|
|
November 10 We would like to encourage you to take a few moments to Step Into Africa and experience the life of Stephen, a child from the area of Uganda in which we live. Your heart and mind are sure to be touched in an incredible way through this powerful interactive online exhibit put together by World Vision. System Requirements: Broadband connection Use Viewer Discretion: Some content is not suitable for children under 12 years of age Recommendations: Use earphones or ensure your speaker volume is turned to a comfortable level 
Take the time to thoroughly interact with each page and fully engage your heart November 03 We strongly encourage you to attend the following free exhibit: 
Get a picture of the area and the needs where we live in Uganda, East Africa Fair Haven Ministries in Hudsonville, MI November 1-8 from 10:00am to 8:00pm Reserve tickets for other locations in the US HERE October 28
Today we grieve and rejoice that our precious babies are in their Heavenly Home.
Throughout this past week, God clearly spoke to my heart through songs and prepared us for this news. It was a week of great sorrow, confusion and even anger. It was also a beautiful week of feeling the Lord’s presence and peace. God has specifically used Brian Doerksen’s song “Lead Us Lord (Dream Again)” to minister to my heart…
Here we stand at a crossroads again
Like you said, in time the seasons change
Looking back we recall the blessings and the pain
But now we turn our hearts toward what is still to come
We want to dream again…Prepare our hearts to risk again
As we trust, taking simple steps of obedience, that you will lead us Lord
We are confident that this story is not over. In obedience we have followed God into embryo adoption and he will see us through.
One thing is certain; our precious babies are in Jesus’ arms. God used us to help get them home. And for that we praise God.
Please continue to pray for us as we make decisions about how to walk forward. We adopted 4 embryos, but sadly 2 are missing and so this complicates how we move ahead. We are planning to be re-matched with another family, but this takes time. We want to try again…to dream again, to risk again…because God is faithful and he is leading.
Again, thank you for walking this journey with us. We have been so blessed by your prayers, love and concern.
In His Plan,
Tim and Angie
http://sliedrechts.spaces.live.com October 13 Dear Family & Friends, Thank you for your prayers! The 2 embryo babies survived the thawing process and have been implanted in Angie. (also, we found out that Avalien has mono, in addition to the infection).
Please continue to pray for both embryo babies – to live and grow, for Angie to become pregnant with both of them, that God would give them both the gift of birth and full life. We will not find out if they survived and Angie is pregnant until late next week.
Love, Tim, Angie, Avalien & Moses Sliedrecht  
Our 2 Embryo Babies just before implantation (11:50am, Oct 11)  
Our 2 Embryo Babies implanted in Angie (11:59am, Oct 11) 
October 07 
Dear Friends and Family,
Grand Rapids’ first ever Ride for Refugees, on Saturday, October 3, turned out to be a wonderful success (see pictures… more to come). 387 people on 24 Ride Teams rode just for the traumatized and unreached in Uganda at the GR Ride Location alone!! (40 people on 3 other Ride Teams rode for Uganda in Fort Erie, Hamilton and Waterloo; so far 3 people on 1 Ride Team are riding for Uganda in Markham on Oct 17). In total there were around 100 volunteers and 500 riders (the most the Ride for Refugees has ever seen at a first Ride). Many ended up riding cold and wet through downpours; however, when the majority of the people rode, the sky unexpectedly cleared up, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared!
Not only were a ton of awareness and funds raised, an unbelievable multitude of prayers were brought before the Lord that day. All around the host school, Byron Center Christian School, dozens of prayers were written by all of BCCS’ children (click to see). Before each group of Riders headed out, they prayed together. What’s more, each Rider had a photo of a traumatized and/or unreached Ugandan(s) put on their handle-bars to pray for and keep them motivated while they biked, particularly up the hills and when it rained. All in all, everyone we talked to found it to be a challenging, humbling, thought & prayer-provoking, fun day. Many are already thinking about how much farther they are going to ride, how much more awareness and funds they are going to raise, and what more they are going to do in 2010’s Ride for Refugees.
We thank God for those who sacrificed so much time, energy and money in preparing for and organizing Grand Rapid’s first ever Ride for Refugees, making it a huge, unprecedented success. We also thank God for all who led teams and got others to ride and all who rode and raised awareness and funds for the traumatized and unreached in Uganda – not just those of the Grand Rapids Ride Location, but those of the Fort Erie, Hamilton and Waterloo Ride Locations as well (and those yet to ride in the Markham Ride Location on Oct 17).
