March 27,2007

Frank and Dennis
Frank and Dennis are two men who have recently accepted Christ as their personal Savior, though in quite different ways. Frank comes from a family where Christianity was discouraged and even scorned, but he had been searching for several months. He is one of sixteen children (15 sisters!) and the only to go to university in his entire village of around 25,000 people in Kenya. He has graduated with a law degree but has not yet found a job. He is very intelligent and a great communicator. I have been amazed at how quickly he is grasping spiritual truth. I am trying to spend more time with him because he is soaking up everything. He came to the Lord through Pastor Kennedy who had been witnessing to him and spending time with him for several months. We talked with Frank for about an hour one night after a Saturday night church service and just a few hours before he received Christ. You could sense that he was close, but we did not realize how close. The exciting thing was that his father has no relationship with Frank, but called him that same night to tell Frank that he should seek God. When his dad first called, Frank thought that he was drunk and hung up. However, his dad called back and shared that Frank should pursue God. This same man had forbid two of Frank’s sisters from coming home because they had become Christians and had not talked to Frank for two years. He came forward for salvation the following morning at church. He is the man talking with me by the lake in the only picture of me on Flickr. There is also a picture of him and Pastor Kennedy with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Frank is the taller one and Kennedy has on sunglasses.

Dennis is a young man of around 20 that we met at the Shell gas station. Whenever we would stop to get fuel, he would be our attendant and loved interacting with our boys. One day I was asking him if he was born again. He responded that he was not born again but that he was a Christian (a common response here, actually, which is why you ask if they are born again). I asked how this was possible and he told me that he believed in God but did not believe that Jesus was His son. I told him that he could not be a Christian without believing in Christ and explained the gospel. He and a Muslim man stood and talked with me for 15-20 minutes that day and we started a relationship. On Christmas day we decided that we would take Dennis a copy of the book “More Than A Carpenter” for a present. We went back a week later to see what he thought and he said that someone stole his book, so we gave him a second copy not fully knowing if he was being truthful or not. A couple of weeks later I went back to see him again and found out that he was fired for stealing money. Every time that we stopped for gas, we would ask about Dennis but had not seen him for weeks. Based on his stealing, I was thinking that he lied about the book and probably was selling them.

I got a text message a few days ago on my phone from Dennis saying that he missed us and had been told that we were asking about him. I don’t know how he got my phone number, but somehow he tracked me down. I asked him if he read the book and he told me that he now knows that Jesus is the One true Son of God and that He loves Him. He got saved through reading the book! I need to find a way to get him into ministry and follow up with him on a regular basis, but at least the foundation has been laid. Moving people into discipleship is very important but also very challenging here, but imperative if lives are going to be transformed in such a way to transform a corrupt cultural system.

Birds
Uganda is supposed to be one of the best places in the world for birding and I understand why. We live only a few miles from Lake Victoria and also right beside a swamp, and so we get lots of birds coming through. We have seen many types and even more in recent days. The national bird is the Crested Crane and it is a beautiful bird. We have seen them flying by almost everyday lately. I don’t have a picture to post, but I will try to get one soon. I never have my camera with me when I see one. We have seen birds of all sizes and colors, including some brown parrots and African grey parrots right outside our front door in our guava tree. We see maribou storks everywhere, and they are large hideous creatures, which is quite a contrast to the other birds. They can usually be seen digging through garbage heaps in town. We have seen weaver birds, bee eaters, and many water fowl. There are hawks, eagles, and falcons everywhere, and they come to our yard all of the time. The sounds that they make are as fascinating as the variety of species. Even as I compose this blog, I can hear at least six distinct calls. There are loud hoops and soft singing and everything in between. I keep thinking of how much Jennifer Mathers would enjoy birding here knowing that she could really appreciate the tremendous diversity.


Outing with Students
We went after church Sunday with the KIU students to a place called the Entebbe Botanical Gardens. We went here one other time and got pictures of monkeys, and we saw even more monkeys this time. I have included some pictures on the Flickr link. The black and white monkeys are called colobus. They are very pretty but also tend to be very shy and run up into the trees if you get close. The gray monkeys are called vervet and are not shy at all. In fact, one got in our car and stole some food while we were feeding the other monkeys. I have included several pictures of Pamela and the boys interacting with the vervets. This is also the kind of monkey that Paska killed in our compound, so maybe they should take a lesson from the colobus and spend more time in the treetops. If you look through the pictures, you will see one monkey walking on his hands. We thought that he was showing off for us, until we realized that both of his feet had been cut off. We were told that it is common for witchdoctors to tell people to get monkey body parts for rituals, and that when you seen a monkey with a missing foot or tail that it was probably victim to a traditional ritual.

