Amazing Grace Benefit Concert Photos

A couple of weeks ago, a friend from Washington state organized a group of bands to play a concert for the kids and staff at Amazing Grace Orphanage. Brittany did an amazing job of promoting the cause and recently sent us some photos of the event!


Brittany and a friend share a drink.
The information stand at the concert. Thanks to Brittany and all the volunteers! They raised $585 at the event, and this was sent over a few days ago to help with the educational and nutritional needs of the kids.

Brown Trip 2 Commences

Caleb Brown reports that the second team from the Brown Construction crew has arrived in Kampala and are doing well! They will be in Uganda's capital for a few more days. Please pray for Edwin who has come down with Malaria.

Sudan Repairs

Susan, Caleb, Edwin, and the others are in Kampala for the next few days. They are doing repairs on the lorry and motorcycle, and waiting for the new group from the U.S. to come in. The lorry has ended up needing $3100 of repairs - of which $2200 has been raised. If you'd like to contribute to this fund, send in a contribution to the Lahash office. Here are a couple photos of the vehicles in need. The motorcycle is now in good condition - but the lorry is undergoing mechanical surgery.

More Photos from Sudan Trip

Here is a collection of photos from Caleb, Eric Chapman, and Linda Notz. Click on any of their names, and you'll be transfered over to photo albums of the most recent trip to Sudan.

Above: Candace reads while several children at St. Bartholomew's orphanage nap.

Caleb holds Kojo Annet.


The team visits the Mogiri leper colony.

Posing in front of the Nile River.


Raveesh and Edwin checking on the corner of the new boys dorm.

See more photos at these links: Caleb Brown, Eric Chapman, and Linda Notz

Edwin's journals from Sudan

Edwin Angote is the East Africa coordinator - in charge of working with visitors when they arrive in our partner countries, working with the staff in each of the centers, and providing updates and direction from East Africa. His update is below:

"We are currently in Kampala after a long journey from Kajo-Keji southern Sudan with the lorry. From Adjumani to Kampala was the longest journey. It started at 8 o'clock in the morning and we reached Kampala at half past ten at night. We had a flat tire which took us almost two hours to repair in Gulu town. A nail had gone through it. The police were always there ready to stop us asking for the motorcycle logbook. They thought that we had stolen it.


The driver made a mistake of crossing the road block and we were charged for that. The Lorry together with the motorcycle is to be fixed before it goes back to Kajo-Keji with some of the building materials that are to be bought here. I thank the Lord so much for how far he has taken us. So far everybody is doing fine despite the fact that there was a little bit of fever and normal body pain.

Yesterday Raveesh's wallet was stolen here in Kampala at night. Somebody reached his backpack through the window and stole the wallet with all the money and the documents in it. It was so lucky that he had put his passport in a different suitcase. He had to call back home to cancel the credit cards.
The team has been so amazing for the past few weeks that we have been together there was excellent cooperation and good relationship. People loved them so much all over. During our stay in kajo keji we did a lot with the team:

• Building - we did a lot in building the boys dormitory at Kajo Keji. We were dealing with the bricks most of the time. The new team that is coming in couple of days is to continue with the remaining part of the building. The infant house is almost complete. We helped out in doing the painting and cleaning the building. The window panes are yet to be put then all will be complete.
  
  There was some money that was donated by Lahash to build a house for an old lady who has leprosy. The house was built but it had some few mistakes around which we corrected with the team. I have also sent the pictures of us working on the house with the team. We prayed with the lady and shared the gospel. She was so happy with us being with her in the house and doing what we did to her. Most people don't come close to people who have leprosy according to her they are neglected.

• School - The education level for people around here is very low. We went to one of the schools where most of the kids from the orphanage go to and it was so frustrating to see the children in class without teachers. Only becouse that the government has not paid them for the past five months or so. The teachers that we found are volunteers who are paid by the school but are not qualified.

• Prison Ministry - we went to one of prisons. We prayed together and Caleb preached. We had some food stuffs to give them. Among the congregation was a lady who was demon possessed and she asked for prayers to be delivered. It was my first time to pray for a demon possessed person which was very scary. She was delivered but since then we haven't gone back to find out how she is - but we are yet to go.

* Edwin has a bunch more photos online at his webshots archive.

* Please pray for Edwin. He's developed some chest pains, and will need some medication this next week.

