Today we woke early and loaded up the Land Rover and went on
my first safari. It was dark when we left and for the first thirty minutes,
which resulted in a beautiful sunrise. The animals were all over the national
park. We saw thousands upon thousands of them. I have never seen anything like
this and it was amazing.


There were several types of different antelope that were all
over the place throughout the safari. We saw herds of giraffes and we got so
close to them. One of the giraffes was over twenty foot tall. When we went down
by the river we saw a huge group of hippos, at least fifty, all huddled in a
circle in the water. We also saw giant elephants close up and watched them eat.
All throughout the expedition we saw warthogs running around and they were not
even scared of us. But the real tough guys were the water buffalo. They were
not afraid of us at all. We tried to find a lion on the way back but we
couldn’t find one. After the morning safari, we came back for breakfast and
some down time.


After lunch, we left for our afternoon water safari. On the
way down to the dock, we saw numerous baboons and they had no fear of humans.
Before the boat ride even started we saw a few hippos right next to the boat.
Then once we got moving we came right up to a massive hippo that opened its
mouth almost five feet wide. We saw many of the same animals from the morning
safari while we were on the water safari. Although they were in a different
environment, drinking near the river. The coolest thing we saw that was different
would have to be the huge crocodiles and the snake that was eating a fish.
After about an hour and a half boat ride, we reached a massive waterfall that
had water coming down dangerously fast. It was impressive. When we got back to
shore we took some pictures with the baboons and they let us get very close.


Later that evening we had a great dinner and hung out. What
an incredible experience this was. I have been truly blessed by this entire
trip. From serving those in need, sharing Jesus Christ and to an incredible
African safari. As we get ready for the long drive towards Entebee to fly home
tomorrow, I want to thank everyone who helped make this possible.


God Bless,
Trey Lowe

I just came back from a funeral of one of my
husbands childhood friends father. It really got me thinking, why do we so
often wait until someone is gone to really appreciate everything they had to
offer?
 These past two years have been incredibly
emotional for my family. My father-in-law past away two years ago followed by
my mother-in-law this past October. I didn’t realize what an impact losing
these two parents would have on our family. I am constantly reminded of what a
great loss it is to lose people that were such a huge part of our lives.
 Although we shared a lot of great times and
have lots of wonderful memories, I wonder was it enough. Did we appreciate the
time we spent together enough? Did we appreciate them enough? Do they know how
much we all loved them and how much they are missed now that they are gone? I
feel like a whole part of our lives have died with them. I feel like the Asian
influence in our lives is now missing. It is very sad to me what has been lost.
  I wonder why we wait to really show each
other how we feel. So often we let everyday worries and burdens of life cloud
our love for one another. We often say things that hurt one another and get
bogged down by little imperfections people around us have instead of looking at
all the wonderful things these same people bring to our lives. It is only after
they have gone that we fully understand what a blessing these people were in
our lives. My prayer is that everyone takes time everyday to appreciate all the
wonderful people God has put in their lives. 
Life may not be perfect, but the more time we spend appreciating those
around us, the less time we will spend worrying about all their imperfections.
 Ephesians 1:16
 I do not cease to give
thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Today we
started our trip to Murchison Falls for the safari. We left the hotel in Mbale
at seven thirty this morning and started our eight-hour drive to the falls. The
roads were great most of the way there with a few bumpy parts to start with but
after we got out of Sarati. We stopped an hour or so after that and had a great
American lunch of fried chicken and French fries. We were getting close to the
park and we passed a baboon on the highway which was really cool. When we
finally made it to the park we had about an hour drive through it to the hotel
and it was so amazing seeing so many animals.


            Inside the
park we saw a lot of different animals including giraffes, elephants, warthogs
and cob. It was so cool seeing all of these wild animals for the first time not
on a television screen or inside a zoo. Something about seeing an animal in its
natural habitat is just awe inspiring, and quite a few animals were really
close to our van and it was just awesome. However most of the fun I had was the
searching the vast landscape and then finally spotting something that wasn’t a
cob, they were more than numerous, but giraffes and elephants. Luckily for  us though no lions came near us since most of
my time driving through the park was spent hanging out the window to find
animals.


            An hour or
so later we made it to the hotel and my jaw dropped, its so gorgeous here and
rustic looking. We are right next to the Nile River and I spotted hippos just
chilling out in the water.  After hanging
out in the pool and enjoying some tea time we retreated back to our rooms which
I think are so pretty, everyone has a balcony that over looks the Nile, to wash
up for dinner.


