ATV Safari!

Dear Friends,

Well, I am going to let Jerry blog about the heavy, heart wrenching things while I keep you updated on the fun things that we are doing! Today, we rented a van with our friends, the Stubbs and went on an ATV Safari! We drove about 2 hours to Jinja, where the Nile River begins. The countryside was lush, with green vegetation everywhere. We passed through enormous tea plantations and sugar cane fields. Everything is so healthy and beautiful.

After donning what looked like WWII flyer coveralls, we safaried on 4 wheel ATVs. It felt really scary at first (OK, I speak for myself...), but we quickly got the hang of it. Everyone had their own vehicle except for 7 year old Adam who rode with his dad, Brian. We followed our guide, Godfrey, and were tailed by another guide, Mawazi. Our trail ranged from a paved road to dirt to an single track trail. As we rode by villages, the children would all run out, yelling “Muzungu,” (White people) holding out their little hands for money. The area that we toured actually is doing well in part due to the tourism in the area. The community is compensated by the Tour Company for letting them use their land. Although it did feel a little bit like "Uganda Twilight Zone" as we passed several places more than a couple of times and waved at the same people, I don't know how many times. I think that the tour guides thought that we wouldn't notice!

We rode down to the beautiful Nile River and imagined Moses being placed in a basket so many miles to the North. Micah got his first long awaited taste of fresh sugar cane. He would chose it over chocolate any day!

As we left, we stopped at a little road side stand for "Chapati," a delicious tortilla-like snack. Jerry even bravely took a bite! The rest of us gobbled them up! It was great to have a day of recreation and we felt so privileged and blessed to be able to have this time Brian, Susan, Ben, Luke, Bryce and Adam.

See the "ATV Safari" slideshow to the left.

Love, Cathi

Well, Well, Well

water tank.JPG
Originally uploaded by jcvonrtw

The children's home is now a breeding ground for learning! My first adventure was to fix a broken well. Not having much luck with wells in the past...(see Mozambique), I was a little apprehensive to jump into this project. Two of the older boys from the home(and many little ones) came out to assist me in this endeavor. In this process, I would teach and learn as we started in. My first learning was a few Luganda words like, stick, move a little, well, and love. I told the boys to carefully watch and help as we tore apart the well, then put it back together. As in all my days in Africa, the process took longer, and was an exercise in trial and error. But in shortly over an hour, (I thought it would take five minutes! What was I thinking!), we successfully had an operational well, that pumped good fresh water! I deemed both older boys the "keepers of the well", giving them the responsibility to fix and maintain the well for the future.

In the photo, you may say, "Jerry, that is not a well!" I know, Cathi was busy with the children and only clicked a photo of me working with the boys to install a new water storage tank. This will bring much needed water to the laundry area, latrines, and to the kitchen. The boys and 10 shovels successfully dug two hundred feet of trench in just under an hour! I stood dumb-founded at their ability to work! I wish I had a work crew like this at home! We are teaching the boys different construction skills as well as integrating school subjects (i.e. math, science, and health) in the process.

As the projects get accomplished I am reminded of why I am here... I am here to serve, but first and foremost, I am here to love. There are many opportunities here in the children's home to love.

Remember the children,

Jerry

Solutions?

Hi Friends!

Yesterday, I had a wonderful talk with a young man. He started the conversation by telling me he is "born again", that is how they distinguish between a true believer and a "cultural Christian". I asked about his life and he told me his mother had left him and his brother, when they were young. He was raised by his father...very unusual in this culture. His father passed away in 1999, when Ben had one year left of high school. Friends took him and his brother in, paid for Ben's tuition, and he graduated. For the last 4 years, he has been on his own, living alone, and trying to make it. It is so sad...he is only 21 years old! He is a such a nice kid. I asked how much he earns here at the market, he told me...$55 a month! (And I can't even afford to stay in Kampala!) He works 12 hour days/7 days a week and has NO days off! He lives in fear of losing his job, because employment is so scare. My heart is broken! He is only 6 years older than my son... just a kid. There is so much need in Africa, very overwhelming, and hard to discern who to give to...

Is there hope? Is there a solution? I thought maybe On Belay Ministries could start up "micro-franchises." Utilizing local labor, local resources, we provide the capital to start small businesses around Africa. Have a repayment plan in place, then after the debt has been paid, the "franchisee" takes over the full business and profits. Is this even feasible?

Food for thought...

Jerry

Finding Hope...

The day started out with thunder and lighting, followed by a torrential rain storm. I rose to shower, to find out there was no hot water! Later in the morning I also learned our "hot water" is run by solar power... Hmmm... does the water get warm when there is no sun? I don't think so!

We headed out to the Hope Children's Home today. When the Land Cruiser finally made the potholed, rain rutted trip, we were greeted by dozens of small children. Each of them grasping for my hand and telling me their name.

The land is lush with vegetation, water was abounding more than usual because of the rains, and the property was a red clay lake. However, this didn't distract the kids. They wanted to hold hands and play.

I was a little overwhelmed by the attention of so many little ones that I decided to quickly go to work. I surveyed the building, the elevations, the flows, and most of all, took careful inventory of all the eyes watching me.

