The HOPE Center Uganda Happenings

Shadia

2012-02-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

We have had a new arrival!!! Her name is Shadia. We will just be rehabilitating her and then prayerfully returning her to her family.

This was the first day we received her.

This is after just 2 days!!!

Praise the Lord!!!
She has a long road in front of her and with a lot of love, prayers, food, and medical attention, we know she can get there with your help!

Blessings

Wonderful, Beautiful News!!!

2012-02-07T22:15:00.001-07:00

We have a full physical exam on each and every child that enters HCU. They are tested for TB and HIV etc.

Now, the tests that are available for HIV will sometimes give a false positive for babies, any child 15 months and younger. This is because the child carries the mothers antibodies for a time period, now, when we have a baby test HIV+ we have to take them to the main hospital, and the main hospital sends the blood to Entebbe, there is is retested to make sure the baby is actually positive or if it is the mothers antibodies.

Faith Hope has been testing HIV+ We took her to the main hospital immediately after testing her. We have been waiting for 2 months for these results to come back. Emma has gone many times to get the results and had received many answers as to why he could not pick up the results at that time.

One of our workers had called in sick, saying her child was admitted to the hospital for malaria and chicken pox, Emma and I went to the hospital to visit the child, and he pointed out the woman sitting there and said to me, that is the woman that is supposed to be giving us the results for Faith, she was sitting there all alone, and so I went over and introduced myself and asked, could we please have her results?

FAITH HOPE IS HIV NEGATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praise the Lord! I literally started crying and even Emma, got teary and said, I don't believe it, Oh My, I just cant believe it! We immediately returned home and had a huge family prayer full of thankfulness!

Blessings to all

New Month

2012-02-02T21:57:00.001-07:00

February is here! We have a family here from England volunteering for 3 weeks. They arrived safely in the middle of the night last night, with their 3 little ones in tow! Praise the Lord!

Prayer list for February:
That our orphanage license is completed this month.
Consistent monthly funding.
Randy will be leaving at the end of the month to return to the states to work. Funds are low.
ME! Angie, and the kids, it is very hard when Dad is away for so long. Pray for strength and understanding for the children and I.
We are still looking for land, long and painful process, please, be in prayer that God directs us to the land He has chosen for us.

We are considering starting home fellowship. Please pray we are consistent with this and that the children will learn and grow from it.

I want to thank each and everyone of you for being such a HUGE part of HCU! We could not be servants to our Lord without your help.

Praises
We have had 3 baby turkeys hatch!
The children are healthy and happy!
We were able to finish everything to do with the van, as a beautiful family from Canada helped us with finances for that one! Please pray for this family as well, they are adopting internationally and could use the prayers!
Randy was able to accomplish much this month. He has built new washing stations for the workers so they do not bend over as much.

He would also like to build some bookshelves but we are lacking the needed tools...lol A complaint I hear often!!! I think he is feeling lost without his garage full of tools!

Our volunteers are here on a 'vision' trip to see if they would like to someday move back here permanently, please pray that God speaks clearly to them while they are here! Shaun does prison ministry in England and is very interested in started such ministry here as well. We went into Kampala a few weeks ago, to gain permission to enter the Mityana prisons, and they were excited there as only 1 person has permission and they only go once a month, to have someone ministering to them on a regular basis, Oh what the Lord could do!

Blessings to all
Angie

This Week

2012-01-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

I pray that everyone has had a wonderful week!

We have had some exciting changes this week!
Randy and I decided to personally foster 2 young girls that are double orphans, and the current care taker was not able to care for them any longer. They are beautiful girls, and seem to be adujsting quite nicely.

Please join us in prayer for their transition into our home.

I also dealt with school fees and supplies this week for John and the girls, I found out that it takes WAY too much money for the children to go to a decent school here.
The total enrollment, uniforms, and fees came to 500,000 UGX, that was just for 3 children. That price did not include, bras, panties, shoes, socks, books, etc. I was astounded! Lesson learned! I think the grand total was between 750,000 and 1,000,000 UGX scary thought.
The children are making such great strides!!! MiMi is walking and dancing everywhere, and Ester is finally trying to stand and make efforts to learn to walk, Joahn is excited about school and the twins are walking everywhere! God is so very good!

This was our week in pictures!
What you all do not see, is the sweat!!! It is dry season and so very hot right now, the workers keep telling me one more month before the rain, I am already counting the days.

Blessings,
Angie

The Power of God, Love and Prayer

2012-01-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

MiMi is a beautiful child, she was removed from her father because of the intense abuse she suffered in his care. One of the problems with MiMi was her inability to raise her head, it was permently lowered, it was very hard for her to lift her head and look at people. It was obvious that they did not allow her to look around and be apart of the family. The workers thought she was nonverbal, but I knew better, I knew she could speak but she was just never allowed to. She now speaks some, and she LAUGHS, oh does she enjoy laughing!!! The sound of it almost makes me cry. She is such a joy!

Look what else MiMi found to do!

Isn't she just precious!?

Todays Trip to Kampala

2012-01-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

What a long exhausting, dusty trip!

We left at 7 am. Our first stop was leaving the car with the mechanic for a scheduled oil change.
Ernest picked us up from there and we went straight to Immigration.
There we started yet another hunt for Randys work permit.
We went straight to the supervisor and he said I am late for a meeting just go to room 2. I said so you found it? He said just go to room 2. I felt like we were getting the ultimate brush off, but headed straight to room 2 and they had no idea why I was there, because of course they did not have his permit.

I then went to the next room, talked to a man there, explained the whole thing yet again, (keep in mind everytime you go to a different room you wait in line forever). This man actually FOUND, yes I said FOUND Randys work permit. It was missing the NGO cert so it was sitting in deferred room. Where I suspected it was all along, and a couple different people have looked for it there. This man said because it was not him looking. Now it should be processed within a week or 2.
Praise the Lord!!!

Then we went to pick up the car because then it was already noon.

We have some volunteers coming in February from the UK and they are interested in Prison Ministry. So we headed to the head of prisons to get permission to enter the Mityana Prisons. Oh what a day. We searched for this Ministry for 2 hours. Ernest then called in the middle of our hunt and was asking what kind of tires we were wanting for the van as he had found some at a reasonable price. I was almost in tears and told him forget tires. Please help us get to where we are supposed to be. He met us and had me to where I needed to be in 10 minutes!!!

I had a whole file ready for this woman. She said ohhh You have given me much. But i will choose what I need. She also needs passport size photos of everyone wanting to enter into the prisons for her records, and copies of driving license. We will talk that next Friday on our scheduled trip to Kampala.

Ernest then wanted us to look at these tires, so we did that, told him we do not have the money at this time, but yes those look good.

We hit traffic jam after traffic jam today, and finally arrived home around 5:30pm what a long hot day!
But once again full of many blessings! Thank you Lord!

Prayer Needed!

2012-01-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

Randy and I spent today in Kampala once again chasing his work permit. Immigration has completely cleared all the back log and are actually working on 2012 work permits already.

They are now saying give them til Friday to try to find where it has been misplaced. Now they want us to return Friday and if they do not find it by then, they will have us fill out a brand new one and push it through quickly. There are a few things wrong with this scenerio, a. Randys visa has expired and they will not give him a special pass til they try this last attempt. b. Randy is supposed to be leaving the end of February to go to the states to make more funds for HCU.

Please pray everyone that this file is found and that we can get Randys work permit before he is set to leave!
This is very important.

Blessings
Angie

PS
A huge PRAISE!!!! A wonderful family from Canada has donated enough funds for us to be able to finish getting the van completely ready! This will include the fire extinguisher, first aid kit, the windows they asked for, seat belts, the private license, new tires and hopefully getting it lifted off the ground some. Praise the Lord!!!

First Week of the New Year

2012-01-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, that the first week of the New Year has been so quiet and relaxing. It truly feels like something so foreign to me to be able to sit and not have a million things to do, that I honestly do not know what to do with the time on my hands. It has been a mini-vacation right here at home.

Please pray for Randy's work permit, we would much rather pay for it and not get a special pass. At this time his visa is expired and immigration said come back next week. We are praying and praying that it is there next week! If it is not there we are going to have to spend long hot days chasing this and having people find it.

The good news is once we get his work permit, we are finished with immigration until we need to renew our NGO later this summer.

Ester has sure been blossoming this week. She is moving more and so very happy. It is exciting to see her grow and finally get a desire to play and interact with everyone. MiMi, oh how she amazes me daily, she is walking more, and so desires our attention. She loves to giggle and play now!

Prayer Warriors, please be in prayer about these items
-that God points us to the perfect land for HCU
-the children continue to be healthy and grow
-Randy's work permit
-orphanage license
-funding

Thanks you all and we pray that you have a Happy New Year, Be blessed!!!!

Volunteering

2012-01-02T01:45:00.000-07:00

Hello to all the Hope Center blog readers - this is a post from Benjamin, a volunteer from the states.

I've been here for a month now and have been thoroughly enjoying my time here. Having the opportunity to come here and work with Randy and Angie has been a great blessing.
I got here a month ago not quite sure what to expect, what kind of work I'd be doing, and what Randy and Angie would be like. Upon arrival they warmly welcomed me into their home and here and I quickly felt like one of the family. I've had a great time spending time in fellowship with Randy and Angie and playing with their kids - whether its an energetic game of soccer or water balloons or a riveting game of phase 10 :)

I've kept busy with a lot if different things while I've been here. I worked with Randy putting together 'pop-bottle solar light fixtures' for village homes. This was a really neat project and very rewarding to see how a collection of inexpensive parts could provide light to many power-less, dark homes in the village. I've also been able to spend time with the children in the orphanage, playing with kids and working with Shamim - a child disabled from abuse before she got here. The kids are a blast - each one with a different personality - I've grown attached to each one. I'll especially miss Shamim.

I've also been able to go out to some of the villages around Mityana with a group of wonderful brothers from church. They really have a burden for sharing the Gospel in the villages and it was a blessing to join them in their bible studies and sharing of the Gospel. It was an adventure riding the 'death-on-wheels' taxi motorcycles out to the village, but definitely worth it after getting to speak with the villagers and serve them in whatever way we could.
I feel like there's a ton of other things I could talk about with all the different things I've had the opportunity to help out with - but for the sake of not writing a 10 page blog post, I'll leave it at that :)

I'll be leaving shortly - the trip felt way too short. Everyone I've met and worked with here has been so welcoming and fun to work with - I'm already starting to miss them. If you're looking for a place to serve - come out to the Hope Center in Mityana - you won't regret it!

-Benjamin

The Power of Faith

2011-12-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

I pray this post finds you all well.

This week has been a very emotionally filled week.

We faced emotions of being away from our 2 oldest children for the first time ever, if was very rough for me, and did not feel much like Christmas.

