September 13, 2015

Hello, Ingrid here, bringing greetings to all of you from Moroto, Uganda!! Wow where has the last two months gone?  As we asked for prayer in our last blog-that the Lord of the harvest would bring laborers, our Lord has been moving in Karamoja in ways beyond our dreams of how this could happen.  We were thinking of team members, but God has started to harvest in a different way.

"Karamoja Culture Day" prior to convocation

Prior to our vacation, our unit leaders ask us to pray about how and when our home assignment should happen, so as not to leave new team members up here alone for many months. So in discussion with them we have agreed with their wise council to not try to get team members here before we leave for our home assignment the last half of 2016. So this means on the third year anniversary of us arriving in Moroto, we hope to be welcoming team members to our Moroto Focus team, that is in mid-February, 2017!!!  While with our human eyes, that seems a long way off, our Father has been busy in our land.  We have gotten the privilege of witnessing a unity of those who identify with Christianity in Karamoja that I hadn’t ever expected.  The middle of August, the Catholic and Protestant churches united and came together to dedicate Karamoja to the one and only living God, Jehovah/Yahweh.  The Convocation, as it was called, was a 5-day event, topped off with the President of Uganda confirming and witnessing this dedication. 

Different Karimojong Clans gathering to repent
and then to forgive each other

While it was a serious miracle to have unity among all the different denominations representing Christ Jesus, it was also a huge miracle to have elders and youth from each clan of the Karimojong there willing to repent and ask for forgiveness on behalf of the clan for what had been done to the other clans. So the Karimojong tribe has 6 clans and up to about 3 years ago, these were violently slaughtering each other and stealing from each other, many times just for revenge of things that may have happened decades ago or months ago.  There were also neighboring tribes that were invited to the Convocation, as well as neighbors in the border countries of Kenya and South Sudan and all of these came and were well represented as the Karimojong had raided all these areas and left tragedy in their wake.  Forgiveness was asked for by all and was received by all.  One example of this reconciliation follows: A man from a tribe in Kenya, who hadn’t worn a shirt for 29 years, which was when the Karimojong stole his shirt and raped and killed his wife and his children, finally put on a shirt once again.  What happened here was, I believe, in the spiritual world a very powerful thing.  Nothing went completely smooth during the 5 days and I am sure that much grace had to be extended on all sides for each other, but the fact that it happened successfully, to me is very promising for this land to change who is the spiritual ruler over it.

View from our room while on vacation

The Convocation was sandwiched in between our vacation, which proved to be more of a glorified survivor camp for us; Lyle’s facilitation at the first Ugandan organized mission conference (which took place at the same time as the Convocation); and our immediate travel after the Convocation ended, to fly to Kigali, Rwanda for a conference.  So the month of August was mostly a blur with lots of prayer for each day.  We just returned to Moroto on Sept. 9^th and have been busy enrolling boys into school, which started this past Monday.  For the past 5 terms, as each term has started, we have felt led to help one or two more boys, and each time we look at each other and say this is all we can do, and so that was our mindset as we set out to pay school fees for our boys, all 13 of them, but in the process we deeply felt the Lord leading us to help another two.  Lyle and Simon (for discernment and interpretation purposes) went out to the village of the two new ones, to see if their stories were true.  (I was involved with a complicated situation at our neighbors.) One of the two boys is completing P7 this term, which would be like 8^th grade in the USA.  He had told Lyle and me that his grandmother had been gathering firewood and making charcoal to pay for his school fees, but has recently gone blind, and can no longer cater for him.  When Lyle got to this boy’s village, and met the grandmother, he said it looks like she has cataracts; he said there was a thick grey white over the colored part of her eyes.  And so he agreed to help this grandmother with the boy’s school fees, we will be investigating whether or not cataract surgery is available here, and hopefully we can at some point help this lady regain her eyesight.  The other boy, from the same area, walks with several other children, 45 minutes to an hour, each way every day, to go to school here in Moroto town.  He is in P5, like 7^th grade. The schools in the town have better educators than the ones out in the bush.  So Lyle agreed to pay his day fees as well, and made a plan with this boy, that if his grades improve this term, we will put him into boarding school next year, so he doesn’t have to walk every day.  It is so amazing to me that these children are so dedicated, I lived 3 miles from the town where my school was and would have gladly not gone, if I had to walk!!!  Oh how I ache for these precious people.  We are hoping to have a bit of a leveling off of the demands each day, but trust the Lord with each day.

