Saturday, December 30, 2006

The second half of our team arrived safely in Uganda late Thursday night. Doug, Anya, Leisha, Dana and I (Erin) have all adjusted fairly quickly to the time change, and we are enjoying our brief stay in Kampala. During our layover in Nairobi, we were able to meet up with Nate and Josh who were on their way back home. It was great to see them and to hear about their experiences traveling through northern Uganda and southern Sudan.



Between riding Boda-bodas around town, we have met with Susan Tabia and Ezbon Wudu, our partners from IWASSRU who work in Uganda and Sudan. Susan keeps eight orphans in her home in Kampala. Most are children whose parents have died from AIDS, so she keeps them with her while they wait to be tested. Meri was able to complete sponsorship profiles on those children, and we enjoyed a delicious meal of “complicated meat” (meatballs) and vegetables.

We will head to Eldoret, Kenya tomorrow morning. Please continue to pray for us as we learn from the partners, experience the culture, and strengthen relationships with our friends here.
Trip to Sudan (2 of 2)
Toward the end of the week we began to wrap up the profiling and interviews of the children and staff and prepared for the Christmas celebrations. Even though Sudan has no electric grid and no Internet and very few computers, the staff made invitations somehow and invited many church and government leaders to share in the fun.


We visited the leper colony at Magiri - just north of Kajo Keji - and delivered the news that there would be assistance coming soon from donations for their medical conditions. The men, women, and children were very grateful. We are figuring out how to work with the local medical staff of Sudan to enable a proper diagnosis and distribution of the medication. Lyla, Josh, Meri, and I took profiles and Nate took photos.

Back at the orphanage Meri continued to design paper chains and other decorations with the kids. She had quite an assembly line of Christmas crafts being created at various spots!

We also spread back out into the community to give donations to some of the most needy widows and lepers that we met. I personally delivered some goods to Peter Jibi (see part 1) the old leper with very little assistance or hope. We rode up with a bike and began unloading sugar, beans, tea, vegetables and other goods (donated through the Christmas leper pack with Lahash). I think Peter couldn't really believe his eyes. He waited until we explained what we had brought, and then he erupted in "Tinate! Tinate! (thank you, thank you!) and curled up in his little chair in happiness clapping his diseased hands and showering his blessings on us. It made my day to experience the joy that he got from the little gift of basic food items.


Christmas Day was really amazing. We woke up and headed out to church at a local assembly. The majority of the people sat under a mango tree and we sang praises and heard a Christmas sermon. The four hour service was a tad long for our group from America, and toward the end we were given a chicken as thanks for visiting the church.

We hiked back to the orphanage and we got ready for the Christmas program. The kids did several songs, we heard several speeches from the local leaders, and also had a chance to share our hearts with the people.

The staff had butchered a bull on Christmas morning (that Meri and Nate woke up to watch) and the meat was served to the kids as a special Christmas treat. Our staff was able to part in some of the serving of the food.


After the Christmas program we had a Amazing Grace Vs. St. Bartholomew soccer game that ended in a nice little happy draw.

We drove back on the 26th to Adjumani after a quick goodbye to the kids at St. Bartholomew's. We ended up misplacing 2 of our trunks, so one of the staff kindly went back to Sudan to collect the items.

The morning of the 27th we left Amazing Grace to head back to Kampala's capital. It was the hardest times of leaving those kids. We had been with them for two weeks, and many of us were crying as we said goodbye.

As we arrived at the bus station we found that a bus was broken down, so two buses worth of passengers had already crammed into the bus we were supposed to take. We ended up bargaining to ride in the back of a cement dump truck half of the distance, and then boarded another bus in Gulu town (where Invisible Children has their headquarters). The transportation is so bad here, it's practically half of the journeys where we break down. This was one of those little patience building exercises where we sat in the hot sun as they took off a broken belt and replaced it before traveling on.

We arrived in Kampala (the capital of Uganda) tired and exhausted in many different ways. We had seen a lot, and the day had been very long. We had a quick sleep before picking up a few items around town and seeing Josh and Nate off at the airport.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006


Trip to Sudan (Part 1 of 2)
There was a lot that went on during our time in Sudan, so I'm going to relate our story in two parts. This was the first part of our week there.


We left Amazing Grace Orphanage early in the morning last week. We decided to transport all of the orphans in Uganda in the program there to the orphanage in Sudan for Christmas. Susan wanted them to see their homeland and many of them hadn't been back since the war or since they were infants. The trip was long, hot, and dusty. We had over 40 people packed in the truck, and it was fairly tolerable until we reached Sudan - then the roads became one continuous pothole! We stopped for some fresh mangos just across the border. The trees there are loaded with more mangos than could ever be harvested, and sitting under the trees we felt the drips of the yellow fruit and often we'd have to dodge dropping mangos.

