Our Version of the 12 Days of Christmas

Misty and Kerri on our team came up with this version of the 12 days of Christmas Karamoja style. It is pretty hilarious, probably more to me than to you! These are literally some of the experiences we have had here. Although now the number of mp3 players that have been stolen is up to 3, and we have had 2 extremely poisonous spiders (that I wish we could have fitted into the song). Enjoy!

On the first day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
A spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the second day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the third day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Six malaria cases,
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Seven fanta orange,
Six malaria cases,
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Eight wild ostriches,
Seven fanta orange,
Six malaria cases,
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Nine dead birds,
Eight wild ostriches,
Seven fanta orange,
Six malaria cases,
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Ten thousand cockroaches,
Nine dead birds,
Eight wild ostriches,
Seven fanta orange,
Six malaria cases,
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Eleven screaming children,
Ten thousand cockroaches,
Nine dead birds,
Eight wild ostriches,
Seven fanta orange,
Six malaria cases,
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine.


On the twelfth day of Christmas,
Karamoja sent to me
Twelve stolen shoes,
Eleven screaming children,
Ten thousand cockroaches,
Nine dead birds,
Eight wild ostriches,
Seven fanta orange,
Six malaria cases,
Five flat tires,
Four slaughtered roosters,
Three running cheetahs,
Two stolen ipods,
And a spitting cobra in the latrine!

Hope you are all doing well, and have a wonderful Christmas.

The Rest of the Story

BEFORE



AFTER (the picture doesn't do justice to show all the damage, but just so you will have an idea)



If you read my status on Facebook you know that our Prado Land Cruiser is totaled. We let the director of Shalom Ministries borrow it to take his sisters to visit their mother and take their brother to the hospital, and they got in an accident where it rolled 3 times. Luckily no one was badly hurt, except for the Prado. And of course there is not insurance here so now we are without a vehicle. Not the worse thing in the world, but if you knew where we lived you would understand how essential it is for us to have one, especially with the ministry we are involved in. Unfortunately we can't just go out and buy a new one because the kind of vehicle we need for our area is very expensive and hard to come by. We are hoping to be able to sell some of the parts of our wrecked Prado, but we are not sure what is still in tact. When you car rolls like that it does all kind of damage and can even damage the engine and frame of the vehicle, but we are praying that we can salvage something from it.
There is a lot to learn in this situation, and God continually reminds us that He is in control and we need to depend on HIM for EVERYTHING! Living here just forces us to do that more, which is not a bad thing.

Ironically about 3 weeks ago we were studying Habakkuk in school with the kids. After the nation of Judah continually rejects God plea to turn back to Him and repent they continue in their ways. God explains to Habakkuk that they will be under captivity of the Babylonians. Despite his struggle with the events that are to happen, Habakkuk decides to praise God's wisdom in spite of the fact that he doesn't fully understand His ways. My favorite part of the whole book is the end when Habakkuk concludes:
Chapter 3:16-19

I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places.

I don't want to be over dramatic and think that my situation comes close to Habakkuk's. I have all the things he knew he wouldn't have (even if it is beans and rice and porridge everyday). I have more than enough to rejoice about. However in the triviality of my circumstances I want to respond like Habakkuk. When I don't understand how things are going or things are not coming out like I had planned, I want to stand like Habakkuk and Job in ALL areas and not just what my emotions tell me.

I know I seem needy in the prayer request area, but if you could please pray that God would provide a way for us to have another vehicle and continue to provide our monthly needs here. Oh, and if you have time check out our website we just updated some things.

I leave you with this:


Michaela

A Heavy Heart

I would like to give you a little background on Uganda's orphans and more specifically the orphans of Karamoja. Before we go any further I want to say that I am not an expert in this issue I am just telling you what I know and what I have seen.
According to UNICEF in 2005 there were 2.3 million recorded orphans making it the country with the most orphans. At least 25% of all households in Uganda look after at least one child orphaned by either HIV/AIDS or war. Hearing about such things are rather tragic. But once you see them it hits you hard. No I haven't witnesses these 2.3 million orphans however I did get an opportunity to visit a baby home in Kampala,that had 46 orphans. Reading their stories(all abandoned in a trash heap, pit latrine, or somewhere within Kampala) and hearing them crying because there isn't enough arms to hold them was one of the hardest things I have witnessed. Don't get me wrong, the orphanage seemed like a well run organization that was clean and efficient, but the needs far out weigh the demands. Most of these orphans will grow up and only know an orphanage. No one that they really attach to. No one that they call mom and dad. Tragic.

I don't have any great statistics for the region of Karamoja but I will tell you what I know. In this Northeastern region there are about 300,000 people, and currently no orphanage in the whole region. What happens to orphans then? This is were it gets upsetting. Some people sell them and they end up in Kampala on the streets selling items or themselves. Others are taken in by a family member but most likely are treated horribly simply because that family usually doesn't have the resources to provide for that child, or they are seen as less important than their own children so they are beaten, and mistreated. And if they have HIV or another disease it is worse. Many have fled to Kampala to search for a better life and some sort of work only to find themselves used as slaves by family members. We witness these children on the streets at night in Kampala and learned that if they don't bring any money home they are beaten.
The government in the past has tried to "clean up" what they would call a mess. You must know there is a huge stigma and bias against the people of Karamoja. They have tried to develop a "rehabilitation" place for these children where their conditions were not any better but they were moved away from Kampala. Our team members have witnessed this camp and over the last year the Karmijong kids have been taken somewhere in Karamoja. There are 2 kids from Karamoja that still remain at this camp. They have been there for 4 years now and say they would foster them to a family like the other kids but no one wants a child from Karamoja. The sad and ridiculous part of this is that most people have never been to Karamoja and only believe the rumors they have heard most of which are lies. The people of Karamoja are real people with real problems, and it is extremely irritating when a Christian nation like Uganda can turn their backs on them because they are different and make assumptions about them based on lies. (Sound familiar?)
Another solution they have tried is to load up all these street kids and take them back to Karamoja. Sounds somewhat good in theory but they don't take them back to their village or their family. We have heard they literally just drop them off. That is not a solution. Of course they will just go right back to Kampala where at least they can eat food from the street which is sad to say is a better life for them than at home.
I really encourage you to read more details about this from an article written. You can go to the website (http://karamojadf.wordpress.com/features/) or just read it here. If you go to the website you will have to scroll down to the second article.

ON THE TRAIL OF THE KARIMOJONG STREET CHILDREN

By Simon Peter Longoli

Television footages last week showed numerous Karimojong hounded on to KCC trucks on their way to the national rehabilitation center, Kampirigisa in Mpigi district.

Karimojong at the national rehabilitation center, Kampiringisa. In a yellow shirt with baby is Molly Nakut the 17 year old mother.

This came at a time when many were thinking that the number of Karimojong street Children was higher than ever in the streets.

Maureen Mwagale, a woman who organized a Christmas meal day with the kids told me the number has never been higher.

A Uganda Broadcasting Corporation presenter, a Karimojong, also told me fellow presenters had been telling him recently issues concerning the higher number of Karimojong on the streets. According to them, the kids had resorted to being forceful.

“I have also witnessed this. One day I heard them utter insults in Ngakarimojong at those who did not give them money,” he says.

On Christmas day, St. Balikuddembe Catholic church at Kisenyi held a special baptism ceremony for the Karimojong street kids. Fifty two were baptized and organizers said a substantial number had missed.

At 52 in a single baptism, the number of Karimojong children should be higher, considering all of them may not be Catholics.

The journey to the city

But just how do they make their way to Kampala ? What is the history of the Karimojong Street Child problem? Who brings them to the city?

I asked a number of Karimojong and found out how they make their way to Kampala . Rumour has it that the Karimojong are brought to the streets by Karimojong politicians who want to use them for political benefit but there is nothing yet to prove this.

