Uganda 2010 Update

There are so many things happening around here I thought it was time to let you in some things.

First of all, I've been seeing big improvements each and every day. (Oddly enough I say that as I lay in bed at 4:30 in the afternoon with a cold pack on my forehead, eyes squinting. I had a blood treatment today and we took it a step further to kill more of the virus. I can tell how well it's working by how terrible my head hurts. And it's working awesome!) The doctor sent me an herb that was formulated to help fight off tropical viruses and after about a week of taking it I noticed a HUGE difference. I have more energy, I ache less. I haven't taken a nap in the middle of the afternoon in 2 weeks! That's pretty amazing when you consider I had been taking 3 hour naps every day for the last 9 months. I still have bad days. I still walk at about half my normal pace. I still need to rest in the afternoon, watch what I eat, and try not to over do it. But from what my family says, there's a spring in my step and a sparkle in my eyes again. And I praise God for that!

I was talking to the doctor today during my blood treatment, telling him of all the improvements. I told him that there was a time that I thought I would never get to go back to Africa. For a long time I thought that was going to be a dream that would remain just that: a dream. It would no longer be a possibility for me. So to be 4 weeks away from leaving to head back to Uganda is so amazing to me. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of what the Lord has brought me through.

In other news at Houser Headquarters, last week I wrote about some confusing struggles we were facing. My mom had started to feel that we should consider going to Uganda for 3 weeks instead of 4. She said that as my mother she felt that was a better option for my health knowing that 3 weeks would give us enough time to do the ministry we planned, but not be too taxing on my still-recovering body.

I disagreed.

I'm stubborn like that. But I've really felt all along that we are supposed to trust God even when it doesn't make sense. It was difficult for me when she suggested that, but I understood where she was coming from. It is a little scary to think I could go back and end up repeating this whole year. But I was also frustrated because I knew the only reason this was even a topic of discussion was because of me. It was my fault. I told my parents that I didn't want the reason for us not to go or for us to cut our time short to be that I didn't feel well. I feel that God wants us to trust Him in that way - that He would give me strength for every day. My dad felt the same as my mom, being concerned with my health, but also felt we needed to trust. So no one knew what to do.

This is all happening while we were talking to the travel agent about finding a flight. So we're feeling pressed for time to make a decision and we all seem to be on a different page.

We all prayed about it, and I still felt we needed to trust God in all aspects of the trip. After taking some time to pray about it, my parents felt the same way. We decided, as the verse says, to trust the Lord with all our hearts and not depend on our own understanding, seek God's will in all we do and He would show us which path to take (Proverbs 3:5-6). We would trust God to go for 4 weeks.

As we continued talking to the travel agent, but we kept hitting roadblocks in our original plan. We had planned to leave July 15. She said, "Apparently everyone wants to go to Uganda on July 15 because there are no seats available." There were no flights, and the ones we could find were outrageously expensive. So wanting to be good stewards of the money people have generously given to our ministry, we started looking for less expensive flights on different days.

So we are now leaving on July 20 and returning August 13 (return date stays the same as originally planned). So that's a 5 day difference. The Lord cut off close to a week.



I think of the story of Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. Burnt offering - like with fire...and his son. This is the son that God promised to bless Abraham through making him the "father of many nations." And we think that's insane! Who would burn their own son, especially one that God has promised to bless us through?! But Abraham followed God and brought his son out to the mountain. He even made the poor boy carry the wood for the fire. And then the boy asks where the lamb is that they're going to sacrifice. We all expect Abraham to turn around and walk right back down the mountain, saddle up his donkey and head home with his son. But Abraham replies (and truly believes), "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering."

And just as Abraham raises the knife to kill his on son, God stops him.

There are times in life that I think God just wants to know that we're willing to trust him in whatever he asks of us. A lot of times this isn't the case. Most of the time God prompts us to do something and He really does want us to go through with it. But every so often He doesn't. He's testing us. Will we trust? Will we walk the road with Him even when it gets rough? Will we keep trusting when it doesn't make sense or seem logical or convenient?

The thing about trusting God in times like these is that when we endure testing, we come out stronger on the other side. And when we increase the level of trust we put in God, we can begin to walk more deeply with Him. And that's what brings purpose and meaning to our lives.

