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

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.

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

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

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!