EMAILS FROM UGANDA

If you would like to share emails you have received from the APU Team, please forward them (edited if needed)  to: rene@qwksite.com

The latest emails are at the top of this page

From: Brian Eck
Date: 5/28/03 1:12:45 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Subject: Uganda 5/28 

Just had a wonderful conversation with Jenna & Enid, and yes it is 1am (PDT), 9am London time.

They reported they had a great and safe flight from Entebbe and many of the team were able to sleep. 

The best news is that when they arrived a Heathrow at 5am and traveled to the Hotel, the hotel was able to let them check right into their rooms.  They said that everyone had checked in, showered in a first world shower, were currently down eating breakfast, and happy as could be.

I am told that they will be spending their extra time in London without much difficulty, something about Harrods.  Some are apparently also going to the tower of London, the millennium dome, and other sights around town. 

Pray for their safety, a solid night's sleep, and a safe flight Thursday to LAX.
Brian

From: Edwin Vonderbeck
Sent: 5/27/03 9:37:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Subject: LONDON
 

Just received a call from Carol they arrived 4:35am in London. All are tired. She said she will call us tomorrow before they leave for LA.

From: Brian Eck
Date: 5/27/03 12:01:46 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Subject: Uganda Update 5/27 

Wanted to let everyone know I got a phone call from Enid this morning.  She called Brittish Airways and they changed the flight times from Entebbe.  Instead of leaving at 9:20 am Uganda time tomorrow, they will be leaving at 11pm tonight, (Tuesday) Uganda time (1pm PDT).

Pray for their safety in travel. 

The bad news is they will loose one night of sleep in Uganda, the good news is they will have an additional 11 hours in London.  This means they will have extra shopping (good or bad news depending) and sightseeing time in London.

Their flight back to LAX will remain the same.
Brian
 

From: Brian Eck
Date: 5/24/03 11:15:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Subject: Uganda Update 5/23 

I had a good conversation with Enid and Jenna.  The team continues to do well, and even the rest of the FARE ministries team has commented on how much this years team works together and has such a good spirit. 

They have completed the medical clinics, and continued to see over 100 children a day.  Enid reports that in the last village, they saw a boy who needed an  appendectomy, and a boy with an arm that had been broken for a year.  the team took them to the hospital, and while there, were so saddened by the lack of medical supplies, that they gave their remaining medical supplies to the hospital staff who were very grateful.

In each village, the solar ovens have been a great success.   There is mixed news concerning the water project.  The surveys showed that there was water in Butema, kabilira, and Namaganga, but not in Entunda.  The water, however, is more than 100 feet below the surface.  This means that Lifewater will not be able to drill the bore holes.  It also means that the bore holes will cost more than originally estimated.  The surveyor and Lifewater are looking to see if there is someone else who will be able to drill the bore holes at that greater depth.  Pray for this search, and the team is hoping that they will hear news about an alternative drill company before they leave.

You can continue to pray for the team and their final days in Uganda.  Pray for their health & safety.  Also pray about an important meeting that Pastor Fred & Enid will have with some other mission personnel who are working with AIDS in Uganda.

Brian
 

From: Elizabeth Robison
Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 12:19:20 -0700
Subject: a testament to the amazing power of God


Hi everyone!!

Wow...So much to say, so little time. God is definitely at work here in Uganda and I had the amazing opportunity to be a witness of it today. We were at the little village of Namaganga (30 minutes outside of Jinja) and it started out as a usual day in the village. We had our usual welcoming ceremony with singing and introductions and the such, and then we began setting up for the clinic. While we were setting up I had this overwhelming sense that we just needed to pray.....right then. Everyone was kinda busy doing stuff, but I grabbed 2 girls, Chelsea and Melody, and asked them to pray with me. Through the prayer I had the overwhelming sense that God was in that place...it was so strong I could almost see it. I told the girls that with the exclamation...He is going to do something amazing today.
The rest of the day went pretty much like any other as we tried to get through the 100 kids we needed to see today. There was one girl who I assessed, an 8 year old girl named Prosie, and right away I realized that she had a heart problem. I am no diagnostic expert, but I could feel her heart going into fibrillation (whether it was atrial or ventricular I do not know) without even listening to her heart with a stethoscope.....it would beat a couple of beats..then it would just stop and then start again. I could also hear a distinct murmur over her aorta....( I think that is what it was)..it sounded kinda like swiishhh bum...swish bum...swish bum. I wanted someone else to listen to it, and Chelsea's assessment station was right next to mine so I waited for her to come over so she could listen to it too. While I was waiting for Chelsea to come over, I had both of my hands on her...and so I just prayed that the love of God flow through me into this girl as I waited for Chelsea. I had Chelsea listen to the girl's heart, and I told her where to listen to hear it best. She listened....and she tried all 5 assessment spots, and then turned to me and said she didn't hear anything. I listened again and all I heard was a normal beat. I dismissed it, thinking that I had just heard things the first time.
It was on the way back to our hotel that God opened my eyes to the work He done in Prosie....I distinctly heard the words "I healed her". I argued, thinking, no...I heard wrong the first time. But then again, I heard the words "I healed her". It was then that I realized that God worked his amazing power in Prosie.....and she will now live when she was going to die...not because of human strength or medicine, but because of His great power and love.

