Gerald and Sue Paulk are currently in Uganda on a mission trip sponsored by Four Corners, a ministry with whom SIFAT has partnered many times. SIFAT executive director Tom Corson and international team coordinator Peggy Walker are also on this trip. While in Africa, they are serving with William Nsubuga and his son Sean at Agape Total Childcare Center. William, a SIFAT graduate, started an orphanage in Lugazi for children whose parents died because of HIV/AIDS.

Day 2:

This day began with thunder claps, and then it started, again…rain. The Four Corners’ gang, along with Tom Corson and Peggy Walker from SIFAT picked us up at the Colline Hotel, and we headed for the Orphanage. When we arrived, the crowd was enormous, as word travels quickly when free medical care and medicines are available. In fact, one lady had traveled from Kenya, at least 50 miles away, to be treated. We were without electricity for the first hour, so we made that “tough love” decision to see only 150 on Thursday. We saw and treated, or maybe even just consoled, everything from a man with a club foot to a mother who brought in her child with Down Syndrome (about which she apparently knew nothing). At day’s end, many were still lined up for treatment, but had to be turned away. I doubt any of us will ever fathom how well off we really are, amidst our griping about only manna in the “wilderness”.

While Sue and the gang were finishing up with clinic patients, William and Gerald took Tom and Peggy on a tour of the newly acquired (still not fully paid for) property near Mukono and then traveled to the “annointed” garden for a brief tour.  Tom and Peggy were, rightfully, impressed with both. The facilities on the new property were designed to house a school, but midway through construction, the owner developed other interests. When construction is completed, some 50 orphans can have a new home and facilities to attend school on site.

God is doing some amazing things through this Ministry.

Day 3:

We again were awakened this morning by the sounds of (noisy) African birds. Breakfast today included unsweetened mango juice; sounds healthy, looks good, but not so great. After breakfast, we enjoyed the private gardens here at the Colline Hotel. The gardens are quite large with several areas for outdoor events, but within 50 yards of this quiet and expansive area is the main road from Kampala to Jinja, which resembles the African version of the Massachusetts Turnpike, lined with hundreds of makeshift businesses, most of which offer cell phone and internet cards.

William picked us up at the Colline, and the three of us headed to Jinja, Uganda’s second largest city and the location of the source of the River Nile. It is really an incredible site seeing the slow moving waters of Lake Victoria turn into the rapids of the River Nile. Actually, technically the Victoria Nile, where several river sources and the headwaters of the White Nile combine to form the River. Then, along about Sudan, the White Nile merges with the Blue Nile to form the Great River Nile, which flows through Egypt and finds its way in the Mediterranean Sea. If you dropped a floating object in the Lake where we were situated, three months later, it would end up in the Mediterranean Sea. We then toured downtown Jinga, which, well, you just have to see the photographs. In many areas, it was bumper to bumper vehicles, motorcycles, people and vendors (most of whom were selling fresh fruits and vegetables).

On the way back to Mukono, we continued to be amazed more accidents (actually fatalities) do not occur on this main road: no yellow lines, no road signs of ANY kind, no stop signs for intersecting roads, no traffic lights, only one out of every 100 motorcycle drivers wears a helmet, etc. People in Uganda are so soft-spoken and in no hurry until they get behind the wheel of a car/van or on a motorcycle. When we stopped at a pharmacy to get Sue some medicine for the cold she was developing, two motorcycles collided head on. We just wondered, just possibly, if a contributing factor was that one of the motorcycles had no light on and it was dark! Incredibly and thankfully, no one was injured.

Long, but beautiful day. Despite the congestion and sheer numbers of human bodies concentrated in such small areas along the main road, you can gaze upward and see lush rolling hills covered in seas of green: sugar cane, tea and coffee plantations and rain forests. Churchill appropriately labeled Uganda the “pearl of Africa”.

