Karamoja Okkens

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord  God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the  house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33) May you draw near to our great savior and king as you remember his birth. Merry Christmas! David, Sunshine, Caleb, Megan, and Jacob A few shots of some Christmas Eve fun... Christmas Eve lunch with our Karimojong friends and workers Getting ready for our Yankee Swap

Banda style...

A bit delayed but the mudding progress on Caleb's banda.

Greetings from Karamoja! Is it hot and dry or cold and wet? We are never sure anymore. Back in September I announced the arrival of the dry season. That announcement proved premature as very heavy rains quickly returned. (Had history taught me nothing?!) Soon after, Al Tricarico and Jesse Van Gorkom even had to spend one night in their vehicle having failed to reach home due to the muddy roads. We thank God for protecting them through the night. And alas, those days seemed to be behind us until next year (we thought?!). Until two days ago, we had experienced so many days of tremendous dryness, heat and dust. It felt like we would never see rain again. Then suddenly a day of multiple downpours quickly caused such road problems that Jim Knox had to cancel a trip to Mbale. When it is dry, we are thankful for easier travel. But that also means the return of other dangers. As water sources dry up, thirsty snakes come searching for a drink. A very large cobra was recently killed on Miss...

November marks our birthday boys... Today we celebrated our baby Jacob, turning 7 and last week our first born Caleb, turned 12! Another reminder at how fast time flies!

Our Megan turned 9 today! What a blessing she is and quite the helper! Happy Birthday, Megan. We love you!

Dear Friends, Warm greetings from Karamoja! Just a few weeks ago the rains were so great that we had to cancel a trip to Mbale because of severely muddy roads. A couple of weeks of mostly hot sunny days and the roads have dried up. Seasons change but the Lord remains the same faithful God. Karamoja continues to be a land with many souls lost in sin. Just yesterday the talk of the day surrounded the news of a man who had been killed while stealing maize. Apparently, the owner was fed up and desperate after consecutive seasons of losing his crop to theft. He was spending nights hiding in his garden ready to defend his property at any cost. The unsuspecting intruder came for maize but instead found a spear hurled at him. The report was that in the morning a trail of blood led to his dead body. If stealing and killing are commonplace in Karamoja, false reporting is even more so. Today we heard that the man was not actually killed. Instead, the blood was from his hand which was...

Latest on Caleb's Banda. School starts tomorrow so progress will likely slow down for now. Still can be played in!                              

Caleb's latest project with his friends...a banda. A mud and stick structure with a thatched roof. They want to do all the labor themselves and are paying for any materials. Progress so far... as they began so far

In Karamoja, it is not uncommon for Bible studies to be interrupted by any number of events which compete for attention. But this was a first. We knew that there are baboons in the area. We often see them as we drive to Mbale. But I had never known them to attack livestock. It turned into a bit of a gruesome sight. I had in mind to write about this. Christopher Verdick beat me to the punch. Check out his blog and see what he wrote. http://verdickmoja.com/a-hidden-treasure/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-hidden-treasure

Today we enjoyed hosting some friends for lunch. Aleper Emmy, his wife Florence, and their children, Longoli Andrew, Lokeris Prudence and Angela Joseph are members of our church. Emmy is one of the young men who is leading some of the village Bible studies. So David has been able to attend them and encourage this brother. We would appreciate your prayers him and his family that they would continue to grow strong in the Lord. Also, Emmy has some problems with his eyes. We are in the process of trying to help him find treatment. Please pray for this as well.

just waiting on cabinet doors termite proof!

We are thankful to be back here safe and sound. It was a joy being reunited with our teammates. We have readjusted to the new time zone and are sleeping well. Upon our return Sunshine's allergies flared up and she lost her voice. Not fun. It is slowly returning and we are relatively healthy. God is good. You recall that our house was renovated during our furlough. It is like being in a new home. The bats and termites are gone. We are so thankful for all the work which was done by our teammates in helping to get our place ready for us. The work of moving everything out of the storage container and into the house has been huge, but it is almost finished. You may have heard about some changes which occurred during our time away. One of our ministry partners and language helpers, Lokwii Paul, is no longer with us. As it turns out, he has taken a job in a different district in Karamoja. We are thankful that his family is with him but we miss him. We pray that God will cont...

Yes, it seems I am unable to write anything on this here blog! When I want to post a picture or a thought of what has been happening over the last few months and I am conflicted as to where to post...blog or Facebook!? Facebook has won out. I do plan to visit here again, but for now, you can find little glimpses of our time in the States over on the other media outlet.