Dreams Realized

Greetings from Uganda!

It has been a long while since I have sent out an update about what we have been up too. I am sorry I haven’t been the best at communicating but God is so good and He is doing amazing things! Can you believe that I have been in Uganda now for almost 5 months? It is so crazy to believe!

Dreams Awakened:

God is truly doing some amazing things here in Uganda and in my life! I know I am right where I am supposed to be! It is an amazing feeling-when you know you are doing what you were created to do! Living here, I feel like I have come alive and have been awakened to the plans and purposes for my life. That is exactly our heart at SMI- for everyone that comes to the Field of Dreams to experience more of God, their dreams would be realized and purpose would be discovered! The funny thing is that’s exactly what is happening in my own life!

God is starting to pull out dreams and desires that were inside of me that I didn’t even know I had. Or many dreams that I had but never thought I would do anything with. For example, I always wanted to be a preschool teacher and now I am here working in the schools and helping the kids with their English, numbers and reading.

Loving the People of Uganda:

We just had a team come from all over, that was organized by Bethel Church in Redding, California. The two weeks they were here, were off the charts! We did many outreaches such as: street ministry in downtown Kampala, visited a couple hospitals and prayed for the sick, village outreach and handed out blankets and mosquito nets, gathered the youth in the village and preached the gospel, held our very first crusade and continued our weekly programs such as working in the schools and our “Say No to Hunger” feeding program.   

We saw countless of healings and salvations on the streets, in the hospitals, and in the villages. So many people were loved, encouraged and encountered Jesus for the very first time! It was so awesome having a team to help us break in this area a little further, not only in the natural but in the spiritual as well.  

Our First Crusade:

I absolutely loved the crusade! I have always wanted to do a crusade in Africa so I was so excited that I got to be a part.  I loved how it brought so much unity here in the village. So many different churches were represented and came together to help put this crusade on. The village just feels so much more open to us now and what SMI is doing. I am so excited to see all the fruit that is going to come from this one event!

God touched so many lives! Many were saved, healed and delivered but my favorite miracle was this young girl who got completely healed!  All the villagers knew her, she was lame, couldn’t walk, and her feet were twisted. God touched her body and she began to walk!!! We brought her up on stage and as she walked back and forth, her feet started to straighten out and she started walking faster. The best part was seeing the huge smile on her face as she was walking! Her sister testified that she had never seen her sister walk like that before! Yay Jesus!! J

Experiencing His Love:

While the team was here, I encountered God’s love like never before. He touched the very core of my being and awakened me in a new way! I feel so alive in Him and I feel like I am finally coming into who He has created me to be! I feel like I received so many breakthroughs and now I can see clearer and farther for more of what God has in store for me.

Promises Fulfilled:

As a result of all that God is doing in my heart and in my life, He is fulfilling so many promises He has given me and in ways I wouldn’t expect it. For example, I always wanted to preach at an open air crusade and the last night of the crusade I had the opportunity to share briefly what God put on my heart! It felt so amazing to be up there on stage and see all the faces and to testify of God’s goodness. Afterwards I knew this was just a taste for what is to come!

Also, God has given me a desire to encourage and prophesy over His people around the world. It’s been so awesome how I am here in Uganda and God has sent so many people to us from all different nations and he is using me to speak into their lives. Sometimes the way God fulfills your promises is way different than you had thought or imagined but He is always so faithful to fulfill them!

Thank You:

The time I have been here in Africa, has really been a training ground for me. God is truly shaping me into the fullness of what I am created to be. I am being stretched and challenged but ultimately I am growing as a daughter, a leader and a well-rounded person.  I love what God is doing in me and so many around me. Living life with Jesus is so rewarding and exciting!

I want to say thank you to each one of you for being a part of my journey. For those who have sown financially, those who have prayed for me and those who have believed in me. Each one of you has been such a valuable part and I can’t do any of this without you!

YOU are making an incredible impact in the lives of many and together we are seeing God’s Kingdom advanced!

There are many opportunities for you here in Uganda. If your heart is stirred and you are interested in putting together your own team trip, joining a short term team or possibly doing an internship. Please let us know or visit our website at www.showmercy.org for more information.

