Raining Hope Uganda Trip
December 28, 2011-January 11, 2012
Chapter 13 – Update #2
I have arrived in Uganda! Happy New Year’s Eve! Currently it is 9:15 am on Saturday (10:15 pm Friday in California). We are 11 hours ahead of you. So when we are ushering in the New Year tonight at midnight, it will be 1 pm on Saturday your time. Strange isn’t it!
I ended up missing breakfast at the hotel in the morning and took the earlier van back to the airport. Gotta love it when you have a frozen yogurt from Pinkberry for breakfast! Even at $5 for a little cup it was worth it! Then I found my way to Starbucks for a Toffee Nut Latte. That tall latte cost $8! I came equipped with my Starbucks gift card that ended up not working there in Dubai. Oh well!
I found my friend from Ethiopia on one of the shuttle buses from the terminal to the plane! We were able to exchange email addresses to keep in touch. She is still nervous but knows God is in control.
Normally when I arrive in Uganda, I prepared to walk down the stairs from the plane onto the tarmac. I was pleasantly surprised to exit the airplane to a brand new jetway! It led right into the terminal! I found my way to the passport control to face the purchase of the visa. God answered our prayers! The line to the visa purchase was actually shorter than the normal passport control line! God is good! The agent who took care of me was so pleasant. Before I knew it, I had my visa in hand and was on my way to collect my luggage. Thank you for your prayers. Once at the luggage carousel, my bags came out one right after the other. I had my bags within 5 minutes!
The best part is always walking outside and seeing the sea of faces waiting for friends and family members. It is such a welcomed and warm feeling! I know that I have arrived at my second home!
We had to stop in Kampala to deliver one of the bags to Rebecca Kajumba. Her parents, Michael & Sheila have been visiting in Ventura. They too paid for a extra piece of luggage so I could bring some things back to her.
When I was at the airport, I asked the passport control agent if it had been raining. His response was, “no it has not been raining at all.” But on the way to see Rebecca, the dark clouds began to move in. By time we reached the Kajumba house....it was pouring!! Godfrey said that he always knows when I have arrived because it always rains! The rain lasted for most of the drive to Jinja from there.
We did stop for our traditional chicken on a stick & roasted bananas! I know I am close to Jinja once we make that stop. By time we arrived at the hotel it was close to 7:30 pm. It is hard to describe the feeling inside each time I drive down the familiar road to my home at the Hotel Paradise. With this being Christmas time, I knew they would have the added bonus of Christmas decorations.
There were warm greetings all around from my family at the hotel! I wish that everyone could come here once to experience the warm hospitality of the people in this place. It is like no other place that I have been before. At one point, a server in the restaurant said, “I heard that you were on your way! Molly told me today.” When I saw Molly she said, “Farida told me that you were coming. She said, don’t take down the Christmas decorations yet! Eydie wants to see them!” If that doesn’t give you the feeling of being at home!!!
By time we finished dinner, I think I was almost sleepwalking back to my room. I did my famous, “I need to lay down for a minute before unpacking.” Sure enough I laid down, but when I opened my eyes it was 3 am! Ha! So much for a just a minute!
This morning has been a blessing. With the beginning of a new day, the place becomes alive with people moving about. I have seen old friends one by one that come to greet me in the restaurant.
I just had a huge surprise. Robert Otile, the manager of the hotel, has his family here visiting from the UK and also Texas! He introduced me to the family and we had a nice time sharing. Robert's brother, Joe was highly encouraging to me. His words were great confirmation of our work in Uganda. It was a special blessing from God!
I am going to spend this morning here at the hotel preparing more for the conference. Tonight for New Year’s Eve, I will attend overnight prayers in Kakira at Deliverance Church. This is always a highlight of my New Year in Uganda. We begin about 9-10 pm tonight. They will go all the way until 6 am. They normally will send me home about 2-3 pm to rest! Since tomorrow is Sunday, we also will go to church at 10 am at Cornerstone in Kakira. I am looking forward to worshipping with my family at Cornerstone as we begin the New Year together!
Continue to pray for me as I study for the conference and the theme of 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. you are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
I pray that you all have a great New Year’s Eve reflecting on the goodness of God and all that He has done. I will greet you in the New Year with the next update!
1 Samuel 12:16 , “Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do.”
Kale,
Eydie
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Jan. 30, 2011 - Chapter 13 Update #1
Raining Hope Uganda Trip
December 28, 2011-January 11, 2012
Chapter 13 – Update #1
I am currently on a layover in Dubai. Hard to believe that this is journey #13 to Uganda! Each time I travel to Uganda, it is another “chapter” in this exciting path God has put me on. So, for those of you who are new to my updates, this is why I title this update as “Chapter 13.”
Thanks to everyone who is on our 24 Hour Prayer Team! It helps me to know that at any hour, someone is praying for me. If you have committed to praying for me throughout this journey, THANK YOU! If you would like to be added to the 24 Hour prayer team, please email me and let me know.
I know that at first glance you scroll down and see how long they are. I have tried to keep you informed of what God is doing, but I know not everyone has time to read all of it. Yet there are some who want all of the details to feel like they are right there with me! On each journey I send what God has led me to write. I want to be able to share the excitement with you! Please read what you can and continue to pray for me!
It is nice after traveling for almost 16 hours to have a hotel to stay in to shower & and a bed to rest up. There have been a couple of times I have stayed at the Dubai airport for 8 hour layovers! This is much better!
God has answered your prayers in amazing ways already! I couldn’t wait until I got to Uganda to update you on just the past 24 hours!
I am so thankful for Expression Ministries who helped pay for our extra piece of luggage! I was able to bring a few more supplies with me. I jam packed the three bags as close to the 50 allowed pounds as I could. I didn’t want to be charged for overweight bags as well. All of my bags went through without a problem! Another answer to prayer!
I received a huge blessing! As I was checking in I was upgraded to Business Class! I was so overwhelmed that I told him my birthday was yesterday (the 27th) and this was a great birthday blessing! He said, “Happy Birthday, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!” Ha!
I walked around in a slight daze amazed at God’s goodness. I have been in business class before, but not like this. It felt more like First Class than Business Class. The seats were the kind that recline all the way back to lay down and sleep! The more I explored, I found that my seat had a built in massage machine! I never realized how handy this was until about half way into the long flight! They had the best gourmet meals that I have ever had on a flight. The flight attendants treated us like we were patrons in a fine dining restaurant. We had table clothes over our little tables when it came time to eat. I actually had a cappuccino before the dinner meal! Later the next morning they brought me an espresso! Really!
I tell you all this for a reason. I was totally undeserving of this pampering. I didn’t pay for it. I was singled out and chosen by this one kind man. Yet all throughout the flight, I felt like a princess.
In preparation for my speaking at the conference in Uganda, I am reading the book, “Hadassah, One Night With the King,” by Tommy Tenney. Yes, it is the book the movie of the same name is based on. The way I have been treated today reminded me so much of Esther of the Bible. As spent one full year preparing for the one night she would spend with the King. She too was singled out as the preferred candidate out of thousands. She was lavished upon & pampered in this story living in luxury because she was chosen.
My experience on Emirates Airlines yesterday gave me a new insight into how Esther must have felt. As she is one of the main characters i am speaking on as part of the conference, I can’t help but believe that God blessed me with the upgrade as part of being able to make His Word become alive when I share next week. God is so good!
As we landed in Dubai and got ready to exit the plane, I had an 85 year old woman come up to me. She needed help with where to go get a visa. She asked if I would help her and show her where to go. She kept hugging me and said, “God bless you for helping me.”
What is interesting is I had an “express pass” through passport control because of the business class ticket. This woman did not have the same pass. At first I went to the other express line, but felt that God was leading me to go back and stay with her. So I stayed with the 85 year old woman to help. Turns out, she did not need the visa at all! After she went through passport control, she waited for me so I could help her to the luggage carousel. Of all things, I got stuck in passport control for a few moments. He said, “Your passport is full. Where do I stamp it?” I was confused because there were a couple pages in the back that were blank. After a few awkward moments, he just found a spot and stamped the passport. But then I looked up, and my 85 year old friend was no where to be found! Really. I looked for her at the various baggage carousels, but she was gone.
Then on the shuttle to the hotel, I had a couple more people ask me for help. They were trying to find where on their vouchers it said which hotel to go to. At the hotel, another woman asked me about what one of the food dishes in the buffet. They actually had lobster thermidor & she wanted to know what it was. I don’t normally have so many people ask for help like has happened in the past 24 hours.
The conference theme verse is 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. you are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
As I sit in my room in Dubai, reflecting on all that God has blessed me with as I have barely begun trip #13, he gave me this verse as well found in 1 Samuel 12:16 , “Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do.”
I am not sure what is going to come next, but I know He will receive all the glory for what He is about to do!
I will leave the hotel about 6:30 am to get back to the airport for my 8:25 am flight to Entebbe!
Keep praying!
Kale,
Eydie Miskel
December 28, 2011-January 11, 2012
Chapter 13 – Update #1
I am currently on a layover in Dubai. Hard to believe that this is journey #13 to Uganda! Each time I travel to Uganda, it is another “chapter” in this exciting path God has put me on. So, for those of you who are new to my updates, this is why I title this update as “Chapter 13.”
Thanks to everyone who is on our 24 Hour Prayer Team! It helps me to know that at any hour, someone is praying for me. If you have committed to praying for me throughout this journey, THANK YOU! If you would like to be added to the 24 Hour prayer team, please email me and let me know.
I know that at first glance you scroll down and see how long they are. I have tried to keep you informed of what God is doing, but I know not everyone has time to read all of it. Yet there are some who want all of the details to feel like they are right there with me! On each journey I send what God has led me to write. I want to be able to share the excitement with you! Please read what you can and continue to pray for me!
It is nice after traveling for almost 16 hours to have a hotel to stay in to shower & and a bed to rest up. There have been a couple of times I have stayed at the Dubai airport for 8 hour layovers! This is much better!
God has answered your prayers in amazing ways already! I couldn’t wait until I got to Uganda to update you on just the past 24 hours!
I am so thankful for Expression Ministries who helped pay for our extra piece of luggage! I was able to bring a few more supplies with me. I jam packed the three bags as close to the 50 allowed pounds as I could. I didn’t want to be charged for overweight bags as well. All of my bags went through without a problem! Another answer to prayer!
I received a huge blessing! As I was checking in I was upgraded to Business Class! I was so overwhelmed that I told him my birthday was yesterday (the 27th) and this was a great birthday blessing! He said, “Happy Birthday, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!” Ha!
I walked around in a slight daze amazed at God’s goodness. I have been in business class before, but not like this. It felt more like First Class than Business Class. The seats were the kind that recline all the way back to lay down and sleep! The more I explored, I found that my seat had a built in massage machine! I never realized how handy this was until about half way into the long flight! They had the best gourmet meals that I have ever had on a flight. The flight attendants treated us like we were patrons in a fine dining restaurant. We had table clothes over our little tables when it came time to eat. I actually had a cappuccino before the dinner meal! Later the next morning they brought me an espresso! Really!
I tell you all this for a reason. I was totally undeserving of this pampering. I didn’t pay for it. I was singled out and chosen by this one kind man. Yet all throughout the flight, I felt like a princess.
In preparation for my speaking at the conference in Uganda, I am reading the book, “Hadassah, One Night With the King,” by Tommy Tenney. Yes, it is the book the movie of the same name is based on. The way I have been treated today reminded me so much of Esther of the Bible. As spent one full year preparing for the one night she would spend with the King. She too was singled out as the preferred candidate out of thousands. She was lavished upon & pampered in this story living in luxury because she was chosen.
My experience on Emirates Airlines yesterday gave me a new insight into how Esther must have felt. As she is one of the main characters i am speaking on as part of the conference, I can’t help but believe that God blessed me with the upgrade as part of being able to make His Word become alive when I share next week. God is so good!
As we landed in Dubai and got ready to exit the plane, I had an 85 year old woman come up to me. She needed help with where to go get a visa. She asked if I would help her and show her where to go. She kept hugging me and said, “God bless you for helping me.”
What is interesting is I had an “express pass” through passport control because of the business class ticket. This woman did not have the same pass. At first I went to the other express line, but felt that God was leading me to go back and stay with her. So I stayed with the 85 year old woman to help. Turns out, she did not need the visa at all! After she went through passport control, she waited for me so I could help her to the luggage carousel. Of all things, I got stuck in passport control for a few moments. He said, “Your passport is full. Where do I stamp it?” I was confused because there were a couple pages in the back that were blank. After a few awkward moments, he just found a spot and stamped the passport. But then I looked up, and my 85 year old friend was no where to be found! Really. I looked for her at the various baggage carousels, but she was gone.
Then on the shuttle to the hotel, I had a couple more people ask me for help. They were trying to find where on their vouchers it said which hotel to go to. At the hotel, another woman asked me about what one of the food dishes in the buffet. They actually had lobster thermidor & she wanted to know what it was. I don’t normally have so many people ask for help like has happened in the past 24 hours.
The conference theme verse is 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. you are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
As I sit in my room in Dubai, reflecting on all that God has blessed me with as I have barely begun trip #13, he gave me this verse as well found in 1 Samuel 12:16 , “Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do.”
I am not sure what is going to come next, but I know He will receive all the glory for what He is about to do!
I will leave the hotel about 6:30 am to get back to the airport for my 8:25 am flight to Entebbe!
