Okken Notes from Karamoja

Never Easy Saying Goodbye to Your Pets

2012-02-04T00:37:00.000-08:00

Milo


Levi

A sad day in the Okken house yesterday. A beloved dog and

a sweet little kitten both passed away in the same day.

Camping...local style

2012-01-27T23:06:00.000-08:00

After much asking, Dad finally consented to a sleepover in the tent. It took him a while to warm up to the idea because all three kids and two friends were going to be involved and Dad got the privilege to be out there with them! Being the dry season, it was a nice breezy night which is good for keeping whatever malaria mosquitos might be out there. With only experiencing few interruptions to his sleep, Dad survived the night and the kids had a blast even though they woke up way too earlier for Mom and Dad's liking. Oh where was Mom during the night you ask? Nicely tucked away in bed...in the house!

January Freeze

2012-01-12T00:10:00.000-08:00

Well, there is no freeze in the weather here, just more like in my writing! The holidays are over and we have begun the grind of school again. I must confess I am not the most enthusiastic home school mothers. It is a daily struggle that I have to give over to the Lord, and still feel like I fail miserably. But everyday is new, right? God is faithful even when we aren't. I'm not good at New Year's resolutions, but my prayer is that patience and love will be on the list this year!

Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

2011-12-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas Greeting

2011-12-13T11:50:00.001-08:00

Christmas greetings from Nakaale! It seems the dry season has finally come upon us which means wind! Yes, and some warmer temperatures. It is hard to believe that we are at this Christmas season again. It seems like so much has happened this year, but looking back, everything seems like a blur. We are thankful to God that He has given us another year.

This Fall was full with birthdays. Caleb is now 9 years old and still blond. People say he is looking more and more like his dad. I have to be honest and say that his 4^th grade schoolwork overall might not be his favorite thing, but he does enjoy History and Science. So, at the moment, it is all about Vikings and bats. His fairly constant companion is his Karimojong friend, Tony, who at the moment is on a school break so Caleb gets to see him more often.

Megan is now 6 and enjoying 1^st grade. She still enjoys her dolls and her jewelry, but her two brothers definitely influence her interests. So we often see Iron Man and Cinderella playing together J. She has also become quite skilled with her bike which she also enjoys. I must confess I am thankful to the Lord that He only gives us what we can handle. He must have known that I could only handle one girl! She is very girly and has the stuff that goes along with that – emotions! But this provides a good opportunity for me to learn patience. I definitely need to learn it better. Maybe that’s why God gives me so many chances.

Jacob is now 4 years old and insists that he is getting bigger and bigger and will soon be bigger than daddy. Everything is about size and age. We do a bit of preschool and he enjoys being at the table with his brother and sister for little bits at a time. He has also enjoyed spending time with our neighbor, Jenny Knox, who recently began taking him once a week for some structured preschool fun. Jacob loves it and I welcome a little break!

Just a few months ago David and I celebrated our 12^th anniversary! The years pass by so quickly in some ways. Hard to imagine that in just a few short years we will have a teenager. Yikes! As with all parents, we pray that our children will grow into servants of godly character who love the Lord and one another. What a task set before us to train them up, only possible with the strength of Christ! How thankful we are to the Lord for each other as well as these three precious gifts and for all the gifts He gives us.

We hope you will have a blessed Christmas and experience the peace and joy that only Christ can give.

Market Day

2011-12-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, it was market day in nearby Namalu and we decided to make it a family outing! It can be quite a scene on Wednesdays where everyone in the surrounding areas come out to buy and sell. I decided to do some 'window shopping' while David and the kids waited at a nearby 'hotel/restaurant' where we had some lunch. So, a little sunburn and a few things purchased and some lunch, we were on our way to a nearby tree farm to bring some little trees home.

A day on the town!

O Dry Season Where Art Thou?

2011-11-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

Well, the rain continues. We thought for almost a week we were headed back into the dry season, but we were wrong. We just spent this week down country doing some shopping and spending some time with teammates and friends over Thanksgiving. I'm thankful we made it down through the mud and bumps and even made it home safely today, even though now the rain continues as I type. God is good and sovereign...and yes, praying the 'dry' would come and the Ugandan government would keep their promise and pave that road!

This Past Week...

2011-11-16T05:10:00.000-08:00

Found under the hood waiting to say good morning

New friend Amina

New friends - the Ward kids

Caleb and Dad (taking pic) with the Wards for a hike

Showers and Puddles

2011-11-10T00:56:00.000-08:00

puddle fun that of course had to include mud beards

road to our compound

We are having many of both these days. Wouldn't you know that after David's last post about the dry season upon us, we have had rain just about everyday for the last couple of weeks! So, needless to say, we have many puddles and even small rivers around here. And yes, the roads are a muddy mess as well. We pray that those of us on the Mission that are traveling back and forth will have safe travels and that the rain would ease up! :)

October Ministry Update

2011-10-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Karamoja!

We asked you to pray for a break from the rains. Your prayers were answered. It definitely feels like the wet season is behind us. It is hot and the roads are dry (and even slowly being repaired in many places) for safer travel. We thank the Lord.

It also means that ministry activities are not being rained out. I am thankful for good attendance as well as attentive listeners to village Bible studies these past weeks. In our chronological Bible story teaching, Al Tricarico has continued leading studies out in the villages of Akuyam and Kopetatum, where this past week he taught the story of the golden calf (Ex. 32). When we begin in a new village, sometimes we start from the beginning of the Bible. So, in Nakathian and Naminyit where I began teaching some time back, we have just reached the story of Noah and the flood. What a powerful story teaching us about human depravity, God’s judgment and His great salvation through Jesus. How blessed we are to be safe in the ark in Christ. What a privilege to share this story and to call others to flee the coming judgment and to take refuge in God’s Son who bore the flood of God’s wrath in our place. Truly, Jesus, even more than Noah, “…did all that the LORD had commanded him”! (Gen. 7:5). Please pray for faithful attendance and that the word of Christ might enter many hearts. Pray as well for leaders whom the Lord might use in building His church in these villages. Pray as well for wisdom in discerning where the Lord is opening doors for ministry in new villages.

I have enjoyed opportunities to be present for medical outreaches. Dr. Jim, some members of the Clinic staff and some others on our Mission go out to the villages to deliver medical care in Jesus’ name. It provides a great opportunity to be with folks and share with them stories from God’s Word. We try to do this in villages where we have a regular word ministry.

We also continue to work with local indigenous churches. We had begun a monthly Bible study meeting with several pastors. That experienced something of a set-back recently due to some strains in the relationships between some of these local pastors. Please pray for reconciliation. And pray with us that God would work to strengthen His church, making the saints to be sound in faith as well as to abound in love and good works. We want to be used of the Lord to that end.

Our family is doing well. Homeschooling is always a challenge but Sunshine is doing a great job teaching Megan and Caleb with Jacob also finding ways to get into the middle of it all. Please pray for wisdom, strength and patience for both mom and kids.

Blessings,

Dave (for all of us)

Random From the Last Few Weeks

2011-10-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

Baseball with the Karimojong

Megan turns 6!!

Back in Karamoja - Update from David

2011-09-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

We are back in Karamoja after our recent trip to the states. Our time home was sweet thought too short. It was a great time with family as well as many friends. Our only regret is that the time blew by so fast that there are many whom we would have loved to see but were unable. Heaven will be such a wonderful and unending reunion!

The trip back was long and arduous, especially the last part. As some of you may have seen on our blog, excessive rains have led to just about the worst road conditions we’ve seen in all our time in Karamoja. Our first attempt to drive back to Nakaale from Mbale failed as a road repair stopped us half way. After returning to Mbale for the night, we took an alternative route the next day. So, instead of a 3 hour drive, it took us 8. We enjoyed beautiful scenery in places we’d never been, but we were exhausted.

Now we have adjusted and are doing well. The ongoing rains have at times disrupted our village Bible studies. However, I am thankful for a very encouraging meeting in a village Friday afternoon. Some months back I began visiting this place called Naminyit. I started slowly teaching chronological stories through the Bible starting from Creation. It was good to see some of the familiar faces there as they were happy to welcome me back. But there were also a number of new individuals. A good sized group listened very intently as I taught and we discussed the Bible story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). What a great opportunity to use the sin of Cain to talk about our need of salvation through God’s Son. Several individuals expressed their appreciation for the teaching and urged me to continue coming. Please pray for a spiritual harvest among my friends in Naminyit.

