Hello again from PUR International in Uganda! We have had a very busy and productive month. We have had the Waitman family with us from North Dakota and Hallie and Jess Clark from Alaska. 60 more care packages were distributed to needy families. We held a basketball camp for 80 kids where they received new shoes, a jersey, and 4 days of free meals. We have also been able to share Christmas with several different families as well as some of our own family. We can't help but say, God is Good! None of this would happen without Him. He deserves all the credit. We see His hand in everything we are doing, and we are continually amazed.
At the very beginning of this month, Heidi was able to travel with some of the leadership of Girls of Destiny Training Center to a village where they handed out many sanitary pads that they had sewn to girls from needy homes.
On December 5th, the Waitman's arrived! For those that do not know, Becca is Heidi's sister, and Ricky and Becca are the founders of PUR International. They have 4 children, Israel, Bergen, Ireland, and Finn.
On December 10th, Hallie and Jess Clark arrived. Jess has led the effort to raise money for both the basketball camp and care packages that we have been delivering. Hallie and Jess hit the ground running. The day after they arrived we had a day of distributing packages.
From there we started the basketball camp at Nation Changers Primary School. We had planned on having 60 campers, and ended up with 80. We had to adjust some things, but everything worked out perfectly. We still had plenty of shoes to make sure that every player got one, and everyone had a wonderful time. The young players and the Ugandan coaches learned a lot of new skills and drills, and had a lot of fun in the process.
After camp, the day before Hallie and Jess needed to get back on a plane, we had one more full day of delivering care packages. We delivered packages in the village where we hosted the basketball camp. We had a meal with the local church congregation, and then went with them to deliver the packages within the community.
The trip for Hallie and Jess was so full, and so productive. We are so grateful to all of their effort. They have played a huge part in impacting the lives of so many people here in Uganda. This Christmas was so much brighter for so many families here who had plenty of food to give to their families.
The day after Hallie and Jess left, the Waitman's and the Kanagy's headed to two nights on safari at Murchison Falls National Park. We all had a great time and saw many many animals. We couldn't leave Africa without taking some time to see this beautiful place.
We did have some frustration when our van broke down while in the national park. We had to have someone drive mechanics from the town where we live. We rode home in a different vehicle and our mechanics stayed to fix the van and bring it back. We all made it back to Mukono fine, and were able to share Christmas Eve with three other families. Heidi did such a great job making sure all of the children got presents that they needed.
Christmas morning we woke up and had Christmas together with the Waitman's. It was such a Blessing to have family here with us for such a special time. God truly has been so good to us. We are so grateful. We are so honored to play a part in all of this.
There are SOOOOOO many people who have chosen to join us in the effort to be a blessing to others through this channel known as PUR International. That is what we want everyone to see PUR International as. It is nothing more than a channel, with a label. It is a pathway to connect people that desire to give, with people that are in need. The money is nothing more than a tool. We do not desire to have the attention go to the channel or to the tool. The attention goes to people, relationships, experiences, giving, blessing, and ultimately the one who is the author of life itself.
God truly is so Good! Thank you once again to everyone that has helped to make our time here possible. We have about a month here remaining before we return to the US. There are still many question marks about exactly what our life will look like after we move back, but we have peace in our hearts and trust that everything will work out great. If you would like to give towards our family's expenses one last time to help with our moving and "restart" expenses that would be great. Click Here to give towards our campaign. We will be moving back to North Carolina, and then figuring out life from there.
2018 truly has been a great year. Here's to the wonderful opportunities that are coming in 2019!!
God Bless You!!
