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Stony Point Presbyterian Church
2005
A group from Stony Point Presbyterian
Church left from 
Would You Like to Participate in the Mission of Canaan Children's Home?
"What makes sponsoring a child at
June 28,
2005
Dear Friends of
We have not
received any emails from the team regarding their arrival due to power
problems at
We praise
and thank our gracious God for the safe passage of our
For the
Jim
June 28
Greetings and apologies!
I'm sorry that we have not been able to email you before now, but the electricity
in our village (Buziika) had been off, and has just
now been restored.
As I write this, it is Tuesday afternoon, getting close to 6 pm. Our trip so
far has been even more perfect than last year, and I didn't think that was
possible! Our flights were trouble-free, all of our trunks arrived undamaged, ..., and no one is having any physical trouble at all.
Thank you all for all your prayers for us - you can change all your prayers for
our travels and safety into prayers of thanksgiving because of all these
blessings we've already received.
As expected, we all were pretty tired after the long flights, drive, and all
the unpacking and organizing of materials we had to do yesterday afternoon. I
don't think any one of us remembers sleeping (or anything else) last night, but
we all woke up pretty refreshed, so I'm guessing we all got a good night's
sleep.
Although we're just in the middle of our first full day here, I still can
report a few things to you. John Anthony and Frank Crane have been doing a terrific
job of teaching - I don't know how many pastors are here, but (as we should
have known) there are many more than the 30 or so we were told to expect.
Apparently many of the pastors who attended the conference last year told their
friends and co-workers, and so we are already out of room in the chapel
building. If the numbers continue to grow (as they always do), I'm not sure
what we'll do tomorrow. Isaac actually removed many of the 
conference attendees who were not
pastors, youth workers or medical trainees. We set up a separate
"conference" for them on the spot. These are always the kinds of
problems we love to have.
Beth Sears and Laura Lehman started their Bible study for the workers here
at the orphanage. They probably had (I'm guessing here) 25 people - far
more than last year. As far as I could tell, every single worker attended.
(Emmy, your mom is a great teacher, but I'll bet you already knew that!)
Bill Anderson took a group of six to teach at a local school. Much of
this first day was more of a "get-acquainted" session. The kids asked
lots of questions about
Ed Leaton, M.D., Leah Murphy, and Katy Morgan have
started the teaching for the medical trainees. So far, things seem to be
going really well. I think they have at least 25 students, all very willing to
learn. Leah taught this afternoon (I happened to look in on them, and every
person was following every word Leah said.)
Michael Bryant and Anita Keltonic have been
teaching the youth leaders (at least 25), and again, things seem to be
going well so far. Michael thinks that over half of them came to the conference
last year. They've already been dealing with heart-breaking stories (badly
abused women, multiple wives, and a host of other things).
I don't think I would be exaggerating if I said that every single one of us on
the team already knows that they are supposed to be here. Lots of excitement,
lots of laughter, lots of cultural surprises, and lots of awe at the way God is
already working. Those on the team for the first time (Laura, Amanda, Ed, Tim,
and Christina) seem totally at home here, and look to be just as comfortable
and content here as us "old-timers".
So, all in all, a great first day. Don't misunderstand
me - as smooth as things are running, we've had a few, um, minor glitches. Nothing to big. Let's see - this afternoon a road crew has
dumped four foot tall piles of dirt all the way across the road just outside
the orphanage. Not just one pile, but maybe 25 piles (one every 30 feet or so).
We don't know why. Not even crossable with a Land Rover, so transportation is
going to be a little tricky for a while.
Also, we've been told that the area banks will no longer take
In future days, I'm sure that those writing to you will have a lot more to
report - after all, we're just getting started! As in previous years, this will
be my last email for a while. Our hope is that you'll be getting one email from
a different team member every day.
Please continue to pray for each one of us on the team as we all have different
jobs and tasks to undertake during our time here. Pray for the hearts of those
we are working with, and pray that in each and every thing we do, God will get
the glory.
For the
John Keltonic
June 29
Dear Family & Friends,
It is not everyday that I
get asked what a young man with two wives should do with them when he gets saved.