Road and Rain

2011-09-08T05:45:00.000-07:00

This is what the little roads leading up to our compound look like these days. This past week we have returned from our six week trip home to the States. Time flew by as I knew it would. But, it was so nice to be able to be with our family, see friends and be with our church family for a few weeks. The kids had a wonderful time with their grandparents, cousins, enjoying the pool and bikes. A few milestones on the trip were Megan mastering bike riding without training wheels and starting to swim in the pool with no floaties!

The rains came with a vengeance while we were gone and didn't let up much. Our usual route up to Nakaale from down country has been a big muddy mess and when trying to come up last Saturday we did not make it. We ended up going a very out of the way route that brought us West, then North and over in our area of Karamoja that way. What a long drive! After about 8 hours we finally reached. The one positive was that the roads were dry, just bumpy. The pictures above show a little glimpse of what roads around here look like in places. Although we did enjoy a fairly sunny day today! Nice to get the laundry good and dry.

So as we settle back in and have started home schooling, we pray for our neighbors and the way they have to deal with all this wet and mud far more than we do. We also pray that we would have the right heart and the wisdom in ministering to our Karimojong friends. The enemy loves to attack and we constantly need to be reminded of the power of prayer. So, we are thankful for your prayers for us here.

More San Diego Fun

2011-08-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain go away

2011-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our teammates Al and Laurie Tricarico write that the rain that had been prayed for has been coming and been a good amount until about three weeks ago. These days it is coming for longer periods and every day. It has made driving and walking a bit difficult. Now our Karimojong neighbors are worrying about their crops. Please pray with us that the rain would slow down. Of course, God is sovereign and good so we also need to continue to pray for our Karimojong neighbors that they would see that and trust in Christ.

'Home'

2011-08-09T20:32:00.001-07:00

It seems I have a difficult time blogging. Yes, everyone reading this would whole-heartedly agree! My excuse right now is that I'm on vacation. :-) We are back 'home' in San Diego for the month. It will go by way too fast, but that is life. In the previous post you will notice the time we spent first with the cousins in Tennessee. What fun they had! I must confess the weather was a bit warm and going from real hot to real cool (a/c) took some getting used to. Yes, we are used to hot in Uganda, but not with humidity. Jacob and his 3 yr. old cousin, Sophia, were the cutest to watch. They were best buds the whole time.

Now, we enjoy more grandparents and good friends and our church family for the month. God is good! Hopefully we will 'fit it all in'. It was a blessing to be with our church family again this past Sunday and look forward to the few more. Hopefully we will kick this cold bug very soon. Yes, our bodies aren't used to all of these American germs! Give us malaria, then I guess we know what to do.

Look forward to seeing those of who we can!

Cousin Fun

2011-07-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

The kids are enjoying their cousins here in Tennessee. Jacob and his 3 yr. old cousin, Sophia are having such fun. Pretty cute to see.

July 4th!

2011-07-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

Happy July 4th! We had a small gathering with some of our Mission and the four visitors who are here from the States. Some good old American cuisine (hot dogs, baked beans, cole slaw) along with some local roasted maize. Not exactly like sweet corn but pretty good! One of the guys even made these flag sugar cookies. The only thing missing was the fireworks. Would be a little tricky having those here. What would the Karimojong think? Might mistake it for enemy gunfire!

Our Day

2011-06-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Our family decided to go up to Nakapiripirit, about 30 minutes north of us for lunch! A chance to 'get out'. We met up with a couple of friends and only had one minor adventure on the way home.

First Fruits

2011-05-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

Zucchini from our garden here in Karamoja! I was doubtful they would grow. Thank you Ngikinyom (our gardener)!

Karimojong Bible

2011-04-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

It is finally here! The Karimojong now have the complete Bible in their language! The Bible Society of Uganda has recently completed the translation of the Old Testament. Praise the Lord!

New Clinic Site

2011-03-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

This last week construction began at the new clinic site. This has been ‘in the works’ for a while as the current clinic has some major structural repairs and it was decided the better thing to do was to start over. So, this last week a team of five came from Wisconsin to help get things started. We are expecting another team soon. We appreciate your prayers as the work continues that things would go smoothly and much progress would be made!

Dr. Jim Knox is leaving in a couple of weeks to be in the States for his wedding! Yes, he and Jenny (nurse here at the clinic) will be married in May and then will return at the end of June. Exciting times! Below is a link of some pictures Dr. Jim has taken of the new clinic site.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=340744&id=508366280&l=b77e733aaa

Election Update

2011-02-21T23:42:00.002-08:00

For those of you who were praying with us for the elections here in Uganda, here is a part of our teammate Dorothy Wingard's update about it:

"....we want you to give thanks with us for the peace that the Lord has given to Uganda during the parliamentary and Presidential election and its aftermath. The Mbale area is one of the more volatile areas of the country, and on Friday, the day of the election, and on Saturday, there were disturbances but only a few hurt, maybe one or two killed. Given the emotional nature of the campaign, the memory of horrific times under Amin and Obote, and the revolutionary events north of us, there was much fear in the country. Some of the Indian shop keepers left the country, people left the city for home villages, and, especially in our area, police and soldiers, as well as heavy weapons, were much in evidence. The day before the election, a demonstration filled the main street of Mbale, but the day of the election and afterward the streets near us were almost deserted, many people stayed behind locked gates and doors, and it was unusually quiet! The incidents of violence were local and contained. In church yesterday Philip Proctor gave thanks to God for His hand of protection and restraint, and exhorted us not to take it for granted! We are still praying for peace because tomorrow, Tuesday, is going to be the day the victorious party of the President celebrates, which may bring a reaction from the opposition who declared even before the election started that there was fraud, etc. The election results were not even close. The EU and the Commonwealth who monitored the election reportedly did not find fault with the actual election but with the money handed out during campaigning. That even affected my ladies Bible study in the village, for on the last Saturday before the election our attendance was small. Pastor Steven Hamya who talked with me afterward, lamented that many of the absent women were running from one political rally to another hoping that each candidate would give the crowd money. Of course, it must amount to very little per person, not to mention the ethical problem. As he commented, corruption is the biggest problem of the country, and of course that is one of the many results of being far from God."

Thank you and please continue to pray.

Politics Here

2011-02-05T00:25:00.000-08:00

The busyness of politics make for challenges for the ministry. I thought David put it well in a recent communication to his Presbytery.

"With the upcoming elections (presidential and many others), in Karamoja and throughout Uganda, campaigning is quite a focus of attention and can be a distraction to ministry. Just today, when we reached one of the villages where we lead a Bible study every Thursday afternoon, there was absolutely no one around as all had been suddenly called to attend a political rally for a man running for a position in our local district. In keeping with the common practice, after hearing the candidate’s speech, filled with all of his promises to greatly improve their lives with paved roads, electricity etc., the crowd is treated to a generous round of the local brew as an advance ‘thank you’ for their votes. Sounds like a good time, doesn’t it? Much like American politics I guess, except for the booze. Hard to compete with that. But we press on.

We have been working on teaching stories chronologically through the Bible, showing how the gospel is revealed in all of the Scriptures while calling men to repentance and faith. We have been working hard on translating it into Karimojong in such a way as to be clearly understood in this language and culture. Not only do we teach the lessons ourselves, but we put copies in the hands of many others hoping that the message will be spread and be used of the Lord to satisfy a hunger for his Word among this people. We do also continue to lead a meeting where we put these materials in the hands of church leaders and others seeking to learn and to teach God’s word to others.

Using these same materials, we have also been doing much teaching among a particular indigenous church. The pastor and members seem so blessed and express such appreciation for the ministry that we wonder if more time should be invested in already established indigenous churches rather than in starting new works. Please pray for God’s wisdom as we seek His will on this matter saying – ‘Here I am Lord, send me. But where exactly should I go?’"

Recent Reader's Meeting

2011-01-19T04:01:00.000-08:00

Below are some pictures from a recent reader's meeting. This meeting is where some people from other villages come once a month to get some new Bible lessons to take back to their villages and lead.

New Year's Fun

2010-12-31T23:53:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-12-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

As most of you are quite chilly, we are starting to feel the heat! Yes, we are into our dry season it seems which means lots of wind and rising temperatures. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve service with our Karimojong neighbors and then a time of munchies and fun with our teammates. Now we approach the end of the year! As I have said many times before, time goes by so fast!

