Surgery for Sharon!

Crazy things have been happening in the past month, and details have been neglected, especially here on the blog.

About eight months back we found out about a hospital in Kenya that may be able to do Sharon's surgery.  While the doctors were very understanding, the doctor that does heart surgeries was out of country for a while and they didn't know when he would be able to do the surgery.  On top of that, the people at the Heart Institute in Uganda weren't super open to that option in the beginning either.  So, we walked on.  That door seemed closed for the time so we started moving towards sending her to Sudan instead.  At one point a doctor at the Uganda Heart Institute made a comment that made it seem like they would be open to the possibility of sending Sharon to Kenya and/or getting in touch with the hospital to send patients there in the future.  Yet, the doctor remained unavaliable.

While Sharon has been completely ready to go to Sudan for six months, she has been on a waitlist that is simply too long.  Then last Friday (January 29) my dad got an email from the doctor in Kenya.  My dad would occasionally write to the staff at the hospital to find out when it seemed like the doctor would be back, so he knew Sharon was still waiting.  He had written to say that he was back in Kenya and if we were still interested he would like to have her come for evaluation before the surgery.

Sharon already had an appointment scheduled for that Wednesday (February 3) at the Heart Institute for more tests and medicine to help stabilize her.  While the trip on Wednesday was apparently frustrating all the tests were gone.  On Thursday the tests were sent to the doctor in Kenya.  On Friday he responded asking for a phone number and called my dad to ask how soon they could get her there.  He responded, "we could probably get her there tomorrow."

So, early morning Uganda time on Saturday a driver went to pick up Sharon and her father to make the ten hour drive to Kenya.  When they got to Kenya she was in a more stable condition than the doctors expected her to be.  They admitted her and have been continuing to stabilize her over the weekend.

At 12:30 AM Eastern Time (8:30 AM East Africa Time) Tuesday, February 9, Sharon will be receiving the surgery she has been waiting so long for!   I know the surgery will probably already be over by the time most of you read this or you will be sleeping during the surgery, but please be praying for her and her recovery process.

Updates hopefully coming soon!

(If you've missed all or some of Sharon's story, click here to read more.)

Prayers please

I am sitting writing this from Entebbe.  Early Friday morning, I get on a plane and head to America.  I will be in Florida for two weeks and then head back.  I will meet up with my dad who is in America for 6 weeks.   The main reason for this trip is for medical purposes.  Would you please be praying as I am traveling by myself?

Would you please also be in prayer for two of our kids, Kathy and Sebastian.  Kathy is one of our sweet special needs girls and she just had  a surgery yesterday morning to have a part of her colon removed.   It went well, but she will have to be in the hospital for another 5 - 7 days.  I was able to go see her in the hospital today and she is doing well, but just wants all the IVs and things off.  Please be praying for her as she has a long recovery journey.  Sebastian will be getting tubes in his ears Monday morning.

Thank you for joining us in prayer!

Sebastian 

Kathy

City on a Hill

In October of last year, 2 men who work at GSF started a Church in the village.  Although this is not a GSF Church, the GSF family is members there.  The first building we rented was a school during the week and Light of the World Church on the weekends.  There is a passion in this Church.  And seriously ... I never knew such short people could jump so high!  It was very crammed in this little building and very hot, but these people still praised God with all their hearts.

Sunday, June 23, 2013.  One of our members was cleaning out the Church building getting ready for the services that morning when people from the school came several times and told her to get out.  The elders were actually planning to announce to the Church that morning that we would be looking for a new building.  But, it came sooner than they expected and we couldn’t meet there according to these people.  Yes, you read that right.  We were kicked out.  Evicted.  {In Ugandan words…} Fired.  What would we do?  After a little bit of a discussion, it was decided that the best thing to do was just meet right there outside the building.  Pastor Sam preached a powerful message about the Church.  ‘We are the Church, turn to your neighbor and tell them, ‘you and me, we are the Church’.  

When your sitting outside and the hot sun is burning you and you don’t know what will happen next week, you realize that nothing else matters.  All we need is Jesus and a crowd of others who will worship him with us – that is the Church.  When your sitting in front of an empty building and people are throwing dirt inside so you cannot meet – this is when we realize what the Church is.  The CHURCH is a group of believers who stands by each other even in the hardest of times.  It all seemed so surreal.  This could not really be happening.  

At the end, we – the Church – stood in a circle and joined hands and prayed and sang for about 20 – 30 minutes.  And God had already answered our prayers.  It was comforting to know that that morning, God hadn’t freaked out – He already knew what would happen and he had a plan.   As we stood in the circle, we sang a song called, ‘Bind Us’.  It says,

Bind us together, oh bind us dear Lord, with cords that cannot be broken, bind us dear Lord.

And as we stood there, He did just that.  We were bound as the Church.  Watching these people after the service was so hard.  We were going through the fire, but God used this to build an even bigger fire in each of our hearts. 

