Inquiring Minds Want to Know

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. This evening I’m deep into the hate side of the equation. I guess that wonderfully written post, so thoughtfully crafted, was not meant to be seen. This post might be better, or perhaps worse, but I’m moving on.
Moving on. That’s what we’re trying to do. We knew when we were planning to come to Uganda there would be a time of transition. We hadn’t planned on unwanted visitors in the middle of the night as part of the transition, but many of life’s largest growth times come with the unplanned. So we are interested to see see how God is going to grow us.
A few mornings ago this was the verse on my daily calendar:

That is the image that is filling my mind, replacing the thoughts and images from the unwanted visitors.

The three questions that I am asked:

Question: What address should be used for mailing letters and packages
Answer: None. There is no reliable delivery/ mail service to Gulu. Even Amazon doesn’t deliver here.

Question: How are you managing without your prescription drugs?
Answer: The carryon suitcase stolen was found on the backside part of the property, contents intact.

Question: How can I make a financial contribution to replace items that were stolen.
Answer: A dear friend, Chasity Testa of The Grove Church, has put together a fundraising effort. It is posted on Facebook, but I’ll copy/paste the information here:


Friends! Prior to this post I have NEVER asked anyone to pull out their wallet and donate cash to anyone or any organization. Our dear friends , Jeff Weinstein and Yvonne Weinstein left the comfort of their life in California to live for a year in Gulu, Uganda. They expected to love on, teach and empower the citizens in their village and surrounding villages.

What you will read is that after just a few days there, they were burglarized while they slept. It is still unclear as to how this happened. It appears as though someone they trusted, set them up. I know that I could be writing about two missionaries that were murdered here and I am so grateful this is not the case.

The reality is that everything of value, including a cochlear implant processor($4500), all of their medicine for a year, all of their cash, credit cards and literally everything of value was stolen from them. THE WEINSTEINS ARE STAYING in Uganda. They will take what the enemy intended to harm them and turn into good.

There are two ways you can donate: You can send your donation to me (ANY AMOUNT) and I will combine all together and take to The Grove Community Church and it will be wired directly to them and you will be provided a receipt for tax purposes or you can go to the following link :

http://harvestallianceintl.org/contact/

This will send the money directly to their account (MUST MENTION WEINSTEIN) as well and will also provide a tax deductible donation. Will you help me love on this family that has just suffered immeasurable loss. I cannot imagine the defeat they felt as they begin their life in a foreign land. I am free to answer ANY and all questions that you may have. I RAISE A HALLELUJAH EVEN IN THE MYSTERY!

Things that Go Bump in the Night

We arrived in Entebbe after 22 hours of flying, as scheduled, and had a rather uneventful 7 hour drive to Gulu. Little did we know that things would become eventful in an unwanted way before too much time went by.

Even though it was late in the day, we were greeted by a couple from Gulu Bible Community Church who gave us a warm welcome and a tour of our new house. Since it was not furnished, we spent the first few days in a hotel in Gulu. We purchased the bare minimum of furniture: beds for 2 of the rooms, 10  plastic patio chairs, and a few kitchen supplies such as dishes and cups. We were beginning to unpack the suitcases and incredibly large duffle bags; Shirley describes them as large enough to put a body in. Thoughts of the many people who had contributed sewing items and money to make this trip a reality warmed my heart. Although we so far from making this house a home, it felt natural to be here. 

Unfortunately, something happened to make us feel very uncomfortable and insecure in our house. We were asleep the night of August 21 when we were awakened at approximately 3:00 a.m. by the sounds of men shouting and fighting outside. Jeff ran into the living room to see the front doors wide open. He called out for me, concerned that I might be outside. I ran up to him and saw that the strong padlock we carefully use each night to secure the front door was missing. We ran into the hallway leading to the bedrooms, locking the hallway door behind us. On the way to our bedroom at the end of the hall, we woke up Shirley. We three locked ourselves into the unlit bedroom, armed with the only things at hand: a can of mousse and a spray bottle of DEET.

By this time, things had grown quiet outside. Jeff peered around the window and saw someone with a bow and arrow. He whispered to me to phone Robert, our faithful friend and driver for long distance travel. “Robert, please come! There were men shouting and arguing, Jeff saw someone with a bow and arrow, and we don’t know where our guard is”. It took about 10 minutes for Robert to arrive.  He ascertained that no one was on our property, then knocked on our front door.  “Baba Jeff and Momma Yvonne, it’s safe to come out” were some of the most beautiful words ever spoken.