Keep praying!
Kale,
Eydie Miskel
Thursday, December 22, 2011
December 2011 update
Raining Hope
Update & Prayer Requests – December 2011
I want to thank you for your continued support & prayers for the children of Raining Hope Children's Home. In the midst of the Christmas holiday & the tough economy, I appreciate your gifts of love & support.
Thanks to all who participated in our Macy's Fundraiser as well as our Yard Sale! Both went very well.
Our Annual Tamale Fundraiser was also a HUGE success! We sold out again this year! We already have a few reservations for next year! Thanks to all who came by that day to pick up your tamales & support our event.
Important - January Conference in Uganda
I have been asked to speak at a 6 day conference in conjunction with Amazing Grace Church in Bukaya, Uganda! This is the church our children of Raining Hope attend. It will be January 2-7, 2012. Please be in prayer for me as I prepare. I shared with them that I would be speaking on being a part of a royal family, daughters & sons of a King. Pastor Richard of Amazing Grace Church sent a reply that the theme will be from 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Pray for the continued funds needed to cover my airfare & accommodations. I will be leaving December 28, 2011 & returning on January 11, 2012.
Because I am traveling to Uganda on my own, my luggage is limited. The cost for an extra piece of luggage is $170! Wow! We would like to provide the children with a Christmas party while I am there. If you would like to make a donation towards our celebration and the trip itself, please contact Carol John this week at carol@raininghope.org or make a donation on our website, www.raininghope.org. It will be easier for me to buy supplies there than pay for the excess luggage on this end.
Fundraisers
Avon - My cousin in San Jose, Tina Shadowens is an Avon representative. She has graciously set up an ongoing fundraiser for Raining Hope. If you go to her website, www.tshad.com and hit the "Online Event" tab, you will see our fundraiser listed. All you need to do is put "raininghope" in the coupon area at check out for us to get credit.
Second Annual Sit-A-Thon! Date & place to be announced. It will be late February or early March. We will also have a dinner/silent auction event as part of the Sit-A-Thon.
A list of current prayer requests is available on request. If you are not on our mailing list, please send your email address to eydie@raininghope.org. You will receive monthly updates.
If you would like to make a donation:
1) Website: www.raininghope.org. You can make a donation online using a major credit card. All donations are tax-deductible.
2) Mail a check to: Raining Hope Inc. 3451 Foothill Road #206, Ventura, CA 93003
Or send a check to my address at 8823 Denver Street, Ventura, CA 93004 made to Raining Hope Inc.
3) If you have questions you can contact me at 805-340-7612
4) You can also contact our treasurer, Carol John at 805-377-7387.
Most of all, I appreciate your continued prayers.
May you have a very blessed Christmas & a Happy New Year!
Kale,
Eydie
Update & Prayer Requests – December 2011
I want to thank you for your continued support & prayers for the children of Raining Hope Children's Home. In the midst of the Christmas holiday & the tough economy, I appreciate your gifts of love & support.
Thanks to all who participated in our Macy's Fundraiser as well as our Yard Sale! Both went very well.
Our Annual Tamale Fundraiser was also a HUGE success! We sold out again this year! We already have a few reservations for next year! Thanks to all who came by that day to pick up your tamales & support our event.
Important - January Conference in Uganda
I have been asked to speak at a 6 day conference in conjunction with Amazing Grace Church in Bukaya, Uganda! This is the church our children of Raining Hope attend. It will be January 2-7, 2012. Please be in prayer for me as I prepare. I shared with them that I would be speaking on being a part of a royal family, daughters & sons of a King. Pastor Richard of Amazing Grace Church sent a reply that the theme will be from 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Pray for the continued funds needed to cover my airfare & accommodations. I will be leaving December 28, 2011 & returning on January 11, 2012.
Because I am traveling to Uganda on my own, my luggage is limited. The cost for an extra piece of luggage is $170! Wow! We would like to provide the children with a Christmas party while I am there. If you would like to make a donation towards our celebration and the trip itself, please contact Carol John this week at carol@raininghope.org or make a donation on our website, www.raininghope.org. It will be easier for me to buy supplies there than pay for the excess luggage on this end.
Fundraisers
Avon - My cousin in San Jose, Tina Shadowens is an Avon representative. She has graciously set up an ongoing fundraiser for Raining Hope. If you go to her website, www.tshad.com and hit the "Online Event" tab, you will see our fundraiser listed. All you need to do is put "raininghope" in the coupon area at check out for us to get credit.
Second Annual Sit-A-Thon! Date & place to be announced. It will be late February or early March. We will also have a dinner/silent auction event as part of the Sit-A-Thon.
A list of current prayer requests is available on request. If you are not on our mailing list, please send your email address to eydie@raininghope.org. You will receive monthly updates.
If you would like to make a donation:
1) Website: www.raininghope.org. You can make a donation online using a major credit card. All donations are tax-deductible.
2) Mail a check to: Raining Hope Inc. 3451 Foothill Road #206, Ventura, CA 93003
Or send a check to my address at 8823 Denver Street, Ventura, CA 93004 made to Raining Hope Inc.
3) If you have questions you can contact me at 805-340-7612
4) You can also contact our treasurer, Carol John at 805-377-7387.
Most of all, I appreciate your continued prayers.
May you have a very blessed Christmas & a Happy New Year!
Kale,
Eydie
Monday, November 14, 2011
Avon & Raining Hope
My cousin, Tina Shadowens in San Jose, California is an Avon Representative. She graciously offered to set up on online fundraiser for Raining Hope. Tina will donated a minimum of 20% of the sales from the event to the children of Raining Hope. If you go to her website at www.tshad.com and hit the online event tab you will see the Raining Hope event information.
With Christmas coming, they have many gift items now available. When you are checking out, Tina said to put "Raining Hope" in the coupon area. That way she will be able to give credit to our event.
Thank you, Tina for caring for our organization & the children of Uganda!
With Christmas coming, they have many gift items now available. When you are checking out, Tina said to put "Raining Hope" in the coupon area. That way she will be able to give credit to our event.
Thank you, Tina for caring for our organization & the children of Uganda!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Macy's Community Shopping Day - Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011
Shop, Save and Make a Difference!
Macy's Community Shopping Day
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Macy’s Thousand Oaks
590 West Hillcrest Drive - Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Raining Hope will host an exhibit tale from 10 am-5:30 pm – Please join us
For more than ten years, Macy's has partnered with local non-profit organizations to raise funds for their ongoing charitable efforts.
Community Shopping Day gives you the opportunity to help Raining Hope Incorporated & Raining Hope Children’s Home in Uganda.
By donating $10, you’ll receive a shopping pass with exclusive saving, plus you can enter to win a $500 Macy’s gift card.
As a participating charity, Raining Hope will keep 100% of the proceeds from the sale of each savings pass.
Come together with Macy's & Raining Hope and celebrate Community Shopping Day. You'll enjoy a day of shopping with great savings while helping our community at the same time.
Unlike the “Shop for a Cause” event, this is implemented in a select group of Macy’s stores.
Here is a list of participating Macy’s stores:
Macy’s at Biltmore Fashion Park –Phoenix, Arizona
Cherry Creek – Denver Colorado
Downtown Sacramento – Sacramento, California
Fashion Fair – Fresno, California
Monterey – Monterey, California
Park Meadows – Littleton, Colorado
Pasadena on Lake Avenue – Pasadena, California
River Park – Fresno, California
Scottsdale – Scottsdale, Arizona
Thousand Oaks – Thousand Oaks, California
How do I get a Shopping Pass?
Raining Hope has been given 200 passes to sell before the day of the event. Contact us directly and we will mail you a pass. This is the best way to get a Shopping Pass for Raining Hope to get 100% of the ticket sales.
What if I wait until the day of the event & I don’t have a pass?
Shopping passes will be sold at all registers in the participating store. Proceeds from in-store shopping pass sales are divided among organizations based on your returned “enter-to-win” coupons. For Raining Hope to qualify for the portion of in-store ticket sales, make sure you deposit your “enter-to-win” coupon at one of the stores listed above. This is exciting for us that Macy’s has added this incentive to raise funds for Raining Hope.
What if I can’t attend on November 12th?
Macy’s will have a “pre-sale” the week of the event. You can pre-purchase items that week using your coupon. Items you pre-buy may be picked up at the store after November 12th.
What If I don’t live near any of these locations?
Consider making a $10 donation to Raining Hope. If you wish to purchase multiple tickets, you can give them to relatives and friends who might enjoy the discount.
How can I help the day of the event?
Raining Hope will be hosting an “exhibit table” at the Thousand Oaks Macy’s on the day of the event, November 12th. We will be set up from 10:00 am-5:30 pm. This gives Raining Hope the opportunity to showcase our organization to Macy’s shoppers.
It will help Raining Hope if you could come by and support our cause with your presence! We understand Thousand Oaks may be a distance for you to travel to. This Macy’s is located in the Oaks Mall which is a great mall with many other stores & restaurants. Raining Hope will also be giving our own gifts as a thank you for coming to visit us!
Who do I contact to obtain a pass or have any questions?
Eydie Miskel – email: signinghands49@yahoo.com or eydie@raininghope.org
Cell: 805-340-7612
Carol John – email: carol@raininghope.org
Cell: 805-377-7387
Sylvia Hernandez
Cell: 805-701-1408
Thank you for your continued support of our children in Uganda!!
Macy's Community Shopping Day
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Macy’s Thousand Oaks
590 West Hillcrest Drive - Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Raining Hope will host an exhibit tale from 10 am-5:30 pm – Please join us
For more than ten years, Macy's has partnered with local non-profit organizations to raise funds for their ongoing charitable efforts.
Community Shopping Day gives you the opportunity to help Raining Hope Incorporated & Raining Hope Children’s Home in Uganda.
By donating $10, you’ll receive a shopping pass with exclusive saving, plus you can enter to win a $500 Macy’s gift card.
As a participating charity, Raining Hope will keep 100% of the proceeds from the sale of each savings pass.
Come together with Macy's & Raining Hope and celebrate Community Shopping Day. You'll enjoy a day of shopping with great savings while helping our community at the same time.
Unlike the “Shop for a Cause” event, this is implemented in a select group of Macy’s stores.
Here is a list of participating Macy’s stores:
Macy’s at Biltmore Fashion Park –Phoenix, Arizona
Cherry Creek – Denver Colorado
Downtown Sacramento – Sacramento, California
Fashion Fair – Fresno, California
Monterey – Monterey, California
Park Meadows – Littleton, Colorado
Pasadena on Lake Avenue – Pasadena, California
River Park – Fresno, California
Scottsdale – Scottsdale, Arizona
Thousand Oaks – Thousand Oaks, California
How do I get a Shopping Pass?
Raining Hope has been given 200 passes to sell before the day of the event. Contact us directly and we will mail you a pass. This is the best way to get a Shopping Pass for Raining Hope to get 100% of the ticket sales.
What if I wait until the day of the event & I don’t have a pass?
Shopping passes will be sold at all registers in the participating store. Proceeds from in-store shopping pass sales are divided among organizations based on your returned “enter-to-win” coupons. For Raining Hope to qualify for the portion of in-store ticket sales, make sure you deposit your “enter-to-win” coupon at one of the stores listed above. This is exciting for us that Macy’s has added this incentive to raise funds for Raining Hope.
What if I can’t attend on November 12th?
Macy’s will have a “pre-sale” the week of the event. You can pre-purchase items that week using your coupon. Items you pre-buy may be picked up at the store after November 12th.
What If I don’t live near any of these locations?
Consider making a $10 donation to Raining Hope. If you wish to purchase multiple tickets, you can give them to relatives and friends who might enjoy the discount.
How can I help the day of the event?
Raining Hope will be hosting an “exhibit table” at the Thousand Oaks Macy’s on the day of the event, November 12th. We will be set up from 10:00 am-5:30 pm. This gives Raining Hope the opportunity to showcase our organization to Macy’s shoppers.
It will help Raining Hope if you could come by and support our cause with your presence! We understand Thousand Oaks may be a distance for you to travel to. This Macy’s is located in the Oaks Mall which is a great mall with many other stores & restaurants. Raining Hope will also be giving our own gifts as a thank you for coming to visit us!
Who do I contact to obtain a pass or have any questions?
Eydie Miskel – email: signinghands49@yahoo.com or eydie@raininghope.org
Cell: 805-340-7612
Carol John – email: carol@raininghope.org
Cell: 805-377-7387
Sylvia Hernandez
Cell: 805-701-1408
Thank you for your continued support of our children in Uganda!!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Yard Sale - Saturday, November 5, 2011
Raining Hope Yard Sale – Saturday, November 5, 2011
Where: 79 Yosemite Court – Ventura
Time: 7:00 am – 12 noon
Come by for a hug, a cup of coffee & donut or two!
Ask the Lord, along with us, to provide all that is needed.
Prayerfully consider giving a gift to the airfare fund for Eydie’s upcoming trip to Uganda in December.
Household goods, clothes, videos, books etc!
* Hospital bed, electric (works great)
* Invacare Get-U-Up w/2 lift straps
* wheelchair
* electric wheelchair
* electric scooter w/lifting chair
* several walkers
Note that the yard sale is NOT at our home. Because of the passing of my father-in-law in September, we are some medical equipment, beds, etc to sell. Yosemite Court is just off of Telegraph & Victoria near the Von's shopping center.