We thank you for your many prayers and ask that you would continue to lift us up. Specifically we need prayers that the Lord will continue to provide financially for this trip, and that we would continue to trust Him in every aspect of this trip and ultimately in our lives.

- Aly

Happy Father's Day!

Back when I was a kid, I didn't like to share my dad. Afterall, he was my dad. He made me eggs for breakfast, he tucked me in at night, he even played Barbies with me (he might deny this one, but we have photographic proof!). He called me "peanut" or "Aly-gator." But someone else try and call me those, and you learn pretty quickly that he's the only one allowed to use those names!

But now that I've grown older, and now that we've traveled halfway around the world, I've been able to share my dad in a new way. When we're in Uganda, he serves as "dad" to our sponsored children.

He's known as "Daddy Dean" to the kids at Camp El Har. And if you ask the girls I sponsor who he is, they say "Grandfather."

And though our experiences, I've been able to see my dad grow more spiritually, become more humble, and shine through his example to the children, especially the boys and young men.

He teaches.

He plays.

And he gives kids a chance to be kids - to do some things they may not normally get to do, like climb trees.

So if I had to share my dad with anyone, it would be these kids.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I love you.

- Aly

From the Archives

From the keyboard of Karen:

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Happy 27th Anniversary!!!

A good night of sleep, a cold shower, no razor to shave my legs and what?? No mirror!! That's how I got ready today!

We spent the day at the Child Care Center in Igamba. Working at the Saturday program with around 250 kids. Spending time singing, giving testimonies and doing bible lessons. The kids are so thankful for a new day to spend worshiping God.

20 years ago I would've never dreamt that I would even be in Uganda especially not on such a special day. For the last 3 years Dean and I have spent our Anniversary either in the air or the airport en route to Africa. Not exactly the romantic getaway one would think.

A typical Anniversary would consist of maybe flowers, a card and definitely a nice dinner somewhere. On one very special Anniversary Dean surprised me with a really special dinner and when we were through he pulled out a tiny ring box and gave me an anniversary ring! I just loved it!! (and still do!) I really thought that was probably the best one yet! Little did I know how special it would be on August 1st 2009!

Back at the child care center, there was an awful lot of sneaking around. Everyone seemed to have just vanished and no one would tell Dean or I what was going on! Cissy even told him that it didn't concern him. "So stop being so inquisitive!"

Suddenly we were summoned to the church, and we could hear the children singing. As we got closer to the door, their voices got louder. They were singing (to the tune of we wish you a Merry Christmas) "We wish you a Happy Anniversary Dean & Karen" They bought cake and juice for us as well as all of the kids! It brought tears to my eyes as they made such a big fuss for us!

I never thought that such a small act of kindness would make it such a special day. God has given me such a love for Dean that has grown over the years, that it's not about the flowers, and gifts, but about serving others and sharing a very special kind of love. The kind of love that comes from our heavenly Father. That love was given back to us tenfold that day.

That was surely a "Happy Anniversary!" As we plan for another summer in Uganda another Anniversary will be spent away from what we call the comforts of home. I know that God will use our love for him as well as for each other to further his kingdom.

- Karen

Bill's Smile

After yesterday, I needed a little encouragement. Often where I go to find it is in my Uganda photots. The strength of the Ugandan people gives me strength. I want to share with you excerpts from a story I wrote in 2007 about a little boy who brightens my day in the simplest of ways. Here is Bill's story:


This is Bill.

Some people might say Bill is just another kid with long, skinny legs and dark chocolate eyes that match his skin. But they're wrong. Bill is so much more than that.

I first heard about Bill the same way anybody hears about anyone for the first time: my dad. After my dad went to Uganda for the first time, he brought back pictures of Bill, and he said to me, "Everyone just loves Bill." And I could see why.

Bill has what some might call a "million dollar smile." When Bill smiles, you can see pure joy in his eyes, like Christmas morning.

But a picture can't tell his whole story. A picture can't talk like Bill. It can't dance or play the drum like Bill. It can't sing like Bill. It can't giggle like Bill. And believe it or not, it can't even smile like Bill.

His smile is wide enough to cover all of Africa.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of smiles in my life, but of all the smiles in the world, no one smiles quite like Bill.

- Aly

Confused

I've been sitting here, staring at the computer screen not knowing what to write tonight. There's nothing much to say, yet there's so much.

