hair for wedding!

Dear Ladies-

Here are the options! Just e-mail me or comment on this post with the number of which one you would like. Don't worry if you say the same number as someone else, they can easily be duplicated! You don't have to use one at all, it is just an option. Love you!

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Safely home :)

Safely home. Catching up on sleep. Telling stories, missing loved ones in Uganda. Here are a few snapshots of our time. More to come! Thank you for the prayers and love!

Sarah B. (for all the puffs happily home)

e)

Going Dutch 2 times :)

In the Amsterday Schipol Airport. Doing great. We all slept. We were delivered to the Entebbe aiaport in Uganda by Barnabas and Baby Mitch, two of the sweetest/coolest guys around. :) Earlier in the day Barnabas took us to the source of the Nile which was very very cool! What a lifetime experience this entire 3 weeks have been.

On the way to the airport at 9 in the evening, we were some of the only people on the road. We sang and sang with Mitchell harmonizing in the background. In some way we were saying goodbye to the sweet, Presence of God filled time and people we love here. Cheesy I know but true.

We cannot wait to see you all and share the Goodness of God!

Peace of Christ,

Sarah (For the puffs who are enjoying REAL coffee and croissants! Woo!)

"Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus because HE first loved me!"

"Hootie, hootie hoo, I'm a Muzungu..."

Loved Ones,



It has been great to hear from all of you! Thanks for all the love!

Muzungu, for those of you who have not spent time in Eastern Africa, is a generic term for a Caucasian person. :) If you come and visit you will hear it 25+ times a day. It means you are well-liked and also that you stick out. :) Cultural note for the day delivered!

We have been in Kampala since Friday. Though we miss our friends in Gulu dearly, we have greatly enjoyed our time with the Kampala SOM staff and the Good News Boys. What a great name! We spend Saturday morning with Sam and Heidi Casey and their construction team before they headed to Gulu. It was great to be able to cross paths and share stories. Pray for them as they are serving in Gulu! Saturday morning we spent time at one school and one juvenile detention center. At both sites we were able to spend time with the children there playing, fielding their life questions and sharing Jesus with them!

After spending time with them, we were given the opportunity to go to a Uganda vs. Malawi game in Mandela Stadium! Linz had a connection to the Ugandan National Team captain so not only did we get into the game for free but we were able to sit with Andy (the captain) and cultivate more of a relationship with him. Great day!

Also it is noteworthy that we had pizza on Saturday night. AND ice cream!!!!

Sunday we went to Kampala Pentecostal Church and had the privilege of worshipping there. Great church! We were able to rest for the remainder of the day.

Mon and Tue we spent with the Good News Boys playing soccer in the morning and then visiting their various projects in the afternoons. Tue we visited the Netete slum where SOM is running many programs including a school, feeding program, bakery, tailoring and many more things! God is blessing the work of their hearts and hands so much!

Tonight we are the honored guests at a dinner to commemorate our time spent in Uganda. We are looking forward to celebrating with our SOM family here.

TOMORROW we will be wrapping up our time in Uganda by visiting the source of the Nile River (we are very excited!!!) and then hopping on a plane to Amsterdam. We are more than grateful for our time here and the things that God has done! We will be detailing those things more in the coming days/weeks.

Please pray for our last 24 hours in Uganda to be blessed and smooth. Pray for our travel home, for safety, health and good time together as a team. We have grown to love each other very much and have cherished the time God has blessed us with.

Thank you for your prayers! Love and see you soon!!!

Sarah (For all the little puffs dressed up in their Ugandan skirts and necklaces. You should see us!)

"Dear Diary, today I took a 3 hour nap...."

LOVED ONES!!! You are wonderful! Thank you so very much for your comments on our last post! We weren't sure anyone besides my own mother and Jess C. were reading what we were writing. Your words, prayers and scriptures were so timely and encouraging! THANK YOU!



Quick update on our last few days:

~We cleared land (hauling trees, shrubs, etc.) with our Ugandan sisters/mothers. Hard yet fulfilling work. Lots of singing and laughter!
~Spend time with some of the families that Esther and the other ladies minister to through the AIDS/HIV and Family Strengthening ministries. We met one family in particular that had just found out that both of the parents tested positive for HIV. Neither of them are currently employed and they afraid for the future of their children. We were able to pray with them and along with our Ugandan friends, help them come up with possible solutions to their dire financial situation. Difficult yet encouraging to see how God is moving through those ministries.
~Celebrated St. Patty's day at Aloysius' and Esther's house with a few little Irish jigs. Beautiful.
~Spent time in Lugutu (remote village) helping haul firewood, dig ditches. This is where we learned to carry logs on our HEADS!!! We are finally African!
~Soccer game at Koro vs. SOI staff. (we may have lost.) Lindsay got a fat lip. Sad. A little funny but still sad.
~Visited a village outside of Koro where Sarah was able to sew a pillow out of rags for an elderly lady. Thanks for the skilz mom! (If you want to visit the village, simply follow the beaten path around the bend, walk through the African bush and turn right at the big tree. You can't miss it)
~Jacey's dance class/ministry! We are an embarrassment to dance. :) It was so fun though and we learned a dance as a team. That makes us a dance team!! :)
~We went with Florence and Christine (Our Ugandan mothers who named us. We LOVE and MISS them already!) to the HIV ladies ministry at Karambe. We worshipped, danced and shared as sisters in Christ. When they were singing and worshipping in Acholi (language in Gulu) the Presence of God flooded the little room where we were. We Americans just cried and praised the Father for such precious sisters!
~Last night we had our first full soccer match! WE WON! (However, we were playing a group of "older" lady widows from the Gulu Widows Association....) We had a wonderful time playing with them. However, we most enjoyed the prayer and worship time afterwards. Powerful and beautiful how the Spirit bonds the Family of Christ together despite language, nationality, anything that could be seen as a barrier.
(Not everything we have done is detailed here. We have been wonderfully busy!)

Today we traveled to Kampala where we will remain for the rest of our time. We are all healthy and feeling great! When we arrived at our hotel, we slept for 3 hours....we must have been tuckered out!

Please pray for:
~Our remaining time in Kampala. We know it will fly. We want to serve to the best of our abilities in every way!
~Pray for strength, health, joy!
~Please pray for our dear friends in Gulu as they continue to serve and love the people of that city. They are so very dear to us.
~Pray for our sleep to be peaceful and Spirit-filled!


WE love you all! Thank you AGAIN for the encouragement and prayers! We FEEL them!

Be blessed to know that the Father has been using you all to lift us up and encourage us!

Peace of Christ,

Lakica (Sarah, for all the well-rested, well-prayed for puffs)

BOOM SHAKALAKA! (or "Satan is a Loosa!)

(I apologize in advance for typos. In a hurry, weird Ugandan keyboard.)

We are doing great and God is so very good to us! Everyone is well and in good spirits. We are taking a much needed rest day today (Sunday). Please pray for our rest.

A few things we have been doing and seeing:
~Spent time with Auntie Pastor Caroline, a local minister to a group of 400+ widows here in Gulu. Sat with us under a mango tree for 2 hours telling us abuot healing, deliverance adn who we are in Jesus. AH-MAZING!
~Have been volunteering at the Pastor Robert Kayanja (google him) Healing, Salvation and Deliverance Crusade. Because of that we have been able to see many people (thousands of people come to the event, maybe all of Gulu) healed from things such as blindness, deafness, being mute, old people and children alike being healed and walking for the first time, people being delivered from demonic oppression adn posession. It has been amazing! Just last night we saw a man on the stage who had never been able to hear or speak. Jesus healed him and for the first time he spoke and could hear well enough to dance to music! Many of the people in the crowd when asked if they knew him raised their hands joyously as they saw a friend/community member experience God's miraculous power! We consider it a blessing to have been a small part of this 3 day event.
~Our team member Shira gave her heart and life to Jesus! AMEN!
~We were all given African nams: I am "Lakicha" which means Mercy, Holly is "Lamaro" which means God's Love, Shelly is "God's blessing", KB is "Trust itn he Lord" and Linz is "God's Best/Beauty." We are being loved very well by our Ugandan sisters and mothers. :)
~We were able to have a time of washing our Ugandan sister's feet followed by a powerful time of prayer and praise. It wasn't very long but the Spirit was tangible as we served one another in love and humility. We are privilaged to know, love and be loved by these women.
~We have spent some time with different micro-loan women's groups through the Gulu district. God is blessing the work of their hands and SOI's commitment to loving and uplifting the people of Gulu. So exciting!

