All our adventures as missionaries, past and present.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 08-09-2021

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Hiya, folks! There have been some small changes to the status of Uganda’s ongoing COVID lockdown. This is not a full prayer letter per se, but a status update to keep you all in the loop.

We have reached the end of the 42 day lockdown. President Museveni has relaxed the restrictions on private vehicles and crossing district lines. However, schools and churches remain closed for an additional 60 days. Private vehicles are limited to three passengers, so I guess my extra children would have to be smuggled in a hidden compartment or an ox cart filled with hay to reach Mbarara without issue.

At the moment, the Ugandan health department is observing cases for two weeks to see it the easing of travel restrictions will trigger a rise in cases. If there is a rise in cases, the government will probably restore all the lockdown protocols again. I hope this does not happen, but I am telling you about it so you can be ready for it if it does.

We are all, with the exception of Brennah who is too young, fully vaccinated and ready for travel. As of today, the country of Uganda is still under a Level 4 Travel Advisory, which means the U.S. Embassy and the CDC are telling travelers to stay away for now. I have no idea how long that will last.

I believe that waiting until October will allow the virus to run its course, and cause the government to further ease restrictions. They seem to be moving in that direction, which gives me hope we are heading towards some kind of conclusion to this whole debacle. It will also bring the cost of plane tickets way down for us. We have vouchers from KLM from our last aborted attempt to return to Uganda, but we still have to pay the difference. 

In the meantime, I have been sending money to the churches to buy food and medicine, and remain in communication with my deacons via WhatsApp.

Pray for our churches. Pray for our people, who are locked down in the refugee camp and not allowed to go to church. It is especially hard on them. Pray for their health and safety.

Pray the cases will diminish and this lockdown will end so we can go home.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 06-09-2021

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Howdy folks!

It’s high time I gave you all an update on how things have been going.

Our Pastor has improved significantly since my last report. Through pulpit fill and helping with other responsibilities, I’ve been able to take some of the burden off of him during his recovery. Those efforts have paid off. We’ve enjoyed our opportunity to be involved in our local church, and to get to know a lot of the folks who joined after we left for Africa eleven years ago. I also had the privilege of sitting on the ordination council for my brother in law, who is the assistant pastor of our church.

God has blessed and worked in the lives of our kids who were struggling. We have been working as a family on resolving some issues that developed on the mission field, and which really revealed themselves this past year. The result of this is that we are all in a much better place spiritually and emotionally, and can move forward doing all that God has directed us to do, them at college this Fall, and us on the field. I’m grateful for all God has done for us in these areas.

Throughout this time in the states, we’ve been in constant contact with our church leaders in Uganda. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we can communicate with them several times a week. We’ve been able to send regular financial assistance for food and medicine and are continuing to save for the construction projects pending upon our arrival. The churches are doing well, though eager for us to return.

We decided to take advantage of the COVID vaccines available in the US, hoping it would allow us to travel internationally more easily. This has proven to be the case, since Uganda was allowing vaccinated persons to enter the country without requiring a negative COVID test upon entry. About the time we were getting our tickets, Pfizer approved the vaccine for use with 12-15 year olds, so I decided it would be wise to get our 15 year old son vaccinated also. He had his second shot a couple days ago, which leaves two weeks remaining to reach “fully vaccinated” status.

We were making plans to leave after the vaccination processes were complete, and Anna had almost completed the packing (again!) when we received some more unexpected bad news from Uganda. It seems the Indian strain of COVID-19 has reached the country and has caused a swift uptick in new cases. This has prompted the Ugandan government to restore many of their prior lockdown protocols. As it stands right now, we cannot return to the field due to the COVID restrictions. We’ve been in touch with friends there and the restrictions would make our ministry impossible.

Upon consultation with our Pastor, we have decided to remain until early October. This will give the virus time to run its course, and hopefully allow the country of Uganda to lift its lockdown restrictions so churches can meet again and we can travel between districts. It will also bring the cost of plane tickets down, which are very expensive right now.

We are of course grieved by this further delay, as we were all very much wanting to go home and continue our work. God however seems to have other plans for the immediate future. So, we are adapting to the changes as best we can, and are preparing to assist with our church’s ministry for the foreseeable future. I will be sending COVID relief money of my own to Uganda to purchase food and medicine to keep our people healthy and fed while they are on lockdown.

Given our still more extended stay in America, if any of you would like a visit from us, let me know and I will make arrangements.

Thank you for your patience and continued prayers for us.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 02-24-2021

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Greetings! It has been an eventful few months, in so many ways.

Our Pastor’s procedure went well. Thank you for praying. Pastor Spilger was cleared by his doctor, and it appears there was no permanent damage to his heart. God was very gracious.