We thank God for his protection and giving us health this year. We thank Him for the opportunities to spread the Gospel and continue to pray for wisdom on how and where to do that as David and Pastor Al preach/teach in different villages. We have been encouraged by the things that are happening with our friend, Pastor Emuron, in Namalu. Through his invitation we have had some involvement in the ministry at his church for some time and more recently have begun a midweek meeting of teaching and a literacy program with teammate Martha Wright. So, please pray for that time on Tuesday afternoons - Uganda time :-).

Thank you so much for your prayers and support this year. God is the great provider and we have been so blessed. Please keep our Karimojong neighbors in your prayers as we continue to ‘break’ the cultural divide and continue to work through how best to minister to them. It can be so difficult at times. Also, pray that we as missionaries would remember that God is always working and that things happen on His time table, not ours.

Many blessings to you all this New Year’s!

Dry Season

2010-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is often the view around us right now. Dry season...people are either burning their fields preparing for next year's planting, or shepherd boys burning an area to catch rats for some good eating! It can make a nice haze in the sky at times

and make us a little nervous wondering if it will
get too close. But, most of the time, it does its
thing and dies...the fire and the ground.

Jacob - my 'baby' turns 3!

2010-11-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

Jacob is ready

Curious George cake (didn't have to work hard on this!)

what a ham!

Caleb turns 8!!

2010-11-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

the little party

birthday breakfast

new toy

R&R

2010-10-31T04:08:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday we returned to our home here in Nakaale after spending the week down country. A wonderful time of swimming, ice cream and seeing friends. Not to mention a wonderful internet connection! It had been quite some time since the family had been out of Karamoja, so we were excited from some little luxuries. Hot showers, ice cream, pool, and yes a little shopping ;-). We also had a great time visiting with our teammates and new friends in Mbale, and also seeing friends we haven't seen in a long time. Thank you to all who made the visit wonderful! Until the next time...which won't be so long!
P.S. Cholera update. It is still here, but moving slowly. Someone did die in the nearby village of Kopetatum (where we hold a early Sunday morning service). I think still just a few cases seen at the clinic, but not everyone goes to the clinic. So please continue to keep the community in prayer.

Cholera Update

2010-10-27T21:39:00.001-07:00

Well, it seems our clinic has had two cholera cases since I last wrote. Please pray for Dr. Jim and the clinic staff as they handle things. The cases were a child and wife of one of our workers.
Right now, we are actually down country enjoying some vacation so are not right in the middle of it. Please keep our teammates and neighbors in prayer.

Cholera in our District

2010-10-22T03:14:00.000-07:00

It has been confirmed that there is a cholera outbreak in our district. So far there have been no cases at our clinic. If we are just careful to wash our hands and not drink water from the river or puddles (of course not!), we should be fine. Please be praying for all in our region who will be affected by this. Pray also for Dr. Jim Knox and the clinic staff as they prepare to deal with possible cases.

Skyping while out on the Town

2010-10-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, this morning we decided to go as a family to the closest trading town, Namalu. Right before we left I was trying to Skype with my parents, but, as can often happen, it was a bit 'in & out'. So, David says, 'lets bring the laptop with us to Namalu where we can get a strong signal!'. So off we went, fully prepared to be quite the spectacle in town. We thought we found a 'secluded' spot, but that soon changed after about 20 minutes. It was quite the scene. My parents actually got a kick out of seeing these Karimojong in the background of the video while Skyping. We even took it on the road and continued Skyping while driving back into the center of town and walking into a shop to buy a few things. Even ran into a friend, and she enjoyed 'meeting' my parents. But then we decided the craziness needed to end. The scene of wzungu (white people) + technology out and about here in Karamoja can only be endured by us for so long!

East Kopetatum

2010-10-01T00:04:00.000-07:00

We are excited about a new ministry venue, which has emerged ‘right under our nose’. For years we have had a work in Kopetatum. That has been the west side of Kopetatum, across the river. To get there we have had to pass through the east side of Kopetatum before the river through a village which never seemed to me like a great venue for ministry. Well, in recent months, one resident of that village, Mariko, has been among the regular group working with Bob Wright for the work for food program of the farm project. (We have begun teaching Bible stories to these folks during the work since a good group is required to sit under the tree and remove the seeds from the hibiscus plants Bob has been growing.) Mariko invited us to begin teaching in his village and promised to ‘mobilize’ (invite the community). I agreed. I have since led a study there on Friday afternoon and preached in the afternoon on the Lord’s Day. Both times the ministry has been well attended and well received. The folks have been very engaged and eager to learn and seem to be enthusiastic about an ongoing word ministry among them. Pray that the Lord would bless this work and particularly for Mariko as a potential leader. We are planning to invite him to be part of our “Readers Meeting” where we are training Bible study leaders. So it seems that we will now have to speak of this new work in East Kopetatum as well as the old one in West Kopetatum. We ask you to speak of them to the Lord in your prayers.

Megan's Birthday

2010-09-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is now 5!! She enjoyed a family birthday with a Strawberry Shortcake theme. Even with Mom's way less than perfect cake decorating abilities, Megan was pleased. :-)

Lunch on the town

2010-09-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

So, today is our 11th wedding anniversary. We decided to celebrate by taking a trip up just north of us about 25 minutes or so to have lunch to the booming metropolis, Nakapiripirit. Yes, kids were left behind with teammates and we were off. The drive wasn't too eventful except for having to take the alternate route because two big trucks were stuck and no one could pass on the main route. (a common thing to deal with on the roads here) Upon arriving, we put our order in, first to ask what was available (usually need to do this in restaurants) and to ask them to start making 'now, now'. So, we set off for town while waiting for the meal. After buying a bit of produce, we were back at the 'hotel' and eating our lunch about an hour and fifteen minutes later. That may sound long to you, but we were quite pleased. Patience is a virtue and living in Africa gives you many opportunities to learn it! Except for the somewhat annoying sound of their inverter (they apparently had some solar power, but not very much) beeping on and off because of lack of power in the batteries, it was a very pleasant time. Thanks to our babysitters back in Nakaale so we could have our little adventure. :-)

just leaving the 'neighborhood'

the hotel/restaurant

the view

Our place in Nakaale

2010-09-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

on side of our house

our water tower and back up generator shed

other side of the house

our little garden

Jean Louise

Scout & Levi

Jigger Family

2010-09-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Jiggers. Ever heard of them? They are nice little parasite/bugs that get into your skin - mostly on the foot and develop into a worm and lays a nice egg sac. Lovely, isn't it? Well, in all the years we have lived here I had yet to get one. Recently that all changed. It seems the Okkens are magnets for them right now. Since returning in June from the States I have had four, David and Jacob two and Megan one! The Karimojong are pros at spotting them on your foot and removing them. Unfortunately, they have to deal with them a lot more than we do. So we go to our African friends for removal. Which has happened a lot recently. I don't even venture far from our compounds! How are we getting so many I scream or think? It seems it might be the excessive amount of rain we are having that is bringing them out and/or something about our compound. As it seems the other mzungu (white folks) are not getting them much or at all. Right now I am in the 'wear socks and shoes' mode when I leave the house. Just one of the few parasites that enjoy you in Karamoja.

August

2010-09-11T05:56:00.001-07:00

Where have you gone month!? Some hightlights…

Tricarico family (teammates) were still away in the States
Jacob fell back in his chair and split his head open. Just 2 stitches needed. :-)
One of the puppies, Levi, was bitten by possible rabid dog and needed quarantined for 10 days. Thankful to say all is well now. No rabies present.
Tricarico family returned to Karamoja Sept. 4 :-)

Yes, we are happy to have the Tricaricos back with us! David and Al can continue working on outreach opportunities and together attack ministry challenges that we face here. We continue to struggle with how best to minister to the Karimojong and long to see African leadership in the church here. Please pray for us in this. Please also pray for continued language learning. I and the kids have started up…again and it is slow going. Pray that our tongues would be gifted. :-)

Yes, Jacob has had some excitement this month. Little boys! We also have been tackling potty training. Oh dear! I will admit I am happy he is the last one to go through this. We are making progress, although at times, slow progress. He turns 3 in November so I guess we aren’t too behind.

In the next week or so we plan to start Kindergarten with Megan! She is very excited for this to happen. We are still on a strange schedule with Caleb due to the craziness of furlough, so we are still wrapping up 2^nd Grade. Jacob has his ‘school’ moments which mostly consist of coloring. There can be fun days and there definitely can be challenging days when I would love to not be their teacher! You can pray for me and these challenges.

