Posts Tagged: Uganda

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9
Mar 10

I hope I can

Over the last few weeks I have really been asking myself if it was reasonable to go to Africa this summer or not. I tried to make it out last summer, but I couldn’t. This summer, I want to go, but I already feel the financial pressure of being able to raise the money to get out there. It would be so much easier for my schedule and wallet to look into other options. I know that there is a lot of work that could be done here to help a lot of organizations out, but my heart is constantly reminding me of smiles on young faces in the places that I have been before. I feel like God has so much for me to do for those children that I feel sad when I cannot be with them, taking care of them, playing soccer with them, comforting them in the storms, or telling them that they are worth more than what the world whispers to them in the darkest nights.

I asked if it was possible to have a backup plan. A harness, a net, a chute. Something to fall back on if I couldn’t make it back. Honestly, I don’t want one. I would love to hope without doubt. I would love for my mind to run free with plans of what I could do with the time that I would have in the land far away. I hope beyond to the impact that it would make. I think further to the type of man I want to be, to what God has for me, to what he has for the world. Does this all play in? Does this moment, this field experience, this research question have an impact? Would I miss something if I were to stay and find something else?

I want to go. I want it to be possible. It might not be reasonable, but it’s something that I can stand in faith for. It’s something to work towards, something to hope for. I don’t even want to ask about what would happen if it doesn’t work out because I don’t want to let myself think that this won’t happen. So I won’t. There is nothing I would rather do than to spend a month in Africa, renewing relationships with orphan care centers, investigating trends, offering myself and the gifts God has given me, and the mission that He has placed in my heart concerning the welfare of these children. What else could I do?

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19
Dec 09

a little video for my church

My church asked me to talk about poverty a little bit to tie into a message  about how much money we spend at Christmas and what we spend our money. He asked us to think about how much we spend on people or how much people spend on us that is wasted because we don’t like the gift or whatever.

The sermon can be found online here : http://www.nsb.org/sermons/a-classic-christmas

Anyway, he asked me to put something together for the service, kind of like a voice from within Northshore (the church i go to). So, I asked Devin to help. We shot it all on a Nikon D300s, 50mm f/1.4 with a RØDE microphone with video lights in front of a huge seamless backdrop.

The song is Needles and Thread by Sleeping at Last.

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2
Nov 08

Videos!

A few years ago, a good friend of mine, Alex Fung and I went to St. Ameria’s for the first time. We were looking for a way to get involved in the community around us in Jinja, Uganda, but what we found changed our lives. We returned many times and helped establish a way for people across the world to be involved in the lives of these children who have been orphaned due to HIV, War, Violence, and the vicious cycle of poverty.
Recently, Alex sent me some of the video footage that he was able to capture on a couple of the visits. Here is a brief history of the orphanage, a personal story from Edith, one of the directors, and a video of the Echo Children’s Choir of St. Ameria’s. It is a song that has brought me to tears.

Next is a new video from the people at These Numbers Have Faces. I helped them out a very little bit about a year ago when I was in South Africa. I was deeply impacted by meeting Ace, Anda, and Michael. The work that These Numbers is doing there is powerful and effective. They are currently sopporting 3 students from the township of Gugulethu to go to school. Check out the video and see what they are up to! Here is their website as well. www.thesenumbers.com

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17
Jun 08

the beauty is in the Hope

“Ask, and I will give the nations to you”

What am I asking for?

I stand among 25 people lifting their voices, their minds, and their hearts – in essence – their lives – to a Perfect Father. Over the last 10 months He has given us the nations, a tremendous blessing and opportunity, but also one that has had it share of struggles. We have witnessed the numerous heartbreaks of humanity; infanticide, famine, the deepest hunger, those on their deathbeds from HIV, the effects of war, the vicious cycles of poverty and disease that claim millions of precious lives each year, and the injustice of the apathetic. All of the traveling was not a joy-ride but one involving real and evident sadness. The situations and circumstances left us changes; scarred forever like a brand on our hearts and minds. So we continue to ask for the nations… along with all of their joys, but also their sorrow.

But, we are not left there because even in immense pain is beauty – we know of it as hope. In John 16 Jesus talks about sadness – that we will have it and that by following Him, we seek it out. When we follow Him into the life – into the nations – into love – We are following Him to the Cross. But as we pursue Him there He gives to us what can never be taken away; a peace that passes understanding and incomparable joy. That is why we are able to laugh hysterically at our living conditions, each other’s crazy experiences, and shake-face pictures (see below). It is also the reason that we are able to stand together wherever we are in the world and, with tears in our eyes and compassion in our hearts, cry out to God; telling Him in our feeble words how great and how good He really is.


“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

He wins.

Blessings through Him… the most beautiful One
John Paul

Please don’t view this as an impression that the beautiful people, places, and moments are rare; they are definitely evident in every society and culture around the world. But pain and suffering are found everywhere as well and it is the reason that we are here, to proclaim Hope to those who may have lost it whether they be in Myanmar, Switzerland, or Denver, Colorado.

Shake-Face – just use the flash… compliments of Anna

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1
Jun 08

From the Desert to the Rainforest

I would like to begin with an update from St. Ameria’s in Uganda. John Bills, a close friend of mine was recently teaching and developing ideas with leaders in Uganda. He has been with me for part of the last year and had visited St. Ameria’s. They have never left his heart either so while he was there he made sure to stop by to see how everything was doing. We had both been working to see what we could do to provide them some much needed funding and encouragement for the well being of the children (starting, as you may remember, with the bunk beds to keep the children off of the floor). Even in the short year that has passed since I left Uganda, through the money that many of you have given, St. Ameria’s has been doing some substantial construction and have also ensured other immediate needs of the children like food, clothing, and medicine are being administered. They have almost completed with the boys dormitory, but need some more money to be able to do it. I am amazed at what God has done for those children in Uganda and honored that he would let me be a part of it. If you would like to get involved, even in flying out to Uganda to help in the construction, please let me know and I would be overjoyed to give you more information.




