First days in Uganda

My first few days in Uganda, as always, have been wonderful. It is great to reconnect with old friends and make new ones as soon as you meet them. And of course the best part is greeting all the children.

We went to Nakivale Camp the first thing Saturday. I thought it would be only to see where the water well had been drilled, but to my surprise I was greeted by all the children from the Emmaus

Global Outreach primary school. They had a greeting and welcoming time for me in the church. The pastors and elders from the church and village were also there. There were a number of people who had welcome speeches. Pastor Lewi (Lay-we) finished with addressing the students and asking them, “do you know him” (me)? Some of the students are new and some, like all children, were not paying attention, so were confused as to what he was asking. It is always interesting to watch Pastor Lewi interact with the students, he is very firm with them, but can be humorous at the same time. He does have a very loving heart for the children.

I was asked by Pastor to say some words. Public speaking is not my forte, but by Gods grace I was able to greet them all from all those in the USA who have given and prayed for them and the whole water well project. I told the children that it was not important that they know me. I am just like some dust. I here for a little while then I am gone. It is eternal important that you know Jesus. God made us all out of dust and we are only living for a short time. He told us in Genesis that from dust we came and dust we will return. And when God gave us the breath of life we got a soul that will live forever. God wants all his children to live forever with Him in heaven, but we have all sinned and God cannot allow sin in his heaven, so He sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for our sin nature. Now we all can become children of God by telling God we are sorry for our sin and ask Him to forgive us and by believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

I praise God and am very thankful to the Holy Spirit for giving me the words to say and the ability to say them. I get more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, when I am called upon to speak to a group.

We also told them about the Jesus Film that we would be showing to all the students as well as to the adults during the next couple weeks. I am not sure who is more excited for the film, the students or the adults.

Pastor Lewi at Dry hole

Next on the agenda was to walk the property to where the bore holes had been drilled. It ended up that two bore holes had been necessary as the first one, drilled to 70 meters, had not produced any water and they felt going any deeper at that site would be futile. The second hole is 90 meters deep and they feel has adequate water. The well has been cased and we are now waiting until the pumping and testing of the well is completed. This portion of the project will start on Monday December 4th.

The site chosen for the second drilling was based on some experts surveying the area and recommending their first choice. The site will add a few challenges as it is downhill from the school and about 274 meters away. The Lord has overcome a good many difficulties in getting this project to this point so we have

Praising God at water well

complete faith He will continue to guide us.

I was fading fast by noontime as I was operating on less than 4 hours sleep due to our late night traveling adventures. But a lunch was being prepared for the elders and myself to enjoy. The food is typical of a simple Rwandan/Ugandan meal; beans, rice, chips (French fries), meat sauce, lugali (posho) and local fruits (pineapple, sweet banana, avocado). It was all very good, but it does take a while to prepare and serve. There are no stoves to cook on, the food is cooked over a charcoal burner or a pit fire. The utensils, cooking pots and pans as well as serving dishes are minimal at best. In most cases eating utensils (knives and forks) are reserved for eating with musungu (white person) honored guests. 

I am always humbled and honored by their hospitality. They have very little by the worlds standard but are more than willing to share what they have. Many times their sharing will result in some future lean meals for themselves. 

So there will be much to to over the next couple of weeks. Some of the main items will be setting up for showing the Jesus Film multiple times, dispersing the toothbrushes, and getting cost estimates for piping the water to needed areas, the construction and installation of a cement pad, water tower and holding tanks, as well as a solar pump.

Remember, you cannot take it with you but you can “Send It Ahead.” 

Of course we need funding to sustain these programs for these children but above all else we covert your prayers: for the children, for the teachers, for Pastor Lewi as he administers all aspects of the school, that we would find favor with businesses and organizations we have to deal with, for health of the team members that come to help.

If you can help we have a way for you to donate to these children’s needs. Go to www.watchtherefore.tv click on the donate button at the top of the page and please make sure you designate your tax deductible donation to the “Send It Ahead” program.  If you would like to further designate your gift to one of the programs, simply add “water”, “teachers”, or “food” after the “Send It Ahead.” While you’re at the web site please click on the Send It Ahead button at the top of the page to look for more updates and photos from the school.

Arrived in Uganda

On Wednesday November 29th I left Vancouver WA on my way to the Nakivale Refugee Camp in Isingiro Provence, Uganda. The overall travel time is nearly 4 days, somehow you loose a day on the east bound flight. As I said, I left my home in Vancouver at noon on the 29th and arrived at the Entebbe airport in Uganda a little after noon on Friday December 1st. After 3 days of flying with little sleep and wearing the same set of clothes I was ready for a hotel room and shower.

