Wednesday 1 April 2015

Out and About, Doing This and That!

Although I have no recent news or reports from Kajjansi, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy.  Here are a few snippets of information, hopefully to encourage you to pray.

Nyazi Visit
No, we weren’t visited by the men in brown shirts, it was Bentry, Edward and myself doing the visiting, to a church Edward is involved with.  Edward is ABU’s electrician (a noble trade if there ever was one!), and Bentry is of course, one of our faculty members.  Edward had asked me on more than one occasion to come and preach to the church, and Bentry who had visited before, was glad to come along too.  The church was about 100km from ABU, so the journey took the best part of 2 ½ hours, but the fellowship and company were good, and the time soon flew!
The Three Amigos, outside the church
Bentry is the better preacher and should have led the main service, but he was happy to take the Sunday School and allow me the honours of the day!  Both of us spoke on the subject of church leadership, order and obedience, which seemed a perfect fit for the church, as they were in the midst of choosing elders and deacons.

I think Bentry let me preach, so he didn’t have to wear a suit!


After the service, we were fed Ugandan style: matoke (savoury banana), rice, g-nut sauce (ground nut, very similar to our peanuts), Irish (potatoes) and pork!  All of us ate sufficient for the journey home.
Tucking in Uganda style (though this wasn’t all for us – we shared it between five of us!)
Wakisa Ministry
So why haven’t I been to Kajjansi, recently?  Well, first we had Evangelism Explosion for the First Years, so outreach was put on hold for that week.  Then we had our Spiritual Emphasis Week (which Natasha told you all about), so that meant there was no outreach for a second week.  Then, last week, I joined up with the Wakisa Pregnancy Crisis outreach team, as part of my job assisting Kurt Schimke in overseeing this area of ABU’s ministry. 
Some of the Wakisa team (Francis Ocen, Moses Ken, Kabeije Glorias, Peter Aloro, Kyarisiima Merab, Njagi Esther, Faith Wainaina), standing in front of our recently acquired 8-seater, 1994 Toyota Prado – perfect for such trips!
This outreach involves visiting the Wakisa Ministries Uganda centre and sharing the gospel and friendship with the girls (I say girls, as many of them were very young), singing and sharing a short Bible study.  The week I was there, Faith Wainaina led the study, speaking on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and how this should be a great encouragement to us all.
Faith leads the way!
She was very nervous, but spoke clearly, commending Christ the Saviour to us all.  Please pray for Faith and the rest of the team, and for the young ladies who so desperately need saving, in more ways than one.




Coaching Swimming
Yes, I’m coaching swimming…but no, it’s not at ABU!  It’s up the road at ISU (International School of Uganda, founded in 1969!) 
Look at the colour of that water…and that sky!  Did I dive in?  You bet I did!
Some of the missionary children are taking lessons here, and as we’re in the middle of a long hot heat wave, I thought I’d go see what the facilities were like!  And, very nice, was my verdict.  So, how can I help them, and help me?  By offering my services as a Level 1 qualified swimming coach…and that is what I’ve been doing, these last few weeks!  Of course, I do this voluntarily, without pay… but the kind people at ISU did say I could swim whenever the pool is free – which is most afternoons, when I’m free…what a bonus!
Culture Night
Every year, ABU holds a Culture Night, where students and faculty dress up and dance what best portrays their culture.  Of course, this is not a very English thing to do, as no one really wants to learn and demonstrate Morris Dancing!  But, we English do have our culture, and to prove it, Andrew Carter and I decided to treat the nations of ABU to some traditional English culture…
Of course, there was no dancing involved, but there was tea and cake, and some discussion about the cricket…oh, and lots of silence and shuffling of newspapers.  I’m not sure everyone understood what typifies English culture, but it doesn’t hurt to keep them guessing!
So, as you can see, there are cultural differences that we all need to try and understand and live with, especially as we will be spending eternity with each other.  Please pray for all faculty and staff as we get to grips with each other’s differences.
Please pray for our ministry, here at ABU and out and about, in Kampala and beyond.
Please pray for us, and remember that being away from home can be tough, with different hurdles to overcome and trials to traverse…pray God will bless our marriage and ministry together.
Please pray for our trip to Busia, later this month, with Joan and Amy.  And pray for the church there (where the water pump is still working and supplying many families!).
Many blessings and much love,
Sean (and Natasha)



Natasha's News

Dear All,

It has been far too long since I last wrote, so please forgive me. Below is a summary of the last few months, let us pray together giving thanks to God and asking Him to bless our weak attempts to serve Him.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendour and majesty. Ps 104:1

December 2014 marked the end of semester one, where I taught Library Orientation and Home Economics. Both courses went well, and although I still wouldn't say I am a teacher, it is a wonderful way to get to know the students. We have continued to open our home to the first year students for film nights (linked to their World History course), and we thank God for each one that God has brought here.