God surely provided in some amazing ways for Light of the World Church.  As I mentioned before, the Church elders had seen it coming that we would be kicked out, so they were already searching for land.  That very Sunday afternoon, someone who had been offering to sell us land called Pastor Sam to come to his house.  He told Pastor Sam that he knew we did not have enough money for the land but he wanted us to go ahead and use it.  He was fully aware that even within a year we may not have all the money, but he felt called to let us start using it anyways.  The best part?  He didn’t have any idea what had happened that morning.  So Wednesday, the Church elders, after looking at the property decide to go forward with it.  Throughout the week, part of the land was cleared.  It is in total 1 acre, but the man who owns the land has been growing maize on the entire thing.  Part of it has been cleared for our buildings and the rest of it will be left until harvest time.  Throughout the week, many people in the Church volunteered their talents and by Saturday the Church building/operation was in full swing.  They moved incredibly fast – I have never seen something happen so fast in Uganda.  Several people in the Church offered their papyrus leaves, one man volunteered to lead the building project.  The poles are from Eucalyptus trees that we are growing at GSF.  Someone made uniforms for the choir.

This is week 6 in this building and it just keeps growing – there is now a tarp over the roof, the poles inside are painted and they have even built a stage of sorts.  It has been so great to have this new building.  It is bigger than the old building, has so much more airflow and we have more room to renovate it.  We also have enough land for a Jr. Church tent.  This has been great because in the last building we just met standing right outside the Church.  Once the rest of the maize is cleared, the shelter will be moved further away from the main building.  This way we can have Jr. Church without worrying about disturbing main service {Have you ever tried to have 50 kids sing quietly before?  Yeah, not fun.}

One Sunday our pastor announces that Light of the World Church will be having their very first overnight AND they invited 17 other Churches to come and join us.  Let me pause to explain overnights.  Everybody in the Church and normally other Churches, goes to the Church around 8 pm and leaves around 7 am and they all stay up and sing, pray and listen to {Short} sermons.  So, after this announcement, 3 different people came and asked me if I was coming to the overnight.  At first I was not very excited about it, {I mean, just think – 17 Churches invited = about 20 pastors speaking} but, I told them I would try.  So, I asked a couple of people if they would be coming {so I could walk with them since it would be dark} and by the end of the day I found that I was actually very excited about it.  So at 8 PM one Friday night I grabbed my sweater, a cup of tea {so I could stay awake} and my phone.  We were planning to come back at 11 PM so we wouldn’t have to stay up all night.  As soon as we left the compound, I started second-guessing going to this.  The flashlight on my phone suddenly seemed very dim and the 9 girls I was walking with had no light at all.  I was tired and who knew if we would actually make it without someone falling.  It was so dark!  Let’s just say that I was very relieved when we got there!  There is not a single regret now that I went.  Around 500 people showed up!  And God came to that little tiny room and moved in big ways.  Pastor Sam told some guys to ‘tear down the wall in back’ {I’m not kidding} so that other people could sit outside without feeling separated from the rest of the Church.  They had me sitting right up front with all the pastors.  More people kept coming in, so they made me stand up {not that I cared – I felt awkward sitting with the pastors}.  I stood in the doorway because I didn’t want to miss out what was happening inside.  Then my friend from the choir {Esther} came and asked me to sit with her on the ground in front.  I seriously wish I had a picture of where we were sitting.  We sat against the back wall, behind the pastors and the choir with everyone facing us.  My friend put down a scarf on the ground and we just sat on that.  It was such a unique experience that I am forever grateful for!  People danced with all their energy {that was still left by 10:00}, they sang with all their hearts and they prayed what was really deep down inside and they meant every word.  Pastors preached and spoke and introduced themselves.  I could have stayed all night for the singing and dancing.  And the preaching?  Let’s just say I drank a lot of tea during those parts {Especially after 10 PM}.  It was just so amazing to see how God worked through our trials for His glory.  He brought us closer together as a Church, he filled us with more passion for Him and he brought us to the exact location He wanted us to be in.

The pastors and the congregations felt it.  They want more.  They want more of what Light of the World Church has.  There are some amazing things coming in the future for Light of the World.  People are asking for more and we are just waiting for God to put the details into place.  After all, he already brought us through the fire.

On a funnier note.  As we were walking back from the overnight, one of the boys asked me if I had met/seen my friend's sisters.  'No.'  ‘They were there, I saw them!’  Like because I know her I should be able to pick them out of a crowd of 500 dark people in dim light.  But the next story is better.  I went to the toddler house and one of the house mamas was standing outside with a man.  She asked me, ‘Caro, do you remember this one?’  Um, no.  {I honestly couldn’t remember if it was her pastor or her son}.  ‘Eeeehhhh, but you were there ‘together’ at the overnight.  He’s my son.’  ‘Mmm, okay.  Nice to see you again.’  But really inside I’m thinking, I was there ‘together’ with him and 500 other people and she expects me to remember him?  I was not introduced to a single person at the overnight, but they still expected me to pick out and remember people.  Geez, I’ve got a whole lot to work on!

