People You Should Know

I'd like to introduce you to some of the amazing ladies we have the pleasure of working with while in Uganda.

First off is Mrs. Florence Musiime, or more affectionately known as Auntie Florence.

Auntie Florence is married to Reuben and plays a very integral role in AMG's ministry. She often travels with Reuben as he goes and checks on the various projects. She is highly respected and adored by AMG staff and children alike. She was the catalyst for the Dorcas Ministry which helps educate girls as they grow and mature.

Next up is our dear friend Patricia.

Patricia is a pastor's wife, mother of 3 beautiful children, and the director of the childcare center in Igamba (a village about 75 miles outside of Kampala). Her joy and love for the Lord are contaigious, and you can often find her singing or humming as we travel along. She knows each of the 250 children at her center by name and can tell you each of their backgrounds. She has her finger on the pulse, aware of the needs around her, and finds a way to meet those needs. She always makes me laugh, and she's one of the ones we look forward to seeing the most and say goodbye to the least.

And last but certainly not least my dear sister, Cissy.

Cissy heads up the childcare center in Bukoto (right in Kampala). She has a heart for helping these children and for good reason. Cissy's parents died when she was young, and she was taken on as a sponsored child through Compassion International. Through this sponsorship she was given a second chance, and now her goal is do the same for other children in Uganda. We have "adopted" her into our family, and I am proud to call her my sister.

The list could go on, but these are three of the main women we will be working with while in Uganda this year. They are like family to us, and we can't wait to see them again!


- Aly

We Really ARE Going!

We now have only 2 weeks before we leave for Uganda. Fourteen days from right now we will be about halfway to Amsterdam.

As for what we're up to right now, we are trying to juggle preparation for the trip with all the things of everyday life. My mom is at a cooking school for work until Friday. My dad is also working all week, and I'm home working on some of the projects that need to be done before we leave. (But it's been so stinkin' hot around here and our pool has just been calling my name!)

We received our tentative itinerary from Reuben today. Of course as I've said before all things are subject to change, but it looks as though our ministry there will include Bible studies with the children at Camp El Har, encouraging AMG staff members at their weekly devotions, Saturday programs with sponsored children, home visitation, Dorcas fellowship (with the ladies who run the Dorcas ministry for the sponsored girls of AMG), speaking at churches, and Lord willing lots of time in Igamba (one of our favorite childcare centers to visit).*

Those are the same basic ministries we have been involved with over the years, but it could all change in the blink of an eye. And we like it that way. We just go with the flow.

Getting this schedule has made me a little giddy. For a long time it was hard to believe that this was all happening. It was like it was too good to be true. But now it's sinking in. It's beginning to feel real (which is probably a good thing since we leave in 2 WEEKS!).

We really are going!

*A more detailed schedule will be coming to you soon...

- Aly

John 16:33

Typically, before our trips things start happening that could have the potential to make us second guess our choice to go. In years past, headlines about plane issues would make us a little leery of flying. For example, last year in February (just a few weeks after we purchased our airline tickets through Continental Airlines) there was a plane crash just miles away from the Buffalo airport. What plane was it? A Continental plane. Actually it turned out to be the exact same model that we would fly from Buffalo to Newark last year.   Then a few months later, a plane "vanished" over the Atlantic Ocean, leaving no survivors. And just days before we left a pilot died on a flight from Brussels to Newark (he wasn't sitting at the controls at the time, and other pilots safely landed the plane).   It was a little nerve racking when we'd read those headlines or hear them on tv, but in the end it never deterred us from going.   This year, the messages coming to us are a little different. Instead of sowing seeds of fear, the devil is sowing seeds of doubt. This doubt comes through negative comments of people around us in regards to their opinions about my return to Uganda.   Now I know people mean well, but some people take it a little too far.   Today I was visiting my dentist. He asked me what I was up to, if I had a job, what my plans were – just the typical depressing questions for a person who's been sick for the past 10 months and doesn't have a job. But I answered all the questions very sweetly.   When he found out this was a religious trip and that I'd come home sick last year but decided to go back this summer, he told me that I shouldn't because I "it's not worth the risk of getting sick again." He said that people have been trying to spread Christianity for thousand of years and there are still people who haven't heard, so I shouldn't go because there would still be people left over for me later.   Someone else yelled at my mom for letting me go back despite the fact I'm an adult and then said that I was being selfish to go back.   These are some of the more extreme cases, but many people have expressed their concerns. And while these are legitimate fears, some of which we've had ourselves, they plant a seed of negativity in our minds that grows. And the thing with doubts is they never travel alone. We don't usually have just one doubt. We may start with one, but that one leads to another which leads to another, and soon we have this long list of reasons why whatever we're thinking is a bad idea.   So how do we know that what is God's plan? When these doubts arise I dive into God's word. And when I have come to him with my growing list of reasons why I shouldn't go, he always leads me to the same conclusion:   You serve Me.   God has revealed His promises to me, He has given me a vision of what this trip will be like. I know I'll have struggles, but I also know that being in His will for my life will bless me beyond measure and affect my life as well as those I come in contact with for His glory.   And I can't wait to see what He does.   - Aly

