Daily Update - 91111

Today I was expecting to be able to spend most of the morning preparing for our Bible study that Jill and I are leading at the university here in town. However, one of the guys that works out here on the Heifer Project with us came up and asked a couple of questions, which resulted in a fairly lengthy dicussion. So, since sometimes, I can't pull myself out of "task" mode, we proceeded to continue working on fixing up the calf shed (what used to be the goat shed) while we talked. Finally, with about an hour to spare before I had to leave for the Bible study, I took some time to review my notes, get cleaned up, and play with our new kitten (see yesterday's post) and rush to the university in time.

We spent this week discussing the "cost of discipleship." While the discussion was wonderful, it was the last 5 minutes that meant the most. Several of the students shared how they just didn't want to come, but were so glad they did. The interesting part was that I had just shared with Jill earlier in the day, that Wednesdays are just hard.....there are a lot of times, I just don't want to go and can often find excuses - I don't feel good, I'm tired, and a whole list of other ones. But then I shared how even though I may feel like that, once I get there and start digging into God's Word with them, it becomes the highlight of my week. Amazing how God works that way isn't it?

My head is nodding - I'm tired and it took longer to write this than you would expect since I now have a 4-5 week old kitten trying to walk all over the keys. So, until tomorrow...

Daily Post - 91110

So, today I got to visit an orphanage nearby. It is run by Pastor Emmy, a man I met via the internet and through an old college friend in Tyler. I had actually emailed him several times prior to arriving here in Mbarara, met him during our first weekend in town in a fluke run in at a local hotel, but had not been able to coordinate a visit until today. It just so happens that one of our teammates (Zillah) had also touched base with him prior to her arrival in February, so we took another local pastor friend of ours who knew the way and finally got to see his ministy.

Here are a couple of pictures of his orphanage...





My impression from just a couple of hours is that Pastor Emmy is a very genuine man who has a heart to provide love to these children. I look forward to future visits and hope to take the kids some day so they can experience a side of Uganda that they have not been exposed to. Here is a final pic of one of the boys....I honestly didn't mean to take a picture of him, but I'm glad I got it. It is a true depiction of the faces of so many children in this country.



On an up note.....here is a pic of our newest addition....story will be told later....meet Rhea Skinner...

Daily Update - 91109

Okay.....many of you have requested more frequent blogs. I've scratched my head trying to figure out the best way to get an update to you on a more regular basis. Please understand, our desire is to always keep you up to date, but sometimes life just gets so busy that we forget or have a lack of time to do it. I can now understand from the other end. I used to be one of those that would get frustrated, not understanding why someone on the other side of the world couldn't take just a few minutes each day to update us on life. I mean, here we were in the US praying away and not knowing anything. Now, I understand completely the dilema of trying to juggle this life and keep people up to date back home. It is a delicate balance that Jill does a great job of trying to maintain and one that I have yet to get even close to accomplishing.

So, in saying that.....I am going to attempt a "Daily Update." It may just be a tid bit of information from the day - maybe something I learned, something one of the kids did, something new in life, or just a thought or simple rundown of that day. Some may be a sentence and some may be much longer, but at least I will try to send something. And for those of you wondering about the title, that is just the way I have done dates for some time now and I'm not changing because you don't understand it (although dad and Susan B will understand since they have been seeing it on my notes at the office for 15 years). The method to my madness is YMMDD - the last digit of the year (9), two digits for the month (11 equals Nov) and then a two digit date (02, 13, etc.). And before you ask, next year will go to 01109 - and it makes sense to me, so don't ask!

Now.......for ya'll that are like my wife (let your yes be yes type people), know that if I don't get a daily update posted each day, I am not going back to post later. And, I don't want any snide comments about not getting something posted. Understand, some days are village days and we won't get back until later; some days are just plain busy and the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is sit in front of the computer and think more; some days I just plain forget to even look at this screen! I will do my best, but as my wonderful wife will tell any of you - "Joel has big plans, but his follow through can use a little help!" So, be patient!

Now for today......this was our third night of very little sleep. Dade was sick on Friday night, a new kitten came into our lives on Saturday night, and Dara got sick last night. Some other posts will explain more details about each, but needless to say, the last three nights have left a lot to be desired in terms of actual time with eyes closed. And, truthfully, the last thing I wanted was another day of meetings (seems some days that's all I do).

