Day 7 !!!!!!!

Nurse Katie from our team cleaning and bandaging jigger wounds.

Can you imagine having sores like this and having rats chew on your feet at night?  Heartbreaking!

This is the dirt floor of the school where we set up a temporary clinic to care for their feet. 

Look closely at the foot that is further back.  This little girl had deep infected wounds on her feet.  It was so very sad.



      Jiggers, that is the word that sends kids running in fear. Jiggers are worm like creatures that live in some of the soil in Uganda. Once that dirt gets on your skin they burrow into your skin. The jiggers turn into a soft gooey circle of  a worm! To dig them out you must use a knife or a nail file. The kids cry from the pain of the skin getting cut open. They have no pain reliever so it is severe. Our hearts break when we hear their little cries. 
      Jigger wounds could be easily prevented by wearing close toed shoes.  Also through education and spraying Jiggers could be totally prevented.  When the kids don't have shoes and have sores on their feet, the rats come in at night and gnaw on the rotting wounds on their feet.  It literally broke our hearts to see the conditions that these precious children live in.  So much of this could be prevented by a few simple things; money, education, and a doctor or nurse's care.
     A women from our team has a bible study group back home in New York that paid for all 30 of these kids to have new shoes.  International Voice of the Orphan paid to have a doctor come out and check on all of the kids. We plan to continue to pray for these kids, maybe find homes for some, and help to continue caring for their needs. Please pray with us.

Day 6!!!

 Our little alpha!!

 Caleb tossing bricks! Definitely not the most fun job in the world and very hard work!!

 Mmmmm... how I love the Ugandan rain falling on my skin! 

 Getting dirty from tossing bricks!

 Emma and a little girl eating jack fruit! Jack fruit taste like a banana mixed with a pineapple and then add a ton of sweetness!!   

 Me and some of the kids from praise's home getting water from the water source.  Last year they drank this water.  Thankfully this year they have a bore hole (well) that has been built near by that they walk to for drinking water.  With this water we made cement for a wall we built. 

 The brick passing line. In all my life I have never seen kids work as hard as these kids do!

 The wall we built!

Couches on the back of a boda aka motorcycle!

      Today we were super excited because we got to go back to Praise's home. We love her so much! She did what no one else would. She took in the fatherless, she took in the motherless, she took in the kids that no one else wanted even when it meant she could no longer do the things she wanted to! She is 26 and cares for close to 30 children.  She loves those kids with all her heart.

 Today we built them a squatty  wall. They use a squatty for a bathroom.  Basically it is like an outhouse.  It is pretty much a hole in the ground with some walls, but no doors.   :( Now imagine you have 30 children, from around 3-15.  Some are boys and some are girls.  This is hard for the older girls and boys because of privacy. We didn't have the resources to build doors so instead we built them a wall.  It was pretty cool to see how people in other countries make do with what they have and get the job done.  We loved helping them.  It was special to work along side of the kids passing the bricks to get them from the other side of the street about 300 feet away.  It was difficult, back breaking work for everyone. 

 Oh, how we long to back to Uganda.  Our heart aches to go back  and  longs to hold those sweet precious kids again.   

Day 5

The kids of the orphanage singing to us... This is the day...

Ryane from our team loving on a sweet little girl.

Wow!  Did they ever enjoy those suckers.  They call them sweeties...

Katie handing out the sweeties.

A sweet little fella at the Four Square Orphanage.

   

     Today we went to Sanyu Babies Home in the morning. We are not allowed to take pictures or post them anywhere on any social media.  That is the policy for the protection of the kids.  At Sanyu we bathe the children and then play with them for a little while.  It is a crazy time with so many little ones.  There are about 60 kids at that orphanage.   Then we went to a Foursquare church. The pictures above are from our time there. This church and orphanage is by far in the best condition of all that we have seen. They really liked James 1:27 which talks about talking care of widows and orphans.  They practiced this very well in this church  and other surrounding foursquare churches.  The entire second level of the church was a orphanage.  Twelve of the nineteen kids there came from the same household. There parents relied on witchcraft to keep them safe and provide for them.  They are now safe from this kind of influence on their lives.  In the surrounding area there are 6 other foursquare church/orphanages. This church body is in the process of building eight more churches like this with orphanages on top.  This is a great model for other churches or orphanages in the area.