It was a very fun afternoon in a lush setting by Lake Victoria and with the students. This was one of the few times that we have had interaction with the students that was not in a formal setting. We get times before and after church and bible studies, but it is usually rushed. The discipleship groups are more intimate, but also fairly formal. We got to see the real personalities come out. It was really fun when they got into their tribes and did some traditional African dancing. Unfortunately, I did not have my video camera with me but I did get a few pictures that are also on Flickr. You could easily see the hams in the group by those who wanted to be the center of attention and leading the dances.


Thumper
Our boys now have a pet rabbit, courtesy of their friend Artibul. They are so excited and have played with it constantly since they were given this new gift on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, our monkey-killing dog would like to add another victim to her list and we have to lock up Paska before we can interact with the rabbit. She cries and whines and runs about wanting to “kill the wabbit” (hopefully you recall Elmer Fudd’s musical episode or you will not get the joke). The guys who built our fort came and built a rabbit cage yesterday. We use the wood from our crates that were shipped, so we have very little material costs on these items, and it gives us additional opportunities to interact with our friends. They asked me yesterday if I would take them to the zoo one day so I promised that I would do so. The only problem is that they might show up with 10 people wanting to go and my car will not hold that many people.

Internet Problems
We were finally starting to think that our communication problems were mostly behind us, but now our home internet has stopped working again. So, if we are slow to respond to email it is because we are back to having to go out in order to retrieve and send email. However, it does appear that our laptop is totally healed! It has not shut off on its own for at least a month and is working well. Praise the Lord because it would have been very expensive and difficult to get it repaired.


p.s. if new pictures do not appear on flickr it is because internet is very slow today where I am working.

March 20, 2007

I hope that you have noticed that I got some pictures posted under the
Flickr window (look to the right of this blog). If you click on a picture, then it will enlarge. The internet is so incredibly slow that posting pictures is a challenge, but I did manage to get a few posted and will try to do some more this week. I have tried to post pictures within the text of the blog, but it never shows up even after it says that it downloaded. Oh well, either I am doing it wrong (likely) or the internet just can’t handle it here.

Pamela just returned yesterday from spending four days “up country” in the town of Arua. This used to be a dangerous area but it is much safer now. Most of northern Uganda is still unsafe due to the Lord’s Resistance Army activity. She had a good trip and made it to and from safely, which is never taken for granted here.

Christian is still battling an intestinal infection of some sort, probably giardia. He went back to school for a couple of days but is home sick again today. We are giving him another round of medicine, which should help clear this up. I learned a new term this week – “diarrating”. Apparently, this is the Ugandan term in verb form for when you have diarrhea. Hopefully, Christian will quite diarrating soon or he will be skinny. One good thing about being sick here – you never need to go on a diet.

Christian caught a chameleon yesterday but I just found out that he already released it. I was going to put a picture of it on the blog for his friends to see.

I am going to start posting a weekly update of emails that we have received so that you can know that yours got through to us. In the past week we have received emails from:
Barbara Ironside, Sarah Hawkins, Lisa Knauss, Brenda Corder, Heather Huff, Alison Lublink, and Jamie McKee. Apparently, women are much more faithful at staying in touch than men based on that list. If we send you an email, please send a short reply letting us know that you got it. This would be quite helpful.

Prayer Needs:
1. Clear direction from the Lord about adopting (boy or girl or both, how old, from where)
2. Location for the student center.
3. Resolution of the work visas. They are currently trying to charge $1000/year/person for missionaries. It used to be $250 per person for a three-year permit. We are unable to leave the country until this is resolved. I am holding out and hoping that there will be a reasonable compromise.
4. Good health for all.
5. Fruitful ministry, especially in discipleship of students.

