DLM Newsletter May 2024

Thursday, May 2, 2024

Some of our secondary sponsor kids recently finished their first term and were picked up from school last Thursday, April 25th. A driver traveled almost 3 hours to pick up the students from their school. He then brought them to Kabowa where they each went to their own homes. These students report back to school for second term on Monday, May 20th. 

The other group of secondary students will finish on Friday, May 3rd. Schools are able to choose their own starting and ending times per the term. 

Arnold, one of our secondary kids, came to my home the following day to stay with me during the holiday time. He has been helping me in the garden. We weeded this whole area around some maize that was planted a couple months ago. 

Arnold is digging up cassava for one of his meals. He washed, cut and boiled the cassava for a hearty meal. Cassava is a root vegetable similar to a potato and is a good source of carbohydrates. 

The other vegetables I planted are growing nicely... the zucchini, sweet corn, lettuce, and potatoes. Yes, the soil is so fertile that I can’t manage the weeds, as you can tell in the pictures! Haha!! The squash, watermelon, green beans, and okra are starting to sprout. We are still waiting on the broccoli, carrots, and cucumbers to sprout. We have dried out some red, green, and yellow pepper seeds and planted them today. We are also beginning to see new roots on our onion and hope to plant it soon, as well.

I love seeing the new growth each day and am always amazed at God’s creation!

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Yesterday, Arnold and I left at 6:30 am heading to Kampala. I had to do get some blood work done that morning, and then we went to the mall to have some ice cream and do some shopping. It rained almost all morning. Afterwards, we went to Kabowa for Bible study. There were 14 kids who came. Many of them walked in the heavy rain to come. We played our usual bingo and had a snack at the end. For our study, we’ve been reading in the book of Acts. We focused on chapter 9 with Saul’s conversion to Paul. I love watching the kids learn new things as they dig into God’s Word. We pray He uses it all for His glory!

Today, Arnold and I watched the live sermon from our church online. 

Later, I sprayed weed killer around the garden. I wore my swimming suit just like my Grandma Lynn use to do!! I just love watching the crops grow!!!

Monday, May 6, 2024

The cafeteria/pavilion and visitors’ building are coming along at a steady pace. Glory to God!

Our hope is to complete these two buildings this year, but we need your help to raise the remaining $34,000. If 136 DLM supporters give $250 each, we will reach this goal and be able to finish the two buildings in 2024. We have already received 2 donations so we are looking for 134 DLM supporters.

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Today, Arnold and I worked in the garden most of the day. We watered some of the plants this morning before it got too hot. Even though it is rainy season, it hasn’t rained in a couple days. We came inside when it started to get too hot. We read our Bibles, and then we ate lunch. 

In the afternoon, we went back to the garden. We trimmed the live fence that is growing on the chain link fence. We weeded around the zucchini and put salt around them to keep snails away. The snails like to get on the plants and eat them. 

Most things are growing very nicely and quickly, which is exciting to see. They literally grow overnight. I’m always overjoyed to go see them the following day to see how much they’ve grown!! 🤗 haha!

This evening, I picked some of the lettuce that I planted just 5 weeks ago. We had salads! I love being able to enjoy the produce!

Praise God for the fertile soil on the DLM property!

Saturday, May 11, 2024

I woke up this morning around 3:00 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. Arnold and I exercised at 4:00 am. We both napped from 5:30 am to 6:15 am. We left the house coming to 7:00 am. We celebrated Arnold’s birthday today by enjoying some yummy food from Kampala! We ate breakfast and then bought groceries. Then we went to the school for Bible study. There were 10 kids for Bible study today. We met from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Of course, we played a few rounds of bingo with some sweets (candy) as prizes. We sang a couple of songs. The kids are learning the books of the Bible in a song by Shaii Linne!! We continued our reading in Acts with chapters 10-12 and learned about the Holy Spirit coming upon the Gentiles. Praise God for the expansion of the Church that continues to this day! The kids had a snack and a soda as our final activity of the day. I had food delivered to the school for Arnold and me to enjoy for dinner, including a piece of cake for each of us to celebrate his birthday!! We reached home at 5:30 pm. So thankful for a safe journey today. Glory to God Alone!