Gerald and Sue Paulk are currently in Uganda on a mission trip sponsored by 4 Corners, a ministry with whom SIFAT has partnered many times. SIFAT executive director Tom Corson and international team coordinator Peggy Walker are also on this trip. While in Africa, they are serving with William Nsubuga and his son Sean at Agape Total Childcare Center. William, a SIFAT graduate, started an orphanage in Lugazi for children whose parents died because of HIV/AIDS.
First off, “Day 1″ is hard to define because, when we departed Hartsfied, Atlanta at 5:40 p.m. EST on Monday, the time in Uganda, East Africa was 12:40 a.m. Tuesday. Our connecting flight was in Amsterdam (Schiphol-pronounced “skiphul”), and we arrived in Entebbe,Uganda on Tuesday, at 8:40 p.m. East African time (11:40 a.m.CST  …we think). We were welcomed by William Nsubuga and an entourage of newfound African friends.

The birds’ sounds of Africa awakened us on Tuesday morning (we think) at the Colline Hotel in Mukono, Uganda, about 10 miles from the home of Agape Orphanage in Lugazi. After an (almost American) breakfast of  “African” omelets, potatoes and coffee, we headed to Agape Total Childcare Center (The Orphanage) for our first of a two-day medical clinic. Being one of two rainy seasons in Uganda, naturally it rained on the way to the Orphanage.

We were joined by some of the brothers and sisters from Four Corners Ministries in Sweet Home Alabama, namely Harold Harmon and wife, Delores, and Gary Clark, spirit-filled folk who know how to “git-er done.” Dr. Dickson, a medical doctor in Kampala, and wife, Liz, and Margaret, a physician’s assistant, and Sue completed the makeshift clinic team in William and Sean’s living quarters. While Delores and Harold set up the pharmacy, Liz registered the first patients from the surrounding communities,  who were awaiting our arrival. Dr. Dickson and Margaret saw the patients, while Sue was ever ready with her blood pressure monitor, if needed. Gerald and Gary helped organize the Chinese fire drill on the grounds outside and took tons of photographs of the children, who were quite shy (unless of course they thought they were being left out of the next shot!)

The team saw patients with conditions ranging from flu/colds to infected bones. Many of the older patients were diagnosed with rheumatism, while many of the younger children suffered from chest congestion. At day’s end, 125 patients had been seen. The oldest patient was 90, and the youngest was 5 months. Regardless of age, all exuded a certain resilience and yet a certain peace with their station in life. Restated, most did not realize how  “poor” they are.

To paraphrase our Upper Room Devotional today, we learned a little better how a good artist should pay attention to what he or she is seeing and draw that, instead of what WE think the subject should look like…and so it is with God.

Peace and Grace be yours,

Gal. 6:9
Sue and Gerald
Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. During Practicum, Becky shared her experience on our blog. Now that she is in an intern in Bolivia, she will post updates as our interns in 2008 did. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas.
Another month has flown by with only one more month remaining here in Ixiamas. I am sure the two months I am home will go by even faster.

We started out the month of October with a day of fasting, spiritual growth and Communion on Sunday the 4th. The fasting was, of course, optional but everyone participated. We broke the fast with Holy Communion. We spent meal times in corporate and private prayers along with meditation on God’s Word. All of the students and staff really seemed to grow from the experience.

One Saturday, we went to visit the village of Puerto Ruso. All the people living in that community are Tsimane Indians, and very few of the adults speak Spanish. It was a great day of seeing new places and traveling down roads that were barely wide enough for the truck to make it through the thick jungle growth. We shared God’s Word by making gospel bracelets with the entire community and a skit showing how Christ died for our sins. Our girls treated everyone’s head for lice with vinegar. Two men in the community have Bibles in their own language given to them several years ago by some missionaries from the States. They were very proud of them and quick to show us God’s Word in their language. We met at the school where two teachers teach around 40 children up to grade 5. We introduced them to the Internado and shared how we could help their children get a higher education by coming to stay with us during the school term. All of the kids were given a Spanish New Testament that Christ Community Church of Columbus, Ga., brought to us this past July.  We shared a meal of rice, plantains and meat (our contribution to the meal), which the men cooked over an open fire on skewers. Afterward, we had three big soccer games. The girls’ game ended with no score, but the Internado boys won their game. Game 3 was the men and older boys; Puerto Ruso won 3 to 1. We also had a visit from a wild black monkey in the plantain grove bordering the soccer field.

