Our primary ministry is in leadership training. The evangelical churches are growing at a pretty good rate but they lack depth because of a lack of training both for pastors and for lay people. Few of the pastors have had the opportunity to receive any formal training and when they have there is little training in how to train others. The women are the worst off and are at the bottom of the training chain. Our ministry is to train the trainers of the lay people, help them with the knowledge and skills to lead churches and together with them developing training for the lay people. Our preferred style of training is in small groups with interaction between participants. The typical training method is large groups and lectures.
The area we are working in is central northern Uganda and southeastern Sudan. Both of these areas have been involved in civil unrest for the past two decades. Many of the Sudanese went to northern Uganda to escape the fighting only to find it in Uganda. War in both areas has restricted development but it has caused many to seek Christianity. The terrain is rugged and remote, all roads are dirt and sometimes there is no road but only footpaths.
It would be very simple if all we did was train people but we are also part of the community, which means being involved in people’s lives. We have the only vehicle so many times we have the role of taxi, transport and ambulance. The people are mostly subsistence farmers, which means that there is a low level of income. I am not sure what the dollar per day income is but there are many people in town who work over 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for less than $20 a month.
Reasons for becoming a
missionary
Compelled by the love of God, called by the Spirit of God. 2 Cor. 5:14-15, 20
Reasons for staying a missionary
God’s love and call.
Our ambition: to be pleasing to God in obedience to His call.
2 Cor. 5:9
Family Details
Children – Dirk, Garth and Dylan. All of our sons are living in the Portland metro area. Garth and Dylan are identical twins. None of the boys are married.
Birth dates – Michelle, Nov. 14; Jeff, July 11; Dirk, Nov. 13, 1973; Garth & Dylan, Dec. 21, 1977
Anniversary – Aug. 30, 1969
Living Situation
We live in Adjumani (Town), Uganda, which is about 20 miles, 50 minutes, south of the Sudan border. To me, it has the feel of what I imagine a frontier town would of felt like.
It is basic living with a few niceties brought in by those who think the town has potential. There is town water that is sporadic depending on the season, wet or dry. We have a cistern, which is filled from rainwater run off from our roof. Electricity is supplied from the town generator for 3 to 4 hours a day. It does not reach our house so we depend on solar panels, which actually gives us 24-hour power.
Our house is a western style house with a barbwire-fenced yard. All our neighbors live in huts with grass roofs. The house is fired or burned brick plastered over with a cement coating and a green metal roof. There are 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, garage, and a storage room we are using for an office. Also on the property is a spacious hut with a metal roof.
The seasons are hot, dry, and dusty and hot, wet and humid. During the dry season the people burn the grasslands, which causes grass ash to be mixed with the dust, and of course it covers everything.
There are very few white foreigners living in the district, which gives us some prestige. Michelle and I are the only couple, the rest are single and working for NGOs. There are whites that come and visit for short periods but I don’t remember many couples. Living in Adjumani helps build trust with the people because we are sharing life with them, it also means we receive numerous requests for help, especially in the form of money.
Living in Adjumani means spending a lot of time visiting with people, either going to them or, mostly, them coming to us. These visits are generally unannounced because very few of the people have phones to call in advance.
Speaking of phones, we do have contact with the outside world and in Adjumani, too. Cell phones have developed in many countries because of the cost of landlines. We can call most places in the world and we do have an Internet connection from our mobile phone.
Challenges
Just like everywhere there are challenges to life, some of ours are similar to those in the States and others are unique to life here. I am afraid that I will sound like I am complaining. There is, of course, the challenge of living in the Adjumani environment, at times the heat and the dust, lack of water and such are difficult to live with, but we are always reminded that we are better off than most.
It can get lonely; we haven’t had time to develop deep relationships with others living in Adjumani. Part of the loneliness comes from communication and cultural challenges. Conversation is hardly ever fluid because we need to create understanding; even though people speak English it is not our English. Our American accent is very different from the Ugandan accent and we use different English words for the same things, not to mention all of the idioms.
We are the only Protestant missionaries among 180,000 Ugandan and Sudanese people living in Adjumani District. The myriad of people coming for help can be very depressing because the needs are so great but the resources are few. It is hard to say “No” to such great needs. I think much of the problem is in our own heads, we feel guilty because we have so much compared to them. We want to fix all of the problems and we think that if we don’t meet their needs that they will reject us.
Spiritual challenges include the spiritual warfare that comes from working in an area where most people are involved with the spirit world. Sometimes it is such a part of their culture that they don’t recognize it. We are, ourselves, challenged to remain spiritually nourished in such a spiritually and physically needy place.
Time Difference
We are 11 hours ahead of PST. At noon in Vancouver we are at 11:00 p.m. here in Uganda on the same day.
Uganda Information Address for Financial Information
PO Box 39 CBInternational
Adjumani, Kampala 1501 W. Mineral Ave.
Cell Phone –
011-256-077 701942
Littleton, CO 80120
Sometimes we will be out of cell phone range.