Matt and Travis have departed...

Back to Bugiri

The boys left yesterday, Travis to Rome and Matt to Detroit then Kentucky! I miss them already. It was just so great to be able to share this experience with them, and the kids were so blessed to have them to spend so much time with.

So last night as I was enjoying a Guiness, brewed in Kampala, and eating vegetable curry rice at this really cool French Bistro; a older Mzungu pulled up in a white truck with a logo that said The New Forests Company. He immediately sat down at a table near mine and started cursing the traffic. He ordered a Bell and Tilapia with almond sauce (I was jealous).

So he seemed pretty easy to talk to and something inside me was urged to talk to him…in fact it was the Lord. He was like, talk to this guy Jes. So I waited a few minutes and then asked him what is The New Forests Co.?

He told me that they are planted Plantain farms at various locations in Uganda to help out the community. He asked me what I was doing here and I told him and he started talking about his company’s involvement with community development and orphanages. He actually has his main base in Bugiri but he is from South Africa.

He is such a strong Christian man. He told me all about his kids who are my age and his plan for the next few years. He is taking us to Bugiri on Wednesday because we aren’t able to use Peter’s car. He said that each month he donated 100,000 shillings a month as a tithe and he followed that with trying to give me the money right away to give to the orphans….I have found that God gave me a gift of fundraising even when I am not trying…I urged him to wait until he actually gets to see the Champions so that it will mean so much more to him….

I am so thankful that God gave me such an intuition to talk to this man, his name is Carl. I am hoping that meeting the Champions will bless his life. This world is just so small, God is always bringing such amazing people into my life.

Anyway I am going to Indian tonight with our Italian friends. I am so excited to get to have Indian in Africa!! It is my favorite.

Right now I am helping Sarah in the office, we are working on the monthly report, I will post it on this site when it is fully completed.

Thanks for reading. My main objective for the next 2.5 weeks that I am here is to connect with different organizations that will be able to help the champions while I am away. There is one called GOAL in Bugiri and many more in the surrounding area that may be able to help either with our potential feeding centers or The Home of Champions.

I am also going to try to visit the Kampala office of Invisible Children. I want to see what they are accomplishing here in town!

Again I miss the boys but I am also excited to get to spend individual time with Sarah and the kids. Keep praying for us, and also for my brother. He just completed a seminar called Landmark where you excavate your past…his ‘graduation’ ceremony is coming up or may have already happened. Please pray that God can transform his life in a new pure way, that he live the fullest life that God has intended for him. He is such an inspiration to my life and I just want God to bless him, and especially for him to regain his relationship with Christ. Thanks again. Many blessings.

~jes

Post Safari

So…we are currently in Kampala hanging out with our new Italian friends that took us on Safari, Davide and Francesco. We went to Murchinson Falls, a national park in North western Uganda, it was amazing, I will let the guys tell most of the details, but in a nutshell we bush camped 10 foot from the nile!

Hippos were one of the most popular guests to our tent site at night…it was breath taking. It’s so amazing, in fact my awe of God increased while in that place. Seeing his creations, and being surrounded by them is unforgettable.

It was such a special blessing to be able to be so close to the Nile, a source of life for so many. Also the place where we camped was also considered a NO-GO area just 3 years ago because of insurgents from the war. We had a really cool guide named Henry that told us so many interesting stories and let us take pics with his Ak-47!

Before the Safari though we toured the Invisible Children office in GULU!! It was such an organized office, they are doing spectacular things there, we actually met a girl there who is working there as the communication director, named Erika, she went to Miami and knows Katie Aiken from high school…small world.

We also went to the this really amazing non-profit café in Gulu that Travis discovered, it was created by the country director of Invisible Children Jolie Oket, the food was amazing and the place was just so cool, going there was definitely a huge highlight to my trip here. We all got special bracelets that are only available at the office in Gulu…Invisible Children rocks…if any one of you reading hasn’t seen the film Invisible Children, please go rent it tonight!

