Karamoja Okkens

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...

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 ma...

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 speec...

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. :)

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...

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!

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 ...