International Christmas Celebration Kampala 2010

Wow! Four months of planning and praying resulted in a successful International Christmas Celebration. Over 300 people from 10 nations came together in unity and celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ!!

Welcome to the 2nd International Christmas Celebration Kampala with Refuge and Hope. Over 300 people coming from countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti and more!! As people arrived they were registered and given a color for group team building games later in the day.

Patrick, our MC, welcoming the people to the celebration. Shelah and some translators briefly explaining how Refuge and Hope strives to meet the needs of refugees in Kampala.

Ladies from the Center's sewing class displayed and even sold some of their masterpieces.

Tons of traditional foods!! Students were all smiles!!

Reading of Luke 2...the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

There were two times during the day that chills were sent up my spine. First, hearing the Word of God being spoken to Evangelical Christians, Muslims, Orthodox, and people that have completely lost any faith in a God. It is truth and Isaiah 55:11 says it "will not return to me empty". Secondly, directly after the reading of Luke 2, we had a time of prayer for the nations. One of the younger students had the opportunity to briefly share about the situation in his country. His words were, "I have never seen peace in my country and many of my friends have never experienced peace." He is 20 years old. Can you even imagine never knowing peace? We serve the Prince of PEACE!

Students in English, computer, sewing, and housing installation were presented with certificates.

The students took an opportunity to say thank you to Missy and Robyn, our fall student.go interns. Many tears were shed as students embraced and said goodbye to Missy and Robyn. They have been a blessings to the Center of Hope and to Refuge and Hope and will be greatly missed. And don't forget about our staff Harriet and Peter. They are jammin' out to Christmas and international music.

Games for the kids

..and for the adults. Here two of the people are supposed to move the balloon to the other two people without using their hands.

The students had fun with the games. Thank you Sports Friend International for assisting us with the team building games.
Girls Missy has mentored this fall came to the celebration and did a great job representing Uganda!

God brought the right people at the right time and we believe many seeds were planted. There was dancing, music, food, games, tons of laughter and smiles, prayer for the nations and best of all the Story of Jesus Christ was told from Luke 2.

God has big plans for this celebration! Thank you for your prayers and support!!

From Refuge and Hope staff: We wish you a very Merry Christmas!!

by. robyn

Be a part of the International Christmas Celebration

Please join us this upcoming week in praying for the International Christmas Celebration!

Day One (Saturday)

Pray for the staff and interns as last minute preparations and planning happen this week.

Day Two (Sunday)

Pray for the people performing traditional dances, songs, and short presentations from their countries.

Day Three (Monday)

Pray for the East/Central Africans students that will be attending.

Day Four (Tuesday)
Pray for open ears and hearts in hearing the story of the birth of Jesus Christ and for the Holy Spirit to begin moving even today in the hearts of the people.

Day Five (Wednesday)

Pray for the sports/games that the students will be playing. Pray that barriers are broken and relationships will be built across the cultures.

Day Six (Thursday)

Pray for transportation, water and electricity to be supplied. Also, pray for the weather…no rain.

Day Seven (Friday)

Pray that we will be bold and obedient to clearly sharing the Gospel of Christ to all of our students.

Day Eight (Saturday)
Pray without ceasing…for seeds to be planted and grown. Pray for the harvest to be plentiful from this day and for new brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thanks so much for your prayer support! Seeds will be planted and we trust the Father to continue to send workers to labor in the fields until the great Harvest!

by: Robyn

What a Party!!!

Happy smiles, laughter, singing, dancing, playing and eating together were the highlights of the Saturday, December 5th, Refugee/International Christmas Celebration! It was beautiful to see the different ethnic groups and nationalities come together for the purpose of celebrating unity in Christ. Despite difficulties many of them have faced, such as being separated from their families, forced from their homes, political and/or religious persecution and discrimination, this group of people displayed a spirit of joy and courage that was truly infectious. "Today we are very happy!" shouted a Sudanese woman as she hugged me and jumped up and down. It was impossible not to get caught up in the fun and laughter! Thank you to all who prayed for this day, and to those who contributed money to help make it possible. The weather was great, the food was plentiful and God was there!

Sudanese dancing and JUMPING

Welcoming the arrivals.

Although it was a wonderful day, we were not without our share of frustrations, the first being transportation issues. The bus driver we hired was over 3 hours late in getting the participants to the event!!! One group stood in the hot sun on the side of the road waiting to be picked up for 3 hours. After explaining the situation and apologizing, one man said, "no problem, this is African time." We are thankful for the gracious attitude in spite of the inconvenience it caused to many.

Each nationality brought food from their home country so we could all share lunch together. It was a FEAST!

Serving the food

Food from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Philippines, Uganda, USA and more!

This picture sums up "lunch" perfectly!

Team building games

It was the first time for many people to throw a frisbee, especially at a target!

Men wearing the traditional Ugandan "kanzu"

Ladies participated in the activities even in their best clothes!

Getting the different groups to interact was part of the goal

of the event.

Merry Christmas!!

The perfect ending to the day was the giving out of gifts to all the kids.

The Association for Evangelicals in Africa (AEA), donated Christmas shoe boxes, filled with toys by children in Holland, to distribute to the kids.

Thank you to the AEA, Sports Friends International, Heritage International School and everyone else who helped make this day a success!

May God Bless you and see you next year!!!