Saturday

Today it seemed like the skies were not going to clear yet the rain did not discourage us from our travels.

The rain was a welcome gift so they can fill up the water tanks they use for water at the houses. There is one for the guest house and a back up. The Bethany house uses the back up one and only has a regular supply of water if the 1st tank is full. They have an underground tank but it is cracked and this will take a large amount of money to repair. If they could fix it they would not worry about their water supplies but since they can’t store more they are very grateful when the tanks fill from the rain. As we took our showers this morning, we each thought it would be nice to take just a little bit longer one since it was raining. Yet the water is so valuable they ask everyone to conserve as much as possible.

Ed went on his 2nd trip with the prison ministry. He seemed to enjoy it more and came back with pineapples and bananas. We laughed and wondered where he picked them up. He explained that they had gone to the first prison but they were told it was not secure enough so they wouldn’t let them visit. They turned them away. Then they went to a 2nd one and there were around 100-150 men and 4 women. They took turns speaking and the nurse even spoke part of the time. He said it took a long time because if you stop the guards think you are done and will take the prisoners away. So they preach the messages until all the prisoners get through the line for medicine, soap, and bread. They were excited to share with us that 38 men + 1 Muslim man were saved. On the way home the nurse needed help with some errands so they stopped off and while there purchased fruit for Esther to cook her amazing meals.
Today Esther was asking about Elliott kulp. We told her about how his parents were helping him know his heritage and words from Uganda. Bethany showed her pictures of him which she adored. She misses him and hopes to see him again.

We still do not have our missing bin. We are hoping it arrives before we go home. Also please accept my corrections from the mornings note - the motorcycles at Boda Bodas not botas. Porsha’s favorite baby is Jeremiah and he has new parents completing the process and hopefully will have a new home next week. Tawnie’s favorite is our big boy, Matthew.

Today we took Rennie shopping! We went to many stores and purchased her top priority supplies with donation money for the Bethany house. By the end of the trip we came home with wastebaskets, hampers, bug netting, a beautiful wall hanging that was a fraction of what we thought we could find, materials to create a center piece for the table - these items were from us to make the house even more like a home. They have had no music so we found a CD and cassette player, and 2 shelves she needed. We also picked up a water cooler / dispenser so they wouldn’t need to boil water, fans, a child mattress, a stepping stool for Sanyu to be able to wash her hands easier, and ordered a rug for the main room so the babies could play more on the floor. We couldn’t find all the list and didn’t have any more room. We joked about how we could squeeze in a goat if we wanted to pick up one on the way home. We’re confident that on our last day here when we go shopping one more time we will be where we can find the other items. We’d like to get her some material to create some privacy curtains for the bedroom windows, another work table for the kitchen, and a missing part that will make it so they can use their stove.

Tomorrow we will go off to two churches. Bethany, Porsha, and Tawnie will stay close to the guest house and going to the church on campus. Ed, Laura, and Billie-Jo will be going to a church a short distance away to visit. Bethany and Ed have the opportunities to speak the main message and introduce our team. The rest of us will go teach the children for the rest of the service. Then at 2PM, Rennie is hosting a luncheon in honor of Bethany and another key person here who got the Bethany house up and running. She invited 30 guests including many of the wonderful people we have been meeting this week.

Have an incredible Sunday!