Uganda Dreams

You can access my other blog here: http://uganda.adventures.org Yes it is different! ;)

Ambrose is 23 years old and he is very talented at farming. He has many certificates from programs he has completed in agricultural studies. In one class he received distinctions and in every class he received credits. He wants to own his own farm and to support his older sister who is unmarried with a child. She has no one to provide for her unless she marries. The chances of that are slim. But Ambrose needs another degree in order to be hired in his field and he doesn't have the money to pay for it. He dreams big dreams. He has a beautiful vision for his future, his sister's future, her child, and even for street children in Uganda, but without the financial support or a job that he can work and save money with, Ambrose fears his dreams won't be possible. But he still dreams. And he travels into Victory Outreach Church frequently to pray that God will allow his dreams to come true. He believes God will provide.

Victory Outreach Ministries (VOM) sponsors several primary schools, but they have also begun a high school. This is unique because many children you read about in Africa never finish primary school much less attend high school. But VOM dreams big dreams for the city of Lira, the country of Uganda, and every child that our Lord has blessed this country with.

The high school is also a boarding school, and a few days ago we were given a tour of the grounds. School won't begin again until after the students arrive back from Holiday on January 30th, but the teachers and staff are in the process of getting everything ready for the new school term. We were given a tour by Khalid, a man with a great vision for Fountain High School. His school, however, has not yet reached its full potential. Understatement. His school is not yet finished. In fact, both the girls and boys dormitories remain incomplete. The kitchen (and I use this term lightly, imagine a small brick room with various pots and pans, no stove, no sink, no oven, no refrigerator, no dishwasher, you get it...) is too small to accommodate. all of the students and staff. The classrooms are make-shift. Though they are hoping for 200 students when courses begin again in a few days time, they have a vision for 800-1000 students. Of course, that is with a finished school. At this point the facilities are half-done at the most generous estimate.

The cost so far? Roughly $35,000. The price needed for 1000 Ugandan high school students to receive a real shot at a future through education? Around $30,000. VOM dreams big dreams for the people here. And they believe God will provide. In fact, they have no doubts.

Uganda dreams

And their dreams are beautiful

 

The girl's dormitory.

In just a few days, girls will live here. Including my new beautiful friend Lydia.

She wants to be an accountant!

Eager for Rome

I learned recently from a beautiful woman of God at my church that when you reading scripture, you should insert your name, your circumstance, your trial, your location, etc. into what you are reading. In this way scripture will come alive in your circumstance. So I decided to try it. In Romans 1, Paul write to the Roman church and tells them of his long desire to be with them. When I first read this, I immediately thought of Uganda and the journey I'm about to embark upon. So when you read this, I want you to think  as I thought, that this is Somer eager to be in Uganda. And look at what it says:

"For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you -- that is that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine." - Romans 1:9-12

I leave for Uganda tomorrow evening. Your prayers are appreciated. I wish that I could contain in this one blog how thrilled I am to finally be entering the country of Uganda. I am eager for this journey, as Paul was eager for Rome. 

I want to let you know of another opportunity to keep up with me, and even the rest of my team. I encourage you to follow our team blog at http://uganda.adventures.org. Follow us by e-mail and you'll be updated everytime one of our team members has something to share. I will be telling you more about them soon, but for now just know that they are amazing  children of God. They encourage me every moment I am with them, and I'd love for you to know them, too. So follow us!!! In fact, I will be updating both blogs...but with different information. This is still my primary blog, but depending on how much time I have to post, I may only be able to put out a short snippit on our team blog. For example, I have written something about my EXTAORDINARY time at training camp. I'm not posting it to this page, so view it by clicking http://uganda.adventures.org. And there is also a picture of me and some of the girls on the other blog...in case you need some incentive! 

My teams expression of our vision for Uganda. We are all apparently closet artist..I mean right?!

Blessings,


Somer

The Unplanned Unexpected Post

So I wasn't planning to blog again until right before I left for training camp on January 13th, but God is just so good! And though it was unplanned, I just couldn't wait to share it with you.

I don't think I've told you all that as of last week, I am fully funded for my trip through Adventures in Missions! I got word of a final donation, did some calculating, and it turned out to be just enough! But as good as that news is, it is not what prompted me to sit down and write this blog. I'll explain...

Today I woke up knowing that I had to pay a certain bill. This bill didn't come out of no where. I pay it once a month, and I've been planning to pay it, knowing I had the money, for over a week. See in addition to fundraising for my program cost, I've also been trying to save up enough money to pay my bills for the four months that I am gone and not working. I've known all along that this God's plan for my life, to be in Uganda in a little more than a week's time, and I've known that because it's God's plan, He will provide for all of my needs to see that His will is accomplished in my life. All my job is, is to say "Yes, Lord, send me." Of course what my head knows and what I feel on a daily basis are often two very different things.

You see this bill I've been planning to pay for weeks now, today all of a sudden became something that I just didn't have quite enough money for. I checked and double checked my bank accounts. I transferred money from the account I'm keeping for spending money in Uganda to my regular bill paying account. Did the math again, and somehow still did not have enough to make this payment. So in my human way, I've been kind of mopey all morning. I've also been pretty upset with myself for not budgeting well enough to cover something that comes up every month. In my great distress and in His usual way, God showed up. The mailman came to my door this morning with a package that I had purchased for my trip, and the usual stack of bills and advertisements. I thanked him, shut my door and rushed to open my new supplies. After trying out my new camping pillow and headlamp, I sorted through the rest of my mail. Right there on top of the stack, addressed to me, was an envelope from an old family friend. I opened it to find a check that gives me just enough to pay this bill!

This whole day reminds me of a song. You probably know it, "This is the Stuff" by Francesca Battistelli. In case you don't I'll post it below. This line from the chorus perfectly describes my morning:

"In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I'm blessed..."