I've been here about a week and a half and feel like im pretty settled in and getting used to things. One of the ministries I have been getting involved in deals with street kids. Every day around 4:00 or 5:00 me and Bobby Kolb who is also part of our team down here head over to the feilds where we are met by around 15 boys between the ages of 8 and 15. They come and we go through a training session with them and warm-ups and from there we then divided them up into two teams so they can begin to play. The name of the team is Freedom Boys and we have entered them into a tournament that was supposed to start today or tomorrow but now is looking like it will start Saturday. The tournament is very unorganized so it is tough to know if it will even take place at all but we are hopeful.
Another tournament is taking place now, it started last week I was invited to play by Erasmus. Erasmus is 20 and is good friends with Bobby and thats how i got to know him. I have been playing with him and some of his friends at night and tomorrow we will have our game in the tournament so im excited to be a part of that.
Later this week, on Friday i think, i will be going with Josh Shaarda, another member of our team here to a village to hear and watch him do some of his teaching. He travels all around villages in Uganda and trains and teaches pastors of local churches. This Friday he will be doing some childrens ministry and training so I am looking forward to that experience.
Some specific prayer requests we as a team have include praying for the street kids. They are really looked down upon by the rest of society. Most of them are boys and many of them have been thrown out by their mom or their dad because they cant take care of them. We have developed a relationship with a man named Paius who has started a transitional home called Elim and he takes in these boys and a few girls while they try to locate their families. Its a tough situation because he doesnt have the resources to take in all these kids but feels to bad to say no to some while saying yes to others. In one case he was telling us that they found the mother of one of the boys there but she told him if they brought him back to her today, they could come back for the boys funeral tomorrow. These children literally have no where to go so we are asking for prayer for them and we are working to get the local church to recognize that these children are out there and need help and so also pray that the church would take steps in getting involved in helping these kids.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
First couple days
I arrived here in Soroti on Friday night after two days of travel. As soon as we started the six hour drive from the airport to Soroti I began noticing how different Uganda was from what I was used to. First off the driving is unlike anything i've ever seen. They drive on opposite sides of the road and they dont really have any traffic signals. If there is an opening on the road, no matter what side of the road its on, it belongs to the first person that can get there. I was told that there was no such thing as defensive driving, only offensive driving. Not only do you have to watch out for other cars on the road, but hundreds of motorcyles and bicycles and people walking. There are so many things that are hard to explain without people being able to see them for themselves so i will work on posting some pictures. The weather is very hot, around 90 most of the time and around 70-75 at night, this will take some getting used to.
The first couple days were spent getting me settled in and introducing me to the team and some of the locals that they have been working with and developing relationships with. It was and still is a lot to take in but im slowly getting adjusted. I went to Zion Baptist Church on Sunday morning. We met in a school house about the size of a normal classroom in the US. The people here speak english as well as a tribal language so they switched between those for the songs. There were about 20 adults there and close to 40 kids and at the end i had to stand and introduce myself to everyone and they were very happy i was there and excited that i was staying for awhile. After the service they invited me to come play futbol (we dont say soccer here) and volleyball with them later in the evening for a competition between 4 other churches. I was dropped off there later that day and very nervous at first. This was the first time i wasnt around any of the people i was staying with, but there were 4 guys from the church that took me around with them. It was very busy there and i was the only white person out of probably the 200 people there so i got a lot of people starring at me but as soon as we started playing, i felt fine. We played 6 vs 6 futbol on a half grass/weed and half dirt/stone feild about 30 yards long and 15 yards wide. They were all veey impressed that i played barefoot but it wasnt bad. We ended up winning the tournament and afterwards everyone gathered around for a pop.
Tim and Angie (who im staying with) took me to the market as well as the grocery store on Monday. Again it is something that is completely different than anything in the US. It was very busy and it is very easy to get lost if you havent been there before. Later in the day i went to a place called Elim ministry where they take in street kids while they try to locate their families in order to return them. Right now there are 18 kids living there and its tough because many of the families will not take the children back for various reasons. The children can only stay in the house for 3 months so if their families will not take them back or cannot be located, then they have to go back to the streets.
Some interesting things I've noticed: One thing i noticed about Uganda is how much they love Obama. I've seen more things here with Obama's name or picture on it than in the US. People are naming buisness after him, wearing shirts with his face on it, i even saw an a Obama flashlight at the market. I have been asked several times if i know him and they are disappointed when i tell them no.