Praise God!!! He is so good. I stand in amazement.

I love you lots.....your prayers are not without effect. I know that they have strengthened me each and every day.

Resting in His arms,

Elizabeth

From: Jenn
Subj: Uganda Date:5/17/03 4:34:51 PM Pacific Daylight

Hey Everyone!

It is currently 2:35pm on saturday, making it 4:35 am on saturday where all of you are. I haven't written in a while...and I have so much to tell you! The trip has been amazing so far. Uganda is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen...everything is green. The people here are amazing. They are all so kind.

We began the medical clinics on monday. We have been to three different villages so far, and have seen about 350 children. I struggle with feeling like I don't have what it takes to help these kids with the things they have, but God is really showing me that through Him, I do. One little boy that stands out in my mind was about 7 years old. He was complaining that his eyes were hurting him, but I couldn't see anything wrong with them, so I put some eye drops in to moisten them, thinking they may have been dry. After I put the drops in, he looked at me with the largest smile and told me that they felt much better. Although putting eye drops in someone's eye is such a small thing, it made him so much happier. I have seen so many different things here...from worms in children's stomachs to malaria to HIV/AIDS...it is amazing...yet very VERY sad! There are so many children who really don't have a hope...and no matter what we do for them, it's not going to help. We have had a lot of children with wounds. We clean them up, bandage them, and the next day we see them, the bandages are off...what good are we really doing. That is a big struggle for the whole team, we don't feel like we are making that big of a difference.

The days in the clinic have been long and hard, and I am finding all of my strength in God alone. He is the only reason I am making it through this trip. When I don't feel like I can go on any longer, He picks me up and gives me the strength to make it through the day. I am finding that God is becoming my true first love in life, and I am learning so much about the joy of the Lord from these people! They find their joy in the Lord, and the Lord only, not in materialistic things like I tend to do. Their true home is in Heaven, and they know that, and they can't wait to get there...it's amazing. They will just break out in song in the middle of the street and worship God...that isn't abnormal here.

It will be weird to come home and not see cows and goats roaming the streets, or laying on the side of the road. That is a daily occurrence here. We as a team have had a lot of great times together. Our one and only guy, Chad came down with the chickenpox on wed, so please keep him in your prayers. Continue to pray for our safety as we continue our work here in Africa. The Lord definitely is using us to reach others, and I am finding that I came to bless these people but they are blessing me so much more than I could have ever imagined. The smiles I see in the children reassure me that I am supposed to be here.

Thanks to all of you for your love and support. I miss you all and will talk to you soon...I'll be home soon...12 days (I think). You can e-mail me back, because I will be able to check my e-mail tomorrow (sunday). I love you all. God Bless


Love,

Jenn

From: Elizabeth Robison
Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 04:53:57 -0700
Subject: Uganda update


Hi everybody!!!
Well, we finished our first full week in Uganda. All I can say is wow. I won't be able to give you the full stories until I get back, but I will let you know briefly what we have been doing.

On Sunday we went to church...and that was definitely an experience. All in all I have never been so warmly welcomed anywhere as our team has been in Uganda, and church was our first taste of that. We were greeted by the pastor, introduced to the congregation, the children's choir sang for us and the adult choir, and then the pastor gave a welcoming message. By the time they were done with all that we were already two hours into the service. Sunday night we traveled to Iganga, and that is where we have been staying for the past week So far we have traveled to 3 different villages, Butema on monday, tuesday, and wednesday, Kibale on Thursday, and I the name of the village we went to yesterday is slipping my mind at this moment. Every village we have gone to we are welcomed with singing and dancing, children running along side the bus, and as we leave, they run after the bus shouting byee, byee, byee and waving.

