God does not need us in Uganda!

This weekend we have made a trip to Hoima, Uganda to see Jim’s friend Henry.  This is the young man that Jim helped to get freed from prison where he had been incarcerated for 2 years.  He had been falsely accused of murder and had spent 2 years in jail, awaiting a trial.  We loaded up in a 11 passenger van and took off Saturday morning for the 4 hour trip to northern Uganda.

We had a pretty good trip with only a few obstacles in the road!

Yesterday, when we arrived, we went to Henry’s house to meet his family.  His mother surprise us with a LARGE traditional Ugandan meal.  It was so humbling as they entertained us with sodas, fruits (bananas, papayas, tomatoes), carrots, rice, meat and soup.  They spent well more than they should have for us as “honored guests”.  We have learned that you eat what they give you as to not eat, would be a sign of dishonor.  So we stuffed ourselves.  We got tickled because Henry’s brother, Kegan, kept giving us bananas until the whole plate was empty, then he  had his sister bring in some more!  Luckily, they were quite tasty!  Jim, Henry and Tango (our driver) went to look for cows to buy for Henry’s family.  They had cows and chickens in the past, but the family was forced to sell them while Henry, his brother and his father were incarcerated unjustly.  So some of Jim’s friends had taken up a collection and sent funds to replace the cows, plus more!  While they went, we spent some time in Hoima around the markets.

We stayed in the Hoima Resort Hotel on Saturday night and got to experience our first night without AC.  In addition to this, there is a church next door and I think that they held services all night.  I am not complaining, I am just giving you the reasons that I did not sleep very well last night, giving me time to think.

Today, we went to worship with Henry’s church.  Jim, Henry and Tango went out to seal the deal on the cattle and that left the rest of us at the hotel for a few hours (more time to think).  We have really enjoyed some “down time” as it seems like we have been burning the candle on both ends since we arrived.  Kegan and Herbert, Henry's brothers, were intrigued by the games on our iPhones and iPads.

Some sleepless time last night and some lazy time this morning has allowed me to really think through a question that God has raised to me in the past couple of weeks.  Does God really need us in Uganda?  I know, this is probably a little late to be asking such important questions.  We have already arranged to be gone from the clinic for 6 months.  We have pulled the kids out of school.  We have sold our house and rented an apartment in Kampala for 6 months.  We have purchased plane tickets and purchased a 6 month visa.  After some deep thought and prayer, I have come up with this answer: 

God does not need us in Uganda!

I fully realize that there is a significant need for medical care in all of Uganda.  There is even more of a need in the rural areas.  But God does not need us in Uganda!

I think that I have the medical training and experience to provide medical care to kids that would otherwise not receive it and suffer when they shouldn’t.  But God does not need us in Uganda!

People back home have graciously begun to help us fund the mobile medical clinic and make our calling of providing medical care to rural Uganda a reality, but God does not need us in Uganda!

We have made many friends and we love the people of Uganda.  As a group, they have welcomed the crazy muzungus from Oklahoma with opened arms.  We have felt at home and at peace with our recent decisions.  But God does not need us in Uganda!

We have been working to learn the local language and are happy with the progress we have been making.  But God does not need us in Uganda!

So if God does not need us in Uganda, what are we doing here?

I guess that I should have talked with Jill about this realization before I shared it with you, but I thought that it was important.

I read a book recently called “It’s not OK with me” and it’s sequel “Is it OK with you?”.  The author helped me come to the above revelation.  She also helped me to see that even though God does not need us in Uganda, He loves us enough to let us share in what He is doing in Uganda.  The Holy Spirit is off the leash in Uganda!  You can feel it palpably when we talk with the people of God that we have contact with.  You can sense the Holy spirit in the worship services that we attend.  What a blessing to be able to use the medical skills that He has given me.  What a blessing to form relationships with the people of Uganda.  What a blessing to feel the prayers and support of our Christian friends in the US as we get to share in God’s work that He is doing in Uganda.

