Ugandan Dirt Remains on My Feet

There is so much to tell about my most recent mission trip to Uganda, I’m not even sure where to start. Well that’s not true, I want to start by saying thank you to all of you who donated toward my trip. I was so blessed by all of you as you continue to support me in my many trips overseas. This year I led a team of 16 people and through your donations and the monies raised by the other team members, we were able to cover all costs for the trip and purchase much needed supplies when we arrived. We had a really great group this year, and we accomplished a lot.
We had a church in Nebraska that rose over $100,000 earlier this year for the building of the new baby’s home. When we arrived in Mokono, Uganda, we were amazed to see how much work had already been done.



The walls were already up!!! Our team worked on landscaping, building a deck, building a changing table, and painting. We also did a short vacation bible school at Kidron Valley, brought lots of supplies from the US, and purchased bunk beds, crib mattresses, tricycles, curtains, a table and chairs, a fan, plastic plates and cups, office chairs, etc.




Our team was made up of folks ranging in age from 19 (turned 19 while we were in Uganda) all the way up to age 68. People often wonder. Is it really cost efficient to send a mission team to do construction? Wouldn’t it be more cost efficient to just send money over to Uganda and pay the local workers to complete the projects? If the only purpose of a mission trip is to build, then it is definitely NOT cost efficient. However, there are many reasons for short term missions that go far beyond construction. The relationships built between the people who travel and the people who live in Uganda that are grown over this time are priceless. In addition, our team shares the gospel through words and actions with local widows and children through prayer, VBS, and hugs. In turn, the people of Uganda bless our hearts so much and show us what it truly means to have the joy of the Lord. I don’t think I could ever express through words the impact that these mission trips have had on my life. I encourage anyone and everyone to go on a trip with us someday. I would love for you to see what God is doing and be blessed by the people of Uganda too. Soon, AHH is hoping to take a Friendship Team to China to work with an orphanage with which we recently began a relationship. I hope to go on that trip as well, so be on the lookout for more fundraising letters. LOL



I really do not have the words to express how grateful I am to all of you for your continued prayer and financial support. If you have not already liked A Helping Hand on Facebook, please do. We send out monthly updates about what is going on in Uganda and usually link those to our Facebook page.

The Ugandan red dirt is still on my shoes, and I don’t want to wash it off. It is a reminder to me that God is the Lord of all nations. When I am in Uganda, my heart is full and my spirit feels God’s presence even more fully than at home. When I enter the worship service in Uganda, tears come freely. Although I have experienced God just as close here at home, I look forward to going to Uganda because I know that God presence will overwhelm me. If you want to be overwhelmed by God, I pray you will join us on our next trip.



As always, if you wish to donate to any of my mission trips or to the ministries of AHH in Uganda, China, Guatemala, or elsewhere, please send checks to:
A Helping Hand Adoption Agency
1510 Newtown Pike Ste 152
Lexington, KY 40511
Or give on line at
http://ahelpinghandadoption.org/donate/

Uganda Awaits

I thought I should write and give everyone an update. Things have been so busy, I think I forgot to send a thank you and praise out on my blog. My trip to Uganda this year is fully funded! PTL! Thank you to everyone who supported me through sending funds, prayer, and helping with the garage sale. We raised $900 in just one day! This year we are taking a team of 16 people. The folks in Uganda have already begun the work on the new babies home. With the added support of our team, it looks like we may be able to get the babies moved into the new baby's home by August. That would be so great! Below is a message I received from Ken a few weeks ago and some photos of the progress so far. I will update everyone again when I return.



Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," I Peter 2:7



Dear friends,
This morning I was frustrated with an issue; as I walked around the site watching what the masons were doing,the Holy Spirit reminded me of the portion in scripture that talks about Jesus. The corner stone that the builders rejected.
Friends every thing in our lives is saturated with the Lord; may you be encouraged just as I was this morning.
Blessings,
Kenneth Nganda

Still Kickin'

Well, some weeks are better than others right? This week, I was amazed by all the folks who have stepped up to support my mission trip after my last post. My church in SC (even though I moved to Lexington over 1 1/2 years ago now, I still call WOL my church) has made a large donation to my mission trip, and I have had some friends step up to help with the upcoming yard sale. Thank you to all of you for your support. This morning I received word that the baby's home caught on fire. Praise the Lord no one was hurt. The fire started in the ceiling in the laundry room and has to do with something electrical. Ken and Cathy moved every body out and were waiting for the electrician to determine when it is safe to go back in. In addition, Ken was reended this morning. Fortunately, no one was injured and the other person will have to pay for the repairs. Ken said to me, "I know the enemy doesn't like what we are doing, and whenever things like this start happening, I know God is getting ready to do something big!" Such a great attitude and very true. They have asked for prayer of course. Today, I have a test ahead. I'm not sure how its going to go as I am stepping completely out of my comfort zone and my patience will be tested. Please pray for me. In other news, Kelsie and I signed up for the Iron Horse Half Marathon on October. We are really pumped and scared all at the same time. It will be the first 1/2 Marathon for both of us. We start officially training in June. Exciting stuff.

