The Lake and Lanterns

Hello Everyone,

I can't believe it's been almost a month again! Time time time, what a struggle. Since my last post I have had many direct encounters with the Lord and many life changing experiences, unfortunately with power being out again I only have enough time to write about one. The focus of this post will be Musana Camps.

Musana Camps is a new ministry and extension of New Hope Uganda positioned high on the banks of Lake Victoria. I was fortunate enough to spend a portion of my short holiday from school visiting this amazing new outreach. The words to describe how beautiful it is don't exist, all I can say is that the Lord truly loves us and has created beauty on this earth far beyond anything I could ever imagine. If anyone has doubts about whether or not our world is a product of God's love, imagination, and perfect plan, Musana Camps would take away those doubts! The camp itself is exactly that, a camp, tents and pit latrines. There's no AC and no power for that matter. Granted the power here(New Hope Uganda) is sketchy at best, the closest power line is about 15 miles away. That doesn't sound like much coming from a country where you have to drive farther than that for Church on sunday, but here it's equivalent to about 60-80 miles...through jungle! It's a world away and takes you to a place where I don't think there could be fewer distractions. God feels very close and the "world" very distant.

Our drive there was anything but easy with winding, twisting, forked, washed out "roads" it's a tense 2 hour trek to get from the nearest paved road. Granted 2 hours doesn't sound bad, the reality is you're only traveling about 45-50 km or about 30 miles. Once again though, it's completely worth it and it makes your arrival that much more of a blessing! Getting back to the states I'll definitely appreciate, even more than I already do, driving 75ish on the interstate....that's a speed that isn't realistic here, even on pavement. I wish there was some way I could convey the true emotions and experiences I had while I was there but I don't even know if it's possible. The only way would be to try when I get back, so be ready, I have many stories!

Unfortunately, I am sitting here in lantern light which means my computer battery is slowly being drained. Hopefully the power comes back tomorrow and last for a few hours at least, but there's clearly no rhyme or reason to when it's on and when it's off. Once again I want to say thank you for all your prayers and support! It's been amazing and I know that's in no small part to all the spiritual help I'm receiving from home. There are a couple requests I have, the main one is for Musana Camps. Right now they're dealing with a land dispute with some squatters who refuse to honor the deed they have for purchasing the land. Please pray for the safety of the camp staff and that the dispute would be resolved in a way that ministers to the hearts of the people who live in the surrounding jungle. Thank you again for everything, even taking the time to be interested in what's happening here and how God's word is being spread all around the world!

God Bless,

Andrew

Holiday!

Hello everyone,

Today is the first official, no school, no class, no grading day of "holiday" here in Uganda. While the circumstances surrounding the amount of time we have off from school and teaching is a bit of a frustrating and long story, it feels good to finally have a break. I hadn't really thought about it until a couple weeks ago but since the day after I landed I've been trying to figure out how to teach here and how to acclimate myself to Uganda. It's a good feeling to know that only with the Lord's strength, wisdom, and guidance have I been able to be successful over the last two months.

With that said it has been a struggle at times and there have been many challenges that are still coming everyday. Hopefully some day I will be able to translate them from the thoughts and feelings within me, to some form that I can communicate to others. Until then though I just want to thank you all again, and I can't do it enough, for your prayers and support. The Lord is doing amazing things here and He never ceases to amaze me weather it's through the people, His creation, a revelation during the time I spend with Him, and anything and everything else. His grace and love is unending and overwhelming! More to come soon, hopefully tomorrow!

God Bless,

Andrew

Attempt 3

Hello everyone,

It seems like time here has a different feel to it than time back home. While we know that the Lord exists outside our everyday perception of time, when coming from the west it seem as if Uganda and nearly all of Africa also operate on their own definition of time. Obviously I haven't been here long enough fully understand to what extent the time back home and time here are different. Unfortunately, I have begun to grasp the fundamentals and it's very easy to become more relaxed and forget that you need to "keep time." With that said I'll get to the point of my paragraph, I'm sorry for the length of time between posts. Days here all seem to run together into one long continuous string of events, it seems like I'm always taking my malaria medication, in reality it's a once a day tablet. That's just an example of how things move along here, but onto the actual post.

I'll begin by thanking the Lord for His guidance and provision during this uneasy time in Uganda. While in the U.S. we are no strangers to the "war on terror" and the harsh reality of what man is capable of doing to their fellow man, I've never been as close to it as I was a week ago. Granted where I am and where the blasts occurred are worlds apart in terms of population and political significance, it was still only two Ugandan hours away.

Now, this is the point where I've struggled on my last three post attempts, what's next?

Being here is so completely different than anything I've ever experienced let alone tried to convey to someone else through words. The events that took place a week ago stirred many emotions throughout the country, the people, the government, everyone and everything had an opinion, comment, or some other way of conveying it. I suppose in a sense this is my outlet. My specific feeling was a mixture of sadness and something that resembled anger. It's hard to describe, mostly because the position I'm in here is still very new and in itself hard to describe. Maybe I'll be able to write more about it in a different post, but now for the sake of finishing this post and actually posting it I'll let that be the end.

