Life in the Bush

Have you ever been a part of the very beginnings of what will potentially be hugely instrumental in hundreds or thousands of children’s lives?

Wow.

When I came to Uganda to help Syd and Andrea, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Andrea tried to explain the lack of electricity, the lack of running water, and the weather conditions to me . . . but until I got here, I couldn’t fully understand how that impacts every element of life. But even more exciting to me has been the realization that God is doing huge things in this place, and I am watching them happen.

Out here in the middle of nowhere, New Hope Uganda is starting a camp. Syd drives around the acreage and points out where the manhood program will be, the staff housing, the conference and retreat center, the children’s camp. . . all of this overlooking the magnificent Lake Victoria. At night, I look up at the stars and see God’s fingerprints. During the day, I look around at all the hard working short term missionaries from US and Canada and see God’s fingerprints. In the morning, I look out at the sunrise and see God’s fingerprints.

My life for the past two and a half weeks has involved a lot of cooking for a lot of people from a lot of recipes I’ve never used before. (I didn’t even know you could make spaghetti sauce, donuts, or french fries from scratch!) Then I have to do the dishes from all those people and all that cooking. But, mind you, I do it with no running water and no electricity! (Praise the Lord for a propane powered stove and a solar powered freezer!) While we cook for them, the men are out in the burning heat (117 in the sun was the highest recorded temperature!), surveying the property, making shelves for storage, moving piles of rocks out of the yard, trying to install a hydraulic pump at the stream, and generally working hard and sweating a lot.

We are back in civilization now gathering supplies for the next team of helpers and enjoying a brief respite from the constant challenges associated with pioneering in Uganda (think “Little House on the Prairie” and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what we’re dealing with!). Please pray for safety and health for all those working at the camp, pray for the constant challenges associated with being the first “mzungus” migrating to such a rural area, and pray for wisdom for Syd and Andrea as they face a constant barrage of decisions.

(Photos will have to come later; the Internet is exceptionally slow!)