August 24th - A day of gratitude

We're back in the states! Thank you all for the many prayers! Countless things could have gone wrong, but didn't. Instead, the trip was a resounding success, and we were able to be an encouragement to many while in Africa. We also are extremely grateful for the opportunity God gave us to go and for the many things which we learned along the way.

Looking back at the trip, there are a few particularly memorable things which pervaded the lives of some of our friends: Joy, Humility, & Passion.

The joy some shared was not dependant on circumstances. Young kids living in the Mathare slums of Nairobi flashed huge smiles to us as we walked by and wave. The Waswas, living in what most Americans would consider to be a very poor standard of living, were extremely joyous and generous too, sharing what little they had. Many of our African friends have simply chosen to rejoice.

I could hardly believe how servant-hearted many of the people we visited are. Rhoda-Paul, Pastor Jerome, and Pastor Joshua, and many, many more, amazed me. I was amazed to witness such love and sacrificial humility. This attitude was displayed in many ways. The honor they shared in greeting us, the gracious hospitality shown by our many hosts, the sacrifice of time made to assist us in our travels, and the many selfless acts of service done on our behalf all astounded us.

The tremendous passion and hunger for more of God which some portrayed was inspiring. Many who we visited were extremely hungry to learn more about our amazing God. Through prayer, actions, and attitude, they are pursuing God, not just sitting back and waiting for God to pursue them, and they are beginning to reap many blessings from God as they continue their pursuits.

We will continue in prayer for our many friends in Africa, and we know that they are still praying for us as well. While we don't have another trip scheduled to Africa, we have many friends praying for God to bring us back. We'll see what happens... we live for an amazing God of possibilities! Wherever God takes us, we know that our God continues to stand with us, and he'll continue to amaze us each step of the way.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
- Ephesians 3:20-21

August 23rd - A day of blessing

At a quarter to 6, we woke in Jerome & Stella's brick home in the rural village of Kyangwali. All three of us, Bonny, Levi, and I had enjoyed a great night of sleep.

Pastor Jerome, Solomon, and Pastor Danny rose to see us off. At about 6:30, Gerald picked us up in his car to head to Hoima. He had also driven us to the village the day before.

The sunrise was breath-takingly colorful. The red road contrasted with the green plants, and the blueing sky had shades of orange --- quite the sight!

Arriving in Hoima at about 8:30, Bonny found a guest house at which we could clean up. We then left our bags with a friend of Bonny's and walked around town for a bit.

After breakfast, we visited the home of Mercy, a lady who takes care of 3 girls and 9 boys who have been orphaned.

Although Mercy was in Kampala at the time, we were able to encourage and bless Harriet and her children as well as several neighbors who help her.

Harriet assists Mercy, caring for the 9 boys along with her own two boys.

We rode via motorcycle to the school that Mercy oversees, there were about 40 kids there with four adults. Bonny introduced us to the group and we spent a short time with them. Levi shared a bit on hope in Jesus. We prayed for them, and they prayed for us.

Our bus for Kampala left at 2pm. Just before the end of the trip, the rain poured hard and jammed up the downtown streets, so we left the bus and walked to catch a matatu to Entebbe.

In Entebbe, we visited Jalia, an ex-muslim who leads a church there. We prayed and talked with her and several other church leaders, encouraging them, and they prayed for us.

We caught another matatu for a very short ride back to a main street in Entebbe, and there transferred to an airport taxi.

The conversation another passenger Ivan was a great encouragement. He was incredibly open to accepting Jesus, and prayed with Levi almost immediately. He works for the airline which we will be flying on, and almost immediately after receiving Jesus he non-chalantly stated:
'Maybe I'll see you up there...'.
Yep, we'll definitely see him up there. :-)


We arrived at the airport and said goodbye to Bonny.

God set us up with a flight delay, which actually enabled us to talk with quite a few people right there in the airport about Jesus. There were numerous conversations at this point, as we've so far been in the airport for over 8 hours. Our flight is now scheduled to leave at 7am in the morning local time, that's 9pm back home.

We're trusting God for our safe return!

August 22nd - A day of ministry

Waking at 5am in Kampala, Bonny, Levi, and I packed our things and left the hotel. We could find no bus leaving for Hoima until 8am, and so boarded that one.

The journey to Hoima was smooth, taking us about 3 hours. We caught a bit more sleep on this bus and had a few small snacks.

Next, in Hoima, Bonny found a private car and driver to take us to Kyangwali, a small village a couple of hours to the southwest.

The countryside here in Uganda, especially along this road, is extremely beautiful and colorful.

We arrived in Kyangwali at about 2pm, and were introduced to Pastor Jerome and his wife, Stella, and to Pastor Danny and his wife, Dovie.

We then joined the church at the revival conference there.

Praise & worship continued joyously for a few minutes, then transitioning into a teaching time.

Levi led the group, about 100 people, in more praise and shared on encouragement and prophetic ministry.

More praise and prayer continued, and a police officer's back was healed and came forward to share about it.

Pastor Jerome led introductions of church leaders and many of them spoke briefly, greeting us.

