Photo Gallery

Coming Home

Looking back in retrospect over the last ten days, I am amazed at the power of God. Although we faced opposition, God proved himself powerful and greater than any opposition. It was God alone that convicted the hearts of so many and drew them to himself. To be a part of a ministry where 1300 people heard the Gospel and several hundred accepted Christ as their Savior has changed how I view my God.  That He

would love me so much as to allow me to have heard the Gospel and received the gift of salvation when so many live in spiritual darkness has renewed my fervor for missions. But, most of all I am overcome realizing what a great privilege I have been afforded by being allowed to be a part of God’s great plan for these people. When I look at all the pictures we took this week (over 4500!) I am reminded of I Thessalonians 2:19-20. These people are my “hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing”- knowing I will see them again and we will worship together at our Savior’s feet! “For ye are our glory and joy.”
Hannah Prahl

Sunday May 25, Masaka Baptist Church

We went to the Masaka Baptist Church this morning. The church has a very joyful spirit and it was sweet to worship with the believers there! My team sang a special- the same song we sang in Mbarara last Sunday. We were thinking that the songleader was going to steal our hymn when he announced a congregational song called "When we all get to Heaven," but it turned out to be a different song completely. We sang it many times in church, so we remember it still. It goes like this: "When we all get to heaven, we know who we serve. We serve our Master Jesus; Sing Aleluiah. Sing Aleluiah; sing, sing! Sing Aleluiah; sing! Sing Aleluiah; sing, sing! Sing Aleluiah; sing!" After church, we drove back to the city where we had dinner in an Italian res taurant. It was interesting eating African pizza, but everything was good. After dinner, we went to the airport. Our flight out was late- around 10:30pm and we will arrive home around noon on Monday, May 26th. God has been faithful and blessed the work abundantly this week! Now it is time to leave Uganda. But somehow I think  that I will not be able to stay away forever. Lord willing, I will return to Uganda with ORH in the future. For now, I am rejoicing in God's great love and in the victories won this trip. Let us press on in service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Think on the words of the following song. It kinda became our theme song for this trip as we sang it together often:

Lord, send me anywhere,
Only go with me.
Lay any burden on me,
Only sustain me.
Sever any tie,
Save the tie that binds me to Thy heart.
Lord Jesus, my King,
I consecrate my life, Lord to Thee.

It is impossible to describe everything we saw, heard, felt, and in any way experienced on this trip. Let me reiterate that the best part was to be participants in God's work. It was incredible to see God do the impossible and to keep His word that He uses the weak- the foolish things (like me) to accomplish His work. Praise the Lord!!
Abigail Griffin

One of the most incredible things to witness is the worship of God in another country. Because of the almost ritualistic traditions of Baptist worship, I can be so narrow minded in thinking that my worship at my church is the only way of worship. Seeing another culture has opened my eyes. In the second Sunday church service we went to, the singing was alive. Sunday school was opened with a few songs in English and the tribal language of the area. The song leader was an enthusiastic man with a contagious smile and an abundant

supply of praises to God throughout the singing. The songs for the morning worship service were kicked up to the next level. We clapped. We raised our hands. We laughed. We genuinely praised God. I got chills when I listened to the African version of "How Great Thou Art". It was the most incredible experience to be a part of not because we were happy, not because we clapped, and not even because it gave me chills. The reason the worship service was so amazing was because I realized that my God can be praised in any nation in any language. Realizing that He is present around the world and He is alive there just as much as at home was a humbling and awesome experience.
Kirsten Walz

Going on Safari

Today we went on a safari and saw lots of Warthogs, monkeys, water buffalo, zebras, bush deer, impalas, and possibly a gorilla, but it climbed out of the tree and disappeared before we could figure out what it was. We also went on a boat ride to see Hippo’s and crocodiles. But, my favorite part of the day was going to the orphanage. Seeing all the kids, whose parents most likely died from AIDS, and seeing how much they wanted to touch and to be touched and held, and talked to, played with just broke my heart.
Cassidy Pickens

Visiting an Orphanage

Visiting an Orphanage
We drove through a game reserve today to see some African wildlife. It was a much needed break after a long week of work. We saw zebras, warthogs, hippos, and more which was really neat. After this excursion, we continued back to Masaka where the Keith Stensaas family lives. One of the missionaries there has started an orphanage which now has about 30 children in it. We visited to hold  a clinic for the children. Here, we student nurses were given a wonderful pediatric clinical experience. Each of us were given two children to register, triage, assess and present to the physician. The nurses oversaw our work.  It was a great experience. After finishing with the clinic, we played with the children some games with balloons. One of the most precious moments I recall from the time with the orphans was after the boys went to bed and we were sitting with the girls waiting for the doctor to finish (he was using the girl's dormitory for his examination room). They sang some songs for us and then we just sat and talked and cuddled. It's hard to find words to describe the feeling of having an orphan crawl into your lap and draw close to you. I won't easily forget that precious experience. It is good to know that God cares very much for the fatherless. We got back to the Stensaas' at 10:30pm for supper. It has been a long day, but a very, very good day!
Abigail Griffin

One of the highlights of this week for me was our visit to the orphanage in Masaka. This orphanage just opened in February and currently has 30 children. When our group got to the orphanage, each of us nursing students got 2 children to assess and bring to a doctor. These children were so cooperative and excited to see us. They had the hugest smiles. They loved to sing and it was definitely sung from their hearts. These orphans went from being lost and helpless, to being cared for by loving, godly people. The orphanage is planning to take in about 20 more orphans next February.

Hannah Sutrick

Friday, May 23

Wow- this week has flown by! But I have been savoring every moment. God has done wonderful things this week. How thankful I am that He has allowed me to take part- to join in His work! It is a great privilege to serve the Lord.

