She Chose Life

WHOA, it is good to be back in Uganda! I have had a blessed and busy past few weeks! I have to share this with you all, it has really rocked my world!

Pictured here is Sidonia Atei. She is a mother living with HIV enrolled in our HIV Vulnerable Groups. I remember her from one of my first days treating patients in Uganda back in 2006. We treated her for many months with no improvement. We then encouraged her to go get tested and found that she was positive. In addtion, a few of her children also tested positive. Last fall she came to me crying and told me that she was pregnant and asked me to perform an abortion for her. She said this baby had to be a curse because first of all she already has a hard time providing for her many other children and secondly she thought the baby would have HIV and die at a young age. She cried and cried as I told her of God's love for both her and this unborn child knit together in her womb. (Let me note that it takes alot for a woman to cry here in Uganda.) So that day she agreed to keep the baby and to trust God. We prayed and she dried her tears and began smiling again. That day my heart was so broken and the entire drive home from the camp I was thinking of ways we could practically show these women that their babies are not a curse but a blessing from the Lord and that He has a plan for each one of them, even if they test HIV positive in the future.
So upon my return, her shining smile was the first thing I saw. She ran to the vehicle and hugged me back and forth many times while doing the wonderful high pitched hollar that all the women do here. She even started praising the Lord and dancing. All the other women joined in. She then handed me her healthy fat baby that had been born early December. I held the baby and we all cried (and the baby blessed me by urinating on me as usual) and praised God. She then told the entire Vulnerable group the story about how I told her to keep the baby etc. What a blessing it was for me that day to be able to give her the first blanket made by the women in America and tell her that women so far away were praying for her and the baby. WHOA!!!! I cry just thinking of it now. God knew how special that day would be! The baby had been wrapped in a dirty towel full of holes. The mother was so proud of her new blanket and her new baby! I was proud too that my God was so big; big enough to plan all of this and big enough to dry the mother's tears and give her a healthy, fat baby. We then all prayed for the baby and asked God to protect it from HIV. Keep praying and keep making blankets for these little ones!!

MUCH LOVE,

Shau

YOUR PRAYERS WILL HELP

(By Jack):

It's a day of happiness again. This was the day we picked Sharon and Morris from their village call Anyomolec in Otwal, Oyam district, Northern Uganda. Both are orphans living with no hope for the future. Their parents pass away since four years ago. Morris was One year old by then. No education for them, Sharon tried schooling for one year but she couldn't continue due to sickness and domestic problem. She takes care of her younger brohter Morris. Cooks for their own, walk Morris about 6km to Otwal health centre where we have our doctor whenever he is sick. They are so lovely kids that one can't stay without the other. They don't have parental love, Can you and I love them and bring back hopes in to their livies?
They need our prayers, Sharon has cronic cough which has not responded to drugs for long.
Thanks to all the GRI staffs for the help they are giving to these kids.

PRICELESS update

(by Jolene):

The follow up for the PRICELESS program is in full swing. It has been extremely challenging figuring out how to incorporate a follow up program that will work for such large numbers of students at a time. The goal has been something sustainable and continuous that the graduates can use as a source of encouragement and reminding.

For the first couple/few months, the students are working in smaller groups on dramas for a competition that we will host at each school as the students are ready. The students were challenged to remember as much of the curriculum as possible and create a relatively short drama to represent everything they learned. The competition will be judged based on how much content they were able to capture, how many in the group participate, and how good the drama is overall.

The hope is that, through the weekly meetings, the kids will build stronger relationships with each other to form accountability relationships and since the topic of abstinence will continually be brought up, it will cement their commitment. The teachers go from group to group to help them as they are working on their dramas as well as to share some encouragement from the Bible and pray with each group. Hopefully the continuing contact with the teachers will help the students feel safe and comfortable enough with the teachers to go to them if they are ever in a tough situation. Also, the more exposure to The Word the better.

Since the weekly meetings are essentially chaotic by design, it has been difficult to gauge how successful the meetings really are. I have been around to observe the follow up at 4 of the 6 schools. One of the teachers is really struggling and I am having a hard time figuring out what to do about that. The rest of the teachers are having a great time with it and say the kids love it. After doing the observing, I believe it. The dramas are coming along quite well. The kids are remembering even some of the obscure facts that they learned and are finding really fun ways to incorporate them. I am SOO impressed!!