As always, thank you so much for your prayers and support and encouragement. They are so needed!

New Additions

2010-08-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Meet Scout and Levi (right). We are enjoying our new puppies! Current dog, Jean Louise isn't too sure what to think. Hopefully all will be well. ;)

Seasons in Life

2010-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have been playing musical beds with my kids of late. Our youngest, Jacob, seems to just be scared of his bed all together and would only sleep with big brother Caleb or mom and dad for a while. Then a few nights ago it was ONLY in mom and dad's bed. Now he is back in his bed, but he wants a candle lit AND mom or dad to stay there until he is asleep. Then our daughter Megan will every now and then wake in the middle of the night crying out that some shadows are scaring her, then realizing she needs to 'potty' as well. Parenting...crazy, trying, rewarding, emotional and eventful!

Jacob is slowly getting on the road to being potty trained. He will be 3 in November so I suppose it is time. This time of training is both easier and at the same time more difficult. It is nice to just stick that diaper on and not have to worry about being inconvenienced at a moment's notice. But the thought of no diapers and no wipes definitely has appeal.

Caleb has started receiving an allowance. Something he is very excited about. He has 4 things he needs to do everyday in order to get said allowance, so we shall see how it goes. Now this does not include picking up room and making bed, etc. Stuff that is outside of his little space. He is very eager to do the things and make that money! We have even talked about tithing, savings and spending. So today when he got his 1,000 shillings (around 50 cents!), he was happy and willing to separate his money out into the three categories. We shall see how this continues.

Life moves and changes quickly it seems. Seasons...

A Taste of Home

2010-07-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

The visitor season has been upon us for some time. But more recently, we have been enjoying three from San Diego! It has been such fun to see Karen, Chris and Chloe walking around here. I trust they are having great fun too as they make life a little more interesting here in Nakaale. It's also nice for the church at home to get more first hand encounters of the work here. Plus Chris' pictures are so cool! May see a few of those in a future slide presentation. ;)

Thanks for your willingness to come!

Saturday in Nakaale

2010-06-19T05:27:00.001-07:00

fun in the puddles...for a while

'football'

The day's challenge...patience

2010-06-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

Time still goes by quickly. For the most part, I am in the routine of life here in Karamoja. Second grade has begun, again, for Caleb and I am even trying to do more 'preschool' with Megan. Yes, the 'nice' interruptions from Jacob make this challenging at times, but I still try and plug along. This morning has been a bit frustrating I must confess. Mom needs some more patience and student needs some more understanding. ;) Can we both get some please?! One day at a time. So, with God's help, we will continue after our current 'recess' and finish for the day.
When school isn't taking place, the kids are busy playing with each other or some local Karimojong kids. Lately, it has been some football (soccer, for we Americans) out on the compound. What fun they have!
Now, to 'finish' for the day...

Arrived

2010-06-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

We finally arrived in Karamoja on Friday after almost a week of traveling. Thankfully, our children survived the 25 hours of flying (6 more than usual due to a British Air strike that re-routed us through South Africa!) plus layovers and then the drive from the airport all the way up to Karamoja. And….all our luggage arrived! God is good.

We so enjoyed our 7 months stateside and were thankful to see those of you that we did. Yes, the time went quickly. The children so enjoyed their time with grandparents and old and new friends. I must confess I am greatly missing home. But taking care of three kids while unpacking doesn’t leave me much time to sit around and cry about it. Until next time, San Diego.

We are slowly getting settled and organized. David is easing back into the ministry thanks to his colleague, Al Tricarico. We have returned at about the beginning of visitor season. It keeps things busy and it is an encouragement to have many folks here from the states. The kids sure enjoy them too!

Thank you for your prayers for the journey back and please continue to pray that we would stay healthy and free from malaria and other bugs that might slow us down. Please pray that David would not feel too overwhelmed as he gets back into the swing of things and for me and the kids as we settle and start school again. Please also pray for our families back home who are missing their kids and grandkids and for us as we miss them.

We hope to stay fairly regular in our updates and have the camera ready at times, so thanks for staying committed!

Blessings,

Sunshine and David (and yes, Caleb, Megan and Jacob)

Departure

2010-05-31T06:34:00.001-07:00

Yes, we are departing this morning for our long journey back to Uganda. It was so great to be here in the States and to visit so many of you out there. We also had a great time with family. Goodbyes are never easy, so please pray for us and especially the kids as they have to say goodbye to grandparents. Pray for those grandparents too! Pray for those long flights and that we would arrive safely and with all of our luggage. Blessings to all of you! Until the next post from Uganda...

A first

2010-04-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

I experienced another first as a Mom. Yesterday, our 7 year old son Caleb, broke his wrist. Being a little too careless on a slide at the park sent him tumbling over the side. So, my 'cautious' one had the first break in the whole family (even in mom and dad's family as well). One of the first things he said after it happened was 'I should have never gone down that slide!' So, at the end of a very long day spent at Children's ER, my drama queen was so brave, tired and a little pitiful. I am sad for him as the cast is already 'getting old' and he so wanted to swim with his cousins as they visit one more time soon. But I am very thankful it wasn't worse and that we were here in San Diego instead of Karamoja where things would have been a little more complicated. :) We leave for Uganda in almost 6 weeks, so I really pray that cast is off before then!

Sojourns, Snow and Sickness

2010-03-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sojourns...Well, as furlough continues so do travels. We stayed in some fun places on the east coast during our recent 10 day trip in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. We were blessed to be with the Tricaricos' (our teammates in Karamoja) old church in Vienna, Virginia as well as a congregation in Leesburg. From there we moved on to meet with the Committee on Foreign Missions of the OPC in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. While in the area we also visited the congregation in Glenside. What fun for me to see my old friend, Chandra, and for David to catch up with his seminary buddy, Lane. From there we moved on and spent a couple of days visiting our friends, the Howards, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A bonus was Chad Anderson (former Peace Corps guy who lived in Mbale, Uganda) driving all the way from Michigan to join us. Then we made our way to Maryland where we visited OP congregations in Frederick and Columbia. Again we saw many friends, some from San Diego days (David & Jolie Chism) but many who had been in Karamoja. We visited our old teammates, now newlyweds, Ed and Amy Wright as well as Ed's family, in whose house we stayed. Thanks to all who made our stay such a blessing! As you see in the pics, the kids enjoyed plenty of...

Snow...And there was plenty of it. It was a first for Megan and Jacob. Riding on sleds, building an 'igloo' and having snow ball fights, what thrills. As much fun as Caleb had, he still told me he liked the beach a little more. A true Californian at heart I guess. As much fun as everyone had, it was interrupted by...

Sickness...Jacob was hit the worst. He had traveled so well on the plane but Sunday night he was fevered and clearly not himself. He became worse for the next few days. A low point was when he coughed so hard that he gagged himself and threw up on daddy during our meeting with the subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Missions. Tuesday afternoon we finally took him to a pediatrician who was able to diagnose his ear infection and pneumonia. Poor little guy! Thankfully, the drugs have done their thing and he was pretty much back to his old self by Friday. What a way to travel!

Furlough Continues

2010-01-29T23:11:00.001-08:00

Greetings from San Diego!
It feels strange to send updates from the states but that is where we are as our furlough continues. We should first extend a warm ‘welcome’ to the many of you who have been newly added to our email list after meeting us as we have visited your congregations to share with you about the work in Karamoja. Thank you so much for welcoming us into your many lives, homes and churches.
It has been a blessing to be stateside, enjoying time with our families. Some highlights have been trips to Legoland as well as Disneyland. We have also greatly enjoyed the fellowship in our home church again as well as with the many churches where we have been able to visit. Most recently, during all of January, David has been traveling throughout Texas, a bit of Oklahoma and on to New Mexico. Sunshine and the children joined him for his travels in and around the Dallas/Fort Worth area and beyond. In addition to visiting several congregations, we were able to spend time with David’s sister and her family. The kids were afforded much time with their cousins. And grandma and grandpa (David’s folks) were also there with us. What fun it was to all be together!
We have struggled with our share of sickness, being hit by various flu bugs. Thankfully, David has been healthy for all of his speaking engagements. Megan has been in speech therapy and continues to make progress. Caleb was excited about losing his first tooth the other day. Jacob continues to move along with full speed and volume!

