An update on Carol’s recovery

22 days after surgery Carol had an X-ray done and it was beautiful! Back is healing nicely and she is hoping to travel home in a couple of weeks! A huge THANK YOU to all who prayed for her and encouraged her with your messages of love.  She is missing her Ugandan family very much and so excited to be able to go home soon.  Please continue to pray for her continued healing and travels home.

A note from our new volunteer

Thank you, Carol, for letting me share this blog with your readers this month.  Hi everyone.  My name is Dawn.  Carol introduced me back in November as a volunteer for YES as the child/sponsor coordinator, and I write to you from Fort Portal, Carol’s home, as I shifted here on the 18th of February.  I am feeling many emotions at the same time here, but first and foremost is a feeling of gratitude for all that God has blessed me with by being in this beautiful country.

I woke up the first morning in Uganda to the beautiful sounds of a variety of birds, sunlight beginning to illuminate so many variations of the color green, and off in the distance I could clearly see the beautiful Rwenzori mountain landscape. The rain allows for being able to see much farther distances. My first morning I went to an outdoor market to buy fruits and vegetables. I was excited to find such sweet mangos and large avocados. Avocado in Rutooro is called Ovakado. Now, that’s just fun to say, and the faces smiling back at you are a comfort that somehow brings me to the realization that we all need one another.

My first week here has shown me that we are all the same kind of different in many ways, walking down similar paths, and our journeys often run in parallel with very alike feelings. We are all working our way back home, and the idea that you never know what eyes God is looking out of at you makes the journey interesting and full of opportunity to connect. I love looking into the eyes of the Ugandan people. I look forward to being an observer and learning from this beautiful community. I look forward to connecting with many of you sponsors all around this planet and doing the best job possible to share pictures and stories of your children that you so graciously bring love and hope to each and every day. Please feel free to connect with me at dawnhoward@yesuganda.org about your child. I will be learning as much as I possibly can about the children in Carol’s program. I am so thankful to all of my family and friends who have so generously supported me in being able to help Carol and bring love to these children. Thank you for helping me step forth in faith. This is both thrilling and challenging.

I know God is showing me how to serve Him from wherever I am, and I am truly thankful to be here in Fort Portal with so many beautiful souls I haven’t even met yet. What I don’t know, God knows. What I don’t have, God has. Our God is a personal Potter. He works the clay with patience. He forms our Christlike character slowly, one experience at a time. Thank you God for your perseverance, as human clay sometimes shifts off-center and becomes misshapen. Just as clay can be fashioned only when it sits precisely in the middle of the wheel, Christians must be in the Father’s will to grow spiritually. The Potter maneuvers the drifting believer back into position and begins remolding. He never discards His vessels but tirelessly works to perfect them. I thank God for always shaping us!

Sincerely grateful,

Dawn