You, Me and Uganda

2010-05-27T02:46:00.000-07:00

So as my time in Uganda comes to an end I sit back and ponder on the things that have been accomplished. I have spent many of the last 90+ days with the Ugandan people. I have been pouring myself into them as if they were in my everyday life, but at the end of the day, I am going back home. So what is it that they gain from my “pouring”? What do I gain? What has the Lord gained?

My heart fills up when I think of the memories I have made here in the past couple months, adding them to the many memories made in the years prior. There is a very special place in my heart for these people and I am thankful that I can call this place my home away from home. The sincerity of these people keeps me humble and anxious to return.

The inconveniences of life back in the states are not that of the inconveniences in Uganda…

Our power goes out or we blow a fuse causing the outlet in the bathroom to be out of order until an electrician can come and fix it for $200; any source of light or electricity in Uganda is like gold.

The local grocery store is out of stock of Tillamook cheese and you have to settle for the generic brand, or you don’t settle and you drive 20 min to another grocery store; Uganda doesn’t eat cheese, you can get it but it is about $20+ a block and no Ugandan will justify 40,000 USHS for any food.

We see temper tantrums all the time because kids aren’t getting the next best toy that they think they deserve; a typical Ugandan kid is perfectly happy dragging a jerry can around all day, laughing as it hits the rocks and potholes causing the jerry can to lose control and flop around like a fish out of water.

Camping in the states a couple times a year brings out the ever-so-evil mosquitoes that we fight off with candles and spray; every night in Uganda people suffer from mosquito bites, many people can’t even afford nets for their beds at night; Malaria carried from these mosquitoes is the number one cause of death in this country.

I am not telling you these stories to make you think twice about the lavish life we live in America. I am telling you these stories because this is why I love it here. Every day is a gift and you never know what you are going to see, hear, smell, taste. These people have nothing yet they strive everyday to be better people. The simple good morning hugs followed by the life stories and overbearing laughs over a cup of African tea; it’s these times that we all look forward to so much here. Just like in the states, everyone here has a story; some bring tears, some joy, some confusion…but everyone has a story. I have had the privilege this past couple months to hear and witness hundreds of stories. These stories are hidden deep in my heart and they have helped me in developing life long relationships with the people of Uganda. God has a plan for each and every person with a story. It is amazing to see the hearts of these people and their love and devotion to God. Despite what life looks like to me as I walk the streets of Uganda; life is okay here even though the problems, poverty and pain is endless.

We here at Christopher house have the opportunity to bring more life into this community. We have these kid’s lives in our hands 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The training that takes place within our walls could be the only quality training these kids ever get. We have been given the opportunity to go into the schools and teach, this in and of itself is huge. For the educations system to be shown what it means to be a quality teacher, what discipline should look like, what interaction looks like, what trial and error looks like. We encourage character development, we encourage kids to ask questions, we encourage kids to think outside the box…all of which is foreign in these school systems.

Because of this training; over 1300 kids are studying, learning, growing, developing motor skill, social skills, dancing, singing, playing futbal, painting, sculpting, playing instruments, playing netball, reading, writing, learning English, acting, drawing and much more. We are trying to instill good manners, habits, morals and values. We talk openly about what it means to love, share, grow, be kind, stand up for yourself, laugh, eat right, abstain from sex, befriend the opposite sex, share emotions…the list goes on.

Our work here has just begun. It has been a blessing to be a part of this organization and I hope to return on the Lord’s clock. My time here has come to an end once again and I am so thankful to have spent the last 3 months with these people, these children, God’s people, God’s children. I pray that He has been glorified and I will continue to pray that He is glorified with this ministry as they pour their love and lives into this community of many, many people that need to experience true love.

2010-04-24T02:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since my last update, and let me tell you it has been a busy couple weeks. I am hoping that all these pictures will give you a glimpse of what we have been doing here. There has been a lot of fun, a lot of learning, a lot of growing, and a heck of a lot of kids!!

Our school program is now on hold because the kids have finished with exams and are now on what they call "holiday". Basically they have 3 "holiday" breaks a year...this "holiday" is for 4 weeks. We simply change our schedule from going to schools and training, to having the community kids come here to the center Tuesday-Saturday. We have a special "holiday program" for them to be a part of for the next 4 weeks. Most of these kids that we have during holiday program are our original Christopher House kids. These are kids that are off at boarding school during the year, they don't go to school within our community so this is the only time we get to interact with them. Holiday is always very exciting for the kids because they are reunited with their closest friends, even brothers and sisters, that they haven't seen for quite sometime. It is a time of intense training, learning, growing, performing, and a lot of fun with a purpose!!

Since my last update, I have been able to do some traveling and have some down time of my own. For Easter, a group of us went to West Africa. We stayed at the Pan Afrique Hippo Resort! A friend of mine in Jinja met a guy who is in the Peace Corp doing work in Kasase, West Africa. He stays close to this Hippo Resort and goes there often and asked us to join him and some of his Peace Corp friends for Easter weekend. It was a blast. Shell beaches, huge hippos, warm swimming water (at your own risk) good food, great company, African tea, Congolese dancing, futbal, volleyball, limbo, cards...it was quite the African vacation.

As most of you know I had a couple visitors this last week. Not only did the boyfriend come...MY MOM CAME!!! What a surprise that was. I had no idea until I saw her in the airport. Jayme and her had planned it since the beginning, they booked their tickets together and kept the secret for over 6 weeks!! Come to find out...EVERYONE knew she was coming, except me. We had an amazing time. We ate a lot of amazing "Shelly" food, bombarded the craft markets, had some relaxation time at Shiloh, went to N'DARE cultural center where different cultural dances are performed, went to Jinja and did a little bungee jumping (mom passes on that), rafted down the NILE river (mom was ALL over that), and last but certainly not least they got to spend a couple days at the center with the kids. I really think they enjoyed their time here, it was an 11 day trip that I am sure they won't forget...I know the kids benefited from their visit for sure! Because of the volcano in Iceland they got to stay an extra day, which was super fun!!

Now they are back at home and I am back to work and we have a lot going on in the next couple weeks. Some of our kids are getting ready for a big dance performance, others are auditioning for a film, and others are finishing huge art pieces! I will be sure to get some snaps and videos of those activities! Well I better get going because I have a lot of pictures to upload and it may take hours. Until next time...enjoy these pictures and please...never stop praying for us. This community needs your prayers and support. Thank you all for not forgetting about us :) we love you and will be in touch! God bless all who are reading this!!

XOXO
Sheena and the rowdy bunch!!

2010-03-17T02:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of what we are currently doing in our departments...

March 17, 2010

So many kids, huge language barrier, one love!