Also, about 90% of all pop or juice is in glass bottles. Its hard to find cans of anything and they are way more expensive than glass.
Even though they speak english, its still difficult to understand all of what they are saying, and i might say a word and know what it means, but they have a completely different meaning for that word. Here, pants means underwear and trousers means pants. Stubborn for them means someone is being funny. Annoyed is the only word they use for negative feelings, I have never heard someone say they were mad or sad or frustrated, only annoyed. If you are eating with Ugandans, you have to be careful not to say "help yourself", because that what they say when having to go to the bathroom.
The first couple days were spent getting me settled in and introducing me to the team and some of the locals that they have been working with and developing relationships with. It was and still is a lot to take in but im slowly getting adjusted. I went to Zion Baptist Church on Sunday morning. We met in a school house about the size of a normal classroom in the US. The people here speak english as well as a tribal language so they switched between those for the songs. There were about 20 adults there and close to 40 kids and at the end i had to stand and introduce myself to everyone and they were very happy i was there and excited that i was staying for awhile. After the service they invited me to come play futbol (we dont say soccer here) and volleyball with them later in the evening for a competition between 4 other churches. I was dropped off there later that day and very nervous at first. This was the first time i wasnt around any of the people i was staying with, but there were 4 guys from the church that took me around with them. It was very busy there and i was the only white person out of probably the 200 people there so i got a lot of people starring at me but as soon as we started playing, i felt fine. We played 6 vs 6 futbol on a half grass/weed and half dirt/stone feild about 30 yards long and 15 yards wide. They were all veey impressed that i played barefoot but it wasnt bad. We ended up winning the tournament and afterwards everyone gathered around for a pop.
Tim and Angie (who im staying with) took me to the market as well as the grocery store on Monday. Again it is something that is completely different than anything in the US. It was very busy and it is very easy to get lost if you havent been there before. Later in the day i went to a place called Elim ministry where they take in street kids while they try to locate their families in order to return them. Right now there are 18 kids living there and its tough because many of the families will not take the children back for various reasons. The children can only stay in the house for 3 months so if their families will not take them back or cannot be located, then they have to go back to the streets.
Some interesting things I've noticed: One thing i noticed about Uganda is how much they love Obama. I've seen more things here with Obama's name or picture on it than in the US. People are naming buisness after him, wearing shirts with his face on it, i even saw an a Obama flashlight at the market. I have been asked several times if i know him and they are disappointed when i tell them no.
Also, about 90% of all pop or juice is in glass bottles. Its hard to find cans of anything and they are way more expensive than glass.
Even though they speak english, its still difficult to understand all of what they are saying, and i might say a word and know what it means, but they have a completely different meaning for that word. Here, pants means underwear and trousers means pants. Stubborn for them means someone is being funny. Annoyed is the only word they use for negative feelings, I have never heard someone say they were mad or sad or frustrated, only annoyed. If you are eating with Ugandans, you have to be careful not to say "help yourself", because that what they say when having to go to the bathroom.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Arrival
Well...Josh has arrived safely in Uganda! Thanks be to God! After bringing him to Chicago on Wednesday, we hadn't heard anything from him until Saturday morning and were more than anxious for news. We finally received an email saying that after a rugged six hour road trip from the airport, he was finally in Soroti. What a relief to hear and an answer to MANY prayers! Hopefully we will be able to talk to him soon. Please pray for him as he settles in, meets the team and begins his work there.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Beginning
We've decided to create a blog to include you on our journey in Uganda. We're newbies at this, so please give grace as we figure it out as we go :).
Both Josh and Julie will be posting to this blog so you will only have one blog to check to know what is happening with the Feenstras.
Josh leaves Wednesday, August 11th and will arrive in Soroti, Uganda on Friday, August 15th. Please pray for him as he makes his final preparations, packs his belongings, and begins traveling. Specific prayer requests are:
Both Josh and Julie will be posting to this blog so you will only have one blog to check to know what is happening with the Feenstras.
Josh leaves Wednesday, August 11th and will arrive in Soroti, Uganda on Friday, August 15th. Please pray for him as he makes his final preparations, packs his belongings, and begins traveling. Specific prayer requests are:
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