Sunday, November 30, 2008

Party Time

The real celebration will begin when we recieve Perez's visa and can return to the states...still, there has been much to celebrate.

Last Sunday was Ali's birthday...she is happy to be in Uganda on her birthday, but we were missing family and friends to celebrate with. The morning was spent at church, then off to lunch with a pastor and his wife. After 3 hours of church and 2 hours of lunch, we were ready to go home. But Pastor Stephen wanted us to meet a couple more people and show us a property. We obliged. By 6pm we were done. We thought. Stephen told us he had just one more stop...he wanted us to meet one more person. We walked into a restaurant, rounded the corner...and there sat several people we are close with at the school and church...surprise! Dinner, cake, gifts, games...the whole schbang (Ali's comment)...they also snuck Perez out of the home so he could share in mommy's birthday. Ali was so grateful and truly honored...a birthday not to be forgotten.

On Saturday, we were invited to a Ugandan wedding. We learned upon arriving that the wedding was also combined with a school's graduation and production and an adult women's certificate graduation (a one year course called women of significance). It was a huge party...and long!!! It's also important to note that Ali and I are treated like king and queen. Everywhere we go we are ushered to the front, given the best seats...though they are usually on the stage facing the crowd. We are served cold bottled water while everyone else slowly dehydrates...it's all well...embarrasing really. But to the Ugandans it is hospitality. During the wedding, I was asked to stand and pray for the couple as they exchanged rings (you must always be ready to speak). Later, Ali and I were asked to present the marriage certificate to the couple...on stage, and we prayed again. Then the place burst into song, which was really great...but we were stuck standing on the stage next to the choir...so we joined in...causing many to laugh. We then stayed a short time (which in Uganda means at least one hour) for the reception.

Today, Sunday, we were back to church. It was another party...another 41/2 hour service. Of course my speaking alone was reason to celebrate...but this day too had a party. After I was finished, there was a baby dedication. Of course Ali and I were asked to conduct it (you must always be ready to speak). About 30 kids were dedicated...it was neat to be a part. While the families were going back to their seats...one mother shared that this very day was her babies one year birthday. So to the stage she brought her child, a party hat, a cake, and one candle. There we sat, in church...4 hours into church, and a birthday party broke out. Thankfully, we were not asked to speak...but we were not offered cake either.

Now, as we begin another week here, we hope to find reason to celebrate again (see first paragraph).

all for now (but check out the new pics in the slideshow)
Love to all, from Uganda,
Steve and Ali

Friday, November 28, 2008

snags and delays

Hello again...

It's been some time since we've been able to establish internet connection. We have now found an internet cafe (that works, doesn't drop and is actually a little quick). We have a few minutes now, so we'll give a brief update...we hope to load more pictures tomorrow.



I'll spare the many ministry details for now...each of things we have been involved in have gone very well and we're thrilled to spend part of our year of ministry in Uganda.

So on to Perez...

On Wednesday, we were granted legal guardianship of Perez. This was a huge blessing, and by many accounts, a miracle. In the judges written ruling, you can feel his tension...our request was not really in line with the law, but it is in the best interest of the child. He consulted 3 other judges...which resulted in 4 different opinions. In the end, he ruled in our favor!

We walked out of court believing things were over. On to the US embassy for a visa and that was it. Everything we had heard, including info from the immigration office in San Diego, said that this step was an easy, no brainer.

We have now learned otherwise.

The Embassy is reluctant to give the visa...so please keep praying.

They required more paperwork, tax statements (that we just recieved by email...thanks mom), a full medical exam of Perez (which we were told could take up to 3 weeks...we completed both exams in one day) and they now want to do their own home visit to Perez's mother's home. This step is necessary for them to determine if his mom is really able to provide for him or not. Everyone here is saying that she is not...but please pray that the investigation will agree. If not, no visa. That means we are officially Perez's guardians, but he can't leave uganda. No Way.

