We then traveled to the hospital. I believed I knew what I would see, I was wrong. I thought I knew what I was going to do, I was wrong. And I was worried about not being accepted by the sick, and BOY, WAS I WRONG!!! Truly you can never understand what the hospital is like unless you come to Uganda. The smell of the air, the touch of a hand, and the embrace of a hug, a picture will never be able to convey. We walked to the women’s ward at the hospital with the Ugandan Pastor Charles. The building had its windows open as the rain poured down, and a calm breeze swept through the hall. Beds were everywhere with women scattered on them. Pastor Charles turned to us and said, “Who would like to give the women a word of encouragement?” I said yes thinking it was almost a rhetorical question, little did I know that he was expecting a lot more. He turned to me and said, “Share the Bible with them.” Completely terrified I turned to the woman Wendy behind me and said, “What do I read?” She told me to read a Psalm. And I flipped to Psalms 103. I was so scatter-brained, that in that moment I truly had no idea what I was going to read. Read it and you will understand why this was the perfect verse for these people.
Friday, July 02nd, 2010
by Lindsey Padelford
This morning we went to the women ministry’s store. We were greeted by many children. We then went inside and bought many things from the women. Then we went to Smile Africa to visit the Karamojong people. My heart has never been so torn. The Karamojong people are outcasts and their stereotype is cattle stealer. It is similar to the Romanian’s perspective to the Gypsy people. The children look horrible. They have huge bloated stomachs and giant cuts up and down their body. I joined two other nurses in the hospital to treat the wounded children. I have never seen wounds so horrific. Most of the wounds happen because the kids get tangled in barbed wire and have small pokes all over their legs. The mud huts they sleep in are caked with their own feces. The cut then gets infected and festers until it is about the size of a half dollar. And remember this can all be prevented with a Bandaid and a drop of alcohol. Some wounds were so bad that it appeared that the entire bottom of the foot was just peeling off. I can’t even tell you how many kids I got to treat. The children would rarely cry as I scrubbed their wounds with peroxide. They were all so brave. I can’t even describe the amount of pain that they were in. As the day went on we had two malaria cases. One was a boy who was found lying on the ground with a 103 degree temperature. We took him to the clinic and the Ugandan Nurse gave him Malaria pills. I can’t even begin to tell you all the stories of the children, they are all so different and special. But one thing I can tell you, as I leaned over a child’s infected foot, I looked into his eyes, and he smiled. To be in such agony and smile at me – wow that boy had the joy of Jesus. I know that this is what I shall do for the rest of my life. I say goodnight to you all as I am comforted by the sound of rain and thunder. Tomorrow we will go to the prison and oh boy I can’t wait.
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
by Lindsey Padelford
Well today was quite the adventure. We ate an amazing breakfast then ran outside to take pictures of the baboons in the back of the hotel. We got almost 3 feet away from them and then they chased after us, they are actually very frightening. Then we boarded the bus and went to the start of the Nile River. The Nile is actually 75% from Lake Victoria 5% from other rivers and 20% from underground streams. We took a tour around the area on a boat and then went on an island in the middle of the lake. A few of us women crossed into shallow water to reach a small island. We then got back into the boat and headed out into the water. The guide of our boat took us in the middle of the lake and jumped in and of course I followed. I was the only one who jumped into the Nile. It was quite the adventure. We then traveled to Tororo in the bus. Briefly stopping at a sugar cane field and then for food. We would pull over on the road and about 50 people would crowd around the bus selling the best chicken in the world, it is called chicken on a stick. We got to the hotel and unloaded the bus. We then took a tour of True Vine Ministry and got to hold the kids. We are back at the hotel now and are very tired. Goodnight.
