May 21

Hello from Ingrid in a rainy Karamoja!!!  We are praising the Lord and thanking Him for sending the rains.  There was rain, a lot of rain three weeks ago and then very few sprinkles until today.  I call it rain but it is really a deluge.  We sincerely want to thank everyone who has interceded for this dry and weary land, for physical rain and for the living water of Jesus Christ to be a reality here.

I have been seeing the actuality of theology being lived out here in Moroto, and continue to self examine to see what theology are others seeing in my actions as I go about my life.  I don’t know where this saying comes from, but I am experiencing it to be true here: “Who you are, speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.” It is amazing to me how much what we say we believe doesn’t line up to how we act and what we care about, myself included.  As I seek the Lord to examine my heart and to have the courage to face where He desires change in me, I find that my trust in Him is way too tied to what I see and experience on a physical level as being reality, when what is real is very much tied to the invisible world.  So truly trusting Him with all of me, circumstances and experiences notwithstanding, is the cry of my heart.  I am learning to accept everything as it comes, as from Him whom my soul loves.  My responsibility in every circumstance is to love with His love and to hunger to beat with His heart.  The longer I am here in Karamoja, the more I comprehend that only God’s love has the power to change the imbedded darkness of this land. I am wrapping my self in Ephesians 6:11-18 and knowing that it is not I who lives but Christ Who lives in me.

The Holy Spirit has exposed a new concept for me on verse 14 about wearing the belt of truth.  I have always associated this verse to be about me being truthful in all matters even when it hurts, that is, I exemplify Christ’s character, but I am now standing on the firm ground of Jesus as the Truth and everything He says is real. This is the truth I am to wrap around myself as a belt.  For instance, in Luke 1:37 Jesus says: nothing is impossible with God.  When I look and listen to the way things have been here for hundreds of years, and the way even those who call themselves Christians live, it looks impossible for change to occur and for two old puny Christ followers to have any impact.  But my Bible says that God uses the weak to show His strength, and I am trusting “His Truth” as never before.

When the Lord affirmed to me years ago that Lyle and I would live in Africa, He told me that He was going to send us to people who felt invisible and valueless.  I experienced the affirmation of this as God’s Truth just the other day. A young Kjong man, hired for construction of the house being built for us, had gestured to me at lunch that his back was hurting.  I asked him if I could pray for him and he nodded yes.  A lot of this communication is my few childish Kjong words and lots of gestures.  He indicated later that it was better.  The next day, Lyle and I were over at the construction site and I asked him how he was, he again indicated that it hurt.  I knew the Kjong word for medicine and felt I was to offer him some ibuprofen. I said when he was finished to come to the Hotel and I would give it to him. At the end of the day he showed up and I had a little packet of pills ready for him.  I got him some water and gave him two.  He cried, the first Kjong I think I have seen really cry, and raised his hands to the sky and he spoke in Kjong.  The staff interpreted for me, this is what he said;  “Now I know that God sees me.” I was so moved by what a very small act of compassion produced in this precious man’s heart, and it reminded me that the Karimojong do not think God sees them.  Love, God’s love, in little acts of kindness will break the lie this tribe has believed that they are invisible to God and have no value. 

Typical open ulcerated wound

Another aspect of this kind of compassion is treating the “first aide” kind of wounds the street boys have. They cannot get their wounds treated because they are too dirty and do not have a book to take to the outpatient clinic.  Each person must bring their own book to be charted in by the medical teams before they are able to receive treatment.  So on a given day I can see two or three wounds needing to be cleaned and bandaged. Our prayer is that we will be willing instruments for God’s glory each and every day, by being led by Him in every loving thing He leads us to do.  We all do live our theology, whatever that may be, and I pray that what I do, speaks to the truth of Who I believe in, the Only Living God, Love Incarnate, Who is and will change this land.

Example of typical borehole

God has opened doors for us to work with a group of manyattas in putting together a proposal for a US donor who wants to fund sustainable water projects.  It has been wonderful to see the tie between physical water for people, livestock, and gardens and the living water Jesus gives, which changes souls and minds and sustains them no matter the circumstances.  