St. Bartholomew's orphanage is a sister orphanage to Amazing Grace. There are currently 43 children living there and 9 staff taking care of the place. The kids there are younger and very adorable and innocent.

Our activities at the orphanage were really similar to those at Amazing Grace - taking care of ailments, profiling the kids, taking photos, and getting to know the organization better. Sudan felt hotter during the days but cooler in the evenings. One morning I actually woke up and put on my sweatshirt - no snow showed up for Christmas week though.

While we were at the orphanage we also made rounds in the area visiting the lepers and aged widows of the region. The photo below is of Susan looking at Leya Poni's badly damaged leprous legs.

Leya Poni was profiled on the blog earlier this year, and a friend from Texas decided to help her construct a home. While we were in Sudan they were putting up the walls to the home, and Leya was so happy and grateful for the gift of a new home. She currently lives in her daughter's kitchen. Lyla worked on getting a wheelchair for her and we donated some lotions and other gifts to her.


The photo below is of Peter Jibi. Peter is a man in his 60's who has suffered with leprosy for nearly 50 years. His hands and feet were missing digits, and he was in a very desperate condition. He and his wife had lost 6 of 7 children to disease, and the wife ended up going mentally unstable. He sat under a tree with no way to provide besides the little care that his daughter gave him. We spent time listening to his story and then prayed for him.


Back at the orphanage we continued to collect as much information that we could about the children's home. I did some podcasts (which will be broadcast next year) Meri worked with our new Sudan Child Sponsorship director Chaplin Duku on writing letters and getting to know the kids. Chaplin is a widower with a huge heart for kids. We were all really impressed with his love and tenderness for the kids. He would hold bible studies in the mornings and would treat wounds and play volleyball. He seemed like a perfect match for the program.

Nate continued to take hundreds of photos, and worked on a orphan photo project where the kids were given a camera for 24 hours to record the details of their lives. We are eager to develop these disposable cameras and see how they turned out.

Toward the middle of the week, Josh began preparing the kids for a Christmas play, and we were all given our Sudanese outfits that were created by the widows of Southern Sudan.

So that's part 1 of 2 of our trip to Sudan - I'll write more later on our experiences.

Tonight Josh and Nate fly back home to the U.S., and the rest of the team (Leisha, Erin, Dana, Doug and Anya) are flying into the Entebbe airport for a couple days in Uganda. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and emails! Pray for our team that we will have energy to continue in the face of huge obstacles, delays, broken down buses, and heat. Pray for the friends here that God will continue to give life on personal levels and system levels. Pray that we as Western partners will know how best to show love to each person we meet.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006



Merry Christmas!

Our lorry rolled back into town from Southern Sudan this afternoon - and I'm stopping in at the local Internet cafe to give you a little update. I'll write more soon on the details of our past week, but I'll share some highlights now:


  • We took the 27 Amazing Grace kids to meet their fellow countrymen in Sudan. All of us piled in a blue lorry (about 40 of us!) and drove the dusty bumpy ride north about 4-5 hours.

  • Sudan is under reconstruction, but the nation is so damaged. Every hut has stories of pain, sadness, illness, family deaths and destruction. You just cannot imagine the horrors that these people have had to endure. At times you feel completely overwhelmed at the missing limbs, the requests for help, the sickness, and the lack of resources. And then the next moment you feel so ashamed that you've ever complained about your lot in life, and feel so grateful to encounter these courageous humans who still can smile and give thanks to God. It's very humbling.

  • We were very busy over the past week treating wounds, collecting profiles, visiting lepers, hearing stories, and holding these dear orphans' hands in the evenings as the mourning doves called out in the distance and the sun dropped below the mango trees covered in dripping fruits.

  • Christmas was unbelievable. Heat most likely in the hundreds. Almost a hundred Sudanese orphans joined the local church service and then headed back for a Christmas program at the orphanage. Josh had coached the kids on a play, and we slaughtered a bull so the kids had soda and meat for a meal (which happens about once a month). The event was very well planned by the staff (although it was 3 hours late) and the chief of police, the acting bishop, the tribal chief, and many other locals came for an sweltering afternoon of dance, song, and speeches - culminating in a football (soccer) game between the two orphanages.




