tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68859592998872183272024-03-13T07:26:53.611-07:00Corinne In UgandaCorinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-67746769599474751842013-11-25T07:05:00.000-08:002013-11-25T07:05:09.510-08:00Relocated<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">I relocated! Go to <a href="http://www.iyasinafrica.blogspot.com/">www.iyasinafrica.blogspot.com</a> to follow me <i>and my husband</i>!</span></h3>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-31313415617836266462013-09-02T19:26:00.000-07:002013-09-10T17:35:29.174-07:00Love Never Fails :: Wedding<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A month and a half ago I boarded the airplane and started my journey from Uganda to Pennsylvania. Although only an ocean apart, these countries feel like worlds apart. And yet my God is equally present in both. It's a good thing that He is present, because I surely wasn't for a couple days - jet lag can be a beast! I'm thankful for the 40+ hours it took for me to travel from Uganda to Pennsylvania - it gave me a chance to breathe and retreat before my feet hit the ground running. That's what wedding planning can feel like. I don't mean that in a bad way; I enjoy running, and I enjoyed preparing for the climactic day when I became one with Daniel Iya. But let's be honest - running is tiring, and sometimes gasping for the grace of God is the only form of sustenance. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I came back from Uganda to get married to Daniel, and get married we did! On August 15th, we committed our lives to each other before the presence of our families, closest friends, and of course our Lord and Savior. With a mere 40 guests, our wedding day was intimate and exactly what we yearned for after being in Uganda: a time of reunion with our families. Daniel's parents came from Nigeria, and the rest of our family came from various states throughout America to celebrate our marriage. It truly was a sweet time overflowing with fellowship and blessing that can only be found in the Spirit. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brother, Caleb, and Daniel's brother, Paul, read scripture</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad prayed in English and Daniel's dad prayed in Hausa</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brother in law, David Canche, sang Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath at the ceremony</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This picture (and only this one) was taken by our photographer, Heather Green</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our wonderful guests who traveled from all over (Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Arizona) to come to the wedding!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel's parents (left) and their friends, the Buges (right)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First dance</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my sisters, Katelyn, and her wonderful family!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel's long time friend and best man, Rabo, and his family</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not a party without some dancing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my beloved, this is my friend..</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Following a wonderful honeymoon in the Bahamas, Daniel and I moved to Terre Hill, PA where we will live until January. Come January, we will return to Good Shepherd's Fold Babies & Children's Home. What will we be doing until then? Daniel and I will attend Westminster Theological Seminary (Daniel as a full-time student and me as an auditor), and I will continue my ministry as the sponsorship coordinator for GSF. Keep an eye out for updates!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A video from our wedding day, shot and edited by <a href="http://kentmast.com/" target="_blank">Kent Mast</a>. Enjoy!</span><br />
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-68034512255832734272013-07-09T14:39:00.000-07:002013-07-09T15:14:10.362-07:00My Bags Are Packed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My bags are packed and I'm tucked into my bed for my last night here
in Uganda. My mind is spinning as I think back to nearly a year ago when
I said goodbyes on the other side of the ocean. There's great sadness
and happiness that comes with goodbyes and hellos, from leaving one
place and entering a new one. More than anything it feels like a whole
lot of transitions that require a whole lot of faith. I left America not
knowing how long I would be in Uganda. I said goodbye to my family,
friends, and Daniel, hoping to see them sooner rather than later but
knowing that timing was truly indefinite. I packed my bags and
traveled into a land of unknowns. But it was only unknown to me. God knew it
would be 357 days until I packed to return to America. He knew exactly what each day would entail here in Uganda, things that I could never have imagined. God knew He would bring
Daniel to Uganda, filling his heart with a passion and calling to serve Jesus Christ here. <i>He knew all
things then, and He knows all things now.</i> So although my bags are packed
and I've said too many goodbyes for my heart to handle, God knows when
I'll be returning. I hope that my hellos are sooner rather than later,
but it's time for me to take another journey into a land of transitions and unknowns,
knowing that He will fill each day and moment with His grace.</div>
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17 hours until I take off for America! I would appreciate all of your prayers as I transition back into my other home =) I am so excited to see my new nieces!</div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-66919262402050182582013-06-24T05:39:00.003-07:002013-06-24T08:49:44.568-07:00The Bride (no, I'm not referring to myself)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I spent three nights in the nearby village of Kikube. I stayed in the home of Prossy, one of the teachers here at GSF. My mind floods when I think about what I saw during my experience there, but there is one thing that blew me away more than anything. No, it's not the cockroaches that patrolled the latrines at night or the surprise of waking up to Miley Cyrus' song "Party In The USA" playing in the next-door hut one morning (although that is certainly unforgettable as well). I was struck by the powerful presence of God's Holy Spirit working in that village. Kikube is known for many things, and I'd venture to say that the born again Christian church is not one of them. And yet the local church is alive. In fact, it is vibrant. There is a community of Christians that meets for prayer on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. They meet for 2 hours from 8-10pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I can only imagine that they meet for even longer on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings. I had the pleasure of attending the Thursday evening service. There were about 15 of us gather in a church member's home for this candle-lit service (no, not for "effect" - it was just because this house had no power). A man spoke for some time and then we had a time of praise and worship (singing, dancing, sweating....you get the picture). Following worship, we moved immediately into a time of prayer. When I think of prayer time, I think of a nicely arranged circle where we all share some requests and then take turns praying for each other. That is <i>not</i> the kind of prayer time we had. This prayer time was animated and unrestrained. Everybody stood and talked with God simultaneously. No, they did nto speak in their hushed "respectful" tones - they pleaded with God, calling out to Him and pouring their hearts out to the Lord Almighty. I was touched at the way that God takes care of His bride, His body, His beloved ones, even those in this little village of Kikube. The light of Christ is dim in that village, but let me testify that it is alive. The local church is there and it will grow there because THAT is His bride. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Just as I was heading out to church this morning, I received the news that Light Of The World church was not allowed to use its rented building (ok, its more like a room). Light Of The World is a church planted in the village of Buundo, just a 15-minute walk from Good Shepherd's Fold. Although it is not a GSF church, it was started by one of the GSF security guards and GSF has taken a great part in encouraging the planting of this church. You may remember the church opening in December - I wrote about it <a href="http://corinneinuganda.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-body_6.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. After being told multiple times to "leave the building," the church opted to set up their benches outside and hold the service right next to the building. It was unexpected. Why wouldn't the landlord open the room to us; what would become of the church? And it was then that I saw the bride of Christ, His body, and the real church - not the <i>building</i> church. Pastor Sam spoke with conviction: "A church is not a building; it is a body of believers. Turn to your neighbor and tell him, 'We are the church.'" We opened to 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5. Pastor Sam talked of the trials that we go through, whether at home, at work, or at church. Trials grow us and make us depend on God. <i>Trials bring testimonies of God's working hand. </i>And this trial that Light Of The World church is experiencing is no exception. No matter how or why the church is persecuted, we will prevail knowing that "we were destined for them" (vs. 3). This trial will grow the church, because that's what trials do; <i>trials make us grow in faith.</i> The service was powerful and convicting. And it ended with 20 minutes of prayer for provision and direction. The entire congregation stood up, made a circle, and joined hands to pray together. Pastor Sam closed, "Where will we go next, God? Whether you give us a tree or just some rocks to sit on, we are leaving it on Your almighty hands." </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pastor Sam leading the worship time</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pastor Sam (left) with his two interpreters, Jasper and Esther</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">God has opened my eyes to His true bride - the church. He cares for His children; he loves them and guards them. He knows that they need and when. He knows what His bride needs to bring her closer to Him, whether it means bringing a prayer community together or stripping a building away from a congregation. I praise God for His almighty hand and His wonderful work in both Kikube and Buundo villages. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Please pray with me for Kikube and Buundo. Pray that God's Spirit would <i>continue</i> to move in Kikube in a way that would expand His kingdom. Pray that Light Of The World church would grow from this trial, both in numbers and in faith. Pray that God would provide a location for His body to meet together.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The congregation</td></tr>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-30161425298361197832013-06-02T04:22:00.001-07:002013-06-02T04:27:04.333-07:00A Week In Pictures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Samaritan's Purse came to Good Shepherd's Fold to hand out some Operation Christmas Child boxes! I don't know how many of you have participated in this ministry from stateside, but it sure was neat to be on the "receiving end" and watch the children excitedly open their gifts. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!</div>
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Katie and I took a handful of our boys from GSF to Hope Children's Home, a Ugandan-run neighboring orphanage. The boys served the children of Hope Children's Home by digging in the gardens and playing with the other kids. The GSF boys experienced the joy of serving others! </div>
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Good Shepherd's Fold welcomed two new little children this week - Eseza and Brian. They are so sweet and have transitioned well into the toddler house. Click <a href="http://gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com/2013/05/eseza.html" target="_blank">here</a> to see more pictures of the loving siblings! Please pray for Eseza and Brian as they continue to transition into the toddler house here at GSF.</div>
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I got to celebrate my birthday! Daniel took me out for wonderful dinner in Kampala the weekend before my birthday. </div>
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Katie and Dayna continued the celebration of my 23rd year in various ways. They rallied all of the GSF child to "water" me (it is what it sounds like), spoiled me with a day of pampering, and finished the day off with a surprise overnight stay at King Fisher, a local resort! (I use the word "resort" loosely, but it really was so much fun). </div>
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Of course every week includes church! Here is a picture of the outside of Light of the World church. It's packed out each Sunday; last week was standing room only! It is neat to watch God's hand at work in the body of Christ. Please pray that God's Spirit would continue to transform lives through and in Light of the World church! </div>
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Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support!</div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-23642952208775371902013-05-15T12:49:00.000-07:002013-05-15T13:01:06.499-07:00Saved from the Pit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I wrap my arms around his frail body. He is marked with wounds that testify to the mistreatment that he once faced. His wounds are healing, but they aren't disappearing; they're leaving scars. To me, it reflects the emotional wounds that he has, and I pray that those are also healing. <br />
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As I hold this little boy, 4 years old and just 17 pounds, I think of all that he's experienced. Just one week ago he was trapped in a pit. How did he survive? Did he even cry? My heart breaks and cries out to God - how could He allow something like this to happen? Why didn't God bring this little boy to GSF months ago. But He did - why did we ever give him back to the family? This could've been avoided. It was ALMOST avoided. <br />
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And yet God didn't work things out that way. In His sovereignty, he allowed this little boy to go through this horrifying experience that nearly led to death. But it didn't lead to death; God rescued this little life. He loves this little boy more than any of us do. God could've brought him to GSF months and even weeks ago, but He had other plans. God protected his life because He wasn't done with it. I believe God sent an angel to sit with this little boy during each hour and day in the pit. The angel kept him from being crushed or drowned in the muck he was sitting in. God brought a villager to the pit to rescue him, and it was God that brought him to safety here at GSF. I praise God who heard this boy's cry and rescued him from the pit. <br />
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<i style="color: #274e13;">"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:1-3</i><br />
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It doesn't make sense that this little boy is alive, but he is. It's a miracle that testifies to God's redemption, grace, and love. But in reality, each of our lives are a miracle that testifies to God's redemption, grace, and love. Spiritually, we are all in a pit before God's saving hand reaches down and saves us. It is a pit of sin that we could never climb out ourselves. But God knows we are there, and He sent His son to rescue us and make us new again. Maybe we have scars in our life, but let them remind us of God's saving grace. <br />
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And I cry out to God, begging Him to heal this little boy. Although he will probably always remain with scars, both physical and emotional, may they be used as a reminder of God's saving grace. <br />
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God isn't done with this child's story; <b>let's all pray for this little boy as God continues His story of redemption. </b><i style="color: #274e13;"></i><br />
<i style="color: #274e13;"><br />"Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption." Psalm 130:7</i></div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-49039174632010239012013-04-23T06:32:00.001-07:002013-04-23T06:33:31.895-07:00What's In A Day?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sometimes I'm asked what I do... and it really is a great question. But it's also a really tough question. No, not because I don't do anything, it's because what I do is so sporadic and unpredictable that it's hard to give a real job description of my responsibilities. I'm the sponsorship coordinator by title, but I also have other responsibilities as I live this life of service to God. It is my responsibility to make sure I respond to an email from a child sponsor, but it is also my responsibility to counsel two children who are fighting over a swing. I have plenty of the "job" type of responsibilities, but I also get amazing opportunities to disciple the children here at GSF. But when it comes down to it, why AM I here? Is it to create a seamless sponsorship program, or is it to share the love of Christ and story of the Gospel at every opportunity? I try my best to do both. </div>