I have never seen kids so sick as we have seen here.....especially in Butema. There are kids who are dying of AIDS, with bodies basically disintegrating, and all you can do is cry and pray. There are other kids who have so much pain in there eyes it is hard to even look at them. All of the kids are so stoic....hardly any of them even cry despite the pain they are in. I only wish that we could do more. At the beginning of the trip, Enid talked about how we were offering to God our five loaves and two fishes, and praying that He would multiply what we give....and that is exactly how I feel. All I have to give is nothing compared to the needs before my eyes, but God is a God of miracles so I am praying that he would show His glory here.

Please keep us in prayers.....the days in the villages are long and very emotionally tiring. It is hard sometimes just to keep going. The culture shock is definitely coming into play.....when you are so used to living in a time-oriented society, it is hard to adjust to a culture that has no real sense of time....and the days end up being very long. Pray also for strength and for God to open our eyes to see the way he is working and is planning to work in Uganda. It is so easy to get lost in the little things that you cannot see the big picture. Pray also that our team would be filled with the Holy Spirit...and that our hands and our hearts would be the hands and hearts of Jesus to the Ugandan children. He loves them soooo much.....I just wish that I didn't have a language barrier that inhibited me from being able to tell them that.

I love you all and miss you all. Feel free to forward this to whoever might want an update. (that is a yes to your question daddy) Also check out the website www.uganda2003.org.

with love, your little mzungu (white person) elizabeth

From:    Jenna Eck
Sent:    Sat 5/17/2003 4:17 AM
Subject:    Jinja

Hello all my dear friends.  We are in an internet cafe in Jinja, Uganda.  We are now half way through our trip and everyone has seen amazing things.  God is definitely working in this team.  We spent three days in Butema and by the end of those days we thought we had seen all of kenya in the medical clinic but what was really funny was that there were many kenyans there anyways because we are so close to the border.  Everything is going really well.  Everyone is well in spirit, unfortunately Chad developed the chicken pox on tuesday of this week so we are hoping that he will be cleared up before we leave for home.  He is doing okay just a bit tired.  But he is good hands with all of the nurses on the team! :-)  The villages are doing well and it has been great to see the improvement in those that received bore holes over the year and those villages that have bed nets, the cases of malaria have been drastically reduced.  We will be in Jinja all of this next week and then will be back in Kampala then we are off to Murchison Falls and then home.  We are all excited to see what God is doing.   Looking forward to seeing you when I get home.  God bless you!


In His Hands,
Jenna

From: Carol Vonderbeck
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 4:49 AM
Subject: HI


Hi Mom and Dad,

I am in Jinja at an internet cafe. We have finished our first week in
Uganda  doing clinics in record time. We were supposed to spend 2 days in Msafa
doing a clinic but we quickly discovered that we could easily see between
50-75 kids in one day and so didn't need to return today. Instead we are
playing tourist and have seen the waterfalls on the Nile river and will be
going to the Sunset hotel (where we will be staying starting tomorrow) for
lunch. Then we will be going on a river tour of Lake Victoria, where the
source of the Nile is.

Tomorrow we move from Iganga to Jinja, go to
church, run a small (<50 children) clinic and will be coming back here to send
email again. It will be a busy day. I have so much to say but it will have to
wait until we see each other because it would take too long to email it. I will
send out an email to my supporters tomorrow. My allergies have finally
calmed down and I have only gotten sunburned a little. Our team news is
that Chad has chicken pox (he broke out yesterday). You can be praying that the
children of Butema (our first clinic village) don't get it as that was
where we were when he was the most contagious. Otherwise we have been pretty
healthy as a team.

We are trying to send pictures taken with one of the
digital cameras that we have so look on the team website later this week
for updates.

I love you very much and look forward to seeing you in 1 1/2
weeks. I know the time will fly. Give my love to the family and everyone.

Love, Carol

From:    Brian Eck
Sent:    Fri 5/16/2003 6:28 PM
Subject:    Uganda Team Update

I had a wonderful conversation with Enid and Jenna on Thursday.
They reported that the team is having a fantastic experience.  Everything has gone very well, the teamwork and spirit of the team members is exceptional, and they have been overwhelmed with God's provision.  The Ugandan people have been ecstatic at their coming and the team has been showered with praise, love and gifts that have even included a goat!

She reported that they have been seeing over 100 children a day in the medical clinics, with several hundred more each day in the VBS programs.  They stayed in Butema a third day because the needs were so great.  They are using all of the medical supplies they brought or have purchased, and are thankful for all of the supplies that many of you provided.

Enid also reported that the sun ovens have been an overwhelming success.  The villagers have been able to quickly learn how to use them with great success.  They have rapidly become the most cherished possessions of the families to whom they were given.

