Bible Club is Back

Today it was back in action for Kid's Bible Club.  The rains wouldn't stop the kids from having a blast - playing sports, singing, reciting memory verses, attending Bible study classes, gaining points for a year end "shop", and hanging out with friends.  This camp will be running for the next three weeks, every Tuesday and Saturday.

 Marking home-work lessons

 Baby class material - praising God for left over VBS material sent my way

 Baby class - learning about Abraham's journey to Canaan

Trust is the theme of the day

A Blessing From Canada

My parents came to visit... what more can I say.  I had two weeks to share my life and this beautiful country of Uganda with them.  I praise the Lord they were able make the journey and stay the whole time.  We had so much fun together.  (Although Dad has a family rule of only 5 minutes of fun per day... so we tried to keep it at a minimum.)

 Dad was given 2 minutes warning to share God's Word

 My Ugandan parents - George and Cathy, with my Canadian parents.  :)

 A party of close to 30 youth in my living room - on a Saturday night when the rains were falling and the power was VERY dim.  We were celebrating a music concert that we all sang in two weeks prior.

 The Ugandan national bird - the Crested Crane

 Giraffes on safari

 All of us at Murchison Falls in Western Ugandan

 All of us at the Source of the Nile (Lake Victoria) in Eastern Uganda

 Taking my neighbour boys to the well in the village

We slept one night in a village hut! 

 Dad preached again at a village church.  People had started gathering at 9 am to hear God's Word and we were misinformed to come at 4pm, so many people were tired and hungry, but they were so glad we came and waved us in with white banners and lots of trilling.

 A time of prayer after the message

 A boat ride on Lake Kyoga

 Elephants on safari

We spent four days in this vehicle - exploring God's creation

Just a glimpse...

Concert Shots

For the past two months I have been meeting with about 40 youth - to have a big YPJ (Youth Praise Jam) concert.  The practises were long, stressful, a lot of work, and sometimes even over night, but in the end, the music was totally worth it. 

 

Fire Under the Bonnet

The journey to get my parents is off to an adventurous start.  It was my plan to leave Soroti this morning, carrying a German friend who has completed one year of volunteer service here.  We left town around 10:40 am and about 45 km down the road, the car began to jerk.  I was traveling on a marram (gravel) when my gears lost all power.  The power steering went out and before I knew it, smoke was coming out from under the hood.  I lifted the bonnet to see flames coming up from under the battery. 

Trying to keep calm, I blew on the flames to make them lower, while my friend grabbed water to pour.  Once the smoke cleared, I noticed that the bar that is supposed to hold the battery in place had busted and was resting against the wires - creating a short circuit.  Within moments, locals biking by stopped to ask questions.  Then a good Samaritan on a motorcycle assisted in a great way.  He took the motorcycle to the next trading centre and found two mechanics who knew the electrical wiring of a car.  The guys worked on the car for a while... removing burnt plastic and rubber and rewiring the car, there was soon hope. 

My friend was getting nervous that she wouldn't make it to Kampala in time for her evening plans.  The mechanics tried to suggest that I could drive to Kampala, I just wouldn't be allowed to turn the car off.  Ya, right!  I was heading back to town... going to my favourite, most trustworthy mechanic.  After standing in the sun for three hours, we finally made our way back to the main road so that my friend to find public transit to Kampala... I had decided to journey at a later time... maybe by bus. 

Finding a small trading centre, we waited for a bus or taxi to come along.  Being impatient, my friend hopped out and began flagging down cars.  She wanted to hitch-hike to Kampala with all of her baggage.  Well, the third vehicle pulled over, and it ended up being another German who was willing to carry her 2/3 of the way to Kampala.  God is good.  I had even bought a rope that morning, and she was able to take it and tie her stuff on top of a loaded pickup truck. 

I slowly made my way back to Soroti... taking every bump with extreme care, knowing that the battery was sitting loose under the hood.  I drove straight to the garage. The Good Samaritan has called my twice, to make sure that I have reached safely, and that the car is okay.  I thank God for this helpful man. 

A few hours later, and with no additional charge by my mechanic... wires are rewrapped, new fuses were put in, and everything was checked over.  I am now confident that the car will make the journey to Kampala tomorrow.  My sweet neighbour, a devout Catholic, has just prayed over my car and anointed it with holy water.  I'm good to go!

 The burnt wires

Reorganizing her belongings... preparing for a public transit trip to Kampala. 