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But for your sanity, let me focus on my sponsorship coordinating responsibilities exclusively. One of my favorite parts of being the sponsorship coordinator is writing letters with the children. I love watching as they carefully craft each word (or in some cases, carefully craft each scribble). For the most part, the children have never met their sponsors, and yet they are filled with love for these people that help provide for them. Do they even get what a sponsor really is? I'm not sure, but they definitely understand enough to know that there are people from other parts of the world that are dedicated to them. And that dedication gives them a strong sense of belonging, which turns into a strong dedication returned back to the sponsors. The children here pray for their sponsors, cherish gifts and cards sent from their sponsors, and pour effort into their return letters. It's an amazing relationship; it's a two-way street. Although the children here don't necessarily have anything they can give their sponsors materially (except the other day when I intercepted a boy trying to give his sponsor his baby picture..), they give everything they can - love and prayer.</div>
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Besides managing communication between sponsors and the children, I also match sponsors with children, track sponsorship finances, keep a sponsorship blog (www.gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com - I know, it's time for an update!), send out a monthly sponsorship e-newsletter, communicate with sponsors, and....send lots of emails. Quite honestly, it's a great deal of computer "desk work." But God gives me amazing opportunities with both the sponsors and the children to watch His name be glorified and love be exemplified. </div>
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Truly, I'm so thankful that God brought me to GSF to serve Him through whatever responsibilities He brings me on a given day. Each day looks so different, but that's all part of the adventure of being led by the Holy Spirit =)</div>
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Praises/Prayer Requests:</div>
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- Praise God! Daniel and I have set a wedding date. On August 15 we will become Mr. & Mrs. Iya =)</div>
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- Praise that the time with Heather continues to be fruitful and wonderful! Click here to see her latest video: <a href="http://vimeo.com/64224802">http://vimeo.com/64224802</a></div>
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- Pray that God would give me grace and wisdom as I continue to work on expanding and improving the sponsorship program.</div>
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- Pray for our children at GSF. The school holiday is soon, which means that many of them will go to their relatives and spend some time in the village. Pray for God's emotional, physical, and spiritual protection over them during the holiday.</div>
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- Pray for the missionaries at GSF. The opportunities that God gives us to reach the poor and needy can be overwhelming. Pray that God would continue to grant strength as we serve Him in this community.</div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-19845287894685674222013-04-06T05:04:00.002-07:002013-04-06T05:07:01.033-07:00A GSF Video<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Heather Green (<a href="http://www.gonetouganda.com/">www.gonetouganda.com</a>) came to Good Shepherd's Fold this week! She is going to spend 5 weeks taking pictures and videos for GSF. God knows exactly what I needed - a great roommate and friend to fellowship and serve alongside. It's been so encouraging to have her here. I know God has great things in store for her. Even though she's only been a week, she's been a great blessing to GSF. In fact, she already put together a video as a "sneak peek" of more to come. Here is the link if you'd like to view it: <a href="http://gonetouganda.com/2013/04/06/update-recap/">http://gonetouganda.com/2013/04/06/update-recap/</a>. Enjoy!<br />
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Pray for Maria and Dennis - two little children who joined GSF this week. <br />
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-23171403196033444482013-03-19T03:11:00.001-07:002013-03-19T05:09:53.822-07:00The GSF Effect From An Insider<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Good Shepherd’s Fold is “home” and “family” for hundreds of
Ugandans. Besides the 85 children who currently live here, there have been
hundreds who have already passed through. I think that these GSF “graduates”
(for a lack of a better term) are the greatest testimony for GSF. Many of these children (now adults)
came to GSF at an early age, were raised and educated at GSF, turned 18 and left GSF by law, and completed their education at a boarding school for
vocational training or university with the financial help of the GSF
Scholarship Program. After the education is complete, so is the financial assistance
that they receive from GSF – it’s time to go out on their own!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of my friends is in this situation. GSF is all he has
ever known, and he has just completed his education at a vocational school through
the GSF Scholarship Program. So, although his family and home remains here, GSF
is no longer his shelter and support. Needless to say, it is a hard time for
him. It’s also a reflective time as he transitions out of GSF. I asked him to
write about his time as a “GSF kid” and if I could share his story with you. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He agreed to write it out. So, here is his summary of his experience at GSF in his own
words. I emphasized the parts that stood out to me.</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life In GSF And How It Has Affected Me</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I came to GSF in 1996 when I was a toddler. That means I
could talk a little, walk a little, and possibly sing. I got to know GSF was
because one of my auntie’s sisters, who was back then in the village, happened
to work in GSF. There and then she tried to link me up to GSF since my home and
my family were not in any good shape. <b><i>So I happened to be the lucky child of a
million of Ugandan children to join GSF.</i></b> And back then I was about five years
old. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I joined GSF and found out there were so many different/new
kids that I never knew. Anyway I found out that <b><i>they were going to be my new
family</i></b>. Just so you know, I was scared of the strange places that I didn’t know
back then. All of the same, I had to live with them. Well my life at GSF was affected
in so many ways that I had never thought about. Some of the ways it was affected
may include:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Spiritually. My life at GSF was changed when I joined
GSF. When I came I was not a believer. But when I lived long enough in GSF, I
got to know that there was life after death. Not only did I know that, but <b><i>I
also gave my life to Christ</i></b> because He died for me. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">2) Education. I have never paid a coin from my pocket or
even paid school fees in my life. This is something that </span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;">I am very grateful</span></b></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"> for
because in Uganda it is one of the major problems. And I’m lucky that I have
never faced such a problem in my life. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">3) Shelter. GSF has provided me with a place where to stay
since I was 5 years old until the resettlement age when one has to leave the
home to start his or her own new life. And for this </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;"><i><b>I am so grateful</b></i>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"> May God
bless them. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">4) Love shown. The love given may not be the motherly love
or biological love one might give her own child, but </span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;">I’m grateful</span></b></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"> for the love
they have shown and given me. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) Discipline. GSF may be the best place that one could take
his or her child for wise choices and healthy brain. GSF helps the child
respect and obey authority, which is needed in our present society. This alone<b><i>
helps a child make good decisions</i></b> that may help or affect his or her life
positively.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">6) Clothing. GSF has provided me with </span><b style="color: #274e13;"><i>clothes I could never
imagine</i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">. This alone </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;"><i><b>I am very grateful</b></i><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">for that we do not deserve it, but it is
</span><b style="color: #274e13;"><i>because of God’s grace. </i></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyways, I can go on and on speaking of how it has affected
me, but I will end by saying… <b><i>GSF may be a small heaven on earth, as one person
said.</i></b> And such places can rarely be found if not shown. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a testimony of God's grace and the way that He is using GSF to work in the lives of His children. It's a blessing to be a part of this ministry, because it allows me to be a part of these stories. But GSF can't do it without the prayer and support of the body of Christ. GSF couldn't provide education, food, and shelter without financial aid from child sponsors. GSF couldn't provide higher education (high school, vocational training, and/or university) for resettled GSF children without scholarship sponsors. It's a constant tension for GSF - desiring to help our resettled students continue education, but knowing the limitations of the resources that we have. For example, GSF sent 12 students back to university in January, uncertain of whether or not they will be able to ever graduate. It was a struggle to know whether or not they should all be sent back (they were returning students), but GSF decided to go ahead and do it, trusting that funds would come in to provide for the next semester....and the next semester. Donors for the scholarship fund is currently one of the, if not THE, greatest need at GSF. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I don't want you to feel burdened or obligate to give towards this need; I'm only sharing to invite you to be a part of these stories, stories like the one I shared above. Let me tell you, it is a <i>blessing</i> to be a part of this ministry. And the children who are affected by GSF are so grateful for the generosity extended to them.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>If you would like to give a one-time gift to the scholarship program, you can either send a check to Global Outreach International, P.O. Box 1, Tupelo, MS 38802 and earmark it for the GSF Scholarship Program. OR you can make an online donation through PayPal by clicking "support" under Good Shepherd's Fold <a href="http://www.globaloutreach.org/missionaries.html#GSF" target="_blank">here</a> . If you are interested in sponsoring a scholarship student for $50 per month, please email me at gsfscholarship@gmail.com and I will send you further information. </i> </span></div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-87069042544813150032013-03-01T13:40:00.001-08:002013-03-01T14:10:26.300-08:00A Fab Feb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has been a wonderful month of February! So many exciting things have happened that I hardly know where to start. So let me start with my parents' visit...</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">My parents came to visit me at Good Shepherd's Fold for ten days! Although my dad already wrote about their experience in the last post, let me reiterate that we had an amazing time together. One of the missionaries said, "There's nothing more special than when your parents come to visit," and (although they were my first guests) I can't help but agree. What a gift to have them for those ten days. We served alongside of each other, talked late into the night to catch up on lost time, met all of my GSF "family", and rode bodas together. That's right, my mom rode a boda (motorcycle) all over the country of Uganda! Well, not <i>all</i> over, but she definitely could have - don't let her tell you otherwise! It was one unforgettable time and I am SO thankful that they took the trip out here. I know my parents are talking more about their trip to GSF at Community Evangelical Free Church this Sunday evening. So, if you're around Elverson, PA, you should put it on your calendar!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kRJ0-BZFMP0/UTEUyF0-rgI/AAAAAAAABC4/YHHuJiQkVJM/s1600/DSC_0291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kRJ0-BZFMP0/UTEUyF0-rgI/AAAAAAAABC4/YHHuJiQkVJM/s400/DSC_0291.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mom and I ready to take her first boda ride!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jx6DjgRiKd8/UTEWfM8tPMI/AAAAAAAABEQ/WgSQn9MII8s/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jx6DjgRiKd8/UTEWfM8tPMI/AAAAAAAABEQ/WgSQn9MII8s/s400/photo.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Out for dinner at the Haven =) The water behind us is the Nile river</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Just when I thought my time with mom and dad couldn't get better, Daniel came out to visit while they were here. So, on Saturday evening my parents, Daniel, Casia, and I went for dinner at The Haven, a picturesque restaurant planted right along the Nile river. After we enjoyed a rather delicious dinner, Daniel proposed...and of course I said yes! How exciting it was to share the joy with one of my dearest friends and my parents. Besides that, I now get to look forward to spending the rest of my life with Daniel! I couldn't be more pleased with God's pick as my partner =) When are we getting married? Good question. We're still praying about it, so please pray with us! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D6FnxdRAwVU/UTEVNGVg-dI/AAAAAAAABDA/wN9lrv-IwQI/s1600/IMG_1453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D6FnxdRAwVU/UTEVNGVg-dI/AAAAAAAABDA/wN9lrv-IwQI/s400/IMG_1453.jpg" width="297" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Daniel in action</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3zH-O5NQC6c/UTEVhgqG0eI/AAAAAAAABDY/8Q2KAHj90Zw/s1600/IMG_4196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3zH-O5NQC6c/UTEVhgqG0eI/AAAAAAAABDY/8Q2KAHj90Zw/s400/IMG_4196.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And the deed is done! </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The toddler house renovation = complete! After a long process of putting in a new playground, redoing the entire floor, tiling the showers, and repainting the entire house, the toddlers got to move back into their house! The best part of moving everything back was putting together the playroom. Just months ago, some stuffed animals and some worn blocks and play cars were the extent of the toddler toys. My sister Carly and her friends, my sister Katelyn and her church One Hope in Longview Texas, and my mother along with the children's ministry of Community Evangelical Free Church of Elverson PA have spent the last 4 months sending boxes and BOXES of toys to fill up the toddler house. It's been a great gift for the toddlers to enjoy, and they are loving all of their new toys!! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SPWjUDoqyHM/UTEUnOfL4WI/AAAAAAAABCw/CKgu33oe2Ec/s1600/IMG_1412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SPWjUDoqyHM/UTEUnOfL4WI/AAAAAAAABCw/CKgu33oe2Ec/s400/IMG_1412.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The playroom all ready for the kids!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vwevy7JXiZ4/UTEVXlMBxiI/AAAAAAAABDQ/6sbjWivMaaM/s1600/IMG_1685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vwevy7JXiZ4/UTEVXlMBxiI/AAAAAAAABDQ/6sbjWivMaaM/s400/IMG_1685.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">One of the bedrooms. New floors and new walls!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vL3NtD1L-4/UTEVUCdqfGI/AAAAAAAABDI/BRr3hgtmiN4/s1600/IMG_1690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vL3NtD1L-4/UTEVUCdqfGI/AAAAAAAABDI/BRr3hgtmiN4/s400/IMG_1690.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yes, the closest always look this good. I think the aunties should give me lessons on how to keep my own closets this organized!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-utSxi8MI2kI/UTEY_3_-VOI/AAAAAAAABEY/Iyrujaym2Ss/s1600/IMG_4145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-utSxi8MI2kI/UTEY_3_-VOI/AAAAAAAABEY/Iyrujaym2Ss/s640/IMG_4145.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Toy time!! </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sweet Leticia wore that veil all day!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Efrance playing with her new baby and food</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Amidst all of the February excitement, I had to say goodbye
to my amazing friend Casia. Casia has been with me my entire time in Uganda and
we grew to be tight friends. She opened the toddler house here at GSF, but
after problems with her back, she decided it was time to go home and get
surgery. I'm so sad that she is gone, but I'm thankful for the time that we did
have together. I'm still scheming a way to get her back here..</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">GSF welcomed two new boys into the family this week!