As most of you know, Randy funds most this ministry from funds he earns going back and forth to America, I had posted before on how funds were running short, and Randy is not due to leave for America for another 2 months. This week we withdrew the last of the money out of the HCU account, and it brought forth feelings that I was not expecting. People, we have seen absolutely miracles within this ministry! Certificates and licenses gotten in record time, other missionaries and Ugandans just stunned we have gotten this far so quickly. Van almost completely funded, and money for land donated etc. God is moving! I was in prayer with God and found myself questioning his motives, asking Lord, are you testing our faith? Lord, how are we going to pay the things we need to this week? I found myself deeply in prayer asking God many things, and praising Him for what His has accomplished, because, without God none of this would have happened.

I was trying my best to be faithful and not question, but I am flesh and the flesh is weak. I found myself trying to take control back from God, and not be as completely faithful as I want to be. We were in Kampala yesterday picking up some necessary items for the baby home. I told Randy, I think we should draw money off our credit card as we were down to our last $55. Needless to say, he agreed and we withdrew some money off our credit card.

Matthew 8:26

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

That evening, I knew I had to log into the bank account to see where we were standing with money, I was dreading it. My stomach hurt, I was crying, but I logged in, and oh did the Lord make me feel 2 inches tall!!!

There had been a deposit into our account!!!! Ohh Myyy!!!

We return to my life verse,

Matthew 17:20

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²⁰ And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

The money that was deposited is half of what we need til Randy starts bringing in a paycheck again!!! (not including final payment on the van) Praise the Lord! I was and still am so humbled by his faithfulness.

Lesson learned, have faith!!!

Blessings to all,
Angie

Christmas in Pictures!!!

2011-12-25T08:29:00.003-07:00

HOPE Center would like to thank Canyon West Worship Center for the donations that enabled us to buy the children some much needed toys! Thank you all and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Ester ate too much!!! The kids had a wonderful day!

Blessings to all!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas to all!!! Thank you all for being a part of this ministry, we could not have achieved what we have and such a short time without your prayers and support.

Minister of Gender

2011-12-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

We had our appointment with the Minister of Gender this am!!!!

They said all our paperwork was in order and now we wait for them to come inspect!!! Praise the Lord!!!!

Please join us in rejoicing in His blessings!!! I am still in shock that we walked out knowing that we were not going to do the Kampala shuffle and go 10 other places. I am also in shock that we had EVERYTHING that they were wanting!!!

Calling all prayer warriors, please pray for funding for HCU, we are running short on funds. The car lot called, and though we were told we had til January to pay the 5 million shillings for the van that is due, they are saying we need to give them 2,500,000sh ($1000) right away and the balance in January. We are booking a flight for Randy back to the states the last week of February. BUT we need funds til he starts receiving a paycheck. We estimate that we would need $5000.

Please share this post with your friends and neighbors, if you cannot afford to help (We completely understand in these trying times) they may be able to!

Also, we have 3-4 more toddler beds to have built and purchased. Now we have 2 options, hire someone to build them or have Randy build them, (he is a carpenter) but he would need the tools. The good side of Randy building them would be, anything else that needs built or fixed we wouldn't have to hire out for those services.

Thank you for allowing us to come to you all with our rejoicing and our prayer requests
Blessings to all
Angie

New Tab!

2011-12-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Check out our new tab! Courtesy of our volunteer Ben!

Please prayerfully consider sponsoring one of our beautiful children!

Blessings!

Matthew 25:40

Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Beyond Speechless!!!!

2011-12-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

We had a phone call a few days ago, it was from this wonderful family from the UK. They were interested in hearing about our land fund. Towards the end of the conversation, they said, we are going to donate the 8000 Euros toward your land!

Oh my Goodness, seriously? How the Lord provides!!! We are so thankful here at HCU for His covering, and are praying blessings upon the people who are providing for these children that are literally unwanted and disposable items. Please join us in saying a prayer of blessings for everyone that has joined our journey in any way! Through prayer, support kindness etc.

We are LOVING these children and watch them blossom on a daily basis and its all because of the Body of Christ is moved to love just as Jesus does.

We are now going to meet every requirement that has been asked of us. Reliable vehicle, land available,

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I have been singing this song all week! It is so very true!

Please join us in thanking the Almighty for the provisions He is providing!!!

Blessings to all!

Day Lights!!!

2011-12-10T02:44:00.000-07:00

Randy and our Volunteer Benjamin, went to a man's house that the church has helped with a new mud house, and installed a day light.

The man was absolutely thrilled although he was slightly disappointed it wouldn't work at night.

These lights were made from a 2 liter bottle and water! The total expense for us was less than $10! HCU would like to install these lights in homes for Christmas. Please considering donating, $10 and put Day lights in memo area. We are so very excited about this project!!!

Blessings to all!
Keep Praying! God is hearing you all!!!
The Big Praise Post is coming up next!!!

Shamin, MiMi, JOY!!!

2011-12-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

We took Shamin, MiMi, JOY to the disabled clinic yesterday. They examined her and assessed her disabilitys. I fell MORE in love with this child!!!! She let them poke, prod, manipulate, stretch, and overall made her do things outside her comfort zone, and she was LOVING it! You could tell she was SO very excited to be doing something different than just sitting! Moving, and playing!!!!

Here are some pictures!

She LOVES that ball! They had a good prognosis with the proper excercises and follow up care.

We have not received 1 sponsor for MiMi Joy. Please pray about contributing towards her care, as she is going to need some special items.

We have some more wonderful and amazing news, but am saving that one fora day to come!

Blessings to all,
Angie

Van Delivery!!! w/ Pictures!

2011-11-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

The van was delivered!!!! Praise the Lord!

Thank you each and everyone for making this possible! May the Lord Bless you all!!!

Thank you for blessing each orphan and child!

Now the downside to the van. The van did not come with seats, the seats had to be made, (this is standard here in Uganda, as all vehicles are shipped from Japan without seats). They insisted on adding the front guard and back guard inside the van. This all cost 3,000,000UGX (1200 US)

We still owe car dealership 5,000,000 UGX (2000 US) payable on January 1st. We do not have this money please pray for us.We also found out that the van needs a private license, 300,000UGX All together we were 3,500 short in paying off the can completely. We are asking you again to consider donating any amount of money no amount is too small to help.

Praising the Lord today for Blessings that overflow!!!

We are so humbled and amazed at what we see the Lord doing each and every day here!

Shamin, even though she has been so thoroughly abused and neglected, is one of the most loving children I have ever met. She tries to comfort the babies when they cry and her face is lighting up so much when she smiles! I thought it would be a very long time before she would show these signs but she is adjusting better than anyone has hoped for! Pray for wisdom for us, we have a disabled clinic in Jinja that has said they would take her. But we are falling in love with her, and with the disabled clinic somewhat near, we are wondering if she should stay with us. We do not know if this is our hearts talking or wisdom, our goal is to get the children the best care possible, so please, pray we use wisdom and not our hearts in this decision!

By the way, we would love the Body of Christ's input as well, in any of our decisions, this is God's ministry, not just one persons, we do what we do for His Glory.

Blessings to all

Health Inspection Report and Probation Report

2011-11-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

We have good news!!! We passed our health inspection! The inspector asked that we get head coverings and aprons for the cook, send her for a full medical and buy 2 fire extinguishers. We are so excited!

Grace also met with the probation officer yesterday asking for a referrel for the Minister of Gender. She has agreed to write the report. Praise the Lord!!!

Please pray that the letters come to us in a timely manner. If the Minister of Gender comes on time we only have a week and a half to receive those letters.

We are also taking donations for the fire extinguishers. My husband will be leaving last week of February for the states to go back to work to help support HCU. Please pray for funds til he is able to leave.

We have our very first volunteer coming Friday during the night!!! Pray for safe travels for him.

I have 2 other pieces of very very good news, BUT I will post one each day instead of giving it all to you at once, :)) God is so good!

Blessings to all!

Health Inspection

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Grace and I were very busy once again today, we finished some paperwork, and then we went to the district offices to ask for the referrel letter from the Probation Officer. She was not in today, so we asked where the Health offices is, and we went there! The nice people at the Health Dept let us pick our day to be inspected and were very very nice.

Monday next week is our Health Inspection, please pray! We have one week to finish everything!!!

We will try probation officer again Wednesday as my husband has a check up tomorrow and Grace and I have to go to immigration once again.

Blessings to All
Angie

Update on License

2011-11-20T04:54:00.000-07:00

Oh the Lord's blessings are so incredibly amazing! I am completely totally in love with the life the Lord has given to our family! The rewards and even the hard trials are so very worth being in total surrender to Him.

This week was so full, my husband fell ill and we spent 3 days in Kampala doing tests to find the problem. My personal conclusion (he is feeling better) is that the enemy is doing his best to slow us down and stop us from working.

GOD IS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN THE ENEMY, AMEN!

We had an appointment with the Minister of Gender on Friday at Noon. Now I know this next sentence is going to amaze so many people. (Saying this with big smile and sarcastically) They are reviewing and changing the process to become an Orphanage. There were 2 very nice and helpful gentlemen in that office. They were saying that now the process is going to become 'backwards' from the way it is now because of so many orphanages that are being run illegally. We have less than 3 weeks to finish renovating and getting the health departments referral, the probation's officers referral and the town council referral. They will be here in 3 weeks time wanting all those things plus an Ugandan board in place! OH MY! What work we have to do in that amount of time is staggering!
We have to have all paperwork to run HCU in place so that they may review our processes, we have to finish the outdoor kitchen, (that has not been completed because of funds) we have to get all 3 referral letters. Of course each referral letter will have a fee involved.

I beg each and every one of you to please take a few minutes and pray for HCU and this whole process. This license is a crutial part of this ministry. Please also pray for more individuals to step forth and volunteer their time with us, as the extra hands would be beneficial.

Praise report! My work permit was finally approved!!!! PTL, but on a side note, they have yet again lost Randys file.
Praise Report! While at the meeting Friday we were informed that we needed a full time worker with one of these certain degrees in community service, aka social work etc. I was in a slight panic as the ones I have interviewed have been wanting far too much money for what we can afford. We had taken Grace (the woman that schools my children with us) and as I looked at her with tears in my eyes and said Oh My what are we going to do, she got a very big smile and says, dont worry I HAVE!!!! I said truly? You have the proper degree and she said Yes, mom, I have, we will be fine! PTL!!!!!!!!!!! We will have to give her a slight raise and change her job, but PTL!

Now needed:
I now need someone to school my children!!!!!!! Please, Please, Please, someone please come and school my children for me! LOL
Funds are needed for finishing the kitchen, and we still owe on the van since we were not able to get the tax exempt status. We are also in need of consistant monthly donors. Please be in prayer for these things for us.

I was asking my husband yesterday, our lives are so incredibly blessed, I feel Gods hand on this ministry, could it be the enemy is attacking us through finances? Please pray for the ministry

Shamin (I spelled her name wrong the first time) and Faith are doing beautifully. We will take Shamin up to the disabled clinic hopefully this week.

Trusting in God's promises this Sunday
Angie

Beautiful New Arrivals!!!

