August 2020 Highlights

Come on in and have a cuppa while you see what's been happening here in Gulu (mostly) during the month of August.

Bolt greets you with a friendly wag... and his growl is a sign that he is happy. 

If you stay long enough, you can watch the sunrise with us, as it shines over the swamp behind our homestead.

This is our awesome friend Roberta... we were able to visit her on a quick trip back to Soroti... Soroti is only a four hour drive, and with family, a business to oversee, a village to take care, an elderly stepmom to check in on... it means we go there occasionally to catch up with life.

We've been making new friends and connections in town and sometimes we are blessed with tasty treats.  This was a caramel crispy meringue, layered treasure!!

I spent one afternoon attending a OneHope workshop, with children's ministry workers across the country.

I love using their creative teaching methods.

Moses came up with an idea of painting out John 3:16 in Acholi, to encourage our neighbours who pass along the roadside.

He was very serious in his art decisions and it was a blessing to help on the project.

You can see our house in the background... the sign is hung along our fence.

Moses wanted me to free hand the Bible verse.. and I complied delightfully.

We have had so much rain lately... actually, there has been a little mold growing in the house.

Even Bolt is wet and cold... and he wishes he was bundled up in socks and jackets like we often are now days.

A friend of mine recommended this daily mixture of fennel, raisins, and white sugar candy... soak over night and squeeze to drink first thing in the morning.  It has calmed my hormonal issues more than anything else.  :)

Soroti peeps and colleagues came to stay with us in Gulu for a week so that we could together attend an online "Africa Sports Movement" conference.

Discipleship and sports can go hand in hand!!

Peter blew up a 36" cage ball almost completely using his own oxygen!!

I got excited when Coach Robert Katende (known from the "Queen of Katwe" movie) was one of our guest speakers.  His a fantastic sports missionary.

I'm telling you... I was with him at the conference.  Hihi.

At 9:38 every day... whether morning or night, we prayed for the Gospel to be shared Globally.

We finished off the conference with a pork roast.

We love being around the bonfire and chatting the hours away.

Group photo... One of the team Uganda photos that was submitted.

Since it was a sports conference, I encouraged the girls to do the daily exercise videos, that I faithfully follow right now, with me.

Belly blasters and high energy burst walking.  My new norm.

We organized for a better hub photo to be submitted to the hosts of the Sports movement - from Kenya, South Africa and 30 other countries.  It was awesome.

This photo won the Hub contest on the fifth day!! Yeah for us.

Moses says he hates cats, but it encourages me that he lets them sit on his feet when we are visiting friends.  Maybe someday I will have a purring pet once again.

God loves us... even His creation screams His praises.

One way for me to get to know new people in the community is to take art classes on Saturdays.  Groups are not yet allowed to meet at churches and schools, so I have found a new way to be with people.

I have taken a jewelry making class.

And a water colour painting class.  Don't be surprised if your Christmas cards are humbly painting in water colours.  

Here are my final products.  A few necklaces and...

A village scene.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you had a good month too.     

Hemmed In

On our marriage day, Moses presented me with a sewing machine and I was honored.  My mother also received a sewing machine as a wedding present from my father.  I am certainly NOT a good sewer, but I can hem dresses that are too long and let out hems as Moses grows taller. Hihi... marriage seems to be be shortening all of his shirts by about an inch and a half.  I hemmed curtains for our bedroom and made covers for the kitchen cupboards.  Hemming is pleasing because it adds the final touch.  It tucks in all the frays.  It makes things fit correctly.  It gives a nice border.  

Psalm 139:5-6 says: "You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."

What an awesome feeling - to know that God has hemmed me in.  When I asked Moses what that meant to him, he said that God covers us entirely with Himself.  Beautiful.

I thought I would look up what it means to be "hemmed in" and Dictionary.com gave two definitions:

1. to fold back and sew down the edge of a cloth
2. to form an edge or border on or around, to enclose or confine (usually followed by in, around of about)

Meaning, we are surrounded.  And when God hems me in, I know He is surrounding me with His immense love, comfort, protection, guidance, peace, purpose and more.

In the past few weeks, we have clung to the knowledge that God is for us and all around us, even when we don't see or feel Him.  Some hems are hidden on clothing, you are not even aware of their existence.  

On July 9th we started receiving messages that Rev. Archdeacon George Robert Okodu passed on to glory. He died shortly after preaching a powerful burial sermon for someone else in the village.  Moses was in shock.  Pastor Robert was more than a church leader to Moses, he was a friend, a confidant, a prayer warrior, a helper and a mentor.  Pastor Robert walked with Moses through some very difficult seasons in life and assisted Moses with gathering research information and data while Moses was writing his master's thesis.  