Thanks for your support & your prayers!
eydie !
Where: 79 Yosemite Court – Ventura
Time: 7:00 am – 12 noon
Come by for a hug, a cup of coffee & donut or two!
Ask the Lord, along with us, to provide all that is needed.
Prayerfully consider giving a gift to the airfare fund for Eydie’s upcoming trip to Uganda in December.
Household goods, clothes, videos, books etc!
* Hospital bed, electric (works great)
* Invacare Get-U-Up w/2 lift straps
* wheelchair
* electric wheelchair
* electric scooter w/lifting chair
* several walkers
Note that the yard sale is NOT at our home. Because of the passing of my father-in-law in September, we are some medical equipment, beds, etc to sell. Yosemite Court is just off of Telegraph & Victoria near the Von's shopping center.
Thanks for your support & your prayers!
eydie !
Monday, September 19, 2011
Prayer Requests for September 2011
Raining Hope Incorporated
Update – September 2011
Thank you for your continued prayer and support of our children!
We are in need of your prayers: Can you please join with us in praying for the following needs.
1) Our children have begun the third term of school. However, we are short by about $800.
2) Our landlord has been great in allowing us to pay our rent in increments rather than one full year in advance. We have paid through the end of this month. We are in need of the next three months of rent ($1200) plus an initial security deposit of one month that he did not ask for until now ($400). This will take us through the rest of this year of 2011.
3) Food is still running triple of normal costs. It does continue to rain in Uganda which is an answer to prayer! Until crops have grown and are harvested, the prices continue to be high. Pray for the prices to normalize soon. We have been running low on food supplies.
We need to wire money to them this week. If you can help, you can see at the end of the email how to make a donation.
Long term goals:
As you can see by the prayer request for rent, we would love to begin building on our new land.
1) Pray for the necessary funds to begin building a permanent home on our land. We want to begin utilizing our land rather than paying rent for a leased home.
2) Pray for the funds to purchase the adjacent 2 acres of land next to ours. Contact me directly for more info.
3) The dream for Raining Hope and this land is to build a children’s home, a school, a church and a guest house. We can also use the land for farming to raise our own food supplies. The land would also give us the opportunity to raise farm animals.
Our Children’s Prayers
I received word from the home that our children and staff have committed to praying and fasting each Saturday for Raining Hope stateside. They are intentionally setting aside each Saturday to pray for us in the United States and the work we are doing. They are precious. Please join with us especially on Saturdays to pray for Raining Hope.
Upcoming Fundraisers
Macy’s - THANK YOU to everyone who supported us in our Macy’s Shop for a Cause event! We raised $537! Thanks also to everyone who came by Macy’s during the event and visited our table!
Stay tuned as Raining Hope has been invited to participate in another Community Shopping Day event on November 12th! We will give you more information soon!
To be announced: We are working on dates for
Garage Sale – soon!
Fall Event – October/November
Annual Tamale Fundraiser! – December
Disaster Relief: Continue to be in prayer for Minot, North Dakota. I had an amazing time serving the people of that community. They are still in need of our prayers. Their winter weather can begin as early as this month. They have so much to accomplish before the snow begins.
If you would like to make a donation:
1) Website: www.raininghope.org. You can make a donation online using a major credit card. All donations are tax-deductible.
2) Mail a check to: Raining Hope Inc. 3451 Foothill Road #206, Ventura, CA 93004
Or send a check to my address at 8823 Denver Street, Ventura, CA 94004 made to Raining Hope Inc.
3) If you have questions you can contact me at 805-340-7612
4) You can also contact our treasurer, Carol John at 805-377-7387.
If you have any other questions, feel free to email me back! Most of all, I appreciate your continued prayers. In this tough economy, we know that it has affected all of us. We appreciate your continued support of our children in these difficult and challenging times.
Please let us know how we can pray for you. I will forward any requests to our children and they will remember you in their prayers on Saturdays.
Kale,
Eydie
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Macy's Partners with Raining Hope!
Macy’s is Partnering Together with Raining Hope!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Have you heard about Macy’s Shop for a Cause event? This is Macy’s signature give back campaign. Every Macy’s store coast to coast is banding together to raise funds for organizations like ours. For a donation of $5, we will give you a 25% off coupon and a chance to win a $500 gift card.
This is one of the few times of the year that Macy’s offers a storewide 25% off coupon to their customers. The only other times are during their bi-annual Friends and Family events. There are very few exclusions on this coupon. The exclusions are listed on the back of the pass.
The benefits are:
• 25% off coupon that can be used all day on August 27th on most merchandise.
• One entry per pass for a $500 gift card drawing held on August 27th. There will be one
winner for every Macy’s store!! (Donators can drop off their entry at the store on August 27th)
• There will be fun and exciting entertainment in the store on August 27th
• If you will be out of town on that day, you can use this pass at any Macy’s nationwide AND on macys.com on August 27th.
• 100% of your $5 donation will directly benefit Raining Hope! Macy’s gave us the passes to sell and Raining Hope gets to keep all of the money we raise!
If you would like to make a donation, please respond to this email and I will mail a pass to you. You may also contact me at 805-340-7612. We could also use your help in distributing coupons. Just let me know how many you want. We already have some donations coming from Maryland! The more passes we sell, the more we will raise for Raining Hope!
Please be praying for us during this fundraising campaign. Thank you for your continued support!
Kale,
Eydie Miskel
Executive Director
Chapter 12 Update #9 - June 20
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #9
Our team is finishing well! We had a GREAT last day here in Uganda. We spent the majority of the day as a team debriefing what God has been doing the past 3 weeks. We ended our time this afternoon washing one another’s feet. It was a very significant moment in the life of our team.
We visited Pastor Gerald and his family before venturing to the home. You would be very proud of the team. After a night of singing, dancing, and great fellowship we had a time of prayer and the traditional send of team. Pastor Paul & his wife, Margaret joined us at the home for the special send off. Tears were shed, but we were “strong and courageous” through it all.
We came back to the hotel for a very special surprise. The Otile’s had arranged a very special send off dinner for us. They had an amazing buffet set up in their new “hut” where we have morning prayers. We felt like such honored guests. Here we are at the Nile River, a beautiful buffet table set, Christian music playing in the background, surrounded by our friends. It was a perfect way to end our last night here in Uganda.
The team is sad to be leaving Uganda, but they are excited to come home to the welcomed arms of friends and family..
We are leaving for Entebbe at 4 am! We will see you soon!
Thank you for your prayers. We are finishing STRONG AND COURAGEOUS & FINISHING WELL!
Kale,
Eydie
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #9
Our team is finishing well! We had a GREAT last day here in Uganda. We spent the majority of the day as a team debriefing what God has been doing the past 3 weeks. We ended our time this afternoon washing one another’s feet. It was a very significant moment in the life of our team.
We visited Pastor Gerald and his family before venturing to the home. You would be very proud of the team. After a night of singing, dancing, and great fellowship we had a time of prayer and the traditional send of team. Pastor Paul & his wife, Margaret joined us at the home for the special send off. Tears were shed, but we were “strong and courageous” through it all.
We came back to the hotel for a very special surprise. The Otile’s had arranged a very special send off dinner for us. They had an amazing buffet set up in their new “hut” where we have morning prayers. We felt like such honored guests. Here we are at the Nile River, a beautiful buffet table set, Christian music playing in the background, surrounded by our friends. It was a perfect way to end our last night here in Uganda.
The team is sad to be leaving Uganda, but they are excited to come home to the welcomed arms of friends and family..
We are leaving for Entebbe at 4 am! We will see you soon!
Thank you for your prayers. We are finishing STRONG AND COURAGEOUS & FINISHING WELL!
Kale,
Eydie
Monday, June 20, 2011
Uganda Chapter 12 Update #8
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #8
Thank you for your prayers for our time of ministry to the women of Cornerstone Baptist Church! The women’s conference went very well. We had about 60 of the women who were signed up come and participate. We were also blessed by the presence of about 100 of the children who participated in VBS this week! The day was filled with praise & worship, teaching & small group discussions. Our team presented two praise songs that the women just LOVED! Even though we are not a “choir” team, I feel like we could have gone on a choir tour! The voices on my team blend beautifully together! It brought a tear to my eye! Our ladies had great discussions when we broke up in small groups. They were all able to give their testimonies as to how they came to know Jesus. We gave out bookmarkers that each team member decorated with their favorite verses. During one of our sessions, we heard the sound of resounding thunder! It was amazing!
We return today to Cornerstone today for their Sunday morning worship. Having been with the children & the women, we are excited to be worshipping together today with the whole church! It will be a great way to spend Father’s Day!
Our team would like to send special a special Father’s Day greetings to their dads!
Morgan: Happy Father’s Day pop! I can only imagine how much you’re enjoying Italy! Can’t wiat to see you soon! Love you!
Bradyn: Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! Thank you for being an amazing example of a godly man to me. I miss you! Can’t wait to see you soon! I love you to infinity and beyond!
Jordan: Hi Daddy! I’m sorry I can’t be there to spend Father’s Day with you, but know that I love and I miss you a lot! Shake & bake!
Sarah: Pappi! Happy Father’s Day! I miss you, but things out here are great! Thank you for all of the ways you bless me! I love you with all my heart! P.S. Send a hello and hug to everyone.
Camille: Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! Thank you for being the best daddy ever! I miss you but I’ll be home soon! Enjoy spending time with the family. I love you!
Shay: Dad, Happy Father’s Day! I miss you very much! I love you! See you soon!
Katy: Happy Father’s Day, Pops! Miss you a ton. Can’t wait to celebrate your day when I get back! Love you!
Emily: Hello! I’ve been too busy to send an email, but all is well! Dad, I didn’t forget about you! Happy Father’s Day! I love and appreciate you! Kale!
Lauren: Happy Father’s Day, Daddy. You know I love you so much. I could have never asked for a better provider and friend. Thank you for all the love and support. I miss you but will see you soon.. Enjoy Father’s Day with Mom & Sis! Love always, Lo AJ…As you remember your dad today, know that he would be very proud of who you are! I love you.
Hannah: I love you, Daddy so much! You’ve always held me up and encouraged me in the good and bad times. Thank you for teaching me God’s truths my whole life so when I face hardships I can cling to Him. You’re the best daddy in the world! I’m proud of you!
To my dad in the Bay Area, I too wish you a Happy Father’s Day! Kiana...I hope that you all have a great Father’s Day with daddy! Look forward to seeing you all soon!
We are in the home stretch! Pray for our team that we will FINISH WELL!
Kale,
Eydie
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #8
Thank you for your prayers for our time of ministry to the women of Cornerstone Baptist Church! The women’s conference went very well. We had about 60 of the women who were signed up come and participate. We were also blessed by the presence of about 100 of the children who participated in VBS this week! The day was filled with praise & worship, teaching & small group discussions. Our team presented two praise songs that the women just LOVED! Even though we are not a “choir” team, I feel like we could have gone on a choir tour! The voices on my team blend beautifully together! It brought a tear to my eye! Our ladies had great discussions when we broke up in small groups. They were all able to give their testimonies as to how they came to know Jesus. We gave out bookmarkers that each team member decorated with their favorite verses. During one of our sessions, we heard the sound of resounding thunder! It was amazing!
We return today to Cornerstone today for their Sunday morning worship. Having been with the children & the women, we are excited to be worshipping together today with the whole church! It will be a great way to spend Father’s Day!
Our team would like to send special a special Father’s Day greetings to their dads!
Morgan: Happy Father’s Day pop! I can only imagine how much you’re enjoying Italy! Can’t wiat to see you soon! Love you!
Bradyn: Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! Thank you for being an amazing example of a godly man to me. I miss you! Can’t wait to see you soon! I love you to infinity and beyond!
Jordan: Hi Daddy! I’m sorry I can’t be there to spend Father’s Day with you, but know that I love and I miss you a lot! Shake & bake!
Sarah: Pappi! Happy Father’s Day! I miss you, but things out here are great! Thank you for all of the ways you bless me! I love you with all my heart! P.S. Send a hello and hug to everyone.
Camille: Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! Thank you for being the best daddy ever! I miss you but I’ll be home soon! Enjoy spending time with the family. I love you!
Shay: Dad, Happy Father’s Day! I miss you very much! I love you! See you soon!
Katy: Happy Father’s Day, Pops! Miss you a ton. Can’t wait to celebrate your day when I get back! Love you!
Emily: Hello! I’ve been too busy to send an email, but all is well! Dad, I didn’t forget about you! Happy Father’s Day! I love and appreciate you! Kale!
Lauren: Happy Father’s Day, Daddy. You know I love you so much. I could have never asked for a better provider and friend. Thank you for all the love and support. I miss you but will see you soon.. Enjoy Father’s Day with Mom & Sis! Love always, Lo AJ…As you remember your dad today, know that he would be very proud of who you are! I love you.
Hannah: I love you, Daddy so much! You’ve always held me up and encouraged me in the good and bad times. Thank you for teaching me God’s truths my whole life so when I face hardships I can cling to Him. You’re the best daddy in the world! I’m proud of you!
To my dad in the Bay Area, I too wish you a Happy Father’s Day! Kiana...I hope that you all have a great Father’s Day with daddy! Look forward to seeing you all soon!
We are in the home stretch! Pray for our team that we will FINISH WELL!