On a personal level, while on our, not planned to be a challenge but was, vacation, we did come to the realization upon reflecting on our daily life here in Moroto, that just as all money is not ours but God’s, and we are to steward it well, all time is God’s as well.  So we were challenged to ask ourselves if we were being cheerful and good stewards of God’s time.  Of course, we had to answer, not so much! (esp. at times on the cheerful part).  So of course, on getting back to Moroto the first part of August, our recent convictions were greatly put to the test.  We had, it felt like, double the interruptions and requests as before; and yet the Lord gave us the grace and strength to joyfully respond to each one. Rejoice with us on the joyful part, cause that is truly Jesus and not us. We are continuing to consciously work at having this attitude become our own.  So prayers for us in this regard are greatly appreciated.  During that holiday trip, we also acquired a generator.  Some friends that the Lord has given us in Kampala, who are very familiar with Karamoja, bought a generator for us at a very good price, and when we got the funds to pay for it, we picked it up.  We are so grateful for this love and God’s provision for us, as we had to use it for the five days after arriving, because of the power being off so often.  As I write this, our trusty generator is keeping our battery charged as we have been without power now going on two days.  So again please, please rejoice with us as our Lord through His people more than provides for our needs.  We are very humbled by His love and grateful for it.

Helping thresh sorghum in manyatta

As we were sharing with people here in Moroto and in Kampala that we were going to Rwanda and the local people in Uganda would speak of the place, we realized that we have been saying the name of this country wrong.  We have added an o, so it sounds like we are saying Rowanda, but the correct way combines the Rw, which makes it sound very different and is a challenge for English speakers not used to combining two consonants like Rw.   I have been practicing this seriously, and am now a good African in how I pronounce it, even Lyle has applauded me for my pronunciation.   Our time in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, was made delightful by the hospitality of several AIM missionaries who are serving there.  We were picked up from the airport by a precious friend from France, and we stayed with a delightful couple, who are Australian/Kenyan or vice versa, and their wonderful children.  We got to meet the whole team, as they had a unit get-together while we were there.  One of the wives even made Lyle a birthday cake and brought it to our conference, to celebrate his birth on Sept. 4^th.  We were warmly treated by everyone there, nationals as well as ex-pats, and I don’t think I would have understood the tension that is really underneath the surface of this beautiful country, if two Rwandese had not had the courage to individually share with me, about their past, and what happened to them and their families during the genocide about 20 years ago.  My heart just broke for their suffering that continues inside even today.  They both have forgiven and are allowing Jesus to heal, but the ache for what happened to their loved ones is still there.  It is soooooo tough to hear what humanity does to each other in the name of superiority.  This sickness is so much deeper than the color of the skin, as all these had the same color but different tribes.  Oh how we need the humility and love that only Jesus Christ, God Himself, can give us through the Holy Spirit.

One of many new friends we met in Kigali, Rwanda (no "o")

As I continue to ponder on all these things, and seek the Lord, He is so good to remind me of His promises to me. One of ones that continues to touch me as my body lets me know that I have been walking this earth for more than 6 decades is Isaiah 46:4 which says: I will be your God through out your lifetime—until your hair is white with age.  I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.  This brings such comfort to me especially on the days my legs are very weak or my back and neck rebels. 

I have downloaded an eBook on early missionary journeys and after reading of one person’s experience on the South Pacific islands in the 1800’s, with cannibals and the lives lost without having been able to share one word about their Creator God, I found myself questioning whether these people were really led by God to go there or if they just thought it was a good idea and that was why they lost their lives.  This morning in my quiet time, I was reading a devotional sent to me by a very precious friend, called Streams in the Desert, an apt description of Karamoja.  It was speaking of the wonder of suffering, and the divine mystery connected with suffering.  It stated: “No one has ever developed a deep level of spirituality or holiness without experiencing a great deal of suffering.”  It suddenly hit me regarding the men in the South Pacific; they were living out Romans 12:1 “And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind He will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship Him.”  Perhaps these men, were only after pleasing God, and not about productivity in ministry, they were simply giving their bodies to Him and desiring to please the One Who made them and gave them salvation.  Perhaps their choices were only about their relationship with God and not outcomes.