First Day of School in Uganda- Some Walked for Miles

Here is our latest update from the SMI team....for more info visit www.showmercy.org Donate Today Child Sponsorship Support a Missionary What if you had to walk eight miles to school... Read this update about what the Show Mercy team has been up to and find out more about walking so far to school at the end of this email. We (Salley family) have really loved being here fulltime in Uganda. Our short term team (Awaken to Love) was amazing. We have really missed everyone since they left. Brittany and Natalie (staff), Chelsea and Marilyn (interns) Our remaining team (3 interns, 2 fulltime staff from the USA, as well as our family) has been very busy getting our outreach programs organized and ready to expand. We are currently holding two weekly feedings (our Say No to Hunger Program) at two different churches in two different villages. The team has been working to visit each child's home and getting to know each guardian who is sacrificially helping to care for these total orphans. It's been a joy to meet these heroes, to pray for them, and partner together to help raise up this next generation. Clothing Giveaway The SMI team was also able to give new outfits (that have been donated by many of you) to all the children in these programs. Thanks to every sponsor who is making all of this possible. If these children could do backflips, they would have done them when they received their new clothes. We've never seen such HUGE smiles. We are excited to expand our Say No to Hunger program by including a monthly gathering of the youth who are in grades 7th - 10th grades. Our first meeting was this past Sunday. We are excited to be able to provide these students with some school supplies, mosquito nets as well as new clothes! This gathering will enable us to connect more with this age group instead of lumping all the ages together. Hope kids' weekly Bible classes The Hope kids have been on holiday in the month of August. We started a 3 day a week program for the younger students at Hope as well as an older girls and boys group. The older groups meet out at Field of Dreams once a week. All of these groups are going great. It's amazing to spend time with these children and see the amazing work LOVE has done in their hearts. The Medical Clinic is coming along as well. As the construction continues, we are working to figure out all the details of operation. We invite all medical/dental people to join us in Uganda for a short term trip. These villages are in desperate need of your help! Say No To Hunger Program Lastly, we are working to learn all we can about how to best use our property as we begin raising the best animals and growing the best crops in our area. We are looking for a fulltime person to help oversee this area of expansion. We know we can grow more than enough food to provide for all the orphans in our program as well as creating an agricultural training program for the youth and pastors in this area. (We are also working towards beginning our goat and rabbit projects as well). We've been very busy on this end and we know you too have been busy. Thank you so much for your prayers, financial investments and volunteer time. We (Mike and Lori Salley) can tell you that your investments are truly paying dividends! Lives are being touched and things are about to explode in amazing ways here at Field of Dreams. This month we have 5 new interns coming to serve for 3+ months as well as a few teams this fall and winter season. If you are interested in helping the orphans, widows, missionaries on the ground you can go to our giving page HERE. Please also consider coming over to visit and serve with us here at the Field of Dreams in Uganda. We promise you will NEVER be the same. You will be awakened to love in ways you never dreamed possible. Together, we are making a difference, one person at a time, Mike and Lori Salley 250 Backpacks for Christmas What if you had to walk eight miles to school? In America, school children rarely have to walk very far to get to their classes. A backpack only needs to carry things a few feet from the car to the school doors. But for a child in Uganda, a backpack could assist them in their walk for many miles to school with an armload of books and school supplies. We are currently collecting backpacks at our Show Mercy office in Oregon. Our goal is to have 250 quality backpacks for children between the ages of 5 and 18, sent over to hand out during Christmas. If you would like to be a part of this project, you can CLICK HERE for more information. Donate a Backpack Today! Ways you can GET INVOLVED: * Buy a backpack and send it to the Show Mercy office * Donate towards the cost of shipping them here to Uganda

My New Class with the Hope Kids

We just started a new program with some of our children from Hope Children's Home! While the children have been on holiday I put together a class for the younger children ages 6-9. These past few weeks I have been going out to Hope three times a week. I have 13 children in my class the majority of them are boys so they are definitely a handful at times. Each day, we have been singing songs, doing crafts, coloring and learning scriptures from the bible.

It has been so much fun meeting with these kids each week by building relationships with them and getting to teach them the bible. It has been challenging at times but I feel like God has given me a strategy to be able to really invest into each one. I have always thought it would be so fun to be a preschool to second grade teacher and who would of thought I would be in Africa fulfilling one of my dreams. I am already starting to see the children's hearts soften and it is so exciting to get to be a part of each of their lives.

Also, it has been a lot of fun taking public transport to get to Hope. It is definitely quite the experience! From my house we take a boda (motorcycle taxi) to the end of the dirt road, then catch a taxi into the town of Nansana then we walk about a mile to get to Hope. Then we do the same thing on the way home. (sometimes you have to take several taxi's and maybe do a little more walking haha)

The taxi's are an experience in its self! They cram so many people in one taxi that most of the time you have random people sitting on your lap! Also depending on where you are sitting you have to keep getting in and out of the taxi to let people off! This is one of many of the fun experiences you get to have while in Uganda! :)

Below are a few photos of the kids in my class...they are so precious!

God Makes All Things Work Together for Good!