I wanted to write something cute and witty, but that just doesn't fit tonight. It feels like a lie. I said from the beginning I wanted this blog to serve as a way for people to walk alongside us as we prepared for and went on this trip. I said there would be ups and downs. Well today, I feel like someone put us on the Power Tower at Cedar Point. It's that wild ride that crazy people love. They strap you into a seat and take you 240 feet up in the air and let you free fall back down to earth, they take you back up again, and down you go. Up and down, up and down.

Or maybe we're on the Scrambler, the one where you spin in circles while turning in circles. Round and round.

So if I could sum up the mood around here, the word befuddled comes to mind. We're in the midst of strong and confusing spiritual battles right now. There are many questions swirling around in our minds and a lot of decisions to make. I think I can speak for the family when I say it's leaving us feeling a little defeated.

These decisions we need to make come down to whether or not we are putting our trust in God or trying to control our circumstances, whether we're following God's leading or falling into one of Satan's traps. The tricky part of all of this is actually knowing which is which. Is God leading us to do this, or is he leading us not to? And it seems there are always an equal number of reasons we should do something as there are reasons we shouldn't.

I'm sorry if I've lost you tonight. But it's just been one of those days.

It would be much easier for me to act as though we have it all pulled together. Trust me. I've already gone over this post a few dozen times and almost completely deleted it. But I think we all need to be a little more honest when it comes these types of things. We all face struggles, and some days are just not all that easy even (and especially) for "seasoned Christians."

So we ask for your prayers that God will give us wisdom in knowing what to do, and that we will be willing to follow His lead no matter what that means. And also pray that God will give us strength of the spiritual battles to come. We are still 28 days away from leaving and know there is more to come. (Which I suppose in a good thing. I'd be more concerned if we weren't facing any opposition at this point).

And please know that we are praising God tonight that He knows what's going on, for already having a plan, and for giving us a network of people who support us in prayer.

- Aly

Let's Be People People

Even though we've been to Uganda a number of times now, before each trip I like to brush up a little on my African culture. And I thought that today, I'd share a few bits of information.

In Africa it's considered rude not to shake someone's hand or to acknowledge his presence when he enters a room. So you can imagine that while we're there we shake a lot of hands. And it doesn't stop there. If you are meeting someone for the first time, you will often shake their hand when you first arrive, then shake it again when you are formally introduced, and then shake it again before you leave. Even the dogs will shake your hands! (Actually I made that last one up. That would be pretty cool though.)

Generally speaking, Americans are very task oriented people. When we're given a task (lets say paint a building) we like to get there, get started and work as hard as we can to finish as fast as we can. We get satisfaction out of accomplishing things. Africans are more people oriented. They focus on building relationships. It may be the task that brings you together, but it's about spending time getting to know others.

For example, when we visit the primary school, we are brought into an AMG worker's office. The schedule says we've come to teach the kids, but we end up doing so much more. We speak to the AMG worker for some time. We catch up on life, talk about family, ask about certain kids at the school. Then she takes us up to the Head Mistresses office, and we do the same there. Then we usually take a tour of the school and see what's changed. And now, about an hour or so after we arrived...

We sit and have tea. We sip on our tea and eat bananas and talk some more about life. And then we get to work with the kids.

This is something that can be very frustrating for people who are experiencing Uganda for the first time, because we think as Americans. But with time, you understand that it's so much more laid back. You end up building such strong relationships with people, and really it's our relationships in life that matter most.

When we think of third world countries like Uganda we think that they have so much to learn from us. But, in some ways I think it's the opposite. Shouldn't we, as Christians, have this same people oriented mindset? Should people be our focus? But so often we choose to focus on the task at hand. We'd really love to stop and help that older lady get her groceries to her car, but it's raining and we really need to get back home.

But if we just took a minute to focus a little less on our tasks and a lot more on people, we could change the world. It's just like the verse in Hebrews 13 says, "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

What we have loses its value if we don't share it

Often we seem to get so caught up in the pace of life that we don't take a minute to think. We like everything fast. We have fast food, fast lanes, fast cars, fast web, and even slim fast. We have a wealth of information at our fingertips, and that's just the way we like it.

