Well, I'm back!

It's so good to be back again!

(THIS ENTRY WAS WRITTEN ON SUNDAY)

The short story:

We had a long and exhausting trip up to Karamoja yesterday, with some of us not even arriving until this morning.

I am very thankful that it was not worse, and that no one was hurt.

It's wonderful to be back with everyone here.

Please pray:

For rest as we recover from a very eventful trip.

For peace as I adjust to being back on the mission and settle back into my banda.

For picking up relationships as I get back to work here.

The LONG story:

I suspect that some of you have already heard what an adventure I have had as I've traveled back to Karamoja. I am very thankful for all of your prayers, we have all arrived safely back here.

I am exhausted, and the only reason I am writing this now is that there are people who will want an update at morning worship at my sending church. I have had a good night of sleep last night, back in my own bed, and a blessed Lord's Day morning. It was so wonderful to greet my friends here, and especially exciting to see the children in church. They had some songs prepared to share with us after morning worship, and they did a beautiful job.

My trip started four days ago with a great send-off by my Wednesday night Young Adults group. My family saw me off to my first flight to London, and I got five hours of sleep! I made my connection in Heathrow with no trouble, bypassing the long security line and arriving at my gate even before boarding started. Once I was onboard, I was able to greet Dr. Jim and Jenny Knox, and their little one, Eoin. I tried my best to stay awake, since I knew I would be arriving in Entebbe at 11:00 PM local time. I watched a few movies, and chatted with my neighbor, who had been in NY attached to President Museveni's trip to the UN. When we arrived in Entebbe, we were able to collect all of our luggage, after they took our temperature to make sure we were not sick. We met up with Pastor Al and Chris Verdick who had come to pick us up.

The next morning, Pastor Al, Erika, and I were going to try and make it all the way up to Karamoja. However, after lunching in Jinja, the roads were congested, and the rain was reported to be heavy. So when we reached Mbale Pastor Al decided it was too late in the day to start the next leg of our trip and we spent the night at the Sunrise Inn.

This is where the adventure really begins, or stops, depending on how you look at it. We left Mbale by about 10:30AM, with the other car, including the Knoxs and Verdicks. We made great time until we entered Karamoja about two hours later. This is when I started to lose track of time. First we were waiting to see if the trucks that were stuck in the mud in front of us would be able to get out. We spent some time trying to pull them part of the way, and evaluating a passage off to the side of the road. Then we tried to go around the trucks, and one car made it through, but mine got stuck, up to its axles. The women and babies got into that one, and drove to the next tough spot. Then Erika and I walked back to the other car to get some things we'd left behind, and stretch our legs. When we got back, it was starting to rain, but we were going to drive through the next stretch of mud. We all walked through ahead of the car, except for Jim who was driving. It got stuck on the side of the road, but Jesse had come from the Mission and between digging and pulling they got it out. The rain had stopped, so with Jenny driving, the women got in, while the men went back to try and help the other stuck car.

We were through the worst of the mud, but there was still some, so Jenny was being cautious. She mentioned that it felt like she was overcompensating a lot for the mud, but it wasn't until we lost all steering as we were coming through a soggy place and ended up slowing to a stop that we realized we had lost the tie rod on the driver's side. This story is already long enough, so suffice it to say that Pastor Dave, Bobby, and Josh came from the mission, and after they had tried to fix it for a while, we just ended up getting into one of their cars for Chloe to drive us, while they clamped and tied up the tie rod and slowly drove it the rest of the way.

Pastor Al, Jesse, Chris and Jim tried to get the other car out, with assistance from a tractor, but there were too many cars in the way for them to get home that night. Chris and Jim came back in Jesse's car, with the valuables, and Pastor Al and Jesse spent the night with the car, arriving back this morning after morning worship.

A Blessed Resurrection Day!

So thankful for so many things!

I am thankful for my health, especially since I haven't been feeling well this week. Being back to normal energy levels and pain-free is wonderful!

I learned how to say, "He is risen" "He is risen Indeed!" 

In Karimojong you say, "Ayaru Yesu" "Ayaru inges Kire!" 

"Lord Jesus" "Ekapolon a Yesu"

I'm also very thankful for a connection to the internet so I can post this blog. I know that many of you are praying for me, so let me take some time to update you on our ministries here so you can pray with understanding.