Another unintentional outcome is that a lot more students are hearing the PRICELESS message than the ones who have completed the program. As the students are practicing their dramas, groups of other kids from the school are forming around them completely absorbed in the dramas ... and we haven't even started the competitions which the community will be invited to watch.

I am excited about how things are going. Thanks so much to Marianne and Bethany for working so hard on a solid curriculum that the kids found interesting enough to remember!!! Many prayers of thanks for the wonderful teachers that I have to work with. And many prayers still to be offered for continuing to find programs that keep the students active without causing too much activity on the part of teachers/muni.

A New Day: update on Sharon & Morris

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 Praise God that the hearts of Sharon and Morris are now filled with hope! The children are staying with the mother of one of our field staff, Bonny, and are quite joyful! After hearing of their situation, Bonny's mother offered to keep the children with her, even for an entire year, to prevent the children from returning to their grandmother. Praise the Lord for He hears our cries...never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5b Wes and Jackson continue to work on gathering the necessary paperwork for the children's application to Otino-Waa orphanage. It appears that the next section of housing at the orphanage will be completed in a couple of months allowing space for more children. Sharon is currently on new medication for the tuberculosis and cannot be accepted into Otino-Waa until she is "in the clear" regarding the TB...we assume that would be in a couple of months. So, it looks like the timing is perfect, however there are many children being assessed for acceptance into the orphanage. We need to continue to pray for God's hand in the situation.
Again, thank you for your prayers! Sharon and Morris are like two new children now...smiles never-ending. (The pictures were taken at their new home).
Love to you all, Keira

MacGyver

Okelli is our mechanic/driver, and a good one at that. In order to keep our operations going smoothly, he is out working on the vehicles nearly every day to ensure we won’t break down out in the bush. And he always does it with a great attitude, despite potentially frustrating situations. As many of you already know, we must travel about an hour and a half each way to get to the villages where we work. As a result our GRI vehicles take a beating on these roads, which are more like battle zones. He works tirelessly into the evenings maintaining and repairing everything from tires to engines, often with minimal tools. I liken him to MacGyver who can fix almost anything with chewing gum and duct tape. The other day, Okelli was able to repair a leaking radiator with chunks of soap and water, which enabled us to get home from the field. Thanks to Okelli, our ministry to the people of Apac and Oyam districts can continue each day. Hats off to you, Okelli!

Wes

I wanted to bring a “lighter note” to the table in hopes of making people smile a little. On Sunday Jolene, Wes and I headed over to one of the schools here in town to play some basketball. We waited until 6:00pm in attempts to avoid the heat…yeah right…can you see our red, sweaty faces?! We ended up in a game of 4 on 4 with some Ugandan guys (one of them we adopted onto our team). Initially, these guys laughed when we challenged them to a game and no one wanted to be on our team: 3 munos (2 of them girls). But, about ¾ of the way through, the other team substituted out 3 of their guys due to fatigue! We three had our “A” game on for sure…passing, defending, making shots from outside and inside with guys up in our face! It was awesome. They gave me the nickname "killer." They underestimated our mad skills! At the end, we beat them 15 to 5. It felt SO incredibly good to be physically active again…and then we went and pigged out at Lillian’s :) The picture was taken after our game - you're scared, aren't you?
Just to give you a heads up – I tend to create random ways to self-entertain…therefore I have scheduled a “cow-riding” at Bonny’s tomorrow afternoon. Bonny keeps laughing at the idea telling me that his cow will take off into the bush with me. My defense – I don’t think I’ll die, ha! So, tomorrow it is! We’ll see how it goes (his cow is named “notorious B1G”…you read it right…that’s a one not an ‘I’). Ha Ha!
Greetings to you all! ~Keira :O)

Jesus Loves the Little Children

I couldn't help but sing this song as we were driving back to Lira from Anyomolyec with Sharon and Moses (sharon's little brother). Sharon wasn't feeling very well and was riding with her head in my lap. When we picked them up on Monday they were both very quiet and subdued. Not the case anymore! Sharon's little body is still sick and weak, but the two of them have completely lit up! It is so great to see her smile and to hear Moses laugh...it is so contagious :) However, we must continue to pray. Sharon's grandmother had continued to make Sharon do the cooking, fetching water, caring for Moses, etc despite her illness and failing body. We have plans to talk with some friends here in Lira who have an orphanage, but we do not know if there are openings or if the children meet the criteria. Even if they are accepted, they will have to return home with their grandmother for a period of time. We need the process of finding a new home to be speedy so that Sharon and Moses have a future filled with hope, not suffering and heartache.
~Keira