Dear All,

I am doing ok here in Jersey.  Compared to the folks who have been devastated by the storm, I have no complaints !  This is a different disaster relief trip than usual for me.  I have never done the  feeding portion of disaster relief.  I have gained a great appreciation for those who do this each time they serve.  Day starts at 6:00 am and ends after 7 pm.  We prepared 9800 meals today and will do the same tomorrow.  After we prepare the meals, the Red Cross delivers them to the people all over.  One driver was going as far as 2 hrs away.  

We are stationed at The state psychiatric hospital. FEMA and Red Cross are here too. 

God cleverly uses these trips to teach me more about myself that needs improving.  For this one He is teaching me to be an Indian and not the Chief (and to do so with a happy heart ).

  It is difficult for me  not be out in people's homes helping.  I hope to bring a team back later for that part of disaster relief.   There  is much help needed and will be needed for a long time.  It is a great way to share the Gospel.

I have not had the time to drive around and see the destruction .  Can't say that I really have that desire.    That is not why I am here.  

I am attaching one picture that shows the inside of our tent where we prepare meals and put them in these red things called "cambros".  It is quite a process.  

Dustin, tell the kids I miss them already.  Loved their costumes!

Pray that I will get my voice back.

Emily

Greetings from Ethiopia

Greetings from Ethiopia. We are in Soddo Wallaito a large town of 70k or so about  4-5 hrs south  of the capital Addis Ababa. I am working Soddo Christian Hospital. This is a hospital that has been in its present form of existence since 2006. It serves millions of people in Southern Ethiopia. People come from hours away to be treated by the skilled and compassionate missionary doctors that serve here. Iam priveleged

to be filling in for  a few short weeks for Dr Anderson, from what I can tell a significantly overworked Orthopedic surgeon, while spends some well deserved time with his family in the states.

Soddo Chrstian Hospital is an incredibly busy place medically and surgically but also on fire for the souls of the people all over Ethiopia.

The doctors and staff here are very in tune to presenting the Gospel to their patients whether their background is Muslim, Christian or otherwise. There are patients in the hospital now that have led been led to Christ by the Spirit led pastoral staff of the hospital.My first day I met a young man still in care at the hospital whose whole job was to memorize the Quran that was led to christ in the hospital.

Act 2 experience:

I went to Ethiopian church today. The building was filled to the last seat in what was a sanctuary that helld 1200 to 1500. There were young and old in  the seats around me all excited to be there. There were some of the events you see and hear in church back home, an occasional cell phone ringing, restless children a random crying from a baby in the congregation, but oh when the ppraise team sang and the preacher spoke the word of God I could feel the rush of the spirit in the place. Even though the words were Armaic and I didn't understand I was humbled by the Spirit. I could almost feel the bewiderment of the visitors of Jerusalem on the day of Pentacost when the Spirit moved over the Apostles. Six or seven dedicated their lives to Christ at the end of the service. What a great experience to see God at work and to see He doesn't need my ears to speak to my heart.

Dr Rudolph

Continue to pray, the first couple of days have been very busy with patients and settling in.

Rhett and son in law Vincent, made it to Soddo Christian Hospital with all medical supplies in tact.    Praise be to God!   Continue to pray.  You can read more about where Dr. Rudolph is serving by going going to www.soddo.org/.   More post to come as we hear more from Dr. Rhett.

Thanks to all for your prayers.

Emily

After traveling all day, the 6 of us finally made it to the guest house in Kampala! We left around 1030, took a quick break at Karuma Falls to see the Nile and eat lunch, and got here around 6. 

We are hanging out here tonight, and tomorrow we have devotions with the Archbishop, then last minute tour/shopping around Kampala, then we fly out around 11 tomorrow night!

here are a few more pictures!

Walt helping with balloon animals at the orphanage!

Peter preachin it! 

The whole crew plus some! near Keyo Parish

Cindy teaching on identity at St. Philips.

One of our friends at Our Father's House

The Peters!

The blessing of the Bishop's guest house.

"St. Johns Guest House"

Father Greg dancing with some clergy.

Our friends Samuel (the diocesan youth minister) and Lydia and their boys.

The team in front of the guest house.

Breezy! missing us already.

Cute friends with Mama Edith at Our Father's House.

Peter and Reverend John Charles.

An elephant!

Last day!

we just finished our last healing prayer training session at St. Philip's Cathedral. It was awesome, the Holy Spirit was definitely moving and doing amazing things. The healing prayer conferences have produced a lot of fruit! we've seen physical, mental, relational, and spiritual healings. we have all been challenged and blessed in this, and are excited to share our stories with you when we get home!