Finally, because of all of this, we have had to reschedule our return flights. We are hoping and praying for a return flight on Wednesday night, arriving in San Diego on Thursday night. But still not sure...so pray that everything can and will be completed by Wednesday...mid-day.

Okay, my minutes are dwindling and our ride is getting antsy (actually, he looks quite comfortable, but still)

We believe with all our heart this was meant to be, and that it will happen. We learn daily what it means to trust God and to wait on Him. And everyday this story becomes more and more interesting...which means it will be better to tell when its all said and done.

Good night
from Steve and Ali with love, from Uganda

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

odd, icky and the internet

Odd:
After a challenging day...witnessing the hard life a Ugandan villager lives, poverty, orphans, disease (we are trying to capture the up and down emotions that we experience each day, from hurt and pain to joy and laughter in this blog), we arrived back at Pastor Stephen's ranch.

I stood outside the front of his home on the red African soil overlooking the green landscape of the Ugandan hills. Ali was taking pictures of the common safari animal...cows. And in the distance I could here the beautiful sounds of the Titanic theme song.


What a way to end a day.


Icky:
We never know what we will see on any given day, but Tuesday was exceptionally gross. We were at the school standing outside while the children were gathering for an assembly (we quickly learned that a Ugandan assembly is not a pep rally, but a gathering of all of the children for discipline). We weren't real excited about watching what would transpire...fortunately, depending on how you see it, something else grabbed our attention. One of the cows at the school had seen it's last day.

For the next 30 minutes we (meaning Ali, me and about 50 children) watched some men butcher a cow. From taking it's last breath to being hung up for dinner that night. Our video is pretty awesome!


Internet:
Since moving out of the hotel, our internet access has become very limited. Currently, I am at the school using the one computer that can connect. To do so, I had to ask the secretary to take a break...she is finished with her break and simply waiting for me to finish so she can get back to work.

the point - We will do our best to keep posting, but our slideshows will have to wait. We will mention if/when we add pics to the slideshow.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with us in Uganda.

Oh, I almost forgot (okay, not really). We met in court today regarding Perez. The judge will not make a ruling until next Wednesday, so no news yet. My opinion in the court was that it did not go real well. Our lawyer and Pastor Stephen both think it was great and that we should fully expect the judge to make a favorable ruling.

Because the judge will be thinking this over during the next few days, please keep praying.

One last thing...

for those who saw me chasing the turkey. It is a real picture, but quite staged. The turkey is injured and can barely move. I gave the appearance of chasing but was not really moving either. And for the record, I was still a bit nervous.


Okay, the secretary has work to do,
so goodbye for now, from uganda with love.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

We've moved!


After two weeks in our "luxurious" Ugandan hotel, we've moved out and into Pastor Stephen's home. The rest of the team has gone home and Ali and I are on our own for the remainder of the trip. Okay, we're not really on our own, we still have all of our Ugandan friends chauffering us around...but we are the only muzungus (white people).


Staying with pastor Stephen is going to be great. He lives out in the country on his farm. His small place is home to some 15 people, though it's hard to keep track. And there are animals...lots of animals. We look forward to our more authentic experience.


A quick note. I gave my third pastors conference on Thursday with about 50 pastors. It was a great day, at least for me...I will be speaking on Sunday at the church that hosted the conference.


Ali held her second photo class today. The kids were excited to see their pictures for the first time, and were anxious to hear their teachers critique.


And what about Perez. Well he is all boy. And a rascal at that. We think he and our nephew Kyle will get along well. Today I walked around a corner to find him, and I did. Of course he was peeing straight up into the air... in the middle of the field with plenty of others around. Ahh Perez...


I'm being hustled off the computer so I must go...hopefully my new pictures have loaded by now.


talk more soon,

From Uganda, with love.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Nekemia's Story

(written by Ali)
I cried today. The kind of tears you don’t think are possible. The kind of tears that are so heavy and so wet you feel as if they drain life out of you…and maybe they do. The reality of a child’s life in this place just hit too hard.