A team from Germany came to Spain to teach us about photography. We didn’t learn heaps about photography that week, but we had major breakthroughs as a family that the students have become. Amsterdam was a difficult time for most of us, not only as a team, but on individual levels as well. We were disconnected, distraught, and visionless. In a way, we had forgotten why God had called us to do this program in the first place and, in our relation with each other, weren’t walking in love. Spain and the team from Germany provided a sort of intervention, keeping us all in the same room sharing what we were struggling with in relation to the team, ourselves, and with God. It was such a fruitful time that reignited our passion to receive and give the Father’s love freely.

[A mountain that Tim and I climbed overlooking Torremolinos]

[The lower part]


We had a week to travel around Southern Spain and North Africa as well, so the next week Aaron, Anna, and I separated from the rest of the group, who took up their own travels, and headed to Morocco. I don’t know if I have been in a more beautiful nation. Morocco has so much from cold temperature to the searing hot deserts; Atlas mountains to Mediterranean and Atlantic Coastlines. We spent the week traveling all over the country and grew to know and appreciate each other more. We shared frustrating moments and as well as those of sheer beauty and delight. We met some amazing people while traveling and at our temporary destinations. Too much happened to record it all, so be sure to check out (and comment on) Anna’s Blog which contains a daily video diary from the trip. (Anna’s Blog) Hopefully the pictures and captions will give an idea about the trip as well, maybe even better than words can in this instance.

[A hillside in Tanger, Morocco]
[Marrakesh is a city known for its craziness. It has one of the biggest markets in North Africa and competes with Addis Ababa for Africa's largest. Even on the first day, I needed to get away from it, so Scott and I headed into the back alleys away from everything else and found a small group of boys playing soccer. We spent a few minutes with them before heading back to the hostel.]

[Morocco is known for a traditional dish called Tajin. You can find it everywhere along with the spices that are included. There is so much color in Morocco, more than I ever expected.]

[Anna and Aaron on the Atlas mountain pass. Our guide, Housine, asked us to count the number of turns on the way up. We didn't, but he kept asking. When we got to the top, he wouldn't tell us how many until we gave him good guesses, but after we did he revealed that there were only 2; right and left. Clever, Housine... very clever.]

[When we were told that we would be driving through the Atlas Mountains to get to the desert, I wasn't expecting red earth, snow covered peaks, and windblown wheat fields filling the valleys. Anna and Aaron both said that it reminded them of Nepal. It just reminded me of something beautiful since I had never seen anything like it (besides maybe the Alberta Canada coat of arms).]

[Housine says that the Berber people only live in the mountains. Its possible that they came from the Mountains, but they live all over Morocco. They make up about 60% of the population if you are interested in figures. They are a warm people, a point that I will explain in another caption.]

[After driving through some diverse and amazing landscapes and biomes, we arrived at the end of the road, literally. Housine lives in a small desert town called M'Hamed and it is where the pavement ends as far as roads go. We stayed on the edge of the Sahara in Bedouin type tents at a campsite. Unlike many other of the tourist programs, it was just Aaron, Anna and I at the camp with Housine and his friends and family.]



[Housine and his family come from the tribal Tauregs that once traversed the Sahara. They are also known as Nomads or the Blue Men because of their bright blue jalebahs (long shirts). Because of the Nation-States that have invaded the African continent in the lat 200 years, whole tribes have been cut off from each other, especially with countries with closed borders like Algeria, a mere 38 kilometers from the town of M'Hamed. The once itinerant Blue Men are mostly settled down now, but the freedom of wandering is evident in the infrastructure of their towns and the remains of vacated Kasbahs (old towns with refuges) that dot the desert countryside. Who knows how long Housine's family will stay in M'Hamed?]

[After visiting the old M'Hamed Kasbah, we headed via Landrover to the Chicaga Dunes. It is one of the largest dune systems in Morocco and boasts the highest dune of 300 meters (or 990 ft). The desert is one of my favorite ecosystems and for some odd reason, I find refreshment for my spirit there.]

[A few tourists taking a rest on one of the lower dunes. We were surprised that there weren't many tourists and the dunes were relatively untouched, which was amazing for pictures.]

[Anna making the long trek to the top of the highest sand-dune. There is this innate desire to see the highest point around and climb it. We gave in to this aspiration and reached the summit with a few minutes of sunrise left.]

[Aaron and Anna at the top. We hauled Anna's MacBook to the top in order to record one of our daily video journals which can be viewed HERE on Anna's Blog. We watched the sun drop beneath the horizon and praised our Maker for His amazing creation. Soon after, we headed back to the camp and fell asleep early (before the Blue Men were finished with their rhythmic songs) so we could get up for sunrise.]

There were no thoughts of sadness, worry, or disappointment as my feet almost flew down the sand dunes in the Saharan section of Morocco. I was carefree (besides feeling that I might end up toppling end over end down the rest of the dune) experiencing excitement, joy and freedom. There are moments like this in all of our lives, some brief others long-lasting, that force us to forget about our issues no matter how big or small. In reflecting on the seemingly insignificant instance, I realized that many people as they get older don’t take the time or even feel like they can have moments they can let themselves go with childish enthusiasm to experience innocent joy and exuberance. Look for your sand dune.

[Our camp at the Chicaga dunes was surprisingly cozy despite the fine layer of dust that covered everything (including our camera equipment). The sun rewarded our early morning efforts with spectacular views of the dunes and the textures of the sand. After breakfast we piled back in the Landrover and started the long journey back to Marrakesh, 12 hours away.]

