First Day of Teaching women and airline troubles

I can't write much right now, but briefly wanted to share that my first day teaching the women went well today. we expected around 20 women, and had about 60; tomorrow we anticipate more. I feel like the women are just so hungry for God's word, and they clearly don't have a whole lot of bible knowledge or background. Pray that the next two days go well and that God will show me exactly what He wants me to share.

I also want to post a prayer request regarding our flight home. We have been informed that our connecting flight from Nairobi to Paris does not exist and the only other option they are currently offering us does not work with our schedule at all because of the visit Karin has scheduled with her World Vision child and our planned trip to Spain. British Airways is on strike and it is affecting all of the other airlines' flight schedules, and there are less and less flights available from Uganda to western Europe. I'm feeling really frustrated by this and just ask that you pray for a quick, workable resolution.

Today we visited an organization that ministers to people who are HIV positive. It was overwhelming to see how many people were lined up for counseling and meds. It is believed that some 70% of the population are infected with AIDS.

We also had the opportunity to go to meet with a group of former Lord's Resistance Army abductees who went to the Freedom Camps that were funded by last year's ride for refugees. it was the most hopeful experience of our whole trip so far---they shared their stories of being abducted and forced to kill, and then of being set free by Jesus Christ. Tim also shared that this past Fall's Ride funds will send more kids to freedom camps and will fund their next level of counseling in Ninja at the Father's Heart Conference. they all stood up and cheered and shook our hands and thanked us. It's so amazing to see how their lives have been truly transformed by Christ.

Well, again i thank you all for your prayers.

Visit to the YWAM Children's Shelter

Before anything else, Karin asked me to say hello to all of her family and that she misses you; she's pooped and doesn't have time to write at the moment.

Today we spent most of the morning at Amacet, which means Shelter of peace. It is a children's shelter run by YWAM. The take in infants and toddlers who are very ill or malnourished. They often have babies whose moms die in childbirth, too. Right when we got there, there were several babies outside on the porch being cared for by some Ugandan women. One little gal caught my eye right away because you could tell she was having trouble breathing. We found out that she has congestive heart failure and now has malaria on top of it; she is not expected to live long. We were taken to the infant room where there were about 5 babies all crying for attention, so we each held them as much as we could. I began singing our Nehemiah blessing song over the baby I was holding, and then Rebecca & Karin sang, too. We decided it was the perfect thing to pray over them: The Lord will bless you and watch over you, the Lord will smile on you, and be kind to you, the Lord will look on you with favor and give you peace. The first baby that Rebecca & I held was named Judith. She is about 8 weeks old and was brought to Amacet after being found, still attached to the placenta, in a pit latrine. The director of the shelter said it was the most awful sight one could have imagined and Judith was not expected to live, but being attached to the placenta is probably what kept her alive. She is now looking quite healthy and smiles a lot; Rebecca did a great job of getting smiles out of her. We also held Isaac, a 2-month old who was brought on the brink of death because of starvation. He looks so scrawny; not like anything you can imagine. But, he was alert and so happy to be held, and so happy when we sang. We also held and prayed over a little one named David, and then another one named Else. After a while, we moved outdoors to the porch again and Rebecca & I were given Betty to care for. She is around two years old and is HIV positive. her mother, who is HIV positive, is not expected to live much longer. Betty can barely sit up on her own, she is so thin and weak. But, Rebecca found out that she loves to be pushed on a baby swing, and she loves to have people smile at her and sing to her. Please, pray for all of these children; we will be visiting them and praying over them throughout the week.
In the afternoon, Rebecca led a devotional and did a craft with 3 Ugandan children. It was so neat to see her feeling comfortable and interacting with them. they will come again after school tomorrow. We're hoping to set up a time for Rebecca to go to school with her friend Betty, too; Betty said that someone else got caned again today and it will be so nice to have Rebecca there so nobody gets a beating from the teacher.
Well, those are the highlights for today. It's late and i better get some sleep. The three-day women's conference begins tomorrow. Please, pray for clear direction as to what to teach, and sensitivity and love as I listen to the women and interact with them.
Thanks to all of you for your prayers for us.
Love, Kori & Rebecca

