MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 11-25-2020

/in /by

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

/in /by

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!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-18-2020

/in /by

Howdy! I hope everybody is doing well wherever you are in this, the sixth month of “14 days to flatten the curve.”

Unfortunately, I have no good news on the Uganda lockdown situation. Earlier this month, a recommendation was made to the Ugandan President Museveni to open up schools and the airport on October 1. I waited a couple weeks to see if he would do it and… nothing. He has gone radio silent. No word at all.

So the old lockdown protocols are still in effect. No school. No church. Borders are closed to regular international and domestic travel. Curfew in effect from 2100h-0530h daily. Nothing has changed.

As it stands now, I am planning on staying here at least through the election. I have not voted in person for a Presidential election since 2008, and I wish to do so for this one. I have concerns about civil unrest following President Trump’s massive landslide victory, and wish to be here to protect my family if things get ugly, as we live close to St. Louis City. The irony is that before the Scamdemic locked everything down we were planning to come back in February in case the election in Uganda turned violent. I can no longer think of my country as an advanced nation that has free and fair elections. Thank you for that Democrats.

Meanwhile, I am prepping some doctrines courses to put to work when we get back. I am still ready to get the church building rebuilt at Isanja and the new library building at Ngarama. There are other projects of equal importance for which I lack funding. They will remain undone unless I have sufficient money for materials and labor. Pray about helping us. I have half of what is needed for all projects.

Pray for our churches in Uganda. They are still on lockdown. Pray for our people, for their health, physical, mental and spiritual. The United States is sending new rations to refugees there, as the UN has cut funding to our people because of the Scamdemic.

Recent changes in immigration policy pretty much guarantees that none of our refugees will ever leave there, or make it to America if they do. This is the unfortunate result of the criminal behavior of Democrats in our own country who want to flood our country with poor, easily manipulated illegal immigrants from countries that hate America, while rejecting the excellent highly educated refugees who love America and want to become Americans. So now nobody gets to come in.

This is particularly discouraging to my friend and co-laborer Pastor Zizi, who’s sister and mother made it to America under Obama, but have now been stranded in bureaucratic limbo due to these changes. He is frantic with worry for his mother who is in poor health, but cannot go to her to care for her because he is stuck in Uganda.

And we are stuck here. 

Quite the year we’re having, isn’t it?

Thank you for praying for us. Pray for America. Pray for Uganda.

God bless you.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 07-24-2020

/in /by

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.

CORRECTION and a Small Update

/in /by

Greetings! I have fresh information and a correction on the lockdown situation in Uganda. First the correction. Ugandan churches and schools are still closed. I misunderstood a report from one of my pastors there. They are meeting in small groups for worship, but official church (meeting in the actual buildings) is still forbidden. 

The President is allowing taxis to move around, and has increased the number of passengers to 4. The airport in Entebbe is still closed. Ugandan nationals were going to be allowed to return, but the President has again extended that by two weeks. At this point, there is no indicator when non-citizens like us will be allowed to return home.

I sent money to help our folks with food during the lockdown. They bought approximately 1.5 tons of rice and distributed it amongst our members. They will likely need more in the future. If you would like to help with that, and decide to send anything for that purpose, make sure you mark it accordingly.