I know I keep saying this, but this was another wonderful day with the Santiam Christian School kids in Uganda. Today was designated as a work day where we would do our best to serve the Uganda people as much as possible.

The day started off with some of the girls washing, rinsing and hanging all of the children’s clothes by hand. Doing laundry for a family of 4 can be a tough job with a washer and dryer. Try doing it by hand for with no tools for nearly 60 people every day! Some of the team also made several trips to fetched water for the home. They worked so hard and with such joy. The workers were blessed and impressed at their abilities and their desire to serve the staff at Hope Children’s Home.

While the clothes were being washed others scrubbed the floors of the home with only a rag and a bucket of dirty water. What a challenge. I think all of them, including the ones who washed the clothes will probably be feeling it in the morning.

The boys took a trip into the town to buy lumber to build some shelving for the kitchen. Jeremy waded through a swamp to locate some cement blocks to use in the project. When they returned we found out that they had purchased some very high quality Ugandan wood. It is similar to Mahogany. I can be sure that they now have some of the highest quality, most sturdy shelves in Gganda Village!

Some of us hiked into the village where we came to a plot where we would make bricks. The process involved using hoes and pick axes to move dirt, mix it with water and then step in it to mix it all together! Needless to say, we were all very muddy during this time of service. We would take a large handful of mud and toss it into a mold. You would then slide the mold off of the table and bring it to a place to slide it out of the mold onto the ground. Let’s just say that it is harder than it looks! However, we had a great time! I am also sure that none of us would be able to make a living in this field of work!

Another group of us took to the streets with pick axes, shovels and hoes and a wheel barrow. They walked about a mile to a part of the road that was full of very deep holes. They proceeded to destroy a 7 foot high termite mound and use the mud from that huge mound to wheel barrow into the holes. They filled the larger holes with bricks, covered it with dirt and smoothed out the road. The people in the village were amazed at this act of kindness. This was a very strenuous task, but everyone kept smiles on their faces and positive attitudes throughout the project. They were just glad to serve.

I think a good summary of our work time was expressed by some local people in the village. They told us that they know that we love them because of all of the work that we had done. They told us "we thought all Americans were lazy but we showed them that we were able, willing and interested in working with them to improve their lives." That is a testimony and a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives.