The journey begins! We went out for the forth time this particular week looking for land...nothing we had seen thus far captured what we were really searching for.
Enoch spend a whole day, literally 10 hours, searching for the perfect place. Everything from the soil, to the bush, to the big trees, hills, flat, accessibility, public transport, water...everything. He knew that Shelly wanted nothing but the best for this camp.
That evening Enoch called us as he was on his way back to the activity center with "great news"! He held us in suspense for 45 min. He came to us with very exciting news. He found two pieces of land for what seemed perfect for what we are looking for. The maps and explainations were great but weren't enough for Shelly. She needed to go and see them both for herself. We would have gone at that moment but it was already dark.
First thing the next morning (8am) we were off! We went to the first piece and it was nice. A little steep terrain, but it had good soil and underground spring...lots of garden, an okay view....onto the next piece...
"WELCOME TO PARADISE!" Bottom line...we prayed about it, we looked hard, we've been patient, we found it, we love it, we feel good about it...we can almost hear God chuckling at us...and better yet we have the money for it...here is our story...
We were originally told that it was 10 acres for 5 million shillings an acre ($27,400). We don't have that much...after meeting with the owner we found out that he was selling 5 acres and was willing to go down to 4 million ($10,960). We don't have that much... After 9 hours of walking, translating, listening to family fueds and negotiating, we left the land for the second time that day to take the land owner back home...Enoch had been negotiating in Luganda and the tone sounded ominous...not so positive....he said he would fill us in with the details after dropping off the owner...I started praying!!! I was sooo nervous that the owner didn't have the title, or the brother was trying to talk him out of selling it, or they wanted too much money...I prayed!!!
We dropped the owner off and Enoch got this cheshire cat grin and sooooo calmly told us that he had negotiated down to 3.5 million shillings an acre ($9,590). Guess what? WE HAVE THAT!!!!!!!! There are two families from Arbuckle Community Church in California that donated $9000 especially for land!! Is that a God thing or what!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE, ENCOURAGEMENT, EXCITEMENT AND PRAYERS. GOD IS GREAT AND SO FAITHFUL!! We are starting the documentation and survey process this week. Please continue to pray for God's guidence and wisdom every step of the way! We will keep you updated as we get closer to holding that title in our hot little hands!!!
After a stressful day of scouring the Ugandan countryside, it is always a joy coming back to our kids!!! It's all for the children of the Lord.
This is Namubiru Linda and I sharing hats and a little "hang" out time! She is our covergirl for the website, this 5 year old always has a smile on her face...even when she is sick. Just this last week she had a terrible lung infection that caused her to have a bad cough that led to her throwing up...if we wouldn't have taken her to the doctor when we did it would have turned into pnemonia. Unfortunately her mother didn't give her the full dose of her medicine (she gave some to her sister cause she had a "cough") she is still suffering from it and we might need to take her back if it continues or gets worse. But needless to say she is always a joy to be around.

Thank you again and know that we are seeking the Lord's guidance every step of the way and also know that without your prayers and support this wouldn't be possible!!!

This was a typical idiot driver who just happened to end up in the ditch...this was one of three accidents we saw this day. Their solution...get a big truck to tow it out and have 20 people help break the axel pushing out...I dont understand some things here but oh well, it was somewhat entertaining.
The sunsets and sunrises are simply amazing.
This is what the kids use as umbrellas when it is raining, they are branches to our papaya tree that we pushed over because otherwise it would have fallen on a kid or two...when the tree fell, 30 kids ran up and fought over all the papaya on it...again very entertaining. These ones went for shelter rather than the food, it just happen to be pouring down rain that day.
Imagine 250 kids in a 540 sq foot room, no form of air except a little house fan in the back...and when electricity went out so did the fan. Not to mention the kids just got done with two hours of sports, games and dancing. This was a "special" saturday. We watched the lion king and had pop corn!!! I also made a 15 min slide show of the kids (Im bringing some copies home to the states) they absolutely LOVE seeing themselves on the digital camera screen...we had a huge white wall for a sceen...they went crazy. You can see all there little heads in this photo! Some of them were directly in front of the wall, there necks had to have been killing them . I had music to the slide show but it wasnt even necessary because they were screeming out the names of every one in every photo, we couldnt even hear a kid if they were crying it was soooo loud. Luckily no one suffered heat exhaustion or suffication. Thank you Lord for your protection!!
This was the mound of shoes outside that very day!! Over 500 shoes!!! This wasnt even all of them, and to think that they all went home with shoes...they may not have been there own but they all had shoes.
NO more braids!!! :( And no more hair!!! I lost sooo much hair but they were so much fun. This is me taking out my very last braid, all the fake hair on the table were all of my extensions. It was crazy!! But I loved it and will probably do it again.
Our cat Joey, he sleeps with me every night, and he kills all the cockroaches so I let him stick around.
In the process of looking at land and taking out my braids we stopped for some african fast food...ie, you stop your vehicle at a market on the roadside and about 15 people come sprinting to your car with meet on stick...bananas...water...fruit...anything you might need for a snack...they push and fight to get you to try to pick their food, they dont just go to the drivers window either...they mob every window.
me and my group of soccer boys, the one in the red and white striped shirt is Tamale Peter!!! He is a kid after my own heart, I dont know if I told you guys about him but he lost his father awhile bcak and his mother is sick and has aids...Im not sure if he does but needless to say he isn't in school because his mother cant afford school fees so I am going to hopefully be able to annonymously sponser him and send him to school this coming feb!!!! He is soooo talented, not to mention our best futball player!!! Pray that the Lord works His wonders there. School fees for a term (3 months) for him are at most $25 a month and that is including a little pocket money. We have a lot of kids that don't go to school because of school fees, however we have many very good students who are fortunate enough to go to school. One boy, Aman Aziz, just nailed his P7 (7th grade) exams!!!! Now he gets to go to high school for the next 5 years providing the school fees are there. His brother however isn't in school because there parents only have money to send one child and Aziz is oldest so he is the only one enrolled right now.

