Kumi Mission Team De-brief Session

Aug. 5, 2009

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you. Phillipians 4:8-9

For Reflection:

What have you learned from the mission trip? What have you received from God through it? What insights have you gained about yourself? About missions?

What have you seen God do in the lives of the people to whom you ministered?

Have you noticed any important changes in who you are since the mission trip? (Physical, social,, emotional, political, spiritual, financial)

What do you intend to do with what you have learned, i.e., your goals?

What obstacles might keep you from achieving your goals (fears, uncertainties, lack of strategy)?

Your plan for achieving your goals and for overcoming any obstacles you have identified.


We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 1:2-3

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Reflection Upon Return from the Kumi Mission Trip

By Becky

This was my first international mission trip, and I returned truly amazed by what God could do with a small group of people, who may have thought they had very little to offer, yet God accomplished far more than any of us had imagined possible. I saw God's people in Africa offered the message of salvation and HOPE for their futures, as presented by the drama, the preaching, and testimonies. And I was humbled by the response, the hunger for the goodness of God to work in their lives, when I knew that the Ugandans had so few material goods, and had suffered so greatly due to no fault of their own. I was touched by their genuine warmth and openness, shown by the hospitality we received everywhere we went, from Miroi Village, to the Displaced Persons Camp, to the Soroti Prison.

While the construction of the school was interesting, and the VBS skits were fun, the relationships we had working with the people and with the YCVM team in particular is what was most outstanding to me about the entire trip. Silver, Grace, Emmanuel and Patrick are no longer names on paper and faces in a photo; they are unique individuals with amazing stories of faith, courage, and determination that will bring you to tears. They devoted their time to our team 24/7 to see that we were happy, comfortable, healthy, prayed for, and working alongside them as God's servants. As David Ofumbi wrote to me, “Now you have a family in Africa”, and he is right.

My first weeks back, I was constantly running the praise song “Biggy God-O” through my mind. I found myself thinking of the YCVM and praying for them and the people often. I was more mindful of my own wastefulness and am determined to be a better steward of God's precious resources. I would sometimes find myself close to tears thinking of the hardships the people endured, while I have had life so easy. And while I have always enjoyed travel as a hobby, I now know that travel with a mission purpose is the most rewarding travel experience one can have. My goals are to support the orphans financially and to help the Mission Team continue to work together and bring the stories we now have to new people and places, in order to fundraise for the completion of the Kumi School. And above all, I hope to encourage more people to engage in mission work, whether here or abroad, but especially in a very special place called Kumi.

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EchoBack Sunday

Plans have tentatively been set for September 20th as our EchoBack Sunday. It is one of many opportunities for the Kumi Mission Team to bring to our communities the richness of their testimonies, stories, pictures, videos, prayers, songs, etc. In short, we get the "live" version from the Great Eight themselves -- what they ate, where they slept, who they met, what songs they sang, and maybe, just maybe, we could get the live version of "Biggy Biggy God O"!

Stay tuned for more information...

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Jetlagged

The Great Eight (minus one) are back in CA, and we're pleased, thankful, happy, excited that they are all in one healthy piece/peace. Many are still jetlagged; some are napping for a few hours during the day, while others are using toothpicks to keep their eyelids propped open during the day. Valene has recommended NOT napping until about 9pm or 10pm so that you can try and get back into a regular sleeping pattern. Becky has been singing "Biggy Biggy God O" and everyone's wondering how Aeri is doing in Uganda.

A few of the team members were taken to lunch this past Sunday, and plans are being hatched for an official Welcome Back "Tell Us All You've Seen, Heard, and Felt" Event. Please stay tuned for more... as we bring "it" back to the communities we serve!

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Day 16: Blog Post by Valene

Day 16 - Wednesday, 22 July 2009 (posted by Valene)

As I am writing this, we are currently waiting in Nairobi, Kenya, for our next flight to London. We spent the morning today shopping at a craft village to buy some souvenirs. It was a shopping spree as we only had about an hour and a half to shop. Donna and Pete bought a bag made out of bottle caps from one of our favorite sodas here – Stoneys. Other items bought included some woven bags, small instruments, wooden salad spoons, and children’s clothing.



