A New Home for RHO?

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while may remember that I shared back in January about the problems we were having with our landlady. She is Ugandan, living in Ireland, and didn’t realize till visiting in January that her house had been rented out as an orphanage. The property manager assured us that she was delighted to have her house used to help orphans, and then, when she came, he denied ever knowing that we had children here! Such is business in Uganda! I haven’t updated on that situation, partly because it has been pretty much up in the air. We really didn’t know for sure whether the landlady would relent and let us stay, or whether she would indeed make us move. Shortly before I arrived in Uganda on March 5, Gracious received a letter from the property manager telling us we had to leave the house by March 31. We have a one year lease (until September 30) and we have in no way violated the lease agreement, but apparently she can still require us to leave. So, we have been looking for a new home for Redeemer House.

Oh, my goodness, I had to stop in the middle of this and go rescue my kids from a cowundo, or rescue a cowundo from my kids, I’m not sure which! They were chasing a bat around the compound, and had it cornered when I became suspicious of the roars of laughter. After a lesson on bats carrying rabies and cruelty to animals, and after trapping the bat in the corner for Uncle Noah to dispose of when he gets home, I had to take time out for a couple quick handclapping rhythm games with the girls, and then try to find some duct tape to fix the very leaky old soccer ball for the boys (no luck, and so now I find them trying to patch it with LAYERS of scotch tape)!

The school year starts here in Uganda in February, and this year we moved our kids to a new, much better school, for the same price. The kids are all happier at Buziga Hill School, and are doing much better in their classes. We don’t want to have to move them again, and we don’t believe we could find a better school for them anywhere in this area, so we really wanted to find a house nearby. We have engaged a broker (a fine Christian young man, Nicolas, who helped us find our present house, and has been a great friend to the orphanage), we have told friends, neighbors, and pastors, and we have prayed! I wish you could hear the children pray! Their faith is incredible!

Time is running short, and until today everything we have heard about is too expensive, and most didn’t want children. Today we think we may have found the right house! It is nearby, 4 bedrooms, not quite as nice as our present house (cement floors in the bedrooms instead of tile, for example), a little older – and very suited to house a bunch of kids! It has a large compound (yard) with room for the kids to play, and room for a large garden. We are hoping to get the house for $400 per month – actually very reasonable here, where landlords are now asking about $600 and up for houses big enough for us. (Our current house is $500 per month). Please pray with us, that if this is the house God has for us, we would get it at a good price and the landlord would agree to install an outdoor latrine (for times we don’t have water, and for the kids to use during the day) and finish the fence on one side (important here for the safety of the kids, AND we would be able to keep chickens in the compound and have eggs). We think it would be a wonderful home for the kids of Redeemer House.

In Uganda, houses this size are generally leased for 1 year, and landlords want 6-12 months’ rent at signing. That means we need at least $2400 – money we don’t have right now. Please pray that the landlord will only require 6 months’ in advance, and that we will have the money in time. We have the money to pay him one month at signing, which he would use to make some necessary repairs to the house. Then we would need the rest before we move in. Two other people were right behind us wanting to look at the house, and if we don’t come up with the money right away, we would likely lose the house.

If God is speaking to your heart about helping provide a home for the kids of Redeemer House, you can donate by making a check out to:

First Baptist Church

Include a note that it is for:

Redeemer House Orphanage

Mail it to:

James Lambert

544 NW Apollo Rd.

Prineville, OR 97754



We know God loves the kids of Redeemer House, and has a place for us. He has never failed us. Thanks for praying with us as we discover where He wants us to live and serve Him!