Notes from Sudan 1 - From Caleb Brown

Caleb Brown and the team arrived in Kampala last night, and three of his team members will be traveling soon back to the United States. They had a rough trip back to Uganda with the cantankerous lorry breaking down several times on the way. But they made it okay, and are waiting for the next team of three (Liz, Ashley, and John). Caleb shared these thoughts this morning:

"Shown in the photo are a few of the babies that have just finished bathing and are waiting to get dressed. This is a small number who are eagerly waiting for their permanent housing to be finished. There are currently 26 babies that are registered and all are anticipating the completion so that they can be brought into stable conditions. The infant dormitories are just one of the multiple projects that Lahash is currently working on in Kajo Keji, Sudan, including the two boys dormitories, the girls dormitory (which is currently on hold due to financial reasons) and simple housing for some of the staff. The children are overjoyed to be receiving permanent housing and it helps take away some of the struggles they have experienced in life."

Missions Camp 07

For the week of July 15 - July 20, fifty kids from around Oregon and Washington are meeting in Trout Lake Washington for a World Venture sponsored Missions Camp. The kids this week are focusing on four at risk children from around the world - two kids from Lahash (Justin Bakata and Susan Wanjiro).

The kids will be researching during the week - working on ways that they can make a difference in these children's lives. On Thursday they'll do a final presentation to show parents and friends what they've learned during the week!

News About Lucy

Lucy is a 10-year old girl with physical disabilities that has been receiving assistance from the Silas Christian Foundation. Lucy's parents have not been able to keep up with the medical costs associated with the nerve damage at the root of Lucy's problems, but Lahash donors have ensured that she gets the help she needs.

Dan recently posted that Lucy was discharged from the hospital, but unfortunately that didn't go through as everyone expected. In fact, her condition only has gotten worse. She was a patient in the Eldoret hospital for almost 3 weeks for treatment of Malaria and seriously infected sores on her legs. The sores were caused by the braces she wears (pictured below right) because she is unable to walk by herself due to her damaged nerves -- she was a conjoined twin separated as an infant, and the nerve damage was caused by the separation surgery.

The doctors decided Lucy needed a skin graft to repair the severely affected areas. Sadly, the care she received during the three weeks was often quite poor and the sores became even more infected and the graft kept being postponed. It looked more and more like Lucy's condition would continue deteriorating with little hope for improvement.

Finally, Nick and Dr. Oronje decided to transfer her to the AIC Hospital in Kijabe, where she has received excellent care in the past. The hope was that in Kijabe, she would at last get the proper attention she deserved. She was discharged from the Eldoret hospital Thursday and traveled to Kijabe on an overnight bus ride (the trip can often take up to 8 hours).

She arrived in Kijabe Friday morning and was seen by doctors at the hospital. They decided the bacterial infection had to be eliminated before a skin graft could be attempted. Fortunately, the treatment of the infection can be done at home by her mother Monicah, who was shown the proper way to treat and clean the sores. Lucy received antibiotics and medication to ensure the quickest recovery. In another month, the situation will be reevaluated and if she is ready, Lucy will get the skin graft. Since she won't be able to attend school in the meantime, Nick has arranged for her to work on homework and assignments from home.

Please remember Lucy and her family as they try to get past this problem. It's been a deeply discouraging experience for everyone involved, including Nick, because so much of the suffering was unnecessary. Nevertheless, now there is a new optimism that things will improve for Lucy.

Sudan Construction Update

Eric Chapman and his team of 2 (Linda and Genora) have left Sudan and are due to arrive in the United States shortly. The photo above is taken with Edwin Angote (the Lahash coordinator) and the Caleb Brown Construction crew.

The teams have been building a new dorm in the area of Kajo Keji Sudan. The dorm will be home to many Sudanese children who have lost their parents to the war or to disease.

Caleb Brown will be staying on in Sudan, and in a couple of weeks will be receiving the next half of their team to continue the progress.Amy, Caleb, Raveesh, Edwin, and Candace pose while carrying bricks for the new orphan home.

The kids can look forward to an amazing new set of buildings that will not be as flammable as the huts they are currently staying in.

Orphanage Concert

The Cup hosted several bands in a performance to benefit the orphans of Amazing Grace in Uganda. The contributions at the door will enable essentials to be purchased for the children. Thanks to Brittany for her work in putting this together!

