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
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
Labels: Six Month Anniversary
posted by Ironside Tribe at 10:54 PM
3 Comments:
Excellent summary of what you guys are doing and have experienced. It is obvious that God is at work. We will continue to pray for you guys. Love the blog - keep it up. It helps to pray knowing recent developments, concerns, etc.
Blessings!
I have loved reading your summary seeing in every detail how God has provided and the faith that you have of knowing he will provide! Keep up with the awesome work Kevin with the blog. It helps knowing exactly what to pray for. I think the only thing lacking is pictures! God bless you all for serving Him in Africa.
I accidentally responed to this blog on the last one. I said, good summary, got Pamela's letter and keep an eye on the mail for mine. I sent it off today. Love ya'll, Katie
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