Shortly before Christmas, everybody in our church, Pastor included, contracted China Virus. It swept through the whole church in about a week. Pastor Spilger got very sick, and had to be hospitalized. He has recovered and come home, but his illness, in juxtaposition with his heart attack, has made him very weak. So we and others are sharing the ministry duties while he works on getting his strength, and his voice, back.

He has asked me to stay in America until the end of May while he recovers. I have agreed. We are very anxious to get back to the field, but our church needs us for a bit longer. I will be teaching Sunday School, visiting the families of some of our Victory Club kids, and providing pulpit fill as necessary. We are also preparing material to teach our church people in Uganda when we return. 

Additionally, during the lengthy lockdown, we observed that some of our children were having a much harder time adapting to America than we realized. Some things happened to us on the mission field that had lasting effects on them, greater than any of us knew. We have been working with them to get them counseling. Our Pastor has advised us to use this time to continue working with our children, so when we return to Uganda in May, they are better established and settled.

I made a promise before I ever became a missionary that I would never sacrifice my children for the ministry. I have seen too many preacher’s and missionary’s kids utterly self destruct because their parents were focused on ministry to their detriment. Missionary kids seem to have a particular problem with this. Our Pastor does not want this to happen to us or our children.

So in addition to needing me to remain and assist, our Pastor is counseling us to remain and make sure our kids are okay before we go back. They are making good progress. Pray for them.

We are staying through this semester, which they are again doing remotely while Covid restrictions at PCC remain in effect. Pray for us. This has been a very unusual interlude in our ministry, but I am confident it will all work out for the best. Our desire is longevity on the mission field and we are confident the steps we are taking with our children will contribute toward this goal. Thank you for your patience with us.

 

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 11-25-2020

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Happy Thanksgiving!

We are planning to return to Uganda at the end of January. Uganda began receiving commercial flights on November 1 so we could not have left before then. Pray there are no repeat lockdowns in either Europe or Uganda. It looks okay right now, but things tend to change on a dime and with no warning.

I thought, with it being this close to the holidays, and the fact our parents are aging, we should probably spend the holidays with family one more time. Last week, my wife’s father, our Pastor, had a heart attack. I am very grateful we were here to be able to help him during his recovery. He is doing well at the moment. The doctors say the damage to his heart was minimal. He still needs an additional stent put in. The procedure is scheduled for December 1. Please pray for Pastor Ken Spilger.

Our extended time in the states has also allowed us to deal with some family related issues that have arisen. The children we planned to leave in the US were struggling with adapting to life here. Being stuck here gave us the time we needed to address those problems and get them help. I cannot minister anywhere if my children are not okay. They are working through those struggles and coming out victorious, but I am very grateful we got this opportunity to work with them. They chose to live with us here in St. Louis and distance learn through their college for this semester. Unless something changes, it looks like they will remain here next semester and continue working their jobs and doing school remotely.

I am very much looking forward to getting back to my home in Uganda. We have a lot of work to do when we return. I have pending construction projects that needed doing when I left a year and a half ago and are quite badly needed now. I have piles of paperwork with the government waiting for me that couldn’t be done remotely. And I can only imagine the horror of the filth in our house that will need to be cleaned.

Thank you for your patience during this lengthy, unscheduled stay in America. Please continue to pray for our churches in Uganda. The work has continued there, in spite of all the lockdowns and our absence. God has blessed our work greatly.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-22-2020

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Hiya folks! Naturally, as soon as I send an update out, the President of Uganda finally speaks to the lockdown issue. It’s like carrying an umbrella with you everywhere, but the one time you leave it home, that’s when it rains. Anyway, there have been some promising changes to the China Virus restrictions in Uganda.

According to the US Embassy website:

“The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that Entebbe International Airport will reopen to regularly scheduled commercial traffic effective October 1, though service may be at a level reduced from that provided prior to the closure in March.  Tourists will be permitted to arrive provided they show a negative COVID-19 test taken not more than 72 hours before arrival and as long as the tour operators ensure that tourists do not mix with Ugandans but travel straight to their tourist destinations, or transit hotels.  Returning Ugandans who have a negative COVID-19 test will be permitted to go to their homes.  The Ministry of Health will acquire home addresses of such arrivals for follow-up purposes.”

KLM (our airline) is not resuming regular flights to Entebbe until November. In any case, I need to observe how they organize things for a while to make sure they get the bugs all worked out, and that there is not a repeat lockdown if there is an uptick in cases. At the moment, it looks like we would not be forced to quarantine in Kampala for 16 days like they were doing before, but can go directly to our house in Mbarara. Which is awesome.

So right now, my original plan still holds – wait until after the US Election and see how things develop, then make a decision. We should be back before the end of the year, unless something changes, again.

Thanks for praying!