Friday, December 11, 2009

I just bought my ticket to Uganda!!!
Plans have changed just a bit...
I have decided to buy a house here in Salem and because that process takes some time (and money) I have bumped my trip to end of Feb. I will be leaving Seattle Feb 25th and returning June 2nd. I am in transition right now (when am I not) between work, moving, the holidays, weddings, birthdays...I hope to get some more information out to you guys, so be on the look out!
THANK YOU to all that have contributed to this chapter in my life! I wouldn't be able to do it without you~we are the hands and feet of Christ and me He be glorified in ALL we do!!

I got a little frightening email from Shelly this morning...they found (and killed) a 3ft, 7in thick PYTHON outside my house in Uganda!!!!! Oh the little things in life...haha. At least it wasn't IN my house...

Feel free to email me if you guys have any questions or want any specific information about what I am going to be doing over in Uganda. All I know is that is where my heart is and I can't wait to get back there!!

Take care and have a very Merry Christmas!!! Don't forget about the greatest gift of all...the gift of salvation! Thanks be to HIM!!

I love you all
Shee

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Hello Old and New Friends of Christopher House,

Here is the promised letter, describing life here in Uganda and a bit of what we do at Christopher House. Thanks so much for offering to help...


To start, I’d like to describe four "normal" children here in Uganda.

Katazi George William wanders the streets at night and often sleeps outside because his dad told him, “I don’t want you.” His mother lives far away in the village. His clothes are permanently dirty. His face is usually angry. His eyes are always sad.

A quiet girl with a sweet smile, Nazzewa Sharon is also a stepchild—a cruel reality in Uganda—and her stepmother has a short temper. Sharon rarely comes to the center without a bruise on her cheek. She struggles at school. Reading is her most challenging subject.

Nanteza Shammim's beauty blazes from her left side. But she hides the other half of her face. A tumor covers the entire right side from ear to jaw bone. Pain often keeps her from sleeping at night. Surgery is not possible. Her future is unknown.

Tukumwaire Praise’s face glows when he smiles, but his education is spotty because school fees are too high for his family. His mother is learning to live with HIV, and treatments to sustain her life have begun. His father died from the disease.

At Christopher House, we spend our time loving, teaching and nurturing kids like these. Whether our students live in poverty, health or sickness, hope or despair, we know they all are important and their lives matter.

Christopher House Development Center (CHDC) exists to empower, equip and enrich the lives of at-risk children and youth in Uganda, East Africa. CHDC uses Bible-based concepts mixed with fine-arts training to teach students how to make healthy choices about their lives.

We provide opportunities in art, music, dance (both traditional and contemporary), athletics, literacy and theater. We work with students from three to eighteen-years-old. Our goal is to empower young people to use their gifts and develop their talents. Through our weekly program, we hope to do more than just prepare them for a good performance-- we hope to enrich their lives for today and the future.

Uganda has only recently made school attendance mandatory and the educational system is harsh. The average classroom has one teacher and 80 to 100 children. Discipline is strict and immediate. Wrong answers, failed exams, talking out of turn, even asking questions, results in ‘caning,’-- being whipped with a stick. Text books are non-existent; the students copy work written on the blackboard into paper notebooks, memorize information, and regurgitate it back verbatim on exams.

Schools do not teach critical thinking skills. Children learn from nursery school onward to keep quiet, to blend in with the crowd, and to not bring attention to themselves. You can imagine the outcome when children leave school and are expected to be confident, prepared, resourceful adults.

Beginning in 2004, we at Christopher House have worked to combat this problem. We started an after-school, week-end and holiday program, with 205 neighborhood children. In 2008 we received special certification from the Ugandan Ministry of Education to partner with local schools. Because of severely limited budgets, schools are unable to offer extra-curricular classes.

That’s where we come in.

Schools in our area bring 100 to 150 students to Christopher House once a week to participate in our program—art, athletics, music, and creative drama. We’re currently working with eight schools—approximately 900 students a week! We also have Saturday and holiday programs where any child can come as often as they wish.

