April Update

Greetings in the name of Christ!

Isn’t it amazing that we are all connected through one Savior and one Lord? Even though the distance between us is so great, we are all connected with one commonality.

This has been a busy month. Where do I begin…we were invited to witness the work of God in a witchdoctor’s life. A man from Budaka (about 1 hour from Mbale) has been practicing witchcraft for several years. He committed his life to God a few years ago, but fell back into his practice. He was the treasurer of a group of witchdoctors in the area. He decided to turn down a large sum of money from his fellow doctors to stay and decided to follow Christ instead. Evil worship and practices are so strong over here and the effects are very evident. James (the former witchdoctor) invited several of the missionaries from Mbale to come out to his home and witness the burning of his shrine and the shredding of bushes and trees planted on behalf of his practice. He has a bit of fear that his former partners will retaliate for his decision to turn against the practice. Praise God for his decision to leave the ways of Satan and follow Christ, and to be a witness to so many in the community where he resides.

Mbale held the first quarterly meeting for 2006. All the NTCC (New Testament Churches of Christ) missionaries in Uganda gathered here to have a business meeting and catch up on mission work across the nation. Many of us attended MCC (Mbale Church of Christ) on the Sunday before the meeting. I am encouraged more each time I attend worship there. The attendance has been up to around 200 people with about 1 or 2 baptisms almost every week. We have some truly committed and faithful Christian brothers and sisters who are a part of the leadership at MCC. However, we are praying that more people will be willing to step into the leadership roles to lead this church forward. We had a preacher who was a part of our mission team who recently left, so our team is working and praying that the position of a preacher will be filled with a man of God. Until then, the men on our team are rotating on Sundays to preach.

Our team recently went to Eldama Ravine, Kenya to Sunrise Acres for an annual retreat. About once a year the team will get away from Mbale for about five days and have a retreat. This year we fled to the mountains at a dairy farm run by an American couple who have been involved in mission work in Kenya for many, many years. The weather was similar to the Rocky Mountains in the fall. The air was cool and crisp with greenery surrounding the cottages. We enjoyed each others company by playing basketball, volleyball, football, chess, spoons, chopping wood, milking a cow, reading, eating, and climbing on a playground tower (which would only be built in Africa and would never get close to passing inspection for a piece of American playground equipment). It was so nice not only to have consistent power (Uganda sells power to Kenya and it rarely goes out … imagine that…), but also to sleep in the cool climate with blankets. Our weather in Uganda is rainy, but still manages to stay humid and warm most of the time.

Since it is costly to cross the Kenyan border, we decided to make the most of our money and stay a few extra days with some missionary friends in Kitale, Kenya. A while back, I mentioned the four singles from Seattle, Washington who stayed with us in the fall to train for Aids education and orphans. The two girls and two guys are working with the Kitale Church of Christ Children’s Home in Kenya. About twelve years ago, Shawn and Linda Tyler (part of our current team) were a part of a mission team in Kenya with a few other families – Kirk and Susan Hays and Mike and Carolyn Schrage. They decided to build a children’s home for orphans. The home has undergone it’s share of struggles, and the four singles from Washington have committed two years to take care of the home and make it a better place for the children living there. Most of the children are supported by CRF (Christian Relief Fund) in America. There are currently 40 children living there- 14 girls and 26 boys. I was very encouraged to see the work they have put into these kids’ lives. They have devotionals and Bible studies and have been great examples to the kids. Their work includes: finding jobs or further education for the older children to move out on their own, distributing CRF support, acting as temporary house parents for the girls, renovating the kitchen, fixing up the living quarters, and many other projects. God has really struck the hearts of singles to be a part of mission work, not just here in Africa, but I am hearing of so many who are willing to go where God has called them.


We couldn’t just go all the way to Kenya and not do some site-seeing. Carrie (missionary in Kitale) took Jamie and me to a Wildlife park where we fed giraffes, and saw zebra, rhinos, gazelles, and other animals. Then we drove up to Mt. Elgon National Forest where we hiked about half a mile on a trail to some caves. The two caves we wandered in were built by elephants and it is said that one of them is the source for Eboli.



I can’t believe my time is coming to an end. We will be finished with school on April 20th. My plans are shaky as to the days I am coming home. I plan to return for four months in the fall to do various projects such as working in the library at MTI (Messiah Theological Institute) the school our team runs, working in the MMS (Mbale Mission School) library (on the compound where I currently teach and live), doing women’s ministry in the villages with a Kenyan lady, Noeli Luchevia (she is a great leader at church and who’s family works with our team), teaching one class at the mission school, working on the team website, visiting and helping with various work other mission teams are doing outside of Mbale, and just letting God use me wherever he needs me.

As always, thank your for your continuous prayers and support. I pray God will continue to give you the heart of a servant as you serve where you are planted.