Not just one, but two!

I'm sorry this blog is long over due, so many things have happened over the past two weeks.
On friday night we got a seven day old baby boy named Mathias. He is super precious but extremely small. He mother died giving birth to him and they have yet to locate his father. They have an idea who the father might be but he is denying it. So once Another Hope gets the funds they will have him get a DNA test.

Coming into this experience I assumed I would have to learn Lugandan, but I never thought I would have to learn another language on top on that. I get the awesome opportunity to learn sign language as well. Catherine, she is a beautiful ten year old girl who loves to play games, laugh and she is deaf. She was at school for my first month here, but now she is back for their holiday break. Everyday we go over a ton of different signs, probably for two hours. She would write down the words and then sign them and I would copy the sign back, or i would write down a word and she would sign back.The thing I love most about Catherine is her spunk. She loves pictures. The other day we spent two hours going through EVERY picture on my phone. She would sign and ask something about almost every picture. She wanted to know everyone's name, where the picture was taken, and just every other detail you can think of. The reason why she is at Another Hope is because her parents aren't together and she was living with her father who is a peasant farmer and couldn't afford to look after her. With the extreme cost to send Catherine to school ment she never attended school before she came to another hope. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to learn both Lugandan and Sign Language, by no means is it easy but its AWESOME to be able to communicate with the children here!

Also over the past week and a half Prea (a volunteer from Australia), Elvis (17 year old who lives here at another Hope), Wasswa (19 year old who is a regular helper at Another Hope and is supported with school fees) and myself are designing and creating a fun babies play area. So far we have done the alphabet, numners and a tree with the children's hand prints as the leaves. It has been so much fun to watch the room come together, we still have to draw animals and flowers and make our centers. We are going to have a calendar and time/money center. So many fun things to create and make.

Thank you all so much for your continuous prayers, support and love. The Lord is faithful in all he does and I am continually amazed with all He is doing here at Another Hope and in the community.

With love from Uganda,
Nicole

So many firsts!

As I got to thinking, I realized I forgot to add a lot to me previous blog from last week...so now you get another blog!

So I found out I can receive mail and packages, if you have any interest the address is...
Nicole Holmes
C/O Nambowa Ruth Bulyaba
Another Hope Children's Ministry
P.O Box 28407
Kampala, Uganda, East Africa

Last week when I was with Sarah, we both experienced our first boda boda ride. This is like a taxi, but it is a motorcycle/moped, where is takes you anywhere you want to go for cheap. Sarah and I rode a couple miles and it cost us, together, 80 cents. I don't know any taxi in the states where you can just go a block for that cheap. While on our first boda boda ride I got the luxury of being in the middle and Sarah was on the back. Half of her was on the bike and half off. While we were on this Sarah was laughing the whole time and everytime we came up to a bump (which is about every twenty feet) she would start to freak out. We laughed all the way home, what a fun experience!

Also, last week I got the opportunity to try my first grasshopper. Yes, you read that correctly, grasshopper! I was extremely nervous to try, but it ended up tasting sweet...who would have thought that. I don't know if I would eat them again, but they didn't taste as bad as I thought.

On Friday Sarah and I atteneded a funeral here for the first time with Patrick. Here in Uganda once the person passes away they have a visual/funeral right after they pass for 24 to 48 hours where family, friends and people in the village come to pray and pay respect. On our way to the funeral Patrick asked if I wanted to drive, so needless to say I drove in Uganda! It was about 45mins away from Mityana, which was where I was staying at the time. Something to note is they drive on the other side of the road and most times when I say road, I mean a dirt filled REALLY bumpy road. Both were interesting, but good experiences!

On Monday I had the opportunity to make Mandazi for everyone, all 37 children and the staff. While I was in Mityana they taught me how to make them! Mandazi is similar to a donut. You use sugar, baking powder, flour and water to make the dough. Then you use oil on low to deep fry them.  The children LOVE these, but they don't have the  funds to make them often. To make them for all the children and staff (about 45 people) it cost 25000 shillings which is $10! It's crazy that such a little amount of money can make food for that many people.