Surprise, surprise no one was there to meet me. Arrangements had been made weeks in advance, but as they say “the best laid plans of mice and men”. Just chalk it up to T.I.A. (This is Africa). Of course my phone does not work in Uganda, but thankfully, the airport had WiFi and I was able to

communicate with Pastor Lewi (Lay-we) who was on his way but stuck in a traffic jam in Kampala. (A very normal occurrence driving in Kampala, Uganda). After about an hour and a half we were loaded up and on our to that hotel room and shower. 

Of course the traffic was terrible but it was moving, even if it was a snails pace. Our driver got a little frustrated and anxious as we had seen a number of the Presidents guard vehicles scream by us, splitting the center lane, between north and south bound traffic. But to add to that each time a group would race by, with sirens screaming, there would be a trail of civilian vehicles following them. Our driver thought that was a good idea, so off we went trailing the next set of official vehicles. It really worked great and we were making excellent time, right up to the point that a police officer waved us over and escorted us to the nearest police station. I could see my hotel room fading fast and was afraid my next room was going to have bars on the windows. If I was lucky enough to have a window.

Police check point

The police officer took our driver away into an office and we were left in the vehicle. After about an hour we were wondering how long the scourging was going to take. Pastor Lewi, bless his soul, got out to speak with some of the ranking police officers, trying to beg their forgiveness. After the second hour our driver final emerged, none the worst by the looks of him, with a very firm warning and lecture about the fact that during this time of terrorist activity the Presidents guards could have shot us with no questions asked. Well we dodged another bullet, literally this time. So the hour and a half trip took us well over four hours.

The first thing we needed to do when we got to Kampala was find a ForeX to change some dollars into Ugandan shillings. It is after 5:00 pm so the first few try’s resulted in closed offices. Finally we found an open office to do our business, it is more than a little awkward walking out with a bag full of currency, ten million is a large amount of bills, and not easily concealed. Needless to say, I felt quite exposed. But I had never been a millionaire before.

Next item on the agenda, decided by popular vote, but not necessarily unanimous, was to get some dinner. About now I am wishing a had that policeman back with me, as we go into a restaurant with me carrying a backpack full of money. We ended up having a great meal in this coffee shop. I would have loved a cup of their gourmet coffee but all I can think about is that hotel bed. Can you see where this is going? (T.I.A.)

The boys had decided we would just drive on to Mbarra. Another non-unanimous vote. Oh, it’s only a little over 3 hours I was told and they had not brought anything with them for an overnight stay. Well, then I still make it to bed by midnight. 

The traffic out of Kampala is absolutely ridiculous it takes us over two hours to go just a few miles. But we keep inching along with trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles going by us, around us and at times at us. The bicycles are by far the fastest moving mode of transportation followed closely by the motorbikes. But I’d have felt safer riding with Evil Knievel than on a moto in Kampala.

We finally cross the equator and it is about midnight, my bedtime, and we are not yet halfway to Mbarra. So maybe another hour and a half. The good news is that we are finally out of traffic, the bad news is the driver thinks he’s Mario Andretti. When I got into this vehicle back at the airport I noticed that there wasn’t enough tread left on the tires to leave a print in a fresh snow. And the headlight plastic covers were so yellowed they would have tested positive for jaundice.

 Oh and gee, I forgot to mention, we are in the middle of nowhere at 1:30 in the morning, literally in the middle of Africa and we run out of gas. When you fly into the Entebbe airport you cannot simply go to the local Hertz counter to rent a vehicle. You have to have someone hire a car and driver for so ever how many days you are going to be in the country. And most people in Uganda do not have a lot of free cash just laying around the house, so you pay them half up front and the balance when you leave. So I had just handed to our vehicles owner two million Ugandan shillings. And he doesn’t fill the gas tank. To quote Lt. Kendra, “my, my, my!!!”

I got to bed about 3:30 am, Oh and Pastor Lewi tells me before he leaves that we need to go the the school in the morning. I push the snooze and crawl out of bed at 7:00.

But I am in Uganda, Praise the Lord. And all the challenges of getting here pale in comparison to be with these people. I believe that if it were not for the nation of Israel, the people of East Africa would be Gods chosen people. 

Water update

November update Nakivale Refugee Camp Orphan Outreach - Water well project

Water from mud puddles

 Praise the Lord, I can now update you all on the water well project. The funds have been raised and transferred to Living Water International, the company that will be doing the drilling. No longer will these precious children have to get their water from these dirty and infected water sources.

