Karamoja Okkens

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.

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 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.

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

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!

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

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 ...