As I spoke to one of the older boys, he informed me that the well was not operational. So, he and I and a dozen other children dashed to the well. I inspected the problem and determined that it was an easy fix... the only caveat is "we are in Africa", which means a simple 10 minute job will take you all day. One of the missionary boys (Ben) made a phone call to his dad and located tools, but the project will have to wait until Thursday. Then I set out on the task of measuring the home for rain gutters and pipe for a water storage tank. This took a little creativity in a sense, because I had several of the young men and boys congregating around me and the tape measure. They all helped in this "measuring and materials estimating" process! We measured the building, I wrote down the measurements in the dirt with a stick, and I had the boys adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. They were terriffic! One young man (Frank) was an ace at mental math, calculating the answer as I was writing it down! And another young man Fahad, did the measuring and calculations with me, showing a real aptitude for construction. Of course in the middle of all this estimating and measuring, we did have to stop for lunch. We ate a delicious lunch of rice and beans, followed by a cup of hot tea. Then we went back to work. We evaluated the rest of the property for drainage, assessed the possibilities for a water storage tank, located an appropriate place to install a hand-washing station for the latrines, and surveyed an area for a french drain. On Thursday... let the work begin!

"I have found hope in the eyes of small children, while wiping away my own tears."

Jerry

the artists.JPG
Originally uploaded by jcvonrtw

And from Cathi: I was blessed to do some of my favorite things today. We got out some crayons and paper and had a whole slew of artists madly drawing away, each one carrying his or her finished masterpiece for my approval. Then out came the books and I got to read to a very loving and appreciative crowd with promises of more books and art on Thursday. I can't wait!

Jess and Micah were off the minute we climbed out of the car. Jess was greeted by all his friends who had met him in June. They were so happy to see him and so amazed that he remembered their names! Of course they all wanted to meet his little brother.

Uganda!

Arriving in Kampala reminded me of Mozambique, crowded streets, bad traffic congestion, and the poor everywhere my eyes turned. It was overcast, damp, and humid. Prices here in Kampala are outrageous! Rent is three times what we pay in the States! Food prices are very high and selection is limited. The city has a diesel cloud hovering about it, due to the cities utilities are run by diesel generators. The Department of Transportation would have job security here, for decades, as the streets are so badly potholed. The traffic rules here are very unique. Cars and motorcycles (boda-boda) speed by on either side of the road, and as a pedestrian, run for your life, has a new meaning!

With all that said, the people are warm and friendly… but not at first glance! They look at you sternly or give you this blank stare, you know like your speaking a different language, but once you break the ice with them they are very warm.

The work ahead is daunting, not in scope, but just because this is Africa. The African’s here have a different pace. I’m not saying lazy or slow, just different. Locating items, standing in line, waiting on people, are all part of everyday life. Plus, it is so expensive! You can never be sure if you have gotten a good deal or if you have just been ripped off!

So, tomorrow it is off to work at Hope Children’s Home, setting up a rain water collection tank, building a fence, grading for drainage, fixing the bathrooms with a hand washing station, and of course… LOVING ON KIDS!

Thanks for keeping up on our blog!

Jerry

Lots of goodbyes!

Sadly, we have said goodbye to our Muizenberg YWAM family and the family of believers from the church in Mfuleni township. We miss them very much already. We felt so welcomed and encouraged. Cape Town was truly a breath of fresh air.



One evening, our friend Gabriel hosted us at his house for an authentic African meal. Yum! He is a great cook; we had chicken, beans, vegetables, tomato sauce and our favorite, Paup (I’m sure I spelled that wrong, we pronounce it “pop.” It is an African staple, made of maize meal and cooked so that it is the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. Very filling. You wad it up and dip it in the sauce.) At Gabriel’s house, our countries of origin included Zambia, Nigeria, Camaroon, Burundi, Togo and the US. It was great to sit around after dinner and swap stories.

How to sum up our time in South Africa? Refreshing! We learned a lot about YWAM and the history of South Africa. We spent time with some amazing pastors and believers in the townships. Mostly, we were welcomed into an incredible family of believers.

We are so blessed.

Cathi

Cape to Cairo

Hello Friends!

This morning I had the privilege of meeting with two leaders of South Africa. They have a passion for training the youth here in Cape Town. Their vision is to “plant the seed” here in Cape Town, and duplicate the training model to all of Africa.

The dream is to start a training center in all of the surrounding communities, raising up African leaders, who then would go out the communities to train those in the townships. Also, part of the dream is to start a sports academy to reach out to the younger generation to model, coach, and mentor the youth, (similar to the States Boys and Girls Clubs). The third dream is to start an orphanage for those youth who have lost their parents or have been abandoned by them, so there would be a clean, dry place to live where they could receive the necessities of living as well as education.

This model is what they would like to duplicate here in all of South Africa, with anticipation to reach all of Africa. The paperwork to set up a NGO is in place and will be completed shortly. Our African brothers and sisters only need our help to train them in ways that they can teach training to their communities.

Food for Thought,
Jerry