Brian the Chef

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Five o’clock Monday morning, and we are drinking our coffee. Then it’s out the door before the sun crests the horizon with Mama Sarah and Pastor Moses for our pre-dawn walk. We are greeted by groups of young school children and villagers on their way to their classrooms, fields or shops.

There is a flurry of physical activity here in western Uganda each morning to beat the mid-day sun. Early mornings to work the fields or prepare for long days of schooling makes good sense. Lots of outside activity either on your way to or already at work… “KORE”.

Work (‘kore’ in Runyankore) can feel very different here than in the States. The American stress of early rising, hopping in your car and battling traffic can be a test of nerves for sure…….and not much fun.

But we live in a different rhythm. Our diet has been good for our waistlines and heart health, it’s the kind of living and working with nature that our great grandparents understood. Hard physical labor to “eke” out a living or moving step by step to create a better life.

One of our friends, Brian, recently approached us for a sit-down conversation. Brian is a young well-spoken man who had gone for culinary training after high school. High school students here attend boarding schools and wake up two hours before sunrise, so they can do their homework revisions and do their laundry before a porridge breakfast at six in the morning.

He returned home to our small village after training at culinary school with his wife and baby. In Kampala, (the capital city), finding work is difficult. Unemployment and the cost of living in the city are high. Even with his lack of job prospects, Brian wasn’t deterred. He and his wife jumped back into work life here and started a small business. He still longed to pursue his dream of being a chef, and they started to save little by little toward that elusive opportunity.

We met Brian not knowing about his cooking skills. He was just a friendly guy who had helped Paul get his sandals repaired in the village. One of Moses’ friends told us more about him, and his culinary skills, so we hired Brian to cook a special meal for us. It was wonderful! He got to practice what he’d learned but he wouldn’t accept pay, only accepting the cost of the ingredients. It was his way of thanking us for coming to stay here in Kiburara.

Mary soon “recruited” Brian to help with some baking classes for some of the local women. Not a paying gig, but again, an opportunity for him to use his skills and help others in the village. At the end of those classes, he had begun to strategize with us, a way to parley these classes into a business opportunity. We were doing some brainstorming of our own of ways Paul, and I could help.

The day Brian asked us “to talk”, he wanted our advice as he considered leaving Uganda to go work in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We were surprised but understood. There are so few good paying jobs here that many men leave their families for the promise of regular full-time employment…but they must agree to be away for a two-year contract.

Two years of steady work, with only a few visits home. You can imagine the challenges. This challenge is especially hard for young brides who often have several small children to feed, clothe and shelter. Relational challenges and temptations abound for both husbands and wives. Many succumb to them leaving broken marriages and lives in their wake. There are so few employment options here in Uganda that many Ugandans are willing to risk this situation, and potentially destroy their families. 

We counseled our friend, knowing his situation, and cautioned him about the “down-sides”. How had he planned to protect himself and his family when away? We prayed with him and about the pitfalls of working abroad but told him he needed to make the decision. Early the next morning, he accepted the offer and was on his way to Riyadh with the hope that he could improve his situation at home, (maybe even save enough money to continue his culinary training and follow his dream).

In the states, we sometimes imagine a simple way of living to be a life without the interruptions, and all the technologies text, emails, that barrage us daily. We can romanticize “the days of old”, when our great-grandparents worked the farm, grew their own food, and didn’t deal with the stresses we face now. But it was HARD work. Working, and doing hard work, was a way of life 100 years ago and is still a way of life here in central Africa.

In a New Testament letter written to the church in Philippi, the apostle Paul wrote “In all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—-whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:12)

Christ words from the Gospel of Matthew are words that show us a way forward into rest………..a special kind of rest that can’t be matched even after a hard day’s work. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

People here work and work hard just like Brian, and they are grateful for each new day. We see more smiles and hear more laughter here than you’d think possible under these harsh situations, not having the luxuries we enjoy today in the west…

Many of our friends lack indoor plumbing and cook over charcoal, they don’t have ovens let alone microwaves or an air fryer. They don’t have vehicles that can get them from here to there in a quick minute, spending their days walking and talking to neighbor’s.

But there is something to be said about the hard work, the “KORE” and the reward of an unharried life. A rest that can elude us in western cultures where we seem to have so much of what we want and live with such constant discontent.