Another shot of our "special" saturday!!!! Before the movie even started their popcorn was gone!
Every Thursday Shelly leads our Bible study! We are studying 1 Samuel and loving it!! The life of David and his heart for the Lord is a huge encouragement to me and hopefully to all of our staff. It is hard to get everyone to participate but Lord willing we will see the fruit of this study produce over the next couple weeks.

Okay for those of you that haven't heard...my computer has officially crashed...it doesn't even turn on so the pictures are on hold until I can use shelly's to download all my pictures...right now I am in the process of trying to get them off of my computer and onto cds...and for those of you that know me...I take a lot of pictures.

But needless to say, things are going very well. I am learning so much about life and even more about culture. There is no way to compare the US with Africa...they are on two totally different levels, the people here are different, the food, the entertainment...everything.

This last week Shelly and I went to Jinja and walked all around the nile river!!! BEAUTIFUL!! I have some amazing pictures that I hope to share with you soon. It was soooo peaceful...well except when we got interupted every two minutes by "tour guides" forcing to let them show us around for money...after we already paid to get in...we weren't very nice to them, but it is okay because they had no business asking us for money. Needless to say the bush is where I love to be, I hate the city. Especially here, it is nothing like any other city I have ever been in.

Next week we are hoping to travel north to Gulu. I met a guy, James, who works for Invisible Children, he is in charge of the bracelet program, we have had sometime to talk and get to know each other. He is going to take us up to Gulu sometime next week and show us all around the IDP camps (that hopefully aren't as congested with people since the film was done. www.invisiblechildren.com ) another amazing organization helping children in Uganda. As for Christopher House...we are almost done with our website!!! It should be up and running in the next couple days...be sure to check it out, you will get a really good glimpse of what we do here, all the pictures on the website I took so you can see for yourself the pictures that made it off my computer. Pray that the other ones can be recovered. www.christopherhouseministries.org God is doing good things here, and He is in the midst of Uganda in many many ways, we are just a percent of what He is doing here. Pray for protection and direction as the weeks go on...I am reaching the half way point in my trip and my prayer is that I don't waste a day of it, I pray that God uses me in any and all ways to help benefit these kids and my personal relationship with Him. Thank you guys all for being a part of this journey with me and I hope that through this experience you can see what it really means to love God's people and grasp the importance of living for Christ. I love you all and will be in touch.
In Him,
Sheena

Shelly and her wonderful 5 1/2 hour braid job!
I got a pedicure and manicure it was sooo nice and very inexpensive...15,000 shillings...about $8 for both together!!
my braids!!! I love them! I dont have to wash my hair for over a month...
After 6 1/2 packs of these "darling" extensions and 8 1/2 hours of sitting on my toosh!!
How appropriate!!!
Okay so I am trying to download more pictures for you guys but my computer crashed the other day so it is very difficult...I hope to send more your way soon. Know that the days are flying by and I have been very busy....working, traveling, working, playing...I have been so busy it has been over two weeks since Ive updated this blog and its been a week since Ive written in my journal...for those of you that know me well....that is way too long to go without writing. Keep the emails coming, I love to read them and I will try to respond as soon as I get them. Lots of love from Uganda!!
Thank you all for all of your prayers and support!!!
Sheena

Isaac, Joseph A and Joseph B

These are 5 of the 8 girls that I am mentoring. From right to left...Promise, Sophia, Zalia, Shamirra, and Shammim.
This was my football team for the day!! We dominated....well THEY dominated!
Little Joseph...He is a beauty, he is one of our kids that is HIV positive and will need to be on meds for the rest of his life....we were worried about him for a bit because he didnt' show up to the center for two weeks...just as we were sending someone to go check on him...he and his brother showed up. Apparently his father is sick and in the hospital...his mother has been taking care of him so she wasn't able to get the boys to the center. We were excited to see that they were ok and we welcomed them back with open arms...Joseph used to be VERY shy but he opened up soooo much that day, we talked, laughed, it was a huge blessing!
We have some very precious "little ones" they are more than a joy to have around, not to mention they are soooo loving and adorable....most of the time :)
This is Talapia...I ate it just like this....Im not gonna lie I was a little scared...it was really good though
These are some of our adorable kids...they are precious
She is one of our twins, her favorite activity is art!
Lis I took this picture for YOU! It was a full moon at like 4am, I prayed for you!
What was left of the Talapia!