Joseph and Thomas

Also, the Lord has led us to follow through with two more of the street boys we became acquainted with at the crusades, sponsoring them in boarding school.  We decided on boarding, since they are truly orphaned (no parents or grandparents) and they have no safeplace to live. We were able to corroborate this sad fact through people from their village.  Part of the market in Moroto burned up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, and these boys were sleeping in the area that was burning. So having a bunk in a dorm for them is the safest place we can find to put them for now.  Their faces said it all after we had taken them there, paid the school fees, and purchased everything necessary for them to function.  The only thing the school provides is the dorm, one big hall, with a few frames for mattresses that must be provided by the boys. We came back after the first day of school on Monday, the 19^th, and they had set up their bunks. There was a peace and joy replacing the fear and apprehension that had always marked their faces before.  They took out their notebooks and with smiles showed us what they had worked on that day.  They are 12 years old and had not completed second grade yet, we don’t know how long they have been out of school.  The headmaster decided they should be put back in second grade. The word has gotten out and we have been approached by at least 5 more boys who want to go to school.  The Ugandan system is very confusing, because primary school is supposed to be free, but it isn’t. So just wanting to go seems not to entitle one to be able to go. Every humanitarian organization that we have spoken with that are suppose to be helping children, are not addressing those with no parents, that are on the street. This group seems to have fallen through the cracks. Even without uniforms and school supplies, we were required to pay 9,000 UGX for Peter to attend day school. So much we still need to learn and understand. We continue to pray that we will have hearts to learn about this culture that God has created to reflect a part of His great variety of people made in His image.

Children in the "bush"

Since my opportunity to teach a women’s bible study, I have been asked to help this women’s group be able to minister to women in the manyattas in Moroto district. They have a vision of going out on Sundays and sharing the Good News that God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us who believe in Jesus, into the Kingdom of light, through Jesus’ purchase of our freedom and forgiveness of our sins.  I drove two of the leaders out for a survey trip of the two areas they were going to start with on Friday the 16^th.  I was a week into feeling sick, but I was not thinking I had malaria because I didn’t have a temperature. I was excited to be in the bush and meeting more of the people I feel God’s love for.  We had a productive time and the survey trip was a very good idea, because what the women thought were sites for meeting ended up being different.  Lyle had to step in for me on Sunday, the actual day to go, because by Saturday I did have the fever and was down in bed. I was praising the Lord, because Lyle as a man was thinking this was valuable enough to put his efforts there and I hope this will be an example for others to follow.  Lyle is also pursuing Bible studies at the police barracks and we would value prayer on this as well.  I am past taking the malaria meds, but it still takes very little effort before I feel very weak, which is challenging for my nature J.   Another area I am surrendering more and more to the will of my Lord and Master.

Please keep the house being built for us in prayer. We were supposed to move in on May 16^th, but this is continuing to be pushed back. We are hoping the work will be complete when we return from our visit to the States. We know that God knows where He wants us and for how long, and I remind myself that He started this, we didn’t, and that it will be finished according to His will.  We desire prayer that nothing holds back what God has planned for us, please.  AIM has graciously allowed us to travel back to the USA to greet a new grandson in Florida, Pat and Amy’s new addition.  We are grateful and excited to have this unexpected opportunity to reunite with all our loved ones, as we travel from Florida to the West coast to see most of the rest of the family and all our friends.  We are praying that the house will be complete when we return to Uganda the end of August.

For all of you who have prayed for me thru my maiden experience with malaria, my heart felt thanks!!!  It has been sobering to personally experience what is the leading killer for Ugandans and most Africans. I think this gives insight into the “real world” – the one we experience, but can’t see. There is an invisible war being waged between light and dark and seemingly small things, like the tiny mosquito, can cause sickness and death. This is true spiritually as well as physically.

Thank you all for your love and for continuing to communicate and support us in so many ways as together we are serving Jesus Christ in Karamoja.  Hopefully we will get to see many of you in less than two months.

