MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 05-29-2013

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Greetings! We are traveling hard and making good headway with our meetings. We’ve been down to Louisiana, then Florida with a stop in Pensacola to visit some friends (Stephen Spilger and Kristen and Garrett Tracht) at PCC, where some of my kids are wanting to go. It was instructive, getting to tour the campus – seems like a great school. Then we swung back home by way of a meeting in Georgia so I could swap vans with another missionary (I made sure I covered it with Obama bumper stickers first, Nate Wright – kidding!). 

We had another meeting with our friends Bill and Tresia Gillespie at Maranatha Baptist here in St. Louis. Then it was an all day jaunt the next day to North Carolina for some more meetings. Those meetings went great, and then we got back to NW Pennsylvania for a missions conference. Thanks to a cancellation, we got some extra meetings, and my kids got to spend a lot of time with their new friends. It was very pleasant just to be stationary. We spent some time hiking in the Alleghany National Forest, which was gorgeous. It felt like home in Uganda, being in a small town, surrounded by green trees.

We have loads more meetings this year. Pray for our safe travels. Pray I will be successful in raising more support. I need to make up the difference of what we didn’t have when we went to the field under supported, and also what we have lost in the way of churches dropping or reducing support, and also the losses brought about by inflation and the meteoric rise in cost of living. 

We have gathered many books. I heard from a lady in Connecticut that has a book re-selling business. I will be able to walk through her 4,000 square foot warehouse and pick out whatever we want. Also, she may have 20 school desks and chairs to take back with us as well. Pray we’ll be able to raise the funds for shipping. Keep bringing us boxes of books. We will be carrying those in our van back to St. Louis every time to add to the pile.

God bless you!

 

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 04-29-2013

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Howdy, y’all! Furlough continues apace. April has zipped past, with much to accomplish. There were multiple tasks queued up that all had to be done at once nearly as soon as we reached the States. When we weren’t in meetings, we worked on those. 

We got all our shopping done, finally. I personally hate shopping for clothes, but I tolerate it as an occasional, necessary activity. In this instance, there was no choice – everyone had to have new clothes. It’s nice to have new things that fit and aren’t worn out, but what a tiresome process. 

The kids’ passports are renewed. <Groan> Passports for 5 kids are expensive! It was a pleasure to be able to just go to our local post office and get those done, efficiently, and as quickly as all that paperwork can be done. It sure beats having to take a trip to Kampala, get them processed there, stay overnight, drive back the next day, and then have to return to Kampala AGAIN when the new passports finally arrive weeks later.

We’ve been able to spend a lot of time with family, which is awesome. Family is the biggest reason we come home on furlough, and it’s been wonderful to see them all again.

We received a shipment of books from Texas and got those down into our mission house basement. There’s currently enough books down there to fill a 20 foot shipping container, or close to it. I am very grateful to all the people who got on board with this project before we ever arrived in America and started gathering books for us. So far, we have been getting books at most churches we visit. We don’t need truckloads (unless, of course, you have truckloads, in which case, we will take ’em), so we can take anything you have, as long as it’s in boxes. Then we haul them back to St. Louis in our van, which has ample space in back for cargo. If every church does this, we should easily get enough books to fill a 40′ shipping container. Pray about the money we will need for the container, the shipping, and the lesser cost of constructing a library building when we get back to Uganda.

We are in the beginning of some of the first of our long travels East. Pray for our safety and health. Pray the meetings will go well, and we’ll be able to secure additional support along the way. Keep praying for our churches, workers, and property back in Uganda.

God bless you!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 04-05-2013

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Greetings from America! We made it to the States safe and sound. Our luggage also made it safe and sound, with no sign of pilferage, which is a plus. Nobody got sick (also a plus). We’re all finally getting over the jet lag (Uganda is eight hours ahead of Central Time). We spent a day in Chicago resting up and sleeping. You have to stay awake all day no matter how exhausted you are so you can force your body to bed at the right time. Next day we took the train to Saint Louis (so much roomier and more comfortable than the plane), and my folks and brother Joel and sister and brother-in-law and niece met us at the station. Dad brought the van we’ll be using thanks to Baptist Missionary Transportation Ministry (thank you Eric!).

On Easter Sunday, we surprised our church by just walking in the door. It was awesome. It felt very normal, like we’ve never been away. We’re getting settled into the house where we’ll be staying during those brief intervals where we’ll actually be in Saint Louis (we have a lot of churches scheduled). The past few days have been excruciatingly busy just getting ourselves in order for our first meeting in Nevada, MO (Bible Baptist, Pastor Jerry Pyle).