2011-11-11T09:16:00.006-07:00

This is Charmane!

When we found her.

The middle picture is once we got her home, she is already showing signs of happiness!!

We are asking for sponsors to help us with her medical bills and therapy that she is going to need. Please consider making a monthly donation towards this incredible need.

Here is our next new addition, we named her Faith. She was abandoned at the government hospital.

We would welcome sponsors for her as well!

Please pray for God's protection for these children!

Promised Pictures

2011-11-06T00:56:00.000-06:00

Here are the pictures I promised, oh the beds are wonderful!

Are they not just perfect? Honestly though they are slightly large so the next 2 that arrive will be modified and slightly smaller.

The locking medicine chest is also here!

Now for some pictures of our beauties!!!

Now i may be biased but I think they are all gorgeous!!!
Please pray we are found favor when the time comes and are granted our license because having only 5 children right now we are falling in love with all 5!!!!! LOL Randy and I would then be proud parents of 12 children...OH MY!

Blessings to all!!!
Angie

Frustrations and Disappointment

2011-11-04T14:03:00.000-06:00

Last week was so very busy! We went to Kampala 3 times in 3 days. I will try to lay our week out day by day for you all so you can get an idea of how frustrated we have become.

Wednesday we went to Kampala and went looking at vans for HCU, after hours and hours of looking we finally found one that was very very nice. It is a 1998, 14 passenger, the big engine, only 130,000 Miles, diesel, and did not have rust. All vehicles come from Japan and can have rust. We could not afford this van til they said since we were an NGO that they would be able to tax exempt it. We negotiated a price and put a deposit, then they informed us that we needed to get the tax exempt ourselves and it 'just takes going to the minister of finance and asking'. We were very re leaved that we were FINALLY chosen a van that we felt would be the most effective use of money.

Thursday we returned to Kampala and went straight to the Minister of Finance, there we met a very nice man who informed us that we needed to go see the Minister of Gender, He says if they refuse, get their refusal in writing and we will then consider you) (here starts the Kampala roundabout, around and around and noone helps or takes responsibility) At the Minister of Gender, the secretary there states, "you will not be approved because you have not been in operation 3 years" I ask, please put that on a piece of paper for me. She states, I do not have that authority! She also states Minister of Gender will be back the next day. I then asked her why would you say no if you cannot write it down, she then states, now that I have thought about it please go upstairs and see this woman, I think she is now handling everything. We go up the stairs and stand outside her door thinking she had someone in her office, someone finally walked by and stated she was not in because she was at a workshop. I go back to the Minister of Gender, she says Do you not have an African to chase this for you? At this point I knew it was going to be bad! We called one of our Ugandan friends in Kampala and asked if they would meet us for lunch, and asked him to start chasing this exemption for us. He says yes. We return home for the day finally.

Friday, Oh were we excited we were going to get to stay home for the whole day, just leaving to pick up items for the babies. My phone rings at 12:45 pm, it is immigration, they say your work permit application was deferred, ohh the emotions that ran through my head, I started crying, and I HATE to cry, and he says please Madam dont cry just come we fix. So we leave for Kampala by 1pm, get to Kampala and enter immigration, go to public relations, noone there knows it was deferred nor why, I go to 3 different rooms, and finally, after 4 rooms, we find mine, all they want is the NGO certificate, oh my goodness, he then informs me that next month when my special pass runs out to please return so he can extend it, WHAT? seriously? My application has now just got put back in the pool of those to be processed. We also ask, where is Randys, now this is going to shock you all, we cannot find Randys work permit, arent you all just shocked and amazed? So frustrating, every special pass is $150 plus each and every child as well. Craziness!!! We are running out of money just dealing with immigration. Please please pray that they process quickly!

Now back to the van, the man I have chasing the exemption has called said he doesnt think its possible to even be granted one, he went back to the Minister of Finance and there they flatly said no more exemptions, oh my, now we are short on funds, I ask Ernest if we can please just buy his now, and he says after van shopping with us, he wants to keep his! Please pray for a resolution to this incredibly frustrating mess.

Wednesday of this week we went back to Kampala to take our car to the mechanic and finalize what we could with the van.

Bad News....we could not get the tax exempt for the van, government says there is an indefinite hold on them. Now we are 2800 short.

Good News....Mechanic fixed car so nicely it drives like a whole different car!!!! Praise God!!!

Good News...Cribs were finished and locking medicine cabinets were finished. Pictures to come tomorrow!

Now need mosquito screens on all windows and the outdoor kitchen worked on. We need a refrigerator and paint for the kitchen.

Grace and I are working on all kinds of administrative and boring paperwork!!!! I would much rather be dealing with people than sitting doing the paperwork.

Pray that we find favor in obtaining our license to be an orphanage. We are slowly but surely making progress. Pray for our work permits as well as they are still not processed.

Blessings to all!
Angie

P.S.
Will try to post pics tomorrow, out power has not been the best this week I had 3 drafts just trying to get one post out. But I will do my best!!!!

Praising Jesus!!!

2011-10-21T01:20:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we received Betty and Ester's Foster papers! We are very excited. We also received Jorams care orders for his transfer so today will be his last day with us. Please join us in thanking God for all His blessings!

We also have hit a snag in our orphanage license, one we knew was there but have been praying to God to intervene for us. The probation Officer is asking us to own land with structures on it. He is saying he does not like to approve orphanages that do not own land because if we would happen to get in an argument with landlord, and the landlord made us move, where would we go, and what would happen to the children we care for. I see his heart softening, and think now when I suggest if we compromise and we just own land, and structures can come at a much later time, would he seriously consider us.

I also think he is wondering if we are sincere and are dedicated to this ministry, and honestly, here, they are all valid concerns. I do not blame him in the slightest for being careful. So if you all would please pass the word along about our land fund raiser we would really appreciate it. It does not take much money at all here to purchase land. If we owned land we could also put chickens, pigs, cows and goats on it for food and milk as well!!!! Plus have our own garden.

The twin's father came to visit the other day and stayed with them for quite a few hours, I was very encouraged by watching him with the babies. Please pray for a decent job for the father and someone to help him care for his children. He was amazed at how much weight Ruthie has gained and how well they are doing. Since he has last seen them they are now crawling and pulling themselves up to a standing position.

Esters is having a problem with her HIV medicines, please pray that the DRs have the wisdom to correct this problem.

I am so thrilled to have my husband here, that every day, I find myself praying THank you Lord for my husband, but at the same time I try to start worrying about when he must leave again. I quickly remind myself to enjoy the time he is here with us, and not fret about when he will leave again. The lessons I have learned about trusting God in absolutely every aspect of life!!!!!

We have rent due in November for 6 months,($1,500) that is our next big expense, please join us in prayer for funding for that. Our Budget is around $1500 a month. We are currently receiving pledges of around $400.00

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support, we appreciate everything!

Blessings

SO busy!

2011-10-15T03:49:00.000-06:00

SOrry I have not updated more recently, but with the arrival of my husband, and a visitor, we hit the ground running!!!

I have found a sponsor for the 3 yr old girl, it is a wonderful family from the Netherlands!!! I will have more information on her soon, but I did manage to gather a couple pictures of her.

I sat down today and made a list of the things I need to accomplish the rest of the month, once i hit #18 I stopped, I figure even if i get 1 item a day done, I am still into November. I am going to be so busy. Getting sick, for a few weeks and then hubby coming back has really slowed down my progress. Please pray we all stay healthy so that I can make a HUGE dent in the to-do list.

We are still shopping for a vehicle, the progress is slow here, it takes most the day just to look at one. We are attempting to have the mechanic look at any vehicle we consider so that it is not something that will take lots and lots of money to maintain and fix.

Prayer Warriors, here is our prayer requests
1. Joram and Ester, that they stay healthy and their medicines work in the proper way.
2. God's favor as we starting gathering necessary documents to become an orphange.
3. Funding sources, so that my husband will be able to stay with us.
4. God points us to right vehicle.
5. Work Permits, (they are 'lost' at immigration) Please pray they are approved quickly.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!!!!

Blesssings
Angie

God is moving hearts!!!

2011-10-08T08:29:00.000-06:00

We have this wonderful man that delivers bananas to us, his name is Hussan, the other day he asked if I would come to his village and take a 3 yr old child that had no mother and father, and that she had had a cleft lip that had been fixed, (from what I saw it was not done very well) She is a wonderful child, (well they all are aren't they?)

The most awesome thing about this is that the man was very sad about putting her into an orphanage as he himself loved her dearly. I explained to him that until our license comes through that we could not accept her. He then became even more saddened saying that if he had to put her into an orphanage that he wanted it to be ours, as he has seen what good care and how much we love the babies.

God immediately gave me a solution. I asked Hussan if he was able to feed her if he wanted to keep her, and he said Yes, Madame of course I would want her, she is a wonderful child, but I cannot afford to keep trying to take care of her. I said, Hussan, let us help, we will take care of medical bills and help you with food. He said Oh I cannot believe my good fortune, you would do that for me? She is like my daughter!

If anyone is interested in sponsoring her, please email us! It would only be $20.00 a month. That would supply all her food, including milk! If a medical need arose, we would cover the cost and then email you with the specifics, normally it is less than $10 for good care. I will post pics soon!

God is moving hearts! THis is a HUGE step as most just do not want another added burden, and here is this elderly man loving the child!

Praise the Lord!!!!

We also had 3 teenagers stop by last evening. They expressed interest in HCU, wanted to know more about it, and asked how they could be involved!!!! They also expressed that in their village there are some street children that are double orphans. I am encouraged and blessed at the way God is moving the people OF Uganda to step up and take action themselves!

Blessings to all!

Excited!

2011-10-03T23:48:00.000-06:00

My husband returns home tonight after 4 long months apart! OR at least I am praying he does. His flight out of Detroit left an hour and a half late, and that was the only connection time he had, so unless they hold the plane for him he will miss his connection. Please pray with me that his flight gains some time in route and he does make his connection!

The children and I are beyond excited to see him!

He is bringing me my other dog as well, and our friend Sam. I cannot wait to see everyone! This next week is bound to be packed with adventure!

Catching Up

2011-09-28T04:08:00.000-06:00

This time next week my husband will finally be here with us!!! I cannot wait, 4 long months without him! Our friend, Sam is also going to be traveling with him for a visit. I don't think I need to tell you all how excited we are that this day is finally near!

So this past week has been very busy, I have been sick along with 3 of my children. Betty has malaria again! Please pray for healing and God's shield of protection around us. I am having another health issue that could please use some prayers.

Joram has been diagnosed with TB, he is having troubles keeping his milk down, as he starts coughing and ends up vomiting. Please pray for the TB meds to help him quickly! I am supposed to meet with the probation officer today and see if he could be transferred to a different babies home that will have the means and experience to take care of him.

I have a visit scheduled into some of the villages that we are able to get to. We are going to pass out deworming pills to the children, and generally spread the love of Jesus to the people. I cannot wait for this trip, I LOVE village trips!