Based on the success of the Ride in Grand Rapids and the movement of the Ride for Refugees from 1 Rider 6 years ago to 9 Ride Locations last year to 19 this year, we are excited to see what new Ride Locations rise up within and beyond West Michigan, the USA, Canada and Australia to where many of you are, all for those that are so close to God’s heart – the “least of these”; the refugees (let us know if you are interested in making that happen by heading up or helping organize another Ride Location).
In the meantime, if you still wish to give and sponsor any or all who rode for the traumatized and unreached in Uganda, it is not too late. Email us and we’ll let you know how.
We will be sure to let you know exactly how much was raised, in total and specifically for the traumatized and unreached in Uganda.
Praising God,
Tim & Angie Sliedrecht
October 03  Dear Family & Friends,
This Saturday, on October 3, rain or shine, we (including Avalien & Moses) are joining over 350 riders out of 6,000, in 19 locations around the world, in the Ride for Refugees (there is still time to register to Ride – click here now and join Team Beyond USA).
The Ride for Refugees is not about us, or the impersonal number of 65 million+ faceless people. It’s about real individual people with names, and faces, and feelings, and needs, and souls… like you and me, only with horrific, unimaginable stories that cry out to be transformed into powerful testimonies.
The Ride for Refugees is about David.
 When he was 9 years old, David was abducted by the LRA rebel soldiers together with his parents and friends. After his parents were brutally killed in front of him, David was marched to Somalia where his friends were sold as slaves in exchange for weapons and bullets. David was then taken to Sudan where he was trained to become a soldier in the LRA. He was drugged, beaten, treated harshly and put through Satanic rituals until he became a soldier. For four years he was a commander (by force) in the LRA. He was forced to kill, steal, pillage and abduct children. Once he was caught trying to escape. As a result, he was tortured, shot, and cut with a machete. It was not until his fifth year with the LRA, in June 2008, that he successfully managed to escape.
After turning himself in to government soldiers in Congo, he was brought to an army barracks in Uganda. Sadly, soldiers there molested him. Finally, one soldier from Teso region noticed him and received permission to bring him back there. They took him back to his village and tried to find his relatives, but to no avail. Before long, that kind soldier was redeployed. David was staying with the soldier’s aunt, but continued to be tormented by demons – demons that come in the form of two women telling him to go back to the bush or they would kill him. Recently, they directed him to sharpen a machete and burn his house down. In a trance, David did so and was thus driven away from the community.
David is 15… with no home… no family… no joy… no hope…
There is no doubt that if you had the chance, you would help David and the hundreds of real children like him in a heartbeat.
Well now is your chance.
Hear David’s heartbeat… Hear the chorus of heartbeats of 250 children like David that we are working with… Hear our heartbeats as we Ride for them on Saturday…Hear your own heart beat…
HELP PROVIDE Christ’s holistic love, spiritual counseling and the biblical worldview to
- the TRAUMATIZED Ugandan children, like David, and their families
- the unreached KARAMOJONG tribe who have been displaced and forced to live in camps by inter-clan fighting and by severe drought, famine and starvation
SPONSOR US as we BIKE TO THE BEAT by:
Tim & Angie Sliedrecht
7772 Hidden Ridge Ct.
Hudsonville, MI 49426
(please include your email address to receipt a tax-receipt by email and save money for the refugees)
The money that we raise will specifically go towards
- Freedom Camps for children abducted by the LRA (see pictures and drawings)
- Art Camps for children abducted by the LRA and Karamojong children
- Bibles for children abducted by the LRA and for Karamojong
- Mass graves (see pictures)
- Spiritual Counseling Training for church and ministry leaders of children abducted by the LRA and of the Karamojong
- Basic needs for children like David
 Thank you.