We turned on all the lights in the house and found that someone had gone into every room of the house, taking everything of value. The mini photo printer- taken from the kitchen counter. My MacBook Pro - taken in its case from the living room. Shirley's backpack was missing. And from our bedroom they took a number of items. A quilted case containing external USB drives which had been right next to my head. My purse. A large suitcase partially unpacked. A carry on suitcase with prescription bottles  needed for a year, and the meter for measuring the INR of my blood. All gone. 

And all then cash we had on hand was gone. Poof!  Just like that. 

And it slowly dawned on me, My purse contained not only cash, my passport and credit cards, but my $4500 sound processor which allows me to hear from my deaf side. 

The guard was in the guard house adjacent to the only entrance to the property. 

Robert and the guard walked the property, and came to the gazebo which had been designed to look like a hut. From the outside looking in, Jeff and Robert could see many of our belongings thrown around.  For example, all of the contents of the large suitcase from our bedroom were dumped out and rifled through.

Robert went to the police station and paid for the police to come out to do an investigation. When the sun rose, he went back to pickup the officers He also picked up a police dog and handler. Fingerprints were taken from any flat surfaces. When we were allowed to retrieve belongings from the crime scene, we found that Shirley’s backpack was untouched except for her share of the cash she was carrying, Jeff’s backpack was gone - except that his passport had been taken out and left behind on the floor.  My computer was taken, as were my USB backup drives. And my purse was gone, including all of its contents.
People from the church were called early on and began showing up to lend us support. Tim Cypher, another missionary located in Gulu, heard and came with coffee and muffins. We were surrounded by loving and caring people throughout the day.
Later that day Jeff and Robert were called to the police station to give their statements. The security guard and his friend were arrested as the prime suspects.

It has been an odd week, with the security guard and friend being bailed out by the landlord, who began pointing his finger at Robert as the criminal. The investigation is still ongoing. There is little hope that we will recover our money and possessions.

We still have many unanswered questions.
How did the thugs get the key to our front door padlock?
How did all three of us sleep through the activity of people going through the house carrying things. And what about the large number of the things that were taken from our room? That must have taken some time. One theory is that they used some sort of gas to put us into a sound sleep.
Where was the guard during the time they broke into our house, removed our belongings, and went through our possession?. What didn’t he check on our safety after allegedly chasing off the thieves?

What have we learned from this?

1) We have a lot of love and support in Uganda. We are so far from home, but they have helped carry us through.
2) The Grove, our home church, has some incredibly loving and dedicated people in the Outreach Department. They worked round the clock to make sure we knew they were backing us.
3) We have a strong network of caring friends in the U.S.  They are a steady source of strength for us.
4) Satan would like for us to go back to Riverside. Between this and the equally upsetting challenge that was occurring back at our home on Monterey Rd, we feel strongly that we need to finish our work in Uganda.
5) We praise God that we did not wake up during the robbery and face physical harm. He is good.

Things that go bump in the night....

We arrived in Entebbe after 22 hours of flying, as scheduled, and had a rather uneventful 7 hour drive to Gulu. Little did we know that things would become eventful in an unwanted way before too much time went by.

Even though it was late in the day, we were greeted by a couple from Gulu Bible Community Church who gave us a warm welcome and a tour of our new house. Since it was not furnished, we spent the first few days in a hotel in Gulu. We purchased the bare minimum of furniture: beds for 2 of the rooms, 10  plastic patio chairs, and a few kitchen supplies such as dishes and cups. We were beginning to unpack the suitcases and incredibly large duffle bags; Shirley describes them as large enough to put a body in. Thoughts of the many people who had contributed sewing items and money to make this trip a reality warmed my heart. Although we so far from making this house a home, it felt natural to be here. 

Unfortunately, something happened to make us feel very uncomfortable and insecure in our house. We were asleep the night of August 21 when we were awakened at approximately 3:00 a.m. by the sounds of men shouting and fighting outside. Jeff ran into the living room to see the front doors wide open. He called out for me, concerned that I might be outside. I ran up to him and saw that the strong padlock we carefully use each night to secure the front door was missing. We ran into the hallway leading to the bedrooms, locking the hallway door behind us. On the way to our bedroom at the end of the hall, we woke up Shirley. We three locked ourselves into the unlit bedroom, armed with the only things at hand: a can of mousse and a spray bottle of DEET.