When I was here in 2006 we worked with about 200 community kids. We broke them up into "houses", 50 kids per "house". We had the house of David, house of Luke, house of Elijah and house of Joshua. House of David came to the center on Tuesday, Luke on Wednesday, Elijah on Thursday and Joshua on Friday. We taught the same curriculum every day to all 4 houses, the little kids (age 4-7) would come in the morning from 10-1, the big kids (8-15) would come in after school around 2-5. On Saturday, we would have ALL 200 kids, ALL day!!! It was somewhat organized chaos! The kids loved to be around all the other kids, and Saturday was the day to shine! The kids would do different performances depending on what they were working on throughout the week. The kids also loved Saturday's because they got served lunch!!

Things have changed a bit since I was here in 2006. Our community program turned into a Saturday program only. We see the majority of the same kids on Saturday's along with a bunch of new faces from our local Bbunga community! Now throughout the week we are focusing on 4 programs; Art, Music, Drama and Futbal. We have partnered with 12 schools within a 5 mile radius of Bbunga!! This equals up to over 1100 new faces!!! Some of the schools come here to the center for classes, and for the schools that lack transportation; we commute to them. We work with 3 schools a day Tuesday thru Friday, then our community "organized chaos" on Saturday, then exhaustion sets in and we head out to Shiloh (our property out in the bush where we live) for Sunday and Monday to rest!

Each of our programs has a head instructor and an assistant that work here at Christopher House Development Center. Elijah and Harriet run the Art department, Enoch and Fred run the Music department, Alisha and Salivia run the Drama department, Abdul and Motovu run the Futbal department; Quinn and I mainly help with Futbal because there are soo many kids, but there are days we work with Alisha in Drama or Elijah in Art.

Instructors and assistants are responsible for creating a curriculum that fits our standards, one that brings learning, motivation and creativity to all kids. We are trying to build these kids from the inside out, challenging them to step our of their comfort zones and allow them to be creative, to have fun, to be children.

2010-03-05T04:26:00.000-08:00

What a week it has been here...so sorry I haven't been able to blog yet. Grab a cup of coffee or two and have a seat...we have a lot of catching up to do...first things first, my flight...

Feb 25, 2010

So of course I almost missed my flight. Jayme brought me to the airport a good 2 hours before my plane left, we checked my bags outside, had to pay $200 to ship the third bag...lucky for us Jayme has a way with the bag check guys and he didn't charge us for the bags being...oh 55-60 lbs...thank you Mr. nice guy. He also liked my last name and that is really why he did it :) so my bags are checked and I am ready to go. Jayme and I hung out for a bit before I had to go through security. Wow how time flies. It was 12:00 noon when I went through security and my plane left at 12:45pm, ok so I was running a little late, but how long could it possibly take to get through security...well that's the thing...I got stopped at security to get bag searched and patted down; all because of the laminator that was in my carry on for Shelly. After 20 min at security I finally got through and was then rushing to the shuttle to take me to gate S, next thing I know it is 12:30pm and they are announcing my name over the intercom... "final boarding, Sheena Darling, final boarding to Amsterdam". So I get to the counter and she looks at me with the, "really, you are showing up to an international flight 15 min before take off, and you have a crap ton of 'stuff' as your 'carryon'"? She was over it. I boarded my plane, all eyes on me, and we were off to Amsterdam.

Flew into Amsterdam, didn't sleep much on that flight. I watched "Where the Wild Things Are" and "UP", ate some food and we were there. I got off the plane in Amsterdam, walked about 20 yards and was at my gate to fly out for Uganda. I had a 2 hour layover there, paid $16 for an hour of internet, then boarded my plane. I was so ready to sleep at this point, we boarded the plane and I was out...for 2 hours!! I woke up after 2 hours of deep sleeping just to find out that WE HADN'T EVEN TAKEN OFF YET!!! I was sooo bummed, I still had a 7 hour flight ahead of me, that 2 hour nap did nothing to take time away from my flight. I ended up catching up on a lot of sleep that flight, missed both meals because I slept so hard.

Feb 26, 2010

Finally got to Entebbe (2 hours late) and the first thing I am reminded of is the smell of Africa!!! I was home! All the familiar smells and sounds came back to me, it was awesome! I got all my bags, got my VISA and met Shelly at the gate! It was about a 90 min drive out to Shiloh (where my house is) so we had the drive to do some catching up! She brought along with her Emma (a 16 year old boy shelly took in that lives at Shiloh with us) and Galabuzi (our security guard) with her to the airport. That was a pleasant surprise.

We arrived at Shiloh in the dark but Shelly couldn't wait to show me around. We grabbed our headlamps and we were off. The kitchen is beautiful and very homey, the big cottage is AWESOME! It has a crazy sweet loft and a huge down stairs area, sleeps about 4 people. Shelly's little cottage is so cute! The jungle out here is indescribable, the sounds are that of a rain forest, so many unfamiliar sounds...the true beauty of nature is right out my front door. Speaking of my front door, my house is amazing, it is perfect. Shelly decorated it, painted it inside, she did so much to make it "mine". I have a flushing toilet and a shower...I haven't used the shower yet because sponge baths are just too convenient and don't waste as much water.

Feb 27, 2010

We spent the morning out at Shiloh, Shelly made us tea and toast, we walked through the jungle, sat on the porch swing, had some quite time, and just embraced this place we call home. The rest of the day was spent at the center...it went a little something like this...The center was jam packed with the staff I remember, new and unfamiliar faces. I got reunited with everyone at the center, little Isaac remembered exactly who I was, Uncle Elijah was so very pleased to see me, even little Hannah (Isaac's sister whom I had never met) warmed up to me right away! It wasn't long before I was already crowded from arm to arm with little ones. I just hung out for the most part today, played with the kids, got to know the staff a little better. Then Shelly and I went to town to get some groceries, if that wasn't a chore in itself...bargain, bargain, bargain, mazungu, mazungu (white person), blah, blah, blah...we finally got out of the chaotic mess of a market and headed home. We had some African tea and donuts, went on a walk through the jungle then started preparing dinner. Vegetable, turkey sausage, stir fry, a nice fresh salad, some noodles and of course pineapple. Not bad for my first meal in Uganda.

Feb 28, 2010

It has become a daily routine...get up to the sun and sounds of Uganda around 7am, lay in bed and relax for another hour or two...Shelly comes down to my house with tea and toast, we visit for a bit, Emma comes and finds us and we start our day. Today we took sponge baths, cause water tanks at my house were empty. That bath was very refreshing. We picked Quinn up from the airport around 1pm, then went to Kampala to exchange money, have lunch and do some emailing. $ place was closed so we just did lunch (pizza) and internet at Nando's (a muzungu place). After lunch we headed to Oweno market to get some odds and ins for my house. After some serious muscling through crowds of impatient people and bargaining our brains off, we left with everything we needed...mirror, basin, trash basket, broom, TP, door mat...