Dressed up for the Christmas Banquet, with Esther and Hope, two of our Colorado girls!

Towards the end of December we move into the dry season and so the temperature increases. As I write we are still in the dry season and I'm struggling through 30oC days and 20oC nights. Please pray that my body would adjust, it seems a small thing but constant heat can be very wearying over long periods of time. We had the pleasure of celebrating the New Year with friends from Canada, UK, and Uganda. We played games and watched the Kampala fireworks from our hill on Lubowa, it was beautiful under an African sky.

January 2015 is a time of recuperation, before semester two starts. Owen, Sean's friend was with us, which was a blessing. Our friends and family back home are very precious to us and although contact from Uganda is limited, you are often in our thoughts and prayers. We warmly welcome anyone who would like to spend time with us in Uganda. We give thanks for the Carter family, who arrived safely. They have been a blessing to us, and we look forward to serving God together. We are also thankful for the return of our Malawian neighbours, the Mhangos. Their African hospitality and advice has been a great encouragement to us.

Owen and an elephant 


The Mhangos: Bentry, Bongani & Hlupe



The Carter Family: Isaac, Andrew, Lydia, Edward, Julie & Carys

February 2015 is the beginning of semester two, and everything is in full swing. I am teaching Business Statistics. The course is going well and the students are interacting with the material and raising excellent questions, pray that God will equip me to share my knowledge well, and be able to answer all their questions. I am teaching Maths and Chemistry to Amy, a faculty member's daughter, as well as supporting administration needs. This takes a significant amount of my time and keeps me busy. Please give thanks to God for increasing my work load, it may sound odd, but I am much happier when I am very busy.
As we spend more time here we are meeting more people, and increasing our opportunities to serve God's people outside of ABU. Grace (right) is a young lady we have got to know, and she now comes to church with us. Please pray that she would grow in faith and that we would model  godly living to her. New City Church (where we regularly worship) had a "Youth Retreat" (youth means adult singles), and I was asked to speak to the ladies on singleness. It was a lovely day down by Lake Victoria, and I was blessed by the ministry from our Pastor, Rogers. I understand my talk was well received, and was an encouragement to several ladies struggling with singleness.  Please pray for me, I'm not comfortable speaking in front of large groups, but I always try to serve whenever God gives me an opportunity. Also pray that God would give me wisdom as I try to give Godly advice to others.

Malaki and Solomon unpack the books
It was also during this month that eleven boxes of books arrived from the UK. A member of Norwich Evangelical Church graciously arranged the resources, books, packing and posting. Our students have been very excited by the contents and several, with Children's ministries, have been blessed with fantastic children's literature. Praise God with us, books are an expensive resource here and not many have access to good literature. Please also pray for our students who are trying to set up village libraries and community centres, so that those with so few resources can learn to read and develop learning skills.


I received the sad news that my Father needed to have an operation on his eye. I praise God that the operation went well, but he has still not recovered his vision. Please pray that his vision would be less blurry and he would be able to return to work.

March 2015 provided an opportunity to worship God through ABU's Spiritual Emphasis week. Each day starts with a prayer meeting in our home, where ten students joined us for singing and prayer for Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh and Lebanon. We have three addresses a day, with some afternoon sessions as well. Dr. Bill Barcley from Charlotte NC and retired Archbishop Orombi were used mightily by God to edify us. My heart was truly warmed with new dedication to the Gospel and a love for my Saviour.



Last Sunday  was International Women's Day, and so Grace invited a group of friends to fellowship in our home. I prepared some brownies and a short talk on Proverbs 31, the woman of noble character. The meeting was due to start at 3pm, by 4pm Christine had arrived and by 7pm Sophie joined us. I gave my little talk, and trust God to use my words to encourage the ladies to seek characteristics based on God's Word and not the world.
We look forward to Joan and Amy's arrival at the end of the month, please pray that God would direct our steps as we seek to share ABU and a little of Uganda with them . We are thankful to God for you all, please continue to hold us up in prayer .

The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them. Ps 145:18-19