Love,
Tim & Angie Sliedrecht
Get Your Rear in Gear
by Timothy Sliedrecht
My dear, lend me your ear
To my call, please adhere
Ride time is drawing near
Get your rear in gear
Cold and rain? Have no fear
Just remember the refugee tear
Their experiences oh so severe
Get your rear in gear
We’re on the frontier
Of a movement premier
For a cause so austere
Get your rear in gear
You are a love engineer
Not just near, right here,
But over the sphere, by old Zaire
Get your rear in gear
Steer clear of the jeer and the sneer
Don’t just lear, then disappear
Be what people revere
Get your rear in gear
This is your year
To pierce like a spear
The heart of each peer
Get your rear in gear
Swing from a chandelier
Give your loudest cheer
Jump and bark like a deer
Get your rear in gear
No, I haven’t drunk too much beer
I’m not a racketeer trying to profiteer
I’m not telling you to take a long walk off a short pier
I’m being totally sincere, when I say “Get your rear in gear”September 30
September 29, 2009, 1:41PM
 The annual Ride for Refugees event will take place in Byron Center on Saturday. The bicycle ride will benefit more than 67 million refugees worldwide,including this pair currently residing in Rwanda.
More than 600 bicyclists are expected to take to the streets of Byron Center this weekend on behalf of more than 67 million refugees worldwide.
The Ride for Refugee event, a worldwide movement of people riding their bikes, raising funds and passionately advocating on behalf of refugees is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Byron Center Christian School’s east campus, 8840 Byron Center Ave. SW.
Participants will bike along five, 15, 30, 45 and 60 mile routes in a free, non-competitive, family-friendly format that attracts individuals of all ages, and teams of all sizes, from churches, schools and businesses while raising awareness and funds for refugees.
Angie Sliedrecht, of Hudsonville, and husband Tim, of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada currently reside and serve as missionaries in Soroti, Uganda. The pair is leading the West Michigan ride with Team Beyond.
“The Ride for Refugees is a small but meaningful way to personally connect to this big and impersonal crisis and a way for someone to make a real, tangible difference in the life of a refugee,” said Tim Sliedrecht. “It’s about real individuals, with names and faces and feelings and needs and souls; just like you and me, only with horrific unimaginable stories that cry out to be transformed into powerful testimonies.”
The Ride for Refugees event was started by International Teams Canada president Neil Ostrander six years ago. Ostrander said he simply wanted to raise awareness and funds for refugees by riding his bike.
Since then the event has grown dramatically, including more than 6,000 riders across 20 cities, raising more than $1 million.
Last year, nine official Ride locations were scattered across Canada. Over 100 people rode on behalf of Team Beyond and raised more than $28,000. More than 50 of those riders participated at unofficial locations here in West Michigan.
“Because of this success, the Ride for Refugees’ directors came out to Uganda to see how the money was spent and to get footage for the 2009 Ride video,” said Tim Sliedrecht. “They pushed to get into the states, particularly West Michigan. Now the West Michigan and Chicago locations are the first two official ride locations in the United States.”
Participants may register for free online at www.rideforrefugees.com. The rolling start will take off between 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. at Byron Center Christian School’s east campus. A free celebration lunch is planned at the campus at 1 p.m. For more information contact Tim and Angie at sliedrechts@hotmail.com. September 27 Local mission groups call on bikers to raise funds for refugees
September 26, 2009, 6:00AM
 Tim and Angie Sliedrecht hold their adopted children, Moses and Avalien. The couple hope to help other refugee children by biking in the Ride for Refugees fundraiser.
BYRON TOWNSHIP — Tim and Angie Sliedrecht know a boy named David, abducted by rebel soldiers at age 9 and marched into their army after his parents were murdered in front of him.
And they know Francis, a teenager brainwashed by those rebels into killing more than 35 people.
And they know Helen, who was forced to be a sex slave for soldiers.
This shifting population of refugees, many of whom have been pushed into lives of anonymity, includes 67 million worldwide.
The Sliedrechts are asking area residents to lend a hand — and two feet — to help David, Francis and Helen recover their true identities.
The couple’s missionary work in Africa is one of several efforts that will benefit from Ride for Refugees, a growing fundraiser holding its first U.S. event on Oct. 3 in Byron Township.
“It’s not about 67 million faceless names,” said Tim Sliedrecht, 30. “It’s about real people with faces and names, real feelings and real souls.
“A lot of these kids have been robbed of their childhood. Now, (Americans) have a chance in a tangible way to make an impact. Grand Rapids really is the gateway into the states for the ride.”
The Sliedrechts, in Hudsonville this fall for an adoption, are missionaries with International Teams, the organization that started Ride for Refugees five years ago.
Nine sites in Canada last year involved about 1,600 cyclists who raised $600,000.
This year, the event has expanded to the U.S. and Australia with 19 locations. About 5,000 riders are expected to raise $1.2 million, half going to International Teams and half to other refugee ministries designated by local riders.