Jesus invites us to HIS REST from all our efforts to earn our way to God. We can’t do it through our efforts at “being good”. By taking ‘His Yoke’ and trusting in Christ’ death for our sins and resurrection we don’t need to work our way to eternal rest with God. 

It’s true that work here on earth can be hard, but it can also bring us rewards. The greatest reward we can ever experience is one we don’t earn at all, but one gifted to us because of and through our God’s sacrifice.

Dream Search

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(Anonymous, shared with me by my daughter. Thank You Tessa)

Too many people start their dream search with a misstep. They focus mostly on the “What” (what they want) and neglect the “Who” (those special friends or friends of friends who can help them). The people in your “Who” World are the most important people in your life because they empower you to find your purpose, define your objectives, reach for your dream, fulfill your ambitions, and achieve your goals. 

 
Fear of failure keeps more people stuck in the safety of the status quo than anything else. Anxiety wants you to believe your nightmares instead of your dreams. When you’re daydreaming, where does your mind wander? Do you have a recurring dream?  

Another reason people don’t succeed in realizing their “What” (those hidden dreams, goals, ambitions, and purpose) is because they don’t take time for reflection. Busyness can masquerade as effectiveness. When you discover “What you want” you get “Who you are” thrown in. What you truly want will derive from who you really are. In other words, it will tap into your personality, your skillset, your passion.  

You must regularly clear your thoughts. This is best accomplished in a calm, quiet, soothing environment that inspires – a place where the constant noise of the regular world is not heard. Nature does that. The goal is to quiet your mind so you can begin to think reflectively. Rediscover what makes you feel fulfilled, satisfied, and content. 
When you come to the realization of “what you want” to do and it lines up with “who you are” as a person then life becomes all about doing what you love, with those you love, in a place you love, that your spouse/family also loves and doing all the “about” for the right reasons.  

The next step is to come up with a list of your dreams, goals, and aspirations. It’s important to write it down, put it up on a “dream wall” so you and your “Who” world can see it, and then begin to “dream out loud” how you’re going to get it.  

Here are five clues you’re looking for. 
1. The Recurring Dream – what preoccupies your thoughts during your waking hours. What’s holding your attention? What keeps resonating with you? That’s a clue! 


2. Gifts and Talents – What are you just naturally good at? You’ve always been good at it. It comes easy to you. 


3. Birds of a Feather – When you’re on the right track, there will be a resonance with others moving along in the same stream. There’s an unspoken acceptance. You’re all moving in the same direction. It’s a sense of not only finding yourself but also of discovering there are other swimming alongside you in this stream. If you have found your “stream,” if you have been accepted by a “tribe” – don’t take this for granted. It’s another important clue.


4. Rejection – There are people who will cut your head off for no other reason than if you’re swimming in their stream and they think you don’t belong. They’re just not going to be impressed with anything you do. You can’t win because they won’t let you win. You’re an outsider, an interloper, not of their tribe. These are not your people. They will put you down, keep you from performing at your best, and kill your spirit. They don’t wish you well, but instead desire to control you within their limited parameters designed to “keep you in your place.” It’s a clue or hint that maybe you’re on the wrong team, hanging with the wrong crowd, you’re working for the wrong company. Rejection is a severe teacher but can be even more instructive than favor because it forces you to come to grips with who you really are and who you’re not. There’s a stream for you! There’s a flow that fits you. You have friends who will lead you to it and help you in. Go where you’re celebrated, not just tolerated. 


5. Do What You Love – Doing what you “love” is one of the most essential components of finding your dream. So many people haven’t allowed love to direct their path because they really don’t believe they can do what they love, with the people they love, in a place they love, and be happy, successful, and fulfilled. 

THE RED EYE 

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It is a real thing, the red eye. I thought back twenty years ago, when I made my first overseas flight, when I met five travelers at breakfast last month. Three of them were Generation Z (in their twenties). It is hard sleeping on a plane. Flying over the Atlantic in the middle of the night. These young folk were with a small team here in central Africa for a short-term mission trip. Seeing my three young friends that morning, some of them savvy travelers and some not, I was reminded of my first overseas flight. This is a twenty-three-hour, multiple time zone trip. Feeling compassion for these fellow travelers made me think of new recruits, showing up on a battlefield, not knowing what they had just stepped into. 

They arrived in Uganda, red eyed, but good soldiers, no grumbling and remarkably chipper. 

I knew that they were running on empty, with just six hours sleep, but they showed up for breakfast without a single complaint. Introductions, pleasant small talk, and we hit the ground running, time to catch the bus for the Sunday Service. 