Please pray:
~We have experienced significnt spiritual warfare at night that has been affecting many of our team member's sleep. The Spirit has been leading us to put on our spiritual armor as outlined in Ephesians 6, to stand in the victory that Jesus has afforded us and to trust in Him and not fear. We are very thankful for the unity the Spirit has crafted within our gruop. Please pray that we experience the Peace of Christ and are able to continue to stand in His Truth!
~As our team heads into another week of hard yet fulfilling work, please pray that we will be strengthened in the Holy Spirit mind, body and spirit, that we will be able to selflessly serve all aroudn us, that we will have the eyes of Jesus and the heart fo the Father for everyone in our midst.
~Pray for Kendall, Jacey, and Aloysius as they seek to lead our group. Pray for wisdom, peace and rest.
~Pray as we continue to work with some of the women's micro-loan businesses to perfect a few product prototypes before we depart of Friday.
~Health, Safety, Rest Peace

If you read the blog we would LOVE for you to leave a comment so we know people are actually reading what we say. :)

SAM CASEY- Jess has a short list of things that would be great if you all could bring when you come to Gulu this coming week. She should be contacting you but jsut in case...:)

May the Peace of Christ reign in your hearts now and forevermore!

Sarah & Holly Belle (for the puffs who are in JoJo's Hotel resting) :)

Hello, my name is Lindsey and I am an expert rock-breaker/Brownies in the bush

Loved Ones,

Just a quick note to let you know we are all doing well and that God is so good! :) Here are a few highlights from the last few days:

~Learning what it is to be a woman in Uganda by lugging 8 gallon water jugs back and forth and back and forth and back and forth again to water the gardens on the Koro farm. Someone needs to donate a watering hose system to the farm!
~Making more bricks! (Forbis, we think of you every day when we do this! :) :) :) You were made for Uganda!)
~Graveling a new road of the farm.
~Working in a remote village helping them build a piggery by breaking really big rocks into teeny tiny bits of gravel to mix with the cement for the foundation.
(Yes, by this time our arms are getting to be pretty jacked) :)

~Shelly, Sarah and Jacey baked the first successful batch of chocolate brownies on the Koro farm with little or no kitchen elements. They tasted great and we loved introducing the Ugandans to yummy brownies! The recipe we developed will be used by the ladies in the bakery at Koro to bake and then sell the brownies in the town for a profit. Have you ever baked outside with chickens and goats? We have!:)
~Spending time with children at a local school doing morning exercise time. We sang a lot of "I want, I want!" We will be doing this a few more times in the next week.
~We were guests at Jacey's hip-hop class with young girls. She uses the class as a way to build relationships with the girls, to encourage them to make good life choices and most of all share the Gospel of Jesus with them. We had a blast and were blessed by this wonderful ministry!
~First "soccer" game! We made it through! We had a pick-up match with some local girls and then boys for a few hours the other evening. Afterwards we spoke with them and took time to pray. Some of us had the privilage of praying with a young man who wanted to give his life to Jesus! So exciting!
~Other things, too many to mention.

As you can see, our days are full and fulfilling! Please be praying for:

~Rest
~Physical Strength
~Our time with our Ugandan teammates
~Jess and she returns home tomorrow
~The 3 day crusade we will be helping with starting tomorrow. There is a pastor form Kampala who has a ministry that sees many people come to know Jesus, be healed and delivered on a regular basis. He and those ministering with him are coming for the first time to Gulu and we will be helping with ministry material distribution. Please pray for the Spirit to move in these meetings as they are expecting masses of people. The event is being held at one of the largest outdoor venues in Gulu! :) We are very excited to see God move in mighty ways during this time!

We love you, wish you were here to experience the good things God is doing in this place and in these people. Be blessed to know that we feel your prayers and pray for you often as well!

Peace of Christ,

Sarah (for the strong lil'puffs)