Tuesday, July 9, 2013

My Bags Are Packed

My bags are packed and I'm tucked into my bed for my last night here in Uganda. My mind is spinning as I think back to nearly a year ago when I said goodbyes on the other side of the ocean. There's great sadness and happiness that comes with goodbyes and hellos, from leaving one place and entering a new one. More than anything it feels like a whole lot of transitions that require a whole lot of faith. I left America not knowing how long I would be in Uganda. I said goodbye to my family, friends, and Daniel, hoping to see them sooner rather than later but knowing that timing was truly indefinite. I packed my bags and traveled into a land of unknowns. But it was only unknown to me. God knew it would be 357 days until I packed to return to America. He knew exactly what each day would entail here in Uganda, things that I could never have imagined. God knew He would bring Daniel to Uganda, filling his heart with a passion and calling to serve Jesus Christ here. He knew all things then, and He knows all things now. So although my bags are packed and I've said too many goodbyes for my heart to handle, God knows when I'll be returning. I hope that my hellos are sooner rather than later, but it's time for me to take another journey into a land of transitions and unknowns, knowing that He will fill each day and moment with His grace.

17 hours until I take off for America! I would appreciate all of your prayers as I transition back into my other home =) I am so excited to see my new nieces!

Shaking Things Up

This last month has been packed! A lot has happened in the last few weeks. The Uganda national football team, the Cranes, played two World Cup qualifying games - both of which I was able to attend with Corinne. Uganda ended up winning both games, and each provided its own form of excitement. The game against Angola was characterized by a nail-biting, come-from-behind victory in the dying minutes of the game. Naturally, as Uganda equalized and then won, the atmosphere in the stadium was near-pandemonium. Just imagine the deafening roar and spectacle of 45,000 fans simultaneously cheering and dancing in ecstasy!

Our experience at the game against Liberia was less pleasant, unfortunately: we were almost robbed while sitting in traffic after the game. A young man running swiftly through the middle of the gridlocked vehicles tried to snatch a phone out of my had through the halfway open window of our car. By God's grace I held on to it, and he kept running and disappeared. The whole thing was over almost as soon as it began. As it turns out, he (or another using the same method) had successfully stolen a phone from another vehicle we were traveling with that was further ahead. I was thankful that the phone I was holding was not stolen, but it was another reminder of the fallen world we live in. It was also a reminder to keep our car windows up at African sporting events.


"Uganda Cranes we go!"

Also, last week there were two earthquakes (and an aftershock) here in Uganda. Both times the epicenter was in the middle of Lake Albert, about 240km northwest of Kampala. The magnitude of the first was 5.2 and the second was 5.7 on the Richter scale - enough to rattle the windows here in town. While experiencing these earthquakes was surreal and not entirely pleasant, it did remind me of mankind's place before a great and mighty God who is over all of Creation.

"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all."
1 Chronicles 29:11 (ESV)

Work has been busy at the Engineering Ministries International (EMI) East Africa office. Our project team met with the African Children's Choir ministry leaders last week for a final design review. They were very excited about the plans for the new Choir Training Centre that we presented. The following are renderings of the future building that were drawn by intern Samantha.


Exterior Northeast Corner

South Elevation

Floor Plan

Interior Training Room

I have also been working on civil plans for the Kigobe Mission Station in Burundi. This ministry was founded by a church body called CEEM, or Communauté des Eglises Emmanuel du Burundi (Community of Emmanuel Churches in Burundi). The Mission Station reaches out to the community by providing a health clinic, schools for the blind and deaf, a church, a Bible institute, a primary school, and a sports center. It has been exciting to be a part of service to reach the poor, spread the gospel, and help build the church in East Africa! Below is a list of the ministries EMI is partnering with on current projects in the region:

African Children's Choir Training Centre, Nkumba, Uganda
CEEM Kigobe Mission Station, Bujumbura, Burundi
Daystar University Water Harvesting, Athi River, Kenya
Kibuye Hope Hospital, Kibuye, Burundi
Cherish Uganda Hope Health Centre, Bulega, Uganda
Bridge a Life, Bulo, Uganda
Father to the Fatherless International, Mityana, Uganda
St. Paul's Primary School Construction Management, Rukungiri, Uganda

Lately, the Lord has been speaking to me about and growing me in faith. It has been especially encouraging to see the Lord work through various answers to prayer. I have been privileged to witness the miraculous provision of land for GSF's Light of the World Church, the granting of another Immigration Special Pass to cover the remainder of my time here, and the unlikely (from a human perspective) issuance of a passport for a child that one of the EMI staff families is adopting. It has given me a deeper understanding and appreciation of the support that you provide to my time here through your prayer.

I have 11 days left here in Uganda. It's hard to believe that it has been over 5 months already! As my time here draws to a close, please continue to join me in prayer for the following:

  • The grace to finish well and bring good closure to work and relationships 
  • Healing for staff and interns from sickness that is going around the office
  • Corinne and I as we prepare to get married!

Thanks, and God bless you!