Dance Recital

The girls have been taking ballet and jazz from a missionary friend in town.  She has been so sweet to completely volunteer her time to give to these girls in this way.  It is truly a blessing when a lot of American activities are just not possible here.  The day after thanksgiving, the girls had their Christmas recital at a local coffee shop.  It was really fun!

Getting ready with a touch of make-up.  (an exciting first for my girls...haha!)

Making sure she doesn't have too much lipstick...haha!

Visiting with friends before hand...

and getting ready!

The big girls started first with their ballet dance...

While the little girls, and sweet J, who has the most darling British accent, waited in the back.

They danced to "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" And none of them got stage fright!  They did so well!  A few promised milkshakes might have helped a wee bit.

Then the big girls did their jazz dance...

And then they danced together for their grand finale...

A great group of kids!

We've opened a Kitten Birthing Center...apparently...

This mass of fur, is our mama cat and her first litter of four little ones that she gave birth to this past Sunday.  She's being such a good mama...perhaps because she's being treated like a queen!    

Last week, I told the kids that we needed to get a quiet area of the house ready for the cat.  (Hard to find, I know...).  A little while later, they brought me in to show me this...

They make me smile!  :D

A few kid pictures...

::Benaiah just celebrated his sixth birthday.

Do you see the twinkle in his eye?

That's because he was plotting and planning to blow out his candles like this.  What a goof!  The adults were a little happy that the spit upon frosting could be scraped off.  haha!

:: Talitha:  "I'm bein' a good cooker, mama!"

::And a few sweet pictures of William and Talitha...

Team Retreat

We were thankful to the Lord this past week for providing for our team a 3 day retreat.  We had a beautiful facility, lovely company and a wonderful speaker.

Here is most of the team, minus two couples and a few children...

These kids had a blast together.  The retreat facility had a lot of space to roam and make noise.  Too fun!

Reverend Chris Folkerts was able to come and speak words of comfort and encouragement to us.  He pastors a very small church, but the members of the church were very supportive of his coming here and even donated all the funds to get him here.  Small churches, working under the power of God can do great things!  His trip here has truly been used in a great way to build God's kingdom and we are so thankful to the Lord for that!

On our last day we also prayed for our missionaries that are leaving the field after many years of faithful service.  We sent them, as it were, back to the field in America to continue their service.  May God be glorified to bless their new ministries and work.

Women of Hope Conference

Last Friday, Connie Jackson and I taught at a conference for women that was put on by one of our village churches located up on Mt. Wanale.  We were given the passages Matthew 28:1-10, Proverbs 14:1 and I Peter 3:1-6 to teach through.  It was a huge blessing to both us and the women to be able to study together and share God's hope found in Christ.

Ugandan women know how to celebrate.  When we arrived they had quite the praise service going on.  Music, singing, dancing!  

We were happily hiding behind the choir when Sarah popped her head through the window and caught us trying to dance.  haha!

For part of the time we broke the ladies into small groups and gave them a study to do together.  We wanted them to begin to learn how to study the Bible for themselves.

I think we had about 90 women or so.

And quite a few precious little ones.

 I was also blessed that my 3 oldest girls also attended.

So thankful to be able to teach and minister to the women.  Many women in the village have never even heard of God's words to them in passages such as Proverbs 31.  It is such a blessing to have a whole day set aside to for them.  They are truly a wonderful group of women!

Church Inside

As Uganda begins to feel the effects of El Nino, rain has begun to disturb our not-so-little-anymore backyard church.  Yesterday, we had to completely move indoors just after the sermon had begun.  I'm thankful to be able to host this group of brothers and sisters in our home.  Reminds me of the first churches in Acts that met in homes.  It takes a bit of work to get ready and quite a lot of work after we are through, but we all come together and get it done.  Sometimes when rain is threatening, I don't always feel like doing that work, but when it actually happens, God gives the grace needed and I can feel the smile of God upon our home.  And that's what we want as Christians, right?  To feel the smiles and frowns of God more than the smiles and frowns of other people?

None-the-less, our church is eagerly anticipating building a new building.  We have plans and land that we purchased.  We are now working on raising money for the building and latrine.  Compared to a church building project in America, the amount we are praying for God to provide is very little.  But for the believers here, it will take a lot of leaning on the grace of God and a lot of generous giving.  The members and regular attenders of the church have been very generous in their giving so far, but we still have a long way to go.  I think everyone donated to the building fund yesterday during church though!  Haha!

When we met yesterday, we really enjoyed singing in an enclosed area where our voices don't get lost in the open air.  We enjoyed the break from the rain.  And mostly we enjoyed the Worship of our King.  

An Introduction

Yesterday, a friend of ours had an introduction.  An introduction is a part of the process of getting married.  Traditionally, it is where the bride is introduced to the groom and his family and the bride-price is set.  It's a very fun day full of food, jokes, laughter and joy.  As part of the ceremony, they "look for a bride" for the groom.  They bring groups of their "finest" women out for him to see if there is anyone suitable.  Katelyn, Denise and Rebecca as well as Meylin and Gloria (the two other girls who live on our compound) were asked to be in the groups.  An introduction always calls for wearing the Kanzu and Gomesi.  The goal of a woman wearing a gomesi is to make her look as fat as possible.  Haha!

Lots of food!

The groom's family arriving.

The MC for the brides side.  It's time to relax and have a great time.

Poor little Talitha was a bit sick with a cold that turned into a fever as the day went on.  So, she and I had to leave early to get her home and into a steam shower so she could breath better.  Sorry, no bride pictures! :(

The girls had to wait inside the house until it was their turn.  Every once in a while, they would peek out to watch!

And sometimes others would peek in to see what was going on inside the house.

Eric's cousin, Chris, is here from Idaho.  He will be our retreat speaker next week!  What a great chance today was for him to see a lot of local culture!

 Here is Rebecca's group.  When this group came out, the MC told the groom's family that they were all in University and very fine group of girls.

And Katelyn and Denise's group.  When their group came out, the MC told the groom's family that they were all in Nursery School.  They were only so tall because of all the amazing food that their family had.  :)

And here is a little video: