Yesturday we had our last official team-meeting. Things are changing quickly here in Soroti.
This evening Sarah, Mandy, and I got together for our last Bible study before the Shaardas head back to the States. We checked out Psalm 59 and reflected on how God truly protects us and guides us, even when we are unaware. But sometimes we are aware, and we thank Him for that too... like a few weeks ago when a local thief came to my gate. Somehow the goosebumps on my arm told me to not even let this guy in the compound and thankfully the guard was there to back me up. Or how some young kids who were riding a bicycle far too big for their little legs weaved uncontrollably in front of me and we almost collided... only God knows how I stopped in time - with both feet jumping off the bike.
Tomorrow will be my last day of teaching little Miss Lydia and then we are heading out on my bike to Mama's. It is a restaurant that looks like a shack or a hole in the wall and serves local food, but that is Lydia's choice for our celebration meal. It's actually a yummy place to eat! :)
This month is my last full month in Uganda (for now). It's hard to imagine what I have yet to do here or what God wants me to do still. How many more times will I read to my friends, bike to town, lead worship or teach Sunday school? How often will I be able to visit with friends or speak to people in the villages? How many more times will I faintly hear the calls to prayer coming from the Muslim mosque or be able to chat with my Indian friends in town?
I must admit, as much as I get culturally frustrated here, I really love it and don't really want to be leaving. I have a feeling God is calling me back to Uganda. Praying for direction.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
An Apron
This morning we had our last bi-weekly team meeting. My International Teams team here seems to be quickly changing. First the Sliedrechts left in August. On Monday the Shaardas are heading to Kampala / America for a short home-service also. That means only Sarah, Josiah, and I are left in Soroti. Woah, a small team... but we are still excited about all that the Lord is using us to do here.We started off the meeting with a time of encouragement and I was truly blessed and affirmed by my team-mates. They spoke about I am a 'person changing people'... how I simply meet, encourage, humour, befriend, and teach people. Not normally a person for tears, I must admit that I choked up this morning.
And to top it off, my two precious students presented me with an apron that they had had made and then they designed themselves. Such a sweet momento of my year of teaching Lydia (and Grace).
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wood and Bibles
9:30 am, today, I opened my gate to receive a taxi van that had come to pick up my house full of guests. I enjoyed getting to know 5 more Michiganders, and was privileged to take part in the Set Free Ministries seminar. The last couple of days have been another whirlwind of activities.
Saturday afternoon I started preparing a few dishes for a shared team meal. I also biked to town to pick up some Bibles for my Princesses. The owner of the bookshop had texted me and told that they were finally in, but when I got there, the owner was no where to be seen and the other staff didn't know anything about Bibles. So instead, I walked across the street to My Supermarket and bought some icecream as a special treat for the gang in my home.
Saturday night there was a bonfire planned for after dinner, with a time of praise and worship. Usually I send my guard out to buy would, but when I was biking home from town I noticed that there was only one bundle left at the nearest vendor, so I decided to pick it myself.
Here I am, biking in the yard with my bundle of firewood, about to make its way to the fire pit.
Dinner was yummy! Praise and worship was awesome.... spontaneous... with Bokmas, Set Free people, Shaardas, Lawrence, Jackson, and my princesses in attendance. It was unplanned and heartfelt. God is good.
I don't know how to describe Sunday yet. My Sunday school kids were rowdy and stubborn. The Pastor wanted to invite me and two of my guests over for lunch, but I don't him we couldn't stay because one had to teach a class that afternoon, and the other one wanted to eat lunch with the rest of his team-mates. Well, we settled for a soda... but that still took at least a half an hour. The pastor asked us what kind we wanted and then he left to buy them, while we sat in his tiny living room, alone. Josiah and I pulled out a National Geographic photography book to look at while we waited. Then Pastor and his wife came back and pastor started into a long monologue about ministry and his life. I finally, but kindly, was able to interrupt by saying, "Pastor, I think you are doing an amazing job serving in Pamba. Why don't we pray for you before we go." I prayed and then we left. :) He did understand though that we were on American time with schedules to follow.