[Along the way, we stopped in a Berber village high in the Atlas mountains. We had yet to experience hospitality in the way they showed it to us. We were invited to a terrace overlooking wheat fields and mountain dwellings where we enjoyed mint tea and broken conversations. We were invited to spend a few nights up in the village, but wouldn't have had a way to get back to Marrakesh had we done so. We all want to visit Morocco again and spend much more time in the Atlas with the Berbers.]


[It is extremely difficult to get photos of women, especially in the Muslim world. Equally difficult is getting to know them and their stories. Outside of the craziness of the Marrakesh Medina, we wandered in a small community of craftsman and porters. There were no Westerners walking the streets so it was much easier to relate with the people on a personal level. Anna had been praying that she would be able to get connected with a local woman and possibly even get portraits of her. God presented the opportunity and we spent close to an hour and a half getting to know the Berber family who had come to Marrakesh. We were so blown away by their hospitality and warmth. We would all love to go back and visit them someday as well.]

[Morocco is quite famous for its leather. The largest tannery is located in Fez, but there are also quite a few large tanneries in Marrakesh as well. It is popular for tourists to go and thus popular to be led to specific tanneries by a myriad of different people, including children and inebriated men. We finally made our own way through an open door into a tannery deserted by tourists. We walked around and took some pictures before heading back to our hostel. The man on the bottom is Abdallah Azziz who showed me the whole process of tanning leathers, a process that has become his life-long profession.]

[Some of the Arab influenced architecture in Marrakesh]
[The closest coastal town to Marrakesh is Essaouira (I am still terrible at the pronunciation). Translated, the name means "windy city" and it is very windy. It is also dominated by the tourism industry. There is also a history and tradition of catching fish in the Atlantic, so a generous fishing industry also brings in revenue for the coastal community.]

[A man sits at the gate of the Essaouira medina in the traditional dress of many Moroccans, a hooded jalebah.

[One of the strays that Aaron and Anna (and I) fell in love with]

[Another of Essaouira's medina gates.]

[Aaron standing in front of a colorful backdrop composed of rugs and blankets]

[The medina walls of Essaouira]

We are in Costa Rica and Latin America for the next few weeks finalizing the phase of the track in which we travel around the world. It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 9 months already. Pray for us as we finish here, take a quick break at home, and then meet back in Kona. I will be sure to have another blog update before then.

In His Love,

John Paul Vicory

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30
Mar 08

Ethiopia plus pictures

[A government owned forest on the northern outskirts of Addis]

You may remember about a year ago I posted the first blog on a community of believers in Uganda. It is not a typical community, not a neighborhood or even a church congregation but an orphan care center called St. Ameria. At the time there were about 120 full time orphans; their parents passing from the war in the North of Uganda, HIV/AIDS, malaria, or any number of other factors. All that is left is the memories and statistics on a page. Somehow or other, the children ended up in the care of Richard and Edith, the directors and full time parents of the children at St. Ameria. Edith founded the organization in 1994 when she accepted her first orphan and hasn’t turned away anyone since. When I was introduced to the home last year there were no beds to speak of, dorms and rooms submitting to the harsh rains and intense heat. Soon after the blog was published help was on its way and money started being sent – first for food and beds, then for new building projects. Then, the Not Alone Benefit Tour kicked off and most of the interest generated was geared toward St. Ameria. Thanks to John Bills and others, churches started picking up on the lead, sending teams to Uganda to document and come to the aid of the children. It is hard to say how much money and effort has been given, but I do know that about a week and a half ago, a bank transfer was sent from Los Angeles to Jinja containing over 7500 dollars. When the Benefit Show was coming together an outlet had to be available for people to send money tax-free. With the help of John Bills and Nigel at the base in LA – the African Orphans’ Fund was set up and continues to accept funds for St. Ameria.
Thank you for catching the vision, feeling God’s heart, and allowing yourself to be moved by love, after all, we know that love is a movement – first by God giving His Son, then His love flowing through us to the world and His special creation.


[Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church at a women's rights forum at Meskel Square, Addis Ababa]


[She didn't want her picture taken at first... then she did]

And now, Ethiopia. It was amazing to be back. I did my DTS outreach here over a year ago. This is the first time I have been back, but I am praying that it won’t be the last. A young, passionate, gifted speaker came from Kona with Paul Childers (our school leader). His name is Andy and he rocked our faces off (which is an expression that means that he blessed us tremendously). It is easy to get tired with so much traveling, class, culture shock every month, and to add to all of that, living in community 24 hours a day for months on end. Most of us were drained to say the lease, but then there was Andy. God used him to bring us a proverbial cold glass of water to our souls, refreshing us from the inside out, invigoration us for our relationship with God. It was just what we needed and we are now better equipped for the next four months of the traveling taking us into Kona.


[Construction site watchman]


[Toothbrush (stick) salesman]


[Garlic Saleswoman at Markato, the largest outdoor market in Africa]

Laura Fisher came to speak to us for the next week about African Worldview. There are an almost incalculable amount of people groups in Africa, so it is impossible to come up with an African Worldview, but there are many major characteristics of most of the people groups. Using those, we constructed the main areas of worldview: Reality, Human Nature, Value, and truth. It was an amazing week not only to observe African Worldview, but to examine my own worldview to see what I think and what I hold to be true. The Bible says that we are to be continually transformed by the renewing out our minds (Ephesians 4:23). I think that this means we should be continually examining ourselves and our thought processes and aligning them to God’s Word. The goal is to be a citizen and child of the Kingdom, having a worldview that sets the Word of God as the grid through which we see all.


