Chris Crowson

I just received a pastoral care notice from my sending church.  A long-time friend, Chris Crowson passed away.  I knew he had some health issues and there was a scare that had us praying for several weeks, but that was years ago, before I came to the mission field.  One of the unfortunate aspects of being in the mission field is I often do not know about these things unless someone like immediate family tries to get a message to me quickly.  As a result, this notice came as a surprise.

Chris was always helpful.  When I was new to St. Antony’s, I could count on him to help me when I needed to know something about the church or about who to talk to.  He was always seated on the gospel side of the congregation in the old building.  Where to find him varied a little as we settled into the new building, usually towards the back or serving as an usher.  Always ready to help.  I am confident that I am just one of many who will miss him.

Padombu SS

The headmaster of Padombu Senior Secondary school (high school) gave the prison ministry team permission to hold a meeting / bible study on Saturday every other week.  He suggested 4 o’clock because they have class from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

We were well received by the administration when we arrived at 4 p.m. Saturday.  However, the school program was for sports competitions between the dormitories for both Saturday and Sunday.  Therefore, we would probably only get one or two of our team members for the bible study. 

Three prison ministry team members and the school’s scripture union president joined the three of us who went for the meeting / bible study.  It turned into a meeting to discuss the vision of how this will work.  They want our visits to be to turn over of material and to allow them to conduct the bible study for everyone in their scripture union chapter.  Sounds good.  We can get our practice presenting the material with the team meeting on Tuesday in Koboko, better to let them have practice presenting.  They will also take charge of the ministry at Lobule prison.  Turning this over to the team members there gives them an opportunity to recruit new team members, and gives us a better sharing of the prison ministry among members, even during the school year.

Video

Luke, who is considering mission work, came to visit Truth is Light in 2023.  He is currently back in the US. He also offered to make a short video for the Rays.  I asked, and he agreed to make one for me too.  Recently we tried to meet to discuss the video he assembled based upon my suggested purpose.  With eleven time zones between us it is hard to find an acceptable time for both of us.  This week we succeeded, and it was not preempted by other events.  Unfortunately, I did not have permission to view the video before our meeting; however, that was quickly resolved, and I can say he does great work.  I look forward to being able to show a video, in addition to still pictures, when he finishes his work.

Koko

This is the Kakwa name for the local style chicken houses.  They are put up on platforms, so predators do not get at the chickens when they are sleeping.  My friend Moses bought the frame for a new Koko (pronounced with long o’s, kōō-kōō, or like cocoa without the ‘a’) to house his growing chicken population.  He knows how to put together a thatched roof and allowed me to take pictures.

Moses adding the first layer of thatch to the center / top.

Preparing another bundle for the next layer. 

This bundle will form the top, so it is tied multiple times.

My cat, Queen Sheba, had to inspect the work.

The ties that are used (at least in this part of the world) are called (in Kakwa) trora.  It is a strong plant.  Moses was able to pull his knots tight with all his strength without fear of it breaking.  (The foot is in the picture to help give perspective regarding the size/length.)

Cutting the end even, to make the finished roof look good.

After adding water to the thatch to soften it, he bent it in preparation for adding it to the center spike.

Adding the final layer to the center spike.

Distributing the thatch all around the center.  The center spike can be seen extending above the cut off end of thatch at the top of the koko in this picture.

Tying down the final layer.

Two rounds of tie-downs completed.

Complete and ready for placing on its platform.

On the platform.

Off-line

One of the computers in Mugujai has stopped working.  Not because it is broken, or because of a power issue.  This is because Microsoft assumes the entire world is online all the time.  I am using a family license of the Microsoft suite (Word, Excel, …) which I licensed in the US so I would have a legal copy with all the options enabled instead of the outdated, illegal, partial copies common in this part of Africa.  Unfortunately, the software requires the ability to connect to Microsoft to validate the license every time it is started.  Since there is no internet service in Mugujai (technically, it is there but the cell tower is so far away that the signal is too weak and every attempt to access the internet has failed/dropped), it cannot validate the license, so it has turned off all the functionality.  Cannot even type text into a new document.  When will Microsoft realize the world is not blessed with all the advantages they have at their disposal?  It is a simple process to set a switch in the software that says, ‘I have already validated this license when it was downloaded in a location with internet access, no need to access the internet to do it again.’  But they did not do it that way.