About a month ago, our team and I went to the hospital to go pray for the sick. When we arrived, our driver dropped us off and went to go park the bus. On the way down the hill, the top of the bus hit an electrical wire. We heard a loud bang and the wire had ripped off one of the buildings. We all watched as our driver climbed on top of the bus to unhook the wire and then then continued to go park.

The team and I went ahead and ministered to several people in the hospital. We saw God touch many people by his love! When it was time for us to go, I called our driver to come pick us up and I see him down the hill talking to a police officer.  I go down to go see what the problem was and the officer was very rude and was making a big deal out of the situation then it really was. Come to find out, the officer held our driver the whole time we were ministering in the hospital.

The officer sternly told me that he would not allow our driver to drive us home and he wanted him to spend the night in “the cells”. I was definitely not going to let that happen! Then all of a sudden this boldness rose up inside of me and I knew I couldn’t just stand back and watch this go on! So I get in the officer’s face (because he wasn’t listening to me haha) and I begin to explain to him what happened and that I have a team of 21 people that need to get home! I also told him we were not leaving without our driver and that he was going to work with me! Long story short, I asked to speak to the head guy and he took us to the police station.

When we arrived in the office, there was a woman and three men who had asked us to come in and explain what had happened. My driver began to explain to them and they ignored him and started to accuse him of things.  So I stepped up once again. They replied and said “this does not concern you!” I said “It sure does concern me, I have a team of 21 people waiting to get home and you will not let our driver go!” I told them “we will take care of whatever needs to be done so we can be on our way”. They were being extremely difficult and took our driver away again and to view the damages.

So here I am sitting in the office with one of my team mates, with these angry officials as we’re waiting for our driver. The situation wasn’t getting any better and it looked like we were not going anywhere for a while.  So I thought why not release the love of Jesus to these people while we wait. So we began to make conversation with them. I started asking them about their job and thanked them for their service and hard work. Then we began to ask them if they knew Jesus and if they were born again and I shared with them why I am a Christian. It was awesome! Come to find out they all were born again so I got to pray with each one and encourage them!  

Afterwards, their countenance totally changed and they were now working with us to get this whole situation resolved. They were so thankful to have met us and one of the officers said “Don’t go! We’re talking about the Kingdom of God!” It was so amazing to see each of their hearts begin to soften as we were praying. After being in that office for about two hours, we got everything resolved and they thanked us for everything and let us go!

It was so awesome to see God take a stressful situation and turn it around for his Glory! God is always speaking and is always moving. You never know who you are going to meet and who God will bring in your path!  It is so exciting flowing with the Holy Spirit and releasing His love and in turn seeing hearts changed!

Begin to be expectant for God to use and flow through you to bring life and encouragement into someone’s life throughout your day! J

Saying Goodbye to Justine and Discovering More of God

A few weeks ago I experienced something that I had always wanted to experience but never imagined it would be so hard…

I had the pleasure of getting to know a sweet little girl named Justine who was a part of our “Say No to Hunger” feeding program here in Uganda. She was 7 years old and was being cared for by one of the local pastors in the village.

A few weeks ago, Justine had become very sick and contracted measles. We stopped by her home a few times to bring her medicine and make sure she was doing okay. One of the last days we visited, it seemed Justine was doing much better.  She was smiling and was out of bed.  Later that evening, we received a phone call telling us that Justine had passed away. We were so shocked to hear this awful news!

Right away, we decided to go pray and lay hands on Justine’s body so that she would be raised from the dead! I had never prayed for a dead person before but I had total faith in Jesus to do such a miracle! I have always wanted the opportunity to pray for someone and see Jesus raise them up. I was honored to get to be apart and believe together for Justine’s miracle.

We gathered a few people to pray with us and when we arrived at Justine’s home it was total chaos! Everyone was screaming and crying. We had everyone get out of the house, we gathered around Justine where she was lying on a mat and began to command life back into her body! We also had a nurse with us who gave her CPR for over an hour trying to resuscitate her. 

Sometime after, we began to sing and worship Jesus and the atmosphere changed. A supernatural peace came into the house and you could feel the presence of God. We prayed and worshipped for a few hours and then we knew that was all we could do. We did our part and the rest was up to God!  

Even though I didn’t understand and didn’t see Justine rise up, it caused me to have a greater confidence in who God is- a loving and compassionate father despite our circumstance!  The enemy was trying to bring thoughts of doubt and unbelief but through this whole experience, I discovered who I have living inside of me! Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe!!  

Also, the scripture Philippians 4:13 “I can do ALL things THROUGH Christ, who gives me strength” became so alive to me! I have known it in my head but now I know it in my heart! I feel empowered! I feel like I can do anything (like change the world) and God is right behind me backing me up!