Quinn, Emma, Kato and I went to fetch water, we fetched 8 jerry cans of water (I did the pumping, they did the carrying) we filled my tanks and we were then off to the local "theatre" to watch the Manchester United match against AST in Lukwuanga. Of course Man U won 2 to 1, but it was close. It was a VERY stuffy, dark, tight squeezed theatre with no air circulation...but welcome to Uganda...and by theatre I mean a 20in TV that everyone crowds around!

March 1, 2010

First hard night here in Uganda. I went to sleep around 10pm last night and was sooo paranoid by the ants outside! Oh I forgot a minor detail about my house...there are these fire biting ants that come in swarms, like thousands, and they invaded my porch!!!!! I was out there with gasoline killing them for hours yesterday!!!! They are sooo gross and I fear that they will get inside my house!!! They attack ANYTHING that moves!!! YUCK!!! So back to me explaining why I couldn't sleep...go figure. I finally fell asleep and then was woken up by many, many unfamiliar sounds. I heard a really loud clanking on my roof then looked out my window and saw something run/scury in front of my house...scared the bageebees right out of me...heard those sounds for over an hour. Was it a monkey? A person? My imagination? Guava's falling from the tree that hangs over my house...? We do have a monkey out here somewhere but he isn't seen often at all. I am going to go ahead and say that I saw it! At least I am hoping it was that and nothing else. I got out of bed at 1:45am, turned my headlamp on and looked around my house, there was nothing of course, no ants, no monkeys, no people, no guava's...went back to sleep (sweatshirt over my head) woke up a couple hours later to a HUGE storm! Now my roof is aluminum so it magnifies everything...is my house secure? Do I have leaks? Is a tree going to fall on it? Are all the ants going to swarm my house to get out of the rain and find a dry place? All these questions running through my head. I got out of bed once again to go outside and close my shutters so the rain couldn't get in, also glancing for ants to make sure they weren't trying to sneak through the cracks...it was just one of those restless nights...oh sun, please come up soon.

So I prayed over my house and veranda that God would not let any little or big creatures invade my house...I woke up...they were all gone. Well the vast majority were gone. I had a really rough day yesterday because of the and issue, I had pretty bad anxiety because of it and that pretty much consumed my whole day. Bot on a better note, my friend from Portland, Marayah Sipe came to town from Jinja to visit. That in itself, giving her directions out to Shiloh was insane. Directions aren't easy, we had no airtime on our phone and our battery was dying (no electricity in the bush) I borrowed our neighbors cell phone, ran out of HIS airtime, Marayah finally called us...she got out to Lukwuanga and an hour later realized that she left our dinner in the private taxi...she had to call him back and have our dinner sent back to us on a bota bota (motorcycle taxi). We were finally able to fix dinner and she was able to stay for 2 days. Marayah and I had a lot of catching up to do, she stayed out at Shiloh with me and then came to center with us to help with the kids!!

March 2, 2010

Today was our first day with the other school kids. Our schedule is kind of crazy...throughout the week we see 12 different schools throughout the community. 3 schools a day, 1 from 8:30-10:30, 1 from 11-1, (we have lunch and break from 1-3) and 1 from 3-5...Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri. Some of the schools come to us at the center, others we go to them.

Today we went to them. We went to a school in GABA for the second session. Marayah and I sat in on Uncle Elijah's art class, we were talking about proportions vs. elements when it comes to sketching. The kids loved watching Marayah and I draw, they would look at our drawings and try to copy them exactly. That is how they are taught here...copy and memorize and then regurgitate back on paper to pass. After that school we came back to the center for lunch, Shelly had our money exchanged...amazing exchange rate right now!! 2044 which is more than double our $1. After lunch we went back to that school and Quinn and I helped Abdul run a bunch of drills and techniques for futbal (soccer). It was freakin hot and miserable...I got sunburnt even with SPF 50 because the doxycycline (malaria meds) I am on makes me very sensitive to the sun...and I am pasty white so that doesn't help!

Then after work today we went to our apartments in town to shower up. The apartments are very simple and cute. We had a cup of quick tea, some showers and we were off to GABA for dinner, right on the water (Lake Victoria). On the menu tonight: "fresh" fish...it was not MY kind of fresh but it was fresh...lets just say it made me really appreciate fish from the northwest! Enoch bought Quinn and I a very refreshing beverage, NILE beer! It's hard to get a cold beverage around here, let alone a cold beer! We had fresh tilapia , yummy crispy chapati (fried flat bread) and samosas (egg roll type thing filled with peas) mmmmm so good! After the exciting event of a dinner outing we ended up at the internet cafe, the connection is so much faster now then it was three years ago!

March 3, 2010

Today was another school day. Morning school canceled because there was car problems. GABA MIXED school was our school for the second session, I was part of Alisha's drama class. We played games and did some acting...I would be "riding a bike" and a kid would ask, "Auntie Sheena, what are you doing?" While I was "riding a bike" I would SAY, "jumping rope"...then that kid that asked me would start "jumping rope" and another kid would come up to him and ask...and so on a so forth. It was fun to watch the kids creativity come out. The last session of our day was spent on the futbal pitch with CORNERSTONE boys. Abdul, Quinn and I split the kids up and we all took about 15 and started training. Right now we are practicing the basics...passing, dribbling, trapping, ball control...at the end of training we played a little 5 vs 5 match (Man U vs Arsenal) Arsenal won 4-3. I had to have 2 of the boys sit out for a bit because they were fighting each other, it seems to be a trend here with the futbal kids. Communication with the kids is very difficult, we as Americans talk very fast and our accents are very strong. Luckily futbal is a universal sport and they understand the basics of what we are trying to teach.

After work we came back to shower (#2 since I've been here) at our apartments here in GABA. Then we picked up Quinn and decided to go to dinner because we were too tired to drive out to Shiloh tonight. We will leave in the morning. Thursday's are a work day out at Shiloh with Uncle Dick. Quinn and I hope to get some stuff started with our futbal pitch out there, and spend some time with the village kids and the deaf school out there!

