Monday, April 25, 2011

04.19.2011






It's amazing how much can be accomplished in a few short days. Tomorrow Josh and I head to the airport at 5:45 am to begin our trek back home. This has been such an amazing experience; I'm sure I will never be the same.

When Brent and Leah shared that God was calling them to Uganda I thought, "good for them". After spending time with Brent, Leah, Bo, Amy, Luke and Tekle I say, "Good for everyone they come in contact with!" I am sure you have heard the term "lifestyle evangelism" but this isn't just a term for the Phillips, it is a way of life. I have been so amazed that they are very intentional about making the time to love on everyone they come into contact with but especially how they are developing relationships with certain people around them with the purpose of showing them the love of Christ. Although they have only been here 4 months, I already see the impact they are making in the lives of those around them. I had the opportunity to meet 8 different people they are actively loving on and making an eterna difference in their lives. These people aren't even part of the Cherish ministry, these people just live in their neighborhood.

I will share more about Cherish another time but tonight I want to challenge each of us to be more intentional where we live. We don't have to move to Uganda to develop relationships with the people around us but we do have to make a decision to be intentional about showing the love of Jesus wherever we go. This week I challenge each of us to ask one person where we shop, get coffee or order food, their name and take the time to make contact with that person in more than a superficial way.

Josh and I have met some amazing people here. We have seen amazing sights, today we went to the source of the Nile river where it begins it's journey of travel through Africa on its way to Egypt. We have seen amazing ministries, like Cherish Uganda and the ministy goal to give the children in their care hope, love and a chance to live even though they are infected with HIV.

Even though we have seen these things, the biggest question we have now is "what do we do with what we've seen and experienced?" I'm not sure exactly the answer to that, but I do know that God is changing me and with that change I need to be even more intentional in my serving and following Him. I'm not sure what God has in store for the Humphrey family, but as Jen and I talked last night we would say that we are "open" to whatever God has waiting around of the bend as we travel along our own Grand Adventure.

I will try to write again from London tomorrow night.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Brett and Josh

04.18.2011






When we woke up this morning the power is out. This is a daily occurance here but it did give us an opportunity to watch a beautiful sunrise. As we headed out of Kampala to go to Cherish we heard that there were demonstrations and/or riots possibly going on along our route. The people are upset by the fuel prices, along with the high costs of food and the police treat every demonstration like it could lead to violence. Thankfully we didn't see any evidence of rioting and the roads were actually clearer than usual.

Once we got to Cherish we went to the staff devotion. We got to join in on some singing; it was beautiful. Brent and I led worship (I Like Bananas and Without Faith) and we taught the children these new songs. They enjoyed the songs and participated in all of the motions. Brent played musical waterballoons with the children and then I taught a brief message. It was a fantastic morning.

After that we filmed some interviews for Summer Spectacuar. Brent also gave a tour of Cherish Uganda on video and we even managed to film some segments of our end of the day video, Survival Tips from Tiger Munson.

We went back to the Lake Victoria Hotel where the kids did some more swimming and then came back to Brent and Leah's, where the power once again was out. I took some video of the driving conditions up and down thier road and will try to post it so you can enjoy the experience.

Tomorrow we head out to the Nile River where we will film some more for Summer Spectacualar.

I'm heading to bed after a long, exciting day.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Brett and Josh

04.17.2011






We had an opportunity to go to a craft market today to check out some local artisans. I can appreciate African art and got a chance to meet some lovely people. Brent and Leah are trying to build relationships wherever they go so we went back to the same place they often go so we could purchase things from these people. I bought quite a few things from Edith and she had remembered that Leah had told her she would bring people back. These are small things that make a huge difference. There are a lot of street children begging in Kampala so on the way home we bought a bunch of bananas and handed these out to the children instead of giving them money. Many of the children have been "hired" for the day and have to give the money to their bosses. The chidren get about $1 a day for this. By giving them the bananas, they get to fill their bellies with nutritious food and don't have to give anything to their boss. One girl ate 3 bananas one after another, she was really hungry.

When we got back to the Phillips house we got to hang out and I cooked dinner. I made marinara sauce and had a great time talking with Brent as I cooked. After dinner the power went off for about an hour so we got to hang out by candlelight.

It was a great day!

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Brett and Josh

PS-After our shopping trip and lunch, Josh and Bo took Boda Bodas back to the house.

Boda Bodas are motorcycle taxis. I would never let Josh ride on the back of a motorcycle if we were at home but somehow it seems completely safe and sane here in Uganda.

