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