Kale,
Eydie
Uganda Chapter12 Update #7
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #7
Our week at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Kakira can only be explained by the miraculous! We had an awesome week. Each day the number of children grew. Adjusting the starting time made all the difference! Tuesday through Thursday we were running average between 200-225 children! Then yesterday (Friday) was our final day of ministry. We walked into the church and immediately knew that it would be our largest of the week. The children just kept on coming! We ended up with just under 400 children!! We are so thankful that Pastor Paul & his son Robert were there, as well as Solomon, Janet & a church member, Adidas. Pastor Paul offered the invitation to accept Jesus as Savior, and about 60 children came forward and prayed to give their lives to Jesus! Amen!!!! It was an overwhelming moment! Praise to our God!
In the midst of our week of heavy ministry, we did take moments of rest to visit a few of the local sights. We went to the Source of the Nile River and to Bujagali Falls. Both were moments of reflection of God’s beauty!
Please be in prayer for us today (Saturday) as we are going to minister at Cornerstone Baptist Church in a new way. We are conducting a Women’s Conference. Pastor Paul has said that over 106 women are signed up from 8 different churches! This is going to stretch the team as they signed up to work with children! But they are very excited to be able to share their testimony with the women. I will be leading in the conference and the team will be leading the small group discussions. We will be meeting from 11:30 am – 6 pm. We are expecting for God to do great things!!
I will send another update soon regarding our thoughts on Father’s Day!
Thank you for your prayers! We are in the home stretch. Some of the team members have caught colds. It is nothing serious. They are pushing through! Pray for the team to FINISH WELL!
Kale,
Eydie
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #7
Our week at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Kakira can only be explained by the miraculous! We had an awesome week. Each day the number of children grew. Adjusting the starting time made all the difference! Tuesday through Thursday we were running average between 200-225 children! Then yesterday (Friday) was our final day of ministry. We walked into the church and immediately knew that it would be our largest of the week. The children just kept on coming! We ended up with just under 400 children!! We are so thankful that Pastor Paul & his son Robert were there, as well as Solomon, Janet & a church member, Adidas. Pastor Paul offered the invitation to accept Jesus as Savior, and about 60 children came forward and prayed to give their lives to Jesus! Amen!!!! It was an overwhelming moment! Praise to our God!
In the midst of our week of heavy ministry, we did take moments of rest to visit a few of the local sights. We went to the Source of the Nile River and to Bujagali Falls. Both were moments of reflection of God’s beauty!
Please be in prayer for us today (Saturday) as we are going to minister at Cornerstone Baptist Church in a new way. We are conducting a Women’s Conference. Pastor Paul has said that over 106 women are signed up from 8 different churches! This is going to stretch the team as they signed up to work with children! But they are very excited to be able to share their testimony with the women. I will be leading in the conference and the team will be leading the small group discussions. We will be meeting from 11:30 am – 6 pm. We are expecting for God to do great things!!
I will send another update soon regarding our thoughts on Father’s Day!
Thank you for your prayers! We are in the home stretch. Some of the team members have caught colds. It is nothing serious. They are pushing through! Pray for the team to FINISH WELL!
Kale,
Eydie
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #6
One more week and we will be boarding the plane to come back to America! Time is not just flying by on our end, it seems to be taking a fast jet!
Our Women’s meeting at Revival Center Church on Saturday went really well. We had the anticipated group of about 15 women. The church had other classes & meetings simultaneously. But it was a great way to introduce this new ministry to women. Our students were able to share their “2 minute” testimonies with the women. The women of the church in turn wanted to share their testimonies with them! It was a highly encouraging time of ministry & fellowship.
Sunday we attended the same church for worship. We began by attending the worship service with the main church. It was a good cultural experience for the team. They learned much about the African culture and their style of worship. It many ways it was different than the worship service we attended last Sunday. After the worship, the team ministered to the children’s Sunday School class. We had about 50 children in attendance.
On the way to the home on Sunday, we stopped in town for some supplies. One of my friends, Rita happened to be opened. But after we finished shopping, we climbed back in the van, and the battery had died due to the radio being left on! Good thing it had happened in front of Mary’s shop! We called our friends who quickly came to our rescue to jumpstart the van! It the midst of it all, it also rained while we were in town! The team loves it when it rains! They have also been amazed at the beauty of the lightening and the roar of thunder! Previous team members know how special this is!
The time we have at the children’s home is shorter than previous years. Since we have come in June, the children are back in school. They arrive home after 5 pm during the week. We adjust our schedule to do other ministry during the day. The time at the home in the evening is very precious and valuable.
We began our Vacation Bible School in the village of Kakira yesterday. We are ministering at Cornerstone Church with Pastor Paul. It was so good to return to the church. They have begun construction on the top part of the church! It is exciting to see God blessing them in this way. We ran into a similar issue with some of the children being at school.. We arrived at 2 pm to a small group of children waiting our arrival with Pastor Paul! Children continued to trickle in over the next 2 hours. We ended up having about 50 children in attendance. We have decided to adjust the schedule and conduct the VBS from 3:30 pm-6 pm. This way, more of the children can participate. We are anticipating close to 150 children each day! The team did a great job yesterday! Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
Here are a few highlights from the team:
Bradyn: I’m loving being back here! The highlight for me has definitely been the kids at the home. They always make my day wonderful Love you all back home!
Sarah: I love being in Uganda! The children of Raining Hope are so beautiful inside and out. I’m treasuring this time. Miss you family! Mucho love.
Morgan: I love Uganda…the atmosphere, children and scenery. I miss you all back home and can’t wait to see you soon.
Katy: Uganda and the children are blessing me in so many ways! I miss you all back home and love you! Amina! Ai Ai Ai Ai!!!!
Shay: Olyota! Uganda is such an amazing place! I absolutely adore the people and the culture here. Miss you all! Much love!
Lauren: Uganda gets better every day. I love the culture and the people. I am sending all my love to you. Lo, squeak.
Emily: I am having a blast in Uganda and learning so much. Love you all, oh my camera broke.
Jordan: Greetings to all my peeps! Uganda has been absolutely amazing. The kids are adorable and God is teaching me so much! Keep praying for us!
Camille: God is teaching me so much in this beautiful country. The children are so beautiful! I love you all and know you are praying for me. Keep it up! Looking forward to seeing everyone, especially Keenan!
Hannah: Hey everyone! I have a bit of a bumpy road. It’s not been everything that I thought it would be, but it’s everything it needs to be. I love hanging out with the kids at the home, learning to dance, play drums and understand their accent. God’s challenged me in many ways. I guess you can say I am re-learning how to live. I love you all, and I really do appreciate your prayers! I love you!
I miss you & love you all as well! Thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference.
Kale,
Eydie
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #6
One more week and we will be boarding the plane to come back to America! Time is not just flying by on our end, it seems to be taking a fast jet!
Our Women’s meeting at Revival Center Church on Saturday went really well. We had the anticipated group of about 15 women. The church had other classes & meetings simultaneously. But it was a great way to introduce this new ministry to women. Our students were able to share their “2 minute” testimonies with the women. The women of the church in turn wanted to share their testimonies with them! It was a highly encouraging time of ministry & fellowship.
Sunday we attended the same church for worship. We began by attending the worship service with the main church. It was a good cultural experience for the team. They learned much about the African culture and their style of worship. It many ways it was different than the worship service we attended last Sunday. After the worship, the team ministered to the children’s Sunday School class. We had about 50 children in attendance.
On the way to the home on Sunday, we stopped in town for some supplies. One of my friends, Rita happened to be opened. But after we finished shopping, we climbed back in the van, and the battery had died due to the radio being left on! Good thing it had happened in front of Mary’s shop! We called our friends who quickly came to our rescue to jumpstart the van! It the midst of it all, it also rained while we were in town! The team loves it when it rains! They have also been amazed at the beauty of the lightening and the roar of thunder! Previous team members know how special this is!
The time we have at the children’s home is shorter than previous years. Since we have come in June, the children are back in school. They arrive home after 5 pm during the week. We adjust our schedule to do other ministry during the day. The time at the home in the evening is very precious and valuable.
We began our Vacation Bible School in the village of Kakira yesterday. We are ministering at Cornerstone Church with Pastor Paul. It was so good to return to the church. They have begun construction on the top part of the church! It is exciting to see God blessing them in this way. We ran into a similar issue with some of the children being at school.. We arrived at 2 pm to a small group of children waiting our arrival with Pastor Paul! Children continued to trickle in over the next 2 hours. We ended up having about 50 children in attendance. We have decided to adjust the schedule and conduct the VBS from 3:30 pm-6 pm. This way, more of the children can participate. We are anticipating close to 150 children each day! The team did a great job yesterday! Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
Here are a few highlights from the team:
Bradyn: I’m loving being back here! The highlight for me has definitely been the kids at the home. They always make my day wonderful Love you all back home!
Sarah: I love being in Uganda! The children of Raining Hope are so beautiful inside and out. I’m treasuring this time. Miss you family! Mucho love.
Morgan: I love Uganda…the atmosphere, children and scenery. I miss you all back home and can’t wait to see you soon.
Katy: Uganda and the children are blessing me in so many ways! I miss you all back home and love you! Amina! Ai Ai Ai Ai!!!!
Shay: Olyota! Uganda is such an amazing place! I absolutely adore the people and the culture here. Miss you all! Much love!
Lauren: Uganda gets better every day. I love the culture and the people. I am sending all my love to you. Lo, squeak.
Emily: I am having a blast in Uganda and learning so much. Love you all, oh my camera broke.
Jordan: Greetings to all my peeps! Uganda has been absolutely amazing. The kids are adorable and God is teaching me so much! Keep praying for us!
Camille: God is teaching me so much in this beautiful country. The children are so beautiful! I love you all and know you are praying for me. Keep it up! Looking forward to seeing everyone, especially Keenan!
Hannah: Hey everyone! I have a bit of a bumpy road. It’s not been everything that I thought it would be, but it’s everything it needs to be. I love hanging out with the kids at the home, learning to dance, play drums and understand their accent. God’s challenged me in many ways. I guess you can say I am re-learning how to live. I love you all, and I really do appreciate your prayers! I love you!
I miss you & love you all as well! Thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference.
Kale,
Eydie
Chapter 12 Update #5
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #5
We are at the half way point! Yesterday, one of the girls said that we have only 10 days left. That didn’t seem possible! We are loving Uganda! Time is flying by quickly!
We learned something new with the African culture on Thursday. As I reported in the last update, we were told there would probably be many more children at the VBS the second day. The children were out of school on a public holiday. Interestingly enough, when there is a one day holiday, the children are expected to do chores. This is a harvest time for beans. The children were all out in the fields working for their families! There also was a death in one of the families the night before. Many of those surrounding the effected family were in mourning. We carried on with about 50 children in attendance. They were mainly the younger children. The team loved it because they had more one-on-one time with the children. It was a much more manageable group! The team also loved their presentation of the cultural dance. We had another meal with our “Ugandan forks!”
We continue to be with our children at Raining Hope Children’s Home each afternoon. It’s been great to just play with the children, sing & dance with them & join them in evening devotions. We also began decorating bookmarks for Morgan Pedersen (from my first ISP team). She is going to use them in her upcoming wedding! Morgan, the bookmarks are looking great! The children are so excited that they have a part in your wedding!
I have been learning how to do more of the cooking this time. I have been helping Annette with the chapatti! The children are getting a kick out of watching me flip the chapatti over in the pan!
Yesterday was our day off. We took a boat on the Nile River & onto Lake Victoria. It was a much needed break for the team. It gave them an opportunity to just relax! We went to Samuka Island (about 45 minute boat ride). It is an island that now has a operating hotel. It is just a nice place to walk around, see the MANY birds and beautiful scenery.
On the way back we were able to stop at Raining Hope’s new land where the future home will be built! This is only the second team that has been able to visit our land. It was a highlight of the day.
We also stopped at the Source of the Nile, where Lake Victoria joins the beginning of the White Nile.
We were visited at lunch by my friends, Sheila & Michael Kajumba from Kampala. Their son, Aaron lives in Ventura. Sheila & Michael shared with them about Ugandan culture & life in Kampala. Michael blessed us by sharing the anointing he has in memorizing Scripture! He recited Ephesians 1, Acts 2, and Matthew 1,2,3! It was a powerful moment!
Please pray for us today (Saturday) as we are going to venture in a new direction. We are going to present a Women’s Conference to Revival Christian Center in Jinja. This is new territory for us as we normally work with children. This is going to be a great opportunity for the students to share their testimonies. We meet today from 12 noon – 2 pm.
Jordan is also going to begin working with our older teenagers in our home today. She has designed a Bible study around the theme of Esther. Please be in prayer for her.
Thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference.
Kale,
Eydie
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #5
We are at the half way point! Yesterday, one of the girls said that we have only 10 days left. That didn’t seem possible! We are loving Uganda! Time is flying by quickly!
We learned something new with the African culture on Thursday. As I reported in the last update, we were told there would probably be many more children at the VBS the second day. The children were out of school on a public holiday. Interestingly enough, when there is a one day holiday, the children are expected to do chores. This is a harvest time for beans. The children were all out in the fields working for their families! There also was a death in one of the families the night before. Many of those surrounding the effected family were in mourning. We carried on with about 50 children in attendance. They were mainly the younger children. The team loved it because they had more one-on-one time with the children. It was a much more manageable group! The team also loved their presentation of the cultural dance. We had another meal with our “Ugandan forks!”