04.16.2011






Today was a great day! We started off the day with breakfast at Brent and Leah's house, the pancakes were the bomb! After breakfast we went into a local village to do some grocery shopping. While Leah was working with the shopkeeper on prices and quantities, Josh and I had an opportunity to provide some amuzement for some local children. Our white skin was quite facinating to some of the children and we had a lot of fun holding hands and I received many, many hi-fives from the children. Even though the children and I couldn't communicate with words it was fun to "speak" the language of fun and play with these beautiful children. Josh and Bo took a boda boda ride, motorcycle taxi, back to the house while we finished shopping. It is amazing to see the food prices here. The food is so expensive that many people have to use 1/2 of their weekly salary just to buy enough food to last the week. I will not complain about the price of food at home any longer; it's amazing what a dose of perspective can do for you.

After the shopping trip we got a chance to hang out with Rachael from Cherish Uganda and talk more about the ministry and the things that are happening for these children. The children who live at Cherish Uganda have all been snatched from the jaws of death and are thriving at this ministry. Even though each of the 42 children who were brought to Cherish Uganda were each near death when they were brought in, all of them are living and thriving today. These children aren't considered orpans any longer because now they live in family goups at Chrish and have new lives. It is amazing that for $30,000 US a sustainable home can be build and 8 lives can be saved! What an amazing ministry. I can't wait to share more about it when I get home.

After our time with Rachael, we went to a local hotel for swimming. There were 3 levels of high dives and each of the children, including Brent, went off the highest level; many, many times.

We finished the evening together and I got a chance Skype with Jen, Kenny and Sofie.

Tomorrow we have another full day, including filming at the headwaters of the Nile River. It's pretty awesome that we will be studying Moses for Summer Spectacular and we will get to actually film at the Nile River. What an amazing opportunity.

Good night! Josh and I thank you for your prayers and support. Brent, Leah and the kids also express their appreciation for all the wonderful gifts we brough with us. It's amazing how special a box of cake mix can be when you can't get it.

Brett and Josh

04.15.2011




I am sitting here writing on my blog by candleligh, old and new school working togethert. We are having a power outage, this is quite common. I am so glad this laptop has battery power.

Josh and I got to sleep a bit on the plane on the way to Uganda so we hit the ground running by heading to Cherish Uganda. I wil post more pictures tomorrow so you can see everything that we do. I was absolutely amazed to see everything that is accomplished with this wonderful ministry. Then children there are truy cherished as the precious gifts from God that they are. That love and care has made a difference in their lives.

Tonight we had dinner at a restaurant on the top of a hill and God treated us to a light show. There was llghtning in the clouds and it was beautiful. Right now, on top of the power outage, there is a storm brewing outside as well, with the wind I feel like I'm back in DHS.

For some reason I am having trouble posting updates to my blog but I will keep updating these notes instead.

Both Josh and I will sleep well tonight.

Thank you for your prayers,

Brett and Josh

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Waiting In Heathrow


04.14.2011

Josh and I are sitting in Heathrow Airport speaking the international language; Starbucks. Our flight was excellent and we even arrived 10 minutes early. It was a little challenge getting our bags loaded since Josh isn't able to do much with his crutches but we did get to board the plane first.

Now we wait! We will be in the airport for about 11 hours until our next flight. We are taking turns wandering around the airport and will do so until our flight. I got about 3 hours sleep on the way over but Josh hasn't slept yet. I'm hoping he will be able to fall asleep on the next leg of our journey.

The next post I make will be from Uganda. We ae looking forward to seeing the Phillips and the ministry at Cherish, Uganda.

I have added some pictures from our trip so far. They aren't too exciting, but we are having an adventure already.

Thanks for your prayers,
Brett and Josh

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

On We Go!

04.13.2011
"All our bags are packed and we're ready to go..." (Insert musical interlude here)

Josh and I are excited! We've prepared as much as we can and are ready to head to the airport. We take off from LAX at 3:55 today and land in Uganda at 7:45 am on Friday. 29 full hours of flight time plus an 11 hour layover in London, and we'll be there. We're not exactly sure what to expect, but that's okay. We have done all we can to plan and prepare and leave the rest to the Lord. Actually, even our planning and preparing we have left to the Lord as well (I'm still learning the whole trust God with everything deal).

I have been chewing on Romans 12 every day for the past couple of weeks and feel I still need to be there during the trip. I'm praying that Josh and I can be an encouragement to our friends, we can minister to others while we are there and we will gain clarity and insight on what God wants us to do when we come back from this trip by what we experience. I'm glad you are going on the journey with us.

