Undeterred

Several months ago, I remember a short-term missionary asking me why Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) had an armored SUV with bullet-proof glass.

“This is Africa,” I explained.  “This place can blow up at any time.  It’s inherently unstable.”

Well, this past month has given me a taste of just how unstable.  Last week, the mayor was beaten up by the police and tear gas was fired twice.

Closed Shop Next to the Church

This week, Kampala’s shopkeepers closed their stores to protest a government fee on imported goods.  The shopkeepers said they were determined to keep their shops closed until the government eliminated or softened the fee.

Prayer Meeting at 1000 Cups Coffee

When we arrived at church Tuesday morning, we found the building locked.  I wasn’t expecting that.  The church staff ended up going over to a local café and prayed there.  It was very encouraging to see the church staff undeterred by the day’s events.

On Wednesday morning, I called the building manager to find out if he could open the church for us.  He told me, “The situation is not so good.  We will not open the building.”

Since Ugandans tended to understate things, I knew this meant things were pretty bad.  Later that morning, the U.S. Embassy issued a security warning about “planned demonstrations.”  So, I text church staff not to come in and about 700 church members telling them our evening worship service had been cancelled.

Riot Police At A Busy Street Corner In City Centre

 

Riot Police On Patrol On Kampala's Busiest Street (Kampala-Jinja Road)

The police presence in downtown was about double the usual amount.  Things were generally quiet except for when the riot police walked by.  It seemed like things were safe enough to return to the church building, so a few of us walked over and talked the building manager into letting us in for about an hour.  It took some talking to him because he was under strict orders not to let anybody in.

Once inside, we rushed to make preparations for Sunday’s worship services and the children’s ministry classes.  Afterwards, I treated the church staff to a goat and rice lunch at Uhuru, the same restaurant that was practically engulfed in tear gas the week before.  I couldn’t thank them enough for their great dedication and courage.

We are now in the process of planning how we are going to prepare for Sunday’s worship services should the building be closed for the remainder of the week. 

By the grace of God, we remain UNDETERRED.  We are convicted by our mission from God… to spread the Good News in Kampala!

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:17-18.

Undeterred from Kampala,

John Eastham

Buggy Flour

We missionaries are very resourceful.  We have to be, if we are going to survive in the field and to be good stewards with our financial support.  Here is a story of our resourcefulness.

Several months ago, Lily bought some wheat flour.  In Uganda, flour is guaranteed to grow insects if it isn’t used soon.  Today she discovered some small black insects crawling around in the flour.  It would be a waste to throw away the flour, especially since the bag was nearly full.  Then Lily had an idea.

Gabby had been asking us to buy dog biscuits for a few weeks, but they are rather expensive.  Lily decided we would use the buggy flour to make our own dog biscuits.  I found a simple recipe on the internet and modified it a little.  This is what I came up with.

2 Cups   Flour.  Return insects to flour if they crawl out or just squish them.

½ Cup    Fat drippings
                Cooking with it is a little gross.

1              Egg

½ Cup    Cold water

Mix all the ingredients together.  Grease cupcake pan with the fat drippings.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake wells.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 F.  I used 180 Celsius and didn’t bother to check what that is in Fahrenheit.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Yield:  12 doggie biscuits.

Both our dogs loved the biscuits.

And that is how we were resourceful with some buggy flour.

From Kampala,

John Eastham

Missionary to Uganda

Our Christmas in Uganda

This was our first Christmas in Uganda as long-term missionaries.  There is definitely a different “feel” to Christmas in the tropics.  First, it’s hot (85 F or so).  Jack Frost doesn’t come here.  Second, there are no street decorations.  Kampala City has little budget for…well much of anything.   There is Christmas music in big Western-style stores.  I’ve never heard “Feliz Navidad” so much than here in Kampala.  Ah, the irony.

Anyhow, we’ve tried to bring a Christmas feel into our house as much as possible.  We brought an artificial Christmas tree from the states.  Although plastic trees are available here, they are grossly expensive and look incredibly artificial.  A synthetic-looking 5 foot tree costs is about $100 or more.

Lily played some Christmas songs on her computer, and that helped develop some Christmas atmosphere.

Anyhow, I gave Lily a new sewing machine.  The machine we brought from the US broke in transit and can only sew backwards.  The new machine will be a blessing to the whole family.  Gabby wants to learn to sew too.

One of the challenges in shopping for Christmas gifts is that not much is worth buying here (or it costs twice as much as in the States).  We gave Joseph a watch.  Benjamin got an African thumb piano among other things.  Gabby got several small gifts, including a slinky.

Lily has blessed us all with some great food this week.  She made Chinese pork buns and other family favorites.  She also cooked bok choy harvested from our garden.

We spent Christmas morning at church, a Ugandan tradition.  The church was full, and we all heard a great message.  We had Christmas dinner at a friend’s house.  He served Indian food (rice, goat, lamb, etc.).

We hope you had a Happy Christmas.  We are thankful for the Christmas cards and e-mails photos some of you sent us.

We are now planning for our return visit to the US in February.  We will see you all soon!

 From Kampala,

John Eastham

New missionary to Uganda

Bibles for the North (A Post from Lily)

This post is from Lily.  She's been away for the past few days preparing for the Ann Graham Lotz visit to Uganda.  Her travels took her to central and northern Uganda.  Lily is now in Nimule, South Sudan.  Here is her post.