Teams in next month’s ride are raising money for refugee programs at Bethany Christian Services, Lutheran Social Services, Mars Hill Bible Church, Michigan Darfur Coalition, Streams of Hope and others. Local organizers hope for 500 riders.
“To realize how much is being done here in town (for refugees) is really exciting,” said Kori VanderKooi, who is organizing the event with her husband, Glen. “We’re hoping this raises awareness of the cause.
“The more people that ride, the greater the impact."
The VanderKoois, of Byron Township, rode with many others from West Michigan last year in a Hamilton, Ontario, event that raised about $30,000 for the Sliedrechts’ work in Uganda. Instead of making the trip this fall, they decided to host a local ride.
Riders collect donations and pedal bicycles on routes ranging from five to 60 miles. The event begins and ends at Byron Center Christian Middle School, 8840 Byron Center Ave. SW, where lunch will be served.
“We like to bike, and we love what they’re doing (in Uganda),” said Kori VanderKooi, whose four children, ages 5 to 9, also plan to ride. “We thought it was a great combination.”
Money for Bibles, mass graves
The Sliedrechts plan to ride a 15-mile route with their two adopted children, 2-year-old Moses and 4-year-old Avalien, in tow. With support from other riders, the couple hope to raise $50,000.
Former missionaries to Ukraine and Nigeria, the Sliedrechts have worked for the past three years with Ugandan churches to organize freedom camps, art schools and spiritual counseling for children who escaped from rebel soldiers. Along with Angie Sliedrecht’s sister and her husband, Mandy and Josh Shaarda, they partner with Christian Reformed World Missions.
The couple also support a remote tribe displaced from their homes by conflict, and some of the ride money will fund Bible distribution and mass grave digging.
“Yeah, the problem is huge and you do feel overwhelmed, but by raising money and awareness you truly are making a difference,” said Angie Sliedrecht, 32. “You could be 8 years old or 80 years old and make a difference.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ride for Refugees
What: An estimated 500 bicyclists will raise money for organizations that work with refugees, including Bethany Christian Services, Lutheran Social Services and International Teams.
When: Rolling start times from 9-11 a.m. Oct. 3, with lunch afterward.
Where: Byron Center Christian Middle School, 8840 Byron Center Ave. SW, is the start and end point for the 5-, 15-, 30- and 60-mile routes.
Details: rideforrefugees.com
E-mail the author of this story: localnews@grpress.com
September 22 Dear Family & Friends, We have a special request to ask of you that will take only a moment of your time. We have submitted 2 photos in WZZM 13 (a local TV news station of West Michigan) “What is Art” photo contest. The winner will receive $1,300. If one of our photos wins, we will use the entire $1,300 towards the purchase of a portable movie-theatre for providing wholesome entertainment and education to children in North-Eastern Uganda – children who have undergone much suffering and who are being robbed of their childhood, due to violent tribal raids; rebel insurgencies where children are abducted to be hard-laborers, soldiers and sex-slaves; to HIV/AIDS and other diseases; to major floods and droughts. YOU can make a difference in just 4 clicks… Go and vote NOW for both (click the “Recommended” button under the photo): Thank you, Tim & Angie Sliedrecht http://sliedrechts.spaces.live.com 
Dear Family & Friends,
We want to give you an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of traumatized and unreached Ugandans by joining the TEAM BEYOND (USA, CA or AU) Ride Team and riding in Ride for Refugees (if you are not already on a Ride Team). You don’t have to be a “Bike Rider” to join this team and thoroughly enjoy the Ride. Anyone and everyone, young and old, who can ride a bicycle can Ride in this event as there are a choice of route distance, from 5 miles/10km to 60miles/100km. What's more, it’s a rolling start so you can begin anytime between 9:00 and 11:15 and you don’t have to ride together as a team – you are united by the cause. Just plan to finish riding by 1:00pm, in time for the free Celebration Lunch!
Why Ride?
The Ride for Refugees is not about Tim & Angie Sliedrecht. It’s not about the astronomical number of 65 million+ faceless people. It’s about real individual people with names, and faces, and feelings, and needs, and souls… like you and me, only with horrific, unimaginable stories that cry out to be transformed into powerful testimonies.
