City Living

Kampala is an accident waiting to happen. It is a cacophony of people, color, livestock, and technology tossed together like a very odd salad. It is hard to put into words the often comical and sometimes frightening mix of elements found within the sprawling spider web of the metropolis. Longhorn cattle graze on the grass of a roundabout under the shadow of a large billboard advertising Korean luxury furniture. A Mercedes Benz zips past a nursing mother selling a pile of mangos on a grass mat. The skyscrapers sit calmly amid the smog and exhaust. Large storks look down from their perches on the ledge at the steady stream of dark skinned people standing, walking and running in all directions.

Ranch on Jesus is a suburban ministry. Based just 13 kilometers outside of the capital city of Kampala, the current of life here is more cluttered than other regions of the county. While the surrounding communities of Kampala town may not seem developed to our Western eyes, the lifestyle here is definitely more modern than much of the country. Because we are so near the city, trips into town are often inevitable.

I have a love hate relationship with Kampala town. It is a pungent place. I can't quite decide whether I enjoy or despise the taste it leaves in my mouth. One thing I do know-getting to the city is something I will never like.

In Kampala, vehicles seem to defy the law of physics. Cars lurch along awkwardly, swerving and changing speeds frequently to avoid hitting darting pedestrians or massive potholes. Traffics flows uncomfortably fast only to clog rapidly without notice. Boys riding bicycles piled high with charcoal navigate through minor gaps between mutatus (taxis). Men selling newspapers, shoes and plastic crucifixes weave between car windows hocking their wares. All this activity occurs before the backdrop of car horns, squealing brakes, and the collective shouting of Lugandan.

Scott drives into Kampala comfortably and with pleasure. For him, it's a game-a test of agility and power. Driving in Kampala is his drug of choice. I only ride into Kampala when I am drug along against my choice. Or possibly when a strong enough hankering for Chinese food tempts me to brave the elements. For as much as I dislike driving in the city (I feel more at ease on the Scream Machine at Six Flags) there is still something exciting and enjoyable enough about being in town that makes it worthwhile.

Maybe it is the effect of seeing so much humanity and culture squeezed so compactly into such small square footage. Whichever way you look at it, Kampala is alive. Worn, new, tired, fresh, ugly, dirty, glorious and majestic. Kampala is always an experience.

Learning From Sarah

I have spent the past six summers of my life here in the heart of Africa. In many ways, coming to Uganda has become ordinary. The sights. The smells. The life here.

But never the need.

Witnessing the overwhelming daily needs facing so many people here-especially children- is never comfortable. The longer I am home in the States, the less pressing and emotional the needs become. Less real, less of a concern to me. But every May I find myself jarred, shocked, and freshly convicted.

Yesterday at the ROJOM school as Scott loaded items into the back of the Kamara's small car, he pushed aside a bag of clothing. "What are these clothes?" he asked Theophilus.

"My wife, she is crazy," Theophilus smiled. "She collects these clothes and keeps them in her car so that if she is ever sees a naked person, she can give them something to wear."

This is my friend, Sarah Kamara, who operates a travelling clothes closet in her vehicle. She invites hungry children into her home-even when there isn't enough food. She is a walking blessing, a poured out person for the sake of Christ. Sixty children now live at the Ranch on Jesus Orphanage Home started by Sarah's faith. Three hundred and fifty are being educated in the ministry's primary school. All because a needy woman put other's needs above her own, did not wait for someone else to act, and took the Lord God at His word. By the world's standards her husband is right…she is crazy.

As I experience the poverty and lack faced by so many innocents in Ugandan society, what we are doing in our ministry to meet this need feels quite small and inadequate. What is stopping Ranch on Jesus from growing? What is keeping Sarah and Theophilus from doing even more for their people? To be quite blunt-its only money.

This month I will have to sit across a table from Sarah and explain from our budget that not only will she have to limit her mercy. She will have to cut back. Funds are tight. With the world economy in shreds, raising money to care for orphans is tough. Practically I will have to say these things. But in my heart, facing these needs, I don't see how I can rectify it.