[Poor homeless woman approached me asking for a picture after church]


[Various grains for sale at Markato]


[The woman, and now friend, who was selling the grain. Her name is Mini]


[A little guy having fun with his brother in a public mini-bus]

With our newly acquired information about how to see the world around us with our eyes open, David Fisher (Laura’s husband) taught about Documentary Photography and assigned us a project for the following week. A previous Family member had com
e to Ethiopia a couple years before and came again to do some follow-up work. I really wanted to go down to the Hamar Tribe where she had worked, but I really felt like God was asking me to stay in Addis Ababa to get a few stories around there that he had laid on my heart. I had met a woman the first time in coming to Ethiopia who was HIV positive, so that was the first story, and the other was about the population of street children in Addis and what ministries existed that provided hope for them. So I started researching (without the internet… tough), getting stories, and attempting photos. As far as photography goes, I had never been more discouraged. I really felt like none of the pictures were what I had envisioned and ultimately, I was disheartened. I questioned whether or not I had heard right; did God really keep me to be frustrated? Looking back on it, I can tell he really just wanted my obedience and humility to follow him first. I turned in what I had, but was completely awed at what the other students had been doing. We have some amazingly talented people searching for what God wants for the world, as well as His heart for it.


[Kebeneshe, the HIV positive woman and good friend, that I did one of the photo stories on]


[Kebeneshe's Mother]


[Kebeneshe at home]


[Kebeneshe displaying her AntiRetroVirals (provided for free by the government)]

Officially, Spring Break started and most of the team left for Europe. Four of us stayed for a few extra days (as long as our visas would allow), so I kept working on the Street Children story. Abdissa, the direction of the Mercy Development Center helped me tremendously. He has the most passionate heart for street children that I have ever seen. His ministry was a beneficiary of the money that came in during the Not Alone Benefit Tour last summer, but even then, I didn’t really understand the tip of the iceberg of everything he does in the community. I had thought that his only (but massive) undertaking was the orphanage he runs (and lives). It is a center for children who have been taken right off of the streets. The home is actually a last resort for full orphans who have no family or guardians. When I left last year there were 18 at the home and now there are 25. These children are provided for in every way; food clothing, shelter, school fees, uniforms, and whatever else they may need. Abdissa treats them as he would his own children although he is only 28.to watch the interaction and love between them is amazing to behold.

There is also a huge community based support system as well. There are 16 families all over Addis. The children were full or half orphans who were either on the street or at risk of living on the streets out of poverty. Many have lived parts of their young lives on the streets but have now been reconciled to their guardians.


[Standing with Genet in her one bedroom home (meaning space for one bed with a little extra space) in which she lives taking care of 4 children]


[Genet making Ingera, a traditional Ethiopian bread]


[Hanna, the youngest and most recent addition to the YMD Center Orphanage]


[Daniels parents died of AIDS and so did his youngest brother. Now he takes care of his brother and 2 sisters by himself with the help of Abdissa and the YMD Center]


[At 28, Abdissa has a heart for the poorest of children in Addis Ababa, sacrificing his life for theirs]


[Solomon, a country-side boy who now lives on the streets]


[Another Solomon. Crazy how the Solomon of the Bible is said to have had splendor beyond all others. This Solomon doesn't know where his next meal is coming from. I met him last year at Hope Enterprise and randomly met him again this visit. Praise God]


[A couple of young homeless men sleep in their shanty tent outside of an Orthodox Church downtown Addis Ababa]


[A Street Child in front of the Cuba
n Friendship Memorial on Churchill Road, Downtown Addis Ababa]

Anyway, there are plenty of other details, but I want to tell you about my last day working on the story. Abdissa and I got a taxi and headed to the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Addis. It is the nicest hotel that I have seen in Africa and probably one of the nicest I have ever seen. Immediately across the street of the Icon of Luxury is the poorest section of the city, Arogokera. We ventured into the thin, windy streets complete with creeks of refuse. We arrived at the home of Amabet, a former street girl who had been raped while she was homeless. Her son Yonathan, now a month and a half old, her, and her other 2 children live in a room that is 5 feet by 4 feet; the only place they can call home. It isn’t much, but it’s all they have. 3 other girls with children live in the same city in similar rooms as well. Their rent is paid for by the YMD Center and they are now living with hope that their children won’t have to live in the same situation they did. There is even an elderly lady in the community called ‘Mama” who looks after them and provides a safe place and gives them her strong Godly advice and direction. It was amazing to behold the dynamics of the group, not to mention I took pictures that I really like the whole day that I want to put into a more formal presentation/publication. I am encouraged continually with how God has used me to bring a change to a handful of children at St. Ameria and I am anxiously hoping that He will use me to bring change to the over 200,000 street children wandering the streets of Addis Ababa losing hope that there is anyone out there to care about them.


[Amabet and her son Yonathan in the doorway of their "house" in Arogokera, Addis Ababa]

So. Spring Break is now underway. We will resume back to classes on April 6th in Amsterdam. As for me, I am in Cairo for the break and will then travel to Amsterdam starting on the third. Pray for safe travels for everyone this week and that we find rest and refreshment from the Lord.

Pray for the children in Addis Ababa tonight; that the hope of Christ will infiltrate their minds and hearts.

In Him

John Paul

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1
Jun 07

The Chapter is Over… The Next is Beginning!


[Flyer for the Denver Show!!!]

It has been two+ weeks since the last blog update, and less than a week since I have been home. I wanted to be sure that told everyone about the conference the last week in Uganda and some of my experience in being back home in the Western World.

