This morning I was greeted by two of my favorite kids..

Today was a fantastic day. Saturdays at the project are focused on the children and we came prepared. We had some crafts and games arranged for the kids and had a chance to serve them breakfast and lunch. Here’s the best dressed little boy. They had just finished washing their hands and formed a line to get their breakfast.

We had about 300 kids total for all the activities. I’ll have to post pictures of the games later once I get the images from one of our many photographers. We had Frisbees, jump ropes, soccer and a HUGE homemade twister board. In the meantime, here’s the stained-glass crosses the children made. Enza and I helped the 12-16 year old group. Prior to craft time they had a serious discussion on the impact of HIV/AIDS with the local pastor.

Today was also the day we gave the project all of our donations. The leaders will distribute according to individual needs since we didn’t bring enough clothes, shoes, etc for every child. Blame the airline baggage policy because our hearts and church were certainly willing. I have no doubt, though, that God will do great things with these blessings.

After we wrapped up games and the day’s activities our team went to visit a waterfall called, Sipi. Here’s some great shots from the hike.

John and Lynn are a wonderful couple with big hearts. They mastered the hike up to the waterfall. Next is two of our Compassion guides for the whole trip, Emmanuel and Lillian. Lillian graduated from the Compassion Leadership Development Program and works full-time guiding groups all over Uganda. Emmanuel is a solid guy overseeing 6 Compassion projects serving nearly 4,000 children.

And here’s a great pic of my beautiful wife and me. If only we were Seniors in high school again.. This would have been a great shot.

Everyone hiked up to the top of the waterfall and saw the stream that feeds it. Really pretty and green.

As we hiked out of the forest we passed some houses worth sharing. Seems right out of a movie, or something.

Tomorrow we will join in the church service at St. Luke’s. They asked our group to give a 45 minute sermon and I volunteered. I had prepared a talk on the importance of prayer, but due to a funeral in the village it was canceled (refer to yesterday’s post about Kathy’s child, Sharon). So, I’ve beefed it up and will hopefully kill some time by playing the ukulele, too. After church, we’ll have lunch with all the pastors and Compassion staff. We will also be able to see the final construction of the house. We are hoping it has a roof!

My favorite picture of today was when I got to meet a very close friend’s Compassion child. They attend WaterStone and are in our Young Marrieds group. They sent some pictures of themselves that I was able to show to their child, Mercy. It was pretty emotional and was certainly a highlight  for me. Here’s Mercy in all her beauty.

I had just finished chopping firewood for the kitchen and was obviously very red in the face. The red shirt was probably a bad choice on my part. No need to add any extra red to the equation.

Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our friends and family for their prayers and support. God is moving in Uganda and in our hearts. More to share tomorrow..