I am also starting to get the paperwork together to begin the licensing procedure to become a licensed orphanage for ages 0-5. This is going to be a long process, but we are praying for God's favor in this process. Please pray with us!

Joram

2011-09-21T09:08:00.001-06:00

Joram is our new temporary addition to HCU. He will be with us temporarily until the care orders come through for him to be transferred. He is still very weak and needs lots and lots of prayers to pull through.

Please add him to your prayer list.

We are humbly asking that you also keep the vehicle fund raiser in your prayers!!! To date, we have raised, $0 so please please keep praying!!!!

Here are some other pics I have taken this past week.

New Vehicle Fund Raiser!

2011-09-10T02:14:00.002-06:00

We have been presented with an opportunity to purchase a vehicle that would be such an incredible blessing to this ministry, to our family, and to everyone who visits. It is a 14 passenger, diesel, 4x4, and it would be able to do the village work we are feeling so called to do.

Please share this post with everyone you know. We do not have the funds to purchase this vehicle and are asking your help, any donation would help whether is was 5,10,20 or 30 dollars. Our current vehicle is not large enough for everyone. I had to take the baby's to the Doctors for a check-up couple days ago and made 2 trips to get them all there and back.

Here are a couple pictures of it.

Prayer Warriors Please pray for us!!!

BLessings to all!
Angie

Fears, and the Strength to Trust the One in Control

2011-09-04T02:48:00.000-06:00

This past week and a half have been emotional, to say the least. When we knew God was calling us to move to Uganda, I sat down and wrote my fears on paper, needless to say God had an answer for every fear.

This week has been a week of facing your fears head on and trying to deal with them. To start, the night guard Emmanuel, called me to the back door to show me a snake the dogs had killed in the middle of the night, it was laying by the back door, yikes, now it was a tiny green snake about a foot long, but still a snake nonetheless. Now, keep in mind, every night all night, I would carry my flashlight with me and look for snakes and spiders on the floor as I would walk around the house. I has JUST quit this a week or so before. Needless to say, I am back to using my flashlight.

Two nights later, the power went off around midnight, I was still awake trying to go to sleep and heard scratching on a box, i quickly grabbed the flashlight, and sat there with the flashlight on the box, I refused to move the flashlight as I just KNEW it had to be a snake, or a rat. I hollered for Emma to turn on generator, and he came back to the window and informed 'mama' it would not start. It was still hot from earlier use. I wanted to cry!!!!! I was literally frozen in fear that it may be a snake. I asked Emma to come in through the baby room and please come see what was in my room. He entered my bedroom with the biggest stick i have ever seen, (comical now, wasnt then) he investigates and then starts chuckling, and says mama it isnt dangerous, and proceeds to show me some nondangerous, (according to him) bug in my box. I am living proof our fears make us look ridiculous!!!! I felt very stupid! It also once again left me longing for my husband instead of disturbing so many people with someting Randy would have taken care of.

Betty, the child we are adopting, was moaning and and whining, and I took her to clinic and she tested positive for malaria, I panicked!!!! After Clinton, and how sick he was I knew I was not ready for this. I cried, and prayed and cried. Betty has responded the best one could hope for with treatment. She seems to be back to her normal self. Praises to God!

I faced many fears this past week, and was reminded quite often to praise God even in the midst of the storms!!!
One of my favorite songs!

I also have fears that are trying to creep in that we will never get fully funded and I will have to keep living life without my husband every 4 months or so. I remind myself instantly to trust the One in control and if this is what God wants than I am not in position to question His reasons. I also try to remind myself not to be so selfish. I love my husband, and to share such a closeness that we do with each other, it is extremely hard to live without him. But knowing that he is creating a home here for children with no parents, let alone still taking care of his own children, just makes me love him even more. Knowing that my husband is a Godly enough man to sacrifice as he has for Him makes my heart soar. Please continue to pray for us as these last 32 days apart are becoming harder and harder with each passing day.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where theives do not break in or steal.
for where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.

Matthew 6: 19-21

Praise!!!

2011-08-24T09:10:00.000-06:00

We have wonderful news!

Last week I picked up the NGO certificate. So this week I called the probation officer and informed him we finally had our NGO cert. and if I could have a meeting with him to give him his copy and start the next step in the process of getting everything properly registered, licenses etc.

I was able to finally get a hold of him on Tuesday morning and he said I am in office right now can you come now? I said YES! I picked up Henry and rushed to his office and he said now, the next step is registering with the district and then we will see about starting the baby home license.

We were able to register in a day! And pick up certificate the very next day! Speedy, unheard of in Africa! I was so amazed and feel so incredibly blessed beyond words!!!

We have now properly registered with the Government agencies and can now start the license process!!! Praise God! The doors God is opening for this ministry is incredible! I am totally and completely in awe of Him. I also feel very privileged to have Him as my boss!

Here are some pictures of Ester I took today at a missionary's friend house.

Our Vehicle

2011-08-18T12:00:00.000-06:00

Calling all prayer warriors!

We need prayer, we spent the last 2 days shopping for a vehicle that would meet our needs within the organization. We finally found the perfect vehicle, it is a diesel, its a 4x4, has incredibly low miles, straight from Japan. It will get us into the villages without a problem, and the mechanic labeled it mechanically sound.

That all being said, it is 24,000,000sh and with our current car as a trade in and the last reserve of our personal money, we are still almost $4000 short in money. We refuse to take out a loan, we feel if God wants something to happen He will make it a reality. So we are asking all of you to please pray that God provides us with a vehicle that will allow village work.

Thank you all!
Angie

Twins!!!

2011-08-15T23:57:00.001-06:00

I realize last week I told you all we were not going to take any more children til our paperwork and license comes through. Well once again God had other plans, last Monday evening the police brought us TWINS!!!! Yes, twins, they are so very precious! They were dirty, hungry, and their hair had mats. We cleaned them up and I rushed them to the clinic, Deborah, the larger twin, and the oldest, had a severe skin infection that is already clearing up on medicine. Ruth, or Ruthie as I like to call her, is very small, and they said she had been very sick. She is already gaining weight, and is an extremely happy baby! She smiles at everyone and absolutely LOVES life! This has been another lesson learned, in although we try to decide our plans, sometimes God tosses you a curve! Huge praise, they are HIV negative!!! Praise the Lord!!!

I love that our ministry is spirit led and that we act upon whatever the Lord asks us to do! That being said, our formula bill has just tripled. Each can of formula costs 23,000sh or $9.00. Please pray about donating a can of formula! We are going through 1can every day and a half, as that price is for cans that are small.

I am going back to Kampala this week to get the children's dependant passes and check work permits yet again. I also have decided that we will go ahead and buy the worm pills and pray that funding is there. The children in the villages desperately need this treatment. We are also going to look at vehicles, we are really needing something higher off the ground.

We are all loving the task that the Lord put forth for us! I cannot imagine doing anything else ever again! Thank you Lord for this opportunity to serve you!

Please be in prayer for our children!

Blessings
Angie

Pictures of the children

As I sit

2011-08-08T03:24:00.000-06:00

Today is Monday August, 8th, and I have a young woman that volunteered her time to come and start school with my children, her name is Lillian, she is a double orphan, she studies hard, she is in the top of her class, and those of you that understand Ugandan education, they studied HARD! She lives in Mityana Orphanage and School, and she is just beautiful and amazing! She is finished with her own school in December and is not able to move on to college until August, that is, if she is able to raise enough money between now and then.

All that being said, it is quiet here in the house, the babies are sleeping, I dont have anywhere to run to today, so far noone has come to the gate today (crossing fingers). But this leaves much time for me to miss my husband, think about injustices, and be lazy.

Oh how I miss Randy, time is just not going fast enough! I knew it would be hard, just did not think it would be this difficult! Please pray for my husband he goes in for his surgery Thursday morning, it is outpatient, and Chris and Bill will be taking care of him. Ohhhh it makes me cry that I will not be there to take care of my husband on his first ever surgery. I know he is in good hands, but I would have liked them to be my hands. I thank God every day for such an amazing husband and father! Not many men that I know would sacrifice the way he has to be obediant to God! My prayers were answered when he came into my life.

Please continue to cover HCU with prayers, we will not be taking in any more children until we are fully lincensed within the GOvernment here, this is for our legal safety. We WILL continue outreach to those that are truly in need. I want you all to be aware that this is God's ministry not ours, we are just acting as His hands and feet and being obediant. The direction of HCU is completely and totally up to God, we are a spirit led ministry not person led. Please please, if you want to be a part of this ministry by, praying, donating, being a board member, please email me and I would love to forward your information to the board.

The prayer list is as follows at the current moment.

Favor with the government
Funds for the boy in the village who needs medical attention for his eyes.
Angie and Randy as the live apart, and Randys upcoming surgery
Covering HCU with God's shield of protection
That the people of Mityana come to know us and accept us.
We need to start a vehicle fund so we can do more village work, sometimes the trips into the village are not on roads the current car can handle so we do not get out there.
The de-worming ministry for the village children God has laid on my heart.

Blessings to all!

Young Woman

2011-08-06T00:22:00.001-06:00

For the past 2 weeks we have been having a young woman with 2 children coming to HCU wanting to leave her children, we have been trying to explain to her that we cannot take her children. She loves her children, it is obvious. Tony and Henry spent a lot of time talking to her and trying to help her understand the rules of the law and what we are here for. She breaks down crying, she tells Henry and Tony that the only way these children are going to survive is if she leaves them with us. She explains that the landlord chased her away from her house, (which by the way is a falling down mud hut), that she has no food at all, no job, and no hope. She makes the statement that if only her mother had not died she would not be in this position.

Have you ever had a series of bad things happen that make it seem there is no hope? Well, I have. I remember that horrible feeling that is indescribable with words.

She came again 2 days ago. Begging, pleading with us to just take one of the children, as she had been offered a job as a housegirl, she could live in servants quarters, BUT they would only allow her 1 child with her not both. We once again patiently tried to explain, and her tears started again. I asked Tony, could we take her to see the probation officer and let him decide? He says, well maybe she would listen to him. As she sat there, I notice a large amount of drainage coming out her 1 yr old's ear, I mentioned to Tony that the baby was sick and needed medical attention soon. I told him to send them up to the clinic and that I would pay for his visit and medicine. The baby had a severe ear infection, that obviously had burst. (The visit plus medicine cost, $7.20)

Yesterday we took them to the probation officer and when he told her that we cannot take her children, she once again felt so hopeless and started crying. My heart was breaking.

What were our options? We had been praying about what to do with her for 2 weeks, and had not heard anything from God. Our options in helping her at this point was employ her, well she doesn't speak English, we are not in need of any workers, so that option was crossed off. The other option was once a week bring her food, but does this really help in the long run empower her to help herself? We just didn't know what to do to help!

