WGM Uganda 2012

While we are together for an annual field meeting, we took advantage of the time and got a group shot. We do not have most of the children pictured, but you can at least see all our WGM missionaries in Uganda. It is exciting to have us all here at once- in fact it has never happened like this before. This is the first time in the 8 years I've been involved in the Uganda field, that we (at this time) have no missionaries home on furlough or new appointees. Now we're excited to have everyone here, but really of course we want MORE appointees who will also be working towards coming to serve here. So could you pray for more missionaries to come? We all see so many places that the Lord is moving us into, and we know He can be trusted. But I must also encourage others to come join in this amazing work of Kingdom Building in Africa. It is an exciting life and amazing blessing! 

Remember that day? OR... How to "bake" in Uganda

We will be having an all day mission meeting this weekend, and we've all been asked to bring something salty and something sweet for our meeting snacks. Since I happened to have pretzels (a lovely treat here!) and someone just brought me Nestle chocolate chips, well, my decision was clear. Chocolate covered pretzels! And since Friday will be very busy, Thursday afternoon became the best time to make my youth group snacks (choc. chip cookie bars) and the pretzels for Saturday. 

Peter my watchman found me with chocolate all over one hand and I showed him what I was working on. Then I gave him a sample. He proclaimed my creations a hit, and so I awarded him with licking the spoon. But first I told him that this is an American tradition held in many families. I fondly remember days of licking the spoon from brownies and icing and puddings. Now- ick- the thought makes me cringe. But at the thought  that I might have the privilege of watching a 49 year old man step back into a childhood rite, well, I jumped on the chance. 

Peter was a little nervous and giggly at first- this was NOT something you are to do. In fact, Susan (my house helper) told him to use his finger and not his tongue. I personally think she was jealous (she was on the way out the door and didn't want to take time to join in). Of course it may have been that Susan, as an African momma, was thinking how unsanitary it might be to lick a "cooking spoon". I didn't care. I wanted him to enjoy... and thus the pictures below. He giggled more and enjoyed that spoon so much. Then before I could wash the cookie sheet I'd been using to roll the pretzels around in the chocolate, Peter used the spoon and scraped more chocolate up to snack on that, as well. Very cute. Very boy-like. 

I think we all ought to take a walk down "memory lane" and become like children again, once in a while. I was so glad to be there for Peter's FIRST trip into a childhood tradition. :) 

I loved the joy on his face and the delight in his giggles. I think heaven will be full of many of these feelings- although I don't know for sure if they'll have anything to do with licking spoons.

Below: He gave a thumbs up and proceeded to finish off the left over chocolate on the tray. 

Homeland Ministry Assignment (HMA) is coming FAST!!

Okay so apparently I'm a slow processor of all sorts of things such as feelings, decisions, and reality checks...

I say this because I've just sent Jean, a WGM VIA, on her way back to the USA after her 6 week ministry and time as my roommate. She did some pretty amazing stuff while back in Uganda, and I'm so thankful she was able to return here after her previous 3 years in ministry. Now she is headed into grad school and next steps for her life. You can read about her ministries in Uganda by clicking here.

But as I'm thinking about her departure, I also am realizing that -EEK- I too will departing Uganda this year (in December), and it is nearly the end of August! Time is FLYING!!

I was encouraged to already order my airplane tickets, so today I began the emailing process with our trusty travel agent (who gets us missionary discounts, PTL!). I made a comment to some of the missionaries that it felt so early to be ordering the tickets, but they were a little surprised I'd not already done so. So, apparently, I'm slow on that HMA plan.

And yet how can I plan for Christmas and those months in the USA when I'm still in the first week of the new school year?! My mind is divided- focusing on the classes I teach and the youth I'm ministering to, and trying to think & plan ahead.

Divided minds happen for a lot of missionaries, who have to transition their lives between ministry in their field to ministry in their home nation. It can be confusing and -well- who likes goodbyes?