I don't see how I can really tell Sarah to stop extending compassion when I hail from a church that lives in the wealthiest sector of the world. Even though money may be tighter these days, most of us, me included, are only really having to make cutbacks in our wants. We have enough nutritious (and maybe not so nutritious) food stocked in our pantry to last for weeks, enough clothing in our closets that we could not do laundry for a month and probably be fine. TVs, CD players, cars with leather seats and more. And not to say these things are wrong or that they are equally possessed by all of us, but by and large, they are the rule of normal life.

But of course even with its abundance of wealth, the church in America isn't the ultimate answer for those in need in Uganda. Ranch on Jesus has much more than an American partner ministry. It has the Name of Jesus on the sign and falls under the family provision of the King of the Universe. Our Boss and Father owns all the cattle on the hills of Africa and every SUV in the parking lots of America. It's all His and His will is that we extend it outward to those who need it. So simply, this is what Sarah is doing. And I can't find a practical or Biblical reason why she shouldn't.

Besides, I know my friend. If we in the States have to cut back she will dig even deeper into her own pockets to find her means of dispensing charity.

I sit late tonight in our guesthouse in the corner of our darkened room. My mind and heart are spinning with emotions. Still, after all these years, I am still so unlike my friend Sarah. I think of the faithlessness I've had, the lack of generosity I've shown. The greed, the fear, the selfishness. As I look at the banquet laid out by the Kamara's from their personal pocketbook, all my offerings of time and money seem no more than a bologna sandwich.

I have held on rather than let go. I have consumed more than I ought. The shoes in my closet. The toy's in my daughter's room. My wants have taken precedence over other's needs. I have not done unto them what I would have them do for me.

The devil in my ear wants to tell me that I am overreacting. That I could have been worse…that nice things aren't bad…that I can't help everyone. This could very well be the truth, but I can't help but feel that a case of overreacting is exactly what the Holy Spirit has prescribed for me tonight. For far too often we American's are chronic underreacters, reasoning our way our of action, mercy and godliness.

I need my spirit shaken. I need to be reminded that in the time it has taken me to write this over 100 children somewhere in the world have died because they are hungry. It is a lie to say I can do nothing about it. My Father knew the hairs on each of their heads.

I know that I cannot be the savior of the world. I am one young woman surrounded by billions in need. But I do know a Savior who came to the world to call His people into the service of bearing His Name into the darkest, poorest and most pain filled corners of the globe. He was God and man with only two feet and two hands, but He gave His life to buy a body comprised of countless members, members who would labor in the vineyards to right all that had been made wrong in His creation-to make ALL things new.

Jesus is making all things new in me and I also ask Him to make all things new through me.

The Father gave what was most precious to Him to rescue me from my need when I was undeserving.

Jesus laid down His only life to make me-an alien- a brother.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich."
2 Corinthians 8:9

I want to stop consuming.

I want to carry the kingdom of God around the way Sarah does in the trunk of her car. She is prepared for mercy. Prepared to heal. Prepared to be His loving hands and feet. To become poor so that others might become rich.

I want to put myself last the way He does. The way Sarah does with extravagant generosity. After five years of friendship I still admire her. I still can't touch her.

Why are there so few Sarah's? What is stopping us? The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are so few. Humbly I ask all of us to consider ways in which we might toil and offer more. So much is needed here to advance the call of the King. Ranch on Jesus and the Kamaras are here praying for the means to not only survive 2009, but to thrive for His glory. I am here as their ambassador pleading with all of those in our Family of God to set foot in our Ugandan vineyards and do what you can. Starting with me.

The Week Ahead

The past weekend was one of many reunions. This week has been one of many partings. Our small team has set off in different directions for the next few days. Hannah and Ashleigh have travelled east to Kumi. They are attending a large conference along with the short term team from Covenant College. We hope this affords them opportunity to view regions of Uganda outside Kamapala and get a more diverse taste of culture before settling into Ranch on Jesus for the rest of the trip.