Church in a Hut

There is far more to share about yesterday and today than I have time & energy to share right now. A couple of highlights, though: two young girls (they are 11) who Josh & Mandy Shaarda know came from pretty far away seeking out Rebecca yesterday because they had heard a friend was coming. They stayed with us for the whole day, and it was fun to see Rebecca interacting with her new friends (Betty & Adella). They also stayed for dinner because they had had nothing to eat all day. During dinner, they shared their stories, which were really beyond comprehension. In spite of all their struggles at such a young age, they love Jesus and trust Him to care for them. I think it was a tremendous learning experience for all of us. Betty has invited Rebecca to go to school with her one day this week (she said that it would make everyone so happy because if a muzungu---white person in Ateso----comes to school, the teacher will not beat anyone that day). Later, Rebecca said she really wants to go so that no body gets caned that day. Such a sad thing happening in the schools here.
Today was incredible. We left the house at 7AM for Karamoja. Last night Tim had told me that I wouldn't be preaching afterall, but our whole team practiced some songs to sing. Rebecca taught us her liturgical dance and song and we practiced and prepared it for today. On the way to the church, we were flagged down by Christians gathering at another place. We stopped and then were invited into their service to bring special greetings. It was a most unusual experience to just show up unexpected and to be asked to share. Tim spoke and then our group sang for them; then, we were off to the church that was expecting us. When we got there, lots of people were gathered aroud a small grass hut. We were invited in; this was the church building for the day. Some kind man had graciously vacated his house so we could have church. I'm guessing that there were about 40-50 people crammed into the inside of the hut, and many, many more gathered around the outside. The singing of the congregation was beautiful; even though we couldn't understand them on many of the songs, it was so clear that God was in that place. Part-way through the service, Tim informed me that now i had to preach afterall. I somewhat panicked, but mostly because I hadn't even brought my Bible or my sermon notes into the church. My Bible was here at the house, and my sermon I had prepared was in a notebook in the van. Tim went to the van to get it, but while he did, I prayed and felt very sure that I was not supposed to preach that sermon. My devotions this morning were from 2 Corinthians 1, and I remember thinking how meaningful a passage like that would be for a people who suffer so much. So, I chucked the prepared sermon, and preached on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 instead. I don't think I said anything overly profound, but basically just walked them through the chapter, and shared some of what God has done in my life. When i was finished, the pastor leading the worship shared how they had been fasting and praying for 3 days asking God to give them some special words of encouragement and that those verses were exactly what they needed. Several others shared how they felt the Holy Spirit speak to them through it as well. As for me, I'm simply humbled and speechless. From the church in the hut, we went out to an IDP (internally displaced people camp). It was a very hard thing to see. Not one child had clothing that wasn't tattered and torn. There was a horrid stench throughout the whole camp, which holds about 10,000 refugees---the smell of fermenting millet used to make alcohol was overwhelming. The children---hundreds of them---followed us everywhere and closed around us so much that it was hard to move. Rebecca felt overwhelmed by all of it, but so did we all. The children wreaked of urine, their eyes were yellow from malnutrition, and their tummies were bloated from malnutrition, too. It was just SO sad! After our visit there, we went to see the mass graves that were made with money from the Ride for Refugees (2008 ride). We met with John Patrick who was a local politician that Tim worked with gathering the bodies from the bush and bringing them to give them a proper burial. John Patrick shook my hand and thanked me for doing the Ride and he shared how having the bodies properly buried has been a beginning of a healing process for the people of their area who have been so devastated by the raids of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). Virtually everyone in that town has been directly affected by this atrocity since the LRA wasn't driven out of their area until 2007. So, there was a lot to take in today....more than my mind and emotions can handle. But, in it all, God keeps showing us that He is the hope of uganda. Even in the midst of the suffering in the IDP Camp, there is a Christian man who lives there and is making a difference, one child at a time.
Tomorrow we are off to the Children's shelter to hold, pray over and love some children who so badly need it. Please, keep praying for us all. Thanks!

