The miracle of the bales

Kateh and I went to look for bales of clothes in Jinja, not knowing where to go or who to talk with. We walked along the street, and we prayed that Jesus would show us who to ask with. Kateh said let's go into that bookshop and ask if they know anything about bales of clothes. We talked with them; they said - let the white girl sit here in the shop with us - and one of us will go with you to require for it. I sat there, listening to music they were playing - which was Christian music. They offered me a coke, which I gladly took. Kateh and Mary came back after 1 hour. They had good information to give us, with prices and when they bales would possibly arrive.
We left the place, very encouraged.

Two days later we came back to Jinja, and the guy had a bale of t-shirts available. The seller needed the money, so we scram belled it together. Because the person that was supposed to give us the money wasn't able to come. Mary from the shop lent us what we didn't have. We got the bale and placed it in the bookshop. After paying we were left with no money.

That morning when we left Kamuli, where the orphanage is, I brought my foreign currency - why well, who knew we needed money... GOD.
I realized it was there, so we went to the exchange place and ....... we had money. God is so funny. The money had been given to me by a friend, cuz she was not returning to Kenya anymore and had some shillings.....
We were able to get some food, find a place to stay - cuz we needed to be in Jinja early the next morning.

It has been one blessing after another, God is so good - and takes good care of us.

132 children, what to do?

Living at an orphanage that now has 132 children, it’s quite something. There are so many things happening, quite fascinating watching what is going on. Then needing to bring some correction and helping them understand that they can’t hit their brother or sister. Cultural differences, tribal issues….so much to learn.

Some people have wondered about how long the children can stay at the orphanage! This is their home, and they are always welcome. The day they descide to move after they are 18, then they can. It's their home.

It hit me the other day that the kids here are orphans, the tears flooded. They don’t have parents, this is true – but I’ve never thought of how they lost their parents. Reading their stories made me cry even more. Most of their parents died in HIV/AIDS. Many of the kids from the north lost their parents when the rebels came into their village and set the huts on fire, or beheaded them, killed them on the spot, in crossfire….it hit me hard. I started thinking about my family….what a blessing it is to have one.

Two nights ago, we got a visitor coming with a child. The child, an 8 years old boy – don’t speak any other language than what his tribe does. At the orphanage, we don’t have anyone that comes from his tribe. He is all by himself, lost his mother in AIDS 3 weeks ago, his father died 7 years ago, coming into a home where nobody speaks his language…….imagine. He cried lots, which is understandable. The next day, we found out that there are similarities with another tribe’s language….which makes life easier for him. He is now playing with the smallest children, and seems to get along with life at the orphanage.

Flooding in Uganda!

The thunder is rumbling, the lightning flashes in the sky – and the rain comes and goes. It’s quite fascinating, yet there is another side to all of this.
The situation here in Uganda is quite severe. The Northern part is pretty much disconnected from the Southern part. As you can c in this picture from the newspaper, taken on the 18th of September – the bridge is non existent. 300 000 people have been affected, and some have been killed. “Experts say the rising waters may hit as yet unaffected areas in the coming days, such as Uganda’s central regions.” (quoting from The New Vision) People are filling bags with sand, and dirt so that they can build up some flood fencing here in Kampala….

A friend of mine in Rackoko, in the Northern district Pader said: “Please pray 4 the end of flood, it has made things difficult”.

Quoting from the newspaper The New Vision. “With camps for the displaced fast swelling in countries across the center of the world’s poorest continent, experts say the threat of disease is mounting quickly”. They are afraid of diarrhea and cholera outbreaks.

My plea to you is, pray for the people that are affected by the floods, not only here in Uganda – but also the other countries that has been severely affected. Sudan, Kenya, Niger are some of them.

First days in Uganda

After a long trip I came to Uganda. Some friends of mine came to the airport and picked me up which was a huge blessing. Wasn’t up for any public transport that day…lol

The next day Kateh, one of my Ugandan friends and I took public transport up to the Children’s home in Busota. This is the place I stayed b4 going back to Norway in April. The children didn’t know I was coming, which was part of the surprise. Kateh and I came from the bush way, so they wouldn’t be able to c me right away. But they were doing some dancing at the end of one of the houses, so they saw me. It took them a split second to see us – and they came running like a huge wave toward me. What a welcome. They screamed “Mama Inger” and almost pushed me over wanting to hug me all at the same time. It was awesome. Some of them came over several times, just to make sure that it was for real.