Available evidence has it that the Karimojong are forced to the streets by poverty.

The very first famine that pushed the Karimojong to the streets of neighboring towns was in 1980. Faced with famine, they walked long distances and reached towns such as Sironko, Mbale, Tororo, Soroti, Iganga and Busia. Karimojong populations are presently high in these towns and they have permanent residence, most surviving out of begging or ransacking garbage bins, for bites. Karamoja MPs also attribute this to the insecurity in the region.

Facing extreme scarcity of food and other social and economic problems, their parents give them up and entrust them in the care of older persons who have been to the city. These older ones could be visiting the village or coming to check on others in Kampala or to get a share of the street collections.

Because transport companies do not usually have a transport charge for children, they come at no cost, having neither extra baggage nor extra money save a coin or more to be spent on food on the journey.

It has been said that some Karimojong even go to other families and literally ‘borrow’ children to come with to Kampala .

This should be easy because it is a significant budget cut for a parent in the face of hardships and lack.

City life and the struggle to survive

The difficulty of city life takes over as these children and adults set foot in Kampala . Katwe and Kisenyi are the two most likely destinations for these children, but only for accommodation. At day time, they are on Kampala road, Jinja road, Entebbe road, Kampala ’s alleys and markets, begging.

Aware of the difficulty of city life, those who ‘borrowed’ these children or those who came with them, some times their mothers, conscript them as beggars. Every thing in the city needs money, every day. This is the golden rule of city life.

One needs to jump over open drains and heaps of rotting garbage to reach to the places of abode.

A typical accommodation structure is a six-square foot wooden shack with a bare floor (Not cemented), often with a low iron roof.

The kids tell me that about 30 of them sleep in each of these shacks without explaining how they fit in.

Children pay Ushs400 each to sleep in them per night, while adults pay ushs700 each.

The requirement for food is another daily requirement for money. This is not a definite expenditure because the children can go without food. The requirement for accommodation is superior.

Mr. Emmanuel Tebanyang a student who has researched on street children says the children are not the direct beneficiaries of the money they get. There are adults watching them and will take all the money away from them.

“What happens when they have not got the money on a particular day is that they spend the night outside. If the money they managed to get on a particular day was, say ushs700, the adult will take this money, pay for her accommodation and the kid will still sleep out of the shack,” he says.

It is common to find the kids say something like “today again I will sleep outside”. To counteract this, clever ones will separate the money they get and cater for themselves in a different hovel as night falls.

In the city, children are exposed to such child labour and a host of other ills. Grown ups indulge in things like drugs and prostitution. Even girls have confessed to taking drugs for example inhaling petrol and or alcoholism.


Human trafficking?

A 23 year old Karimojong student who spoke to me on conditions of anonymity seriously suspects there are cases of sale of Karimojong children on the streets.

“One day I was going down Entebbe road and I found a young boy translating from non Karimojong ladies to a Karimojong mother of a child who must have been about two months old,” he told me.

“‘They are saying that you give them the kid and they will give you a lot of money,’ ran the translation,” he says.

The student says he was not emotionally strong enough to witness what would have transpired.

With people desperate to have children and with the rampant cases of child sacrifice especially in the city, these statements are too serious to ignore.

These and other forms of exploitation could be going unabated.

Francis Loware, the ‘LCI’ of Karimojongs in Kisenyi is a man who is about 30. He even speaks in what I would call good Luganda and can not recall when he came to the streets. He confides in me that there are many people exploiting the Karimojong.

“There are many fake organizations that have come here purporting to help us and then use the connection to enrich themselves, running away at the end,” he says.

Shall we go home?

Many street children loathe the idea of having to go back home. One of the middle aged women I talked to simply said “I can not go back home. The conditions at home are unbearable. I better stay here with my children and eat whatever we can find.”

On many occasions in the past, the Karimojong have been returned but a great number of them have come back to the streets.

Molly Nakut is a 17 year old girl, now nursing her one month old baby. During the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), she was taken back to Moroto with others in what was a massive clean up of the city for the November 2007 meeting.

She has perpetually been on the streets, some times balancing between Kampala and Iganga where her brother, a former street boy, succeeded in establishing himself.

“I can not remember when I came to the streets. I only went home in 2007 and stayed there for two years, returning in December 2008,” she says as she suckles her one month old kid.

Nakut says she was born in May 1992 and if this is true then this girl who did not succeed to finish her primary school in 2006 was defiled. It was in Kampala that she was impregnated.

She alleges a well placed member of society is responsible for her pregnancy. Attempts to get him to help have since been futile.

A return to Karamoja remains the best for the Karimojong on the streets. This however is a return they are not anticipating.

At the national rehabilitation center, I joked to hordes of Karimojong that they would be taken to Karamoja in seven days.

“Let them come and take us,” one told me.

“The problem is they will take us home and not give supplies regularly.”

She explained to me the government gave them inadequate food when they were resettled in 2007 and this made a return to the streets inevitable.

At Kampiringisa

Faced with the high number of street children, Kampala City Council authorities and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development often work out the solution. This includes taking them to Karamoja and taking them to the national rehabilitation center.

Kampiringisa national rehabilitation center is located about 15 kilometers from Mpigi town, off Mpigi-Masaka road. It is run by the Ministry of gender.

Kampiringisa put simply is run down and the last building renovated was in 2003.

On my day at Kampiringisa, the officers in charge do not speak to me, referring me to the authorities in Kampala .

On entry however, I meet the children and because they have seen me earlier the chorus of ill treatment starts:

“Yesterday we did not eat,” said some while others said the food was bad.

“Food is not well cooked and the beans are not served ready,” others said.

“My child is sick with malaria but the dispensary has given me just these pain killers,” a woman carrying a baby said, showing me sachets of paracetamol (panadol).

Because it was a day after the massive transfer to the camp, a one month old was at camp without its mother. The mother arrived later and reunited with her child.

One woman had left her child in a shack at Kisenyi and was in town when she was bounded on to the KCC trucks. She cried and asked for permission to get to Kampala to no avail.

“Kampiringisa is a transitory camp,” said a camp official who did not want to be named.

“The children are brought here for preparations before they are taken back to Karamoja,” he added.

What is not clear is if the children and other adults receive any kind of rehabilitation at the camp, to make it worth its name.

The future looks dark

What chances do the 52 children baptized on Christmas day and others of their age and condition have in the future?

Hon. Terence Achia (Bokora) admits a solution will be hard to find but says they are working hard as MPs from Karamoja to find one.

Karamoja has 14 area MPs, two of whom are Ministers of State and a line ministry of Karamoja Affairs under the Office of the Prime Minister.

“We are trying to source some funding for the children and also look for non governmental organizations to help them,” he said when contacted.

With ill health, child labour, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, poor accommodation, lack of education and a lack of food, the future is indeed not secure.

Finding a lasting solution to the Karimojong street child problem is a jigsaw puzzle.

“I was talking with the mayor today about the street children but he says he has no solution,” Maureen Mwagale told me some time last Tuesday.

A lasting solution indeed remains a Herculean task, many who have talked to the children will agree.

The future of these children and indeed the whole Karimojong lies in that solution. Until then, the future is not secure.

--------

I can't say I have come up with a great solution but I can tell you if there is no where for orphans to go, no where for them to sleep and no where for them to eat, of course they will do whatever it takes to survive. This is a major reason we are here is to help this situation but it is not going to be something in our own power but in the power of God. As we continue to move forward in the completion of the orphanage we sometimes have more questions than answers and we ask that you would pray along side us. That we would have wisdom and discernment on dealing with these issues. Pray that there would be more labors and that we could develop a long lasting solution and not just hand outs.

Thanks for taking the time to listen. I know this one was rather long, but it is something you must know to understand better what is going on in the region we serve.
Love and Hugs,
Michaela

The trip, the baby, and more!