(My answer, if you are wondering, was that I am blessed with but one very
beautiful, wise wife & that I would email him the correct answer as soon as
I get home & ask her.) Other than having to wrestle with a few culturally
sensitive moral dilemmas, our first day on-the-job has been a very fine
one.
Both John Anthony & Frank Crane got us off to a very good start with some
outstanding teaching. John was especially effective - the fruit, I think, of
his experience as a teacher last year. (Frank, when you read this I want you to
know that I think you were really, really "especially effective" too
& I'd still like to keep my job.) Most of the pastors that attended last
year have returned (an answer to one of our prayers) & some have brought
colleagues & friends. John's lessons on the Church & Frank's on
Biblical Marriage are scratching where many of these pastors itch. They are
already eager to take what they have been learning to their
congregations.
The small group times were very energetic & productive. The small-group
format is something Ugandans are not very familiar with & last year it took
some extra time, training & encouragement to get them going. But today, we
hit the ground running & the thoughtful & lively exchanges helped to reinforce
& apply the lessons. Anita & I led the youth small groups. Frank's
lesson on marriage provoked a most interesting discussion with the young male
youth workers. Tim & Colin sat in on that one.
Bill, Amanda, Molly, (Chris)Tina, Colin, & Megan
visited a nearby school. It is a very poor school & today's cultural
enrichment was a special treat. The team spent an hour observing classes &
then spent the next two hours presenting lessons. Bill gave all the kids an A+
for their work today. They will be in several other schools over the next four
weeks teaching and learning many lessons. Tim shot some video at the school
(& throughout the day) that I am very much looking forward to seeing. There
is so much going on that it's impossible to take it all in.
Last year, Beth met with in a small group setting with some of the orphanage
staff to teach & encourage them. It went so well that Pastor Isaac insisted
that almost all the staff attend this year. Laura was also added to the group.
At our team meeting tonight she reported that she was very blessed to meet the
staff & to hear some of their testimonies.
The medical team (Ed, Katie, & Leah) also got off to a good start. They
are teaching disease prevention to health workers from the local churches &
communities. Ed reports that Leah & Katie showed much poise as they
fielded questions related to female health issues from a Christian perspective.
He was happily surprised to discover the very high level of commitment to
community health that his students demonstrated.
Late in the afternoon, the Canaan Children's
Between the Children's Bible Club
& Mama Rebecca's most excellent dinner we slipped into "town" for
a quick shopping trip - Tuesday is market day in Buziika.
We encountered many people from the village who were quite curious about our
presence. Leah purchased several bracelets and I made a phone call home (I was
happy to learn that Josh got himself a summer job - Way to go, Josh! But I must
confess that hearing his voice made me very homesick. This is the shortest
& longest two weeks in the year.)
After dinner we had a short team meeting to sort out the crisis de jour - the
Ugandan banks don't like about half the cash we brought over & won't give
us as favorable an exchange rate as we had planned for (it has something to do
with their strong preference for new bills). We also thanked God for the
blessings de jour & prayed for tomorrow. It was a tender & somewhat
tearful moment when we considered John's scheduled departure for ...[his trip]. But our prayers are full of faith &
confidence of in God's faithfulness. We all anticipate his safe return from a
fruitful adventure.
The day ended with an hour of kicking up dust with the kids & staff in
the
And with that, it's one down & ten to go (but who's counting?) Thank you
for your generous support & continued prayers. And thank God for the
work He is accomplishing here.
In His Love,
Uncle B
(Michael Bryant)
P.S. so sorry for typos & stupid mistakes. please
forgive me. I am way tired and this computer doesn't have stupid-check. I trust
that you will get the idea.
June 29
Greeting to everyone from
The last twenty-four hours
have had some challenges. I know Michael mentioned the situation with the money
exchange in the last email. Almost half of our cash was dated prior to 2000 and
the banks are no longer accepting money with those dates. When they do exchange
it it is at a much reduced rate. Well today Pastor
Isaac was able to have the money exchanged in Jinja
and at a relatively good rate. That is a real item for praise and thanks to
God. We thought last night it would take a trip to
Another item of praise -
Anita received a call from John as we were eating supper. John Keltonic has arrived safely ... and says that while the
greater area is not safe, he feels safe where he is and has the necessary
housing and other items to be safe while there.