You know what?  God does not need you in Uganda either.  He is so big, that he doesn’t need any of us.  How awesome is it that he “tolerates” our shortcomings, He loves us and allows us to witness the things that He is up to and join Him where He is working as tools in His hands.

Jay

      Hi, it’s Jared, I’ve been in Uganda for eight days and have realized several things.  First, the fruit here is amazing.  The second thing is that the people here are awesome. The third thing is that the views here look fake because they are so pretty, and finally the name Jared is hard to pronounce for Ugandans.

     Okay, the fruit here is great, the pineapples are so good I’ve made my mouth sore multiple times.  I don’t think sugar cane is a fruit, but it is great when you chew it. Pears are really good too.

       I think the people are great.  I love the ability to play with the kids, work with Gilbert in the lab at Wentz Clinic, and pray with the people in villages.  Having said that, they have stores with no price tags and the minute they see a muzungu the price of anything will go up three times what a local would pay.  We have also become friends with David, the security guard, who likes to play soccer, football, and basket ball with us, using our dirty clothes basket and a cheap air-up ball.

       The views here are spectacular.  There are so many, what I call postcard-pictures here, being the the waterfalls, the mountains, and the animals. There are pictures that look so cheesy they look like they are on a green screen at Wal-mart.

            Finally my name is hard to pronounce for Ugandans because I’ve been called Jo-Ann,Jeremy, and Jerry.  Actually, I’ve started introducing myself as Matafari which means brick in Lugandan.

Jared

Coincidences?

Coincidence(s)?

We had the privilege of speaking at First Baptist Duncan on the first of January.  It was an incredible experience in many ways.  The one I want to share with you in this blog came full circle yesterday.  At the end of the service, Brad Allen, called our family to the front as well as those who felt led to come down and pray for us before our departure.  Jay’s dad then led the time of prayer.  As we remained down front, Earl Hunter shared with Jay that his great nephew was a missionary in Uganda.  He then gave us a postcard with their picture and information on it.  I looked up their website, and Jay shot Micah an email.  Micah replied back, sharing that Kara was an RN and might like to join us, time willing, when we go out to some of the rural areas.  It seems like we have been very busy since we have arrived.  We had made another connection several months back with a gentleman named Steve Bredeson.  He is a missionary in Uganda associated with First Methodist in Ardmore.  He works with a ministry in Uganda called Eagle’s Nest.  Without prior planning on Jay or Steve’s part, we realized a few weeks before we left the States that Steve would be on our flight from Amsterdam to Entebee.  When we realized this we made plans to join him and Eagle’s Nest as they went to a village called Nakalanda.  Earlier this week, we made plans to join Steve and his team (which we became somewhat acquainted with in the Amsterdam airport)  in Gaba and travel to an area called Bethany to this village on Thursday.  Eagle’s Nest has a Medical Building in Nakalanda that is a completed structure only.  So, Joline, Joshua, and Jennifer joined the five of us and we headed to Gaba.  We met up with Steve and his team at their hotel there.  As introductions were being made, Steve said, this is Kara.  Then he said, this is her baby Abigail, and husband Micah.  I said, wait a minute.....I think we’ve shared emails.  We are from Oklahoma.  Is your great uncle Earl Hunter???  Kara said, I was praying for you guys February 1st, realizing you would be heading to Uganda.  I was just waiting to email you to give you a little time to settle in. Instead, here we were together without any effort on either of our parts.  

  

Thursday was special to us.  After the above described meeting of the Mills family, we boarded a large wooden boat with what appeared to be a 1970 model trolling motor and started off across one of the top ten largest lakes in the world.  

Luckily, it was a narrow part of the lake and reached the other side in about 30 minutes.  Once across, we went down a small canal that had about 6 inches of clearance on either side of our boat. 

We took this canal about a mile or two back into the jungle.  It was straight from Disney World.  We then jumped on Boda Bodas (motorcycle taxis) and traveled another 2-3 miles further inland.  