We got home from the probation officers office, and I came inside and sat down, wondering what to do and praying for God to show the way. Tony came in and sat, and I walked to the door to see if she had left, and she was still sitting in the car crying. I walked over and asked Tony if he could talk her out of the car, and he said, sit, I have an idea, he said, that he asked her if she could still have this job and live off compound and she said yes, and he asked if I would be willing to pay her rent for 3 months, I said how much is it a month, 10,000sh = $4.00 so i handed him 30,000sh=$12.00 for 3 months of rent in a run down mud hut. Craziness! I also gave her some potatoes and bananas I had on hand here.

Can any if you ever imagine feeling so hopeless that you felt you had to give your children away forever just so that you would know they would live? Even now after all that I have seen and experienced, I cannot imagine the pain and agony that would come with such a decision.

So, I guess the moral of this story is, for a grand total of around $20.00 we gave this woman HOPE! Please consider making a donation, we here at HCU want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we want to spread His word, we want to give people HOPE through Jesus!

P.S.
Ran out of money this week, was not able to take the little boy with cross eyes, to the DR in Kampala, but Randy was paid yesterday, and we should be able to manage it this week! I will keep you posted!

Blessings,
Angie

John and update on the boy in the village

2011-08-01T00:48:00.000-06:00

This is John, he is 3 yrs old and he came to us because his uncle could no longer care for him properly, he has a severe skin infection (that after being here for 3 days is already hugely improved!) He is transitioning well so far. He only know Lugandan, but seems to understand what i want when I ask him something.

We went to the village and met the boys with the cross eyes mother. she was very happy that we wanted to help. We have decided to go ahead and take them to town sometime this week, although the money is not there, we are walking on faith yet again!!!

This journey God has put before our family has been so amazing! I have learned and are learning how to completely walk in faith. For every single trial God has a solution, although we may not like the outcome. There is a lesson in everything.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12

Thank you all for praying for me when I posted on facebook about my trying day, I have to tell you all that I woke up with a renewed spirit and knew the prayer warriors had been busy!

My husband has surgery a week from Wednesday, please pray everything goes well with it and that he heals properly with no infection. and for me to have peace being so far away from him.

Thank you all for your prayers!
Angie

So many things....

2011-07-20T22:48:00.000-06:00

Oh this week has been so very full of things!!!

We returned to the lake to look for the child we want to help with glasses, we were told that his family went to visit family and to come back another day. We will try again soon! Please pray about helping this boy with his glasses, we have only had one pledge so far.

On a very sad note, we had to let one of our workers go this week, as all the items that were missing were found at her place of residence. I had suspected her but was praying that she would change her ways. Please say a prayer for her!

I went to visit Clinton yesterday at his Grandmothers, he has lost even more weight and was extremely dehydrated, I asked if I could take him home and she said yes, I rushed him to the clinic where they immediately admitted him and then asked if I would go get Grandma and bring her back. Clinton needs our prayers everyone!!! He is so skinny he almost looks like Ester did. He is now on IV and has started drinking his bottle. Please pray his recovery keeps taking the positive turn! He is so very loved.

Yesterday I also had a horrible horrible scare, those of you that have been here know that the boda drivers are crazy! They almost remind me of a suicide mission. I was turning onto a street with the car and one came flying out of no where and slammed into the side of me. I ended up running over his front tire, and ran out of the car to see if anyone was hurt. Praise the Lord everyone was just fine, as the mob is surrounding us, they all were pointing at my indicator and then the boda, and those that could said to me in English dont worry mama he is c razy it is his fault we saw the whole thing. I still had to pay 25,000sh though :( But I pray that at least this one boda learned to be safer.

We were visited this week by 3 different people wanting to leave their niece or nephews because they cannot care for them. They were all double orphans, and left with relatives that are struggling, please pray for these children.
Please all prayer warriors, pray for funding, I would like to see my husband again someday! :)

Blessings to all
Angie

The beautiful Sunset

Taking care of babies at church!

Lake Wamala

2011-07-09T06:35:00.000-06:00

We went to Lake Wamala FINALLY! It was awesome to see new places and the kids had a great time chasing the ducks and gathering snail shells!

There is a beautiful baby in this fishing village that really needs glasses, his eyes are very crossed, as you all know that cross eyes must be fixed early in life. As we are not fully funded, we do not have funds to get him the help he needs, please pray about contributing or sponsering him completely so that we can take him to kampala for testing and get him the glasses he needs!!!

Clinton went home with his Jjajja for a time, he will beback soon, I check on time daily and he seems to be making progress. Please pray he regains his strength and heals completely.

Betty and Ester are doing wonderful!
Betty found her hand this week and marvels at it alot!

Blessings to all!
Please keep praying
Angie

Update on Clinton

2011-07-05T04:36:00.000-06:00

Clinton was admitted to a private clinic here in Mityana on Saturday, they are saying that he tested positive for malaria. His malaria treatment is over and he looks better but he still vomits and has a dry cough, still dehydrates etc. Please continue to pray for the little guy, he has had a rough go of it!

I took Ester's Jjajja here picture and she was so happy! Sometimes its the little things that make a huge difference.

I am missing my husband more and more with each day. Today is a very rough day for me. I am trying to stay focused on God and why we are here, but today I am being selfish and want my husband here with me!
I pray it gets easier. I tell myself husband and wives spend time apart all the time, and that by me being selfish isnt helping. My personal pep talks get me through day by day, and we still have 3 months to go! ARGH!

Tonny, one of our Ugandan friends plans on taking us to Lake Wamala that is right close to us on Friday. I hope its a lot of fun for the children and I.

My children have really stepped up to the plate while I have been so busy with sick children and dogs, I am so incredibly proud of them!

Blessings to all
Angie

Trials and the rewards

2011-07-02T01:30:00.000-06:00

I am so very sorry about not updating sooner, things are so busy here, and without Randy here to help, it seems I am always going.

It has been a very eventful week. Clinton is still very ill, please continue prayers for him.

We ended up taking Clinton to the Surgery in Kampala, where he has received an NG tube, so we are able to feed him. He still vomits occasionally, about 2-3 times a day. We will return to the surgery today or Monday. He is still having green mucous which is telling me that after all of his antibiotics he has been on, he must have one bad virus! He has a cough, which I think is what is triggering the vomiting. Prayers are needed and wanted! Henry went and told his jjjajja (grandma) that he has been ill she immediately came to visit him. She stayed for a few hours, then left and returned with the most amazing avocados for us!!! I felt so blessed!

We also had to get Esters paperwork from the LC (local chairman) of her village, he had not seen Ester before she was placed in our care, so he had asked we bring him pictures of her the day she arrived, he was very moved and repeatedly told us thank you for helping one so close to death. He had a child run and tell Ester's jjajja that we were there, and she walked up to see us. When she saw Ester she started crying, and hugged me. It made all the trials of being without my husband and all the stress fade into the background and truly reminded me that this is where God wants us to be. Praise the Lord! Jjajja saw the pictures of Ester and asked if she could have them. I gave them to her, but was sad she had to have pictures of her when she was so ill. I then remembered the camera was in my purse and asked if I could take a picture of her with Ester.

I made a copy of this in town and hope to go back today and give this to jjajja!!! Ester looks so much like her!

Prayer list

Please continue in prayer for my family as we struggle at times without our husband and father! 3 months to go!
Also pray for people willing to start donating monthly, whether 5, 10, 20, anything and everything helps here!
Pray for the babies, Ester, Clinton, and Betty.

Thank you all!
Blessings
Angie

NGO Status and Work Permits

2011-06-22T07:39:00.000-06:00

Peter and I made the ever dreaded trip to Kampala Monday, I have to say that this was the most uneventful, almost pleasant trip yet. Although, Peter did get us lost or took the long way around a few times.

Our NGO was processed and approved!!! Praise God! That bad side of this is, they could not give us our NGO Certificate because the chairman of the board took them home to sign, this means yet another trip to Kampala just to pick certificate

Work Permits, well, those seem to be backlogged and think they were just handing out February applications Monday. But this is Uganda anything is possible. I did immigration shuffle while i was there, go here do this, now go here do this, went through 6 shuffles! ARGH! Well patience I guess, but it also means I am going to have to renew visas grrrrrr!

Please pray for Clinton, his tummy has not been so good, plus he has been having a cold. He is miserable little guy.

Blessings,
Angie

Rough Week

2011-06-17T10:10:00.001-06:00

So it has been kind of rough without Randy this past week, I had caught this awful cold, and it was dragging me down. I took Betty for her intake exam with the DR and he even noticed I was still sickly, so he prescribed an antibiotic for me. Needless to say, 3rd pill into the antibiotic, (Augmentin) I got so so sick, I couldnt barely breath for rushing to the bathroom, I was bed bound and bathroom bound. I had a bad reaction to the antibiotic, I was down and out for a day and a half.

I have some of the best children on earth, they fed themselves, they tried not to bicker, and they generally helped out with the babies etc. I still have a horrible cough, but willing to wait a couple more days now before trying a different antibiotic.

We are waiting for Randys passport to arrive and then we will be making a trip into Kampala to check on the status of the work permits and NGO certificate. It was supposed to arrive yesterday that meant we would be traveling today to Kampala, but it did not show. Trip to Kampala postponed til next week! One part of me says yippeee, the other part says man I would have liked to get it over with...lol

Oh a good note, Ester is much much better, she is eating, in fact you have to limit her food she wants to eat and eat. She smiles, she is crawling more, and generally improving. Please keep praying for a smooth recovery for her!

Please click the picture for a larger view.

Blessings to all,
Angie

New House Girl

2011-06-13T08:57:00.000-06:00

God is so awesome!!! I am so glad to serve the one True God!!! Last week I had the privilege of hiring a house girl, (required here in Uganda by missionaries). She is AMAZING! The house is so incredibly sparkly and clean, I found her scrubbing the shoes out front yesterday. Then later the same day, I saw her take down the new shower curtain and go wash it, she is kind hearted, sweet and so polite. The worker I have working with the babies when I am not around, I gave the task of orientating her, letting her know all about HCU and how we will be working. The worker left out the part that we are a Christian organization, and that a weekly Bible Study will commence in just a couple weeks. Zura, is a Muslim. Please pray that we can witness to her, that she feels the love of God from our family, that she wants the peace that we have in Christ and that the love of Jesus shines through us to change her life forever for Him!

More Progress!

2011-06-12T03:13:00.000-06:00

THis week was a very busy week, we have been able to make some more progress on projects! We bought a generator, (this wasnt in the plans but some other missionaries had one that they needed to sell, and gave us a nice discount. The generator is hooked up and functional! No more worries about spoilage etc.

The back canopy has been completed, providing us an outdoor eating area when we have numerous children. Painting has finally started on the back area! Yea!

We received another child, so now we have 3 children! They are all so incredibly beautiful!

Please continue to pray for Ester, our work permits being completed, and our NGO certificate. I will be going to Kampala this week and checking to see if they have been completed.

Pictures coming soon!!!