Moses wept for two days.  We decided we would need to journey back to Soroti to visit the widow and pay our respects at the grave site.  So we traveled on Monday the 13th... and I just knew that God was holding Moses' heart.  He was tenderly speaking words of comfort and peace into a broken heart full of questions.

After a few days in Soroti, we chose to continue on to Kampala.  I have silently been dealing with a health issue that is wearing me down emotionally.  It's been over three weeks now, but I have been spotting every day... I know, sorry, maybe this is too much information for male readers... but this stuff is real. I wanted answers.

Lab work and an ultrasound show that I have polycystic ovary syndrome.  It means I have a hormonal imbalance. Since I am on serious blood thinners, I am not allowed to take hormone treatments, contraceptives, or normal medications that would help heal this chemical imbalance. 

"

Scientfically, for easy explanation, like the doctor did for me... it means that my LH hormone is constantly higher right now than the FSH... and the LH should only be higher once a month... so it makes my emotions run wild and the flow to continue.  

So again, this is where I know God has me in the Palm of His Hand.  Two people have prayed for me saying the words of Luke 8:44 "She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped." That's what I'm clinging too. I'm holding on to Jesus's hem, while He hems me in with His tender care.  The only treatment for me is exercise and weight loss... so please pray I can battle my selfish desires and see results.

Reading a blog called "Faith and Leadership", I read a post written by Jeremy Troxler that talked about being "hemmed in" which I have appreciated today.

The word for "hem in" is the word used when a city is laid under siege.  "You besiege me, O God." "You hem me in. You besiege me. You entrap me. You encircle me. You beleaguer me, behind and before. You will not leave me alone." This "hemming in" is not a hedge of protection; it's concertina wire for trespassers."

That's my prayer in this season - of quieter ministry moments, of loss, of health issues, of making new friends, of missing old friends... that God would hem us in.  He knows us!  

And now... for a bit of random...

While we were out of Gulu, we brought Bolt to The Big Fix.  It's a dog hospital/kennel/obedience training school... so he had a little time away to learn some manners.  Moses and I are both glad that we have a pet with us on this journey of shifting and changing.  He keeps us company.

Gulu is colder than we are used to and we often bundle up inside our thick walled, underground home.  And lately that sun is refusing to shine as rains water the earth.

We've been going through this intense course with a young lady who is also holding on to Jesus' hem and asking God to hem her in.

We are grateful for the community and staff around us who make living in Gulu and this compound an easy transition.

While in Soroti, I was able to catch up with my namesake, Karen.  She is healthy and strong and was happy to go for a little car ride. 

Well, that's it for now.  May you also be surrounded by God - enveloped in His love, housed in His care, corralled in His peace and cocooned in His presence.

Glad to be in Gulu/Birthday Blessings

So far, during our first three weeks in Gulu, we have explored our way around town, gotten to know a few new people, and enjoyed our unique and cool home.

 There is a great coffee shop called "The Iron Donkey"... we have gone a few times, just to get out of the compound.  :)  Abella is a beautiful young lady who lives right next door to us, and happen to know her well from Soroti days - I've watched her grow up since she was about 12.  She is super helpful, insightful, and a treasure to our days here.

I love the Gulu main market - so much more diverse produce than in Soroti.  Here I can get leeks, spring onions, red, yellow and large green peppers, Chinese cabbage lettuce, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash and more.  Yeah for us!

 Moses super surprised me for my birthday... I came out of bed and found the sitting room decorated with balloons and streamers.

 He made homemade waffles for breakfast.

 We stopped at Iron Donkey on our way out of town, and they gave me a free treat!!

 We drove two hours and found a sweet lodge for an overnight getaway.

 Tent number three was our sleeping place of choice.

 When we relaxed on our porch, we could oversee the White Nile.  At night I heard hippos chomping on the grass in the campsite.

 I loved being able to swim once again!

 The cook even asked me what I wanted for dinner and presented a delicious dish!

 Fort Murchison has such a great ambiance!

 I appreciate trees with a little bit of character.

 Fun with Flora

 Oh ya, in the morning, these notes were hidden all around the house.  So cherished!

 Murchison Falls National Park is in the background.

 A Sausage Tree

 Moses was practising his camera skills.

 Well, so was I. :)

 The gardens were peaceful.

 Welcome to our nature lodge.  I am so grateful that we could have some special time together.

 Canada Day found me at an old school dentist.  I had to have a back molar filled, since I simply lost an old filling.

 Back at home... I love our new home.

 Bolt always welcomes us home.

 Here is the curriculum that is being developed for private/Christian schools in Uganda.  I'm going to help with editing the materials and giving it an African context.  Moses hopes to develop a training video for the "Roots to Fruits" curriculum.

And on a fun note... I found gardener charging his phone battery the other day.  Yikes!! I couldn't pull that off if I tried.

That's a quick welcome to our new place.