Anyways I gotta go, there is so much more to say but things are too exciting here to stay online…I’ll be in touch.
Peace n love
Jes

Children's Hopechest

If anyone is interested in Children's Hopechest and the work that are doing here in Uganda to raise awareness and to alleviate poverty please check out this awesome blog by a guy named Daniel Clark who we spent some time with here on our trip...he is good with words and has a passion for Christ and Children!

danieljclark.com

peace
jes

Eastern Orphanage- Nabukalu

Headed to GULU and Murchinson Falls

The 2 weeks we spent in Bugiri with the kids was a blast. Yesterday before leaving we brought a group of Lab techs and counselors to the orphanage to test the kids for HIV/AIDS and they were all NEGATIVE!!!!!

Praise God, last year when I was here, I arranged for the kids to be tested at a local clinic, and the results were that 9 tested positive. I found out this year that the clinic was scamming us and just made up the results, which is just so typical here. Haha

Anyway when I arrived to Nabukalu it was one of the coolest moments of my life, to see the familiar faces of the kids I spent a month with last year, learning from and laughing with. They crowded around me for at least an hour testing out my memory on their songs and holding my hands. My face hurt from smiling and I think I held the happy tears in, but you know how when you are almost about to cry, how the world outside is glazed over, how you are looking out by seeing through your wall of emotion…that’s how it was.

I must have woken up at 6 the next morning, being back in the village was so familiar. It still remains with its fair share of drama and problems, but spending time with Sarah, Travis, Matt and the kids was a wonderful blessing.

Travis wrote earlier about a group that came to Nabukalu in a really cool bus that was headed by Children’s Hopechest. That was also a really exciting day, because we woke up so so early and started preparing, Sarah is an awesome cook, so we woke up at 4:30 and starting cutting and slicing and dicing. We fed at least 300 people that day thanks to Sarah and the help of Christine (one of the women from the Hopechest group, she donated money for the rice and beef), and Dan Hopechest’s representative.

This really cool girl Brandi and her husband Greg brought these funny ballon pumps for making balloon animals, haha it was awesome, I don’t think our kids had ever seen anything like that before.

I got mosquito nets for the kids that are treated so hopefully this season the malaria cases can decrease. Also me and the guys got towels for every single kid in both orphanages along with a pair of underwear for each kid.

I have this cool idea for next year to build small libraries for the kids from southwestern books, so if you are a book kid reading this and you would donate a set or two to that cause after next summer let me know…that way I can get some feedback before I present it to Henry and Dan the man…

Thanks for reading, and coming along on our journey, next year you should come in person…peace n joy

~jes

The Dancing and Singing Kids of Bugiri

Hey all,

We just arrived back in Kampala from our adventure to the Bugiri orphanage and it was amazing. The difference between the two orphanages is fairly drastic. This orphanage was not so remote and the kids were much more outgoing and their English was much better even the young kids. Not to pick favorites it was just a lot easier to connect with multiple kids instead of just a couple at the other orphanage in Keynjojo. Although the funny thing is that apparently it is impossible to grasp the name simple name of Matt for the kids at Bugiri and no matter how many times I tried to correct them they called me Martin but since that’s my middle name I eventually gave up on correcting them and just let myself be known as Martin. One of my favorite parts in Bugiri was being able to join the kids for worship at night time Church. Travis took to the drum circle while I took to the dancing circle (which the kids absolutely love to do when singing praise songs). I really enjoyed spending time with the kids and it was easy to do different activities with all of them. I found I could communicate and connect with the older kids a lot easier of course because of the lack in language barrier but I really had a heart and enjoyed spending my time with the younger kids and giving them just as much attention as the older children by simply spending time with them and playing simple games. In Keynjojo when I was sick I had a long time to think about what little interaction or affection these kids have from older adults and it really struck me. So, although I know I couldn't talk with the younger kids I know that spending time with them and appreciating them as an adult is really important and just as meaningful as having heart to heart conversations. I realized that I had a big effect when the younger kids began to cling to me and sit on me when I read stories to them I could see their desire for affection. Although by the end of our time I felt like I could have spent even more time with the kids and done more with them, so I decided to opt out of taking the night trips into town to get supplies and spend more time with the kids. I was really glad it gave me a chance to read more Bible stories to the kids (which most didn’t understand haha) but they still ate it up and said “one more uncle Martin one more” and wouldn’t let me stop reading until I saw the uneasiness in Sam’s face (head of the boys dorm) and could tell I was pushing the boys bedtime. I was really blessed during my time at the orphanage and I hope that God used me as a blessing to the kids. Oh I almost forgot the biggest blessing at the Bugiri orphanage was that the last day we had all the kids tested for AIDS and HIV, Jes had taken them last year when she was there to get tested and they found 9 kids that had the virus. So, this year we had all of them tested again but with God’s grace every single test came up negative!!! They also found out that the person who had taken the tests last year was a fraud and the 9 who we thought had the virus were virus free praise God! It was a real blessing and we were all very relieved. Well that is it for the orphanages next we move to our safari adventure which should prove to be amazing and one of my personal life long dreams.