Tendele

This week the public car bypassed Mugujai.  While we were still in Koboko, waiting for additional passengers, a woman with kids in tow asked the driver to go to Tendele.  I never heard the answer and did not see anyone get in the vehicle right after that, so I did not think anything more about it.  Apparently, they did not get in the vehicle because the woman was making sure all the things she purchased were loaded into the boot (trunk).  Suddenly the vehicle did fill up.  When we took the turn off for Tendele some of the other passengers complained because they did not know you can reach Busia via Tendele.  I asked, and the driver said, yes, he would drop me in Mugujai on the way back from Busia.  This meant I would be late reaching Mugujai and my computer skills class, but I would get there.

When we arrived in Busia, the driver decided to hire a boda to take me to Mugujai at his cost.  This meant I would not be “as” late to teach class, because I would not have to wait for the vehicle to fill up again.  It also meant he could sell that seat in the vehicle again, which would earn him more money than he spent hiring a boda for me because he bypassed Mugujai.

Padombu SS

The prison ministry team has several Secondary School students in the membership.  Four of them attend Padombu Secondary School (High School), which is near Lobule on the other side of Koboko district.  These students have asked me to talk to the headmaster, on behalf of the prison ministry, about sharing the bible study we have at team meetings with them and other students at Padombu, so they do not miss out.  They also want me to ask the headmaster to give them permission to leave campus on Sunday so they can be the team sharing at Lobule prison.  That would be convenient, because the rest of us are on the opposite side of the district (state if you are in the USA, although they are the size of a large county).

Setting up a meeting with the headmaster has been elusive, so I sent a letter.  In this culture, that may be more favorable.  Time will tell.

Economy

My friend Meta was offered a chance to purchase eight basins of cassava.  Cassava is a staple in the Kakwa diet.  It is a root that is dried in the sun and then ground into flour for cooking.  The price is stable right now because we have been in the dry season until now.  This means people have been able to harvest their cassava and dry it.  Later, when we are well into the wet season, when the ability to dry cassava has been difficult for some time, the price of cassava will go up.  Meta plans to buy his friend’s cassava now (so his friend has school fees for his children), and then sell it when cassava that has already been dried is fetching a higher price.

Confused

The announcements at the Sunday service mentioned mid-week activities.  There is Kakwa time (which is also true of some of the other local cultures), and there is clock time.  I have come to expect things announced at church to be closer to clock time.  This mid-week activity was not.  Several local schools suspended class to participate and the teachers that I know indicated they had also been told the time I heard in the announcement.  I am confused.  Do I plan for the announcement to be accurate, or do I add a local cultural adjustment?  I am still learning how to hold plans loosely.

Prison Ministry

It seems we really are in a new season.  Attendance at prison ministry team meetings reflects the numbers when I arrived in Uganda, three or four people instead of the eight or even more than ten of recent months.  The difference is now we have more who say they are interested but they are also students, or local government officials, or … 

We accepted the opportunity for ministry at a second prison two years ago.  These numbers will not allow us to continue to share the gospel at both prisons.  However, God is doing something.  What I can perceive of it is, one of our team members has just secured a part time teaching job at a secondary school near Lobule (other side of the district).  We also have four team members who are students there.  They are talking about introducing me to the headmaster so I can ask permission for them to have their own copy of our prison team meeting there at the boarding school and then for permission for two of them to go share the gospel at the prison on Sunday.  The meeting has not been set up yet.  Pray for God’s will to be done.