New Year

New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.  ~Hamilton Wright Mabie


Every man should be born again on the first day of January.  Start with a fresh page.  Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.  ~Henry Ward Beecher


We have faith in this year that positive changes happen, good plans are being implemented and Goals are accomplished! 

Miriam Travels

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.  ~Aldous Huxley


The traveler sees what he sees.  The tourist sees what he has come to see.  ~G.K. Chesterton


We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.  ~Hilaire Belloc


Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.  ~Benjamin Disraeli


The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.  ~Henry Boye 

Miriam, welcome to your Uganda!!!!

Xmas

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!  ~Author Unknown


Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...
~Norman Wesley Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas," 1976

Newsletter

December

Happy birthday

Dear Christine of KACHEP,
Sending you smiles every moment of your special day.
Warm and special wishes from us.

A very happy birthday.

November

prayerletter November

chickens for widows

UGANDA

 

People struggle to get enough protein in their diet or even to have money for necessities like salt or soap. The Karamoja Chicks Project is helping to address this problem. Each woman who is selected by their own community gets 10 hens, just when they are ready to start laying eggs, which yield 10 eggs a day for a year. The chicks have been raised from one day old, and have been lovingly cared for, fed and vaccinated. The women make their own cages and exchange 25% of the eggs to get high quality feed. The rest of the eggs can be eaten or sold for other needs. 

Chicks 

Prayers needed

I have some strange ear infection going on that's affecting my hearing and balance. I'm in Nairobi under the care of a gifted ENT doctor whose handling the fungal infection that's wildly inflamed my ear canal but is baffled by my inner ear problems that blew up when I was diving along Kenya's coast last week. I've been sleeping nonstop for 16 hours and covet your prayers and strength. 

Thanks Jean

Turkana

Climate change in Turkana

Turkana people are basically the Karamojong of Kenya

Lake Turkana, Kenya (CNN) -- Richard Leakey has spent a lifetime exploring Kenya's Turkana Basin searching for the origins of man.
Each layer of sediment, says the paleoanthropologist and founder of the Turkana Basin Institute, helps to tell the narrative of human evolution.
"You get the whole story of life represented going back from the present right back to the beginnings of an ape that has two legs as opposed to four," Leakey said.
"So the whole story of humanity you can actually trace to the Turkana Basin."
But Leakey says these ancient hills tell another story, a history of climactic changes that gave rise to some species and led to the extinction of others.

KARIMOJONG

Its interesting how they name the month:

ENGLISH	KARIMOJONG	THEIR MEANINGS
January	Lokwang	No activity because it’s so hot the sunshine is at its peak.
February	Lodunge	When this month comes to the end, it’s the end of bad season(End of drought)
March	Lomaruk	The beginning of cultivation & harvesting mushrooms that is where this month gets the name lomaruk meaning mushrooms.
April	Titima (locoto)	This is the sorghum is grown to about one feet. Some people are weeding and it’s the same month called locoto meaning mud. Some people are still digging / plaughing. There is rain and a lot of mud.
May	Yeliyel	Crops are flowering mostly sorghum / maize and some weeding of beans / G.nuts is taking place (but the word comes from flowering)
June	Lomodokogec	The mingling sticks are stained with fresh food and that means satisfaction (it’s the time people are eating fresh food).
July	Losuban	A lot of parties, beliefs are celebrated.
August	Lotyak	Cutting or harvesting rids for building granaries and houses.
September	Lolobae	This is when antelopes are breeding and we have enough of them. Sorghum is also still in the garden with same colors like the antelopes.
October	Lopoo (Akilem)	Meaning the seasons of harvesting crops from the garden.
November	Lorara(Akiram)	Means threshing and winnowing. (saubermachen)
December	Lomuk	Means threshing and winnowing. (saubermachen)

Places	People	Meaning
Kabong	Dodoth	Meaning York (Egg York)
Kotido	Jie	Meaning fighter
Nabilatuk	Pian	Breaking of cows. I think when these people were occupying this place most of their cows would get broken, may be because of hunger or other things.  Pian Mean people with easy hearts an. With low tempers.

