Elpis Ministries

We’re back! Been offline for a week! Been working on lights, beds and the old truck with the kids help. Teaching older ones how things work and what to do. Welding the holes up and finished installing all the new parts today. Clutch, brakes, steering, shocks, etc all new! Kids are great! Finishing exams and all will be out for Christmas this week! Pray for Jen, Topi and Sumaya having hernia surgeries this week. Please pray for Scovia, Susan’s mom – high blood pressure but on meds. Blessings!

Praise God again! We got electricity for 5 hours tonight after being without for over 48 hours! Got batteries charged now off to sleep. At least the keyboard will work for church tomorrow and the laptop can survive for another day or so. Started putting in the last solar at the kids house! Total of 24 lights now that last over 4 hours a day. Yahoo! !!!

Praise God for Grace n Mercy! The etiquette for our culture here is so different. Even if you meet someone who hates you, the greetings are threaded with “thank you”. The general greeting is always “thank you”. One of our children lost her father to a neighbor who poisoned him. But the families are still friends because as she said her father taught them to forgive. Is there a verse ringing in the air? Matthew 5-7: love, forgive!

Yesterday the power was off a long time. A man around the corner tried to buy a pole “under the table” and got caught – they asked for a receipt. Pray for a true awakening for Christ here – not religion but sincere hearts to love God. Meeting with my “12″ today! This is a special group of our kids who are anxious to know Christ and the scripture. “Experiencing God” study and lots of great discussions!

Looking at pictures from the beginning tonight I am reminded of where we came from and how Gracious God has been to us keeping our children safe and growing in amazing hearts inspired continually by the sacrifices of Susan and our staff, our board members and supporters/sponsors – those who labor beside me to love this forgotten treasure. I love you all! !

One of my precious boys reminded me of the useless nature of comfort. The precious character he displays is priceless and yet he has suffered the most. A lesson in the value of struggle – love my Geofrey!

This is across from the room being used for the Senior 4 exams. The kitchen is the small round house. The brick house is their boys dorm and classrooms. The motorcycle is owned by the government and a courier is responsible for transporting exams directly from the police station to the school each morning n are sealed n carried immediately back to police after each exam.

Alisha finished the wall and she painted each child’s hand so they could put a print on the wall. ! She added their name and the date they came to live with us!!! Great job! The rest of the kids will come on Monday and put their mark there!!! Blessings over and over!!!

Hi Dear Friends!

Fire and flood! Most of you are experiencing the fire since our friends on the east coast are few. We just prayed for you a few hours ago. And – we will continue to pray for you. People here don’t understand the Texas heat. We, in Uganda, have been blessed by the comfort of high altitude at the equator. In our area we enjoy the rain and comfortable 70 to 85 degree temps year round – it was dry here for a while but not like Texas. However, not much more than 100 miles away people are starving from famine and war.

Most of the food we grow is therefore shipped out as the farmers here look for greater profits to overcome local inflation. For most Ugandans, having enough food each day is more difficult now than ever. In spite of this, as I watch the catastrophes you are facing I remind our people that things here could be worse. The blessing you have is that no matter how difficult life may get for you – you still live in the greatest nation in the world. You are surrounded by people that have come hundreds of miles to your aid and a host of close neighbors that are helping. Some of you may be like the man who’s neighbors lost their homes but miraculously the fire passed him by. How blessed we all are for grace and mercy from our God who loves us so much.

As I gathered with our children to pray this evening, they were lined up to get some corn mush and beans for supper. But that is what they had for lunch also and every other meal this week except breakfast – and bfst was corn soup(porridge). They did not complain that the lights were not on yet, or that they had no place to sit except their beds since they had to use a few benches we had for firewood to cook the other day when charcoal was impossible to find – we now have some for a week or so.

Our children, most without any parents, listened with mouths wide open as I described the fires and homes lost in Texas. All 80 of them prayed for you. They love you. They prayed for Chuck, our recent visitor – who is recovering in the hospital in Texas. They prayed for each other. They know that life is short and fragile. They know that you love them and God loves them too. Thank you for loving our kids. !

Praise God for the welding machine and generator so we can repair and build beds for the children! Many of the kids who stayed with other family or friends are coming to stay with us now. They are enjoying the solar lights, when the clouds are not around. ! We still need a few more lights to cover all the rooms and metal to build beds! We also want to paint all the rooms inside so the light is more effective. We also need a lot of medicine. There are a couple of ladies coming in October. In order to keep our kids safer we have a nurse now that comes every day to treat the kids instead of sending or taking them to the clinic. Saturday, we buried a teenage boy, (from our kids school), who was hit by a car in town while walking back to the school.