Thank you, thank you, to all of God’s

Water from the Lake

people who have faithfully and sacrificially given for this project. I have been extremely busy trying to get everything ready for this trip to Uganda. My airline tickets have been purchased and I have my entry visa for November 29 to December 15.

There was an issue that came up with the government wanting Living Water to utilize the lake water instead of drilling and there needed to be an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed by the government with Living Water before any work could begin. I can now tell you that those issues have been resolved and the project is back on track. In fact, I spoke with Pastor Lewi (Lay-we) this morning and the drilling equipment arrived at the school today, November 20 and drilling will start tomorrow.

 We were originally hopeful to have the drilling completed and pump installed by the first week in December so that water would be flowing while I was there.

Living Water International drilling rig

Even though the drilling will start about a week late Living Water is still confident that, if good water is found on the first attempt they will have water for the children before I leave on the 14th of December.

Please continue to join us in praying that an ample amount, no, an abundant amount, of good clean water will be found in the first attempt. We have also made plans to take the Jesus Film on this trip to show at the refugee camp and school, as well as possibly to area churches. It has been a challenge to find the necessary equipment in order to show the film in a place with no electricity. But I now have a small projector, a speaker, battery pack and cords to hopefully do the job. There are still a few technical issues to work out but I am trusting Jesus who knows more about this than I do and will work out the difficulties.

Pray that through this film many souls will be touched and they will receive the true living water of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In addition to the Jesus Film I am also taking toothbrushes and paste to the children at the school. It is amazing to me to see how God’s flock has stepped up to help with this project. Donations of toothbrushes, tooth paste, floss, and mouthwash have come from so many dentists and private individuals. It is truly overwhelmingly to see how God has worked out every detail. There are nearly 400 primary school children that this project is ministering to.

On this trip I am going alone so I’m limited on the amount of bags I can take, so will focus the toothbrushes and paste on the 200 youngest for this trip. I will return in January, with the complete team, and take the toothbrushes and paste for the remaining 200 children.

UDATE: I was able to take all of the 400 toothbrushes on this trip. The trip for January has been rescheduled for March.

 Even though we have the funds to drill the water well this project is a long way from being complete. There are teachers who still need to be paid their monthly salaries. Would you pray that 10 people would step forward to pledge $100 a month. (That amount of $1000 would fund the 10 teachers as they only receive a salary of $100 per month). A good education is about the only hope these children have of a better life for themselves and their families.

 There are many more area’s of need encompassed in the overall project for these children; piping the water to the school and clinic, irrigation for crops, a solar pump and storage tank, funding to outfit the clinic, food to feed the children a morning meal, as well as upgrading the toilets and sanitary facilities. So please continue to pray for these children and what God would have us and you do in His timing.

Jesus said we are not to storage up treasures houses here on earth, I know there are people out there that just need to empty some of there treasure houses and God knows who they are.

You can not take it with you but you can send it ahead.

Even a little bit can help change the lives of these precious children.

 Go to www.pouredoutforthenations.com and click on donate to send your tax deductible donation.

You can donate by Egiving or PayPal online or by sending a check to:
 Watch Therefore Ministries Inc
Poured Out For The Nations - Send It Ahead Project
P.O. Box 564 Pearland, TX 77588

 Whatever way you decided to give, please designate your gift to the Send It Ahead Project.

 May God bless all you that have given and prayed for this project and for the children that it is helping.

 Ken Merrill
Servant and Project Manager
Poured Out For The Nations Send It Ahead Project
A division of Watch Therefore Ministries Inc

Send It Ahead Project

Poured Out for the Nations (PO4TN)
A division of Watch Therefore Ministries
 http://www.watchtherefore.tv/donate 

You cannot take it with you, but you can "SEND IT AHEAD".

 African Orphan Refugee Outreach Program Background:

Ken and Dov

The Nakivale Refugee camp located in Southern Uganda in the Isingiro District has been a long term United Nations camp for refugees from many countries in East Africa. Many Rwandans fled the genocide to Uganda over 30 years ago and some have remained in the camp since that time. The camp was designed for a maximum of 130 thousand people, the current population is around 124 thousand, with about 100 new arrivals daily. The camp director told us there were people form 12 different countries in the camp. Many are coming from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, and Somalia.

Pastor Lewi, Pastor Dov, Mama Dee

 PO4TN is partnering with Emmaus Global Outreach Ministries, lead by Pastor  Muhoza Lewi (pronounced Lay-we). Pastor Lewi saw a drastic need to help the
orphans and other vulnerable children living in the camp when he was there preaching the Gospel. There were many children roaming around during what should have been school hours. The children stated they had no money for school fees and no one to help them. Pastor Lewi saw the need and acted. He got permission to start a school on the camp for these orphans and sold some of his personal property in order to fund it.

