MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 06-22-2012

Hello again! Things are progressing very well here. The annual Uganda Field Conference has come and gone without incident. It’s always pleasant when I go to Kampala and don’t a) have car trouble b) get robbed c) get pulled over by crooked traffic cops, or d) get in a wreck. We got to visit with some friends we don’t see often, and were blessed by J.B. Godfrey’s preaching (veteran missionary from Senegal, West Africa, now Far East Director with BIMI). I also got some needed car repairs done while in the capitol, courtesy of Ssuemko (good friend, and the only mechanic in this country I trust).

The dry season is in effect, which is a blessing, since the road to Nakivale is such an unpredictable morass during the rains. The road crews are moving ahead with the construction much more quickly now that the rains are no longer causing confusion and delay. The roads are still very rough, but at least there’s no mud, and sections of the road are actually quite good. The tarmac will be a huge help to our ministry when it is complete.

I preached my first funeral on the field. Both Jeff Bassett and I were involved. The deceased was one of the first men he baptised from Nakivale, a Christian man, and well known. The service went very well. Everyone got multiple, clear presentations of the gospel. It was nice for a change not to have to listen to heathen Anglican bishops drone on forever about nothing, and then have to watch their heartbreaking, vain burial rituals for a person you’re pretty sure died without Christ. It was altogether different, preaching the funeral of a saved man. The custom here is that during the burial, you take up a collection for the benefit of the surviving family, in this case, a widow and her children. WHILE WE WERE BURYING HER HUSBAND’S BODY, some worthless individual went into the house and stole the 700,000 shillings the people gave for her help (about $350). These people are poor. That they were able to raise this sum was quite a feat. And the miserable pile of offal stole it. That was her livelihood so she could care for her children, and pay for her husband’s medical bills, and instead, it goes to help some drunk buy more Bell beer. My blood boils just thinking about it. Personally, I’m praying God strikes the guy down with extreme prejudice. You don’t fool with widows and fatherless. It’s in the Bible. Pray God supplies her needs following this wicked theft.

In other news, we got a tenant (again) for our property in America. I almost hesitate to say anything, because now she’ll probably lose her job, the house will burn down, and a horde of starving weasels will carry off everything that remains. So, as of this precise moment, we have a tenant, a deposit has been made, and she’ll be moving in July 1. We will actually be able to save money! What a concept! This is fortuitous, because we are taking a furlough in March of next year. I have to be able to get some money saved to prepare for this, but the house was eating all our extra funds. Happily, this is (currently) no longer the case. Pray I have good success scheduling meetings. In addition to the supporting churches I need to visit while in America, I also need to get into new churches to try and raise some more support. We came here undersupported, and in the interim, have had another child, plus the cost of living has increased. Pray I can get the meetings and the extra support we need.

Project Libris, our library project, is doing very well. I’ve heard from multiple churches who are sending us books to bring back to the refugee camp for a library. Pray we’ll have plenty of books, and the funds to get a container and ship it here.

We have been attempting to find a better house. I have looked at several in Mbarara. There is a house not far from where we live that would be perfect. It is still being built, but is nearly finished, and will be within the next six months. We’d be getting a new house, in other words. However, the yard is too small for a family with 6 children. I noticed that there was an adjoining piece of property that would more than adequately increase the size of the yard. I informed our potential landlady of our desire for a larger yard, and asked if she had ever considered buying the land to increase the size of the compound. She had, but the muzeyi (elder man) who owned it had refused to sell in the past. I sent Osbert to his village to negotiate, and he agreed to sell, but at an outrageous price. I sent a broker friend of his to counter, and he reduced his price, but it was still too high. Today, our landlady made her final offer, a very reasonable price. I sent a modest gift of sugar, salt, cooking oil, bread, margarine, and laundry soap (all hard to get in the village) to the gentleman, along with Osbert and the broker to put the screws to the guy. I have made it clear to the landlady that unless she gets the land, I will not take the house because the land is too small for my family. Please pray he agrees to her price so we can take the steps necessary to secure this house. We’d have a much better place, in a much nicer, quieter neighborhood, with a wall, not a breachable bush and fence, and get a good landlady in the bargain. We feel this is God’s best, and are praying hard that we get the outcome we need from this negotiation.

Thank you for all your prayers!