Today was our last full day in Gulu. Tonight we have the blessing of the guest house and a farewell party, and in the morning we leave for Kampala. We'll be there for a day, spend a night at the guest house, and we leave to come home on Friday!

Wish we could write more, but we are all exhausted and pressed for time. keep prayers coming, especially for safe travels and for the Rothermel family that is remaining for about two weeks.
can't wait to see you all!

Update from Beth

Just heard from Greg! They have finished day two of their three day healing mission, and he said that each day it keeps getting better! They have seen the Lord do amazing things, and are expectant for tomorrow's final day! So he has asked us to pray! Tomorrow will be their last day in Gulu, heading back to Kampala on Thursday for an overnight, and then fly out on Friday....praying for all of the connections to connect! He says that everyone is well and strong, in the Lord! God is so good!

Blessings,

Beth

more pictures!

Reverend John Charles at the Women's Conference.

Sylvia Mary

Peter reunited with Willy!

 Our amazing translator, Reverend Eunice!

P6 at Our Father's House Orphanage.

The Rothermels with Reverend Zachary Otto.

Our friend Reverend John Charles.

This is the site where the first missionaries came to Uganda.

SO sorry we haven't been able to keep up with the blog!
We arrived safely in Gulu on Tuesday and have been staying at the Bishop's compound in the new guest house! It is great! But we haven't had any power for a few days, so the computers died. That, on top of lots of other technical difficulties, made it pretty much impossible to blog. But now we're at Paraa Safari Lodge for the night, where we have wifi. This post is just some pictures, and hopefully some more will be up soon.

The kids at the Chain Foundation in Mukono sang us some welcome songs (and songs about education...its been stuck in all of our heads all week). These three kids are three of the visually impaired.

They loved to dance and performed a few dances for us.

Cute kid!

Praying for the staff at Chain Foundation.

Peter R. was the first to speak on discipleship! Just getting prayed up!

 Allison Barfoot paid us an encouraging visit before we left Kampala for Gulu.  Susan Morris (next to Cindy Pennington in the front) has been our liaison in Uganda.

All the clergy gathered at the Diocesan offices in Gulu for a discipleship training conference the men on our team helped lead. This is a group picture!

Karen headed up a women's conference (very last minute but it worked out well) that all of the ladies got to help out with.

Karen and Peter with some of the kids from Our Father's House Orphanage in Gulu.

Father Greg teaching at the discipleship conference.

Thanks for your patience and prayers! Please keep them coming! We hope to get you more updates soon, but for now, know that all is well and we are seeing the Lord do so much in these people and in this community. 

A note from Beth

Dear All:

I talked to Greg briefly at around noon today (which would be about 7 pm their time). He said that they had just completed their second day of the Discipleship Conference and they think it is going well. The team members are all still healthy (thanks be to God!), just hot, hot, hot! 

I told him that we were excited to hear more about their trip, so please try to post some additional pictures and stories on the Blog...not as easy for them to do there!

Hope you are all doing well....Greg's sender is mowing our lawn today....what a blessing!

Much love and In Faith,

Beth

 

Quick Update fromt the Team!

After about 45+ hours total of travelling, we finally made it to the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda! We were all exhausted but in surprisingly good moods even after uncomfortable flights (especially with Father Greg crammed into tiny plane seats…Ethiopian Air does not like personal space), cancelled flights, re-routed flights, hours of layovers, and losing ALL of our luggage. Cindy and Susan picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to a restaurant to meet Trish and Newman Lawrence, who have been living here about 6 weeks not working with Palmetto Medical Initiative. We did some shopping (which consisted of Father Greg and Susan buying packs of water bottles while the rest of us tried not to fall asleep waiting to find our van). We got to Namirembe Guest House, ate dinner, and were headed to bed by 830.
Our first day was a great one! We (minus the Rothermel ladies, who needed some rest but are thankfully feeling great tonight) left the guest house at 7, heading to the 150^th Anniversary Celebration of the Martyrs of Uganda. There were tons and tons of people. It was an incredible service, the whole thing lasting from 10 to 5. Hopefully we can go into more detail soon, but here’s a snapshot of events: we had trouble getting through security, Peter and Walt were stuck outside the gates until 2, time which they used to pray for anybody passing by, Karen and Clair experienced some kind of miracle, and we all seemed to end up praying over and with Ugandans who had come for the celebration. It was a first day to remember, and we will put up more pictures and more details soon! Keep checking the blog, and keep praying for our team!