However, this morning started off with a wonderful devotional time with the guys that work out here. We talked through some of Proverbs 10 and I am still amazed that they get excited about Monday morning devotionals after only three weeks. I followed that with another meeting with John (one of our teammates) and one of our other workers here. It turned out to be much more productive than I had thought it would be and I think a valuable time for this young man. And then, we had another meeting this afternoon. Truthfully, I just wasn't in the mood for it, even though we were meeting with some dear friends (the Mukasa's who we did our homestay with). And yet again, God used it as a time to refresh and not wear out. And that's partly because of their story....

The Mukasa's (Amos and Perry) serve here in Mbarara with Campus Crusade for Christ. They came on staff in 1991 and now, over 18 years later, are still faithfully serving. We talked about their ministry here and throughout, we were able to hear of many they have discipled over the years. The list is impressive and yet they take no credit - they give all the glory to the Lord. They have continued to serve even when support has been low and the burden of school fees for their children have seemed overwhelming. And yet, despite their circumstances you can always count on a smile and hug and a contagious reliance on God!

I only wish I could have more days of meetings like these! I am reminded after days like today, that God has called us here at this time to serve!

The Longest Night

I've thought hard about blogging today, and it has been a battle in my mind. Do I write about things that make me want to pack up and go home? or is it better to keep those things secret - only to share with a few of you via email? Well, obviously I've opted to write about it. I will apologize now for the length. If you attend Lamar Baptist in Arlington, you may remember the Sunday evening service when we spoke. I spoke about how I'm a chicken at heart. Yesterday that was evident even more then when I was chased upon a chair by a wee mouse. :)

This is our house, you can use the picture for reference to better appreciate the story...

Yesterday evening, around 6:30pm, I was walking down the hall and happened to see something in the hall window sill. In the picture that would be the 2nd window from the right. I looked closer to see 2 little eyes staring at me. It was either a rat or a huge mouse! It was trapped between a closed window and a screen. (the other side of the window was open - there are two individual windows that make one big window) Calmly (this was the only time I was calm), I went and found Joel who was busy with milking. I wasn't leaving it there any longer than necessary..so I sent for James, the 14 year old boy who lives here. He came with a towel because he was just going to stick his hand in and pick it up. He hopped up so he could reach in to grab it and quickly jumped down and said he'll wait for his dad. Now that made me feel validated in my fears, so even though my heart was beginning to sink inside of me - I was affirmed.

Richard, James' dad, came and decided to go into the house and get it. I was very clear in letting him know I did not want that rat lose in my house. So I switched the hall lights on for him and instantly see him running back towards me! The rat had gone out the window - which was good but I really wanted it dead.

Now if you look at the picture of the house, you'll notice there is a triangular storage space beneath the stairs. The rat found that to be a good hiding space, but as it was running towards it...I was at the top of the stairs. I'm sure it was a hilarious sight to see a grown women in an orange skirt jump up and straddle the stair railing. I had the most difficult time getting my feet to get a good grip. I thought it could not get any worse than this.

Well, the mouse ran back the way it came - mind you, there is a grown man and 2 boys chasing it with sticks. I was doing much better because I was now at the far end of the porch (towards the left hand side of the picture) - standing on the railing of course. The rat returns to the storage space and Richard asks for a flash light. Joel is now chuckling to himself about the way I'm handling the situation and tells me to put a towel by the front door so just in case it comes onto the porch, it won't get into the house. This sounded good to me, so I go inside for both purposes. I come back with a flashlight in my hand to see the rat flying up the stairs towards me! I closed the door and shook it with all my might so the noise would scare it away from me. I thought my heart would pound out of my chest or I would just pass out right then!

Amazingly, William and James killed it with their sticks out by the car. I was so grateful but still a bit on edge for the rest of the evening. THEN...I'm resting in bed all ready to go to sleep while Joel is in the bathroom. All of a sudden I hear him make a strange yelp-type of noise. It wasn't a sound I've heard from him before and I didn't respond very quickly until he came out saying there was a mouse, hopefully, or something that ran into a crawl space by our bathtub. (we have this open space where you could fix the bathtub pipes if necessary) I went and put some glue on a piece of cardboard while Joel stood guard. We didn't want "it" lose in the house at all. So we got the glue in place and put towels under the door to fill the gap - just in case it didn't get in the glue.