And now, I just finished closing the gate behind 14 absolutely excited and blessed Princesses. I was having a hard time coming up with material to teach the girls tonight because of all the visitors I have had for the past six days, so I decided to show them "The Chronicles of Narnia" (the older version). Wow, first of all, I don't think these village girls have seen a lot of television, and then I thought I was scaring them royally, but they were soon grasping the symbolism and sitting on the edge of their seats. When Aslan came back to life from off the Stone Table the girls screamed in wonder! Their hands and voices were cheering as the battle went on between good and evil. They marvelled at God's grace.
About half way through the movie the owner of the bookstore delivered my Bibles in his personal automobile. He felt so bad for being late. I was just glad to get these Bibles. I signed each one with a personal note while the girls drank sodas and snacked on watermelon and popcorn and peanuts. They actually spit the watermelon seeds all over my living room floor. :) Thankfully they also swept them all up before they left. 14 Princesses jumped around my dining room table as I handed out Bibles with a note, a Canadian sticker, and two bookmarks. Some were shocked that they finally owned a Bible for the first time in their lives... others were just delighted to have a version that was understandable. I just thank the Lord for such a wonderful evening. The girls have been a blessing to me in so many ways!
Saturday afternoon I started preparing a few dishes for a shared team meal. I also biked to town to pick up some Bibles for my Princesses. The owner of the bookshop had texted me and told that they were finally in, but when I got there, the owner was no where to be seen and the other staff didn't know anything about Bibles. So instead, I walked across the street to My Supermarket and bought some icecream as a special treat for the gang in my home.
Saturday night there was a bonfire planned for after dinner, with a time of praise and worship. Usually I send my guard out to buy would, but when I was biking home from town I noticed that there was only one bundle left at the nearest vendor, so I decided to pick it myself.
Here I am, biking in the yard with my bundle of firewood, about to make its way to the fire pit.Dinner was yummy! Praise and worship was awesome.... spontaneous... with Bokmas, Set Free people, Shaardas, Lawrence, Jackson, and my princesses in attendance. It was unplanned and heartfelt. God is good.
I don't know how to describe Sunday yet. My Sunday school kids were rowdy and stubborn. The Pastor wanted to invite me and two of my guests over for lunch, but I don't him we couldn't stay because one had to teach a class that afternoon, and the other one wanted to eat lunch with the rest of his team-mates. Well, we settled for a soda... but that still took at least a half an hour. The pastor asked us what kind we wanted and then he left to buy them, while we sat in his tiny living room, alone. Josiah and I pulled out a National Geographic photography book to look at while we waited. Then Pastor and his wife came back and pastor started into a long monologue about ministry and his life. I finally, but kindly, was able to interrupt by saying, "Pastor, I think you are doing an amazing job serving in Pamba. Why don't we pray for you before we go." I prayed and then we left. :) He did understand though that we were on American time with schedules to follow.
And now, I just finished closing the gate behind 14 absolutely excited and blessed Princesses. I was having a hard time coming up with material to teach the girls tonight because of all the visitors I have had for the past six days, so I decided to show them "The Chronicles of Narnia" (the older version). Wow, first of all, I don't think these village girls have seen a lot of television, and then I thought I was scaring them royally, but they were soon grasping the symbolism and sitting on the edge of their seats. When Aslan came back to life from off the Stone Table the girls screamed in wonder! Their hands and voices were cheering as the battle went on between good and evil. They marvelled at God's grace.
About half way through the movie the owner of the bookstore delivered my Bibles in his personal automobile. He felt so bad for being late. I was just glad to get these Bibles. I signed each one with a personal note while the girls drank sodas and snacked on watermelon and popcorn and peanuts. They actually spit the watermelon seeds all over my living room floor. :) Thankfully they also swept them all up before they left. 14 Princesses jumped around my dining room table as I handed out Bibles with a note, a Canadian sticker, and two bookmarks. Some were shocked that they finally owned a Bible for the first time in their lives... others were just delighted to have a version that was understandable. I just thank the Lord for such a wonderful evening. The girls have been a blessing to me in so many ways!Sunday, November 1, 2009
Freedom
The Set Free Ministries Workshop ended on Saturday afternoon. The final moments were shared by placing rocks at the foot of the cross and sharing communion together.