For example, I have no suits. I gave away all my ties and dress shirts to my Bible Institute students, even my shoes. So, both Anna and I had to get to a store to get shoes. We have moved from a climate where you mostly wear sandals, to cold (to us) North America where you need closed shoes. Thankfully, Debbie Guimon let us have some shoes for the boys, and Elizabeth got some shoes from Wally World. I had to have my two suits altered, because I lost 40 pounds after I went to Africa and they now make me look like a cancer patient.

On examination, my seamstress wife determined that they can’t be altered, so now what am I going to wear? I tried finding some slacks to wear with the nice, African dress shirts I brought with me, but it’s just as hard to find pants that fit me here as it is in Africa (I am an above average height guy doomed to live in a world full of shorter people 😉 ). I don’t want to waste money on suits because I don’t really wear them in Africa, and if I ever need suits, I can get excellent TAILORED suits made there for a mere fraction of the cost of an ill-fitting suit off the rack here. Pray I find something I can wear next week when I have time to shop around.

Pray for our travels. We have many places we need to visit. I still need one meeting in Florida for the morning service of May 5, one in Virginia for the evening service of May 26, meetings in New York for the evening service of June 2 and a Wednesday meeting for June 5, a meeting for Wednesday, October 2 in New Mexico or Arizona, and a meeting on Wednesday, October 9 in Arizona or Nevada. If anybody knows of some churches who might like a visit from some awesome missionaries to Uganda, please let me know. If I can fill those time slots, our schedule will be full. Pray I can make contact with the right Pastors. Pray for our support. We went to Africa under supported. God has taken care of our needs. In order to be effective, we need about ten more churches to support us, and possibly some of our supporting churches to raise our support. Pray we’ll get the support we need during this nine month window.

Pray for the churches in Ngarama and Juru who are continuing in our absence, and for the men who are leading them.

Remember Project Libris. We have a van with ample storage in back, so if you have books you want to box up and send with us on our way through to Saint Louis, let me know and I’ll pick those up as we go. We have many books at our church already, and I have heard from two other sources who are sending another 12,000 volumes our way (PTL!). Pray the money we will eventually need for a container and shipping will become available, and also a little extra with which to build a simple library building at Sangano when we return.

I have contact info for the USA while we are here:

James Huckabee
12120 Pelota St
Saint Louis, MO 63138

James (cell) 636-730-0336
Anna (cell) 636-730-0335

God bless you all, and looking forward to seeing many of you soon!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 03-23-2013

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It has been a very hectic month. The time has come to return to America, which requires brutal levels of preparation and organization. I just thank God we’re only returning for a visit. I thought the first move we made coming to this country was going to kill us off, so this seems relatively easy by comparison. We’ve got a great place to live, we only have to bring ourselves and a minimal level of luggage, and it will all still be here when we get back – we’re not moving everything we own.

We have all this work to do, and naturally, the flu virus that conquered North America made its way to Uganda via Entebbe Airport. I suspect when our dear friends the Tracht’s were on the way here, they were exposed somewhere en route. We’re all overjoyed and happy to see our friends, and then they and we immediately get violently sick and can’t spend any time with each other. Those of you who had it know how it is – high fever, cough, body aches, and flat on your back from it for 7 straight days. Terrible timing. It hit our family like a bomb. I missed church and institute from it. We’re already missing our Ugandan family, and right at the end when we’re needing to be around them, we’re laid up with flu.

After having a week of life siphoned off by influenza, it has been a race to get everything pulled together for the impending furlough. It seems to us that Africa is trying to give us the final send off so we remember it fondly. In the past two weeks alone we got all the typical experiences one after another:

1) extended power outage. Turned out two of the load bearing wires that came into our changeover switch had been cut (gremlins?).

2) extended water outage. The men came to turn off our water because we hadn’t paid our bill. I had not received a bill in over a month. They went to disconnect our meter and damaged it. At the same time, there was a problem at the pumping station. We were without water for 2 days. Naturally, we didn’t know there was a problem until we’d already ran our tank dry. I sent my men to fill 11 jerry cans with water from a nearby well. Then I climbed the water tower each time (it took four trips) with a knotted rope and hauled the cans up and filled the tanks manually (you have water reservoirs on an elevated tower, which gravity feeds to your house and supplies you with water pressure. Also serves as auxiliary water when something happens and the water turns off).