Gifts that give

Equipping Nomadic Evangelists

UGANDA

Your gift helps equip nomadic evangelists to "story" the Bible using oral methods to share the gospel more directly and reproducibly. These Bible stories and associated songs are spread throughout the Karamojong Cluster - across 15 tribes that share the same language and lifestyle in four countries.

A hand-crank cassette player will allow communities to listen to Bible stories without electricity. A quality cassette recorder or MP3 recorder will provide a way to create a master tape of Bible stories and songs for duplication. A cassette duplicator will multiply the master tape and get it into the hands of the communities to use in the hand-crank tape players. more on: donate

Gifts that give

giving goats

UGANDA

Help Widows
The people of the Karamoja region of Uganda love cattle and they will fight to the death to get more or protect the few they have. Cattle, however, belong to men. Women rely on sheep and goats. You can help a needy widow by donating a female goat.

More on:

Give a goat

Reminder

Support pages:

Jean and Tom

KACHEP

Miriam

Read about us on:
Facebook

Team Retreat

Picture of our team retreat
Joshua, Dr Jean, Tom, Mukisa,  Christine (holding her 4th born -
Ilokul -2nd daughter, Teko standing in front) and Mr. Loumo 

Gifts that give

When you choose a gift for your friend or family member from the CVM Gift Guide, you are not only blessing your loved one, you are also making an impact that transforms lives! 

give an animal

 UGANDA

Chickens
One hen lays one egg a day for one year, providing food for widows in Uganda as well as a source of income when they sell the eggs.


See more on:

Give an Animal

R.I.P

We are very sad that our boer buck has passed away!!!

Miriam update

*lach* Der Titel bringt die grosse Frage: „Wo ist mein Zuhause?“
Nun, momentan bin ich Zuhause, denn ich bin bei meinen Eltern und dort lebe und schlafe ich zur Zeit und den grössten Zeil der nächsten 5 Wochen, die ich noch in Deutschland bin.
DOCH:

„Zuhause ist, wo Dein Herz ist“

…so heisst es. Und so gesehen ist mein Zuhause In Uganda, genauer gesagt in Karamoja, denn ich liebe das Leben und die Arbeit dort und meine kleine Lehmhütte.

weiter auf:

Miriam

Christmas time

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.  ~Charles Dickens

In this time we all wish you a stress less, joyful, happy, thankful and remember-able Christmas time!!

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!  ~Hamilton Wright Mabie
 

This week.......

We are all in retreat this week with KACHEP. We're at a beautiful Christian retreat center along the Nile called Mto Moyoni. Just now I'm enjoying the unfolding of the morning complete with the praise of various birds and paddling of dugout boats of a few fishermen. Pray that all of us would feel God's touch thru refreshment and renewal of our Spirit, enabling us to passionately continue serving Him in Karamoja

KACHEP Prayer letter october 2011

Karamoja Christian Ethnoveterinary Program
(Uganda)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Mukisa Ayub is my name and I am the program Manager of KACHEP. Thanks a lot for all your prayers. I would like to share with you about God’s work in Karamoja and for KACHEP. God is doing many wonderful things in Karamoja. KACHEP has been busy in the community. Over the last couple of months we have been able to do several spraying events to control ticks on animals. After spraying the animals, Dr. Tom Reed is able to share a story with the shepherds. This has been very positively received by the community members.

In addition to this we have been de-worming, castrating, and treating against other various diseases. With every animal we treat, we are supporting the people and sharing the love of Jesus with them.










