Doo On to Others

Does God ever talk to you through your iPod?  I need to tell you about my morning in Uganda.  I got out of our apartment compound about 7:00am and started walking up the dirt road.  I like to walk for a while to get my feet and legs loosened up before I start running.  I was listening to the Zac Brown Band singing “Toes”, but I was thinking about my feet.   As many of you know, I was born with clubbed feet.   My feet were twisted inwardly and my toes towards my head, so that my “ankle bone” was pointing straight down.   I was thinking about my feet, first of all, because they creak and moan until I get loose when I go out for a run.  The second reason that I was thinking about my feet is because of a girl that I saw in Buloba this week.

Tuesday and Wednesday, we went to Buloba, a rural suburb of Kampala to the NW, and did health screenings on the 250 school children there.  They are a delightful bunch, and we enjoyed our time there.  One girl I met there is named Ritah.  She is 12 years old and the reason that she made a mark on me, more than the others, is because she had clubbed feet.  Unlike me, however, she did not have the medical care access, determined parents, and a Dr. Amspatcher available.  She gets around slowly, walking on the outside of her feet, down near the little toe.  She is happy and well received by the other children in Buloba, but I was thinking about Ritah as I headed out for a run on my surgically repaired feet.

At 7:00am in the morning, many children are walking in our neighborhood, on their way to school.  I had smiled and talked to several of them as I was walking to get loose.  Don’t get me wrong, I am never a graceful runner, but as I first start running, I hitch and limp and stumble as I get my joints lubricated.  Jill’s Uncle Edward (a great American philosopher), once told me that “Some people are built for running, and some are built for pulling.  And you are built for pulling”!  So here I am the grey haired white guy, looking quite awkward as I start my run.  Just then, Weird Al starts to sing “White and Nerdy” to me.  I thought that was funny, until I got about 100 yards into my run, and 3 boys (probably 8-10 years old) started to run with me.  I was hoping that none of them would ask, but then they did, “what are you listening to”?  I quickly realized that I did not want to tell them that I was listening to Weird Al, but I am so uncool, that I did not know what cool lie to make up to tell them.  I mean, who would they think was cool to be listening to?  I skipped to the next song, Miley Cyrus singing “The Climb”.  Uggh!  I am not going to look cool on this one at all!  I played off the question and the boys stopped running when we came to their school.  I started listening to Lecrae’s “Hallelujah”, as I continued my run.  One of the lines in this song says, “I’m not here to IMPRESS, I’m here to IMPACT”!  Ok, now God is talking to me through my iPod.  I get it.  I should be less concerned about trying to impress people (especially these 10 year old boys), and more in to impacting people for Christ.   We are called to be set apart and to be different, not to fit in or impress.

As I continued my run, which is no longer on a treadmill but on a dirt road with hills and potholes, I thought about the race that I am running and how I could improve it.  I concluded that I need to pray for wisdom of ways to impact people, in any way that He sees fit.  It is ok if I look like a “puller” while I am running, because it is not about style, but substance.   I was agreeing with what God had told me, when He decided to make sure that I understood that it does not matter what people think.  As I was running under a tree, that hangs over the road, I felt something warm hit my forehead, my left wrist, and my left leg.  I looked down, and there was bird poop all over me!  I was about ¼ mile from home, with all of the school kids still making their way to class.  Point taken. 

I could not decide what to name this blog.  With my Nike running shirt, I thought about naming it Just Doo it.  Instead, I decided to name it Doo ON to others!

I hope you Impact someone today!

Jay

Video of Month 2 in Uganda

We put together a video that shows some highlights of our second month in Uganda.  Thanks to our friend David Gitta for his excellent work on this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PyQxlpXByc&feature=g-upl&context=G2aae85aAUAAAAAAAAAA

Thank you for your prayer support.

Jay and Jill

From Humbled to Hero

Hello and Happy Easter to all our friends and family around the world!  I wanted to take a second to share something that God has been talking to me about.

