Well, nearly 45 hours from our start………..and we are here.  The trip started out with ease from our first flight.  Our second flight from England to Uganda was back with the masses in coach.  We all dozed off for a few hours and made it after some interesting turbulence approaching Entebbe.  On the ground we were met with airport staff with H1N1 masks and given information about the flu virus.  I guess the internet connection isn’t as reliable and that word hasn’t gotten to this nation that this strain isn’t as virulent as we thought is was going to be.  The greeting from the Emmys at the arrival area was precious as always.  They ushered us to the Miracle van where Driver Emmy climbed up top to our new luggage rack and secured each of these huge 50 pound bags to our vehicle in his bare feet. There was of course help from various other airport workers each trying to earn a tip for watching Driver Emmy do all the work. When it was time to leave our reliable transportation more closely resembled the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine both inside with our crushed velvet interior and out.  We were off.

We made it through the masses of Kamapala (even watching Pastor Doug Clark chasing down a boy with an Ohio State jacket on for a picture). We noticed right away a big change:  infrastructure is arriving to this nation. The potholes are being filled.  Not only that……..they are expanding the roads and growing.  It may not be with the road crew that we are used to in the states, but work is getting done.  We were 1/3 of our way in to our journey before we hit our first pothole.

We stopped at the Equator and had a good little visit.  We were all fascinated with the “Did you know?” guy who stands there and shows you the rotation of water one way on the northern hemisphere and the opposite direction on the southern hemisphere a few feet away.    They he showed us no rotation at all on the equator.  We saw a school of children there watching the same thing we did. 

My eyes were glued across the street at one of the stores to these two children, smiling just sitting so contently.  We found for them a cookie and such joy was the result………..

We made a few other stops with Doug leading the way in this department.  He’ll tell ya he never called for a stop, but he wins the prize at examining closely the many varieties of plants that grow alongside the road.  Mr C found a way to penetrate the wilderness the furthest at one point but wants to make it clear he didn’t call for any stops on his own.  Jay, Monica and myself as veterans made this bladder training voyage with a little more ease than the others.

The middle of the journey began to show the most striking thing of the journey………dryness. This land outside of Kampala is parched, brown and oh so dusty.  Thousands of people are dying for lack of water and the inability to grow crops in the land devoid of rain. What a difference from last trip and the floods of November.  Adding this to the road construction and you would think we were hundreds of miles north in the Sahara. 

This is when it got a bit tough. We were all worn out, exhausted and now dealing with the road and the conditions.  Driver Emmy did not let it wipe the smile off his face or the laugh from his voice. He is quite excited to be one of the 12 couples getting married tomorrow with his bride Mary.  He told me of the small shop he and his wife started outside their home selling a few items just to try and make something to live on. You see we live in a country with unemployment of single digit percentages and think the sky is falling when our 401Ks and retirements shrink to a smaller fraction.  Over here in Uganda, unemployment is 65%.   And even if you do have a job it may not cover most of your expenses and the necessary resources like for Driver Emmy and his family of four.  He told me more than once yesterday,  “thank you so much for all that you are doing for us.”   He is so grateful for the little that is provided to him.  What a blessed man he is to drive this Miracle van to every speaking opportunity for Pastor Emmy and some of the others.  All of us would have a bigger faith and a bigger smile or “seka” as they say in Uganda if that was the case.

It got tough near the end of the trip and then the Lord provided some spiritual refreshment. Just off the side of the road, there stood before us ……“the Chicken church”  Covered with dust you would hardly recognize or notice it.  We had left Tyler Tx Wed July 22 at 1pm. The current local time was Friday afternoon, 4pm.   The locals at the church had been waiting for us since 1pm.  Immediately upon entering we were greeted by Pastor Johnson, his son Leonard the drummer and his wife and daughter leading worship.  We soaked up the Spirit and it provided the much needed rest and break from the travel. Ashley said….”it was good to see why we came so far.” We were impressed by the number of men present in the congregation which was impressive. Worshipping the Lord wholeheartedly. The children would come up one at a time and make their way up to the platform .  I think Jay got the most hugs of all of us. Kristin got some great photos af these children and the worship we experienced.  I shared about the poor widow’s offering and thanked Pastor Johnson and his church for teaching me the lesson on how to give.  It was in this church in March of 2008 where the Lord showed me what true giving was all about.  Giving is measured not is what  the size of the gift is or how loudly we announce it …..but rather what is left over after we have given in a quiet humble way.  I thanked them for showing me with their humble and sacrificial offerings to God.  Then we watched Pastor Johnson offer us all a cool Coca-Cola.  I don’t know how it stayed cool but it was and it tasted great.  That of course was not it……..he then proceeded to give us 3 handmade baskets, a personalized gourd, a small watermelon , a pineapple, some bananas and some eggs.  Here in a country of people starving from food and unable to grow crops,  he was offering some of his best to us as a gift and thanks.  I concluded and mentioned I would be back with my 2 daughters and Monica for Christmas and we would come again to visit.  God is so good.

