The End of Life as We Know It

February 20, 2020, was Keira's last day in a brick and mortar school until February 2021!

Keira's school was the first to tell its students not to come back, but that is because they had a natural holiday break starting the 20th. The rest of the country shut down its schools on February 26th.

We felt so blessed that the city didn't go on lockdown until March 14th because we were able to renew our visas on time (February 24), and the girls were able to get their braces off (March 8).

This sign (and others like it) was the beginning of the government taking notice and trying to make the people aware.

Anti-bacterial soap was the first item for sale as I walked into this grocery store.

And this man's basket was filled with sanitizing items.

February 26, 2020

I actually thought people were going a little overboard, but at this time, the death rate was very small, and I wasn't seeing how it was going to reach our country.

So, we continued on with life for a very short while.

On the 18th, some friends of mine and one of their mothers had breakfast together and then went shopping at a bazaar.

February 18, 2020

And Kylie and Karis taught their last ballet class on February 29.

February 29, 2020

More God stories

Another great story is what God is doing in the lives of some women I have met here.

I started meeting with Pasca at the beginning of June, and on our third meeting, she had invited two other women who live near here to join us.

I was also meeting with another lady introduced to me by a Fusion girl.  Her name was Betty.  At our second meeting, she had invited a relative named Stella.  Stella really said she wanted some change in her life, but she seemed detached during the whole study.

That Sunday, Betty and I walked to Stella’s house, and I shared the wonderful story about a Savior who came to love her and save her.  She accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior that day, June 3^rd!

Betty and I meet about three times a week, and every time we meet, Susan, her best friend, comes to.  She is a believer, and they are both growing in the Lord.

Susan and Betty

This last Sunday when I went back to Stella’s house to give her a Bible, a journal, a pen, and to begin a study with her of First John, Susan joined us and Stellas’ husband also sat in on our Bible study.

I also took Betty with me to Pasca’s to meet the new baby this week, and it turns out that Betty and Pasca had met once before, and they were glad to meet again and find out that they both loved Jesus!

Pasca and Betty

The Lord is really giving me some amazing opportunities, and it all comes at the hands of God and in His timing.

I have time to join God where He is working because of two things.  One, is that I have not been doing any regular language lessons, and two, is on a sadder note.  My great friend Florence and I have not been to the prison since the Wednesday before Easter.

Florence never healed properly from her surgery that she had in December.  And because of that, she ran into a lot of complications.  Over the last two and a half months, she has spent about one and a half of those in Kampala, under a doctor’s care.  Without a translator that I trust to translate the Word of God accurately, I’ve not been able to go.

I know the Anglican and the Catholic church both send teachers on two other days, so I have hope that the ladies are still hearing Truth.

I think God had me there for a season, and I still might return some day, but right now, I am so thankful for the other opportunities He’s given me!

Pure Joy Retreat

Arua has had power only one day out of the last eleven (and it looks like it's not coming back on for a while). I'm so glad to have solar, but without electricity to "top off" the batteries, we have not been able to wash clothes, use lights during the day, or charge things at night. We had to unplug our freezer and take our meat to a neighbor's house because our solar couldn't handle it well. I'm so thankful for what I do have. Most of the town does not have water right now, and no one has electricity.

Thank you to all the people who contributed toward our solar or helped teach us about it. It's been a wonderful thing!!!!

During the time my internet was down for 18 days at the beginning of January, I apparently received an email telling me about a conference that was going to be held in Kampala, March 5-8, for missionary women in East Africa. The first 50 to sign up could go…and go for free (except for travel to and from).

Thankfully, my sweet friend Jan, in Kampala, knew my internet was down, and she called me when she received the email. I didn’t know how I would travel down, but I said to go ahead and sign me up. So many of my friends ended up on the waiting list just the following day, so I owe her a great deal of gratitude for calling and signing me up and typing my information and sending in a picture of my family and….

Friends are such a blessing.