The rocks were symbolic of our sins being placed at Jesus' feet.
Everyone was handed a piece of bread to eat, and some people found this to be a very emotional experience. I pray that many people have truly found freedom from all their past hurts, sins, and burdens.
We ate the bread, but we symbolically poured the wine over the stones to remind us that Jesus covered our sins with his blood. A powerful way to finish a seminar.Saturday, October 31, 2009
MY OM Happened
Yippee, the store was officially named after my suggestion. So I go to MY Supermarket, but my local friends now say they shop at Karen's Supermarket. The staff are so excited to see me whenever I come into the store. Fun times.
The pictures speak for themselves!Friday, October 30, 2009
Set Free
This week I have been super busy hosting a team of people who have come with Set Free Ministries. 3 men and 3 women have made themselves at home in my home and we have enjoyed eachother's company. They are here for six days. The men are leading a Set Free Training. The women are nurses and they are going to various women's groups and schools to share some medical expertise.
I have been privilege to join in on the Set Free Ministries training. It is a three day seminar on learning how to be set free from sinful issues such as - pride, sexual sins, non-Christian spiritual experiences, bondage, rebellion, etc. There have been 45 regular participants, with a few extras staying part of the time. It has been refreshing to pray through all of these areas and give them to God.
This time together with my Ugandan friends though, has once again shown me that I need to continue encouraging them and praying for them. When we got on to a discussion about witchcraft close to three-quarters of the room put up their hands that at some point in their lives they have dealt with a witchcraft. I was in shock.
And then we started approaching the topic of sexual sins and the room started to giggle. I have learned that laughter in the Ateso culture means guilt or uncomfortableness. Many people had questions, trying to justify the culture... what about polygamy? What about the roles of women? What about HIV/AIDS? Were they supposed to list the sexual sins from before or after marriage? And the list went on. I really feel like the room was challenged to make a choice to live differently from this day forward and to share that knowledge with their friends and churches.
We are finishing up the seminar today and I'm intrigued by what the discussions will hold today. But for now, I had better get breakfast on the go for the gang. Ciao.
I have been privilege to join in on the Set Free Ministries training. It is a three day seminar on learning how to be set free from sinful issues such as - pride, sexual sins, non-Christian spiritual experiences, bondage, rebellion, etc. There have been 45 regular participants, with a few extras staying part of the time. It has been refreshing to pray through all of these areas and give them to God.
This time together with my Ugandan friends though, has once again shown me that I need to continue encouraging them and praying for them. When we got on to a discussion about witchcraft close to three-quarters of the room put up their hands that at some point in their lives they have dealt with a witchcraft. I was in shock.
And then we started approaching the topic of sexual sins and the room started to giggle. I have learned that laughter in the Ateso culture means guilt or uncomfortableness. Many people had questions, trying to justify the culture... what about polygamy? What about the roles of women? What about HIV/AIDS? Were they supposed to list the sexual sins from before or after marriage? And the list went on. I really feel like the room was challenged to make a choice to live differently from this day forward and to share that knowledge with their friends and churches.
We are finishing up the seminar today and I'm intrigued by what the discussions will hold today. But for now, I had better get breakfast on the go for the gang. Ciao.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Kneeology
While I was reading to and fellowshipping with my friends at SACAB they were eager to show me the purses that they knitted. I now have 9 of them in the gift shop in my house!! They did a pretty good job, but right now not all the handles match the bags. Aah, sigh. It takes a little longer to teach them to fully grasp what I am recommending because they can't see. So if they finish a purse and then a day or two later want to make a handle, they usually get the colours mixed up. God bless them.
Then we got on to prayer requests and they mentioned that every Saturday night they pull an all-nighter to practise kneeology and I thought that was awesome. These men and women know how to pray. I certainly see them as Spiritual role models in this community.
Then we got on to prayer requests and they mentioned that every Saturday night they pull an all-nighter to practise kneeology and I thought that was awesome. These men and women know how to pray. I certainly see them as Spiritual role models in this community.
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