A boy asked if he could show me his dorm. Let’s back up a little. This boy, Nekemia is his name, has been following me around since we got here, begging for sweets, money, clothes, any attention we can give. He’s not the cute little kid you want to snuggle with all the time. He’s rough, angry, jealous, a trouble maker often pushing other kids around. I’ve been doing my best to not get annoyed by him, but offer as much attention as I can muster (with the 400 other kids trying to do the same thing). So…back to the story. He asks if he can show me his dorm. I say yes and follow him to his dorm where he invites me in and shows me where he sleeps. He sleeps in the middle of a bunk three beds high. He climbs up, pulls his trunk off his bed (the kids keep these locked with their possessions inside), sets it on the floor and opens it displaying the contents. By this time, a crowd of about 11 or 12 other boys had gathered around. I squatted down and looked inside his trunk which held a tattered orange jacket, a sheet, and a small jar of cream. He looks at me and says “I don’t have.” “I want clothes like others.” “Why won’t you sponsor me like Perez.”

There I was. Crammed in between rusted metal bunks, squatting on a dusty concrete floor with 12 sets of brown eyes waiting for me to give him an answer, waiting for me to offer a morsel of hope that might get all of them to the next meal. I didn’t cry here. I wanted to, but I didn’t. I was the only one who could offer strength. I looked around at the longing in those boys. I told them I was here for them. I told them that I couldn’t do it all, but that the reason I was sitting in that room was to hear their stories. To look inside their trunk, per se, and feel their pain. To share all these things with the people at home and know that someone will hear their voice.

Someone will hear their voice.

They backed up, Nekemia put his trunk away, and I walked out alone. That is when I cried. All the way across the school yard and into an empty office where I put my head on the desk and prayed that this would all be over. That these kids would not hurt anymore, that my heart wouldn’t break and that, God would prove to me that he is holding this all together somehow.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Watch

I bought this watch one year ago at the airport in London on our way to Uganda. I thought little of the purchase at the time, I needed a watch while in Africa and it was the cheapest I could find. Now, one year later, it is one of the most valuable things I own.

Last year Perez wore my watch nearly everyday. So when we returned to San Diego, everyday I put the watch on...everytime I looked at the watch, I was reminded of our little boy in Uganda.


When we began the adoption process about 8 months ago, the watch served a new purpose. It became my personal timer until we would see Perez again and stand with him in court (I don't think Perez will actual stand in court with us) waiting to hear the judge grant us legal guardianship.


We now know that date.


On Wednesday, November 19th, Ali and I will appear in the high court of Uganda and ask the judge to grant us guardianship over Perez. If our request is granted, we will be able to bring Perez home with us.


So over the next 7 days, as often as we come to mind, would you please pray for us and this BIG final step to the process. We are excited, confident and nervous all at once...and we believe in God's "timing."


Thanks ahead of time,

from Uganda with love


Monday, November 10, 2008

Get comfortable, this could get long

I spoke at a second pastors conference on Saturday. I am amazed again this year at how these pastors come together. They are so happy to be able to share life and ministry together and once again I am encouraged by their example. This may not make sense to everyone who reads this, but I found it ironic that I was speaking to a group of pastors at a church who’s mission statement reads, “preparing people to go to heaven.” One of the benefits of the day was eating a true Ugandan dish for lunch. The hospitality here is admirable. I was escorted out of the church and to a table where 3 ladies stood. The first handed me a bar of soap that I applied to my dry hands. The next poured hot water over my hands and the third gave me a towel. I then proceeded through the homemade food line loading my plate with what I assumed to be food.

I woke up Sunday morning only to learn that my stomach was not pleased with my eating choices from the day before, so I spent the first 30 minutes of my day worshiping in solitude. The bathroom you know.