Last week was a busy and productive week for ministry. I got my first chance to do pastor training, which was something that I had really hoped to do here. I trained a group of 10 pastors on Thursday and Friday on gifts of the Holy Spirit and also on how to prepare a sermon. It was an excellent group and they asked excellent questions. Our discussion on the gift of tongues was the most lively of all. I tried my best to stick to scripture and not rely on my opinion. There are varied teachings on tongues across the globe, but I heard something new this week. One pastor said that people pray in tongues so that Satan cannot understand them and thwart their prayers. As a group, we decided that there wasn’t anything in scripture to support this viewpoint. I just keep pointing them back to the Bible on everything, and I am encouraged at how well they know the scriptures. False teaching is rampant in Uganda, and especially prosperity teaching, so knowing and following the Word is imperative.

We have enjoyed the baseball updates from Niceville. Please keep them coming so that we can stay a part even halfway across the world. We thought about you guys on opening day and wished we could have been there.

I am very pleased that the UT Vols made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament and I am hoping for an upset of Ohio State. I don’t require email updates about them as I keep up with the results on the internet. I appreciate people sending college sports updates, but it is not necessary. If I have email, then it means that we also have internet. Actually, we often have internet but don’t have email but the opposite can never occur. If we have internet, then be assured that I am following sports and especially UT basketball and football. You can take the boy out of America, but you cannot get all of America out of the boy. I am as avid a fan as ever, even without seeing a game on television for many months now.

March 14, 2007

It’s hot here right now. This is supposed to be the rainy season and cooler, but we have only had a few short rain showers for several weeks now. Six of our seven fans have broken, which allows little relief. Less I make it sound too severe, it is still very tolerable, but I am ready for the rains to start back. It is only really uncomfortable when we are trying to sleep.

Christian is the latest to become ill and is home sick from school today. He appears to have the same illness that Blake, Addison, and I had back in early February. He only weighed 139 pounds this morning, which is less than he weighed when we left America in September even though he has grown two or three inches taller. I asked him if he wanted to add anything to this blog and he has not provided me any material yet.

We have received very few emails in recent weeks, and so we are wondering if they are disappearing into cyberspace again. We have sent out some emails that would have initiated responses and heard from only one or two people. So, if you have sent an email in the past three weeks and not heard from us, I recommend that you re-send it. Pam’s mom confirmed that we have not gotten two emails that she sent us.

We harvested our first vegetables from our garden this morning: two cucumbers and one zucchini. The dry weather is hindering a greater crop, but it was still exciting to see produce coming from our yard. We should have many vegetables in upcoming months. Getting fresh tomatoes year round has been a nice treat.

We had another near miss on an eye injury since I last wrote. The boys were playing street hockey and Blake accidentally hit Addison in the face with his stick. He has a black eye and a cut beside his eye. This makes three boys who have had injuries to the face around their eye. We thank God for his protection, and pray that Collin will not be the fourth to get hurt.

Pamela is going this weekend to Arua in northwest Uganda along the Sudan and Congo borders. She will be helping some of our friends from World Gospel Mission, John and Erica Rineheimer, who are moving there to help train pastors. She made many curtains for their house and is helping them to decorate and settle. It will probably be a nice break from mothering, even though it is an 8-hr drive and will not be an easy trip.

I found an interesting tree frog yesterday. The boys found some more chameleons and I was releasing them in a tree, when I spotted the frog. It is black with yellow stripes and resembles the poison arrow frogs from the Amazon rain forest. We saw two parrots in our yard last week, too, though they were not gray parrots, which are our favorites. We visited the local zoo last week and got to see lots of animals up close. There are wild monkeys that come into the zoo, apparently to beg for food. Christian and Blake had guavas in their pockets and the monkeys reached into their pockets to take them. The boys got a kick out of interacting with the monkeys. They were holding onto the boys’ hands and pants. One monkey got annoyed with Blake and tried to bite his leg, but fortunately did not succeed. We got to see chimpanzees as well, which were the favorite animals in captivity. It is kind of anticlimactic to go to a zoo after being on a safari and seeing everything in the wild. It was interesting though, when the ostriches began mating about 10 feet from us.

I am wondering how I am supposed to get income taxes done this year. This is a bad year for me to be out of the country when doing taxes because this will be the most complicated tax year that I have ever experienced. We sold a house, had major changes to our stock programs at SAIC, had large expenses associated with moving to Africa, and made some financial investments with the equity from the sell of our home.