The Ride for Refugees is about Francis:
 Francis’ parents were killed back in the 1990s by the Teso rebels. On June 26, 2003, when he was 14 years old, he was abducted by the LRA rebel soldiers. He was forced to carry heavy loads for miles with no shoes and little food. If he complained, he would be severely beaten. When they reached Sudan, he was trained to kill and soon became a commander. He was regularly put through Satan rituals that would immediately instilled in him a desire to stay in the bush and live a life of violence. He abducted other children, beat them seriously, pillaged villages and killed many people (“at least 35”). It wasn’t until he was shot in the back, leg and neck that he really gained a drive to escape, helping many other children under his command. After escaping in 2005, he was tormented by dreams, a desire to go back to the bush and to kill. It wasn’t until he gave his life to Jesus that those dreams disappeared and until he attended a Freedom Camp (put on using the money raised from last year’s R4R) that he experienced true freedom in Christ. Now he lives a life of joy and gratitude openly sharing what he had been through and what Christ has done for him.
So, please join the Team Beyond (USA, CA or AU) Ride Team and raise awareness and funds to help IT – TEAM BEYOND – UGANDA (Tim & Angie Sliedrecht) provide Christ’s holistic love, spiritual counseling and the biblical worldview to:
- the TRAUMATIZED Ugandans who were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels to be hard laborers, soldiers and sex-slaves, and their families
- the unreached KARAMOJONG tribe who have been displaced and forced to live in camps by inter-clan fighting and by severe drought, famine and starvation
- click the Ride Location where you wish to ride
- click the REGISTER TO RIDE button on the left hand side
- click the SIGN UP button on the left hand side
- click the CREATE NEW ACCOUNT button
- select your Ride Location and click the CONTINUE button
- select I ACCEPT of the WAIVER and click the CONTINUE button
- select A TEAM MEMBER and click the CONTINUE button
- type TEAM BEYOND and click the SEARCH button
- select the TEAM BEYOND (USA, CA or AU) team
- click the JOIN THIS TEAM button
- fill-in all the details and continue through the registration process until complete
Be sure to invite your friends, colleagues, family, and fellow church members to Ride with you! The more Riders, the more awareness, attention, publicity, and funds are raised!
Let us know if you have any questions!
Gearing Up with You,
 Tim & Angie Sliedrecht
August 21 Our friend Stephan is trying to help children with disabilities. He asked us to visit Lazaro’s family with him in the village. Tim, along with David and Heather Breen, travelled one day to meet this family. What they found opened us up to a world, a deep sadness, that we hadn’t realized was happening in Soroti that we now cannot deny or turn away from. Lazaro is one of 13 children…one is blind and 4 have a genetic disorder that we think is Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) or “brittle bone disorder”. OI causes bones to break easily…often already in the womb and during birth causing the children to be deformed as the bones set in the wrong position. When parents are carriers of (OI) at least 25% of their children will have OI. Sadly, no one educated this family. What Tim, David and Heather saw that day was beyond words. Lazaro has OI. He is 18 months old and weighs less than 8 lbs. He is left alone in a dark hut all day. But what made the situation even more sad was that the day before the mother gave birth to another baby who also has OI. Lazaro would now surly be forgotten as the mother tended to the new baby. Tim immediately called Amecet (YWAM’s baby shelter for sick children) and they were willing to meet with the family and accept Lazaro into their care. Lazaro has now been at Amecet for 4 weeks. After one week he began to smile. Then he started playing with toys. Now he has the cutest little belly laugh! And all along he has steadily gained weight. He LOVES to eat! He is still far from sitting or even holding his head up, but there has been progress. Praise the Lord for Amecet! Please pray for Lazaro and his family! Please pray for us as we educate the family about OI and also family planning. Please pray for the many other children in Soroti with disabilities who are in similar situations as Lazaro…forgotten. This is Lazaro in the village when we first saw him…so malnourished  
This is a picture of the newly born sibling 
Sarah is 13 years old and also has OI 
And this is Lazaro now…gaining weight and so happy!  
August 05 On August 5, 2000, Tim and I said “I do” forever. What an amazing 9 years…we never imagined the journey God set us on! From our start in Grand Rapids for a year to 2 years of teaching in Ukraine to 1 year as house-parents in Nigeria to 1 year at seminary in the Netherlands to infertility to adopting Avalien to moving long-term to Uganda to adopting Moses and now embryo adoption! Whew, I am tired just writing all of that! Thank you Lord for blessing our 9 years! We can’t wait to see what the next 9 years bring!   