Settling in In Uganda

It is already Saturday and I finally have time, electricity and an internet connection all at once to give an update on our trip. We all want to thank everyone for your prayers for us; we have felt them during this whole trip so far. Even on the day we flew out, we saw God perform miracles, from my sinus infection not even causing any ear pain on the flights, to our overweight luggage and excess carry-ons being ignored, to no problems through customs in uganda. It was a long trip, but it did go surprisingly quickly. For those of you who are aware of the connection and interest we have in Guayana (Lita, you will love this), you'll be interested to know that from Amsterdam to Uganda we sat next to a woman who was a native from Guayana. She is probably in her 70's now, but she shared her testimony and how God had saved her and then she has been a missionary for years and years. She really encouraged Rebecca to prayerfully consider a life of service in missions, telling her it is so very hard, but that it is the most rewarding thing she could think to do.

When we got to the airport, it was hot the moment we stepped off the plane, and we noticed, too, that Uganda has it's own distinct smell. We arrived at about 1AM because our flight had been delayed due to a fuel leak; another providential thing to have discovered the leak as we were about to take off, rather than when we were in the air. We went to a Baptist guest house for the night in Entebbe, and it just felt so good to sleep in a bed. The next morning, we headed out for the town of Jinja, which is on the way to Soroti. Tim & Angie decided we should spend a day & night there before transitioning to life here in Soroti. It was nice to relax and to have a pool to swim in----that made Rebecca VERY happy. Rebecca, in particular, was a little frightened by the size of the critters we saw there, from 6 inch snails, to the 2 inch spiders on our walls, not to mention the thousands of ants all over our room and floor. thankfully, they found a different hut for us to stay in, which was not so infested. It was strange to have to sleep under mosquito netting at first, but now it gives us all great comfort. While in Jinja, we went out to a camp called Mto Moyo (means "The Father's Heart"). We met with a Dutch woman named Ingrid, who runs this amazing ministry to refugees, orphans and vulnerable ugandans. With the money from the Ride for Refugees last Fall, Tim is planning to take the former LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) youth there for spiritual training, healing and renewal. They have a week camp that teaches them about the Father's heart for them, then there is a follow-up camp called Transformation camp where they really seek to minister deep inner healing. It was so exciting to listen to Ingrid and to hear how God is using this ministry to heal hurting souls and to bring them to the foot of the Cross. This camp is located right on the Nile River. It was so neat for us to be there, especially in light of Pastor Steve's sermon series on Exodus lately. The Nile is HUGE beyond my imagination----4,000 miles long, and maybe the width of 4 Grand Rivers; it has class 6 rapids, to give you a sense. You can see why the Nile was so significant as a life source. Anyway, we also road a boat on the Nile; we saw a crocodile, a HUGE monitor lizzard (several of them), and more species of birds than I can count (glen, you NEEd to come birding here!). And yes, Caleb, Micah & Joseph, I got you each a rock from the Nile. The other significant part of our time in Jinja was the half hour I took to go for a run. I ran on this dirt walking path that all of the school children and laborers walk for countless miles to get to/from their homes each day. It runs right alongside a railroad track. At first I was a little frightened to run there, even though everyone assured me it was totally safe. As I ran, I began to pray and just felt amazing peace. I got to see Uganda in a unique setting, because all along that trail, I saw people working---moms laboring hard in the fields with babies on their backs, children, probably 2& 3 years old lugging huge piles of thatching for the roofs of their houses and jugs of water. Everyone works, from the youngest to the oldest, not to make a living, but simply to live. I was thinking how sad this is in some ways, but as I was running, I noticed how everyone smiles. The longer I ran the more I began to greet people and be greeted by them. Kids began to run on the path with me, families cheered as I went by, and everyone wanted to shake my hand. It was my first encounter with the Ugandan people, and it made me feel so much more at ease about being here.
We left Jinja and came to Soroti yesterday, and we are now beginning to settle in. We have been unpacking and organizing all of the supplies we brought for the missionaries, and we've had some team meetings, orientation and devotions. While Karin & I unpacked and sorted supplies, Rebecca had the opportunity to go into soroti town with Tim & Angie and their kids. While there, they went to the market so she got to see where/how they buy their food. She was shocked by the slabs of raw meat just laying out, and she said seeing all of the beggars (some with leprosy and other serious bodily defects) was a bit uncomfortable. Tim bought bananas and had the kids hand them out to some of the beggars who scarfed them down. While they were there, Karin & I also spent some time singing and having our devotions. As we sang, Grace, Tim & Angie's house helper danced and hummed along. then, we asked her what songs she likes to sing, and she sang some songs about how Jesus had saved her (she sang in Ateso)---it was beautiful. she also shared her testimony with us, told us all about her children and how when they are sad that their father is gone, they sing to Jesus and He gives them peace.
Tomorrow will be a challenging day for all of us. we've been told it is usually the hardest day for people here on a vision trip. We are going out to Karamoja, where the unreached people-group (cattle hearding tribe) lives. We will visit an Internally Displaced people Camp (where I may or may not "preach"---we'll know when we get there), also we'll visit the mass graves of the LRA victims. It is really hot there, so physically it is challenging, but also, we won't be allowed to eat or drink in front of people there because the poverty is so out of this world that it is just not acceptable to do so. We will leave here at 7AM and not return until late in the day. Please, pray that all of this goes well. Above all, we've been forwarned that the poverty and the tribal living are shocking beyond words, so pray that we will have God's heart and love and that any interactions we have with the people there will be positive. I'm realizing that for Rebecca, this is challenging, but most of the poverty around us goes unnoticed by her, so it will be interesting to see how she does. Karin & i have both had our breakdown moments already at seeing some of the poverty around us; pray for strength.
This afternoon we all get to go participate with a ministry to small children. Rebecca is going to teach her liturgical dance, and all of the Team Beyond members who are here right now are hoping to share it in church tomorrow, too. Rebecca is making friends with the Ugandan children very easily; she gets along so well, and I'm so proud of how she hasn't complained and is just taking everything in stride.
Karin sends her love to everyone, too. We are all learning and growing.
Hopefully, we can update again soon. in the meantime, we'll keep praying for all of you, and trusting you're praying for us, too.