Charles, 3 years old, and Innocent, 1 year old, are currently transitioning
into their new life here at GSF. I can't help but think of physical, mental,
and emotional shock that it must be for the entire little selves.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's enough Corinne and GSF news! If you made it through the entire thing, I applaud you :) Let me wrap up with some prayer requests:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Pray that God would direct Daniel and I as we start planning the logistics of our wedding and future together. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Pray for Casia and she returns to life in America. Also pray for me as I learn to live without my best friend!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Daniel and I are traveling to Mbarara this weekend to meet with George, the Ugandan bishop that CEFC has been doing missions alongside of. Please pray that the trip would be productive and fruitful and we discuss George's vision to start and orphanage. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Praise God for a wonderful visit with my parents!</span></div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-75761022679097685702013-02-14T05:15:00.002-08:002013-02-14T05:17:10.887-08:00GSF And Corinne From Unbiased Eyes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We are greeted with cheers and song by the children and staff as we pull to the entrance of Good Shepherd's Fold. The mood is festive and full of appreciation for the parents of Corinne, one of their family. At that moment, the intensity and strains of this GSF work seems as far away as our 24 hour journey. These brief times of loving communal celebration are the glue necessary to bond this team through the stress of ministering to 400+ children through the staff of 80+ Ugandans. The calling of GSF ministry demands a sturdy and firm attachment to the Vine by each missionary. This firm sturdiness must produce an individual pliable flexibility necessary to minister together as a team in this environment of life and death (literally). It's not war but there are similarities with periods vacillating between the total serenity of rural Africa and the life threatening medical crises in this same rural Africa environment. Only prayer can empower the needed strength and meekness for this ministry.</div>
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A week of personal observation evidences a ministry influencing hundreds - likely thousands of people in the surrounding villages. Aside from the huge variety of employment provided for 80+ Ugandans, many of these same employees have planted churches and are pastors in these villages. These churches have developed so well that this year, GSF discontinued Sunday services in their own chapel building. GSF missionaries and orphans now attend and engage with local village churches. The worship and ministry truly embodies Christ in power through His grace in an effective Ugandan way. The mature understanding of GSF missionaries to engage with the Ugandan church indicates their selfless commitment to build and disciple effectively. Instead of worshiping conveniently in their on site brick chapel hearing their own missionaries speak and worship American style, they walk about 1/2 mile along dirt (or mud) trails to worship in one of the local villages. No parking lots, doors, windows or even bathrooms but benches on a dirt floor and real worship in Spirit and truth.</div>
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Corinne's primary assignment for her first year has been to organize and grow the Sponsorship program for GSF. Unlike most ministries, orphanages need a continual outside source to sustain them. There is good reason the Bible mentions "widow and orphan ministry" as the example for true religion (James 1:27). These are not able to quickly help themselves and there is an endless supply of this segment of the population in every country. The sponsorship program provides food, clothes, care and shelter for orphan children that otherwise have none. The missionaries raise their support for their own travel, food, shelter and ministry. But funding for the needs of the orphans comes through individual sponsors for each orphan and constitutes the majority of the income for GSF. In her first 6 months, God has blessed Corinne's efforts by greatly increasing the number of sponsors and streamlining the communication process between the orphans and their sponsors. This is the kind of job where success produces more work. Increasing the sponsors results in increasing the need for communication. Creating meaningful communication results in increased correspondences and packages. The Post Office employees know Corinne like a personal friend and couldn't wait to meet her parents. Our hour long Post Office visit filled the back of our vehicle.</div>
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Did we mention flexibility? By October Corinne became aware of the need for an operational and facility makeover in the toddler house. This challenge was far outside her primary assignment but her calling to dive into this was confirmed by the rest of the team. Youth and inexperience worked in favor toward her optimistic goals to accomplish this makeover by Christmas. Realism set in as the immensity of the makeover increased to change some personnel. African deadlines for construction completion are non-existent. So a brief 1 month side-assignment became a 2 month project with the hard relational challenges of personnel changes. The move-in day was delayed until last Saturday - a process always greater than anticipated. Then, to top off this huge culmination of 2 months, that evening Corinne was asked the "will you marry me " question by Daniel Iya. No one, including Daniel and Corinne anticipated these 2 big events happening the same day. Did we mention flexibility? Oh, the answer is "YES" both to the flexibility and marriage questions.</div>
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Prayer from the rest of the body is the source of powerful grace that keeps this ministry in Kingdom work. The needs are endless, the challenges are immense and the enemy is ruthless. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood ...... but against the dark powers of this world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12). Like each member of our body, all of us are in need of intercessory prayer. Hopefully this blog will help you in this work of prayer - this means of grace as our body works through Corinne in Uganda.</div>
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Merle and Diane</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out to dinner at the Haven!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right after Daniel proposed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diane and me enjoying Uganda</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corinne with the toddlers at the opening of the redone toddler house</td></tr>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-29764776516515325892013-02-05T00:07:00.003-08:002013-02-05T00:15:05.667-08:00Extreme Makeover GSF Edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">His blessings have been especially tangible this month after reuniting with Daniel (my boyfriend) after six months apart - PRAISE GOD! Daniel arrived on January 22 and will spend the next 6 months in Uganda working with a ministry called <a href="http://www.emiusa.org/" target="_blank">Engineering Ministries International (EMI)</a>. Although he is stationed in Kampala which is about a two hour drive from Good Shepherd's Fold, it feels like he's next door compared to him being in Texas! It's been great to already spend time together (including this past weekend!), and when we aren't together, I'm just thankful that we are at least in the same time zone =)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">There are also exciting things happening here at Good Shepherd's Fold! We have been working on renovating the toddler house. The toddler house suffered from a crumbling cement floor, pealing walls, and...well...rats. It was time for some Extreme Makeover GSF edition! After being blessed with some generous donations and a special fund raising effort by my sister Katelyn, we had all the funds ready to redo the cement floor, tile the showers, and repaint all of the walls. It's been a work in progress (we are going on 1.5 months of work...), but it is nearly finished! Soon it will be all ready for the toddlers to move in, complete with a new supply of toys compliments of CEFC and my sister Carly. It's been a blessing to watch the way that God has provided for all of these sweet toddlers, and I feel honored to be a part of His work. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laying the concrete!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I have a lot to look forward to in the next ten days because (drum roll, please)....my parents are coming to visit me! My mom and dad are actually in transit as I type this. I'm ecstatic and can't wait to share my "Uganda world" with them. My dad actually came to GSF last January without me (not that I'm holding that against him....ok maybe I'm still trying to get over that), but this will be my mother's first trip to Africa! My dad will be working with Sam, the pastor of the new GSF church (read about it <a href="http://corinneinuganda.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-body_6.html" target="_blank">here</a>), and my mom will be helping me rearrange and organize the renovated toddler house. I'm <i>very</i> grateful that they're taking the trip out here and cannot wait to see them! Again, I feel so honored and blessed!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So, there's so much to be grateful for this month! But there are also some definite prayer needs.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">1. Pray that the toddler house renovations would get finished! We moved the toddlers into a different house during the project, which bumped other kids out of their own house. The project was only anticipated to take 3 weeks, and we are going on 7 weeks. That's a lot of weeks to have 18 displaced toddlers! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">2. All of the GSF kids started school today. In Uganda, the school year coordinates with the calendar year, so they're all starting their new classes and teachers. Pray for them as they transition back into the school schedule! Also pray that our kids would be diligent in their studies.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">3. Pray for my parents as they are traveling to Uganda! Also pray that God would bless our time together.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">4. Pray for Daniel and he continues to adjust to life here in Uganda!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">5. Pray for Sebastian, one of our sweet little toddlers. He is going in for surgery to close up his cleft palate tomorrow. Pray that the surgery is successful!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First day of school!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sebastian leaving for surgery</td></tr>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-1633090520585488642013-01-09T10:02:00.001-08:002013-01-09T10:02:16.763-08:00God's Beloved <html><body>She approaches me, feet moving slowly but heart beating rapidly. Her lips don't speak but her eyes scream louder than words could sound. She is fearful and timid...but why? GSF is her home and family...and has been for eight months. And yet she seems as disconnected and alone as the day she arrived. Why does she push away when all I want to do is to love on her? Why is her ability to speak disabled by her insecurity to do so? She isolates herself from all the other children. What's happened in the past 4 1/2 years of her life that's caused her to act in such a way? <br /><br />And my heart breaks. It yearns to do anything to help her, to break the walls down, to just reach her. So I love her as best as I know how and pray that God would work in her heart and penetrate her mind even as she pushes me away. Only God knows her past, and only He knows where she will be in five years...and He knows how to get her there. He knew her before she was born. And as much as I love her, God's love for his beloved little child infinitely suprasses my love for her.<br /><br />So I lay her in His hands and pray for His strength...both for her and for me. And I praise God for His protection over her. <br /><br /><div style="clear: both;"></div><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O3uPF-wNM-g/UO2wpJ6TVBI/AAAAAAAAA9w/Tybk0zCVs-I/res1357753943.910705.jpeg" align="left" style="margin-right:25px;"><div style="clear: both;"></div><br />Please pray with me for this sweet little girl! <br /><br />Also pray for Daniel as he prepares to come to Uganda in two weeks. And praise God because my parents are coming to visit in February!!<div style="clear: both;"></div></body></html>Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-45047118821365415362012-12-27T05:08:00.001-08:002012-12-27T05:41:36.229-08:00A GSF Christmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="text Phil-2-7" id="en-ESV-29382"></span></span><span class="text Phil-2-7" id="en-NIV-29399"></span><span class="text Phil-2-7" id="en-NIV-29399"><span style="color: #274e13;">December 25, 2012 - the first Christmas that I spent away from family. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, and I didn't anticipate it being difficult...but holidays definitely make the "sacrifice" of missionary life that much harder. But it served as a wonderful reminder of the great sacrifice that Christ made when he left his Father in heaven to come to earth. I'm so thankful that Jesus was obedient to God's will for Him!</span></span></div>
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<i><span class="text Phil-2-7" id="en-NIV-29399">He made himself nothing</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-7">by taking the very nature of a servant,</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-7">being made in human likeness.</span></span><span class="text Phil-2-8" id="en-NIV-29400"><sup class="versenum"> </sup></span></i></div>
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<i><span class="text Phil-2-8" id="en-NIV-29400"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>And being found in appearance as a man,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-8">he humbled himself</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-8">by becoming obedient to death—</span></span><br /><span class="indent-2"><span class="indent-2-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-8">even death on a cross!</span></span></i> </div>
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<i><span class="text Phil-2-9" id="en-NIV-29401"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Therefore God exalted him to the highest place</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-9">and gave him the name that is above every name,</span></span><span class="text Phil-2-10" id="en-NIV-29402"><sup class="versenum"> </sup></span></i></div>
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<i><span class="text Phil-2-10" id="en-NIV-29402"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-10">in heaven and on earth and under the earth,</span></span><span class="text Phil-2-11" id="en-NIV-29403"><sup class="versenum"> </sup></span></i></div>