Pure Joy International ministry was put on Vicki Arruda’s heart by God. She has a successful counseling ministry, but three times a year she travels with a team to a foreign country to minister to missionary women. WoW!

We stayed at the Speke Resort in Kampala, and I didn’t even feel like I was in Uganda anymore.

There was air conditioning in all of the rooms, two large pools, buffets of food everywhere with decorated animals made out of dough, manicured lawns, waterfalls, a horse carriage, and 25+ horses available for horseback riding. Basically, it was better than being on a cruise ship.

The team she brings each time is tailor-made by God. It’s different every time, depending on who God has laid on Vickie’s heart, and these ladies are such servants of God.

The team of 9 ladies took time to visit with all 50 of us, and we had such a good time meeting other women who serve in the same country as we do. We now have contacts of people all over Uganda.

Some of us talked about home school, where to get a non-African haircut, or fun places to take your children; others talked about using another person’s ministry to help their own. Some ladies work in the area of Bible translation, one was a counselor to women who have experienced female genital mutilation, more than a few have adopted Ugandans living in their home, some run orphanages, one lady had 8 children she adopted when she lived in Alaska, one had a business to help other missionaries with any graphic designs they might need, and many held Bible studies in prisons.

The well was deep.

We were so encouraged, and the speakers spoke specifically to where we are in our lives and gave us practical help for our marriages and for raising our children. They did nothing but shower blessings on us continually.

All of this is possible because churches sponsor a certain number of missionaries. (Even though we get to go for free, each of the team members pays for her flight, food, and room). If any lady in America feels led to be a speaker, encourager, behind the scenes worker, etc, they can contact Pure Joy International and let them know. While I was there, I thought of quite a few women who would fill these roles amazingly!

If you don’t feel led to go to another country, you can help in any number of ways. Some ladies made 50 pieces of jewelry for us, others bought 50 taco mix packets, one made 50 homemade soaps, and churches all over had people make a special bag for each lady with some of the things she said she missed the most while living in Africa.

Every time we went to a meal, came back from a tea break, or came for a new session, there was a new gift at our seat.

Here is a list of all the things we were blessed with:

bracelets (2)
box of chocolates
bookmark
box of heart candy
keychain
bag of stuff we requested
hand made soap
John Piper Trilogy
John Piper Romans
John Piper Hebrews
John Piper: 3 sermons
chocolate
Did I mention chocolate?
embroidered hot pad
koolaid mix, taco, drink, wash cloth
Africa necklace
bead necklace
Burts Bees

Earrings
Bath and Body works soap/ loofah
"faith" bracelet
hand lotion (bath and body works)
2 T-shirts and
crushed rosemary

Thank you Penny, Vickie, Becky, Sharon, Colleen, Janet, Kathy, Patty, and Boots (not pictured).

Thank you also to all the people and churches who donated money, items, time, and prayer.

Cassava harvest

I drove to the outer villages of Arua with my friend Joanna to help another friend Jane with a task.

And when I say "outer," I mean "outer."



















I still can't get over the talent of these women, so I keep taking pictures of them.





























Anyway, Jane's family had been harvesting her cassava for her all day while she was working in town. After all the harvesting had been done, Joanna offered to drive out, pick it all up for her, and take it back to Jane's house so they wouldn't have to hire transport.

This is the fruit of their labors.



















I tried to help, but these people had a system and knew how to pack cassava a lot better and tighter than I did, so I decided to take pictures and visit. Being this far out of town, not many people spoke English, so it was a great place to practice my Lugbara.







































That is one large cassava. It looks like an elephant's trunk.























These are some of the workers in the foreground, and you can see a man in a blue shirt in the back. He's the one that asked to pose with the vehicle. (I put it on an earlier post about Patrick and his son.)
























Joanna hauled so much cassava and so many people back to town that her car was struggling in second gear. Jesus helped us get back, and the cassava will be ground into flour for Jane's family to use or sell. God provides!