Megan Note...

2009-12-04T00:16:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all of your prayers for Megan and her therapy. I almost forgot to mention! Right now she is doing therapy through the county (a free 10 week program) and also meeting with someone privately once a week. She was shy in the beginning, but is now opening up and things seem to be going well. God is so good!

One Month In

2009-12-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

Where did the last month go!? Forgive the neglect to this blog. I guess coming home to the States can do that. Just sucks you in! Having said that, we have so been enjoying our time with family and friends. It has been great to be at our church home and see familiar faces. We also have enjoyed meeting new ones. We even have gotten in a trip to Legoland with grandparents. What a fun treat! When Caleb was too scared to ride on one roller coaster, Mom and Dad went anyway.

David just left for his first trip away. It is quite a different story to be single mom with 3 kids here than it is in Karamoja. I actually drive here and have places to go and grandparents to see! Yes, and some occasional shopping to be done. :) Caleb has begun second grade; a slightly rough start, but a start. Jacob is now a two year old. My baby is gone and a little boy has appeared.

We hope we can spend some time with some of you and please forgive us for the 7 (now 6) months going by way too fast.

Furlough Bound via Barcelona

2009-10-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

It has been our longest stint in Uganda (almost 2 years) but we are finally headed back to the states for a 7 month furlough. Our flight leaves Uganda tomorrow night (technically, Wednesday morning) a half hour past midnight. Pray for our tired kids :(

On our way home we will be making a 5 day detour through Barcelona, Spain to visit missionary friends! We have never done anything like this before and we are very excited.

We look forward to soon spending lots of time with the grandparents, church family, and many of you. Here we come!

Namorupus Outreach Report

2009-10-22T06:37:00.000-07:00

Often events do not turn out at all as we plan because the Lord has planned something even better. That was the feeling we had as we hiked back down the mountain late Tuesday afternoon.

The week did not begin on such a positive note, however. We arrived in Namorupus on Monday morning to find very few people. We were told that the pastor had gone to Namalu for the day. We wondered what had happened. He had seemed so eager to welcome us and had promised to invite many to come out for the event. What had happened? Anyway, we spent a bit of time doing some teaching to the few men, women and children who were there. They thanked us and promised to inform the pastor that we had been there and that, as we had told him, we were planning to return the next day as well. We were also told, however, that we should come earlier on Tuesday because the ministry would have to be quick since the pastor had plans to be away in the afternoon. A bit puzzled and discouraged, we hiked back down the mountain. We could not help but wonder if his warm welcome had been the typical Karimojong practice of hiding true feelings while being polite rather than a true expression of genuine interest in our ministry. Nonetheless, we kept our promise. Tuesday morning we began hiking up the hill around 6:20am, even earlier than the day before.

When we reached the church building, we were met by a man whom we had never before seen. He embraced us with a hug as he warmly welcomed us. To our great surprise, he informed us that he was the pastor, Lomer Joseph. It turned out that the pastor whom we had met the week before was his associate and was pastor of a different church which had been planted by Joseph’s church in another part of Namorupus. We wondered if that other pastor had waited in vain for us to arrive in his place on Monday morning. Joseph assured us that we need not worry and that he would inform him of the misunderstanding.

What followed was a wonderful day of fellowship and ministry. It was not as much an outreach to unbelievers as an opportunity to meet and strengthen brothers and to consider how the Lord might be giving them and us opportunity for future ministry. Pastor Joseph had canceled his Tuesday plans and had arranged for half a dozen young men whom he seems to be training for ministry, to come and sit under our teaching and to consider whether we were bringing good Biblical teaching that could be useful to them. Rather than us teaching through our materials ourselves, we were happy to sit and participate as he taught through our main lesson on the gospel. As he read through our booklet, we were very impressed by his teaching ability. What thrilled us the most was the way that he had the men opening up and examining every Scripture text that we cited, ‘to see if these things were so’ (Acts 17:11). By the end of the day, Pastor Joseph seemed to be extremely pleased with our materials and very eager to make use of them in spreading God’s word throughout the area. And he was welcoming us to partner with him in the work. He also seemed very interested as we invited him and some of his men to come to our Saturday meeting where we study the Scriptures with men whom we are training as village Bible study leaders.

By early afternoon we were thinking that we should soon begin the hike home. Pastor Joseph again surprised us by informing us that we could not yet go because our food was being prepared. The wait turned out to be another couple of hours. It was worth it. Finally, there on top of the mountains under the tree on his compound we enjoyed some of the tastiest rice and posho (cooked ground maize) with chicken stew that we had ever had! (It seemed so anyway since by then we were famished.)

We had left our home at 6am and we did not return until past 5pm. (When we were with Pastor Joseph we had decided that it would not work to return there any more days this week.) We were exhausted but we were rejoicing in what the Lord had done. We are thankful for the way that Christ seems to be working there on the mountain in Namorupus and for the fellowship we had enjoyed with a new friend and brother. And we are excited about the possibility of future ministry which the Lord might have for us in that place.

Namorupus Outreach Postponed One Week (October 19-22)

2009-10-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

At 6:30am we drove to Tokora Health Center (about 4 miles from us) where we left the vehicle and began hiking. It was about a 2 hour hike to reach our final destination. There was quite an unexpected turn of events. In an effort to find the best venue for our ministry, some locals suggested that we just use ‘the church’. Al and I were quite puzzled – ‘What church?’ We learned that there is indeed a church building built by the locals. We reached what turned out to be quite an impressive albeit very humble building constructed with wooden poles and a grass roof on a clearing high up in these hills at the place of a gorgeous view. We were told that ‘the pastor’ was away for the day. When we asked who this pastor was, we were told that he was associated with ‘Emuron’. Reverend Emuron is our friend in Namalu to whose congregation we regularly preach. I managed to reach him by phone to ask about this group. He told me that he had no involvement with them but that they had likely used his (widely known) name so that their group would be accepted as a legitimate church in the area. He told me of a Korean missionary who had also worked with them but that he had left them and that they were very ‘disorganized’, needing help and that we should preach to them and help them plant a real church. We happened to know that missionary, Choi, a Korean Presbyterian. He and his wife live in Kapchorwa, a district south of Karamoja. I knew that they had spent some time in Karamoja in the past but had no idea that they had been in Namorupus. I remembered that in our brief contact with them I had saved Choi’s phone number. I phoned him. The communication was a bit difficult as his English is not great but he was very happy to have us doing ministry in the very place that he had been.

Well, after wrestling with what to do, we decided that it might be good to indeed minister among this group. Of course, first we would need to ask this pastor about it. We decided that it would be better to leave him a message informing of our willingness to come and do this ministry. The people expressed their delight with the prospect of our coming and assured us that they would pass on the message to the pastor who would then send us a word of confirmation. So we began the long hike back. After about 2/3 of the journey, we decided to sit down for a rest in some shade. A Karimojong man also sat in the shade with us. We struck up a brief conversation with him as we shared with him some of the peanuts we were enjoying. After sitting there some time we learned that the man was a believer. He was eager to show us his Karimojong New Testament as well as his English Bible. Finally, we discovered that he was the very pastor whom we had missed on the top of the mountain. So we were able to speak with him in person and he warmly welcomed us to come. An extra week of preparation will give him some time to ‘mobilize’ (invite many in the community to come) and will likely give us some better weather as the recent heavy rains seem to be moving on.

Outreach to Namorupus

2009-10-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

A community of Karimojong live up in the mountains not too far from us. To reach their villages one must hike about 2 hours from any main road. Our medical clinic has done a number of immunization outreaches in this place but we have yet to do any extensive evangelistic outreach there. Well, we are scheduled to be there a number of days next week (October 12-16). David and Al Tricarico plan to be hiking up into the hills before 7am each day in order to be with the people preaching and teaching and yet be able to make it back down before the heavy rains (which have been coming lately). Please pray for good weather and for ministry that will result in a great spiritual harvest in Namorupus.

Rejoicing on Language Progress for Daughter and Daddy

2009-10-08T06:44:00.001-07:00

Last week we had an appointment with Mrs. Newnham, Megan’s speech therapist, who had just returned to Kampala after being home in the UK for a few months. She was very pleased with Megan’s progress. Megan has made significant strides in recent weeks in her ability to produce sounds. There is still much work to be done. There are many sounds which she is able to produce when coached but which are not yet coming spontaneously and habitually. Nonetheless, we are very thankful for the progress made. Mrs. Newnham believes that if she continues to progress at her current rate, she should be on par with her peers within 18 months or so. Praise the Lord with us even as you continue to pray for Megan.