            Tomorrow we
start our day at six in the morning to go on safari which I’m really excited
about since I have never been on an African safari. Its going to be a nice
relaxing day after that and are going on a boat trip down the Nile. This week
has been very busy and nothing like I would of imagined it would be like for
the week. I am very excited for tomorrow because after all that work it will be
nice to just kick back and relax for a day before our journey back home.


Erin Thompson

By Paula Willbrant,
It’s hard to believe that four years have passed since I was in Uganda on the annual Mission trip with 12 fellow COTHA missioners! Construction on the new church had just been completed and a big part of our mission was to go out into the brush and spread the word. That is exactly what we did, we spread the word of Jesus Christ and invited every person we met to join us for worship the next Sunday. The experience was truly AMAZING! We walked in pairs and literally went hut to hut. As we would come up to a little cleared area the families would welcome us with such joy and sincerity as they scurried to find little wooden chairs for us to sit on. We had translators with us which helped tremendously as we read the Bible and shared with them about Jesus. Over 350 people joined together on Sunday as Pastor Morris led the sermon. The Holy Spirit was with us and what a true blessing we experienced that day!
So many memories flood over me as I read the blogs that are being posted by our Missioners now in Uganda. The pictures of the crowds of people swarming around the buses as the missioners arrive jogs my memory of how it was when we pulled up…. What a great welcome!
I’ve searched the pictures for familiar faces but realize that four years have passed and the little ones have grown into teenagers now! And the older folks, well, we’re just four years older! I want to think I recognize some of the people I had the privilege of praying with. I pray they are blessed with good health and are experiencing the goodness of God’s love.

Have you ever had to do something you really didn't want to do?  Try teaching a bunch of middle schoolers on a Sunday and see how that goes.  For most it would not appear to be an adventure not worth seeking.  For some however it would be much much simpler.  What if we could condition ourselves to be that better more confidant person?  What if we could do something that can make our lives less stress.Research show that how we treat ourselves significantly affects our levels of stress.  Eating better - working out - praying - meditating - and many more activities can reduce our stress levels and give us a better quality of life.  The interesting thing to me is that these things are very biblical.  
You know that boring book in the OT... yep you got it...  Leviticus with all the rules and sleepiness cover many of these items... was God setting in motion a plan for us to be less stressful in our days?  I think so.  
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11
So how was your daily routine today?  Did you meditate on Scripture?  Did you pray?  Did you take care of your body?  If not how stressed has your day been?
And one more thing that is mostly for me, did you sleep enough.  Research shows that not enough sleep will not clear the stress hormones of the previous day from your blood stream.  I'll have to work on this one.  
So I was browsing TED.com the other day and discovered Amy Cuddy and her research..... Life changing!   
​

It was so
nice to have an extra hour of sleep this morning.  We’ve been leaving for the mission site at
8:00 each morning but today, Sunday, we weren’t scheduled to depart for church until
9:00.


Today we
went to the church near the Lulwanda Children’s Home.   The church was packed with all the children
from the orphanage as well as the usual Sunday attendees.   As usual, we were asked to teach men’s,
women’s and children’s Sunday school as well as preach the sermon.   Karen, Susan and I taught the women’s class
on the subject of obedience.  We each
shared stories of when we had been obedient and the many blessings we had
received as a result of that obedience, as well as times when we knew God had
called us to act and we had failed to follow through.   Unfortunately, we ran a little long so were
unable to get feedback from the women, however Karen and I had the opportunity
after the service to speak to one of the house mothers at the orphanage and she
shared her testimony of obedience.  
 The
abbreviated version is that her husband had deserted her when her second child
was still an infant.  She was having a
very difficult time supporting herself and her children.  She was offered a job six months ago at the
Children’s Home but accepting the job would mean she would have to leave her
children behind in the care of neighbor. She fasted and prayed for three days
and saw the orphanage in a vision and knew that God was calling her to work
there.  It was an extremely difficult
decision but she was obedient and followed God’s call.   I
still have a hard time understanding how someone could leave their children and
I’m not sure I could have done the same, however we can’t just be obedient when
it’s easy.  When God calls us to serve it
usually requires some degree of sacrifice on our part.   


After the
service, we went into the dining hall and the children sang a song for us. Pastor
Morris thanked us for our ongoing support of the Children’s Home.  He talked about how these children are the future
of Uganda: future presidents, future doctors, future administrators and future
teachers.  It was a very uplifting and
hope- filled message.