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<i><span class="text Phil-2-11" id="en-NIV-29403"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-11">to the glory of God the Father.</span></span></i></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Phil-2-11"><i style="color: #660000;">Philippians 2:6-11 </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Phil-2-11"><span style="color: #274e13;">Christ made the greatest display of sacrifice when he humbled himself, leaving all behind, and coming to earth as our Savior. Suddenly celebrating a Christmas away from my family doesn't seem so bad. Talk about perspective!</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Phil-2-11">That said, celebrating Christmas here at GSF really was so special. Our GSF celebration started the evening of Christmas eve when we had a little gathering with the children. Most of the GSF kids are away with their relatives for the holiday, but a handful of the kids (including all of the babies, toddlers, and special needs children) remained. So, we got together in the "youth room," sang some songs (no, not "O Holy Night" - picture more like "Jesus Loves Me" songs) and Claudia read a Christmas story to all of the children. After the story, we did a candlelit song time and handed out stockings. Each child received his/her own stocking filled with things such as flavored water, chips, popcorn, crackers, and a few candies - they were thrilled! It was really special to see their excitement over (in American standards) sub-par stocking fillers. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have you ever seen such excitement over a bag of chips??</td></tr>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Phil-2-11">We then filed out to the pavilion where we lit a few floating lanterns. Although only one lantern actually floated (we were experiencing some pretty heavy winds - haha), it was still so special and exciting! </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia reading the Christmas story</td></tr>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Phil-2-11">Christmas morning I finally got to open the presents that mom had packed for me six months in advance! I'm blessed with a mother who knows how to make Christmas special from the other side of the world. Then the missionaries had a brunch and gift exchange before we geared up for the lunch and gift time with all of the GSF children. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A roommate Christmas picture!</td></tr>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Phil-2-11">Mid-afternoon, we were all ready the Christmas feast and gift time with the children. Just as it was time for the kids to come, the African rains showed up. We gathered the soggy kids and had a full spread feast, including matoke, rice, potatoes, chicken, beef, and pork topped off with a birthday cake for Jesus. We closed off the Christmas time with presents for each of the kids. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard at play</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing off the loot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing beats a pair of Christmas undies!</td></tr>
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<span class="indent-1" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="text Phil-2-11">Please pray for all of the GSF children who are home for the holidays. I'm so thankful that some of these children have relatives who are willing to take them, but most of them are in living situations that are less than comfortable. Some of the kids enjoy visiting their relatives, but some of them absolutely dread it. Pray that God would make His presence so strong to them during this time! </span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="text Phil-2-11">Also pray for Daniel as he raises funds for his missions trip to Uganda! He arrives in Uganda on January 22. You are welcome to read about his preparation at <a href="http://www.danielinuganda.blogspot.com/">www.danielinuganda.blogspot.com</a>!</span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="text Phil-2-11">Thank you for your continued prayer support! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">May none of us ever take for granted the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made when coming to earth and becoming our Savior. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! </span></div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-62833528144492525552012-12-13T04:19:00.001-08:002012-12-13T04:22:13.166-08:00A Piece of Richard's Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Richard.</span></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Richard is a precious and sweet little boy that arrived at GSF on August - the same day that I arrived at Good Shepherds Fold. I have since fallen in love with Richard. Over the last 3 1/2 months, Richard has thrived...emotionally. Physically, not so much. You see, Richard struggles with </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle_cell" target="_blank">sickle cell</a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">and has been battling crisis and blood infections. He's been in out of clinics ever since he arrived with his condition only worsening. So, I took him to a clinic in Kampala for additional blood work and a second opinion. A week later, I scheduled a consultation and follow up appointment with the doctor. It turned out that, after over a month of battling crisis and infection, the day of this follow up appointment was also the day that his little body had had enough. By the time we arrived at the clinic, Richard was inconsolable and the doctor took him back immediately. After a pain killers and a quick assessment, the doctor told us that his body was going into failure. I was devastated and so scared. How could this sweet little boy be dying? What followed was four of the most intense days of my life. Richard's body did in fact start failing, including renal failure, intestine inactivity, and an acute chest infection. I sat in the hospital, along with Elijah (another little boy who I brought for surgery - his surgery went well and has had a full recovery) and Julie (a nurse who had arrived at GSF just days before), and prayed...and cried... How can you sleep next to a boy who is literally dying? What do you do when there is nothing left to do? I called on my prayer warriors in America, and surely enough, our Healer God started reviving little Richard's body. After almost a day of inactivity, his kidneys and intestines began working. Here is a portion of an email that I sent to my family during that time: </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;"><i>When the doctor told me yesterday that Richard was going in failure, when another doctor came in last night and said that he was going in renal failure and didn't come back for five hours to follow up on his diagnosis (leaving us to assume he didn't know what to do...in reality he really didn't and had "gone to call another doctor"), when Richards body just shook from pain and screamed unless drugged so heavily with a hallucination pain killer that he was asleep, and when another missionary with many years of experience told me that Richard's body was shutting down and that I needed to prepare myself for the worst and just love on him while I could, I was devastated and so helpless. Nobody knew what to do besides pray. And so its what everyone did - all of GSF, all of you, churches in America.... And now I really do still feel so hopeful. The fact that they're even throwing days around about when we may be able to go home is so huge. I know there is still a lot to work through and we are not at the end of the tunnel, but I at least feel there is an end of the tunnel. So thank you thank you for praying!! It is still so intense and so exhausting, physically and emotionally, but I wouldn't wish to be anywhere or doing anything else in the whole world. God knew what he was doing when he brought me and Richard to GSF on the same day.</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I've never watched a miracle unfold the way that I saw God heal Richard that week. Richard's body was literally shutting down...and God put His hand on Richard and revived each of his little organs. Just days later, he was singing and talking. Below is a video that I took of him while at the hospital:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">God's power was revealed through little Richard. I'm so thankful that He chose to spare the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">life of that sweet boy. Although Richard's body has had a month to heal since this traumatic time, it is still fighting the blood infection and chest infection. He has been back to the clinic twice and will continue to go for regular check ups. Sickle cell will be a life-long battle for this little guy. But, I know that battling sickle cell is just a piece of the full story that God has in store for him.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>Please pray that God would continue to sustain and protect sweet Richard. And most of all, praise God for such a amazing healing!</b></span></span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm currently at <a href="http://www.woluganda.org/" target="_blank">Word Of Life</a> camp with 25 teenagers from Good Shepherd's Fold. The camp started on Sunday and runs until this Saturday. Please pray that God would be moving in the hearts of these teenagers as they are offered the gospel throughout the week! There's nothing more wonderful than expanding the family of God.</span></i></div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-40675956446199150762012-11-06T07:51:00.003-08:002012-11-06T07:55:00.308-08:00The Body<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We walk into the mud structure, voices of three languages filling the air. The voices are strong, but not in an angry way. These voices are full of passion. There is a man standing up front, tall and clothed in a full dark blue suit. His eyes are full of energy as he speaks from his heart. He speaks in English, but has a man on his right side and a woman on his left side repeating his words in Luganda and Swahili simultaneously. Casia and I are ushered to the front of the building where they have two plastic chairs set aside for the "visitors." Along the way, congregation members pull us aside to shake our hands and say, "You are most welcome." And we feel most welcome. This is the church: the body of Christ. Worship begins and the music starts, but it is only the music of voices and clapping. But just voices? It almost sounds too full to be only voices. These are the voices of Africans, full, deep, and loud. They are jumping and clapping as they worship. Their hands create a rhythm that resembles a full percussion orchestra. Sweat falls from their faces, their hair, their arms, drenching their clothes as they "shake the devil," "jump on the devil," and "dance like a winner in the Lord." The songs almost sound childish, but then again, these people are children of the Lord. They are the body of Christ, worshipping and praising the same God as Community Evangelical Free Church worshipped and praised just 8 hours later. Worship time finishes, and the pastor proceeds to preach (with his two interpreters alongside him) of Daniel and his devotion prayer. "God's network is always clear." God hears our prayers, whether we are in a remote village in Uganda or in a mega church in America. Following a prayer service and a full spread for lunch, they give us a tour of the new church that they are building around the current church. Until it is complete, they will worship in their current building. However, the current building is weak and crumbling. So, the congregation has been tithing to build a new building on the same grounds (the old structure is literally within the walls of the new structure; they will just knock the current building down when the new one is complete). THIS is the body of Christ. In the middle of Katunda, a remote village out in sugar cane fields, a small body of believers are scrapping together tithe from their small salaries to build a house of God with no outside funding. Praise God. Casia and I hop on a boda with Sarah, a Ugandan who works at the GSF baby house, and her husband, Herbert (yes, that is four grown adults on one small motorcycle). They drive us to their home about 10 minutes away. Sarah and Herbert have two children as well as three orphans living at their house. You read that correctly - they have taken it upon themselves to raise three orphans because they saw a need and stepped up to the plate. What another beautiful picture of the body of Christ functioning well. We spend the next few hours fellowshipping with Sarah and Herbert, exploring each others cultures and sharing our hearts.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are two GSF employees, Sam and David, who felt a calling to start a church in our next door village, Buundo. After a great deal of training and orchestrating, Sam and David are stepping out in faith this Sunday for their first church service. God provided a nearby unkempt building that Sam and David can rent each week for a small fee. This week Sam, the teenagers of GSF, and a handful of other workers went to the building to begin preparing it for church (whoever started building it ran out of money, so it is not in very good condition). It is a mud brick building with a loose, dirt, uneven floor. The teenagers worked on collecting scattered bricks and slashing the grounds while the other men hoed the dirt to level the inside. This is a start, a new seed that will, with prayer, grow to be a body of believers that function as the church in Katunda does. It may be a shaky old mud building at this point, but God does not see the building - He sees the people. And as they gather this Sunday to worship Him, hear truth, and fellowship, I pray that God's spirit would fill that little mud structure with His glory and presence.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I ask you this week to please pray alongside me for God's hand in this new beginning.</span><br />