Blessings to all!
Angie

Ester

2011-06-08T11:02:00.000-06:00

Please pray for Ester, she is a 19 month old, who weighs less than 10lbs, she is beautiful and very smart! Shes has been with us 2 days, and she has already enriched our lives! What a blessing she is.

We appreciate each and every one of you! Thank you for being such awesome prayer warriors!

This district in Mityana does not have any programs in reference to children, we already see where HCU needs to expand in parental training, and rehabilitation. We feel so priviledged that God moved our hearts and brought us here.

On a sad note, we are not yet fully funded, so Randy went back to the states yesterday and will arrive tonight to go back to work for 4 months. Plus he will be having a minor surgery in August, (I say minor but if you ask him he will say its MAJOR). We have never been apart this long before and though we know it is going to be the hardest thing we have ever done, we know God is control and we are trusting in Him.

Angie

When it rains, it pours!

2011-06-05T01:04:00.000-06:00

This week has been a busy week! A baby was brought to us, his name is Clinton, he is very precious,

There is also another baby that is 19 months old, and has been in the hospital for 5 days, she weighs less than 10lbs,she was so malnourished that she was unable to keep food down,malaria, and various other problems. She will be coming here when she is released, her name is Ester. Betty is a 2 month old baby whose mother died giving birth to her and very distant relatives have been caring for her, they are also wanting to bring her to HOPE Center. We are waiting for an appt with the probation officer before she comes.

Please pray for all these babies, they are all very precious, pray for the Lord to direct the best path for these babies! There is a great need in this district of Uganda, for rehabilitation for mothers and babies, for education with the mothers in parenting, etc. Pray for more missionaries to come to this district and start some of the most needed programs. The need is more than words can describe.

Thank you to all that pray with us, and for us.

Angie

Video Update!

2011-05-30T04:50:00.000-06:00

Things are happening!!!

2011-05-27T11:07:00.000-06:00

I am working on an before/after update! It may be slightly incomplete as some areas are not going to get done as fast as I wanted them too, but never fear! We will just have to do a second before/ after update as I don't think I can wait much longer for you all to see the exciting and wonderful changes happening!!!

This week was very eventful! We went to Kampala Thursday and picked up our car that was at the mechanics, and we also went to register our NGO, or nonprofit within Uganda. Praise God, thank you to all prayer warriors! Our NGO paperwork was accepted quite easily and paid and submitted!!! WoooHoooo!!!!

Bad News, carpenter made everything we ordered completely wrong!!!! It will be redone or we will find a different Carpenter

Good news, Landlord visited today and LOVES all the changes!!!! Says we can do and paint whatever we want to!!!! Love our Landlord and Landlady they have gone above and beyond for us.

Funny Picture Henry stopped and let us take.

Please keep praying, especially for monthly donors, Randy will leave June 7th to return to the states for minor surgery and to bank more money so we can get a nest egg!

We know that God has had his hand on this journey from the start, and it is so incredibly evident by all the blessings He continues to shower on us daily. We truly have never felt so blessed in our lives. To see a roadblock from Satan and then God dissolving it and all things become just the way He wanted, words do not do it justice.

Love you all and thank you for being a part of HCU!!!!!!
Miss you and pray that someday some of you can come visit!

Angie and Family

God is working!

2011-05-23T23:06:00.000-06:00

The last few days have been interesting to say the least!

Satan still is still trying to block us in various ways but God continues to prevail ( as He always will)

Timmo took us into the village where they found David, he was showing us where they found him, meeting his Grandfather and the people of his village. On the way home, the cars windows, speedometer, mileage reading, air conditioner, and rpm gage all quit instantly, no groaning or moaning just instant stop.

We were scheduled to go into Kampala Monday to meet with the Minister of Gender, so Henry called the mechanic and scheduled us in. We left at 8 am, Beka tracked the night guards dog poo all in the car, so we got out and scrubbed the car. we piled back in and were off at 8:30 am, we got to Kampala, and I kept thinking I saw steam coming from engine, but those of you that know Kampala know its hard to tell if its your car or the one jammed next to you. I finally casually said, I think we are overheating! We pull over, sure enough, we are overheating. At this time, its already 10, and we meet with the minister at 12. We put all our water bottles into the radiator, and a mechanic from across the street comes to check things out. We find out that whatever happened Sunday afternoon took out our fan AND the alternator because now the car will not start. We get a jump and we are off! Well the mechanic that looked at it, took out a fuse and it must have been something to do with keeping the car running, because we barely moved and the car stalls out!!!, (10:30) Henry decides to call mechanic car is going to. He sends a breakdown (aka tow truck, although it isn't a tow truck more like a car pull/lift). We call Ernest and ask to be picked up. everyone finally shows at 11:00am, at this point in time I am starting to panic as I know that if we do not make the Ministers on time we are in trouble. (Just a nice little feeling from God). car is finally loaded on top this contraption.

That's Henry and Ernest on the left.

Finally we are on our way 11:30!!!! Oh No!!
We go straight to mechanic, and drop off car, meanwhile things are just not moving fast enough!

We all pile into Ernest's van and head towards Ministers Office, we get there with 1 minute to spare!!!
The minister is in quite a hurry, he glances through file, asks a few questions, see my children and asks if the white ones are mine, and I answer no, they all are mine, we adopted the 2 Ugandans almost 4 years ago. He instructs secretary to write our referral letter and declares he knows we will take good care of the orphans!!! Praise God!!!

WooHoo, almost everything is complete to register NGO, only 2 more steps and 1 is on me. Writing Randys and I CV, or resume. Ewww! Please someone come work in the imaginary office!!! I HATE this part! The other step is meeting with the RDC here in Mityana! Everything else is completed! Aren't God's blessings wonderful???

When we sit back and look at what God has accomplished in 2 and a 1/2 short weeks we are so astounded and awed that no words can do justice!!!

Please keep praying for us and HCU! Your prayers are working God hears you! We see the evidence!

Pictures

2011-05-17T01:52:00.000-06:00

David our first child, he will come when we have beds completed, they are supposed to arrive next Tuesday.

Henry, he was sent from God! He has been a wonderful addition to HCU. Here is is preaching.

Becky, who also was sent from God, her and Henry are the ones that found the wonderful house for us!!! Her ministry is Imagine Acts Ministry. THe man in the picture is Eric, he and his wife Krisann and their 2 children are here with IMB and they have a dicipleship ministry.

This is Krisann, who yet again God sent!!! She has helped with my children and sorting house, we honestly do not know what we would have done without her!!!!! Thank you Lord Jesus!

Complete Beauty!

Grizzly, he had the worst jetlag!!!! LOL

I have made it a point to show you the beauty of this country, because it is beautiful! I have honestly not seen anything that can compare with its beauty. Next week I shall show you the other side of this country. THe side that people really dont want to see, the side that makes them uncomfortable,

Blessings to you all!!!

Angie

Progress African Style! :))

2011-05-17T00:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday May 16th we went into Kampala to work on our work permits, now my experience with immigration is not a most wonderful one, and I was dreading this trip. We got to immigration and went directly to the workpermit window. She handed me the forms to fill, and proceeded to tell me we needed to buy our own folder etc. We left (I needed the restroom and immigrations was not suitable) we filled forms and got together all the information they needed. One item we had to handwrite.We proceeded to return to immigration, bought folders at the gate, and handed it to the lady at workpermits, she informed me the handwrote one needed to be typed, and that they needed our NGO registration. Oh great! Here starts the shuffle around! We walk over to NGO registration and were blessed with a very wonderful lady who informed us that hiring a lawyer was NOT necesary and that she would help us through the process, she went through the checklist with us and found that we are lacking not as many things as I thought we were, and all we need to file work permits is the NGO registration paid. BUT the NGO lady tells us that we cannot file NGO registration til we have MInister of Genders Approval. So we leave immigration completely and go to the minister of Genders office, there we are informed that he is out of office til next week, and that if we were wanting approval for our NGO we have to go register our name first. We leave Minister of Gender and go to register our NGO name with Uganda. There we find out that we cannot be called The HOPE Center UGanda because it is similar to another, so in Uganda legally we are now called The Helping Orphans and Prodigals to Eternity Center, aka The H.O.P.E. Center!

Now I think you all understand why I dislike Kampala, this is a typical day in Kampala...lol

We did not get paint bought like I was hoping we would, so painting the garage will have to wait, although, we may have to go make a trip just for paint. The beds and cribs arrive next week Tuesday!!!! Praise God!

I am trying to upload pics but it is rejecting the server, lovely!!! So we shall continue to work on that one! I will figure out a way around it.

The showers of blessings God is surrounding us with, is absolutely wonderful!
Praising Him!

Angie

Our Journey and New Home

2011-05-10T12:10:00.001-06:00

Wow, has a lot happened in 5 days! God is so good!
It is so hard to know where to start!I will attempt to go in order of events. While we were in Denver eating breakfast Wednesday morning, a random man walked up to us and put some money in our friends shirt pocket, Praise God!Said he wanted to help in a small way, in out opinion it was a huge way).

We then went to the airport to find out when we would be able to check in. British Airways check-in does not happen til 2 pm. We said Goodbye to Walt and Bill, prayed together, and started cruising around Denver with our friend Sam, we realized we did not have anything to do so we returned to the airport and proceeded to bring in 26 totes and stack them. There was a very nice man that worked for a different airline that went above and beyond helping us bring in the totes, weigh them and get everything situated. We sat for 3 hours waiting for BA to show, when they saw our luggage they started checking us in at 1:30pm. It took over an hour to get everyone and everything checked in and organized.

We all then proceeded through security, I was dreading security but Sam got as special pass to accompany us through security. There we sat and walk around til time to board. We had a few meltdowns. But those can be expected when you are moving out of the country. The flight to London was very uneventful, and fairly smooth. Once in London, we had a 9 hour lay over, at this point I had a mommy melt down, I was very tired and had not been able to sleep and just starting crying for no particular reason. I said a quick prayer and all was well once again.

While we were laying over in London, we had a very nice family ask us about our ministry. It was nice to run into caring people. We finally got to board to make our way to Uganda, and Elizabeth starting throwing up shortly after take off. I think she picked up the stomach flu in the hotel or Denver airport. (She shared with Mikey 2 days later). Poor Elizabeth used every sick bag on the plane I think, plus I stashed a few in my purse for the drive to Mityana. When we landed I was very relieved, that is a long way to travel with 5 children by yourself, but I have to give my children credit, they were all wonderful and well behaved. We proceeded to the baggage claim, and started pulling off totes. I was praying the whole time the all the totes arrived safely. ELizabeth and Beka were sitting at the wall while Mikey, Alex, Josiah and I pulled totes, as I saw the growing pile I started counting, we were up to 25!!!! 1 more to go! As I started wondering if we were going to be one short, I heard Mikey scream I see it! Hallelujah!!! EVERY SINGLE TOTE ARRIVED SAFELY! Praise the Lord! I arranged a few workers at the airport to help us along the way and we star our caravan of pulleys out the door.