Now let me introduce you to one of our KACHEP members. We have a watchman whose name is Lomokol James, aged 43, married to Magret Leese, age 28. They have six (6) children. The watchman
takes care of the office, making sure that no one steals program assets. He takes his job very seriously and God has blessed him with genuine heart. He is tall and is an indigenous Karamoja from Pian born near our office premises in Nabilatuk. Lomokol and Margret’s fourth child, Kokoi, got very ill. For 3 months she suffered with this sickness, and was repeatedly taken to the local clinic. They thought that it was malaria. Lomokol James was spending all his salary paying medical bills with the hope that she would get better, but nothing happened. One day Lomokol resigned from his job to go home and help his family. Kokoi’s sickness had progressed to such an extent that her neck was bending at a certain angle making it impossible for her to stand or walk. The parents had lost hope, they had spent all of their money and they had no means for helping their child.
One day Margret Leese approached the office and presented the problem to the KACHEP team
concerning the worsening condition of Kokoi. The wife explained the conditions of the family, they were not sleeping at all because the Kokoi was crying all night, the husband had disappeared to go tree cutting to burn and make charcoal for selling to earn some income for survival and he had been away from home for 2 months.
The KACHEP team prayed for this family, and felt God’s leading to get involved. We informed Margret to look for her husband so that we could give them some medical help. Margret found Lomokol James and they came to office with the girl. Indeed she could not walk, and her neck was bent. Dr. Jean contacted some of her friends at Cure children’s hospital in Mbale some 130 Kilometers from our office. We facilitated transportation for the family to go to the hospital. There they diagnosed the child and sent them back to KACHEP with a medical report that said she needed an operation that couldn’t be done in Uganda.
When the family came back to the office after week in the hospital they looked traumatized because they had expected hope but did not find it. They stayed in their home for 2 weeks and we continued to pray over the family, for God’s wisdom and healing.

After the 2 weeks Lomokol James reported that Kokoi’s situation was progressively declining. KACHEP decided to transport Kokoi for the second time to another missionary Hospital called Matany in Moroto District. There the doctor diagnosed Kokoi with Tuberculosis (TB) in the spine. Kokoi was admitted for 2 months in this Missionary Hospital and given proper treatment. Every 3 weeks I would go to visit them, to check on their situation, and give them some financial support. After the two months Kokoi was discharged from hospital, she had healed and was walking normally! When they arrived home in Nabilatuk they reported to our office and everybody was happy and excited, we see God’s hand at work. God had restored their broken hope.
We want to thank all our supporters and prayer partners who have made it possible for us to share God’s hope with the people of Karamoja, especially to Lomokol, Margret and Kokoi. Please continue to pray for us and communities we serve.
God be with you all,
Mukisa Ayub
KACHEP
Contributions are solicited with the understanding that the donee organization has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds.
KACHEP
PO Box 22
Moroto, Uganda

Thanksgiving

So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

Moru Anna

Here's Moru Anna with her collection of eggs from KACHEP community poultry project

Akol's 2 kids

Here's Akol's 2 kids
Newborn Ese, whom the team helped get to the delivery ward an hour away in Nabilatuk 2 months ago. And sleeping behind is brother Logir

It's early morning in Okotoot

from Jean on 22.11:

We arrived yesterday and found the village all ready and expectant for their Tuesday story night. Joshua led singing because Valentina was back home in her village with a sick child- the same one that had been in the cattle raid a few months ago. Tom and Joshua tag teamed the David and Goliath story and the shepherd boys loved it. I felt at home sitting under a glorious starry night around a small campfire hearing the mingling of my mother tongue with ngakarimojong filling me with peace and expectation of our real home, were every tongue and tribe will sing His glory.

The moon is tiny these days, roosters are busy greeting the still dark sky- while next to me and my cow skin bed mat; my roommate Akol is churning our morning yoghurt in a large gourd suspended from the hut rafters by leather straps. A new day in the life. 

We'll be busy this morning running cattle thru the chute, spraying against ticks. I'll spend time with Moru Anna and do some building of a new hen house.

Land

We have officially been handed over Lotim hill - known at Moru Loseperae. 70 community members , goverment officials, village chiefs and the local doctor all signed - most commonly a thumb as few read and write. One winkle in the plan - we have 20 new neighbors on western ridge overlooking the trading centre of Lotim. The Uganda army was called in after a couple of security incidents. The UPDF has occupied the western ridge before, with its commanding view of wide valleys north and south.....