This morning was I was talking with three of the older girls Annet 18, Ester 20 and Latisha 16 about dating and marriage. Latisha surprised me when she said, "As long as a man provides for me and shows me love, it doesnt matter how many wives he has." This really saddenes me to know that those are her expectations. If you grow up seeing that and experiencing your father do that, how are you supposed to know differently. It was really good to talk with the girls about their expectations and being able to talk about setting high expectations. If a man wants to marry you, he should marry only you. All other women should be off limits because he  found the one he wants to spend the rest of his life here on earth with. My prayer is that these children understand that there is no greater love then the Lord's. He is the only one that can show us that a man can be devoted to just one woman.

The two children I want to introduce you to are Hanifah, 3 and Habibah, 4. They are sisters that were dropped off by there 'neighbor' saying that there mother and father passed away. What actually happened was their mother dropped them off because she was being beaten, almost to death, by her husband/their father. She was on the run from him because he said he wanted to kill her and the two children, Hanifa and Habiba. They were EXTREMELY malnourished. When Hanifa came she looked like she was six months old, when in fact she was two years old. She wasn't walking at all and barely crawling. To see the joy that radiates through them now is so beautiful. God is at work in this place! It is awesome to see Habiba look after Hanifa, she is a very pretective older sister! They love each other a lot!

Thank you so much for being so supportive! I feel so loved by each and everyone of you! Prayers for the children to seek nourishment and healing from past scars. Also, for community members here in Kkona, that they would be able to experience the love that God has for them!

With love from Uganda,
Nicole

Opening my heart!

This week for me was all about opening my heart. Opening my heart to the pain these little ones have gone through. Opening my heart to the overwhelming joy that oozes out of these children. Opening my heart to the staff and community members. Opening my heart and being thankful for the ones I have had the opportunity to encounter. Opening my heart!

The next little one I would like to introduce you to is a child that is one and a half years old named Linnity. This little girl is one precious child. She has a smile that can light up the room from miles away. Her laugh is so distinct, you can hear it from the other room. To top it off this little girl loves to give hugs! The cute thing about her hugs are that she doesn't just stand and give you a hug, she runs at you (full force) and just wraps her whole body around you with a HUGE smile on her face! The reason she was brought to Another Hope was because she lived with her mother and four men who all claimed to be her father. There were major disputes to who her father actually is so she was brought to Another Hope to be safe from the yelling and fighting. They will give this precious one back to her mother once the men have been DNA tested to see who is actually the father. Something that sounds so simple, just get DNA tested, apparently is not. Linnity has been at Another Hope now for four months because of this. None of the possible "fathers" have yet to even test. Through all this, she is still one happy child!

Something that I am extremely thankful for this week is the fact that I got to see my friend Sarah! She is out in a town called Mityana, where she is doing ministry along side of a family who founded five private Christian schools. She called me Tuesday morning and asked if I was free for visitors, OF CORSE I WAS! What an amazing surprise it was to see her! Sarah and the family she stays with asked if I would like to join them for a couple of days, as long as it was alright with Ruth and Daniel. Daniel was like a protective father, but he let me go, but not before I had to fill out every possible contact information I could think of. So I came Tuesday to Mityana and will leave tomorrow morning. The family she is staying with is so welcoming and hospitable. They are about 45 minutes from where I stay in Kkona. Every morning at 6am they get up and greet EVERY child that comes to school that day. So for three days I had the opportunity to start my day that amazing way. We greeted all 400 children into school between 6am and 8am. The smiles and hugs are so amazing! There is a long road leading up to the school and as soon as they are in sight they start sprinting towards your arms for a warm embrace! To see the joy these students have on there face every morning to go to school is so beautiful! 

