My thoughts are as unsettled as a sunbird
They flit from problem to dilemma
Attempting to solve each
But flits again, unresolved
And fearful they will miss one
Simply too many flowers to taste
And drink dry
My thoughts are as unsettled as a sunbird
Life is never stagnate. It is dynamic, though its ebb and flow are sometimes hard to discern with our mortal eyes and fleeting lives. At times the evidence of change comes as an earthquake, followed by aftershocks, followed by a tsunami, and finished with a sucking tide. Change is inevitable, and sometimes on steroids on the mission field!
We recently heard that David and Rashel Robbins are resigning from the work in Karamoja. They are presently in the US on furlough, but now need to return to pack up and wrap up. Between other visitors, missionary travel, cases of COVID and other unforeseen events, they have had many false starts to their return trip. We are yet awaiting its realization.
In March we traveled as a family to Kampala for the first time in a year! It was a delight to catch up with some friends we hadn’t seen in that time and to eat ice cream! We were also able to see a doctor and get an ultrasound of our third child, expected in August. She is healthy and continually reminding me of her presence with gentle kicks.
I have been looking for a person to hire in Mbale to help with financial procedures there. I wanted to be careful in vetting the person beforehand, so talked to multiple people in Mbale from other Christian NGOs to get references, did interviews and had other colleagues also meet the candidates. It will be a unique challenge to manage an employee in a different city. I was able to travel to Mbale with the girls the last week of April to train the new employee. It was a very hectic week, but productive overall. I’m excited about the possibilities. The new employee was a breath of fresh air in how appreciative she was for and her aptitude in the work. I’m praying she will work with us for many years to come.
The rains have come. The land is green and bursting with life. We’ve picked white lilies of the field and are enjoying the seasonal striped swallows return to build their mud nests. The people are busy too. I love waking to the sound of men in the field singing to their oxen as they plow fields. Maize and sorghum have already begun to grow. Children are in our field almost every afternoon picking the wild greens they eat. A few weeks ago there was even a new kind of mushroom popping up all over the place, edible at that!
I went to the village today to visit a friend and was simply struck by the beauty of this place. A cool breeze blew from the east, everything seemed to sparkle in the gentle sunshine, clouds hovered dramatically over Mt Kadam, and the hillsides were covered with fresh growth. Now is a time of promise and hope.