We are in Africa!!

We all arrived safely.....well almost not....the team on Emirates nearly were diverted due to an unruly passenger(no, not one of them 😉) Luckily our 2 policemen were on board to help!

I had 3 successful flights (2 red eyes!) on AA & Qatar....LAS-PHL-DOH-EBB landing in Uganda 30 minutes ahead of instead of behind the ones on Emirates. Going through Health and immigration was a snap and my luggage was already on a cart and waiting for me. Out of the gazillion suitcases we brought to Africa.... only 2 were delayed ...which included about 1000 lollipops and all of Marcus' clothes (he's one of the new guys this year) Good the Linda brought us all new tshirts for our first day at Hopeline ....so we all looked great!

We missed having George at the airport to pick us up....Moses, Edgar and Jeffrey filled in...took 3 of them to fill his shoes! We loaded up the bus and off to Kampala we headed!

Friday we headed out to Hopeline bright and early to share with our first timers why we love being there so much!

The 2016 adventure is about to begin!!

Wrote this early Saturday morning…. 3am to be exact:

Here it is ...after 3 am and with only 3 more nights in my own bed.... I really should be sleeping but there are so many thoughts and worries running thru my head.... so here I am wide awake....while those around me are soundly snoring..... Harley, Lulu and John that is! 😴💤

My thoughts are turning to all you wonderful friends who are supporting me, Hopeline and our driver George. Your generosity with your time, your resources, your prayers and your treasures overwhelm and bless not only me but all of us going on our 2016 adventure....and no one more than George, Irene, Abby and Nina. You may never fully realize what an impact you are making....but I can tell you that you all are truly amazing -- you have inspired me to be a better person going forward. 

Then at church Saturday night one of the topics included this sentence:  We give to what we love. The example given was about a man who spent $20,000 for a seat at last week’s World Series game in Cleveland …. that is a LOT of money for 1 game!!  But I love that your heart chose to give to a person and a place you don’t even know….that you trust me to bring your blessings to Africa as I start this journey tomorrow.

My heart is full~

This year my heartfelt thanks go out to so many.... Brenda, Sharon, Pat, Rhonda, MaryEllen, Beth, Lori,  Leeanne, Hailey, Logan, Kelly, Elaine, Don, Linda, David, Lisa, Ginny & Howard, Cindy, Lenny, Kasia, MaryKay, Patti, Maria, Carol, Suzie, Lilianne, Hen, Sylvia, Claudia, Claire, Avery, LeaAnn, Pam, Holly, Denise, Geri, Dar, Malia, Cora, Fran, Paula, Pam, Trish, Donna, Theresa, Davena, Peggy, Kathy, Nancy, Jann, Peggy & Pat, Gay, Maralee, Susan, Karen, Julie, Charla, Betty, Ellen, Karen, LeeAnn, Ree, Carol, Marilyn, Pat & Doug, Barbara, Shannon, and Kathy….and so many more for your thoughts and prayers!

I hear we have 30 packed suitcases(wonder if that includes the 4 Betsy and I are bringing??) …. at least this year we are blessed to have 13 team members to help carry! 

Linda and the LAX crew leave Tuesday afternoon, Kaylee & Marcus are flying through Boston, all meeting up Wednesday in Dubai on Emirates. I leave tomorrow night thru PHL and DOH on AA/Qatar.... and we all arrive within minutes of each other Thursday in Entebbe!  Betsy, Holly and 2 more arrive in Uganda on Sunday. Then our team will be complete!

We are all looking forward to a wonderful trip to Hopeline! My fingers are crossed that my ipad will connect this year.... hoping to keep everyone up to date on our adventure! Also planning to visit with George, Irene, Abby and Nina and will post photos of how they are doing.

Again......THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

SEPTEMBER 18TH.....

We'll be returning to Uganda again in less than two months… most of you already know that…but do you know why?  AND the reason that today plays an important role in why we go?

Today, September 18^th….. IS the primary reason.  Without the loss on this day 11 years ago…. I often wonder if I would be on my way to Kampala, Uganda …let alone for the third time.  You see…. September 18, 2005 was the day the world lost a very loving, very influential and very wise person.  My cousin, Chuck Obremski, left this world on that day….my younger cousin…way too soon.  But he left those of us behind with a mission… to share his teachings and example around the globe. I always thought I wanted to go on a mission-type trip… but being the scaredy cat that I am…I told God he’d have to put the trip literally in my lap…and He did.

 Missing Chuck today, but thankful he left me with this desire to reach beyond my comfort zone and hopefully help to fulfill his mission to reach the world with the Word.

Learn more about Chuck and the mission he left us at www.chuckobremski.com

….and follow along here with us on our return to Mukono(I think I have figured out my ipad problems from last year) at the blog I hope again to write! 

I hope to give you all a firsthand account as Linda, Ryan, Betsy and I return this year along with Chuck and Linda’s niece Kaylee and at least 3 other friends of the Obremskis as we journey to Uganda.