Phillipians 2:6-11 says, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!  Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I can't get past the fact that Jesus was God, sitting in His rightful place on the throne of heaven.  Then out of love for us, took the ultimate downgrade and went from God to human birth, into a poor family in a barn.  He did not, and still does not owe us anything, yet he gave up everything that He had going for Himself, and because of His love for us, He decided to offer us a second chance.  A supreme sacrifice for an undeserving mankind to have a second chance.  How is this even a choice for us?  How arrogant are we that we have to "decide" if we should take His second chance offer?

On our first trip to Jinja, a few weeks ago, we attended Pastor Henry's church, the Life Giving Streams Tabernacle.  During the service, Henry introduced us and talked about the work that we were participating in, while in Uganda.  Henry said something that made me feel uncomfortable.  He said that I was a doctor in the US, and that in the US, physicians are among the highest paid and respected professionals.  He continued to say that I had "humbled" myself to come to serve the people of Uganda, without pay, and the only reason that he could think of was because I loved the people of Uganda.  Now part of what he said is true, but some things we could debate. What made me squirm was the picture he painted of me was similar to that of Christ in Phillipians 2:6-11.  That is not something that I would ever feel comfortable with.  I don't think that I "humbled" myself at all.  In fact, I (and our whole family) have been treated with more honor and respect than would ever see (or deserve) in the US.  Sometimes, despite our humble surroundings, we have to work at humility here.  Henry was right in that one of the reasons we came was because of our love for the people of Uganda.   It was also because of our love for the One that humbled Himself to become human, then sacrificed Himself on Good Friday.

John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I awoke to this sight this morning.

I was reminded that the story of Christ did not end with Him being humbled and sacrificed!  The great Highway, Oklahoma philosopher, Brad Allen, preached a sermon called "It's Friday, but Sunday is coming"!  The Christian band Tree63 made Brad's sermon into a song "Sunday is Coming".

Have you ever had to miss a big ballgame that yOUr favorite team was playing in, and recorded it to watch later?  When I do this, I have to make extreme efforts to make sure that I don't see the score, hear the score or even see someone's facial expression that knows the score.  Why?  Because if I know the outcome, I don't have to fret over the ending as I watch.  There is no suspense there.  One time I almost lost my Christian witness as Jill had hosted a shower at our house and the boys and I had gone to the ranch to do some work.  I recorded a game, with the thought that I could watch it when I got home (skipping commercials and half time of course).  When we got home, just a couple of ladies were remaining, and I purposefully said that I did not want to know scores or anything about the game because I was going to watch it.  Some woman, that I did not even know, piped in with "well they were behind early.." I shhhhhed her.  She continued. "but my husband told me...." I all but had to throw her out of my house.  Quite embarrassing.  I digress.  All of that to say how Easter gives us hope and confidence because we know the final score.  Our lives are not boring or easy, but we should not have the same suspense or angst that we might if the game was playing out in front of us. 

I want to celebrate Easter because we know that Christ Arose and His spirit lives in those of us that believe.  He came to us humbled, but ended up the hero!  I have included a video for your enjoyment.  The camera work is not so good, as I was using my iPhone in church, but I think that you will recognize a spicy version of an old hymn.

He Arose!
Happy Easter,

Jay

All in favor, say "Eye"!

We have spent the last three days in Jinja. We left our new apartment early on Wednesday morning and went to Life Giving Streams Tabernacle in Jinja. This is the church that our friend, Pastor Henry, leads in Jinja. This is also the location of my first exposure to this great country in January of last year. On Wednesday and Thursday, we saw children from the Good Shepherd school that is associated with Pastor Henry's church. We saw about 420 kids from the school, before they were released for the Easter Holiday.

Two kids Jayne was able to lead to Christ.

On Friday, we saw people from the community surrounding the church. We were able to care for 80 community members and we saw 7 professions of faith through this Friday clinic! We had to close the clinic a little earlier than we normally would so that we could get back to Gaba. David is involved in a Good Friday presentation at church, and needs to be there by 5:00pm. This trip was a diversion from our normal schedule that we are following with the Renewal Health Network (RHN). They do not have a relationship with Pastor Henry, but they were more than happy for us to spend the time and supplies to go help another Christian doing good work for the Kingdom. This is one of the many things that we love about RHN, Africa Renewal Ministries, and Gaba Community Church. They understand that we (Christ followers) are all on the same team! Pastor Peter, the head of all three of these ministries, has done an outstanding job of instilling an understanding that there should not be competition between Christian organizations. We appreciate this tremendously!