Pray for Nick

Nick Korir of the Silas Christian Foundation recently was the target of a mugging and received an injury on the head. Please pray for his quick recovery, and the safety of all of the Lahash partners as they attempt to care for people in regions that are often dangerous and unstable.

Lahash Teams in Sudan
We have one large team of 7 in Sudan currently working at St. Bartholomew's orphanage. Caleb Brown and a team from California and Florida have joined Eric Chapman and his team from New Mexico.

Lahash coordinator Edwin Angote updated this morning from Kajo Keji with these photos and the following news:

"So far all is going on well with the team. The building group is proceeding very well around here. It's so amazing how fast the masons are moving at such a high rate. This building is now 4 days old since they started laying bricks.

Both teams are helping in different departments and they are doing an incredible job.

We visited the leper colony today on Monday with food stuffs, medicine and soap. They were so happy for what they got and appreciated so much. They still remember you guys (Lahash) for what you did for them sometimes back."

The photo below is of the building construction project for the boys dorm. The Caleb Brown team will be in Sudan two more weeks, and the Chapman team will be returning to Kampala this week.

Keep praying for these groups as they work with the local team in Sudan. Pray for safety as they work, and for new perspectives and humble attitudes through the work and interaction. Pray that the children will be cared for in this very destitute region. Pray that the life and love of Christ will bring hope and resurrection where there was death and war just a few years ago.

A Message from Caleb Brown

Salaam from Africa.

I want to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for all of you and the different roles you have played in my life. In a place where relationships are everything I understand how important it is to have quality people around you; I feel very blessed.

We are currently at Amazing Grace orphanage in Adjumani, Uganda which is ran by Ben Lodiong. We came here after 24+ hours on three separate planes and after an 8 hour bus adventure.

We arrived in Entebbe, Uganda on Monday and were greeted by a large group of eager people. As we made introductions we found that most of the people were with Lahash (the organization were are connected through, www.Lahash.net). We met Lasu, the rockstar and overall comedian. He and I hit off the first time we met.

We also met Edwin, the regional director who is stationed in Nairobi, Kenya. I will be staying with him for the second half of the year and am very excited to do so because he is an amazing guy. We met many other people and finally mama Susan who is responsible for starting all the orphanages that Lahash helps sponsor.

We traveled from Entebbe to Kampala that night and stayed in mama Susan's house, which is a home to 15 orphans left by parents dying or who have died of AIDS. Some of the kids are HIV+ and have to go in for regular treatments, a very expensive cost. We stayed there two nights and took care of all our money exchange and visa needs.

Wednesday morning, we boarded the minivan/bus full of our backpacks and trunks along with a group of about 10 other people accompanying us on the journey. It was the bumpiest ride of my life, but i greatly enjoyed the experience. You actually start to appreciate the bumps and after a while can easily fall asleep.

After stopping numerous times to get bananas, pineapples, cassava, bush rat on a stick (not too bad by the way), meet Lasu's family and pick up various goods, we arrived at Amazing Grace orphanage and were greeted by a chorus of children singing for us, "We welcome you to Amazing Grace home." It is a great song. We spend the next couple of days learning about the children, their stories, also about the area, all the refugees from Sudan and mainly the orphanage and how it came to be.

The night we sat down with Susan and the rest of the workers, it was very emotional to hear about their struggles. How the children constantly didn't have enough food because the rains came late and the crops had done poorly so costs were way up. We are all very burdened for the people here and are currently working on ways to make a change. We leave tomorrow, Sunday, for Kajo keji, Sudan where we will begin the building of the dormitories for the children.

Thus far, Christ has already been breaking, humbling and rebuilding me in ways I never thought possible. I know after a year who I was and who I will become, shall be very far apart. I will be adding photos to my webshots at a later date and also updating my traveblog. I cannot do it now for times sake but keep a lookout for it. I would appreciate all your prayers.
--

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full. - Proverbs 19:17

Caleb

Lahash Office Upgrades!
Saturday was a work at the new Lahash office spot. Sam Adams coordinated efforts, including getting much of the materials donated. We took down a couple items, and then installed some walls. Painting and other touch ups will be later.
Lin and Bethany Willett stopped by to help with some of the insulation work.
Rod Willett worked much of the day on sheetrock cutting.
Sam and Leisha brought tools and materials.
At the end of the day, we had a door up, a window hole, and all of the walls! Pretty exciting. Thanks so much to all of you who've helped so far!