Upon our
return to the hotel, we at a late lunch of the usual fare except this was the
first day that our dessert did not contain pineapple.  Note to Trey’s Mom:  What does that child have against pineapple?(Joking). We
then each emptied our extra suitcases of all the translator gifts and stacked
them up in the hallway.  Going from one
end to the other we worked assembly line fashion to fill 30+ bags with bibles,
soap, toothbrushes, socks, etc.  The bags
will be distributed by Mama Aidah to those who assisted with our mission
efforts this past week.


Tonight we
will pack our suitcases for departure tomorrow morning at 7:00 to Murchison
Falls for a safari.  It’s a long way and
we’ve been told the roads are not good between here and Soroti but after that
it will be smooth sailing.  Please pray
for safe travels for our team.


We say
goodbye to Mbale and our hosts at the Mt. Elgon Hotel, weary, fulfilled
servants of God.  We’ll see you soon!


Debbie Blank
​

By Trish Thompson, Ministry Pastor of Groups
Having two hours on the road in solitude after taking my son to camp, I am finally able to listen to the new audiobook, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard.  I thought it might compliment the personal study which I am currently doing.  Yet, he brings an important point that I have not heard in my study.  It is based on Mark 5:23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”   
What I find interesting is the part which says “ears to hear.”  While having ears is essential in holding glasses on my face, I always assumed the purpose of ears was hearing.  But as I am listening, I am recalling conversations throughout the day with my teenage son who obviously did not hear a word of what I was saying.  
I often have that selective hearing of my youth and say God is not speaking to me.  I pray, but He doesn’t seem to answer them.  I am wanting guidance about an issue, but I don’t feel His presence.  I must confess that during these times it is me who is not seeking God.  I am looking for quick fix not a relationship with my Savior.  
God is in constant communication with us.  He desires nothing more than having a relationship with us.  Are we listening?  Are we focused on hearing His voice? True communication occurs during relationship.  It takes listening to the other person, not simply hearing.  In your quiet time this week, practice sitting in silence and listening for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit inside you.  You may never have to ask God “Can you hear me now?”

Today was our last day of the medical mission.  We arrived at the church around 9:30 and
started bringing in our medicines and stacking the mosquito nets by the exit
door.  Several of us began counting pills
into the packets for the nurses to dispense, while others were going out to
pray with people in the crowd.  We were
so happy to have the police with us today keeping the huge crowd orderly.  We estimated that there were around 4,000 at
the church today.  For such a large
crowd, it really was a calm “third day”. 
We had at least $2000 of medicine today, but unfortunately, as hard as
we plan, and as many hours as we spend putting it into dose packets, we always
run out before the doctors can see everyone. 
We did hand out 1800 nets today. 
With 4 people sleeping under a net, that’s at least 7200 people who are
protected tonight from Malaria than there were yesterday!!!
We love having our new Bellville friends here with us on
this trip.  They fit in with the group
perfectly and there is a lot of laughing and teasing.  John and Rick are awesome preaching, talking
to the crowd, and praying with people. 
Those of us sitting inside counting pills have really been blessed when
Trey goes out with his guitar and sings all of our favorite songs. 
Today as I handed out nets I loved seeing people’s smiles
and nods of thanks.  Some things just
don’t have a language barrier. 
Tomorrow we are going to church at the Lulwanda Childrens
Home (a first for us)!  We all have
assignments of teaching women’s, men’s and children’s Sunday School.   After church we will be able to run play
with the kids and I’m sure they will have some songs to share with us. 
I think we are all looking forward to a day of Worship, fun
with the children, and then an afternoon of rest before we start the last leg
of our journey. 
We miss you all back home and can’t wait to share all we
have seen and experienced.  
Karen Eisele

