Pallisa, Uganda: Monday June 23rd

Building a chicken coop...actually building anything...in Uganda is a bit different than building here in the United States.  After a great breakfast courtesy of Mercy, we drove to the Kerith's Children's home, the site of the chicken coop to be.  We joined a team of Ugandan men (two of them pastors, and the rest local young men).  The "foundation" was already completed and the next steps were to place the posts, put the roof structure in place, and then put up the sides and wire mesh.  It sounded easy enough.  Below are a few pics of the process, mostly in chronological order.  Note the pic of team members mixing concrete to set the poles.  We essentially dumped the ingredients onto the ground, poured water on top, and mixed with shovels.  We then shoveled the mix into a wheelbarrow and carted the "concrete" to the post holes.  Due to the condition of the ground and the wheelbarrow, we had one team member push the wheelbarrow while another pulled with a rope from the front.  Kinda fun, actually.   Needless to say, our progress was much slower than anticipated.  We were, however, able to establish great relationships with the men we worked with.  This was one of the times we really were able to get to know Bruhan, the pastor interning with Pastor Samuel.

We worked 1/2 of Monday and then we were headed to a local school to follow up with some of the boys the first Man Up team met with approximately 3 weeks prior to our arrival.  We met with a group of around 75 boys (middle to high school aged) of mixed religious backgrounds.  There wer some Muslim, some non-believers, and some new believers.  We had lively conversation and were able to present the Gospel message.  If my numbers are correct, 7 young men prayed to accept Jesus for the first time that afternoon.  It's amazing to witness God's plan in action and to be a small part of it.  In addition, we were able to provide Bibles to the group.  They were so excited to receive the Bibles! 

We spent the evening having dinner and talking with Pastor Samuel and his wife Mercy.  This time of fellowship became so valuable during our stay with them.  It was a time of learning, growing, and sharing that I will always treasure.