Yesterday Amy left us to move west to Bundibugyo. She plans to spend three nights there visiting with the team from World Harvest Mission where she served as a teacher from 2005 to 2007. This is a long and arduous journey. Bundibugyo is deep in the rural bush. The roads are rough, especially during the rainy season. She reached her destination safely last evening. Please pray for her time with friends in her former home.

Scott, Vivian and I are now temporarily alone in this large, quiet guesthouse. We had hoped to take the Kamara’s on a mini retreat this week, but our plans may have to alter due to illness. Matthew Kamara (13 mo. old) has been sick and seems to be worsening. This morning he was taken to the hospital for medication. Please pray for swift treatment and healing as well as peace of mind for Sarah and Theophilus.

On Friday our team plans to reunite for a second weekend packed full of activity at Ranch. It can’t get here soon enough!

You Don’t Have to Look Like Orphans

I was too anxious to sleep. Friday night was like Christmas Eve here in Uganda. With a pile of massive suitcases piled outside my door my mind was racing. Giving truly is better than receiving. Imagining the happiness the children at Ranch on Jesus would receive within hours gave me more joy than any gift I had ever received. All the fundraising, shopping and packing was about to come to fruition.

There is really no accurate way to describe what goes through my heart when I travel down the road to Mutungo village. It isn't quite right to say I am excited. The feeling is more subtle. It is what you might experience after returning home after a very long journey. It is a peace, a rest, a warm comfort of being in the place where you feel most yourself…most at ease…at home. Entering the gates of Ranch on Jesus is like the sigh at the end of a very long day.

But the welcome we received was anything but quiet. In true Ugandan fashion we were welcomed with a party, an assembly full of musical performances and A LOT of food. The children sang, celebrated, and served us. Then I got to serve them. We unloaded the new clothes.

Seventy five children sat perfectly still in their seats as we lugged our luggage to the front of the dining hall. I think it is possible that Sarah was more excited than the children. She was about to burst. I know because it is exactly how I felt. What mom doesn't take pride in seeing her children looking beautiful? Sarah said, "I don't know what to say. I have too too many words." This is my sentiment even now as I write. I find myself at a loss as to what to put on this page.

That afternoon was only the beginning of our massive clothing project. Fitting 80+ kids is going to be a week long process. But on Saturday we drug it out as long as possible. Phionah, Sarah, Scott were all holding up individual pieces of clothing for the kids to admire. With every dress, shirt or shoe they gave a shout. They would have cheered for hours.

For me personally, the highlight was listening to the instruction Sarah gave to the Ranch on Jesus children gathered in the dining hall. Sarah commands the children's attention with her powerful voice and winsome way of communicating. Her insightful balance of humor, illustration, drama and discipline is effective. Its impact is seen every day in the children's behavior. Godly qualities of contentment, gratitude, love, sacrifice and generosity are promoted and exemplified by her. Because before she wants them to be receivers, Sarah wants our kids to be considerate givers.

She directs their attention to the nature of our God, reminding our little ones that all good gifts are from Him. "God not only meets our needs," Sarah preached, "He also satisfies our wants. You will see both of these here for you."

"You don't have to look like orphans," she smiled, "when you have a Heavenly Father to care for you." She told the kids that when they go to visit their relatives wearing their brand new clothes, they can be witnesses of God's love in the Gospel.

And it is true. Even before these new clothes, the children at Ranch on Jesus didn't look like orphans. They looked like healthy, happy children who have joy and hope and a future. This is just icing on the cake.

(Please see the post Let Them Eat Cake for more on this topic and special gift.)

Kyamagero

I know many of you have specifically been praying for our travel and time in Uganda with our 16 month old daughter, Vivian. I thought I would offer a quick account of her experience thus far on the journey.

This is, of course, not Vivian's first trip to the Pearl. Last May she was four months old when we crossed the Atlantic. While the travel and month in a guesthouse wasn't simple, she took to Uganda almost instantly. She was passed around like a pancake and didn't have a care in the world. I was optimistic about this second trip, but still cautious. Toddlers are very different creatures than infants. I honestly had no idea what her reaction would be this time around.