The short summary right now: I'm feeling very hot and tired and worn out. But I'm so grateful for the past week. God gave us safety as we traveled, and we had great meetings with so many people. The team was amazing - working through cultural differences, heat, and new surroundings to show love and care to very desperate people. The community loved them. Our hosts were so kind to us, so warm and grateful that we would spend our week with them. Every small gesture of kindness was so appreciated. And I love the orphans of Kajo Keji. Beautiful eyes and soft voices who give so much more in their innocence and love than we could ever give to them.

We'll be leaving tomorrow morning for Kampala. Please pray for all of the kids as leaving is always hard on them. Please pray that we'll have safety on the road and energy for the coming weeks. Pray that the new team traveling will make all of their connections. And pray for Sudan - the friends that we met are in our minds and hearts - I'll add some profiles here soon. But they need our prayers at this time.

Thanks to all of you - we miss you.


Monday, December 18, 2006

Life at Amazing Grace
We are leaving tomorrow morning to Sudan, and we stopped in today for a bit more correspondence before our travels. I've been taking some photos of our time here at the orphanage.

The photo above is of the boys dorm currently. Each of the kids now have their own beds, with mosquito nets. Some of the older boys also have luggage items that they take with them when they go to boarding school.


The photo above is of Lyla administering some first aid to one of the boys. After conducting extensive interviews with the kids yesterday, we found that lots of the kids are suffering from a wide range of diseases - from worms to syphilis to rashes to headaches. Lyla is working on networking with the local medical facilities to ensure these ailments are taken care of.

Our child Sponsorship director, Meri Malone, interviewed each of the kids, going over medical conditions, family history, and personal data. We'll be doing the same up in Sudan.


The photo above is of Haribi Joseph digging in the fields. I woke up early this morning and went to the Amazing Grace fields with the boys to help dig up some sweet potatoes for the day. The kids dig up the mounds and dust off the dirt, then take that in wheelbarrows to the orphanage.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Amazing Grace Orphanage - Adjumani Uganda

We made it up to the orphanage two days ago, after a long bumpy road trip by a rented van. We crammed some of our luggage and all the people into the van, and shipped the rest of supplies up by a lorry. We made it up safely, although we did loose some luggage on the road at one point when the back of the van popped open.

The kids and staff here are doing well. I played the music video that I made for them last time I was here on the iPod that I brought, and the kids watch it and listened to their music until the battery died.

Yesterday we went to a Sudanese wedding in the local church here. It was several hours long, and we came a bit late, but were ushered up to the front as the honored guests. Nate went to work taking pictures, and we enjoyed the celebration and new friends. We went to church in the same building this morning. All of the kids here at Amazing Grace attended church here.

Our plan is to head up into Sudan on Tuesday. We'll be taking the big blue lorry up North carrying the kids (all 26) and the luggage to the sister orphanage, St. Bartholomews.

We've had relatively good health so far. Josh was out some yesterday trying to recover from Stomach issues. The weather has been pretty hot as well.

The region is making good progress currently. There are still lots of UN and other NGO cars and trucks around the region, but many of the displaced people's camps are emptying as the people return home in anticipation of the peace talks occuring in Juba Sudan between the LRA rebels of Uganda and the government. Still, on the ground there is a general mistrust of the process and people have one foot in Sudan and one foot in Uganda as the various peace talks continue and the countries rebuild.







It's so wonderful to be back here at Amazing Grace! The beautiful kids are growing up, and the staff have done such a wonderful job of providing a secure home with love and discipline where the kids can mature. We played a soccer game the other day with all of the boys (and Meri), all of us are felling the soreness today. Nate played soccer with his camera wrapped around his arm, and the lens fell of partway through the game. One of the kids tapped him on the back and handed him the dirty lens! He's taped it back together with duct tape.

Thanks to all of you who've been supporting Amazing Grace. The kids are really grateful for the assistance, and are happy to find a home for these past 3-10 years. In 2002 when I visited the kids had one outfit each, many had skin rashes, and they were always on the verge of starving. Today the kids are all healthy and full of energy. The Amazing Grace kids are the stars of the local football (soccer) team.

We'll be conducting interviews and double checking profiles at Amazing Grace this afternoon. Lyla is working on plans for assisting the leper colony in Sudan, and treating minor illnesses and issues with the team and orphans. Josh is preparing and advent lesson for the time in Sudan. We'll be without internet access in Sudan for the next week, so I'll write more when we return.

Please continue to pray with us!