Since being here there is one very important lesson I have learned: Things hardly ever go the way you want them to. This is pretty much a life lesson in general but seems to be magnified here. The great thing about all of this is that you have to depend on God more. There is no other option other than freaking out which doesn't really work, and is not what God wants from us.

This trip to Kampala was a rough one, more for our team mates the Williams, as their car broke down (engine problems) after having 2 flat tires. But the health of our whole team has been under attack. (Thank you Martha for the puke bucket it came in handy!) The neat thing is that we have seen God through it all. The flat tire happened 20 minutes into our trip allowing us to go back to get it repaired before being too far in the boonies. For that we were thankful.

Malachi was getting better with the IV drip of typhoid medicine right before leaving (literally got the treatment at 6 in the morning and left at 7) and then he got really bad that night. We happen to be staying with some of our good friends and missionary (they are a true God send and a huge blessing) half way to Kampala, and they have a clinic. Did a blood test and found out that Malachi also has Malaria and we were able to get him on medication right away.

24 hours later with all of your prayers..... he is doing amazing! He is back to his old self today. Talking a lot and running around. Something we like to see. He has to take his medicine for a while longer but we are optimistic about it!

So all in all, here we are, all in one piece (kind of) working on getting supplies, our visas, and trying to get some Rest and Relaxation.


And some exciting news......had an ultra sound today and everything is looking good, and the baby is a......GIRL!!!

We are so excited, and it was great to see the baby, and to know all is well with her. Can't wait til she is here!

So thank you all for your prayers for our team and for our health. We feel so supported in prayers and today we could really feel it. Thank you all so much!

Love to you all!
Michaela

I Want You to Meet Rainbow Mike

With Mike's permission I am going to explain a little bit more of the ministry we are involved in and supporting. Rainbow Mike is Acholi (a people group in Uganda) and came to Karamoja to flee from the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). After coming here his heart grew for the kids that were living on the street. (There is a lot more detail but I am going to try to keep it simple).
Fast forward to the present. Rainbow Mike's heart has grown to not only help the orphaned street kids but also help widows, elderly and the disabled. Because of his obedience there are now 40 kids that are getting an education. Hungry helpless mouths are being fed, and medical care is being given. Jesus' love is illuminating through him and the ministry he started.

Currently the Children's home is not up to district standards, but with the help of a couple generous donations the Children's home is set to be complete in about 2 weeks. What does this mean? It means that 10-20 kids off the street can have a bed to sleep in. It means they will no longer have to eat rotten food they can gather from the market. It means they will have safety from the horrors that happen to them at night. It also means that the 40 sponsored children within the ministry that are at boarding school will have somewhere to go during their school break.

We are very excited about the completion of the home, and we ask that you would pray that it would happen soon so that these kids can get off the street. We ask that you would pray that we could continue to get more funds in order to add a girls dorm. (In the mean time the girls will be staying on our property in our additional housing.) Pray that we could get enough funds to build huts for some of the widowed, displaced, disabled, and elderly woman that are being supported through the ministry. Right now a place is being rented for them in town through the ministry, but it would be more ideal for them to be within the compound.

It has been a true blessing being here and working along side Rainbow Mike. He has an amazing heart. We have had to pleasure to have him and his family (and some of the sponsored kids) staying with us until the construction of the Children's home is complete. This has been a great time for us to learn about community living and we have gotten to know some of the kids in the ministry more. Not to mention we can practice the language with them.

Our goal has and is going to be in supporting Rainbow Mike in whatever we can. Our family has found ourselves helping more on the Children's home/orphan side (shocking I know)and we feel God leading us to spend more of our time focusing on this part of the ministry. Right now that means getting administrative things done, construction of the Children's home, helping with the sponsorship program, and building relationships with the sponsored and street kids.


Here is the work in progress:


Thanks for listening. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. We are going to have a little bit of everything. Liberian food (fried Okra), Ugandan food (G-nut paste with greens), and American food (mashed potatoes....I know that is all we could get, but we will enjoy them!)

Pictures and More

I don't have anything really worth saying so here are some pictures. After visiting the village we stopped by "Sliding rock" for a little fun.

What is Life in Uganda Like so Far?

What is life in Uganda like so far?
At night when I am lying in bed it seems like I have a lot I feel I could share on my blog, but then when I actually go to write it seems like I have nothing to say. With that I would like to let you in on a little bit what our lives are like here so far.

We have been in Kotido for 3 weeks now. It is starting to feel more and more at home. It is such a blessing to be settling into our house and developing somewhat of a routine.

This last week we have been staying at home more trying to adjust to the life here in Kotido. There are a lot more daily chores, and things you have to get used to. I will say I have finally stopped walking into a room and reached for the light switch. (There are no lights here. I am also getting used to all the little critters. Even the mice and rats....and at times the cock roaches, although if one happened to crawl on me I would freak!) But as my friend Deanna commented on my last blog critters are nothing compared to being in Christ!

After getting up in the morning, we do some of our regular chores such as collecting water, sweeping the inside of the house and outside, filtering water, sorting rice, breakfast etc. We then start school. Having school has been somewhat nice because it is something that is familiar to me since I home-schooled in the states. It is never uninterrupted because of guests and such, but then again was it ever uninterrupted in the states either? Wait....is there such thing as uninterrupted homeschool?

After we finish school the kids play soccer (Football) or marbles. Each child has made some great friends and they are experiencing a lot of character building. They are busy playing and making things out of trash and sticks, string, etc. Lots of fun!

Cody’s day is much different than ours in some ways. He is busy with chores in the morning and then makes his daily run to the market to collect produce and other supplies for the day. Right now we are in the dry season so we are eating a lot of cabbage, tomatoes, rice, and beans. We don’t have a lot of variety in our diet but we are not going hungry. Cody has also been very busy playing “Bob the Builder” and making great things such as a drying rack for my dishes, a stand for our small electronics solar panel, and he even made me a silverware rack! He has been an amazing leader, father, and husband during this time of transition and I am more than grateful for him.

Popcorned (I don’t think that is a word but I am going to use it) in the middle of all of this normal life we fit in times to minister and we attempt to share the love of Jesus with those around us.

We have been really praying that the Holy Spirit will lead us into the different areas that we are suppose to. There is so much need here and we could probably do 20 different things (within in our initial goal of caring for orphans and church planting) but we want to be sensitive to His calling and what is best for the people and culture here and what He desires from us.

I know I say this over and over again but it is because it is so humbling all of you who are behind us supporting us in different ways. It is such a team effort, and we see that in ways we never could have seen that before!

Love to You ALL!
Michaela

Oh and we start language today so pray that our minds and tongues would be prepared and great!

I wish I could post more pics on the blog but it is hard to do, so I have been posting them on Facebook as that is easier. If you don't have a facebook account I am sorry and can try to do my best to load pictures when I can.

A Busy Week

A lot has happend this week and we have been very busy. The big news....we are in our house! We are not completly settled, but at least we are in.

Last Wednesday we had a meeting with a government official of Kotido about Shalom (Orphanage). It was very informative and this gentlemen was very kind and helpful. We were able to find out what the orphanage needs to be able to be up and running according to the government standards. Lots of work that needs to be done, but it is coming along, and great improvements have been made already.

I also got a chance to tag a long to the village for a visit. It was really amazing to meet some of the village woman and the challenges they have. It was very humbling to see their joy inspite of their circumstances. We even got to see some warriors, and they did a dance for us before we left. Rainbow Mike and some of the team members were able to go back to provide them with some food, and medical care.





Toward the end of week we went to School visitation day for the sponored children with Shalom. There are 11 sponsored kids that go to Secondary School (high school). When you go to High School here you stay on campus 24/7. They don't have family to visit them on visitation day so it was fun to be able to go on behalf of their sponsors back in the states. Their sponors also gave a little extra money so that we could purchase them a new outfit, and take them out to lunch at a restaurant. They really enjoyed having a change in their diet from the normal beans and posho (not sure that is spelled right) to chicken (our kids did too :).