So much food for thought for me, I desire to completely give my body, soul and spirit to God as a holy and living sacrifice, the kind He will accept, and to have that be my only reason for anything I do.  I would ask for you to pray for me in this as well.  That here in Karamoja, I would allow my body, my time, my emotions, everything about me to come from a place of true love for and love received from my Creator, my Savior, my Lord. 

We have 5 weeks before we fly to the USA and make our way from Florida to Washington State, to Montana visiting each of our daughters and their families and welcoming into this world our eighth grandchild. I AM SOOOO excited.  We will be away from our place here in Moroto for 8 weeks, a long time.  We would ask you to keep Simon, Esther, and Losike Paul, who help us here, in prayer as they hold down the fort.  We are hoping to have someone staying here if they get approval from their organization, a young woman from Germany who was here, went back to Germany, and is coming back for 6 months more.  Prayer for our travel is always appreciated, on the roads here in Uganda as well as in the air.  We definitely feel like pilgrims that do not have “a” home.  Our hearts are with our families in the USA and with our people here in Karamoja, and so we feel a dual but conflicting tug of where we would desire to be.  Maybe one day we will get used to this, but for now leaving is hard, no matter which side of the Atlantic Ocean we are on.

Our chicken additions

On a lighter note, our Teso hen, featherless neck and all, laid 12 eggs, sat on them for weeks and hatched 9 chicks. Two of them were snatched by a bird of prey called a Kite, kind of looks like a chicken hawk, and for obvious reasons.  So with 7 chicks left, Namoni has taken it on herself to be the chick watchdog.  Between her announcing the alarm of Kites and the mother hen being very watchful, the chicks are doing well.  Three of them look just like mama, a black cap on top of the head with a featherless neck and a black-feathered body.  They are very cute!!

Lyle's gratuitous bird photo. Blue Turaco seen on vacation

We are grateful to have each of you here with us on this journey, thank you for serving in Karamoja with us!!!!  I hope you are rejoicing with me in the answered prayers I shared, amazing answers that I didn’t have the vision to even pray for.  Please pray that as the Karimojong have renounced shrines where demons are lord, that the churches would not make shrines out of sanctuaries or denominations, or teaching that is unbiblical and so create more spiritual havoc in the area.  We have seen hints of this and are trying to address them as led by the Holy Spirit.

As always, we treasure your communication with us, and we desire to pray for you as well; in fact We do pray for you and if you have specifics, please, please let us know.

We give thanks to God for each and everyone of you!!!

July 9, 2015

Matthew 9:36-38: ‘When He (Jesus) saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to His disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord Who is in charge of the harvest, ask Him to send more workers into His fields.”’

Hello to you from Moroto in July!  Ingrid writing this time J.  As we deepen our roots here in Karamoja, the above scripture in Matthew takes on a more three dimensional perspective. I have always understood that too few who call themselves Christian are actually willing to serve others as Christ did by pointing to the living, holy God while dying to selfishness; but I now feel I have a more real comprehension of the description of the people being confused and helpless. I now wonder if the crowds had any idea that Jesus saw them as confused and helpless.  The amplified Bible describes the crowds as bewildered, harassed and distressed, dejected and helpless.

I watch the precious people here in Moroto district daily choose destruction as a way of life, and my heart breaks for them and yet I can only offer them living water.  There are so many and I am but one, and there are few that I get quality time with; I pray that the Lord Who is in charge of the harvest will send more workers here into His fields.  Please join me in this prayer, that the people here will see that Lyle and I are not just an odd couple (though we are), but that there are many others who beat with Christ’s love in their chests.