Well done!!!!

Miriam is doing very well in her studies, we pray that she will finish the books with the very good marks she got till now.

Miriam update

Tuesday: no studies but preparing another presentation:
"the joy of faith" and "the calling of God". Two courses have their ending and I'm invited to testify about joy and calling in mission.... let's see. Again a totally new presentation. I might bring it as a movie to my blog....

Lotim

Pray for us as we meet with government officials today in Lotim.We've been offered land here in Northern Karamoja. Getting Land can be a long and sticky process in East Africa!

Calendar 2012.....

Thank you very much Jean for working on our calendars 2012.

Anyone who would wish to order please send an email to:
harmening_2000@yahoo.com with the Subject KKAB Calendar

bank account cleared out final part 4

Just a small update on the Bank issue.... _WE GOT THE MONEY BACK!!!!!!


Notice in the Ugandan Newspaper:

Customers of Stanbic Bank Uganda are the latest victims of one in many dirty tricks used by cybercriminals to falsely obtain money from bank customers’ accounts. Sources within the banking industry told Saturday Monitor that the fraudsters placed one camera at Stanbic’s IPS branch ATM and a second at its down town Kampala location. The cameras and skimmers have since been removed after the bank discovered them.

Mr Daniel Nsibambi, Stanbic Bank’s spokesperson said they are not in position to comment on the ATM incidents. “For security reasons, we are unwilling to discuss specifics of the case,” Mr Nsibambi said in an interview this week. “The bank provides high-level security for customer funds through various internal systems and risk control measures. We encourage our customers to ensure that their Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) are confidential and to frequently change them.”

More on :
Monitor

Honda 650

So, I just turned 51 a month ago. Against both better judgment and good advice, I've frequently made use of a "piki" for transportation. These are local motorcycle taxis, usually 100, or occasionally, 125 hp, so named because their early incarnations were so low-powered that their burbling motors sounded like "piki-piki-piki-piki-piki". In all my years, I've never been on a real motorcycle . at all . ever. Yesterday, I did - riding on the back of a Honda 650 driven by a Ugandan motocross champion, Arthur Blick (pronounced "Bleek," I theenk - just a little joke there). It was the end of a long day's training session (not for us, though we were privileged to observe) and Arthur was in a hurry to get home. Now, in all fairness, he didn't do anything I wouldn't have done and he DID apologize for "not exactly following all the laws," to which I courageously answered, "experts can do that". I would've given a version of Henry V's St. Crispin's Day speech, which I prepared long ago for just such an event, except it's hard to generate the proper levels of emotional intensity through clenched teeth; also, I was trying to control my bladder and not scream (. too much). I must also add that he never came close to the actual performance capabilities of the machine, though he seriously taxed his passenger's abilities to remain affixed to the seat behind him.
- Now, I never for a moment doubted for Arthur's safety. And I believed (then, as now, when blood flow and heart rates have all returned to normal) the chances were good that I would also live. I also believed, however, that the chances for my death or dismemberment remained greater than desirable (ever . ever . ever). God DOES answer prayer, and we arrived safely, though it took me a bit longer than expected to pry my benumbed claws from the seat handles and "deplane".
- "Why?" you ask, "does a middle-aged, wanna-be academic place himself in such a position?" Mid-life crisis? (No. I have waaaaay too many real crises to waste time on such penny-ante stuff.) A life-time of thrill-seeking and risk-taking? (Nope. Remember, this was my first time on a motorcycle and the bungee-jumping rig in Jinja will ALWAYS be safe from me for EVER.) Purely dollars and cents. Not only am I a long-standing and notorious tight-wad (even if only in my own mind), but I am a penurious missionary to boot. And I drive an aging (if rugged and much loved) Toyota Landcruiser. Jean and I bought a couple of Yamaha 225 off-road bikes from Arthur (and he had NOT been paid at the time of "the ride"). She has a license and I rode a bicycle once. So, training is important. We expect to use the Yamahas for moving around in our ministry area and reserve "the bull" for team and long-range journeys. This will diminish our "big-rich-NGO" footprint, preserve the truck and reduce its operational costs. Too, motorcycles can go a lot of places that a truck can't. So, it just makes sense to risk your life in order to save a few bucks on truck maintenance - ha! Plus, it's waaay cool
- now, I must say a word about Arthur: he's a great guy; mild-mannered and soft-spoken; a good instructor who came with a high recommendation from an MK (who is also a former, East Africa, rally-car-champion driver). But, take my word for it, it's MUCH better to be the driver than the passenger, no matter who's driving.

