Isaac & Derek

You've met Isaac--but here's Derek, a young Christian leader from Fort Portal. I got to spend a lot of time with Derek and he just had a voracious appetite to learn and grow in Christ. He was very transparent about the challenge of Ugandan's taking advantage of wealthy American missionaries. Jeff meets with a small group of men every week to disciple them. Derek is a young businessman who makes uniforms for schools by employing abused women. Each week the women earn money towards owning their own sewing machine. Derek also makes bricks and has recently gone through a financial management training with Jeff Cash. As Americans, we cannot comprehend the difficulty of making an honest living in Uganda! "Corruption" (their word) is rampant on every level!

Alan & Isaac

You might not know Isaac Cash--but he's a cutie! Holding him is a young man named Alan. Alan is an orphan that Jeff & Cheryl help support. Pray for Alan because he has very little support to work for what he wants instead of begging for it. One of the most brutal challenges of mission work in Uganda is helping locals learn how to earn a living rather than being dependent on American funded missionaries. Jeff & Cheryl are doing amazing work balancing the needs of people with the longer term priority of discipling them in Christ.

Fun friends

The friends I made in Uganda were awesome! They loved music and dance and were just full of joy as they worshiped God. You'll see many more pictures of dancing--some tribal and some modern--but it was all done as praise to God. I wish I had moves like that!

Faith Quest (Camp Saka)

My first sunset in Uganda (Tues, Jan 2) was at Camp Saka where "Faith Quest 2007"--a youth rally for about 200 Ugandans--was held. We're in the amphitheatre looking across lake Saka at a few of my new friends from Kampala. This camp is just outside the city of Fort Portal (where the Cash's have worked for nearly 12 years now!) and is owned by the Church of Christ.

The Roads

Pulling out of our hotel driveway, you can see the pretty scenery. Uganda is a lush, beautiful country!

The motorscooter you see pictured is called a "Boda-boda". Why? For the noise they make of course--bodabodabodaboda! These little "taxis" will get you across town for about 25 cents--if you make it there alive! The roads are brutal--although you can't tell from this picture.

This picture may not bother you at first--but the dude is passing us on the right!! Yikes, I never got used to being a passenger on the left side of the road!

Egg Shampoo?

Since you can't take much liquid on planes these days-and since my shaving kit was in the bag that didn't make it to Uganda--Jeff got me some shampoo. It turns out that "egg shampoo" is exactly waht I needed for a shine that can't be beat!

First Meal: Is this safe?

This might be funny to you, but as someone who has survived some nasty sickness in Russia doing mission work, eating local food can be risky. I thought that since Jeff Cash, my bud and long time Ugandan cultural expert, was with me that it would be ok to try a "steak and chips" (really thin flank like steak and not quite fried enough fries). It had no ill effects (thank you Jesus!) and hit the spot after 26 hours of travel.

Uganda Highlights

Jeff & Bright met me at the airport in Entebbe, just outside the capitol ciity of Kampala, Uganda. Unfortunately, both bags didn't make it with me due to a last minute plane change to get to Chicago--BUT ONE did! And that trunk had the candy bars! So we celebrated in the parking lot.

Phoenix Marathon

Andy's most recent marathon, in Phoenix, was cold (average temp in the low 30s) and flat. He finished in 4:09:05, about 50 seconds slower than his best marathon time ever. Considering that he missed five weeks of training during the fall due to a calf injury, that he overate and undertrained during the Christmas holiday, and that he had a cold/cough on race day, he's very pleased with his results. Next time out: under 4 hours!

Glad to be finished!



















Running with a smile



















To God be the Glory!

Phil Wall Family 2006

The Wall Family standing proud!

Corona Soccer Tournament

Over the weekend, Garrett and Blake participated in a chilly soccer tournament in Corona. While neither team advanced to the finals, they each one 2 games and lost 1. Blake's team won their 2 on Saturday, with scores of 6-1 and 2-0. Blake scored during the first game. They lost on Sunday afternoon 3-0 to an amazing team (with a very loud coach). Cousin Laurie came to parts of two of Blake's games, and we all went out to dinner Sat. night to a yummy Mediterranean restaurant nearby. Also, cousin Elizabeth came by on Sunday afternoon. Blake played goalie for part of the time each game, so the picture is of him booting the ball.

Garrett's team won their 1st game 2-0 and lost their second game 0-1. The final game was locked at 0-0 when Garrett kicked the penalty kick and scored just before the ref blew the whistle for the end of the game. The teams were all very evenly matched.

It was fun, but COLD! The pictures look sunny, but the games on Saturday were played in windy, cold conditions. Ah, the joys of soccer!

Hard to tell in the picture, I know, but the shot was taken just as the ball went in to the goal, the goalie misssed it, and Garrett scored the winning point!

He's back!...and they're leaving...

Ben has returned safely home from Uganda and we are so happy to have him home. He's wiped out but had a wonderful experience. I'm sure he'll want to blog more when he gets over the jetlag.

Meanwhile, we have thoroughly enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa being here. I can't imagine what I would have done without them, especially last weekend at the Mighty Men Reading Retreat--but really the whole time! They've driven to and from school, read a million books, done loads and loads of laundry and dishes and changed more than a few diapers. (Well, Grandma at least. Grandpa claims that he couldn't find the changing supplies when Elijah had a dirty diaper on his watch!) They have certainly made our time without daddy more fun. It has been a very special time for all of us and we are going to miss them A LOT when they leave. We've gotten quite used to them being in our little corner of the world and it's going to feel quite empty for awhile.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa! You have made the Odessa Walls feel very loved and special!

Utah snow

Can you tell we got a foot of new snow??

















Blake gets quicker every day!















We got to ski Brighton (here), Solitude (with fresh snow) and Snowbird (with more fresh snow). What a wonderful trip! We missed the Wall girl cousins when we were on certain runs (like Gadzooks).

Happy New Year!

What fun to go with the Wall cousins to the Rose Parade! Laurie and Stan shared their sidewalk space with us and we all cheered super loud when Catherine twirled by.

I'm Alive!

I'm alive in Uganda and am having a great time! I'm missing my family something fierce but have seen so much already. Faith Quest youth camp was phenominal. I wish you could see these kids dance as they sing--just so spirited! I got to do most of the sessions as speaker & worship leader--it couldn't have gone better! Worshiping with the Fort Portal Church of Christ was a real treat too! I got preach and enjoy the team that worked so hard to make Faith Quest happen!

Ok, bandwith is a real issue, so I'm not sure what picture will be best.

Tomorrow, Jeff is taking me to a safari park --and we hope to see some hippo's & lions in the wild! I'm praying that my stomach will settle down--I am definately feeling Uganda right now!!

I love you and am having a great time with Jeff, Cheryl & kids! bw