One of the most exciting parts of our trip was meeting a 9 year old boy named Jamil. We had heard of Jamil from a friend in Gaba. This friend had met Jamil while on an evangelism trip to Palisa. Palisa is about 100 km East of Jinja. That makes Jinja about half way between our home and Palisa. We had made phone and email contact with an adult friend of Jamil's and had arranged for him to come see us while we were in Jinja, so that his drive would be shorter than traveling all the way to Kampala. Jamil has a tumor behind his right eye. He lost vision in this eye 3-4 years ago, and it causes him some significant pain at times. He was seen, in Kampala, last year in September. He had a CT scan and was told that he needed to have a surgery to remove the tumor, and likely the right eye. After making the trip to Kampala (4 hours) and paying for his doctor's visit and CT scan, there were not enough funds to move ahead with the surgery.

The adult friend, named Fred, was able to get Jamil to Jinja last night about 7:00 pm. We had gone to dinner, so they just met us at the restaurant. Fred splits time between Kampala and Palisa. While in Palisa, he helps with a school project there. Fred had a business associate with him and was continuing on to Kampala last night. Jamil was also accompanied by an uncle named Pious. Jamil and Pious joined us for dinner, ordering about 30 minutes after we did. Our food came before there's, so I gave Jamil half of my fries and Jake gave him 2 pieces of pizza. When his food arrived, Jamil ate a large plate of rice and a bowl of chicken stew. He is an eating MACHINE! After dinner, we took Jamil and Pious back to our hotel and got them a room for the night. After showing them how some of the modern things in the room worked, we left them for the evening, a little concerned that Jamil might have some stomach upset from his eating! The next morning, we were relieved to know that Jamil had managed all of the food that he had eaten without difficulty. He managed to put a pretty big dent in the breakfast buffet too!

This morning I was able to examine Jamil and review his records a little more thoroughly. He has seen a private opthamologist in the Kampala area and this doctor has reviewed the CT, seen Jamil and offered to do his surgery. Jamil is healthy besides his right eye. He has no vision in that eye.

I plan to get Dr Martin's help and call the opthamologist by Tuesday (Monday is still a holiday here) and see what we can arrange with them. Hopefully, the eye doctor can look back at the old records and not require another CT scan. I will inquire as to a price for the surgery, and lobby for the doctor to be able to re-examine him and admit him for surgery on the same day/trip to Kampala.

This looks like it could be another starfish (refresh your memory on the starfish story) that God has put on our beach. I will be giving more specifics on the need and how our Due Unto Others supporters can help, as I learn more. Please keep Jamil and his family in your prayers. Please pray that the opthamologist will be open to making the transition to surgery easy, even though it has been 6 months since the last exam or CT scan. Since we are praying for Jamil, let's go big and petition our God for sight restoration in the right eye as well.

We have seen miracle healings in Uganda already, all in favor of another one, say "EYE"!

Thank you so much for your prayers. They are palpable.

Jay

Shadow of the Cross

2 Timothy 1:7 says, For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind". 

As many of you know, we awoke last Monday morning to the fact that our house had been entered and robbed by someone while we were sleeping.  I wrote about some of the specifics in this previous blog post.  We were initially shaken, but chose not to allow a "spirit of fear" to change God's plans for us in Uganda.  We spent most of last week in Gulu, and used that time to use our "sound minds" to pray about and seek wise counsel on our situation.  Africa Renewal Ministries has been quite helpful in helping us through the scenario and they strongly recommended that we move to a more secure location.  We really liked our first apartment and our set up with the Gash Family.  We enjoyed the services that were provided, allowing us to not have to worry with house chores and laundry after we got home from busy days of medical clinics.  We enjoyed some of the "comforts of home" that we had with a pool, air conditioning and exercise facilities.  But even with all of that, our "sound minds" had a shift last week.