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-58172258689010185562012-10-20T05:08:00.003-07:002012-10-20T05:10:48.439-07:00The More The Merrier<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Has it already been over three months since I left America? Time is such a weird thing. Sometimes I feel as though it has been three years, and other times I feel like it's just been three weeks. Does it sometimes feel like a long time because of all the new experiences I've encountered? Does it sometimes feel like a short time because I still have so much to learn and experience? Thinking about it blows my mind, so I just go on taking one day at a time. And God fills each day with enough excitement of its own. Some days (ok, most days) it's chasing a lizard out of my room and other days it's welcoming new kids into GSF. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We had an especially exciting past few weeks welcoming five new boys into GSF. Whenever children are brought into GSF, I can't help but think of how much their life is changed. Abraham, Elijah, Godfrey, Joseph, and Pesto all made GSF their new home this week. Abraham and Elijah, ages 4 and (almost) 2, are brothers. They are attached at the hip, which makes me so glad that they have each other! Godfrey, Joseph, and Festo (ages 2 weeks, 2 years, and 5 years) are another sibling set of all brothers. It's been a delight to have all of these new boys around! But my heart aches knowing why they had to come in the first place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thank you for your prayers concerning the toddler house. God has definitely been blessing the efforts to improve the house. With the increase of new GSF kids, we've jumped from 16 toddlers to 20 toddlers in this short amount of time. The house definitely feels maxed out, but the more the merrier....right? We also made some changes such as rearranging the bedrooms and playroom to improve interaction. However, I know that lasting change will only come as I come alongside of the Ugandan caregivers who log the real time with the children. For those who don't know, circle time refers to sitting in a circle (haha, just as the name implies), and doing group interactions, such as reading stories, singing, dialogue, and any other little activities. I modeled "circle time" on one day, and the caregivers caught on quickly. When I walked into the toddler house the other morning, two of the caregivers had all of the children in a (sort of) circle and were singing, reading a book, and encouraging call and response with the children. It was so precious and exciting to watch them interact with the children in such a nurturing way!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Speaking of toddlers, two of the little boys, Richard and Elijah, are in the clinic right now. Richard (you can see some pictures and read about him <a href="http://gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com/2012/10/meet-richard.html" target="_blank">here</a>!) is a little boy with sickle cell who is also fighting a blood infection. He's been in the clinic since Sunday as the doctor treats him to get rid of the infection. Elijah (one of the new boys! You can also read about him <a href="http://gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com/2012/10/welcome-elijah.html" target="_blank">here</a>) is struggling with a polyp and has to undergo a procedure to get it removed. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon in the clinic with the two boys. Health care is just so different here.. and I've never had a greater appreciation for the facilities and care that we get in America. But no matter the hospital or facility, I know God is in control and can heal His children. So please keep Richard and Elijah in your prayers!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passing the time at the clinic with Richard</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you are from the Community Evangelical Free Church area in Elverson, PA you may remember me teaching missions emphasis at Vacation Bible School back in July. I taught about Uganda and focused on GSF. The last night of VBS each child made two crafts: one to take home as a reminder to pray for the GSF children, and one for me to take to GSF to encourage the children by letting them know they are being prayed for. I had been praying about a good time to give these out to the GSF children in a at least semi-orderly and meaningful way. I was given the opportunity to teach "junior church" for all of the GSF children on Sunday, and it ended up being a great time to go ahead and hand out the Africa cut-out crafts! The kids were so excited to receive the gift as well as look at the pictures of all of the "mzungu" (white) kids. I had the GSF kids sing "Higher Higher" as a thank you. Daniel had taught this African praise song to the children at Vacation Bible School, so I'm hoping that the kids who attended VBS still remember it! I included (at the end of this post) pictures of the kids receiving the Africa cut-outs as well as two "thank you" videos from the GSF kids, one being the "Higher Higher" song. I hope you enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In other news, I started taking Luganda language lessons last week. We will see how that goes =) Also, Daniel Iya, my boyfriends, just got accepted into the internship program for eMi (Engineering Ministries International). You can read more about the organization on their website, <a href="http://www.emiusa.org/">http://www.emiusa.org/</a>. I'm very excited for Daniel; God is fulfilling Daniel's passion to use his gifts and education in missions work. I'm also VERY excited because it means that Daniel will be in Uganda for 6 months starting this January...!! It's awesome to see God working in Daniel and me, leading us both into missions work individually and in a way that brings our futures together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thank you for continuing to support me through your prayers - I really appreciate it! I have some updated requests to help guide your prayers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Pray for the <i>five new boys</i> who have joined GSF. Please pray that their transition would continue to go well and that they would feel comforted by the presence of God during this difficult time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Pray for <i>Richard and Elijah</i>, that God would give the doctors wisdom on how to best care for the children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Pray that God would continue to give me<i> wisdom on how to expand and improve the sponsorship program.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Pray for <i>Daniel as he prepares for and raises money for his internship with eMi.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Praise God that <i>Casia has fully recovered from Malaria!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Praise God for <i>His work in the toddler house</i>. Please pray that He would continue to have His hand in that house and that <i>the children may experience God's love through their caregivers. </i></span></div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-15417131651367834002012-10-01T05:45:00.001-07:002012-10-01T05:45:21.488-07:00His Strength<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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God has blessed me with a strong sense of His presence this week. I feel like He is overflowing my cup with His grace, strength, and joy. I am constantly reminded of the way that He is using me as His vessel. All that I do is through and because of Him; without Him, my work is ineffective. It's about relying on God and not on my own strength. Isn't this how I should always feel? Well, yeah. But IS it how I always feel? Definitely not. In my own pride, I often lose sight of that. But this week it has been eas<b>ier</b> for me to let God's spirit move in my life. I don't take this for granted. I know it's because of your prayers for my work here in Uganda, and I want to <b>thank you for faithfully praying for my time in Uganda. </b></div>
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That said, this past week has been a bit of a challenge because my wonderful friend and roommate, Casia, got malaria. She recounts her experience in her blog <a href="http://singlelife.posterous.com/" target="_blank">http://singlelife.posterous.com/</a>. Since past Monday she has been in bed sick. It's been physically and emotionally draining for her as well as for her "caregivers", me and Bekah (not gonna lie, Bekah definitely took the brunt of the work). Being a "man down" is always difficult, but I think it was especially difficult for me as she's my best friend here in Uganda. We're basically side-kicks for each other. It's a blessing of a friendship, and it was a loss to not have that uplifting friendship this week. But as I said earlier, God blessed me with a strong sense of His presence. He was constantly redirecting my focus to Him, letting me know that my relationship with Him is enough. What He's given me is enough, and I can rest in the joy of that. But really, I can do more than rest - I can be energized and invigorated to serve others with the peace of knowing I have God to lead me. </div>
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I hope this energy and invigoration continues as I begin my latest ministry of the toddler's house. I've just barely gotten the sponsorship program under control and started the scholarship program, but God is tugging on my heart to work on transforming the toddler house. The toddler house is home to 16 toddlers (and 2 more coming soon!) ages 1-5. Because the toddler house is conveniently located next door to my house and I constantly hear the sounds of the kids through my bedroom window, I've always been very aware of the disorganization and, to be blunt, chaos of the toddler house. I have spent the past two weeks "hanging out" in the toddler house to observe and get to know the "aunties" (caregivers) and children a bit. This time was very helpful for me. It opened my eyes to strengths and weaknesses of the house. There are definitely necessary changes that need to take place, including appropriate discipline, hygiene, and schedule/activities. However, it's not going to happen overnight. It's going to be a process of training and investment. It's easy to become overwhelmed at this daunting task. Many of the aunties have been working at GSF years before I even knew what "GSF" meant. They've been raising children for their entire lives; who I am to go in and start making changes? However, I know that God is going to continue to strengthen and lead me in this endeavor. It's about serving Him through serving His children. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the wonderful toddlers! Faziri, Leticia, and Gerald.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best buds, Richard and Joel</td></tr>
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I had the joy of going to the Passion World Tour in Kampala on Saturday night! I've heard so much about Passion, but have never attended the conference. Well, I'm glad I held off because I got to experience it here in Uganda! And one of the best parts is that tickets were only $4 =) The concert was essentially a 4 hour worship service led by Chris Tomlin. Louie Giglio also gave a sermon, which was a blessing to hear. It was overwhelming (in a good way) to worship with 30,000 Ugandans! GSF took a team from Wisconsin who was here to serve last week, the missionaries, a handful of GSF staff, a couple university students, and all of the teenagers along. The whole experience was spiritually refreshing! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with some of the GSF teenagers ready for the concert to start!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Tomlin + band</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iuv7ImUgpK4/UGmMlWL2lFI/AAAAAAAAAss/GWLaFNPILEU/s1600/IMG_1640.JPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iuv7ImUgpK4/UGmMlWL2lFI/AAAAAAAAAss/GWLaFNPILEU/s400/IMG_1640.JPG.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louie Giglio preaching</td></tr>
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Because little Mark has been doing so well in school, I rewarded him with a trip to King Fisher on Friday. King Fisher is a pool/resort that is about 30 minutes from GSF. Mark frequently brings up King Fisher, so I knew he'd be up for a day at the pool! It was so fun to spend time with him off campus. I let him pack a backpack of activities to take along (I didn't want him to get bored of the pool after an hour and want to go home!) and he ended up filling the whole thing with crayons, coloring books, and little books to read. His bag ended up being twice the weight of my own! Even though he was extremely excited about the pool (over excitement = potential for disaster with little Mark!), he was on great behavior the entire day. It was so fun swimming with him, reading, and just spending relaxed time together. He even learned how to go underwater without swallowing a mouthful of chlorine and how to drink with a straw. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how Mark spent most of the day, in both the rain and the shine.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Successfully drinking using a straw</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jmuadY6X-uA/UGmMmtZWh0I/AAAAAAAAAs0/9UguHyweZPM/s1600/IMG_20120928_234324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jmuadY6X-uA/UGmMmtZWh0I/AAAAAAAAAs0/9UguHyweZPM/s400/IMG_20120928_234324.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full backpack</td></tr>
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It's hard to believe that it is already October! I would like to leave you with these prayer requests. Thank you again for praying for me!</div>
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1. The Wisconsin team that was serving here this week is currently flying back to the states. <i><span style="color: #20124d;">Please pray for God's grace as they reintegrate back into their daily lives</span>. </i></div>
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2. Pray for <i style="color: #20124d;">Casia's recovery from Malaria.</i></div>
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3. Pray for <i style="color: #20124d;">God's guidance for the toddler house.</i></div>
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4. Pray that the <i style="color: #20124d;">sponsorship and scholarship program would continue to grow</i>. GSF's financial situation is currently very tight, and these programs help bring some relief.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5. Please pray that I would take </span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>comfort in the grace of God in the difficult times</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> when I miss Daniel, family, and friends. </span></div>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-72284898494752277042012-09-13T05:25:00.000-07:002012-09-13T05:25:22.732-07:00"Normal" Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My "different" lifestyle in Uganda is slowly but steadily becoming more "normal" for me. I've created somewhat of a routine, and although each day is hardly predictable, I'm becoming more used to what kind of challenges or interruptions I might have. I thought I'd write to try to give you a glimpse of what a typical day is like for me. </div>
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Today is Thursday. I usually wake up around 8:30, crawl out from under my mosquito net, and enjoy 4 minutes of hot water for my shower. This means getting wet, turning the water off, soaping up, and then turning the water back on to rinse. But I'm happy for the running water! Showers are less than glamorous when you consider the 2x2ft curtain-less shower. There are frequently little clans of bugs hanging out around the shower and sometimes I even get the luxury of removing a small snake from the shower that crawled up the drain. The good thing about these little snakes is that they're only like five inches long. The bad thing is that they're nearly impossible to kill and OH so fast! Below is a picture of one of the little snakes and the shower:</div>
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After I shower I pick which one of my skirts to wear. Every day is a skirt day at GSF. For breakfast I eat porridge (boiled maze) or eggs. I spend some of my morning working with little Mark on "school." I bring him to my house and work on learning colors, shapes, and letters. He's been doing so well that I even started reading lessons with him. If he is a good boy, he gets the reward of reading a book on my iPad (I use "reading a book" loosely - the iPad actually reads it to him). Depending on his attention span, we might do school for 30 minutes or for 2 hours. He's been doing so well lately. It's really encouraging to see his progress even after 1 week! The teachers will not allow little Mark to attend school because of his high energy level, so that's why I do school with him instead (they say he can only go to school if I take him). Last year I took him to school every day, but this meant spending 5 hours of my day in a classroom. Due to the nature of my work this year, I don't have that kind of time. But I figure that if I spend at least 30 minutes with him working one-on-one that he will probably learn (more) than what he would learn in a typical school day. I only feel like I have the authority to say that because I spent over a month in his classroom last year! Below is a picture of Mark coloring and a the sidewalk where Mark practiced writing the letter "M" with chalk (disclaimer: he did not write the yellow M's). </div>