Last but not least today I went to the cattle market with some of the other girls on the team. It was a cultural experience that is for sure, but fun to get out and see more ways of the Karamojong.

I can't express how much your prayers have all meant to us. There defiantly have some challenges we are facing, but we feel God's grace, and your prayers through it all. We are so grateful for your comments and emails of encouragement.

Michaela

Some Interesting and Not so Interesting Things About Kotido

We have been here over a week now and although I am not well versed in the culture yet I have made a lot of observations.

1. Roosters here are not on Ugandan time. They crow in the middle of the night and early in the morning. 3:00 a.m. early.

2. Mice like having parties on your roof at 5:00 a.m.

3. Hand washing your clothes is really hard on your clothes, but good exercise for your arms.

4. If you are 5 and under your favorite thing to do is yell "Muzunga" (White person) and giggle, then follow you.

5. Cold showers are not so bad....ok maybe they are.

6. You may not have a flushing toilet or running water but you can have internet :). (Thank goodness for that, so I can keep in touch with friends and family)

7. Mosquitos nets at night keep out all sorts of critters other than mosquitos. Maybe they don't keep out mosquitos at all. I wake up with all kinds of bites....unless maybe we have bed bugs. Who knows....however the mosquitos here are very clever and smart.

Ok, ok, in all seriousness......we are doing pretty good. We have seemed to pass around a cold and our bodies are all adjusting to the food here, and the different bacteria and such.

We are not in our house yet which is a bummer, but we are optimistic it will be soon. Hopefully it really will be soon and not "Africa" time.

Our team is amazing and we are so thankful to have them. We have learned a lot about how God is speaking to them, and we feel Him saying a lot of the same things to us. We were able to visit the orphanage and see what work is going on there, which was nice to see in the flesh. We are excited to make a trip to the village soon to meet some people that our team mates have been helping.

I think that sums it up...in a nut shell at least. A small one. Sorry I don't have pictures. Maybe next week. Hope all of you are doing well and remember we would love to hear from you and see how you are doing. Drop us an email when you can.

Oh and Cody actually blogged (it has been since June). You can check it out at our website www.FollowingJesusToUganda.com. Then click on "FulkTales." He is going to try and blog more often, and he is a much better writer than me, so enjoy!

Love From Uganda,
Michaela

The kids were really tired of sitting in the car, but found some time to sleep. This is Samuel and Ezra Williams.





Crossing a small river. It was low don't worry. One of the kids said, "Wow how exciting." They really enjoyed all the new things we experienced while driving.




And last...our house we staying in until our house is ready....

Thanks for reading, we would love to hear from you all when you can, and send your questions.

Michaela

We Made it to Kotido and we now have internet! Hooray

It has been almost a week since we landed in Uganda and it seems like we have done so much already. We left Kampala headed North to Kotido, with a night stop in the middle. Our stay with missionaries in Namule was a great blessing. They moved to Uganda 10 years ago, and their youngest was 1 at the time. It was great to see their family 10 years later and to pick their brains with all the questions I had. They also took us to a village, where they were going to be doing a bible lesson for the kids. It amazing and humbling all at the same time.
So here we are in Kotido, learning all the ins and outs. We are more than thankful for our team already here. They have done so much for us alreaday and have been there to help us with lots of questions and to give us guidance. We are not in our house yet because they are doing some work to it but we got to see it yesterday and we are excited that it should be done soon. I am anxious to get settled in and into a routinue. In the mean time we are staying on a compound. Again it is a huge blessing to be able to have somewhere to stay. It may not be the best accomadations in our eyes but it is all we need, and God has blessed us.
It has been very humbling to see how He provides and blesses us. The living circumstances here are not what we are use to, but we feel blessed because of His love, and the people He has placed in our life.
Ok everyone wants to know how the kids are doing. They continue to amaze me, and they are my inspiration. I would say that Joshua seems to be fitting in the best. He seems very relaxed here and his heart for God and his obedience is contagious. He wants to serve the people here, and wants to give everything away. He has also been a great leader, and protector for his siblings. The other kids are doing really good too. Samuel is really interested in learning the language and has learned several words and pronouces them well already (for a reminder the language is Karamajong and is only spoken in the Northeastern region of Karamoja). Janaya has tried to make friends with some of the girls where we are staying despite their shyness. Carter is being rather bold in a lot of situations and is not being as shy as we thought he would be. To Malachi things don't seem too different to him. They are all enjoying playing soccer, doing laundry by hand, trying to catch lizards, playing in the dirt, playing the with Williams kids, etc.

Now for some more pictures, and a couple fun adventures with them. On our way we crossed the Nile river....

The Williams got stuck (not while crossing the Nile....we crossed that on a bridge)because their four-wheel drive went out all of a sudden, and we tried to pass this truck that had just got "un stuck." Thankfully Mr. Bob Wright was near and came to the rescue. The natives thought it was entertaining to see how they were going to get out and two of the men even pulled out a camera and took a picture of them. Muzungas (think that is spelled right) is what they call us.



The next day when we were staying with the Wrights we went to the village and on the way came across a boar hole which is where people get the water. The kids really liked playing here. I didn't take any pictures of the village or of the Bible stories with the kids because it was not real appropriate. Their singing, and smiles were amazing.



Joshua found a little boy carrying water and tried to tell him he would carry it but he didn't speak english so Joshua just took it for him and carried it to his house.

Our Time in Kampala

We have really enjoyed our time here in Kampala getting supplies and such but will be leaving tomorrow morning for our home in Kotido. It will take us 2 days to get there because we are not going to try the 12 hour drive in one day. I am excited to get there to get settled into our house although I am enjoying the many luxuries of Kampala (electricity, washing machine, etc). Enough about that here are some pictures of the kids. They are having a blast.



Joshua wanted to help the staff wash clothes by hand. He really enjoys this, and the staff loved having him :)



Samuel playing cards with James. All the kids love him.


Carter and Malachi enjoying some tangerines.



Janaya in front of our Land Cruiser. We have to have a really heafty vehicle for these horrible roads here. Hopefully it will hold up on the trip to Kotido.

Hope you enjoy the pictures, they took forever to load :)

A WEEK! YIKES!

Today is the one week mark before we go and things are going well. God has been doing some amazing things and really this WHOLE journey has been amazing. From little things to big things. One new thing that He has done is provided the perfect house for us in Kotido where we will be living. 2 weeks ago we got a call from our team telling us they couldn't find a house they thought would work well for us. They gave us two options and we choose one, but continued to pray that something better would come in store. One week later we get the call about that better house. WOW.....really? How exciting. Thank you God!

Another thing that has me smiling today is that I got to have an ultrasound of our baby today and to see my midwife. My lab results were all perfect which is nice because they were not that way with Carter. The baby is healthy and it was nice to see what is making me so sick :) (BTW....Thank you all for lifting me up in prayer about my pregnancy nausea and sickness. It has been getting better. I still have some bad days of vomiting but it is not everyday as before.)

The big question is how are we doing emotionally? For the most part wonderful (although for me I have been up and down). The kids are doing well and are excited to go. I am so grateful and proud of how well they have been doing. The hardest thing is saying goodbye to our family and friends. It is weird closing this part of our chapter, and saying goodbye to so much, but we know that God has new chapters for us in store.

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Michaela Fulk

Here's our little 13 weeks old peanut. Too bad we can't tell if it is a boy or girl yet. Guess we will have to be surprised.

Newletter

I haven't done this before, but I am going to post our newsletter on this blog, so you know what is going on. I will not always do this and if you would like to be added to our email list please let me know. michaela.fulk@gmail.com .