We continue to be with our children at Raining Hope Children’s Home each afternoon. It’s been great to just play with the children, sing & dance with them & join them in evening devotions. We also began decorating bookmarks for Morgan Pedersen (from my first ISP team). She is going to use them in her upcoming wedding! Morgan, the bookmarks are looking great! The children are so excited that they have a part in your wedding!
I have been learning how to do more of the cooking this time. I have been helping Annette with the chapatti! The children are getting a kick out of watching me flip the chapatti over in the pan!
Yesterday was our day off. We took a boat on the Nile River & onto Lake Victoria. It was a much needed break for the team. It gave them an opportunity to just relax! We went to Samuka Island (about 45 minute boat ride). It is an island that now has a operating hotel. It is just a nice place to walk around, see the MANY birds and beautiful scenery.
On the way back we were able to stop at Raining Hope’s new land where the future home will be built! This is only the second team that has been able to visit our land. It was a highlight of the day.
We also stopped at the Source of the Nile, where Lake Victoria joins the beginning of the White Nile.
We were visited at lunch by my friends, Sheila & Michael Kajumba from Kampala. Their son, Aaron lives in Ventura. Sheila & Michael shared with them about Ugandan culture & life in Kampala. Michael blessed us by sharing the anointing he has in memorizing Scripture! He recited Ephesians 1, Acts 2, and Matthew 1,2,3! It was a powerful moment!
Please pray for us today (Saturday) as we are going to venture in a new direction. We are going to present a Women’s Conference to Revival Christian Center in Jinja. This is new territory for us as we normally work with children. This is going to be a great opportunity for the students to share their testimonies. We meet today from 12 noon – 2 pm.
Jordan is also going to begin working with our older teenagers in our home today. She has designed a Bible study around the theme of Esther. Please be in prayer for her.
Thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference.
Kale,
Eydie
Chapter 12 Update #4
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #4
It is hard to believe that we are completing week one! We have done so much just in the past couple of days, it seems like we have been here much longer!
We have been attending the morning prayer & devotion time with the staff of the hotel. They have built a new open air hut that overlooks the Nile River. It is one of the most breathtaking ways to start the day! Not only do we have the opportunity to gaze on the beauty of God’s creation, we have the awesome honor of worshipping together with fellow believers. They have asked the team to lead in the devotion time for the rest of this week and next.
We did our traditional transport to town by “boda boda!” The girls loved it! A boda boda or pichi pichi is a motor bike. We sit side saddled on the back. It really is very fun and very safe.
We have spent time visiting two of our pastors in the area. We visited Pastor Paul & his family from Cornerstone Church in Kakira. We also made a visit to Pastor Gerald & his family.
Today (Wednesday) we had our first Vacation Bible School! It was amazing! We returned to the village that we had one of the VBS clinics last year. The difference was coming in June means the children are back in school. We were told the numbers would be very small today. As we walked toward the church, Pastor Joshua said, “There are only about 20 children today.” But the most amazing thing happened. The children began singing & praising the Lord and more children began showing up. We ended up with about 150 people today! The local headmaster remembered CBU from last year. He told me that he wanted to bring the children back to participate! He closed school and brought them all to our VBS!
Raining Hope provided the funds so a meal could be prepared for the children. The villagers also prepared a really good meal for us! We were able to use our Ugandan forks! (hands!) Katy especially loved it. She wants to come home and start using the Ugandan fork! I want to buy one of the little charcoal stoves and pots so I could cook like this at home!
The exciting news is there were 37 children who gave their lives to Christ today! AMEN! Please pray for us tomorrow as it is a local holiday. They are expecting many more to attend tomorrow. This is the same village that we had over 400 come last year!
We spend late afternoon & evenings at the children’s home. There is A LOT of LAUGHTER, A LOT of SMILES, and A LOT OF HEARTS FILLED WITH JOY & LOVE! Your CBU students are doing well! Our team has really bonded over the last week. So much so, we actually started planning our reunion sometime in the fall!
Thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference.
Kale,
Eydie
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #4
It is hard to believe that we are completing week one! We have done so much just in the past couple of days, it seems like we have been here much longer!
We have been attending the morning prayer & devotion time with the staff of the hotel. They have built a new open air hut that overlooks the Nile River. It is one of the most breathtaking ways to start the day! Not only do we have the opportunity to gaze on the beauty of God’s creation, we have the awesome honor of worshipping together with fellow believers. They have asked the team to lead in the devotion time for the rest of this week and next.
We did our traditional transport to town by “boda boda!” The girls loved it! A boda boda or pichi pichi is a motor bike. We sit side saddled on the back. It really is very fun and very safe.
We have spent time visiting two of our pastors in the area. We visited Pastor Paul & his family from Cornerstone Church in Kakira. We also made a visit to Pastor Gerald & his family.
Today (Wednesday) we had our first Vacation Bible School! It was amazing! We returned to the village that we had one of the VBS clinics last year. The difference was coming in June means the children are back in school. We were told the numbers would be very small today. As we walked toward the church, Pastor Joshua said, “There are only about 20 children today.” But the most amazing thing happened. The children began singing & praising the Lord and more children began showing up. We ended up with about 150 people today! The local headmaster remembered CBU from last year. He told me that he wanted to bring the children back to participate! He closed school and brought them all to our VBS!
Raining Hope provided the funds so a meal could be prepared for the children. The villagers also prepared a really good meal for us! We were able to use our Ugandan forks! (hands!) Katy especially loved it. She wants to come home and start using the Ugandan fork! I want to buy one of the little charcoal stoves and pots so I could cook like this at home!
The exciting news is there were 37 children who gave their lives to Christ today! AMEN! Please pray for us tomorrow as it is a local holiday. They are expecting many more to attend tomorrow. This is the same village that we had over 400 come last year!
We spend late afternoon & evenings at the children’s home. There is A LOT of LAUGHTER, A LOT of SMILES, and A LOT OF HEARTS FILLED WITH JOY & LOVE! Your CBU students are doing well! Our team has really bonded over the last week. So much so, we actually started planning our reunion sometime in the fall!
Thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference.
Kale,
Eydie
Monday, June 6, 2011
Uganda Chapter 12 Update #3
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #3
We have had a FANTASTIC first weekend in Uganda!
Saturday morning we ventured to the open market to buy food supplies for our meals. It was an interesting & eye opening experience for the team. Most Ugandans in the market live on approximately $1 a day. Yet it is to these people that Jesus looks at and calls “blessed.”
I took the team to Jinja town to introduce them to my friends who are shop owners.
The highlight of the day is when we arrived at Raining Hope Children’s Home! The children greeted us with shouts of joy and excitement! The children embraced the team and instantly made new friends. The team later expressed that finally arriving at the home was emotional, beautiful, joyful & indescribable! They spent the afternoon playing futbol and just getting to know the children. The team agreed that one of the most special moments of our first day at Raining Hope was the evening devotion time. Seeing the children worship & pray really touched the hearts of the team. One of the team members commented that “you can’t be taught how to worship that way.” The worship is so authentic & fresh. Many of our team members were so overcome to the point of tears. They were so thankful for the opportunity of worshiping with the children. They are looking forward to devotions & praise each evening at the home!
Yesterday we went to church services at Amazing Grace Worship Center in Bukaya. This church has become the new fellowship for the children of Raining Hope. We went to show our appreciation to the church for the way they have been coming alongside our children. It was a GREAT time of worship & fellowship! The team LOVED the worship, praise and dance! They commented on the freedom of worship as well as the simplicity. In the next update, I will have the team express their thoughts of worship in Uganda.
The rest of the afternoon at the home was filled with games, singing & signing songs, and lots of playing! Some of the girls had their hair braided! They looked beautiful! During our time of dancing, the children tried teaching our team some of their cultural dance. Our girls did great! We added some new songs yesterday! One of their new favorites is the “Chicken Dance!” Hilarious! Annette, our manager said, “This song is good!”
As our children say, “God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. And that’s His nature, wow!”
Please pray for us this week as we are preparing for Vacation Bible School this week. More about that in the next update!
Kale,
Eydie
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #3
We have had a FANTASTIC first weekend in Uganda!
Saturday morning we ventured to the open market to buy food supplies for our meals. It was an interesting & eye opening experience for the team. Most Ugandans in the market live on approximately $1 a day. Yet it is to these people that Jesus looks at and calls “blessed.”
I took the team to Jinja town to introduce them to my friends who are shop owners.
The highlight of the day is when we arrived at Raining Hope Children’s Home! The children greeted us with shouts of joy and excitement! The children embraced the team and instantly made new friends. The team later expressed that finally arriving at the home was emotional, beautiful, joyful & indescribable! They spent the afternoon playing futbol and just getting to know the children. The team agreed that one of the most special moments of our first day at Raining Hope was the evening devotion time. Seeing the children worship & pray really touched the hearts of the team. One of the team members commented that “you can’t be taught how to worship that way.” The worship is so authentic & fresh. Many of our team members were so overcome to the point of tears. They were so thankful for the opportunity of worshiping with the children. They are looking forward to devotions & praise each evening at the home!
Yesterday we went to church services at Amazing Grace Worship Center in Bukaya. This church has become the new fellowship for the children of Raining Hope. We went to show our appreciation to the church for the way they have been coming alongside our children. It was a GREAT time of worship & fellowship! The team LOVED the worship, praise and dance! They commented on the freedom of worship as well as the simplicity. In the next update, I will have the team express their thoughts of worship in Uganda.
The rest of the afternoon at the home was filled with games, singing & signing songs, and lots of playing! Some of the girls had their hair braided! They looked beautiful! During our time of dancing, the children tried teaching our team some of their cultural dance. Our girls did great! We added some new songs yesterday! One of their new favorites is the “Chicken Dance!” Hilarious! Annette, our manager said, “This song is good!”
As our children say, “God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. And that’s His nature, wow!”
Please pray for us this week as we are preparing for Vacation Bible School this week. More about that in the next update!
Kale,
Eydie
Uganda Chapter 12 Update #2
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #2
We have arrived in Uganda! Thanks to all who came to the send off at the Globe at CBU! The whole process of LAX to London to arrival at Entebbe was good. Since we have not seen each other as a team for about a month, we were excited to reunite & finally be on our way to Uganda!
We arrived in Uganda at 7:45 am on Friday. Once we emerged from the terminal with our 5 carts of luggage, I spotted our friend who was there to pick us up. I always know I am back home when I see the familiar face of a friend! We piled in a van for the 2 ½ hour journey to Jinja. I love to watching the team’s eyes light up as they traveled through the roads of Africa for the first time. They just soaked in the sights and sounds of everything around them! We of course stopped for our customary “chicken on a stick!” They are official now! We think that Katy loved them the most!
The first afternoon at the hotel was spent resting, unpacking, & adjusting. At dinner tonight I asked the team what some of their first thoughts are of Uganda.
Hannah: Loves the simplicity of life.
Bradyn: When I stepped onto the tarmac, I felt like I had come home. I think I am going to cry.
Shay: There is calm here. I sensed it when I stepped off the plane.
Sarah: I knew it was going to be cool…but it is REALLY COOL!
Camille: It is a beautiful place. The people here are so happy.
Morgan: I thought the people would be friendly, but they are REALLY FRIENDLY!
Katy: It is so surreal. I am excited to be with the people.
Emily: I didn’t expect it to be so green. Life is different here but it is good.
Lauren: It is comfortable here. People are very friendly.
Jordan: I enjoyed walking off the plane right onto the tarmac. I like the relaxed atmosphere. I am excited to get working.
After a good night’s sleep, the team will be anxious to explore more of this place they too will call home for 18 more days. We will go to our Raining Hope Children’s Home today to see the children.
Please pray for us this first weekend. Pray for continued team unity. Pray the individual team member’s adjustment to culture and time change will be a smooth transition. Pray for good health.
For team updates and stories about what is going on with our ministry while we are serving in country, family and friends may refer to the CBU website under 2011 ISP Updates: www.calbaptist.edu/isp
These are the items that we are praying for all of the International Service Teams this summer…
Team unity, Health, Self-discipline, safety, boldness, flexibility, communication, salvations, love, Holy Spirit led, surrender, courage, humility, personal growth, perseverance, wisdom, glorify God.
Kale,
Eydie Miskel
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #2
We have arrived in Uganda! Thanks to all who came to the send off at the Globe at CBU! The whole process of LAX to London to arrival at Entebbe was good. Since we have not seen each other as a team for about a month, we were excited to reunite & finally be on our way to Uganda!
We arrived in Uganda at 7:45 am on Friday. Once we emerged from the terminal with our 5 carts of luggage, I spotted our friend who was there to pick us up. I always know I am back home when I see the familiar face of a friend! We piled in a van for the 2 ½ hour journey to Jinja. I love to watching the team’s eyes light up as they traveled through the roads of Africa for the first time. They just soaked in the sights and sounds of everything around them! We of course stopped for our customary “chicken on a stick!” They are official now! We think that Katy loved them the most!
The first afternoon at the hotel was spent resting, unpacking, & adjusting. At dinner tonight I asked the team what some of their first thoughts are of Uganda.
Hannah: Loves the simplicity of life.
Bradyn: When I stepped onto the tarmac, I felt like I had come home. I think I am going to cry.
Shay: There is calm here. I sensed it when I stepped off the plane.
Sarah: I knew it was going to be cool…but it is REALLY COOL!
Camille: It is a beautiful place. The people here are so happy.
