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Hello everyone
Grettings from Washington DC! We arrived here yesterday evening after a nights stay in London. God even blessed out plane rides home. Our flight from Ugandda was practically empty, only 37 people on a Boeing 737. On our flight from London we were bumped up from coach to business class! We couldn't believe it, we thought it was a mistake or something. It has been quite a journey already beginning to adjust to American culture. Please pray for us as we go through this 'reverse culture shock'. We are elated for the grace God has poured out on us these five months. We are traveling back to WV sometime today and are very excited to see more family and friends. I will send out an update in just a few more days.

Prayer:
1. As we readjust to American culture
2. As our bodies adjust to the time change.
3. For safety as we travel the next couple weeks.
4. To be able to process and communicate the mains things GOd has taught us these five months.

4tg,
Mike (Rachel)

At Musana Camps (A New Hope Ministry)

Prayer

Hello everyone, I hope that Spring is finding you well. Rachel and I are excited to come back to the beautiful season full of beautiful colors and fresh smells. We are wrapping things up here over the next week and a half so we would like for you to pray for us concerning several things:

- That we will be able to finish well
- That we will fully take in every minute we have left here
- For our family group: We have had three boys leave over the past two months, also we are praying about taking one of the children on financially.
- For us to plan how we will implement what we have learned through our training and experience here when we return.
-For us to find an apartment in Charleston quickly when we return

4tg,
Michael

So what is a man or woman anyway?

Rachel and I are part of a group that is writing a curriculum of sorts for parents to use to teach their children to become mature men and women. Check out these definitions of manhood and womanhood:
‘At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships.” – John Piper
‘At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to the differing relationships.’ – John Piper
These are not exhaustive definitions, instead these are at least what the definitions of manhood and womanhood should be. To get a fuller definition see John Piper's "Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood'.
So how in the world does one go about teaching their child to become a biblical man and woman?
That is the question we are seeking to provide an answer for. An answer that is not as ambiguous as saying 'just teach the Bible'.
But before we share any of this we first need to say that this teaching begins with the parents.
We need:
Purpose: We have a clear vision and zealous pursuit of what we as men and women are called to be.
Responsibility: Are you willing to bear the burden, or shame of poor decisions, willing to lay down your life for this most important pursuit?
Accountability: Paramount for keeping the first two, namely making decisions in the presence of others.
Itegrity: How you conduct your life, in finances, faithfulness, speech, how you spend time, not hypocritical
Servanthood: Committed to die to self, no passivity, not authoritarian, live outside yourself, gospel centered
Example: In weakness, need, and success, willing to lead other men, women, boys and girls in a life of repentance and faith. You are an example.

White Water Rafting

During our mid-term break we got the opportunity to go white water rafting on the Nile! Rachel and I were game but most of the others were not until we talked them into it. Part of the fear came from knowing that we would have to raft down Bujugali Falls, a class 5 rapid and would usually mean your boat will flip over. It would be a chance of a life-time.
There were seven of us so we got our own raft. Our guide was native Ugandan and had spent most of his life on the Nile, he knew the water well. Only a few of us had been rafting before so we had to go through all the basics of rafting before we set out on the adventure. On our first training rapid our boat flipped and half of us fell into the water. It wasn't looking good for us from the start. We made it through our first class 4 rapid just fine losing only our guide but on the first class 5 we flipped completely over. The next few rapids we handled like pros but on the next class 5 not all of us came out unscathed. After we came out of the rapid we were congratulating each other but noticed that our guide's mouth was bloody, his tooth hanging by a thread, and his oar broken in two. All the girls sceamed and could not look at him. He was dazed, and couldn't talk but just moan. We were headed straight for Bujugali Falls! So how did this happen to the guide? Well, he got his oar stuck between rocks and it snapped, the bunt of it hitting him directly in the mouth, almost knocking him completelty out. So we paddled the raft to the side and got the attention of a medic. Once he was checked out he decided to stay and guide through to the end. Josh and I were at the front of the boat, Rachel behind me as I could see the Falls approaching. My adrenaline began to rush as our raft picked up speed, I could see the water dropping and hear water crashing against rocks. All the sudden Our boat was straight up end to end crashing into the water. Josh and I grabbed the front of the raft and pulled up hard and held onto the sides so as to not let it flip over. Josh started to fly out but we grabbed him before he fell into the water. Then it was calm. We made it through Bujugali Falls without flipping or losing a rafter. other rafters were not so lucky. One guy was rescued from the eddies at the bottom of the Falls and we took him in our raft. He was so frightened, he almost drowned. At the end the trip we stopped at an island in the river and had cold cut sandwiches, something we had not had since we left the States.

