  But in the quiet moments of time, when it's just the two of us - life becomes a kind of perfect. Perfect because regardless of me - he is constant and He brings life to me - real life. His joy and peace resonate deep inside of me and I can draw on His strength in any and all of life's circumstances.

Matt and I left home at noon on Friday and were at Pittsburgh airport by 1. We checked 4 bags (our limit) - 2 personal and 2 filled with supplies for the girls. My sweet friends Valerie and Janet donated clothes, shoes,bags,medical & hygiene supplies.  The sweet students at Jefferson County Christian school collected so many flip flops last year, that this is the second shipment we have been able to provide - and there are still more for our next trip! And then, Mary, a precious woman I met at a church I spoke at - has a pillow case ministry and she donated 30 new cases - all hand sewn. I will be giving those to the girls tomorrow when I see them and I will post pictures with additional information.  
Our flights were fine except for, what seemed to be, a lot of turbulence.  At one point, the woman next to me lifted her hands and began praying aloud in her language. 😐   For a girl (that's me) who is recovering from an extreme fear of planes - that was interesting. It was an opportunity to rest in God's hands and be confident that He IS with me, even if that means the plane goes down. It will always be ok.
We also had 2 different delays. One in DC for a broken windshield defrost, and one in Brussels for ice on the wings. We remained on the plane for both. But in the end, we were only 1.5 hours late arriving at Entebbe.   Recho and Andrew were there to greet us and to drive us to our Inn. I was in bed by 2 am and up at 9.
I got to see our friend Sue (from New York but lives here) this morning! I hope to spend more time with her this week.
Recho and Andrew will be here later this afternoon to visit and to work on our schedule for the week. The musts are: visit the girls, meet with the engineer to discuss the building plans, visit the the new land we purchased, and do paperwork at the bank.
This is actually a shorter trip because we will only be gone a total of 9 days and 4 of those days are travel days.
I realize that this is a long and boring post, but writing this is my way of sorting my thoughts and emotions and acts as my electronic journal.
Thank you to those of you who actually love me and care enough to read through my ramblings. I love you too!😚

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your Word. ~ Psalm 119:114