Back: Pr Fred, Leslie, AlexFront: Pr George, Mukaya, Vickie
A small business-as-mission café on Main Street in Jinja
would be the place we’d gather for our twice annual team development meeting.
The Source Café is a well known muzungu lunch spot and while we work hidden
away in the library, the café fills to capacity.
Our seclusion, though, bodes well for the activities and
teaching that...
Friday, May 30, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
First Baptist Church Kawaida
The beautiful tea fields of Kibubuti and Kentmere cover the
rolling hills of Kawaida, Kenya. Kenya is known for its coffee and tea
plantations and the many hands of those living in Kawaida make that reputation
possible. Working for such a farm, though, often means laboring in the hot African
sun 6-7 days each week from sun up to sun down. Such labor often results in not
quite enough money to pay...
Friday, May 23, 2014
Jacaranda Creations in Marurui Slum
Having visited the Marurui branch of Jacaranda Creations
several times before, I was surprised to find a newly paved road leading up to
the very edge of this area. That new road contrasts starkly with the narrow
bumpy lanes leading through the Marurui slum in Kenya. This slum boasts power
lines and paths barely wide enough for vehicles, but still vehicles can be
found traveling through. One of the...
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Kenya Care Wear
As I approached the small door that would lead us to the
inner sanctum, the smell of urine permeated my nostrils. Latrines are often
shared by more than 100 people who must pay money to use it. Most people don’t
have access to money or sanitation, so they’ll squat in a plastic bag (a
floating toilet) or relieve themselves along the allies or ditches. Their 6 ‘x8’
shanty houses are made of tin and...
Monday, May 12, 2014
Four Church Tour
The first two churches in which I preached were known to me
from our teaching and visiting last September. At that time, Jesus Cares Center
declared that I was the first missionary to have ever come to their area. It’d
been long since that teaching and reconnecting with these people to encourage
them was most definitely a highlight.
The second two churches were new to me, I think Pr Tsofa
knows...
Grace Abundance Church in Watamu
The former church location was a sliver of land just big
enough to erect four posts for a modest temporary structure. When Pastor Owino
showed me that sliver after having removed the structure…I was shocked at just
how small it really was and how tightly it fit next to all the other
surrounding structures.
Early one weekday morning the land owner informed Pastor
Owino that he’d have to move by...
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Child Sponsorship and Tuition
Students commonly board at school and as much as I disliked the
idea at first, I see that the benefits of boarding far outweigh the detriments.
For example, children in village who are fortunate enough to attend school have
access to focused study (rather than doing gardening or other role-related
work), they have access to lights for evening study (rather than an empty paraffin
lamp), they have access to water for keeping clean (as opposed to hauling water
for hours for the whole family), they’re...
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Bundibugyo Borders Congo
Robert and Bishop show off the beautiful river.
The gorgeous Rwenzori mountains in the background.
These bodabodas (piki pikis, since their on the Congo side) are waiting
for passengers headed to the next town. Most border crossers walk and
the guards say they can't tell who is from where anymore.
The river is used for everything from washing bikes and motorcycles
to clothing...
Surprised by Hope Sustainability
Surprised by Hope strives to reach 50% self-sustaining and
50% supported giving ministry income. We’re not all the way there yet, but part
of that self-sustenance includes reselling handcraft products made by a few of
our ministry partners. I want to take a minute to highlight the work Tony and
Marti Mehari do to help achieve our goal. Here’s a message from Marti:
Tony and I were in Mason MI
today...
Saturday, May 3, 2014
IDP Camp Orphans
War torn countries often find themselves in need of military
protection. The [war between Uganda and Congo in 1997] created exactly that
situation for the small town of Bundibugyo, which is situated in the foothills
of the Rwenzori mountains. Just a few kilometers away from the Congolese border
inside Uganda, military leaders found themselves compelled to establish an
Internally Displaced People...
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