* Pray for the peace talks between the LRA and Government that the people will have rest and new life after war

* Pray that our team will be humble and gracious as the heat, illnesses, and new culture confront and challenge our perceptions.

* Pray for the orphans of Amazing Grace, that they will grow up loving God and loving their fellow neighbors, and that they will be the honest and upright leaders of tomorrow for Sudan

* Pray for Susan and Ezbon as they continue to face poor health each day

* Pray for our journey to Sudan that we will be safe

* Pray that our week in Sudan will be a huge encouragement to the leper colony, the staff and kids at St. Bartholomew's, and the widows.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006


Kampala, Uganda - Day 3
Things not to say at an airport while going through visa control - "Yeah, he's a time bomb!" - Meri Malone

We spent yesterday afternoon with Susan and the team from her orphan and widow association. Susan has a base home here in Kampala where she keeps anywhere from 8 to 12 orphans in her personal home. She also has several other staff with her. Most of the kids have special needs, so they stay here instead of living at the other orphanages. One of the girls is deaf, and goes to Deaf School here. Another is just two years old and was found nearly dead in northern Uganda. She was so thin, and has been nursed slowly back to health. Recently she got chicken pox from the other kids, but her spunky attitude still showed through.

While we were there, Susan also let us meet one of her friends named Dina Kasuku. Dina was married a couple of years ago, and shortly after her husband died of AIDS. Dina also caught HIV from her husband and was hospitalized with full blown AIDS. Susan showed a picture of her while she was in the hospital. She looked terrible, almost inhuman from the effects of the disease. She said she thought it was the end of the road for her.

She made a recovery with the help from AIDS drugs that a doctor provided, and returned home after several months in the hospital. But the problems where just beginning. Her husband was dead, and she had no way of earning an income. She tried to use her experience at grinding peanut butter and selling that, but all of the customers were frightened they would get the disease as well. So she was rejected, her husband dead, no income, and struggling to find hope in life.

Susan met her shortly after this and encouraged her with counseling and spoke to her about life in Jesus. Dina committed herself to the care of Christ and decided to tell people about her struggles and be open about "Slim" or HIV/AIDS. A recent gift to Susan's organization allowed Dina to pay for her rent. If anyone would like to help Dina specifically, you can write a check to "Lahash" mail it to the address on our website, and make a note that it is for Dina.

The photo below is of our team praying for Dina. She was crying as she told her story, and it touched our hearts. There are so many stories like this repeated across the region.


Please join with us in praying for our team.
* Pray that we will all remain healthy and full of energy
* Pray that Dina will find an occupation that will enable her to sustain herself
* Pray that a cure will be found for AIDS
* Pray that we will have unity and love and humility within our team and as we meet more people over the next couple of months
Greetings from Kampala
We expected to arrive here in Kampala to a dryer season, but last night we were pleasantly surprised to hear thunder and wake up to driving rain. It rained most of the morning, and this afternoon we've traveled around town.

The flights were fine, long and cramped, but tolerable. We had quick layovers in Seattle, Amsterdam, and Nairobi.

We arrived last night in Entebbe Uganda and were greeted by a smiling Susan and Ezbon. We drove to our spot at a local hostel, and faded into sleep, waking up early to meet Ezbon at the SPLA office to get our passes. Southern Sudan requires a separate passes from the rest of Sudan, so we had to pick those up.

The plan for the next couple of days will be to get ready for the journey north, and spend some time with the orphans that Susan keeps in her home. Meri will be meeting with each of the orphans to verify their sponsorship information, and Nate's been busy taking photos.

This afternoon we are headed over to Susan's place for dinner and to catch up on the past year. Thanks for joining along with us on the journey!

Monday, December 11, 2006

Heading out from rainy Portland
Our first team of 5 are heading out from the Portland airport this morning. It's rainy and cold, and most of us didn't sleep last night. Hopefully we'll get some sleep on the plane. We'll be flying through Amsterdam, and then we'll arrive in Entebbe Uganda late tomorrow evening. I'm off to the gate.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

T minus 20 hours
Our team had our final group meeting last night, we watched the outstanding AIDS film called A Closer Walk and we packed up the trunks with gifts from all over the United States for our friends in East Africa.

It includes:
  • Medical supplies
  • Shoes
  • Toys
  • Candy
  • School books
  • Clothes
  • 2 Computers, 1 Digital Camera, 1 Video Camera
These are all donations made possible by the friends of Lahash from Maine to California. Thank you to all of you. Please pray with us as we head out.