- John Eastham

18 August 2012

Bibles for the North

Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the paths of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

We often don’t appreciate how precious it is to have a Bible.  In fact, we have many Bibles in our house.  We have a variety of Bibles: different translations, children’s, study, compact, and even those in different languages.  Many Ugandans don’t even have one Bible in their home. Many pastors, also, don’t have a study Bible or resources available to teach the Bible to their own congregation.

Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Evangelist Billy Graham, is coming to Uganda in October, 2012.  It has been a privilege to come along side AnGeL Ministries to bless the people of Uganda. 

Through a series of seminars in Gulu (in the north) and Kampala, the goal is to revive the hearts of God’s people in Uganda by reviving the church leadership, rooting them deeper in the Word of God.  Two thousand study Bibles, two thousand compact Bibles, and six hundred children’s Bibles have been donated for this outreach. 

At a recent planning committee, a decision needed to be made as to which Bibles would go to which venue.  Everyone wanted the study Bibles.  It was finally decided that the Study Bibles would go to the North.

“This is the time for the North,” said Pastor Osiru, one of the committee members.  “Let them have it."

She couldn’t have said it better.  The people of northern Uganda are healing from decades of war.  The people desperately need a fresh touch from the Lord.

Please continue to pray for the country of Uganda, especially for the people in the northern cities.  Pray for the pastors coming, that they will have the means to come to this great outreach and that the Lord would do a mighty work in their lives so that they can take it back their villages. 

Lily Eastham

Ugandan Snack Foods

Ugandans have their own snack foods, and one of them is now our favorite.  Fried peas.  The brand we like has them dusted with chili powder.  Even Gabby loves them.

But Ugandans also have another snack food.  Fried grasshoppers.  Just drive down any major street and you are bound to find vendors with plastic bins selling small envelopes of these green insects to motorists.

The grasshoppers are caught at night.  These flying insects are attracted to bright lights, and there are people waiting below the lights to capture them.  The grasshoppers are fried and sold on the street to passersby and drivers stuck in traffic.  I've heard the tastier ones are cooked with diced onion.  The vendors are happy to give you a sample so you can know that they are fresh.

A few days ago I was approached by a grasshopper vendor.  A colleague of mine made sure they were fresh, and bought a small tin of these formerly flying insects for about $5.

Fried grasshoppers taste a bit like french fries, but that description does not do the insects or their cooks justice.  They are definitely crunchy, but the aftertaste can be on the oily side.

Joseph, who typically consumes anything, declined my offer to eat the grasshoppers.  I expected Lily and Gabby to turn away from the food, but not Joseph.  My only taker was Benjamin.  He had a small second helping but indicated that he was not particularly fond of this snack food.

So, if you ever come to Kampala, I'll be happy to help you find a fried grasshopper vendor.  I'll probably share them with you.  The rest of my family, however, will probably prefer the fried peas.

John Eastham
New Missionary to Kampala, Uganda

How to get a PO Box in Uganda - In Four Easy Steps.

There is no residential mail delivery in Uganda, so everyone has a PO Box.  Getting a PO box is easier said than done.  Here is my experience.

Trip #1 to the post office.  Posta Uganda’s Kampala office is located in the heart of downtown Kampala.  That area is typically jammed with traffic, so getting there is difficult at best.  In trying to get to Kampala’s post office, I unknowingly made an illegal U-turn.  There was no sign indicating that it was actually illegal, but that didn't matter.  I was pulled over by the traffic police who first gave me the opportunity to pay him bribe or receive a citation.  That policeman turned me over to his supervisor who gave me a stern lecture.  After some quick prayer, I got way without paying a bribe or receiving a citation.  Whew!

 

But after that came the difficulty of finding a parking space.  The traffic was intense, but we finally found an open spot.  Too bad it was parallel parking on a steep incline.  Suffice it to say, the locals got some entertainment at my expense.  After all that, I got into the Posta Uganda office and found the correct line.  I expected that we could just walk into the post office and get a PO Box the same day.  How naïve we were.  The postal worker handed me the application form and highlighted the requirements for two copies of my ID, three passport-size photos, and the signature someone who already had a PO Box (as a reference for good character, perhaps?).

Trip #2 to the post office.  We acquired some passport-size photos and other application requirements.  Remembering my previous driving and parking experiences, I took a taxi.  In the post office I presented the paperwork to the clerk.  We could get the PO box today, right?  No, naïve again.  The postal worker told me to return the next day after 10am.

Trip #3 to the post office.  The rain was heavy, and we got stuck in a traffic jam a few blocks from the post office.  After about 20 minutes of being at a standstill, I decided to walk even though the rain was bad.  Almost all the Ugandans had the sense to stay dry under awnings.  I just wanted my PO box, and getting soaked was not that important.  Lily and the kids waited in the car (and for traffic to move again).  I thought I knew where the post office was.  I was wrong, and I was now lost in downtown Kampala.  Thankfully, I found the church (it's on William Street), and climbed up to its offices on the fourth floor.  One of the church workers walked me over to Posta Uganda, and I was grateful for his help.  The postal worker took my money and issued me my PO box number.  Hurray!  After three trips to the post office I was done.  Right?  No, naïve again.  The postal worker said I’d have to come back in 3 weeks to receive the key to my PO box.

Trip #4 to the post office looks to be fruitful and the end of this PO box ordeal.  Of course, that may be naïve.

Learning how to live here and adapt,

John Eastham,  new (and naive) missionary to Uganda