3) stuck in the mud. I decided to take the “short cut” on the way back from church last Sunday. Got stuck so bad even L4 and 4-wheel couldn’t get me out. Fortunately, the Bassett’s were right behind us. Thank God I had my rubber boots in the car, carried for situations like this. Took my church shoes off, changed into my boots, and me and Jeff and his son got us out. The problem with these situations is you’re always wearing your church clothes when it happens. Good times.

4) loud, awful, African pop music (think the bastard offspring of hip-hop and rap with heavy, unnecessary use of auto tune) most of the night and now all day today. Honestly, if anyone ever invents a method of practical time travel, I won’t be going after Hitler first. No sir. The first guy on my list of assassination targets would definitely be the creator of auto tune. I have responded with the only cure that serves in a situation like this: bluegrass, sufficient to drown out the auto tune.

Our time here is very short. I am looking forward to seeing everyone, but I have to say, my feelings are mixed. I am missing my people and friends here something awful. Uganda is my home now. Plus, it feels like I just got here. I can’t believe three years has gone by, just like that. We love Uganda so very much, and love the work God has given us to do, and it’s tearing us up to have to leave it. I understand what Paul meant now, when he said, “For I am in a strait betwixt two…”

That’s all I can think of for now. Back to packing.

God bless you all!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 02-19-2013

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Greetings! The field conference went well. Thank you for praying. It was an encouraging time, pleasantly free from crises. Our director, Eric Baughman came from America, which was a blessing. We got to visit with our friends from elsewhere in the country, and the kids got to pal around with their buddies.

We got back and immediately made preparations to go down to Rwanda the next week. A new missionary couple, Michael and Christine Campbell, are living here in Mbarara and going with the Bassett’s and us out to Nakivale while they finalize preparations to go to Rwanda as BIMI missionaries. Meanwhile, they are getting exposure to the Rwandans living in the camp. The Bassett’s, myself, and they are studying Kinyarwanda together. This was to be a survey trip for them, with the Bassett’s and us along to aid and facilitate their exploration of the country. Naturally, the night before the day before we were to leave, that critical day we needed to get caught up on laundry from the week prior and get re-packed, a huge storm hit and knocked out power to the whole town. It was 72 hours before it came back on.

We got across the border alright, then made our way to Kigali. As promised, I delivered my kids to the Schoofs to play with their gang. Greg and Angela have the same number and distribution of kids as we, and similar ages. Our guys and theirs had a great time. We got to spend a fair amount of time fellowshipping with these fine missionaries who have been laboring in Kigali for the past nine years. We spent most of the week in Butare, the city where the Campbell’s are considering going to work. They visited shops to look at prices, looked at some potential houses, and endeavored to get the lay of the land.

I scored some Kinyarwanda language materials to help me continue my studies. I also located a source of fine Rwandan coffee (unroasted, in bulk). This particular blend comes from the northwest region of the country, where the rich, volcanic soil yields delicious, chocolate coffee (not actual chocolate – it’s a taster’s term used to describe the flavor). You can buy this coffee at Costco, which I believe just calls it “Rwandan Coffee”. Mario Serracin is a Brazilian coffee farmer who operates Cafe’ Connexion in Huye. He’s the taster who rates the coffee and the farmer who is teaching the Rwandans how to grow great coffee. He is also the distributor who ensures the Rwandan farmers get 70% of the profits from their crops. Jean Pierre is the local farmer who grows and processes the beans from his family farm. Together they are trying to bring Rwanda’s superior coffee to the Western market, providing the Rwandan coffee farmer with a source of income worthy of their quality product. Africa has the resources to enrich itself. They merely lack access to opportunity and education. Mario is helping provide both. http://www.rogersfamilyco.com/

The trip back was not as smooth. The Campbell’s got held up at the border by rampant bureaucracy which ultimately cost them $200. The road from the border to Mbarara is terrible. It makes travel perilous and slow. We approached what appeared to be some branches in the road. As we drew nearer, it became clear that those “branches” were the body of a Ugandan man who had been struck and killed not ten minutes before. This underscores not only Africa’s need for leaders who aren’t thieves that eat all the money instead of fixing the roads, but the great need for the Gospel here. Life is uncertain and short. That man had no way of knowing when he got up that morning that, before day’s end, he’d be meeting his Creator. Did he hear of the Savior before he was killed? Nobody knows.

Pray for our continued ministry in Uganda and for the souls of East Africa.