Please continue to keep him
and Anita especially in your prayers.
The pastor training
sessions have been going well. Frank and I have been impressed with how well
the material we are presenting has been received. I was concerned about having
applications that fit the culture here in
I have not had an
opportunity to see any of the youth pastors in their small groups but the
reports are that they are also very engaged with the teaching and are having
open discussions in the small groups. Please pray Michael and Anita as they
work with these youth worker and pastors.
The Bible club had over
400 children in attendance today! It appears we may have to turn some away before the week
is out. What an opportunity to expose these young children to the Gospel. Who
know what fruit the seeds planted may bear some day.
The youth that are
traveling to local school have been both giving and receiving an education. It
is amazing to me that they are so openly received into the schools to teach. Bill
Anderson gave a school 3 text books today...the school now has 3 text books!
Bill and this team will be
at St. Moses tomorrow (the school where many from
I know the medical team
has been a blessing by the comments I have heard from the pastors who have
people in the classes ED, Katy and Leah are teaching. It is another testimony
to God's sovereignty to see how the different people on the team are meeting a
need at just the right time.
As I close I can say that
everyone is healthy and happy to be here and in service for the Lord.
Thank-you
for your prayers.
May Jesus Christ be
praised!
John Anthony
June 30
Oli otya! I
could pretend I know Lugandan but like most of the
team, I know only a few words. The flights were long, but the flight from
Megan, Colin (jaja), Christina, 
Tim, Mol, and Mr. Anderson and I
have been teaching in local schools about American culture-I can speak
for most of us in saying that many of could do this forever! We also found on
one of the bus rides to teach that I am apparently a master goat
impersonator....but don't try to make me do in back home!! CHIPOTES ARE MY NEW
FAVORITE FOOD!!!!!! you have to come have Mama's
cooking if "noth'in" else! The children
are beautiful and so innocent! My mom and I finally got to meet our
sponsor child, Dianah. She is wonderful. and her friend (the 
and both knew we were going to start
crying listening to the children belt out worship songs. 5 minutes later we
looked at one another and started crying together. Many of the girls hugged me
and said I'm sorry! We explained to them we weren't sad, but happy we were
receiving so much joy from them. Let me put it this way-I was sweaty,
exhausted, hungry for pizza and ice cream, and Unice
had peed all over me-and i was the happiest person on
earth. I could write for days, but the children are singing and I CANNOT miss
too much of it!
one last thing-I will warn you-if
anyone from the team speaks to you with a Ugandan dialect-just go with it :)
amanda oliver
Mama's turn! Well, I just
read what Amanda wrote and all I can say is... that's my girl! Once we arrived
here and started eating Mama Rebecca's food, I feel great and am having not one
health problem! The time difference had all of us floored on and off for the
last few days, but everyone is doing well. Every once in awhile one of us will
slip away for a catnap... then we're recharged and ready to go! I am so
impressed with how hard everyone on the team works. There is a real spirit
of unity, love & friendship that makes the fact that we are all living
together in one house work when it shouldn't. The 
building where we are staying is
very comfortable and we are very grateful.
I think one thing that is
hard to get used to is the level of respect and
service we are experiencing. It is hard for us from the states to have someone
wait on us with such humility... but it is a blessing they seem to want to
bestow on us. They all want you to know that they do this for all of you there
who love and care for them from a distance... they just have us here to
demonstrate it to. So I send you their greetings and love.
I have been working with
Beth with the
Bill, Beth & I also got
an extra group... there are about 25 men and women who came to the conference
that aren't Pastors, Youth workers OR Medical, but they are believers. So we
meet with them in small groups and the blessings are so obvious for all of
them... I can't believe how hungry these folks are for someone to discuss
things with them that we take for granted. Maybe they will seek each other out
from now on for support.
Bible club has been a wild
experience! It's gone well... today we had 574 kids!!! They had to sit
outside on the grass and look in the windows. We also had to get some youth pastors
to help us with crowd control... but it all went smoothly with the Lord's help.