Greetings! We hope you all are having a wonderful fall. It is our favorite time of year and we are enjoying the many beauties of the season. Before I (Michaela) go any further I want to tell you about a couple announcements in case you don't read the whole newsletter. There will be 2 different commisioning services and we would love for you to come to either of them.
1. Potluck and prayer at the River center. Saturday Sept. 25 at 5:00 at the River Center in New Castle
2. New Hope Church (Coal Ridge High School) Oct. 3 during church at 10:00 am.

Since the last newsletter lots of things have happened, and a theme that we are seeing in the past 18 months of our lives is God turning the impossible to the possible. After all He is in the redemption and hope business, but we have seen it over and over again, and He continues to strengthen our faith. When we started out in this journey we had a long list of obstacles and God has provided. It wasn't always in the timing we had thought, or in ways we thought, but in the end it has been perfect. I'm just glad we have a Father that knows best!!!

HERE'S WHAT IS NEW (Praise God):
-God provided a renter last Monday, and we have moved out.
-God provided enough money for us to purchase a vehicle in Uganda and one that will be sufficient enough for the rough roads.
-God provided a place to stay during the interim. (Thanks Andy and Holly)
-We got a surprise and found out I am pregnant. We are very excited and the timing turned out to be perfect so that I could be in the states for my first trimester. (I have been really sick with this pregnancy).
-A great time sharing our hearts and ministry in Boise City Oklahoma

WHAT YOU COULD BE LIFTING US UP IN PRAYER FOR:
-To raise the rest of our monthly support
-That all the details of moving could get done and that we wouldn't forget to do anything.
-We just put our van on craigslist, so we are hoping to sell it asap.
-For all the adjustments we are going through. Some of us do better than others with change:)
-For the William's (our team there) youngest boy who is having some health issues that might take them to Kenya for surgery.
-For healthy growth and development of our baby and that my nausea would end soon. (I am almost 12 weeks which is when it gets better for most women)
-That God would continue to give vision to what He wants us to be doing there.

Thank you all so much and we hope to see you at one or both of the commissioning services. Only 15 more days before we leave!

Oh and as always let me know if you want off the newsletter list.

In Christ,
The Fulks (but written by Michaela)

My Struggles

Sorry I haven't blogged in quite awhile. With starting school, and preparing to leave on October 6, I have not made it a priority to blog.

Those of you that know me really well know that I struggle with the sin of people pleasing. I have a tendency to worry and care a lot about what people think of me (learning that this stems from pride). For the most part I am obedient to God rather to man, but it can be painful at times. There are times when I would like to be able to please both man and God and get the best of both worlds. God is not in that business. I either follow Him or follow man. A scripture that I have held on to tightly in dealing with this comes from Galations 1:10, "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Apparently I need a lot more work in this area than I thought because there have been a lot of opportunities in the past year where I have had to remember that it is God I answer to and not man. The biggest event that has altered and shaken my people pleasing tendencies is with the decision to move to Uganda as missionaries. With this decision has come a lot of adversatiy which has forced me to dig deeper into my faith and into the reason I follow God in the first place and what following Him really is.
All in all God is still working this in my life and some times are more painful than others. It can be really difficult being in this world but not being of this world. However I have learned more and more about denying myself and doing what the Bible says rather than doing just what I feel comfortable with or what fits into my or other's scope of beliving in God and having Faith in Him.

I am thankful that God continues to be patient but yet He challenges me and ask me to step into the unknown and follow Him for His name sake. I pray that He alone gets the glory.

Thanks for Listening,

Michaela

We leave on the.....

I have not blogged in a couple weeks, but in that time some exciting things have happened. Thank you so much for your prayers. We finished our refinance. With that we prayed and felt like it was time to buy our plane tickets. We got an amazing deal and saved a lot of money and got a great flight with only one lay over! That is right only one layover!! Very excited. We leave on October the 6th. We still need to get some things done so please continue to pray we get it all done before we leave.
Michaela

Conditional Faith

After people hear that we are going to be missionaries in a remote area of Africa I usually get one of two statements. "I could never do that," or "I hope God never calls me to Africa." I have a tendency to laugh at these statements because ironically I used to think them or say them to myself. Going to Africa always seemed like an adventurous thing to do, but it wasn't for me or my family.

Two years ago I would not have dreamed we would leave the States. First of all I was rather comfortable, and second I could never imagine leaving my family (and my dogs :)), third, I was comfortable, fourth, I like flushing toilets, fifth, we were already serving God, sixth, did I mention I was comfortable? I can remember during college thinking Cody and I would be missionaries one day or rather that we would be serving God in some capacity. I will be honest and tell you that after we had Carter I put that little "idea" aside because now it seemed it was time for us to raise a family. It was this perfect picture of compartmentalized faith. You don't do one or the other, they go hand in hand. When God started to shake things up sometime after he (Carter) was born, I would resist every way possible not embracing what God had called us to nor was I trusting Him. I had this idea of how to serve God but it seemed to be my way, on my terms, with me still having control. It was safe. I didn't want the pain of being let down, or having "my plan" (The American Dream) destroyed. (Maybe I am more strong willed than I thought....lol)

Luckily we serve a very patient, gracious God. He has moved mountains in my life and in my heart. As I said before I always romanticized the idea of being a missionary in Africa but never dreamed it would actually happen and would happen when my quiver was full. But God is continually teaching me to let go. To let go of my desires, to let go of my worries, to let go of my plan and agenda. Trust. Be still. The way I see it is that I have two choices. I can worry and make myself crazy or I can trust in who God says He is and He has always proven Himself. Maybe not the way I wanted or thought He would but He has. I have to deny myself and my emotions and stick to the truth of the Bible.

With all of that said it has been exciting to see God changing my heart. My desires are changing, and the things I always felt were important don't seem to be anymore. In order for God to change us we have to be willing. And even if you are not willing you have to admit that to God (He knows anyway) and ask Him to change your heart. Read His word, find out who He is and what He asks of us. Do realize though that with that prayer there might be pain. Because God is continually trying to put more of Him in our lives and less of ourselves (James 1:2-4. 1 Peter 1:6-7...look these up they are good). This is a good thing, which might not always seem that way.

I leave you with this video it is about 10 minutes but well worth it.
God’s Chisel « Videos « The Skit Guys

Michaela

Here and Now

As we pray and seek God as to when we should leave it seems we continue to get a wait. Really God? Wait. Alright...after all you know best. I'll be honest and say a lot of my impatience at this point is driven by my pride and what people will say and what they think about us not going on our original date. Shallow and sinful I know! God also continues to remind me that He has me right where I am for a purpose. I should live each day to glorify His name and not look to the "when we...." I will be transparent and say that this becomes more difficult while staying home with the kids, but then reality sinks in and I am reminded that I disciple 5 beautiful children and I am humbled and petrified. And that this amazing ministry travels with me.
I do have to continue to focus on the amazing positive things that have happened while we wait on God. One we discovered a couple days ago was that my husband was an answer to some one's prayer. Humbled again.... The other being the wisdom that our team on the field in Kotido is sharing with us. With this wisdom and insight we can better prepare for the extreme change. And as Kenneth Williams says until we get there we will enjoy our electricity, showers, flushing toilets, etc. :)
With having our team there we have learned that is more necessary for our family to have a vehicle and not just share a vehicle between the whole team. That does mean more money to raise but we are not concerned. He has provided miraculously thus far and will continue to. Thanks for your prayers.

Mother Teresa

We had the opportunity to visit the birthplace of Mother Teresa when we were in SE Europe.

