We're back in New York

Laundry at New Hope, the driveway and new classrooms, me and the kids. Its "winter" there now so I needed my fleece.

We've arrived safely home. The trip back was ok, but I have what feels like strep throat, a sinus infection and an ear infection - no, I'm not exaggerating. I do like Emirates Airline very much, but 20 hours on a plane with a sinus/ear problems is not fun. But its much better than malaria or typhoid! I'm sorting through pictures and videos. Thank you, Leslie, for the video equipment! Watching them is getting me through my separation woes. I miss those kids so much! Re-entry is definitely more difficult this year than last year - not because I'm sick this time, but because I'm actually experiencing reverse culture shock. We have so much stuff here, and they have so little. There's a chance that they might have internet at the orphanage, so that gives me some hope to speak to them more often.

God is good - looking forward to seeing you all after I heal. Glad to be with Scott and the kids for a day or two before chaos begins. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING! I never would have made it without all of your support.

Day 1?

We landed fine in Entebbe and are currently enroute to Busia.  Ken stopped at restaurant so we could get a quick meal before we arrive.  We are still an hour away from Busia. Enjoying some American pizza!  Praise God for his mercy and goodness.  It's so wonderful to see Ken and his awesome wife Susan!  Going to the computer school tomorrow and see what needs done.  Can't wait to see thOe children at New Hope!

So much to do...so little time...

I'm sorry it has been so long since I have "blogged". I ended up having one of my dizzy episodes on Thursday and have been trying to recover ever since. I wrote out a huge blog yesterday and couldn't get it to upload. It is now Sunday and we have finished church and lunch. We have so many errands and things to do before we leave in the morning. Luggage and donations to be moved from hotel to computer school to volunteer house to Ken's house - making sure we are in the right place at the right time - and getting everything settled. Ken has been sick all week, and his car has been unable to go anywhere due to a dead battery. Still no pictures! Alas (one of my favorite words :), I will be back in the States soon and will post pictures.
Megan, Sam, Eileen, Chris and I are all well. I have a cold, but no one has malaria or other such things. Praise the Lord! I am here with the boys outside New Hope, enjoying my last few minutes with them, the weather, and all that is New Hope. I love this place.
Hope to see you all soon. Please pray for safe travel and continued support for these blessed children. They need so much!
May the Lord bless you and keep you all!

The best hotel ever

I just can't say enough about the Jireh Christian Guest House. The two most precious people in the world own and operate this place in Busia. Generators, hot showers, room service, the cleanest floors ever, all you can eat breakfast (well...I brought my own starbucks coffee), a queen size bed?, fans, lights...everything you could ever wish for in Busia. I'm so blessed to be able to stay there with Eileen and Chris. Even at the volunteer house Sam and Megan have hot water, an indoor bathroom, and awesome ladies who make 3 meals a day for about 20 people.

We worked on the computers today, and they are all ready for internet, but there isn't any internet for today anywhere in Busia, so we're waiting around. The weather here is amazing. Dry, 75 degrees, sunny, and sometimes there is some serious rain. Very refreshing. We have a "goodbye" ceremony today because 3 of the volunteers who have been here for two months are leaving. The ceremonies are awesome because we get to hear the kids sing. There are several choirs now. It seemed like there was only one last year. They have somehow acquired a keyboard, which is fun, but I miss the drums and the guitars.

Everyone is healthy and well. Eating way too much and trying to walk as much as possible - which in general is easy to do :)

Blessings to you all! Martha

Mubarak is back!

Hopefully this picture actually works! It would be nice to get some posted for you all. Mubarak (my sponsoree) was able to return from Northern Uganda to be able to see me before I leave. He was volunteering at a medical missions event for the poor in the north. Ken was able to arrange for him to return early. Praise God! It would have been very hard to leave Uganda without seeing him. I will try to post pictures again tomorrow. We currently have no electricity, but my AMAZING netbook that my husband fixed up for me has endless battery life, and with a mobile modem, I am able to keep working at the computer school. The internet is working (very slowly) in the computer school, but we are waiting for a better connection tomorrow, and hopefully electricity!! Both are very important for building the network with all of the computers. That whole process could take several days.
New Hope is having an "Overnight Prayer" event on Friday. I'm really looking forward to that. Praise and worship for hours - maybe until 2 in the morning. We'll see if I can stay up that late. We only have a few days left here. We leave for the airport on Monday morning. We should arrive at JFK around 8am on Tuesday. So much to do....so little time.
May the Lord bless you all and keep you! Martha

Happy Sunday!