Anita asked me to tell
everyone, especially Erin & Josh, David, Jonathan & Joel that she is
doing fine since John left [on his trip].... ( I can
promise you that's true.... because I am 
keeping a close eye on her!! :) )
John called tonight just before I sat down to write this... so he is safe and
well! Praise God!!
Last, but not least, to Jon
& Emi... Amanda & I miss you very much and are loving
you all the way from
ps. Barbara... Ed and the kids are doing great!! Tim is taking
care of himself (lots of food and naps!) and Christina is glowing! She is a
great Ugandan dancer!! :)
July 1
Hey everyone,
How wonderful it is to be back with our Canaan /
We have had quite a day. This afternoon Stella, one of the clinic nurses,
called Molly into the clinic to see a young mother, age 18, who had brought in
her 15-month old baby. She was born at the clinic in April of 2004 but she
looks like she is about 6 months old. She is malnourished and dehydrated and
has mouth sores that make eating very difficult. The mother is pregnant again,
so is unable to nurse her, and Stella did not expect the baby to live for
much longer than a week without treatment. The mom, Oliver, is afraid and
has no money to pay for treatment. Molly paid for medicine for the baby's mouth
sores and milk for her to drink. After much consultation with Pastor Isaac, the
doctor and nurses (including Nurse Katy and Leah) we have paid for Oliver
and baby to receive treatment at the clinic tonight. In the morning, Molly,
Katy, Leah and I will go in the van with Stephen (the driver) to take her to
the Jinja Children's Hospital. Please join us in
praying for both the mother and the baby.
I'm sorry this is not filled with
more information but we have had a very emotional afternoon and need to get
some sleep before getting up early to go to Jinja. We
want to let everyone know that we are all healthy, happy and in good spirits.
We received a report from John tonight--he is making good progress with what he
set out to do.
Gwagala nnyo (We love you
very much),
Beth and Molly
P.S. Don and
Thanks for sending me with all the envelopes,
P.P.S. Hugs and kisses to Dad, Tony, Kristen, and Jessica...Miss and love you
all so so so very much
--molls
July 4
Our dear family and
friends,
Anita was floating several
feet off of the ground this evening when she received a phone call from John
reporting that all is well on the ... front. His meetings, interviews, filming,
and rescue operations are all going very well. But the best news of all is that
he plans to return to Buziika on Tuesday rather than
Wednesday. Please continue to pray for him & his safe journey. He will be
traveling through a section of
Our sad news concerns the
outcome of the case that Beth wrote to you about on Friday. Although we were
successful in our attempt to transport Oliver and her baby to the Children's
Hospital in Jinja on Saturday morning, we have
learned today that the baby has died. We have also learned that, in addition to
the malnutrition and dehydration, the baby was infected with HIV/Aids and that
Oliver & her husband are also infected. Please pray for Oliver as she
grieves the loss of her baby and anticipates the birth of another child. Also
please pray for our team as we wrestle with the realities of life and death in
In addition to dealing with
these things, we have spent our weekend enjoying a very special music
program presented by the children of Canaan, an afternoon of shopping in Jinja, dinner out on the town (It was good to give Mama
Rebecca a break, but the food was not as good as we have become accustomed to),
worship at Canaan, Jinja, and Lordes
Meade School, and a restful afternoon at the Nile River Resort. All our spare
time has been spent loving on the kids here at
A couple of team members
are experiencing congestion, sore throat and cold like symptoms, please
continue to pray for the health of all the team members especially Frank as he
among those feeling poorly.
In His love,
Mike and John
++++++++++++++++++++
Hello from Katy and Leah.
We were supposed to send
the email last night but we were to busy having our hair put into
"fashions" so we completely forgot. So sorry! This last week was very
busy but good. Since the last time Leah was here, three yrs ago, and my self,
(Katy) six yrs ago
Katy and Leah
July 5
Hi Everyone,
All is well in 
and they plan to start a business
with it since it's the only copier in town. We also dropped off some medical
supplies in Kakira at their medical clinic.