I apologize for not blogging last week. Wednesday we were on our way to Nebraska and then Iowa for a family reunion. I didn't have Internet access while I was there. While on the road I had the opportunity to do some reading. One book that I read was called "Mother Teresa No Greater Love. The Most Accessible and Inspirational Collection of Her Teachings Ever Published." It is basically as the title states. I have always admired Mother Teresa, her zeal for the poor, her humble lifestyle and her devotion to following the teachings of Jesus. I would like to share with you some of my favorite parts of the book that were inspiring, convicting, and ideas I could relate to. It is honestly hard for me not to quote the whole book, but I will try to share with you only parts. :)

The poor do not need our compassion or our pity they need our help. What they give to us is more than what we give to them.

We know what poverty means, first of all to be hungry for bread, to need clothing, and to not have a home. But there is a far greater kind of poverty. It means being unwanted, unloved, and neglected. It means having not one to call your own.

Riches, both material and spiritual, can choke you if you do not use them fairly. For not even God can put anything in a heart that is already full. One day there springs up the desire for money and for all that money can provide-the superfluous, luxury in eating, luxury in dressing, trifles. Needs increase because one thing calls for another. The result is uncontrollable dissatisfaction. Let us remain as empty as possible so that God can fill us up.

There are many medicines and cures for all kinds of sicknesses. But unless kind hands are given in service and generous hearts are given in love, I do not think there can ever be a cure for the terrible sickness of feeling unloved.

I think the world today is upside-down. It is suffering so much because there is so little love in the home and in the family. We have no time for our children. We have no time for each other. There is not time to enjoy each other, and the lack of love cause so much suffering and unhappiness in the world. Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater development and greater riches.

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. Of course there is a whole book of these types of teachings. I would encourage you to go to your local library and check it out. It is a really quick read and you can get through the book in about 2 hours.

UPDATE:
Our team arrived to Kotido safely after a rather eventful trip.(remember they stayed in Kampala the capital for a while first). They had to take it easy on the roads because of the rainy season and Kristi being pregnant. It took them 3 days rather than 2 but they were thankful for all of God's provision on their trip (too long of a story to go into detail but their many stories are amazing). Thanks for your prayers for them. They are adjusting to life as a team and without luxuries. They spend a lot of their time just learning new things such as how to do laundry by hand, keeping mosquitoes out of the house, cooking on a propane stove, etc. Please continue to pray for them as they adjust, and also for their health. Lots of bugs your body has to adjust to when you move to a foreign country and many of the team members have been quite sick (nothing major).
It has been somewhat (I still wish I could be with them...but looking at the blessings God has given to us) nice having our team go before us because they have already been giving us all kinds of great tips. After praying for quite some time about plane tickets we don't feel a sense of urgency to buy plane tickets. We are getting the sense that their is some unfinished business that needs to be done before we leave. Not sure what this is, but we will continue to live each day for His glory. Oh and hooray....Joshua's SS card application was denied, meaning we could apply again, and with a passport this time. It went through and we should have a card in two weeks and a SS# hopefully today meaning we can complete our taxes!
Thanks for your prayers and faithfulness!
Michaela

Prayers and Update

First thing is first, please take time today to pray for our team members that are leaving for Uganda today. The William family with their 4 kids and one on the way, Kerri and Andrew Meador, Kelly Preston, and Chloe Nelson. Pray that they have safe travels, that the kids are of good spirits, that Kristi Williams will be comfortable on the plane (7 1/2 months pregnant). Also pray for safe travels from Kampala to Kotido. They will not be going to Kotido for about a week as they will be gathering supplies and working on getting visas etc.
We are very excited for them and sad at the same time that we are not going with them, but we know God must have something for us here and now so we are living for today.
With all that said I will give you an update of where we are in our plans. Some of our huge obstacles are out of the way. Passports, our house, money for plane tickets etc. We basically are waiting on one thing (well one and half. We are at half of our monthly support raised). We haven't really shared much about this because we didn't want people to get confused and think that their support was going toward this. When we adopted Malachi we got a 0% interest loan through a christian fund, along with another low interest loan, to be able to adopt him. At this point it is what it is, and there is no easy answer for the cost of adoption. You can't really say you have regrets, because Malachi is our child, and we would have done anything for him. But on the other hand Paul in Romans 13:8 says to owe not man anything. Anyway......As I said before we are not asking our supporters to pay for this debt but rather we are waiting on God to see how He is going to provide. It can be hard but God keeps giving us hope. I have been reading in Kings and Chronicles and came to 2 Kings 4:1-8 and it gave me a lot of hope. If you wouldn't mind praying for this situation, that would mean a lot to us. Once this loan is taken care of we are going to buy our plane tickets.
Thanks,
Michaela

Interaction, and Info on Praying for Missionaries

Hi everyone, sorry I missed last week we were out of town with my in laws enjoying time together before we leave.

I would like for this blog to be a little more interactive. I wish I could sit around in a circle with all of my readers and see how their lives are going too. I would also love to pray for different needs that any of you have and give encouragement. Please never hesitate to email me at michaela.fulk@gmail to let me know how things are going or send me your prayer needs.

The last thing I wanted to post was a link that a fellow brother in Christ gave me. It is a great reminder on how to pray for the different missionaries we support. For some of you that are new to praying for missionaries it will give you a little more direction. Know however that some things do not apply to our situation. For instance we will not be sending our kids to school, but they will be homeschooled as they are here. Here is the website (looks like you will have to copy and paste it into your browser I couldn't get it to post as a link....sorry):
http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/en-US/FreeTools/HowToPrayForMissionaries/pr
ayForMissionaries.htm

Hoping to Hear From You,

Michaela

The Concern for our Kids

Over the past few months we have heard several people voice concern about us taking our children to Uganda Africa. It is an important question and we feel we should address it.

It is our strong conviction that God has called our whole family to minister among the Karamojong in Uganda. He did not call one but he has called all. In speaking to any of our three oldest children you would see that God has a specific call for each of our children. Joshua talks about how he wants to go to the villages with Daddy to tell the people about Jesus; Janaya asks if she can read to the kids in the orphanage; Samuel talks about how he would like to help the people there however he says he will miss hotdogs. Carter and Malachi are too young to understand but Carter has declared he would like to help people in Uganda.
Another strong conviction we have is that America is not our children’s salvation. John Piper puts it well when he says that Jesus saves us from the American dream. We have lived our lives and will continue to live our lives in such a way that our children can see that Jesus Christ is God. And our lives are lived serving Him. Over the past 4 years we have served here in the states but put no limits on how far we will follow God. The call to go to Karamoja was birthed from scripture and prayer on both of our parts.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of our head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “what shall we eat?” or “what shall we drink?” or “what shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:26-33.

These are just 2 instances of the many, where God shows us that He is in control and that He cares for us. We have come to understand that God cares for our children far more than we ever could. He can be trusted.

In Him,
Michaela and Cody

Hooray!

Wow, wow, and super wow. I am in that state of total amazement right now. Within the last week we have had some amazing things happen. First of all it looks like our house situation is going to get figured out which is a big hurdle to climb!! Second, Cody just got back from an amazing trip of speaking to different churches in Oklahoma and from that trip $6000 was raised. Our team members just bought their tickets at about half of what we thought they would be; meaning we are very close to buying our plane tickets if we can get them for the same price. (If any of you were planning on sending a one time gift or wanted to support us monthly, please let us know. NO PRESSURE! We just know that some of you might have been waiting or have forgotten so we just want to give you a friendly reminder to send your info our way because our time of leaving is rapidly approaching. The easiest way would be to do it via internet at our website. Go to the link "you can help.") We are at $320 in monthly support and are ready to go once we reach $1000 a month. I know that is quite different than what our budget shows but the budget on our website has all the bells and whistles such as giving $600 a month to the orphanage, health insurance, saving money each month to fly to the States every 3 years, etc. We realize these things are luxuries, and are willing to step out in faith, knowing that God has always provided for us and always will (after all he takes care of the birds Matthew 6:25-34).
We also have a couple more things to purchase but are again encouraged that we have either been given a discount on different things, bought things used, or have been given what we need by different people.
Not only has God been encouraging us through our physical situation but also spiritually. He continues to fill us up with different scriptures and it is has been astounding to see how God is preparing our hearts for this chapter (more like a new book) of our lives.
Wow, I think this was the shortest blog entry :)
Grateful,
Michaela Fulk

Meet the Fam and Psalm 106

From left to right: Us, the Fulk (hopefully moving mid July); Kerri and Andrew Meador (leaving June 16 staying for a year); Chloe Nelson (leaving June 16 staying until August); Kelly Preston (leaving June 16 staying for one year); Misty Kearns (leaving mid August); The Williams' (leaving June 16).