Last night, thanksgiving evening, Pastor Patrick (the man who founded the schools), Sarah and I had the opportunity to go out into the community and meet two different families and pray with them. How THANKFUL I am for the opportunity to do that! The first family we got to meet, they lost their dad last week because he took his life. We were able to spend time with his eldest daughter and get to know her prayers, desires and dreams for life! What a hard situation the eight children and their mother are going through, but what an amazing opportunity it was to pray with them. The second "family" we got to meet was Nagawa's. She's approximately seven to eight years old (nobody knows her birth date or exact age). She used to live with her grandmother, but the grandmother physically and emotionally abused her. Her grandmother is also an alcoholic who took out her anger on Nagawa. Many nights she had to sleep out with the chicken's. Recently, distant relatives down the road took her in. She has one dress that looks like a potato sack with holes all over, but one thing that does not match the raggedy old dress, is her smile. She is so joyful every time she sees us, especially Sarah! We had the opportunity to meet that family who took her in and pray for safety and healing from the scars Nagawa has from her grandmother. As we were driving out of the small village we saw Nagawa's grandmother. We went over and talked with her for a little while, it was hard to see the house she was abused in and the places she spent most nights, on a cold dirt floor, with the chickens. I am thankful for these opportunities the Lord has given me to pray with these children and their families. Even though I was away for thanksgiving in America, I have plenty to be thankful here in Uganda. Meeting these families, praying with them and getting to know them is exactly what thanksgiving is all about! I am thankful for this opportunity to be here in Uganda serving the Lord!

With love from Uganda,
Nicole

Rejoice in all circumstances!

It is crazy to think that I have been here for almost two weeks! How time flies! It has been amazing to see how the Lord is at work here in this beautiful place! I am astounded how He brought me here through randomly searching 'Christian orphanages in Uganda' and how I feel like this is EXACTLY where I am supposed to be!

On sunday a man named Richard, from Australia, came here and he will be with us for one week! Its awesome to have someone else here in the same position I am in. On Friday a mother and her daughter from Wisconsin will join us too! I'm so excited to have some midwest company!

Some interesting creatures I have seen: 1-I went to use the bathroom the other night and I found a toad looking thing that was the size of a softball, needless to say I freaked out. 2-there is this bug/wasp/bee/creepy looking thing that lives in the corner of my room, it always wants to hang out...not cool. Yet again I freak out! Haha 3-A hen, not so interesting of a creature but it's interesting because the hen lays its eggs in the corner of the kitchen area!

I thought it would be a fun idea to introduce you to one child every time I post. Today I will talk about Christa, the youngest member of Another Hope! I attached a picture of her, she is nine months old. A little bit about how she ended up here. When she was just a day old she was found abandoned in a tied plastic bag by the police in the Wakiso District(the district i am in). The police then brought her here to Another Hope where she has been for the last nine months. They have not been successful in finding any of her family members yet, but they are still working. She is such a joyful child and is in the beginning stages of learning how to stand on her own and walk. I am excited to see her progress throughout my time here and I will be sure to keep you updated!

Here at Another Hope there goal is to have the children live with there families, so they do everything they can to help provide a stable environment for the child to live in. With most of the children they provide meals, clothing and school fees so the child can stay at home with there families. There are about 100 children in the community they support and then 37 that they house here at Another Hope until there family situation becomes stable for them to live there. There are a couple of children like Christa who have been abandoned, so they stay here permanently.

Another awesome thing Another Hope co-sponsers with Act 8:1, are water tanks so people can have clean water! As I walk the young ones to school everyday (about a 30 minute walk) I see a water tank at almost every house and each one has on it, 'donated with love from Another Hope.' It is so awesome to see the impact this organization has on the children here AND the familes in the community!

The other day was my first day to walk the children to school. It was a beautiful walk through the back roads of Kkona. There are beautiful rolling hills and a ton of mango trees everywhere! As we approached the school I was greeted by children yelling 'Mzungu' and as soon as I entered the school road they swarmed me screaming, yelling and cheering! It was a greeting like no other, it seemed as though a pop star had entered the school...but it was just me!