Today we headed back to the second church and arrived to
find thousands waiting for the medical outreach and a mosquito net.  Being a “flat land” church it seems it is
easier for people to get to this church. 
We had a very diverse cross section of attendees; Christians, Muslims,
witchcraft etc.  This made a great
opportunity for us to share God’s love through our actions and God’s word. 
The day also had it challenges.  We arrived at the church site and unloaded
all our boxes of medicine only to find the box with the pain relievers was
missing.  A search of all the boxes
didn’t turn up the medicine.  We made a
quick call back to town to have someone search the hotel storage and the
pharmacy to find the runaway medicine. 
We did find the medicine in an adjacent closet at the hotel but it took
a couple of hours for it to make its way to the church site.  This caused a bit of delay.
When you have many thousands of people milling around a
couple of acres and things are going slow and the sun is rising towards mid-day,
the heat in the sky and the heat in the crowd began to increase as you would expect.   For most of the people this is their one
chance to get some treatment for their family’s  malaria or other ailments.  One can see why they get desperate to get into
the clinic.  The police came to help us
with crowd control which helped space out the crowd and bring more order.    With things back to normal, we got after
dispensing medicine and mosquito nets. 
We are spending about $2000 a day on medicine which treats a couple
thousand people.  We have become experts
at counting and packaging pills for the doctors and nurses to distribute.  We handed out over 1800 nets today, by far
our busiest day this year.  We can’t
thank you enough for your support; your generosity makes this possible.
Some of us were able to get out amongst the crowd to pray
with them and to visit.  John and Michael
shared the Gospel and taught the crowd about how to properly use mosquito
nets.  John, our friend from Bellville,
was dubbed John the Baptist by Pastor Samuel. 
We expect to see John in a hair robe soon. 
On a personal note, the team is so blessed to have John,
Rick and Trey on this mission team.  It
is clear God called these three to be with us and make this a very special
trip.  Trey has sang and played his
guitar each day for the crowd, Rick has been out praying up a storm and leading
the kids in pick up soccer practices. 
John has shared his testimony, preached and probably most important inject
humor into the team just when we need it. 
These guys are great.
I had the chance, as did others, to get to know Patrick
Paul, one of our translators.  Patrick
Paul is a Covenant Bible College student studying to be a pastor.  He is single father of five children whose
wife deserted the family.  His oldest
daughter was stolen and her whereabouts are uncertain.  He has asked for our prayers.   His situation just breaks my heart.  What really stands out is his faith in Christ
is so strong.  He is generous beyond
means.  As an example, an orphan comes up
for prayer and clearly has needs;  Patrick Paul reaches in his pocket and pulls
out the equivalent of 50 cents and gives it to him.  Patrick Paul might have $2 in his pocket and
to his name.  I felt pretty sheepish when
I struggle to put an extra dollar in the offering plate.  Please hold Patrick Paul up in your prayers
and as an example of how we should live.
God Bless
 Doug Eisele

As we look forward to a new day
today in a new village it is worth reminiscing on how wonderful the village was
in the mountains.   There was such a great
community there and the need was great.  
Pastor George and everyone were grateful for the blessings they
received.   We were simply a conduit.  There are families and people that will stay
in our prayers.
Today’s journey began with excitement
as we were on one of the best roads in Uganda for awhile.  However we knew this was a remote village and
our excitement continued has we trekked along many dirt roads with many
turns.  There were so many I would be
lost in Uganda forever if I were to drive.  
We knew where we were headed there
was great need and sickness.  It would be
far greater than the mountains.   As we
were going I WAS wondering where the people would come from as we were getting
deeper into the bush. 
We arrived at the village with
people already waiting.  We set up and
were off and running.  Today was different.  There was a calmness with the people and the
process was very smooth.  There were many
people and you could tell there was a great need.  We were in a much drier area.   The crops were not as plentiful.  However the happiness of the people was the
same or greater.   They are so grateful
for the help they received. 
We had bought as much medicine as we started with on Monday and
had increased our amounts on antibiotics.  
By lunch we had run out of antibiotics and were running low on most
other medicine.   We wanted to make sure
the people received their medicine as they will come back on Friday for
it.  At the Pharmacy we doubled up on the
antibiotics that we ran out of.
A special note to the Pharmacy in
Bellville that had sent us with double what we normally take from the states
and they gave it to us for free.   Their
help was tremendous and made a huge difference the first days of our journey.  There are many in Uganda thankful for their
generosity. 
We sent our youngest out today,
Trey and Erin, to do healing prayer with some members of the group.  It was great to see them jump right in as
many needed prayers.  Because we had a
large flat area we were able to play soccer or at least kick the ball with the
kids.   The children enjoyed that and it
seemed something different from what they normally get to do.  
The process for seeing people with
the doctors moved much quicker today and many received help especially early
on.  We left with almost no nets to give
out today.
Tomorrow they will be waiting with
smiles as we arrive.   I would venture to
guess many will travel over 10 to 15 miles to get to the location as we shoot
for giving out almost 1800 nets.  Word
spreads fast and the anticipation is exciting.      
Michael Thompson