We had a meeting with all the team members last Friday and it was a huge blessing. We were able to meet the newest team member Kelly Preston. As we sat in the meeting I felt very blessed that we will be doing life with these people very closely and will be family for one another. The joy of the weekend ended knowing that we will not see the Williams until we get to Karamoja. They are leaving the 16th of June and I am delighted and somewhat sad all at the same time. We have become very close to them in the last 6 months, and so it seems strange not having them in our physical lives. It also seems bittersweet because as they leave it is just a reminder that we are not going with them. Fear starts to creep in and says, "maybe you are not suppose to go?" "Your house won't sell in this market." "Can we really get all the money raised?" "People are watching and wondering." I then go to God and act like a child who is not getting her way, and he reminds me through prayer and scripture that He did call us to this and He will provide, in His time. Again I find God deepening my faith and dependence on him. I know it seems like the whole thing is getting repetitive and I should be getting it by now, but I guess I am a slow learner.
This is the scripture God has brought me to:
Psalm 106:6-17 Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. (7) Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. (8) Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power. (9) He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. (10) So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. (11) And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. (12) Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. (13) But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. (14) But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; (15) he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. (16) When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD, (17) the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

I have been meditating on this scripture and God has been teaching me A LOT. As you can already see it has a lot to do with what I posted last week in forgetting the miracles God has done. But deeper than that is pulls a lot of things together for me including the continued study of the Israelites. To fully understand this you have to understand the story of Exodus, and Numbers (and Genesis too to know God's promises). This blog would get quite lengthy if I were to go into all the details He has been teaching me through all these books but I will say this: I need to be in the here and now, trusting in God for the unseen future. A lot of it doesn't make sense to me, but if I look back at how He has acted in our lives before, it never made sense and then His will unfolded and He made things happen in the most unexpected way giving Him all the glory and not ourselves. The Israelites were the same way. They needed to live in the here and now. God gave them just enough food for the day telling them to get no more and no less (Exodus 16).
In my head I have this idea of how things should work and how they can unfold in a very practical way, much like the Israelites, who took things into their own hands when it wasn't in THEIR timing (ex: building of the golden calf Exodus 32:4). Then God reminds me that I am not God, and His ways are higher than our ways (Ish. 55:9). His unexpected interventions just remind me that I am not in control and the way I think things should go does not always give God the most glory, and if things turned out how I wanted them then I wouldn't really grow, but rather would just get things my way and as I tell my children, "the world doesn't revolve around us, but God."
I apologize if is this repetative and getting old. Let me tell you it is getting rather old for me too. I would like to get this lesson and move on to the next thing God wants to teach me. Thanks for listening and if any of you have any words of encouragement I would love to hear them. Thanks!
His Grace is Sufficient,
Michaela Fulk

Amnesia?

It has been quiet a whirlwind of a week with moving (back to our house in Battlement Mesa) and having Cody gone for part of it. I have been consumed with sorting through our things to get our lives into 7 suitcases and 5 backpacks (with a few extra things we need while here such as sleeping bags, plates, etc). With the stress it seems I have been stricken with amnesia. No I didn't fall while cleaning and hit my head, although it might as well have happened with the way I forgot the things God has taught me. How did I get to this point? I think it multiplies up to a lot of things to make a perfect calculation with a product that equaled "freaking out." I started focusing only on my circumstances and not on what God has taught me or what He has been teaching me. The added stress was more reason to cling to God but instead I focused on my circumstances which then led to fear. And most of us know what happens when a scared animal is cornered. :) Luckily this state was short lived and I continue to learn a lot about myself and how quickly I can forget God. It is similar to when Jesus was walking on water to the disciples in the boat and Peter came out to walk on water and when he looked at his circumstances (the fierce wind) started doubting and then he started sinking (Matthew 14:22-33).
It can be such a difficult thing for me, because I really want to be faithful to God and steadfast, but sometimes feel controlled by my emotions. It is so contrary to my flesh. (Gal. 5:17) Denying myself daily and staying close to God in His word and in prayer takes diligence and discipline.
On a positive note, although it has been somewhat stressful, I have loved simplifying our lives and being down to only the basics we need. It has honestly made it easier to move. No furniture, no excess, just what we need. When we do sell our house it will by far be the easiest move and I look forward to that!
I also want to thank those who have been praying for me during the last week. Your prayers, words of encouragement and support have been huge for me!
We are asking that you would pray that our house in Battlement would sell. We have heard that someone is interested in buying it and are talking to their lender. We are not sure what this will bring, but know that God is in control.
Hugs to you,
Michaela

Following the Cloud

As we begin to go through things and get rid of stuff and pack up our lives to move I am for the first time not having huge anxiety about moving. I have to say this non anxiety state is only by the grace of God. God has brought me here by many events in my life as well as His word.
After God delivered His people from Egypt and they are in the wilderness, and very unsettled I might add, God leads them by a cloud by day and fire by night. Exodus 13:21, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. " (and you thought us moving to Uganda was ridiculous....how about following a cloud.....) I wonder what I would have been like following this cloud. I can imagine myself complaining and thinking, "Why are we following this cloud ?" Moses probably would have reminded me that God just delivered me from slavery in a miraculous way, and that I should trust and obey. I probably would have even said something like, "easy for you to say Moses, God spoke to you through a burning bush" (hopefully you see the humor in that......it's a joke).
Over the past week God has placed different scripture in my life and different people who have been reading the same scripture to bring an even deeper idea of following the cloud. In Numbers 9:15 the Israelites are still in the wilderness and following the cloud by day, fire by night that sets over the tabernacle that was built in Exodus. "And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped" Numbers 9:17. Can you imagine what it was like to follow the cloud? To have total dependence and not know where God was going to take you but relying on the promises He had made? To be ready to pick up everything and move in such a short notice. To wonder if today was the day the cloud was going to move and you were going to have to move AGAIN to follow it? To always be ready and watching for the cloud to move. Wondering how long it would stay this time. I think that I find myself in a similar position. I often wonder why we just can't just settle down somewhere. But God continues to teach me that He wants me to have total reliance on him. Not on things I hold onto in this world. That is what He wanted from the Israelites. TOTAL DEPENDENCE.
For most of my life I have lived rather unsettled although all of it was not under God authority. I think God has used this in my life to teach me about letting go of control. You see if I can control a situation then I don't have to fear as much, especially from the unknowns. And when I am fearful I am not trusting in God. I am learning that I don't need to be in control in order to be happy. I just need to trust in God standing on His promises and knowing He knows what is best for my life, and for my kids lives. I just need to stay close to Him through word and prayer and be okay with the unknowns.


Letting Go and Following the Cloud,
Michaela

An Update

We are encouraged by some things that have happened in the last week regarding our move. The latest and exciting news is that we have a new member to add to our team. She really feels led to Karamoja, as we all do, and it is very clear to her she is to go with us. This is a HUGE answer to prayer!

Another exciting thing that happened a couple days ago is that I got an email from an American who is in Kotido. She just wanted to touch base with us and introduce herself to us and to let us know she is praying for us. It was exciting to know we have another person in Kotido that is a follower of Christ and who we can relate to.

On a different note we have had a lot of attack from the enemy which according to scripture is expected. It reminds us though that we must be in the word daily, even hourly and staying very close to Christ.

