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
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