I guess that it is warming up in America with the approaching spring. Spring was always one of my favorite times of the year as everything would begin turning green and the days grew longer and warmer. It was also the start of baseball season. We have 12-hr days year round, and the temperature only fluctuates about 5 to 10 degrees from rainy season to dry season. It is a pleasant climate and we are close enough to the lake that we usually have a breeze to cool us down, though a little more variety would be nice. What is interesting with this climate is to see how big some plants get that I always thought of as small in America. For example, the ficus trees are as big as oak trees, and we have salvia flowers that are 4-ft tall, when they were only 6-inches or so in America. Did you know that Uganda is one of the world’s biggest producers of roses? They are beautiful here and grow very well.

Our biggest news is that we are more seriously considering adoption. We have found out more information in recent weeks and now know that we need to start moving on this soon if we are really going to do it. You have to have a child in your custody for at least two years, and they prefer three years, if you are going to leave the country. We also found out that they need to be a “true orphan” with no confirmed living relatives if you are to get custody. So, we are seeking the Lord about this and how we should proceed. Five of us want a boy, and one of us would prefer a girl. Maybe we should get one of each. It does make me realize that I will need income again soon if we are going to increase our expenses even further. It is in our hearts to do this, though we still don’t have clear direction from the Lord.

If anyone out there is contemplating a care package, there are some small things that we could use right now that are not included on our container that is due to arrive in early May. So, if you decide to send something our way, please check in with us prior to so that we can get some small items included. It is mostly kitchen spices and inexpensive things that we just can’t get here.

If there is something that you would like to read about that I have not included, please let me know and I will write about it. I am not sure what people are interested in, and our schedule is getting so consistent that there is not as much variety to write about. I am trying to get Pamela to write something, but she says that I am doing fine. Please encourage her to add to the blog. She had an interesting experience yesterday helping a student who is pregnant.

Blessings,
Kevin for the Ironside Tribe

Six Months in Uganda

Today, March 6, 2007, marks our six-month anniversary in Uganda. We have been told that the first six months are often the most difficult, so this is a major milestone. The first four months went very slowly and the last two months have passed extremely quickly, mainly because we have been busy in ministry (finally!). It is actually helpful to me to evaluate the progress made in six months because it reminds me of God’s faithfulness and also lets me see that we have made some real progress. This is a fairly comprehensive review of what we are doing and have done, so it is a bit long.

University Ministry
First off, we came with a call to help disciple university students, and this will be continue to be our primary focus. Though it hasn’t gone anything like we expected (we thought that we would be at Makerere University and instead we are at Kampala International University, [KIU]), we are definitely involved in discipling university students. We are working through United Faith Chapel, which is a church made up almost entirely of students from KIU and it meets on the campus. This past Sunday, the pastor wanted to see how many countries were represented, and there were students from Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Zambia in attendance. It is really exciting to get a small taste of “every tribe, tongue, and nation praising Jesus!”

Pamela meets on Monday afternoons with her discipleship group of around 14 women, and then teaches a Bible study to a larger group of women later that evening. She is also helping to encourage the women’s group leader, Lillian, and assist her in ministry. Lillian is a university student from Kenya and doing an excellent job, but as a student she really needs the support. God has recently raised up three women to assist in women’s ministry, which is something that the church has been praying about for over a year.

I have a discipleship group of 11 guys that are mostly from Kenya, but also from Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda. It is very exciting to be reaching so much of East Africa in one group setting! We meet on Friday evenings and it is a very fun group. I am also meeting with Pastor Kennedy every Monday to pray, plan, and talk. He is only 28 years old, and like Lillian, just needs support and encouragement as well as accountability. I really enjoy my time with Kennedy and would appreciate you praying for him, too. One prayer need is that he would really like to be married and is seeking God about this. I get regular opportunities to preach in the church. They meet on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. I have preached most of their Saturday services in recent months, and will be preaching more on Sunday mornings, too, as we go forward. Around 300 students attend on Saturday night and between 500-600 students on Sunday morning. They have had nearly 800 in attendance on some Sundays.

In working with students, we also have discipleship opportunities outside of the formal times. I met with a young computer science major this week who said that he had two questions that he needed to ask me. The questions were: 1) How do you hear God and know that it is Him? and 2) How do I surrender to God and why does it seem so hard? We talked for over an hour through these things. It was quite encouraging to meet a 19-yr old student who has been saved for only one year, who was interested in hearing and obeying God and doing so with his entire life. This is just the most recent example, but we get chances like this almost daily.