PI Uganda Retreat - Kingfisher, Jinja - Nov 2011

This weekend we are in Kingfisher for our Pioneers Uganda, missing Miriam on this.....

bank account cleared out part 3

 Our  Bank has let us take 2.5 million uganda schillings .... with the hopes for more. Meanwhile, our account says minus 2.4 million...... ah Uganda

Miriam Studies

Since Miriam has to catch up with her It Studies, she extended the German stay for 8 weeks to get the time to study, we wish her all the best

Road

Per SMS on 28th October
Just hit the mud road of Karamoja. Ah...oh no,, 4wheeldrive's not working. Stuck again, along with 5 trucks infront of us. Got out now and turning around to go 40km back to Mbale.
4 wheel ok. Dash light out. So why got stuck in mud? Bald tires. Now have new. Drive north in am. Thanks for prayers

bank acount cleared out part 2

Investigators nabbed 2 hackers in Kampala who they believe were involved in duplicating atm card and zero-ing our account. The bank seems serious to follow up and have said they will get our money back. Praying from here

Fundraiser for Jean Grade and Tom Reed

Location	Facebook
Moderated	Michelle Anderson
Info	My missionary friends Tom and Jean had their Ugandan bank account completely drained by a thief. The total amount lost was $5000 US. It was all the money they have to live on until January. These are the missionaries I served with back in the beginning of the year. This is a great couple, serving the Lord in Karamoja to plant a church among a primitive people group. They need our prayers for this thief to be caught quickly and for the bank to restore their money. In the mean time, would you please consider making a small donation to provide some immediate relief to their situation? I have close to 500 contacts here on Facebook. Together, we could raise this amount in no time at all! Please visit their blog at http://karamojakaabongandbeyond.blogspot.com/ To make a tax deductible contribution, visit this https://www.cvmusa.org/SSLPage.aspx?&pid=1267&tab=3&frsid=37 Thanks for your time, consideration, and prayers!

Our boer buck

Sorry the blog has refused to rotate the pic!!!!!

bank acount cleared out

Tom picked me up from the airstrip last week and mentioned something was wrong with the bank card....so when we brought Summer down to the international airport in Entebbe we stopped at Stanbic Bank to follow up. Over the course of 3 days, someone, somehow pulled out money from our account using a Kampala ATM machine....while I  was stateside and Tom was with our only card hours away in Karamoja. Our entire account has been cleared, 12.87 million Ugandan shillings - that's over $5000 and  was to last us til January of next year. Mukisa said that this is not uncommon and also happened to the KACHEP account. pray that the investigation goes well and that our funds are recovered. In the meantime -we'll stay down in Jinja til we can figure it out - and to pay for the one million truck bill we just got. ouch

Packing and Resettllement of Ryan McCabe

From  Ryan's Blog

So this week is crunch time. The beginning of my move to Kitgum is beginning. After several months of checking things out and helping out around Calvary specifically with the worship team, the time is now. It is funny that but a year and few months ago I was doing this same thing, moving. However when I moved up to Karamoja there were still things that remained here and i expected over time that the room would be gone. However each time I came for a visit I found the house the same, except for some stored items. So overtime I made things a little better, a lil more comfortable. Now on the horizon is a move that is not based on in an out time but on full time. So this last week I have been organizing and tearing apart my house, sorting clothing, and dealing with hoarded stuff that should have gone long ago. and even Picture albums(yes they still make those). So as my house becomes more barren I prepare for what will be and no longer for what was. It is an exciting time and one that can be scary. So keep me in prayer.