Christine one of the caretakers, didn’t know what to do – she told the children not to joke with her, saying Mama Inger is back. When she saw me, she came running leaving her shoes behind – knelt by my feet and said: “God is so good, you are back.”

Maria, one of the girls at the home is quite the evangelist and prophet. She is talking about God to her friends, preaching the Good News. When they are having worship her countenance is changing. She has some white spots on her face, but they go away and are gone for hours after worship is over. Maria is also a listener and she hears God talking to her. The other kids have understood that, and are coming to her to ask different things. She tells them: God hasn’t spoken to me today, if He hasn’t. And if God has, she tells them.
One of the boys came up to her and said: “Since God is talking to you, tell me what we are going to ear for Christmas? “ She looked at him and said: “God has not sent you to me to ask me that, this is you asking.” A bold one she is, about 7-8 years old.
I’m looking forward to spend more time with the children… There are more stories to tell….

The big family!

This is my family; mom and dad - one sister and two brothers. They are all married - my sister has 4 children, my oldest brother has 3 and my youngest brother has 1 child.
We have been together this weekend, to celebrate my nephew Kristoffer's confirmation. It was a big dag and many guests - and lots of food.
The next time we'll be together is when we all go to Madagascar which will be next summer.

And now the journey continues - my family will go back to their work, school and pre-school - while I'll head back to Africa!! Yuppie!

Getting ready to leave!

Time flies, and I've enjoyed my time here in Norway. Of course I've not stayed here all the time :) that would have been a miracle!!!
Went to visit some friends in Northern Ireland, where we had a grand time as they say. It was good cing them all again. Good to have fellowship with them, which is so needed.
Some of the things that I've realized while being here in Norway this time, is the necessity of staying in contact with people that are like minded - to have a relationship with them. Just as important it is to have a relationship with our Father. Staying grounded in this Word, spending time with Him, set time aside to be with Him and nobody else. He is a jealous God, and He’s serious about it.
God so put us on the spot sometimes; this is one of the times where He did put me on the spot. I was sitting on the bus coming from Oslo. A lady sat next to me with a knee problem. While talking with her, I wanted to pray for her – but ….. didn’t. She left the seat next to me to sit somewhere else. Then I had to tell God I was sorry that it hadn’t been done, and asked for a second chance…. Guess what – she came back… didn’t take me long to ask if I could pray for her.

And now, it’s time to move again. The ticket is booked, and I’m leaving for Africa on the 3rd of September. The destination is Uganda, possibly Sudan.

The one and only thing that I want, is to be with Jesus – I’m not going anywhere unless He’s with me. Sounds pretty basic, but so important.

Latvia, Riga and Rezekne

Left Norway for Riga on the 28th of June, and came back on the 13th of July. It was an amazing trip where God showed up in many ways. We were a team of 6, 2 from Northern Ireland (Dan and Gill), 2 from UK (Jason who lives in Northern Ireland and his brother Steve), Agia our Latvian translator and myself.
The first couple of days we stayed in Riga, enjoyed being tourist b4 we started the meetings. We had one meeting Sunday morning, one Monday evening and one Tuesday evening. People got saved, healed and refreshed in the Lord. Jason put us on the frontline, asked us to prophecy over people in the congregation….it was a lot of fun and a bit scary – thank you Jason for doing that. We needed that, and we all grew in the Lord.
We took a 3 hour train ride to Rezekne, where we stayed for one week, loving on the children in that ministry. The children come to stay at the house, when their parents have difficulties having them at home. The girls there liked having us there, we played with them – had water balloon fights…..
The team also attended a conference. 4 people from Finland spoke the first couple of days, b4 Jason shared the next couple of days. The people got refreshed here as well, and received a touch from the Lord.
Some days we spent hours in soaking, which was so refreshing and renewing. God showed up in that prayer room – awesome.
While there, 2 other teams came to join us. Some of them came from a Presbyterian church, so a lot of the worship, soaking and ministry time was foreign to them. One of the evenings after the teaching (which was on prophecy) we had a prophecy time, the group was split in two, and we should prophecy over each other. Everybody stayed!!, All got something for the person they prophesied over – God is faithful. The boat got rocked, the Presbyterians got excited and want more of what God has for them.
This trip has done so much for me, where God has yet again showed His faithfulness and stirred the pot using people to put me on the frontline…… Thank you guys!!