Thankfully, the weather was pleasant, the ride short, and we were chatting it up along the way.

We were greeted at church with enthusiasm, fist bumps and smiles from the young congregation. Expressions of joy as we were escorted to the front of the chapel, (a hastily built eucalyptus pole-structure, with metal siding, erected in the middle of a field). We are always given VIP seats, reserved for speakers and pastors upfront. 

We have asked our host in the past, if we could sit with the audience, (our western democratic leanings prefer to be among the people), but we were told that it would make the congregants uncomfortable, and that they would not know what to think. 

Settling into our seats we are introduced, and the place erupts into applause. We are just ordinary folk, nothing special here, nothing to see, but to our host there is something special, something powerful, in our presence. 

Our African family, our brothers, and sisters, have felt too often marginalized, and forgotten by westerners, by friends back home. 

For us ordinary folk, visitors from afar, just “showing up” is a huge statement. It is a statement saying, “dear friends you are not alone, you are not forgotten!”.

Our very presence is a statement. 

Humbled or rather humbling is how it feels, being so warmly welcomed by our African family, being embraced, treated as celebrities, with gestures of gratitude and joy. Humbling. Very Humbling!

As we worshipped together, us ordinary folk and our African family, we knew who the real celebrities were, the real heroes. Our African family, these are the ones left in the shadows of current affairs, marginalized by the west, but these are the true honorees. 

What a privilege to be welcomed into their “HOLY PLACE,” their sanctuary, the pole structure in a field, off a dirt road. A structure raised in just thirty days, a sign of the power and presence of God moving within their community. This truly is HOLY GROUND.

Yes, the twenty-three-hours journey, the fatigue, the red eyes are all worth it. To be standing here shoulder-to-shoulder with my African friends, in this simple Holy Place. Humbling! Very Humbling!

Retirement or Opportunities

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I would have never expected to be where I am today. This would not have been the choice I had envisioned during my career pursuing my American Dream. 

In 1971, just before high school graduation, I became a Jesus follower, some say an apprentice. This decision changed the trajectory of my life. After graduation, I was lost as to what vocation I would enter. In my indecisiveness I landed a job as a “groundsman” on a tree crew for a year, (think manual labor dragging tree limbs to the back of a brush chipper). 

Working on the tree crew and living according to my new faith would have a profound impact as I grew in my 20’s. I would have never imagined a five-decade career in the “green industry”, nor that I would still be following Jesus.

Starting at the bottom of the “green Industry” put me on the lowest rung of the success ladder, in an industry that eats up and spits out new recruits at an alarming rate. But, lacking choices or vision (this was the height of the 1970’s recession), I stuck with it and worked my way up to crew chief and eventually management.

On a parallel track as a “baby believer”, knowing next to nothing of doctrine or dogma, I grew incrementally in my faith. A confused kid with some ambition but little direction.

As I reflect back, it’s nice for older people to reflect, I realize there were no accidents during my journey. Ernest Hemingway once said, “at the most important crossroads in our life, there are no signs”. Oh yes, there were plenty of hard stops, U turns, and an occasional right turn, but no accidents. Each decision, each blunder on my part had purpose, had meaning.

The skill sets you pick up in life, by design or, as in my case, by chance, in some small, fragmented way, prepared me for the next step, the next adventure.

That’s where I find myself today, after a long and satisfying career and a long walk of faith, I’m packing up my belongings for central Africa, for a new position helping a pastor friend to plant churches, change lives and communities in rural Uganda. This was beyond my wildest dreams.

Do we all experience fears when making big decisions? Of course, we do. That’s why they are called big decisions. But, after making big decisions for decades, some good, and some not so much, I am becoming more confident taking those “leaps of faith” when I can’t see the safety net below.  

Here I am, not where I expected to be today. Mary and I have made a long-term commitment to our friends in Uganda, our next journey. We will keep you posted on how this adventure is going. Opening ourselves up to unimaginable possibilities has been frightening and transformative simultaneously. 

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Deck The Halls

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Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa La, La, La, La…oh wait—PAUSE! Before we move full force into our celebrations for Christmas Paul and I wanted to share some things we’ve been particularly thankful for this past month!