Warning: Spiritual Retreat Needed: Post Oozes Self Pity

Sometimes the burden I feel on my soldiers from the stress from my job is overwhelming. I have staff who depend on me, I have families who depend on me, and I have children who are depending on me. Even though I know that the burden is not mine to carry and that God’s burden is light, sometimes it is difficult to really give it to Him. I want to, but I keep picking it back up again. There are days when I want to quit and run away. I remember my mom used to say the same thing when I was growing up. I know that everyone feels this way from time to time. I also feel the lies from the enemy creeping in saying, “You are not enough, you can’t do it, you’re going to fail”, or “if you had a spouse or someone to share your burdens with everything would be easier”. I know these are all lies because I do have someone to share my burdens with and He is the best support I could ever need. He is always faithful, and I cannot fail when I am relying on Him. He knows my needs before I even express them. Today has been challenging and all before 10AM. Perhaps a vacation is due. Perhaps a spiritual vacation is due!

To Uganda I Return

This year I am leading a team of 16 people to Uganda for 10 days. Thanks to a wonderful church in Nebraska, we have raised over $100,000 toward the building of the new baby’s home! We give God all the glory and praise! These funds are earmarked for the building so we are not allowed to use them to cover the team’s travel cost. Each team member is expected to raise $2,600 for the trip. So far, I have only raised $593.00. As a team leader, I have an additional $1,500 that is raised by the other team members, which leaves me with a balance of $507 to raise before we leave. I am planning to have a yard sale in April to help raise funds as well. This year, the majority of our team members are men. We have several men who are in construction because we plan to build the first building for the baby’s home. We want to be able to move the children to the site in Mokono, Uganda to avoid continuing to pay rent in Kampala. In addition, while we are in Mokono, we will be ministering to widows and other community members through prayer, donations of goods, and fellowship. We also plan to hold vacation bible school at Kidron Valley Orphanage in Jinja which ministers to over 100 children in the community. I am very excited about this trip because it will be my first time to travel to Uganda and stay outside of Kampala. Also, I’m excited because the Lord has provided the funds to really begin building. Since my trip last May, we have raised the funds to dig a well on the land. This has been such a blessing to the community to have clean water! The folks in Uganda have completed a latrine and are now working on a guard shack. In addition, we have continued to raise and support the baby’s home monthly at $4,000 per month. Each month is a struggle to meet our goal, but the Lord always provides. I’m so excited to see what the Lord has in store for our team on this year’s trip. Below are some photos of some of the work that has been done in the past. Thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support. To donate to my trip click here or please send checks to: A Helping Hand Adoption Agency 1510 Newtown Pike Ste 152 Lexington, KY 40511

Dear Supporters, I’m writing again to thank each of you for your recent contribution to my May mission trip to Uganda. I also wanted to send you some photos and share with you about the experience. We took a team of 8 people from all over the country. We had a great group and everyone worked hard. This trip involved more physical labor as we worked to build the fencing at the site of the new baby’s home. We also did some more painting at the current baby’s home and visited Mama Mary’s for VBS. We also took all of the children in the baby’s home to the clinic for their immunizations and provided supplies to widows in the neighborhood. We prayed with the women and families in need. We were truly blessed. While visiting the squatters (widows) on the land and providing them with supplies and prayers, I was amazed by their gratefulness. I am always so humbled by the people of Uganda. They are so grateful for everything and anything we offer them. This year, we met a widow who has taken in 11 orphans. She is living in a mud hut with all of these children. When we return with the team in October, one of our projects, if we are able to raise the funds, is to build her a new home. Since my last trip to Uganda, we were able to have the land surveyed and begin digging a well. Two churches here in the US starting funding campaigns for the well and together raised the $20,000 needed for the well and generator. We were able to see the work being started while we were there. A man gets into that tiny bucket and is wheeled down into the whole. He then digs and puts dirt in the bucket and sends it back up. It was incredible! The good news is that they have already almost hit water. Soon, the people in this region will have clean water available to them. Praise the Lord! I want to introduce you to Joan. She was recently placed in the Tender Hearts baby’s home after being abandoned. Joan is 2 years old and when she arrived at the baby’s home, she weighed 16 pounds. Joan is blind and has had a head injury. Since being at the baby’s home, she has gained weight and has begun to bend her arms and legs with the help of some physical therapy. She is incredibly happy and smiles and giggles whenever she is touched or spoken too. Please pray for Joan, for her recovery, and for an adoptive family to bring her home. I have been to Uganda so many times now it feels like my second home. The people of Uganda are beautiful inside and out. They are generous, grateful, loving, and so much more. We will be taking our next trip to Uganda to continue the projects we have started on October 13th. I would love for some of you to join us. If you are interested in learning more about this trip, please call or e-mail me. If you would like to support me on the next trip to Uganda, please send your checks to Nightlight Christian Adoptions 4430 E. Miraloma Ave, Anaheim Hills, CA 92807. Be sure to include my name in your letter so the funds will go toward the mission trip. You can also give on line at the link below. Thanks again to all of you for helping me to honor the command of James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of what God is doing in Uganda, and it is because of your faithfulness to him that I have been able to do it. Donate online Here. May God continue to bless you richly for your generous donations. Love, Lisa

The Year is Half over!

Well, I haven't blogged since January! Yikes. My last post was my "hope to do list" for 2011. Six months later, how am I doing?

1)I have completed 2 5K's this year, but I haven't been able to "run" the entire thing yet. I think I will accomplish that next time as I'm running 3 miles 3 times a week.
2) I have lost about 25 pounds since January! I'm much healthier and physically fit. I truly enjoy challenging myself to a new physical peak!
3) I don't think I will ever be satisfied with my love for God or love for others. There is always room for improvement, but I am working on it. Sigh.

Perhaps I will post again in December or perhaps I will get a wild hair and post sooner. We shall see.