August 04 It is hard to believe that in less than 3 weeks we will be travelling to Michigan!! We are excited and anxious for the next step in this adventure! More than a year ago we were praying and exploring different adoption options for expanding our family. God clearly directed us to embryo adoption through Nightlight Christian Adoption Snowflake Program. In December we were matched with a beautiful family in California who have lovingly let us adopt their 4 precious embryos. We have been impatiently waiting to return to the States to begin the last steps in this process. And the time has finally come! We will begin meeting with the doctor the first week of September and then Angie will start meds/hormones to get her body prepared for the Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET). This is when 2 of the embryos will be transferred into Angie. We anticipate the FET to be done the beginning of October. Please pray for our continued peace of mind, for the financial burden of an adoption, for the travels and adjustment back to MI, for the successful thawing of the embryos, for the success of the Frozen Embryo Transfer resulting in pregnancy, for a “good” pregnancy, and most important that we continue to put our hope in our great God no matter the outcome! We know that God listens to your prayers!
Thank you for once again walking this adoption journey with us! 
August 03 Some of you may have heard about the accident that happened while our team was hiking in Sipi Falls. My sister, Mandy, did a great job of describing the days events in her blog… “July 22-- We had a great get-away last weekend. Our whole team drove to Mt. Elgon (near Mbale) to hike by the waterfalls and go camping. Since it was our first camping experience in Africa I thought it would be best to take a lot of people – safety in number or more to laugh with if it went bad. We piled in two vans and drove to Sipi Falls first. We went to hike by the second of three falls. It is always great to be up in the mountains where it is cool and beautiful. It only took about 10 minutes to get behind the falls where there is a small cave and a great view. Everyone was enjoying until…the accident happened. I won’t go into detail but Tim was helping another teammate get a vine to swing on when he slipped with the vine then fell about 8 to 10 feet down onto rock with Moses on his back. I cannot describe to you the horror of that moment. Almost everyone saw it happen but me. All I heard was screams. I didn’t know what I would look down and see. I kind of panicked. I made sure the kids where ok and stayed put then went to help Angie with Moses. Everyone on our team went into action! Sarah ran for any help she could find, Stephanie watched the girls, Heather held Luka, all the guys went to Tim, Rachel (a LPN) started treating what she could… I remember Tim moaning and saying something maybe about Moses. It was an awful scene. I guess Moses was unconscious for a minute. He had an instant goose egg on his head so we were really worried about him since the injury was to the head. He just cried and cried. Tim was in a lot of pain and in shock. They managed to get him to lay down and started cleaning his wounds. His shirt was torn and cell phone (which was on his hip) was smashed. I was so worried. I remember just calling on God’s name. Africa is not the place you want to get hurt. Where do you go for good help? We needed God! We began to make a plan. Get them to the hospital – now! Moses’ eye was beginning to swell shut and we were feeling the urgency to go. By some miracle Tim walked out from behind the falls and with great pain got into the van to go with Angie, Moses, and Josh to the hospital in Mbale (a 45 minute bumpy drive away). Tim was so upset by it all and worried about Moses. As they went the rest of us gathered around the picnic table to pray. There is so much peace in prayer. When we call on God’s name there is comfort and power. He always answers. We ended by calming our heart in song and worshiping our God in praise. I am so thankful for our team! Everyone helped, everyone cared, and together we went to God. I love them. It was a long afternoon. Although numb, the group decided to continue as planned to hike to the third falls. It was what Tim wanted them to do. Karen and I stayed back with the kids (at the lodge). Good thing too because it poured and got very muddy very quickly. All afternoon I got updates from the hospital from Josh or Angie. I also called home and told my sister, mom, and in-laws to start praying. What a blessing to have others cover you in prayer when you are unable to. The kids did great for the circumstances. Even Avalien, who usually doesn’t let her parents out of her sight, did great. God answered so many prayers even down to the little things. So, after the hike and a late lunch, we piled (on top of each other) into one van and drove to Sisyi Falls where we camped for the night. Grace got out of the van and said, "don't worry there aren't any vines here" - Amen! Amazingly, Josh, Angie, Tim and Moses also joined us there! Praise God! It was only by the work of God – a miracle! After a long day at several hospitals (questionable hospitals), the x-rays showed Moses’ head to be fine and no broken bones on Tim. Moses was back to himself and Tim was very sore with torn cartilage by the ribs but at least walking and with us. We were all so thankful and simply amazed at the miracle we just witnessed. God is good!” That day was probably the scariest day of Tim and my life. But God is SO GOOD and we put our complete hope and trust in Him--The Great Healer! I knew things would be okay when Moses looked up at me at the hospital and said “mom, I love you SOOOO much!” and when Tim started making casual conversation with another missionary waiting at the x-ray clinic. We praise God for Tim and Moses and God’s protection on their lives! Sweet Moses and his swollen shut eye…but still smiling! 