Thankfully, my experience with the false god was short lived, because I was to preach in a few short hours. By 8:30 I was back to normal (which by most standards is a bit abnormal). It was a wonderful 4 hour church service. Yes, 4.
One of the highlites of the service, besides my stellar preaching of course, was the presentation of the keyboard that Citywalk purchased for the church. It was an exciting and emotional thing for me. The worship team was so grateful…they plugged it in right away and used it for the rest of the service.

On Sunday afternoon, Ali began her photo school, “Uganda through their eyes,” with 5 children. Just as class began, rain began to fall. Hard. The room we were in was all concrete with a metal corrugated roof. It was so loud inside the room, we were forced to sit and wait until the rain stopped. About 5 minutes. Ali taught the class, she is so good in these settings, and the kids were set free to take pictures. We will meet again on Saturday for class number 2.
This is an idea we borrowed from “Kids with Cameras.” The idea is to teach children the basics of photography. Film photography. Ali is teaching about the cameras, film, composition, light and so on. The 5 kids each were given a camera, and they are to take the pictures that they want us to see…Uganda through their eyes. We will develop the film later in the week and bring it to the next class. We hope to use the story of each child and the pictures they take in a variety of ways in the near future.

Our Sunday ended at the property participating with the children in evening glory. All 300 children, give or take, gather together to sing and pray. A few boys provide the music on drums…all clap, all sing, all dance…it’s quite a scene. After the singing, they kneel to pray. They all pray at the same time, out loud. There is much to learn from their devotion and love for God.

Perez has a new love…my ipod. I sometimes wonder if we did not bring all our tech gadgets…phones, laptops, ipods, cameras, video cameras…if the kids would find us nearly as interesting. Anyway, Perez already knows more about my ipod than I do, of course that’s not saying much, and he’ll sit for hours listening and bouncing to the music.
While I’m on the subject of Perez, and going back to Sunday for a moment, we witnessed something quite heartbreaking.

Last year, our last day with Perez was a Sunday. He came to church and sat in the front row with us the entire service. 4 hours. I preached that Sunday. After the service we said our good byes and it was time for us to go to the airport. It was a challenging day. Perez was very sad to see us go. He sat in my lap whispering nkwagala nyo (I love you very much) over and over, and had to be pulled away from us as we left. Ali and I cried as we drove away.

Yesterday (Sunday), the experience was the same. We sat in church together. Perez on our laps. I preached. After church, we got in the vans to leave. And Perez was heartbroken. We believe Perez was reliving the experience from a year ago, and no one could convince him we were coming back. It was very emotional for Ali and me to see our little boy hurting. Imagine the joy when we returned. Keep praying that things in court work out…they just have to.

Speaking of court. Our lawyer continues to impress us. He noticed that there were inconsistencies in our names. For example, my birth certificate says Steven William Denney, but my employment verification says Steve Denney. Because this is something Ugandans do not do with their names, he thought it would be very confusing. So he wrote an affidavit for us to sign stating that all these different names were speaking of the same person. By the way, our lawyers name is Benon, please pray for him in these final days of preparation. He is a good man and we are very confident in him. We should here of a court date sometime this week…we’ll keep you posted.

Okay, one more thing about Perez. We learned today that how they have been disciplining him is telling him that if he does not behave, his dad and mom will not come. Apparently he shapes right up on hearing this. I wonder how long this technique will work. Today we were looking at pictures with Perez, many of the pictures had Ali, me and Perez in them. Each time a new picture came up, Perez would point and say, “daddy, mommy, Perezi,” and then giggle. As we drove away from the school this evening, Perez yelled out, “goodbye daddy, goodbye mommy.”

Enough about Perez for now (though I could go on), here’s a bit about a few other children that have touched us.

