Retreat to the Indian Ocean

By Sara:

We had the opportunity to go to Watamu (on the coast of Kenya) with the rest of the World Renew Uganda team.  It was a fun time of rest and fellowship with our colleagues.  I'm just going to share a whole bunch of pictures here with a little explanation.

Here we are on the bus from Mbale to Nairobi (before we got tired out from the 12 hour journey):

From Nairobi, we took a train to Mombasa.  It was nicer on the train than the bus (you could get tea and food and there were no speed bumps or turbulence):

Some of the scenery seen from the train:

The Mombasa train terminal:

As soon as we arrived in Watamu at our hotel, we had to run down and see the Indian Ocean before it got dark.

I found a baby coconut:

The next day was a dream come true for Anthony because there was a snake farm across the street from the hotel (with the largest collection of snakes in East Africa) and we went for a tour.

The craziest thing about the snake farm was the baby snakes they were raising in these Tupperwares.  And not just any baby snakes, but baby cobras and (below) baby vipers!

We got to hold a snake (a non-venomous one, don't worry) and it was the first time for many of our colleagues to even touch a snake.  Considering the scary snakes that live in Uganda, they were very brave to do so.

When the tide went out that afternoon, we waded way out in the warm water. 

And in the evening went back and sat on the beach again.

Anthony also chased all the little crabs who were out on the beach.

The next day, we got to go out on a boat and go snorkeling!  That was a lot of fun but there are no pictures since both of us were in the water.

And we had some great food for lunch.

On our last day, we went back to Mombasa and visited a historical Portuguese fort, Fort Jesus.

They had one wall inside the fort which was preserved from when the Portuguese were there and drew sketches all over it.  There's a chameleon at the bottom of this drawing.

World Renew Project Evaluation in Kaberamaido

By Sara:

I recently had the opportunity to go along for a World Renew end-of-project evaluation in Kaberamaido.  The project aimed to help reduce the spread of HIV among fishermen in villages along Lake Kyoga.  It was going on when we lived in Uganda before and I wrote about some visits to these communities here, here, and here (in fact, that post took place in the same location as the pictures below!).  Anyway, it was good to hear the stories about lives which have been transformed after participating in the project.

We visited two communities and in each one, there was a drama/music group which does ministry in nearby villages, teaching about HIV/AIDS, and who performed for us when we arrived.

Here are some videos of that group singing and dancing:

There were many stories about the ways people were transformed from what they learned in Stepping Stones and through the encouragement of others in their Stepping Stones groups.  One great story was from a man who was well known in the community for abusing his wife, to the extent that she had left him several times, who got saved and realized he should be treating her better.  Through Stepping Stones classes, he learned about ways to care for his wife so she came back to him and they now have a vastly improved marriage (with no more abuse).

Another man gave a testimony about how he used to always get drunk, smoke, and have lots of affairs.  He said that his wife and his family (and everyone else) hated him and his wife would hide when she heard him coming and yelling at her.  But after someone convinced him to join Stepping Stones, he slowly realized that he should be faithful to his wife and speak kindly to her.  He stopped wasting his money on drinking and started communicating and sharing with his wife so they can now live together peacefully.  Both of them were there and another neighbor also affirmed that the story of change which this man was telling was true.

Despite the fact that this project was aimed at helping men, there were also many women who wanted to join Stepping Stones groups for women.  I liked hearing from some of the women that not only did they learn to be more loving, faithful, and confidential with their husbands, but they also learned to love others.  This group of women get together to go help out other people in their community with their garden work when they have too much to do on their own.

It was also great to hear about the spiritual transformation in these areas along Lake Kyoga.  Some church leaders who were there shared about how this program has also helped pastors to know how to show love and care to people who are HIV positive.  And people who were in the program are also more willing to be open with pastors.  Many have even joined churches because they have seen the ways that PAG cares about them.

I am thankful for the work that World Renew and its partners here in Uganda are doing and it's always a joy to learn about the good results of such work.

July 2018 Prayer Letter

See our July prayer letter here. Thank you for your encouragements and prayers!