I won't bore you with details of our transit. It wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't serene. It could have been better. But it also could have been much MUCH worse. Vivian had her moments (as all little kids do) but I am pleased to say that this year her mother was much better at taking them in stride.

Before we left the States I made an agreement with myself that this month in Uganda wasn't going to be scheduled. I would make an effort to provide as much structure as I could within reason, and then, I would have to relinquish all control. This means doing things I NEVER do at home. Naps happen when and where they happen. So does bedtime. I am taking each day as it comes, surrendering the familiar rhythm of life I am accustomed to. But so far-it is totally worth it! Life is strange, but it is happy.

Vivian (or Kyamagero as she is lovingly called here) was made to be a culture crossing kid. When we first arrived jetlagged and overwhelmed, she wanted no one besides me. But by Sunday afternoon she was blissfully crawling around the Kamara's living room in only her diaper. She fed herself a large plate of Ugandan chicken and rice, got completely covered in dirt, and beat the cowhide drums with all of her siblings.

There is such sweetness in watching ALL of my children playing to together. I thank God for my crazy child who seems to love our large, extended family as much as we do.

T-minus One Day!

I can hardly believe we'll be winging our way over the Atlantic on a KLM jet this time time tomorrow! I've been so busy getting ready for this trip that I have lost all sense of time. I also feel I have lost a large quantity of brain cells. It will be such a relief to finally be on our way. The preparations are the most challenging part. Once we board the airplane it is all downhill form there!

At least that is my hope...With a 16 month old in my lap the whole flight I am not quite sure what to expect.

I want to thank the many of you who have been faithfully lifting our family and team in prayer. We've already seen much fruit. Our team of girls have been so helpful and getting along great. Despite the chaos my child has been relatively behaved. Scott and I have been getting along decently and have managed to stay amazingly civil admist the stress.

Tomorrow we will long for your prayers more than ever as we head to the Atlanta airport in the afternoon. I must confess that I am not a good traveller. I dislike flying and am nervous on airplanes. This is something I battle every year. I believe it is the enemy's way of veering me off course. Thankfully the Lord has helped me greatly with my fears over the years. And while I still feel somewhat trepidatious and uptight during our travels, I know confidently that my Father holds me safely in His hand.

Every ounce of stress will be forgotten when we exit baggage claim in the Entebbe airport and see the warm smile of Theophilus waiting for us amid the crowd.

Stay tuned...the next post will be coming live from Uganda!

T-minus One Week!

There’s not much time to blog when you’re getting ready to leave the country! Even though I’ve done it a million times…OK…six, gearing up to leave for Uganda always turns into a massive undertaking. Each year our responsibility grows. We’re taking a small team this year. We’re also taking a 16 month old toddler. Coordination, errands, packing lists, etc. have all gotten way more extensive.

In addition to this I have apparently gone into “Mommy Overboard Mode.” Not only did I buy a tremendous amount of new clothing to pack and take to my kids. I also organized a massive gift bag project which is providing 100 children with a personalized canvas goody bag full of presents, candy, craft supplies and MORE! For the last week I have been frequent customer at Target, dreaming about stickers, and cleaning permanent marker off of my hands. I underestimated the physical and mental energy this project would take. I now know why Santa Claus employs so many elves!



Nevertheless, this afternoon as I wearily shoved yoyos and and matchbox cars into their rightful bags it suddenly hit me. I will be on a plane for Uganda in exactly one week! In a few short days these bags will be in the hands of the children at Ranch on Jesus. Imagining each individual child's reaction as they opened their bag of surprises, seeing their joy, their delight, my exhaustion gave full way to enthusiasm.



Every May it is a shock of joy when it truly dawns on me that I will get to put my feet back on Ugandan soil. It seems too good to be true. That after long months of being separated from the dear friends and little ones we are serving, so suddenly we're reunited again. It is that delightful knowledge that is carrying me through this marathon week. The prize at the end of this race is priceless!