DEAR FRIENDS,
This is an incredible trip! As much as I have traveled in Africa, I stand amazed at all that I see God doing. We have complete freedom to pray with the children, no matter where we are. Such wonder comes with a price. The air is filled with dust and smoke. One area where we were today had only one color as far as you could see. Everything was brown. There are lots of bugs. The mosquitoes love us. All crawly things seem drawn to us. A lizard eats dinner with us every night. Don’t worry. We are sleeping under mosquito nets.
By 10:30 AM this morning, we or members of our team had been in a traffic accident, run over a puppy, and lost both our translator and critical puppet equipment. More than half our team arrived at the wrong school. The good news is that we found both our translator and the lost puppet equipment.
Remember, we are working mostly in a Muslim area with desperately poor children in an even more desperate need of a Savior. Such problems are to be expected, but please pray for us. We heard hundreds of children praying today, asking God to forgive them and Jesus to save them. We love what we are doing, but all of us need strength
I want you to know that Sam, myAssistant Director, and I could not be more blessed by Jared Bolstridge and Randy Barlow. They are very hard workers and have deep passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sacrificial in the what thy seek to serve Uganda’s children! I thank God for them and for Sam, who is as always faithful and a blessing to all he meets.
BLESSINGS
1.The math teacher where we did two shows came and spoke to me and said, "Tthat was a wonderful, wonderful performance." He was very excited!
2.I was so excited to hear hundreds of children calling on Jesus to save them in the middle of a Muslim community!
3.Many of the children came to thank me after the show. It is wonderful when a child is grateful because you told them about Jesus.
4.The teenagers loved the program as much as the 2 groups of younger children had earlier in the day. It was very sweet to challenge them to keep their eyes on Jesus and only marry a Christian man or woman.
5.Sam preached on Sunday and did such a terrific job that our friends asked him to recommend a pastor to come and teach a conference for them.
6.Our friend Clark heads a water ministry here and sometimes employs prison labor. They pay 3,000 a day and give them lunch, which is considered a good salary and a very nice bonus. More, they witness to them about Jesus Christ.
7.Sunday morning we watched children dedicated to God. This is very significant here because many children are dedicated to evil spirits.
FUNNY THINGS
1. After church Sunday night Jared sat with a group of boys who informed him that they were very good pickpockets. They asked him what he had in his pockets.
2.Randy is trying to learn Ugandan. His favorite phrase is: Wasuze otya. This means "good morning".
3.Jared fell asleep today in the car and I was telling a story to the driver. In the story I told the driver "….behind the stage all we do is say, ‘get your monkey higher, or move around more’". At these comments, Jared woke straight up and told me that I had scared him. All he could think about was monkey puppets, even in his sleep.
4. Matooke is everyone’s favorite food here. You peel bananas and then wrap them in banana leaves and bake them on a fire. Then, you mash them and eat them with beans and rice. Some prefer to eat their Matooke wit spaghetti.
5. On the way to a puppet show ,I saw a big field with 14 ant hills in it. You probably think that is not so unusual. However the short ant hills were 2 feet tall and the big ant hills were 3 feet and taller. They call them white ants, but they are actually termites.
6. I spent 10,000 shillings on some rope we needed. I have never spent so much on rope. Ok, it was only $5 US dollars.
7.Our friend Clark had to pay to bury the puppy that he accidentally killed. He paid 10,000 shillings.
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!
In Jesus, Linda for Sam,Randy, and Jared