Hands of Hope - Hearts of Love

What a blessing to have a team from Hands of Hope, a ministry based in California, come visit us at Redeemer House on Sunday and Monday! I met Rick and Wendi Cross, the team leaders, just last weekend at Annie’s fundraiser. We have had individuals visit us here at Redeemer House, but this was the first team that has come. How we loved them! They came early enough on Sunday to walk to church with the children. We had a wonderful time of worshipping in a small African church, where most of what was shared was translated for us Westerners. But there was really no translation needed for the worship service, with songs in both English and Luganda, and the children sharing three songs they had prepared for the visitors. It was a very precious time of worshipping together with brothers and sisters in Christ – different languages, different cultures, same God! During the Sunday school time the visitors shared with the children. Gerald, “Uncle G”, was a great hit with the kids. They loved the way he worshipped, and he connected with the kids so easily. They have been talking about him ever since he left. When I learned he is a teacher, I was not surprised. It is obvious that he loves children.


The team leaders, Rick and Wendi Cross, were such a blessing. Rick founded Hands of Hope after visiting Africa in 2008. He has such a tender heart for the children, and the faith to believe for great things from the hand of God! One of the visions he has is for people all over the world to participate in Hand of Hope garage sales on Fathers Day weekend each year, to raise money for orphan care. Last year there were about 8 locations, and they raised about $6000. If you are interested in letting God use you in this way, leave me a comment. I loved seeing Rick connect with the “big boys” one at a time. Wendi was great as she engaged the children in stories and songs. She also spearheaded the supply drive to bring things we could use to Redeemer House. They chose to come to Redeemer House just to bring a blessing, and they truly did. They also brought their 11 year old son Colby, and he brought his own contribution. When he found out he was coming, he organized a drive to collect soccer uniforms for the kids! I don’t think he could have chosen anything they would have liked more. With the sports equipment the team brought, the kids are set to go!

When Uncle Noah realized Colby hadn’t experienced where a chicken dinner comes from, he butchered one of his beloved chickens just for Colby. After realizing how special Uncle Noah’s chickens were to him, Colby couldn’t rest until he had bought Noah a new chicken the next day. And chickens here don’t come with cages, so he held the live chicken while coming home from market! What a tenderhearted kid! I think he is going to grow up to be just like his daddy!

It was clear that God brought Anthony and Bianca to love on the children. It seemed that every time I saw Bianca she was holding onto or cradling at least one of the kids. The kids just crave the love they felt from this team. I saw Anthony wiping tears from his eyes several times, when he was so touched by the stories of these kids’ past, or how hard life is for most of the people of Uganda, or by what wonderful, giving children these kids have become. I don’t know if I have ever seen such a tenderhearted group of men!

Auntie Jessie came with camera in hand, and captured many wonderful images of the kids. She also photographed “real life” when we had the privilege of visiting Mama Miracle and her family in their home on Sunday. It is hard to imagine 8 people sleeping on 3 mattresses in a 7’ x 10’ room with all their belongings, but that is the reality here. Jessie also brought backpacks full of supplies for all the children. She didn’t know that the kids have been begging for backpacks! I wish she could have seen the kids on the sitting room floor on Monday night, as Patrick and Mama Gracious helped them assemble 14 new puzzles! That was certainly a Kodak moment!

Besides the soccer uniforms and equipment, and the backpacks, the team also brought lots of everyday needs for the orphanage. Best of all were the collapsible organizer boxes which are going to help so much! And on Sunday, with the help of their wonderful driver Emmanuel, they also purchased furniture – two love seats, a chair, and a coffee table – from the local craftsmen, for our empty sitting room. Wow! The kids were amazed – none of them have ever lived in a house big enough for real furniture! It will be so nice to have a place to sit, other than at the dining room table. The amazing thing was that I had just discussed needs of the orphanage with Elysia, our American volunteer, when she had returned last month, and we agreed just days before I left that we needed sitting room furniture so the kids would have a place to gather other than in the bedrooms, as we wanted to establish a policy of no boys in the girls room or girls in the boys room. The team from Hands of Hope had no idea that we were asking God to provide furniture when they raised money for that very purpose! God is such a good provider! Sometimes I think He is just waiting for us to ask!