Moru a Grace Preschool

The preschool is going along wonderfully. We are hiring more teachers so that we can continue other outreaches, but the first thing I did when I got here was start working with the preschoolers, and they are probably my favorite.

I'm not sure if I ever posted the specifics of what we are doing, so I'll try and give you an overview.

In the morning, we greet the children, sing some songs, most of which I now have memorized. Unfortunately, part of the reason is that the children love to sing the same songs, and if we let them pick them all, we'd sing the same ones about Noah, Abraham, and loving your neighbor. All three are in Karamojong, but they are very similar to the ones we sang in Bible School in the states. Someday I'll see if I can get a video of them posted on here! They love to jump and smile while they sing!

Well, that level of detail is just not good for an overview, so I'll try and be more concise, but it's hard when I have so many good stories!

After a Bible story told by our Headmaster Tete George, we split the children by ability, and break into groups for letters, numbers, and outside games. I love the way they are so excited for their turn to put the date up on our class calendar; their little hands shoot up, and they say, "Ayong, Ayong!" which means, "Me, Me! 

I also love getting to work with our Karamojong co-teachers. In the seven months I've been here, I've gotten to know these ladies, and they are wonderful. They are strong, faithful, and their joy is often clearer than my own. I usually begin the morning teaching the lesson, and by the end, they are often comfortable enough to teach the next group with some small assistance from me. The goal is for each of them to become confident, skilled teachers, so please pray they would continue to learn and grow!

How's this for a teaser, in my next post, I'll talk about how the children play soccer and how they liked flying my kite!

Shepherd Boys Classes

In Moru Asia (pronounced ah-thee-ah) they are meeting every morning before the boys take their animals our of the compound for the day. They are working on similar subjects as the preschoolers, because there is not a culture of literacy here, and most of them have no formal school experience. They range in age from about 7 to about 13, and they average over a dozen in attendance. There are very few things written in their language, mostly the Bible and some school books. So we are exposing them to books, letters, math, and other subjects slowly but surely. They are very clever and they pick things up quickly, so they are moving pretty fast.

Babysitter Girls Classes

In the afternoons, when the preschoolers have gone home, we have a class for about a dozen girls who are too busy in their homes to go to school. They are either working like their moms, tending children and cooking meals, or they are hired out to other homes. They haven't had much school experience, and they can be shy, but they have become more comfortable and they are able to understand much more quickly than the preschoolers, because they are older and more focused. We use a set up that is similar to the morning, but with less playing and puzzles, and other subjects like science and health sometimes included. They also really enjoy hearing stories told!

Well, 'til next time!

There's always more to tell, but for now I'll sign off and just say thanks for everything.

If you read all the way to the bottom of this crazy long post, please let me know what you think~ 

Language Lessons

Daily Lessons

Some of you have asked me how my language study is going, and I know many of you are praying for me to have diligence and success in this endeavor. I have been so blessed by my study of this language, and I am making progress, slowly but surely. Please pray primarily for continued willingness to sound ridiculous in order to gain fluency, and patience for those I am speaking with as they correct my awkward attempts.

Manners

My favorite thing I learned today is how to ask nicely! "Kingarakinae" means "Help me" but if I add "robo" I can use it to ask the teachers to help with something, instead of how it sounds when I am telling the children to do it.

Uncorrected Homework Assignment

I'd like to update you by posting my latest homework assignment. Today we worked on conjugating the past tense of several different verbs, starting with 'go'. My task was to write 5 sentences using some of the words we learned today.

Aponio iwon tolotoi Namalu ka Alakara Akidoun a Yesu.

Apotu ikes kiwara ecaka losikul.

Abu ayong olimok ngidwe daadang tolomutu tooma ka tolemutu ngiboro abolya.

Aponio isua  togyelai apukado ngitomon ka atap akwar.

Aponio isua kiboikinete kamukeke kakitatam losikul.

Translation Attempt

We went, without you, to Namalu for Christmas.

They searched for chalk at school

I told all the children to come inside and pick up the things for playing.

We bought 10 avocados for dinner tonight.

We sat on the mat for teaching at school.