Happy New Year

The New Year's Greetings keep coming and will probably go on for a few months.  I have decided to take down all the Christmas tree decorations, but only leave up a wall of Christmas cards (especially since most of them arrived after Christmas).  I can't believe it's yet another year.

And I thank God that it has started off well.

 New's Year's Day I hung out with a brand new baby Hope.

 Johnny got caught playing with a vehicle in the yard.  :)

 And I spent a few days with the Baptist youth at one of their conferences.  I was able to share the "True Love Waits" Curriculum.

On the final day we had a great time of discussion, encouragement, questions, and prayer time.  

Speaking of prayer time, I have some requests that are keeping me up at night.

1. There is serious drought here and it is affecting many people.  Some of my friends are down to one meal a day because nothing is growing in the gardens.

2. I am chairing two committees right now - Educational Care training is taking place on January 23-27 and The Global Prayer Safari is February 2-12.  Both take a lot of work to plan, and I feel like we are on top of things, but I'm still stressed.

3. The piggery project has absolutely no market and we have no more space in the barn, 3 pregnant sows, and feed is costing too much (especially because of the drought).  At this point, I think it might be even more economical just to buy a deep freezer.  

4. I'm traveling tomorrow to be a friend and encouragement to my NGO leaders here in Uganda.

5. The timing belt, brakes, valve heads, and many other things have been fixed on old Scoobie Doo this month.  I don't feel like I am being a good steward of God's money by constantly fixing a 17 year old Subaru Forester.  

If you can help with donations towards a new car, please donate here.

6. My neighbours are looking for work and school fees are coming up once again.

So thanks for praying with me.

"Poor Man's Christmas"

The Poor Man's Christmas actually happened!!

I am so grateful for all the support and hard work that came in order to make this day a success.

Words from a colleague: Many a time we, (and I mean you and I, the baptized, confirmed and born-again heaven-bound, fire-spitting, Holy Ghost filled Christians) throw parties, whether birthday parties, graduation celebrations, or promotional feasts in style with almost reckless abandon… and indeed Jesus Christ our Lord is not only privy to this human tendency but is invited. Except when he appears as a homeless street person he’s probably not welcome! However, we, these Christians, are commanded to do otherwise.

 Neighbour kids portioned sugar and helped me load and unload the car many times. 

Other friends walked the streets of Soroti and gathered a list of names of the widows and beggars on the streets.

 The goal was to bless 180 of the town's most needy, and let them know that God loves them so much.

 Of course, events never start on time, but we did pretty good.  Chairs, sound system and food were delivered with a smile.

 Friends from Oil of Gladness stepped in to help with sound, and ladies from my discipleship Bible study sang, served, and loved on the elderly.

 The crowd came from every ward (subdivision) and people were able to hear the Word of God being preached, songs sung, and games played.

 I stayed in the background a lot - portioning out gifts and directing others.

 May God bless these elderly, needy people

 Rev. Beseri encourages one of our guests.

The NIV states Christ’s command in Luke 14:13f, thus;

12Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

 I was amazed to see the strength these precious people.  They were so full of joy!

 The youth that I was training with at the Global Community Sports session decided at the last minute... which was a true God-send... to come and help lead worship, games, interact, clean up, and serve.  24 extra willing hands.  God was moving in so many ways!!

 The elderly danced!

In Uganda and particularly in this small town of Soroti, located in the northeast of the country, many decades of war and rebel activities have polarized the populations economic status, and coupled with high levels of death related to HIV and AIDS over the years has created a situation in which the poor have been driven to the slums of Soroti town. With time this led to a few families being either headed by the elderly of in some cases having only the elderly left behind to fend for themselves. Many of the elderly have thus resorted to begging in the streets since they cannot cultivate the ground, or have lost their land to malevolent clan members.

Those living in the street are characterized by irregular feeding disorders, old age diseases such as pressure, ulcers and malaria. Without much help from the government as is the case everywhere, some resort to eating in dump bins and others almost starve to death. 

 It took a while for the Freedom Boys (these young men spend a lot of time living on the streets, loitering and sniffing glue) to feel at home, but soon they were laughing and participating too!

 Blessed are these women!

 It's good to have friends.

 Gifts were brought to the stage...

 Soap, sugar, and biscuits for all the elderly guests

 And the street boys got new-to them clothes, biscuits, sweets, and a few school supplies, along with a football.

 Food was in plenty!

 I'm sure a few of the boys even had a few extra sodas.  :)

 A day of Feasting!

 I am so grateful for all these youth who helped out... some of them are even sponsored at 3 Compassion sites around Soroti.

The Mayor was also there to help hand out gifts.  To God be the glory.

Ready Set Go and a Christmas Cantata

Last week I again assisted my friends Peter and Teddy in teaching youth in the community.

 We worked with about 40 youth to train them in Global Community Games, where sport and games are used to share the Gospel with others.

 I was excited to see these youth grasp the task.  Tomorrow's leaders are getting ready today.

I'm glad I have a relationship with so many of these youth.  It's been amazing to see them grow over the years.

Also...

For weeks Oil of Gladness as been preparing a list of new songs to sing at this year's Christmas cantata.  We've had our struggles lately... there seems to be an atmosphere of change in the band.  Some members have left, new ones have come.  We are struggling to find regular instrumentalists, but at least we were able to be together for Christmas.

 A King is Born, this day in Bethlehem!! 

 Singing with Oil of Gladness and Trumpets of Gideon.

 The crowd got bigger as the day went on, but....

It's always a pleasure to sing for Jesus.

A Meaty Christmas! 2016

It is sometimes hard for me to take a Sabbath Day, since ministry can happen any day of the week, so that's why I decided to go to Kampala for a few days over Christmas.  After 2.5 weeks of ministry everyday, I hopped in the car to celebrate a very Meaty Christmas with friends!!  

 A strawberry nojito... a refreshing start to some much needed time off... and 

it's Christmas DAY!!

 Wow, we had fun shopping for the meat feast in the evening.

 The sausages were the appetizers to get us ready for the rest of the meat and chapati.

 Not ashamed... I reached a meat coma.  :)

 I loved cutting the cake with Tata (Grandma).

Service with a smile!

Here are just a few things I've been up since I last wrote...

 A ladies Christmas tea...

 We had a time of crafts, devotions, gift exchange, and yummy eats.

 Here is my tree ornament of the day.  

 Amy made the most creative treat!

Then of course... I had to decorate the house for Christmas with the kids.

 I was blessed with a cool package in the mail.

 I was treasurer and registrar for the annual Anglican youth conference.  This year we had over 1400 youth in attendance.  A full time job!!

 The youth didn't all fit under the hired tents, but that didn't stop them from listening to the sessions.

 Checking my lists and accounts

 Trying some new ideas with a fun pan I found in my cupboard.  Gingerbread quiche.

 Singing at the ordination service at the Cathedral

 Opening gifts with the neighbour boys.

 And having Oil of Gladness practise in my house for two weeks straight... every night until the Christmas cantata.

 On the last night, Trumpets of Gideon, another band also joined us.

Wow... no wonder I needed a break.  And I still want to share about the Ready Set Go training, the Christmas Cantata, and the Poor Man's Christmas!