Makhai

We visited the village of Makhai yesterday.   (see https://www.google.com/maps/place/0%C2%B057'04.3%22N+34%C2%B009'56.0%22E/@0.951191,34.1644678,357m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d0.951191!4d34.1655556 , although I think it has expanded somewhat beyond the current Google Maps satellite view I am seeing).   Makhai was the first village around Mbale that FH worked with, and they graduated out of the program 8 years ago.   With Marare's graduation coming closer and closer we really wanted to see this, to see that it was indeed possible for a place to continue strong even after FH formally left them … in other words, that the work was sustainable.

It is more than sustainable.   We saw that Makhai has not only continued what they had 8 years ago, but has gone well beyond.

(this next part is written with Naomi’s assistance….)

One thing they started 4 years ago for children with challenges, largely deafness but also some with mental and developmental challenges.  It was really great to see the deaf and developmentally challenged kids thriving and even interacting well and positively with the “normal” children at the school. 

Many in the program are from further away, as far as Northern Uganda, and some of the kids board at the school.   When we met the group they were eager to communicate with us, telling us their names in sign language.

There was one teen-aged deaf student, Rebecca, who particularly hit it off with Naomi on our team, who has some hearing difficulties and has learned to use sign language well.    Rebecca diligently taught Naomi Ugandan Sign Language (USL, which is partially different from the American Sign Language or ASL that Naomi knows).  (Rebecca clearly has great natural abilities as a teacher … may she be able to exercise these gifts in the future).

The dynamo behind this evidently successful program was Headmistress Lydia, who clearly works very hard and with much skill in this particular area.   She does everything from the overall organization down to cleaning up their messes.   She also evidently has taken in at least a few of the kids in the program who were desperately poor or had other significant family issues even if they did not have funding for them, essentially trusting that God would provide for them as they did what they thing He is calling them to do.

Another program that has taken root at Makhai since graduation has been their secondary vocational school (secondary is what we would call part of Junior High and then High School – essentially grades 8 on)   We saw the classrooms … they are offering tailoring, computer studies and hairdressing.     Something particularly interesting was them cutting up cement bags to give a cheap material to then practice making clothes with!

And finally we saw the normal secondary school.   In fact we ended up crashing a Secondary 2 (equivalent of 9^th grade) class.   We greeted them, introduced ourselves and sang them a verse of “O Canada!”   They replied with a rendition of the Ugandan National anthem, sung in thunderous fashion with the all the vigor the song deserves.  

I should mention that I did not actually count the students, but the class was BIG.   There is a lot of demand for secondary school in Uganda as many many children graduate from the primary schools that have been their emphasis until now, and they try to take as many as they can despite limited resources.   I have great respect for an Ugandan secondary teacher; the marking alone would take a lot of time.

We also met a number of members of the community.   One chap I walked with for a while was an older farmer who obviously was becoming reasonably prosperous and certainly was a leader in the area.   We were able to talk about their crops … one advantage I have, being a farm boy as I am, is having the universal thing to discuss with farmers here, who make up a huge part of the population.   Yup, you can always talk about rain and crops, and instantly have something in common.

The Makhai visit took up much of the day.  We were able to get in more home visiting yesterday … I’ll talk more about all this in my next posting.   We dragged our way home and passed out, exhausted but happy.

The mzungus who liked going up a mountain so much that they did it twice!

I'm posting this the morning after the Friday when all of these events occurred, but it is  still Friday for at least some of you reading this anyways so it's kind of like time travel.   

Anyways, yesterday (today for those of you still in the past) was a day of marvels  

The big event was going to see some of the new villages FH hopes to enter 10 year partnerships with when Marare is finished next year.  After morning devotions and coffee we piled into our van (us five and FH staff Moses, Molex, Joshua,  and Julius) at 10 am.  At first we went down the paved highway north of Mbale for a ways.  We then turned onto a pretty wide road under construction (likely Chinese financed … Ugandan workers but at least some of the supervisors visibly Chinese)  - dusty but very passable.  But then we turned down a narrow side road and the fun began!

We were now on a narrow, often deeply rutted dirt road that much of the time was climbing.    

It was so bumpy and we bounced so much in the vehicle that my fitness tracker  was convinced I was walking.   I did 17000 steps today largely sitting in a van seat!

At one point we started up what looked to be about a 30 degree long slope, and we offered to get out and walk up so that it would be easier on the van. That was no hardship for us; we were high up in a lush area with beautiful view of the high hills we were in. 

So we forged ahead … but soon we realized that the van, after going a little ways, was not getting to the top!   It had overheated and stalled and refused to start.   So here it was, halfway up a long steep slope, blocking the very narrow road.