Last call for COFFEE

As you already know we will be coming home next month! We have had many people interested in buying a pound of coffee to support some of the students here at New Hope, but we have only received money from a select few!

It is $7 for 1 lb. bag. We need to let them know how much we want to take home so that they can make sure they have enough roasted and bagged before we leave! We need the money from you before we purchase the coffee, so if you seriously want to help support the students email us and we will get you the information you need to pay for it, then we will bring it back for you!

Please email and let us know no later than Sunday April 25. :o)

Subunye Dan

This month has gone by way too fast! It was filled with so many wonderful and hard things.

So first of all the month began with one of our sons, Subunye Dan, running away after a Monday night devotion. He has been here at New Hope for the past five years, he is 12. I would have to say that he imobies the 'orphan heart'. When we first became a part of the family he would just stare at me with an expressionless face, was very cold to touch or even to the exchange of a simple greeting. Then he ran away just a few days later but was found in the streets of a nearby town. After a few weeks of working with the children in the garden, playing game with them, just showing love to them, and sharing God's Word with them Subunye began to warm up to me. In fact, he shared a piece of his jackfruit with me and would often come to greet me with a hug and a smile. Then there would be times where he would be very cold and nothing I did could get him to warm up to me. On one occasion I came to work with the children in the garden after school and they were eating jackfruit. Subunye had about half a jackfruit to himself, another boy had the other half. Three little girls, his sisters, asked him for a piece of his fruit but he snarled at them and hit them away. The other boy immediately took his jackfruit and cut it into equal parts for each to have. At that moment I could tell Subunye has some deep wounds from living life on the streets of Kampala for so long beginning as a 4 year old. I'm sure there is more to his story but here is what Subunye told me himself. Subunye hit the streets at the ripe young age of 4, sometime after his mother died. Perhaps he got lost one day and never found his home. He doesn't quite remember. All he knows is that he took to living on the streets which untold injustices happened to him. Until one day God brought him to New Hope Uganda when he was becoming too much a problem to police. It is extremely difficult for a street kid to come back to living in a family after being so used to a survival 'me' centered life. Much counseling, time, and love has been poured into Subunye by many people. However, Subunye kept hitting the streets when he would get in trouble for stealing or not doing his work, etc. This month alone he ran away twice which basically became the last straw. New Hope does not keep kids here against their will so they became destined to discover his relatives. This week they took Subunye to Kampala to drive him around where some of his relatives could possibly live. On the last leg of the trip Subunye saw a Petroil station he recognized and a street. They pulled up to the gas station and three men sitting on a bench outside the station recognized Subunye but by another name and he remembered them. Then they called another man over and this man was none other than the best friend of Subunye's dad! Yeah, that's right, Subunye's dad is still alive and is a believer! The man took them to Subunye's Auntie and the next day he was reunited with his dad, who is remarried. WOW! I am blown away by this story every time I think about it. It reminds me of one of those old Disney movies like Fivel or something. I love and miss Subunye and I will never forget the bond we had and how he showed me around the forest here at New Hope, showed me all about the oxen, and many other things. But overall I am greatly pleased that he is back with his dad and in a family. It won't be easy for him at all to readjust to living in his family. So please pray for him, pray that God would redeem this boy for His Glory.