January 17th, 2017 By Man Down

Records were broken and competitive words spoken as TEN studs came out for The Precinct’s monthly AMRAP, The Academy, and my first Q post-foot-surgery! I wonder, is word of this amazing, challenging, literally breathtaking monthly workout spreading among the MeCa Pax beyond our humble ‘hood?! Maybe. But then again maybe the first-timers were there for the second big event – the Brutus send-off. More on that in a minute. But first, here is The Academy rundown…

0530 – Farmlands run, back up to Cell Block gate for The Gauntlet…

1. 10 Burpees at the Gate, run forward…
2. 20 Cinder Block Curls, run diagonal…
3. 10 Tire Flips, run forward…
4. 20 Cinder Block Triceps Extensions, run to the Gun Range…
5. 10 Pull-ups, run to the Great Wall…
6. 10 Muscle-ups, over the wall and down to sidewalk…
7. Bear Crawls from pole-to-pole, back around the Cell Block to the Gate.

Rinse and Repeat until time called at 0605.

Blocks and tires back, then log your laps – x.1, x.2, x.3, x.4, x.5, x.6, x.7 – depending on how many full rounds you got in (the “x”) plus the last station completed (1-7). Totals can be viewed HERE. Brutus and Skipper were in total beast mode today as they both logged 6.4 laps, a new record and nearly a full lap ahead of the contenders!!! YHC was just thankful to be out there again and satisfied with my 2.5 laps. I’ve got 11 months to improve on that! Speaking of which, the next running of The Academy will be Thursday, 2/16. Come join us!

During COT, we had the privilege of hearing from our Pax brother, Brutus, who helped start two orphanages, one in Kenya and one in Uganda. He shared a bit about his overall mission and the upcoming 4-week Uganda trip he leaves for on Thursday. We were also able to present him with $671 to help fund some of the needs. Below, Brutus himself shares powerfully about the trip, the mission, and how YOU can be involved…

My prayer requests would be….
* Peace and comfort for my beautiful M, Kathy. She sacrifices and struggles being home alone. I pray she is healthy and thrives.
* God’s healing for our sick girl Eresi with Sickle Cell and foot wound. There will be many other sick people as well. In that area, Faith in God is the first and maybe only medical option. I am convicted that sadly He is often the last option in our rich society.
* For God to accept our willingness to serve and for us to know His plan as He unfolds it to us.
* For our health, safety, and energy so that we can act within God’s plan for His glory and introduce all He calls to Jesus and that they see Him.
* Please God let all our bags arrive!

Here is our website, missionservants.org. I have a blog attached to that and I also post on Facebook. I will update as I can.

This is a simple outline of the area we will be in…actually we will be 10 miles from Kamuli out into very rural area.
http://kamulischoollunches.org.uk/about/life-in-uganda/
Really sobering picture. I think reality is much worse though. No way are 96% of kids starting out going to school. Maybe 50% but I think probably less than 20% in rural areas. Also primary school is not free, far from it, maybe at one time it was intended to be politically. In order to survive, schools charge all kinds of fees and levies. In our terms, it is not much but unattainable for many families. I just paid about $500 for 31 kids to go to Balowoli Primary. There will be at least that much more cost before the year is over. $33 per kid per year average is unattainable to many, especially since most families have more than 5 kids.

Health care availability and spiritual leadership are further deficiencies that the writer doesn’t address. Witchcraft is the predominant belief in the area. We deal with that daily.

God loves them and hears their prayers. He has chosen to accomplish amazing things through Mission Servants, in 4 years an orphanage was built from nothing. It stands as a miracle for all to see in the area which is called Byasi. There are no other lights, fences, running water, or singing children for at least 9 mile radius.

Thank you all for your prayers, support, and encouragement. We are all part of a plan! God bless, Brutus

Boondocks, Concord, Davis Lake, Highlands, Rolling Stone, Skywalker, The Precinct, Tradition

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