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Today, Arnold and I watched a sermon online and then gardened for four hours in the late afternoon. We weeded most of the time. The other week, we gave a job to some community ladies to come plant corn, ground nuts (peanuts), white sweet potatoes, and beans. Check out the progress!

I’ve been able to go to the public well, which is right outside of our 17 acre property, many late afternoons to make some little friends! I help them pump water for their jerrycans when they come to fetch the water. Love being around the people and making friendships. Trusting the Lord will work through these opportunities to bring many to Himself. Glory to God!

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Sharuwah, one of our sponsored students, will be taking a year off before starting secondary school next year. Today, I was able to visit with her, Favor and her jajja (grandmother) today. Sharuwah and Favor will stay with me for the remainder of this year, as she spends time with Favor and teaching Favor during this crucial time in her life. She will also be helping with housekeeping chores and making money to learn how to manage her money for buying food and things they need. She struggles in math, so we are getting a head start and working on the math for senior 1 curriculum while she is here. She is also learning how to type. It's not been easy having a 2 year old around, but it's been a blessing, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to pour into Sharuwah and Favor while they are here with me this year.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Today was a very long day, and I’m very thankful to have someone driving me around! Some of the secondary school students returned to boarding school today. The school is about 2.5 hours away from Kabowa where most of the kids stay. The driver and I left the ministry home at 6:20 am. We picked up two girls on the way to Kabowa and then picked up seven kids there. Then we proceeded to pick up two more kids before continuing the journey to their boarding school. We reached at 11:20 am. The teachers checked the children’s things and took the three kilos of sugar from each child which is required each term. The kids took their belongings to the dormitory and set up their beds. I prayed with our group of girls and also with the boys. We thanked God for their sponsors and all of God’s blessings upon us. I prayed God would change their hearts and help them become more like Him daily. I encouraged them to be an example and a light for Him in their school. The driver and I left their school at 12:50 pm and reached home safely at 5:40 pm. Glory to God for this day!

Thursday, May 23, 2024

This morning’s activities began at 6:50 am when I headed out to Kampala for Sandra’s medical review at the hospital. I picked up her and her mother on the way, and we reached the hospital at 9:50 am. We were so thankful the Lord allowed there to be a short queue (line) to be seen. We saw the doctor and received her TB medicine for an additional two month supply all within one hour. Amazing!! Sandra will stay on the TB meds for a total of a year. She’s been out of the hospital now for about five months after having had brain surgery for hydrocephalus due to Tuberculosis. It’s a blessing to share that Sandra can now walk unassisted. It is so awesome how God has worked and been so gracious to allow Sandra to come this far from where she was, which was almost death. She received a good report today, so we truly thanked God! They all know that the Lord has used the many prayers from you all. Through contributions received by Delight in the Lord Ministries throughout the year, DLM is able to provide financial support to help Sandra and her family with these medical needs. They are thankful to the Lord for all of you!! We left Kampala around midday, and I reached home at 2:15 pm. Also I am so thankful for journey mercies today! Glory to God!!

Sunday, May 27, 2024

I left the house this morning at 6:30 am. I went directly to the international hospital in Kampala and reached at 8:40 am. I’ve been experiencing respiratory issues with a bad cough. At Mom and Ashley’s insisting, I saw the doctor. The doctor said I have a bacterial chest infection, and gave me an antibiotic and cough syrup. It started about 3 weeks ago, but I thought it was just allergies. Thankful to have some medicine to shake this cold and nasty cough. By the time I finished at the hospital, my church had already started, so I listened to the sermon once I reached home in the evening. 

I did a little grocery shopping at the mall before going to the school in Kabowa for Bible study. I reached the school by 12:25 pm. During Bible study, we continued our reading in Acts. We read Acts 14 with Paul and Barnabas preaching in various cities during the first missionary journey. We read about Paul being stoned in Lystra and how he encouraged the believers in verse 22 to “continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”. I love reading God’s Word and learning with these kiddos. It’s always a blessing to have Bible study with them. Today, we only met for 2 hours. I could spend all day with them reading and learning!! We finished our time together with snacks, of course! I left around 3:30 pm and reached home at 6:30 pm. I’m thankful for the journey mercies and the time had with the kids. Glory to God!

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Electrical and plumbing works are ongoing! Glory to God!