As I mentally & emotionally process these next months and how to manage them, as well as managing and planning my travel and speaking schedule in the USA from Jan. till June, I definitely ask for your prayers.
But I also wonder, how will I get around? Last time I was in the USA, I had an amazing car available to me, Praise Jesus! But this time... well, I need a plan.

So, if you're praying with me/for me about my HMA time from Dec. (just before Christmas I'll fly out and spend the holidays with my Mom and part of my family) till the summer, will you also pray for the Lord to provide a good vehicle at a low cost? I don't know about you, but I suspect that since last winter the US had such mild weather and even an extra dry/hot summer, it could well be that the 2013 winter- while I need to be out on the roadways- will be a bit rough. It may not happen, but I'm praying I can have a car which would manage it all well.

If  you know anyone with a car they might even lend me during my months home, please contact me. And thank you for your prayers as I take this reality check and get "clued in" to how quickly time is passing!

Nakigalala Visit 2012

Okay so the last time I visited our Africa Gospel Church at Nakigalala (pronounced Nah-chee-ga-lah-lah), it was so muddy and the roads were so rough that my car couldn't get out of the small parking area, and in fact we slowly slid (in the car) into the side of the thatch/reed church wall. Sigh. Well, that exact building collapsed a few years ago soon after we'd been there (hopefully not due to my car) after some heavy rains.

So on Sunday (Aug. 12) we decided to have a day of adventure and try one more time to get to this village area about 45 minutes from my home. Those participating in the day were Jean, Becca, Nicole and me. The day before going, I had made arrangements with Pastor Wilson, who is in charge of our AGC Katale church. He told us that Sunday would be "Women's Day" at Nakigalala, but we would be welcome. He also set up for us to meet the Nakigalala pastor, Dennis, at a fuel station along the way. Wilson was afraid we'd be lost without Dennis' direction, because the roads had apparently been improved and changed since our last visit nearly 3 (!) years ago.

After picking up Pastor Dennis, we proceeded to the church. The roads hadn't changed much, and the drive itself is really beautiful as you pass through a tea estate, past the greenhouses where thousands of roses are blooming (for export to Tesco's or some such store in UK). We still passed through a small market area, also seeing village homes, goats, and families along the way. 

Once we arrived, we found a timber & mabate (ma-bah-tee) church (this is corrugated metal), decorated with bed sheets and many flower arrangements, in honor of the women's day activities the church was celebrating. 

I was delighted to see Maria at church (pictured above). She is disabled and in this culture, life can be much more difficult for people with "broken bodies". But Maria's soul is nowhere near broken. In fact, despite the difficult life she has had, she is deeply committed to Jesus and to her church. Every Saturday night, she has a kind neighbor carry her to the church building where she sits under a mosquito net all night, praying for the services on Sunday. Before the net was there, she would knowingly subject herself to many, many mosquito bites and malaria, but she wanted to seek the Lord and intercede for the church. What a blessing she is! the church, which is in an impoverished area, took 3 months to save up the $11 to buy a mosquito net so Maria could at least sit more comfortably as she prayed through the nights. 

Look at the fabulous colors and outfits of these church folk as they worship and fellowship together! (above)
Below: this little girl was "cheeky" and so adorable!

Above: AGC Katale, Wilson's church, sent a gift to Nakigalala; this megaphone. Pastor Dennis was giving his thanks to the sister-church folks, as many people from Katale came to celebrate with the Nakigalala people. Since there was no previous sound system in the church, this megaphone will help during rainstorms (rain on a tin roof is LOUD) or other church ministries. We were also able to give some dried goods and a soccer ball to the church for ministry use.

Kids are just so adorable and fun! 

 Above: Jean (left) & Nicole (right) greeting the Sunday school children.

Below: Becca hanging out with more kids. 

Worship time nearly always includes a variety of African drums. 

Below; as the women's choral group did a special number, I also was admiring their local dress style, called the Gomezi. 

A house FULL!!

In recent weeks I've had guests in my home.