One of the few I get quality time with is a woman named Esther. Although her parents said they were Christian, they gave her to a Mu$lim man for a dowry.  As we have gotten to know each other better and talk deeper, she shared that she thought Christianity and I$lam were two parts of the same belief.  Her daughters go to an I$lamic school here in Moroto and she brought me the religious education notes her daughter took in this class.  The notes very accurately described the differences. I was able to show her how I$lam cannot accept Jesus as the Way, the Truth and Life as John 14:6 so clearly states.  As she has grappled with what I have said, we also discovered that her belief was in “God” but Jesus had no place there.  I tried to explain that Jesus is the reason we are able to have a complete relationship with God, but she seemed unable to grasp this.  In praying how I could present to her the truth without big English words she doesn’t understand and my baby K’jong not sufficient, I was reminded of the “Evangle Cube” I had felt led to buy and bring with me.  In pictures it explains the sin and fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, our separation from God, and our absolute inability to restore that relationship on our own merits.  The cube folds into different forms with different photos, the best one being the cross as the bridge between God and mankind. She seemed to grasp this better, and again strongly stated that she wanted to follow God and know Jesus.  Please join me in praying that this becomes her reality.

We were able to hold another Protestant Pastor’s conference in our empty living room J. Esther was there as well, and the man teaching spoke of how many here in Uganda think that salvation is attained by their efforts, and how the Bible shows how incorrect this teaching is.  This conference was translated into Ngakarimojong and so Esther was hearing everything I had tried to explain, but now in her own language.  At one point when the speaker was driving home the need for Jesus to be the center of our life, she ran over to me and said, “This is what you were telling me.”  She got it!!!  Now the challenge of building on the foundation of truth, Jesus Christ, in a way she can understand.

We have had a whirlwind month, an AIM Central region conference that happens every 18 months, with AIM missionaries from 6 countries coming together to be fed God’s Word and to strengthen and be strengthened by each other.  It was a fabulous time.  We were very grateful for the 4 days together with many others serving in very difficult circumstances.  We picked up a woman from Chicago, who came for a vision trip, wanting to see if Moroto was too remote for her to be a missionary in.  Also a young woman from the UK came for three weeks to see what

Karamoja was like. This was really our first experience having believers here with us for more than a few days, and we have so enjoyed it. They have both left for their perspective homes and we will wait to see if the Lord will bring them back.

We have also made airline reservations to fly back to the USA to welcome another grandbaby in November.  Moe and Jens, who live in Big Fork, MT are having a baby girl, and AIM graciously allows for us to go out to help and meet our newest family member.  We are grateful for this unexpected trip, as we had thought it would be the middle of 2016 before we hit American soil again.

We also had the joy of fellowship in Kaabong, Karamoja where another American couple and their three children live.  There are several of us from the USA in Karamoja, which is interesting because we are the only Americans in Moroto district at present.  There were about 12 people who gathered at their house and we celebrated the US independence from Great Britain with wonderful food and sparklers bought in Kampala.  It was so good to be with others serving in different districts of Karamoja.  We are all experiencing the same challenges and struggles and being able to talk together is quite comforting.

Our garden has been a source of joy for us, as we have been able to produce a variety of vegetables and share with our guards and Esther a bit of our local vegies from the states.  They now know what radishes, sweet corn, green beans, basil, dill, cilantro, sage, parsley and such are.  Simon puts the dill in his beans and he said we have ruined him for any other way to cook beans. We are so grateful to our Lord for the people we are working with here at our home. 

Lyle and I were visiting a couple who have befriended us here in Moroto about a month ago, they are from a different tribe but teach here.  They had a K’jong girl, maybe 17 years old, helping with the laundry.  I greeted her and with the help of the lady, Betty, shared with her how much God loves the Karimojong. She looked me in the eye and said, “If He loves us so much, why is there no rain.” I prayed quietly and waited for the Lord to lead me.  I finally said, “When you get the rain and the crops, what do you do with them?” I asked, “Do you thank God and use them wisely or do you have big drunken feasts and waste them?”  She didn’t answer me, so I asked her, “Why should God give you rain, if you don’t appreciate Him for it by how you live?”  Betty pressed her for an answer, and she finally acknowledged that they waste the crops on these parties and take the grain to the shrines to celebrate instead of thanking God.  It was very insightful for me, as I wouldn’t have come up with that question on my own.