Large tray of "white ants" ready to be dewinged

We do pray for all of you, seriously, and are humbled by your ongoing love and communication.

Love, 

Ingrid and Lyle

PS...the photo to the right has nothing to do with this blog other then to show there is no waste. When it rains the "white ants" come out then they are caught and either eaten raw or cooked. Excellent protein. Tastes like sunflower seeds. 

April 22, 2014

Lyle here,

Standing room only for Easter Service

Hello everybody. We pray and hope all is well with each of you and that each of you had a very blessed remembrance that we serve a risen Savior.

Another month has sped by (actually a little over a month). I am guessing you will hear this over and over again, but like all of you, we have been very busy. We are continuing to learn language and meet Karimojong people. Seven weeks into our time up here, we took a nice couple of days off in a town called Mbale. It is about five hours away from us, but it was worth the trip. Something that Ingrid recognized once we were there was how much we live in a fish bowl in Moroto. Not only are we easy to spot here, as two of about only 10 white people in Moroto, but our vehicle is very identifiable as well, with its twin metal jerry cans mounted on the roof rack. So, it is not uncommon to have people inform us of where we have been, or even show up where we are because they see our car. It was nice to be a little more anonymous for a few days.

View from our hotel room in Mbale

I don’t know if this has ever happened to any of you, but have your ever written something down that you felt the Lord was teaching you, only look back a month or so later and realize you have forgotten what was being taught? As I re-read our last blog, as a review before beginning this one, I realized I have not been purposefully abiding as the Lord was trying to teach me.  I had chosen to be caught up in the business of what we are doing, the trip we took to Mbale, as well as our time in Kampala, which I have not talked about yet; all seemingly good things, but if my heart is not abiding, then it is just activity. It is interesting how I can pray every morning, have quiet times, pray about specific things during the day, and yet miss abiding.

Nile river by Jinja on way back to Moroto

I mentioned our trip to Kampala. We spent a week there, from April 7^th-14^th, to attend some leadership training being put on by our AIM Central Region Office. We really appreciated and enjoyed the training. It was wonderful getting to meet other AIM missionaries for the first time from Chad, Rwanda and Uganda and also to reconnect with some we had not seen for a while. There is great encouragement in being with those living and struggling with the same things we are. The training was very good. Some of it was dry administrative stuff, but the instructors did a fantastic job keeping it lively and presenting the material in a creative way. The leadership component was good, with a strong emphasis on what real Biblical leadership looks like. We also had one session, by a Ugandan national, that looked at the real need for good apologetics (defending as well as correctly explaining the Christian faith) throughout the churches in Uganda. It was really affirming to hear this man speak, as it reflected much of what we have been learning about Karamoja.

There are many examples. As we have been interacting and getting to know people, we have been told, and we have also observed, that spiritualism is very much alive and active in the Ngakarimojong culture, even among those who call themselves Christians.  Wizards are thought to be born this way and so can act with occultish powers and go to church and say they are Christians. Witchdoctors are said to demonstrate great spiritual powers that cause much fear in all people. Many who call themselves Christians may attend church on Sunday and then visit the witchdoctor during the week. Stories have been told to us of night dancers—people who have great spiritual power to kill people or destroy property.  They are purported to be real people seen dancing with dead bodies or body parts and are greatly feared even by those calling themselves Christians.  Then there is the evil eye. It is described as someone who has the evil power to kill someone by staring at him or her.  Over and over again, fear is the operative word.  The fact that Christ is more powerful than all evil, and that peace is the foundation of everyone who is a Christ follower, doesn’t seem to be understood. When we tell Christians that they do not have to fear because Christ is living in them and these powers can have no effect over them, they seem not to receive this truth. The Bible has been translated into the Ngakarimajong language, but many are illiterate and those who do read seem not to be able to have bibles.  They are very expensive to buy. So much of what is believed is what they hear, truth or not.