Day four!!!!!

 The team working on clearing dirt for the floor of the counseling gazebo, an area where the former street boys will meet together for group functions or counseling.

 Louis pumping water from the bore hole to mix up cement.  The Ugandans are such strong hard workers.

 A Perfect Injustice boys... These former street boys are so tenderhearted, kind, outgoing, and appreciative of everything that we did for them.

 Caleb with some boys and Ella after a fierce game of basketball:)

Today we went out to API's land in bombo Uganda!  API has a feeding program for the street boys in the slums of Kampala. They feed over 60 kids Monday,Wednesday, and Friday.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        These boys that come to the feeding program are then observed for a certain amount time.   If they prove that they are serious about staying off of the streets and show that they want to learn more about our faith and have a desire to follow the Lord, they can then move off of the streets and into these great homes They leave all the drugs ,abuse,  and streets behind  for these nice homes in bombo. The life change is incredible! I love to see the boys in the street and then in these homes.  Itt just makes me so happy!!!!  We went to help them with a basketball camp and we also helped them build a counselling gazebo.  Every day while I'm posting these I just sit here and long to go back to Uganda.   My heart ache does :(

DAY 3

 I love the African dirt on my skin and clothes!

 This is the church that we worshiped at on our first Sunday in Uganda! It is in Seenge Village.  Last year When we went they were raising money to buy the doors. It was really cool to see the job completed.

WARNING!!  What you are about to see may disturb you!!!

 This is what you call a squaty. All the village people use these as their toilets.  It is pretty much a hole in the ground... and you squat over it... male or female...They aren't the cleanest!

 Some little kid preforming for us at the church :)  PRECIOUS!

Don't look at my face but at the little kids hahaha!  My mother took this picture.  The sweet little guy climbed up in my lap and feel asleep.

Oh, That face!!! I wish I could have them all!!!

     Day three...... We went to Ssenge Village Church. It was so much fun seeing some of the old faces and more of the new faces  I love to see how they worship and pray! They get so into it that you can't help but smile. Pastor D preached and we listened.  During the sermon a little street boy came up to me and climbed in my lap. He had some sort of thing/mole/sore on his face and was itching it. It started to bleed and to tell you the truth, I was a little grossed out but then I thought, he has no one to love on him, no one to care for him.. So today I was going to be that person.That is why we came on this trip... to show Jesus' love and be His hands and feet here if Africa. I held and prayed for him as the service went on. After church we went to Cafe Javas for lunch, and let me tell you, boy was it good  After that we went shopping in the African market which was a total joy !!!! The rest of the day was spent at Sanyu baby home and at the guest house.

Day two!

Day two........ This was one of my favorite days, because this was the day we went to praises. Last year when we came we were the first team to meet praise. This year going back and seeing all the good and bad things that have happened though out the year brought tears to my eyes. First off last year I met two very special boys, they loved me and I loved them! This time when I hopped out of the cramped taxi I looked up and saw the two boys looking right at me. I was instantly overcome with emotion and started to cry. They asked why I was sad and I said "I wasn't sad I was overjoyed" they just smiled :) Let me say that day was a day of crying for me :/ they held my hands during worship and I cried. It was just an all around emotional day. Other than all the crying it was an amazing day ! We did a VBS with over 90 kids! Some excepted Christ, and others sang his praises! We played duck, duck, chicken, soccer, painted faces and nails, and eat some donuts! It was a amazing day I will never forget !!!!

Day one......

Day one: We went to the slums to work with API's feeding program. It was insane to see the way these boys live. Life is crazy. It makes me so sad to see the boys laying in the street or showering in the raw poop water. Also to see the boys praise God the way they do is really inspiring. They give it all to him. We played a game of street football, aka soccer, and had a blast with them. It was really cool how we got to know them and learn to love each and every one of them :) We then did a devotion with them and we had two of the team members go with a group of eight boys. We talked about what we want to become when we get older. It was cool to see that some wanted to become such great things like doctors and pastors. I love these boys so much!! I wish I could take them all home :)


Sorry I'm a tad behind. We have been crazy busy :(

Louis and Caleb