April's Showers of Blessings

I thought that April was a slow month until I looked back at my pocket calendar. Wowzer, God has done it again! So many wonderful things happened.

Good Friday night was spent at church for a Candlelight service.

Neighourhood kids are coming every other Saturday for a Bible club.

We had a blast on Easter Saturday, watching video clips of the crucifixion, making cross necklaces, gluing a glittery craft, singing, Bible story telling, and sharing birthday cake.

Benitah came to visit us at home!! She's a dear soul.

Seven new members were welcomed at University Community Church.

Church is packed beyond capacity now days. Hallelujah!

We were able to spend some time visiting our girls on their visitation days at school.

Moses and I joined a DRS - Disaster Relief Service team in Venice, FL for 5 days. Mom and Dad were team leaders and it was a joy to serve their team.

I was able to attend the MissionGO Global conference. Over 90 missionaries gathered together for fellowship, prayer, teaching, worship, rest, fun, and more.

It was such a blessing to gather from around the world, together, worshipping our one true King.

Four people were baptized!! Hallelujah!

Sunday portraits.

I love this man!

Our dear Tabitha came with for visitation day.

Back to the pool...

Raised up to new life in Christ!

Moses co-trained at a Helping Without Hurting in Africa workshop, here in Gulu.

Moses and I were able to share God's Work with a church family in Venice, FL!

Oh, how I love the family of God.

Spending time with Mama Cathy and Papa G!

Helping out at the DRS site.

Repairing homes hit from the hurricanes.

Moses with some wonderful, godly men in Venice.

Wait, I thought he was supposed to be a fisher of men?!

 

Visitation Day

 V.D.'s are one of my hardest cultural moments. 41% of secondary schools have boarding programs, so that means hundreds of thousands of our children are away from home for many months of the year. 

As parents we struggle to get everything on the requirements list - books, mosquito nets, blankets, bathing soap, uniform, pens, medical clearance and more (It's a one page list). But then there is also the child's own personal "requirement" list, which includes sugar, milk powder, bathing soap, personal hygiene items, crisps and biscuits, juice and milk boxes, cornflakes, socks and shoes, perfumes and deodorants, nail clippers, smearing oil, and more. Every parents dreads the first day of school because it is so expensive. Plus, the children need pocket money so they can buy whatever else is needed - pencils, medical treatment, a hair cut (since their heads usually have to be shaved), etc.

Secondary students have 3 terms. Each term requires school fees to be paid, plus the requirements. And then, in that term there is usually one parent/teacher meeting day, one proper visitation day, and one sports or prayer day when parents/friends are allowed to come and visit. Most schools will not allow even the parents to enter the school premises outside of the those 3 times. It breaks my heart. I want to hear from the girls and check in on the more often. It's like a locked prison to me. Students often say that the roots are difficult but the fruit is good.

When I was in high school, I remember walking to town on my lunch hour and buying a snack or a CD, or just roaming. Here, the children may never leave the school gates. Unless a parent has been given special permission from the head teacher. So, when it is visitation day, we as parents try our best to make sure we spend a few precious hours with our beloved children. 

Parents flood the gates with arms fully loaded with packages. Home-cooked meals (usually pilau and chicken soup), or KFC. Students smile with gladness because they are tired of the daily cornmeal posho and brown beans. More cases of juice, milk, even water are carted inside the compound. Students are excited that we have come from far and white. It's a crazy sea of people... finding a student is not always easy. Sometimes there is a P.A. system and an announcement is made for where a child and parents should find each other. Other times you ask students in their same level. Or maybe in their classroom block. 

The time is precious. But often the conversations start the same way. Robotic even. How are you? How is school? Are you doing well? You could be doing better. God created you to be the head and not the tale. Those are the statements I often hear around the campus. Our girls want different questions, because we know they are trying their best. So we ask - How is your heart? What has God taught you this term? Do you have good friends? Are you feeling well? What's your apples and onions moments?

After just a few hours at school, since the gates close at 5, parents make their way back to their vehicles, hoping that their children are happy and healthy. And you begin the long parade of cars leaving the school parking lot. And my heart breaks. We can't communicate via phone. I can't check in on their spiritual lives. I can't encourage them when their down or rejoice with them when they are up.

Study well, dear children. God holds your future.

March Moments 2026

It's super exciting to have the university students back in full swing. The Lord continues to bring new people to church, to the point where we no longer fit in the tiny bamboo structure we currently pray in, here alongside the fence line of the university. 

Sadly the landlord has cut down the shade tree we used to have, and built a pit latrine very close to the front door of the church. But, the joy of being together far outweighs the sunshine and God's Word is cherished.

Children's church is also growing in huge numbers. Last week there were 66 kids and many of them are new. We, as teachers, are not even sure where they are coming from, but we can tell some are not coming from Christian homes. Hallelujah!

As teachers, we have decided to hold the class outside because we don't have a classroom space big enough to contain these energetic learners.

This month, a UCC (University Community Church) membership meeting was held. The Lord is truly using this church in great ways - outreaches like the Eye Clinic, or the Shepherd the Flock Conference. A healthy percentage of our collections goes to missions!! The university Bible study groups are growing in number in the hostels. We praise God for His faithfulness.

For the meeting, we all crammed into Pastor Jimmy and Mama Phionah's house, and shared memories and reports from the past year, as well as a delicious meal.

Here are some wonderful ladies of faith from church, true servants of the Lord.

Faith, Grace, me, and Mama Phionah

It's a blessing that the children love colouring so much, as the sermons can be very long occasionally.

Random shots:

The cooking pots are well-worn as they spend their lives over fire.

The ladies sure know how to handle the smoke in the kitchen.

Delicious food is served with love!

Every other Saturday morning, I have started a neighbourhood kids club. They meet in our garage for singing, games, Bible story, crafts, snack, and more.

God created the whole world, and the kids had fun creating animal masks too. 

I had the privilege of celebrating with Argentinians and friends, because...

It was sweet Angelina's 15th birthday!!

Check out this stewardship. Wow.

Truly impressive - a sewn chair

Precious little hands

Last Saturday, I was blessed to be able to attend Pastor Joseph's consecration service, into the role of Bishop in Life Renewal Church.

Serve in truth and integrity, dear friend.

We also spent some quality time with Moses' Mom.

Moses went with Mommy to attend the emotional burial of his cousin.

"When you mourn, we will mourn with you."

This cattle herder made my day!

And this smile was super addictive. I couldn't stop smiling either.

We started out the month in Pader District, with a third module of training with the pastors there.

This Timothy Leadership Training manual was about "From Harm to Harmony - Honouring One Another in the Family."

These church leaders share amazing testimonies from Module 2. A few men declared there was more peace in the home because they sat down to budget with their wife and made better stewardship plans as a family!

Now they are working on new Action Plans. They have 3 months to implement a Kingdom Goal from this course. We pray that harmony will come to God's people soon.

Dedicated students!

I tried a new sport this week!