First and Second day in Sudan

Hi everyone, We made it to Sudan two day ago and hit the ground running! Our first we went to a village called Lakamadi. It was at lest 30kilometer away. This village was a herding village with many cows, goats and chickens. We got to the village and spent the day there ministering God's love in many ways. We started off by deworming the cows along with ticks sprays and anitbiotic injections to regain the health of the cattle. So many of these animals have deseases that are easily treatable in the states. Here they cannot treat them and so the animals gets sick and sometimes sickness is transferred from the animals to the people. We take so much for granted back home. We saw 30 cows total! We taught cattle education and training to teach about the diseases and how to prevent them. They were taught symptoms and care. We spent a lot of time getting to know these people and we were so loved for coming to their village. We shared Christ with them and about 15 or more people gave their hearts to Christ! Even though we came to bless them, they in turn, have blessed us. They are so wonderfully kind and loving.

On the way there and back, we saw the rocks along the side of the road that were painted red and white. When we asked the driver about the rocks, he explained that they were to notify people walking in the bussh that there were landmines by the rocks.

The people here have been through so much and their live after the war is still suffering. While we were healing the cattle, we investigated a big gathering further down. It was a building that held several UN humanitarian relief bags. When we spoke to the chief officer there, they told us that this was not food, but only seeds. These people are starving and have no food! The only thing they have was hope. Hope in Christ and hope that the rain will come soon. See, the seeds will produce food, but with no rain there is no food. If that wasn't heartbreaking enough, they only had enough seeds for 400 people and there were thousands there that needed the hope of food as well. A sacrifice of a cup of coffee could mean food, health and life for a family in Southern Sudan. Could not a meal be sacrificed for our brothers and sisters in Southern Sudan? How far could that go, very far.

Day 2
We got up early and went to the village of Lozoh. We saw at least 35 cows at this first stop. We could have done more, but we didn't have enough people to help at this stop. Because there were not enough people to help, Paul had to step in as our full time cowboy. He wrestled cows all day so we could administer the medicines so desperately needed. From this point, we left the comfort of the really bumpy road to a really, really, bumpy road that was not even a road. It was a footpath! We were driving on that footpath for at least an hour! So we packed up and went to Boma, a local cattle camp, and we worked on 20 cows. The camps was surrounded by a corral made of branches and stuff which didn't help when the cows got tired of us. They would either go through the branch-pile fence or the smaller cows would go under the more open sided fence!

Then when we were done we went to another village in the Lozah area where we did education on cattle care. We used illustrations and explainations to education the people on better care of their cattle as well as the diseases that can come from things like ticks. Doris, a veterinary officer and the administrater of Lozoh were on hand during the training. Afterwards Larry spoke to the people about why were were here, to share the love of Jesus. It was a great day in the Lord!

Keep praying for us, lives are changing, cattle are being healed, lives are being given to Christ and we are only in day 2!

Important News!

It is an exciting time at FCM! A mission team just returned from a life-changing trip in Uganda. If you haven't read their blog entries yet, you've missed out! They ministered to so many- meeting medical needs, showing love to children who were desperate for it, and teaching classes on how to purify water. Most importantly, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ was shared! "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News!"

Another mission team leaves for Sudan tomorrow. You can read more about their trip here in the Opelika-Auburn News. This is primarily a team of vets going to vaccinate, de-worm, and treat sick cattle, sheep and goats. They'll be ministering out of the local churches in Mundri and Lui, Sudan. Please keep them in your prayers as they fly out tomorrow and return May 4.

FCM is hosting a jewelry party in Auburn tomorrow night at 7. The jewelry was made by Uganda women who are trying to develop skills that will help them provide for their families. It's beautiful and would make a great Mother's Day gift! If you're interested in attending tomorrow night's party or hosting your own jewelry party, contact Joy at joy@4cornersministries.org for more information.

Stay tuned for blog entries from the Sudan team, and please remember to keep them in your prayers!