Flexible Parenthood

It has been a long, but enjoyable week for me.  Last Sunday I became a mother to 3 missionary kids and their Ugandan teen.  The parents were with the youngest sibling, as he was medically air - jet evacuated to Kenya last Friday.  Thankfully insurance pulled through and that Trayton was able to fly to Nairobi for good medical care.  That left the others behind, and as a team we want to look after one another.  I knew it would just be easiest for me to move in to their home and move on with life.
In the mornings I wake up early to make sure the teen is off to school, with his uniform on.  Then I would rush to a nursery and primary school, often with the kids in tow, where I am guiding at least 4 teachers on how to share God's Word at the tri-weekly assemblies.  From there it was home to make breakfast and then begin homeschooling these precious children.

Afternoons were filled with all sorts of activities - games, trips to the outdoor markets for food and new shorts, disciplining the dog who decided that this week would be a good time to start chewing shoes, laps and fun at the pool, visiting a friend with a baby, and checking in on my house... as I'm dealing with a few rats.  One day, the kids were able to go and play at a friend's house, so I took a few hours and went to the salon.

I choose purple a few weeks ago, when I went to visit a friend three hours away... who knew the colour would be a perfect match for the choir uniform I have to wear tomorrow.  I am excited to be singing and dancing with about 40 youth from Soroti.... by the way - a youth is anyone who is still single.  :)

Flying High

For the past three weeks I have been waking up early and heading over to Precious Children Primary and Nursery Schools to guide a few teachers on how to share the Word of God.  We met a few times before we even started setting up assemblies on a regular basis.  We went through a bunch of Bible study materials and I brought over a whole box of FLANNEL GRAPH pictures.  I taught the first week, and now the teachers are taking over.  It is a blessing to see four teachers work hard at reading, understanding, telling, and applying the stories... starting from the very beginning.

Yesterday morning, one of the teachers stopped me on my way out the school gate.  With tears in her eyes, she thanked me for coming all the way from Canada to share with her.  She said my coming to Uganda was no small task, and that she is unbelievably grateful that I am helping her to teach the children.  For a while now she has felt that God wanted her to share His Holy Word, but she didn't know how or where or when... and now, three times a week she can share it with the kids she works with everyday.  God is good!

I was so encouraged to hear this testimony.

Then, when I got home I received a call that if I came over to the flying school I could go up with one of the students who was doing a few practice circuits.  Absolutely YES!!  I never biked so hard to make sure I could see Soroti from above.  I'm so glad that Joseph took it upon his heart to share his learning journey with me!

Soroti Airport

I made it!!  Above Soroti - my town!!



God's Glory



Soroti town and rock




Joseph, my friend and student pilot



Mom and Dad will need to come up with another birthday gift.
Sorry Dad, I didn't see the validation dates.  :)



Village homesteads



Teso land



Soroti Town



Can you find Arapai market?  A huge Thursday market!



Farmland




Arapai again... it's huge

Multiplying the Earth

There is an old man who faithfully bikes around town, selling oranges or mangoes that grow on the trees at his home.  He comes straight to your door and sells you fruit in abundance at low prices, but also quotes Scriptures and requests prayers whenever he comes to visit.  A few months ago this man of God fell sick and ended up in the hospital.  In order to cover the medical expenses he sold his bicycle (which he needs to get to town since his home is 16 kilometres away) and paid for the hospital visit and some medicines.  He didn't have enough medicine to finish the dose and his blood pressure was very high, so he came requesting assistance.  Together we went to see the doctor and I made sure that he was getting the right treatment. 

Then a little while later, a friend was offering him a bicycle at a discounted rate and he was able to raise half himself, but needed assistance buying the rest of the bicycle.  I just kept thinking about my elderly grandfathers... and how much I would be wanting to help them if they had to bike 16 kilometres into town just to sell a few pieces of fruit.

So then, last week, this old man came to my door and told me that his wife really wanted to meet the angel who was helping her family.  I really didn't want to go and spend a day in the village, but it ended up being a true blessing.

 The children stayed home from school, so they could meet this white lady who was coming to their homestead.  I'm always amazed at children looking after children.  A 6 year old carrying a 2 week old.

 The father wanted to know if I could offer any wisdom to his four sons.  He had only four children because he knew he could provide for those ones, but now two of those boys are married and already have 8 children each.  One of the sons said to me, "Auntie, will God judge me for not multiplying the earth enough?  My wife has produced 8, but the doctors fear for her life if we have another child.  Is family planning okay?  What should we do?"  That was the basis of a very interesting discussion - about God's commands, blessings, forgiveness, and grace.  I finished the day sharing Bible stories with the whole family, after partaking of a simple meal of rice, chicken, and atap (sorghum and millet bread).

 Something exciting... one of my favourite, or classier joints to eat in town just brought in a cappuccino/espresso maker.  Today was a day for free samples.  :)

 Betty wasn't so sure about the ham in her croissant, and I needed more sugar in my coffee, but it was a very fun experience.

Goretti couldn't finish her hot drink.  :(