In my guest room: Jean is a WGM Volunteer who has been visiting and helping at Heritage for 6 weeks. She was previously here (last year) for a 3 year Volunteer term as a teacher at HIS, so she came back to continue certain teaching, tutoring and other ministries. It has been a blessed time to have her with me in my house. Pictured below: Jean as she worships on my front porch- called a veranda here. 

In the "Prophet's Chamber": Outside my home there is a suite which we use for "overflow" guests and it has proven to be a useful tool recently! The term Prophet's Chamber comes from the Bible and the rooms provided for Elijah and others as you read scripture. Our most recent guest in the Prophet's Chamber was Nicole, who  arrived for a year, 11 days before her husband and children. She came earlier than the rest of the family so that she could begin her Heritage teaching ministries with everyone else as we've been getting back into the school "groove" with teachers meetings, setting up classes, etc. Since their home wasn't quite ready (our plumber and electrician were helping set things up in their new house rental), Nicole stayed in the suite for those 11 days. FYI, Nicole's family (Ray and 2 teen kids) did arrive safely and they're all settling into their home close to the school campus. You will see a photo of Nicole in my Nakigalala post (above)...

In the apartment: Becca arrived a few weeks ago to begin a semester (or longer) volunteer ministry. She is a teacher's aid (TA) in grade 2. Pray with me/us that more funds will come in for Becca so she can stay the whole school year. At this point her airplane tickets are for Christmas, but she is willing to stay if the Lord will provide further money in her ministry account. You'll see Becca's photo in the previous post (Nakigalala Visit).

Full Recovery!

Oh man, was I ever sick! 2 weeks after returning from the North and Murchison Falls, where I picked up quite a few tsetse fly and mosquito bites, I came down with malaria and man, it is one bad disease! Praise the Lord that the medicines worked pretty quickly! However, did you know that anti-malaria medicines can give you bacterial infections? Well, I found out about 2 weeks after the malaria, and it was a mess.

I was given 2 antibiotics plus a pill for pain after 4-5 hours in the hospital and some IV drips, etc. But the pain medicine was NOT good for me, with my body reacting strongly with a number of side effects including my lungs filled with fluid and I had very short breathing. So, recovering from the infection might have taken a week, but recovering from the medicine side effects (not allergic reactions) took much longer! So over all, I was sick for about 6 weeks, with 4 of them completely a "wash" of work and much ministry. I was so thankful to have several missionaries/friends kindly helping me during this time. And I am so very thankful for full recovery. If you knew about my illness and were praying, thank you so much. I am definitely challenged to pray more faithfully for those who suffer illnesses.

New Oven

Okay so probably only women will enjoy this post, but I was happy to see my new stove/oven today. I was surprised to learn that it has a rotisserie attachment inside! I need to get the King Kong chicken recipe now from Bolivia, and man, I'm set up! :)

Puppies!!

The Mayo's lab had 6 puppies and they've reached the stage of "Completely Adorable". Like they're ever not in that stage. I wanted to share them with you.  It is pretty difficult to find purebred pups (and healthy) here, so these are a treat. :)

Along highways and byways

 Arua 2012! On Friday, July 13th, Jean Komline arrived for a 6 week visit to Uganda. She has been a WGM Volunteer in the past and we adore her. Because she asked for a trip north to visit our missionaries in Arua (8-9 hrs. drive northwest), we all worked out a road trip which began on the 14th! 


Delight & Emilee Hopson, Kelly Hallahan, Anna Leon (volunteer), Jean & I piled into my Prado and headed north ''bright and early". Thankfully, we had a safe and uneventful drive, apart from seeing some elephants on the edge of Murchison Falls National Park. That was a nice break before we crossed the Nile into West Nile at Pakwatch, a town there. 


Upon reaching Arua, we all stayed with Scott & Meg Rambo, Kelly's brother. Those NJ folks are cool! (note: yes, I'm originally from Jersey too). ;) 


With so many guests at the Rambo home, we all took turns visiting, working, cooking, baby-holding. Emilee played with her "cousin" Missionary Kids. Since all MKs call the missionary adults "Aunt and Uncle", we also adopt each others' families and add non-relation "cousins" in the MKs. With close relationships which are so natural on the mission field, this support system is invaluable. Below: Emilee pushing Benjamin on the swing.