This Day in Katusa

The drive to Katusa is 25 miles outside of the city of Kampala. However, today, 25 miles was one hour long! We greeted the day with very much traffic, their rush hour, so to speak. One cannot get used to riding on the "wrong side of the road". You are continuously thinking that you are about to wreck, but no wrecks for us! Everywhere there are motorcycle taxis, called "border-border"s. We have seen them carry three passengers plus the driver. We have seen them carry 8-10 mattresses. Once we saw one carrying a 300 pound hog tied onto it! It is amazing what they can get on a motorcycle here!
The church at Katusa was planted by Nelson Kysooka, who founded Grace Fellowship Ministries. We work with them here in Kampala. We were the first mission team to come to Katusa. Katusa was very green with lush vegetation. They have the avocado tree, the mango tree, the papaya tree, the jack-fruit tree, the banana tree, the coffee bean bush. There are little mounds of potatoes growing everywhere. But, there is not much clean water, and many children were very sick because of this. They are not educated about the importance of clean water or eating nutritious diets. Our team gave them demonstrations on how to purify water using the sun's rays. Many came for this technology. This should improve the quality of life for these precious people.
The doctors and our pharmacist saw over 160 patients today. They saw malaria, ulcers,worms. One man came with a very bad looking wound on his leg. It was the size of a baseball. He said that he had been bitten by a dog...2 YEARS AGO! The doctor said the only hope for this man is if he follows doctor's orders about the care of the wound and also takes his medicine. We pray for this man. He is probably at least 65 years old.
We played with the children, and there were many! We played soccer, baseball, blew bubbles, hit the beachball around, painted faces, and gave hugs. We looked into the eyes of these children and saw pain, suffering, and thankfulness. But they gave us many smiles!
When we left, the children lined the road as we boarded the bus. We gave them our few left-over peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches. They were wrapped in aluminum foil, so they had no idea what they were getting, but they wanted them! We waved and waved and took many pictures. I hope to come back here again. They need us, but they have blessed me.

Sherry Sprayberry
Team member

Day One in Kampala

Well we got started this morning and drove down to the Slum area of Kampala. It was very eye opening to us to see all those people living in what look like sheds. You can not imagine the conditions they live in. Pictures don't do it justice, you need to smell it for yourself! We then Got to Pastor Nelsons church and he shared his testimony with us and how God gave him a vision for this area. The Children were just wanting someone to love on them. Every time we turned around there were Kids hanging on our legs and wanting us to pick them up. Mary Paige and Abbey had the kids really attaching to them and wanting them to hold them and hold their hands. Jeff and I needed some old tires, cans, and some empty plastic bottles for our Urban gardens and Water purification classes. The kids were our biggest help! They ran off and came back with everything we needed. We had some large crowds for both the Urban Garden and Water Purification Class. They had many questions and seemed to really like it. We then went up to the Medical clinic where Josh, Eric, and Amy had people lined up to get medicine. We left there and went to the Boys Home and I shared with them about the power bracelets and what each of the beads meant. We gave them all a bracelet if they could tell us what the beads meant and they all could! We also had a coloring station, making puppets station, and face painting station. Abbey and Mary Paige did a great job painting faces. The boys really enjoyed coloring and were very good at it. As we left to come back to the hotel, the boys lined the fence and waved good-bye. It was such a blessing for me to watch my children love on these little kids no matter what they looked like, what they were wearing, or how they smelled. I am so thankful that God allowed us to come have this experience as a family. Matt Armbruster

We Made It!!!

After 18 hours of flight time, multiple lines consisting of people from all over the world, and a few McDonald's Double Cheeseburger's we have made it to Kampala, Uganda. For many members of this team, it is our first trip to Africa and for that matter our first trip to the third world. As we drove in the dark for 45 minutes from the Entebbe Airport to our hotel in Uganda it was glaringly evident that this county is in need of some of the basics we as Americans take for granted each day. Please be in prayer for our team as we begin our different areas of ministry to a people that more than anything need the hope that comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Africa Bound!

There are many exciting things going on at FCM these days. One of which is a mission trip to Uganda. Tripp leaves today and the team will be headed out on Thursday. This team will be doing some medical work and some life-skills training. Please be praying that all travels go well, that everyone arrives safely and stays healthy, and that ultimately, God would receive glory from all that is done. Jesus calls us to preach the gospel to the nations, but He also calls us to minister to their physical needs as well. Jesus demonstrated His love for us, and He calls us to do the same. Our prayer is that through the work that is done in Uganda this week, many will come to know the simple truth of the gospel- Christ died for us to save us from our sins.

Here are the team members' names. Be praying for them!
Jeff and Amy Jacobs
Josh Meigs
Eric Blackman
Josh Jacobs
Matt and Tara Armbruster and their 2 girls
Jimmy and Sherry Sprayberry
Tripp Skipper

Be on the lookout for updates from Tripp and the team!