For our entire Mission, the Karimojong language has been extremely challenging to get our arms (and tongues) around. We have continued to work and make slow progress. Well, we are pleased to report that, for a couple of months now, David has been doing a fair bit of preaching in Karimojong. He is fairly tied to a sermon manuscript but he is becoming more and more comfortable with what was once such a daunting task. At the clinic he now regularly preaches and prays for the sick patients without the use of a translator. And a couple of Sundays back he preached to a congregation in Namalu (where there were no non-Karimojong speakers). The pastor and members of the church were thrilled to receive the message and encouraged him that he was clearly understood. David is thankful to have reached this milestone in what has been and continues to be a long process. Thank you for your prayers.

Footsie and Random Things

2009-08-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Sunshine here. Before I talk about the footsie part, let me say another thank you to all our visitors we have had this summer. We enjoyed all of those that visited. My kids especially enjoyed them. Thanks AGAIN to those that helped Megan with her speech therapy. She misses you.

Caleb, our 6 ½ year old, is very excited about our upcoming trip to the states for furlough. He even has a countdown on our school whiteboard. His first task in the morning these days is to change the number! We all are getting excited about our trip home in about 2 months. It’s hard to believe that it will be almost 2 years since we will have been back in San Diego and seen some of our family and friends! We look forward to seeing all of you soon. We also ask for your prayers as we are setting up our furlough speaking schedule and for the details of setting up a temporary home in San Diego.

Please also pray for the health of some of our Mission. Some of you may have heard about the illnesses running around our station. Between visitors and mission members, we have had stomach viruses, malaria and even a case of pneumonia. Those that are sick now seem to be on the mend for which we are thankful. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Now, the footsie part. Since we have been in this house we have had snake issues from time to time. A few have gotten into our back room through our screen door. At one point we did a good job of sealing it up so they cannot get in. Well, this back room happens to be where we get the best internet connection. The other day I started propping that back door open as it got me a more consistent signal. With laptop on, well, my lap, legs crossed and door propped open, I suddenly felt a tickle on the top of my foot. I looked down to see a little snake (about 12 inches) slithering across my foot! I quickly screamed, jumped up and it moved but didn’t go far. I closed the door quickly and went to look for the nearest possible weapon. When I opened the door back up with umbrella in hand it had vanished. Needless to say that was the last time the door was propped open for a better signal.

Speech Therapy home in San Diego

2009-07-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

We are grateful for your many prayers offered up for Megan’s speech development. Therapy continues to go well and she continues to make progress. Now we are thinking about how to best help her during our upcoming furlough (beginning in November and ending at the end of May). We have been investigating our speech therapy options. There are free services offered through the public schools. However, we are told that the process of getting started can be time consuming and that we cannot start the process until we are actually there stateside. We will also pursue the route of a referral from our pediatrician. However, we are not sure whether this will be covered by our medical insurance. We would much appreciate your prayers for the Lord’s provision and direction in enabling us to provide the best help for Megan during our brief time. We also welcome advice which any of you might have for us as we pioneer through this process.

Ministry to Lomorimor

2009-07-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayers for our ministry in Lomorimor. The village warmly welcomed us into their midst. They came in very large numbers, especially the children. Please pray that the gospel proclaimed would take root in the hearts of many there and result in a harvest of righteousness. Pray for us as we think about how to best approach follow-up ministry to these villages.

Outreach Update

2009-07-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks so for your prayers for our outreach to Okudud. A follow-up report is overdue. (Apologies for my lateness!) The outreach went well. A good sized group gathered to hear us teach through our Gospel for Karamoja materials. This location was suggested to us by our friends from Nakathian [an outreach venue last year] who continue as the leadership of the fellowship in that village. Okudud has an interesting and recent history. Famine or other problems often force people to leave rural Karimoja in search of a better life in the cities. They do not always fare so well and many end up on the streets. This problem has led to resettlement efforts by the Ugandan government. Okudud is partly the result of such an effort just this year. So we had the opportunity to minister to such resettled folks as well as to transplants from other parts of Karamoja. They received us warmly.

There is no established church in Okudud, just residents of varying backgrounds and religious faiths (often nominal only). There were Catholics, Anglicans and Mulokoles (‘saved ones’ – in Uganda, this is the closest term to ‘evangelical’ and usually refers to those of the Pentecostal variety). There were also Muslims and Animists. We presented the gospel in four afternoons to a crowd that averaged 81 in attendance. We distributed 73 copies of our booklet—50 in Karimojong and 23 in English. In attendance was a man named Luka, a village leader whose efforts to gather the people for prayer have been unsuccessful. We gave him five copies of the New Testament in Karimojong, along with one copy of the whole Bible in English. Please pray for a harvest of righteousness in that place and for our efforts to keep in contact with the people there.

Please pray as well for our ministry to yet another village called Lomorimor this coming week. It is a season of hosting visitors from the states and so we have planned outreaches to coincide with their time and ministry with us. They have been coming along and teaching the children of the village.

Saying Goodbye

2009-05-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

We have learned long ago that the mission field is full of goodbyes. So, this last weekend we said another goodbye, this time to our very good friends, the Howards. We arrived on the field here in Uganda at just about the same time 8 years ago. We had our first babies within a few months of each other. Caleb has loved the friendship he has had with Elyse and he sure will miss her! I have enjoyed a wonderful friend in Melissa and look forward to a friendship that will continue for many years. Their family has been so good to us through these last years, and we thank the Lord for putting them into our lives. So, as I am very sad to see them go, I am excited to see them start their new life Stateside, and to see them in that new life on our furlough this next year, Lord willing! :-)

Oh to be my six year old when it comes to saying goodbye. As Caleb stood there before we left our friends, he said ‘bye, see you in February!’ with a smile on his face.

Back to Business as Usual

2009-05-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been praying for us regarding our need for peace with the community. God answered them. The days following the meeting we received kind expressions of good feelings from many in the community. It seems that plenty of folks were as dismayed as we were by the hurtful things spoken against us by their neighbors. And even some of those who themselves had taken the strong stance in support of ‘chasing’ away particular members of our Mission have now backed down and assured us that they have no problem with any of us. Why the change? Perhaps some had been overtaken by ill feelings and had spoken things which they later regretted. Others perhaps have simply backed off now that they have seen that we will not be intimidated or coerced into taking any actions which we believe are wrong for the sake of pleasing the community. At any rate the Lord has granted us the peace for which we asked such that we can continue proclaiming that only one who can give us true and lasting peace through his precious blood shed on the cross. Thanks so much for your prayers!

Clinic Crisis Update

2009-05-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayers for us our regarding our conflict with the community. Another meeting took place yesterday. This one included the Local Chairman (LCIII) of our sub-county. We had hoped that his presence and leadership would bring a more peaceful and orderly environment in which to address the concerns of the community. As it turned out, the meeting was anything but peaceful and orderly. Never in my life have I been verbally assaulted and maligned like my fellow Mission members and I were yesterday over the course of that 5 hour meeting. In one passionate speech we were even called ‘killers’ and ‘Satan’. It would be difficult to recall all of the specific issues raised. Much criticism flowed out of a general frustration over our Mission’s failure to help the community to the extent and in every way that they believe that we ought to be ‘helping’. Just to give one example, there was protest of the charges, which patients incur at the Clinic. We were accused of being in Karamoja to run a business. It did not suffice to point out that the revenues we receive only help us to recover about 19% of the cost of running the Clinic.

Most regrettable was the way that the criticism focused largely on Mrs. Kris Eldeen. As the Clinic administrator, she has faithfully done her job carrying out the policies and decisions of her overseeing committee. At times those decisions have not pleased the community. This has resulted in extremely unfair attack against her personally. Despite our efforts to dispel grossly false accusations and to defend her conduct, the community has demanded that she be ‘chased’ from Karamoja. We stated our clear position that we stand together and, therefore, if they ‘chase’ her they must ‘chase’ all of us. We were saddened when the LCIII, perhaps pressured by the unruly crowd, asked us to remove Mrs. Eldeen from being administrator and to give her different work for the Mission, away from the Clinic. He saw this as a fair compromise (she could stay in Karamoja). We saw it as such an unacceptable demand that it left us wondering yesterday whether we could even continue working in this place.

