Well drilling update....

Just got home from Lormoruchabi (where we are trying to put a well Karamoja).  We just had a really nice day of worship and rest and let me tell you, these 6 guys have earned a rest. They have given up on the drilling technology and have taken to hand digging.  I honestly don't know how long they will keep trying. It is hard, hot, dirty work. (Possibly dangerous too. Don't tell OSHA.)
I had to got the privilege of preaching this morning and a few adults of the village came along with 110 children.



Scorpion....not sure how this picture got posted...

My little blue tent in the middle of the village. Also not sure how this picture was in the batch.

I have some more pictures but I'm just to tired to figure out why I keep getting random ones I haven't selected or why most keep posting sideways no matter how many times I rotate.

The essence of this post  is keep praying. I personally have another full week ahead of me and as long as these guys are still attempting their craziness when next weekend rolls around I'll head back up with more food and supplies for them.

 

Oh, and pictures of Friday or Saturday's teaching in Kabermido. 

Well drilling

So much good stuff going on! I'm so busy I really don't have time for a good update but here are a few pictures to tide you over while I catch up.

We are digging wells in Karamoja!! The village where this crew is working (Lormoruchabi) is in desperate need of clean water so we can't wait for it to be functional. Please pray! They are doing it all by hand and it is HARD work. They are far from any access to their supplies, transportation, parts, equipment, etc...

 

 

Cold rainy mornings!

 



My next few days are very full teaching days (in Teso not Karamoja) and if I finish with enough hours of daylight left I can go back up tomorrow afternoon to bring them more supplies and see how the progress is going. Please pray for teaching today and tomorrow, that the community will be open and receptive. It is an area I don't have many relationships yet and a new language group (Kabermido) but they invited me and I am excited to see what God has in store.

Walked with the kids to get water from their current source.

The long walk home.

New drilling site. Hit an impenetrable rock layer in the first and second one.

 I also need lots of prayer at the moment. When I get so busy traveling, preparing lessons, packing and working I neglect my source. But it is when I'm so busy I need time with Him more.  Pray that I don't miss important interactions with people in my busyness and that I would be attuned to the Holy Spirit speaking to me.
Thanks for your support everyone!!

International Teams

Was in the spotlight last week....

Lots of teaching lately...

This was a busy week with lots of teaching and I'm tired tonight but I have to give God glory as overall I think they were very productive days. I know that in the past few years I've really improved as a teacher (all credit going to the best teacher!) and I think can really make a lesson more relevant and applicable here than when I first started. Wednesday was a youth conference with kids aged 9 to about 19. I talked about making choices that honored God.  There were about 100 kids packed into the church and it was 100 degrees  But God helped me hold their attention (after a highly active game with lots of water and laughter) and the visual demonstration that really seemed to bring it home for the kids was an idea I got a midnight the night before.  They were still talking about it on Sunday so I hope it helps them as they mature into adults.

 

Then this weekend was a "conference" on family planning. Honestly, this one is the one I like to teach the least as I have absolutely no personal experience to pull from but it is the one that is requested the most. Also, I find it the hardest as I know the good biblical reasons and good biological reasons for child spacing and waiting to get pregnant until they are a little older (19 instead of 17) but I absolutely don't know how to help these ladies actually do it. Very few of the normal prevention methods seem effective here and for most of them, their husbands are not cooperative. 

Short skit

Anyway, I'm committed to continue to teach the biblical foundation of quality care of families and let God work out the rest. I added a drama this time to the teaching to help them discuss abortion.  It was a pretty serious drama and the actors did great but the audience laughed through the whole thing. I'm still trying to figure out culture here. 

Also the questions I get still never cease to amaze me like "Sometimes I feel like a male goat. Does that mean my wife is in heat?" And "At what age should the children stop sharing the parents house?" One of the things I teach is how there are specific times a month that a woman can get pregnant and they are shocked. They all say it is the first time they've learned that.

Butch

Just an amazing little not so little thing I'd like to share with you:
We are in the midst of the rainy season which means that mosquitos have become little heat seeking missiles that have the power to ruin a perfectly good nights sleep, even if you have a mosquito net.  If at any point in the night you come in contact with the net they will bite you through it. (I currently have 16 bites on the side of my arm)   I'm also not sure how they do it but a least a few make it into the net and hide until you are sound asleep. Then they will wake you up again and again and again with either the buzzing or bitting.  It was driving me crazy. I was trying to keep all windows and doors closed in the evening but was suffocating without the evening breeze. So I was dousing in repellant but it always wore off by morning. Then I tried to re-treat my net by am unable to get permethrin here in Soroti. Even sitting at my desk in the evening was enough to drive me nuts. (That is actually my excuse for the lack of post lately)
So God provided this praying mantis for me. His name is Butch. He has been living in my bedroom for about 4 days now. He sleeps all day and eats bugs all night. The first night I actually heard him chewing. I've slept soundly every night since. Wikipedia reports one this size will eat around 800 bugs in his short life. I'm good with that.