I would also just like to ask as a courtesy that if you really felt led to be a part of our prayer or financial support team that you would fill out the forms that were sent with the letter (or go to our website and fill out the "how you can help form). We are trying to get things organized and had a lot of response from people to receive a letter and are waiting for responses back. If you would like you can just send it all to us and then we can forward checks to Advance Him if that is easier for you. Also feel free to contact me with questions or concerns, michaela.fulk@gmail.com Thank you.

Michaela

Still Waiting

Well not too much new has happened although we did get pictures of our house in Kotido. It was exciting to see where we are going to be living and to see our yard is big enough for a garden.
The reality of moving there is starting to sink in more and more. Every time I take a shower, flush the toilet, or turn a light on I think about how wonderful these inventions are and how much I will miss them, but they are definitely worth giving up for the sake of spreading the love and good news of Jesus to the Karamojong.
We are still waiting on some things and as my flesh began to get impatient I remembered what God had taught me a couple weeks in my lesson of waiting on Him and not getting impatient like Saul. I remembered how I felt good being in a total dependence on God. So easily my mind had forgotten and my flesh started to creep in. Then God brings me to Jeremiah 17:5-8
Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man
who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord,
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit."

I have meditated over this now for a couple of days and it has been amazing. I don't know about you but I want to be the tree that is planted by the water rather than the dried up shrub. God continually reminds me to trust in Him and HIM ONLY. It becomes easy to trust in other things at different times in my life rather than God. Seems to be pretty easy in America too where I have access to everything at all times, and so I tend to stop trusting God and start trusting man. But the end result in me trusting in man is disappointment. This is what I want to look like in my life now while I wait and especially when I move to the dry and arid land of Karamoja:

"If You Save One Person You Save The World."

Unfortunately I have heard very rude remarks and criticism from people when they see that I have adopted, that I want to keep adopting or that I want to help starving helpless children in another country. Someone close to me said, “Do you really think you can make a difference in Karamoja.” My response: “No, but God can. I just want to be His hands and feet.” I think God will use our family for the Karamoja people but I think more importantly is that I have 5 beautiful kids that I can make a huge difference in their lives everyday. I have lots of feelings about this topic, and I ran across an article in “The Complete Guide to Celebrating the Messiah in the Festivals.” I love this article and it says exactly what I am feeling so I would like to share it with you. It is a little lengthy so I apologize. I encourage you that if you do not have time to read it now, to read it when you have 5-10 minutes:
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Saving One Saves the World
Sometimes we don’t want to help because we think, “What can helping on individual do when there are so many in need? So we end up doing nothing. But a Jewish Proverb states: “If you save one person, you save the world.”
How can that be? This proverb came from the story of the Egyptian princess who saved one baby from death in the Nile. Little did she know that baby would grow up to be Moses, the man God used to save the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, to receive God’s Law, and to make His people into a Nation. In turn, Jesus the Messiah came from that Nation to save all mankind from slavery to sin. So in reality the princess, by saving one person saved the world.
The following story by Ester Normand shows how this proverb can work today.
My husband and I had been married only one year when we flew to Nigeria to teach high school English and bible. We were glad to move in near my parents who were still missionaries after thirty-seven years.
Three months later Alimo (Ah-LEE-moh) came into our lives.. She was a starving, brain injured, physically handicapped six-year-old. She couldn’t stand up or talk. Her mother had kept them both alive by gathering palm nuts in the wild and selling them in the market, but was no longer able to carry Alimo around with her as she worked. Naked and emaciated, Alimo sat all day in the dirt.
My husband and I immediately took Alimo into our home. She was so thin that I did not think she would live through the night. But she did, and with food and affection, grew quickly into a cute, giggly little girl.
We sought help for her. Our goal was to get her to be able to take care of her own basic needs and to communicate in some way. We tried physical therapies such as massage, stretching, and patterning as well as many educational activities. Nothing we did seemed to help.

Meanwhile my husband suffered recurring illnesses: allergies, sinus infections, and frequent long bouts with debilitation malaria, then parasites and hepatitis on top of everything. He became bedridden and after a lengthy illness showed no signs of improvement. We had no choice but to leave the tropics.
We could not get a visa for Alimo. My parents could not take care of her for they were already on medical leave In the States. We had to leave Alimo with a volunteer we had barely met. I tried to block out feelings of anxiety, confusion, and helplessness. I had tried to save one person and could not even do that!
Later that year, my dad passed away, and my mom went back to Nigeria and took in Alimo. Since Alimo’s care and therapy was a full-time joy, Mom decided to admit other children to the program. She soon had six children and as many caretakers in her home.
Meanwhile, because Alimo had drawn public attention to the existence of handicapped children in the area, the local churches established a “special” school just fifteen miles from my mom’s home. And six miles from the school, the Edeh family founded Ministry of Mercy, an orphanage for motherless babies, physically handicapped and brain-injured children.
In Nigeria widows usually become destitute, especially if they have no children to support them. The Edehs hired widows and other disadvantaged people to care for three to ten children each. Thus the children and adults formed family units where both were loved and wanted.
We tried to save just one child, but God had bigger plans in mind. Even though our stay in Nigeria was short and difficult, our love for on child set in motion two groups which are now saving more than six hundred!
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Hope you enjoy that article. Just a reminder of how big our God is.

Waiting, patience, and trusting.

Waiting......ever been there? Probably a stupid question. We have all been there. Seems to be the place I find myself right now; waiting on a lot of things. This can be a place where our faith is tested. God seems to make people wait in the Bible to trust in him. Countless times in Psalms is says "Wait on the Lord." In Exodus God used waiting on Him as a test for the Israelites. They didn't do so well. It seems to be so much against our human nature to trust and wait on God; to have full reliance on him. If you are like me you like to take things into your own hands when things don't seem to be going the way you had planned. This is the case with Saul in Samuel chapter 13. You should go read it but for right now I will paraphrase the story. Chapter 13 takes place after Saul has been appointed king over Israel (the people) because they so badly wanted a king over them rather than letting God be their king. God gives them what they want and Saul is appointed king. Well in chapter 13 the Philistines are getting ready to fight with Israel. The Israelites are intimidated by the size and power of the Philistine army so they begin to flee and hide any place they can. Saul being their leader sees what is going on and knows that Samuel will be there soon to give a sacrifice to God and ask Him for deliverance and victory over the Philistines. When Samuel doesn't show up when he said he would (or when Saul thought he should) Saul takes things into his own hands and decides to make the sacrifice to God himself. BIG MISTAKE!! God had made it clear in the law (Exodus, Deut. and Lev.), that only the priests were suppose to do such a thing. Ironically, Samuel comes right after Saul completes the burnt offering. Samuel of course is very upset and explains to him that his kingdom will not continue because he disobeyed God.
I have to say that I can really identify with Saul. There have been so many times in my life when I was waiting as Saul was and I would start to get fearful about what would happen right now. Rather than waiting on God for his appointed time I felt I needed to take things into my own hands. I have realized that when I don't wait on God then I don't get to experience His power, and provision. I can miss out on seeing God work in wonderful ways.
Why is it so hard to trust in God? Why can't I just rest in His timing and purpose? Guess I am a fearful control freak. The great thing about this all is that God in his grace lets me live to see the next chapter in my life where my faith grows and I can see that I need to trust rather than fear. Where I need to rest in his timing and not what I think should be happening on my time table. Right now I have a peace about the waiting. I am trying to rest in God and not in myself, my emotions, or my circumstances. In God's infinite grace I am realizing that waiting is not such a bad place to be. I really used to always say I hated waiting but this time I am learning that it is a great place to be. Relying on God for everything and trusting in the unseen.
It sure is hard to learn from our mistakes but it can be such a sweet thing how God continues to give us grace as we grow and continue to trust Him in the waiting and walking by faith.