They are very interested in learning about how to have godly relationships and will talk about this as long as you are willing to stay. They had an all day seminar on the topic last weekend, and the students just kept asking questions. This is a tough topic because there really isn’t that much in the bible that teaches on what courtship should look like. I hear many people with many strong opinions on the subject, but I also find that most people that teach on the “new way” didn’t actually do their own courtship that way. We can certainly provide some counsel and give biblical principals on purity, but when students are out of their home country and away from their parents/family, it makes the courtship process even more complex. When you combine this with the many cultural differences because of the many countries represented, it gets quite complicated and whatever you teach better be based on scripture and not just an opinion. Currently in East Africa, “dating” means having a sexual relationship, which puts tremendous pressure on the students. They know this is wrong but they are not sure what is right. They don’t have many safe places to go to spend time with friends of the opposite sex, or even of the same sex for that matter. This is part of the reason that we desire to start a student ministry center…just so they have a safe place to hang out. Most university students spend their hang time in bars and clubs, and they are everywhere here. It is really sad to see this pressure to drink and party literally all weekend long.

We are still pursuing a location for the student ministry center, which we hope to place near campus. It will host a gym, computer lab, library, music room, and game room. We have almost all of the stuff to stock the facility with the exception of the library. Our next container is due to arrive in early May with most of the items, so we would like to have a location secured by then.

What We Have Learned and How God Has Provided
We knew so little when we arrived in Uganda that we had nowhere to go but up. God’s grace has been sufficient and He has been faithful to guide, direct, and carry us. These may all seem like small things, but they were difficult and overwhelming when we arrived.

• We have learned how to drive on the other side of the car and the road. The traffic here is horrendous and the roads are equally bad, but we can find our way now. It used to terrify us and exhaust us, but we are doing much better. It is still difficult, but not overwhelming. We have had no serious accidents and only one real incident when I struck a small child (who was ok).
• We know how to shop. This was also a hard thing to learn, but we pretty much know where to go to get what we need.
• We can greet in Lugandan and Swahili…well, Pamela can speak much better than I can. Our communication is going well and we improve each week.
• We know the good restaurants. Very important for Pamela and I to get away occasionally. The Thai and Indian foods are excellent.
• We found a very nice house with a big yard for the boys to play in.
• We found a good dog to be a companion to our boys and to help guard our compound.
• We have made many new friends, both Africans and Americans and see people that we know everywhere we go. Our boys are relating very well to the nationals and know peoples’ names in the store, gas stations, swimming pool and other places. Addison and Christian are doing extremely well with meeting nationals, and I really don’t think that Addison realizes that he is white and that most others are not.
• We have learned that even though we got off to such a difficult start that it was all part of God’s plan. Even through some of the deceit that we faced, we know that God has led us to Uganda and we have never doubted that. What man intended for evil, God intended for good and used to get us here.
• We have learned how much we need the body of Christ. Our friends in America have blessed us and encouraged us through emails, care packages, and prayers. Our Christian friends here help us by praying with us and spending time with us.
• We finally got internet in our house. Communication is so important, and though it continues to be challenging, it is much more consistent now.
• We have moved from daily survival into daily ministry. Homesickness still hits from time to time, but it is not the daily struggle that it once was.
• We have learned that God’s word is our answer for all of our questions. We have faced situations and problems that we never knew in America, and we have found everything we need to know in God’s word. For this, we are most thankful.
• We have learned the importance of accountability and adherence to God’s word. We have seen the harmful effects of what happens when these are not in place, and how easy it is to for people to stray from truth.
• God has protected us from serious illness. We have all had some bouts of illness, but we have not had malaria or anything terribly serious.

Business Development
We are still uncertain what this will evolve and how it will materialize, but we have had interesting developments. The biggest thing has been helping a Rwandan man to start a business. I have been advising him and gave him a business loan to start an international calling business. He was doing this on a small scale but lacked the capital to really move forward. He is off to a good start and has a profitable business already.

The ministry center has the potential of being run as a business as we will need to charge a membership fee to run it. This is important because you have to be very careful about giving too many things for free here, and also because it needs to be self-sustaining. We will charge a minimal fee and try to remain profitable or at least break-even. I can use this to train and mentor in business, including accounting, hiring and training staff, maintenance, and other areas of business.