Jacqueline is so sweet. She found me today for the first time since we’ve been here and asked if I remembered her. Truth is, I did not, until she told me her name. Jacqueline, like many of the older kids, has many questions about our lives and America. But today was not so much about questions. Jacqueline came to me and said she had written Ali and me a letter. She pulled us both into a private room and had us read it. It was really beautiful…especially the part where she called me handsome. Much of the letter was filled with love and gratitude for us and it was a blessing to read it and pack it away for our Uganda scrapbook (that we still hope to get started on some day).

Remember Sunday’s evening glory? This is Donanter,
Jorge’s sponsor child, praying. It was quite powerful seeing this tiny girl on her knees, crying out to God. I hope this photo captures your heart and inspires you to prayer as well.




We saw Habibah for the first time today, she is sponsored by my parents. It was so great. She came with her mother and stayed for a short while. We were able to explain that my parents were her sponsor and that the bag of gifts were from them. We took several photos and they were on their way.

We also saw Christine for the first time today, she is a university student and sponsored by Ali’s parents. It was really great to see her. We sat together and talked for some time and then walked with her to her home. We met several of her siblings and were fortunate to also meet her father. Christine is the eldest of 9 children, and certainly the only in her family to attend University.



And we met Ochola Joseph for the first time today, Matthew’s sponsor child. He too came with his mother. She said, “please tell Matthew that Mamma Ochola is very thankful for him and loves him very much.” So now I told you. The balloons were a huge hit!






We’re not quite sure what the rest of the week has in store, but we know that as we continue to be a blessing, we know that we will be the one’s who are blessed. To many who are reading this, know that the children here love you so much…they say often that they live for their sponsors. The Pastors and social workers too are so grateful…not a day goes by that we not thanked numerous times for how we are helping and inviting others to help. So as I sign off tonight, know that any and every way you support this ministry, it is making a significant contribution to the lives of people who have nothing (material anyway). And thank you from me too.

God bless your heart as you continue today,
from Uganda with love, Goodnight

Friday, November 7, 2008

To connect a friend




This one’s all for you, Andy. I saw Herns today and he was in good spirits…full of smiles and laughter. Just goes to show how much we mean to these kids, and for that matter, how much these kids mean to us. Joel and Francis send many hellos too.


Goodnight everyone, from Uganda with Love.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Ugandan Experience

I was away from the school most of today, but do I have a story (Ali will share hers next time). It’s quite hard to set the scene, but with my words and your imagination we may get close.

I went into the capital city of Kampala today with my friend Godwin. He needed to buy a new brake cable for the school van and I needed to exchange some money. Kampala is about 30 kilometers from the school, the trip took nearly 4 hours.

It was my first time to travel in Uganda by public transportation, what an experience. I was reminded again how sheltered we are at the school. We first had to get to a bus station. The buses are actually small vans, similar to a VW bus…and there are 100’s of them. Each bus has two employees. One drives, the other hangs out the window shouting where they are headed. Imagine my confusion when we arrived at the bus stop. Dozens of buses with men hanging out the side shouting where they were going and begging us to board. Thank God for Godwin. He got us on the 14 passenger bus along with the other 18 passengers and we were off. I felt very big and white.

The driving in Uganda is…I’m struggling to find a way to describe it. There are rules, but none that I could identify. There are roads, but they are sometimes hard to distinguish from the market. And if there are lanes…no, there’s no lanes. None of this was too worrisome until we got into the very crowded capital. Traffic hit a stand still. Well at least it should have. Although there was no place to drive, everyone kept driving, swerving, honking, laughing…it was actually quite fun. I believe now that the only rule of the road that people follow is…the first person to the spot gets the spot. Somehow it works. After many near accidents, and I mean near, we got out of the bus. Safety.

At least I thought.

Moments later I found myself sitting on the back of a motorcycle taxi (aka boda boda). The motorcycles re-defined “no rules.” Whatever was needed to keep going was done. Several times my legs rubbed against buses next to us. We lightly bumped another motorcycle one time. And I really believe they think pedestrians are slalom courses.