Around 5pm, we broke for dinner. The pastors talked with us, as we ate ground corn dipped in beans and rice. The police chief Michael, commited his life to Jesus during dinner.

The church had also planned a crusade for the evening in the market center. After dinner, we headed to the main street, inviting people as we went. The music started soon after we arrived.

Many choir groups and people sang, drawing people in for about an hour, until there was quite a crowd, about 250 people.

Levi shared a salvation message about our God who loves us. He spoke about the prodigal son and invited people to accept Jesus.

Three people came forward to accept Jesus! We prayed with them and for them.

We then had a time of healing ministry and prayer. As far as we know, all who had been experiencing pain, about 30-40 people, were healed by the end of the night!

Several people shared testimonies of what God had done for them and as the service winded down, we continued walking through the crowd and praying with people.

Back at Jerome's house, we talked more with friends and enjoyed a dinner of cooked and mashed plantain banana and Nile Patch fish.

We prayed for and blessed the family and friends there, and headed to bed for the night there in Pastor Jerome's house.

We begin our return trip on Thursday. Please continue joining us in prayer for the people here and for the work God is doing! We're extremely thankful for you all and we're praising God with you for all that he continues to do!

August 21st - A day with friends

Having slept quite well, we talked to a few families who lived near
the hotel, talked amongst ourselves, and relaxed for a while.

Deborah, a lady who works at the guest house, prepared a meal for us,
and we ate some.

Bonny's fiancee, Goretti, arrived and Levi and I went with her to her
house riding on the back of three bicycles for 500sh ($0.19) each.

At her house, we ate breakfast prepared by Goretti, casava, a whole
talapia fish, and instant coffee.

Having met her four kids and her niece, we all prayed for each other
and then walked to where Bonny had found a car.

We rode in the town car, which was carrying 11 people total, to
Apapia, the village of Goretti's parents.

There were many agricultural crops in the village, casava, sweet
potatoes, orange trees, peanuts... We prayed for Goretti's mother, who
was sick, and we talked with Bonny and Goretti about their vision to
grow rice on some of their unused land.

The town car returned and took us back to Soroti, with another full
load of people.

Levi and Bonny talked with a few people in the car about the gospel.
David, a man in the back,
gave his heart to Jesus. A Jehovah's witness and a follower of William
Branham tried to start a theological debate after we presented the
gospel to them. They ended up debating with each other quite
fervently.

When we got to town, we split up. Bonny and I retrieved the luggage
and checked out of our rooms, while Goretti and Levi checked for bus
tickets and stopped at the bank.

The buses were sold out, so we boarded a matatu to Mbale with Bonny,
saying goodbye to Goretti.

A girl named Anna ended up getting healed of shoulder pain on the
matatu. And the gospel was presented to the entire van. We also prayed
for Mary, a lady with Kidney problems, for a man with a recurring
toothache, for a young boy sick with measels, and for a boy with a
skin fungus on his head.

Once in Mbale, we caught another matatu to Kampala. We slept quite a
bit on this one.

Arriving in Kampala around 10:30pm, we checked into a hotel for 30000sh ($13).

We prayed together and called it a night.

We plan to be off to Hoima in the morning!


Bonny shared a prayer request that the church would have a renewed
passion for God, not being lukewarm. Pray with us also for the
ministry in Hoima on Wednesday.

God bless you all!

August 20th - A day of the matatu

We woke just after 8am at Francis & Veronica Waswa's farm in Majengo.

For breakfast we enjoyed fresh mashed plantain bananas, avacados, tea,
and some serious corn on the cob that can fill a body up more than
anything else.

We spent a bit of time with the family there, encouraging and blessing them.

Lampstone and Scholastic, his oldest sister, took us around the
village. As we walked around, we greeted many friends of the Waswas
and saw the primary school, some churches, a soccer field, and
friends' houses.

We were already running later than we'd hoped, so we said goodbye to
most of the family and started walking towards the main road.

A man who had gone to school with Lampstone picked us up on our way
and dropped us off at the highway.

We said goodbye to Lampstone and his brother, and boarded a matatu
headed to the border town of Malaba at about 11am.

We sat in the front in this first matatu of the day, however, it was a
very slow ride, stopping at each small town.

We transferred to an express matatu in Bungoma which put us in Malaba at 1pm.

After meeting Bonny Onyango, a local missionary, we waited in line,
Kenya side, and received our exit stamps.

Then walked across the border into Uganda, but due to confusion
receiving our entry visas took nearly an hour.

After being processed by border security and finally receiving our
entry visas, we walked through the gate. We'd made it! Praise God!

We boarded another matatu to Mbale. This too was a slow ride, stopping
often to load/unload passengers. The fullest for this matatu was 18
adults and 5 small kids plus a large amount of luggage and containers
on top of the van. :-)

In Mbale, we purchased some snacks to go and boarded a matatu to
Soroti. Once full, this van was an express. Inside were 21 adults, a
good amount of luggage, and a gagged chicken which we didn't know
about until we arrived.

