Snaps of September

Wowzer, September was a whirlwind, but my dear Mom always taught me to appreciate a good storm. Looking back over the past month, we finally have time to catch our breath before the next round of busyness begins. To be honest, after 16 years of living in Uganda, this was my/our first time to host a team. Yes, we have participated in many teams, but to organize, plan, host, and serve was an absolute joy for us. 

These pics come in random order, but we had a few fun ministry moments this month. Eternal City Church, from Pittsburgh, PA, returned to Gulu to encourage the Shepherd the Flock Conference for the fourth year in a row. Our hearts are blessed, as we witnessed over 90 church leaders be challenged and encouraged in their roles of pastoral ministry.

Moses led two workshops throughout the conference.

I picked up the That All May See team from the airport in Entebbe. Shawn Domes, Rachel N'Senga, and Karen and Don Stauffer brought their A-game to serve the people of Kitgum and Gulu.

Waiting at the craft market for the team to arrive.

Shepherd the Flock crew made it through customs with 100's of books to bless the pastors, and the eye clinic team also got through with bags of eye glasses. Our God is good, OH!

At the airport... a local tourist.

We were able to join both teams for an afternoon outing at Aruu Falls.

The Lord has been good to us. A tuktuk for Kingdom Business.

Shawn helped to lead Sunday school. He had a powerful singing voice and loads of energy. I miss being able to really sing with the kids. My vocal muscles are still messed up, but I appreciate how the Lord sends temporary helpers.

Waiting with Mama to see the eye clinic team. She was able to get new glasses!

Reading the prescriptions and seeing if we have any closely matched glasses in stock. Over 2000 pairs of prescriptions to choose from and each was logged into a special computer program.

Shawn and Isaac help get glasses fitted.

Pastor Richard shared the gospel with those who attended the clinic in Kitgum.

The tuktuk carried all the supplies from Gulu to Kitgum and back. 110 km each way.

Pastor Moses and Pastor Jimmy shared the Word of the Lord with those who were able to visit the Gulu clinic.

Desire is helping a wonderful lady to choose the perfect pair of reading glasses.

I cooked 3 meals a day for the team, especially during their stay in Gulu. Sometimes lunch was for 18 people, but don't worry, I didn't add any of these special proteins.

Taking the tuktuk home from church. 

Just a little puppy love! He's ADORABLE!!

These puppies add an extra ounce of joy to my days right now.

Encouraged by some Sunday school kids in Ontario!!

Radio ministry in Kitgum. Jambo FM

Pastor Jimmy and Pastor MO

Both of us had a salon experience. Moses had his face hardened.

And I got a not so nice cut with 45 minutes of straightening and combing. At least it all fits up in my hairclip. It will grow back.

Shepherd the Flock.

Small group sessions.

Hosting people in our home. Melts my heart.

Aruu Falls was overflowing due to rainy season, so we didn't get to hike as far as we desired, but we still had a team-building blast.

Checking out God's creation

And thanking God for my partner in life.

Some of our short-term teammates.

Pastor Chris from Eternal City Church

Lovin' the new specs.

Welcome to the clinic!

Arranging the right pair of glasses.

Delighting to read again!

Don had an awesome machine to check people's eyes and diagnose their prescription.

Karen and Rachel were the triage stations.

Gulu main market. This is where I do most of our shopping for fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats.

The serving team in Gulu for the eye clinic. So many willing workers.

Moses found a fun chair to wait on while the teams did craft shopping before heading back to the airport.

Day after day, sharing God's Word with visitors to the eye clinic.

"Come one, come all" - the eye clinic was in session.

And the grand finale is a bundle of love.

Little Things I See...

 This past Sunday, as I was standing at the back of the church, I was fascinated by the children. Close to 25 children crowd themselves on a mat at the back of the sanctuary, and so I often stand nearby and do crowd control, wipe noses, stop fights, help them put on shoes as they go out to Sunday school. During the Call to Confession time of the service, I listened with delight as one young boy tucked into a ball and repeated every word of Pastor Jimmy's prayers. I often have the kids repeat after me in Sunday school, so maybe this keeps this young man focused, but he was unprompted and definitely in tune with the prayers.

Then, a few moments later, while we were standing, dancing, and singing in praises, we were singing about lifting our hands in worship. This precious baby lifted her hands at the same time as mine went up, and then she began clapping with the congregation. I love the little children, and I can only imagine how much more so the Lord loves them.

Last Sunday night I was able to witness the birth of a baby puppy. So cool. Our three year old, Tutu, had her first little. 5 puppies were born. Sadly, one did not survive, but the other 4 seem to be thriving and already have loving homes awaiting them.

Proud mama.

It's been incredible watching her step automatically into the role of mother.

Two strong boys

A boy and a girl

Watching the sun set while washing dishes at the kitchen sink.

On August 30th, I attended an Acholi culture, traditional marriage.

The bride asked 8 of us from church to escort her into the party when she went to cut the cake. A huge honor to be a part of the celebration.

We waited for more hours than we imagined before we danced.

So, of course, lots of selfies were taken.

Thanks for popping in to see a little bit of what I see!

Summer or Not, Here We Are

It may be summer in North America, but here we are experiencing rainy season. And it's a season like no other. I don't really know how to describe how cold our house is, except that's it's 24 degrees and I'm sleeping under two duvets. I wear slippers around the house and we are bundled in sweatshirts in the evening. The skies are constantly grey and it's difficult to charge our solar lamps and water pump. The rains fall all the time right now, and I don't remember a rainy season like this in the 16 years I have been in Uganda. But weather does not slow us down. 

