Africa 2009

Brian here....So I'm coming out of the dark ages. In the last seven days I've joined face book and have now entered the blog world by creating thehayspost.blogspot.com!!!

I recently had the opportunity to go to Africa with a group of guys from our church in Dallas, TX...Watermark Community Church. We visited villages in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. It was great to see the people, places and projects WCC is investing in with our partners at ALARM.

A snapshot of what God had in store for me.....I didn't quite know what to expect but let's just say I wasn't prepared for the conditions I would see. God showed me numerous things that I take for granted...clean water to drink, indoor plumbing, electricity just to name a few. What really stood out to me though was that in the midst of these conditions, the African people proved to be the most grateful people I have ever seen. I don't recall hearing a single complaint from them during the entire trip.

It was extremely convicting for me to observe these things and really search my heart before God and recognize the lack of appreciation that I have for the blessings in my life! In addition, God allowed me to see greater depths of my struggle with pride and my need to control the circumstances in my life. The first couple of nights I was overcome with anxiety for what would come over the next 10 days, the safety of our team, the safety of my family that was 10,000 miles away. As a believer who is supposed to be mature in my walk, why wasn't my immediate response to take my cares to God ....Philippians 4:6-7? Why do I follow my prideful heart and try to convince myself that I have all the answers???

I pray that these impressions will not be quick to leave my conscience!!! I'm thankful that we serve a God that loves us enough to let us see our own flaws. In 2009, I pray that God will continue to change my tendency to turn to myself as opposed to an all knowing, all loving, all powerful God who loves me, my family, the African people and all of humanity more than any of us could comprehend!

The Team:

Chip Koons, me, Dennis Weinmann,

Jay Reinke and Mark Girtz

Chip Koons, reviewing the master plan for the technical school and conference facility WCC and ALARM are partnering to build.

The guard shack on the WCC property in Pader, under construction

Dennis Weinmann, pumping away at the WCC well in Pader, Uganda

"Sponsored by Watermark" signature on the well WCC invested in Pader.

We were received with great excitement at the widows camp in Gulu, Uganda. Many of the women are infected with HIV/AIDS and are joyful beyond words. It means a great deal to them any time groups visit them as it lets them know they are not forgotten.

A picture of the participants being taught at the leadership conference we held in Juba, Sudan.

The street, littered with trash, right outside of the building where our leadership conference was held in Juba. Much of the city looked this way.

A picture of a beautiful child on his mother's back at the children's hospital in Juba. Hospital from an American standard is certainly a loose term. The halls were littered with goat feces and needles were laying on the ground.

A quarry in Kampala, Uganda. With the help of

WCC, Widows have been able to leave their job at the quarry to make bead necklaces out of old magazines. A days labor at the quarry would yield about 50 cents in wages.

One of the widows rolling a bead around a needle.

Some of the widows can produce 900 beads in a day. It takes anywhere from 20 to 40 beads to make a necklace. As more markets for beads to be sold are created, more widows can leave their jobs in the quarry to make beads.