Evangelism Explosion

With the hot African sun beating down on my quickly weathered face, I continued to bike around the neighbourhood of Nakatunya to visit friends from 2009.  I stopped by the mud/grass hut of George and Catherine who are my Ugandan parents.  It was sweet to receive hugs and to talk about all that life has presented in the past few years.  Then I went over to the next compound, hoping to find a few other people, but instead ending up spending an hour talking with a Godly man named Pius.  It was such an encouragement to talk with Pius.  He truly cares about the children and he has such a heart for evangelism.

Goosebumps grew on my arms when Pius started explaining a training he attended in August.  He proudly went and got his certificate to show me, along with the materials that he studied.  The books were colourful, and clearly printed on the front were the words “Evangelism Explosion International for Children”.  EE for kids!!  Wow!  You see, in college I took two years of “Evangelism Explosion” for adults, and I think the material is fantastic as it clearly lays out the Gospel message and the plan of salvation. 

Pius wants to do some Bible studies with up to 30 children at a time, and he was wondering if we could do it together... especially since I seem to know the material so well.  He mentioned that at the moment he has 200 of these little books for kids and he said that because he took the training he can always get more for free.  I truly hope this is an open door for ministry.  These books are a precious tool for reaching children for Jesus.

Photo Update - CAAF and More

 Here the ladies are preparing beef tripe, meat, stomach lining, and more for the CAAF lunch.

 The girls are "seriously" playing net ball.  Seriously means they are giving it their all!!

 Local musical instruments

 Blocking a penalty shot

 Just plain adorable... this little girl followed me everywhere at the football tournament.

 A young boy shows me his ball made out of plastic and rubber bands/string.

 Today Mandy, a team-mate who loves the changing seasons, hosted a women's tea.  14 ladies got together for a baking and gift exchange.  Who knew so many delicious recipes could be made in Uganda!!  It was so special.

At the Christmas Tea, Angie made a super yummy pumpkin latte!!  For Mandy's perspective on the Christmas Tea, click here.

Sports Day in Obalanga

I have just now kicked my feet up after a very long day.   I awoke early because of the roosters and spent some time in God’s Word before preparing for my long, bumpy road trip to Obalanga.  Beckie drove with a few neighbour kids out to the village, and I hopped along with FIDA.  FIDA is a development agency that works a lot with the former child soldiers... the last time I was here I enjoyed doing the field work with them.  It was kind of special when the car came to “pick me” at the gate today, because Charles and Bob did not know I was back in the country.  Charles is always the driver, and Bob overseas the Soroti office.  Of course, Lydia, Prossy, and Lawrence knew I was coming along today and so they had lots of things planned for me.

We planned on leaving Soroti at 8 am and Beckie was certain that wasn’t going to happen, so she left a little later... and she was right... we ended up going into Soroti town first to buy 5 sacks of rice, soccer balls, water and snacks, and some medicines before heading out to the village.  Beckie was right behind us when we ended up driving on the very rough roads.  It was about 10:30 am before we arrived, and we found that 4 communities of CAAF kids had already arrived to begin sports day.  CAAF = Children Affected by Armed Forces.  Due to the late start, and too many FIDA announcements, and a switch in leadership, my “prepared” sermonette was postponed, but I was asked to lead about 300 people in prayer to start the day.

The boys played soccer all day and the girls played net ball.  I have never seen that game before and it’s kind of a combination between ultimate Frisbee and basketball.  Beckie kept score with the girls and I floated through the crowds have some God-ordained conversations.  Discussions such as forgiveness, purity, and patience came up as I sat with the spectators and chatted the day away.  Near the end of the festivities, Beckie and I helped to serve supper to all of the CAAF kids who attended.  Rice and cow parts – intestines, tripe, bones and some small meats, skin, and other chewy parts.... J It was fun serving the tired youth.