The next day Rachel, Andres (who works at Two Trees), Eduardo (my Spanish teacher who worked as director here in 2004 – 2006 and at the Internado in Sapecho prior to Ixiamas) and I drove to Sapecho to buy cacao trees. It was great to visit the town where Sarah and Ken Corson lived when they were missionaries in Bolivia. We had a great meal along with really sweet oranges and coconut juice right out of the coconut at the home of Abdon. He was a supporter of the Sapecho Internado when it was active and helped out with teams that would come there. He also raises fish and showed us the new pond he is building. We loaded as many trees as we could get in the truck, 722 seedlings. Traveling in the truck was quite different than the flota (big bus), and I took some great photos. I actually drove 35 mph, the first time I have gotten over 20 since my arrival.

We ask for you to continue praying for us to find the right person to work with our animals and gardens on Internado grounds for 2010 and for safety as we drive the truck to LaPaz the 1st of December for servicing during summer vacation.

May God bless you all,
Becky

Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. During Practicum, Becky shared her experience on our blog. Now that she is in an intern in Bolivia, she will post updates as our interns in 2008 did. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas.

Wow, I can’t believe how fast time is going by. In three months, I will be traveling back to the US. It seems like I am just really getting started. The last month has been very busy with the English classes really rolling now. I have five students from town, four staff members and, of course, the kids. Reaching out to the people in town with more training is one of the goals of the Internado this year. We feel the English classes are a good start. Can’t you just hear all these Bolivians speaking English with my southern accent? My Spanish is coming along much better and will greatly improve this month with Rachel traveling for several weeks.

The last week we had an outbreak of what they call gripe here. It’s what we would call a virus. Some with headaches and fever, sore throats and a few had vomiting. Five of the students and two staff members were really sick for a few days.  Two of the girls dehydrated and were admitted to the hospital for IV fluids. It seemed like we were back and forth to the hospital many times a day for several days. Sunday, the last girl came home, and no one else has been sick since Friday.   Friday night, three doctors from the hospital came out to give some instructions on prevention and check every one. They also went through our medicine cabinet and made suggestions of things we may need to have on hand.

The end of August, I had a surprise visit from Sophia that I met here on my first mission trip in 2007. We met at the church in Marivel and Miguel’s community. The day we met, we had an immediate connection, and I knew at that moment I would be coming back to Bolivia. She told me that she prayed daily for me after that until God assured her I would be coming back. Her visit was so great because we again felt connected as sisters in Christ. This time I could talk to her some and understand part of what she was saying to me. Rachel translated part of our conversation, but we shared our own feelings with my limited Spanish. She asked me several times if I was happy and content here, and I could honestly say very much so. It made me really do some reflecting. I do miss home and family, but I really am quite at home here with the kids. God has blessed me with very wonderful family here in Bolivia.

One morning, a pair of macaws circled several times really close to where I was standing, allowing me a great look. The colors are so vivid, brilliant yellow on the underside and iridescent blue on top. Of course, I didn’t have my camera on me. They fly over every morning and evening, but they are usually too far away to see the colors. They are one of God’s gifts of beauty here.

A couple of Saturdays ago, it was deep cleaning for the kids’ rooms and lice treatment for them. What an experience!   Guess who shampooed every one’s heads. I have never seen girls with so much hair. They all have this beautiful long, thick dark hair that is really hard to cover with the shampoo.

The Mennonite lady, Sarah, brought me some buttermilk, but we had been without power for a week and the refrigerator was not working, so Rachel and I decided to bake everything we could think of that called for buttermilk. I made over 50 buttermilk biscuits and corn bread muffins. I had cornbread and buttermilk for breakfast.  Rachel made a really great coffee cake. As you can see, there is never a dull moment around here.

Thanks for all the prayers.

Hasta luego,

Hermana Rebecca

Brookhaven UMC is hosting DecembeRadio this Sunday, Aug. 30th, at 6 p.m. at the Multi-Purpose Arena in Brookhaven, Miss. Proceeds from this concert (tickets are only $10!) will help us finish Mama Yoli’s House. DecembeRadio won the 2009 Dove award for Rock Album of the Year.

We hope you come out to enjoy this Christian concert and support SIFAT in the process. The address for the venue is 1096 Beltline Road, Brookhaven, MS.
Tickets are available at the gate. For more information, call (601) 695-0600.

Click here to download a flier.

Is your group hosting a SIFAT fundraiser? We’d love to help get the word out by posting an announcement here. Contact Marie, lanierm@sifat.org, for more information.

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