More Stories from Africa - Fellowshipping with the Seniors

I am going back in time to include more stories from Uganda. These pictures below are the once a week fellowship that ROTOM supports and encourages in its ministry to the elderly. As they gather in small places.....as you can see from the pictures below, they have a time of prayer, weaving baskets to sell at the markets, and lunch is provided which insures at least one really healthy meal. We were greeted by singing and dancing. They were all dressed in their finery and swinging to the beat of a classic African song. The harmonies of their singing is so primal and different than anything I've ever heard. No other word for it but WOW.

















You can see how crowded it was in that little room. Somehow we managed to mostly find a little space to call our own.



















Just before lunch, one of the care workers brought in a wash bowl so that the ladies could wash their hands. The staff of ROTOM show so much compassion and respect for the seniors.

We also did a worship time with Sarah on the guitar. Steve, Jon, Evangeline and I sang songs, then, after having lunch with them, we gave out our gifts brought from Canada. They included lotions, vitamins, latex gloves, shampoos, razors and toothbrushes.

We ended the day with a war with a boa constrictor? NO!!!!! Just a hunk of wood that looked like a big snake. Amongst the seriousness of our work for eMi, there's still time to play and laugh.

In His Service

On the road again

Life is moving along at a breakneck pace. Since my last blog, we have moved into our new home on the Elbow River in Calgary. As quickly as we unpacked our belongings, we were again packing for our trip to Jackson Hole, WY for the World Conference for eMi. To read more about Celebrate Hope Conference :

http://www.emiusa.org/conference2007.html

Pat and I are both taking the disaster responce courses here and the speakers and teachers have been great. We listened to Ken Isaacs of Samaritan's Purse relate his stories of the past 20 years in relief work and of the important things he's learned. We now see how first responders like Samaritan's Purse and World Vision have a role that eMi can fulfill as we come along side these outreach agencies in rebuilding the infastructure of an area hit by disaster.

We ask that you pray for us here, that people be empowered by all that they learn and that God's good works be commissioned through this conference.

In His Grace and Service

Beautiful Sunrises

Beautiful shots of the sun rising in Mukono, Uganda, near the ROTOM site.

Surveying in Africa

Patrick and Jonathon (an electrical engineer) are digging a bore hole to determine soil type and percolation rate.

Surveying became quite a challenge on the ROTOM site as Jon and Patrick were either dodging the silly goats, who had free reign and lunch on the property, or the biting ants. They were quite nasty if they got in your pants as both Jon and Patrick can attest to.

What do you think of the interesting head gear. The first day of surveying both Sarah (an Environmental Engineering student/intern) and Patrick got a sunburn on the back of their necks. Patrick is teaching Sarah the process of surveying and how to use the Total Station and data collector.

Here Patrick is mentoring both Jon and Sarah on setting up the Total Station and data recorder.

Sunday School at Saint Andrew and Philips Cathedral

I was asked to do a lesson for the Sunday School. I planned to teach on Father Abraham and God's promises to him. I was told for about 100 children ranging in ages from 3 - 15. Daunting, but I stepped up to the plate and had songs planned, a story, and a craft. As you can see while we sing "Father Abraham had many Sons", we actually had 200 kids in that small room with about 8 adults. Tight but amazing.


Here the kids are working on the craft. I had brought supplies for 100.........lucky that I had also brought construction paper to use as well. Each of the kids drew themselves, coloured their clothing, and then we taped them to the wall attaching them below the pictures done of Abraham and Sarah........all of us joined together by Christ's direct lineage to Abraham and our salvation through Christ.

Look how packed in we were. They each helped each other and shared the crayons....of which there were few.

How the little ones loved their pictures taken.

Look at these sweet faces.

After our lesson, we went outside, more room thankfully, and, with lots of bubbles, had the kids chasing and counting how many they could break.

We lasted only about 15 minutes of bubble playing before the rains came. The skies opened up and it poured and poured.

While we waited for the Church Service to finish (it was an extra long one as the Archbishop of Uganda was visiting) Evangeline played the drums with a few of the kids.

It is amazing to me how God equips each of us for a very special purpose. That He can use ordinary people like Pat and I, and, with His extraordinary power, and our willingness to obey, great things happen in His name. This day was one great day for God.

Blessings to you all

Come and meet some Ugandan seniors

This is Jjaja (pronounced judge-ah meaning grandmother)Faith. Jajja Norah came for a visit with us and as she walked into the house, she said here is my husband (although everyone laughed at her silliness, the case workers told me of their concern about Norah's mental health). Faith is raising her 3 grandsons. Her daughter died of AIDS. The father of the children works in Kampala but cost of rent, food, leaves little left to send for the children. Faith tends a garden but cannot grow enough to sell any at the market. She weaves baskets (as seen in the picture) to also sell at the market.

This is Jjaja Norah who lives with her daughter. We were taken into her house - 20’ ceiling, small window 10’ up, smelled of wet clay, dark and damp. Little Norah is very frail…..she had had a transfusion about a month ago in the hospital. She is 4’6”, maybe 80 lbs. She was all dressed up sitting on her mattress on the floor. Developing bed sores. The issue is that even though she lives with her daughter, her daughter forgets about her. Edith and Sarah (the case workers) helped Norah stand and using her walking stick, we went outside. Part of Ugandan culture is that instead of saying yes, they will hum and raise their eye brows. Imagine, listening to 5 women inside this high ceilinged home humming all together using their own pitches in agreement. The sound was pure Africa amd so hauntingly beautiful. Jajja Norah has buried all her children but one.

Jjaja Eloise lives with her daughter and 2 grandsons. Eloise and Faith are sisters. Norah is their sister-in-law. ROTOM has given her a goat pictured here. Eloise is sponsored by a couple from Canada – Bill and Maureen. She asked me to say hello to them. Really happy to see us. Eloise’s daughter provided a beautiful mat for us to sit on a bench while they sat on a gunny sack on the ground. When Jajja Eloise's young grandson came home from school he greeted us by kneeling down as a show of respect. Also as the daughter handed one of the case workers a cup so that she could have a drink of water, she put herself in a lower position to give the cup to her.

ROTOM serves the elderly that have no family due to AIDS or live with family who cannot care for them. They offer health care, food drop off, fellow-shipping once a week which includes a healthy meal, making baskets that they can sell at the market. ROTOM has given some of the senior a goat to tend….in order to give purpose to their lives. Each week a care worker will take 3 seniors to the doctor. The seniors in the ROTOM program each receive a card so that if they need to, they can go to the medical clinic and using the card, get the treatment and medicines they need and ROTOM pays the bill once a month.

This is an amazing ministry that spreads the Hope of the Gospel through meeting the needs of these isolated seniors. If you would like to sponsor a senior or make a donation to ROTOM - http://www.rotom-uganda.org/

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Home again

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1Peter 4:10

Our design team with our ROTOM partners in Mukono, Uganda

Joan & I arrived safe in Calgary last night, tired from 48 hours of travel, but amazed at the blessings from going to Africa…we served with a great ministry carrying out evangelism and outreach to seniors in Uganda, with a great team of design pro's from Canada, US, Uganda, and Australia who helped design their future facilities for their ministry; carried out a topographic survey in Africa!!!; connected with our eMi Uganda office staff, sat through an earthquake at our closing meeting there (5.7 magnitude – more information at:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70254

swam in the headwaters of the Nile River (not Joan), and went on a wildlife safari.

Joan will be updating our travel blog with pictures and stories soon.

In His Amazing Grace

Patrick