First post

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd have my support letter for my upcoming trip be my first post to this journal...enjoy

May 2007

I write you today as a man changed by the people of Uganda. About a month ago, I embarked on a trip to Uganda to serve as a videographer for a ministry called Buyamba Inc. However, God had a much larger plan for my trip and my future than just visiting a foreign country.

Let me first tell you about the work that is been going on out in Uganda through Buyamba. In 2002, Pastor Bethuel Dongo and his wife Florence started an outreach to the children of Uganda by opening a school/orphanage. At that point, there were about 97 children in their school. Through the generous support of people in the United States, they now have a five-story building for their primary school with over 500 students in attendance. They also found a need for a secondary school, and although they don’t have a dedicated building for it, there are about 60 students and growing. The children at the school are in one of the following situations: both parents have passed away, one parent has passed and the other cannot pay their school fees for some reason (usually because they are sick and cannot work) or both parents are sick. In spite of these conditions, these children have a joy about them that can only be explained by a loving God.

One of the things that we realized while we were there was that most of the classes did not have books. I came back to the U.S. with a mission to raise money to help these teachers. I approached the students at my school and asked if they could spare a quarter every week as an offering to help the children at God Cares School in Uganda. The response has been overwhelming. At this point after 4 weeks of offering, the students at my school have donated nearly $1000. A couple of us decided that we could use this money to buy books for the school. We planned to have the books purchased, and we would take some American teachers to Uganda to support the teachers in Uganda in using these books in their classrooms.

Our team of four will be leaving on July 12. I will be staying in Uganda for three weeks (until Aug. 3) while the rest of the team will be there for about a week (returning on July 21). During the time that I am by myself in Uganda, I will be staying at the school instead of at a hotel. I want to live like they do and understand the costs of living in Uganda. At this point, I feel God calling me to teach out there in the near future. Please pray that God will clarify this calling to me if it is truly His will.

There are so many things that we want to accomplish while in Uganda, but we cannot do this without your help. The kids at the school get the opportunity for a meal with meat only about once a week. I want to be able to buy meat for them at least a couple of times while I am there. In addition, you may know that I’ve coached basketball over the last 8 years. Well, I would like to build a basketball court and bring basketballs for the kids to use.

Unfortunately, there is a cost involved in allowing this trip to be possible as well as for the additional things we would like to do while out there.  The approximate cost is $4000 for my part of the trip. I would ask that you consider partnering with me in my adventure. There are a number of ways that you can partner with us.

o    Pray for our safety as we work in a foreign country
o    Pray that we will be able to raise the support needed for this trip
o    Pray for our interactions with the teachers in Uganda
o    Pray for our assimilation back into the American way of life after being around such a joyous people who have very little
o    Pray that the financial need will be met
o    Consider a monetary gift (all contributions are tax-deductible)

I understand that you may get many of these requests every year, so thank you for listening and do not feel an obligation to give. However, your prayers are necessary for a successful journey.