My favortie part of my day is Sanba or prayer time. Every evening at 6pm all the children and I gather in the dining room and sing praises to our Lord. We sing songs of thankfulness in Luganda and English! I am in awe every time I get to worship with these wonderful individuals! Then for the scripture time I am humbled for the opportunity to share scripture and a message every night. Currently we are memorizing 1 John 1:9 together!

Thank you so much for all your love, prayers and support! 

With love from Uganda,

Nicole

I'm here!!

Hello everyone! I am here! It is so crazy to think that I have been here for about a week now. The Lord is so faithful in all He does. My flights got delayed and then I missed connections so I arrived about eight hours later than I thought to Uganda. I was greeted at the airport by (heat and humidity) and Ruth and Daniel, the two who own the orphanage I am currently staying at!

It was so different to drive down the streets here as appose to America. Words cannot describe the differences in full, but on my two hour drive from the airport to Another Hope Children's Ministries my mind was filled with so many thoughts and feelings. A drive that maybe would have taken 45 minutes on our roads took two and a half hours. There were deep divots all over the roads and it is currently the rainy season so all the roads are pure mud. This means driving on the roads are like driving on ice...not fun. Sliding from one side of the road all the way to the other. There were children sitting on the side of the roads, carrying water, looking through dumps for food, but one thing that astounded me was the smiles on there faces as I gave them a smile. As I sat there thinking about our great Lord, what kept coming to my mind was how we DO NOT live for the earthly things, but for the things above. No matter how good, or bad things are here on earth is does not matter because if we believe in the Lord we get to spend eternity in heaven where there is no more sufferings or hard ships. As we drove along I was continually greeted by Muzungu (which means white person/traveler). To them this is not offensive, but just pointing out the differences. Once I got the orphanage so many emotions arose from: being tired, exhausted, grateful, nervous, excited, joyful and so many more.

The first day I did so many different things. I bathed the children, fetched water, helped cook the meals (over a wood stove), washed cloths(by hand), played with the children and so much more. I was exhausted by the end of the day....well actually I am exhausted by the end of everyday! Some facts/fun things about where I am staying:
1. They do not have any standing water where we are so you either collect rain water or if you have enough money you ship it in from far away.
2. There are 37 children here. Seven who are five and younger and the rest or in Primary school, Secondary school or college.
3. Yesterday we just received a three month old from the police. She is precious!
4. I have found cows and chickens and rooters in the cooking house many times..hahah
5. It currently rains for an hour or two everyday during the rainy season (end of October and beginning of November)
6. It is actually quite peaceful where the house is located. It is about three-fourths the way up a huge hill and there are no busy roads for about a twenty minute drive.
7. I bought a SIM card yesterday and it cost about 90 cents in American money.
8. I get the opportunity to lead prayer/devotion every evening with the children.

The Lord continues to teach me so much! Prayers are appreciated! That is all for now, I will try to update as much as possible! I miss you all, hope all is well!

Love,
Nicole

it's happening and it HAPPENED!

It's happening. It's happening; 39 days from today I embark on a journey to a place I have never been. It's happening that I will be in Uganda in just over a month! It's happening!!

It happened. It happened that tonight marks the evening in which I can say, "I am FULLY supported for my mission to Uganda." Through amazing support of prayers and financial contribution from my WONDERFUL family and friends, today is the day it happened!

I am so thankful for this day, but I am SO grateful for the unfailing and unending support of my heavenly Father, knowing that this financial support is not for me but to advance His kingdom. Something that He has taught me through this processes is laid out well through Philippians 4:6-7:
     
        "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

He can overcome ANYTHING. It's never going to be easy, but the reward of eternity in heaven with the Lord is worth it all.

Thank you to each and every one of you who are a part of my life! I am so blessed by your love and support!

Be CONSUMED

What do you do?
What do you do when you are faced with reality?
What do you do when you realize the love from Jesus is all powerful and all consuming?
What do you do when you realize He is going to test you in your faith?
What do you do when you don't know where He is calling you?
What do you do when your heart burns with passion for the Lord?
What do you do...?