I shared this incident with Pastor Noah (he is Karimojong) about a month ago when he went with Lyle and me to one of the manyattas we have a relationship with (the lady I have befriended is a widow, her name is Nakut Rose). She was very worried because the rain had passed her area, even though many other areas had received great amounts of rain.  Pastor Noah shared with her and the others gathered around us in her house what God had me ask the young girl at Betty’s.  He explained to them about honoring God and storing their grain so that when dry season comes they still have food. How God provides enough if people use it properly. 

The whole group, men and women seemed to really get what he was saying.  I was overjoyed. Nakut Rose took us out back and her maize (corn) was about two feet high and browning as were her groundnuts.  We held hands together and prayed in a group and asked the Lord to bless this garden and the labor of her hands. Well when I went out last week to see her and bring her to the conference, her maize was over 7 feet tall, no brown and the ground nuts were doing well.  She had even planted sorghum within this last month due to the rains that fell there.  She shared that because of the rain, the weeds were growing so much that they were weary trying to take care of them.  She asked if we could help her with some cash to hire workers to weed the gardens.  Lye and I felt we were suppose to do so, so we gave her some cash to hire workers but also felt we should go out and help ourselves. And so we did. This past week, we took Esther with us to help interpret and weed the crops Nakut Rose had planted.  Esther had never been to this area, called Lotirir, and was overjoyed to go with us.  We got to the place about 8:30 a.m. before the sun is too hot and weeded for about two hours.  During that time, many K’jong came to watch in amazement because they didn’t think we knew how to garden or weed or wield a hoe. Esther was also amazed that we could work so hard.  It makes me sad to think that so many have a misconception of who Americans are.   

We recently had an eye-opening incident here at our house.  Lyle and our guard Simon went with our neighbor to take the puppies next-door out to a korral (where cows and goats are kept).  As they left before I was home, they saw a young girl outside our gate.  Simon asked her in Ngakarimojong what she needed, and she told him she was waiting for auntie (me), as she was sick.  I had walked home and hadn’t seen her, but was outside feeding the chickens, both the neighbors and ours, when I heard a tap on the gate.  I went up and this precious face said "I am sick please help me."  So I went outside the gate to check and sure enough this girl had a high fever. I could tell from just touching her forehead.  She said her aunt had beaten her and chased her away for burning the beans.  I brought her to the veranda, and sat her down.  One of our guests and a local pastor were in the house talking, so I asked our guest to take a look, as she is a doctor.  Well the girl had over a 102 temp and was shaking.  With the pastor’s help, we were able to get from the girl that she thought it was malaria.  I gave her Tylenol and started the treatment for malaria; I have children’s doses on hand.  I got a mat and let her lay down.  We discussed what to do, as taking her to the hospital wasn’t an option, because they would not accept her without a relative accompanying her.  She was very sick and we didn’t know what to do because she wouldn’t share with us where her auntie was. When Lyle got home, 2 hours later, he went to the police station to find out what to do.  He came back with a policewoman who took the girl with her.  But the shocking thing for me was, that the police thought she had been planted to scout out our place to see what was here to steal.  That thought had never crossed my mind.  As I have had a few days to process this possibility, what the Lord continues to impress upon me is this, be like Jesus on this planet, who does only what the Father tells Him to do, no matter what.  I think of Jesus at the pools of Bethsaida, where He only healed one man, and not everyone.  That has always stirred me. It must have been difficult for Jesus to leave the others still in their infirmity, but He trusted His Father and obeyed Him.  Please pray for me that I will do the same, obey and not go off on my own, no matter how much it pains me.  Also please pray for me that I will not let suspicion keep me from showing Christ’s love to those at the gate, no matter their intent.

Our newest additions! A rooster (gift from our neighbors)

and a hen. The hen is not sick. The stylish shaved neck look 

is actually the type of breed it is.

