MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 12-23-2012

Merry Almost Christmas! We are busily preparing for the Christmas parties out at the refugee camp tomorrow. We are having a short party at each of the three places for the church kids, and then giving out presents. The cars we've received are ready. The little stuffed bears for the girls are ready. It's going to be awesome! On Sunday, we will be sharing a meal together and having a joint service of the three churches, and giving gifts to the adults, including a bunch of purses Anna made for the ladies. It's going to be a great time. Being in the ministry means giving Christ's love to others, and Christmas is the supreme example of this. We love it.

Last week, Anna went with me to the class at Sangano. She's been teaching on the Women of Genesis, and doing a great job (I do my best to teach both the men and the women, but they really like having a lady to teach them). There was a fairly boisterous storm while there, and this was the result: Tree In the Road

I hopped out of the car and reacted like you would expect an American male to react, "C'mon guys! There's 20 of us! We can move this thing!" I mean seriously, how often do you get the chance to pick up a tree? My fellow travelers, also stuck like us, were less than enthusiastic. Here's where culture intrudes on progress. I, being the American, immediately view the obstacle as a challenge to be overcome. The Ugandans view it as a job to be done for which they are not likely to be paid, so none of them wanted to get involved. Also, the tree was bleeding this nasty sticky white sap that they didn't want to get on their Sunday clothes (Ugandans are very keen on keeping their nice clothes looking 'smart'). They finally fetched a guy with an axe to chop off some of the canopy so a car could get through. I'm thinking about carrying a shovel and an axe with me when I go out there, for situations like this.

Busy weekend ahead!

God Bless You!