By this time, things had grown quiet outside. Jeff peered around the window and saw someone with a bow and arrow. He whispered to phone Robert, our faithfully friend and driver for long distance travel. “Robert, please come! There were men shouting and arguing, Jeff saw someone with a bow and arrow, and we don’t know where our guard is”. It took about 10 minutes for Robert to arrive.  He ascertained that no one was on our property, then knocked on our front door.  “Baba Jeff and Momma Yvonne, it’s safe to come out” were some of the most beautiful words ever spoken.dibly

We turned on all the lights in the house and found that someone had gone into every room of the house, taking everything of value. The mini photo printer- taken from the kitchen counter. My MacBook Pro - taken in its case from the living room. Shirley's backpack was missing. And from our bedroom they took a number of items. A quilted case containing external USB drives which had been right next to n bottles  needed for a year, and the meter for measuring the INR of my blood. All gone. 

And all then cash we had on hand was gone. Poof!  Just like that. 

And it slowly dawned on me, My purse contained not only cash, my passport and credit cards, but my $4500 sound processor which allows me to hear from my deaf side. 

The guard was in the guard house adjacent to the only entrance to the property. 

Robert and the guard walked the property, and came to the gazebo which had been designed to look like a hut. From the outside looking in, Jeff and Robert could see many of our belongings thrown around.  For example, all of the contents of the large suitcase from our bedroom were dumped out and rifled through.

Robert went to the police station and paid for the police to come out to do an investigation. When the sun rose, he went back to pickup the officers He also picked up a police dog and handler. Fingerprints were taken from any flat surfaces. When we were allowed to retrieve belongings from the crime scene, we found that Shirley’s backpack was untouched except for her share of the cash she was carrying, Jeff’s backpack was gone - except that his passport had been taken out and left behind on the floor.  My computer was taken, as were my USB backup drives. And my purse was gone, including all of its contents.
People from the church were called early on and began showing up to lend us support. Tim Cypher, another missionary located in Gulu, heard and came with coffee and muffins. We were surrounded by loving and caring people throughout the day.
Later that day Jeff and Robert were called to the police station to give their statements. The security guard and his friend were arrested as the prime suspects.
It has been an odd week, with the security guard and friend being bailed out by the landlord, who began pointing his finger at Robert as the criminal. The investigation is still ongoing. There is little hope that we will recover our money and possessions.


We still have many unanswered questions.
How did the thugs get the key to our front door padlock?
How did all three of us sleep through the activity of people going through the house carrying things. And what about the large number of the things that were taken from our room? That must have taken some time. One theory is that they used some sort of gas to put us into a sound sleep.
Where was the guard during the time they broke into our house, removed our belongings, and went through our possession?. What didn’t he check on our safety after allegedly chasing off the thieves?


What have we learned from this?

1) We have a lot of love and support in Uganda. We are so far from home, but they have helped carry us through.
2) The Grove, our home church, has some incredibly loving and dedicated people in the Outreach Department. They worked round the clock to make sure we knew they were backing us.
3) We have a strong network of caring friends in the U.S.  They have maintained a steady source of strength for us.
4)

Overwhelmed by love in the form of jewelry (no, this is not about Jeff)

This is a picture of the people who cheerfully greet each other first thing in the morning every day, scantily clothed no matter the weather. A nicer, more friendly group one would be hard pressed to find! They are my buddies in water aerobics class. We meet 6 days a week in the outdoor pool in Shamel Park, rain or shine, wind or calm. After a cold winter in a pool with wind and rain, it is no wonder we have formed a special bond. 

When Nina, our teacher, asked what the class could do to help us, I asked if they would be willing to donate any unwanted costume jewelry for use in a project that I have planned. And so began the daily showering of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. All colors of the rainbow. All styles. My friends brought over 400 pieces of jewelry! There will be many smiles in Uganda because of their generosity. 

I am going to miss the water and the exercise. Most of all, I will miss my friends who are so generous.

P.S. If you are in the Riverside area and are looking for a way to work out and a place to meet some mighty nice people, try Water Aerobics by Nina 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/790135004402393/

Definition of generous

Definition of generous

a. characterized by a noble or kindly spirit : MAGNANIMOUS, KINDLY; a generous heart

b. Ladies of the Raincross Quilt Guild

I went to my last meeting of the Raincross Quilt Guild http://raincrossquiltguild.blogspot.com/ a couple of weeks ago and was overwhelmed by the generosity shown to me. My guild friends kept stopping by where I was sitting and handing me boxes and bags of sewing supplies to take to Uganda. They gave me notes of encouragement. And I can't forget the cash (a total of $410) that people kept handing me to purchase anything else needed. Friends. Generous.