A quick update from St. America’s before I continue. Someone, who will remain anonymous, has agreed to pay 1500 US Dollars for the children at the orphanage to get bunk beds! This is such an answer to prayer because previously they had all been sleeping on thin straw mats on the floor, practically and literally on top of each other. God is so good, and it is such an honor to be a part of it! Mark visited one last time before he came back to the states and discovered that they had named the three houses after him (Mark Weaver), Alex, and I. My eyes welled up with tears after I heard the news.
Their international account is also set up, which is a huge blessing from God. We are using a YWAM account set up by John Bills to enable people to get tax-deductable receipts. If you want to donate, make checks payable to YWAM (or Youth with a Mission) and don’t make any indications of St. Amerias on the check. Put a note that says, “African Orphans Fund, St. Ameria’s Orphanage” on it, and send the envelope to
YWAM Los Angeles
11141 Osborne Street
Lake View Terrave, CA 91342

The conference was powerful to say the least. Some of the days were spent without power, some were spent without water, but the fellowship evident among the attendees was powerful. Even people with no background in HIV/AIDS work came to the conference to get a better understanding. They left with so much more; a deep understanding of the daunting task, and even a deeper appreciation for those who have been involved with this fight for so long.

One of the most powerful sessions was the day the First Lady of Uganda spoke, although it wasn’t her speech that was so necessarily powerful. After all the Ugandan dignitaries and officers had gone, we were left without power yet again, but this time was different. It was a Wednesday night and on the schedule was a memorial for those who had lost their lives to HIV related illness that had been a part of YWAM. Attendees were asked to bring a ribbon, a foot in length, to the conference for this memorial service. We tied the ribbons together to get an idea of how HIV was affecting the YWAM community. This helped all of us realize the importance of HIV/AIDS work in all of the world. Staring at the countless strands of ribbon, many couldn’t handle the emotions of remembering those that they had lost. Some had been small babies and children, some had been friends and mentors of many years. I am not sure there was a dry eye in the entire place. We are all affected.


The week finished off great! Everyone I talked to said that it was one of the best conferences that they had been to despite the power and water outages. It wasn’t anything that the preparation team did though, it was all about God bringing together people who have a passion for the same thing, seeing Gods heart in this world. It was encouraging for them to be there and see that they really aren’t alone in this fight. Please don’t let this blog be the end of your experience with HIV/AIDS. Take measures to educate yourself and those around you to what is going on in the world. Investigate different areas where you can be personally involved in this mission that is so close to God’s heart.

As for me? This may be the last blog update for a while. It has been a great journey is sharing my thoughts and experiences with you, and a great blessing to receive the encouragement and prayers that we did from you.
I am already over my head in work trying to set up these Benefit Photography Galleries across the States. Please continue to pray that I will get everything done that is on my heart and that God will provide for the overwhelming expense that it is going to be. I really know that God wants to do a lot for these different ministries that will benefit. If you would like to be involved in anyway, please let me know!
The set-up for the benefit has changed slightly. Instead of dealing with percentages of donations and all of that, there will be different tables set up highlighting the different ministries. People will be able to write checks and give cash to the ministries of their choice. My images will be available to be purchased and donations will be accepted for me and the needs of the Tour as well.
The benefit tour will be called “Not Alone” and will be in the following cities on the following dates.

Denver, Colorado: July 12th
Chicago, Illinois: July 19th and 20th (20th Lord Willing!)
Toronto, Ontario Canada: July 21st
Ellensburg, Washington: July 31st
Seattle Washington: August 3rd
Santa Barbara, California: August 22nd and 25th
Visalia, California: September 1st

There are also bookmarks with one of my pictures available from Halfway There Water Project. Click on the bookmark to go to the site where they are all available!

Go to the Bookmark Section

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Okay, so that is it from me, at least for now. I would just like to encourage you all to look into the issues that are going on all over the world. There is more to life than meets the eye, especially in the Western World. It is part of our responsibility to take action, changing our world even if it means one person at a time. This can mean supporting someone who is in missions, getting involved in community based ministry, or getting out there into the world yourself! I guarantee that you will find unparalleled fulfillment in it.

Please continue to pray for me and for the rest of the team as they readjust to the places that they left 9 months ago. Its not as easy as it seems for us. The difference between these two worlds is staggering. Continue to provide feedback as well; I would love to hear your thoughts!


Take care, and God Bless
A servant of Christ,
John Paul

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6
May 07

May 6th, Uganda… Take a Minute

5-6-07

With only a few weeks left until the conference, we are in need of much prayer. It’s crunch time and there is so much to do here. Another person has left the team. Gina left Wednesday to spend some time at home. We will miss her, but now are even more focused than ever. We are down to a solid crew who are very hard-working. The Frontier Missions group from Tonga have also been such a vital part of our team. The common room is in its final stages of remodeling and the grounds are looking good. There is even a ping-pong table (a board with a net) in the common room now which “Pila Ping-Pong” is usually dominating.

Jessie’s parents arrived in Uganda this week to spend some time with us. Her Aunt, Kim, who was also staff on our DTS came as well. It was so good to see Kim again and to meet a part of Jessie’s family. They didn’t come empty handed either. They gave us some much needed relief in the form of food and games. They also brought some much needed tools that will benefit the conference preparations greatly. It will also be a big blessing for the base after we leave too. They have been such a blessing to me and the whole team. Jessie’s father, Robin, is a pastor (and a member of the SWAT team) in the city where Jessie is from. His church surprised him by sending him and his wife all the way out here to be a blessing to us. Not only did they buy the plane tickets, but they provided all the money for the tools, food, and even electric/gas powered grass-cutters. It will reduce our slashing time and effort to a great extent.