Tomorrow we plan on teaching classes again- but this time in a different town.
We have had so much fun with the
children here- singing, exchanging African and American dance moves, and
laughing with each other. The children are so sweet and write letters that they
give to members of our team. We're all eating well and we are huge fans of the
"chapates," which are kind of like soft
taco shells. A few people have had colds, but overall everyone is fine. We've
been discovering hidden talents within our team (ask the younger members about
barn animal sounds we make, and ask Pastor Frank about his cartwheels... yes,
cartwheels). Many of us have also picked up a Luganda/British/French
accent- we don't really know what it is, but we'll be very glad to demonstrate
when we get back. We've also been asked some funny questions by the Ugandan
kids, like "Do you have soil in
We miss you mama (Barb) and
Jonny. Many Ugandans have requested that you both
come sometime soon! Hope everyone is doing well!
Love, the Leatons (Christina, Tim and Ed)
July 6
John Keltonic
returned safely from 
July 7
how I'm making this email happen. the power is out. but a generator
has been started up and I watched a live wire being connected to a plug and
insulated with cellophane, then protected from the mob of wild ones with a
brick. That's
By now you've read umpteen
letters full of superlatives about our trip. Of course, I too am delighted with
how God has blessed this trip. But, frankly, as green as the Ugandan
countryside is, it has nothing over
Today I turned over the
sexual intimacy section of my marriage talks to one the Ugandan pastors, who
did twice the job I had done last week. It seems that in one sense our role
here is to motivate these men to do what we do, helping them to see that they
can do it. It seems that very little attention has been given to marriage
issues by the pastors that we have worked with. I keep hearing that this is the
first time they have discussed intimate issues among themselves. The youth have
discussed these things freely in the past with Mr. B and Anita in the youth
meetings. But this is the first time that the pastors have gotten into the
subject. I've noticed a huge difference between the pastors John Morgan and I
worked with back in 2000 and this year's. No longer do we see tattered Bibles.
Instead they come with briefcases and notebooks and eagerly take notes. They
eagerly form into small groups and there is no scarcity of men willing to lead.
Another interesting change is that they seem much more ready to take the
leadership of their churches rather than allow their women to do all the work.
After I gingerly walked them through the Scriptures' teaching on the man's role
in church and home, one of the female pastors spoke up to affirm all that I had
said and indicated she desired the men to take a larger role. There's a sweeter
spirit among all our conferees. I haven't gotten any argumentative
questions--just eagerness to learn what the Scriptures say. That's a change.
After twenty four hours
at
Tomorrow's our last day.
Tears will flow more than ever I fear. 
It will be hard to leave not only
the
Thanks to all of you for
your support and prayers and love.
See ya
soon, Frank
July 7
As I'm writing this many
tears are being shed here in
Today was the last
conference at Lugazi II Evangel Church. Everything
went well, and all were blessed. Though it was extremely funny to me how many
pastors had cell phones, and how NONE of them turned them off while in the
conference...can't imagine what would happen if that happened in the states.
This evening we enjoyed an
ice cream party with all the kids at
We also celebrated Bill's
birthday with a cake sent by Mrs. Leaton at dinner...the
little taste of chocolate was amazing.
Our three new editions Bosco, Morris, and Brenda
are doing amazing. Besides the fact that they cannot speak Lugandan
or English you would never know that they have been through what they have.
They are adapting extremely quickly, and all are smiling and playing not only
with us, but with the other kids. There is one girl, Alice, who is 14, who is
from Gulu and can understand and remember some Acholi (the language of northern
Cissy (Mr.B
told her that I was her aunt because she is the Ellis' sponsor-a stretch yes
but we have become good friends), Ketty, and Beatrice
are trying to help me write the email...they say "thank you for the gifts
that you give us, thank you for the money that you give to sponsor us, we are
trying to work hard in class to make our future bright we are continuing to
pray for you we are praying for the children who are studying the word at stony
point church amina"
Everyone is feeling well,
those who were sick are now feeling better, those who are remaining are well,
just tired...we have a slower more relaxed schedule ahead of us. We are going
to be spending our time in between teaching at schools and visiting churches. I
have met many people that I am going to try and learn from while I am here. I
am planning on going to an infant orphanage and possibly helping out there,
working in the clinic, and maybe spending some time at the children's hospital
in Jinja.
