35 Bunches of Matoke

Well yesterday I (Grant) had an amazing afternoon at the Calvary Chapel farm. As you can see in these pictures we harvested 35 bunches of matoke, a Calvary Chapel farm month record! Praise God!  Each bunch goes for about 5000-8000 Uganda Shillings which is equivalent to about $2.50 - 4.00 but here in Uganda 8000 shillings can get you a 8 hour bus ride anywhere in the country and $20USD can get you a bus ride to any country neighboring Uganda.  Anyway, I had a great time out on Lake Victoria and have sun burns to show for it.  The farm can be accessed by a 15min boat ride or a 1 hour boda boda (motorcycle) ride. Currently at the farm they are focusing mainly on tree crops (bananas, matoke, lemons) and beans.  They have a few chickens and plan this year to try pigs for the second year. As much as much I enjoy working on computers it is always nice to go out and get your hands dirty once in a while.  Yesterday I got to do both and it was freakin' awesome!  In the first picture you can see the Calvary Farm crew Robin (center) and James aka The Matoke Master (right).  Also I had quite a lot of fun poking fun at the Ugandans as none of them could swim very well and wore their life jackets religiously. haha We appreciate all your prayers and will continue to keep you posted. You can be praying today as I go out to the islands on a medical outreach.  -G

2 Bowls and a Jar

Those are the things that Nigel has broken from our little kitchen in just the past week.One of the bowls he pulled off the shelf left him with a decent 1.5-2 inch cut on his leg. We think he's going to live. In fact, we're uncertain if he even knows he was injured. And last but certainly not least we give a special shout out to Zac Miller for at the last minute at the OKC airport equipping us with the first aid kit from his car. The Lord knew we would need it yesterday.  Grant was even on his way to the pharmacy to buy supplies, when we remembered we had it.






















 We are still sad to be a part from all of our friends at CLD. One of Grant's last days working was spent with Ronny at the farm.

They worked hard clearing an area of dense brush along the fence. As the picture shows, they got A LOT done! Altogether they had a great day together with lots of laughs and good memories. We have been so challenged by the young men like Ronny, who are working with CLD in their home country to bring hope and healing to people.  It commissions us to to the same in our own home town.
It was really fun for all 3 of us to get to visit the Kids House together. Disappointingly there were only about 2 or 3 kids there, as the van was late that day to pick them up. After waiting as long as we could we had to get back because it was getting dark, and Nigel was getting hungry. We still played hard with the few kids that were there. And they loved picking Nigel up and carrying him all around. It's a funny sight really, when a 3 or 4 year old child, who weighs only slightly more than Nigel swings him up on their hip and carries him around.

Our week has been pretty busy.  
We spent most of the weekend settling in, buying a few supplies, and getting familiar with town. June 2nd-6th there was a crusade in town which was put on by all the local churches working together. It was exciting to get to be a part of it, and see God move.

On Monday we were treated by our host missionaries to a day at the beach on Lake Victoria. The weather was just right and the views were spectacular. And well, this picture pretty much sums up how Nigel felt about the Lake. We gave it several attempts, and even tried the nearby pool where there were no waves; he really wanted nothing to do with the sand and the water, but played happily in the grass.

On a happy Nigel note. We are proud to announce two important advancements in our little guys life. The first, as of yesterday we have seen serious improvement in the area of walking. He is really getting the hang of it it seems, and is choosing to walk more and more often. The second is a very recent (though slight) interest in trading his bottle in for a sippy cup. Yeah, we're pretty excited too!!!

Life has been really nice so far in Entebbe. At times we feel a little too spoiled, but know that this is where God has brought us for this time.  We are currently staying at the SIL Uganda guest house. We live in a cute little apartment, with one bedroom, a full bathroom, a small kitchen, and a family room, which we use as Nigel's bedroom, and a dining room. Katie has been busy cooking all of our meals here,(we were very blessed at the hands of a cook while with CLD) as well as being kept very busy by Nigel. Grant is quickly  learning all the work that Calvary Chapel is doing here, and how he can help with it. Yesterday he spent most of the day fixing some computers, a project not yet done. And today he is visiting the Calvary Chapel farm, to check out that ministry.  Everything is going well, and everyone is staying healthy.  We thank you for your prayers, there are times we look at each other and just know someone must be praying.
More later,
Grant, Katie and Nigel

Week 2 - Kampala

It is hard to believe that our time with Come Lets Dance (CLD) is already nearing its end. Friday morning we will move to Entebbe, where we will spend the next month working with Calvary Chapel Entebbe. We had a neat opportunity to visit the church last Sunday and meet some of the people we will be working with, and have lunch with the pastor and his family. If our visit taught us anything, it is that our work and daily life will all become very different once we make the move to Entebbe, but we can feel God preparing our hearts even now, and we are excited to find out what He has planned for us there. 

We continue to become more and more framiliar with the public transit system around Kampala.  Trying to remember the difference between Nansana, Nakalabya, Wakiso, Namasera, Wandegea, the New Taxi Park verses the Old Taxi Park can be quite confusing.  Through it all everyone seems to be adjusting well to getting around.

Our one year old companion still does not walk. He seems so interested in it, but then just second guesses his abilities every time and reaches for the floor as a safer, more certain option.  Interestingly enough to his parents, who have never found fear or caution to be his strong suit. The visit to Calvary Chapel on Sunday was perhaps the highlight of Nigel's summer in Uganda thus far, as he got to attend the nursery class. We were strongly warned before hand, that he may not be comfortable in the nursery, as it was described to us as being a bit chaotic, full of babies, and just one large room. But upon dropping him off, we laughed at the similarities between the Ugandan nursery and that of our home Calvary Chapel. Nigel spent the two hour church service doing exactly what he has been wanting to do for two weeks now. Which is to crawl freely on a floor filled with toys to choose from, and there were snacks!!!

Saturday, Grant was kind enough to stay home and tackle Nigel and cloth diapers, allowing Katie to help out at a medical outreach in the Katanga slum. It was a great day for her, aside from a moderate sunburn, a highlight of her trip for sure. They were able to offer help and relief to over 200 people in need.

For the past two days, Grant continues to work really hard on the project for the new school: spraying for flees and making trips to the Ministry of Education in downtown Kampala and out to the small local town council office. It is a long, difficult process of forms and application, but he seems to be working out the kinks and is in good spirits about it.