July 12, 2017

Hello Everyone!!

Lyle here: It’s been a little over a month and life continues to move at a record pace! The end of May, our team was able to get away to Kampala, for about a week, which was really lovely. We had scheduled this a while back in anticipation of other team members arriving. We were not able to pick them up as scheduled as they are still raising support, so if you can keep that in your prayers it would really be appreciated. Each of them feels the Lord has clearly called them here, so it will come to pass in His timing. As Ingrid said in the last update, life continues to be challenging mostly spiritually. We continue to understand more and more about the culture we live in and realize, more than ever, how much more we have to learn. Yet, as we move forward in surrender to Him, we continue to see our Lord’s hand each and every day as we serve Him by meeting with and deepening our relationships with people.

We continue to struggle with the accepted violence of this culture. Just the other day one of the young men we sponsor came to our home and explained how the entire class had been severely beaten because the class failed an exam. This is not the first time we have had to address this issue. Last year at another school, student teachers beat the children severely enough that one of our students had a swelling bruise on his face.  Since we have been here, Uganda has passed a law against students being beaten by teachers. Today I went to the school to speak with the headmaster. Addressing something like this is a delicate matter, because the students are afraid, if the beating is reported, they will be retaliated against by the teachers. This was the concern of our student, even as he was telling me that it hurt to walk because of the injuries he received. I was able to speak to the headmaster and allow him the “space” to investigate this while at the same time I left him with the understanding that the beating of students for poor scholastic performance is illegal and inappropriate. He agreed it was and very earnestly said he would be looking into it. We were also able to discuss the fact that if the whole class truly did fail the exam, this was not the issue of the students, but rather a result of poor teaching or a poorly written exam. We also talked about the opportunity he had to help the teacher involved to mature as a teacher and use encouragement rather then beatings to motivate the students to learn. I will be following up on this later in the week so please keep this in your prayers as well.

Dennis & Augustine (different boys then mentioned here)
pictured at school. Both these boys were struggling and seem
to be settling into school this term. We are thanking the Lord.

Another challenge we had was a another student showing up at the house who was very sick. The school had already sent him to the “Referral Hospital” for treatment of typhoid and malaria, but his sickness had returned.  He showed up with a high fever and barely walking. We took him to a private clinic where he could be treated properly. It turned out he did have typhoid fever, but the IV medication he was given at the hospital was only for two days instead of the requisite three or four. Also, the type of oral medication he was given was not the correct one. Improper diagnosis, incorrect prescriptions, and mediocre medical care are common at the Referral Hospital. Please pray for them, treatment here is free if you bring your own book for record keeping. They are horribly understaffed for the patient load, they have no no doctors only medical officers to diagnose  and prescribe treatment. May of these officers have their own private clinics and require the patients to go there for lab work and medicine, which have to be paid for.  The equipment the hospitals have may or may not be functioning, etc., etc. We know there are some staff there who care, but with extremely limited resources there is only so much they can do. The clinic we took our boy to speculated that the Referral Hospital may have rationed the IV medication because of limited supply or he got the last of it and prescribed the oral antibiotics they did because it was all they had. but instead of telling him he needed more treatment, they told him treatment was complete.

These types of occurrences, while not every day, are a normal part of our lives. Living accepting that things are just unjust or inadequate takes a toll on us emotionally.  Our typical day is punctuated by interruption after interruption.  Honestly, for me, I get tired of the constant demands and interruptions. I really prefer an organized structure, but the structure here seems to be orchestrated chaos. This is part of the cultural adaptation we  continue to adjust to. In fact, we were called here to minister in this environment. So please pray with us, that we will depend on the strength of the One who called us here, not our own strength.

Church under the tree in Lotirir

Ministry in Lotirir continues!! This has been a wonderful time. Both Ingrid and I go on Sundays and I go on Thursdays for a Bible study. We have a wonderful young man, John, who translates for us. He has been so very faithful and has filled in as the teacher or the preacher when we have not been available or when the scheduled Sunday teacher is unable to make it. He has a heart and a passion to minister in Lotirir and hope to move there eventually. He is getting wedded in August (he is already married but must be wedded in the church as well according to their tradition)  and will then be able to take on more of a leadership role in Lotirir. He has a real vision for the area so please pray with us and with him and his wife Esther for Lotirir. The fruit we are beginning to see is amazing! The church is comprised mostly of women, but there are a few men (pray that more men come to Lord) that come consistently. At the conclusion of one of our Bible studies (we just finished up Colossians) I asked if there were any questions. The ladies responded that they understood just fine and that they also saw how important it is for them to go and teach others what they are learning. Preaching and teaching here tends to be mostly topical, so going through a book of the Bible is normally not seen. The women also said that for whatever reason, that because the Gospel is being preached, many of the men don’t beat them the way they used to. You might cringe at a statement like that, but actually this is a huge change--transformation.  The ladies also said that for those men who have accepted Christ, instead of sitting around and drinking booze, they are working in the gardens. This is typically the women's responsibility, so this is also a big deal. Our Lord is working in Lotirir and lives are being transformed!! Please pray that the seeds being planted in Lotirir are not snatched, strangled, or remain on shallow soil. Please pray that roots go deep and fruit continues to be produced!!