[I will include a picture of Jessie's parents and Kim in next week's update]

Personally, it hasn’t been the greatest week for me. I have spent a lot of time looking at past journals to see where I have come from. That is the whole purpose of journaling, but I didn’t realize what the effect was. When we look at where we have come, we are left guessing where we are going. I had some choices to make inside myself of who I am and who I am becoming. I feel like I have been called to be a missionary; which is great, but it comes with some consequences. A few examples: time with my family and friends, financial burdens, potential health hazards, and bodily harm; even death. Am I willing to evaluate the risk and follow what I believe that I am supposed to do? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this type of life is the way that all Christians are supposed to live. Not that everyone is supposed to be a missionary in foreign countries, but we are all supposed to be missionaries in our world. The cost of discipleship is not a topic that is covered in many churches, but it is one that should be looked at regardless. Being a Christian shouldn’t be easy; we are called to give out entire lives to Christ. Its not like we are just inviting him in to be a friend, we are inviting him to be in control of our lives, it is the basics of salvation. Making Jesus Lord comes with all the costs that I mentioned before and even more. I know that it should be an easy decision, but to be honest, it’s not that easy. When I have the choice of saying yes and giving all of those things up or living a comfortable life with a comfortable job, not having to worry about my very life, I get caught up thinking, “what if?” But then I try to get eternal perspective, but my mind is too weak to comprehend eternity. It all comes down to faith. Faith that if I do the right thing now and surrender my life to Christ, then there is hope for the brightest future imaginable – Eternal Life.

I had a huge wake-up call and example this week. I was forwarded an email by my uncle about persecution in the modern world. The article was from Resurrection (Easter) Sunday and highlighted the death of 3 Christians in Turkey (Smyrna specifically, the first place where believers were called “Christians”). These men were not only killed, they were tortured gruesomely because they were Christians. I will not go into details here, but knowing them made me picture them in my mind to this day. Not only did I picture them, but I tried to put myself in the position of those being tortured. Am I willing to take my faith to that level? Am I willing to go through what those men went through because of a belief? I can only hope that I would be able to. I can only pray that God would draw me so close to him; that it wouldn’t even have to be a decision. That I would be so Kingdom obsessed, that I would go to the places where the light of Christ is needed the most no matter what could happen. That I would be obedient even in the face of death… or worse… torture. [Email me if you would like a copy of the article]


One Thursday we also had a day of prayer and fasting for YWAM as a whole, but focused on the “Hot-Spots” where there is persecution going on, or where the Good News is being rejected. There is a list of countries that I could provide for you who are interested, please let me know. Some of the big ones are Brazil, Iran (the Middle East in general), and many African countries. We learned that last week in Sudan a DTS outreach team from Egypt was fired upon while driving out of a church compound. 3 people were killed (local Sudanese) and a few of the students were injured. The driver had the wit to keep driving out of danger and to a hospital. A couple of years ago, 9 people were killed in Nigeria in a bus accident. A base in Tanzania keeps promoting base leaders who die soon after they are established. Some YWAM staff in India have been suddenly getting sick and dying within minutes with no cause. There are events like this happening all over the world, but many more in these “hot-spot” areas. Please pray for determination for missionaries everywhere, and that we would not have a spirit of fear in any situation.



[map from Release International click the map to find more info!]

The base also experienced power surges that took out some computers the internet, and my external hard drive with all of my pictures from Ethiopia and many from Uganda as well. I am praying that it only took out the power supply and that all of the information is safe on the drive itself. I thank God that my computer is still safe. But it has made my job a lot more difficult seeing as most of the work I do is over the internet. I guess until the problem is fixed, I will be making many more trips into Jinja town to use the internet. Hopefully by midweek, the internet will be fixed and we will have a better idea of how many office computers we do and do not have. Pray for patience; that all of us will keep a level head and Christ-like attitude when things aren’t working out.

Tara,
Alex, and I visited St. America’s again yesterday. It was to visit the children, but also to tell the headmasters of the orphanage that international transfers aren’t available with the type of account that they have. It was bad news to deliver, but I know that the Lord works everything out to those who love him. I trust him, but will continue to pray that the door will be open to get the home some much needed help. They are so grateful for prayers and the love that we have shown them, but we can only explain that it’s nothing we can do, but Christ through us. We are grateful for the opportunity to share our lives and what time we have with them.

We haven’t really had any team building experiences with our new, larger team yet since things have been so busy. Last night (Saturday), we decided to have a feast with meat! The Tongans have cooking pigs down to an art, so they displayed their workmanship by roasting a pig while others made potato salad, cooked Talapia (a native fish from Lake Victoria), sweet potatoes, cassava (an edible root), and curried meat topped off with ice cream and fruit salad. I am sure that we have never eaten better on base. It was so good and the fellowship was even better. Jessie’s parents brought a few baseball gloves so a few of us played catch, while others sat around the roasting pig and talked. At the end of the night, everyone was satisfied, what a blessing. A few of us non-Tongans also tried some parts from the pig that we had never had before like the tongue, ear, nose, brain, and Tara and I partook of the eye ball as well.

I guess that brings this blog to a close. Please continue to pray for us out here and be sure to let me know if we can pray for any of you about anything. We know from experience the power of prayer. If you want to discuss anything, please let me know, I am more than willing to engage in a conversation, even if it is over text. If I don’t get back to you right away, I will eventually.

As far as the benefit art gallery goes, I have conformation for a venue in Visalia, California. If you have any information or know any venues where I could hold the show and you live in Chicago, Seattle, Denver, Las Vegas, or Santa Barbara/Los Angeles I could definitely benefit from it. If you want any more information on the benefit art show, please contact me.

Thanks for reading and may God richly bless you!

A servant of Christ,

John Paul

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22
Apr 07

Goodbye Rob and a Home Gets Some Help

Greetings from the Hopeland Base in Jinja. It has been a bittersweet week for us here in Uganda. Another one of our team members has left for home this morning. Rob decided that it was time for him to go home a couple of weeks ago, so he prayed about it and felt that the Lord gave him the O.K. to do so. He left for Canada this morning, so pray for traveling mercies on the long series of flights necessary.

Rob was one of my closest friends throughout the entirety of my YWAM journey thus far. The Lord has blessed me so much through him physically and spiritually. We will be dearly missed by all of the team members and especially by me. Rob, I will miss you, bud… See you this summer Lord willing!