We are so blessed and thankful to God and to you for the privilege of taking care of our children. They are wonderful and so happy to be safe and loved! From the other side of the world but still as close as a computer or phone,

More Pics!

Blessings,
Philipo

Hi Everyone!

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks. I was a bit tired after the first two weeks – so was Susan and even our new volunteer, Alisha! Really glad to have Alisha here through the first of October or so. Her experience in other cultures and less than ideal living conditions has her feeling right at home and even comfortable with hot water and electricity most of the time – just need to get rid of a couple mice! !

Susan thought she was ok and ran hard with the team but the doc says she is still needs a little more rest. Alisha was exhausted after helping lead a 2 week E3 team in Sudan. We picked her up the day after the team left – back to back round trips to Kampala! Saving money rather than staying in the hotel was hard but do what you got to!

Susan’s sisters and Faith came to stay with Alisha as she rested Friday n Saturday – as did the rest of us while I tried to put the house in order – a lot to do after 10 months! ! Had the kids over Sunday afternoon – discussing James n John’s desire for the right and left seats with Jesus – the kids had struggled over who was going to sit in the chairs! ! So we talked about loving each other and serving one another – living examples older to younger. Alisha organized the girls for 2 discipleship groups and I did the boys. Alisha had a severe migraine Monday and part of Tuesday and I still had a lot to do sorting what goes where and to who. However, we all went to the kids house today and I completed the water filter for the girls so now each one has a filter to drink from on their own side (the girls must wait for Sunday till the filter settles out and is safe). Alisha had girls bible study group A at three this afternoon as I worked with the boys to finish the filter (still have one more filter to build in the front for the kids that live outside).

Has been raining every day and most nights now – good to see for our farm! The potatoes are struggling from the lack of rain – Susan planted at least an acre. Yesterday, we got the generator the team bought – will get pics tomorrow to send to you. Its 3000 watts for 115 and 230 volt – real unique for here!

Chicken is now $16-20 each – won’t be eating that much! Charcoal has gone up to $18 a sack – was $8.50 when I left and $10 just 2 months back. Have a lot of parts for the truck but it starts real well now with the new battery! Weather permitting we are all going to work on the front wall sign/decoration tomorrow. The kids are going to put their hands on the wall in primary colors with names below each one and Alisha is doing the lay out of the lettering for Hope Ministries.

Please pray for Susan as she recovers and Kaith, her son, who is just 8 lbs at 2 months! Pray for the kids as they return – a few had left recently for fear that I was not coming back – one, Philip, my names sake just came back on Tuesday. Pray for Esther Nate (sponsored by Pastor Scott n Cathi Heare) as she is staying with Susan so she can get a better diet to gain some much needed strength – she has been sick very often the past few months. Pray for Kenneth, my roommate and cultural attache’, as he goes off to University in Kampala this Monday. It will be a big change for him and me – a small room can get quite large! Also pray for a speedy renewal of NGO registration for Uganda (we are currently expired as of June and requires a local audit this time) and the negotiation on the house lease for next year! Pray for Alisha as she learns a new culture and has to work with me! !

The van is an amazing blessing! Susan did a great job finding it! Double entry side doors, rear a/c and 4×4! Its great on fuel and in wonderful condition – very quiet on the road but no real issues since finding the radiator blanket left on from Japan! ! Thank you all so much who made that possible!!!!! Blessings to you over and over!

Blessings and more to come!
Philipo

In the picture from left to right: Susan, Emma, John Bosco, Babra Aile, Asunta Okere, Yosamu, Paul Munyes, Peter Longoli, Leah, Dorothy, and Evaline with a horde of kids inside! !

Mike Hausinger and James Ramsey painting while the plaster man is finishing beside them – notice the ladder behind the wall that we all forgot!

Steven, our boys worker and cook, is standing on a fence post painting – and yes, the ladder is still back there!

Team teaching the kids in the front yard: James, Robin and Mike with Evaline translating.

John Bosco bringing tool chest, Abraham – pipe and Emma – barrel – also the children going to collect stones and sand!

Alisha in the foreground, Faith waiting for the picture and Fiona waiting for Faith to play while Geofrey takes off with the ball! Ready to put the filter together!