Both Ingrid and I continue to be involved at the prison, Ingrid with the women and me with the men. Both men and women are continuing to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, or recommit their lives. The women prisoners are literally going hog wild for the Lord. They hold their own prayer meetings each night and they sing regularly. They really understand what it means to let the Lord rule and reign in their hearts and that Jesus doesn’t mean release from the physical prison they are in, but rather a release from the prison of the soul and bondage to sin. For me, as I have listened to Ingrid talk about the women prisoners, it seemed that one day she was saying they just aren’t getting it, and then like a page in a book has turned, they are really loving the Lord. Some of the men continue to struggle with works. When asked what they have done to contribute to their salvation, their first response was to pray and repent. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for prayer and repentance, but they missed the point that they contributed nothing to the gift of salvation that was given to them and that repentance and prayer should be response to this free gift. I finally picked up my glass case and asked the group I was with to imagine it was a gift I was giving to them. I then asked what they did to earn that gift. They understood they did nothing. We then talked about how salvation is the same thing. It’s a free gift and that our response is prayer, repentance, and righteous living. Please pray for them as this continues to be a recurring theme.

Nita on right

As many of you may already know, one of our teammates, Nita, was involved in a motorcycle accident. The motorcycle she was a passenger on collided with another motorcycle going the opposite direction. She received a very severe laceration on her right leg. This injury could have caused much more severe damage then it did (cut tendons, muscle or broken bones), but it did not. We praise our Lord for that. We got her to a private hospital about an hour away from where the accident occurred, where she underwent surgery and had the wound sutured. Because the blood supply to the wound was compromised it looked like part of the area is necrosing. Ingrid with the support of the attending physician and the medical director orchestrated her transfer to Kampala for more specialized treatment. Nita will need a skin graph.  The insurance company is taking care of everything for her, but even establishing that was quite an ordeal for Ingrid. We had to make the best decisions we could at the time, so we flew her to Kampala without hearing from the insurance company, they were on holiday. Long story short, once the insurance company was involved, they first wanted to move her to Nairobi, Kenya, then to South Africa for treatment. Ingrid went with her as her caretaker, which is expected here. This would have meant a lot of travel for Ingrid as well as for Nita. Ingrid worked non-stop getting the insurance company and the medical providers here in Uganda to talk to each other. In the end the decision was made for Nita to remain in Uganda for the surgery.  The surgery was scheduled for the 11th and and the dead tissue was cleaned out and a skin graft will happen on the 13th. Please keep her in your prayers. Ingrid was able to return to Moroto after a week as Nita was independent once the drain was taken out.  Our unit leader will be her attendant for the stay for the surgery.  We are grateful for this wonderful support from the Cassels.

Small covered work area with K'jong statue inside. Mark has 

a contract for two of these statues he makes out of clay!!

The Bible study in Nakapilimen with Mark continues to go well. Mark and another young man named Dan continue to attend regularly. Our Ugandan teammate Ivan and I lead these studies. Mark is a very talented artist who molds and carves. I was able to help him with a space to work and he is already beginning some projects. With Nita unable to be in her normal pattern here, two of the ladies that she has been meeting to read the Bible spontaneously joined us as well.  This was encouraging for us to see that the hunger for God is genuine and that God will provide a way for those hungering to continue to know Him. As people are beginning to be changed spiritually we are seeing the general quality of life improving. While food is still in short supply, we see a peacefulness that did not exist before! Ingrid continues to be given open doors to speak into the lives of women attending the Anglican church here in Moroto.  As we have mentioned, we feel that one of our greatest areas of mission is with those who feel that they are Christians, but have no biblical idea what that means. She will be attending a training for the "Mother's Union" on Saturday.  The order of organization that she was given was as follows: first wives can hold office; second wives, because they are viewed as temptresses, cannot hold office, but because they are more active than first wives can be members, so can third and fourth wives.  

Our other two teammates, Hailey and Taryn, are traveling to Kenya for their Africa Based Orientation. This is something that all new missionaries with African Inland Mission go through (Nita had already done it). Please pray for them that they get a lot out of the material that is going to be covered and that they are able to ask a lot of good questions. Their time on the field prior to attending should serve them well for this. The training is for three weeks and then they are going to take a week of their vacation to travel. Please keep them in your prayers regarding this as well. Road travel is the leading cause of injuries to missionaries, so all of us need your prayers in this regard.

Ingrid and I will be taking a week holiday over Ingrid's birthday and are very much looking forward to this time.  We are staying in Uganda, because of of the timing of everything.  Our AIM Central Region (six countries) conference will tie into this time so we will be out of Moroto for about one month total.  In time for the birthday celebration and our 20th wedding anniversary.  

Gratuitous picture of our garden. It's doing quite well!!

As you can tell, there continues to be difficult times, but there are more and more encouraging things taking place. We continue to see the Lord working in unexpected ways. The last three very dry years are producing fruit, thank you for standing with us. I know I have been encouraged over and over. I know Ingrid has as well. 

We just want to thank each and every one of you for being such an integral part of the ministry here in Moroto. We would not be here if it wasn’t for each of you. Please continue praying for us, for the team, and for the Karimojong  those who have understood what being Christians means and those few who are serving with us, that our devotion to Christ will be pure and undivided.

Love,

Lyle & Ingrid