September through November were busy. I (Mary) was less busy setting up our apartment in November, so I was able to shift energies toward investing more in people. A sweet result of my many hours spent setting up the house was that it allowed me to forge and strengthen  friendships begun there. I was able to help support Sarah as she prepared to host a bridal introduction event for one of her adopted daughters. The time spent building furnishings and having items sewn opened doors with Sheila, a local seamstress, and Boaz, a tailor in the next village.

Paul for his part, had begun, quite literally, “growing” new relationships in the garden. Since the house was getting spruced-up, he had to move to the outside garden for his preparation times, putting him squarely in the midst of the workers (who are both making AND laying brick). As they took their breaks throughout the day, the stage was set for Paul having some great conversations! 

Paul’s weekly meetings with the men from the church continued as well. Men gathering purposely like this isn’t common, even in the States. It’s been encouraging and beneficial for all of them to share life and care for each other in a way that Ecclesiastes 4:9 talks about. “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.”.

I hope to begin similar meetings with the women in the new year, but, through the months of October and November, I continued meeting with the secondary school girls. We whittled down our gatherings to those genuinely interested in doing bible study. Most recently, after reading about Rahab (asking context questions about her story) my Ugandan co-teacher suggested the girls do a drama to share at church. And…the girls eagerly jumped at the chance to share what they learned!

With just a bit of direction, these ladies presented their drama twice; once in English and once in the local, Runyankore language. On their own initiative, they added a song which encapsulated one of their big “take-aways”—God’s faithfulness. Rahab was a woman who would have been dismissed because of what people saw on the outside, but not God. He saw her heart and lovingly reached out to her. He’s still doing that kind of work here in Uganda!

Another primary role for us is to work alongside Pastor Moses and Pastor Ubaldo to mentor believers and strengthen church leaders’. The ultimate benefit is to equip their personal understanding of the Bible and to be discerning, wise and able to refute lies, like the prosperity gospel and animism. As they see more of the true character and nature of God we were both excited to get these trainings underway! 

The first two planned meetings got “mixed up” due to miscommunications and lots of cultural hurdles. On the third try the gathering came together. We thought we’d gotten past the “rough spots” as the meeting went well and everyone was eager to learn this new inductive study method. We planned to host the group again the following Sunday when we were informed that morning the meeting would regrettably be rescheduled, due to an unexpected funeral in the village. We were disappointed but understood.

However, after it was postponed twice more in as many days and canceled on the third try, Paul and I were struggling to think the best and began to question what in the world was going on. One successful meeting out of seven tries is not a great percentage!

Frustrated by repeated obstacles, we became discouraged. We got stuck in a veritable ‘stew’ of feeling undervalued and dismissed. Some of this boiled over to conflict with each other and regrettably being curt with our partners. God had allowed our path to become more difficult. Instead of listening to Him, the One who designed all these events, we isolated ourselves from our partners. Siloed in self-sufficiency we knew we weren’t moving in a good direction for resolution.

Paul was scheduled to preach the upcoming Sunday and during his preparations, he was struck by some scriptural principles in Edward Welch’s book “Side By Side” where the author states that “when we are in conflict, instead of pulling away from one another, we need to move towards the other.” Hmmmm…..our first ‘nudge’ back to seeing what was true.

As Paul’s message began to formulate, more wisdom emerged from this book and the pages of Scripture and the truths hit home

When we’re happy it’s because we have something we love.               

When we’re anxious it’s because something we love is at risk.                

When we’re sad or depressed, it’s because something we love is lost.     

When we are angry it’s because something we love is stolen.

With all roads eventually leading back to our relationship with God, the question becomes…Do we LOVE what He LOVES? 

We knew obstacles would come, but also that God had a way to get through them. We knew that God promises wisdom to those who ask, He helps shoulder our load along the way. He is never asleep, never unaware but active and involved in every detail. But, did we LOVE what He LOVES? He challenged us to consider if it was Jesus and His people that we loved most? Or had we gotten derailed by self-love and having things done our way?

We were reminded that the course God designs for us doesn’t mean an easy course, but challenges are what teach us grit! They can teach us to be better teammates and rely more on His direction. It also reminded us that even after forty six years together, our marriage, only thrives as we both look first to Christ, and then to helping one another, keeping guard over our own hearts.

Now, as we make a visit home, we are in a place of gratitude for God’s companionship, gratitude for His direction and help, and gratitude for the gift of walking beside each other, wherever that path takes us.

The holidays are a good time for this kind of reflection. As you move through this month we hope you, can stop for a moment to appreciate all that our good God has given us. 