Rambo's have several animals at their home. Some for the family and/or security (dogs, a cat) and some for use, like this chicken. They've got about 14 chickens so far.

Below: Tim and his little brother Benja play together. 

Jean brought a Ukulele to Uganda! She has had a dream of learning unique instruments, and is succeeding so far! Here she is below teaching Emilee. 

Below: When a little boy walks up to you and asks you to read, do it. I found these moments sweet, and I learned how to become a knight!

Above: The Rambo's lemon tree was crazy-full with fruit while we were there. yes, we took some home. Lemon bars, here we come! 

Below: They also have some rabbits- which have probably had babies in the past week or so since momma was expecting at the time. 

Above: Manalive these homemade English muffins were AMAZING. Yes, I'm going to try to make some soon. YUM!!

A view from the Rambo's yard. Lovely!

On the way home to Kampala, we passed some typical but amazing village scenes. I thought you'd like to see how the countryside looks in Uganda.

A colorful church in a village

Pedestrians use the roadways for paths since they're often direct routes someplace. 

We came around a curve and found scraps of metal in the road at one point. They were not there by accident. This was (sadly) a method for thieves to pop someone's tires so they could get the car, items, people for whatever purposes they would choose. Thankfully the Lord showed them to me as I safely passed over them. Had we been travelling at night, the outcome could have been very bad. 

Homes in the north are square and often painted. 

Not pictured: We passed a lot of monkeys and baboons as we drove, as well as goats at times. All of these, plus pedestrians and other traffic, make for interesting driving which keeps you guessing/hopping! 

 Carrying items to/from market. The woman in red is also carrying her baby on her back. 

Besides foot traffic as "transport", there are a lot more bikes used in the north than in the city. These folks were walking up a hill so they hopped off to walk up. 

These pots are used for cooking. Delight & I bought some for plants, however. And in the background of this same photo are the rocks used for a base where grains are spread, and a smaller rock is used to pound/grind the grain.

 Countryside scenes. 

Abby, yes I was thinking of you when I saw this field. Love you bunches!

transporting your cattle to the city for slaughter/sale is tricky. Cattle here have super long and often curved horns. Imagine tying them into the truck but still needing a ride- these guys above had to sit very carefully!

And one more silly statue we passed on the road home (below).

Now I didn't get a chance to take photos of the mounds of fabric we bought while in Arua. We're all looking forward to having skirts and other items made. Smile!

We also had Sunday morning worship with Billy & Joanna Coppege and their 4 girls. However, all 4 girls were pretty sick while we were there, and then the Coppedges were expecting 8 South Sudanese pastors for some training on that Sunday night till Wed. So although we didn't get much of a chance to visit with them, it was still a blessed time. We arrived back in Kampala Tuesday night, safe and sound and only somewhat tired. We're all so thankful for a good and refreshing trip. 

Yard Work

Back in March or so, you may remember I wrote a post about a theft on my property. 3 or so men came over the wall and stole several items off of and from inside my car. They actually returned 3 times over a period of 5 weeks and so we all worked at stepping up security on the property. We'd heard of a theft at the quarry near my home, where the thieves also killed the night watchman, so we were definitely concerned for the safety of my guards as well as the house, etc. 


Since that time we've been actively working to clear out dark and crowded areas in the yard, in order for my night watchman/men to see that no one was trying to come inside. I had a large and shady but non-producing (fruit) mango tree. It took me a while to decide to remove it entirely, and I still hate that we cut out a 60 ft. healthy tree, but am glad for the clearer views of the corners. We also removed an anemic palm tree, an interfering Australian umbrella tree, an almond (not edible) tree and a small pine tree, as well as clearing out or moving some matooke (banana) trees. 


