...:::The New Normal:::...

WOW!

I can't belive I've already been home (Uganda for now) for 3 weeks! It feels like I was just in the US a few days ago! Luckily, that feeling doesn't still include the jet-lag I came back with!!! Although it's felt like a blur the past few weeks, there's actually been a ton of stuff happening over here...

 
To start with, we're finally in a home that we can once again call our own! As many of you may know, God has been a bit of a showoff for us since this whole "we're going back to Uganda" thing happened. One of the ways He's reminded us of how big He is, is by giving us a free house to stay in! Not only is it free, but it's BEAUTY~FULL!!!

We share a compound with an amazing family of missionaries, The Carrolls, and are blessed with a daily spectacular sunrise and a constant cool breeze (unheard of here!). We're also only a 5 minute drive from where we now serve (Bombo). To keep things exciting, we've got no running water or flushing toilets! We rely 100% on collected rain water and are getting quite adept at pulling buckets of water from our well/cistern, but honestly, we kinda love it!

The past few weeks have pretty much been a time for us to become better acquainted with the work being done here through Align Ministries and the amazing volunteers and staff that work tirelessly to make it all happen!

Coryn has spent most of her days getting better acquainted with Align's "Life With Hope" program. LWH was established to accomplish exactly what the name implies by coming alongside individuals in the most dire situations (most affected by HIV/AIDS) and providing immediate and long term care. This is done through monthly support and food donations, as well as medical care, and in extreme cases, admission into a "life home". 

Coryn has also been spending a lot of her time teaching and developing leaders and programs at Align's school, Donela Orange Primary and Secondary School.

I, like Coryn, have spent my days familiarizing myself with the projects, ministries, and processes that Align is involved in here. I've also had the opportunity to begin looking into new ways of impacting the communities we're planted in.

One of the first projects our team tackled here was installing "Tippy Taps" for our LifeHomes. Running water is rare in most of the rural parts of Uganda, and because of this, good hygiene is not always an option. This leads to an increase in disease and illness which, in many of our HIV/AIDS infected clients, is detrimental! Tippy Taps provide a great hand washing solution for areas where water conservation is a must! So far, they're a great success, and we're now planning on installing them around our schools and communities!

Daniel and Nehemiah pretty much love it here! They've really taken to their new school, and put up quite a fight on days

when they can't go! They also really love living on the same property as the Carrolls because they've always got kids to play with! Both boys have been hit with a myriad of different infections and bugs (like any kid at a new school) but are hopefully on an immune system upswing!
Lastly, we've got some exciting news...

We're once again "Real Missionaries"! Align Ministries has added us to their easy to use support page! If you're one of the many people who've wondered how you can partner with our family, now you can!

All you have to do is go to alignministries.org/donate/ and select "Uganda Missionary Support". Fill in the required fields and, Boom!!!, it's like you're right here with us, loving and serving the Align community! You'll notice that there's also a ton of other great ways to learn about the ministry and support Align on that same site!

...:::last two weeks = AWESOME:::...

A few months ago I was approached by Jeff Atherstone, the principal at Gaba Bible Institute (GBI), to join him and an American film crew in the creation of a handful of promo videos for ARM. I didn't really think much of it at the time, but have got to say that I feel so blessed to have gotten the chance to work on such a noteworthy project.

The First week had us all over Kampala shooting various projects and getting stories by the people affected by them and those affecting change. The stories have been so incredible and a true testament to what God's doing over here!
This week has taken the four of us, Jeff Atherstone, Jacob Lewis, Jeff Henson, and myself, to the North of the country. First Soroti, and then Lira. We've been documenting the struggles that Ugandan pastors face on a daily basis, and I gotta say it's really opened my eyes! It seems I've come so accustom to noticing the young and the sick, that I've never really thought about the welfare of the shepherds. It's really crazy to realize that almost every pastor here has had no training what so ever, and since their not really looked at as a big investment by their village, no one is willing to send them to bible school. Seems a bit strange but here's how it traditionally works;
A community will come together to fund a village member who shows a good amount of potential in the hope that that vary member will then return home and get a good paying job. That person is then expected to turn around and fund others in the community to enable them to achieve the same thing. The problem with this system is that most Ugandan's know that a full time pastor will most likely end up a poor man, making it less enticing to want to send them to school. It's a scary thing to think about since these figure heads are the ones looked to in times of crisis but will be the first to tell you how ill-equipped they are. 
That's why this week has been so great! Not only have I been able to work with an amazing group of guys on a fantastic team, but I've also grown in an understanding of what the church here really needs. Equipped Leaders!
I now want to ask you for two things...
First and foremost, PRAY!
Pray for the conditon of the church nt only here in Uganda, but at home and all over the world. Pray that God brings healing and colaberation to the many communities that are the church.
Secondly, I would ask that anyone who reads this will take a look at what GBI is doing and really consider how easy it could be for you to take part in the transformation!