Becoming Vocal - Part 2

 You should really read the next post in order to know that I am catching up on the past year of our lives. It has been over a year since I have posted anything and I'm wanting to get back into the swing of things. But in order to do so, I wanted to catch you up on a few pics from each month over the past year. So here are the shots for 2024.

January 2024

A new year has begun!

And Moses celebrated 45 years of life, with many letters from friends all over.

I briefly went to catch up with Karen Joy - my namesake. Joy is a young lady who means a lot to me. If you look back to posts in 2012, she underwent chemo for having retinoblastoma and had an eyeball removed. Every once in a while, I escort her to an eye clinic to get a new glass eye. She is doing well though, and is now off to boarding school for her upper primary years.

Barbara and I crossed the Nile River to train in Moyo district.

Then we went to train in Kumi district also.

Again, teachers have to write their actions plans for each module.

Bones is still alive and well. :)

Proud teachers.

Pastoral team meeting.

Village training.

More action plans.

Working through 3 days of training for each module.

Our 2 year old doorstops - Tiny and Tutu. :)

Finding shade and fresh air when the classroom gets hot.

Back to Kitgum for a module on Biblical Preaching.

This was Module 4 for the Kitgum crew.

Working with the ladies on developing sermons or short messages.

February 2024

Introducing ourselves to the large crowd who came to celebrate UCC's 10 year anniversary.

Brotherly love.

Fundraising for UCC

We are getting squeezed in our tiny bamboo church. The church bought a plot of land near the university, and has hired an engineer to begin designing a permanent church structure. 

Moses went on a short vision trip to the IK tribe in north eastern Uganda. It's very remote and dangerous, in the middle of Karamoja.

As a church we are praying about how to do missions within our own country.

We thank the Lord for this opportunity and God's safe keeping.

Moses celebrates with one of our graduates.

Moses gets to Canada on Valentine's Day!!

Arriving at Pearson International!! Hallelujah! A long awaited day. I was finally able to introduce Moses to my country, family, friends, and churches!

His first experience with snow. He loved it!

When we went to see Jumbo the elephant in St. Thomas, it was BITTER cold!

Church ladies come for tea.

Riding on a Snowmobile.

Uncle Tony shows Moses how to run the machine. Easy Peasy!

He's a big kid now.

Showing him the gravesites of Grandma and Grandpa Lubbers, Aunt Roely, and Uncle Andy. A very deep cultural experience. Burial grounds mean a lot to Ugandans.

Friends took us to Toronto for a day.

And blessed us with a trip up the CN Tower. What a fantastic view of the city.

March 2024

Heading to a maple syrup festival.

And going for a wagon ride through the maple sugar bush.

It was a fun day when we found a random guy named Malachi, who was born in Uganda, to cut Moses' hair. He works at the back of a clothing shop in St. Thomas.

Preaching at Strathroy East CRC.

While in Canada, we did 14 church/missions presentations and Moses preached in 6 of them.

We made it to the Parliaments buildings in Ottawa.

With Pastor Gregg and Laurie from Williamsburg CRC. We spend a fun Saturday in Ottawa, but were invited to tea in Hull, Quebec. We entered a home of Rwandan Canadians and were not hosted for tea, but a full meal of 5 roasted chickens, a platter of samosas, mugs of milk tea, a vat of rice pilau, and so much more. We were blown away by amazing hospitality!

I was able to show Moses the property where I grew up. He is standing in front of Dad's carpentry shop.

Good Friday service in Lucknow CRC.

Milking sheep at my best friend Michelle's house.

We did so many other great things in March. We explored the Muskoka's, saw Tundra swans and Canadian geese flying north, attended a Writer's Nest meeting, checked out frozen waters and beaver dams, hiked in conservation areas, and saw a train track that carries boats over Big Chute rapids, had a photo shoot in St. Thomas, checked out a huge, organized goat farm, saw my elementary and high schools, followed Mennonite buggies, rode big motorcycles, and truly enjoyed Canada.

April 2024

Checking out a full solar eclipse.

Hanging out with cousins and friends for an historic afternoon.

Leading worship at Fellowship CRC in Etobicoke.

Trying to stay warm in Mom and Dad's house.