The kids around me are singing
"I'm a fruit" one of the many songs Mr. b
has taught them, they do an amazing job at singing it. I know the Bryants would have loved to have seen Joshua do his version
of it last night.
We have heard about what
happened in
Praise God
We love and miss you all, i know the team which is coming
home is very excited to see everyone
see ya'll soon
leah (and Cissy, Ketty,
Barbra, Beatrice, Elijah)
The rest of the team left at 4 AM. We all got up and helped
them get off. Then we went back to bed. Momma made us a late
breakfast and we spent the morning with Morris, Bosco,
Brenda and Pauline. It was great to just relax with the kids. We
then went in to town and had lunch. Then it was off to finish our round
of shopping. We bought enough coffee and tea to last for some time.
We had a great time together. The five of us will be forming even tighter
bonds over the next two weeks.
I have been leading the team that has been working in the schools in the
area. We did not really know what to expect when we came. But,
there have been many blessings in his work. We have begun to establish
relationships with teachers and head masters in the area. We now have
more requests than we can fill. In
the primary schools we are presenting the gospel through using Bible club
materials. In the secondary schools we are teaching some American history
and also talking about
I have even been asked to come to one of the
primary schools to do teacher training. It will be a challenge, but the
opportunity to open this door to new relationships will be great.
Those of us that remain are all well. We
are enjoying the time with the kids. The
three from Gulu are adjusting very well. We
are trying not to spoil them, but I am not sure we are succeeding.
God is so alive here. These kids are more
of a blessing than I can even begin to tell you. One minute you are
laughing and the next minute your heart is broken again. The need is far beyond
our ability to provide. Sometimes the best we can do here is to show the
love of God.
I pray that all of you are well. Great our brothers and sisters that have returned. Be
patient with them while they try to describe what they have experienced.
But, hug them real tight. I have been proud and honored to serve God with
each of them.
A special note to
Barbara. Thanks for the cake. It was great to celebrate my
birthday early with then team before they left.
May God be with each of you.
We miss you, but God is at work. I have never been more
sure of his calling me here. It was hard to see our friends leave,
but God will supply all we need. I praise him for his strength.
See you all soon.
Bill Anderson
Hey Muzungus! What's
happening?
We heard that the rest of the team arrived
back home safely late last night. Thank you Lord! We were a bit anxious due to
the recent troubles in
We had another leisurely day hanging
around
I think I speak for the 5 of us by
saying we are very thankful and excited to be experiencing aspects of
The 5 of us are healthy and happy- praise
the Lord. Please keep the children in your prayers b/c everyday it
seems as though another is getting malaria. Another praise,
last night at supper Isaac asked us if we would like to do some cooking!!!
Immediately we began planning for several meals. I guess that's another prayer
request too- that whatever we end up cooking will be edible :)
I believe someone will be sending an email
everyday. The power goes out a lot though, so don't be worried if we miss a
day.
Gwagala nnyo!
-Molly
Sunday, July 10, 2005
hallloo, greetings from papa
Isaac and the five muzungus. oli otya?
today was been such
a wonderful sabbath for us here in
been missing you all and the
kids are asking about you every day. they send you warm greetings and many hugs
and kisses, maybe even some "sula bulungi"s. we had breakfast and then divided for
church; molly, uncle bill, and i (meg) went to papa's
church in jinja while leah
and colin stayed here at canaan
to attend the service they have. from what i heard over our lunch, both services were so beneficial
and encouraging. molly and i got to sit-in on the sunday
school class for the youth, taught by canaan's-own
secretary margaret; we taught this sunday school class last week, and it was so cool to see
how much they remembered from our lesson last sunday
on ps.71. using the beginning of romans,
margaret taught a wonderful lesson on sin. during this time, bill taught the older youth and adults a
lesson on God's grace, using galatians. after sunday school,
we enjoyed worshiping together through much singing and dancing
and waving of hands, etc. then papa preached on faith and patience,
using the story of abraham. the message
itself was so rewarding as the words spoken by isaac
(and margaret in sunday
school) both challenged and encouraged me... yet, molly and i
were even more blessed to spend our time in church beside
our dear friends, the children of pastor paul (kakhira church) -- robert
and sarah muwangala.