~Matt

It's Been A While

Western Orphanage, Nabukalu town, Bugiri district

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, it has been a busy week! We arrived at the Western orphanage about a week ago, and it has been a whirlwind of activity. This orphanage is not nearly as remote as the last one. Instead of being an hour from the nearest big town we are 15-20 minutes away. So we have been able to more easily and quickly purchase supplies for the kids and also we can run into town in the evenings when the kids are studying instead of sitting around the orphanage being bored!

Also, when we had been here for two days, a group of 11 Mzungu came with Children's HopeChest Tom Davis' organization from Colorado Springs. Asbury people might remember Tom speaking last December at our World AIDS Day Chapel on December 1st.... or not... Anyway, this guy Dan the leader was really cool, we got on a bus with them and traveled around to a few potential feeding centers that Peter Mutebi is trying to get set up, HopeChest was giving representatives from 4 churches the chance to sponsor these feeding centers.

It was weird travelling with people who had just gotten off the plane a couple of days before, because to them, we seemed like experts in UG even though we had only been there a couple of weeks. I can already speak the language fairly well, I can order things like food or drinks and I know my numbers all in Luganda, so it was cool to be a sort of guide for these guys. They ended up coming on Sunday to a goat feast that we had at the orphanage for the kids and the community church members. It was crazy. I got up at 5:15 AM to watch the goat slaughter. They built a teepee with these poles and then a muslim kid at the orphanage covered his head and then sliced open the goats jugular. Then they tied the hind feet to the tepee, hung the goat upside down and peeled the skin off and well, maybe this is too much information, but it was crazy.

Back from the dead

Hey!

Sorry I have not posted yet but I was very ill for almost a full week! luckily after a battery of tests the doctors could find nothing seriously wrong with me. Unfortunately I have absolutely no time to type anything right now but I will next week. Please keep the orphanage in your prayers there is a group of Church representatives who are looking to sponsore some of the children in the area so be praying for their decisions! God bless and again I'm sorry I have not written sooner I will as soon as I can.

~Matt

Reflections

Kampala town, Marble Arch Hotel & Devine Internet Cafe

Looking back at my time in Kyenjojo (sp?), the thing that stood out to me about my time there the most was the final morning we were there just before we left. I received two handwritten notes , one from Godfrey and the other from Solomon, self proclaimed captain of sports at the Home of Champions and also the best soccer player there. Both letters expressed gratitude but more importantly, consideration of me as a father figure in their life.

I would have never imagined that taking time to learn someone's name, giving them personalized attention and love, playing soccer with them, and teaching them to dance the Soul-jah Boy would constitute fatherly duties but I guess so. I gave Solomon my Brasil jersey and Godfrey my bible. I also wrote them each a letter back in which I promised that I would never forget them and also that I would do everything I could to help them complete their education.

It's a promise that I intend to keep.

-Travis

Pictures Thus Far

This is Kiiza Moses, my good friend and pool arch-nemesis (so far we are tied at 2-2)

This is the little remote control replica car I won at the Amsterdam Airport!

Heading To Bugiri...

Kampala town, JavaNet Internet Cafe

Wow, so it has been quite an exciting time so far, we spent a week in Kyenjojo which ended with a goat feast! It was kinda gross they cook everything intestines, lungs, gizzards, liver, everything! I was reminded of my college bio lab while looking in the stew pot!

The last day we were in Kyenjojo the kids said that there would never be a day like this again! But I disagree, I know that they are going to have many more days like it in their lifetime! It was a blast. I think some of the kids couldn’t believe that I was back.