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Casia and I eat lunch at 1:00. We typically eat poscho, beans, cabbage, carrots, and pineapple. It's delicious! Below is a picture of poscho, beans, and cabbage:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Il9m6PIos8/UFHKkjzHuEI/AAAAAAAAAl0/VmoV5cB9VgY/s1600/IMAG0770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Il9m6PIos8/UFHKkjzHuEI/AAAAAAAAAl0/VmoV5cB9VgY/s400/IMAG0770.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I spend the rest of the afternoon working the on the sponsorship program. This might mean I am writing a post on the sponsorship blog (www.gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com - check it out!), creating profiles to sign kids up for sponsorship, going through financial statements to find out which sponsors are active, or sending out letters. I've also recently revamped the scholarship program. The scholarship program is for GSF kids who have aged out of the GSF and are in boarding school, vocational training, or university. GSF is struggling to find funding all of these students. Currently, the funding coming in is miniscule compared to what is needed to financially support these students. So, we have started sponsorship for scholarship students and are working on promoting the program. It's a load of work, but because GSF is currently tight on finances, if we do not raise support for the scholarship program then GSF will have to pull out the students. Below is an example of one of the students in the scholarship program:</span><br />
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Around 5:00, after the children have finished at school done their chores, they often wander over to Casia and my house. It becomes a mini-battle: fend off kids while trying to work or just invite them in? I usually end up submitting and spend until dinner playing with the kids, whether it's initiating a soccer game, playing volleyball, coloring, or cooking something. I spent this week making a corn-snack with the kids. First we took the corn kernels off the cob, boiled them in water for a couple hours, dried them out in the sun for two days, and fried them. It's way more involved than I realized..and honestly it doesn't taste super good. But the time with the kids made it worth it. Below is a picture of Geofrey with the boiling corn. He was the recipe director:</div>
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We eat dinner at 7. Dinner is anything. Sometimes we make smoothies, salads, eggs, pasta, toast...it's whatever we come up with. Evenings are all different depending on the night. Tonight is Thursday, so I will be going to youth group with all of the GSF teenagers.</div>
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The "weird" parts of life are all just life now. Of course I don't have a car and get a ride on a boda (motorcycle) when I want to go into Jinja. Of course I need to walk through the market to collect some of my groceries. Of course I pick bugs off of my bed before I get in (ok, I am still getting used to that part!). It's all part of adjusting, and with every day I feel more and more adjusted. It doesn't mean being away from home isn't still hard - it will always be hard. But even if I were to go home, being away from Uganda would be hard. It's all part of this journey on which God is leading me. </div>
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<span style="color: #274e13;">Last post I mentioned that I had gotten my hair braided. This past week I cut all of my hair off! Casia, my roommate, just happens to be an awesome hair dresser. I'd been thinking of getting it done for a while now but never had the guts to go through with it. I decided on night that I wanted to cut it, and the next morning Casia did it for me! It's refreshing to have a new 'do that's fun and easy. It definitely surprised all of the GSF kids. Now they tell me I have "African hair" because it's short =). </span></div>
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Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. It is so encouraging to know of the family I have back in America! I can feel your prayers. God's grace fills even the toughest of days. I ask that you continue to pray! Here are my newest requests:</div>
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1) Pray for the next two Sundays as <b><i>I teach all of the GSF teenagers Sunday School</i>.</b> I taught a them a couple weeks ago and it went well. Please pray that <b><i>God would open their ears and hearts</i></b> to whatever God speaks through me! </div>
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2) Pray for the <i><b>Gwartneys</b></i> as they left on Tuesday for furlow. They will be in America for the next 4 months. Pray for a <i><b>safe, refreshing, and productive trip. </b></i></div>
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3) Pray for <i><b>Joshua, the newest GSF child!</b></i> He arrived on Monday and is 3 months old.</div>
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4) Please pray that I would take <b><i>comfort in the grace of God in the difficult times</i></b> when I miss Daniel, family, and friends. </div>
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5) Pray that <b><i>God would give me wisdom</i></b> as I work through and grow the sponsorship program. </div>
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6) Thank you for praying for Katelyn, Kelsey, and Naomi. You can <i><b>praise God for safe deliveries! </b></i>Katelyn is blessed with another beautiful baby girl, and Kelsey and Naomi have two adorable little boys!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NlBq2Dk3eM0/UFHHmCtRWAI/AAAAAAAAAlk/rqXqCZNRnZw/s1600/joshua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NlBq2Dk3eM0/UFHHmCtRWAI/AAAAAAAAAlk/rqXqCZNRnZw/s400/joshua.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Joshua, the newest GSF baby!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grocery shopping in the mark</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The market is the best place for fruits and veggies!</td></tr>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-35950042101478413782012-08-30T07:37:00.000-07:002012-08-30T12:44:22.987-07:00Giving Back<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I had the amazing opportunity today to go visit a children's home started by a girl who was raised at Good Shepherd's Fold. Damali started Sonrise Baby Home in Jinja about three years ago. It has now grown to two locations. One house has 26 babies from newborn-2 1/2 years of age and another house has 19 children from ages 2 1/2 - 7. </div>
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It is inspiring to see the way that God is working through this young lady. You can read her full story on her website: http://www.sonrisebabies.com/about/ourstory/. I <i>highly </i>encourage you to take the time to read her story. Damali took the blessings and nurture that she received as a young child and turned around to bless other children in the same way. What is neat is that she is not the only GSF graduate to do this; 6 other GSF graduates have also opened up children's homes. </div>
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And that is exactly one of my favorite things about working at GSF: I get to catch a glimpse of the way that God uses GSF children to further His kingdom. I'm sitting next to Gibson, a teenager who has recently moved from GSF to boarding school because he turned 18. His dream? <i style="color: #0c343d;">"I want to help kids. I don't really know exactly how. Maybe someday I will help start an orphanage."</i> It's exciting to see God working in Gibson's life. I go to the GSF youth group on Thursday evenings and it is led by Solomon, another GSF graduate. Although Solomon is now aged out of GSF and is working towards university, he returns to GSF to work, lead youth group, teach Sunday school, and conduct the church service every Sunday morning. The Holy Spirit is working through him. His impact on the current GSF kids is awesome. </div>
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<b><i><span class="text Luke-12-48" id="en-NASB-25508"><span class="woj">Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required."</span></span></i></b></div>
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<span class="text Luke-12-48" id="en-NASB-25508"><span class="woj">In some ways, the children of GSF have next to nothing. Some have absolutely no family<i> </i>and no money in the bank. In American eyes, they <i>definitely</i> have nothing. But in many ways, they have been blessed with much. They receive education, clothing, food, medical care, and most importantly spiritual discipleship. Not every GSF graduate takes these blessings and multiplies them, but the ones that do make me cherish every moment of service at GSF. It's exciting to be apart of these stories. </span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-12-48" id="en-NASB-25508" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="woj">In other news, I got my hair braided last week! I say braided, but what I really mean is twisted with extensions. It's been an interesting twist (no pun intended) to have such a different head of hair. The Ugandans say it should last between 1-2 months before coming out...but I'm not sure that <i>I</i> will last that long. </span></span><i><span class="text Luke-12-48" id="en-NASB-25508"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;">Highlights from the past two weeks:</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;">1) Watching little Phillip dance at the front of the church with every ounce of energy inside of him during praise and worship Sunday morning.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;">2) Attending my first ever Ugandan wedding. It was definitely quite the (9 hour long) experience!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;">3) Signing up 21 new sponsors for the child sponsorship program. What a blessing!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;">4) Giving little 3 year old Sadie a foot soak and pedicure to clean up the open wounds from jiggers in her feet (you should Google "jiggers" - then maybe start praying that I don't ever get them in my feet!)</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;">5) Receiving news that my sister Kimberly had a baby girl! Praise God for healthy little Ellie Mountz. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">Thank you so much for your prayers as I enter my second month in Uganda. Praise God that the transition has been smooth! As we go into September, I would like to leave you with some prayer requests. Thank you for your dedication to pray for me. I could <i>not</i> be here without your prayer support!</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"> - Pray for all of the missionaries of GSF as the <b><i>Gwartney family goes on furlow</i> for</b> the next four months. The Gwartneys do so much at GSF - it'll be tough to be without them! Also pray that the Gwartneys would have a safe and productive (but restful) furlow.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"> - Pray that God would give me <i><b>wisdom as I seek to grow the sponsorship program</b>.</i> Please also pray that God would give me an extra dose of efficiency as I finalize a couple sponsorship projects before the Gwartneys leave for furlow (in a week and a half). </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"> - Pray that <i><b>God would comfort me</b></i> in the times when I miss Daniel, my family, and friends. It's especially difficult to be away when my sister Kimberly just had her baby, my sister Katelyn is about to have a baby, and my two best friends Kelsey and Naomi are each about to have their first babies. </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"> - That reminds me, please pray for <b><i>Katelyn, Kelsey, and Naomi</i></b>. Pray that God would protect them and their new babies during childbirth! </span><br />
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Ok, here come the pictures! Brace yourself because there are many:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LcNR4Q9Uv88/UD9zVAZAQtI/AAAAAAAAAgs/ObH3bIxpuy8/s1600/IMG_1319.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LcNR4Q9Uv88/UD9zVAZAQtI/AAAAAAAAAgs/ObH3bIxpuy8/s400/IMG_1319.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damali's babies home, Sonrise</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4roxnPzeZ9s/UD9zH4C7XrI/AAAAAAAAAgM/jfiKKOnz4qQ/s1600/IMG_1306.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4roxnPzeZ9s/UD9zH4C7XrI/AAAAAAAAAgM/jfiKKOnz4qQ/s400/IMG_1306.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got to Sonrise at nap time. A new version of "double bed"</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z0WrpCHPmBs/UD9zTuOoOQI/AAAAAAAAAgk/fVXB0_sNFnQ/s1600/IMG_1316.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z0WrpCHPmBs/UD9zTuOoOQI/AAAAAAAAAgk/fVXB0_sNFnQ/s400/IMG_1316.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a lot of laundry to hand-wash!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vK8dNGTXMkk/UD9zgNzrOeI/AAAAAAAAAhE/19J1Bwlm7uk/s1600/IMG_1325.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vK8dNGTXMkk/UD9zgNzrOeI/AAAAAAAAAhE/19J1Bwlm7uk/s400/IMG_1325.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Triple bunks</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uok15xIFF40/UD9zdTjgiYI/AAAAAAAAAg0/PGj2W8Nt2Q0/s1600/IMG_1320.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uok15xIFF40/UD9zdTjgiYI/AAAAAAAAAg0/PGj2W8Nt2Q0/s400/IMG_1320.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The church at Sonrise</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zSFxoKhNU8U/UD9yaILZEcI/AAAAAAAAAfM/x-NzvZh1ulU/s1600/539029_4478288642230_1943009128_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zSFxoKhNU8U/UD9yaILZEcI/AAAAAAAAAfM/x-NzvZh1ulU/s400/539029_4478288642230_1943009128_n.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pedis with Sadie. Isn't she a doll?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DtzLqmsb1sw/UD9ydRm0jGI/AAAAAAAAAfc/BjPhT6D5fnM/s1600/IMG_0933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DtzLqmsb1sw/UD9ydRm0jGI/AAAAAAAAAfc/BjPhT6D5fnM/s400/IMG_0933.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These four girls play all day every day! Here they are preparing some vegetables. This is Joan, Jessica, Lauren, and Sophia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PeXtu87oVLw/UD9y0fMWC8I/AAAAAAAAAfk/6-VGC2ZERWs/s1600/IMG_0990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PeXtu87oVLw/UD9y0fMWC8I/AAAAAAAAAfk/6-VGC2ZERWs/s400/IMG_0990.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adorable half-sisters, Leticia and Gloria</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JojMvZZ4KUE/UD9y2PuaUcI/AAAAAAAAAfs/rSHeHpzyxYs/s1600/IMG_0993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JojMvZZ4KUE/UD9y2PuaUcI/AAAAAAAAAfs/rSHeHpzyxYs/s400/IMG_0993.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gloria has the BEST smile!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VnaNZOdibpU/UD9y455fUEI/AAAAAAAAAf0/VUtQi8Konxk/s1600/IMG_1011.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VnaNZOdibpU/UD9y455fUEI/AAAAAAAAAf0/VUtQi8Konxk/s400/IMG_1011.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark and I do educational exercises together. It is so fun!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wEYANb8nHLg/UD9y_tlBdkI/AAAAAAAAAf8/xRcznnN-frs/s1600/IMG_1038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wEYANb8nHLg/UD9y_tlBdkI/AAAAAAAAAf8/xRcznnN-frs/s400/IMG_1038.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All ready for the Ugandan wedding!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VnaNZOdibpU/UD9y455fUEI/AAAAAAAAAf0/VUtQi8Konxk/s1600/IMG_1011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WUmISWZp_c4/UD9zGVsn5II/AAAAAAAAAgE/iMRQxiJrLUI/s1600/IMG_1051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WUmISWZp_c4/UD9zGVsn5II/AAAAAAAAAgE/iMRQxiJrLUI/s400/IMG_1051.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All gussied up for the wedding =)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nUm4J7F0vI8/UD9yYvGJ5KI/AAAAAAAAAfE/wzDQXDKozPA/s1600/418668_4475181844562_1339573169_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nUm4J7F0vI8/UD9yYvGJ5KI/AAAAAAAAAfE/wzDQXDKozPA/s400/418668_4475181844562_1339573169_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun at the wedding with Joseph and Mark</td></tr>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-46065171152852036532012-08-14T05:04:00.002-07:002012-08-14T05:41:18.305-07:00Sweet Reunions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I left Good Shepherd's Fold last year on August 2 and arrived exactly one year later, August 3rd. We drove up to the gate of GSF where kids were gathered to welcome me. I walked out of the van to give the kids hugs, greeting each child by name as I saw them. Their faces lit up, "She remembers my name!" To be honest, I surprised myself - how did I remember their names? I was thinking about that on the way to the orphanage.. What if I arrived and I couldn't remember any names? Or what if they didn't remember me? The fears all left as soon as I got there, heard the children exclaiming "Auntie Corinne!" and felt the Holy Spirit fill me with the memory of each child's name as I looked into their faces. Almost immediately somebody handed me Joseph, a little boy that I was especially fond of last summer. Last year he was two years old, so I thought there was no way he would remember me. But he did! He clung to me like a little koala bear. Time is such a weird thing. Even though it had been a year, I mostly felt like I never left - I was just coming back home. </span><br />