Blessed to be Free

We'd like to take this time to wish you all a Happy Independence Day. We are so grateful for the freedoms we have in this country, many of which we take for granted.

After spending time in Uganda, we realize how blessed we are to have the freedoms we have here in the US. My mom and I are grateful for the freedom to get into the car and drive wherever we want, whenever we want. I am thankful for my right to receive an education at any level, despite being a girl. I am certainly grateful for the right to receive medical care. And most of all we are blessed to have the freedom to worship and amazing God without fear of people attempting to place a curse on our church, cutting the power lines, or sacrificing goats on the property line to scare us away.

We are thankful for our troops, both home and abroad, who sacrifice their lives every day to make sure we continue to be known as the land of the free.


Happy Independence Day!

- Aly

From the Archives: Plop, Plop, Yelp, SLAM!

The year was 2007, the place: Sambiya River Lodge in Northern Uganda. It was our one day of rest* in the 16 days we were gone.

*We use the term rest loosely as it sometimes seems that our day of rest has us up earlier and out later than our ministry days.

Reuben sent us off on an adventure to Murchison Falls to visit the game park and stay at one of the lodges there for the night. My dad had us all excited because he had gone to the same place the year before and said it was so beautiful, wonderful, and relaxing.

So we woke up at I don't even know when, it was that early, and off we went on our 8 hour bus ride to the park (which is a whole other adventure in itself).

When we arrived at the lodge, we found it wasn't the same one my dad visited, and not what any of us expected.

We stayed in huts. With thatched roofs.

Now, while we're in Uganda I tend to have problems with my lungs because of the dust, car fumes, and smoke that I'm not used to here. The doctor on the trip said I had a respiratory infection and had no voice.

So I entered my little round hut, which I shared with my roommate, Madie, as well as my parents (there were 2 rooms connected by a door between). They all left for a boat ride while I laid down on the bed farthest from the door and laid down facing away from the entrance. As I laid there, I heard this PLOP. I thought, "That's strange." So I turned over and saw :

A little pile of poop! On my pillow! Next to my head!

You can imagine what I did next - I flipped the pillow over and laid back down. Hey, don't judge me, I didn't feel good.

A few minutes later I heard another PLOP. I didn't really want to look this time, but curiosity got the best of me.

Another pile of poop. Not on my pillow. On my roommates pillow. You can imagine what I did next (yep, I went there) - I flipped her pillow over and fell asleep.

*NOTE: You are free to judge me on this one. She didn't find actually out about this until....about a month ago. And she's still talks to me. Now that's a true friend!

After waking up, I joined the team for dinner and then we all turned in for the night, making sure to close, latch, and lock the door to keep out unwanted pests like monkeys, warthogs, and hippos. Because one of those creatures wandering into your room would not be the best part of waking up. (Seriously though, there was a sign on the door warning us). We tucked ourselves into our mosquito nets and said our goodnights.

At about 4:30 am, I woke to a strange sound. It was a whooshing sound, a fluttering if you will. I thought maybe our fan turned on so I closed my eyes. But I heard it again. And then I heard it real loud just as something tapped my mosquito net.

I could hear my parents shuffling about on the other side of the wall. So I called for my dad and it felt like one of those nightmares when you try to scream but all that comes out is a whisper. Oh, that's right, I had lost my voice. I couldn't even say anything loud enough to wake Madie who was less than a foot away. So I started coughing.

Finally she woke up and said, "Are you ok? Can I do anything for you?" Which would've been so sweet if she hadn't had a twinge of irritation in her voice. But I suppose I deserve at least that after I woke her up super early and allowed her to sleep on a poopy pillow all night...