We stopped at Eagle’s Nest school.  We spent the day around the school.  We helped hand out care packages to 8 widows and 2 widowers in that village.  We got to pray with each of them individually and they were so appreciative. 

We also got to help feed the kids for lunch and enjoy some great beans and rice.  We played chase and soccer with the kids and made many new friends (Jayne especially).  

They have a clinic building there that was built 2 years ago and has never been used.  We may be able to work with Eagle’s nest to host some medical clinics there this year.  Thanks a million to Steve Bredesen for introducing us to this wonderful ministry and these beautiful people! 

After an awesome day in an area that Jay describes as Nat Geo Nowhere, we made the same trek back to Kampala.  We took a car to eat dinner with Steve Swigert (from Ardmore) and Brent Smith of Watoto.  We got home late again.  It seems like our nights keep getting shorter and our days more exciting!

Friday, Jay was in the clinic at Gaba and the kids and I were in the babies home!  What a delight this was helping to take care of these 22 orphaned children.  We had our attempt at Mexican food tonight for dinner.  We are going to sleep fast and then off to Hoyma to see Jim’s friend Henry on Saturday and Sunday.

Keep the prayers going, we can feel them.

Jill

Big Trash Day!

As many of you know, we sold our house 1 week prior to leaving for Uganda on February 2^nd.  We spent that week frantically packing and sorting.  We built our house in 2005 and moved in November 1^st of that same year.  We thought that we had done a good job of cleaning out and getting rid of unneeded items, as the years went along.  When it got down to it, and we needed to decide what to keep and what to get rid of, we were living in a Bunch of Trash!  This picture shows one trash pick up day. 

We had this much again on the next trash day, in addition to a pickup load of stuff that we took out of the garage to the clinic’s dumpster.  That got me to thinking of how much trash we live in, both literally as shown above and figuratively, as we hold on to things that are unnecessary.  You know, things like anger, bitterness, jealousy, grudges, and emotional pain. 

In five years, without proper “pruning”, our house became cluttered with things that we did not need (trash).  Just think how our spiritual dwellings can become cluttered if we don’t lay it down before the Father. 

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us”.

I don’t know about you, but I have enough trouble running in just running shorts and a good pair of tennis shoes!  I don’t need anything to hinder me.  This is true for a physical race or a spiritual race, as Paul describes.

I think that it is time for some good “spring cleaning” and a Church-wide (all Christians) “Big Trash Day”.  Let’s set that trash that entangles us out at the curb of Jesus!

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Jay

Get out of my Boat!

I am guessing that most of you did not realize that I was a boat captain.  It is true.  My ship is a beauty.  She is called the USS Complacency.  She is one of the most “easy going” vessels out on the ocean of life.  She boasts the compass of comfort, the ballast of familiarity, the stern of distraction, the mast of inactivity, and the bow of weak will.  I would really like to find a different ship to lead, such as the USS Bold or the USS Sold Out.

While I am driving around the USS Complacency, it reminds me of the great American philosopher Mr. McGee.  He was the boss of Prince in the song Raspberry Beret.  He said, “I was busy doing something close to nothing, but different than the day before”. 

John 21:15  15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Tend My lambs."16 He *said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."17 He *said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus *said to him, "Tend My sheep.

I would really like to be more like Peter.   Not the Peter that denied Christ 3 times, as foreshadowed in the above verse.  Not so much the Peter that lost his temper and cut off the Roman guard’s ear in the garden.  This Peter went on to be the Rock that the church would be built on.  Christ can use even those that have fear and anger problems.  The thing that I would like to mirror is his courage.  The courage he took in Matthew 14:29 when Jesus said “Come”, and Peter GOT OUT OF THE BOAT, and walked on water.  I want to GET OUT OF THE BOAT!  Sometimes the water around the USS Complacency can get rough and seem scary.  But if I keep my eyes on Christ, and don’t concentrate on the waves, I think that I can GET OUT.