Another example: we attended a five day “Healing Crusade” that was sponsored by the local Protestant churches together here in Moroto. We went to hear and understand what the Protestant Christian community was being taught.  We attended three of the five sessions. We heard one person speak twice and one person speak once. Frankly, we left disheartened and sad.  What was preached was not the gospel. We heard nothing of repentance or personal sin. One speaker never even mentioned the need for salvation, the other mentioned it, but never really explained what it was. If all I knew of Jesus was based on what I heard on those three nights then I would believe that if I went to church and called myself a Christian, and used the name of Jesus to get what I wanted, then I would live a long full life, my land would be fruitful, and my endeavors would succeed.  Anything bad that happens comes from the devil and demons, not from a corrupt heart or poor choices. There was no personal responsibly or accountably for personal sin, no repentance, and no holiness. We have no idea how pervasive this way of thinking is among the churches here, but it is what was presented at this crusade and even in conversations. Please pray for us; for wisdom, compassion and hearts beating with Christ’s love as we continue to have revealed to us what is believed and lived.  

Peter before he went to Pastor Noah

On another note, while at the crusade we met a group of street boys. One of them, Peter, really touched our hearts. It really began with Ingrid, as I was more standoffish. Peter had left his sandals by us and then wandered off, we are assuming he thought they would be safe by us. I had not seen him do this, I only knew they belonged to one of the street boys. When I saw one of the street boys come and take them, I thought nothing of it. When Peter came back and saw the sandals missing, he was devastated. He ended up following us to our home. Two days later we were able to give him another pair of sandals, along with some of the other street boys who had no sandals (these are tire treads with straps). The next time we saw these boys; we noticed their sandals were gone. We don’t know if they were stolen or sold, only that they were gone. After the Crusades, little Peter would come to outside the hotel every day, either alone or with a couple of other street boys and just sit and wait for us to emerge. If we were walking he would follow us, if we were driving he would wait for us to get back.  He never asked for a thing. He was only desiring a comforting hug from Ingrid. As Ingrid and I talked about the issue of the street boys the Lord really impressed on our hearts that Peter was different in his persistence. After Ingrid asked him about family, and he told her he had no parents or grandparents, we prayed and felt we were to try to find an immediate solution for him. We approached Pastor Noah (a friend you have heard us speak of before) and asked him if Peter could join his boys’ home. We introduced Peter to Pastor Noah and Pastor Noah was able to confirm what Peter had told Ingrid; that he was an orphan. His auntie was supposed to be the one taking care of him, but she wasn't doing so. Consequently he was living on the street. As best as can be found out, Peter is 7-8 years old and has been on the street for 5 years, since he was about 2 or 3. Pastor Noah was able to speak with the auntie and the local authorities and received permission to have Peter join the boys’ home. We were able to be part of the process of Peter’s transformation from a dirty street boy in tattered clothing to a clean young boy, now wearing new clothes. The transformation was amazing! As we checked back with Pastor Noah he was also amazed with Peter. Peter is fitting in very well with the other boys and consistently demonstrating a servant’s heart in the home. His servitude is not only an outward demonstration of his appreciation, but it seems to reflect his deep visceral gratitude for the change in his life and circumstances.

Peter later on at Pastor Noah's

Peter’s transformation is a tangible demonstration to me of what my life should be about. Peter was an orphan, dirty and living on the street with no one caring about his life, yet he was able, because of God’s grace, demonstrated through Pastor Noah and us, to literally take off the old and put on the new. Sound familiar? Colossians 3:9-10 says, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”  When we first met Peter, you could see the despair in his eyes, the lack of hope. Now you see hope, joy, and fruit. Yes fruit. A servant’s heart. I think of Isaiah’s response, in Isaiah chapter 6, to the forgiveness he received when in the presence of a Holy God. He expected utter ruin, but instead received grace and forgiveness. When God asked, “Who shall I send,” Isaiah’s response was, “Send me.” In the same way, I have taken off the old self and its ways and have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ. I deserve utter ruin, but instead I have received God’s grace and forgiveness. My service to Him should not be just something I do, but it should be a reflection, like Peter and Isaiah, of my deep and abiding understanding of what I have received versus what I deserve. May all of us be a people whose lives reflect this truth and we cry out, “Send me.” Each of us is to live this life of service because of the joy of our transformed lives through Christ’s gift of life to us through His death and resurrection. There are no exceptions, but as I write this blog, I realize how easy it is for me to forget this truth. It is so easy, as I said earlier, to transition from abiding, to doing. This cannot be a small thing in any of our lives. Just read through John 15. This is serious business, one of eternal consequences. I know I am safe in my Lord and the fact that He continues to bring this forward, is Him pruning me, but I really do desire to be a willing participant in this process! Ingrid asked the question, “How do you intend to abide?” For me, I am praying that the Lord continues to remind me, as He has been, but I am also making it a purposeful part of my prayers each morning and throughout the day as the Holy Spirit reminds me.

