Day 6 – A Lesson in Thankfulness

Day 6 was another day of working at the new babies home as well as meeting some of the widows that live on the land around the new babies home.

We started by going to town and picking up some supplies and gifts to give to the widows. It felt like we were playing human frogger when we crossed the road(if you don’t believe me there is GoPro footage).

We worked on a couple different projects at the new site. One team painted ceilings while some others worked on cleaning up some concretre floors and preparing them to be finished. Part of that process is chipping away all the cement that fell down while doing the ceilling with a pick ax. That was tough work and I have real respect for those Ugandan guys that are able to do that all day. I couldn’t handle more than about an hour of it. I then had to switch over to paintin some ceilings.

The highlight of the day was visiting with the three widows that live around the new babies home site. I wish they spoke English because I’m sure they all could tell us some awesome stories and life lessons. Even without being able to understand them and only be able to understant what Ken and Kathy told us, their appreatiation and humility taugght me something. These ladies lived in really rough looking mud huts. They cooked all their meals over a fire and only had one or two kerosene lamps for light. Those ladies though were some of the happiest people that I have ever seen. They were so happy that we took the time to stop by and see them. The basic things we brought them like kerosene, bread, and soap light up their faces.

Ken shared with us his vison to be able to build these widows new more permanent houses by building a guest house at the babies home and using the proceeds for those homes. It sounds like an amazing idea. I am praying for God to continue to provide financially for the babies homes so things like that can happen. God is using Ken and Kathy to live out James 1:27 in Uganda and I am so happy I got to witness and be just a small part of it.

To God be the Glory,

Mikey Johnson

Day 5 – A Day at the Babies Home

Day 5 was an awesome day. We got to go to the current babies home and love on some little children. It was amazing to see their energy and excitement. The current babies home has 22 babies living in it. It is a miracle and aweesome to see the nannies keep order and care for all those babies. Order was kept so well and the kids were so happy.

We got to spend all day pretty much playing with the children. We played some soccer with the older ones and sang some song and just held the younger ones. These children we so wonderful and presious. My prayer, and I hope yours as well, is that every single one of them finds a loving Godly home and most importantly that they all will accept Jesus as their savior and devote their life to Him. It’s great to see how God is using Ken and Kathy to care for the ophans.

The Day was ended by a wonderful devotion where we reflected on the importance of sharing the Gospel in boldness. This is something I always wish I did better on. Please pray for me and that the Holy Spirit would give me more boldnes to openly and deliberately share the Gospel in every day life.

To God be the Glory,

Mikey Johnson

P.S. We really ended the night after devotions with a game of Egytian Rat Screw(a card game). Don’t mess with this team and their card games. We can get quite competetive and loud. We had a great time luckily no major injuries.

P.P.S. We are not supoosed to post and pictures of the babies on the internet for safety and privacy reasons. 😦 I Will be glad to share them with some of you when I get home though.

Day 4 – Time to Get to Work

Day four started out with a wonderful night of sleep and a great breakfast. We headed to the new babies home to work on various projects. We got a tour of the facilty. It is going to a blessing to Ken and Kathy in their ministries. We aslo got to put in many good hours of work at the babies home. We sanded down solid wooden doors and prepared them for painting. Another team working in a big field where the children will get to play. They pulled weeds and others planted grass. Grass in Uganda is planted one blade at a time in rows about 4 feet apart and then spreads to fill in the rest. Can you imagine planting grass that way? its so backwards from our American way of going things.

Thats acually something I and the team have encountered a lot on this trip. Its so easy for us to look at these jobs and immediately jump into our American mindset and try to tell people how they should be doing things instead of just coming along side them and serving. When we do the first we look arogant and often stupid becasue there are reasons they have to do stuff differently here. The second lets us build rellationships and bonds not only with people like Ken and Kathy, but also with the everyday workers that are also on the job site. Its been a challenge to not let my American nature of order and efficiency be an idol and stand in the way of the gospel.

I was also again reminded yesterday that the actual physical work in Uganda is much like the spiritual work. In our short time in Uganda we will only knock out a few projects on the list of things that need to be done at the new property. The work on that building has been going on for a long time and will continue after. In the same way the spiritual work here has been going on for a long time and will continue long after. We have the awesome privalege to come along side Ken and Kathy for a short time and help and encourage. No matter what “amount” of work we actually get done I will be reminded and excited that God will still be moving here and accomplishing His mission through others.

To God be the Glory,

Mikey Johnson

P.S. – day 4 also contained a little exercise in faith for some of the members of the team. Kathy let me drive one of the vans for a little while on back roads. It was a lot of fun.

Day 3 – unpacking time

Day 3 started after lunch time on Wednesday. We had already lost a day with the missed flight so we wanted to get started as soon as possible. We went to Ken and Kathy’s house to sort through all the things we had brought and put them in appropriate areas. They were so excited to see all the items that had been donated. After all the sorting was done, We ate dinner and fellowshiped with Ken and kathy and their children.

We also had a devotional and a time for Ken and Kathy to share their story and vision for the Babies Home. This was an awesome time of uniting and experiencing the big Kingdom Church. It was awesome to hear Ken talk in the Devotional time about how we are all united and partnered together in a global work. We are all part of this work God is doing in Uganda through prayer, support, and now time. Hearing Ken say this reminded me of one of the lessons I had mentioned in my first post. I had spent the past day trying to focus on praying for Ken and Kathy and their work in Uganda instead of trying to think about the lost day. Ken reminded me that these prayers really did make me just as involved in the work in Uganda as they were even though distance separated. I thought it was a wonderful connection and only one that the Holy Spirit could have organized because I shared none of those thoughts with Ken.

I want to extend a thank you to you from Ken and Kathy. They thanked us so much for coming but many of you are a big reason I am here. They shared with us for quite a while all the reasons they love to have teams come. One of the main ones, and maybe my favorite, is it simply encourages them and is an affirmation of their ministry. It’s easy some times to get discouraged when living on mission and start to doubt what you are doing. Its always great for them to have a team come and give encouragment to them and a break from the day to day activites.

Tomorrow will start our first full day in Uganda. We plan to be doing work at the site of the new babies home. Please pray for rest tonight and safety tomorrow.

To God be the Glory,

Mikey Johnson