Join me, we will Get Out of the Boat together.

Jay

A few firsts

As I write this, it is 5:30am in Uganda on Thursday am.  That would make it 8:30pm Wednesday in Oklahoma.  The last couple of days have seen some firsts for our family.

1.) Jake and Jared got their first hair cuts in Uganda.  We have no broom, so clean up was going to be an issue.  We did not want to sit outside, because of the mosquitoes.  I had already purchased the clippers on our last trip to the department store.  We placed a chair in a shower.  This would barely fit with no room on any side.  I squeezed them in the shower and had to do one side of their head at a time so that I could reach it.  The clippers are "Sunbeam" brand, which is one that we recognized.  They seem like they need more RPMs.  Our haircuts took at least twice as long as usual as the clipper seemed to chew their hair rather than clip it.  I cut it short and the boys will be wearing hats the next few days.

2.) Gregston boys were caught washing dishes!  That is right.  Without any bribing or coercion, they were washing dishes after our dinner with the Gash family on our Wednesday evening.  I think this could be an early sign of tropical disease!

3.) Our kids got to gain experience in the medical lab at Wentz Medical Center in Gaba.  Science class on the job.  Looking through microscope and learning to do tests for malaria, HIV etc.  Please see Jake's future post on this event for him.  They will be able to use this training as we do some of the same tests in our mobile medical clinic.

4.) I got to see what was likely the first non-pulmonary TB patient of my career.  Not that I recognized it, but Dr Andrew, here in Uganda, feels pretty confident that this is the case.  In Oklahoma, we don't see much TB, and when we do, it is usually a lung related case.  A 11 year old boy with recent weight loss and stomach swelling (ascites).  No pulmonary (lung) complaints or cough.  He also had an unusual rash on his lower legs.  This boy weights between 60-70 lbs at 11 years old.  He had a hernia surgery yesterday and it turns out that he did not have a hernia, but a fluid filled sack that likely showed evidence of TB.  Specimens will be sent for pathology.  Please keep him in your prayers as he is a sick little guy.

5.) Today will be the first Bota Bota ride for most of us.  These are the motorcycle taxis.  We are crossing a potion of Lake Victoria to go to Eagle's Nest Ministries to see if there is a way that our mobile medical clinic can help them in the future.  We won't be able to take our van there (when we eventually purchase one), but we brought 3 large back packs so that we can bring medical supplies with us when we go.  After we cross the lake on a small boat (water taxi), we get to ride these motorcycles another mile or so to our destination.  We will try to get pictures or video to show you.  Report/war stories later.

Catching you up.

Thought I would take some time today to catch you up on our first few days in Uganda.  This post won't really have a topical theme, but more of a diary feel.

We arrived in Uganda at about 11:00pm local time after a fairly uneventful set of flights from Dallas to Detroit, Detroit to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Entebbe, Uganda.  Our host, Dr. Martin, picked us up at the airport and took us the 40 minute drive to our apartment in Bugolobi, Uganda.  Our friends, the Gash family, had worked with the hotel staff to have our room ready to go when we arrived.  As they purchased their own, the Gash family bought us things that we would need, like a water dispenser, measuring cups, milk, eggs etc.  We visited over PBJs and cupcakes before we went to bed about 1am. 

Thankfully, we all slept well on that Friday night, and woke Saturday morning without too much of the "switching times by 9 hours hangover".  We went to the grocery store and to a store that is supposedly like Target, but probably more like TG&Y.  We bought more essentials to stock our fridge and cabinets.  Some things are really cheap.  For example, a pineapple on the side of the road cost 2,000 shillings (80 cents), but a pint of Haagen-dazs ice cream will cost 62,000 shillings ($27).  Needless to say, we bought 4 pineapples and no ice cream.  Saturday evening, a Ugandan friend named Rogers came by and we visited for a while to catch up on things since we had last seen him in July.  We went to bed a little early and again slept well.