I am still pursing alternative electricity solutions. I am not sure where God is leading on this, but I have not forgotten about it. I have some excellent contacts in the government that would allow us to pursue this if the American-based company decides to come here.

What We Miss
We try not to spend time and energy looking back, but there will always be some things that you miss. Our list is simple and diverse:
• Cleanliness and order. It is very dirty, crowded, and chaotic here.
• Hamburgers.
• Corporate worship with quality music. We have lots of enthusiasm here, but not much talent or preparation.
• Our family and friends.
• Our church, ABF and home group.
• Niceville.
• Regular, consistent communication, by phone and email.
• Football and baseball, especially for our boys.
• Walmart. (I used to hate Walmart, so this is hard for me to admit)
• Paved roads and clear driving patterns.
• Seasons.
• The Destin beaches.
• Showers.
• Oddly enough, my job.

Orphan Ministry
We felt that God wanted to use us to help facilitate the start of a children’s home in Uganda, and now we know how important it is to have someone “on the ground” when starting a new ministry. Our role will be more of facilitation, but critical in establishing a home that will avoid corruption and exploitation of orphans. Unfortunately, there is so much money associated with orphan ministry that there is tremendous temptation for the nationals to get into this area of work just to get money. Our role will be to:
• Identify a national person who can be the leader of the children’s home. This person must have a heart for orphans and be willing to personally sacrifice (rather than gain) to help them.
• Identify the group of children who God is calling us to help.
• Identify the best place to build a facility.
• Understand the legal process for starting a children’s home.
• Help with accountability once the home is established.

All of these things could take years to establish if there was no one on the ground. We have learned so much about each of these areas and see how God is preparing us. We know of two different groups of orphans who need help. We have met some potential leaders and are praying through it now. We know of models to follow that have had long-term success. We are beginning to know better on the economics and what to pay for land.

We do not have adequate time to do this on a full-time basis, since our primary call is to discipleship. However, God is making efficient use of our time so that we are equipped to facilitate starting an orphan ministry here. I believe that we will know much more and be much further along by the one-year mark.

Encouraging Others
Pamela has always had the gift of hospitality and encouragement, so it should not come as a surprise that she is using this so much in Uganda. She encourages other women almost daily through hospitality and companionship. She has many who want to be trained in sewing. We see God using us to encourage other missionaries as well. We meet other missionaries almost weekly. We had lunch with a family yesterday and will be meeting with another family later this week. Sometimes it is for us to be encouraged and counseled by more seasoned missionaries, and sometimes it is for us to encourage them. It happens so frequently that we believe it is part of our ministry here. People are so quickly drawn to Pamela that it is likely that this will continue to happen.

Finances
It is much more expensive here than we anticipated, and we are going through money quickly. Unfortunately, the value of the dollar has dropped almost 10% since we arrived, making it even more expensive. We have spent over $100,000 since we departed America, but I think that it will cost about $45,000 per year to live here now that we are established. God has led some people to give, and we are using that money (about $15,000) for the student ministry and for shipping the next container.

Conclusion
We have far to go, but God has also taken us a long way. We were in a survival mode the first couple of months, but now quickly advancing forward. Not having someone on this side to take us through the logistical process of getting settled made things more difficult than most missionaries experience, but it also taught us a lot very quickly. God has been extremely faithful to protect us and guide us and bring people into our lives to help us when we needed it most.

We still have no idea how long we will be in Uganda or what would come next if God leads us back to America. We made an initial commitment to be here two years, and we know that we will be here for at least that long. We can’t imagine being far enough along in ministry to leave in 18 months, so it is likely that the earliest we would return to America would be in May of 2009. We don’t know if we would be returning to Uganda or not. We have contemplated a furlough, but flying six people back to America would be quite expensive. If we did take a furlough, it would probably be around Christmas of 2007 and only last 6-8 weeks. We kind of doubt that we would do that because of work that needs to be done and possible visitors at that time.

We sometimes wonder what the next few years hold for our family. Where will we live? What will I do for employment? We have absolutely no idea at this point. We might not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future. Some days I am tempted to contemplate the future and try to plan, but I know better. I am to abide in Christ daily, seek first His kingdom, and He will lead. We are thankful to be here and to see God using us. We desire that God will do a work in us and in our family dynamics and also use us to do a work in Africa.

