Pictures

We are down south getting supplies, getting dental work done, renewing visas, and waiting for Cody's family to come in, so I thought I would share some pictures while I can. Enjoy.



Joshua cutting onions. He tried to use goggles to prevent his eyes from watering. Didn't work so here was the second attempt........


It also failed. The next time he tried both together.




Samuel holding a sunflower from our garden. One of the only things we were able to harvest, due to the soil condition in our yard, and not enough shade :( There is always next year!


And you thought roads in America were bad. Now you see why we need a good vehicle. And to think this is not that bad! We did make it around those 2 trucks that were stuck.


Malachi and Eliana


Janaya and Rikot Williams


Carter and Slash. We finally were able to find him a tortoise for his birthday and he was so excited. The sad news is that he is now MIA after Carter played with him outside and accidentally left him there. Those tortoises are faster than they look, just ask the rabbit.


Joshua and Janaya teaching Lokong and Lopiye (Lucia's sons) how to write.

Eliana is almost 5 months if you can believe it!!

To See a Rose Among so Many Thorns

Tomorrow Akiar celebrates his 2 month birthday!



I make and nonchalantly distribute 9 bottles a day between the 2 babies staying with us, but for some reason this time I stop to "smell the roses". Something I don't always find myself doing because I feel at times I am surrounded by thorns. I have seen the thorns of babies dying in my arms; with that I stop to look at baby Akiar, and realize he is a rose.

Akiar is the baby that came from a large village about 7 miles from Kotido. His mother died giving birth to him and his family didn't give much hope for him, in fact they didn't even name him, expecting he would die. Another local NGO had given some supplies to help care for him, but his family had a lack of knowledge in caring for him. Here in Karamoja newborn babies don't survive without their mothers. He was a robust 10.5 pounds when he was born but after 2 weeks was down to a dwindling 6 pounds. They didn't know you should feed him more than twice a day.

His older sister and him came to stay with us when he was 2 weeks, and we are teaching and helping her to take care of him. It has been a rough road for little Akiar. After getting food and doing better, he had a severe case of pneumonia and then malaria. For a while it seems he was sick all the time, even suffering from different rashes. Not to mention his body was having a hard time on the formula.

His grandmother happened to come visit when he was very sick with pneumonia and again she gave up on him surviving. She ended up having to stay with us as she fell very ill while visiting for the day. We took her to get malaria tested and not only did she have malaria but also brucellosis. We were able to get her an IV and treatment from our house making it easier to care for her. Her staying for 2 weeks gave us the chance to share the gospel, and more of our love. Now when she comes to visit she smiles and has a hope for his survival. His uncles, and other family come to visit, now knowing he will survive.

As I stop to look at this beautiful rose God has planted, I am overcome with joy at the opportunity to get to see him thriving. Another rose pops in my mind-The opportunity to share the word of God with his sister and his family. For her to see Jesus's love in action.

Misty did a good job of naming him "Life" in Karamajong. Thank you Jesus for giving him life!
God has brought him through so much and he is now thriving instead of barely surviving.

The roses are there, you just have to stop long enough to look for them. You may even sometimes have to pick through the thorn bushes to find one.


Akiar's father coming to visit.

Hear from the Kids

I thought it might be fun to involve the kids in my blog so I had them answer the question, "What is your favorite thing about living in Uganda?"




Malachi-
"Church"







Carter-
"Swimming in Jinja first and then sliding rock second. Well maybe Red Chili first and swimming in Jinja second, then sliding rock 3rd."







Samuel-
"The thing I like about Uganda the most has always been my friends. My friend's names are Ezra, Zion, Izzy, Rikot, Veah, Selah, and Donian and there are more. They are really nice to me, they play with me. Most of the time, Ezra and Donian play football with me.







Janaya-
"The thing I like most about living in Uganda is a rock called slide rock. We sometimes go there to play with our friends."







Joshua-
"The thing I like most about Uganda is when I make friends and play football (soccer) with them. The other thing is when we go to football and play and then after that my dad tells them about Jesus. The other important thing I like about living here is helping people who are in need.

Lucia had her Baby!

Monday afternoon Lucia started to go into labor. She walked to the local clinic where they sent her back home to collect some things. We were on our way home from Jinja so were not able to help. She ended up delivering the baby on the road near the police bariks. A gentlemen assisted her and cut the umbilical cord for her. The baby was almost 7 lbs, so praise the Lord for that! She named the baby Michaela.
We have had some difficulties with Lucia since then. She didn't want to nurse the baby and was drunk for 24 hours (before we made it home). I was having to monitor her quite closely once we arrived home and made her nurse the baby since she had not done so yet. She is being rebellious about several things and it is beginning to show that she is having desires to go back to her old lifestyle. Please pray for her. Pray that her faith would take root, and that she could resist the temptation to follow her desires, but rather follow the desires of God. Pray that she would continue to want to be a good mother and would give love to her new daughter and her other children.

The Village Amoung Us

Cody and I have been working on updating our website. It is not yet complete, but there is a page that we made titled "The Village Among Us" This page has more information about who is staying with us. Lucia the elder lady living with us has been very welcoming to the newest babies and said she would be happy to help with making them feel welcome. She also stated that she has felt things in her heart that she has never felt before. It is really exciting to begin to see the change in her life and heart.

Our website is www.FollowJesusToUganda.com. On the left you will see all the links. Click on "Our Village."

UPdate

I have been updating you all on what is going on here at the village in our yard. So here is what has been happening this week:

Loma and Achen continually get better. The chemical burn from the glucose IV is healing, but it will take a couple more weeks, since it is a burn. They are gaining weight and Loma is able to sit up on his own like his sister. I almost cried the first time I saw him sitting. A lot of smiles around here including theirs!

This is Loma. Not the best picture because he just finished crying. He doesn't like when we have to bandage his head, or when we take the old one off :(.

Nagwe is back from the hospital (2 hours away). They diagnosed her with Tuberculosis and she is getting treatment. She has begun learning how to make glass bead necklaces, and has told us several times she really enjoys making the necklaces.

Winnie, the woman who works for us has not been feeling well. She was having some severe pain and had very high blood pressure. We were concerned there was something the clinical officers couldn't see with the limitations in medical equipment. We took her to the hospital that Nagwe went to. They did lots of testing to find out she has an infection somewhere in her body. We are hoping to take her to Kampala with us when we renew our visas in September to do further investigation to the root of the problem.

Lucia still hasn't had her baby, but I am guessing any day now she will go into labor. In the meantime she has done really well with making glass bead necklaces, and she is now able to buy her own food, and to not rely on us. We are trying to teach her how to save money so that she can send her children to school. Her character continues to transform and we are very grateful for the progress she has made while being here.


We are all doing well. Eliana is growing like crazy and starting to grab for things. They are all looking forward to the arrival of Cody's parents and Aunt Keli in September. Malachi asks many times throughout the week when they are coming because unlike the other kids he doesn't understand how far away September is. We will be traveling next week to take Nikki and Kristen back. I have enjoyed them being here so much and I have realized how much we need more laborers. If any of you are interested in coming here to serve in different ways please contact me by email michaela.fulk@gmail.com. We have lots of different projects and such that we need help with. Please be praying for more laborers, and pass the word around if you know of people who would love to serve with us here in Karamoja.

Lucia's daughter holding Eliana.

What's Been Happening

I figured it would be good to give you all an update on what has been going on around here. I know a lot of you have been praying, and for that we are very grateful!!



The twins, Loma and Achen are doing much better. Loma is improving each day and I took him to the clinic today and he has gained about 2 pounds. I was excited but also realize he has a long way to go. I have been trying to feed him as much as he can eat and his appetite is still not up to his sister's, but I know it will get there. His lungs are better but he still has to continue his medicine in hopes that they will be completely clear of any wheezing. He has a sore on his head from the IV treatment, but it is beginning to improve too.




This picture is of Maria Nagwe which is Nakolong's mom. This picture is very special to me. If you are not familiar with the story of Naklong you can look in my archives. Nakolong was a baby we took in to help but she died because she had Trisomy 18. Nagwe has seen several clinical officers here and has been diagnosed with many things but none of the treatment has shown any improvement. We have been trying to get to the bottom of her problems and thought it best for her to go to the local hospital, which is 2 hours away, so we sent her on a bus. She left on Friday and we eagerly await her arrival to see what they found out. It has been such a blessing having her around, and getting to know her better.

Lucia is going to have her baby any day now, so keep her in your prayers. Thanks to you all!
Michaela