Sermon writing - it was a difficult challenge to write 25 minute sermons for the CRC's, rather than one hour+ at UCC in Gulu.

Bones travels everywhere.

More time with Michelle in the beautiful cherry blossoms.

Lots of hours in the car as we drove from church to friend to donor to family to places all over Ontario.

Pastor Bart prays over us before our presentation at the River.

We were given the whole sermon time to share about missions in Gulu.

People came to pray for us after our presentation.

Our display table.

Michelle got us to Lake Huron in Kincardine. So Moses has touched 4 of the Great Lakes, just missing Superior.

Fellowship CRC welcomed us with a cake at coffee time.

School presentations. These were rewarding and challenging for us because the schools in Uganda breaks our hearts and we weep for the children there.

Moses was shown a restaurant/bar that is built inside of an old church. 

Choices! Dreaming!

Ang and Jeroen introduced us to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a morning.

Hello Moose.

Can you tell we spent quality time with my bestie?

Moses has one cousin brother in Canada and he lives in Calgary. At Christmas Richard was in Soroti with us, and he begged us to come and visit him. He has been in Canada for 11 years and has never had family come to visit. So we obliged. I had never been west of Ontario, so we enjoyed three days in the Calgary area.

Cousins at the zoo, checking out Canadian animals.

Lake Louise. We hiked all the way to the back of it. An experience I never would have dream of before but so glad I did it!

Sharing a potluck lunch in Barrie.

May 2024

Moses' best day ever in Canada, riding big bikes.

Fishing with Dad.

Church presentation at the Junction in St. Thomas.

Celebrating Mom and Dad's 50th.

Golfing with Dad.

On our way home from a high school play, a version of Beauty and the Beast, we caught the Northern Lights. WOW! God of Wonders!

Sited at a table near you!

We loved the hiking adventures and miss doing that kind of thing here in Uganda.

In our last week we had to go to the Canadian office of MissionGO in St. Catharine's, so we tagged on an evening trip to Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. So lovely!

Moses agrees that the Canadian side is prettier!

50 years - Thank you, Lord!

Me and my Bros.

Eating mussels one day

And Ugandan atap the next. :)

Arriving back in Uganda we found pilgrims making their way to the Namugongo martyr site in Kampala.

Worshipping at Moses' best friend's house.

So good to see the girls again, before dropping them off at school.

And we travelled home via Soroti so that we could see Mommy too.

June 2024

Receiving the sweetest letter from a young girl who lives next to the church was the best welcome back gift ever.

Paul was shipwrecked on Malta.

Since returning, Moses has been more inspired to play music again. I love hearing the guitars or piano playing in the background.

We attended a TLT workshop in Soroti, as we had to edit the Biblical Preaching module.

Here are many of us TLT trainers from around East Africa. What a joy to all be together!

While there, I celebrated my 48th birthday.

A friend made sure I had cake!

Just a little sassy.

Celebrating with our sister Phionah!

A posing possy.

Lovely ladies.

Glad to be back at UCC after being gone for 3.5 months.

Welcoming a new addition to the world!

Stopping in to see some of our university students who are studying law.

And having a great time of encouragement.

July 2024

These two are a blessing to me at church. So kind, giving, compassionate, and helpful.

Most Sundays I sit at the back of the church, on a mat, with the kids.

This was an eye-opening workshop on fundraising in Gulu.

Praying over village youth who need encouragement and discipleship.

Hanging out with Tiny and Tutu.

Praying for our TLT trainees.

More fun with the Sunday school kids.

The latest module in Kitgum was on Christian teaching, how to put together Bible studies that involve the head, heart, and hands.

The class was few in number but large in Spirit.

One of my favourite meals - Liver and rice, with avocado on the side.

August 2024

Roadside snack - roasted maize. It's more like cattle corn, but it fills you up.

Chillin' with the kids.

The past week was super busy with all the Fresher's activities.

Moses and I love hanging out together at home. He makes me laugh.

Worship night on campus.

Preaching about our Identity in Christ.

Well, there you go my friends... I have tried to catch you up a little bit on our lives. I hope to be more of a storyteller here though. Here's to dreaming.

Love you all!