I want to end this with a huge Praise to our Lord that Lyle and I are going to be able to take a real vacation the end of July.  It will be our first since 2012 where we had an extended time to just sit and be. We are combining my birthday and our 18^th year anniversary and going to the SW of Uganda for 5 days.  We are excited for this.

We continue to find the words hard to express how grateful to our Lord we are for all of you who love us, pray for us and care about our lives and the Karimojong people.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Please join us in praying for laborers for the harvest here in Karamoja, which according to our visitors is “ripe!!”

June 3, 2015

Hello everyone ... Lyle here,

It seems lately that our blogs begin with something to the effect of "we can't believe its been over a month since our last blog." So once again I am beginning this blog somehow the same way, as it’s been a month and half since our last blog. Time has been so full and as Ingrid explained in our last blog, there is no such thing as a typical day except that a typical day is never typical.

Devotionals at Pastor's Training

Since Ingrid wrote the last blog we have been very busy. A highlight is that we had meetings with clergy about their ministry needs and how AIM might be able to come alongside and support and help equip national staff.  We attended a Church planting training put on by a ministry that began in the U.S. with a vision of planting one million churches. The training was given to local pastors and was given by church leaders from other parts of Uganda. We very much appreciated the hearts of the presenters and the content of the material. Something that was said in an online missiology class Ingrid and I are taking is that "evangelism without discipleship and church planting breeds heresy." This is exactly what we see here in Moroto District. In our context here, I would take this a step further and add that the churches planted need to be doctrinally sound. So often we see evangelistic blitzes that may or may not be doctrinally sound and that lack mature believers to stay, teach, disciple, and follow-up.  

Youth Leaders' Training

Immediately following the pastors' training we attended the tail end of some youth leader training that took place in the church we are attending. We so much appreciated the heart of the Reverend teaching the class of youth leaders and his friend from Kampala who assisted with the training. What we saw in the training so typified what we have seen over and over again as we live here; people in leadership that simply have no idea of what a Christian is. This group of young men and women were sent from their respective churches from all over southern Karamoja. When the Reverend asked them "when did you become a Christian?” the answers varied. Some said, "I was confirmed." Others said, "I was baptized." Many said, "I go to church." A few talked of Jesus being their Lord and Savior. The Reverend was able to very lovingly challenge the group that most of them were not saved nor Christians.  He explained to them that being a Christian is about receiving what Jesus did on the cross and personally accepting Him as Savior and Lord. He did such a good job of this and four of the youth leaders came forward and gave their life to Christ as Lord!!!  We wanted to shout in worship at hearing the truth of Christ spoken.

Shepherd boy now in school

The next order of business was a trip to Kampala to take care of things that are generally so simple in the States, but in Moroto are impossible. I got two teeth filled, picked up a new pair of glasses, needed repairs to the car were completed (the roads tear the car up terribly), we finally got our Uganda driver's licenses, and we got a new set of tires on the car (a couple generously donated for the tires). Our old set of tires lasted not quite 1 1/2 years. It's about a 10-hour drive to Kampala, not because of the distances, but because of the roads. The first 3 hours of the drive is on a one-lane dirt road. Please don't picture the dirt roads you are used to in the states. The road is maybe 12 feet wide and we share it with huge trucks, overloaded with limestone, driving way too fast, and insisting their portion of the road is in the center. If not trucks from the quarry there are always tractor-trailer combos, some times double trailers, vying for the same space. Actually, if I were driving one of those trucks I would do the same. The roads are significantly crowned so that the water runs off into the deep gully on either side of the road. Even moving over to let the trucks pass almost always means finding the safest spot we can, pulling over and stopping, and then hoping the truck passes safely. It is not uncommon to see 1-3 trucks tipped on their side with their contents from the rock quarry strewn about. Sometimes, when the road is "good" we can get up to maybe 50 mph, but most of the time we hover somewhere around 30-35 mph, swerving from left to right on a jaw breaking washboard/corrugated road. As we rumble along we are anticipating the paved road we will eventually reach. The next 1 1/2 hours is a dream. The road is paved, wide, light traffic, and typical highway speeds are achieved! The last five hours of the trip go from boredom to eye popping adrenaline. Typically, the buses - we are talking Greyhound size buses - along with the taxis, which are 14 passenger vans, don't really believe the traffic laws apply to them. They will pass on blind curves and to the left of solid or double yellow lines, the whole while speeding. If there is oncoming traffic they just flash their headlights and expect you to swerve out of their way to avoid a collision. When there is traffic that causes everyone to stop (happens often) the taxis will make three lanes out of one lane attempting to pass. 