Since last year the orphanage has improved triple fold, there is solar panels now so the kids don’t have to study by kerosene lantern. There are real latrines and even a toilet for guests, the shower stalls have been built, and the kids looked a lot healthier.

I think that the talk I gave them last year about hygiene and health may have made a difference. The goats are multiplying, while we were there a baby goat was born! It made the cutest little sounds!

I am really impressed with what is happening in the West and recently Peter Mutebi, the founder of Home of Champions has received funding from a Korean Ministry to help build new classrooms and possibly even a library with desks and bookshelves for the kids! God is working in Kyenjojo…

Meanwhile there is a food and firewood shortage in the Eastern Region where we are headed in a few days, so we will be bringing food for the month at least and I’m going to buy some drums and instruments for them as well.

Matt hasn’t been feeling well, so if everyone can keep him in their prayers that would be good, it’s nothing serious he has been to two different clinics and been tested for Malaria and for bacterial infections and he is clean!

We are staying at a Hotel in Kampala, Travis and I went out on the town last night and after leaving the internet café it was downpouring, so we decided to run across the street to this little bar/restarant for a place of shelter. Haha it was a blast, so we got some chips, (fries) and talked and ate and listened to early nineties groove on the radio! It was a good time, the walk back to the Hotel was also pretty crazy. It’s the short rainy season here until November….so we get rain almost everyday….

Thanks for reading everyone! Please keep us in your prayers and ask God to guide us down roads with safety and purpose, may he place his mighty hand upon our work and create a lasting impression on these innocent beautiful children, his children!

Peace and Love
Jes

Adventure By Bike

Western Orphanage: Day 3 (Written 10/1/08)

We played soccer two days ago, and I was less than exemplary, although I played good enough to live up to my brasilian heritage. Also this was right after we watched the kids perform 5 or 6 welcome songs for us along with one about wanting to see the River Nile, the longest river in Africa. Then they did a couple of tribal dances, which were very cool. The setting was a church with mud floors and walls and there was a girl beating out the tribal drum beats on a plastic jerry can.

After the soccer, the kids and I were washing out feet in the outdoor shower barracks, and Godfrey took my sandals off and washed them, then he and Dennis helped me scrub the bottom of my feet. I couldn’t help but think of the parallels with Jesus’ ultimate act of service to his disciples, and wonder if I was so quick to show recent acquaintances and friends that kind of service.

Yesterday, Jes and I (mainly Jes) helped treat some of the kids’ sores and injuries. As we were about to get started doing this, we realized that we were missing some essentials: hydrogen peroxide… so Godfrey and I went on a mission for it.

We walked about 2-3 miles to a little ‘village’ if you can call it 5-10 mud huts along a mud path that, and found the clinic. There we found a half bottle of peroxide, and then another half bottle at another clinic a couple of huts down.

Not finding the cell minutes Kiiza needed, we decided to keep walking to the next village. On our way out of town, I saw a couple of bicycles parked on a tree by a hut store. I asked Godfrey to translate for me and ask if we could rent the bike to take us to the next village and back. For 500 shillings 30 cents the old (and a little drunk) man demanded we enter the hut-store and greet the chairman of the village.

We entered and sat and greeted, after being informed there were no cell minutes in the store we were granted the bike. I hopped on and Godfrey sat on the metal grate atop the rear wheel. We were at the top of the hill and a few seconds into the ride I realized that I had only half brake pressure. So we went down the hill, and then Godfrey hopped on and rode/pushed the bike up a hill…I got on and we proceeded to almost die down the steepest hill EVER!!!

I was using my sandals as brakes along with a white knuckled grip on the faulty brakes, plus Godfrey kept saying “don’t be frightened” along with a constant stream of prayers in LuChiga. We arrived exhilarated at the second ‘village’ and coasted to a stop in the middle of the row of huts.

We got the cell minutes but no more peroxide. The way back Godfrey steered and I rode on the back of the bike holding onto him for dear life. We made it back in one piece and Godfrey and I talked all along the way. It was an awesome adventure.