also, at church, we were
surprised to be joined by a family of 4 muzungus -
mum, dad, and 2 daughters (ages 6 and 8). this
family has come to jinja to serve for 3 years with
YWAM. the family plans to adopt a baby named michael from the baby home we have been in contact with. we learned that upon arriving in
after church, we met jajja ( < colin) and leah ( < pronounced "lay-uh") at a restuarant called "gately
on the nile" (?) .. anyways,
delicious food, beautiful breeze from lake victoria
(*note: NOT the nile), a few other muzungus, and chocolate cake. HEH thats
right.. we were all excited
to split a much-needed dessert today. i hear
that the message preached by pastor andrew at canaan was just as powerful (and long-winded;). papa and
our driver, steven, joined us for lunch; it's been so
much fun getting to know papa more and more. today we learned of how he and
mama rebecca met.
after lunch, leah, molly, and i headed back to
canaan while bill and jajja
went to visit his friend kalule/joshua. (( amanda o.: i am supposed to tell
here that on the way back from lunch, we stopped to get gas and ran into the
man from the airplane. you know. the chiropractor. i
think he was pleased to see leah:) )) we have spent the evening planning out the next 2 weeks
and playing with the kids. tomorrow we are all hoping
to "wash" / do our laundry and to begin formulating some sort of
organizational system for the medications of the clinic and canaan.
bosco, morris,
and brenda are so fine.. maybe
even getting into trouble because they are so comfortable. brenda and kalungi (pauline) still play all day. the
older girls are really loving on brenda also. and morris and bosco
keep each other company. they are always happy and
playing. no crying.. well
once: today bosco sobbed because the bubbles he
was playing with were taken from him BUT no worries, a bag of fruit snacks
(*sweeties*) dried his tears real fast.
winkwink;)
they're great.
i am relieved to hear the
team has arrived back safely. i
hope they are resting up now and eating well:) as i'm
typing this email.. i can
hear bill in the room next door. he has
just finished telling the older girls a story and is now singing them to
sleep. i think he has
been assigned this duty each night, wow. with
that i will say "sula bulungi" / goodnight.
we love you all and are
thinking of you often. please continue to keep us in
your prayers.
xoxo,
meg
p.s. i'm sorry if my
wording is strange. i can't
get the ugandan-english accent out of my head. (( tim / tina
/ amanda: you know what i'm
talking about. ** i
miss your sweet dance moves and spanish and laughing
at the "." signs.. leah
and i saw a great one today, i
wish i could remember what it said. ))
kale, bye.
July 11, 2005
Hello all!
Hope everyone is well in the states. We are great here, loving every
second. I guess I could start this thing off by saying hi mom, hi Meg, miss you
guys both. But on the subject of the YMCA, I got word that you guys are reading
the emails and I'm loving every second that I'm here realizing I'm not amongst
the madness...ahhh life if good.
So let me tell you a little
bit about what we have been doing here. We have been doing great
things in all the local schools, which I'm sure you all know all about already
from past emails. The kids are enjoying it, and learning about what
Let me tell you about the
awesome thing I got to do yesterday. Two years ago I met a boy at one of the
conferences here named Kalule Joshua and we became
immediate friends. We have been emailing these past two years and I finally was
able to see him the other day. He invited me to his house, and yesterday I
found myself walking into a salon, going to the back, squeezing through a small
space in between the wall and a refrigerator, down a couple of stairs into the
heart of Joshua's mother's home. It's not much but it's
home. It was an amazing honor to meet his mother, she was so grateful for the
friendship and the support (money) I had brought so Joshua could finish his
education. What great people. I don't think I will forget that time for the
rest of my life.