As we have been talking about the culture we are living in and the challenges that accompany it, the Lord is putting Ingrid in a unique position. She is being asked to be the teacher for a day long gathering of the women in the Church of Uganda, here in Moroto on Saturday, the 26th. Then on Sunday she will be driving the women to various manyattas and dropping them off and picking them up after ministry. Please pray that our Lord puts His words in Her mouth to teach on Saturday. Please pray for those who will be in attendance, that they will truly hear what the Lord has for each one of them. Please pray for safe driving on Sunday as well as for the work the ladies will be doing in the manyattas, including Ingrid, who will be ministering as well.

I know this has been a longer then normal blog. There is some pretty frank and transparent information, but it is a reflection of what our reality is, and hopefully it allows each of you to “labor” with us in prayer. We value your prayers and your interaction. We are all part of the body of Christ and we need each and every one of you.

Thank you for your love, faithfulness, and encouragement.

Love,

Lyle and Ingrid

March 10, 2014

Lyle here,

I can't believe February has passed us by already. We have been in Moroto just a little over three weeks and there has not been a dull moment. I think the biggest thing for me has been the emotional adjustment. Since December of 2012 we have been looking towards Moroto, feeling God's tug on our hearts. In early 2013 the Lord really led us to apply with African Inland Mission; the rest is history, and here we are.

I don't know how many of you have seen "Finding Nemo," but one of the very last scenes, as the credits were rolling, was the culmination of the successful escape of the all the fish in the fish tank, back to the "Big Blue," the ocean. Throughout the whole movie they had been scheming how to pull this off and they finally succeeded. Then the realization. They are floating in their plastic baggies in the bay and the question is asked, "Now what?" This really described what I was feeling. We are finally here, in Moroto, and there is no real set program. We are not going to a job where our days are laid out before us and we have a preset schedule to keep. We have some general guidelines of what we will be doing the next six month. We will be learning language, learning about the Karimojong culture, and we will meet the local people. From there we will begin to identify potential needs. For me, as someone who has worked in a very structured environment all his life, this is a real challenge. I felt a lot like the fish in the bags asking the question, "Now what?" Praise God, He is faithful to answer our questions. As the Lord had been speaking to Ingrid in her quiet times, He really impressed the word "abide" in her heart and as we shared, it was clear the Lord was speaking the same to me. What a wonderful thing it is to abide in the Lord, but what did that mean for me? When I went to John 15 and read through the parable of the vine, verses 4 and 5 really stuck out. "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." I was feeling lost, directionless, and powerless. I was looking for things, a program, a schedule, a plan, whatever, to feel productive. What these verses were telling me though, was that if I am looking to those things to be productive, then I am missing it completely and there will be no real fruit. It is only in abiding in the Lord that fruit comes. So this time is a time of abiding and should always remain a time of abiding. The Lord also showed me that this is not a time of inactivity. Abiding is active and intentional. I still struggle with the, "Now what," but God continues to bring me back to abiding in Him. 

As Ingrid has been "abiding," the Lord has brought the following verses to her. 1 Peter 1:6, "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while." 1 Peter 4:1-2, "So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God." 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." These verses really put abiding into perspective. It is a practical thing; a time of rejoicing, even in trials; Christ suffered, as will we, and as a result our longings will change from human passions to passions for the will of God; and that regardless of our circumstances, we thank our Lord!! Our circumstances are the will of God. He uses them to mold us more and more into His character. 