On Monday evenings, there is a Bible study group called "Gulu Work and Worship". Moses often leads this group as they go through curriculum that tie God and business together. Last month I also attended one interesting session where a local Christian businessman came and shared his testimonies and stories of kingdom work. It was inspirational and encouraging for many of our youth and even I was challenged to try new things and see God's hand at work in all aspects of our lives.

Moses was given some new sandals. Haha... made out of tire. Notice he is wearing socks, not because they are uncomfortable, but because he's cold. :)  It's the fashion for the front inch or so to curve upwards. Does anybody want a pair? We can order them for you. 

We miss Home Hardware or Rona. This is a typical example of a hardware store in Gulu.

Country wide - posho (cornmeal) and beans is an everyday meal. Especially for students. Ugandans life when they hear I ate peanut butter and jam sandwiches for 13 years in school.

Eating with our hands is also normal here.

We love it when the youth come home to visit. This is our dear friend Joy.

The kids are once again squeezed in Sunday school. I've had 37 kids in this room for storytelling and colouring. I'm so proud of how they handle the space. But we can't wait to move to our own church property. University Community Church is currently renting along the fence line of the university, but we now own a piece of land, also close to campus, and we are working with an engineer to find the best way forward. Construction is not easy and the budget is often overwhelming, but God is faithful.

I absolutely love watching the sun set from our bedroom window. Today that field is full of sunflowers, which is my absolute favourite.

In the morning, it is just as peaceful.

Local Acholi Food - all vegetarian dishes, and most of them are pasted with Gnut (peanut) sauce.

We are getting ready to host a team from North America. They are staying with us from Sept. 8-29, while we run two week-long eye clinics. We are expecting up to a hundred patients a day, for a 5-day clinic in Gulu, at our church, and another one in Kitgum, where Moses often preaches on the radio. Please pray for us, as we print banners, run radio adverts, and get the word out, as well as, prepare the volunteer team. We are excited that they will be staying in our home for the most part! 

Last week was Fresher's Week, meaning youth came from all over the country, to attend Gulu University. Our church goes out of it's way to welcome these young people - with a tent set up on campus, through the Primetime guild, where students were shown where to find their hostels, classes, and invited to attend evening sessions or UCC on Sunday. For six evenings, Primetime ran fun events in different hostels and God's word was shared throughout games, talent shows, cultural laughter, movie nights and Praise and Worship on the main campus.

Our hearts were blessed last weekend when village mates of mine travelled all the way from Wingham, ON, to visit us at the end of another trip they had within Uganda. Doug Kuyvenhoven was able to sit down with Moses and Pastor Jimmy and share a 40-minute podcast for the youth in the work and worship Bible study group. 

Pure joy to hang out with friends from Canada. Doug and his sister Wilma shared stories, laughter, and tears in our home. God is good.

Monday morning they left us and flew back Entebbe, only to be caught in the Air Canada strike. They were delayed two days before flying back across the pond. 

We sure do wish more friends and family would come and visit us here.

Cultural night was a blast. We celebrated the different tribes where the students came from around Uganda. I dressed up in a Canadian t-shirt, but wore Karamojong beads and skirt to make the evening colourful.

Isaac, a friend from church, shared a wonderful poem he'd written about the diversity of God's people in the Pearl of Africa.

Sadly, I was admitted again for 24 hours with another round of malaria. I have been here 16 years, and only had malaria 4 times, but April and July are too close together in my opinion. Some people think that it didn't get completely knocked out in the spring, and so it came back again. This time, I made sure to do bloodwork one week after my medications were finished and there is no trace of malaria now. It took the nurses 11 attempts to get an IV in and they finally used a vein in my foot. Not easy.

Well, that's a short update for today. Thanks for sticking around and reading our stories.

The Fun Stuff of June

I've been awake since three this morning, with so many thoughts rushing through my mind. We continue to praise God for the gift of life, but at the same time we are experiencing the side effects of trauma. Moses' recovery is physically going well, except for his right shoulder. Lifting his arm above his chest is difficult and he needs physio. Otherwise, traffic makes us both much more nervous right now. Just the other day I saw a car knock a motorcycle and I immediately burst in to tears. It happens often, but now I feel the weight of it much more so.

What else is on my mind... well, our girls are growing up. We just finished visiting Becky, who is working her way through Secondary Four. She has two more years left of high school because she dreams of becoming a lawyer. (In Uganda, you can finish in either S4 or S6, depending on the future career path you choose.) And Sarah will begin nursing school on Monday. Say what!? They are growing up and we are so proud of them.

We are moving within the next twenty days! My mind is busy organizing where I will place things in the new house, what I can sell, who will be our first guests, will we have power, and so much more. I am overwhelmed here by the expat community who want to help us shift.

Here are a few fun videos of the past month.

On our way to Kampala - to visit the girls at school and to pick up supplies - we usually stop for some roadside snacks.

Chicken on a stick, huge mushrooms to prepare for supper, roasted cassava

On Sunday evenings, we often head over to church to pick us as many people as we can to head out to Gulu Community Park for Bible and Basketball/Sports fellowship.

Dancing at a birthday party for our Pastor and his family

Worshipping together

 

Cultural dancing

Showing off the moves

As the morning sun now begins to brighten the skies and the puppies begin tapping on the front door for their breakfast biscuits, I am just reminded of how faithful God is and how blessed we are today. 

I celebrated my 49th birthday with a few friends. They came over for a pork roast and chapati.

Let me finish with a little birthday fun. I was blessed with a new dress and shoes from friends.