We covet your prayers. We are constantly encouraged by the many people who keep up with the blog and let us know that they read it. We have confidence that we are in God’s will and that He is leading us. For these, and His continual grace and faithfulness we are most thankful.


Blessings to you all!

Kevin for the Tribe

Boys Being Boys

We have had some interesting experiences with our boys in recent days, but mostly with one. Blake has not lost his zeal for life or his propensity for finding trouble. I got to go visit the school headmaster three times in one week due to mischief. A couple of times he was just being too silly in class and didn’t know when to stop. Nothing too serious, just Blake being Blake, but it was disrupting the teacher and he wasn’t obeying her. The third incident was also in good fun but caused a bit too much disruption as well. Blake had some of his school items taken from school while he was out of the class. They were things like his ruler, pencil sharpener, and eraser. It was frustrating him that his classmates were taking his things, which we believe birthed his idea for fun. Blake first began taking other people’s items as well and would let them look for some time and wait for them to get frustrated before revealing that he had it and then return it. Then he began to take items from one child and place them in another child’s backpack or pencil pouch. When the student with the missing items would begin looking for his things, Blake would tell them that another student had taken them. One girl, who was being made to look like the “taker”, was emphatically denying taking anything. Blake and his friend Musa said, “look in her pencil pouch, we saw her take it”. She opened her pencil pouch to reveal her innocence only to reveal the missing items. She was so disturbed that she began to cry and sob bitterly. The teacher had to intervene and discovered that Blake and Musa were involved. Thus, the third trip to the headmaster. I think that he now realizes that there is a time for fun and a time to be serious and that this was inappropriate behavior.

Blake also broke off one of his front teeth this week. It was a tooth that was previously broken and repaired in the States. He had been really good about being careful not to bite down on hard items, but he forgot for a moment while eating a sucker. He doesn’t like the way it feels or the way it looks, but it will still be a few more days until we can see a dentist. We know a good dentist here who was trained in the UK and have seen his work. However, he is out of the country until March 7. We hope that he can repair it properly. Interestingly, he broke his tooth the day after nearly losing an eye.

Blake and Collin both play very rough with our dog Paska and get too close to her face while playing. I have warned both of them repeatedly that they are going to be bitten. They keep telling me that Paska won’t bite them. I then tried to explain that dogs sometimes bite by instinct when someone gets in their face and that I know many people who have been bitten by their own dogs in the face. Well, Blake was wrestling on the ground with Paska and was right in her face. She nipped at him and caught him right around his eye. Two of the teeth marks missed his eye by just a few millimeters. He has a black eye and a cut. It isn’t too bad, but could have been quite serious if she had hit his eye. While explaining to Blake that he needs to heed my advice and to be thankful that he hadn’t lost his eye, he began to argue with me that losing an eye wouldn’t be that bad. When I said that he wouldn’t be able to play baseball or football with one eye, he said that he thought that he could. When I told him that he wouldn’t look as good with just one eye, he argued about that. Anyway, the next day he lost about 2/3 of a tooth and was terribly distraught about how he looked, which is nothing compared to losing an eye. I told him that I believed God allowed it to happen because he did not have a teachable spirit when I was trying to explain about his eye and warning him not to play in a dog’s face. Hopefully, he learned this lesson too.

Blake is still having much more trouble adjusting to life in Africa than the other boys. He was far more upset about leaving America than the others and was the only one who cried. He misses his friends very badly. He sleeps on the bottom bunk of a bunk bed and has his friend’s pictures taped to the underside of the top bunk. He talks about them all the time and keeps asking if they will be able to come visit. He often asks if we will ever live in Niceville again and if my company will take me back. He says that if we ever go on furlough that he will hide until the plane leaves for Uganda. We really want him to enjoy his time here and to learn what God wants to teach him. He is not having constant problems, but they occur fairly often and all appear to be coming from not liking it here. By the way, I asked for Blake’s permission before writing these stories and he replied, “sure, tell them about everything.” Those who know Blake can probably here him saying it.