I met a couple of young people from Abim today.  That is a small village, about three hours north of Soroti that has caught my heart, and I’m thinking the Lord may expand my borders to that place.  These youth were asking me if I would come and share with them some Biblical studies.  They have a desire to deepen their faith and understand God’s Word better.  That makes me so excited that these former child soldiers wish to grow in the Lord.  Please pray those doors will clearly open in that is the direction I am supposed to take while living in northern Uganda.

The tournaments ended shortly after 6 pm... Then there were a few short announcements before we left the village at 6:30 pm.  Driving the bumpy roads is much worse in the dark, but I trust Charles as a driver – and FIDA has a heavy duty vehicle.  Conversations flowed as we headed back to Soroti.  It doesn’t feel like I have been gone for two years.  The people in the vehicle are such good friends to me; it is an honour to serve alongside of them again.  I was dropped off shortly after 8 pm and I’m thinking tonight might be a good night to go to bed early.  The African sun makes me very tired.

Team Time

Since my arrival a week ago I have been so very blessed to get to know my team.  Team Beyond is now much bigger – with 6 families and 3 singles, or 15 adults and 15 children.  The dynamics are so different compared to the last time I was here, but it is still so incredible.  The Team had it prearranged that I would spend at least one meal a day with each family so that I could get to know them better, and I feel like I have been spoiled because of all the delicious meals.  Stuffed green peppers, egg salad sandwiches, spaghetti with home-made rolls, creamy pasta, tacos.... most of these are local ingredients, but some families chose to share their “American” treats with me.  I have enjoyed hearing people’s testimonies and hearts for ministry.

Today we had a two and a half hour team meeting – it was a time to share our highs and lows right now – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, children, or ministry, etc.  My team leader has also assigned us the book “When Helping Hurts” and that has been a real eye opener for the definition of poverty.  I hope to share more on this book soon.

Tonight all the ladies on the team came over for an evening Bible study.  Apparently they come over to Beckie’s (my) house every Wednesday night for a Bible study, prayer, and fellowship.   Tonight we took a very close look at Deuteronomy 4.  A verse that really stood out to me was “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Vs. 29

This posting seems a bit choppy, but I wanted to write just a little before I went to bed to tell you how some of my first week was filled.  Tomorrow I’m off to the village to spend a “Sports Day” with the CAAF kids (CAAF = Children Affected by Armed Forces).  Apparently I’m supposed to bring a message in the morning, so please pray that God will give me wisdom, courage, and insight as preaching was not on my game plan.  J  I’ll just call it a teaching!!

It's a Zoo in Here!

Thursday night I arrived in Soroti, and shared a meal with a few families before closing the doors to my new home and starting to get reacquainted with my new house-mate, Beckie.  We went through the house – discussing the code to the small safe, also our power converters and water sources.  Our filtered water is connected in the bathroom sink and the electricity is very iffy here now days.  One for one, off for two... then off all day, on at night... it so strange and hard to plan around.  I don’t mind not having electricity during the day because I don’t like fans or air-conditioning and I cook on a gas stove.

Part of our discussions that night also included how to care for the animals.  Mustard the cat eats tiny dried fish, but not so many that she won’t also catch critters outside.  Pal eats a few dried fish also in his evening porridge.  I’m not sure what she gets, but it’s some sort of grain feed that I mix with water and serve to her when it’s cool.  At the moment I don’t like having Pal in the house because she is having her bi-annual menstruation and I have to clean a trail of blood from my floor every time she comes in the house.  I guess I never even thought about a female dog’s “system” but one can never stop learning.  J

Then there are the five chickens and two roosters.  Every morning I wake up to the sounds of their squawking just outside my window, for that is where there feed trough is also.  I usually open the front door around 8:30 am and I find it hilariously funny to watch all the chickens flap and glide their way from wherever in the yard to greet me at the front door.  On the front stoop they proceed to poop and make all sorts of noise... and if I am not careful with the front screens, the chickens are stubborn enough to come in the house and try to get at Pal’s left over foot.  I have even heard rumours that the chicken like to lay eggs in the couch cushions, but I hope to draw the line there. 

