Last night in Uganda and on our way home tomorrow!  Thanks for your prayers...pray us in!

Friday/Saturday Update

Hello from Soroti!

We have a lot to catch up on from the past two days, we will do our best to fill you in!

Friday morning started with devotions at a local church with the Divine Stars. Mike gave us a challenge from 2 Timothy 4 about enduring our hardships. He asked people to share their struggles with the group and we were able to pray for those who shared.

After devotions, we walked to a nearby primary school that had 1,554 students and 27 teachers. Logan and I (Juliana) were able to demonstrate the Sawyer water filter to the teachers and students. After showing them how it worked we were able to present two filters to the head teacher who was very appreciative. We then had the chance to split the kids into groups by grade and play a few games with them, including field hockey, soccer, and other various games. The guys were able to combine with the Divine Stars to play a soccer game against students from the school. They had to work to keep the cows and the children off of the field during the game. To conclude our morning at the school, the Divine Stars led a worship time which involved A LOT of dancing with the students. Although it was very hot and very tiring, we all enjoyed ourselves!

After lunch, we arrived at the soccer field and the guys combined with the Divine Stars and played a local team. The girls had a chance to spend time with some local children we had met previously during the game. Toward the end of the guys game, the girls were informed that we were playing against the Divine Stars Women’s Team. Now remember, none of the girls play soccer so we did not know how the game would go. The guys finished 0-0 and it was our time to play. The game evenly matched and we ended in a tie of 0-0. This was the biggest crowd that the girls had ever played in front of, there were over 300 people there. After the games, the program began with more songs and dancing and then Brooke shared her story. She did a wonderful job of explaining the importance of trusting God and not worrying. She combined the idea of water filtration with God being the living water. We then came back to the hotel, had dinner, and all went to bed. It was an exhausting but rewarding day.

So, now on to today. We had morning devotions at a community service center. Don shared a message on trusting God when things don’t seem to go how we planned. We spent some time in worship and thanking the Divine Stars for the week we have had with them.

We drove to the marketplace where we were to do community service. We began with slashing and hoeing the tall grass and also spent time sweeping the marketplace with their brooms, which are made from dried bush branches. The marketplace was full of dirt roads and trash so it was difficult to sweep up only the trash without dust flying everywhere. It made housework in America look pretty easy!

This afternoon we had a little time to relax and rejuvenate. Most of us took much needed naps! This evening was another crusade in a local village which had not had a group of Americans our size there before. There were well over 700 people in attendance for the games. The girls combined with the Divine Stars Women’s Team to play a local team. We ended up winning 2-0! Juliana brought home the only American goal from the trip, she is thinking of switching sports when we return. Just kidding J  (Teri) The guys game followed with another score of 0-0 but had an exciting thunderstorm in the middle of it! The village that we were in was home to many children who are sponsored through Compassion International. It was encouraging to see. Aaron shared the message tonight after another worship session. We left as they began showing Pilgrims Progress on a big screen to the village.

It was difficult to say our goodbyes to the friends we have made here in Soroti. They all send their love to you and request your prayers for their ministry here.  Tomorrow morning we leave early for a six hour trip to Murchison Falls Game Park where we will stay at the Paraa Lodge. We are all looking forward to spending time together debriefing and celebrating what God has done on this trip! We may not have internet until Monday night. We would appreciate your continued prayers as we travel and enjoy God’s creation.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good, and that is his nature, WOW! (typical African greeting we have learned)

Much Love,

Juliana and Teri

Today was another great day with the people of Soroti and we continue to see God's hand at work in everything we are doing. We woke up this morning, grabbed some breakfast and then went to devotions at someones house who has been working with two villages who used to hate one another. She intervened between these two villages through her work with cattle. Cattle is very important for the survival of these villages and she was a veterinarian. This gave her a foothold into their lives and enabled her to start working with them to bring about peace. Devotions were great and very encouraging and afterwards we were able to show the people there the Sawyer water filters we had brought. The two villages they work with could really use them and the demonstration of the filters amazed those who were watching. We then had the opportunity to present them with a handful of filters they could distribute to the villages.

After devotions, we headed to the sports field and ran a coaching clinic for the people there who were already coaches, or  who wished to be coaches in the future. Although not all of us play soccer, we were all able to use our gifts in some way to pitch in and run a very successful, meaningful clinic. After we showed them some things we do at Messiah, we had the opportunity to all get together under some shade and talk about the principles and values behind a good team and coaching. it was very encouraging conversation which sharpened both us and the people of Soroti. In fact, that has been a theme being seen since we have been here; both us and the people we have partnered with in Soroti (Divine Stars soccer team who is a sports outreach based team, and those leaders of sports outreach here in Uganda.) keep sharpening and encouraging one another as we go about our ministries wherever they may be taking place.

After the coaching clinic we went and grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to Alliance High school where we did another Sawyer water filter presentation and then hung out with all the kids playing all kinds of games and having a good time together. It was amazing to see the love that was so abundant in that grass/dirt field. It is very hard to put into words the beauty of what went on when we were playing with those children but it was very special and God's hand was very evident. After the dancing and singing calmed down a little, Luke was able to give his testimony, then Don and Fred spoke, and it ended with a call to those who wanted to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Two boys from the school were saved. Praise the Lord!

After leaving the school we had the opportunity to walk through a village to the church we were going to for an evening service. The service consisted of dancing, singing, and people speaking about what God is doing in their lives and in the lives of those around them.

The people of Soroti wanted us to bring you their greetings and we would ask for your continued prayer for our ministry here and the ministry of those who live here and spread God's love everyday. Thank you so much for your prayers already, your support is needed and much appreciated.

We love you!