Out in the manyatta

Once in Kampala the bodas (small motorcycles) are everywhere and also refuse to obey any laws. They are literally like a swarm and vehicles can easily get stuck in the middle. Any sudden movement to the left or right might result in a collision. So a trip to Kampala is never boring and when we are done driving I pry my hands off the steering wheel and Ingrid pries her hands off the handholds. Not only do we pray for our trips before we go somewhere, but we seriously are so grateful how the Lord has protected us on the journey and that we have arrived safely. It really is not an understatement to say that we have had trips where our Lord has literally performed miracles to ensure our arrival without us getting into a head-on collision or striking someone who has darted in front of the car. While driving I have literally slowed down simply because the Lord told me to, only to see that if I had not of, we would have been involved in a collision. I don't want to sound over spiritual with this, please understand that I struggle deeply with my opinion of other drivers and my attitude deteriorates proportionate to the drive. My heart often times is not where it should be. There are those times where I see God's hand, but more often, it is me repenting of my attitude. So trips to Kampala are a mixed bag. We are able to accomplish and take care of things that we cannot in Moroto and we are able to catch up on relationships that we so dearly miss, but the drive takes its toll - which is why we usually break it up into a two-day drive. On our way back to Moroto from Kampala we stopped at our Unit Leader's home and spent the night. We were able to take most of the day that we arrived and some of the following morning just to pray and talk about the Moroto District Team. It was a wonderful time! 

Out in the manyatta

Most of these activities were pretty much back to back, so by the time we arrived back in Moroto, it was the middle of May. Since we have been back in Moroto we have continued on with the Prison Bible study (which we are so grateful for), Ingrid's ladies Bible study, enrolling boys into school (we now have 4 more boys), and trying to work out ways to successfully minister to the police. The police Bible study continues to be difficult to set up. Between the shift work and continuous mobilization of the police force it is extremely difficult. Please continue to pray that our Lord will show us the way He desires this to take place and for me to let go of my notions of what this should look like. In between all of this we were working on our team manual (which is no small task), made some visits out to the manyatta we hope to place a small team in, attended a portion of a seminar presented by a couple from the U.S., and as I said earlier, we were taking an online missiology class (we still have to take the final). This is a requirement for us before we are able to return to Uganda after our 2016 home assignment (we wanted to get it done early). We have also been able to get to know and continue in relationship with some of the ex-pat community working with humanitarian NGO's here in Moroto. 

Out in the manyatta

One of the consistent things that we see over and over again here, but is not uncommon in the states either, is religion without a real relationship with Christ. Please understand, this is something that we generally see, but there are also some here who dearly love the Lord. I think the Lord is encouraging us as we see a few more here and there who love Him. The other difficult thing is that the churches here are so hungry for training that they are open to things that are not even biblically sound. Some of the teaching is a mixed bag. Good teaching on one topic, but not on another.