A taxi van full of singing women (we could hear them even as they approached) was blocked from continuing; they eventually continued their journey on foot.   A motorcycle carrying water jugs narrowly squeezed by.   

Still we waited.  Meanwhile the local people starting coming out, watching the scene, offering advice on what should be done, and from time to time discussing whether they had enough people there that we could all together push the van up the slope.   It was quite the scene … people all around watching and talking, the taxi waiting below at the base of the blocked slope, another truck that had appeared waiting above, the occasional motorcycle inching past then grinding its way up the rest of the slope … all very African I would say, and in keeping with with the spirit of that we were pretty relaxed.

Eventually the van was slowly rolled back down the slope to a flat and wider spot so the taxi could pass, and we decided that we could continue on foot to where we were going; Moses assured us it was not far.   So we started hoofing it, and probably would’ve made it there; but soon we heard a sound and turned to see our van coming up the slope behind.  Thank you Lord! 

“Where we were going” turned out to be the village of Burukuru.   There really wasn’t a lot there … a few school buildings and a few others.   Actually, there were sort of 1 ½ school buildings; originally there were three, but a storm sometime recently had completely knocked over one and torn the roof entirely off of another.  There were workers there replacing the roof on the latter.

FH has identified Burukuru as a place where they can work in partnership with the community.  There are significant issues about water supply, environment and food security as well as other physical issues that could be addressed.  But above this there is an overall sense of hopelessness and resignation to nothing good happening, tied at least in part to spiritual beliefs in the area.   It is this kind of community that FH’s holistic development programs work well in, ministering to all the needs of the community be they physical, spiritual or emotional.

One thing that Burukuru is not poor in is scenery.  It is way up on the high hill / small mountain (not sure which) overlooking a valley and other hills.   My picture here does it no justice … just beautiful.  Also it was refreshingly cool; at home we would immediately think, “Set up the trailer!  We’re camping here!”

It was while we were here in this significantly remote spot (probably at least an hour’s drive on those roads from Mbale) that the reality of FH’s “incarnational” model of work hit us.    As Christians we believe that God became a person in the form of Jesus and lived among people, something we call the incarnation; and He did this (among other reasons) as the most effective way to have us relate to Him and in so doing to influence us.     Likewise, FH believes that their workers need to live their lives among the communities they are working with, influencing them not only by their programs but also by their very presence and who they are.   They become, in a sense, like Jesus; indeed, they become visible expressions of Him there.

For Marare and the other nearby villages that FH Mbale has worked this could be done by staff living in and around Mbale and travelling each day to spend a lot of time in the villages; they were not far and they could easily get there every day and return at night.  But to work in Burukuru, given the kind of hours they spend on a typical day, that’s not going to be practical.  They are going to have to move there.  And from what we heard from the staff members, they are willing to do that to accomplish what they think God is calling them to do there.   It’s quite humbling to see that level of commitment.

After a time talking with a few people in Burukuru we loaded up in the van and went back down what we had recently come up.   Soon we hit the under-construction road.   I was getting on in time (~2:00)  and we assumed that we were heading back to the FH office.   Until we turned onto another narrow side road.

We continued up and up and up, on much the same type of road and with much of the same jostling along the way as before (but with less “adventure”).  Eventually our efforts were rewarded by coming to the village of Nabukhoma.  We parked at the school and church there high up, got out, and were rewarded with yet another view.

Tim and I debate about which one was a better view.   I contend that Burukuru’s is the superior, being deeper and somewhat wilder looking.   Tim disagrees, noting the wide expanse of the valley one can see from Nabukhoma.  Whatever.  I’ll take either.

We got some time there to talk with people.   I chatted with a local farmer, who grows beans, maize and millet for his family’s consumption and also is starting to grow pumpkins for sale as income.   He was a fairly young man, married and with one one-year-old daughter.   He did note that he and his wife have to travel significant distances to get water.  In general, and from our brief glimpse at the buildings we saw, this particular area looks quite materially poor.

We have seen two of four villages that FH has identified as potential for their next round of 10 year partnerships.   I believe that they soon will be looking for partners, as Northgate has been for Marare.   

We bounced back down the mountain, had lunch at 3:30, and headed into Marare somewhat behind official schedule but still ready to go.     We got to observe two things:

·         A cascade group.  This is a group of about 10  mothers.  Molex, one of the FH community development people, teaches them various health lessons (today was about the care of pregnant women and the advantages of going to a health clinic for their births) using large format laminated picture books.   The women then each have a group of about 11 women of their own that they go teach the lesson to.  Evidently there are 8 such groups, which would mean that close to 1000 women in the end are being taught.