I know someday I will see the dead raised and I’m going to pray every chance I get!! I am so happy that Justine is in heaven with Jesus! Her life on this earth wasn’t the greatest… She was an orphan living among poverty but now she is in heaven experiencing the fullness of love and joy!!

I am so thankful for this opportunity to get to love and serve these precious people! It is because of you, that I can be the hands and feet of Jesus to the lost and hurting people of Uganda. I am so thankful for each of you, for all your prayers and support!

Please consider partnering with us and help make a greater impact in someone’s life! Visit www.showmercy.org to see how you can get involved!

My Life in Uganda

Hey Everyone,

I posted a bunch of photos on my facebook of all that we have been doing as well as what my life has been like this past month! To view them please Click here. I will post more updates soon! :)

Katonda Aque Omukisa!! (God bless you)

Brittany

Hearts Awakened to Love

God is doing so many amazing things here in Uganda. Our team is so great! I am so sorry I haven't posted any new updates we have been so busy with our outreaches and loving on the people here. 

I just wanted to give you a few highlights of some of the things we have been doing. Please"like" the Show Mercy facebook fan page as well as click on this link to read and subscribe to Show Mercy's email updates, so you can stay connected.

Here are a Few Highlights...

• We visited both the village Muslim school and Christian school and had a "field day" where we played games and did re-lay races with the kids. They had so much fun and were so excited to have us there.

• We visited a mental hospital and a few people give their lives to Jesus and a Muslim lady did as well!! We got to pray and encourage many of them and just release God's love and peace into their lives. It was a really intense experience but God is so good and touched many hearts!

• We  visited a hospital and prayed for the sick and we had a few more people give their hearts to Jesus. It was so awesome to get to bring a little hope and encouragement to so many families that were struggling physically.

• We visited some of the elderly in the village and helped them wash clothes, fetch water from the well, sweep their property, "slash" there grass with a machete and sort beans. It was a fun to experience some of the daily chores they have to attend too.

• We had about 15 girls from Hope Children's Home come to the Field of Dreams where we made sugar cookies, sang and danced. It was a lot of fun spending one on one time with the older girls.

• We just returned from a 2 day Safari at Murchison Falls where we saw, elephants,giraffe, buffalo, hippos, wort hogs, water bucks, and a lion. We also had a hippo grazing through our camp grounds. The safari was a really fun experience and the falls were beautiful.

The team has just a few days left. God is doing amazing things in their heart and their lives and I know they will go back home changed!

It is so exciting doing God's work and helping to bring change in the world around us! Stay tuned, I will post more photos and stories soon!

Abundant blessings!!

Visiting Hope Children's Home

The last few days have been very busy...Our team of 14 arrived yesterday all girls except one guy! Haha. We are so excited to have them here and we are expecting God to do amazing things in them and through them!

Today we took the team to visit Hope Children’s home and it is always so much fun playing with the children! I love my life!

Also below is a video of us delivering a crib to a pastor in the village that just had twins and it began to pour down rain on us. It is hilarious! Check it out!

Bed for twins-Ugandan Downpour

Life for a Ugandan is difficult

Here in Uganda, the poverty and the need is so great that it can be quite overwhelming. When driving down the road, you see small, one bedroom houses, with several people living in them, children with tattered clothing, without shoes, and women cooking over a small fire outside their homes.  The houses are so small that most everything is done on the outside of the home.

In the market, you see several vendors next to each other all competing and trying to make a living by selling the same jewelry, craft items, clothes, and produce, that they all worked so hard to make or grow and in return the income is so small.

In the city, you see children, babies, blind and disabled people coming up to your car window begging for money for food. It is difficult to look pass them as they come by your vehicle.

Living in Uganda and seeing this kind of poverty every day, is still so hard to comprehend that this is what life is really like for the people here since there situations are so extreme.

In America, it is so easy to get caught up in our own life and your own troubles and forget about the rest of the world and we don’t realize what they are facing each day. Also, we are not used to seeing dire situations on a regular basis in America but here in Uganda, these people are faced with death, sickness, disease, starvation, and extreme poverty every day!

Since the need is so great, our desire is to reach out in love one person at a time. There are many ways that you can get involved and partner with Show Mercy so that together, we can make a greater impact by investing into people’s lives by giving them the tools and resources they need to change their situation.  

One way you can partner with us is through sponsorship. We met a little boy named Joseph on Saturday, at our “Say No to Hunger” program that is in need of a sponsor.  He is about 7 years old and is a total orphan that lives with his grandmother. He currently has a skin infection and jiggers under his toes.