P.S. Sorry there has not been any pictures, it takes way to long to upload them with the aircard/internet gadget we have. We"ll show you them when we get back.

Well guys we made it.

65 hours after leaving Messiah, Aaron and I finally arrived in Soroti.  Monday night at the airport I ran into a little trouble and wasn't allowed on the plane because Uganda doesn't allow travelers whose passports expire in less than six months.  So as a result Aaron and I stayed in London trusting God would take care of us--and boy He did.  Initially British Airways only provided me with a new ticket for the following day as well as a hotel for the night.  But all of Aaron's accommodations were going to be extra.  The way the guy at the gate was describing it, it sounded like he was going to have to pay a lot to get his ticket switched.  On top of this they told us the flight was full.  But when we got down to flight informations to book the ticket the manager might have worked the system a little bit for us.  We walked out of the airport that night with two boarding passes to Uganda, four tickets for the bus to a hotel, and a hotel room voucher that included meal vouchers, all at no additional cost.  God totally provided for us.  We spent the night in our hotel, got a good meal and a good night sleep, and prepared to tackle the next day.

Tuesday morning we woke up a little later than we had planned.  We missed the bus back to the airport but this only gave us time to settle and use the meal vouchers the airlines had provided us.  Eventually we took the bus back to the airport to catch the tube into central London.  From the tube we were able to navigate to the US Embassy fairly easy.  The staff at the embassy were able to get me in fairly quickly, although I had to run down the street to buy a passport photo in time for my appointment.  Once I was in the embassy things continued smoothly.  I was able to acquire a one-year emergency passport.  In all we only spent a total of an hour and twenty minutes there.  Praise the LORD.  When I walked outside the sun was shining brightly and I couldn't keep from grinning from ear-to-ear.  While both Aaron and I were eager to head off to Uganda, our flight didn't leave till 9:25 so we had to spend the day finding stuff to do in London.  Obviously its not a bad city to be trapped in and we had a good day but our hearts were elsewhere.

The second time around neither of us had any trouble in Heathrow and boarded the airplane without delay.  The plane ride itself went by fast as both of us slept most of the way.  When we arrived in Entebbe a sense of relief came over me.  We made it, we're here.  But after getting through customs easily we came to understand the disappointing reality that Aaron's bags didn't make it on the plane.  But he took it well and they will be delivered tomorrow.

One of the staff from SOM Kampala named Robert picked us up at the airport.  We took the same route to Soroti as the rest of the group did the previous day yet somehow we were able to get there by around 4.  We met the group at the Bethany Girls Secondary School and as we arrived it was a joy to see them in action.  Every one of them was actively involved in some game with a bunch of smiling kids around them.  It was wonderful to be back with our group and it is wonderful to be here in Soroti.  God's hand was definitely upon us and it was really cool to see Him guide and take care of us.

Luke

After a long, bumpy journey across the country we finally arrived in Soroti. We are tired after our 36 hours of travel but thankful to be here. We are still waiting for Luke and Aaron to join us tomorrow and then we will have the whole team. Tomorrow we begin at 7:30 with breakfast and devotions and then we will go out to schools to visit and play with the kids. Praise God for safe our safe travels! And pray that Aaron and Luke are able to join us safely tomorrow. Goodnight from Soroti!

We (almost) Made It!

Greetings from Entebbe, Uganda!!
Our plane just landed about 2 hours ago and Don and his team from Sports Outreach was here waiting for us. We have 10 out of 12 of our team here. Luke's passport was due to expire sooner than Uganda would allow him to enter the country so he was not allowed to leave the London airport. Aaron stayed with him for the night and they are visiting the US embassy today to get an extension on Luke's passport. They should be able to get on the next flight out of London to Uganda and make it here just 24 hours behind us.

Please pray that they grant Luke's extension for his passport and Luke and Aaron make it here as quickly and safely as possible.

The rest of us are embarking on an 8 hour bus ride to Soroti today with Don and his team. Pray for safe travel as we make our way through the country.

After receiving our Sawyer shirts we were ready to head out and catch our flight out of Dulles, DC. The next two days are going to be filled with a lot traveling and airport food. We are all excited and our 3 day training camp has brought us together as a team. We have just arrived at the Dulles airport and were greeted warmly by the Chipotle Restaurant. Your prayer for safe travels and for things to go smoothly is appreciated and much needed. Next stop, London!

Welcome to the Blog for Aroma's Uganda trip!

Today was our first full day as a team.  We gathered here at Messiah to kick -off our trip with a little pre-trip preparations.  The Spring semester flew by fast but it feels great to be done and to finally be here and able to fully focus on the trip.  We woke up early this morning for a cross run, reflecting on what Jesus has done for us.  We concluded this powerful experience with some worship and breakfast at the top of cemetery hill.  At our first session we learned out the company that is sending us.  Sawyer Products is a fantastic company driven by Kingdom-minded motives and it is absolutely fantastic to be able to partner with them.  On top of providing us with some sweet insect repellants and teaching us how to use their water filtration products, we gained a better understanding of the company and how to teach others how to operate and benefit from the water filters we plan to distribute.  This very helpful session was sandwiched by some time outside treating our clothes with some of Sawyer's insect repellant.  I can honestly say I have never been so excited about being protected from annoying mosquitos. After some much needed rest we spent the evening learning working on how to share personal testimonies.  It was really cool to be able to hear from member of tour team how God worked and is working in their lives.  I feel like it was a really spiritually encouraging  and definitely helped us all with testimony sharing.  The more time I spend around our group the more I get excited about our trip.  For everyone out there supporting us thank you so much for your support.  Keep us and our families in your prayers as we plan to begin our grueling travel itinerary.

God Bless,
Luke