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
by Lindsey Padelford
We traveled for 26 hours over these past days. We met the team and they are wonderful. I am the youngest of the group. We arrived in Uganda and from the beginning we knew it was special, partly because there was no line for customs and because we were paraded though a huge mass of people. We were greeted by men of the Church in Uganda and our bus driver Bobby. We loaded up the bus with our bags and waited another hour before the people who lost bags came to the bus. This was our first encounter with the African Time; apparently our culture is very fast paced – everyone gets what they want quickly or we get very upset. Definitely not like that here in Uganda, no one cares about time. Frankly it is just a matter of waking up before the sunrise and attempting to get home before sunset and anything between is like molasses. The driving here is also very interesting. They drive on the wrong side of the road! Oh, and there is no road rage in Uganda. Somehow cars don’t hit each other as they use special hand singles, number of beeping the horn and talking to let the other cars know what you’re doing. I have to say our bus driver is very good, even though at times when we think that there is no way to avoid and accident the organized chaos somehow pulls through. Well tonight we stay at the Empire hotel on Lake Victoria in Kampala. Who knows what is to come?
Wednesday, June 17th, 2010
by Bob Gaumer
My experience with Hope 4 Kids has given me an opportunity to build relationships with people in Peru. A chance to meet and help others and to experience love and appreciation. I am taking home a feeling of self-worth (for myself) and an understanding of other cultures that will remain with me forever.
Thank you,
Bob Gaumer
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
by Brenda Gaumer
I have a lasting impression of strength of spirit and determination. In a place of sand and few material resources, these Peruvian families are working together in the barrios to improve their lives and those of their children. As mothers, and even a teenage boy, told stories from the Bible and asked questions, I saw eyes dancing with enthusiasm and heard voices lager to respond.
As we worked and played with children we gave and received love in spite of our poor Spanish. I’ll never forget the greetings and partings of a hug and a cheek kiss in the air.
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
by Margaret Wall
The highlight of this trip was the first morning at the barrio. The staff did not tell me that Deborah, our sponsored child, was going to be there. She gave me a long hug and then I was introduced to her. What an emotional time of joy!
It was also frustrating that I could not talk to her in Spanish.
The team has another amazing day working in the barrio. There is always a lot of construction opportunities for the team to get their hands dirty! The team took turns digging a monstrous hole for a dry well. Some of the team that were interested in doing a little less physical labor, painted the play equipment for the kids. Others helped the kids paint their own t-shirts. No matter what area our team was serving in today, they all enjoyed lots of laughs joking with the kids, coworkers and each other! Rumor has it that Tom and Stephan taught the kids how to dunk their cookies into Inka Cola! Sounds yummy! Great job team! Keep up the great work!
Friday, June 11, 2010
By: Alexis Coco
Today was our first day in a Barrio on this trip and the first word that comes to mind is amazing. Not only the experience but also the kids and everything about it. We had breakfast this morning and then took about a 25 minute bus ride to the barrio. Once we got off the bus we stepped into sand. Although we were far from the beach there is sand in the barrio. It was a more developed barrio so it had electricity but still no running water. The men got to work building a roof while the ladies played games with the kids, gave them lunch, and loved on them. We played games outside the school in the sand and the kids were adorable. One girl was very shy and I never knew her name but the second we got outside she wouldn’t leave my side or let go of my hand. While playing games Tori Taylor got mobbed by about 10 kids to the point where she couldn’t walk. Then Pastor Ron came down from the community center to see the kids and they loved playing follow the leader with him. We played games, painted nails, and did a T-shirt activity. Probably the best part about the day was taking pictures because the kids absolutely love the camera and pictures. I have a rather large Canon camera that I used to take some pictures and this boy names Luis was literally my shadow every time I picked up the camera. He was fascinated not just with looking at the pictures like the other kids but he liked taking them too. With the camera strap still around my neck I let him hold the camera and take pictures of his little friends that were proudly posing for the camera. After every picture they would gather round and say “a ver! A ver!” because they wanted to see the picture on the screen. They giggled, laughed and made funny faces for the camera. The joy a camera brings to those kids is so obvious it cannot be ignored. At the end of the day when the bus came back to pick us up I was sad and did not want to leave because it was truly the most special place I have ever been. If I could express it in words I would but it can not be explained.
Our team arrived safely in Peru and after a short two hour nap at the hotel, the team was off to Trujillo, the home our our Hope 4 Kids project.
The team took the morning off and relaxed at the hotel. Danelle and Mike, our local partners from Project New Hope, shared with our team the vision and history of the project in the barrios.