There was another tragedy in the United States this week that I am sure all of you are aware of. The deadliest shooting spree in US history occurred at Virginia Tech on Monday. It comes almost 8 years to date from the Columbine Shootings in Englewood, Colorado. Tragedy is a constant reminder to me of the state of our humanness. I am from Colorado and remember the day of the shootings at Columbine. I know how devastating that these actions can be to communities and to my country as a whole. Every 20th of April, I remember the shootings by listening to the “Lullaby for Columbine” album and take time to pray for our country and especially our youth. The song that impacts me the most is one called “Friend of Mine” written by Jonathan and Stephen Cohen, two students of Columbine… These are lyrics that all of us should keep in mind. Please take time to pray for all for all of the victims and their families of both Virginia Tech and Columbine. Pray also that we will act in Love toward all people.

“Turn our pain, to your gain,
Keep our hearts, on the mark
Comfort us, with your love, love again.

Christ of grace, Oh turn this place to
Look to you, honor you,
Fix you in our view”

On a lighter note, there is a definite praise report this week. The Lord has spoken to someone back home through this blog. I got word early last week that St. America’s Home [refer to previous blog entries] will be getting a monthly supporter! The donors will remain unnamed, but most of the technical information was handled today on a journey to the orphanage. This will be the home’s first monthly supporter since it was started in 1994. It is such an answer to prayer. They were so excited to hear the great news! I am so thrilled that they will be getting the support because I have seen the tremendous need that they face. I am also honored that the Lord would use this humble blog to accomplish his will!

I will also be supporting St. Ameria’s Orphanage with some of the funds that will be raised during the benefit art shows later this summer. If you would like to help out as well with any of the ministries that I have highlighted in this blog or the Team Ethiopia blog, please let me know.

It was so nice to see the children again today. Tara came with me and it was her first time to St. Ameria’s. The children sang again today, but instead of singing of how AIDS killed their parents, they sang of the hope that is found through Jesus Christ. The headmaster/choir director was also there today (he had been at a conference in Kampala the previous visitations). He was telling us of how the children use songs and dances to the Lord to comfort them when they are in pain. I felt such hope today, more so than the other times I had visited. It was such a blessing to be there.

The Vocational Training School (VTS) put on a coffee night for the base on Friday night. There was food, great coffee, and wonderful entertainment. A group from Tonga are here on outreach for a Frontier Missions School and have been helping out with the VTS. Another couple of staff in the VTS are getting married soon as well, so much is happening in that arena. The Tongans did a number of traditional dances for us, so here are a couple of the pictures from that night. They were also able to raise some money for the school as well!

Plans for the benefit photography shows are also coming together as well. As is stands right now, the cities are as follow (in order): Denver, Chicago, Ellensburg, Seattle, Santa Barbara, and Las Vegas. Please pray for the dates and places to be solidified. The ministries that will benefit from the shows will be: Bereket Orphanage (Ethiopia), YWAM Mercy Development (Ethiopia), Hope Enterprises (Ethiopia), and St. Ameria’s Orphanage (Uganda). To learn more about
each one of these ministries, please refer to past blog entries both in this blog, and the Team Ethiopia blog (http://ethiopiadts06.blogspot.com). If you want further information, please contact me and we will work something out.

A portion of the benefit will also go for my student tuition for another YWAM program called PhotogenX “round the world” tour. I think I have posted information about it before, but will go into a little bit more detail now. It is a program that starts at the end of September 2007 and ends at the beginning of April 2009. As the name suggests, it involved photography and going around the world. For the first 12 months or so, we will be traveling the world starting in India then proceeding to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Chad, Southern Africa, Germany, Venezuela, and then back to Kona. In Kona we will be taking some more classes in photography and then going back out into the world for outreach. During the course of the school, we will be focusing on child trafficking and the sex trade. Part of the course will be taking the short version of the School of Biblical Studies as well. The final product of the course will be an Associates degree in photography, a portfolio from across the globe, a published book of all of our work, and a wide range of experience. More than what is seen, what I wish to make a difference in the world that was entrusted to us. I hope to fight some of the injustices that plague humanity as a global community. For more information, check the resources available on the internet. [PhotogenX]

Thank you so much for reading yet another blog and for the encouragement that I get from hearing your comments. I have mentioned this before, but to all who get the link to this site from the email I send out, I don’t just add everyone in my address book to the list, but because I want to. I don’t necessarily want this to be a one way mode of communication, but more of a two way mode. Please leave comments and questions you would like me to address and I will do my best to get back to you. And, if you just want to drop by and say hi, or have a prayer request, please feel free to email me and I will reply as quickly as I can. Thank you again.

Please continue to pray for all of us out here in Uganda. The struggle against HIV and AIDS is an uphill battle; we are behind in the fight and are still losing ground on a wide scale. We hope that with this conference we can stage an offensive and finally make some of it up.

In Christ Alone

John Paul

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15
Apr 07

The Week of the Slash –or- Spared in Kenya

This week has been extremely busy. We have all began to realize how much work needs to be done here at Hopeland. Since there is so much work, we decided on Monday that we would slash twice a day for the remainder of the week. Slashing is not necessarily an easy task, so the week has been pretty tiring. Most of us have blistered fingers, sore hands, and weary arms, but we did get a lot of grass cutting done. I would have taken more pictures, but either I was slashing or too exhausted to get the camera. We still had all of our other responsibilities to take care of as well, so the week was full of work. In some ways it was hard, but I really feel like we accomplished quite a bit. A few of us have become rather experienced at slashing from the whole thing as well and Tara, Alex, and I all have our own slashers.

We had a team member join us this week and we are all pretty excited about it. She is Sarah, a Nigerian girl who was doing here SBS (School of Biblical Studies) in Arusha, Tanzania. While Alex and Ruth were on outreach, they met up with Sarah and became quite close with her. Another girl named Sarah came with her, but she left this morning to begin the long trip back home to Washington State.