Our summer was FULL of short-termers and “vision-trippers” serving from 10 weeks to 3 weeks. What a blessing it was to have so many awesome, God-honoring young people here in Soroti! They blessed us with their encouragement, hard-work, thoughtful questions, love for the Ugandan people, deep conversations, jokes and laughter, amazing love for Moses and Avalien, and their desire to serve God in a difficult place! Thank you Amos, Stephanie, Rachel, Beckie, David, & Heather! 
July 23 
For the last 40 years, the Teso people
have undergone horrific suffering:
-
In the 1970s, they suffered under Idi Amin’s dictatorial regime of terror.
-
In 1979, when Idi Amin’s reign fell, the Karamojong warriors stole all the guns from Amin’s main weapons storage and have since tormented the Iteso other Karamojong clans by stealing all of their cattle, pillaging their villages, raping their women and killing their men, forcing them all into Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps.
-
Since its onset in the early-1980s in Uganda, more than 1.4 million people have died of HIV/AIDS resulting in Uganda having the highest proportion of AIDS orphans in the world (more than 2 million). Today, about 1 million people live with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
-
In the early 1990s, the Ugandan People’s Army (UPA) rebel group was formed in Teso. When they could not gain the support of their fellow tribesmen, they resorted to raiding, pillaging, beating, raping and even killing them.
-
On June 15, 2003, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels entered Teso and remained until early 2007 all the while killing thousands of people, forcing hundreds of thousands into IDP camps, and abducting hundreds of children to be hard-laborers, sex-slaves and soldiers.
-
In September/October 2007, heavy rains submerged much of Teso under water destroying its crops, houses and schools… causing people to lose everything they had and forcing them into the IDP camps… again.
-
Since the floods, there has been a major drought in Teso causing famine, malnutrition and starvation, with the majority of the population eating one meal or less a day.
With all this suffering, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and wonder how in the world you can help or make a difference…
WELL, NOW YOU CAN!
Gear Up, Raise Awareness and Resources, and Ride
(10, 25, 50, 75, or 100 km) (5, 15, 30, 45, or 60 miles)
-
setting up your own Ride Team (from your church, work, friends, family…young or old can ride) of at least 3 people that raise at least $1,000 for IT - Team Beyond - Uganda or
-
joining the Team Beyond Ride Team
$500 IN PRIZES WILL BE GIVEN to the Ride Team(s)
that raises the most money for IT - Team Beyond – Uganda
(does not apply to Team Beyond Ride Team)
Every Mile Matters
50% of what you raise will go towards providing Christ’s holistic love, spiritual counseling and the biblical worldview to:
-
the TRAUMATIZED Ugandans who were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels to be hard laborers, soldiers and sex-slaves, and their families
-
the unreached KARAMOJONG tribe who have been displaced and forced to live in camps by inter-clan fighting and by severe drought, famine and starvation
Other Ways to Gear Up:
-
volunteering at a Ride Location
-
giving to the Team Beyond Ride Team (or other Ride Team riding for IT - Team Beyond - Uganda), and
-
spreading the word and getting more people to ride for IT - Team Beyond – Uganda
FOR MORE INFORMATION,
July 16 It seems like only yesterday we took our 11 day old baby girl home. Avalien, you captured our hearts the moment we saw you. Now, four years later we celebrate you, who God has made you to be and anticipate how God will continue to work in your little life. We love you Avalien…your laugh, your crazy, whacky sense of humor, your bear hugs, your sense of adventure, love of outdoors and hiking, your determination to learn knew things (like writing your name!), your beautiful tender heart, and most of all your true and deep love for Jesus! HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY AVALIEN! Avalien was princess for a day!   Avalien LOVES her cousins Lydia & Grace… except when they are sneaking a taste of the frosting!   Moses LOVED Avalien’s “new” walkman! 
In Kampala we went to Didi’s World to celebrate  
|
Tools 
Help