·         A village savings and loans association.   This particular one had some people that Edith and I already knew (Suzan and Grace).  For a description of these, have a look at the August 18 post in 2016 (http://destinationmarare.blogspot.com/2016/ )

(As an aside we really didn’t see much in new projects in Marare … instead we saw more and more of the existing projects being advanced and taking root.  For example I now call Marare “Land of the Dairy Cow” because of the number of dairy cow project cows I saw.    All this is exactly as it should be as they come to graduation)

Anyways this has been a long post and I will sign off.   Other than I will ask for your prayers for team member Tim, as he has lost his mind.  He has made friends with a snail.  Sad, really.

A Short Update For Today....

We had a marvelous day.   After devotions (in which I read the wrong day's passage, but it worked out OK I think...)  we started with a visit with Ellen (mother of Edward, world’s cutest singer … those who followed our 2015 blog may remember him, or you can look back…)  

She gave us an excellent talk on her biogas system which really was a fantastic primer in the end on the whole FH work here.   There was an enormous amount we saw and learned; I think I will leave it for a talk at our sharing night (hint hint, plan to be there).   I will title it:

“How to go from"

“to”

“in several easy steps”

We spent a significant amount of time today visiting with sponsored children.  Thus far we have met with Ivan, Sarah, Manjer, Aramaz, Grace and Peter.   These are a marvelous time in which we can share with the sponso-rees and their caregivers, bringing them love and encouragement and praying a blessing over them.    

One visit in particular today underscored just how important sponsorship and our visits are.  It was a very emotional event; she was so happy and grateful for the visit.   Do not think that the work we do in sponsoring these young people is a small thing.

We had an impromptu time visiting with Nakonyi and Jennifer who we had met on the 2015 trip.  They are an enormously happy and encouraging couple:   

(see the July 24 2015 post on http://destinationmarare.blogspot.com/2015/ for more on them) .   But do pray for them; they have had a very hard last couple years, having lost two of their three sons.

And finally we had a really nice low key time with the ladies' handicrafts training group and other members of the community, doing … well, really, just hanging out.  

To Marare!

Today we went to the village of Marare!

(actually first a personal update.  We are all well thus far, and seem to be getting over jet lag.  Keep praying especially for the former).

Well, first we went to the FH office and had devotions with the staff.   This is always an enjoyable time, and especially so this morning as we were able the other new staff.   We met Difas who is their new logistics chap and also a accounting intern named Judith (currently a UCU student, the same place Joshua graduated from).  In general we are impressed by the quality and youthful energy of the new recruits.

After this we drove to Marare.

I remember when I went the first time with Alan and Diniz, and them bouncing around in the van on the way like a couple of kids driving up into the Disneyland parking lot. They kept looking out the windows and saying things like, “Hey!  That’s new!   Wow! That wasn’t there before!”   Well, this time it was me and Edith's turn:

“Wow, I don’t remember there being this many shops in area!”

“Hey, that was an open field with one building in it last time!   It’s all buildings now!”

But that’s nothing compared to Tim, having been here last nine years ago, who looked at everything and said,

“Hey!  This ENTIRE AREA was just an open field when I was here last!  Without even a road!”

Progress is very evident in Marare … lots of building, lots of buildings.   More on that later.

Soon we came to the last turn and pulled up into the St. James School (Motto:  “Never Give Up!”)

And of course we were met by the mob of children!  Yay!  That’s always one of the most fun parts!

We then went in for the opening ceremonies and welcoming.   Lots of people smiled …

… we had the school children’s choir sing for us …

… as well as the mother’s group (that’s Susan who some of you may recognize in the front in the yellow dress ….)

And of course speeches.     We also had the traditional naming ceremony … I’ll report on that more tomorrow as I can’t remember everyone’s Lugisu names and their meanings.  It’s all a lot of fun.

After that we had lunch and then started one of the big works we are here for, which is sponsored child visits.  We think that this is a big part of our ability to encourage people here.   Today we got to three families, bringing them packages, notes and video messages from their sponsors.   In some cases we definitely saw the happiness and appreciation from the kids (in others they were really shy).  But in all cases we had great appreciation expressed by their caregivers (mother, grandmother and relative in this case … AIDS and other issue have still taken a deep toll on parents in Uganda, so there are many children raised by people other than their parents, often at great sacrifice).  The adults really appreciate what is being done, helping their children go to school and getting an education.