Collin was shooting a bow and arrow the other day that our helper Micky made for him and Blake. Micky knows the boys’ propensity for trouble, and so he made the arrows very light and without a point. It is a good thing. Collin fired an arrow from about six feet away and hit Christian between his eye and his eyebrow. At this range, it would have caused serious damage even though the arrows are not true weapons. Again, we thank God for his protection. Collin is doing very well here and stays happy most of the time. He is our most content child and likes living in Africa. He has a melancholy personality so he still pouts and whines often, but he would do that no matter where we lived. Collin is having trouble learning to read, which seems to come very easily to the Ugandans (while math is easier for our boys). Please pray that his reading skills will increase.

Addison nearly spent the night sleeping in the back of our car last night. We had dinner with a missionary couple that we recently met and arrived home around 10:30 pm. Collin and Addison had both fallen asleep in the car even though it is less than 10 minutes away. We woke both of them up and opened the back hatch for them to get out. We locked up the house and proceeded to bed. I had put Collin in bed and was waiting to pray for Blake when I realized Addison wasn’t in his bed. I asked Pamela where he was and she said that maybe he never came in. I went back downstairs, unlocked the gate and went outside. There was Addison, lying in the back of the car with the hatch open, sleeping soundly. I wonder when or if he would have woken up and what he would have done. Addison just enjoys life and people. He doesn’t see skin color and hugs and climbs on everyone, which makes building relationships easier for our family. Everyone, no matter how little we have known them, is an instant buddy to Addison. Addison is struggling with is temper and anger and needs to learn more self-control. He is also very close to asking Jesus to be his savior and I expect that it will occur in the near future.

Christian, though only 22 months older than Blake, seems to be many years older in size and interactions. He has grown at least two inches while we have been here and also lost a few pounds, so he had thinned a little. He is about 5’7” and weighs about 145 pounds. His voice is changing and he has shaved a couple of times. He has gone from a size 11 to a size 13 shoe in the six months that we have lived here. He is fairly content, though he would prefer to be in America, too. He, like Addison, also needs to get self-control of his temper and anger. It is quite convicting to see how the sins of the father are passed to the sons. I struggled greatly with anger and a temper at his age, and continue to struggle with it. Christian also interacts very well with the Ugandans and meets people of all ages everywhere we go. His best friends at school are the teachers, and they all enjoy spending time with him. He will talk to anyone and loves to tease the Ugandans. I have had to warn him repeatedly to quit scaring Ugandans with chameleons because they think that they are poisonous.

Now that March is here, it means the start of baseball season in America. I am missing it already. This would have been a special year because it would be Christian’s last year of Little League since he turns 12 next month. He is a very good pitcher and this would have been a fun year for him. Blake’s 10 year-old buddies have an incredible team and will be very competitive come tournament time. I wish that he could have shared it with them, and I will miss seeing that group of kids play this year. Addison and Collin got to play on the same team last year and I would have enjoyed watching Addison advance to machine pitch. Collin is our most natural baseball player and he loves playing. I will miss seeing him with a huge smile on his face while in the batter’s box and then watching him slide into each and every base after he gets a hit.

God called us to lay down several things in order to come to Africa. I had to leave my job, we sold our house, we left our community, church and friends, and we left our family. Still, leaving sports remains one of the most difficult. I wonder if God will allow us to pick it (sports) back up someday. We don’t want it to ever be an idol and distract us from serving God. However, we love the ballpark and watching our boys play. We miss the interactions with the parents of the other players, who have now become our dear friends. I loved knowing almost all of the kids and watching them progress, especially this year’s group of 10 year olds. They are a special group and I believe that they will accomplish great things in this year and years to come.

I am trying to maintain some baseball skills by throwing and catching and doing some hitting. It just isn’t the same thing as being at the ballpark with your friends, though. Last year was crazy with all four boys playing. We had kids playing at three fields, and many times we had to go to all three on the same day. I went directly from work to the ballpark, which usually meant that from the time that I left for work in the morning until I returned home was 14 to 15 hours. We ate on the run, and sat in the cold during the early part of the season and in the heat for the latter part. Dinner was either pizza or hotdogs at the field, or something quickly assembled after getting home at 8 or 9 o’clock. When the after-season tournaments started, we were gone everyday for both practice and games. It was exhausting and I was always glad when the season ended. But, I really wish that I were there for one more season and ready to do it all over again.

March 6th will be our six-month anniversary in Uganda, and I will post a thorough update of our progress so please stay tuned….blessings!