http://www.upwithuganda.org

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.   

http://www.upwithuganda.org

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.

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.

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.

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!