For anyone who desires the challenge of a “new course” for their lives, that “new course” begins with the life we celebrate during the Christmas Season. Jesus the Messiah, God’s gift came first in a cradle and then to the cross. His death ensures our eternal life, for those willing to trust His sacrifice. We walk a “new course” with Him, when the obstacles come.

We send our most sincere wishes to you for a Blessed and Joyful Holiday!

Ode To Malachi

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One of the most difficult parts of an overseas assignment is that you are not at home for key life events. We recently lost a good companion. We knew that old age had taken its toll and that this was a strong probability, but that didn’t make the “hurt” any less. Here is our brief remembrance.

We were not certain about it that day. It had been almost three years since Chestnut had passed. Chessie’s paw print is still pressed into the concrete patio out back.

Why do we grieve so for our four-legged friends? But it had been three years, and we thought we were ready, that we were in a good place where we could think about a “new dog”.

The two-hour drive to Gettysburg, PA went quickly. The family we met had been breeding Lab’s for several years and it was a side business for two school teachers with five or six kids.  “Shopping” for a pet is ALWAYS a big mistake, because once you see those precious dark eyes you are done for. It was the same this visit, we were done!

Now it was just a question of which adorable puppy to pick out. My brother, also a dog lover, had given us some advice to discover the temperament of a young dog. One was to just call out to the pack and see which ones responded first. Another technique was to gently squeeze the puppies paw harder and a little harder, to see their “pull back” response. At any rate we were down to a choice of two pups, a coin toss.

We asked the young couple if we purchased the puppy that day could they keep the puppy for us for several weeks because we were scheduled to leave on our first African missions’ trip in about two weeks. They were agreeable and it was a done deal.

The next thirteen years have been filled with unspeakable joy, frustration, outright belly laughter, and frightening times when Malachi was sick or lost.

It’s impossible to describe to others who have never had a “dog connection”, but somehow these faithful friends worm their way into your heart with that unconditional love that makes every bad day a good day. It’s impossible to stay angry with them for very long, regardless of the infraction (i.e., destroying furniture or shoes, poop in the bedroom corner, or chasing the grandkids around the house).

So, this Ode to Malachi, is simple, I’m going to miss you buddy. You were there during my high highs, and some troubling low lows. Your love and compassion for me, when it was I who was supposed to be in charge, is unforgettable. Those big brown eyes somehow communicated that you got me, you understood in some cosmic way where I was at, at any given time.

I’m missing you already but comforted knowing your pain is gone. We often have this conversation, “will we have our dogs in Heaven”? I’m not a theologian. Somehow, I feel that God in His love and desire for my good will not withhold one of life’s greatest joys, the joy that Malachi brought me for the last thirteen years.   

Arrival

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It was an early wake up alarm last week. Five am, shower, dress, grab a quick travelers cup of Java and off to the airport. Our daughter Tessa was sweet enough to volunteer (or be volunteered) to chauffeur us. Dulles International Airport was a forty five minute haul but at that hour we could make it in thirty.

Chatting it up in the car, the time passed quickly. Some last minute instructions as we pulled up to the drop off zone. “Tessa, don’t pull away until we can confirm the weight of each suitcase”. We were only allowed fifty pounds each bag. If we were overweight we would need to return items back to the vehicle. 

Check-in and bag weighing went without a hitch. Moving through TSA was uneventful (thankfully), and now we needed to find the gate and a second cup of coffee. 

The plane wasn’t full so Mary moved up one row to give each of us an empty seat between our travel companions. Mark had the window seat, I had the aisle. He works for an NGO doing finance IT work. He was from South Africa and had traveled the African continent extensively. Christine was Mary’s companion and she was from Kenya. She was in Uganda for some time but went back to Kenya when COVID-19 hit. She gave us a great referral for an Airbnb in Kenya.

Twenty four hours after leaving the US we landed in Uganda. We met a “Brit” on the shuttle and asked what his interests were in Uganda. He said he met a Ugandan girl at a church bible study and they married thirteen years ago. They now live and work near Kampala. What a beautiful love story that is.

Immigration was simple enough but baggage pickup was a nightmare. Two flights arriving at the same time and only two conveyor belts for the luggage. Our friend (and partner) Moses waited almost two hours for us to meet up. 