One of the things the team was impressed to do while they were here was to take pictures of kids who need sponsors for their education and try to find sponsors for them when they go back home. In addition to our kids, they took pictures of several of the children at church who are not going to school because their mothers can’t afford school fees. For about $20 per month, sponsors can provide an education, including school fees, uniforms, shoes, books and supplies (which include, among other things, toilet paper, brooms, and reams of paper). In Africa, education means hope for the future, and all kids desperately want to go to school. Two of the kids are already going to be sponsored, through members of the team! Praise God! Rebecca is one of them. She is very bright, and wants to be a doctor. She is high-school aged, but hasn’t been able to attend for the past two years. Not only is she being sponsored, but she has met her sponsor, and she thinks Jessie is wonderful! She is on cloud nine! She came over this morning and told me she wasn’t able to sleep last night because she is so excited that she will be going to school. In addition to education sponsorships, team members are considering the possibility of adopting two of our kids! Wow! Wouldn’t it be wonderful for some of our kids to have forever families, all because 7 people heard God call them to a short term mission trip to Africa, and said yes!

My heart is full as I write this, just reflecting on the goodness of God and His rich blessings for us these past couple of days. Thank God for people who see God’s heart for the orphan, and respond. Thank God for people who pray and give and fundraise and serve and come and adopt and love! I know you make His heart happy!

In Uganda at Last!

I have been in Uganda for less than 3 full days, and I don’t know where to begin! I am just now getting a chance to update, as the days have been very full. We had the wonderful experience of having a mission team from Hands of Hope, based in California, visit us for the past two days. Their visit was such a blessing that I want to devote a whole post to it, so I will try to do that in the next couple of days.


First of all, and most importantly, the kids! It is so wonderful to be back here with them. To be greeted with “Welcome, Jaja Kathy”, “Praise God, Jaja Kathy”, “God bless you, Jaja Kathy” by 14 laughing, giggling children, as they all attempt to hug me and help carry my things, does wonders for my soul! Even though I have come at this time essentially to take care of business (see below), they help me remember that it is not business, but love for the children, that brings me here. It always amazes me that God has given us 14 such lovable children to care for! I want to tell you more about each of them over the next few weeks and months.

After arriving in Uganda late Friday night, I met with Peter Nyombi, our newly-retained lawyer, the next morning. How grateful I am that God sent us to him! He is a highly respected, God-fearing man who understands that Redeemer House Ministries is motivated by a love for the children and a desire to walk obediently to God’s call for us to care for orphans. He also has a great deal of experience in working with setting up foreign NGOs (non-government organizations) in Uganda, which is what we have asked him to do for us. When he learned I was in Uganda for the fourth time and did not yet have a Ugandan name, he called his office staff of 3 into his office, and in a small “ceremony,” he gave me the name of Nanyonjo, from the Clan of Nakinsige (a small Ugandan bird), which is his clan. While it was an honor to be considered a part of his clan, I’m not sure why the office staff all laughed at the name he gave me!

Peter will be working to help us gain our NGO status and become a legally recognized entity in this country. At the same time he will be preparing many necessary documents we will need as we continue to operate here. It’s the kind of essential but frustrating process I hate to have to deal with, and it is nearly impossible to know how to negotiate it in a foreign country, so we are blessed to have Peter’s services. Besides the acres of documents I brought over with me, I also need to obtain a letter from the American Embassy, prepare a yearly work plan, and meet with someone from the Ministry of Gender (which Peter will arrange), for now. Peter will be taking care of almost everything else. Later I will need to do a few other things, such as go before the NGO board with Peter to present our application.  The process is likely to take 3-4 months, and I have committed to remain in Uganda until it is finished.

Please pray that God will grant us favor, throughout the many steps of this process, with the many different government entities and people with whom we will be involved. Also, please pray for funds to pay the necessary fees. Peter’s fees, along with all the government fees, come to just over $2700. This is not in our budget, but is a necessary part of doing business here, so that we can care for the children God has entrusted to our care. We believe that God will provide for this, and are eager to share the “God story” we will have to tell when He does.

