MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 04-29-2011

It’s been a busy month! We had our annual Uganda Field Conference earlier this month. This was our first Conference in Uganda (we arrived last year just days after the 2010 Field Conference). One of the requirements of the Ugandan government for NGOs (non-government organizations) is that the NGO have an annual business meeting of all it’s members. The Conference fulfills that requirement. It also gives missionaries from all over the country a chance to fellowship with one another. It was great to get to see some of the folks we had met years earlier and renew those friendships, and also make some new ones. It was a good time. We went to the capitol a day early and got a bunch of things for Brennah taken care of, which Anna covered in her last blog entry. Brennah had her first visit to American soil when we went to the U.S. Embassy for our passport/CRBA/Social Security card appointment. This was her first venture abroad after being born, and a reminder to us how much of a drag it is traveling with newborns. 🙂

Last week was more adventuresome than usual going out to Nakivale. It was Easter, and we were having a joint service of all the churches out there. Three couples were getting married, and there was also 14 baptisms. It was a very eventful and excellent Easter. We were bringing the marriage certificates, expertly genned up in InDesign by Anna, and 35 liters of Grape Kool-Aid for the meal afterwards. Naturally, we get ourselves loaded into the car nice and early and ready to roll to get to the service in plenty of time AND the car won’t start. And it’s Easter Sunday. It’s nothing short of miraculous that we were able to get our mechanic out to look at it. It turned out to be the battery. We got it fixed and were on our way again, albeit late. On the way, one of the 5L containers broke from the bouncing and spilled grape Kool-Aid all over the back of the Pajero. The cookies Anna baked had spilled on the floor and were ruined, about half of them. It was a comedy of errors. We finally got there, and the service went great, but there was a lot of hassle GETTING there. Next time I have to do something like this, I’ll be using better containers, and making sure somebody holds the cookies. (We got the car cleaned up, so everything is cool).

In a week, my wife’s parents, our Pastor, will be coming to Uganda for a visit, so we are going to be very busy getting ready for that. We have to make a trip to the capitol to pick them up, and of course to return them when the time comes. There has been some small rioting in the capitol lately due to the loser in the Presidential election stirring up the people. Yesterday, fearing another protest march from Besigye and his followers, police and army commandos arrested Besigye at his home. He and his aides were beaten and he was hauled away in a police van while his followers peppered the police with rocks and sticks, whereupon they were promptly tear-gassed. Pray we will be able to get to the capitol to pick up our parents safely and get back without problems. Pray for the peace of Uganda. Pray our car performs well for the trip and that we can get there and back without issue. Pray for our churches and ministry here as we continue to do the work of the Gospel in Uganda.