March 5, 2010

Okay so yesterday (Thursday-Shiloh day) did NOT go as planned...I woke up at 3:30am sick as a dog!!!! Needing to throw up I walk outside trying to find a basin, a trash can, something!!!! I had nothing of the sort in my apt. Our security guard, Moses, doesn't understand a lick of english so he was no help, and at that he was too late...I ran over the stone wall to the garden and did what needed to be done...it was AWFUL!!! Without getting too graphic, we had super spicy uncooked curry beef "stew" flattened white spongy bread and a boiled egg...not so good on my system apparently...or Shelly's or Quinn's...It was not a good situation, it burned soooo bad! Shelly came out after I'm sure being awaken by my not so pleasant sounds...come to find out, she had been up sick all night as well. I crawled into bed with her and low and behold...we were up every hour on the hour, taking turns "using the toilet". To say the least, it was quite the bonding experience! Water and crackers...not good, 7 up and soup...not good...nothing stayed down, nothing helped. We just layed there all day...sick...ill...dead. I had the worst headache imaginable, I was feverish, cold sweats, my throat had soars on the inside because of an allergic reaction to something...it closed up my nose and my throat for almost 10 hours!!! My throat and nose finally cleared up after a lot of painful clearing of my throat and blowing awfullness out my nose...the spicy sting was awful!!! All this to say, we had the worst case of food poisoning!!!! I was to the point where my headache was sooo bad that I HAD to take some IB Profane, so at about 7pm Enoch brought me some chicken soup and Alisha brought me bananas. I ate and kept down both (I think it was the bananas that cured me!!) I was able to take some medicine and catch some shut eye. Shelly said I didn't move for the rest of the night! It was glorious! She was able to take some sleeping meds to get some much needed sleep as well.

This morning we better, considering our condition yesterday, we are great today. Quinn is still feeling bad today so he stayed home to get some more sleep. Shelly was working at the center and she feels already that she pushed herself to hard. We stopped by this morning to get some light but substantial food. We had fried egg, toast and tomatoes...nervous to eat again...we ate. We also had some really yummy juice call simply hibi, it is hibiscus juice filled with "natural antioxidants" not sure how accurate that is but regardless it was delicious! We are now at the center taking it easy, that is why I am here at the internet cafe able to update my blog. Although our internet cut out for an hour, I was still able to get all this typed up. Sorry for such a long post..it just isn't very easy to do this kind of thing with our time schedule. From now on, I will try to post more pictures and then describe briefly what the pictures are. That way you get an idea of what we are doing but aren't overwhelmed by my words :). We are here at the center tomorrow with our original Christopher House kids and then off to Shiloh until Tuesday! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support, it truly is a blessing that I am here doing this kind of work! I couldn't have done it without you guys. If there is anything you specifically want to hear about just let me know and I will do my best to communicate it to you! Until next time, know that I am in good hands and am absolutely loving it here. More stories, photos, and videos to come! I love you all! Enjoy and never stop praying!

In His care,
Shee

2009-12-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

I just bought my ticket to Uganda!!!
Plans have changed just a bit...
I have decided to buy a house here in Salem and because that process takes some time (and money) I have bumped my trip to end of Feb. I will be leaving Seattle Feb 25th and returning June 2nd. I am in transition right now (when am I not) between work, moving, the holidays, weddings, birthdays...I hope to get some more information out to you guys, so be on the look out!
THANK YOU to all that have contributed to this chapter in my life! I wouldn't be able to do it without you~we are the hands and feet of Christ and me He be glorified in ALL we do!!

I got a little frightening email from Shelly this morning...they found (and killed) a 3ft, 7in thick PYTHON outside my house in Uganda!!!!! Oh the little things in life...haha. At least it wasn't IN my house...

Feel free to email me if you guys have any questions or want any specific information about what I am going to be doing over in Uganda. All I know is that is where my heart is and I can't wait to get back there!!

Take care and have a very Merry Christmas!!! Don't forget about the greatest gift of all...the gift of salvation! Thanks be to HIM!!

I love you all
Shee

2009-12-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Old and New Friends of Christopher House,

Here is the promised letter, describing life here in Uganda and a bit of what we do at Christopher House. Thanks so much for offering to help...

To start, I’d like to describe four "normal" children here in Uganda.

Katazi George William wanders the streets at night and often sleeps outside because his dad told him, “I don’t want you.” His mother lives far away in the village. His clothes are permanently dirty. His face is usually angry. His eyes are always sad.

A quiet girl with a sweet smile, Nazzewa Sharon is also a stepchild—a cruel reality in Uganda—and her stepmother has a short temper. Sharon rarely comes to the center without a bruise on her cheek. She struggles at school. Reading is her most challenging subject.

Nanteza Shammim's beauty blazes from her left side. But she hides the other half of her face. A tumor covers the entire right side from ear to jaw bone. Pain often keeps her from sleeping at night. Surgery is not possible. Her future is unknown.

Tukumwaire Praise’s face glows when he smiles, but his education is spotty because school fees are too high for his family. His mother is learning to live with HIV, and treatments to sustain her life have begun. His father died from the disease.

At Christopher House, we spend our time loving, teaching and nurturing kids like these. Whether our students live in poverty, health or sickness, hope or despair, we know they all are important and their lives matter.

Christopher House Development Center (CHDC) exists to empower, equip and enrich the lives of at-risk children and youth in Uganda, East Africa. CHDC uses Bible-based concepts mixed with fine-arts training to teach students how to make healthy choices about their lives.

We provide opportunities in art, music, dance (both traditional and contemporary), athletics, literacy and theater. We work with students from three to eighteen-years-old. Our goal is to empower young people to use their gifts and develop their talents. Through our weekly program, we hope to do more than just prepare them for a good performance-- we hope to enrich their lives for today and the future.

Uganda has only recently made school attendance mandatory and the educational system is harsh. The average classroom has one teacher and 80 to 100 children. Discipline is strict and immediate. Wrong answers, failed exams, talking out of turn, even asking questions, results in ‘caning,’-- being whipped with a stick. Text books are non-existent; the students copy work written on the blackboard into paper notebooks, memorize information, and regurgitate it back verbatim on exams.

Schools do not teach critical thinking skills. Children learn from nursery school onward to keep quiet, to blend in with the crowd, and to not bring attention to themselves. You can imagine the outcome when children leave school and are expected to be confident, prepared, resourceful adults.

Beginning in 2004, we at Christopher House have worked to combat this problem. We started an after-school, week-end and holiday program, with 205 neighborhood children. In 2008 we received special certification from the Ugandan Ministry of Education to partner with local schools. Because of severely limited budgets, schools are unable to offer extra-curricular classes.

That’s where we come in.

Schools in our area bring 100 to 150 students to Christopher House once a week to participate in our program—art, athletics, music, and creative drama. We’re currently working with eight schools—approximately 900 students a week! We also have Saturday and holiday programs where any child can come as often as they wish.