They have arrived in Entebe Uganda

Dear All:

Louise has finally heard from the team...they have arrived after 44 hours of travel...delays and re-routing through Ethiopia, they have landed in Entebbe. Please pray for their lost luggage, as many are currently filling out lost luggage reports at the airport just now. Sounds familiar to former team members??!! Cindy and Susan Morris were on hand to greet the very weary travelers. 

Praising the Lord for their safe arrival!

Blessings,

Beth

 

 

Cindy Friday June 1

Friday June 1st –From Cindy Pennington I was blessed to be invited to the Church of Uganda Provincial Staff Devotion this morning.  There were about 25-30 folks.   This morning Archbishop Henry Orumbi made a special request to lead the devotion.  Susan said that he is not usually in attendance and when he is he generally lets the assigned leader, lead. So it was a special treat for all of us. He taught for about 30-40 minutes on the John 21 1:19 (Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish and the conversation with Peter where Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him).  This month the Church of Uganda will elect the successor to Archbishop Orumbi, so he specifically selected this day and this teaching.  The Archbishop was talking to his staff about feeding Jesus sheep, serving His people, voting for the man as the new Archbishop who God has chosen, the man that will serve God and God’s people and not himself.  It is an appropriate message for us all.  Please pray for the House of Bishops as they prepare to assemble later this month.

We received a text message from Walt saying the team is ready to leave Addis (Ethiopia).  they will arrive only 15 hours late.

Susan and I are ready to head to the airport.

Greetings from Kampala!!

From Cindy May 31

Thursday May 31^th- from Cindy Pennington

Today I traveled from Jinja west back to Kampala (the capital) about a 2 ½ hour ride by SUV.  Our driver is Shalvin; of the Water Missions Uganda staff.  It turns out he is an Anglican and very interesting.  About an hour into our trip, Shalvin said, “See those people walking?  They are walking from Kenya to Namugongo (just outside Kampala) for the Martyr’s Celebration on Sunday”.  Seeing people walking alongside the highway is not something to point out in Uganda, but walking from Kenya?  Sure enough, we passed groups of 10 to 20 people for the next 45 minutes.   Some were holding Kenyan flags; some were holding crosses (like our crucifers).  They all had packs on their backs (not fancy back backs but plastic bags or pieces of fabric stuffed); pilgrims walking to the celebration.  It was truly humbling.   I can’t imagine what Sunday will be like.  I know that God will be glorified!! 

Fifteen kilometers (about 9 ½ miles) east of Kampala city lie the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine where both Anglican and Catholic martyrs were burnt alive on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II in June 1886. The list of forty five known martyrs includes only those who could be formally accounted for, many more murders went unreported and without a record. On 3rd June of every year Christians from all over the world flock to Namugongo to pay their respects and renew their faith by paying pilgrimage to the martyrs.

Wednesday May 30th-from Cindy Pennington After working today at the Water Missions office in Jinja, several of us went to bible study at Calvary Chapel. After church, several of us went out to eat.  What do you think we had in Uganda???? We went to the local Chinese restaurant, of course.  Counter clock wise is: Maria, Accountant for Water Missions Uganda, Jim from Charleston who has been a Water Missions volunteer in Africa for about 3 years, Jessie who is the Calvary pastor, Beth who is Jessie wife (the 2 of them have been in Jinja for I think 13 years), Kelly who is the youth coordinator and been there for about 4 years, Joye (wife of Jim) who is a nurse at Amani Baby Cottage and has been in Jinja for about 1 ½ years, and Susan Morris who works for the Church of Uganda and is the coordinator of our trip on this end. The person taking the picture is Dedy from the Indonesia office of Water Missions.  It was Maria’s first taste of Chinese food.  It was so neat to experience it with her as I have been having many new Ugandan taste treats.

Almost there

God has shown us once again that we are not in control of mission trips.  After a two hour delay in Newark - they couldn't find the trash cans believe it or not - we finally were in our 7 hour flight over the Atlantic.  In Brussels we had an hour and a half layover before our flight to Entebe.  Ooops.  Our flight to Entebe is cancelled.  A 10 hour layover for another flight rerouted to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, so we took a little tour of downtown Brussels.  Wow!  What architecture!  Very nice folks all the way around but a long trip so far.  Eight hour over night again and we are in Addis Ababa now with a three hour wait for the final flight to Entebe.  Everyone is in good health and in good spirits despite the trip being 3 days instead of two.  Can't wait to see Cindy and get to Gulu and get to work!  KEEP PRAYING!  God is good to have us all doing fine.  Pray especially for luggage to make all the changes/transfers.  Our teaching during the mission is discipleship and submitting to God no matter what comes our way so this is a small step in growing us in that direction.