We arrived at the hotel and we greeted by our friend Milton the bell boy. We got all 13 bags and our carry on items up the stairs………….thankful for our arrival and eagerly awaiting the big wedding tomorrow…………Goodnight from a blessed tired bunch from the tiny town of Mbarara Uganda.

Last year Alissa brought home several books from the Christian bookstore for me.  There were several different kinds, but one in particular struck a cord with me.  It’s called, When Crickets Cry, by Charles Martin.  It’s a novel based in the present day southeast.  It involves a story with medical themes woven into it, but more importantly, it is about a relationship between four very different people in different points of life that have just intermingled around one little sick girl.  This probably sounds like many books, but if you take the time to read it, you’ll understand why I love it so much.  Charles Martin has the ability to take you along with the characters, and when it’s over, you want them to be your actual friends involved in your real life.   I’ve read several other books by him and they are all great, but this one is still my favorite.  Consider giving this book/author a read.

He was distracted when he heard an airplane. 

Then he showed me the look of exhaustion, so it was time to quit. 

I’m really enjoying the book Crazy Love, by Francis Chan.  I use the word enjoy loosely.  It’s more like being informed, convicted of my ways, then enjoying the process of growth after the fact.  We went over a couple of the chapters in my community group last night.  One of the main ideas I left with was living with the perception that everyone we come in contact with is Jesus.  This comes from the scripture where Jesus tells some folks that if they do or don’t feed, clothe, serve, and love others, then they are or aren’t doing it to Him.    Let this sink in a bit.  Jesus, our savior, feels so strongly about reaching out to others that He sees no distinction between them and Himself.  They’re one and the same.  Serving anyone is serving Him.  That makes me think about my life and daily interactions.  I know I can’t do everything for everyone, but what am I doing?  If I really want to live by scripture, the question to ask is, “am I doing everything that I can do?”  That’s a daring place to live.  Do I trust God enough to tell Him I want to do everything that I can do?  What will He ask of me if I do that?  I can’t imagine the joy and fulfilment of living that way.  Can’t say I’m living that way right now, though, but it’s a process.   

I recommend to anyone to read this book.  It really is motivating to live deeper in Christ and put your all into His love.

“Maybe you have already made sacrifices.  If so, you have already seen that in some ways it gets easier, doesn’t it?  You have witnessed the benefits of giving and are blessed because of it.  But it gets harder, too.  The temptation to level off increases with each passing year.  Pride tells you that you’ve sacrificed more than others.  Fear tells you it’s time to worry about the future.  Friends say you’ve given enough, that it’s someone else’s turn now.  But Jesus says to keep on and you will see more of God.  Do we really believe that it ought the be the business of every day to prepare for our final day?”

I want to always have in mind that there is another life ahead.  How important are some of the things in life that we concern ourselves with anyway?  Do we ever get to the point where we have paid our dues to God?  God deserves more than we could ever give Him, and we will never “arrive” spiritually.

Leads to

Fortunately they’ll both chew

Barret family, Emmy and his wife

Some friends of my wife and I have begun a fantastic effort to support some lovely people in Uganda recently.  Monica met pastor Emmy while in Africa over a year ago, and the Lord spurred an avalanche of activity ever since.  They got to go as a family in the spring and continued to fall in love with the people that pastor Emmy helps.  He overseas about 30 village churches, and on top of that he runs an orphanage and school for about 150 kids.  Our friends started a non-profit organization and have been sending crucial financial support, as well as introducing Emmy and his ministry to other people for support.  It has been a year of struggles for this family, but they have survived with the Lord’s strength, and a trip is planned for next week to return.  Wonderful things are happening with Emmy and his community.  They’ve been able to buy a banana plantation for food and to sell the produce, as well as building a govenment mandated fence, school uniforms, and pay teachers’ salaries that would otherwise go unpaid.  It’s a wonderul four person team going next week and they need your prayers.  I know the local Ugandan’s lives are being blessed, but so are our friends’ and those along side them with this ministry. Their website is below under “tagged”.