One Last Pre-Uganda Journal

I can hardly believe that we leave for Uganda tomorrow. For those of you who like details, we leave here around 9AM and then fly out of Chicago at 2PM on KLM. We fly to Detroit, then on to Amsterdam. We have a short layover, then fly to Kampala, arriving there at 9PM on Wednesday. Tim & Angie are planning to meet us at the airport, and we'll head out on Thursday morning. It is a 6-hour drive to Soroti from Kampala, but I think we're going to make a stop to see the mouth of the Nile River on the way.

Yesterday we had our sending-off service at church and it was precious beyond words. We had a lot of friends from Byron Center Christian School and Roosevlet Park, as well as members of our own church, Pathway, who came and prayed over us. I was particularly touched by the group of Rebecca's friends who came with their families to show their support for her; she has been blessed with such wonderful friends (so have we, of course!). It was such a temendous encouragement to see the visible support and to experience being prayed over in that fashion was very meaningful to all three of us. This trip isn't just ours---Lord willing, it will be a blessing to everyone who has been involved in preparing us, to our church, our families, our friends, and the people of Soroti, Uganda.

Over the weekend I came down with a nasty upper respiratory bug of sorts and I pretty much have lost my voice. (But I'm so thankful, my Dr. just called and is prescribing some antibiotics and a steroid to give me a boost before we fly). Besides that, I have all three boys home today; Caleb is the most ill, having thrown up nine times now. One of my friends commented not to get worried or discouraged because the Enemy doesn't want us to go to Uganda and share Christ, so these things are going to happen. I just pray that Glen does ok dealing with the added stress of sick boys, and that Rebecca and I don't get the flu, too. And I'm so thankful again for Tanya's support; she ran all of my last-minute errands for me since I was needed here by the boys. What a blessing to have such good friends and sisters in Christ to help us when we need it!