Enid reported that the borehole (water well) surveyors were able to accompany them to the villages and gave a good report.  In each of the villages they were able to identify water that was not too far beneath the surface.  They will be taking their survey data back to Kampala to finish the analysis of the findings, but overall, the report was very good, and boreholes should be able to be drilled in each of the villages.  At this time, they are hopeful that the boreholes will be able to be drilled within the budget established for this, and again the team is thankful for all of the generous financial support provided by so many of you for these water projects.  Enid reported that the need for clean water is so overwhelming that with clean water the disease rates should drop significantly in each of these villages and the families will not need to spend significant time and resources gathering & boiling their water.

The team asks for prayers for their strength an health.  Currently the only team member who is ill is Chad who apparently brought with him a case of chicken pox that have made him quite itchy.   Pray for Chad's quick recovery.   Pray for that God will prepare the hearts of the people that the team will be visiting and for the church members, orphans, and the Ugandan people who will be impacted by the team's ministry.

They said that Megan was taking lots of pictures and are hopeful that when they get back to a place with internet connections that they will be able to send some back to us.

Thanks to all

Brian

From:    Jenna Eck
Sent:    Sat 5/10/2003 9:53 AM
Subject:    hi

Dad, I am going to quickly write you a note and then the rest will be from mom.  I miss you love you and wish you were here.  See you soon.

Hi, Dear, things are going very well...it's quite warm and muggy so everyone is a bit pooped.  also the hotel is okay but not very quiet so we're all still a bit tired.  we leave tomorrow for Iganga and the Mwana hotel...hopefully it will be a bit more comfortable....but as one of the kids said...hey we have showers and toilets...that's better than Ensenada!  I liked her spirit.   we got training on the sun ovens and that should go well next week.  

Prossy is quite ill again and I think it is very hard for him...please pray especially for her...I'm not sure what the problem is but she's been ill for over 2 weeks.. You can tell Jon wallace that we will be meeting with the President of the Uganda university on the evening of the 23rd.  I talked with him today. well I must run...we're on our way to dinner at a friend of Fred's.  Know I love you tons and we will try to call you some time next week.... we'll try to do emails again sometime next week. Love you!
E

In His Hands,
Jenna

From:    Jenna Eck
Sent:    Sat 5/10/2003 9:44 AM
Subject:    we are here.

Hello all, This is just a short note to say that we have arrived safely in Uganda.  We are staying in the Millenium Hotel tonight and then we drive to the Mwana hotel near Butema.  It has been rather humid but we are handling it the best way we can. (LOTS OF WATER!)  Fred is doing well, Procie was sick for some time before we came so keep her in your prayers.  The kids are all doing well too.  Everyone is enjoying Uganda or at least the parts that they have seen so far.  They say it has met and exceeded all expectations that they had before they came.  Mom and I are doing well, a little tired, swollen ankles (mine) but other than that we feel pretty good.  We met with the surveyor today he will ride with us for Monday, Tuesday, and Wed. to check out the land for the wells.  The solar cooker guys will come with us monday, tuesday and wed. to teach the villagers how to use them.  Everyone on the team is very excited for what God is doing with all of our preparations.  Keep us in your prayers.  We know that God is on our side in all that we are doing.  Love you tons.

In His Hands,
Jenna

From: Carol Vonderbeck
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2003 9:18 AM
Subject: hi from uganda


Hi Mom and Dad,

We arrived in Uganda safe and sound on Friday morning. We are still
getting used to the time, food and hotel living in Uganda. I am feeling better
however I wonder if my drippy nose will ever go away while we are here
due to the constant burning and smog, I will survive regardless. I have
already taken 3 rolls of film in my attempt to document our trip. Tomorrow we
go to Iganga and Monday to our first village. I have got to go as we are in
an internet cafe in Kampala and people are waiting to email their family.

Love to you,
Carol

From:    Jenna Eck
Sent:    Thu 5/8/2003 8:00 AM
Subject:    we have arrived!

Well London at least.  Good afternoon to you all.  We arrived at 2:30 this afternoon in Heathrow.  Flight went well, and everyone is doing just fine.  So now we sit and wait for our departure in 5 hours to Entebbe.  The students are enjoying airport and all it has to offer, even though most are very tired and can barely keep their eyes open.  Have to go just wanted to drop you all a note to say that we love you all and thank you for your prayers.  Everyone says Hello!  God is with us in all that we do and we are thankful.  TaTa for now!

In His Hands,
Jenna