It is because of people like you, working together that we are able to make a difference! Please visit www.showmercy.org for more information on how you can get involved and help bring change in someone’s life!

Photos from our "Say No to Hunger" Feeding

Seeing with the a New Perspective

 I have recently become friends with a little girl named Shamila. She is a sweet little girl who suffers from HIV, aids. I have visited her home a few times since I have been here in Uganda. Each time she has been somewhat shy and reserved and didn’t show much emotion. After spending a little time with Shamila, I instantly loved her! I began to feel God’s heart for her and all the love that He has for her!

That evening, I realized that Shamila is potentially the next world changer and future leader here in Uganda! My heart filled with excitement but also sadness, to know that Shamila is currently sick and her future is uncertain. I believe God WILL heal her and she WILL transform her nation!

On Saturday, we attended our “Say No to Hunger” feeding program where we provided a meal and a fun bible lesson about creation.  I was so excited to see Shamila there!When I first greeted her, she was a little shy and then in a few minutes she grabbed my hand and stayed at my side. I began to watch Shamila's we interacted with some of the children and she was giggling and laughing with the other girls. Later on she was singing and dancing and was so full of joy!

This was the first time I had seen her smile and laugh. It really touched my heart to see this precious child who is sick and unsure of what tomorrow holds, so full of joy!

All I had to give to Shamila was my time and my love, but it seemed so small! I realized that sitting and loving on these children is not small at all. You never know how your love and kindness is making an impact in someone’s life!

There is a quote from Mother Teresa that says:

“Be kind and merciful. Let no one come to you without coming away better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, and kindness in your warm greeting!”

We were able to bring some hope and joy into Shamila’s life and for that, I’m so grateful! Thank you so much for your partnership! It is because of you that we are reaching out in love and helping to change this little girl’s life!

There are more children like Shamila that are in need of sponsorship. Please visit www.showmercy.org to make a difference in a child’s life!

Life in Uganda

It is crazy to believe that I have been in Uganda now for a little over a week and I absolutely LOVE it!! I am fully adjusted now to the time change and I’m starting to get into the flow of things. 

I have been staying busy getting organized around the house and preparing for our Awaken2Love team that is coming in a couple of weeks. We also just had two of our interns arrive a few days ago!

A Few of My Favorite Things in Uganda…



I am enjoying being here in Uganda so much! A few of my favorite things have been waking up to the sun shine, hearing the birds sing and the rooster crow each morning, going into town and seeing all the children come running out of their homes waving and yelling “Muzungu Muzungu” (which means white person or westerner), driving into Kampala, seeing all the crazy driving, the beautiful sunsets and all the adorable children everywhere!

Beautiful Sunset

Some boys came to our car window

Birthday Celebration…

On Saturday, we went to visit the Children at Hope Children’s Home to celebrate the children that have June birthdays.  We had a special party with popcorn, soda and watched the Disney movie, “The Incredibles” It was so much fun getting to celebrate with them and to see all the children again!  I really adored sitting with my friend Grace and listening to her laugh and enjoy the movie!

Passing out popcorn

Grace and I



 



Becoming Domesticated…

Those who know me, know that I am not very domesticated…well that is already changing! I have only been in Uganda for a little over a week and I have already made banana bread, banana muffins and homemade bread all from scratch and this is just the beginning!  I am really proud of myself  J and it has been really fun learning how to make different things! By the time I get back to America I will know how to cook, clean, and be able to kill all kinds of bugs…then I will be a step closer to becoming a good little wifey for my future husband someday. Haha

We got a puppy!!

On Sunday we got a little 9 week old German Shepard puppy that we will have as a guard dog for the Field of Dreams. He is so cute and his name is Zeek! J

Leadership Training…

With our interns, we have been going through some leadership training, teachings and studying the word each morning. It has been so good and encouraging!   Our number one focus is to spend time with God first before anything else and receive from him, so then we can be full and pour out to others! Then we will see breakthrough in the lives around us and truly be able to affect this country!

Visiting Some of the Children…

Yesterday we went to visit some of the children in our sponsorship program. The children were so sweet and were so happy to see us. We first visited Justine and Alex and brought them some new shoes. All the children in the village were crowding around and wanted to be apart.

Justine with mysunglasses and Alex

 

Village kids crowding around the door

Then we went to visit Shamila and her aunt, Margaret. Shamila is in our sponsorship program and she has HIV.  Shamila is so sweet!  As, I was sitting with Shamila Lori got to pray with Margaret and led her to Jesus!!  Praise God!

Shamila and I

Margaret and Lori

 I am so excited for what God is doing here and I am reminding myself to not discount the small things and to find God in everything and each day that I am here!