June 2008 Mission Trip, Kabale Uganda

June People For Missions trip to Kabale, Uganda
Trip Dates: June 7-23, 2008
Size of team: 20
Estimated Cost: $3,400 per person includes airfare, hotel, food, ground transportation. Not included Visas, passports or medicine.

Team Leaders: Bruce Georgi, Margaret Noblin

Activities:


House of Hope Kabale-one-on-one discipleship, sports ministry (soccer, basketball), help with bike repair, more bikes, gardening, resource center books, clothing, school supplies, garden tools, seeds bought in Uganda, encouraging the mum, helping with cooking for the kids

Villages-Crafts training in basket weaving and jewelry making, Bible Study-spiritual warfare, Jesus film (evangelism), Evangecube, medical mission, mosquito nets, safe water, Life Application Bibles for pastors reading English, need to research water wells and mosquito nets main problems

Mercy-Kabale Hospital and Nursing School available to people wanting to work with AIDS patients and children

Crafts Ministry-basket weaving, jewelry making, learning about business and how to evaluate costs, setting prices, evaluating designs, quality control

Bunyoni Lake Ministry to Orphans-1000 orphans are living around the lake without homes. We plan a field trip by boat of the area and to the island to educate our team.

AWANA and Children’s Ministry-opportunities to assist with the AWANA program or teach Sunday school in Children’s ministry

Senior Youth Ministry-opportunities to mentor secondary and university students in basic life skills, (discernment about dress, how to budget with the envelope system, part time jobs you can create when there are no jobs, honoring God in all that you do, being a light in the community 24/7) These are just a few areas where help is needed.

Travel Arrangements: We will fly into Kigali, Rwanda (3 hr. drive to Kabale, Uganda) and spend the first night in Kigali because the border closes at 7:30 p.m. then on to Kabale in the a.m. $50 visa for Uganda. Required. Just passport for Rwanda. Team will fly in and out of Kigali, Rwanda. We will be staying in the Stipp Hotel in Rwanda or comparable hotel and the White Horse Inn in Kabale. For information and application please email margaret_noblin@msn.com or call 214-366-0425.

Pray for Kenya...Violence Continues

Please join us in prayer for our many friends in Kisumu, Nairobi and Eldoret. The church that had the women and children in it was an Assembly of God church in Eldoret and there were mostly children under 15 that were killed and burned. Around 30 were in the church and the others had gone. The women and children thought they were safe there.

Our friends in Kisumu at the church there are from several tribes and trying to shelter each other and help. One of the Rock businessmen who is Kukuya had his store burned down but fortunately we were able to get his inventory out before the looters. Some friends have it under protection. One of our scholarship students was stranded in Nairobi and we were able to get online with KLM and book an e-ticket for him to fly out to Entebbe. He is safe now. Praise the Lord. However we have been told all other transportation is closed and the road from Nairobi to Kisumu and on to Uganda has been ravaged with horrible things going on along the road. We have heard reports of killings with machetes and bow and arrows prior to Wednesday. This was why we felt we needed to get our Rock university student out of Nairobi as fast as possible.

Our friends in Kisumu are at home and Wednesday was the first day they could get food but only two groceries were open and the military was present so they could prevent riots. Many have fled to the villages but they are not safe either. The enemy wants to deceive, create mistrust, divide and conquer. The ladies in the crafts ministry have been so frightened for their lives especially the ones from the president’s tribe because there are gangs of young men just looking for an excuse for violence. The church is trying to do what they can but the military has been told to “shoot on sight” because the whole downtown area of Kisumu has been looted and many buildings burned. We were suppose to go to Kisumi in March so we are still going to Uganda but will see how things go. It is so shocking the horror that is taking place in this pretty little city on Lake Victoria we have visited regularly.

If you google “Kenya elections” you will see much of the video and details of what is happening. At least the demonstration for yesterday was stopped which had the potential for much more bloodshed. Our Rock student was an election official in Nairobi and has been in touch with us since last week. It seems from what the international observers said from Canada and the U.K that when the district tallies came into Nairobi this is where the numbers were changed. He said they were different that what the grassroots tallies were in some districts so the international observers requested a recount of those districts. When they refused and the President was quickly sworn in the violence began.

Many of our Kenyan friends are heartbroken and weeping when we talk to them on the phone. It breaks our hearts and we have prayed for them on the phone and encouraged them to sing for comfort to soothe their fear and maybe it may calm the angry mobs around them. Evil is so ugly and good leadership is so important in Africa. Prayer is really needed desperately for the people and leadership of Kenya.

The Rock African Arts Takes Off!

Revival Crafts shipped several hundred items to the U.S. for sale by The Rock African Arts before Christmas and the ministry is bearing fruit. Ladies and some of the young men learned about U.S. Customs labeling and classification codes since all the items had to be prepared for the shipment. Learning about the export requirements was intersting and exposed the group to many aspects of setting up a business involving international trade.

Children from the House of Hope, Kabale made bracelets and necklaces to help with household expenses and school fees along with ladies in the church and students wanting to participate and have a part time business while in school.


Some of the jewelry is made of unique "trade beads". "Trade Beads" originated in Venice, Bohemia and European countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands from the late 1400s to the early 1900s. Traded in Africa they were used by visitors as money to pay tribal chiefs. Today these popular, collectable beads can be seen in the Museum of Mankind in London, the Pitt River Museum in Oxford, the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium, and the Murano Museum of Glass in Italy just to name a few around the world. Many styles which were readily available just 5 years ago are no longer seen today. How the beads survived a hundred or more years of wear and travel through at least three continents is amazing. It makes you wonder...who wore them before us and who will have them next. The trade beads, used in our jewelry are handmade from clay and ground glass and purchased as we find them in Kenya. The designs vary due to the unique nature of the beads.

The first shipment to the U.S. back in June surprised many members of the congregation when one Sunday Pastor Johnson announced that "those who had made baskets and jewelry could pick up their pay on Monday." There had been some naysayers who told people they would never sell anything but our Lord is faithful and now the ministry is expanding and many members are excited. Basic business skills are being taught so each person learns how to manage resources, set pricing, pay themselves and keep capital in reserve for more materials so they don't put themselves out of business. It is part of what Pastor Johnson calls "going to a new level." For more information on purchasing the crafts please e-mail africanarts@rockcapital.org. Soon items will be available on E-bay through the Internet.