The joy of Saturday afternoon clutter. We don't wear shoes inside so what better place to put them....than right in the doorway. This is only a quarter of what was there.
A nightmare in itself...the taxi park, again this is just a glimpse of about a mile of taxi's. Not to mention the complete agony and challenge in finding one that is going where you want it to go...not easy. I will take a yellow cab any day over this mess....but it's how we get around here...so we work with it.
Yes this is (was) a snake...a cobra to be exact. It shed this skin in the bushes surrounding our activity center...we aren't quite sure where it is but we have the remains of what looks to be a good size snake. Not to worry, we found its home right next to the bush...a little kerosene and a match should do the trick!
A look at downtown Kampala on a good day. Markets all over every inch of street...people...and of course taxis and boda boda's.

Everyday is a new day. There is so much to see and so much to learn. This week has been filled with events...cockroach killing, bumper to bumper traffic...walking and driving...bargaining every last penny....good meals...not so good meals...hearing the joys of being a kid in Africa...hearing the fears of being a kid in Africa. Everyday is a new day.

Words seriously can't express life here. I was sick this week a little and we think it is because of the pork I ate...that it wan't cooked all the way, or that I drank unboiled bottled water. Apparently we are finding out that people get empty water bottles and fill them with normal unboiled water and then reseal them, plastic seal and all...so it looks like I may have had a bad bottle. Needless to say I will be boiling my own water from now on.

The Lord is working so hard here at CHM, there is so much to be done and I am learning what it truly means to have patience. It is easy for us as Americans to come in with a plan and expect that plan to rapidly become a reality...that is not the way it works here. The culture here is very different and first we have to try to understand their values and morals...if any at all. Anyway please be in prayer for all of us, especially Shelly and I because our mentality on life is different than theirs and it is nearly impossible for them to comprehend what we are trying to get across to them. From our faith and trust in the Lord, to whether it is right or wrong to use caining as discipline...it is just a different world over here, but I trust that God can and will do just as much here as he does in the states. Pray that we stay focused on why we are here and that in due time, lives will be changed for the better.

I miss you all and can't wait to hear from you. I hope to be able to respond more personally to all of your emails next week...Wednesday hopefully, until then this is all I have time for. Know that you are all thought about and thank you so much for your prayers and support!

In Him
Sheena

They absolutely LOVE the camera...and they love digital...to be able to see themselves on the screen two seconds after the picture is taken is amazing to them. Once my camera is out I have to take at least 3 pictures of every kid. They all scream "auntie sheena me me me, auntie let me let me!!"
Our beautiful house!
This is Aaron and Elliot, both come from abusive homes but never miss a day at Christopher house. They always come with smiles from ear to ear, they love it here...actually Aaron is in the Joshua house (Tuesday) and he was at the center every day last week...we just can't push them away eventhough they are only supposed to come twice a week.
My room is the second set of windows on the left.
I was in the process of learning Lugandan...it is very difficult but necessary to communicate with the little kids.
The joys of having a mesquito net!!! I feel like a princess, and it is so peaceful not having buzzing mesquitos at your ears all night...or geckos...or spiders...or cockroaches...lets just say it keeps the bugs out.
An average day in Uganda. A kid or two, a tire...they find amazing ways to have fun with the littlest things...things that we would trash they play with, it is quite eye opening. Another popular toy around here is a water bottle filled with dirt and rocks, it makes a musical shaker...and then an empty jerry can (use them to gather water everyday) they cut the top off, get in it like a little wagon, tie a rope to it and get drug around all over...they love it, it's kind of like a sled.
Typical traffic...this was a good day. Those are taxis with the blue and white checkers...and that is a "bota bota" they are not safe and the drivers are not smart...but then again no drivers here are...
More smiles for the camera!

The kids love to perform. This is on a Sat when we have all 200 kids, these are the little ones...don't be deceived by there size...these kids can seriously dance!

This little one was dancing over in the corner all by himself having the best time...right when I took the picture his "costume" (banana fiber skirt) broke. We fixed it and he continued to shake it. :)
These two boys are really exelling in our art department, they really have an eye for art. Shelly had these two art kits donated by someone back home. This picture was taken when we presented the boys with a "suprise"...they were absolutely speechless, they didn't know what to do with them, at first they thought that they were just theirs to use at the activity center...little did they know that these were for them to do what they wanted with. They are theirs to keep. It was a dream come true for them.
Just a handfull of smiles I have the priveledge of woking with on Sat. Not all of them speak english...so I am doing my best at communicating in Lugandan.
African sunrise!!! Every morning around 6:30 out my window! Perfect way to get my morning started! With my cup of African tea of course.
This was a great day...I taught the kids how to make noise by putting a blade of grass between your thumbs...not many of them caught on right away...this little girl didn't get taught, she was just watching what the other kids were doing and basically she had a huge blade of grass in her palms and she was blowing into her hands expecting a noise...it was priceless and she thought is was halarious.
More precious dancing!
Entering Uganda for the first time!
Africa definately has its own style of everything!
She is one of our best dancers.