the color in my eyes

Martin in his suit.  Dennis in his 'smart' shirt.  Bobby in his T-shirt. 

The above picture was taken in September of 2010 at the celebration for the Freedom Boys winning the Championship.  To the left is Martin, I am (of course) on the right, and the tall guy in the middle is Dennis.  These are the two men that I partner with in ministry to street kids.  On that very day, Rachel complimented Dennis on his shirt saying, "That is a very nice shirt.  You look very smart."  Cultural tidbit: Smart is what you say when something looks nice, or in this case, handsome.  If Rachel would've left it at that it would've just been a nice compliment to Dennis but she then said, "I wish Bobby would dress smart like you Dennis.  He only ever wears T-shirts."  First of all honey, what is wrong with T-shirts?  Second of all, this is what you get when you make comments like that...................... 

Smart!

Dennis bought me this shirt as we approached the New Year.  He came to our place and told Rachel that the reason he wanted to give me this shirt is because she said that she really liked the one that he had on many months ago.  Sadly, we cannot take a picture of both Dennis and I wearing our "smart" shirts because his was stolen while he was away for training.  I am honored to wear this shirt that my friend gave me.

For what it's worth, the shirt looks better on Dennis but I think it does bring out the color in my eyes...somehow!

20 Somethings No Longer

Often times when I would visit new churches back in the States I would most always look through the bulletin to see what type of ministries they have to post college-not yet married-married without children-type people and also what the names of those ministries are.  Some names are very clever and cute but my home church just called the group "20-Somethings".  As of Thursday of this week, 12 January, I can no longer attend that group because I  no longer fit the label of "20-Somethings".  I have now reached my 3rd decade and am embarking on the journey of my thirties!

To celebrate my birthday my family and I stayed at a guesthouse in Jinja, Uganda where we enjoyed good pizza, swimming, and quality time as a fam.  One of my gifts that I received was a package of new tennis balls.  (the story behind this is that I eventually want to put a concrete slab in our yard so that I can hit tennis balls against the wall to relieve stress :).  As I opened the lid of the container, peeled back the seal, the magnificent scent of new tennis balls wafted up to my nostrils and I thought to myself, "I LOVE the smell of new tennis balls."  Then I began thinking about other things that I simply enjoy the smell of.  Here they are (not in any particular order): the inside of a new pair of running shoes, new tennis balls, patchouli, my wife's peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and freshly cut grass.

What things do you like the smell of?

You can't tell by the squint of my face but these tennis balls smelled very nice.  Even Nico got to enjoy the smell :)

Levi enjoying the poolside in the shade!

Tan line!

The receding hair line is why I wear hats! Actually, it's because I wear hats that I probably have such a bad hair line :)

Christmas Celebration

Now that the Christmas celebration dust has settled I wanted to post some photos of the Christmas celebration that we shared with the street kids.  On Christmas Day, the boys gathered early in the morning to clean the compound, set-up the shade tent, bathe, shave their head, and put on their new Christmas clothes.  I took Rachel and the boys for the morning preparations and the kids were all so excited to see Levi and Nico on Christmas!!  Later in the afternoon, the food was prepared and the boys were ready to feast.  They thoroughly enjoyed the goat, chicken, and rice as well as the sodas that were provided.  Over and over again they said that their stomachs were full and that they were satisfied.  After the feast, Martin, Dennis, and myself were able to share the Christmas story from Luke 2.  The kids understood that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus but sharing the reason for why Christ came was so new and exciting to them: "unto you is born this day a SAVIOR" (Lk. 2:11) and "you shall call his name Jesus, because it is HE who will save His people from their sins." (Matt. 1:21)


It was a great day of celebration and it was so great to share with these boys and see the joy on their faces and in their hearts.

Edwin and Moses holding the Mzungu baby!

Olinga is full of smiles on this day!

Brian enjoyed decorating himself as well as dancing for joy.

Here the boys are dancing because they are happy!  Don't they look sharp in the Freedom Boys shirts?

Cake was made by my beautiful wife.  It didn't stay that way for long :)

Cake cutting is a big deal in Ugandan culture.  Is that snow?!!!

How do you spell?

Last week I took a trip to Kampala (capital city) to pick up a partner in ministry from the airport. Kampala is quite a bit more festive this Christmas season than Soroti is but I was struck by one major thing. Throughout the city there were banner advertisements that highlighted upcoming concerts and celebrations on Christmas day. The banners read "Merry X-mas", "X-mas concert on X-mas night", "X-mas Xtravanganza", etc. Those banners reminded me of this old school Christian rap song. It is dated 1989 and you'll know why as soon as you hear the first beat. But the message is true. You truly cannot spell Christmas without CHRIST!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the KOLB'S

For Unto You

 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
 10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." (Luke 2:8-15 ESV)

As we plan to celebrate Christmas with the street kids at the TECDEFO house I am struck with whom the message in Luke 2 was given.  Shepherds.  Lowly shepherds.  Verse 11 says, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior...".  The angel is speaking to shepherds. This glorious message was proclaimed to the lowly.  Unto the shepherds is born this day a Savior!

Jesus came for the shepherds.  Jesus came for the street kids.  Jesus came for you and Jesus came for me.  A Savior who is Christ the Lord.  Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee...!!!

100 cookies, 100 smiles

*not all smiles are pictured here

Big Bird and Co.

Two weeks ago a street kid came to the TECDEFO house (TECDEFO, Teso Children's Development Foundation, is the ministry that was started by Martin and Dennis, two Ugandan men that I am partnering with.) wearing a t-shirt with the picture of Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and the rest of the Sesame Street family on it and the words "I Was Raised On The Street".  At first thought, I laughed quite a bit and thought about how ironic it was to see a street kid wearing a shirt like that.  The more and more I thought about it, however, the more my heart broke for these boys who truly are raised on the street.  The boy wearing this shirt was not a suburban middle school student wearing a shirt from Kohl's that he received for his birthday but rather, a child that has experienced neglect, abandonment, hunger, beatings, loneliness, and fear.  The slogan, "I Was Raised On The Street", can go so far with the street kids in Soroti that we minister to.  Whatever the cause of their coming to the street is, the reality is that they have no one guiding them, nurturing them, and raising them.  The family that they have are the other street kids with whom they roam the streets collecting bottles and metal scraps to turn in for money.

Dennis and I spent some time last week praying together as we gathered at the TECDEFO house.  We were praying for each of the boys by name and the LORD led us to a passage of Scripture in Lamentations 2:19 that says, "Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street."


Our prayer is that the boys would experience the love of Jesus as they come to the TECDEFO house three days a week.  The house is a place where they can wash their clothes, bathe, take a rest, receive porridge, and just BE in a safe place.  We pray that they would experience guidance and shepherding as we listen to them, counsel them, and share with them that they have extreme value as God's children.  We pray that they would experience freedom from their addictions to sniffing glue and would open themselves up to the transforming work of the Cross.

(Left to Right) Musana, Moses, Patrick, and Joseph are here playing Ugandan checkesrs. Shida is lying down on the mat.   

Emma, George, and Joseph