As much as the animals humour me though, I do enjoy having company in the house, especially since Beckie has been gone all week.  Mustard is the sweetest cat ever and I’m glad to have a few constant friends!

Sunday snaps

Advent Season is upon us, and today I read a very fitting Scripture verse that goes along with the "Candle of Preparation":

"A voice of one calling in the desert,

'Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

And all mankind will see God's salvation.'"

Luke 3:4-6

This morning I decided to try driving my car once again.  The first time I drove it I wasn't used to the clutch and it popped really strange for me (although it has been a few years since I drove a stick shift) so I haven't driven it, except for practicing up and down my driveway.  :)  I was running late for church though, due to jet lag - I slept in, so I decided to drive rather than ride my bicycle, since it was a good 20 minute bike ride away.

Arriving at the church where I served previously, I was bombarded with hugs from many children, and warm handshakes from the adults.  I didn't want to teach the children, but I did attend class with their current leaders.  There were about 130 kids in the tiny classroom - which is normally split into two groups - preschool through age 6, and then ages 7-12, but they all wanted to be with Auntie Karen.  I did share a short Bible story with them though and encouraged the leaders to keep up the good work.

Some of you may remember this picture, but when I was in the Pamba church last time, this little girl name Teddy always wanted me to hold her when I was teaching.  She was maybe 3 at the time.  Well, today she was in church (and apparently hasn't been for almost a year because she was in the village with her family), but she spotted me after the service and held my hand for the next 10 minutes while I greeted many others. 

Teddy was so precious today - my heart melted immediately

 On a very side note, I went to a different church tonight and saw this sign at the side of the parking lot... although it was pouring rain and I accidently read it with and "R" instead of an "L".  ")  Free Fornication sure had me wondering what that church was selling.  Ha Ha.

And here is my cat "Mustard" - much nicer looking than Pal.

My Soroti Home

Landing at the airport on Wednesday night, I was greeted by my team-mates, Tim and Steve.  They loaded all of my luggage on the top of Tim's van around midnight and then we drove to the Adonai guest house in Kampala where we promptly went to sleep.  At breakfast on Thursday morning I was showered with hugs from the rest of the guy's families ... lots of Sliedrechts and Tiesengas.  :)  By 9:30 am we were on the road.  We decided to take the long route home, because at the moment there is a 45 minute stretch of road that is taking three hours to cross... so instead of driving 6 hours to Soroti, we drove west, with an incredible view of the Nile river, and took 7.5 hours to get home.

 The Nile river was rushing greatly, pictures don't do it justice... I couldn't get a closer pic because there were security officers nearby.

 We saw a small group of Baboons as we past near Murchison Falls.

 I was greeted by the chickens at my residence... I believe there are 5 hens and 2 roosters.  One cock is going to have his life taken if he want to cockadoodle doo at 6:15 am right outside my window.

 This is my dog "PAL" and I have a cat named Mustard also... don't worry, I didn't go out and collect these animals... I am living with another team-mate who has a passion for these creatures.

 Here is my Subaru Forester.  I drove it briefly last night, but I have to get used to the clutch.  It's been a while since I drove a stick transmission, so today I practised first gear and reverse in my driveway. 

 At least my driveway is long enough to handle the training lessons. :)

To the left of the photo you will see a sitting hut and a volleyball net - where neighbourhood kids daily fill the yard.

 Here is my home sweet home... I am too blessed.

 These are the boys quarters and outdoor latrine.  Don't worry - I don't keep boys locked up and I do have indoor plumbing... it's just that many Ugandans would prefer a pit.

A view of the back of my house - I rode that trusty bike all around town today, revisiting old friends and running errands.

(Indoor pics will come when I am more settled or unpacked.)