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