After shopping we quickly went back to our hotel to pack our things to go. Before leaving the hotel Silver, Emma, and Patrick sang us a goodbye song. “Won’t you pray for us, as we pray for you. One love will bind us round the corner.” Most of us were in tears by the end of the song, even the YCVM guys singing. Silver had actually written that song the day before for us.



Then we went to eat lunch before going to the airport. We went to an Italian restaurant near the hotel and had 6 different types of pizzas. It was the first time for the YCVM team to eat pizza. During lunch we also got to hear Silver share part of his story, of how he grew up, the challenges he faced, and how God clearly spoke to him to lead his life and protect him.

Finally, we were off to the airport. We were very sad to have to say good-bye to our new and dear friends, Emma, Silver, Patrick, and Grace. Also, we were sad to say goodbye to our trusty leader Aeri as she will be staying for 3 more weeks in Uganda to teach music at RTC. However, I know that for Dustin and I this won’t be our last time seeing our YCVM friends – we are sure of it. But, we are looking forward to coming home and seeing all of our friends and family. We are also looking forward for the ways God has moved us to grow in our efforts to help YCVM from the States.



Thank you, all, for following our blog, sending us messages, and most importantly, for praying for us. We have really appreciated all the efforts of the home team – from the t-shirts, and daily letters of encouragement, to daily prayers.

Eyalama Noy. (Thank you very much!)


Prayer Requests:
-Please pray for our continued safe journey home.
-Pray for the YCVM team and Aeri as they travel back to Kumi.
-Prayer for the future work of YCVM, both in Uganda and our work here in the States. -Pray that we will each follow God’s callings on where to go from here for the growth of YCVM.

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Day 15: Blog Post by Dustin

Day 15 - Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 (posted by Dustin)

Today, we left Kumi and started our journey back home. We first drove to Jinja where we were able to see the “Source of the Nile”, the point where the Nile River meets Lake Victoria (the second largest freshwater lake in the world next to Lake Superior). We were able to take a short boat ride on the Nile which was refreshing. We also had a delicious lunch of fried tilapia (probably fresh from the Nile) and chips.





After Jinja, we made our way to Kampala. We ended up staying at the same hotel we had stayed at our first night in Kampala, the City Royal hotel. For dinner, Aeri suggested going to a Chinese restaurant she had been to many times before. This was a treat for the YCVM team for all of them, except Silver, had never had Chinese food before. Before they food came, we had fun teaching the YCVM team members how to do chopsticks. They were surprisingly quick learners and were able to pick up single peanuts. We had hot & sour soup, cream corn chicken soup, fried rice, cashew chicken, beef with black bean sauce, duck, lamb, tofu with mixed vegetables, bok choy, and gai lan (Chinese broccoli). The YCVM team really liked the lamb and the gai lan. For dessert, we had a couple plates of fresh pineapple, watermelon, and something that was carved into a nice pagoda. Dustin, Emma, and Patrick had fun taking bites out of the pagoda and trying to figure out what “fruit” it was. We eventually found out that it wasn’t a fruit and that it was just a large carrot.









Tomorrow, we’ll be completing our journey back home. We’ll probably be on our way once you receive this blog, so please pray for us!

Answers to Day 14 Questions:
1. Which person from YCVM used two walking sticks? Silver!
2. Who wore flip flops on the climb? Grace! She is one tough cookie.
3. What was the gift we all received from YCVM? A wooden map of Uganda with the districts that we had visited.
4. Who was the one that was left speechless last night? Patrick!

Prayer needs:
1. That Silver’s father will truly commit his life to the Lord to be transformed.
2. YCVM single members find a life partner that will support their ministry.
3. Prayer for our safe return back home.

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Day 14: Blog Post by Donna and Pete

Day 14 - Monday, 20 July 2009 (Posted by Donna and Pete)

Praise the Lord! Can you believe it’s been 14 days we have been in Uganda? We have had 14 amazing days and we cannot believe it’s coming to an end. Not having any ministry duties today felt a little different. We even got to sleep in an hour later, though I don’t know how many people did since we were on such an early schedule almost every day. We started with our breakfast of little squares of bread, diced watermelon and papaya and a hard boiled egg. Burt was disappointed this morning because the coffee was finished. After breakfast Silver and Grace led our morning devotion. We sang a couple of songs and Grace read Psalms 136. After reading a verse we all responded with “His love endures forever.” Some of us shared how we saw God at work during our time here.