 The school has 364 children from P1 to P6. He has hired 10 teachers and built a 5 or 6 classroom building. These buildings are very African. They are mud brick with plastered wall, dirt floors, and a tin roof. There are window openings to allow the breeze to blow though, but no glass or coverings in the openings. Pastor Lewi is originally from the DRC and was living in Rwanda. He has started many churches in Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, and Uganda. He has traveled all over East Africa preaching the Gospel but he also has a very big heart for the orphans.

 The children are learning English in the school and are testing very high in the

National Exams. But there are a number of things stacked against them. The first is the availability of clean drinking water. The water they are now using is having to be carried from a near by lake, but many people are dying from typhoid from drinking that water without proper filtration or chemical treatment. The school has had two children die from typhoid and malaria.

 Water filtration and chemical treatment are both very expensive on a large scale and it also mandates an intensive education component. Our best option is a drilled well (bore hole). The water would be clean and safe, and are praying, with enough volume to be used not only for drinking and cooking but also for cleanliness, drip irrigation for crops, making bricks, and for use in the clinic that they are building.

We are in contact with well drilling operators in the area, researching what the cost of drilling will be, as well as, a solar powered pump, piping, and a storage tank. The area has no electric power so solar would be the only feasible option as fuel costs and maintenance on an engine driven pump would be cost prohibitive. Other needs are food, funds to pay the teachers, mosquito nets, and items to start a clinic.

The children only get one meal a day from the U.N. sources. We would like to be able to add another meal at the school for them. The teachers have been working for 1/2 salary ($50 per month). Malaria is a very large problem in the camp and the children do not have mosquito nets to sleep in under ($3.00 each). When the children are sick it is nearly impossible to get them to a hospital. That is the reason Pastor Lewi is in the process of building a clinic building but there are no funds to stock it.

 Project Initiatives:
 Water:
 Problem: Children dying from drinking dirty water, typhoid.
 Solution: Drilling a bore hole, pump, and storage.

 Food:
 Problem: Children are hungry, only getting one meal a day.
 Solution: Irrigation for crops and supplementing by purchasing bulk foods.

 Teachers:
 Problem: Ten teachers that are working with 1/2 or no salary per month
 Solution: Receiving enough funding to pay full salaries, ($100 per month per teacher)

 I think the question is not can you help these vulnerable children, but will you?

 As was stated above: You cannot take it with you, but you can "SEND IT AHEAD".

 “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19 “

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

 I believe there are God honoring people out there that need to open their store houses.

 The Bible says: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27

 Why:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2Timothy 4:8

 To what end:
“His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'” Matthew 25:21

 To help with this project please go to:
Watch Therefore Ministries
http://www.watchtherefore.tv/donate
 Click on the donate button.
You will be able to designate your funds in the note area to the Nakivale Orphan Refugee Outreach Program. "SEND IT AHEAD."

 Ken Merrill Project Manager PO4TN

Sobering facts about the men and women on the Vietnam Wall

Sobering facts about the men and women on the Vietnam Wall "Carved on these walls is the story of America , of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream." Something to think about: Most of the surviving parents of the dead are now deceased themselves. There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. 
 
 The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. 
 
 The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. , listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall. 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger. 
 
 The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old 33,103 were 18 years old. 
 
 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old. 
 
 One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. 
 
 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam . 
 
 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last scheduled day in Vietnam . 
 
 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. 
 
 Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. 
 
 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia ....wonder why so many from one school? 
 
 8 Women are on the Wall -- nursing the wounded. 
 
 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. 
 
 Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. 
 West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. 
There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. 
 
 The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed 
roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine 
graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. 
Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home. 
 
 The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few 
yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. 
 
 The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 -- 245 deaths. 
 
 The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 -- 2,415 casualties were incurred. 
 
 For many Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the 
pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. 
 
 There are no noble wars, just noble warriors... 
 
 "That we never forget" 


Getting Smarter

A Bike Ride with God

A Bike Ride with God - Author Unknown

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like the president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn't know him. But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was that He suggested that we change places, but life has not been the same since. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring but predictable ... It was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds, and it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal." I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are You taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I say, "I'm scared," He'd lean back and touch my hand. He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me gifts to take on my journey, my Lord's and mine. And we're off again. He said, "Give the gifts away, they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him at first, to be in control of my life, I thought He would wreck it; But He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten scary passages. I'm learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ. And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore, He smiles and says ... "Pedal."