Praise God with us for his grace and provision!  Read more about the big story of this little Church that my dad wrote over on my family's blog.

An update on Philip + picture of Susan

Philip (right) with Benji

Many of you have been asking for 'Philip Updates'. I don't know if I have mentioned it before but the hospital that Philip is in, is not close to GSF. He is in Kampala, which is two hours away. So, my mom and several others were able to go when they were in Kampala and today some house moms went to visit. The other updates have all been from his auntie by phone. Those calls have been few. That is why updates have been few. The calls usually don't contain enough information to write full blog posts about. So, this is kind of a combination of those phone calls and visits. The latest news is, he is doing better but doesn't want to eat. He does want bananas, apples, and yoghurt however. He has been threatened with a feeding tube.
Hopefully he will start eating and will not have to go on a feeding tube so he can come home soon.

Philip soon after we came to GSF

Current Prayer Requests for Philip:

• That he will have an appetite.
• That he will be able to come soon.

Susan hasn't been at school much this week so I just got this picture today.

Prayer

I am writing this post for several reasons, all of which involve prayer requests. Thank you everyone for your prayers!
This is a very special little boy ... Philip. He is very special to many ... all over the world. Many are praying for him everyday. On Wednesday he was diagnosed with a very serious type of Pneumonia. Every since Philip was little he has lived a very difficult life. The worst part is that no one can do anything to help him ... he will always have a hard life. Why? Because he has that awful disease called HIV. So, all that to say please pray for him.
As I said earlier Philip is special to very many people. Why? Well, because he can put on those puppy dog eyes and look sad and make you want to give him as many bananas and fruit snacks as he wants. Because of skinny little legs and that bandage that is on his ear a lot. Because he is silly and when he starts acting and dancing you can't help but laugh. (he is the one on the right in this picture the other boy is one of his good friends, Geoffrey.) And because he has an amazing smile.
And really just because he is special.

On Wednesday I went to devotions with the preschoolers. At the end one of the teachers brought a girl who is about 6. The teacher said 'We are going to pray for this girl. She is ever sick (she is sick a lot). Her name is Susan. Everyone hold out your hands and pray for her.' That is exactly what we did. I do not know exactly what is wrong with this little girl, how old she is, or where she lives but, I know her name and that she needs our prayers. I do not have a picture of her right now but I will post one of her as soon as I get one.


Well, that is all - thank you for praying!

This is late...

The last few weeks have been so overloaded I haven't even had a chance to write about it yet. Wow ... as I think about what all has happened it seems like a long time ago but I haven't even written about these things yet. Here is a little overview of what has happened over the last few weeks. I will probably talk more about some of these things.

1. 3 summer interns have come and gone.
2. Beautiful Day of Prayer and Fasting in GSF Primary School.
3. Welcoming 4 new kids, Joan, Jessica, Joel, and Mercy to GSF.
4. SAFARI!!! (Pictures to come - if I can find the time)
   
5. The Renslow family who adopted a little girl, Zuri, from GSF 2 years ago came back for a visit. While here they adopted a little boy, Charlie (ChaChi) Zeke.
6. One of the Special Needs Kids was at the hospital for 2 weeks and the kids had a big welcome for him at his house when he came back.
7. I started online school with Northstar Academy.
8. Retreat with a team from Calvary Chapel Florida, GSF teens, and the 'Big Brothers and Sisters' of GSF.
   

The first Friday of every month is always a special time at GSF Primary School. It is a day of Prayer and Fasting. This week I walked down and took pictures - it's so amazing to see even the little ones down on their knees praying and singing. Here are some of my favorite pictures.


New Kids!!! Joan (Joanne age 5), Jessica age 4, and Joel age 2 arrived at GSF a few weeks ago. These sweet little kids have been so much fun to get to know! Jessica is on the right, Joan is on the left and Joel is in the middle.

Sisters Joan and JessicaMercy

Charlie was the little boy adopted by the Renslow famliy.

Well, I think that's all for now. Hopefully it won't be to long before I write again. :)

Prayer for Auntie Amanda

Auntie Amanda is the teacher for us missionary kids. She is so fun. She always has energy and a smile on her face. She went back to the States to visit for a month. She went to suprise her mom because she was about to have surgery. While in Amsterdam she started feeling like she had malaria. So, she started on the medicine. Then, she started feeling better so stopped taking the medicine.This weekend she started feeling bad again. Soon, it was discovered that she has Cerebral Malaria which is very serious. She is now starting to feel better but, is still not completely better. She will have to be in the hospital anywhere from a week to a month. We all miss her so much. It was so neat for me to see all the kids gathered at the chapel praying. Our prayers have worked and we need to continue praying! We have an awesome God!

Another prayer request is for little Patricia(Patu). She was adopted in January. Last night we got word that she has a fever of 105. This precious little girl needs outr prayers as well.

Please join us in prayer for Auntie Amanda and Patu.