Morgan: I thought the people would be friendly, but they are REALLY FRIENDLY!
Katy: It is so surreal. I am excited to be with the people.
Emily: I didn’t expect it to be so green. Life is different here but it is good.
Lauren: It is comfortable here. People are very friendly.
Jordan: I enjoyed walking off the plane right onto the tarmac. I like the relaxed atmosphere. I am excited to get working.
After a good night’s sleep, the team will be anxious to explore more of this place they too will call home for 18 more days. We will go to our Raining Hope Children’s Home today to see the children.
Please pray for us this first weekend. Pray for continued team unity. Pray the individual team member’s adjustment to culture and time change will be a smooth transition. Pray for good health.
For team updates and stories about what is going on with our ministry while we are serving in country, family and friends may refer to the CBU website under 2011 ISP Updates: www.calbaptist.edu/isp
These are the items that we are praying for all of the International Service Teams this summer…
Team unity, Health, Self-discipline, safety, boldness, flexibility, communication, salvations, love, Holy Spirit led, surrender, courage, humility, personal growth, perseverance, wisdom, glorify God.
Kale,
Eydie Miskel
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Chapter 12 Update #1
June 1, 2011
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #1
We are leaving today for Uganda! This is my 12th journey to Uganda! Each time I travel to Uganda, it is another “chapter” in this exciting path God has placed me. So, for those of you who are new to my updates, this is where “Chapter 12” comes in!
Thanks to everyone who responded to our 24 Hour Prayer Team! If you have signed up for a specific hour of prayer every day, THANK YOU! It helps to know that at any hour, someone is praying. If you have committed to praying for us overall during our journey, THANK YOU! We appreciate your support as well.
As of today, my team is 97% fully funded! According to the team, they have deposited other money that has not yet been posted. We believe we are actually about 99% funded! Praise the Lord! A couple of months ago, we were in danger of losing half of the team because of insufficient funds. God answers prayers!
Our team will have a send off at the Globe in front of the Yeager Center at CBU at 4 pm today (June 1st). If you are in the Riverside area, we would love if you would come and pray for my team before we depart.
Here is our itinerary:
British Airways
BA 268 LAX to London Depart June 1 – 9:20 pm
Arrive London June 2 3:25 pm
BA 63 LHR to Entebbe June 2 9:15 pm
Arrive Entebbe June 3 7:45 am
Return:
BA 62 Entebbe to LHR June 21 9:05 am
Arrive London June 21 4:00 pm
BA 279 LHR to LAX June 22 9:55 am
Arrive LAX June 22 1:00 pm
For team updates and stories about what is going on with our ministry while we are serving in country, family and friends may refer to the CBU website under 2011 ISP Updates: www.calbaptist.edu/isp
For Raining Hope, you can also visit www.raininghope.org and visit my blog.
I will not be on Facebook during the three weeks. My team made a wise decision to be on a Facebook fast while they are in country!
Our team this year is “Yield.” Pray that the students will learn how to Yield to God’s purpose in order to yield or reap a harvest! We are exploring this from Jesus’ teaching from Luke 9:23, “Then he said to them all; ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
These are the items that we are praying for all of the International Service Teams this summer…
Team unity, Health, Self-discipline, safety, boldness, flexibility, communication, salvations, love, Holy Spirit led, surrender, courage, humility, personal growth, perseverance, wisdom, glorify God.
Kale,
Eydie Miskel
Executive Director
Raining Hope Inc. / Team Leader ISP Uganda
International Service Project Uganda Team
June 1-22, 2011
Chapter 12 – Update #1
We are leaving today for Uganda! This is my 12th journey to Uganda! Each time I travel to Uganda, it is another “chapter” in this exciting path God has placed me. So, for those of you who are new to my updates, this is where “Chapter 12” comes in!
Thanks to everyone who responded to our 24 Hour Prayer Team! If you have signed up for a specific hour of prayer every day, THANK YOU! It helps to know that at any hour, someone is praying. If you have committed to praying for us overall during our journey, THANK YOU! We appreciate your support as well.
As of today, my team is 97% fully funded! According to the team, they have deposited other money that has not yet been posted. We believe we are actually about 99% funded! Praise the Lord! A couple of months ago, we were in danger of losing half of the team because of insufficient funds. God answers prayers!
Our team will have a send off at the Globe in front of the Yeager Center at CBU at 4 pm today (June 1st). If you are in the Riverside area, we would love if you would come and pray for my team before we depart.
Here is our itinerary:
British Airways
BA 268 LAX to London Depart June 1 – 9:20 pm
Arrive London June 2 3:25 pm
BA 63 LHR to Entebbe June 2 9:15 pm
Arrive Entebbe June 3 7:45 am
Return:
BA 62 Entebbe to LHR June 21 9:05 am
Arrive London June 21 4:00 pm
BA 279 LHR to LAX June 22 9:55 am
Arrive LAX June 22 1:00 pm
For team updates and stories about what is going on with our ministry while we are serving in country, family and friends may refer to the CBU website under 2011 ISP Updates: www.calbaptist.edu/isp
For Raining Hope, you can also visit www.raininghope.org and visit my blog.
I will not be on Facebook during the three weeks. My team made a wise decision to be on a Facebook fast while they are in country!
Our team this year is “Yield.” Pray that the students will learn how to Yield to God’s purpose in order to yield or reap a harvest! We are exploring this from Jesus’ teaching from Luke 9:23, “Then he said to them all; ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
These are the items that we are praying for all of the International Service Teams this summer…
Team unity, Health, Self-discipline, safety, boldness, flexibility, communication, salvations, love, Holy Spirit led, surrender, courage, humility, personal growth, perseverance, wisdom, glorify God.
Kale,
Eydie Miskel
Executive Director
Raining Hope Inc. / Team Leader ISP Uganda
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Upcoming ISP Uganda Team & Speaking Engagement
Dear Friends & Family,
We have completed our spring training for ISP! Our Uganda Children’s team will leave on June 1, 2011 and return June 22, 2011. As our departure date approaches, I will send out more details.
I attended graduation at CBU this past weekend. Six of my former team members graduated this year! Congratulations to SarahAnn Chaddick, Jenni Fritch, Grace Gefke, Leandra Hosfield, Kristina Osborne & Rachel Sexton! Our dear friend, Natalie Harris also was among the graduates!
We will be conducting various VBS clinics during the 3 weeks we are in Uganda. Some of you have asked for a list of materials that we need. If you can help with any of these items, please kindly respond to eydie@raininghope.org
Supply list:
paper plates
markers
yarn/string (enough for mobiles and bracelets)
brown construction paper
lunch bags
popsicle sticks
beads (variety of colors) Pony beads
Pens (black & blue)
Glue sticks
Bags of candy .
I am speaking at the church of one of my team members, Camille Jansen today, May 15, 2011! It will be during their morning service, 10:30 am-11:30 am at Riverside Free Methodist Church, 8431 Diana Avenue, Riverside (near the CBU campus). I will be sharing with the congregation about our ISP team & our children’s home in Uganda. If you are in the area, please feel free to join us!
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Kale,
Eydie!
We have completed our spring training for ISP! Our Uganda Children’s team will leave on June 1, 2011 and return June 22, 2011. As our departure date approaches, I will send out more details.
I attended graduation at CBU this past weekend. Six of my former team members graduated this year! Congratulations to SarahAnn Chaddick, Jenni Fritch, Grace Gefke, Leandra Hosfield, Kristina Osborne & Rachel Sexton! Our dear friend, Natalie Harris also was among the graduates!
We will be conducting various VBS clinics during the 3 weeks we are in Uganda. Some of you have asked for a list of materials that we need. If you can help with any of these items, please kindly respond to eydie@raininghope.org
Supply list:
paper plates
markers
yarn/string (enough for mobiles and bracelets)
brown construction paper
lunch bags
popsicle sticks
beads (variety of colors) Pony beads
Pens (black & blue)
Glue sticks
Bags of candy .
I am speaking at the church of one of my team members, Camille Jansen today, May 15, 2011! It will be during their morning service, 10:30 am-11:30 am at Riverside Free Methodist Church, 8431 Diana Avenue, Riverside (near the CBU campus). I will be sharing with the congregation about our ISP team & our children’s home in Uganda. If you are in the area, please feel free to join us!
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Kale,
Eydie!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Raining Hope Yard Sale & United Way
Thank you for your prayers for our Disaster Relief training last weekend! We certified 86 students and staff in our first Collegiate Division of the California Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief training! For me to have CBU and CSBCDR together…it is like a dream come true! I had a good response in the introduction to chaplaincy! I was encouraged by the student’s interest & the desire to serve!
ISP Students: Thank you for your prayers for the students. Their final deadline for all of their funds for the June 1-22, 2011 trip is next Friday, April 29th. We have raised 85% of the needed funds! We are confident that all the funds will come in!
Raining Hope Yard Sale
Date: Saturday, April 30, 2011
Where: The Miskel home
8823 Denver Street, Ventura 93004
Time: 7:00 am – 12:00 noon
Would you please consider participating with us?
1. Ask the Lord, along with us, to provide all that is needed.
2. Donate your YARD SALE items to Raining Hope. Contact Carol John at
carol@raininghope.org
3. Come to the YARD SALE on Saturday, April 30th! Receive many hugs, a cup of coffee, maybe a muffin or two and see if there are any “treasures” you just can’t pass up.
United Way
California State employees now have the opportunity to donate to Raining Hope through the United Way! A donor may give a one-time contribution, or give throughout the year via a payroll deduction through the California State Employees Charitable Campaign (CSECC). If you or someone you know would like to take advantage of this opportunity, just call the United Way donor service line at (888) 863-6466 and tell them you'd like to choose Raining Hope, Incorporated as your designated charity!
The children of Raining Hope Children’s Home wish you a very Happy Easter. “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:57-58
Kale,
Eydie
ISP Students: Thank you for your prayers for the students. Their final deadline for all of their funds for the June 1-22, 2011 trip is next Friday, April 29th. We have raised 85% of the needed funds! We are confident that all the funds will come in!
Raining Hope Yard Sale
Date: Saturday, April 30, 2011
Where: The Miskel home
8823 Denver Street, Ventura 93004
Time: 7:00 am – 12:00 noon
Would you please consider participating with us?
1. Ask the Lord, along with us, to provide all that is needed.
2. Donate your YARD SALE items to Raining Hope. Contact Carol John at
carol@raininghope.org
3. Come to the YARD SALE on Saturday, April 30th! Receive many hugs, a cup of coffee, maybe a muffin or two and see if there are any “treasures” you just can’t pass up.
United Way
California State employees now have the opportunity to donate to Raining Hope through the United Way! A donor may give a one-time contribution, or give throughout the year via a payroll deduction through the California State Employees Charitable Campaign (CSECC). If you or someone you know would like to take advantage of this opportunity, just call the United Way donor service line at (888) 863-6466 and tell them you'd like to choose Raining Hope, Incorporated as your designated charity!
The children of Raining Hope Children’s Home wish you a very Happy Easter. “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:57-58
Kale,
Eydie
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Rain, ISP & Disaster Relief
Thank you for your prayers!
It rained consistently for almost 3 weeks in Uganda! I just looked up the weather report, and after about a week of clear weather, the rain is starting up again! Our God is good.
Here is a report from Raining Hope Children’s Home in Uganda. “I realize that everything is high in prices (in Uganda), but praise God that we have never lacked. The kids have enough food on the table. They are in school and everybody is happy. This is because of your great effort out there trying very hard to see that the kids are happy. I am very appreciative on the behalf of all our kids. Thank you very much. Please thank all of our sponsors who give generously to our ministry. Let them know that we appreciate them all so much.”
Thanks to everyone for your prayers, support and love for our children.
I wanted to report on the status of my ISP CBU team! A few weeks ago, I was close to losing half of my team because of lack of finances. I am very happy to report that I still have all 10 of my students! Currently our team has raised 85% of the funds needed! Praise the Lord for answered prayer! Thank you for your support!
Their final deadline for raising the funds is April 29th. They will need to have their full amount in by that date. I challenged the students to pray that their finances would come in this week! Why wait until the 29th!? We want to spend the final few weeks of training not focused on the need of funds, but preparing spiritually and for the task. We are praying for the miraculous!
I would also ask that you pray for me this weekend. This Saturday, April 16th, from 8:30 am-4:00 pm, we have a very special event at CBU. We are having the very first Collegiate Division of the California Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Training! Please be in prayer for the whole event. We want to cover the event in prayer. I will be working with Chuck Clayton of the CSBCDR to conduct the orientation. Chuck will then do training in cleanup & recovery. I will be doing an introduction into chaplaincy. We have close to 100 signed up for the training!
As we approach Easter, our prayer is that your Easter would truly be a life-changing experience this year! You are making a difference in the lives of others. Thank you for your prayers and your love.
Kale,
eydie
It rained consistently for almost 3 weeks in Uganda! I just looked up the weather report, and after about a week of clear weather, the rain is starting up again! Our God is good.
Here is a report from Raining Hope Children’s Home in Uganda. “I realize that everything is high in prices (in Uganda), but praise God that we have never lacked. The kids have enough food on the table. They are in school and everybody is happy. This is because of your great effort out there trying very hard to see that the kids are happy. I am very appreciative on the behalf of all our kids. Thank you very much. Please thank all of our sponsors who give generously to our ministry. Let them know that we appreciate them all so much.”