Something else we have had to do is to put things into perspective. What is difficult for us, because of where we came from, would be a blessing for others; no water from a tap, no power, but a well within walking distance and a secure clean space to live in, would be a dream for the majority of people living in Moroto. These struggles seem strange, considering we are living better then we did when we were at New Hope Uganda, at their Institute for Child and Family Care. I think the difference is that now we are not with a group of others and there we had a set schedule and it ended after 5 months, this is now our lives. 

On the other side of things we will have a permanent place to live, hopefully by May! The owner of the hotel we are living at is the one building the home. He is renting it at a price well below the market rate. This is a miracle and we are rejoicing in the Lord! Please rejoice with us. The beginning price was much higher and he has continued to reduce the price until it fit within AIM's budget. Not only is he building the home, but he has involved us in the entire design process, to ensure it met our needs and more. He is as excited about our ministry potential as we are! We are so excited to see where God takes this relationship. Here are a couple of pictures:

On the  lighter side (this does fit into abiding as well) we went grocery shopping. You have to understand what that means. Locally in town, we can purchase tomatoes, carrots (sometimes) and a few things like that. If we want meat, it comes from a goat or a cow that has been butchered and has been hanging out in the open, flies included. If we want chicken, it means we buy a live chicken and well, you get the drift. We get to turn it into a meal. Grocery shopping means we go to a store that has frozen meats and a selection of other items. For us, the closest such place is almost a three hour drive. For those of you in Frenchtown you will be able to get a good visual of this if you think of Broncs as the ultimate destination. For the rest of you, imagine a mom and pop store, with the basics. Now imagine driving for three hours to get there. May I tell you, it was worth the trip!

Goats trying to find shade

Continuing on the lighter side, as Ingrid has been learning NgaKarimojong, one word has been disturbing her greatly. She remembers much, but the word for "goat" has been driving her crazy because there are goats everywhere! Now image hot nights, struggling to fall asleep. The electricity is "somehow" lost and has not managed to find its way to Moroto most of the time, just enough to tease us. Lying in a pool of sweat, I'm not asleep, but trying, and what do I hear? Ingrid's tape recorder playing back the NgaKarimojong word for goat, "akine" (ah-key-neh). We both had quite a laugh, since neither of us were sleeping.

On the more serious side of things. As we have been walking and talking there have been many things we have observed, heard, or read. FGM is still being practiced among the Tepeth people, who live in the mountains around us. People are not accepted at the hospital unless they are able to bathe first. Think of that. You are living in utter poverty. You don't have money to buy food, let alone soap. You are so sick that you finally go to the hospital and you are turned away because you are dirty, and everyone is because of the dirt here. Another belief is that you cannot mix traditional medicine and western medicine. If you do you will die. This means if you first went to the "witch doctor," then it automatically precludes you from going to the clinic. Where do you go first when you have no soap. To the traditional healer (witch doctor), of course. Traditional culture is strong here, which means traditional practices are followed. Goats and cows are prestige, not food. A family will starve before slaughtering a cow or goat happens (meat at market is from another tribe). Frankly, it is overwhelming and we truly need your prayers for wisdom as they feel God doesn't answer their prayers for food and they have cows and goats. We cannot do this alone. God has us here for His purpose, we know that. We know that He will be sending others, but the needs are so vast and so spiritual. It is really hard to describe. It can only be experienced. It is visceral. Please pray that we do not lose sight of God's Kingdom, abiding in Him and His passion for the human soul. He is teaching us this lesson early on. If we lose sight of His Kingdom and begin focusing on tasks rather then abiding, there will be no real fruit. Pray that we seek God's wisdom in all things. The dynamics here in Moroto are politically and relationally charged. We need to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. This can only be done in His wisdom.

Thanks for being part of God's Kingdom work in Karamoja.

Love,

Lyle and Ingrid