Thankfully we had a lovely hotel (retreat center really) for the next three nights. Our first night we slept twelve hours. The next several days were money exchange, making new friends and shopping to set up our “new” home in the western part of the country. A wonderful worship service on Sunday, meeting new friends on Monday and more shopping and an eight hour drive to Kiburara.

I know that this is TMI, my apologies, but it has been a whirlwind. We have had our first three nights here and it’s beginning to feel like home. A relaxed day today unpacking and arranging our apartment in the guesthouse. 

The rest of the week will be meetings with our ministry teams. So many new names and faces and connections’ with old friends. 

We are developing a new schedule complete with one day of sabbath rest. Thank you so much John Mark Comer for your excellent book on the “elimination of hurry”. 

We will keep you up to date and as always we appreciate your prayers as we embark on this new journey.

A Mustard Seed Grows in Africa

How a Ugandan Women’s Bible Study Took Root

March 2016

Author: Bao Nguyen

On a Wednesday afternoon in January, we found ourselves driving down a dirt path in western Uganda so narrow that, at times, the branches scraped the sides of the vehicle. At one point, we pulled as far left on the path as possible to permit cattle and a young boy, who followed the herd barefoot, to pass us to our right. We eventually reached the small church in the village of Nyampikye. As soon as our driver turned off the car, Mary Foster exited and was greeted by the village women who surrounded and embraced her. Though Ana, Bob, and I were strangers to the women, they likewise received us with warm smiles and hugs. We were led into the church and seated on wooden benches, arranged in a circle.

The village children sat on woven mats and eyed us curiously. I looked around and soaked in the sights of the church’s mud walls, dirt floor, and the women who came dressed up for us, adorned in brightly colored dresses. The God-blessed earthen beauty of the Ugandan people stirred us. As Mary prepared to facilitate a small group discussion, she asked the women to open their Bibles to the book of Job. If you had been able to observe the women talk about the selected scripture, you would have likened it to any other ordinary small group discussion back at home, which is exactly what makes this story extraordinary.

Conference Speaker? Not Me!

Mary and her husband, Paul, made their first missions trip with a CLC Uganda Team in January 2011, befriending Pastor Moses Nkwatsibwe, the founder and President of Covenant Global Ministries  and Lead Pastor of Kiburara Gospel Center. That trip impacted both of them so they returned to Uganda the following year with the CLC team.

The conviction that God was calling Paul and Mary to minister in Uganda grew with each visit, as did their friendships with the local believers they were meeting. In April 2013, Mary returned to Uganda for her third visit with a handful of others who were doing water projects for Sustainable Missions Incorporated (SMI) in the Kiburara region. It was during this more intimate visit that Mary was impressed by a real need for deeper scriptural training for the Ugandan women. Their discipleship opportunities were scarce, and God gave her the desire to help equip the women to learn directly from God’s Word and hopefully create a ripple effect to teach their children and mentor others in the church.

After getting counsel and forming a plan with Pastor Moses on their January 2014 team trip, Mary returned to Uganda in the summer of 2014 with hopes of implementing an 8-week women’s Bible study coupled with small group discussions. Three villages and Kiburara participated in the study. The concept of small group discussion, however, was so foreign to the Ugandans that they mistakenly expected Mary to serve as a conference speaker and teach biblical study techniques to the women as passive listeners. She quickly cleared up the confusion. She wanted to avoid approaches that would stifle engagement, interaction, and empowerment among the women or that would imply that she was some great biblical scholar.

Asking The Right Question                                           

In the first four weeks, Mary encountered challenges to the small group discussions as the village women did not appear to understand the format or intention. “After reading a passage,” Mary says, “I would ask the women, ‘What have we learned about God?’ No matter what we had read, they would repeat the same answer each time, ‘Jesus loves us and died for our sins.'” The women did not appear willing or able to generate responses that demonstrated critical analysis of the readings and Mary felt disheartened. She recalls, “I thought, I blew it. Lord, maybe I heard you wrong.”

In the fourth week of small group discussions, Mary and her interpreter, Mabel, visited the village of Kanara. Adding to the challenges that Mary faced, each week the number of participating women grew. The original intention was to have a small number of 10 or so women involved in intimate group discussions, but on that particular day, Mary faced a packed church of women. Devising a quick solution, Mary and Mabel decided to split the women into two groups with each woman leading their own group.