The first person I see is my amazing husband with tears streaming down his face and our dog! The emotions were high at this point even though it had only been a day and a half since we had last seen each other. I met Ernest, who my new missionaries friends arranged for us, by the way, our new friends are amazing! We loaded luggage and I sat with Elizabeth encouraging her and found Randy and we both prayed over her, We knew it was simple flu, but were also worried about dehydration. Elizabeth jumps up off curb and says, Lets get this show on the road I want to see my new home. So we loaded into the bus and started making our way to Kampala, we knew we should stop for a few necessities and cell phones before making our way to Mityana. In the middle of Kampala, we got stuck in a traffic jam, I hear a faint Mom, please help me, mom, and thought Elizabeth needed a new sick bag, so i quickly grab my purse and start digging for one of the bags I borrowed. She says no mom look! So I look at her and got the biggest grin The street children, had come up to the bus and were stroking her arm and softly saying with awe, Mzungu, Mzungu, they were NOT even asking for handouts, they just wanted to touch Elizabeth, her in the meantime is saying do something, why are they touching me, It was so adorable. I think we all slept the whole way to Mityana, and those of you that know Africa know that was no e3asy feat with the bumpy roads.

Once we arrived in Mityana, our missionary friend met us and took us to our new house! What an amazing AGod we have, He helped find a fully furnished house, with enough beds,dining table living furniture etc. Not only that, the landlord wants to sell us his car, it is not the 4x4 van we wanted, but it is enough to get us by til we have enough funds for something better. There are 2 missionaries here, 1 is a beautiful single lady teaching culturally relevant books from creation to Christ. The other family is just as amazing and they are IMB missionaries doing discipleship training. They have 2 children out childrens ages. 13, and 9. When we arrived at our new house KrissAnn

Saturday Eric and KrisAnn invited us to their house for a beautiful lunch and we also met with the landlord to finalize everything. We unpacked totes, Mikey was amazing, she was on quest to get all the totes unpacked, and she did so with help and by Sunday every single tote was unpacked.

Monday, Oh Monday, where shall I start, Randy got up early and went to Kampala with Henry. They went to go shopping for a Refrigerator, stove, linens and other necessary items. I needed to stay home with the children and clean and start getting organised. I handed him the debit card for the hope center kissed him goodbye and proceeded to get busy. They left by 7:30 am, and at 2 pm, I received a call that I need to come to Kampala because the man would not accept the card because it was my name not Randys on the card. Oh how i wanted to cry, Kampala is not my favorite place! Henry said he was going to send someone to get me, and to get ready. At the same time this was happening the landlady showed up, saw my frustration and said Madame what is wrong, I explained to her the situation and was ordered to call Henry cancel his driver and that she would take me to Kampala s that is where she lives!!!! (Gods blessings, drivers cost money!) I was having HUGE issues leaving my children with the housegirls as I had just met them that day! I was close to tears, but there was no way out of the situation, less than 5 minutes after the landlady says eh will take me to Kampala, KrissAnn walks in the gate with her children, offers to stay with mine!!! God is Good ALL the time!

Now we finally get to today, Tuesday. Today was the day we went around meeting people. We met the LC, the probation officer, the police, we also got a PO box,
Our Ugandan address is.....(drum roll).....

Randy and Angie Goering
PO Box 59
Mityana, Uganda, East Africa

We could not put the box in the Hope centers acct until we have it properly registered with the Ugandan government. We will switch it once that is done. Tomorrow we will get a bank account and meet with the carpenter that will start helping us remodel for the orphans.
We made great progress today with the probation officer, he has stated that he is willing to start us with 10 children to start. That he wants to make sure we are worthy.

Please keep praying for us! We feel the prayers and they are very welcomed! God is working hard and we are seeing it everyday in situations that arise.

Excitement, Anticipation, and Various Unknowns

2011-04-25T10:14:00.000-06:00

8 days til we all board the planes, Randy on KLM with 3 luggage, carry on and a dog, myself on British Air, with 5 children, 6 carry ons, 6 hand bags, and 23 totes.

Please pray with us that we, and all our luggage arrive safely. We have changed our plans somewhat, we have decided that it would be more cost effective, (and funds are always a concern) to go straight to Mityana after leaving plane, we have way too much luggage to hang around Entebbe or Kampala. We will hire someone to drive us back to Kampala to go van shopping once we find a place to establish HCU.

God seems to be opening doors left and right! What an awesome sight.

Ohh Friends the need in this district of Uganda is so incredibly huge. We have a little boy waiting for HCU to open as we speak. Please pray for HCU and the people and children of the district of Mityana. Please pray that the process of getting work permits and registering HCU goes smoothly in country. Pray for the proper funds to come in, and that our every action and word glorifies the Lord!

On a different note, Uganda was chosen as 1 of the countries to trial the new Malaria vaccine! Pray that this vaccine is effective and has good results, The outcome of these trials could be so wonderful, the amount of lives it could save daily is astounding!

Blessings to all,
Angie

More Preparations

2011-04-14T08:49:00.001-06:00

This last week has been the most stressful yet! I will say again, "It is NOT easy liquidating an entire household" I find myself sitting and debating what to do with the most little thing. I am very close to just packing what is deemed 'essential' and letting Randy deal with it when he comes back to clear out the house, as I know he will not feel like I do and just start throwing away or giving it to someone.

We are at 20 days til leaving and this weekend we are going to do a final push to get everything into totes this weekend, so that we may weigh them and rearrange as necessary. We all are going to be left with 3 outfits, 1 for plane, extra for carry on, and 1 extra to swap around that will be packed right before we leave. I am already feeling as though we have forgotten something desperately needed!

Please pray for our family and our board members as the enemy is not liking us very much at the moment. We have had so many things happened, just to see God divinely 'fix' things! Praise the Lord! I once had a Pastor that said, "You know you are doing well at being the Hands of Feet of God is the enemy is finding you attractive!" We as a family have been very diligent in our prayers. Please keep praying for our families protection and that of the board members.

Angie

Preparing to Move

2011-03-29T10:56:00.000-06:00

The current state of my living room is like a bomb went off! We have totes on every available space.

Liquidating your household is NOT easy! Choosing what to take and what to get rid of forever is quite an emotional exhausting mess! There are very few items that we get to keep forever and even those we have to keep to a minimum as we are not wanting to not pay storage.

Storage fees are incredible, even the smallest storage area is 45 dollars a month! That money would be better off being spent on the ministry in UGanda.

When I start going through stuff in the house I take the time to pray beforehand that God guides me in wisdom in how to pack,and what to get rid of forever.

We are incredibly excited,the kids have made a countdown calendar! Randy and I both leave at various times on May 4th. Randy will arrive in Entebbe on May 5th 10:30 pm and I will arrive May 6th at 7:30 am with the children. The plan is then to stay in Kampala or ENtebbe til we can find a vehicle, and then make our way to Mityana.

Please be in prayer with us as we start our journey!
God to divinely direct us to the perfect house
Children transition smoothly
Gods money used wisely and Biblical
Funds to stretch as needs arise
That our every word and action glorifies God

Matthew 17:20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Blessings to all
Angie

For our dear friend

2011-03-24T10:56:00.000-06:00

Recently, a dear friend of ours lost her mother. Josiah has worked on this song for her. We would like to dedicate this song to her. We love you Auntie Siouxanne!

Josiah Singing

2011-03-18T09:53:00.000-06:00

Praising God

2011-03-15T08:20:00.000-06:00

Last week we had asked you all to pray because of a couple road blocks. Yesterday one of the road blocks was broke free! We received our paperwork from the Ugandan Government!!!! How awesome is God! This paperwork simplifies things in Uganda, and you really cannot travel without them, Thank you Lord for answered prayer! Please continue to be in prayer about the second road block.

We will also be having a meeting tonight, no details as of yet, but please pray thatall goes according to Gods perfect will.

On another note, please join us March 27, as we will be giving a presentation at Canyon West Worship Center.Please pray hearts are opened and God will move.

Angie

Prayer

2011-03-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

This whole journey so far has been about trusting God completely! Today I come to all of you and humbly ask for your prayers. We have run into a few road blocks, but nothing God cannot fix! So I ask you all to pray for these road blocks to be completely undone, and that we continue to walk within the Lords will for HCU and that everything we do glorifies Him. Thank you all very much for your support!

Angie

Last Visit

2011-03-06T19:41:00.001-07:00

Randy and I with the children traveled to Nebraska this week to visit our families and friends for a last visit before we take off to Uganda.

We were very happy to see them all, but it was also bittersweet. Knowing that this would be the last time we see them for a few years. We visited my 91 yr old grandma, who is looking and doing fabulous! I had to deal with a range of emotions leaving her house. We had to say goodbye to my daughter and grandson, as she is building her life here.

We know we are doing what God wants us to with our lives, but that doesnt make it easier to say gbye to those we love! Leaving my mom and sisters was also hard. We will miss everyone very much.

In the midst of wanting to start crying and hold myself a nice pityfest, God reminded me that following Him is not always easy, I am sure it wasnt easy for the disciples to leave their families either, but that a life of obedience is what He wants from us as His followers. I canceled the pityfest and went to praising Him!

On a high note, we were able to have a visit this morning with a beautiful couple! This couple had a huge role in who i am today and who i will become! We had lunch together today, what a wonderful morning! My whole family was very blessed. Praise God for wonderful friends!

Blessing to you all!
Angie

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Excited!

2011-02-28T18:44:00.001-07:00

Today some of our totes came in that we are using to pack with for our move to Uganda!

We are asking anyone who can think of items we should not forget please please let us know!

Our family is feeling very blessed today!

Angie
PS
If you want the plant in the background let me know!

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Our Amazing God!

2011-02-21T11:13:00.001-07:00

I have worked on this post for a very long time, it is hard for me to write intelligently. It is also hard to revisit all the emotions this post brings up. So if it is a rambling post that does not make sense please do not hesitate to let me know!

I remember being a young teenager, 13 yrs or so, telling everyone I knew that I wanted to be a missionary when I grew up. I wanted nothing more than to show the love of Jesus and spread God's Holy Word.

I think I was a senior in High School before it became abundantly clear to me, I was NOT going to be a missionary, EVER! In my young mind, I felt not having funds to attend Bible college, not being independently wealthy, that my dream wasn't going to happen.

I accepted this decision and proceeded to get married at 20 and have a baby at 21. I never forgot about my dream as a young child, but realized that God had a different plan for my life. I remember sitting in church at times listening to the missionaries, loving their stories, amazed at what they have seen and squelching any green envy bugs. I was happy with the path of being a mom and wife. Honestly happy.

Fast forward to 4 years ago!

I still remember my first trip to Uganda, we had a court date in Jinja for adopting our children. The trip was stressful from the word go. So many questions that had too many answers and no definite answers. Chris, my son Alex and myself were spending hours in prayer that court would go smoothly and we would have no 'bumps' in the road.