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I began looking for Mark, but he was nowhere to be found. His house mom had kept him back at the house. So, the kids took me by the hands to lead me to Mark. When we made it to his house, he ran up to me, jumped in my arms and just hugged me. Sweet little Mark! He didn't say much; he just kept saying "Auntie Corinne." After weeks of difficult goodbyes and leaving loved ones behind, I felt like God was blessing me with sweet reunions. I really was just coming back home. But where is home? Is it where your family is, where your heart is, or where God wants you to be? I'm not sure, but I felt home.<br />
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I spent the next day unpacking and settling into the house that I am sharing with Casia. What a relief to be fully unpacked after feeling in-transit for the past two and a half weeks. Now I really feel home.<br />
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But there are still hard times. It's hard being away from Daniel, my boyfriend, and having no clue when I am going to see him next. Unreliable internet makes communication tough, and sometimes I feel like he's just living his life and I'm living mine. It's hard. Being away from my family is also hard. We could probably email each other until our fingers fall off (and sometimes it feels like our fingers are actually going to fall off. If you someday find that my whole family has carpal tunnel syndrome, you'll know why). But emails can only say so much. <br />
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I was having an especially hard day the other day when one of the kids brought little Joseph to my house (the same Joseph that I mentioned in the first paragraph). She said, "Joseph wanted to come see you." I asked, "How do you know?" (I had never heard Joseph speak). She said, "Because he kept saying 'Auntie Corinne'." Made my day! I invited Joseph in and we sat and read books for about thirty minutes. Again, God sent me a blessing to remind me why I'm here: God sent me here to love the children at Good Shepherd's Fold just as Jesus would.<br />
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The sponsorship work has been great. Because the previous sponsorship coordinator left in January, there's a substantial amount of catch-up work. My sister Carly has been helping create an updated version of the profiles of each child, and we put together a new sponsorship blog to bring about awareness of the sponsorship program. You are welcome to check it out at www.gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com ! To help spread awareness, it would be a great help if you would share the blog with your friends and family. </div>
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I appreciate all of your prayers and support through this first week and a half at Good Shepherd's Fold. I have some requests that I need you to help lift up to God with me. </div>
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1. Please pray that I would take <i style="color: #274e13;">comfort in the grace of God in the difficult times</i> when I miss Daniel, family, and friends. <br />
2. Pray that <i style="color: #274e13;">God would give me wisdom</i> as I work through and grow the sponsorship program.<br />
3. This week a team is coming to GSF to have a weekend conference/retreat for the older children and graduates of GSF. Please pray that <i style="color: #274e13;">God would speak into the lives of the children</i> through the efforts of the team.<br />
4. Many of the GSF children are on holiday this week (it's like a summer vacation from school), and have gone to their villages to spend time with their relatives. Many of them have never been back into the village since they arrived at GSF. <i style="color: #274e13;">Pray that God would protect these children</i> during this vulnerable time. </div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Thank you so much for your support and prayers! I've included some pictures. I hope you enjoy them!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IzQIvnccIpU/UCovgknfnLI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/lbIPB3mBb8g/s1600/IMG_0887.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IzQIvnccIpU/UCovgknfnLI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/lbIPB3mBb8g/s400/IMG_0887.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful sites! GSF is out in the country.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h8aFgOd2wkA/UCovIhlvjRI/AAAAAAAAAZE/H6Oa2MRvshg/s1600/IMAG0614.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h8aFgOd2wkA/UCovIhlvjRI/AAAAAAAAAZE/H6Oa2MRvshg/s400/IMAG0614.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first day with little Mark!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOYd3_LfBjw/UCovVJpiOMI/AAAAAAAAAZM/5AFUUHSq7s4/s1600/IMAG0657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOYd3_LfBjw/UCovVJpiOMI/AAAAAAAAAZM/5AFUUHSq7s4/s400/IMAG0657.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joan and Jessica enjoying gifts from their sponsors</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVURIr0zJaY/UCovmBBRdqI/AAAAAAAAAaE/y-vD_lpwK7Y/s1600/IMG_20120813_001602.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVURIr0zJaY/UCovmBBRdqI/AAAAAAAAAaE/y-vD_lpwK7Y/s400/IMG_20120813_001602.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with Joseph. Look at his sweet face!!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mvUV_2QfzhY/UCovYWZ3-RI/AAAAAAAAAZk/S7i_98byDyQ/s1600/IMG_0876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mvUV_2QfzhY/UCovYWZ3-RI/AAAAAAAAAZk/S7i_98byDyQ/s400/IMG_0876.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how women carry their babies</td></tr>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-2495757216994242102012-08-02T13:28:00.002-07:002012-08-02T21:36:32.604-07:00Uganda At Last!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Thank you so much for your prayers - I have officially arrived in Uganda! After a pretty grueling experience through the Abuja airport in Nigeria and a pit stop in Ethiopia, I landed in Entebbe at 1:15am last evening. It feels so great being back here. I could feel God's presence and blessings even as I walked off the plane, went through immigration with no problems, and received my luggage first out of all of the passengers (Yes that's right - all four of my bags came before anyone else had picked out any of their bags). It may seem small, but it felt like a huge blessing after a long day of travel! I was picked up at the airport by a driver from Central Inn where I have been ever since. My friend and now roommate Casia and the Gwartneys (a missionary family at Good Shepherd's Fold) drove out to Entebbe this afternoon to drop some interns off at the airport and spend the night at Central Inn before we drive to GSF tomorrow morning. </div>
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This evening we went to dinner at a restaurant here in Entebbe. It's right here on Lake Victoria. I received a full welcoming from all of the little Uganda bugs! And when I say full welcoming, I mean that swarms of lake flies greeted us from off of the lake. I took a couple pictures, and they don't do the experience justice, but hopefully it'll help you get an idea: </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pkQqW5A2ZHk/UBrcyR7DN-I/AAAAAAAAAXs/pd_Zoeazqq0/s1600/IMAG0604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pkQqW5A2ZHk/UBrcyR7DN-I/AAAAAAAAAXs/pd_Zoeazqq0/s320/IMAG0604.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That light brown stuff is a big pile of BUGS! They fly in swarms and then die (or just hang out? They were still moving) on the group beneath the lights. Yes, Uganda is still full of bugs!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wldpTaYKGbI/UBrdXRg9yOI/AAAAAAAAAX4/G_llWhLe7Wc/s1600/IMAG0606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wldpTaYKGbI/UBrdXRg9yOI/AAAAAAAAAX4/G_llWhLe7Wc/s320/IMAG0606.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture is the light above where they all swarm before dying</td></tr>
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It truly feels refreshing being in Uganda, and I have not even arrived at GSF yet. I'm looking forward to a great reunion with the children tomorrow!</div>
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Although it's great being in Uganda, it was definitely sad saying goodbye to Daniel and his family in Nigeria. The past two weeks have been nothing short of wonderful. Daniel's family welcomed me into their home like I was their own daughter. The weeks were filled with conversation that showed me the depth of the Christian heritage that Daniel comes from. I was privileged to receive a tour of Daniel's parent's medical center, Christian Medical Center, where his parents both doctor and evangelize the people of Jos. My trip also conveniently overlapped with Daniel's birthday!! We were able to go to Elysar, one of his favorite restaurants in town.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u03BRYt20Hw/UBrWgqS8H8I/AAAAAAAAAW8/zvYG6s6Lj1E/s1600/SDC10426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u03BRYt20Hw/UBrWgqS8H8I/AAAAAAAAAW8/zvYG6s6Lj1E/s400/SDC10426.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Another highlight of the visit was when Dr. Mrs. Iya invited me and Daniel to meet her prayer group. They pray for their children every week and have been doing this for ten years. They said "We're mothers, at this age what better thing do we have to do than get together and pray??" There are about 8 of them in the group. They took the first 20 or so minutes of their time to ask me some questions and then prayed for me and Daniel, committing our relationship and my trip to Uganda to God. They were at the Iyas praying for 2.5 hours. Afterwards they asked if we could "record" the time together with a picture: </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel and I with his mom's prayer group</td></tr>
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Please pray for us tomorrow as we drive from Entebbe to Jinja (about 3 hours) and I reunite with the children at GSF! Also pray that these first few weeks of transition would be smooth and full of God's presence. Praise God that He protected me during my travels from Nigeria and that I've been reunited with Casia and the Gwartneys!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reunited with Cassia!</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-92144916482199001972012-07-28T15:35:00.000-07:002012-07-28T15:37:43.951-07:00An Update In Pictures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #660000;">Here are pictures to give you an idea of my past week here in Nigeria. I hope you enjoy looking through them. Thank you for praying for Daniel to receive a new student visa - God answered your prayers on Thursday! Jos has been relatively peaceful the past week, so you can also praise God for that. Pray it stays that way as we go to church tomorrow morning!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Daniel and I in our traditional Nigerian wear for church last Sunday</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">After lunch Daniel's parents, Daniel, and I went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Jos called Elysar</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Daniel and me</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z97Pwat6_50/UBRiRHpioYI/AAAAAAAAAV0/tk0Tqo_ff2I/s1600/IMG_3723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z97Pwat6_50/UBRiRHpioYI/AAAAAAAAAV0/tk0Tqo_ff2I/s640/IMG_3723.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is a picture of the outside of Daniel's beautiful home</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X82SvuUEgic/UBRiC7IGBVI/AAAAAAAAAU8/2LPcLALEpac/s1600/IMG_0716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="379" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X82SvuUEgic/UBRiC7IGBVI/AAAAAAAAAU8/2LPcLALEpac/s640/IMG_0716.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Wednesday we drove to Abuja to renew Daniel's student visa. Between the trucks, motorcycles, aggressive drivers, and no traffic lanes, it gets a little crazy! It is not unusual to see cars driving the wrong direction (<i>towards</i> oncoming traffic). </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_6I6_-DxdIg/UBRiAwAfzKI/AAAAAAAAAU0/E2tMp8tbi-s/s1600/IMG_0711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_6I6_-DxdIg/UBRiAwAfzKI/AAAAAAAAAU0/E2tMp8tbi-s/s640/IMG_0711.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Outskirts of Abuja. Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Common sight</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We spent Thursday at the American Embassy and, by the grace of God, Daniel received a new student visa! We stayed in Karu at Daniel's father's village Thursday evening before we drove back Friday morning. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPIRtrHuaao/UBRiLwTAD3I/AAAAAAAAAVc/1b5zsjH-ZK8/s1600/IMG_0806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPIRtrHuaao/UBRiLwTAD3I/AAAAAAAAAVc/1b5zsjH-ZK8/s640/IMG_0806.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The drive to and from Jos includes many military checkpoints. They usually take a look inside of the car and either have you pull over for further examination or let you on your way. I know this isn't a very good picture, but I thought it may give you an idea of what the checkpoints look like. There are about 3 of those barriers at every checkpoint and anywhere from 3-10 soldiers. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">People plant cactus around their properties and fields to keep intruders out!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are a couple traffic lights around the cities, but they usually don't work (and/or drivers disregard them!). Instead, there are policemen at busy intersections to direct who goes where. </span></td></tr>