SCF Update
Nick and Dr. Oronje are preparing for the upcoming team visit, on top of their other duties. Nick recently was able to print up some T-shirts with a gift from a friend in Colorado. Dr. Oronje is modeling one for you.

Nick and Dr. Oronje also picked up the money from Imago Dei Community for the new Store that will be used to employ the ladies of Renew (our sex worker recovery program) and also provide assistance from the profits for the families struggling to survive in the face of AIDS.

One of these families is Grace Mukami. Nick sent these photos of time spent with them the other day.
The photo above is Dr. Oronje with some of the greens picked from the AIDS nutrition garden started by the nurse CarrieAnne earlier this summer. Dr. Oronje is sitting with the girls of Grace Mukami. The photo to the right is of her newest daughter.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006


Lahash Sudanese Orphan Sponsorship Program
After several months of preparation and planning, Lahash is pleased to introduce the Sudanese Orphan Sponsorship Program today! This is a partnership between the Amazing Grace Orphanage, St. Bartholomew's Orphanage, and Lahash International. It will provide the 70 Sudanese orphan kids with the following:
  • School fees, uniforms, and school materials
  • Food
  • Medical treatment
  • Shoes and clothes
These sponsorships are really amazing. They are direct assistance to a new generation, allowing them to escape the pain and hopelessness of the past - and grow up as healthy children that can dream and mature in life. The orphanages are run efficiently and the staff are incredibly honest with funds. The environment is disciplined and structured, yet full of love and compassion for these dear kids that have experienced way more than any person should ever have to experience.

Here is one of the kids that needs sponsored. Her name is Halima Rose, and she is available for sponsorship today.

Halima Rose
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Parents: Her father was a soldier in the Sudan People's Liberation Army and was killed during the war. Halima was staying with her mother who is suffering from chronic malaria and some complications in the stomach. Due to her sickness, she could not go out to collect and sell firewood to meet her family needs.
Siblings/Family Members: Two brothers
Schooling: Primary 6
Favorite Subject: English
Home Activities: Kitchen work and Farm work
Favorite Activities: Netball
Health Status: Flu and Malaria
What would you like to be? Teacher
Favorite food: Cabbage

Each kid can be sponsored for the cost of $30 per month. Please click over to the Sponsorship page and choose one of the kids today.

After filling out the form and mailing it to our office, we'll send you a full sponsorship packet and a photo of your child, and then you'll begin receiving letters from your child.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Visiting the Brewers
Alcohol abuse is a huge problem in the slums and villages of East Africa. There are rarely support services available for people to get help from alcohol addiction, and men and women often drink themselves to death and to the destruction of their families.

Another huge problem is the combination of sex and alcohol. Many times women will brew beer and provide home made brews and a sex stop for men with money.

Nick Korir and Dr. Oronje visited several brewers the other day to counsel them and talk about their decisions. They were encouraging them to look at the frightening outcomes of their work. Many times they will be too drunk to insist on a condom, and can wake up robbed of their possessions or raped. Many times women get HIV from this scenario.

They also asked the women to go get tested for AIDS.


World AIDS Day rememberances
Several members of the Local Lahash team of Portland attended the World AIDS day gathering at the Northwest Medical Teams headquarters. NWMT assembled about 3 dozen churches and faith based organizations from the Portland area for a time of contemplation and mobilization for the crisis of HIV/AIDS.

We heard from a great panel of speakers. They came from Portland, Congo, and Uganda. And they were all dedicated to raising awareness and fighting the swelling tide of AIDS head on.

It's sad, as we leave 2006, the churches and communities we are in still are not awake to the huge needs of the millions and millions around the world in desperate conditions due to AIDS. We heard speaker after speaker call out the church on its inaction to this "leprosy of our time."

And yet contemplating our weakness, we were also encouraged by the presence of so many concerned fellow Portlanders that were involved in some capacity in fighting AIDS. We were reminded again of the need to go in as learners, humble, gentle, and aware that we are so behind in fighting this war. And we were reminded of the strength of small organizations that can go in on a personal level and provide care and support in communities.

Lahash also provided the artwork for the room with our Black & White gallery.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

New Partner Websites up
Dax Mitchell, a partner living in Houston, Texas, is assisting Mama Margaret with the needs in Kibera. Recently he took on the challenge of finding critical medical care for one of the orphan boys, Shadrack Otieno. You can read more about the boy at HelpShadrack.org
And in Uganda, Tim Bata has created a new orphanage that takes care of 8 children at the moment with plans of including a couple dozen more and allowing for growth in the area of music. You can view the names and profiles of the kids at SaviorsHome.org