Friday update on trip over

I heard from both Walt and Clair this morning. The flight out of Newark was delayed and the flight out of Brussels was canceled, so they are off schedule but fine. They will now fly out of Brussels at 7PM and through Ethiopia before arriving at Kampala at 1:00 AM Saturday. Last I heard, Walt and Greg were chilling and watching luggage while Karen, Peter and Clair do a quick walk-around tour of Brussels. Keep praying that fatigue and frustration don't cause them to lose sight of the Holy Spirit's leading.

Blessings~
Louise

Beth writes:

Good Morning All:

I have rec'd several text messages from Cindy early this morning. She is doing well, and was headed out to meet with Susan Morrison and Alison Barfoot this afternoon, in anticipation of picking up the rest of the team tonight!

She shared that they have seen pilgrims along the roadways, walking from Kenya, to attend the big worship celebration this Sunday....humbling! Would we do the same?

Prayers for the team as they continue traveling today and into tonight to arrive safely in Entebbe...peace-filled night's sleep tonight!

Blessings,

Beth

 

Monday May 28^th- from Cindy Pennington

Today I had the opportunity to visit this fishing village, Kikando, on the shores of Lake Victoria.  It is a community of about 2000 people that live in close to this boat landing.  I took boat just like one of these, across the lake to the community.  The Holy Spirit is working there.  There are 5 churches/congregations, and 2 primary schools.  However there is a lot of work to do, spiritually and physically.  We walked past more than one group of men who were playing a dice “game of chance”. As the kids were coming home from school (about 4:30 ….and yes they had been in school since 8:00 am) the toddlers were out running around; probably 20% of the kids only ½ clothed and hardly any with shoes on.  Water Missions has a water purification project in this community (the main reason that we went there) and is seeing health improvements already.    What a blessing to walk and interact with the people of Kikando.

Team Leaves for Uganda

Here are some of the team at the airport excited to leave for the Uganda2012 Mission trip. Everyone was in great spirits as goodbys where said.

Great job everyone! 

It was such an encouragement to the team to see so many come out to see them off...thanks to the Church Staff, also, for taking the time to come out and cheer them on(thanks Fr. Free, Brother Jamie, Melanie, Margie, Sharon and Walter!!!!!! 

The message of what a "sender" is is penetrating the Body of Christ at St. John's....the entire Drew Warfuel family showed up to cheer the team on to service. I was particularly touched that they brought their children along...teaching about missions early!

 

Also, Lynn Lawrence (wife of Bob Lawrence, St Christopher director) came along with her Ugandan flag. Our team is hoping to meet up with Newman and Trish (Sosnowski) Lawrence in Kampala this weekend! Trish and Newman are on a long term mission with Palmetto Medical Initiative.

Mama Emily looked a bit sad not to be getting on that plane! Thanks to Emily and her team of senders who feed, encouraged, prepared and loved this team onto Gulu....

Let's stay in touch with one another as we hear from the team...hit "reply all" if you hear from one of the team members so we can all hear the news. Let us also stay in touch if someone is sick, or needs something, so we can help and pray for one another! 

I "text", so my cell phone number is 843-709-1166, if anyone needs to get in touch with the Snyder ladies!

May God richly bless our TEAM as they travel, and may the God of peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds on HIM!   Beth Snyder

 

The rest of the team will depart for Uganda on Thursday May 31, Come help send the team off with prayers and well wishes. We will meet them at the Charleston Airport at 12:30.

Cindy has arrived

Cindy has arrived in Jinja and working with Water Missions International. She said the flight was good and the technology was working good. She looking forward to the arrival of the rest of the team.

Nine Days to Go

Cindy is taking off this Friday so keep her in your prayers.  She will be doing work for WaterMissions International for a week until the rest of the team arrives.
The rest of the team is leaving on Thursday, May 31st at 1:54pm.  We will probably have to leave the lobby by 1:00pm in case you were thinking of seeing us off!  Continue to pray that doors will be opened and that God's Spirit will flow over and through us all to each other and those in Gulu.
Thanks so much for the SENDERS who prepared us dinner on Sunday and have also prepared "goodie bags" of necessities and snacks for us all for the trip.  What a blessing you all are!  If you would like to join the senders group, please contact Emily Rudolph.

Uganda Summer 2012

The TEAM:  Cindy Pennington, Greg Snyder, Clair Miller, Peter and Karen Tetrev, Walt Miller, Peter and Jackie Rothermel and their two children, Peter and Breezy.  Leaving May 31at 1:54 pm and returning June16th at 4:06 pm.  Please pray for YOUR hands which are reaching across the Pacific to minister to our brothers and sisters in Gulu, Uganda.