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Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-75358677530346162592012-07-20T15:39:00.000-07:002012-07-20T15:42:23.975-07:00I Made It To Nigeria!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Friends and Family,</div>
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I made it to Nigeria! Thank you so much for your prayers. The traveling went well; I was even able to sleep most of my time on the airplane. In fact, I was sleeping so much that I kept sleeping through the complimentary beverages and meals! So, I finally asked the man next to me to please nudge me if I was sleeping when the stewardess came through. I didn’t miss any meals after that! </div>
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I arrived in Abuja at 4:30am and went through customs without any problems. Daniel and his dad were both waiting for me at the airport, and we traveled to Jos from there! The 3 hr drive from Abuja went well. We went through about ten military check points during their drive. Sometimes the soldiers would pull us over and ask about the luggage in the trunk, but usually they would let us drive through. The military presence in Nigeria, specifically Jos, has been heightened due to the unrest and terrorism.</div>
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Thank you so much for praying for my laryngitis. God has definitely answered your prayers! I think a miracle has happened. From the time I left home to when I was in London, I had absolutely no voice. All I could do was whisper. Last time this happened it took me five days to even start getting any sort of voice back. On the flight from London to Abuja, I still had no voice. Well, when I got off of the plane in Nigeria, all of the sudden I had a voice! It was a weak sounding voice and still difficult talk, but it was definitely better than whispers. Now that a couple more days have passed, my voice is almost entirely back to normal. Praise God!</div>
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My time with Daniel’s family has been wonderful. His parents are devout Christians, and so our time has been full of sweet fellowship. We enjoy meals together, evening devotions/prayer time, and just time getting to know one another. It is really neat to be staying in a Nigerian household. It is different visiting a country and staying in a guesthouse than actually staying with natives. I get to do everything from taking bucket baths to eating traditional meals (sometimes without utensils!) to shopping at the street market to get groceries. Dr. Mrs. Iya even took me fabric shopping so that a tailor can sew me some traditional Nigerian dresses! </div>
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I had the awesome opportunity today to visit Rafiki (www.rafikifoundation.org). I’ve known about Rafiki for about four years now, but I’ve never actually been to any of the villages. Well, it turns out that Daniel’s dad is the chairman of the board of trustees for Rafiki Village Nigeria. What an awesome opportunity to meet the director of the orphanage and take a tour of the campus! The director, Melanie, knew that I’m on my way to work at Good Shepherd’s Fold in Uganda, so she was more than willing to answer all of my questions about Rafiki orphanage (and believe me, I had many questions!). We spent about two hours speaking with Melanie and touring the campus. Rafiki is one amazing organization, and I loved seeing the ministry first hand! Rafiki seems to be very similar to GSF, and it made me even more excited to start working in Uganda. Melanie offered to meet with me later on this week to talk more about Rafiki, so hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to take her up on that! </div>
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At this point, I thank God for all of prayers He has answered! Specifically, please praise God for granting me traveling mercies and a quick healing from laryngitis. As far as prayer requests go, I please pray for the following:</div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;"> - Please pray for</span> <b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">continued safety in Jos</span></i>.</b> <span style="color: #783f04;">The state of emergency has been lifted in Jos, but it continues to be an area of unrest. Pray that</span> <i style="color: #0c343d;"><b>God would bring peace to the city of Jos</b></i>. <span style="color: #783f04;">The Islamic holiday Ramadan just started, so pray that violence does not increase. Also pray for the churches, as Sunday is approaching and </span><i style="color: #0c343d;"><b>church bombings</b></i> <span style="color: #783f04;">tend to be a common act of terrorism.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"> - These two weeks at Daniel’s house will also be the last two weeks I have with Daniel until we are separate for two years (except occasional visits). Please pray that our</span> <i style="color: #0c343d;"><b>time together would be sweet</b></i> <span style="color: #783f04;">and that the goodbye wouldn’t be too hard! Pray that </span><i style="color: #0c343d;"><b>my relationship with Daniel would act as a stronghold</b></i> <span style="color: #783f04;">for me rather than an emotional breaking point.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"> - Daniel has a visa interview on the 26th. Please pray that the American embassy would grant</span><i style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span>Daniel a student visa</b></i> <span style="color: #783f04;">for the upcoming semester! </span><br />
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Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support. I hope that my update encourages you to pray! I've included several pictures for you to check out:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Qs7K4MnbwI/UAncTLHelDI/AAAAAAAAAS4/URNXzFR3GGk/s1600/IMG_0609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Qs7K4MnbwI/UAncTLHelDI/AAAAAAAAAS4/URNXzFR3GGk/s320/IMG_0609.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nigeria has beautiful landscape. It's very green right now because it's the rainy season. Those mountainish shapes in the background are actually large rock formations!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WeIiayGNg8c/UAncVPl0S7I/AAAAAAAAATA/gG4Rq9XiAtQ/s1600/IMG_0649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WeIiayGNg8c/UAncVPl0S7I/AAAAAAAAATA/gG4Rq9XiAtQ/s320/IMG_0649.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A closer picture of the rock formations as well as a nice message =)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J8sUoDbeCVY/UAncWKluA7I/AAAAAAAAATI/J-q3tQ5eL5Y/s1600/IMG_0662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J8sUoDbeCVY/UAncWKluA7I/AAAAAAAAATI/J-q3tQ5eL5Y/s320/IMG_0662.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rafiki is a 30 minute drive from Daniel's home</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-euPjpgfX_8I/UAncXoOYusI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Ox0JHDqyiQs/s1600/IMG_0665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-euPjpgfX_8I/UAncXoOYusI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Ox0JHDqyiQs/s320/IMG_0665.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">110 children live at Rafiki</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MmKqggPcp3k/UAncYt4juXI/AAAAAAAAATY/ohlxKkvbUrE/s1600/IMG_0668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MmKqggPcp3k/UAncYt4juXI/AAAAAAAAATY/ohlxKkvbUrE/s320/IMG_0668.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The children are placed into houses that are run by local Nigerian mothers. Each cottage keeps 10-12 children.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the clinic of Rafiki. Daniel's parents used to run this clinic and continue to provide free healthcare for the children at Rafiki.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel at Rafiki!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zIuau6-_K54/UAnceYyPX-I/AAAAAAAAAT4/Q3pIDxzdDUQ/s1600/IMG_0675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zIuau6-_K54/UAnceYyPX-I/AAAAAAAAAT4/Q3pIDxzdDUQ/s320/IMG_0675.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me looking short at Rafiki</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PtvQGI8E5U/UAncgO35VuI/AAAAAAAAAUA/7vJuJfTxJ0o/s1600/IMG_0681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PtvQGI8E5U/UAncgO35VuI/AAAAAAAAAUA/7vJuJfTxJ0o/s320/IMG_0681.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outskirts of Jos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j6Uum6H-5Zg/UAnchCXngbI/AAAAAAAAAUI/6PBjLZnDtcQ/s1600/IMG_0685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j6Uum6H-5Zg/UAnchCXngbI/AAAAAAAAAUI/6PBjLZnDtcQ/s320/IMG_0685.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Jv0IezONsM/UAncinhIIyI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/4h8QwxZiApc/s1600/IMG_0688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Jv0IezONsM/UAncinhIIyI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/4h8QwxZiApc/s320/IMG_0688.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roadside businesses</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e6bkc50_xqU/UAnckKIvTVI/AAAAAAAAAUY/v_noQvQKyo8/s1600/IMG_0691.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e6bkc50_xqU/UAnckKIvTVI/AAAAAAAAAUY/v_noQvQKyo8/s320/IMG_0691.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grocery store</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hd4x8A3c4so/UAnclcU7yPI/AAAAAAAAAUg/AwBT0Kbq_fs/s1600/IMG_0692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hd4x8A3c4so/UAnclcU7yPI/AAAAAAAAAUg/AwBT0Kbq_fs/s320/IMG_0692.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XcptxxNa7qQ/UAncm3OpcbI/AAAAAAAAAUo/BisLLTwrAdA/s1600/IMG_0696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XcptxxNa7qQ/UAncm3OpcbI/AAAAAAAAAUo/BisLLTwrAdA/s320/IMG_0696.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the outside of Daniel's compound. It is entirely walled in and gated (see mom - it's secure!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6885959299887218327.post-30912975963394477472012-07-17T12:32:00.000-07:002012-07-17T12:32:47.496-07:00On My Way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</style>After the past year of preparation leading up to working in
Uganda, it almost feels surreal that I’m sitting on the airplane on my
way. What a huge answer to prayer
and such a blessing. Thank you for all who have encouraged me to follow God’s
leading to Africa and have taken part of this ministry, whether it’s in
conversation, prayer, or financial support. As a part of the larger body of
Christ, I know I would not be stepping into these two years of ministry without
you! It is definitely hard leaving Pennsylvania, especially after saying
goodbye to all of my family. </div>
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With every goodbye I feel like I understand more and more
the cost of being a disciple for Jesus Christ. But the sadness is not without a
great joy and peace of knowing I’m diving into service for God. I’m reminded of
Paul’s words in Acts 20:24, when he says before he goes into ministry “I do not
account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my
course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the
gospel of the grace of God.” </div>
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I am spending these first two weeks in Jos, Nigeria visiting
the family of my boyfriend, Danial Iya. If you live in Elverson, you probably
met him this summer. Daniel and I have been dating for nine months and feel like
it is an appropriate time for me to spend some time getting to know his
parents. It is also a convenient time as Nigeria is relatively “on the way” to
Uganda! While in Nigeria, I will also be visiting a Rafiki Foundation (<a href="http://www.rafikifoundation.org/">www.rafikifoundation.org</a>). I’ve
heard quite a bit about the Rafiki Foundation and am eager to watch the
orphanage in action!</div>
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I’ll be in Nigeria until August 1<sup>st</sup> when I will
fly from Abuja, Nigeria to Entebbe, Uganda. It is then that I will start full
time ministry at Good Shepherd’s Fold orphanage as the Child Sponsorship
Coordinator. </div>
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These next few weeks are going to be full of transitions,
hellos, and more goodbyes. In light of this, I have a couple things that I
would like to ask you to pray for:</div>
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</span>Please pray for <b><span style="color: purple;">safety in travel</span></b> and also during
my time in Jos. If you’re unaware of the current conditions of the city of Jos,
check out the news and you’ll read of the<b style="color: purple;"> unrest. </b></div>
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2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>Please pray that my <b style="color: purple;">time with Daniel’s family
would be fruitful</b>. I woke up yesterday with laryngitis and literally have NO
VOICE is except quiet whispers. I sound so pathetic that it’s laughable, but it
is going to be hard to get to know Daniel’s parents when I can’t even talk!
Please pray quick <b style="color: purple;">healing</b>!</div>
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3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>These two weeks at Daniel’s house will also be
the last two weeks I have with Daniel until we are separate for two years
(except occasional visits). Please pray that our time together would be sweet
and that the <b style="color: purple;">goodbye wouldn’t be too hard</b><b style="color: purple;">! Pray that my relationship with
Daniel would act as a stronghold</b> for me rather than an emotional breaking
point.</div>
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Thank you for your prayers! </div>
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I’d also like to share a big praise with you! Last update I
mentioned that I would be teaching the missions emphasis portion of Vacation
Bible School at Community Evangelical Free Church. It went so well! The
children definitely seemed to understand the idea of an orphanage in Uganda. I
also spent a day talking about specific children at Good Shepherd’s Fold and
asking for the CEFC children to keep these GSF kids in their prayers. They
definitely took the testimonies of these children to heart and had many great
questions! The last day I taught we actually did a craft. The craft had two
parts: one part served as a reminder for the children to pray for the kids at
GSF, and the other part was for an encouragement for the kids at GSF. They were
given two Africa cutouts. On one cutout they posted a picture of themselves
with a message such as “I am praying for you!” On the other cutout they posted
a picture of a child from GSF and wrote something like “Remember to pray for
Amon at GSF.” The CEFC children seemed to love the craft and asked how they
could continue connection with the children they were praying for! I posted a
couple pictures of the craft for you to check out. I had
Daniel helping me with the teaching and he taught the children an African
praise song. The kids loved it, and so I posted that too if you’re
interested in checking it out!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx3Pqx5gAljF4Jea-ba5cJLZnfKkMq_lIUdymIcX7ZjA8kJj4QVeMASomEb_jK8YAXeQx2fqcZe6tiLs6K2' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Thanks again for your prayers. I’ll keep you updated as
internet permits!</div>
<br /></div>Corinne Iyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10476685026665732759noreply@blogger.com2