On to the bus we go for our day at Sipi Falls. Patrick told us we would be going at 9 dot, but he didn’t get here till 9:20. On our way we stopped at the construction site for the last time. We took photos, looked at the progress that was made since the last time we were there, but the most special thing was that Aeri got to lay her cornerstone brick to the applause of everyone. We said our good-byes again and got on the bus.



Richard from the North East Villa Resort joined us today. It was almost a two hour bumpy ride to Sipi Falls, but the scenery is almost too hard to describe. Fields of corn, millet, cassava and other vegetables passed by our windows. Grass huts and mud houses dotted the country side. Children at school in their uniforms of different colors according to the school they attend. We passed by two open markets that are only open on Mondays. One in Kumi and the other in the next town. Both were very large, selling everything and anything you need. There were a lot of cattle for sale. So we are riding along and the road is going up and we can see the beautiful mountains up ahead. We stopped on the side of the road to look down into the valley of everything green except for a few huts. We continued on our way up, up, up the mountain till we came to a sign that said, Sipi Falls Crow’s Nest. We turned onto the road and ended up at a little clearing that had a great view of the valley below.




We got our restroom break and then we each got a bamboo walking stick. A walking stick? We thought we were going to go look at the falls – not hike to them. The hike to the falls was 2 kilometers which took us an hour to reach. We had slippery gravel trails, steep rocky steps and narrow walkways. For some it was a piece of cake and for me it was very difficult. But when we got to the falls it was definitely worth the hike. The top of the falls to the bottom was 100 meters. The mist from the falls was a pleasant break from the heat. Our guide told us that people come to the falls to do rapelling and to do rock climbing. After much photo taking, water drinking and snacking back up the trail we go. I found the climb back up harder especially since there were women with a huge bundle of bean plants for harvesting on their back walking up the trail barefoot passing me by. Can I do it, I’m sweating. Can I do it, my heart is pounding. Can I do it, they are telling me we are almost there. I DID IT! So did everybody else in front of me. We went up to the veranda of the little café there, relaxed and ate our lunch.





After a much needed rest it was time to leave. On the way down to the main road we gave a couple from Holland a lift. They were headed to Mbale, but there wasn’t a taxi around so we gave them a ride to Mbale so that were able to catch a taxi to the place they would be staying at. After a nice nap in the bus we arrived at “home.” Dinner at 7:30 turned into a buffet dinner at 9:00. Before dinner we started a conversation with the YVCM team and continued through dinner and after. We learned the beginnings of the team and where the team is going. At the end we presented the team with gifts of YCVM t-shirts, food/snack items and other donated items. Uncle Emma ended with a powerful prayer that left us all spiritually and emotionally spent.




Questions for Day 14
1. Which person from YCVM used two walking sticks?
2. Who wore flip flops on the climb?
3. What was the gift we all received from YCVM?
4. Who was the one that was left speechless last night?

Answers for Day 13 Questions
1. Burt was called “Bolt” and Donna was called “Diana.”
2. Mugole means either the bride or the groom.
3. We didn’t have utensils, we ate with our thumb and two fingers.
4. Grace Among still volunteers with the Ugandan Red Cross Society.


Prayer needs:
1. That Silver’s father will truly commit his life to the Lord to be transformed.
2. YCVM single members find a life partner that will support their ministry.

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Day 13: Blog Post by Burt

Day 13 - Sunday, 19 July 2009 (Posted by Burt)

Here we are again, and beginning our day with 6:30 AM devotions, we prepared for our last day of ministry. Before long, we are on the road to present worship at Soroti Prison, located about 60 kilometers north of Kumi. It was here that we found a very receptive audience from within the 397 inmate population. Approximately 30-35 inmates are female and are housed in a separate wing of the prison. They responded enthusiastically by their singing and dancing to the YCVM praise base. They also listened eagerly to Aeri’s testimony of how she related of her imprisonment brought on by her struggles to forgive a significant adult in the last of her teen years and fasted for three days as a means to discern God’s plans for her life. Ask her to share her testimony with you some day.