[Sarah (WA), Sarah (Nigeria), and Ruth... photo compliments of Ruth]

The story of how they got here is very extreme, but God’s glory and protection can be seen through the whole thing. So they left on Wednesday night (the 11th) to get here. They ran into some visa problems getting into Tanzania, but eventually were let through on transit visas. Not long after they had passed the border, they came to a road block. One man boarded and went to the back of the bus. Then other armed men came aboard and emptied the first 4 or 5 rows of people and took them outside (including women and children). Then they proceeded to command all the money from all of the passengers. Sarah (from Washington) was one of two white people on the bus, but she quickly covered her head with a blanket so she wouldn’t be targeted. An elderly German man was sitting two rows in front of the Sarahs and was not complying with the robbers orders. The men holding up the bus walked out and their commander walked in and shot the German man twice, one in the arm and one in the chest. While he was bleeding everywhere, the men continued to shake down the bus for money and valuables. The German was still being defiant and saying things like, “look what you have done to me”, and “why are you doing this?” The Sarahs were able to hang on to their passports and a little bit of money as well. The men ended up leaving (without raping anyone, thank God) and soon the Sarahs were headed back to the Kenya/Tanzania border. They stayed there for a while answering questions. The German had been cleaned up and the bullets had gone all the way through, so he was going to be okay as well. They were there for a couple of hours and then escorted for a couple hours into Kenya. It wasn’t a restful night because there were many other roadblocks that night as well, but thankfully they were all police roadblocks. We finally saw them late Thursday night and they were thankful to be safe. God’s protection had been with them the whole time. We are so glad that they are safe as well. It’s so good that they are here, Sarah already adds a lot to the team by here presence.

Alex and I had originally planned on going to Tanzania and Kenya to speak to YWAM base leaders about the conference and to visit some of the Masai villages in Tanzania around Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro. We knew that Sarah would be joining us as well, so we were going to bring her back here to Hopeland, Jinja. Because of some frustrating visa problems in Uganda, we were unable to go. First we were upset, but now that we know the scenario of what we would have come back through that night, we have quite a different perspective. Sometimes we don’t understand why we go through certain obstacles, but God knows and he cares… If we only knew everything that he spared us from… reminds me of 4 flat tires coming back from Bahir Dar in Ethiopia (read the blog here). We are thankful for his grace in sparing Alex and I from that situation. Who knows what would have happened. Needless to say, Alex and I won’t be going to Kenya anymore.

Another scary incident happened to me yesterday (Saturday) in Jinja. We were there getting some cash from the ATM and getting an actual breakfast from a café. On our way back to the special hire taxi, we stopped at a supermarket to get a couple snacks. I stayed outside and was watching a group of Ugandan people gathered in an intersection. I watched for a few minutes and proceeded to ask someone that had come from the scene what was going on. He told me that they were confronting a thief. I stayed on the opposite corner for a while when, all of the sudden, one of the accused took off running down the street toward me. He jolted past me evading many Ugandan men trying to tackle him. He ran out of sight, but was back about 5 minutes later in the custody of the angry mob. The crowd gathered around again when all of the sudden, a sedan screeched to the middle of the intersection and the man was forced inside. 2 other people were in custody in the back as well and the car was off in a hurry. I was taking pictures of the man being arrested, and after the attention was off what was going on in the street, a few of the bicycle taxi drivers directed their attention onto me. Alex and Jonathan were still in the supermarket so I was all alone. One of the taxi drivers proceeded to threaten my life by mock slitting his throat then pointing at me. Others did the same, so I hurried back to the supermarket to hide out. I was tense, paranoid, and anxious for the rest of the day…

[The scene on Saturday afternoon in Jinja]

Our team hosted a base-wide fun-night on Friday, and we had a great time. Some of the games included musical chairs; limbo;
a form of rock/paper/scissors involving men, women, and gorillas; and jumping through hoops. It was a really fun night, the only casualties were a few chairs and Pila’s (one of the Tongans) shoulder being dislocated… He was fine and came back to play some more games. Everyone had a blast and it brought the base together to be more unified, which is always good in the body of Christ.

[Ruth and Gina displaying some of their limbo talents at fun-night]

There was also a sad event that happened on the base this week. It started out great because one of the base cats had kittens on Wednesday. Many of the girls would visit them everyday and marvel at their cuteness. During fun-night on campus, many of the people were getting bitten by soldier ants on their way to the DTS classroom where the fun-night was held. The next day, Saturday, there were so many soldier ants everywhere. The base cat was also walking around meowing at everything that moved and looking for affection with everyone she came across. Rob finally discovered that an entire colony of soldier ants had found her new litter and had eaten them alive. The four kittens were covered by ants, all of them dead. They kittens hadn’t even opened their eyes yet. It was a gruesome sight to behold. I took pictures, but I will not post them here due to the unnecessary graphic nature. I wouldn’t have thought that ants could do such things, but I guess huge colonies can come through small communities and clear them out, taking down cattle and even babies if they are left behind.

[Poor Mother Cat]

That’s about it for this weekend. Please continue praying for the team and for this conference. We are beginning to feel that the world, even the YWAM Christian world is not ready to take on God’s heart for HIV/AIDS. We believe that we should be overwhelmed with people trying to sign up and get here for this conference. I guess it’s a good indicator of the spirit of the fight against AIDS.

I am also starting to promote a ministry called Halfway There Water Project based out of San Diego in the US. The ministry is raising money for drilling projects in Africa to provide clean, drinkable water to areas who have none. If you would like to support this ministry, please click on the link to the right of the page. Their website contains some staggering statistics and information about the water situation in most of Africa.

Please also be praying about the support tour that is taking shape for the summer. God Bless.

In Christ Alone,
John Paul

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