Will be praying for your new start....

So - storying Part 2

 I've been experimenting recently with the story of Job. You remember him: famous for suffering. Except that's really the least of his worries and of the story. The real issue with Job is, he was a "Righteous" sufferer, i.e., he had every right to expect that good behavior would result in an unbroken sequence of divine protection and blessing. Both he and everyone he knew thought the reverse was also true. Anyone who suffers is simply suffering the natural, expected and correct consequences of their bad behavior, even if secretly bad. But Job's righteousness brings suffering, instead. Don't you just hate it when a great theory runs smack into reality? Ouch!
   Now, all the action happens early. God sets up Job for satans pot shots, which he experiences on two occasions. As a result, Job loses everything, except his wife and friends, whose advice makes you wonder if he might rather have lost them (har har - just kidding!). God's dialogue with satan reveals the real issue: satan accuses God of buying off Job's affections, that God isn't really worthy of love and obedience. Job's refusal to curse God vindicates Him and presumably shames satan.
   Most of the book (Job 3-37) is Job's discussion of his experience vs. their legalistic doctrine. The driving refrain there is, "how I wish I could talk to God directly!", because, of course, Job knows nothing of the events in chapters 1-2. He's just like us: we suffer and demand to know "why?". But would that really have helped? In the end, God appears but doesn't answer any questions. God only reveals his power and knowledge. He is worthy of Job's (and our) faith, whether we know all that He knows or not.
   Except for the appearance of God and His restoration of all Job's blessings, this is pretty true to life. Readers have the benefit of knowing what Job didn't, the events in heaven. Christians have the benefit of knowing much more and of having what Job desired, an Advocate.
   But what's the benefit to the Karamojong? It's a riddle. Not just suffering, which heightens the senses and sharpens the focus, but all of life. Especially if you have a legalistic worldview (as Job did and the Karamojong do). Nothing highlights the basically lawless nature of life than strict adherence to "the rules" (laws of physics and patterns of life, notwithstanding). And Christ is the answer, both now, when things are at their most "lawless" and in the future, when His law will be universal. Job raises the question that we all try to avoid with our particular brands of 'law' and the only answer is Jesus. Cool, eh?

Pedro

So, I must introduce Pedro, a new "member" of our team. We purchased him
from some friends-of-friends living in Mbale who are packing up for
retirement to return to the UK. We don't often purchase team members and
this is NOT a foray into indentured servitude. And, though Pedro's
"services" will be offered to the local community for a price, we're also
NOT starting micro-finance programs in prostitution. Pedro is a goat - a
male goat - a male goat almost as large as a Shetland pony - and he's the
only goat around here that, when the Karamojong men see him, their eyes
don't light up with hunger for a roast but with an entirely different sort
of "desire". The Karamojong typically care less for the quality of their
animals than for their number (thus, their penchant for raiding and not for
breeding). But Pedro REALLY brings out the "hope" and "plan for progress"
genes mostly laying dormant in them. Though we'll charge for his services to
the general community, he is intended to ... aaaaaahhhh ... (how do you say
it ...) "assist" the female goats that KACHEP distributed to vulnerable
women in the community.
   As goats go, and they almost always go WAAAAAY EVIL, Pedro is a prince
among them, and not solely for his stature. He's pretty placid and even
tempered, almost like a pet (he really likes to be scratched on the sides of
his neck and just between his very large horns, though the rat fink did try
to butt me). If left alone, he'll just stand, or sit, quietly where tied and
chew (and drop amazingly stinky ... aaaahh ... droppings - we moved out of
there Just In Time!). This is contrary to most goats (of standard size and
evil nature) who constantly seek ways to annoy and make a LOT of noise. As
I've been heard to say many times, goats are ... what? EVIL (and that's why
God made them tasty! so, eat all you can, He'll just make more!)!
Apparently, Pedro's natural evilness has been curtailed or diverted somehow
(did I mention that the rascal tried to butt me while I was scratching
behind his ears?! *#$@% goat); so, I suspect he won't be as tasty when his
life of "service" comes to its natural end. Updates will be posted when
appropriate.
   So, there you have it. A project to improve (drastically!) the goat
breeding stock in southern Karamoja. And I don't want to hear any snide
comments about "goat prostitution" or "goat pimp" or "goats of the evening"
(apparently, he's available both morning and evening), or "corrupting the
character of a goat" (remember, 1: goats are evil; 2: Pedro is a goat; 3:
therefore, he ain't no victim); and all movie references should be kept to a
minimum ("Pretty Goat" and "The Story of gOat" stretch the bounds of both
propriety, even for goats, and credulity).

