I think I shall begin with last Sunday evening. Moses and I were invited to our friend's graduation party. We thought it was going to be a simple event, but I was warned that I would be the guest of honor. :) When we arrived at the party, I had to pick which flowers Okello was going to wear around his neck, and I was given a special seat with his grandmother. Moses and Pastor Jimmy sat across from us, they were going to share God's Word at the party. A sound system, speeches, dancing, and a great meal. We are so proud of Okello, who got his diploma in civil engineering.
Monday morning, I started waking up at 4:30 am so that I wouldn't miss the 5:30 am alarm. Hihi, isn't that how it goes. Two precious were being dropped off at our house, so that we could "babysit" them for a planned 4 days while their parents had a work trip to western Uganda. They arrived at 6:20 am, just in time to hop in the car and drive to the post office with Pastor Mo (aka - Moses, my hubby). They guys went to see off another friend, Vincent, who is a missions mobilizer. He was doing a bike-a-thon to Kampala, traveling from Gulu to Lira, to Soroti, to Mbale, to Jinja, and then to Kampala. Almost 620 km. He is trying to raise 15 million UGX ($5800 CAD). Vincent goes to our church, and we want to support him in his ministry!
To see his departure from Gulu... check out this video.
The boys came home for a quick breakfast before I had to drive them to school. In the evening we planned out our menu for the next few days, and I taught them to play Sweep, a family favorite card game. One of the nights we made our own hot dog buns - long enough to hold two dogs. :)
Driving to school took caution, because the vehicle needs some fixing.
Now, for a little background information about northern Uganda. At the moment, the Karuma bridge, crossing the Nile River is under repair. It now is a much longer journey to get to Kampala and things are becoming more expensive here. People have either been taking ferries, driving through a safari game park, or driving up the eastern part of the country and adding an extra four hours at least to the journey. It has made things a little more difficult here, and then with vehicle issues, we haven't been able to get to Kampala yet to run errands, check on the girls, just have a break.
Moses is on the edge of burnout and we need to really find a way to take time alone. Please be praying we can find the time, place, and resources to be healthy to lead.
Wednesday afternoon I went to the school to bake and brought the boys back home with me. They were great at giving our sweet dogs, Tiny and Tutu, a walk around the block. While the boys are at school, our time was filled with ministry - creating props for the Sunday school drama, putting together Bible study materials, sermon writing, visiting church members, etc.
Throughout the day on Wednesday, we had been hearing reports of flooding. The road through the national park was now flooded. The travel times were even longer, and that meant the boys' parents couldn't come home on Thursday. They had to travel twice the distance to get home by Friday. There was also a lot of flooding in Mbale town. Thankfully Vincent arrived in Mbale about 12 hours before the floods and so he was able to proceed south without his fundraising campaign/bike-a-thon being affected. But my heart breaks for the communities who lost loved ones and homes.
Thursday night, after Moses returned from being the preacher at a nursery school graduation, and running a radio presentation in Kitgum, 100 km north, our dear Vincent called to say that his sister had to run home to the village and could no longer stay with his son in Gulu. Sweet M is only 3. So at 6:20 am on Friday morning, Moses went to go get the young man. He dropped the auntie off at the bus park, then he came back home. Again, we all had breakfast together before I had to bring the boys to school. By Friday afternoon, little M was coughing, vomiting, and had a fever, so Moses took him to the clinic. Two hours later, in the evening, he greeted me in the house with a canula in his sweet little hand. He would have to go back for injections for the next three days. The next three nights were not the norm, as I was woken up often by a sweet little boy who was either coughing, or wanted help to go susu (aka go for a short call, aka pee).
Saturday afternoon we received word that our best friends here (who are missionaries from Agentina) just lost their dad in a tragic car accident. We thank God that they had actually flown home to Argentina just two weeks earlier, so they could be there for the burial. But our hearts break for them and I really want to hug my sweet friends. I tell you... the emotions of the week are all over the place. Because just moments after the phone call of devastating news found us at church, practicing for the Christmas drama the next day. Kids were prepared and yet nervous to lead. Vincent made it to Kampala. He never imagined he could bike that far in 5 days. He praises God, and he raised at least 1/3 of the money he needs to run ministry next year.
Saturday evening, Moses and I took M out to eat and while sitting in the restaurant, a beautiful young woman came up to us and greeting us with sheer pleasure. We hadn't seen this lady in a few year. She used to come to our house a few times, during covid days, to plait the hair of our girls (and even Moses!). When I was hopping back into the car, she quickly handed me a note and then walked away in a flowing white dress with white heels on. She had eaten alone.
Sunday was awesome. Church started an hour later than normal because it was the Christmas service. 10 am is a great time to start church! :) But, we still arrived early to set up the sanctuary, bring the guitar and projector, and get the kids ready to act their parts. Oh, I forgot to mention that the week before, our church offices were broken into and many things were stolen.
From what we have observed, the stolen items include:
1. A giant tea flask
2. Gas cooker and cylinder
3. Sunday School 48" TV
5. Guitar case
6. Projector
7. Office chair
8. Bluetooth speaker
9. Power stabilizer
10. Keyboard
11. Grass cutter (mowing machine)
Over 7 million Ugandan Shillings worth. Around $3000 Canadian
We praise God no one was hurt. We praise God that they didn't take the microphones, bigger speakers, and the camera we use for online recording. We need to fix the church office door and find a better way to get security since we are next door to the campus and this is Christmas season. Lots of thieving could happen in the next two months.
The strangest item to got missing was a new table cloth that I bought for tea time, just the month before. It was 2 metres of a material that motorcyclist like to use to cover their seats.
And that brings us to one week later, the following Sunday. The drama was great. The service was special, and we shared a big lunch together afterwards as a beautiful church family.
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Little M left Monday morning to go to another friends house. Just in time for me to change the bedding and host another friend who has just travelled from Soroti.
Oh, the revolving doors of the Odels.
Pastor's Dancing
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