Today’s worship presentation was another example of the power of God’s love and grace. When Bro Dustin ended his preaching, he did an altar call, and about 30-35 individuals stepped forward, including a female guard. His scripture text was Luke 18:18-26, The Rich Ruler. All of us enjoyed hearing him “preaching with the power of God”. After three hours of worship, we headed back to town to the Land Mark Hotel for lunch. Again, the food was quite tasty and well prepared, as it was previously from our Katakwi trip to learn about Internally Displaced Persons.

A definite highlight of today’s activities was a special team meeting at 5 PM, at which time each of us was given a brand new African garb. A couple of our women received a two piece outfit “dressed to the nines”, while the men received a pull over shirt with printed animals and flora indigenous to African culture and art.





And, the special meeting turned out be a time we celebrate two wedding anniversaries, Peter and Donna [13 yrs] and Dustin and Valene, both within this week or last.



The celebrations were fashioned after an authentic wedding celebration, just as if the families had invited slews of villagers from near and far to participate in it. You’ll have to wait for Benjamin’s recorded video to see the styles and vibrant colors, or when we give our first collective mission report.

And, finally, our evening was not complete until we were surprised to hear the cell phone ringing in my pant pocket. It was our terrific CCUMC family preparing for their 11 AM worship service. It was good to hear from our folks back home, especially their laughing and giggling. We praise and thank our Great God for the connections we have with our world-wide hook ups as we profess along with John Wesley, founder of Methodism, that the world is our parish.

We’ll take tomorrow as a day of rest, and travel 2 – 2 ½ hours to Cipi Waterfalls in Kapcworwa. Stay tuned and we’ll send along some of our excursion experience.
Thanks be to God!

Peace,
-Burt

Answers for Day 12:

1. “Stoney” is a soft drink that has a ginger flavor.
2. We discovered some locusts.
3. A hand-painted CCUMC t-shirt.

Questions for Day 13:
1. Who were called “Bolt” and “Diana” during introductions at the prison?
2. What does “mugole” mean?
3. What utensils did we eat with at the anniversary celebration dinner?
4. Which one of the YCVM host members has volunteered with the Ugandan Red Cross?

Prayer needs:
1. Pastor Emma’s 11-month-old son Jabez is again fighting malaria, and had to be taken to be seen by a specialist.
2. That Silver’s father will truly commit his life to the Lord to be transformed.

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From the Home Front: "Hope for Healing"

Dearest Kumi Team members -

It has been wonderful to see your daily updates. It almost feels like we are there with you. It sounds like you've had the wonderful opportunity to see more than just the orphange and VBS.

Our new pastor Emily took ill last week and was not able to join us on Sunday. Instead we had Rev. Dr. Sharon Thornton from the Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts as our guest speaker. She was quite surprised and impressed when we broadcasted the phone call during worship service to all of you! Her message was entitled Hope for Healing, and she shared about the need that all of us have for healing and the healing that God offers to each one of us. As I read about your visits to the prison, the refugee camp, and the children, I was reminded how much we all need God. I was particularly moved by the altar calls and those to whom you are ministering who responded to the call. What a joy it must have been to encourage and be a part of this special moment when a person lets God into her/his life.

We look forward to hearing many more of your stories and pray for your safe return.

God Bless,
Derek

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Day 12: Blog Post by Becky

Day 12 - Saturday, July 18th, 2009 (Posted by Becky)

Today we awoke to find the power out (again), which meant no water for some of us, since the pumps are electrically generated. I think we are getting used to finding our way around in the semi-dark, and it’s not so bad, as long as you are not in the shower. Breakfast consisted of fried chapati bread (a flatbread) with honey, and instant coffee, hot water, cocoa, or hot milk (sorry, but tea has been “over” for two days).