Thanks for all of your prayers as we carry on with the work God has given us to do!












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Halfway "Home"

I can hardly believe I am writing from the Amsterdam Airport, on my way back to Redeemer House Orphanage in Uganda for 3-4 months. In just a few hours, I will get to see "my kids" again!  I am so excited! On this trip, my main goal will be to work with a lawyer to complete registration of our orphanage as a foreign non-governmental organization. Please pray!  But there's a lot of other "stuff" in the works, too.  First off, we have our first mission team coming to help at Redeemer House on Sunday and Monday, with a plan to distribute soccer jerseys and soccer balls to the kids, and get in some games with them. The kids will love it! I had the chance to meet Wendi and Rick, leaders of the team, last Saturday night at Annie's fundraiser. (See previous post.)  What great people, with hearts that beat for orphans! I am looking forward to Sunday, feeling like I will be seeing dear old friends again, and anxious to meet the rest of the team.

I have spent the past few days scrambling to get ready, and so have not had a chance to post about Annie's fundraiser, but I will soon.  It was amazing - just like the whole weekend.  Wow, did God make his presence felt!  Can hardly wait to tell you about it.

But right now - I have a plane to catch.  Uganda, here I come!

Introducing Annie . . .

I wish you could meet Annie. Actually, I wish I could meet Annie! And I'm planning to, next weekend. Although I haven't met Annie face to face yet, I know this about her:

Annie is a high school senior who has a heart for missions. In fact, she wants to be a missionary nurse. She's not just a talker. She really means it. Annie wants God to use her.

For her senior project, she chose to do something that would make a difference, something that fit in with her passion. So next weekend, this teenage girl, not yet out of high school, is putting on a fundraiser to raise money for medical needs for orphans in Africa. In fact, she was in my son Justin's junior high youth group, and knew that he is involved with Redeemer House Orphanage, so she is choosing to donate her funds to Redeemer House for the medical needs of our kids!

Wow! What Annie didn't know when she chose Redeemer House is that we have a little girl, Sarah, 6 years old, who needs extensive dental surgery. She has three rows of teeth coming in, one behind the other, and sometimes it causes her a lot of pain. When I found out about her teeth, I had no idea how we would pay for the surgeries that needs to be done, but she is one of our kids, and we need to take care of her. We just don't have the funds for something like this, so I asked the Lord to provide it. Next thing I know, Annie is planning an amazing fundraiser! She had no idea what a direct answer to prayer she was. But God - God knew! We have no idea how much Sarah's surgeries will cost, or how much Annie's fundraiser will bring in, but if is more than needed for Sarah, we will have funds for the rest of the kids' medical needs. They are often sick, partly because they were so malnourished before they came to Redeemer House. They all get malaria, and last year three of them were so sick that if they has still been living on the streets, with no medical treatment, they almost certainly would have died. But God had other plans for them! Their medical needs have been a big budget item, in a small budget. Yes, those funds will be put to good use!

Annie is planning a Black Tie Pancake Supper at the Community Center in Yreka, CA, next Saturday, February 27. There will be an auction with some great items and a slide show, and she has asked me to share a few words about Redeemer House. It has been a big job to put it all together. She has some great people working with her to help make it happen. She has spoken at area churches, schools, and service groups about her project, which she calls Change for Children, and the local media has shared her project. If you're anywhere close, please join us. It's gonna be fun! And please pray for Annie as she finishes up all the last-minute details!

It's amazing to see how God is already using Annie to make a difference for the kids of Africa. I can hardly wait to see where her heart to serve God will take her. I will be watching, and I will be praying for her and for those her lives will bless. Like mine. Like Sarah's. Like all the kids of Redeemer House. You never know what God will do though you when you say yes. I'm so glad Annie said yes. And I'm so glad I get to meet her next weekend!

Heading to Uganda, Needing Some Prayer!