Sunday morning, we went to the early service at Watoto Church and were treated to great worship and a timely message about the Holy Spirit.  I'll have to admit, I was disappointed when I heard that there would be a guest speaker from Canada preaching.  I was ready for some Ugandan fire-you-up kind of preaching.  I was even a little more disappointed when I saw the old bald guy that was the Canadian speaker.  I am ashamed of my stereo-typing.  This guy was fired up and preached it that day.  He was so fired up at times, there were spit grenades almost making it to my seat in the second row.  Jayne leaned over to me and said "I am afraid he is going to have a heart attack".  It reminded me of a comedian from back in the day named Gallagher.  He had a routine where he smashed things with the "Sledge-O-matic". 

People familiar with his routine would bring plastic sheeting to cover up with if they were in the first couple of rows to avoid getting the splatter from all of the things going under the sledge-O-matic.  After a great service, we boarded a bus and drove to Jinja, Uganda.  I love Jinja.  This is where I had my first exposure to Uganda in January of 2011.  It is a city, but much smaller than Kampala.  This bus had been arranged by our friend Steve Swigert from Ardmore and Watoto's Brent Smith.  We first drove to the area where the Nile River starts out of Lake Victoria.  We took a boat over to an island and had pictures made there.  One of these photos is Jared with his R hand in Lake Victoria and his L hand in the Nile River.

After this tour of the head waters of the Nile, we headed north of Jinja to a Kalagala falls.  When we arrived, we were greeted by men in canoes that rowed us across the Nile to a lovely restaurant RIGHT ON THE RIVER.  The view was awesome.  We had lunch in the shade next to a pool that looked like a polar bear exhibit and just on the other side of the pool was the river.  You can see it behind Jill and I in this picture.

As we left the restaurant, we again had to leave by canoe.  We really were not anxious about riding in this small boat until we stopped to take pictures at the falls that was just down river from where we boated across.  The life jackets in the canoe would not have helped much going over this fall.

After an awesome day of seeing the sights of Africa, we headed home.  We see multiple times everyday the incredible beauty of God's creation, right next to severe poverty and desperation.  We stopped to buy freshly picked pineapples and our kids got to love on some Ugandan children in a slum area north of Kampala.

Monday we met with Africa Renewal Ministries and were encouraged with the discussions.  We will be "training" in the Wentz Medical Clinic in Gaba for 2 weeks while we get our Mobile Medical Clinic together.  I will be working with the local doctors brushing up on the local treatment of illnesses and resources that are available.  Jill and the kids will be learning how to do simple lab tests, health assessments for children (height, weight, head circumference etc), pharmacy skills, and putting together wheelchairs that someone donated that we can take to those that need them in the rural areas.  One thing that is a little different than I had planned is that most of the areas where we are scheduled to go, are more than "day trips" away from our home.  So there will be many weeks that we go out for 3 days and 2 nights to more remote areas of Uganda.  I am surprised by this, but not disappointed.  My greatest love and perceived calling is to the more rural areas and this will allow us to connect with them a little better.  In addition to doing "normal medical" clinics where our coming is advertised and people line up to see us, we will do some "unannounced" clinics where the pastor of the local church knows that we are coming and he identifies a few sick people that we can go to their home and visit.  In these visits, we can spend more time getting to know the family and the health issue.  We also can pray for the family and share Christ with them in a more intimate setting.  I think that I am looking forward to these trips the most.  We were excited to hear that our family working together will be a "ministry" as many people in rural areas may have never seen a mzungu (white/non-African) child and likely never mzungu families.  To show a western/Christian family dynamic will be important in our mission.
We went to a remand home this morning.  This is a home where suspected juvenile law breakers are held awaiting trial.  They are supposed to only be there for up to 6 months, but many are held there for 2 years or more on only accusations. 
This week and next could feel a little slow as we do our learning internships and get our medical unit put together, but we are excited about what the next few months have in store for us in Uganda.

Jay