I will post to this blog as often as I can, complete with pictures and videos if I can figure out how to do it. Your prayers are appreciated and we have felt them already. Josh and I are excited to go and Jennifer, Kenny and Sofie are calm as well. Even though it is a difficult lesson, it is wonderful when we can trust God no matter what!

Brett

Monday, April 11, 2011

Family Connection 04.11.2011

Family Connection
04.11.2011
“Don’t do anything only to get ahead. Don’t do it because you are proud. Instead, be free of pride. Think of others as better than yourselves. None of you should look out for your own good. You should also look out for the good of others. You should think in the same way Christ Jesus does.”-Philippians 2:3-5 (NIrV)
This has been our memory passage while we have been focusing on the virtue of humility during March and April (we have defined humility as-Putting others first by giving up what you think you deserve). I love the second chapter of Philippians because it details what Jesus did for us; He gave up everything for us. He endured the ultimate humility of death on the cross for you and me; and He did it willingly. He gave up everything so we could gain everything through His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus willingly gave up His power, prestige and place in Heaven so He could become a servant; now that’s humility! But you know what? Philippians 2:5 exhorts us to think the same way Christ Jesus does, if we want to truly follow Him we have to begin to think the way He does (see Romans 12:2). This is what we have been teaching the children in the elementary program during the past month and a half.
On Wednesday my son Josh and I get to travel to Uganda, Africa to work with some dear friends, Brent and Leah Phillips. Brent, Leah, Bo, Amy, Luke and Tekle moved to Uganda in November to minister to orphaned children who have HIV and to help churches minister to children. We will also be working with a ministry called Cherish Uganda. We are very excited!! Both Josh and I are amazed that God would choose to use us to minister so far away from home but we are looking forward to helping out in whatever way possible. I have been sharing this with the children in our ministry but want to share it with you as well and ask for your prayers. Please pray that Josh and I will be able to minister in tangible ways and that God would use us in whatever way He sees fit. I would also ask for your prayers that we can bring back this trip with us to share with the children in our ministry as we desire to support Cherish Uganda this year through Summer Spectacular.
Jesus is our example! He is our hope and salvation and He is the reason we do what we do as His followers. It is my prayer that both Josh and I can humbly serve and be an example of Christ to everyone we meet on our trip. I will be posting pictures and video on my blog, http://musingsofachildrenspastor.blogspot.com/ , as often as I can and as internet connections allow.
It is my prayer that all of us can impact the children in our lives by our words and deeds as we desire to see them grow in a real, dynamic relationship with Jesus.

Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Family Connection 04.06.2011

Family Connection
04.06.2011
“After a long time the master of those servants returned. He wanted to collect all the money they had earned. The man who had received $10,000 brought the other $10,000. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you trusted me with $10,000. See, I have earned $10,000 more.’ His master replied, “You have done well, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”-Matthew 25:19-21
“You can’t do everything but you can do SOMETHING!” We have been saying that a lot in our elementary program over the past 5 weeks. As we have been talking through what it means to have humility and how to serve others, we have been talking about how each of us can do something to help others. What is even better than talking about this is hearing the stories from the children who are putting these things into practice; here I s one story I would like to share with you.
One family met together to talk about what they could do to help others. Their three youngest children (9,7 & 7) decided to hold a garage sale and use the money to help the poor. They spent time going through their house looking for items to sell. The day of the big event these children woke up at 5am and started selling. At the end of the sale they had earned $284. Their parents gave them a choice between going to Toys R Us or buying things for the poor; they chose to purchase things for the poor. They went to the store and purchased toiletry items we are collecting so we can put “Grace to Go” bags together to hand out to the homeless. These wise shoppers purchased 216 razors, 108 toothbrushes, 54 bars of soap, 36 tubes of toothpaste and 36 bottles of lotion. They also brought in all of the change to give to the children we support in Haiti. What an amazing story!
This week I would like to encourage you to talk with the children in your lives about some ways as a family you can reach out to the poor. Don’t feel that you have to have all of the answers; your children might come up with some awesome ideas by themselves. Please share your stories with me so we can encourage one another. Remember, you can’t do everything but you can do something!
I would also like to ask for your prayers because my son Josh and I head out next Wednesday to spend 8 days in Uganda helping out a ministry that reaches out to orphaned children who are infected with HIV. Please pray that Josh and I can be effective while we are there and can show the love, care and concern of Jesus by what we do and say.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

PS-I will be updating this blog from Uganda with pictures as often as I can