I believe that I have as much of my lesson planning done as I can do before getting to Uganda. I need to get a sense of where people are at, their environment, etc... before I can really plan much more. And who knows? Maybe I won't even end up teaching. It doesn't really matter to me as I've learned so much through the preparations. I just want to be an encouragement to the missionaries and whomever else the Lord places in our paths, and He can decide which way we can best do that.

Rebecca is very excited for our trip, too. I'm trusting she will have had a good last day at school with her friends and teachers. I am truly overwhelmed at the support they have been to her.

I will be sharing this blog with Karin VanSweden who is coming with us. She is also very exicted to go. I know that she has to work all day today and didn't anticipate having a spare moment for anything today. I got the last of her things to pack last night, and all we have to do is pick her up tomorrow.

Thanks to you all for praying for us. Above all else, pray that God will be glorified in and through us and that He will become the greatest treasure of all of the nations, and particularly as we minsiter, to the Ugandans. Pray also for Tim & Angie, Rachel & Bobbi and Josh & Mandy Shaarda (read their latest update on Luka at www.shaarda.blogspot.com), that they will be strengthened and encouraged in their service to Christ.

The next time we write, Lord willing, will be from Uganda.

5 Days Until We Leave for Uganda

I can hardly believe that we leave for Uganda in less than a week. The time is fast approaching. I'm feeling peaceful about what I have prepared, and trusting that the Lord will provide the insight and guidance when we're there. We have quite a bit to get done in the next couple of days, but thanks to Tanya, who pitched in with the boys yesterday, and Amanda, who took them for a while today, I've been able to get a few things done. Caleb had surgery on his nose yesterday morning, so I was feeling a little overwhelmed at not being able to get out and do some of my errands, but then God graciously provided a nice slice of time through Tanya to do some of that---and then, did it again today. Thanks, Tanya & Amanda!

A lot of things are going through my mind as we prepare for this trip, but I don't have the time to share everything. So, for now, I just want to share the amazing blessing that our Byron Center Christian Girls' Running club was to us today. At the start of our club, one of the leaders asked us to share a little bit about what we are going to be doing in Uganda, and then all of them (some 70 girls and moms) gathered around us, placed their hands on us, and prayed for us. I can't tell you how loved we felt through that, how surprised, and how humbled to feel all of these precious little hands (and the big ones, too) sending us off. This is why I love our school so much!

Well, other responsibilities are tugging at me. I'm wanting to leave the laundry caught up, the house picked up, and the fridge stocked so things aren't so overwhelming for Glen when we leave. Please, pray for him and the boys while we're away; this will be just as hard for them, as it will be for us, and it is a sacrifice of love for them to let us go, too.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us.

One final thing, Luka Shaarda is making great improvement! What a miracle! Read their latest update at http://www.shaarda.blogspot.com/.

Praying for Luka Shaarda

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save; He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." God has placed this verse on my heart all day today to pray for Luka Shaarda. Right now, we are waiting to know how things went in Nairobi. They went there earlier today for an emergeny blood transfusion and dialysis for his failing kidneys. It has been an emotional day of phone calls, praying with friends for Luka. It has also been a blessing---a blessing to pray together and to be reminded again of the sweet joy there is in being part of the family of God. I've been preparing tomorrow's Bible study for our women's group from church, and God has given me so many ways to be praying for Josh & Mandy through that---to pray that they will be overwhelmed by God's unfailing love, even in the midst of this storm, that God's unfailing purpose will prevail, and that they will experience peace beyond comprehension. Our hearts are breaking with the Shaardas, and hoping in our God who promises to never leave us or forsake us, and hoping in our God "who is able to do imeasurably more than we can think or imagine"---and all for His glory. Lord, rain down your love and your peace on the Shaardas, and your healing on Luka.