Well, today we went to see the LCIII privately to explain our position. I suggested that our contrary perspectives might have become an insurmountable obstacle which might force us to leave Karamoja. Thankfully, despite the blatant contradiction of his message just a day earlier, he assured us that Mrs. Eldeen was free to continue her work as administrator and that the community had no authority to demand that we remove her. He even promised to state this in an official letter from his office and enforce it, even with police involvement if necessary.

Quite a bizarre turn of events and an emotional roller coaster of a few days! We decided to close the Clinic for another week while things cool down and we await that letter from the LCIII. We feel much better than we did a day ago but we still need to think about what all of this will mean for us. Please pray for us all and particularly for the Eldeens who understandably are taking some days away from Karamoja.

Crisis at the Medical Clinic

2009-04-28T23:42:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the most difficult weeks that I can remember for our Karamoja station. We ask for your prayers for our Mission, particularly for the work of our medical clinic. The week began with us having to make the difficult decision to release one of our staff members. This contributed to an already present problem of shortage of staff. Furthermore, we had already been in the midst of a water crisis as a pump had broken. So we decided to close down the Clinic temporarily while working to resolve these problems.

What we did not anticipate was how strongly the community would react to the release of the employee. People gathered outside the Clinic demanding a meeting. They even blocked the main entrance with thorn branches and declared that the Clinic is closed until the problem is resolved (to their satisfaction). (This heavy-handed tactic was quite alarming albeit a bit humorous since we had already closed the Clinic for our own reasons.) The meeting was very difficult as the Mission was strongly criticized and accused of continually ‘chasing’ workers for no reason. What was particularly difficult was that the community was demanding to know the reason for the termination. Of course, we are not at liberty to publicly disclose that information.

The community is demanding that we rehire the individual. Needless to say, we cannot allow the community to force our hand in terms of employing and terminating employment of our staff. Therefore, this has become something of a crisis moment for the Clinic (as well as our Karamoja Station of our Mission). We have scheduled another meeting to include government officials of our sub-county. Please pray that God would pour out upon us His wisdom and grace that we might resolve this problem in a way that brings great glory to Him!

April Happenings

2009-04-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

April has begun and has brought with it lots of rain! Either the wet season has officially begun or we are being teased. Sometimes early rains can get everybody busy with their farms only to disappoint them by disappearing for six weeks. We would appreciate your prayers that these ones would continue and would result in a bountiful harvest.

Two weeks ago we came up to Karamoja with David’s parents! The kids have sure loved having them around, as have mom and dad. We have enjoyed doing some traveling, seeing some sites and making some memories.

Kopetatum update: Our neighbors in Kopetatum are slowly rebuilding their homes after having them completely wiped out by that fire we told you about last month. Government aid came in the form of a large contribution of grain. Our Mission decided to further assist by buying much of the aggregate which the people had in possession for sale. We will use it for some construction projects current and future. Also, this last week many of us went out to their village for a work day. It was a joy to come alongside the Karimojong and get our fingers dirty (more literally than ever in my life!) mudding their homes and putting up fencing. The people were quite surprised (and even disappointed in some cases) that we wanted to work ourselves rather than simply bringing money to pay Karimojong to help each other. By freely giving of our own sweat we hope to honor our Lord. We also hope that our example will encourage others in the community to freely help each other and so serve one another out of love for Christ rather than only for financial gain. We believe that this is a better way of adorning the gospel which we proclaim with good works than simply handing out cash. Many seemed to be genuinely touched by our effort. For the time being at least we plan to be out there working with them once per week.

We enjoyed a full and blessed Easter weekend with 37 visitors! Many friends had come up from Mbale. We even had a pig roast on Saturday evening, complete with all the fixings. We hope that you all as well had a joy filled weekend and, particularly, a blessed Lord's Day as you remembered the resurrection of our Saviour and King, Christ Jesus!

Fires, Speech and the Word of God Advances!

2009-02-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

FIRE IN KOPETATUM. We spent most of this past week in Mbale and Kampala. On our way back we heard about a terrible fire which occured in Kopetatum. Kopetatum neighbors Nakaale and is the village where we have been involved in a church plant work for a number of years. Never had we seen a fire cause such destruction to Karimojong homes. Thankfully, not one person was injured but everything else – homes and all possessions including many animals – were destroyed completely, burned to the ground. Several families lived in these two ‘eres’ (large groups of homes in one circular fenced-in enclosure), about 150 persons altogether. Members of the Mission have been out there to be with, pray for and encourage these ones. Most of the people are currently sleeping under the stars while beginning the hard work of rebuilding. Please pray for the Mission as we seek to help in the best way possible in this difficult situation.

MEGAN UPDATE. One reason for our trip to Kampala was to see Megan’s speech therapist, Mrs. Sarah Newnham. It has been 6 months since we began the therapy under her direction so it was time for a complete assessment. It went well. Mrs. Newnham was very encouraged with Megan’s progress. Her main comment was that, while 6 months ago Megan was speaking with virtually only vowels, she now uses many consonants. Based on the assessment she was able to give us a new block of therapy. We have a long way to go but are thankful for the progress. Thank you for all your prayers in this area. The Lord is good!

THE WORD OF GOD ADVANCES. Pastor Al and I have begun a monthly lunch meeting with the leaders of some of the villages where we have done evangelistic outreach. We believe that it will be a good opportunity to encourage these men and build relationships with them. We are pleased with the continued efforts on their parts to be studying the word of God with the people in their villages. As a result of our last meeting and their requests for further assistance in this regard, we are working on a series of Bible studies to put in their hands. The once a month meeting will also be an opportunity to teach through the materials with them and help equip them to go and teach among their people. Please pray that God will firmly establish in his word these individuals and those in their villages with whom they study.

The Doctor Is In!

2009-01-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

We’ve tried to avoid an apple a day because we have definitely not wanted to keep him away! Yes, Dr. Jim Knox arrived this last week to Karamoja. It has been a long time coming. This has been his desire for many years. What a blessing to see it finally come to fruition. It’s a wonderful comfort to have a doctor around, for the Karimojong and also for the missionaries. Please pray for Jim as he adjusts to his life and work.

Facebook Woes…If your friend request is not quickly confirmed, please do not be offended. For some reason, Sunshine is unable to access her Facebook account from our computer. So, for right now, if you want to contact her or be up to date with the latest goings on here, please just email us directly. As for the outstanding friend requests, eventually Sunshine’s mom will ‘check in’ to our account and confirm them. :)

Southern California Fires….in Karamoja??

2009-01-08T04:42:00.000-08:00

Around 11:30am on Wednesday there was a distant fire burning in the field to the east of our compound. We would have immediately called the fire department if there were such a thing in Karamoja. I was a bit concerned but our Karimojong friends assured me that it would not reach our compound since the wind was blowing it in a bit more of a southern direction. Furthermore, when the rainy season ended we had cleared the fields all around us making a good firebreak. Nonetheless, amidst a situation which in Southern California would have most certainly called for the precautionary measure of immediate mandatory evacuation, what did we do? We went to lunch! We headed to the main compound (where we eat rice and beans with our teammates a few days a week). After just a few bites I heard that the wind had changed and fire had come our way and I was running back to our compound with several of our workers to make sure things were ok. The closer I got, the thicker the smoke was, the more my eyes watered and the faster my heart pounded as I thought – ‘I am not a firefighter!
What am I doing!?’

Well, the firebreak had worked. There were some very small fires burning on our property but it was not very long before they were extinguished with the fast heroic efforts of our Karimojong workers and friends. When you grow up with no fire department you become quite skilled at putting them out yourself. After helping us they were running to protect their own homes as well. God was very gracious. We heard of no injuries and the damage was extremely minimal. At the end of the day we were left with some very black fields, an intense burning smell in the air and a house full of ashes to clean up. It is quite amazing to think that the fire had burned completely around our three Mission compounds here. We are very grateful and praise the Lord for his protection!

A New Year's side note: We hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s! We enjoyed a night of soup (yes, even in hot Karamoja) and games with our teammates here in Nakaale. Thank you also for the many sweet notes via Facebook and emails for Sunshine’s birthday on the 4th. It was great fun to receive them!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T04:42:00.000-08:00

Most days temperatures exceed 100 degrees this time of year in Karamoja. Even so, the many wonderful cards we have received from many of you have enabled us to say – ‘It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas’. It doesn’t hurt that the kids are super excited about opening gifts. We plan to just stay around Nakaale and celebrate with the rest of our Mission station here. The Nakaale church will gather for a service in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. We wish you all much joy as we remember the birth of the Savior. Merry Christmas!