All of our programs are designed as “fun with a purpose.” The kids get a chance to explore and develop individual talent while learning even more important character development traits. While playing sports and dancing, students learn teamwork, leadership, and integrity. While developing their artistic skills,they learn to share, to encourage each other, and to take care of supplies. In drama, they have opportunities to express themselves in an atmosphere of acceptance, safety, and support.

With each school visit, we hold an assembly. During this time we talk about age- relevant topics, ranging from HIV/Aids, to building good friendships, to taking care of their bodies and the environment.

This type of work does not cause blazing headlines and heart wrenching compassion...unless you know about kids like George William, Sharon, Praise, and Shammim. We’re here for the long haul, giving kids a safe place to learn and grow, building on a foundation of Biblical principles, and just loving them.

We always need folks to partner with us in this ministry--whether financially, with goods and services, volunteering in Uganda, or praying.

Our operating budget in 2009 is $45,000 US. Money goes a little farther in East Africa, but we still have similar needs to other ministries. We have relied on the sacrificial gifts of many people over the last five years, but we know how many of our supporters are struggling financially these days.

So we have an idea.

What if, instead of asking for more money, we asked for less? What if a lot of people learned about Christopher House and contributed $5? If 9,000 people sent us $5, we'd have the resources we need to provide our Biblically-based program to 900 needy children in Uganda for an entire year.

If you would like to partner with us in a relatively painless way, please consider passing along this letter and the update letters I write each month, to people on your email list you think might be interested. If each reader realized how important his or her contribution can be, together we can accomplish something spectacular for our kids.

At present, all donations go through Ukiah Bible Church, Shelly's home church, located in Ukiah, California. It is a non-denominational church founded on and teaching solid Biblical truth CHDC is in the process of obtaining an individual non-profit status, but until the paperwork is complete, contributions go through the church. (By the way, 100% of all contributions come to us in Uganda).

When we have completed the process, we will open a Pay Pal account and a separate bank account to make contributing as easy as possible. But until then, if you would like to help make a difference in the lives of children in Uganda, please make out a check to Ukiah Bible Church with a note on the memo line, designating Christopher House. Ukiah Bible Church's address is 2140 Arroyo Rd. Ukiah, Ca. 95482

Thank you so much for taking time to read this, and please, visit our web-site at www.christopherhouseministries.org. There you can read more stories about our students, view photos, and find links to blog sites telling about Christopher House.

2009-10-07T23:37:00.001-07:00

Donations can be sent to...

Sheena Darling

1922 Madras St SE #1032

Salem, OR 97306

Janna Darling

623 NW 12th Loop

Oak Harbor, WA 98277

or if you have pay pal click the "donate" button to the right of this screen.

Thank you again!

2009-10-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

The time has come for me to go home...

For those of you that don't know...I HAVE A HOUSE IN UGANDA!!!! Here it is!!! A place I call my home away from home! I am so excited to live there and continue on this journey that the Lord is leading me on. This weekend I will be flying to California for "Africa Night" (Ukiah Bible Church at 5pm). This is an annual event with great "African" food, lots of pictures, videos and stories; worship, and the infamous silent auction!! This event is always a huge hit! We raise a good portion of the money we need for the year. Shelly (and whoever is here with her) will give a detailed update on what has been going on in "her world" over the past year, and what is in store for the next year. It is a great time of fellowship, prayer, awareness, laughter, tears, and great FOOD!! Pray for us this weekend as we close the gap between you and me...and Uganda. Pray that people listen, understand, grasp and support what it is that we do at Christopher House Ministries~

Stay tuned for pictures from this event! I will have a lot more information for you about where we are going from here and how YOU can help!! Thank you again for all of your prayers and support! Spread the word!! We have received $5 from over 300 people so far!!

The more people that know...the more the money will grow!!! Again thank YOU for being a part of this journey with me!!

In Him
Sheena

"So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God."
1 Corinthians 7:23

2009-09-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

I am returning to Uganda, Africa Jan 25th 2010! My story and updates coming soon!

2006-11-05T04:21:00.000-08:00

The journey begins! We went out for the forth time this particular week looking for land...nothing we had seen thus far captured what we were really searching for.
Enoch spend a whole day, literally 10 hours, searching for the perfect place. Everything from the soil, to the bush, to the big trees, hills, flat, accessibility, public transport, water...everything. He knew that Shelly wanted nothing but the best for this camp.
That evening Enoch called us as he was on his way back to the activity center with "great news"! He held us in suspense for 45 min. He came to us with very exciting news. He found two pieces of land for what seemed perfect for what we are looking for. The maps and explainations were great but weren't enough for Shelly. She needed to go and see them both for herself. We would have gone at that moment but it was already dark.
First thing the next morning (8am) we were off! We went to the first piece and it was nice. A little steep terrain, but it had good soil and underground spring...lots of garden, an okay view....onto the next piece...
"WELCOME TO PARADISE!" Bottom line...we prayed about it, we looked hard, we've been patient, we found it, we love it, we feel good about it...we can almost hear God chuckling at us...and better yet we have the money for it...here is our story...
We were originally told that it was 10 acres for 5 million shillings an acre ($27,400). We don't have that much...after meeting with the owner we found out that he was selling 5 acres and was willing to go down to 4 million ($10,960). We don't have that much... After 9 hours of walking, translating, listening to family fueds and negotiating, we left the land for the second time that day to take the land owner back home...Enoch had been negotiating in Luganda and the tone sounded ominous...not so positive....he said he would fill us in with the details after dropping off the owner...I started praying!!! I was sooo nervous that the owner didn't have the title, or the brother was trying to talk him out of selling it, or they wanted too much money...I prayed!!!
We dropped the owner off and Enoch got this cheshire cat grin and sooooo calmly told us that he had negotiated down to 3.5 million shillings an acre ($9,590). Guess what? WE HAVE THAT!!!!!!!! There are two families from Arbuckle Community Church in California that donated $9000 especially for land!! Is that a God thing or what!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE, ENCOURAGEMENT, EXCITEMENT AND PRAYERS. GOD IS GREAT AND SO FAITHFUL!! We are starting the documentation and survey process this week. Please continue to pray for God's guidence and wisdom every step of the way! We will keep you updated as we get closer to holding that title in our hot little hands!!!
After a stressful day of scouring the Ugandan countryside, it is always a joy coming back to our kids!!! It's all for the children of the Lord.
This is Namubiru Linda and I sharing hats and a little "hang" out time! She is our covergirl for the website, this 5 year old always has a smile on her face...even when she is sick. Just this last week she had a terrible lung infection that caused her to have a bad cough that led to her throwing up...if we wouldn't have taken her to the doctor when we did it would have turned into pnemonia. Unfortunately her mother didn't give her the full dose of her medicine (she gave some to her sister cause she had a "cough") she is still suffering from it and we might need to take her back if it continues or gets worse. But needless to say she is always a joy to be around.