I said to her, "Get my dad, but don't get out of your mosquito net." So my dad comes in and I told him, "I think there's a bat in our room." Then he CLOSED THE DOOR. Not a very heroic response.

I didn't hear what my dad told my mom. All I heard was a yelp and the slamming of the *bathroom door.

*I'd like to note here that she closed herself into a bathroom with walls that didn't reach the ceiling...

My dad comes back into the room with a towel over his head. I'm still not 100% sure of its purpose. Maybe it was his version of a super hero cape? I'm grasping here. But again, I shouldn't talk since I stayed safely inside my mosquito net. He turned our light on and our little flying friend crawled back up into our thatched roof to patiently wait for another persons pillow to poop on.

Now do you see why some of these aren't the stories we share at church? But honestly we have a lot of fun, and have to laugh and joke about some of the things that happen to us. People might hear these stories and think we're crazy and that they'd never go somewhere like that.

But the work we do and the friendships we have make it all worth it.

- Aly

Life Happens

Preparing for this trip may take a lot of time, but in the weeks leading up to leaving, life still happens. The house still needs cleaning, the laundry needs washing, and family needs loving.

Life still happens.

This week we've had my 4 year old cousin, Joey, from Sunday to Wednesday, then watched my 5 year old cousin, Ryan all day Thursday, and had a graduation party for yet another cousin today.

Life has been busy.

And to add to all of that we leave in 18 days! I can hardly believe it, but it's true. We are over halfway through our 40 day journey (which technically ended up being a 45 day journey), and it's crunch time.

Bags need to be packed, Bible lessons need to be written, medications need to be in order, clothes need washed, supplies need to be purchased, and goodbyes must be said.

And all the while, life still happens.

We greatly appreciate your prayers during this time - pray that we won't become too overwhelmed, no one gets sick or injured, and that we won't get so caught up in the preparing that we miss opportunities for ministry along the way.

- Aly

Just Moments Away

For my senior trip in high school, my class went white water rafting. Why the board of education would ever decide it was a good idea to send 90 teenagers down a rushing river just before graduation is completely beyond me. When I looked at the brochure I was a little nervous about the thought of it all. The whole water rushing over giant rocks to form a swirling vortex of doom was a little frightening to me. But the people in the brochure looked so happy...

The fact that my parents had to basically sign my life away so I could go on this trip should've sent off some red flags right away. But at 4:30 in the morning I boarded a greyhound bus with the rest of my classmates bound for a river in PA.

After securing our helmets and life vests we were off - just me and three other girls in one tiny raft.

On the first rapid we hadn't quite mastered the whole steering thing, got stuck on a huge rock, and had to get out and pull our raft around it.

At the second rapid, the guide pointed out an area to avoid, and since it was only about 30 feet from the first rapid, our steering hadn't been perfected and this madness ensued:

3 out of the 4 of us fell out of the raft (me being one of them -I'm in the white shirt). I bashed my knee against a giant boulder and had to swim back to the raft to be pulled back in. What I didn't know before I chose my raftmates was that 2 of them didn't know how to swim, and they happened to be the 2 that fell out with me. Seeing me swimming so easily they grabbed on, pulling me under.

When we all finally were safely in our raft again (2 paddles short) we didn't have enough time to make our meeting area before being sucked into the next rapid. We screamed for help but to no avail. We then waited near a rock for what seemed like days, all convinced that at the first opportunity we would quit.

My physics teacher said it was the only time that he'd ever seen me so frazzled. But with some encouraging words, and some switching among rafters we kept pressing forward and finished out the trip. Within minutes of my decision to continue on, I saw beautiful wildlife and conquered huge rapids in the face of fear. Believe it or not, it awakened me spiritually and set me on the path I'm on right now. (And since I injured my knee I had a pretty good reminder long after we were back on dry land).

I share this story with you because I think we all face times in our lives where we feel like we've been tossed from the raft and get lost in the current. It is so tempting to give up. At times I've felt it with this trip. I have a few days where I feel awful physically and think things would be so much easier if I just gave up.

But if I give up on going, I also give up on the blessings that God has in store for me. Giving up means I'll miss out on the transformation He's working within me. I don't want to live a life of mediocrity when it comes to my faith. I want to be open to His purpose for my life.

I've noticed that in the moments when I am most discouraged and feel like I just want to quit, if I just stick with it, blessing is just moments away. I don't want my fears to keep me from the blessing to come.

What about you? Do you feel like giving up? If you just keep pressing forward, could you be moments away from a blessing?

- Aly