The great American philosopher, David Crowder, says in his song "Shadows", "When Darkness falls on us, we will not fear, we will remember.  When all seems lost, when we are thrown and we're tossed, we rest in Him, Shadow of the Cross."

Jez, our friend through African Renewal Ministries, arranged an appointment for us to look at an apartment that is next door to Wentz Medical Center in Gaba.  We toured the apartment on Monday, and were left with a positive impression.  The apartment is much more secure for several reasons.  It has a small compound with one main guy that is there everyday and is personally responsible for security.  There is no passing the buck to someone else.  He hands off to 2 armed security guards, when he leaves in the evenings.  These hired guards watch the compound, but have no access to the building.  To get into the building, you have to have a 5 digit code that is entered into a keypad.  There is a German Shepherd guard dog, Kapapalla, that roams the compound at night.  Rumor has it, that she does not even like computers, cash or cameras!  Our apartment is on the 4th floor, as opposed to the 1st floor that we had before.  A would-be robber, would have to scale a wall topped with razor wire, pass the guards and Kapapalla, then figure out some way to get up 4 stories on the outside of the building, then break through the retractable bars to get in our windows. 

We discussed the move with our family  and with the Gash family on Monday night.  Tuesday morning, we felt like it was best for us to move.  So we spent all day Tuesday moving our stuff and setting it up in the new apartment.  Moving was much less of an undertaking than it was in Duncan! 

We traded our "luxuries in life" for security.  We don't have AC, we don't have a pool, we don't have an exercise facility, and we bump into our neighborhood on dirt roads, but security trumped these things for us.  Don't get me wrong, this apartment is nice.  It has a great view of Lake Victoria, nice grounds, and everything is very new.  Our friends and family that are coming to visit us soon, will have a safe place to stay with us, but they may not like the thermostat!

Isn't this whole scenario a lot like life?  We get comfortable in our "luxuries of life" and some one comes to steal and destroy.  It is a reminder to us that we need to seek security in the cross, and not in these luxuries.  Many of our luxuries were gone in one evening, and then we chose to give up many others.  By security, I don't mean getting into our Sanctuaries (which means safe place) and just staying there with people that we are comfortable with.  I mean conforming our lives so that they fit in the shadow of the cross.  What God calls you to do may not feel safe or comfortable or luxurious, but there will be security there!

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Jay

You've got to have a "Little Faith"!

It is time for a long overdue introduction.  I would like for you to meet Faith.  She is the Programs Manager of the Renewal Healthcare Network (RHN).  We accuse her of being the “Big Boss” but she runs from this title.  Originally from Nansana, Faith now lives in Gaba and has her office in Wentz Medical Center.  She has planned each of our mission trips and made arrangements for us to stay in hotels, get fed, and have partners to help us when we arrive.  She went to University at Makere and obtained a degree in Developmental studies.  She also went on to get a Masters in Public Health and Counseling.  She has been a part of the Renewal  Healthcare Network for 5 years now.

When I asked one of her friends what she likes the most about Faith, Julia replied, her character.  We like that too, but what I like the most is that she does not take any slack from anyone!  Let me give you a little story to show you what I mean.

At the end of our first day in Namuwongo, probably the worst slum area that we have worked in since we arrived, we were trying to drive out of the area in our van.  The path (not a street) was very narrow and lined on each side by shops or houses.  We were doing ok until we rounded a corner and there was a dump truck coming the other way.  I was soooooo glad that David was driving!  We inched, literally, along to try to get past the truck.  We pulled the mirrors in and missed structures and the truck by centimeters.  When we were almost clear, a group on the passenger side of the van, started throwing a fit, yelling “you pay”.  It seems that we had run over some of a lady’s matooke bananas that she was selling along the path.  They caused such a commotion that quickly there were 10-12 villagers coming up to see what was going on.  David got out to go see what had happened and discuss this with the upset people.  After a few minutes of David arguing his case against the gang of villagers, Faith said, ”let me out”.  So all 5’0” and100 lbs of her got out of the van.  She quickly figured out that the lady wanted us to pay 25,000 shillings ($10) for the matooke that we had damaged.  Faith got down on the ground and searched through the matooke and found 4 bananas that had been damage.  She gave the lady 500 shillings (20 cents) and we loaded up and drove off.  This was stuff that legends are made of.  All of us muzungus were quite relieved that she saved the day, and I think that, secretly, David was too!