To get to the sponsored children’s homes we walked, and were able to observe all the building and other things going one.  I was struck by just how many substantial houses seem to be being built.

They may be small by Canadian standards, but these tend to be multi-room brick structures (largely locally-made brick) of I would say a few hundred square feet with electricity, sturdy tin roofs and other amenities.   This is fantastic.

Another thing we saw …

Yup, that’s a water meter!   The Mbale municipal system has been extended at least partially into Marare!  And finally one more thing (because Edith is saying I need to stop and come to bed) …

Notice the new high tension towers being built beside the existing transmission line, a clear sign that they have needed to bring more electricity into the area to meet the growing demand.   I also saw a new substation … more kilowatts to the people who need it!  Yay!

In Mbale

Very quick ... after a long journey yesterday (certainly longer than I remember) we arrived in Mbale yesterday evening.   We are now with the FH Staff in the Mbale office.  

We are currently working on passing across the Bibles, books and sports equipment we brought with up to help in their work here.

By the way this is Joshua, who is a new staffer in the Mbale office.   A number of the people we met last time are still here, but a couple have moved to different positions in the organization (yesterday we met Miriam again, who was in Mbale when we were here in 2015 but is now in the Kampala office in accounting).  Joshua is a social work graduate from Uganda Christian University (UCU) who previously worked for the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (who run the national parks) in community engagement (very important work in especially those communities that border on the parks ... critical to maintain relationships with them).

We Are Here!

... well, at least we are in Kampala.   We had a close to uneventful trip (the best type)  arriving in Entebbe about 11:00 and getting finally through formalities and luggage pickup and all about 3/4 of an hour later.  We then met Moses and our driver Joseph and got underway about 12:00   After an hour's travel on what were largely new roads (toll roads) with very little traffic (now THAT was a change from before) we arrived at the Adonai Guest House.   We all appear to have slept quite well and are having our breakfast (fresh pineapple!  fresh mango juice!) with a side of malaria drugs, and will be on the road to Mbale after that.

Halfway there

After leaving Edmonton this morning with more luggage than "us" ....

... we have arrived in Amsterdam.   Good flights so far, actually got to Amsterdam 3/4 of an hour ahead of schedule.   Leaving for Entebbe (actually Kigale first) in 2 hours

'Twas The Night Before .....

Well, it’s the night before … and, sort of reminiscent of Christmas, the bags are all packed in the SUV with care, in hopes that that big blue jet will soon take us there ……

I’m kind of wandering around here, sort of in a daze, checking my list once and then twice to make sure I’ve missed nothing, poking at the last few jobs that have to be done, and wondering about what lies ahead.  

Having been before I have some idea of course, but there are plenty of surprises to come I’m sure.  And certainly I’m feeling a bit … perhaps inadequate.  Will I really be effective when I get there?   Am I really up for this?  And so I continue to wander … and wonder …

And my mind goes to the Christmas hymn …. (you know it, hum the tune as you read)

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,

How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.

For poor on'ry people like you and like I...

I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

And I guess that’s really it … it isn’t about me anyways.   The Lord calls us “poor ornery people” whom He died to reconcile to Himself to go do this, and it’s up to Him to use us where we get there…

And so in the morning we go.

God is good.   All the time.   And all the time.  God is good.   For that is His nature. 

Nine Days And Counting!

This is just a test post on the blog ... I'm setting up the computer we will be bringing and making sure everything is Shipshape and Bristol Fashion.

Sharing Night - September 29, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.." Revelation 12:11a, NKJV

Hello Friends, 

As I mentioned in past blogs, we will be having a night sharing and the information is given below:

Date: Thursday, September 29th, 2016

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. 

Venue: Fellowship Hall, Northgate Baptist Church, Edmonton, AB.

Come join us as we share together the amazing transformation stories and testimonies of the Lord's goodness to us before, during and after the Marare trip! 

It is a story of partnership!

It is a story of collaboration!

Great joy!

Hard To Say Good-Bye!

"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." Acts 1:9, NJKV

You think of mixed emotions - sadness and joy - the early disciples must have felt these seeing the One they have left all to follow leaving them after His resurrection! On our last day at the the village, tears flow freely and emotions couldn't be curtailed from both young and old. 

In preparation for the send forth celebration, we were all dressed up like brides and bridegroom in attractive colours.

All dressed up with colourful dresses 

So we were seated in a classroom as the children sang from their hearts - songs like - "will you come and see us again?", "thank you for loving us", "do not forget us." The songs were rendered with great passion filled with sadness that we are leaving, but also with the hope that we will back! 