-Travis (typed by Jes)

Thoughts From Kyenjojo

Western Orphanage: Day 1 (Written 9/29/08)

I slept in till 10 today! I guess I am still jet lagging a little. The “road” (if you can call it that) to the orphanage is INSANE! Picture a mid-size path through the bush you might walk on to cut behind your house or through a dense backyard towards a park. Now put a Toyota Land Cruiser on that path and make it uneven and muddy as possible. The boys clapped for Matt and I as we walked into their dormitory last night. I guess they were clapping as a welcome or to show appreciation. All I could think was “why were they clapping?” I don’t deserve applause at all. All I did was ride in a car for a few hours to come and visit. I guess that there are not many Muzungu that do that.

There’s a boy named Peter I met today. Sarah (the orphanage manager) told me his story. When both of his parents died he went to live with his aunt, who mistreated him, she would beat him and work him to the bone. She made him tend to the cows and goats and when it was rainy she wouldn’t let him come inside saying he was too dirty. When Peter heard about the orphanage opening and looking for disadvantaged kids, he came there by myself, applied and got accepted. But then during the Holiday he did not want to go back to his aunts, so this Pastor that lives right next to the Orphanage agreed to let him stay with him and his family. He then proceeded to work Peter like a slave, and his wife did the same. After the break, Peter told the staff what had happened and now when all the kids go home to their guardians for break, Sarah leaves him with food and he stays alone at the orphanage.

Peter deserves applause not me.

It’s hard to communicate with the kids here in Kyenjojo. For many, their English knowledge ends at how are you, and what’s your name?

As for the people I have befriended so far, they are very cool. My favorite is a man named Kiiza (pronounced Chiza) Moses. Everyone calls him Kiiza. He is 26, married with 2 kids (people do not talk that much about relationships in Uganda). He is our driver, and him and I have been talking since I got here. He drove us from the airport to the hotel. He is the official driver for Peter Mutebi Ministries, and a mechanic when he’s not driving. I think he is a Christian because he pointed out on the back of a taxi “Yesu Afayo” and told me it means Jesus cares. A couple of days later he asked if I remembered what it meant and I told him and he said “ That’s the most important to remember”.

He opened up a little to me about his past and growing up as an orphan. I think he and I will be good friends by the end of my time here.

Sarah is the orphanage manager and one of Jes’s best friends. Jes and her hung out the entire time the last time she was in Uganda. Sarah cooks for us, guides us, and teaches us phrases in Luganda. She is also the backbone of the Ministry and I think without her none of this would be here.

Orphan Names and First Impressions:

Godfrey- Natural Leader, alpha male

Vincent- Shy, tall

Ramadan-Dancer, smooth

Boni- soccer addict, Man United fan

Eric-Big and tall

Businge- Handicapped, loyal

Solomon- Athletic

Peter- Brave, stoic

Abraham- Class clown, smart

Dennis- Cool

-Travis (typed by Jes)

Muzungu

Western Orphanage: Day 0 (Written 9/28/08)
Kyenjojo town, Mysenyi District

Muzungu- This is the most common word I have heard since being here in Uganda. It means foreign white person. Outsider. People yell it at you all day as you are driving by. One yells: Muzungu! How is You-Gahn-Dah?? I yell back good! (and give a Borat thumbs up) People in YOU-Gahn-dah expect things from muzungu water, soda, money, food, etc. I have been approached by 5 year olds, (mu-toh) all the way up to 70 yr olds (mozaee) with the same expectations. It takes some time getting used to, but I just smile shake my head and say Sirinah ( I have none).

Uganda is the poorest country I have spent a prolonged amount of time in. In Brazil I was in the city, in Jamaica a resort. Here I am in the middle of nowhere at an orphanage. I can’t resist the kids though… I give them food if I have it. I held a million shillings for the first time the other day (1,500 US dollars). A milli!! It was crazy but since USD=1600 Ugandan shillings it’s really not that much. Still, I was a millionaire for a day.

There is a rule on the roads here in Uganda. I say a rule, because as far as I can tell there are no rules other than this one! Right of way goes to the bigger vehicle or object. Order of ranking: person, boda-boda (motorcycle taxis) care, range rover, Taxi-van, bus, truck.

-Travis (typed by Jes)