I was really hoping that I would be able to post some pictures by now, but alas! (an expression of woe)finding internet in Busia is a difficult task. Findind time to find the internet in Busia is also a difficult task. I was able to purchase what they call a mobile modem (looks like a flashdrive) and have successfully used it at the computer school and orphanage, but could not get it working at the hotel or volunteer house. We've been promised a visit on Monday to fix the internet at the computer school. We shall see! Megan and I were encouraged yesterday by finally being able to unlock 7 of the 14 computers that Scott had set up last year. Megan was able to wipe the hard drives of 3 of them yesterday and we're hoping to finish this today. Scott is patiently teaching Megan and I everything we never knew about wiping and restoring computers, diagnosing internet connections and setting up a network. Basically, everything Scott did last year was undone on half of the computers and Megan and I are trying to recreate it. Scott is able to communicate with us every day from 4 am to 7 am (New York time) via text and Skype to Uganda cell phone. A daunting task.

It is Sunday! Praise the Lord. Church starts in an hour, and Eileen and I will walk up to the orphanage to meet everyone there. Half of Busia is Christian, so I can already hear the praise and worship from other churches around the hotel. African church is loud! - and that works for me! Yesterday I was able to spend a few hours in the evening at the orphanage and videotape the entire campus. So much has changed since last year! New buildings, pigs, chickens and lots of new children to meet! There is still much to be done, but the children are so greatful and amazing to be with. Aida, Joseph and Matthew keep us laughing, Fiona, Betty and Brenda keep us singing, and Elijah, Samuel and Menya keeps us in deep conversation about everything spiritual, political and philosphical. I've learned a new children's game called Dodge ball (different than ours) which they spend hours playing. Sweet, precious Olivia is quite a competitor!

May you all be blessed this day! Please continue to pray for our safety (always and issue), and protection from disease that would keep us from our work. AND if we get internet tomorrow, maybe some pictures! Martha

In Busia

We are finally here. We made it here on Wednesday around 10:30pm. Ken helped us check in at a hotel. I'm sorry I don't have pictures yet, but I may be able to upload something from my smartphone later. The Jireh Guest House (owned by Christians) is an amazing place. Much better than last year. Chris, Eileen and I have running water, fans and an excellent breakfast every morning. Sam and Megan are at the volunteer house where they share a room with the other female volunteers, having a living space and eat their meals together. We join them for lunch and dinner when we're not at the computer room. We've been waiting two days for help for the internet. Megan and I have spent several hours trying to restore the modem and reset the other laptops. It is definitely my greatest prayer need at this time - that we get the internet access up and running again.
We are all happy and healthy - getting over jet lag, eating huge meals, playing with the children, and trying to learn all their names! They had a welcome celebration for us last night and it was wonderful. It was great to hear the choir again.

we're in Dubai!

Leaving in 5 minutes! It's hot! We're all fine 5 more hours to fly
to Uganda. 5 hours in car to get to orphanage. Keep praying!

Itinerary

Times local (and Eastern Daylight Time)

July 26: Leave JFK 11:00pm
July 27: Arrive Dubai, UAE 7:45pm (11:45am EDT)
July 28: Depart Dubai 8:25am (12:25am EDT)
July 28: Arrive Entebbe, Uganda 2:45pm (7:45am)
August 09: Depart Entebbe 4:15pm (9:15am)
August 10: Arrive Dubai 12:45am (Aug09 at 4:45pm)
August 10:Depart Dubai 2:00am (Aug09 at 6:00pm)
August 10: Arrive JFK 7:45am

We're off again! Departing July 26th

I am returning to New Hope Orphanage again with Chris Higgins, his mom Eileen Higgins (her first time!) and SBS alum Megan Knab (who also went last year). SBS alum Samantha Lee will also join us. We are going back to encourage Ken the Director, bless the children and bring 450 pounds of school supplies, medical supplies, 7 computers and 100 SBS tshirts! Megan and I have been planning, gathering and packing everything the last few weeks so we are ready for our departure on July 26th. We will be there for 2 weeks. While the bombings in Kampala have saddened our hearts, we continue to feel the leading our Our Lord to go to Busia, Uganda and be a blessing as He has called us to do. Please follow us on this blog and pray for us daily. We could never do any of this without His blessing and mercy!

"So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth" - Job 5:16

www.newhopeafricanchildren.org