This morning started with a surgery by Dr. Suh which I was allowed to watch. The doctor removed a cyst from the top of the patient's head. It was very interesting to see the surgery and even more interesting because it was performed on the platform where the preacher stands on Sunday! It rained today, pouring down in torrents upon the tin roofs. We had to move Triage indoors because it was too wet under the tarps, but the noise of the rain on the tin roof and all the people inside was deafening! Our job was very challenging as we strained to hear blood pressures or listen to children's heart rates. By God's grace, we got the job done.

Right now, our best estimate of numbers this week are as follows: 1350+ people seen in our clinics and around 700 people saved. The pastors will be very busy with following up and discipling new believers. We must remember them in prayer- especially for these next few weeks.

My fun new experience today was trying raw sugar cane. One strips the outside away from the cane. Then one can bite and tear strips of the fiber from the cane and chew it to get the sweetness out. Once the sugar is chewed out the remaining fiber is spit out. I really enjoyed this yummy treat. We also got a tour of the Christian radio station which is located behind Brian Stensaas' home.
Abigail Griffin

Thursday, May 22

Getting showers here often requires some creativity. Last night, I showered by filling used water bottles at the sink and pouring them over me in the shower. Hey, it works! We got a really early start today. Up at 4:30am and to the Stansaas' for breakfast at 5am. We arrived at our last clinic location (we will be back to this same spot tomorrow) to see people already lined up along the fence waiting for our arrival and hoping to get in to see a doctor.  We worked really hard today and saw around 350 people- a huge number considering our team has only three doctors, two dentists, and one optomitrist! What a day! The Lord has truly anwered our prayers and brought increase greater than us or our abilities! Praise Him!! Today, I was able to give an injection and also got to see a couple cases of scabies.
Abigail Griffin

Wednesday, May 21

We held clinic at the church in Mbarara. Optometry seemed busier today than it has been the last two days, and we didn’t finish seeing everyone till around 5:00. The Doctors had to stay later in order to finish up with the rest of their patients. Tonight, during our team meeting, Dr. Farrel gave us a report on the services in Kyahi. When the evangelistic team got to the church in Kyahi, the building was full and there were people standing outside! There were so many people that they had to move everyone outside in order to speak to them all. They estimated that there were over 600 adults at the service and they handed out 420 tokens for the clinic tomorrow!  When the team first heard that so many tokens had been handed out, some were discouraged knowing that there was no way we could see so many people in one day. However, Dr. Farrel reminded us all about the story of the women at the well, and Christ’s words concerning the wheat being white for harvest.  The people in Kyahi are ready and white unto harvest. We must be willing to pick the fruit before it rots. We will start clinic an hour earlier tomorrow and have a full day of clinic on Friday if we need to in order to give the plan of salvation again to as many as possible. There was a renewed enthusiasm and anticipation among the team tonight knowing that hearts were so ready and willing to hear the Gospel. God is so good to allow me to serve Him. He does not need any of us, and yet he chooses to allow us to have a small part in bringing souls into His kingdom!
Hannah Prahl

Tuesday, May 20

Our clinic today was in Kunungu. There were a lot of people waiting for us when we got to the clinic site. The dentists had a steady flow of patients but not as many as we saw yesterday. We finished early so I got to watch an ear irrigation on one of Dr. Waller’s patients. We also saw a church building and were told that in 2000 there was a man who formed a cult called the 10 Commandments cult, and got 1000 Africans to follow him. The man told the people that on a certain day Jesus would come back. On that day all his followers went out to a hillside to wait and when Christ didn’t come back the man burned them all alive. The missionaries explained that this was why we were having trouble getting into villages and that there people were very cautious about everything. However, it was a blessing to hear that the mayor of Kunungu and the chief of police of Kunungu got saved!
Cassidy Pickens

1st day of Clinic

1st day of clinic. Privileged to be Dr. Adam Naler’s dental assistant. We saw about 200 people today. Also about 130 people accepted Christ as their Savior-Praise the Lord! I learned a lot this first day of clinic. Many teeth extracted!:) My verse for the week is II Cor. 4:5 “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
Rheanna Kuhlman

Monday, May 19

During the trip, I was assigned to work with the optometrist(spelling????). At the end of the first day, I was discouraged. It was hard. Trying to understand the way prescriptions for glasses works was confusing. But I couldn't have time to be confused, there were a lot of patients to see. I was frustrated that it was hard and I was frustrated that I had to stop and frequently ask questions. It got better though.

 

The optometrist was a great teacher and he answered my questions and helped me learn so I could do my job better. On Thursday, we held our third clinic and that day I won't forget what happened. I was helping a man try on a pair of glasses and he said something that I'll remember for a long time. He put the glasses on and looked at a gospel tract to see if they worked. Through a look of happiness and broken English he said, "Now I can clearly see to read the Word of God."

I am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to be small part of helping someone better read the Word of God.
Krirsten Walz

Sunday, May 18

Wow! That is the only word i can use to describe the bumpiest of the road. The potholes were huge and often sent us flying into the air. I'm sure my brain was thoroughly rattled.

And yet the scenery was beautiful. At times, it was breathtaking. God truly does display His power and beauty through His creation.

Julie Bandy

A couple of us got to help out with Jr. church. The kids were so precious and very obedient! They sand several of the same songs the kids back home sing.

While driving to Kunungu to set up for our first clinic we stopped a couple of times and got to take some pictures of a couple of kids. They all loved it-they would jump up and down, laugh, and wave. Such a treat for them. Got to try Casava (tasted like dry potatoes).

Ended the night with time in the Word and special time of prayer with Kirsten and Hannah. The Lord really broke me that night.

Rheanna Kuhlman