It comes as no surprise that due to our fast-paced mindset, we'd prefer to hear statistics. We like numbers because our brain can process them quickly and move on. I could sit here and tell you that the life expectancy of the average Ugandan is 52 years old, the literacy rate is 66%, and for every one thousand live births in Uganda, 63 children die (as opposed to 6 in the US). And while that information might boggle your mind, you won't remember it near as much as if I show you.

That's what yesterday's post was all about.

It could've been me.

I could've been the one who was born in Uganda. It could've been you or your daughter or your best friend. It could've been any of us.

We truly live in a blessed nation. I am not saying any of these things to make you feel guilty, but to help you understand that it could've just as easily been any one of us living the life I described yesterday.


But it wasn't. And there's a reason for that.

God has blessed us, but He doesn't want us to hold on to that blessing. I was reading a novel by Chuck Holton titled Island Inferno. In it, one of the characters said, "What we have loses its value if we don't share it." As Americans, we are taught from a very young age that what's mine is mine, and I don't have to share it.

God calls us to a different way of living. The Bible tells us that pure and undefiled religion is to care for widows and orphans (James 1:27), faith without deeds is dead (James 2:17), and that our love for one another will prove to the world that we follow Christ (John 13:35).


Whether we like to think about it or not, the truth is that right at this very moment a child is suffering. She may have been infected with malaria, or lost her parents to AIDS. She may be hungry, hot, and searching for love. And if we're being really honest, she may be all the above.


Does it break your heart as much as it does mine?


If you knew there was something you could do, would you do it?

Wel there is something we can do.


Currently there are over 110 children in Uganda who are in need of sponsors, 10 of which live in Camp El Har orphanage. This isn't just a number. These are real children with real faces who have real struggles.

Today marks an important day in our 40 day journey to departure. The amount of days we have before we leave equals the number of days we will be gone (30). So I would like to propose a challenge.


Will you join in helping us make a few less children in need of sponsors? It is $28 a month to sponsor a child through AMG International. The great thing is that money we send goes directly toward caring for the child, and AMG keeps an eye on each of these kids and knows their needs.

The money would help give a child a hot meal every day. It would give them an opportunity to receive an education. And most importantly, this child would hear about the love Christ has for them.


Sponsorship is a sacrifice. And it's one that we, as a family, make every month to support our sponsored children. People say they don't think they could afford it, but I know from experience that when we take on sponsoring a child, God will provide. When I first started sponsoring Mariam and Sophie I said that it would be God who was providing for them, not me. I have college debt to pay off, and I don't have a steady income. For the past 10 months I haven't worked at all due to my sickness, and I've been living off my savings account. A week ago I had no idea where next month's sponsorship money would come from. But I prayed that God would provide for them, just as He always has. A few days ago I was called to babysit. Then a neighbor offered to pay me for looking after his dog. The Lord always provides.

$28 a month. That's deciding one night not to order pizza and rent a movie. That's foregoing the cup of Tim Horton's coffee a couple times a week or resisting the urge to make a daily vending machine run. That's less than we pay for a tank of gas (unless you drive a hybrid, in which case it's what you save in gas)!


With a few sacrifices you could help a boy like Matiya.

When we first met Matiya, he wore a tattered and torn pair of overalls. He was dirty and sickly. But none of that compared to the look in his eyes. It was a look of emptiness, of hopelessness.


After 1 year of sponsorship, Matiya is a healthy and joyful 7 year old boy. He laughs. He sings. He plays. And most of all, he loves. He has learned of God's love for him and he loves God too. But Matiya loves someone else also. It's someone he's never met before, only seen in photos. Matiya loves his sponsor, because she brought him hope and now he knows that in spite of our struggles, we can have great joy in Christ!

Sponsorship may be a sacrifice, but it yields great blessings.

If you have any questions about child sponsorship or would like to sponsor a child, feel free to contact us at housers4uganda@yahoo.com. We can help find a child just for you. You can also find out more by clicking here to visit AMG's website or by clicking the picture of the baby on the left sidebar. We do not work for AMG International, but we believe in what they are doing to help children in need all over the world.

I challenge you to pray about sponsoring a child. Talk to your family members and friends and challenge them as well. It's a great family project for people with younger children. Get together with someone you know and tag team the sponsorship, alternating months throughout the year.

A few small changes in our lives can make a huge difference in the life of a child.

Will you join us and help a child today?