Today was a good
day. It was the last "free" day before the teaching week starts. Much
of the day was spent by Meg, Molly, and
Leah hand washing all their clothes, haha that
was a site to see. Also we inventoried all the medical supplies
we brought for the clinic. The problem is that we do not have any place to store the
medicine. So I got the great pleasure of going to town with Uncle
Godfrey who is the Administrator of Canaan. We went to the carpenter to check
prices. It was great because afterwards I got to go to the
"supermarket" which allowed me to get "ice cream" for my
dad's birthday, which was today. We cooked food for his birthday too; Velvita shells and cheese, garlic bread, beef,
and fresh Ugandan bananas and pineapple. It was sooooo
good to have cheese, even if it's processed. Once Godfrey and I finished at the
supermarket we had to take public transportation back (the taxi bus). That was
something interesting! Think about a
Well I must leave you all
now, as it is getting late! I hope that you enjoy reading this email as much as
I enjoyed writing it! Can't wait so see you all soon. Love you all. Hugs
and kisses from all the eighty SEVEN kids here in Canaan Children's Home. Sula Belungi
(Good night) from Buziika
-Colin Anderson,
the now team baby...miss you Amanda!!!
wow. i cant believe it's already my turn to write again. bill told me to send the email so here i
am trying to think of what we did today. each time one
of us goes to write the email we say, what do we have to talk about? b/w the 5 of us we are able to come up with everything we
did that day.
today seemed to last forever.
leah got up a little earlier
than the rest of us to go to
bill, colin, meg and i rode to lords meade vocational college this morning. it
is a secondary school where 5 kids from
i had a lot of fun with
these kids today, especially once we opened it up to questions. here are some of the questions they asked: why are americans so crazy about junk food? do
teachers cane the misbehaving students, why do so many people carry guns in
we had a lovely dinner as
always, thanks to mamma. she is taking really good
care of us. papa did not join us though, b/c he was
experiencing some indigestion. megan
shared her mylanta with him, so he should be better
by morning. even though we are all tired, we look
forward to spending time with the kids each night. bill
and colin have been hanging out in the older girls'
dorm telling them stories. i
usually spend my evenings with the little ones. last
night i was able to help several of them with their
homework- basic grammar. i dont think i would be able to
help the older kids though b/c their work is too advanced for me!! :) well, obviously i found
plenty of things to write about. sorry about the lack
of caps and probably tons of grammatical errors, im
just too lazy to care about them right now. hope
everyone is doing well in the states.
thank you for all your
thoughts and prayers. and like megan
said in her email, please send encouraging words and news from home!!!! we are all tired and hearing from you all perks us up a
whole lot!!!!
sula bulungi
-molly (marin)
This email will be short due to the frequent
power outages, just thought id try to get one in.
Today was a good day, like all days here in
After another amazing lunch by mamma we went to lordes meade
school, where i sat in and kinda
of participated in a discussion of culture led by miss megan.
She did an awesome job. Bill and i took another
beautiful walk back from the school, along lake victoria...Bill has decided that he wants to buy a
particular lot of land that sits on a hill with a view of the lake. The problem
is it is owned by the president of
After returning megan and molly and i rode
in the back of the truck to pick up the kids from st.
moses school, along with us we took Bosco one of the new kids, who is doing amazing.
Today he recited the american
alphabet to molly, and we are all realizing that he knows a lot more than we
give him credit for. The other night he was doing math problems in chalk
on the floor.
Molly and megan
and I are having so much fun together, we made dinner the other night for bill's
birthday and have plans for two more meals. We are also planning on attempting
to make cookies and kettle corn for the kids. we also
have a sleepovvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeer!!!!! scheduled for saturday night in
the older girls room-no boys allowed.
I am being called into the middle aged
girl's room to do my now nightly "flick" story telling, so far i think they like a walk to remember the best....
Love ya'll
Leah
Good evening to all from
I just realized that I had not assigned anyone
to do an email for today. It is 10:20 so this one will be a short
one. We have had a good day today. It was a relaxing one. We
finished our shopping in Jinja.
There has been so much going on. We have
been busy but at the same time we have relaxed
and tried to slow our pace since the others of our team left. We have
been spending time at