In the end, we made it of course. 3 motorcycle rides, two bus trips, a Kampala tourist lunch and an incredibly encouraging and thoughtful conversation with Godwin and we were back at the school.

(I am hoping to re-live this experience and take along the video camera, I really want you to see what I’m talking about).

The first child I saw when we got back to school was Perez. He was walking hand in hand with Ali. Perez ran to greet me and Ali went back to work. Perez and I shared a few funny moments over the next two hours together, then time to go. His personality is hilarious (at least to me, some may call it something else), not only can’t I wait for you to meet him, I also can’t wait for him to mess with you.

Enough for now…goodnight, from Uganda with love.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

schedules, gifts and Perez


We made it!

Many things are just as we remember them from a year ago; many things have changed. We have seen many of our friends, we have met more. All of the old buildings are standing, new construction is underway. The driving makes you grateful for travelers insurance, our driver has a new van. The roads are dusty, the children are joyful and we are happy to be back in Uganda.

It could not have been a better first day.

How quickly schedules can change. We had a plan for this first week, but 500 children and Uganda life require that you hold your plans loosely. I met with Pastor Stephen and Pastor Gabriel today...we made new plans. They have asked me to speak each Sunday we are here at a different church. I’ve heard one church is over 2000 people. So much for a break from speaking. They have also asked me to speak at least 8 other times in various seminar settings, and I even spoke this evening with very little notice. It’s going to be great!

We met with our Lawyer this afternoon. He is well on his way and quite confident things are going well. He hopes to have us in high court sometime next week.

Much of today was about gifts. We handed out all of the gifts that we brought over from sponsors (almost all), began work on the Christmas card craft, and handed out Christmas gifts to the kids from the school. About the Christmas cards. Ali came up with the idea to have each child send their sponsor a personal Christmas card. Each child puts their fingerprint on the front of the card, transforming it into a reindeer. They glue wiggly eyes and red noses on then draw in antlers. They are going to be great…but 100’s of kids working on a craft…let’s just say we’re having fun.

Perhaps the greatest gift today was seeing Perez again; it’s hard to explain how much we love our little boy. He spent most of the day with one of us, showing us his room, his bunk, his latest art project in school…and we even played a couple tricks on people (its as if he got some of my genes).

We learned today that Perez was born on June 1st, 2002. We also learned that he can flip his eyelid inside out.

At one point in the day a boy ran up to Perez and me with a cup of water. He handed it to Perez, and Perez gratefully gulped down the entire thing. It was very hard to watch, the water was very brown, dirty water. A long ways from Smart Water. But for these boys it would probably be dumb not to drink it…it’s what they have, and they are thankful for a refreshing drink.


Pastor Stephen shared with us today that Perez’s dad was one of the most humble servants of God he has ever known. Israel was his name. Israel served God and worked hard his entire life and never had any money. Pastor Stephen believes that we are a gift from God to both Perez and Israel…a sort of delayed payment for many years of service. And as much as people here are saying how fortunate Perez is to have us, we are the ones who are blessed to know our friends here and to have a little boy like Perez come into our life.
I stepped into a game of soccer today after school with some boys. We play barefoot on dirt and concrete (my feet are a bit torn up). The ball appeared to be a bunch of innertubes or maybe plastic bags wound up and tied and there weren’t goals. But it was impressive to watch (that’s mostly what I was doing) the kids play, handle that “ball” and shoot goals. They are happy to play. They don’t argue. They don’t fight. They just play. And they all got a laugh when I used my head on the ball, only to have a gallon of water and dirt come gushing out. I’m not sure who won…it didn’t matter to anyone, it was good to see the kids having fun.


We need to sleep…so good night and we’ll write again soon. With love, from Uganda.

Monday, November 3, 2008

We're Off!


See you in Uganda...
All luggage made it with only $50 extra fee!!!