All of our programs are designed as “fun with a purpose.” The kids get a chance to explore and develop individual talent while learning even more important character development traits. While playing sports and dancing, students learn teamwork, leadership, and integrity. While developing their artistic skills,they learn to share, to encourage each other, and to take care of supplies. In drama, they have opportunities to express themselves in an atmosphere of acceptance, safety, and support.

With each school visit, we hold an assembly. During this time we talk about age- relevant topics, ranging from HIV/Aids, to building good friendships, to taking care of their bodies and the environment.

This type of work does not cause blazing headlines and heart wrenching compassion...unless you know about kids like George William, Sharon, Praise, and Shammim. We’re here for the long haul, giving kids a safe place to learn and grow, building on a foundation of Biblical principles, and just loving them.

We always need folks to partner with us in this ministry--whether financially, with goods and services, volunteering in Uganda, or praying.

Our operating budget in 2009 is $45,000 US. Money goes a little farther in East Africa, but we still have similar needs to other ministries. We have relied on the sacrificial gifts of many people over the last five years, but we know how many of our supporters are struggling financially these days.

So we have an idea.

What if, instead of asking for more money, we asked for less? What if a lot of people learned about Christopher House and contributed $5? If 9,000 people sent us $5, we'd have the resources we need to provide our Biblically-based program to 900 needy children in Uganda for an entire year.

If you would like to partner with us in a relatively painless way, please consider passing along this letter and the update letters I write each month, to people on your email list you think might be interested. If each reader realized how important his or her contribution can be, together we can accomplish something spectacular for our kids.

At present, all donations go through Ukiah Bible Church, Shelly's home church, located in Ukiah, California. It is a non-denominational church founded on and teaching solid Biblical truth CHDC is in the process of obtaining an individual non-profit status, but until the paperwork is complete, contributions go through the church. (By the way, 100% of all contributions come to us in Uganda).

When we have completed the process, we will open a Pay Pal account and a separate bank account to make contributing as easy as possible. But until then, if you would like to help make a difference in the lives of children in Uganda, please make out a check to Ukiah Bible Church with a note on the memo line, designating Christopher House. Ukiah Bible Church's address is 2140 Arroyo Rd. Ukiah, Ca. 95482

Thank you so much for taking time to read this, and please, visit our web-site at www.christopherhouseministries.org. There you can read more stories about our students, view photos, and find links to blog sites telling about Christopher House.


Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Donations can be sent to...

Sheena Darling
1922 Madras St SE #1032
Salem, OR 97306

Janna Darling
623 NW 12th Loop
Oak Harbor, WA 98277

or if you have pay pal click the "donate" button to the right of this screen.

Thank you again!





















The time has come for me to go home...

For those of you that don't know...I HAVE A HOUSE IN UGANDA!!!! Here it is!!! A place I call my home away from home! I am so excited to live there and continue on this journey that the Lord is leading me on. This weekend I will be flying to California for "Africa Night" (Ukiah Bible Church at 5pm). This is an annual event with great "African" food, lots of pictures, videos and stories; worship, and the infamous silent auction!! This event is always a huge hit! We raise a good portion of the money we need for the year. Shelly (and whoever is here with her) will give a detailed update on what has been going on in "her world" over the past year, and what is in store for the next year. It is a great time of fellowship, prayer, awareness, laughter, tears, and great FOOD!! Pray for us this weekend as we close the gap between you and me...and Uganda. Pray that people listen, understand, grasp and support what it is that we do at Christopher House Ministries~

Stay tuned for pictures from this event! I will have a lot more information for you about where we are going from here and how YOU can help!! Thank you again for all of your prayers and support! Spread the word!! We have received $5 from over 300 people so far!!

The more people that know...the more the money will grow!!! Again thank YOU for being a part of this journey with me!!

In Him
Sheena

"So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God."
1 Corinthians 7:23

Tuesday, September 22, 2009


I am returning to Uganda, Africa Jan 25th 2010! My story and updates coming soon!