Thank you again and know that we are seeking the Lord's guidance every step of the way and also know that without your prayers and support this wouldn't be possible!!!

2006-11-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

This was a typical idiot driver who just happened to end up in the ditch...this was one of three accidents we saw this day. Their solution...get a big truck to tow it out and have 20 people help break the axel pushing out...I dont understand some things here but oh well, it was somewhat entertaining.
The sunsets and sunrises are simply amazing.
This is what the kids use as umbrellas when it is raining, they are branches to our papaya tree that we pushed over because otherwise it would have fallen on a kid or two...when the tree fell, 30 kids ran up and fought over all the papaya on it...again very entertaining. These ones went for shelter rather than the food, it just happen to be pouring down rain that day.
Imagine 250 kids in a 540 sq foot room, no form of air except a little house fan in the back...and when electricity went out so did the fan. Not to mention the kids just got done with two hours of sports, games and dancing. This was a "special" saturday. We watched the lion king and had pop corn!!! I also made a 15 min slide show of the kids (Im bringing some copies home to the states) they absolutely LOVE seeing themselves on the digital camera screen...we had a huge white wall for a sceen...they went crazy. You can see all there little heads in this photo! Some of them were directly in front of the wall, there necks had to have been killing them . I had music to the slide show but it wasnt even necessary because they were screeming out the names of every one in every photo, we couldnt even hear a kid if they were crying it was soooo loud. Luckily no one suffered heat exhaustion or suffication. Thank you Lord for your protection!!
This was the mound of shoes outside that very day!! Over 500 shoes!!! This wasnt even all of them, and to think that they all went home with shoes...they may not have been there own but they all had shoes.
NO more braids!!! :( And no more hair!!! I lost sooo much hair but they were so much fun. This is me taking out my very last braid, all the fake hair on the table were all of my extensions. It was crazy!! But I loved it and will probably do it again.
Our cat Joey, he sleeps with me every night, and he kills all the cockroaches so I let him stick around.
In the process of looking at land and taking out my braids we stopped for some african fast food...ie, you stop your vehicle at a market on the roadside and about 15 people come sprinting to your car with meet on stick...bananas...water...fruit...anything you might need for a snack...they push and fight to get you to try to pick their food, they dont just go to the drivers window either...they mob every window.
me and my group of soccer boys, the one in the red and white striped shirt is Tamale Peter!!! He is a kid after my own heart, I dont know if I told you guys about him but he lost his father awhile bcak and his mother is sick and has aids...Im not sure if he does but needless to say he isn't in school because his mother cant afford school fees so I am going to hopefully be able to annonymously sponser him and send him to school this coming feb!!!! He is soooo talented, not to mention our best futball player!!! Pray that the Lord works His wonders there. School fees for a term (3 months) for him are at most $25 a month and that is including a little pocket money. We have a lot of kids that don't go to school because of school fees, however we have many very good students who are fortunate enough to go to school. One boy, Aman Aziz, just nailed his P7 (7th grade) exams!!!! Now he gets to go to high school for the next 5 years providing the school fees are there. His brother however isn't in school because there parents only have money to send one child and Aziz is oldest so he is the only one enrolled right now.

Another shot of our "special" saturday!!!! Before the movie even started their popcorn was gone!
Every Thursday Shelly leads our Bible study! We are studying 1 Samuel and loving it!! The life of David and his heart for the Lord is a huge encouragement to me and hopefully to all of our staff. It is hard to get everyone to participate but Lord willing we will see the fruit of this study produce over the next couple weeks.

2006-10-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

Okay for those of you that haven't heard...my computer has officially crashed...it doesn't even turn on so the pictures are on hold until I can use shelly's to download all my pictures...right now I am in the process of trying to get them off of my computer and onto cds...and for those of you that know me...I take a lot of pictures.

But needless to say, things are going very well. I am learning so much about life and even more about culture. There is no way to compare the US with Africa...they are on two totally different levels, the people here are different, the food, the entertainment...everything.

This last week Shelly and I went to Jinja and walked all around the nile river!!! BEAUTIFUL!! I have some amazing pictures that I hope to share with you soon. It was soooo peaceful...well except when we got interupted every two minutes by "tour guides" forcing to let them show us around for money...after we already paid to get in...we weren't very nice to them, but it is okay because they had no business asking us for money. Needless to say the bush is where I love to be, I hate the city. Especially here, it is nothing like any other city I have ever been in.

Next week we are hoping to travel north to Gulu. I met a guy, James, who works for Invisible Children, he is in charge of the bracelet program, we have had sometime to talk and get to know each other. He is going to take us up to Gulu sometime next week and show us all around the IDP camps (that hopefully aren't as congested with people since the film was done. www.invisiblechildren.com ) another amazing organization helping children in Uganda. As for Christopher House...we are almost done with our website!!! It should be up and running in the next couple days...be sure to check it out, you will get a really good glimpse of what we do here, all the pictures on the website I took so you can see for yourself the pictures that made it off my computer. Pray that the other ones can be recovered. www.christopherhouseministries.org God is doing good things here, and He is in the midst of Uganda in many many ways, we are just a percent of what He is doing here. Pray for protection and direction as the weeks go on...I am reaching the half way point in my trip and my prayer is that I don't waste a day of it, I pray that God uses me in any and all ways to help benefit these kids and my personal relationship with Him. Thank you guys all for being a part of this journey with me and I hope that through this experience you can see what it really means to love God's people and grasp the importance of living for Christ. I love you all and will be in touch.
In Him,
Sheena

2006-10-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

Shelly and her wonderful 5 1/2 hour braid job!
I got a pedicure and manicure it was sooo nice and very inexpensive...15,000 shillings...about $8 for both together!!
my braids!!! I love them! I dont have to wash my hair for over a month...
After 6 1/2 packs of these "darling" extensions and 8 1/2 hours of sitting on my toosh!!
How appropriate!!!
Okay so I am trying to download more pictures for you guys but my computer crashed the other day so it is very difficult...I hope to send more your way soon. Know that the days are flying by and I have been very busy....working, traveling, working, playing...I have been so busy it has been over two weeks since Ive updated this blog and its been a week since Ive written in my journal...for those of you that know me well....that is way too long to go without writing. Keep the emails coming, I love to read them and I will try to respond as soon as I get them. Lots of love from Uganda!!
Thank you all for all of your prayers and support!!!
Sheena