Thanks to everyone for your prayers, support and love for our children.
I wanted to report on the status of my ISP CBU team! A few weeks ago, I was close to losing half of my team because of lack of finances. I am very happy to report that I still have all 10 of my students! Currently our team has raised 85% of the funds needed! Praise the Lord for answered prayer! Thank you for your support!
Their final deadline for raising the funds is April 29th. They will need to have their full amount in by that date. I challenged the students to pray that their finances would come in this week! Why wait until the 29th!? We want to spend the final few weeks of training not focused on the need of funds, but preparing spiritually and for the task. We are praying for the miraculous!
I would also ask that you pray for me this weekend. This Saturday, April 16th, from 8:30 am-4:00 pm, we have a very special event at CBU. We are having the very first Collegiate Division of the California Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Training! Please be in prayer for the whole event. We want to cover the event in prayer. I will be working with Chuck Clayton of the CSBCDR to conduct the orientation. Chuck will then do training in cleanup & recovery. I will be doing an introduction into chaplaincy. We have close to 100 signed up for the training!
As we approach Easter, our prayer is that your Easter would truly be a life-changing experience this year! You are making a difference in the lives of others. Thank you for your prayers and your love.
Kale,
eydie
Monday, March 21, 2011
Rain Is Here!
Dear Friends,
Praise the Lord! When I opened my email today (March 16) ... the subject line said, "Rain is Here!" They said, "Yesterday we received a lot of rain, and today it has also rained a lot. It is an answer to prayer. Its like we are seeing rain for the very first time" God has answered prayer!
Here is the thank you from our family in Uganda...
"First and foremost, we want to thank your continued prayers for our country. For the past two days its been raining around the country, and we are very grateful for that. We know that it's out of prayers that we are receiving this rain. Everyone was worried. The prices of every thing has gone unbelievably high."
I pulled up the national weather report...and they are predicting thundershowers and shattered showers for the next 10 days! Amen!
Pray that prices of food and supplies will come back down to normal. Prices had tripled and doubled for many items during the drought. They just bought a bag of beans for about $100 when normal cost is closer to $50 to $60. Pray for us that God will provide for these extra costs.
Yesterday, my daily reading took me to Psalm 68. I prayed verses 7-10, that God would answer our prayers for rain...
"...the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance. Your people settled in it, and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor."
Our God is good! Thank you for caring for our children. Pray for the rain to continue!
Kale,
eydie
www.raininghope.org
Praise the Lord! When I opened my email today (March 16) ... the subject line said, "Rain is Here!" They said, "Yesterday we received a lot of rain, and today it has also rained a lot. It is an answer to prayer. Its like we are seeing rain for the very first time" God has answered prayer!
Here is the thank you from our family in Uganda...
"First and foremost, we want to thank your continued prayers for our country. For the past two days its been raining around the country, and we are very grateful for that. We know that it's out of prayers that we are receiving this rain. Everyone was worried. The prices of every thing has gone unbelievably high."
I pulled up the national weather report...and they are predicting thundershowers and shattered showers for the next 10 days! Amen!
Pray that prices of food and supplies will come back down to normal. Prices had tripled and doubled for many items during the drought. They just bought a bag of beans for about $100 when normal cost is closer to $50 to $60. Pray for us that God will provide for these extra costs.
Yesterday, my daily reading took me to Psalm 68. I prayed verses 7-10, that God would answer our prayers for rain...
"...the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance. Your people settled in it, and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor."
Our God is good! Thank you for caring for our children. Pray for the rain to continue!
Kale,
eydie
www.raininghope.org
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Continue to pray for rain
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your continued prayers for our children in Uganda. Thanks to everyone who replied back to let us know that you are joining us in prayer. We still need your prayers. Today my reading took me to Psalm 65. At the end of this email I have included the passage for you. It gives hope that the rains will come. Our God will provide.
Here is a message to all our supporters from Raining Hope Children's Home in Uganda. They wanted you to know how much they appreciate you...
Hi,
Greetings to you all from Raining Hope Uganda, I am writing this to let you know that we are grateful for your great support towards us here in Uganda. Its been out of your generous countribution toward us that has seen our kids get a better life. All our kids are in school and also able to feed well. This is a great challege, but thank the Lord that with your help, we are able to eat, shelter and also have our kids go to school. We greatly appreciate your great contribution so much, and we pray that the Lord shall continue blessing you and also expand your territories. We are praying for you all, and we love you so much. We don't have much to say, but what we have to say is that we are very happy that you are a blessing to Raining Hope Children in Uganda. Also we are very grateful for Aunt Eydie who has stood with us to ensure that all is well at this side of the world, Thank you so much Aunt Eydie, We love you so much and always praying for you and also appreciate all that you are doing. You are a mother to many children here in you Uganda. God bless you.
Psalm 65[a]
1 Praise awaits[b] you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave[c] our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
9 You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.[d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.
Thank you from our hearts,
Eydie
Thank you for your continued prayers for our children in Uganda. Thanks to everyone who replied back to let us know that you are joining us in prayer. We still need your prayers. Today my reading took me to Psalm 65. At the end of this email I have included the passage for you. It gives hope that the rains will come. Our God will provide.
Here is a message to all our supporters from Raining Hope Children's Home in Uganda. They wanted you to know how much they appreciate you...
Hi,
Greetings to you all from Raining Hope Uganda, I am writing this to let you know that we are grateful for your great support towards us here in Uganda. Its been out of your generous countribution toward us that has seen our kids get a better life. All our kids are in school and also able to feed well. This is a great challege, but thank the Lord that with your help, we are able to eat, shelter and also have our kids go to school. We greatly appreciate your great contribution so much, and we pray that the Lord shall continue blessing you and also expand your territories. We are praying for you all, and we love you so much. We don't have much to say, but what we have to say is that we are very happy that you are a blessing to Raining Hope Children in Uganda. Also we are very grateful for Aunt Eydie who has stood with us to ensure that all is well at this side of the world, Thank you so much Aunt Eydie, We love you so much and always praying for you and also appreciate all that you are doing. You are a mother to many children here in you Uganda. God bless you.
Psalm 65[a]
1 Praise awaits[b] you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave[c] our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
9 You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.[d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.
Thank you from our hearts,
Eydie
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Pray for Rain
Dear Raining Hope Friends,
I would like if you could join me in prayer for the nation of Uganda. Our home sent us word that they are experiencing a drought In Uganda. It has been a very long time since they last had rain. The government has been announcing over the radio that the drought conditions are on an increase and people are urged to store food. The price of everything has gone way up. The maize flour we purchase for posha has doubled in price. The price of beans is unbelievable. At the home, they are trying to cut down on the food cooked to help conserve and ration. They are trying to be good stewards of what we have.
Their prayer request is that things would get back to normal or this situation will get worse. They said that our town of Jinja did receive a little cloud of rain on Saturday. But that was the only place. The country as whole is in great need.
Even with this situation, the word from Raining Hope Children’s Home is, “The kids are doing well, only it is very hot and all things have been going up. But we are fine and praying for you in daily devotions.”
Please join me in prayer for our children and for the country of Uganda. If there was ever a time they needed rain…it is now.
Zechariah 10:1
1 Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime;
it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
and plants of the field to everyone.
Kale,
eydie
I would like if you could join me in prayer for the nation of Uganda. Our home sent us word that they are experiencing a drought In Uganda. It has been a very long time since they last had rain. The government has been announcing over the radio that the drought conditions are on an increase and people are urged to store food. The price of everything has gone way up. The maize flour we purchase for posha has doubled in price. The price of beans is unbelievable. At the home, they are trying to cut down on the food cooked to help conserve and ration. They are trying to be good stewards of what we have.
Their prayer request is that things would get back to normal or this situation will get worse. They said that our town of Jinja did receive a little cloud of rain on Saturday. But that was the only place. The country as whole is in great need.
Even with this situation, the word from Raining Hope Children’s Home is, “The kids are doing well, only it is very hot and all things have been going up. But we are fine and praying for you in daily devotions.”
Please join me in prayer for our children and for the country of Uganda. If there was ever a time they needed rain…it is now.
Zechariah 10:1
1 Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime;
it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
and plants of the field to everyone.
Kale,
eydie
Friday, February 18, 2011
Sit-A-Thon Journal of Events
1) 6:00 pm and our Sit A Thon is officially beginning. We are still in arrival mode. Our sitters will board "Raining Hope One" airlines. They will travel 24 hours to Uganda. I will update you on their journey! Please pray!
Brad & Kim Silva were there to see Tiffany off! Linda Morgan was suppose to be one of our sitters. Because her husband is on call...she was not able to join us. But she came by to see us off! Linda made a quilt out of the African material I bring back from Uganda! She donated it to the silent auction.
We gave the sitters their own “Raining Hope blankets” embroidered with our logo. (Thank’s to Eydie’s sister, Melanie for her work on the blankets!) We also gave them each a “Hope” baseball cap. Everyone brought their own chairs with wheels. Cool to watch everyone gliding around the room on wheels! Hilarious to see Kiana try to help with the heater controls on the wall...from her chair!
2) 8 o'clock and our "sit a thon flight" is well on its way! We have eight passengers "flying from LAX to Enebbe!" We have 4 more passengers that will join us on our "layover." We have had 6 people already come to send us off. Carol’s friend, Deena & her family came by and brought us Rice Krispie treats! Sylvia’s husband, Manuel & son, Jeremy were among our supporters!
3) 8:30 pm - We have raised $544! Also we have had 7 visitors...not 6! Praise the Lord! The team is in the "lounge" playing Scattegories, card games & working on a puzzle!
4) 10:30 pm...we have raised $1,088!!! Wow!!!! We just had our inflight meal...make your own pizza! Best airlines ever! Movie will begin soon!
5) Inflight movie..."Singing in the Rain!" We had fresh popped popcorn in souvenir popcorn containers! We had a pre-short "live" version of "Beauty and the Beast!" Kiana and Tiffany did a rendition of Beauty & the Beast in 4 minutes! SO COOL! You had to be there!
6) 12:30 am...$1632! The passengers are starting to doze. The inflight movie is still playing. Quiet in the cabin now!
7) 1:30 am... $1925! We also just had another passenger join us in "Dubai." Peter Kolek worked until 11 am...then drove in from Orange County. What dedication! We now have 9 sitters!
8) Some of the passengers decided to get a little sleep after the movie. Remember...they have to sleep “sitting up!” With Peter’s arrival, that gave Tiffany & Kiana a second wind to stay wide awake! We couldn’t get the heater to work properly. It was COLD!!!! Everyone bundled up in blankets, jackets, socks, caps... brrrr....!!!
9) 2:30 am ... $2224! Eydie worked in the “Agape Room” getting the silent auction & African crafts set up for visitors on Saturday. Moved Peter, Tiffany & Kiana in the agape room as they were playing Scattegories! Wanted to keep the “main cabin” quiet for those that wanted to sleep. Heather joined them after she got some rest.
10) 3:15 am – Eydie decided to lay her head down for 45 minutes.
11) 4:00 am – Eydie decided that 45 minutes was just not enough!
12) 4:45 am – Eydie got back up to finish preparations for the day
13) 5:45 am - Some are just now dozing off to sleep a little...others who have been sleeping are starting to wake up and move around. Eydie will be making breakfast soon.
14) 7:30 am! Lights on in the cabin! Breakfast...pancakes, scrambled eggs, & sausage! Larry Blevins surprised us and brought a box of donuts! He stayed and joined us for breakfast!
15) 10:30 am...16th hour and we have raised $4,448! Wow! Everyone is now awake. We have had breakfast...Carol's sister, brother-in-law and mom just came by to cheer us on! Her friend, Susie also stopped by. We are thankful for our loved ones who are giving moral support. Love you all
16) Check it out! This is in the local Camarillo Acorn paper!
Sit-athon raises money for Uganda | www.thecamarilloacorn.com | Camarillo Acorn
http://www.thecamarilloacorn.com/news/2011-02-11/Family/Sitathon_raises_money_for_Uganda.html
17) 12:30 pm...we are at $5016! Lunch was served! We had chicken salad sandwiches, ham sandwiches, broccoli salad & chips! We just had 2 more visitors come to lend moral support. (Nancy’s husband & Denise’s husband!) Helps so much to have visitors! Time is actually passing very quickly. Relay races soon!
18) We are in the home stretch! 3:30 pm...$6,132! We just did relay races in chairs...jumped rope...and the cupid shuffle. Hilarious! Please join us at 6 pm to celebrate with us if you are close by!
First, Carol played “duck, duck goose” with some of the other passengers! It was so funny to watch them chase each other in their chairs! She said this was the first time she has ever been able to participate in relay races! They raced in their chairs to drop M& M’s in bowls. Another involved a ball of yarn that they needed to inter-twine themselves to one another! The funniest one was watching them “jump rope!” Yes...jumping rope without leaving their chairs!
We realized that this would be the last team time we had before everyone started arriving for the Celebration Dinner. We used this team time to talk about the event as a whole. It was amazing to hear the effect the sit-a-thon had on each individual. This group had bonded together in a very unique way. The team work that existed because of a common cause was very inspiring. We talked about the relay races and the lessons learned from each game. We are already talking about our reunion!
Thanks to Jeremy Hernandez who came by with pots & pans for us to use. He also went out and picked up our cake for dessert.