We’re happy that Aeri is feeling better and is able to join us today on all our activities. She led morning devotion on our theme verses: Philippians 2:1-11. We sing, share, and then read the daily letter from the Home Team---it’s from Ulander, and it’s a part of the day we all look forward to ☺.

We decided to split up the team for part of the day, so Peter and Burt are taken to the construction site for a last chance to work there. We’re pleased to see that the brick wall has gotten higher! There are more piles of sand, and the crew is already mixing mortar, and re-positioning forms to pour the stabilizing layer. The two guys are eager to pitch in. The remaining magnificent 6 now head to Ngora to see the house for the orphans which was built two years ago and to put on a VBS program.
When we arrive, we meet more of the orphans we have been supporting: Sheila is a smiling, sweet child of 10 who looks about 7. Helen and Stella are sisters. They have just washed the morning dishes, and are drawing water from the well, which YCVM had dug: one well is for the orphan’s house, and another well for the community. We also meet Martha, who is quite tall for her age.



We are excited to see the house! It is quite large and attractively laid out, with a spacious living room, 5 bedrooms, a kitchen with a storage pantry, and space for an indoor bathroom for guests to use. The steel with wood-beam roof is high, and exposed for now, as is the rough concrete floor. These finishing jobs, along with windows, doors, and electrical wiring and plumbing are all awaiting more funding.



So the girls invite us to step into the round hut which they share with Silver when they are not away at school. The 12-foot diameter space is crowded, with a bed partitioned by curtains for Silver, and mattress and mats on the floor for the kids. He says sometimes as many as 10 people share the space! There’s a mosquito net, a clock, and a poster on the wall for decoration.



Outside, Silver has planted an abundance of cassava next to the orange grove, which unfortunately is down to about a dozen very small trees, due to the drought. On the grounds is also a guava tree, a lime tree, and a small jackfruit tree. The land is surrounded by farms planted with sorghum, corn, groundnuts (peanuts), with other huts fairly distant.

The VBS program begins in the living room of the house, with prayer, introductions and spirited singing. The kids here (about 80-100) are pretty responsive, and join in on the songs and motions. After the Noah’s Ark Story, Dustin teaches the Arky, Arky song with lots of repetition, and the children GET IT ☺! The David and Goliath puppet show is so vivid that one of the children cries at the appearance of the giant! They love the Biggy Biggy God-O song led by Patrick. We hand out the pencils, erasers, and stickers, which they immediately put on their arms and faces ☺.







As we are about to leave, we are surprised that Silver’s father has asks us to pray for him as he accepts the Lord Jesus! He has had a rather dubious past, so we need to pray that he will have a real change of heart and strength to withstand the powers of evil. We entreat God to pour out the Holy Spirit upon him.

At 2:30 we leave for a short respite at Nyero Prayer Mountain, where we join up with Peter and Burt for a picnic lunch of groundnuts, chapatti and fruit salad. Nearby, are grazing cows and a group of children playing soccer, with what appears to be a home-made ball of found materials tied together. After lunch we do a short hike through the rocks to view petroglyphs in some of the nooks and crannies of the rocks. There is a beautiful view from one of the “caves”, which the caretaker tells us is used for prayer and study. The rocks are perfect acoustics for us to sing “Holy Ground”.



We return home, and the power is out again ☹, but cold sodas are a welcome treat. Dark clouds are gathering and the wind is picking up, so we hope for rain for the region. Dinner is beef stew and matooke (steamed and mashed plaintains).
The day ends with sharing, evening devotion, prayer and lights out. So ends another day in Kumi.

Answers for Day 11 blogpost:
1. Dustin, since Valene was the “baby” at the birthday celebration.

2. Donna laid the cornerstone.
3. Cassava.
4. “How are you?” is shouted to us by children we pass as the bus rolls along.

Questions for Day 12:
1. What is “Stoney”?
2. What colorful insects were discovered in the bushes today?
3. What gift do we present to Silver’s father?


Prayer needs:
1. Pastor Emma’s 11-month-old son Jabez is again fighting malaria, and had to go to the hospital.
2. That Silver’s father will truly commit his life to the Lord to be transformed.
3. Prayers for tomorrow’s prison ministry in Soroti. Dustin will be speaking after we present the skit.

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