Because of some developments at the orphanage in the last several days, it has become evident that I (Kathy) need to travel to Uganda to deal with some issues over there. I had not planned to return to Uganda for a few months, and had hoped to travel with a team, but to tell the truth, I am really excited to be heading over soon. I will be working with a lawyer to finalize our registration as a Ugandan-recognized NGO (non-government organization). I will also be dealing with the issue of whether we will be staying in the house we are now in, or moving to new quarters, along with getting paperwork in order and a few other of the many things that are so hard to deal with from this side of the ocean.

 

Elysia, our American gal-on-the-ground in Uganda, recently contracted malaria, and has come home for a couple of months. She is enjoying some much-needed time with her family. Please pray that this would be a time of real physical and spiritual refreshment for her before she heads back to the trenches, back to the kids who have grown to love her so much.

 

Some specific things you can pray about with us:

• Wisdom for the issues we will be taking care of while we are there.
• Wisdom for the Board as they make the decisions that guide our ministry.
• Good contacts in Uganda with people who can come along side Redeemer House as ministry partners there.
• My travel arrangments. I purchased a ticket to leave March 4th, and just received notice that the flight has been cancelled. I can't deal with it until business hours tomorrow.
• My job situation. I have asked for a leave of absence from my job. (I work as an RN in a small community hospital.) If my employer can't grant me the leave, I will be resigning my position so that I can go, and then looking for work when I come back. (I plan to be gone about 3 months.)
• Finances, both for me personally and for the orphanage. (I recently read: "If it's God's will, it's God's bill." Redeemer House is His orphanage, and I know He will provide!)
• For our Ugandan employees who care for the children, and of course,
• For the kids themselves! I am SO excited to be seeing them soon!  

If the things that we will be dealing with while I am there were easy, I would not be heading over now. God never promised that following Him would be easy, just that He would always be with us. He is The Faithful One! He has called us to follow Him, to stand up for justice, and to care for the orphans of this world. May we be faithful in doing just that!

Troubles with the Landlady

It has been hard to do a second post - almost as hard as the first one - because I have a hard time knowing where to start. It seems as if everything I could say is somewhat like coming in halfway through the story . . . and so, I haven't been posting. But today, I have an urgent prayer request for Redeemer House, so . . . here goes!

I received a call early this morning from Elysia, the young American woman who is working at our orphanage. We rented a private home as our orphanage last October, and the transaction was handled by a man named Patrick at a property management agency. The owner, a Ugandan woman, has returned from Ireland and now wants to evict us so that family members can live there. We signed a one year lease, and we paid six months at that time, so the rent is paid through March 31. Although she apparently can't evict us before then, she wants us to leave ASAP, and has said she will not refund rent.

The real problem is that there were some structural problems with the walls in the house, which Patrick noted and agreed to fix, but which have not been fixed, and have deteriorated. There were also some other minor problems, which he denies were there at the time, although we have a written list of them. Patrick now is claiming that he never agreed to fix the walls, saying there was no damage when we moved in, and denying he knew there would be 15 children in the home. The landlady, who has seen the house briefly once, is coming within the hour to inspect the house and is planning to level HUGE repair fees. Patrick's comment was that it was really not that much for an organization to pay. Of course, we are a bare bones operation and don't have the money for substantial repairs of the nature he is trying to make us responsible for.

Please pray that the landlady will be reasonable, that she will believe us and not Patrick, and that she won't hold us responsible for the poorly constructed walls. Also pray about us finding another place to live. I have asked Elysia to try to contact a couple of Ugandans to have them present at the meeting with the landlady, to be our advocates, and we are trying to contact a lawyer there. Most of all, we are trusting God to be our advocate.

I contacted my son, who is on the Board of Directors, and he just sent me a text that said "Read Psalm 34". Just a few verses:

7) The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.
15) The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.
16) The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17) The righteous cry and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.

What great truth to rest in while we go through this! Thank you for praying!