After Dinner Fun!

2008-12-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Just after dinner, Caleb looked out the window and noticed that two of our Mission’s night watchmen were pursuing something with their bows and arrows. When I ran out they told me that an ‘ebokoli’ (the Karimojong word for King Cobra) had been on our compound but that they had chased it to where it was hiding in a pile of wood. Caleb and Megan were both interested enough to want to watch the hunt but fearful enough to insist on being in dad’s arms. We stood back at a safe distance and watched the men carefully pull away pieces of wood until the big black and yellow snake could no longer hide. It finally put its head up and flared its neck as cobras do. Loumo Peter (pictured in the blue shirt) reacted quickly with his bow and, to my amazement, sunk the very first arrow he shot right in the throat. With several more arrows followed by many blows to the head, they finished off the beast. The body was still quivering for quite some time but only slightly at the time that Caleb had finally collected the courage to get close enough for a photo. I then measured the thing – exactly six feet. How many children in America enjoy that experience after supper?!

The Gang's All Here

2008-11-17T04:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, finally our whole Karamoja Mission station is on the field all together. The Eldeens and Tricaricos arrived safe and sound a little over a week ago, for which we are very thankful. This is the first time in almost 4 years that we have all been living here at the same time.

Now, we jump in full force. Please pray as Al Tricarico and David get back in the swing of things together and make plans for ministry/outreach opportunities. Also pray that the Tricaricos would be able to transition nicely back into their school schedule for the kids.

It is definitely a season to be thankful. And we will be doing that even more when we all gather as a mission on the 24th to have our Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, it will be a few days early but here in Uganda no one will notice much :)

Just yesterday, two days after his first birthday, as our whole station was gathered for fellowship on Sunday afternoon, Jacob took his first steps. Very exciting!

Progress

2008-10-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

The sorghum has been harvested but the rains are still here. As I write, a nighttime downpour drowns out all other sounds. We expect the dry season soon, but you never know.

Since our last entry, Megan has turned three! We continue with the speech therapy. We are thankful for the help of one of the Wrights’ teachers, Eden Howard, who works with her a few times a week in addition to home therapy with mommy and daddy. We definitely see progress. Thank you for your continued prayers.

The family is doing well, even though Jacob just had his first case of malaria. You wouldn’t even have known he was sick, for which we are very thankful. Perhaps the nursing got some of mom’s immunity into him. Anyway, he will have his first birthday on November 14th, just 8 days after his big brother Caleb turns 6. Where does the time go?!

We look forward to the return of the Tricarico family and the Eldeens on November 7. It will be very nice to have the whole Karamoja station together carrying out the work at full force again.

Prayer:
• Wisdom for David and Al as they seek to strengthen present works as well as preach in new places
• Megan’s ongoing therapy
• Safe travels returning to the field and adjusting to life and ministry for our colleagues, the Tricaricos and Eldeens
• Learning Karimojong – not only for David now, I am actually taking lessons these days. I can’t believe people actually speak this crazy language!
• Patience as I teach my 6 year old. :)

Megan's Hearing

2008-09-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

We know that many of you have been praying for Megan. Yesterday we went to Kampala to meet with the pediatrician for a check-up and hearing test. We and the pediatrician were both very disappointed that the audiogram machine had not arrived (despite the fact that, two days before, we had called to remind to please make sure that it was all ready as we were coming a long distance etc.). The pediatrician examined Megan nonetheless. Also present was Megan’s speech therapist, Mrs. Sarah Newnham. Without the audiogram, the doctor performed some other tests to check Megan’s hearing. The result was that both the pediatrician and Mrs. Newnham believed that Megan’s hearing was fine and, as it turns out, an audiogram test might not be so helpful or reliable in Megan’s case. If Megan is disabled at all in her hearing, it would be better detected by a test that measures the brain activity rather than Megan’s voluntary responses. The pediatrician is going to look into whether that test is available in country. In the meantime, we were encouraged that both the doctor and speech therapist believed that what Megan needs the most is to begin speech therapy.

Mrs. Newnham believes that Megan has a “phonological disorder”. (She does not have “dyspraxia”, which is a developmental disorder affecting the ability to coordinate and execute actions.) This morning she was gracious enough to meet with Megan and us in her own home. It was a wonderful environment in which everyone felt very comfortable. Mrs. Newnham had already given us a packet full of materials explaining the therapy which we will be doing with Megan. In her home she spent some more time working with Megan herself and teaching us how to do this work as well as encouraging us as we begin this process. The first step will involve mostly helping Megan to discriminate sounds. We need to make sure she is distinguishing different sounds before we should expect her to pronounce them consistently.

Thanks again for your ongoing prayers for Megan!

Update on Megan's Speech

2008-09-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayers for Megan. We have been encouraged to seek further medical attention in order to make sure that there are no other problems behind her speech delay. Our upcoming visit to Kampala to see the speech therapist will also involve an appointment with a Pediatrician (particularly one with experience in child development) for a hearing test and evaluation (September 25th). This seems to be the best place to start. If necessary, we are also now aware of a Pediatric Neurologist who comes highly recommended. The Lord continues to wonderfully provide. Thank you for the good encouragement and counsel, which we received from many of you!

Please Pray for Megan's Speech

2008-08-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

Some of you already know about our little girl’s delayed speech development. Megan turns 3 next month and ‘talks’ plenty but does so using mostly only vowels. A few months ago as it became more and more apparent that there might be a problem, we began praying hard as we struggled with what to do. Then the Lord brought a pediatrician to us in one of the groups that visited our mission this summer. Dr. Gayle Murray advised us that Megan really should see a speech therapist. So the search began. We were starting to think that there was no help for us in country and were prepared to go to Nairobi, Kenya or even the States. Then we found a speech therapist in Kampala. She and her husband are from the UK and are here with MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship). Her husband is an airplane mechanic. We traveled to Kampala last week to meet with her. She did confirm that Megan’s speech is ‘severely delayed’ but she brought us much hope. She is putting together a course of therapy to use with Megan. She assures us that when we meet with her again in a couple of weeks, she will be able to teach us to do the therapy ourselves and that she will really only need to meet with us every few months to assess Megan’s progress and perhaps help us make any needed adjustments to our work with her. We are very thankful for the Lord’s wonderful provision. We sure would appreciate your prayers that this therapy will go very well. Pray that mom and dad will be good therapists and that Megan will be an eager learner.

Still Out Here...

2008-08-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finally gotten with the times I suppose and have started a blog. We plan to put our updates out here for you all to read. Please forgive the delay in hearing from us. We have just finished a busy season of visitors. It was a blessing to have them here. We had a total of 4 groups that came from the beginning of June until just this past week. Some overlapped, so at one point we had 19 with us! It’s always an encouragement to have short-termers with us and our kids love having new “friends” around. It was also fun to see old friends back here (like Amy DeWit). We even had our own pediatrician here for a few weeks. Free check-ups for the kids! Dr. Gayle Murray was a blessing to have, not just for her expertise, but also her fellowship. We also had two friends from our home church here. Karen and Laura Goodhart came for 3 weeks. Laura, a nurse, worked in the medical clinic. Karen, a 1st grade school teacher did some “school” time with our 5 ½ yr old Caleb while she was here (among other things). He enjoyed it very much. All the kids enjoyed the Goodhart sisters greatly. From construction projects, to VBS programs, to work in the clinic, it was a productive time by all. It’s hard to believe it has come to an end already.

During this busy time, just maintaining has been a full time job and David regrets not being able to do much by way of follow up visitation to the villages where he and Al Tricarico (now on furlough) have done evangelism. He was nevertheless greatly encouraged recently to hear that a group in Nakathan continues to meet for fellowship. The Lord is at work. As I write, David is out visiting that group.

Since every visitor has left us for now (except a young lady, Eden, who will help teach the Wright family kids), David, I and the kids are headed down country next week for some time to visit with friends and relax. We are looking forward to seeing some old friends that we haven’t spent much time with since moving back to Karamoja as a family.

The kids are good. Megan is turning 3 next month and Jacob is already 9 months! Where does the time go? Caleb is still being homeschooled by mom, which he enjoys…at least for the most part. :)

All for now…

Sunshine (for all the Okkens)