2006-10-17T00:47:00.000-07:00

Isaac, Joseph A and Joseph B

These are 5 of the 8 girls that I am mentoring. From right to left...Promise, Sophia, Zalia, Shamirra, and Shammim.
This was my football team for the day!! We dominated....well THEY dominated!
Little Joseph...He is a beauty, he is one of our kids that is HIV positive and will need to be on meds for the rest of his life....we were worried about him for a bit because he didnt' show up to the center for two weeks...just as we were sending someone to go check on him...he and his brother showed up. Apparently his father is sick and in the hospital...his mother has been taking care of him so she wasn't able to get the boys to the center. We were excited to see that they were ok and we welcomed them back with open arms...Joseph used to be VERY shy but he opened up soooo much that day, we talked, laughed, it was a huge blessing!
We have some very precious "little ones" they are more than a joy to have around, not to mention they are soooo loving and adorable....most of the time :)
This is Talapia...I ate it just like this....Im not gonna lie I was a little scared...it was really good though
These are some of our adorable kids...they are precious
She is one of our twins, her favorite activity is art!
Lis I took this picture for YOU! It was a full moon at like 4am, I prayed for you!
What was left of the Talapia!

2006-10-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

The joy of Saturday afternoon clutter. We don't wear shoes inside so what better place to put them....than right in the doorway. This is only a quarter of what was there.
A nightmare in itself...the taxi park, again this is just a glimpse of about a mile of taxi's. Not to mention the complete agony and challenge in finding one that is going where you want it to go...not easy. I will take a yellow cab any day over this mess....but it's how we get around here...so we work with it.
Yes this is (was) a snake...a cobra to be exact. It shed this skin in the bushes surrounding our activity center...we aren't quite sure where it is but we have the remains of what looks to be a good size snake. Not to worry, we found its home right next to the bush...a little kerosene and a match should do the trick!
A look at downtown Kampala on a good day. Markets all over every inch of street...people...and of course taxis and boda boda's.

Everyday is a new day. There is so much to see and so much to learn. This week has been filled with events...cockroach killing, bumper to bumper traffic...walking and driving...bargaining every last penny....good meals...not so good meals...hearing the joys of being a kid in Africa...hearing the fears of being a kid in Africa. Everyday is a new day.

Words seriously can't express life here. I was sick this week a little and we think it is because of the pork I ate...that it wan't cooked all the way, or that I drank unboiled bottled water. Apparently we are finding out that people get empty water bottles and fill them with normal unboiled water and then reseal them, plastic seal and all...so it looks like I may have had a bad bottle. Needless to say I will be boiling my own water from now on.

The Lord is working so hard here at CHM, there is so much to be done and I am learning what it truly means to have patience. It is easy for us as Americans to come in with a plan and expect that plan to rapidly become a reality...that is not the way it works here. The culture here is very different and first we have to try to understand their values and morals...if any at all. Anyway please be in prayer for all of us, especially Shelly and I because our mentality on life is different than theirs and it is nearly impossible for them to comprehend what we are trying to get across to them. From our faith and trust in the Lord, to whether it is right or wrong to use caining as discipline...it is just a different world over here, but I trust that God can and will do just as much here as he does in the states. Pray that we stay focused on why we are here and that in due time, lives will be changed for the better.

I miss you all and can't wait to hear from you. I hope to be able to respond more personally to all of your emails next week...Wednesday hopefully, until then this is all I have time for. Know that you are all thought about and thank you so much for your prayers and support!

In Him
Sheena

2006-09-27T03:37:00.000-07:00

They absolutely LOVE the camera...and they love digital...to be able to see themselves on the screen two seconds after the picture is taken is amazing to them. Once my camera is out I have to take at least 3 pictures of every kid. They all scream "auntie sheena me me me, auntie let me let me!!"
Our beautiful house!
This is Aaron and Elliot, both come from abusive homes but never miss a day at Christopher house. They always come with smiles from ear to ear, they love it here...actually Aaron is in the Joshua house (Tuesday) and he was at the center every day last week...we just can't push them away eventhough they are only supposed to come twice a week.
My room is the second set of windows on the left.
I was in the process of learning Lugandan...it is very difficult but necessary to communicate with the little kids.
The joys of having a mesquito net!!! I feel like a princess, and it is so peaceful not having buzzing mesquitos at your ears all night...or geckos...or spiders...or cockroaches...lets just say it keeps the bugs out.
An average day in Uganda. A kid or two, a tire...they find amazing ways to have fun with the littlest things...things that we would trash they play with, it is quite eye opening. Another popular toy around here is a water bottle filled with dirt and rocks, it makes a musical shaker...and then an empty jerry can (use them to gather water everyday) they cut the top off, get in it like a little wagon, tie a rope to it and get drug around all over...they love it, it's kind of like a sled.
Typical traffic...this was a good day. Those are taxis with the blue and white checkers...and that is a "bota bota" they are not safe and the drivers are not smart...but then again no drivers here are...
More smiles for the camera!

2006-09-27T01:12:00.000-07:00

The kids love to perform. This is on a Sat when we have all 200 kids, these are the little ones...don't be deceived by there size...these kids can seriously dance!

This little one was dancing over in the corner all by himself having the best time...right when I took the picture his "costume" (banana fiber skirt) broke. We fixed it and he continued to shake it. :)
These two boys are really exelling in our art department, they really have an eye for art. Shelly had these two art kits donated by someone back home. This picture was taken when we presented the boys with a "suprise"...they were absolutely speechless, they didn't know what to do with them, at first they thought that they were just theirs to use at the activity center...little did they know that these were for them to do what they wanted with. They are theirs to keep. It was a dream come true for them.
Just a handfull of smiles I have the priveledge of woking with on Sat. Not all of them speak english...so I am doing my best at communicating in Lugandan.
African sunrise!!! Every morning around 6:30 out my window! Perfect way to get my morning started! With my cup of African tea of course.
This was a great day...I taught the kids how to make noise by putting a blade of grass between your thumbs...not many of them caught on right away...this little girl didn't get taught, she was just watching what the other kids were doing and basically she had a huge blade of grass in her palms and she was blowing into her hands expecting a noise...it was priceless and she thought is was halarious.
More precious dancing!
Entering Uganda for the first time!
Africa definately has its own style of everything!
She is one of our best dancers.

2006-09-17T04:26:00.000-07:00

Oli otia! Balunge!
(Hello, how are you? We are very good!)

Words cannot describe this place! But I will do my best...It is beautiful yet scary, from hot muggy sun to windy wet storms...all in one day. The first hour in Uganda is a blur because I was blown away at the living conditions and a glimps of survival. To start things off...AFRICANS ARE CRAZY DRIVERS! Way worst than any california driver I have ever witnessed!!! We got here pretty early in the morning on the 15th, we are 11 hours later here so you can imagine how hard it is to catch up on lost sleep.