We could hear the rodent moving and running and scratching. It was awful. I sat down and thought "This is it! I want to go home! This is not funny." I knew somewhere down the road I would think, "I left Africa because of 2 rats", but that was okay with me. I suggested to Joel that we call our teammates up the hill and see if we could spend the night with them, but he said "no". While we were waiting to hear if the noises were still moving around the bathroom or not, I heard Dade coughing very forcefully - almost retching. Sure enough, he had thrown up all over his mosquito net and bedding and was in the bathroom vomiting all of his dinner. The boy is so tough, but it was a mess to clean.

Dara was not about to let Dade sleep with her (I can't blame her) and I didn't want to sleep in the room next to the rat. So, I slept with Dade in their room while Dara slept with Joel. I think Dara's the only one who thought it was a good night's sleep. Dade proceeded to be sick throughout the night. After looking at the symptoms, I blame an amoeba named giardia for his sickness. He's moving about but not eating today.

This morning Joel and Richard went into the bathroom to find the rat(!!!) glued to the floor but alive. The glue is not easy to get off the floor, but worth the mess to have the rat confined. It was over...but I'm still nervous walking around and will probably not get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.

I hope you can follow all that I've written. It's a long story, but it was somehow therapeutic to write it all out. Thanks. I know it's gross, and I also know I'm not going home because of it all. I told Joel that I felt that "rats" crossed the line of "taking up my cross". He understood but didn't quite agree - thankfully.

All this is to say that I'm still a chicken and I'm not sure I want any of you to pray that God will help me in this way. That translates into more rats or even worse - snakes. So just pray I will have strength for the day and grow in the Lord. That covers everything, but not so specifically - if that makes sense. Thanks for all of your support and prayers. Thank you for holding our ropes. We know we're not slipping even if it may feel like it for a day.

Monster Crops

Part of what we are doing in the Agri-Business projects is the Heifer Project. Probably most of what I have written about on this blog concerns what we have done with the heifers and the milking. However, the other half of the agri-business projects is something called Farming God's Way. While I don't understand it completely, I am beginning to learn more and more about it. It really changes the ways Ugandans have always farmed crops. I'll explain more as I learn more. However, one of the things I wanted to show everyone is how the crops produce far better using these methods. We have a young man named Tony, who learned under a man named John Young who used to live here in Mbarara. Tony has taken it upon himself to see this project succeed and prove that it can be sustainable in any village we might teach these methods in. And to show Dale, John, and any others who might be interested, he insisited I take some pictures of him in the maize and beans to pass along. Enjoy these pics!

Dale asked about the bottom fields in one of his last emails. Well Dale.....how do you think it is doing? These are all beans....



This is Tony next to one of the bean stalks. Now understand.....Tony is 6' tall, so yes, they really are that tall!



This is a field of cabbage right behind the house. Tony was not too impressed with the size of these. You'll understand when you see his "Monster Cabbages!"



Monster, next to a regular...



Now, on to the Maize....again, Tony is 6' tall - so imagine how tall this maize would be if we could actually measure!



While I use to say, I didn't come here for Agriculture, I am beginning to realize that God did bring me here to work with these "businessmen." I don't know who teaches who - I would tend to guess, I am learning far more than I'm teaching.

One neat story to end with....back about two weeks ago, I told the guys that work out here that we would start having a devotional time each Monday morning and then a short prayer time together Tuesday through Friday. Well, this week I have been a little under the weather and while I did make it out to lead devotional on Monday, I forgot prayer time the last two mornings. This morning, I was in from milking and grabbing a quick breakfast with the kids, when Tony came to the door. I walked out and he reminded me that it was 8:00am and time to pray, especially since we had missed the last two mornings! How encouraging to see this small thing in my mind, become a huge deal to them! To see their desire to pray together as a team was a boost I needed. It reminded me that even when ministry doesn't look and feel like I think it should, that God is still using me in spite of me! Hope that makes sense.

I'll update soon on the group Jill and I are leading at the university. There are some exciting things happening in the hearts of these young students and I can't wait to share it with you!