I have heard many times, that “Faith” can move mountains, but now I believe this, because I have met her!  We are glad that when we go out as the Due Unto/RHN team, “Faith” is on our side!

Gulu Update

Let me update you on our week/weekend in Gulu. We traveled the 6 hours from Kampala to Gulu on Wednesday afternoon. We stayed at the Gulu Churchill Courts Hotel. It was very nice and actually had AC, that we were not expecting. Thursday, we saw about 150 children in the Africa Renewal Ministries sponsorship program at the Gulu Bible Community Church.

Thursday afternoon, we had the privilege of meeting Kent Forrester. He is with Antioch church from Waco, Tx. Antioch is a mission minded church that concentrates on discipleship of believers. He has been in northern Uganda for the past 2 years. We were introduced to him through our good friend Todd Vinson, of Willow Springs Boys Ranch in Chandler, Ok. Jill and Jayne had crossed paths with some ladies that work with Kent in Gulu while at a beauty salon in Kampala last week.  Kent gave us some insight to the work that God is doing in northern Uganda and it was a pleasure to spend time with him. Friday, we went to Gulu Referral Regional Hospital. Our team swept sidewalks and picked up trash as a service to the hospital.

We then went to different wards to pray with patients and share Jesus with them.

The hospital seemed much less busy than when we were there in July, but we found out that this was not necessarily good news. The hospitals had been full until a couple of weeks ago, when they ran out of many medicines. So with few medicines to give, the hospital is operating at 20% capacity. The need is still there, but the resources are not. Friday afternoon, we went to tour Living Hope. This is a project of Watoto Church that is empowering mothers. Many of these women are HIV positive and many more are victims of mutilation by the LRA. They are getting counseling, education, discipleship, and job skills training to make their life have purpose. Friday evening, we went to the Campus Mega-fest at Gulu University.

The Due Unto crew provided first aid for the event (thankfully, none was needed). There was praise and worship, then some crusade-type preaching.

 It was supposed to go from 6pm-11pm, but it started to rain about 9:45 and the crowd scattered. Saturday, we were blessed to meet Sister Rosemary, who runs St Monica’s in Gulu.

This place does many things, but among them is training women that were former LRA members or abductees. These ladies are allowed to bring their children with them when they come to class. These children make a day care and school necessary. They have a nice clinic on campus. They are doing some cool things with can flip tops (purses, back packs, belts etc) and they are building houses, using water bottles filled with dirt for bricks.

Sister Rosemary has won a CNN Hero award and there is some thought that she could eventually win a Nobel Peace prize for her work in the Gulu area. During the height of the LRA problems in Uganda, St. Monicas had 500 night commuters that stayed in shipping containers on their grounds to stay safe from abduction. Sister Rosemary invited us back to stay with them and work some in their Gulu clinic, but also to travel to Atiak (up near South Sudan) to give them ideas on the new clinic that they have there.
We got to go to Restore academy and visit Joseph (Henry's brother) and see the school there.

 Saturday afternoon, we did a few more health screenings in Gulu.

 Saturday evening, we went to the home of Kent and Becky Forrester. They made dinner and the adults talked more about the work of Antioch in the north and how Due Unto Others might work with them in the future. The kids had a rousing game of flash light tag! Sunday, we worshipped at Gulu Bible Community Church before heading back to Kampala. I was blessed that they asked me to share my testimony with the congregation there.

I type this as we are making the 6 hour journey back to Kampala. We have a big week this week. We are going to take Nakiganda to the hospital to be admitted on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Micah and Kara will be joining us on a trip to Jinja. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we will be working with Pastor Henry’s church in Jinja to provide medical care to their school kids and to the community. We will be coming back to Kampala on Good Friday Evening. We are supposed to meet some new friends from Dubai on Friday evening.

As busy as we have been, the start of our 3rd month, in Uganda, is upon us. We are seeing God move daily and we feel your prayers continually. Thank you for your prayers and support!
Jay