Our house is amazing! We are so blessed, it is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with a gorgeous yard and view. The perfect comfortable back patio...and the best part about my room is I have a full mesquito net all around my bed, I feel like a princess...but really it does help keep the bugs outs. Yes we have running water, but we have to boil it all the time and let it set to cool off before we drink it. The electrity has only worked one day since we've been here but there is nothing wrong with candlelight dinners...showers...reading, we just make good with what we have.

Walking the streets of east Africa is very intimidating at first, everyone looks at you funny and all of the kids yell...muzungu! muzungu! (white person) and they run up to us...even if we are in the car, and touch our skin. It was scary at first, I thought I was going to get mugged, but after a couple days of walking around town and I felt a little more confident and comfortable.

All the stories and pictures you have all heard or seen about Africa don't do justice for the real thing. It is crazy how much it all becomes a reality when you are living in the center of it. I pray that some of you get the opportunity to witness this amazing part of the world. The Lord has and is doing a lot of things here and I am more than blessed to be a part of it.

Shelly and I are a great pair, it has been great getting to know each other and traveling together; as the only two munzugu's in town...I think I have seen 4 other white people since I've been here and two of them were mormans (the uniforms gave it away). My favorite part of living here is the morning...a typical morning for me is wake up at 5:30 watch the sun rise with a perfect cup of african tea, then read and write for about an hour outside on the padio, then back to bed for an hour or so...wake up and have another cup of hot tea with Shelly as we enjoy the beauty of Africa and share our thoughts.

As for the kids...THEY ARE SO PRECIOUS!!!! I was a little overwhelmed at first because our first day back at the activity center was a Saturday...for those of you that don't know...all of 150 kids are there at once!!! It was sooooo much fun to see them run and play and sing and dance!! I love to interact with them. They all call me auntie Sheena and of course it is maama Shelly!

I taught them how to make noise by putting a blade of grass between their thumbs...an annoying whistle noise if you will...some of them were trying so hard they cut their lips with the grass, others tried to watch and learn and I found them holding grass between there palms and then blowing as hard as they could into there thumbs. It was priceless. I forgot to tell them to only do this outside during playtime because during quiz time and assembly we had a hard time keeping them quiet and focused, all you could here was annoying blowing and whistling.

Another thing that they had so much fun with were the glow sticks that Shelly brought back. Their attention went out the window at this point, we decided to wait until the end of the day to give out any gifts. I have so many more stories but I also don't want to bore you guys, I meant to post some pictures from yesterday at the activity center but I forgot my computer...I will do it next time.

Until then, I hope you are all doing well in the states. Know that we are in the Lord's hands and He is already doing amazing things, He truly has a hand in Christopher House Ministries and is blessing us left and right. Pray that we can buy a car soon, ours is running well, we just need to sell it and get a better one.
Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for these kids that they will be changed for the good and pray that we don't get hit by any taxi's.
In Him
Sheena and Shelly

2006-09-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

I made it to London!!! I am in the airport and have been here for the last six hours. I cant believe I am on another continent already. It is really hard to type on this computer...so I better be quick because my 15 min is running out fast cause I have to press so darn hard on these keys...Im getting cramps in my fingers. The flight was long but good...10 hours and security is rediculous!! We got to have red wine on the flight which was very relaxing. The meals were great and they even gave us blankets, pillows, and socks, oh and also a toothbrush with toothpaste...but heaven forbid you take your own toothpaste on board!

I had 16 movies to choose from...guess what was showing??? Sweet Home Alabama!! Of course I watched it!! Twice!! Shelly and I are doing great, we get along so well and have endless things to talk about. I am in very good hands! Well my time is running out, I just wanted to tell you all that I am half way there. SHELLY ALREADY HAS ME SPEAKING LUGANDEN . I would say something to you all but I have no clue how to spell them...so maybe next time. Thank you all for your prayers, I am doing very well and with a clear mind I am ready to serve our Lord!! I love you all and miss you tons!! Until next time...
In Him
Sheena

2006-09-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go!

Less than a week and I will be in Africa. A lot has gone on in the last week or so, I celebrated my 24th birthday on Tues with my mom and some friends. It has been good to relax, gather my thoughts, enjoy sunsets and beach walks...these things I have taken for granted all these years.

I had the opportunity to share my presentation to a couple new people since I've been home, and in doing that I have a number of people that are wanting to support me and Christopher House Ministries! It is amazing how God really does take care of the details. I also heard some good news, I will be able to continue raising support while I am over there. This is a huge blessing knowing I still have about $2000 to raise to cover my whole trip. I know it is still a lot but I am amazed at peoples hearts to give to the Lord and I know that the Lord will provide in His timing.

Thank you all who have supported me already and those who are continuing to support me while I am over there. May the Lord bless you for your giving hearts to serve Him!

For any of you that feel led to support me while I'm in Uganda, please send your support to Ukiah Bible Church with my name on the memo section of the check, with a note specifying CHM (Christopher House Ministries). Please note that all donations are tax deductible
2140 Arroyo Rd
Ukiah, Ca 95482

Also be sure to give me your email address so I can keep you updated on details of my trip the best I can. Feel free to send me any and all prayer requests as well, I would love to be praying for you and I'd love to know what God is doing in your life. Thank you again for taking the time to read this and thank you so much for your prayers and support.

Until next time...
Sheena

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

2006-09-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

11 days and I'm on my way!

Am I scared? No. Nervous? A bit. Exited? Yes. Prepared? ...I think so. BIBLE? Check. Passport? Check. Shots? Check. Malaria Pills? Check, Check. Pictures of all of you? Check, Check, Check, Check, Check! Advice? That's where you come in! If any of you have any last minute advice for me; I am all ears! I know a lot of you are missionaries, a lot of you have traveled out of the country and most of you know me and can imagine the emotion that is going on with me and my family...so if you have any words of wisdom, I would love to hear it! :)

Spiritually, the Lord and I are hand in hand entering this new chapter of my life! My trust is completely in Him and I am confident in His plans for me and I am so excited and ready to serve!

Prayer Requests:
-My parents...to draw near to the Lord while Im away!
-Draw closer to the Lord every day!
-Preparation in being away from loved ones
-Stay healthy while we are there
-Connect with the people in Uganda, develop healthy relationships
-Safety in travel
-Last minute packing
-Financial Support...I still need to raise the money for living situations, it is about $13 a day.

Thank you guys so much for being a part of this ministry with me. I couldn't do it without you! I will keep you updated as the days get closer!!! :)

By His Grace,
Sheena

"Those who claim to live in Him, must walk as Jesus did!"