Do Hard Things

We started planning for the "Do Hard Things" tour over 18 months ago, in the winter of 2010.  Sam Casey and I had a vision of getting fathers and sons together to do something "hard" that would challenge them to go beyond the average expectations of today's kids.  "Do Hard Things" is a book by the Harris brothers that challenges today's youth to be more than mediocre and reach out to do extraordinary things.  We thought it was an appropriate theme and embraced it.

Well, it turns out that only a select group was up to the task - Sam Casey, Vaughan Moore, and his son Nathan.  Well that's not exactly true, there were a number of fathers and sons that would have loved to come on the trip, and in fact signed up.  But, the craziness of today's fast-paced life made the timing or circumstances to hard for this summer.  We hope to see them on another "Do Hard Things" tour in the future.

This tour is focused on Northern Uganda, the town of Gulu, and the farm of Koro.  We will be working hard on the farm and the surrounding villages to build compressed earth bricks, hoe gardens, tend farm animals, and build a piggery.  The piggery is one of the ways Sports Outreach helps a local family and community to survive.  Two pigs produce 2 litters of 8-10 piglets every 12 months.  This is a tremendous source of income and food in an area of the world that lives day-to-day on the edge.

Most importantly, we'll have time with the locals and get to know them.  Every day we plan to play games and soccer (futbol) and hang out.  And we'll talk about Jesus and how he brings freedom, peace and hope even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Here is our itinerary:

• July 28-29: Travel days
• July 30-: Kampala - worship at Namarimbi Cathedral, feed children in slums, 
• July 31: Kampala - visit school for the disabled, visit the city of Jinga (the headwaters of the Nile), travel to Gulu with Joni & Friends to deliver wheelchairs
• August 1 - 5: Doing Hard Things (see above)
• August 6: Nile river trip and hike up Murchison Falls
• August 7: Safari trip in the morning, drive back to Entebbe, dinner with friends, flight home
• August 8: Arrive home in the evening

We'll post as often as we can as we progress through our trip.

Grace and peace,

Vaughan Moore