The comforting words of angels to the disciples as he was taken away from their sight are much more relevant in this situation. Here is it: "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11, NJKV

Fellow brethren at Northgate, let us walk alongside the village of Marare to finish the course and say boldly like Apostle Paul in his final farewell that, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7, NKJV.

The village of Marare sends their warm greetings to everyone in Canada, and so we departed the village. The group of six departed as transformed men and women as the experiences in the village were mutual transformation for both parties. 

Parting final dresses given to us 

Farewell picture taken with FH Mbale staff (dark because it was taken at night)

And from there we travelled to Kampala, to Entebbe Airport, to Kigali, Rwanda, to Belgium, to Montreal, and finally to Edmonton arriving at 9:30 p.m. on August 24.

In all of these, we can safely say thank you Jesus for you are good!

God is good, 

All the time; 

All the time, 

God is good.

And that is His nature, WOW!

We welcome you to our sharing night (date to be be determined) and we will individually be sharing how the mission trip impacted us.

On behalf of Marare six for 2016, we say thank you for your prayers and supports and may the good Lord bless and reward your labour of love - "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV.

SHALOM!!!

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Sunday Worship
"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” - John 4:24, NIV

A typical Sunday in Marare features two different services - first service is in English language and is from 7:30 - 9:30 A.M., while the second service is in local language and is from 9:30 - 12 noon.

The team from Northgate was asked to moderate the two services in conjunction with other church leaders. It was a great honour and privilege for us as a team to be a blessing to the congregation through prayers, sharing of testimonies and message of hope. In all, many came out to be prayed over for different issues and the Lord answered prayers. By the end of the day, there were eight people who committed their lives to the Lord - we give God all the glory.

Cross section of the congregation during second service

In your prayers, kindly remember the eight new souls who came to the Lord and ask that the Lord will establish them in His love.

One more day to go...... tomorrow (Monday) is the celebration and farewell day for the team......

Stay tuned.....

Highlights of Projects in the Village of Marare
Earlier I shared with you three of the projects that are underway in the village of Marare namely biogas projects, school building project and savings loan. Today I want to update you with other interesting projects that are alive and running in the village including dairy cow project, school garden project, cascade leaders' group and protected spring well project.

Dairy Cow Project
The dairy cow project is made up of 5 families. The FH gives a cow to the leader and she is expected to take care of the cow and ensures it calves and in turn gives the calf to each member of the team until everyone has a cow. This project is intended to help the families to generate their own milk, use the waste from the cow to generate biogas. We visited with one of the leaders in this dairy cow project and she shared amazing story of how through this project and others, she has been able to take care of her family and in fact had started building another modern house.

A cascade leader, also a leader in the dairy cow project

Cascade leader standing beside her current house

Cascade leader standing in front of her new house under construction

School Garden Project
Through the partnership of Northgate, FH Marare acquired 3 acres of land to plant and harvest crops in order to feed the school children.  With this project, training and supplies as well as seeds and cuttings are being supplied. Oxen and Ox-ploughs were procured to assist the process and enhance the learning experience for students. The younger students will enjoy meals of porridge, while the older classes will have meals of beans and posho (a dish made from corn flour).
We visited the school garden project (picture below) and the people of Marare pray for rain - please let us keep them in our prayers that God will send rains to the land in abundance.

Marare School Garden Project

Cascade Leaders' Group
FH philosophy of raising and developing leaders from grassroots is really effective. To avoid cultural invasion and achieve program effectiveness, FH select reputable and respectable household leaders from the village and train them various skills for survival and sustainability. While there, we met with the cascade leaders in their meeting and they showed us one of their lessons for that day which is to learn about cough- its prevention and cure. Through these various trainings and self-empowerment, the cascade leaders now move back into the village to train other people. With this strategy, the people are more eager to listen to the cascade leaders as they see the evidence of transformation in their lives.

An FH Staff in teaching session with the cascade leaders

Protected Spring Well Project
As anyone knows that with clean potable water, one can prevent so many water-borne diseases including cholera, dengue fever, diarrhoea, polio, typhoid, malaria, to mention but few. When FH got to the village of Marare, the source of water in the village is a puddle, unsettled water that is unsafe (see the picture below). However, through the protected spring well project, the village now has safe, functional and potable spring well. These protected spring wells also have chlorine bucket which is intended to be used on demand basis. When this water is not being fetched by the villagers, it runs to the rice field down the hill.

A natural spring before the project

Protected Spring Well

An FH Staff standing in front of the chlorine bucket

Through all these projects, FH in partnership with Northgate, ensures that the village is sustainable and able to fend for herself, be a good example to other neighbouring villages.

Stay tuned!