What was interesting was to have these all taken out by Peter & Bosco, my 2 day watchmen. They are responsible to keep the yard and property in shape, but their work was way beyond regular duties, and they did all of this without machinery. We invested in a new ax and a panga (machete), and that was about it for equipment they used! Amazing! 

 But what do you do with the wood once it is cut? I approached that same quarry business and offered my wood. It was not processed into lumber, although there was some really good wood (strong and healthy!) wood there. They wanted it for heating rock before they blasted it, and we were glad to have them come collect the huge piles which had sat for a while in the yard. Above, the quarry guys load the wood into one of their trucks. I was really glad to not have to worry about trying to haul the stuff myself. They did the work; it reduced the price we got on selling the wood, but it was worth it. 

Above: the truck was overloaded but they essentially took all 5 trees' wood within one trip. 

Next step: get rid of the large stump (about 400 or so lbs.). Peter and Bosco cut the trunk in half (what a job with only an ax and a machete!) and rolled the 2 halves out the gate. Outside in my neighbor's empty plot, they worked for about 1 week making that trunk into charcoal. Altogether, Bosco and Peter worked about 5 days on the chopping of the trees and then the charcoal. They earned the small amount the quarry paid us for the wood, and they also benefited from the charcoal which they took home for cooking. 

So here is my yard (below) without those trees. We did plant a jacaranda (I love the purple flowers) but in a new location so that even as it grows, it will not block views for security. Yes, if you've never seen all my yard before, I have elephant statues in the yard. It is a rental home, and I don't know what all the murals mean, but they've added character to the place. :) I also added bougainvillea plants all around the edges of the walls, so that as they grow up they will add privacy and thorns to deter thieves. And my landlord paid to put razor wire around the perimeter, so we have that bonus. And Dori my fierce looking (but sweet) pound dog finishes out the security additions since March.

In Memory of Mugisha Emmy

On June 25th, we received word that Rev. Emmy Mugisha had suddenly died. He had not been diagnosed with diabetes but apparently suffered from it. His untimely and shocking death is both devastating to his family and to the Africa Gospel Church, Uganda. 

Above: Emmy and Winnie Mugisha, at the ceremony in Nov. 2011 where he was installed as the AGC Uganda General Church Secretary. 

Emmy leaves behind his wife Winnie and their 4 children, ages 2-15. Please be in prayer for Winnie and the family. (please note: names here are typically listed last name first, and we can call the person by their first or last name depending on how we know them). 

Because he was from Southwest Uganda, about 9 hours away, the family wished to bury him there. In common Ugandan custom, this move was to happen rather quickly. So on Sunday morning he passed away, and by Monday morning we had a memorial service for him here in Kampala, before a large group traveled to Rukungiri for the funeral and burial.

Will you join us in praying for Winnie Mugisha and her family? Will you pray for the AGC Uganda as the Church works to step in and fill gaps and to continue moving forward? We need more leaders here who are educated and equipped so further ministries might be accomplished. 


While we mourn and seek steps to move forward, let me be very clear. We will miss Mugisha Emmy. He affected many lives and has left behind many people who loved him.  However, firstly- we do not want him back here. He is celebrating with his Savior, and what glory that must be!

Secondly, Praise the LORD for His plans! Although we have experienced quite a shock and are now in an adjustment period, we know that STILL, Jesus is in control. He can be trusted. He has good plans in this world, and He STILL deserves praise and worship. At times we all have to say goodbye to saints on this side of heaven. But Praise the LORD that we will not only meet them again in Heaven one day, but we will do so in the presence of our wonderful and blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Amen! 

Above: Mugisha receiving his certificate during his ordination a few years ago. 

Mangoes!!

On the way back to Kampala from Murchison, we stopped at one of the fruit vendors along the roadsides and picked up about 15 lbs. of mangoes. Both Anna’s are gourmet cooks (I certainly am not!) and we recruited Delight Hopson (and her kitchen) for a day we cooked up a storm! It was quite an enjoyable day, and I learned a lot of recipes!