Hopefully the power is decent this week so I can write about the things I've been doing and fill all of you in on the details. Until then, please pray for Uganda and how the Lord is using the death of 74 of His children. Also please pray the the Lord gives me guidance as I set/write my term finals. I hope all is well in the States and I miss you all very much!

God Bless,

Andrew

Definitely Not North Dakota

Happy July!

While it may not be Independence Day yet I feel compelled to wish you all a Happy 4th! I would like give my portion of our family fireworks display to Phillip, I know you'll put them to the best use. Being in Uganda brings to mind the "joke" about whether or not other nations have a 4th of July. I never really thought I would be in a situation where that would be aplicable, now it is. Unfortunately I will greatly miss all those things associated with our country's independence, fortunately, I can look forward to making up for it next year! Well that's enough about what I'm going to miss, back to what's happening on this side of the world.

Everyday I learn new things, and everyday there are multiple cultural differences that cause me to laugh a little to myself. This week's most evident and surprising is the "stapling machine." Yes, in all respects it is identical in purpose and function to any stapler, the only difference is geographical location. While it may not seem like much of a difference and definitely not something to laugh about let alone write about. It was and is to me one of those things that struck me as interesting. The names for many things here take on a much different and more descriptive direction. I honestly looked up the definition of a machine and stapling machine is quite accurate. Be that as it may I still have to stifle a chuckle every time I hear it!

Another interesting occurrence this week was the discovery of the shed skin from a python. That sentence along definitely doesn't make it seem like it was much of an occasion, but the picture speaks for itself. After taking that picture I measured the skin and it was about 9'2" long meaning, from what I understand, the snake is somewhere from 12-14' long. Granted that's just an estimate but it's still quite humbling to think that somewhere in bush surrounding our school there's a snake that's quite capable of swallowing me. With that said, please don't worry. I wrote about it to express another difference between North Dakota and Uganda, definitely not to cause anyone to fear for my life. Seeing a snake that size is very rare and not at all something to be concerned about!

Well that appears to be all I have for today. Once again thank you for your prayers, I couldn't be doing this with out them. Please continue to pray for me as today is moving day for me. Because of the constant shifting of personnel I'm being moved to a family's guest house or banda. The move itself won't be very stressful but it causes me to almost start the relationship building process over again which is that hardest part here. Please pray God continues to give me wisdom and strength. Thank you all for everything and Happy Independence Day!

God Bless,

Andrew

Uganda

To begin what will hopefully become a more regular occurrence, I would like to give God the Father all the glory for everything that I write and communicate. He is the author of my life I am merely a vessel for the continued growth of His kingdom here on earth.

From the beginning of this opportunity it was made quite clear to me that there would be no possible way I could do this myself. The realization has only been reenforced in the month or so I've been here! When people say "it's small world," they are often referring to similarities that span the globe. While that sentiment holds true in some aspects here, in other's the 10,000 mile gap between Uganda and where I've spent the last 24 years of my life is very evident! With that said let me start at the beginning, hopefully I can catch you all up to speed.

On March 22, 2010 I received a phone call from a good friend informing me that there was a teaching position which needed to be filled at New Hope Academy, New Hope Uganda. At first the excitement was almost overwhelming! I had been seeking direction in my life and this seemed like an opportunity God was giving me to not only serve Him but stretch and challenge myself in a whole new way. After receiving more information, praying, and seeking counsel my feelings were reaffirmed and I applied. Within days the Lord answered, not only through the offering of the position, but also by providing a ticket on the same day!

Following my acceptance things began to happen very quickly! I had only a short period of two months to prepare for a six month commitment. Once again the Lord provided, through prayer and generous gifts from friends and family everything came together and I flew out on May 28th, 2010. Again the Lord blessed me throughout the trip by providing little things like seats with good leg room and overall safety.

After roughly 20 hours of flight time I touched down in Uganda at 7:45 a.m. July 1st. With the struggles of preparation and travel behind me the real challenge was only beginning! Arriving a week into the current school term I was very anxious to get into the classroom and hopefully avoid playing catchup with them. My first day began with me trying to wade through a pile of tests, papers, notes, books, and various other forms of teaching materials, not exactly what I had in mind! The education system I walked into shared few similarities with the one I spent 17 years in back home. Thus began the real challenge, one which I will continue to struggle with until my time here is finished.

Thankfully the Lord has continued to give me daily guidance and things are beginning to become more natural. The children here are amazing and God is doing wonderful things in their lives through New Hope. Unfortunately, teenagers are teenagers no matter what continent you're on so that in itself brings with it a certain number of daily challenges that need to be overcome. In my time here I have seen the Lord do amazing things in and around me and I know that is because of your prayers! I would like to ask that you all pray for continued guidance as I work to teach the students about agriculture and God's plan for them. Also please continue to pray for my health. There are so many things here my body has never encountered before and it's only by God's grace that I've been able to avoid any form of illness.

Hopefully this post has helped answer some questions about what I'm doing and how I'm doing. I will definitely try to keep updating on a consistent basis so I don't have to cover so much time in one post! Thank you all for your prayers and support! I miss home and everyone there but time is going quickly and I will be back before you know it. I'm praying for you all!

God Bless,

Andrew