10/22/13 Late post for September 28, 2013

David Jr. (HIV positive child)

 On Saturday September 28th Stephen and I visited a friend named David who is blind and has HIV/AIDS. He is not disabled though, by any means. This man is raising 4 children, one with HIV/AIDS, and has a sustainable income raising pigs and chickens. He does most of the work caring for the animals and working around his compound. One year ago when he was first becoming blind, he took his kids to a local orphanage to see if they could be taken care of there due to his circumstance. But he kept his kids and to see the whole family thriving and happy touches my heart greatly. I see a family unit that survived adversity and then on top of that is succeeding. He is a loving father and the kids are happy. THAT is how I wish every Ugandan story ended. Not that the children were displaced from the parent into an orphanage but the parent supported through charitable efforts to keep the family unit together! There is a charity that provided the animals and pens and two out of four of his children are sponsored for school fees."Thank You God for a happy ending! Bless this family!" (The children attend our weekly Bible study in our home every Saturday) If anyone is interested in helping this man and his kids (sponsoring the other two for school fees or any other donations), please contact us through our Facebook page or website. https://www.facebook.com/manymansionsofchristinternational or http://manymansions11.wix.com/many-mansions-11 and tell us you want to help David and his kids. We will make sure your donation goes directly to him!

Update: late for September 25, 2013

My first full week living in Mityana Uganda was about getting used to my new life and the way things are here. Not having a car is different for me but I soon got used to walking. On the way to town there are so many kids. You see them playing and hear them calling out "bye Muzungu!" which means "white person". Even kids so small you wouldn't think they could talk will call it out. They are truly excited to see this Muzungu. When you can stop and give them sweets they are especially happy. On this day we had gum balls and these kids were more than happy to be the recipients.

Uganda-late post for September 18-23, 2013

It's been a long time since I have written about what's been happening with Many Mansions of Christ International. I (Cheryl) arrived in Uganda on September 18th, 2013 late in the evening. I was glad to have my feet back on earth after sitting in a cramp airplane seat for most of 17 straight hours. I had a layover and plane change in Amsterdam after flying 7 hours from Detroit, Michigan. I was glad it was night when I flew over the ocean. The thought of it all kind of scared me. I had never flown outside of the U.S. before and I am glad I couldn't see where I was. I landed in Amsterdam and about an hour later was back on a plane to Kigali, Rwanda for the next 10 hours and then after a short stop was on my way to Entebbe, Uganda. Stephen was there to receive me after I got my Visa and luggage. It was after 11 pm and I was so tired but happy to see him waiting for me. I had lost all phone service upon leaving the U.S. and had prayed that he would be there as we had previously planned.

We stayed in Entebbe until Sunday. We visited the Entebbe Wildlife Center and really enjoyed seeing all the animals, especially the chimpanzees. On Sunday we planned to leave Entebbe for Mityana. I had brought two full, big suitcases (one 48 lbs and the other 45 lbs), a carry-on bag (35 lbs) and a backpack with me to Uganda. We had to get them loaded onto a taxi van in Entebbe to get to the taxi park in Kampala. Once near the taxi park, the driver let us off down the road quite a ways and we had to hire boda boda's (motorcycle taxi's) to get the bags and us closer to where we would get a taxi van going to Mityana. Remember, these bags were NOT light! But each person who helped us, from the taxi van in Entebbe to the boda boda drivers in Kampala who took the challenges of loading and transporting these heavy bags, had a positive, get-r-done attitude. I am continually impressed so much by how Ugandans can find practical, useful ways of transporting just about anything. They can load the heaviest, bulkiest items on even a small bicycle and get it to it's destination. Bravo Ugandans!

We loaded our bags onto the taxi van at the Kampala taxi park and headed for Mityana. I was captivated by the scenery when driving up out of the park. It is settled in one of the lower valleys of the city and as you drive up and out of there you begin to see the vastness of the city and all its hills. Kampala is known as the city of seven hills. There are no flat areas anywhere so walking can give you a workout. There are so many people you can't imagine. There is an ebb and flow to the movement of cars, taxi vans, buses, boda bodas and people. It's like the city has a pulse and you feel very alive being a part of it. You would think looking at what seems to be mass chaos of everyone moving together in every which direction that someone would get run over or hit or at the very least bump into someone else. But somehow it all just works.

There are street vendors with their makeshift tables set up selling everything from pots and pans to jewelry to shoes to bed sheets. Some vendors just spread their wares out on the side of the sidewalk on the ground. There are rented street-front shops as well, still selling everything you can think of. There are people walking around selling food or drinks, often calling the name of their item loudly. They will come up to the door of the taxi van when you're waiting for the driver to go and try to sell you something. It's busy and loud and chaotic and you cannot help but to feel very alive when you're in the midst of it all. I do not own this video on you tube but this person captured the very essence of the city. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcXVdWYydT8

After arriving in Mityana at about 3 pm, I unpacked some of the bags then we went to visit friends in town. It was good to finally be "home" and not have to live out of a suitcase. God carried me through a long flight,  through jet-lag during the days in Entebbe,  through getting all the luggage safely to Mityana and He gently set me down in my new home giving me grace and strength and mercy to finally start my new life in Uganda. My dreams came true! Thank You God!

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