Meanwhile, I was miserable in Uganda, the 2 yr battle to get my children home and adopted was wearing on my nerves. The morning of our court date I knew something was not right, I just felt it, I was praying without ceasing, constantly pleading with God that all would go smoothly and that He would remove the sense I was feeling that all was not right. I was definitely NOT in love with Uganda, in fact, my feelings were I was never going to return to this country, EVER!

We all go to court, sit for hours, wait patiently, and finally are escorted into the judges chambers, he looks straight at me, and then at our lawyer, and says, "I do not have time to hear this case today! I have to deal with this murder!" Our lawyer does her best to attempt to convince the judge that the fate of orphans is just as important as a murder, he is not buying her story and dismisses us. We get a new court date, in 2 1/2 months. I was so disheartened that my feelings for Uganda bordered on hate at this point, (as I look back on the events I can now see that my feelings are all adoption/stress related).

We return home to the states, as my husband holds me in his arms I can still remember looking up at him and informing him that i am NOT going back under any circumstances and that he may return and do the next court date all by himself. My husband, being the smart man that he is, just says yes dear, anything you want, because he sees that I am an emotional mess. He waits a week and patiently explains to me that he will be happy to go with me on the next trip but that I needed to go, as he did not feel he was capable of getting all the paperwork organized. I reluctantly agreed to return.

Now here comes the awesomeness of God! My husband and I stay is scheduled for 3 weeks, we arrive the day before court. the judge hears our case, PTL, but I am still not in love with my childrens country! We are patiently waiting for our rulings from the judge. My husband and I are spending time together for the first time in our lives without children. We are enjoying ourselves as best we can as we wait and wait.

We were there for around a week, when I looked at my husband and said, I love it here, could we please move here? I am astounded those words came out of my mouth, my husband is literally staring at me with his mouth open, and he says, "Who are you and what did you do with my wife?" I starting laughing at that point, and said, God is so incredibly beautiful and amazing that He changed my heart about 1 minute ago and now I cant get enough. I was not even praying for God to change my heart, I had not even considered that prayer, but God knew, and had plans for our family!

Now when you look at the whole picture, of a seed He planted when I was but a young child, to today as we are donating, selling, and packing our lives for a move to Uganda to be what? MISSIONARIES!!! God is good ALL the time, and even though we, as mere humans, questions why events happen, He has a reason, a greater purpose, an awesome lesson for us, His children.

Romans 8: 26-28
²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

To God ALL the Glory!

Blessings, Angie

Busy Week!

2011-02-17T22:16:00.001-07:00

This week has been filled with minor preperations in getting ready to leave for Uganda!

We finally set the dates that we will travel to Nebraska to see friends and family. We will be going the first weekend in March.

My desktop picked up a virus or just crashed not for sure which. It is at the repair shop. While i was taking it there i realized i had some errands i had been putting off. I picked up kids immunization records and also went down to renew drivers lincense (ewww).

We also had a meeting with an amazing missionary of 25 yrs he is now retired. He loaned me a book, which so far i would recommend, One Million Arrows, by Julie Ferwerda,its about Raising your children to change the world! Amazing so far.

Today i ordered half of our footlockers for starting to pack! Was very emotional and monumental to me. Tomorrow since it is pay day i will start shopping to fill lockers!

Please be in prayer about our paperwork that needs to be approved at the Ugandan Embassy. Prayers would also be appreciated that funding would come through.

I also got to speak with my Ugandan friend that said so far things are peaceful in Mityana. Please be in prayer for Uganda as elections are starting.

Emotions are starting to run high, when they do, I stop and pray and remember to take things one at a time. I need to write some lists, i am not very good with lists at all, wish i was some days. I need a list for necessary items to pack, a list for necessary HCU things i need, a list of things to accomplish before we leave, and the Randy needs a list of things to accomplish once we leave and he returns, phew, see told you a lot of lists! Please pray that we glorify God with our actions and that we continue walking in His will for us!

Angie

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Todays Deal!

2011-02-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Todays deal is.....if you donate $50 to HCU we will send you a free handmade

Ugandan necklace worth $20!!!

Just drop us an email at hopecenteruganda@gmail.com and let us know where you would like it shipped!

Just click the donate button on the side bar!

How can you pass one up when they are displayed by someone so beautiful!

(okay, okay, I am slightly biased!)

2011-02-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here is our newsletter! You should be able to click on the pictures and then be able to read it!

Mile a Minute!!!

2011-02-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

I have put off posting because I have been trying to get my thoughts together. I did not want to sound rambling. I have now decided that my mind is going 100 different directions at once, and that the ability to organize my thoughts may not come for months!

Via the God channel, (accidental/on purpose meeting people that He wants you to know, that is only explainable only through God's intervention), we have met a missionary that is actually renting in Mityana! She is making a series of books that are culturally relevant, creation to Christ, her ministry is called Imagine Acts Ministry. But she also helps at the local school/orphanage in the Mityana District. Through a series of emails back and forth we found out that there are no accommodations for children 0-5 in the Mityana district, and that they desperately need help in that area. The school/orphanage there is actually taking care of a 20month old that was dying due to malnourishment. Imagine that! God has pointed us to the right district in Uganda, one we have never visited, never before heard of until we knew we were going into ministry! God is so incredibly AMAZING! If we can prevent 1 child from dying due to neglect then everything we have done will be worth it!

We have several travel agencies looking for flights for us, one called today and said she found a flight April 1st! My first thought was WHAT? April 1st? BUT it means 6 one way tickets for only 4000!!! So we are praying about it. I am sad to say what is preventing us from saying yes at this point is monthly pledges, yes, this is the hardest part for us, and we are awful at it!! But the time has come for me to swallow any and all pride for the sake of the children that are dying deaths that are senseless!!! I am begging you all, please drop us an email pledging 5,10,15,20 or any amount you wish beginning in April. Help us stop the senseless dying of these babies.

My lovely friend Amy sent us some pictures of Mityana here are a couple for you.

We are excited to see our new home in person! Please share our journey with us!
Blessings!

Just In!!!!

2011-01-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful friends Amy and Siouxanne came home from Uganda last week, and brought us awesome necklaces made by the lovely ladies of Uganda!!! We will be selling these necklaces as a fundraiser!

Each and every necklaces is a one of a kind! The Ugandan women make each bead out of magazines. If you are interested in purchasing one or several drop us an email at hopecenteruganda@gmail.com They are $20 each/ + shipping and are extra long! Please help us meet our goals and buy yours today!

Blessings!

Thank You!

2011-01-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

I would like to take a moment and send out a HUGE thank you to Erin. She has been a blessing! She took time out of her extremely busy schedule to create our brand new blog button, plus walk me through other aspects of blogging!

BTW please fell free to grab it and use it.

Have a blessed day everyone!

Stepping outside our comfort zones

2011-01-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

When we first heard God calling us into full time ministry, my husband and I went through various struggles.

My struggles were that conversation you have with God, you know the ones where you try to reason with Him? I know you all have had them before. Mine went something like this, Lord, we cannot take 5 children into a 3rd world country! His answer, I will take care of your family. Lord, what if one of my children get hurt? His answer, Where is your faith? Lord, what about social skills my children need to live in the states? His answer, Do you think your children are going to learn more about Me in Uganda or the States, which one is more important? The conversation went on and on with God, everyday I had a new reason this should not be done. The Lord faithfully and patiently answered every single question.

Then came my husband, Randy started getting defensive every time Uganda came up in conversation, ( at this point I have not said anything about what I feel God doing because I knew God would speak to my husband and I was patiently waiting) I knew at this point with his defensiveness that he had heard the call too. I finally sat Randy down and asked him. He said yes, I know what God is asking, but how can I provide for my family there? How can I make sure they are safe there? How can I be the man I am supposed to be when I am relying on strangers?

It hit me right then and there how much my husband was saying I, I, I. He did not even know or realize what he was saying. I looked into my husbands eyes and said honey I love you, and I know that the world says it is your job to take care of us, but you are only helping God with that job. We are Gods children and He ultimately takes care of us. It is not about you, a mere human, can do for us, it is about God and what we can do for Him. My husband looked at me with tears streaming down his face and said Oh Lord please forgive me.

How many of us that God has called to do something that never listened? How many let the secular way of doing things stop us for His perfect will?
Lord, I pray that we put you first each and every day and that our fears do not get in the way.

We still have questions, will funding come through, will we find the perfect place to rent, will the children be happy, but as soon as we voice them to each other, the Lord provides us a peace. We are not going blindly, but with faith! Trusting our savior every step of the way!

The Goerings

Confirmation!!!

2011-01-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

Oh what an awesome evening it is tonight! Praise the Lord! Over the course of starting this ministry we spent a lot of time in prayer as to know just where God wanted us to go within Uganda. I just got off the phone with a friend in Uganda, she did a 'scouting' trip for us to Mityana. What she discovered today is that there is a TREMENDOUS need for what services we are wanting to provide. All those days and nights of praying and being constantly led back to Mityana. We are all that much more excited now to leave and get started serving Him! Please be in prayer for us that we find just the right piece of property. Blessings to all!

HCU's Blog!

2011-01-07T09:38:00.002-07:00

We at HCU have created this blog to keep you all up to date on current events and happenings! We are going to try our hardest to make weekly posts! Stay tuned to see how God is working. Please watch the video to see what great things we have planned!

The HOPE Center Uganda Happenings

Shadia

Wonderful, Beautiful News!!!

New Month

This Week

The Power of God, Love and Prayer

Todays Trip to Kampala

Prayer Needed!

First Week of the New Year

Volunteering

The Power of Faith

Matthew 8:26

Matthew 17:20

Christmas in Pictures!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Minister of Gender

New Tab!

Matthew 25:40

Beyond Speechless!!!!

Day Lights!!!

Shamin, MiMi, JOY!!!

Van Delivery!!! w/ Pictures!

Health Inspection Report and Probation Report

Health Inspection

Update on License

Beautiful New Arrivals!!!

Promised Pictures

Frustrations and Disappointment

Praising Jesus!!!

SO busy!

God is moving hearts!!!

Excited!

Catching Up

Joram

New Vehicle Fund Raiser!

Fears, and the Strength to Trust the One in Control

Praise!!!

Our Vehicle

Twins!!!

As I sit

Young Woman

John and update on the boy in the village

So many things....

Lake Wamala

Update on Clinton

Trials and the rewards

NGO Status and Work Permits

Rough Week

New House Girl

More Progress!

Ester

When it rains, it pours!

Video Update!

Things are happening!!!

God is working!

Pictures

Progress African Style! :))

Our Journey and New Home

Excitement, Anticipation, and Various Unknowns

More Preparations

Preparing to Move

For our dear friend

Josiah Singing

Praising God

Prayer

Last Visit

Excited!

Our Amazing God!

Busy Week!

Todays Deal!

Newsletter

Mile a Minute!!!

Just In!!!!

Thank You!

Stepping outside our comfort zones

Confirmation!!!

HCU's Blog!