As usual, Mary struggled to get the seemingly quiet women to engage in discussion. However, she noticed that Mabel had managed to spark lively discussion among her group. “I was so surprised that Mabel’s women were not only talking but talking a lot!” Mary says with a smile. “I asked her what she did, and she said that she asked the women, ‘What have we learned?’ And I realized that what I had been asking, ‘What have we learned about God?’ was not a question that allowed them to engage.”

Mary realized that in this very deferential culture, asking women to share their knowledge of God led them to default to modest answers. The Ugandan values in humility prevented them from professing knowledge of God, particularly in the presence of Mary, a respected mzungu (foreigner). Broadening the question to “What have we learned?” led to dramatic changes, and at the end of the 8 weeks, Mary observed the women open up and eagerly discuss the assigned biblical passages during the small group discussions.

Blooming Into Something of Beauty

The unexpected impact of this new small group paradigm was revealed when Mary returned to the village of Nyampikye in April. She discovered that in her absence, the women had continued to meet for Bible studies and small group discussions! To Mary’s delight, the Spirit had done His work and these humble, often timid women had been emboldened and empowered to lead and mentor one another in the study of God’s word. God had done a “mustard seed operation” by planting a tiny seed in Mary, who took it to His church in Uganda where it bloomed!

As I sat in that small church on a Wednesday afternoon nearly a year later, I was inspired to see the women actively engaged in discussion about our amazing God and the patient and faithful characteristics they saw in Job. Indeed, the Lord oftentimes calls us to persevere patiently and not to become disheartened when we cannot see the immediate fruits of our labor. Mary learned that in Uganda. More importantly, she saw how her God took her small act of service (even when it was difficult or confusing) and planted it in His church there and grew it into something of beauty…the beauty of women and then families growing in knowledge and wisdom as they study God’s Word and are transformed to reflect His glory.

Bags Packed Tickets Confirmed

God has knit us closely with Pastor Moses, his church, the larger community and friends. They have become like extended family. In recent years The Lord made it clear that we should invest more of our time and energy growing his church in Uganda. That is where we find ourselves today. Packed up our home in the U.S.A. and making the journey to live in Uganda long term in about twelve days. Our heart is to uplift the Ugandan people. Spirit. Mind. Body.

Leaving Soon!

Several days out from our new departure date. In short, the countdown continues, and we are aware of how much we are loved here at home. We are also aware of the
love waiting for us in Kiburara, Uganda and our friends anxious to have us join them…but this is also a significant “tearing” time for us. *Eccles. 3:1-14. Paul and I are vagabonds at this juncture as we‘ve lived in the homes of friends and family until we hop our flight Sept 13. It was a hard push (mentally and physically) to get out of our house and prepare it to be Airbnb in July. Exhausting at points for sure! Now, many of the things that tied us to our house in Laytonsville have been severed and it feels less and less like our “home”.
While we‘ve been living in various homes, our routines have definitely felt a “shaking”. The ways we’ve just done life have had to be shifted and in some cases, eliminated. Honestly it’s been weird and disconcerting at times….but also reminds us our “home” is really with Christ, not a place!
Even the regularity of connection with family and friends is shifting as we draw closer to departure. This is the toughest of all because of the many years of our ever deepening bonds.
Talk about a time of emotional swings for both of us! There’s a quote that says, “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings”. We are experiencing the reality
of that right now. No doubt it was hard for the saints who’ve walked before us and we know we can’t expect this to be any easier for us.
Obeying and living the life God calls us to is HARD for everyone of us! Whether our day-to-day life is here or Africa… apprenticing to Jesus is a tough road to walk, no matter how you cut it. But we know, His grace is what sees us through!
There has been (and continues to be) many hurdles to climb for us. Our faith has been tested and grown as we’ve seen God’s amazing provision over and over even in our preparations. One of the greatest gifts has been the joy, encouragement and strength He has brought us through our ties with you. We are so grateful to have walked some of our road, shoulder to shoulder with you!
Though it will look different for a couple years, we trust that we will still be able to lean into your encouragement and feel your strength through your prayer support as we are away.
We will be sending monthly updates (sign up for those on our website, UpWithUganda.org) AND if at ANYTIME you feel like you would like to connect with us via email, please don’t hesitate to send us a note via upwithuganda@gmail.com. We may not answer as quick as we would here as life moves at a slower pace in Uganda 😉 But know that we will answer…your connections in this way will be life giving for us!
Pray for uneventful travel, for physical/mental health and fortitude and most of all that we will continue to hear, obey and follow the path the Lord sets out for us, to magnify Christ and invest in others who desire the same!