Pre-Uganda Journal 5

This week has been full of emotion, and it is only Tuesday. We've begun packing so that we will know how much space we have available for any additional items for Josh & Mandy and Tim & Angie. Packing makes our trip more and more a reality. Mostly, though, the last couple of days have been filled with prayers and thoughts for Luka Shaarda, Josh & Mandy's 12-month old son who is very ill in Kampala. He is dehydrated and has been diagnosed with a very bad parasite. We're praying for Luka to be healed and for peace for Josh & Mandy. Please, join us in praying for them, as this is a very dangerous illness for such a little guy to endure.

Many of you know that I love to run and have been pretending to train for the Riverbank 25K. I say "pretending," because I'm doing the training schedule, but don't know if I'll ultimately run the race. I found out yesterday, though, that Rachel and Bobby, who are missionaries who just joined Team Beyond (Tim & Angie, Josh & Mandy), have just started a running club in Soroti, so I just might have some people to run with when we get to Uganda. I'm so very excited about that possibility. Last week after our girls' running club at school, I was reflecting on how much I truly love to help others succeed at running and to encourage them in their spiritual walks in that sort of context. So, I just feel really excited about this possibility, too.

Rebecca has been excitedly preparing some crafts to do with the kids while we are in Soroti. I think it will be a great way for her to connect with the kids there. I just hope we can fit all of this stuff into our suitcases!

Many of you have been praying that I would have the time I need to work on Bible lesson planning for our trip. God has been answering those prayers in a lot of different ways. On Saturday, Glen took the kids to the Meijer Gardens so I could be alone for 3 hours; I got a great start on the plans for the women's conference. Yesterday, Caleb was home sick with a fever, and that also gave me some much needed quiet time during the day.

I think a lot of you also will remember that Rebecca was selling some children's books to raise money for her trip to Uganda. Kathleen Trock, who founded Pebbles & Stones, who also authored the book, told Rebecca that she would pay her comission for each book that she sold. That was Rebecca's first real opportunity to raise money for this trip, and it was such an amazing answer to her specific prayers for God to give her a way to earn the money for this trip. We are so thankful for Kathleen and her generosity, her encouragement and kindness over the last few months. And today our hearts are also sharing in Kathleen's grief, as she mourns the passing of her husband, as she put it, "to the other side of eternity" yesterday morning. Please, keep Kathleen and her family in your prayers.

We leave exactly two weeks from today----the time is coming quickly! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us. Please, continue to do so, and may it all be for the glory of God!

Pre-Uganda Journal 4

This has been a very busy week and the reality that we are leaving for Uganda in just over 2 weeks is starting to set in our minds. We had our spaghetti dinner on Thursday night. It was a lot of work, but also so much fun. We felt so blessed to have so many volunteers. Tanya Tiesenga did the cooking and "ran the show," which was a huge thing for us. She did a great job and the food was excellent and we had just the right amount of everything. When she ended up needing to take her son to the Dr. in the late afternoon and then wasn't there when the health inspector showed up, I felt a little stressed, but then, I remembered that I had prayed earlier that God would keep me weak so He could be strong in me. And I was feeling weak and He proved Himself strong and faithful once again. It was so meaningful to see so many people, especially many from our church, school, and Roosevelt Park. I can't help but think that many of the Roosevelt people who were there were the same people that kept vigil praying for Rebecca when she was born and not expected to live, and now they are sending her on her first mission trip to Uganda. It will be her birthday on the 15th, and I can't help but getting a little emotional as I see God's plan unfolding in her life----a plan we never could have anticipated in those first days when the prognosis was so bad. It is such a joy to be sharing this missionary experience with her.
Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for this trip. Pray also for all those we will meet, that God will go ahead of us and prepare their hearts for whatever He wants to do in their lives through us, and for whatever He wishes to accomplish in our lives through them. Also, pray for Luka, Josh & Mandy Shaarda's son (they are in Uganda now) who is very ill, and for Tim & Angie Sleidrecht who are here now, but leaving for Uganda on the 13th.