We would love to have you partner with us….first off we covet your prayers for our safety, good health, and our ability to influence these young lives. Throughout the year we have collected donations of material goods and funds to bring a better way of life to our orphans by facilitating the building of new classrooms, dorm rooms, a shower facility and last year a water tank.  Many of you have chosen to sponsor our orphans with a one time or monthly donation and this year we are also seeking those who would help us provide a new mattress, a sheet set and pillow for each of our orphans. We have a wonderful group of ladies who sew for us year round…. we have new pillowcases, quite a few were made by an amazing young lady who used part of her summer vacation to sew for our children so that this year each child will now have a pillowcase to call their own; we have new dresses, skirts and shorts for our girls and boys;  we have a grandmother who has made each orphan a new quilt, a wonderful lady made our kids knitted caps and friends who are making and/or providing a towel and washcloth set for each child to use in the shower we hope to build.  The needs are great and we love that each of you have stepped up ….some out of your comfort zone too….and asked how and what you could do for the children of Hopeline…. Thank you so much….and God bless you!

UGANDA 2016...

.....is about to begin in less than 2 months!  Follow along as we journey again to Mukono, Uganda and Hopeline Africa Mission!

STAY TUNED: More to come!

Here are a few of the photos of what is happening at Hopeline and what our wonderful volunteers are working on:

Knitted caps

Quilts for every child

New dresses

New duds for our kiddos

Malia and the pillowcases

Adorable hand-painted bags for our children

The new fence around the property

New desks

The new gate

The water tank

New classroom building

Yes we are still in Uganda!

So this Internet, this iPad and I are not getting along at all on this trip! We are still here, all is going well but I haven't been able to tell you about it!!

Quick recap of the last few days:

Last Friday we set up a "store" so that all the children could come through and pick out some things that would be new to them.  We had about 77 children attending the school that day. What a privilege it is to have such wonderful friends who used their time, their talent and their resources to bless these children in the most awesome way! 

We are so blessed to have these many friends from Lilyanne to Hailey and so many more who made and donated such beautiful creations for us to share at Hopeline!

                 

It was truly like Christmas for these children! They had so much fun first picking out a backpack --then loading it up with a new notebook, dresses & skirts for the girls, t-shirts and shorts for the boys, a pair of flip flops and ending with a new quilt, blanket or soft cover for their bunk bed! 

                

                                              Their happy faces tell it all!

       

                          Thank you to everyone who helped us brighten the children's day!

Will cut this short in hopes that it will post! More photos to come!

Day Three

Another geat day with the children of Hopeline!  We are exhausted! 

As you may recall from last year I mentioned that you couldn't count on always having electricity, hot water or Internet! That was my problem last night and into this morning before we left for Hopeline. But even though it didn't look like it was working I was able to sneak in yesterday's blog post....minus a title or a photo or tagging Linda or Betsy.  Playing catch up today with this nifty little HotSpot device George picked up.....now I'm hoping this will be more reliable!

One of the pix I wanted to share yesterday....and I can't figure out why it wasn't included in the post ....was of how fascinated the children were with Ryan!  Not just because he's the only guy in our group- they were enthralled with his tattoos!

              

Upon arriving at the school today we started working on little projects we brought for the children. Most gathered in the main room and then we divided out some of the girls to make bracelets with beads Betsy brought with her. They loved this activity and many of the girls and even a few boys made several of these beaded creations!

              

They played more of their new favorite game...BINGO! And would you believe they had never seen a Hula Hoop before?  They were instant experts after a demo by Ryan! On Thursday we also gave each child a pencil case filled with pencils, a toothbrush and a lollipop! 😉

             

Today...Friday....are setting up our "store".....where each child all have the opportunity to shop for a new article of clothing, a pillowcase, a bed cover and a backpack to keep everything in. Thank you to everyone who created or contributed to this project! You have blessed the lives of these children immensely! 

 Hitting upload now.....this iPad and me are not working well together! Hope to post lots of pix tomorrow!

   

Back with the children at Hopeline!

DayTwo in Africa!

We woke up (some of us quite early) to rain.....to pouring rain! Luckily though once we arrived at the orphanage in Mukono the sun was out which only added to joy we felt being back with the children!

They of course were waiting for us....the traffic as to be expected was terrible and the dirt road to school was worse than when we last travelled this way a year ago.  At one point we were stuck in a deep rut and we thought Ryan would have to get out and push! That WAS after he had to get out of the van and pull the little goat off the road so we could pass!

What a warm welcome ......so great to be here again!

       

The children had planned a program for our arrival complete with song and dance! It was so nice to see their faces again and hear their sweet voices.  We were given a tour of the school grounds.... so many things had changed. Pastor Roland has big plans for Hopeline!

One thing that wasn't different at the orphanage was the children's desire to have their picture taken ....and then see themselves in the image....wish you could all see the smiles and hear the giggles from them when they recognize their face in the photo.

              

Best thing we did all day???  Linda brought BINGO! None of the children had played before and it didn't take long for this to become a favorite new activity for them!  (We also thought it would provide great number and letter recognition) 

             

Our time at Hopeline today passed by quickly and before long it was time to say goodbye for the day and head back to Kampala! We really enjoyed being back at the school.  Rachel, Pat and Maryann..... we missed you!  

We are now looking forward to tomorrow!