Christopher caught me by surprise one day and announced that covid vaccines had been donated to Uganda and would arrive in March. Previous predictions had them arriving in June or so. After a few weeks of calls, following the news, which included a conspiracy regarding
November 28, 2020
Piercing the Darkness
I curse any thought I ever had that my day-to-day work at Akisyon a Yesu Presbyterian Clinic was mundane or boring. I would pay a considerable ransom to be a desk jockey again for just a few weeks. While the investigation into recent thefts was…
November 9, 2020
Chickens, Frogs, and Poking the Bear
In a year largely consumed by thinking about and reacting to the coronavirus pandemic, perhaps it’s a nice break that there should be something earth-shattering enough to distract us from its ubiquitous presence in our lives. But not really. In July, the solar water pump…
“Thank you for what you’ve been doing. Please keep doing it.” This has become a regular prayer of Carmel’s. It makes me smile every time – such truth, so simply put. The adult version would include an outline of the gospel’s power and its work
Akisyon a Yesu, the name of our clinic, translates to “The Compassion of Jesus.” It’s the name on the roadside sign, the first thing you notice when you come to the gate. It’s also at the heart of the tension that I have felt ever
When we closed the clinic a month ago, the local leaders, in our first meeting on the subject, said “You have to open the clinic, otherwise people are going to die.” It’s easy to dismiss this as a rhetorical flourish, a hallmark of Karimojong oratorical
Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough. You drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns
The past four months have seemed to simply fly by. Here are some events from that time. At the end of July our teammates David and Rashel Robbins (and crew) left on furlough. They had been scheduled to leave in mid-May but ended up postponing
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.For his steadfast love endures foreverGive thanks to the God of godsFor his steadfast love endures foreverGive thanks to the Lord of lordsFor his steadfast love endures foreverPsalm 136:1-3 We are six months into corona in Uganda,
The cost of presence is absence. To want to be everywhere at once, is to want to be God. Yet in this nomadic life I often mourn my limitation to one place, one body. I have felt this price keenly since coming back from furlough
Last year, the harvest was good. I suspected that when it was happening, by the sheer number of drumbeat led, moonlight parties in the village. The number of marriages that took place within a short time after harvest, made me smile at people’s good fortune.
The Way We Do
Good Samaritan/Bad Samaritan
When we closed the clinic a month ago, the local leaders, in our first meeting on the subject, said “You have to open the…
Visiting Georgia
I couldn’t sleep. I kept wondering what I would do if the boda (motorcycle taxi) I had arranged to pick me up before dawn didn’t show…
Village Dichotomy
I told Longole we would be coming home with her after work. She washes clothes for us twice a week. I invited myself, my…
On Being a Missionary
On Being a Missionary – Chapter 8
A Palace, or a Mud Hut? We come to what is perhaps one of the discussions that Chloe and I are most apt to…
On Being a Missionary—Chapter 7
Kings, Cooks, Beggars, Saints Our last chapter was a bit theoretical on the inevitability of culture shock and how to overcome it. This chapter…
On Being a Missionary – Chapter 6
Culture Shock It’s the biggest catch-phrase of moving between continents. When Chloe and I first arrived back in San Diego, it was the first…