Karamoja Okkens

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!

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

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! :)

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 ...

Baseball with the Karimojong Megan turns 6!!

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 e...

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 abo...