Out in the manyatta

So on the relational side of all of this...how are Ingrid and I doing? How is this busyness impacting us? I think we have been emotionally and physically exhausted (even now Ingrid is dealing with another bout of malaria as well as some intestinal issues). The prison study however is an encouragement. The core group of attenders is growing tremendously and are willing to let the Holy Spirit speak into their lives. But we are tired just the same. I think part of our tiredness has been how hectic and unexpected our schedule has been. The other part is spiritual, as we continue to see the lack of mature Christians who truly desire to serve the Lord. Instead, we mostly see those who only want religion and don't really seem to care where that will take them. We have also seen some teaching that, simply put, has grieved us and is not biblically sound. Then there are the spiritual battles we face within ourselves each day, even during this last trip to Kampala. One would expect a break from the constant barrage of begging. Ingrid and I were in a shopping center and a young man came up to me. He explained that he recognized our vehicle in the parking lot (he used to live in Moroto) and came in to find us. I asked how he was and he said he was fine and that he was working for a tour company. Then he asked me for employment. I was really taken back since he just told me he was working. I explained we have a couple of people who help us around our home, but we don't employ people the way he was asking and that we had no work for him. He looked at me and said he was not asking for work and that what he meant by employment was that I give him something. I said no and abruptly ended the conversation, quite disturbed inside that someone had intruded on our respite from Moroto. It was a couple of weeks later, I don't even recall the circumstances, that the Lord really convicted me of my response to this young man. What were the chances of him running into us like that? If I would have handled it differently how could I have led him one step closer to Jesus? I really had to repent of my attitude and pray that if presented with something similar, I would respond differently. Having said that, I probably will have another opportunity, so please pray for me!

We really do need your help. We need your prayers. I am not saying this passively. I am asking for all of you to be praying for us. I think we are in a position where we really do need to be the "watchman." There are things that need to be addressed; we cannot remain silent, yet we need to speak with love, gentleness, grace, and most importantly truth. Please pray that our hearts are humble and that we only speak as the Lord leads us. Please pray that we find our strength, courage, and rest in Him and Him alone. It is very easy to just want to disconnect; to "veg" out or not address an issue. That is not where the Lord would have us. Something we know is that our Lord has brought us here, to Karamoja. We also see that others, although few, are coming (even though others are leaving). We see that what the Lord has placed on our hearts and has placed on others hearts is the same. We know God's heart is that Karamoja would turn to Him as Lord and we believe that we, as well as others, have been brought here to be part of that plan; His plan. As I am writing this I am reminded of Luke 17: 7-10. I was reading it this morning in my quiet time. "When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, 'Come in and eat with me?' No, he says, 'Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.' And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do, of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, "We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty'" (NLT). You see, we get the wonderful privilege of serving the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; The great I Am; the Alpha and the Omega. We can do nothing to earn that. There is nothing in our past nor will there ever be anything in our future that we can point to that merits such a privilege, yet our Lord choses us to be part of His eternal plan. The other thing is that Jesus spoke these words to the disciples in response to them asking how to increase their faith! Somehow we desire our faith to be increased effortlessly, but the hard truth being taught here is that our faith increases through obedience. When thinking of obedience, I am reminded of James 4:5-6, “Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us?’ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (ESV). As I read this I was reminded of the accounts in the Gospels of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. The temple was to be a place of prayer and worship, but it had been turned into a marketplace. I was also reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 6:16 where Paul explains how we are the temple of God and that the Holy Spirit lives in us. The context of Corinthians is that the church was syncretistic. In other words, they were Christian in name, but had blended the world around them into their beliefs, especially sexual immorality. They were in essence living a comfortable Christianity, only obeying what was easy and ignoring what might cost them or require change, just like so many today. So the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ, who lives in us, desires that His temple, our hearts and minds, are pure and undefiled, places of worship for Him. I can picture the Holy Spirit cleansing me just as Jesus cleansed the temple. All of this has the common thread of obedience woven through it. This is not just a simple act of obedience, but obedience rooted in and driven by our love, gratitude, and adoration for our Lord and Savior in response to His great love for us. And as we live a life of obedience our faith grows!! What a wonderful picture.

This was a very long-winded request to please pray for us. Our desire is to live out these scriptures, and again, anyone living in obedience to Christ is in a battle. We need each other! I hope you find these scriptures as challenging to you as we have to us.

We do have one more prayer request. This is an add on before I post this blog. Part of what we get is regular security reports. The one I just received reported that there had been a road ambush/robbery on June 2nd. This occurred on a road we frequently travel. No one was killed, but shots were fired and one person was wounded by an arrow. This appears to be an extremely isolated incident for this area, but it strikes me that as we are beginning to see the Holy Spirit move there will be a push from the other side; spiritually speaking. So again, please be praying for Karamoja. 

We miss you all and appreciate you all so very much. Thank you for serving with us and for all of your support in so many ways.

Love,

Lyle and Ingrid