AWESOME!!

Tuesday, July 14th

Today has been one of the more amazing days of the trip. We started out with a stop at the elderly couple that I spoke about in the previous blog. We brought them all the items I mentioned earlier, mattress, sheets, bowls, pans, plates, sugar, salt, soap, lotion, a mirror, bread, etc. We walked up to their mud hut and they were just amazed as we laid down all the items on the tarp in front of their house. I say house, but if you would have seen this hut, you probably would not have called it a house. It was about a 7 foot by 10 foot home on the inside. They had so little in their home. It was a dirt floor, a line that held a single change of clothes for each of them, and a couple pots and pans that had been repaired multiple times. That was it. So when they saw all the things our team brought them, you couldn't image their amazement and how grateful they were. One interesting point that was fun was the mirror. The man hadn't seen himself for 10 years. So when he looked at himself in the mirror, he was amazed. He did not know he had gray hair. He did not know his cheeks were sunk in and he did not know he had some many wrinkles around his neck. He just looked at himself for the longest time and was laughing and joking and pointing at himself. His wife didn't want to look at herself, but she finely did after a while. I think she too was a little surprised at how she had aged. The man was 78. The wife was not sure how old she was as she had stopped counting a while back. Another great item was the two loaves of bread we had brought them. They had not eaten bread in 5 years so that was a very special treat for them. All in all, it was all a great experience to help someone out so much. They are still not sponsored so they are still waiting on some monthly assistance to get them back on their feet, but what we provided them should helped move them in the right direction. One additional great point was that they both had committed to go back to church as they knew this was a gift from God. That was awesome to hear.

Next stop, we visited a couple different sponsored families. One of Anna's and one of Debbie's. As we were there, we also visited with a number of other sponsored families. One poor little girl had Elephantiasis so bad on her feet, ankles and lower legs.. I have some pictures – I will warn you, these will turn your stomach. Debbie is a teacher and her class has been saving money to give to this little girl on this trip so Debbie gave the grandmother some money for some medicine (assuming her parents are probably dead as they were not around). As we were talking to the girl, I saw Luke sitting at the side fighting back the tears. It was tough to see someone that was in such a condition. He was sad that pictures were being taken and thought this may make her feel bad, though it is also important to show others what some people are going through so help can be provided. We also met Joseph (Peter) who was a boy that had Elephantiasis so bad last year. He had it on his feet and around his mid section and was just in pain because of the swelling. He looked better, but still had a ways to go to get better. After Elephantiasis gets so bad, it typically leaves a lot of damage. We were shown the feet of two ladies that were cured of Elephantiasis, though their feet were damaged based on the disease. Some toes were missing and partly cut off. I will say though that they were delighted to no longer have this disease.

Next stop, we checked into our guest house called Club Afreca. Supposedly one of the finest hotels in the area. Luke and I are actually laying down right now in two beds with mosquito nets around us in a very small room with a shower that has no hot water, electricity that comes and goes – seems to be running off of generators, etc. But, I don't want to complain based on what I have seen lately – it could be a dirt floor in a room half this size. I am blogging at night so when we are back in Kampala, I can quickly update our blog site.

After checking in at Club Afreca, we set off for a grand opening of a new home for a widow, some of her grandchildren and a number of orphan children she cares for. This was an awesome experience. We pulled up and there was a big party waiting for us. There were probably around 100 people there singing, dancing, hugging us, etc. Quite an experience. I had the honor of cutting the ribbon with Idah to the door of the home. That was pretty cool. There were a number of speeches as things around Uganda are very formal with these types of gatherings. We had a number of the higher ups for the area there to talk and welcome us and thank us. One funny little point. I was asked to lead this group this year since Luke and I went last year. I said sure as I really didn't think that would be too difficult. It isn't, but what you have to be prepared for is to stand up and talk to groups over here. So as I am sitting there listening to everyone talk and have translation so we can all know what is being said, etc., it occurred to me that I better get more prepared than I was in other situations when Idah all of a sudden says, 'Now we are going to have Gene say a few words'. That can be a little intimidating if you are not prepared, so this time, I did think of a few things to say beforehand and sure enough, I was called on to stand up and talk to 100 Ugandans with a translator. It was all good though – starting to get used to it.

Towards the end of this event, we were each given gifts by the families that were sponsored. Their lives have been transformed with a $64 donation a month for three years. It is amazing what that can do in the lives of a family here. The widow told her story and it was a sad one. She talked about being too embarrassed to go to church or to town because she only had one set of clothes and everyone noticed this. She didn't have shoes for a long time, then her children bought her some very cheap shoes made out of tires. She said she just wanted to die and didn't know why God was allowing this to happen in her life. Then one of the representatives from GFR stopped in and talked to her. A few months later she was sponsored and then after a while, she had a new house built. We saw her old house and it was just a broken down mud hut. She is so grateful now and her life has been completely changed. She now goes to church proudly wearing nice outfits and is now in a brand new home. I am not sure who her sponsors are, but thank you, thank you, thank you from her. You literally have saved her life and she looks great.

So, to end the day we came back to Club Afreca, ate dinner and here I am writing this blog. One little bad side note is I also got sick just about an hour ago. I think something didn't quite site right with me, but I think I am better. We'll see how the night goes. That happens at times so hopefully this is just a small short case of an upset stomach.

I want to make a plug here for GFR. We are seeing the impact a sponsored family has and it is amazing, life changing and life saving. I know the economy is bad, but this is sure just a great way to really make a significant difference in the lives of a family here in Uganda. If you are interested in learning more about sponsoring a family, just talk to me or visit http://www.globalfamilyrescue.org/. The GFR staff here have a little over 100 families on their sponsorship waiting list. They have stopped trying to find more families as they don't want to give false hope and get the list so long that it takes too long to get sponsored.

All in all, again, another amazing day and I am so thankful and humbled to be here. Check out our linked pictures.