19) 4:00 pm – Victor the maintenance man for the church came to help us set up for the Celebration Dinner. Some of our sitters had saved up so much time that they used up some of their credit minutes to help Victor set up tables.
20) 4:30 pm – Kim Silva arrived to help Eydie in the kitchen! Cooking chicken enchiladas, mexican rice, & corn!
21) 5:30 pm – People were starting to arrive. Mike Beesley also helped in the kitchen! Met the pastor from 1st Presbyterian.
WE MADE IT! At 5:59 we successfully counted down to the completion of our 24 hour sit-a-thon! The sitters joyfully STOOD UP! Total as of that evening...$7,108! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Donations are still coming in. Will continue to post more!
We had our Celebration Dinner with friends and family who came to join us! Since we had been on an “airplane flight,” our dinner was in “Uganda!” We had about 40+ people who came to be supportive of our sitters. It meant a great deal to us to have our friends and family around us to say, “job well done.” I had friends as far away as Bakersfield (Brian Sutton & his fiancée, Shannon) make the drive. Thanks also to Aaron Kajumba & his friends from Southcoast. They are true servants who stayed until the end to help cleanup & load the cars. We also had an encore performance of “Beauty & the Beast” by Kiana & Tiffany!
Update! We continue to have money come in for the Sit-A-Thon! The new total raised it $7,888! Praise the Lord! You may still give by going to our website www.raininghope.org and clicking on the "Sit-A-Thon" button!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sit Down For Raining Hope Fundraiser a Success!
Sit Down for Raining Hope – 1st Annual Sit-A-Thon Fundraiser
February 11, 2011 at 6 pm through Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 6 pm!
We had 9 people who “sat” for 24 hours to raise money for Raining Hope Children’s Home in Uganda! Each sitter was sponsored by friends and family members PER HOUR that they sat. The minimum gift given was $10 (about 42 cents an hour). The largest gift received was $500 (about $21 an hour!)
Our sitters were:
Carol John, Heather Elkins, Sylvia Hernandez, Peter Kolek, Denise Levette, Donna Lopez, Kiana Miskel, Nancy Schroeder & Tiffany Silva,
Eydie ended up “standing” for 24 hours! I am not sure what is more difficult, sitting for 24 hours or standing for 24 hours! We should have had people sponsor Eydie per hour for her “standing!” Eydie cooked all of the meals, helped to encourage the sitters in whatever they needed and kept things moving smoothly.
The idea of a “Sit-A-Thon” came last year when Eydie participated in “Micah’s March” (Fundraiser for Devo Marshall’s son, Micah who is stricken with Spinal Muscular Atrophy). Carol’s comment was, “I can’t do a walk-a-thon, but I sure can do a Sit-A-Thon!” The idea became reality on February 11th!
Since it normally takes close to 24 hours to travel to Uganda from Los Angeles, our Sit-A-Thon was a “simulated flight!” The fellowship hall was transformed into an “airplane.” We “flew” on “Raining Hope One” (like Air Force One) on our way to Uganda! Our “All Aboard” area was where the sitters checked in with their sponsorships. They received a “passport” and a “ticket.” Thanks to April Dominguez, one of my former CBU team members who designed the airplane decor.
The rules for the sit-a-thon were...
1) You must “sit” for 24 hours while on Raining Hope One. (sitters all brought their own chairs with wheels)
2) You are allowed 5 minutes per hour to get up and stretch, used the restroom, run around the room, etc! (The sitters actually rarely got up out of their chairs!)
3) You may “stack” your minutes and use them as a line of credit . (eg. Wait 3 hours and then have a 15 minute break)
4) You may sell your minutes to someone else. (minimum of $1 a minute)
5) We will have times of playing various board games in the lounge area. Please feel free to join your fellow sitters in this part of the plane.
6) If you have homework or would like to do any studying, you are encouraged to shift to the “turbulence” area of the plane.
7) From 12 midnight to 6 am, we will have a designated “quiet time” when the lights may be dimmed for those that would like to sleep. You will find the “sleep zone” very beneficial. You do not HAVE to sleep during this time.
8) You must stay hydrated and well fed throughout the flight. Please let one of our attendants know if you are in need of food or water.
9) There will be limited cell phone/computer/electronic use throughout the flight. We want real world relationships to develop in the absence of electronic distractions.
10) Eydie is the captain of the flight and has no rules…other than to follow the real Captain!
The next post will be a journal of what we posted on facebook during the 24 hour fundraiser.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Raining Hope Chapter 11 Update #9
Raining Hope Incorporated
Chapter 11 – Update #9
Thursday & Friday, October 6 & 7, 2011
This update is backtracking a little bit! I was not able to send out the last updates before coming home. This covers Thursday & Friday’s activities which were important to include!
Thursday morning I was asked to lead the morning devotions during the staff fellowship. I shared the story of my “burning bush” experience in room 35. As we re-visited the familiar story in Exodus 3, the verses have become very personal to me. As I shared about the brilliant light that was at the top of the cloud, I was taken to Proverbs 4:18-19,
18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. 19 But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.
Another passage of scripture that was a good prayer to follow for this New Year was Proverbs 4:20-27,
20 My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words, 21 Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, 22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing
to their whole body. 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. 24 Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. 25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. 27 Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.
We finished by reading Matthew 6:31-34 which is always a good reminder, 31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Robert Otile & I were finally able to meet this morning. He gave me the copies of the paperwork for the land we have purchased! It was almost surreal to hold the official copy that shows we own the 4 acres on Lake Victoria! We discussed the items that we need to first accomplish. You will see in the prayer requests what we will be faced with first.
My tailor came by to drop off my clothes this morning. We were able to have some time to just sit and visit before she boarded a boda boda to make her back home to Wanyange.
Solomon & Annette came early so we could talk over the upcoming school issues. We made lists of what supplies were needed as well. Annette is going to be assuming much of the responsibility of the managing of the home! The unity in the home is so solid right now. We know we already have in place the ones God has chosen!
We were blessed by a visit from Sheila & Michael Kajumba! This time they traveled from Kampala to meet with us. We all had a very relaxing lunch in the garden at the hotel. They enjoyed the peace of Jinja so much compared to the busyness of Kampala! I had a very important mission…deliver the hugs from their son, Aaron who is going to college in Ventura! We exchanged gifts that I am now to deliver to Aaron…along with his hug from his parents!
By time we finished our lunch and sent them on their way, we did not have much time left in the afternoon. We did some shopping in town for necessary supplies. Thanks to all of you at home who have given financial support. This trip we were able to purchase necessary school supplies, home supplies, & food. They will all need new shoes for the new school year. We are going to be able to purchase those as well. Praise the Lord who provides!
Be in prayer about the mosquito nets. The supplier of the nets found out that we wanted to purchase them. However, my friend said her boss may not be able to sell them for the 3000 shillings because that price is for locals. Hmmm…I told her the nets were for the local children. I was not taking them back to America! Ha! They will still be negotiating with our home. Pray that they will honor the 3000 shilling price.
By time we arrived at the home, I only had enough time to be with them for devotions. But we had such a great time in a very short period! Because I have been sharing with the children from Exodus, Luis taught them the song, “Pharoah, Pharoah!” It was the funniest and cutest thing! I smiled and laughed so hard! They were so good! Oh of course we have also been doing our “Cupid Shuffle” nightly! They still love that song!
Mrs. Otile had invited me to dinner that evening at the hotel. It was such a nice time of fellowship. We rarely get the time to just sit one-on-one and enjoy sharing about our lives. For those new to my updates, Mr. & Mrs. Otile are the owners of the hotel. Robert Otile is their son and the General Manager. They are a tremendous family who are committed to the Lord. No wonder there is so much favor that rests upon the hotel!
Friday we had much to accomplish because it was my last full day in Jinja & at the home. We went to town so I could say goodbye to my friends in their shops. Rita was bringing her daughter, Mary to see me. When we pulled up in the car in front of her shop, little Mary greeted me at the car door! She gave me a big hug then took my camera case to carry it over her shoulder! Here the custom is to carry the visitor’s bags to be helpful. Little Mary was no exception! I took her with me to the various shops to see my other friends. It was precious!
We finished up as much shopping as we had time for. Miraculously, we were able to purchase most of what was on the list! There were just a few items that they will take care of after I come home. We also bought our soda and cakes for our soda party later in the afternoon. That is always a highlight of the trip. The only time the children get a bottle of soda is when I come and we have these special parties. They appreciate the soda so much because they only get one bottle about 4 times a year. Hard to imagine isn’t it!
The biggest blessing of Friday was that Robert Otile took us to visit our land! The fun part was we went by boat this time instead of car! We caught a boat at the Sunset Hotel next door. We travel down the Nile River, enter into Lake Victoria, and cross over the lake. Amazing! It was a beautiful, perfect day to take the boat. Robert brought his two boys, nephew and another cousin with us. They were so curious as to where we were going. They asked tons of questions all along the way. Yes, it was one of those, “Are we there yet?” journeys! Because the children were with us, the driver of the boat took extra time to point out sites. It took us a little longer going because we went along the shore to see birds etc. It was about a 35 minute boat ride. By car it takes about 40-45 minutes on a very rough road. Going back was only about 25 minutes as we headed straight back to the hotel. What a fun way to travel to our new land by boat! God is so good!
It was overwhelming to stand on our new land for the first time since owning it. This time Robert pointed out which of the four acres belongs to us. As we walked up the path from the Lake, we were greeting by some of the local children living right there in the area. One little girl in particular was all smiles as she wondered who exactly we were!
Four acres is really big! Our land goes all the way to the shore of the Lake. It was so emotionally overwhelming to walk on the land that God has given to us. At one point, we stopped to pray over the land and dedicate all to Him. I was overcome with a sense of joy. We were humbled to know our God loves us so much to provide His very best. I began weeping as we prayed, giving it all back to Him. We look forward to what God has in store for the future home of Raining Hope Children’s Home! This is the Promised Land.
After the boat ride back to the hotel, we went to visit Pastor Paul and his family. I had not been able to see him since Sunday! It was very nice to just sit in the living room and visit with the whole family. He asked about many of you and I was able to update the family on as much as I could. We had a time of precious time of prayer before I left.
We went by Pastor Gerald’s house before heading to the children’s home. We had a very quick visit with Ruth and the two boys. They again prayed for me their very sweet prayer. This time it was a little bit longer than, “God, Aunt Eydie, Amen!” They actually covered their little eyes and prayed quite some time before saying, “Amen.” Whatever it was they prayed from me I know it was heard by our God!
I had planned to stay at the home as long as I could this last evening. We had a great time during our devotions. I also ate dinner there that night. It was nice because we all ate together in the dining room! This was the first time we were able to do that. Even the fact that we have devotions in the living room is new. We used to have the devotions outside in the dining area set up for the children. For the first time, it really felt like a home.
As I shared one more time with the children from the Book of Exodus, we focused on how the Israelite children left Egypt. After crossing the Red Sea, they came to a point that they began grumbling. They even went as far to say they would rather be back in Egypt! The challenge I left with the children of Raining Hope was that we never be like the Israelite children. We also have left Egypt. God has provided us with so much. He is blessing us with such amazing things! We believe that the new land that we have waiting for us is our Promised Land. As much as we love the house we are in, it is just a stop along the way. God is asking us to be faithful with the journey. He has the Promised Land waiting. We are not going back to Egypt. We will be thankful for all He has done and will continue to do. May we never take that for granted. May we never forget who our God is.
Thank you for sharing this chapter in my story with me. Please continue praying for our children. They love you all and thank you for caring so deeply about them.
Prayer Requests:
1) Praise! We accomplished all that we needed in the short time frame given. God kept us on task and we finished what He wanted us to get done.
2) Continue to pray for the selection of new schools. We have narrowed it down. As soon as we have confirmation on the schools, I will be sending an update out as to what we need in terms of school fees.
3) We have come to a solution about the management of the home! Annette is going to take on more responsibilities of the daily management. We will continue working on this process. But they will all be working together as the unity between the staff is amazingly strong & God centered.
4) Praise that we were able to visit the new land.
a) Pray as we first need to plan boundary markers. We want to set up a boundary fence so others will know the land belongs to us. We are talking about planting trees that will serve as the boundary markers. We also need to purchase a sign post showing that Raining Hope Children’s Home will be occupying the land.
b) Pray that we seek God’s direction in the prioritizing of the order of building. We believe the first priority will be the actual children’s home. Future dreams include: guest house, school, vocational school, & church. We also have enough land to develop into farm land. That will help us with our food supply.
c) Pray for the necessary funds to begin building. We first need to pay off the loan we took out here in America to move out of the old home. We had incurred the debt here in order to pay off all of the schools and the landlord. Once that is all paid off, we can start a building fund campaign.
d) We are obligated to stay in the current home until at least October as we have 1 year lease. We would not move out until after the first of next year because of the school term ending in December. Pray with us this year as we seek Him to provide the funds to build.
5) Pray for our upcoming “Sit-A-Thon” on February 11-12, 2011. You have received information on this event under separate email. This is a big event for us. We are hoping that the funds raised will help us to pay off the loan and begin the building process. We also will have school fees to raise in the next two weeks.
6) Pray for the new ISP team from CBU that will be going to Uganda June 1-21, 2011. We just began our training. I travel to Riverside on Monday nights as we meet from 6-9 pm.
We want to be explained only by the miraculous! Stay tuned for more to come!
Kale,
Eydie
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