In Soroti, the three of us caught rides on motorcycles to a guest
house, arriving at about 11pm.

We were very dirty, but very thankful for the safe journey!


Notes & praises:

We're thanking God for the many ways he continues to bless this trip.

Yogurt has been a great snack to keep us going the past couple days.

People here can carry so much on their heads. Here are a few things
we've seen...
Without a hand to stabilize:
Sacks of produce or flour, buckets with dry contents, 20" wash basins
filled with random items, basket
With a hand:
Very large luggage items, brush for firewood, large buckets of water.


Prayer requests:

An effective ministry here in Uganda. Our main ministry day here is
planned for Wednesday.

Wisdom and guidance for decisions which may need to be made.

Continued health and travel safety.

August 19th - A day of adventure

We took tea this morning with Pastor Japheth and his wife Serena, and
then left for church. As we left, we greeted Robert, a man who works
for the Pastor, and then arrived at church at about 9:15am.

Praise songs marked the start of first service.

The young children shared songs and bible stories with me outside the
church building while Levi shared on encouragement & prophetic
ministry inside.

For second service inside the church sung more praises, then, after I
spoke shortly on being eternally focused, Levi shared on true hope.

Leaving the service before the end, we ate a quick lunch because of
our tightly scheduled bus connection.

After some time, we caught a very nice bus with Pastor Joshua,
Lampstone, & Janet from Makindu to Nairobi. This was about a 2 hour
bus ride.

In Nairobi we walked for a while and caught a matatu to Eldoret with
the newlyweds, saying goodbye to Pastor Joshua. We ate some Papaya
while waiting for the van to fill. I sat next to Martin, a university
teacher who loves Jesus. He and his wife have been married for five
years are trusting God for kids. This bus took about 5 hours, stopping
briefly in Nakuru for a break and for snacks.

In Eldoret, we caught another matatu to take us to Lampstone's parents
house. However, since it was about a quarter after midnight, the
matatu took a while to fill up with passengers, so we had some time to
walk around a bit first.

After all three of us guys relieved ourselves in the shadows, a police
officer stopped me and asked about it. He hadn't seen anyone else, and
was mainly trying to get a bribe from us. Levi asked him for his name,
and I asked if we could pray for him as another police officer walked
up. The second police officer said that he would bring his buddy back
to be prayed for in the morning, and they then left. :-)

It was still taking a very long time to fill last couple seats, so we
bought another seat for 200sh ($2.50) so that we could get moving.

Swahili praise songs played quitely in the matatu as we moved towards
our night's final destination. It was nice to relax again while on the
road.

We had a driver who was willing to go about 2 km off the main road to
get us to directly to our night's abode. However, after coming too far
off the road, our van became stuck in the soft dirt beside the corn
field, about 30 meters from where we were to stay.
After about 45 minutes with all the men out of the car pushing, asking
for the 'big light' (my phone), and moving rocks and corn stalks, we
finally got the van back on the road, and unloaded our luggage.

We were then welcomed by Lampstone's family into the Waswa kome. It is
a small mud hut with a metal roof. After short greetings, we headed to
bed, at about 4am.


Notes & Praises:

We are very thankful for how each piece in this trip keeps fitting
together. God has our back each step of the way.

Getting a vehicle unstuck seems to be a great African male bonding
experience. All seemed a bit amused, though relieved that we were able
to get it back on the road.

We plan to head into Uganda tomorrow and meet with another friend.
Keep us in your prayers!

August 18th - A day of celebration

Saturday was Lampstone and Janet's wedding day!

The wedding was scheduled to start at 10am, but schedules here are often very flexible. :-)

At about noon we caught a ride and found our spot at the beginning of the wedding parade. The parade took us to the church where the wedding was to take place.

The church choir had already started singing. They led us in many praise songs. Next, the wedding procession started and the wedding party began to take their places.

The bride entered the church at about 2pm. There was much dancing through the procession and we jumped into a few more praise songs.

Pastor Japheth gave a message on love and honor.

The parents came up to marry the couple off.

The couple exchanged vows and rings.

Pastors came up to bless the couple.

Marriage certificates were signed.

The exit procession began at about 4pm and we immediately transitioned into taking group photos.

After photos people were transported to the reception area where more celebrations commenced!

At the reception everyone enjoyed a giant meal.

Further festivities included dancing, cake cutting, gift giving.

Cake serving is done by the bride and groom and friends come up to be served by them, receiving a piece of cake directly in their mouth.

The party slowly transitioned to a close as it got dark and we rode away with the bride and groom.

After getting the newlyweds moved into their hotel, we went to Pastor Japheth's home for the night.

We talked with Pastor Japheth and his wife Serena and took tea with them.

Then Levi and I talked for a while longer and we headed to bed.

Notes & praises:

Lampstone & Janet are married!

Even the little kids here can pack so much food away!

Goat intestines are a delicacy here. They look a little like fried mushrooms but are much chewier.

We've driven by and/or stayed at hotels of many different star ratings. :-) I think they have a little bit different rating system here.