MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 07-24-2020
Good morning! Since the pandemic has the world locked down, probably unnecessarily, and since changes come suddenly and with little warning, it is necessary to update you all more often.
We are still on standby in America, awaiting the reopening of the Ugandan border. As of today, Entebbe airport is still closed to international travel. The only exception is special diplomatic flights that are being run to let foreign nationals return to their home countries, or to allow Ugandan citizens trapped overseas to return to Uganda. KLM, the airline where we had bought tickets to fly home on April 1, has cancelled all regular flights to Uganda for the foreseeable future. There is no indication of when this will change.
Uganda has hit its peak for cases, and is keeping a tight lid on travel across its borders. I do not know how long this will persist. I hate to make predictions, because it is impossible to know with certainty how long our exile will last.
In any case, schools and churches are still closed in Uganda. A curfew from 1900 – 0630 remains in effect. Travel within the country has eased slightly, but is still very restricted. So even if we were there, our ability to minister would be greatly hindered.
I am doing what I can to support the works there while we await clearance to return. We have sent money to help the refugees purchase food. Their rations have been cut due to reduced funding.
When church resumes, I will begin recording audio sermons and lessons to send to the Pastors to encourage and support the churches.
When we are finally permitted to enter the country, my plan is to immediately commence work on the new church building at Isanja. While that is constructing, I will get bookshelves made for the Christian school at Ngarama and get books into the classrooms. When the work at Isanja is complete, the next step will be to construct the new library building. I will also have electricity run to the building for lighting. Then all the books can be transferred into the new building, and the library project will finally be complete. If there is sufficient funding remaining, I will get water tanks installed at Ngarama and Kabazana to assist the church members there with clean water.
That will probably be all I can accomplish with the money we raised during this furlough before the lockdown. I still need to refurbish the Kabazana church building. I need to rebuild our Sangano pastor’s house, as it has collapsed. I need to refurbish the Sangano building. Additionally, I need to build a larger sanctuary there. It may be possible to do both as one job. If this is not possible, then I will need to rebuild that structure entirely. I will need an additional $20,000-$30,000 to complete these projects. These are critical projects. Our ministry, as well as the health and well-being of our church members, hinges on getting these done as expeditiously as possible when we are allowed to return.
Anna and I are looking forward to resuming our various ministries, and to expand the work into new areas. We are going to focus on men’s and women’s ministries, in addition to our regular church, Sunday school, and children’s ministries. Anna has raised money with her book sales to buy sewing machines to aid the school at Sangano with making their own school uniforms, and also provide a means to teach a trade to those wanting to learn tailoring.
As it stands right now, there will be at least another two months of lockdown, possibly longer depending on whether cases continue to increase.
Pray for us. Pray for our churches and our people. Pray the government there will allow religious services in the country to resume soon. Pray that the low number of cases across Africa remains low. Pray for the health and the safety of church members while this lockdown keeps them in their homes, exposed to malaria, dirty water, and insufficient nourishment.