Bible College Update

I wanted to come to Uganda for several years and had a vision for working in the Bible college here in Kampala.  But the Bible college closed before I could come.  So I came anyway in March 2011 and helped CC Kampala with its church operations.  About two years later, I was asked to reopen Calvary Chapel Bible College Uganda.

Putting the school back together wasn’t easy, but I felt that I should “go in the strength that you have” from Judges 6:14.  With help from church staff and former students, we re-opened the school in August 2014.

This is now the fourth semester, and the student body has grown and grown.  Our main classroom is nearly at capacity.  The growth is from God; nobody else can be given the credit.

Francis teaching Christian business principles & ethics

Innocent Bob, student in the Guitar & Worship class

This June is the first graduating class.  This August we expect a student from the Murrieta Bible College to come take classes with us.  We are excited for what God is doing here in Kampala!

John Eastham

Calvary Chapel Bible College Uganda

Life in Uganda - Caveat Emptor & Making the Best of Every Situation

A lot about living in Africa can be summarized with the phrase caveat emptor, Latin for “let the buyer beware,” and making the best of every situation.

I recently bought a kilo (2.2 pounds) of frozen tilapia.  Or that is what printed on the box.  When Lily was cutting up the meat to make Chinese fish dumplings, she realized that not all of the fish was tilapia.  About half a pound was Nile perch.  The problem is that Nile perch has a strong fishy taste that we don’t like.  The mix-up in the processing plant and either due to a worker’s apathy or incompetence; perch is a very large fish while tilapia is not.

Lily used what tilapia she had to make the fish dumplings., but there was still a half pound of perch left.  With some creative thinking, she decided to make the best of it.  Lily grabbed some seasoned bread crumbs, onion, and other ingredients and used the perch to make some yummy fish cakes.

So, next time a box of frozen tilapia has that fishy-tasting Nile perch, we will make the best of what we have and make fish cakes instead.

Making the best of it in Uganda,

John Eastham

Back in Uganda

We have now been back in Uganda just over a week.  Several people have asked how the trip and re-entry into Uganga went, so here is a summary.

Our flight from LA to Dubai went well.  Neither Benjamin nor Gabby slept on the 16-hour flight.  Instead, Benjamin watched a bunch of episodes from the TV show Flash, and Gabby watched all of the Star Wars movies back to back.  We and all our luggage arrived safely in Entebbe.

We found the house nicely in order.  As expected, there was a thick layer of African dust everywhere.  To clean the floor, we swept it once and mopped it three times.  It really needed a fourth mopping, but we got too tired.  The only real surprise was finding a clothes closet full of mold from the high humidity here.  We had to throw out a few clothing items and wash the closet’s inside.

The church gave us all a warm welcome when we worship there last Sunday.  It was wonderful to see our friends.

On February 1^st we started a 40-day period of fasting and praying.  We’ll focus on praying for our ministry and what God has for us.

I am helping the Bible college prepare for the upcoming semester.  Lily homeschooling the kids and is looking for a ladies’ Bible study in our area of Kampala.  Benjamin will be starting a high school youth group next Friday.  Gabriella is happy to be back with her dogs.  We are in regular communication with Joseph (back at Biola) via Skype and internet texting.

More updates to follow.

Thank you for your prayer and financial support of us serving in Uganda.

John Eastham