BE IMITATORS of GOD, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of LOVE, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  

Ephesians 5:1-2

As I continually pray that the Lord PREPARES my heart for the time I am going to serve Him in Uganda, He is using this time to TEACH me. Knowing that my heart is His, and I pray that He will use it to serve Him. We are called to serve His kingdom wholeheartedly. He is not calling us to serve Him with part of our heart, He wants us to BE CONSUMED by His love in order to serve His nation WHOLEHEARTEDLY. We are not called to live comfortable lives, but to live a life that is UNCOMFORTABLE and serving of the LORD! We are called to GO and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all He has commanded. This is not my life, but HIS.

Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with COMPASSION, KINDNESS, HUMILITY, GENTLENESS and PATIENCE.

Colossians 3:12

I pray that we would deeply experience the abounding LOVE that Christ has for us. I pray that Jesus would be wreaking our lives to only build them up stronger on the foundation of Him. I pray that we would fight for His LOVE in this world. I pray that we would BE CONSUMED by the Holy Spirit!

My Students are...GREAT!!

Wednesday, June 5th was my last day student teaching. I had such a wonderful semester in a 4/5 split classroom and in 6th, 7th and 8th grade math classes! I had asked my cooperating teacher a couple of weeks ago if I could tell the students what I was doing this up coming fall/winter. During the last week of school...she said, "yes". I told my students that I would be traveling to Uganda where I would be volunteering my time in an orphanage called Another Hope and if they would like to donate anything to the children I would put a box together. What I did not expect was their overwhelming willingness to donate their school supplies to the children at Another Hope. The students donated two huge boxes of pens, pencils, markers, crayons, notebooks, folders, loose leaf paper and so much more. It is so awesome to see the hearts of middle school students want to help other students halfway around the world. So blessed by these students and their willingness to donate all these school materials to Another Hope!

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12 

Until next time,

Nicole

The HEART...where it all begins!

I am a college graduate. I am a college graduate. I am a college....wait, what?! It is crazy to think how fast time flies. To think that I started college four years ago, loving to hike up the bluffs, take trips down to the river with the Pearl ice cream in my hand, or even a run through the marsh. To today, I stand a college graduate, still loving all of those things, but I have changed.

The Lord has captivated my heart within the last four years. He has molded me into the young woman I am today. He has used me for His glory serving at Camp Wapogasset the last three summers. He has broken me, only to build me back up stronger, and with my foundation in Him. He has lead me to awesome places around the world: New Zealand/Australia and Ireland. All trips I loved whole-heartedly, but something was missing. These trips were awesome seeing the museums, hearing about the history, meeting amazing life-long friends and even being able to witness the beauty God created. Even with these amazing memories, I realized that the next time that I traveled  it couldn't be for me, it had to be for the Lord.

That brings me to this last semester of college. I sat and wondered what I was going to do after I graduated. The Lord continued to put Africa and His children on my heart. So, I did what any other college student would do: I Google searched "Christian orphanages in Uganda". After emailing many different orphanages and talking to many different individuals, I am pleased to announce that I will be serving God's children in an orphanage just outside the capital of Kampala, Uganda, called Another Hope Children Ministries. This orphanage supports 127 children in the community and specifically 60 children at the orphanage. the mission of Another Hope Children Ministries is to "glorify God by meeting the spiritual and physical needs of the children in Uganda." I will be leaving in the beginning of November and staying there for four months.

I lean not on my own understanding

My life is in the hands of the Maker of heaven

I give it all to You God trusting that you'll make something beautiful out of me

There's nothing I hold on to

There's nothing I hold on to

There's nothing I hold on to

There's nothing I hold on to

I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open

I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open

-Nothing I Hold On To by Will Reagan and United Pursuit

I am ecstatic for this next adventure the Lord is taking me on. I am confident this is where He wants me this fall/winter and I am excited to be challenged and used by Him.

Until next time,
~Nicole