Visitors

Yes, we're a little pumped up after the pastoralist meeting in Ethiopia.
And the unbelievably (often, impassibly) bad roads this rainy season can't dampen our enthusiasm. Ahead lies more language study, another trip north to Kaabong to push forward plans for the next phase of the work, more team-recruiting, and then Christmas. As for recruiting, please pray for
Summer Root. She's a Californio who's been with Pioneers in Ethiopia for three years and is visiting us for several months to see if God will lead her to join our team. We sure hope so. We also hosted Marissa Silva, another Californio who came for a month to help Jean with the chick project. She's
looking forward to veterinary school, and we hope also, eventually, to mission work in . oooh . what say . Uganda! Why not. Ok, so that's a little downstream time-wise but we really enjoyed her and she claims also to have enjoyed her stay with us. Please continue to pray for God to add to our number.

Pig roast

So, now we're back. Much against Jean's wishes, we put the pig-roast off until after Ramadan (no kidding), although her arguments were compelling. That is, if they're going to install a power-source and loud-speaker and use them almost continuously for a month, surely they won't mind a little roast next door. . . Hey! It's not like we were going to invite them, or anything! Joking! Even if they have lost their sense of humor, we still have ours, right? The celebration marking the completion of our stone house is slated for 17 Sept - of course, it isn't actually 100%. But it should be by the
following week and then we'll move in. We've lived in tents for 13 months, which, considering the patriarchs of Israel, isn't all that much. But we'd planned for only 2 or 3. The date was set so Miriam could attend before jetting off to Germany for fund-raising. Sadly, we couldn't time it for Ryan, who's left us for greener pastures, but what to do . CHOW! That's what! I've always thought that one of the greatest guilty pleasures in being a Christian was bacon, and roast pork is the next best thing. Yee-haaa!

message from Miriam

Finally finished my fundraising tour in germany. Missing Karamoja too too much. Hope, you guys are doing well upcountry.... see you "soon"

Addis Ababa

Even Addis Ababa was memorable. It's a beautiful city but I didn't see much of it this time. The bit that we spent there was mostly in taxi's. These are Ladas. Think of a Soviet-era-Fiat knock-off and you'll picture them nicely. Think of wrapping yourself in aluminum foil and motoring through a major
urban center with no seat-belt and you'll picture me nicely. I think I'm prayed up into the late-2020s. In fact, I may be storing up prayer-points for the populations of medium-sized countries. Nothing like transportation in Africa to prove the existence of God and the need for faith. So, I wasn't sight-seeing. I was staring obsessively at traffic and twitching uncontrollably. Anyway, lovely country. Hope to go there again next year and earn some more gray hair. In fact, we hope to bring a number of Karamojong church leaders with us so they can benefit as we have. We tried to bring Joshua of KACHEP this time but he was turned back at customs - sheesh. At $500 per ticket, that's a major prayer request for October 2012.

Suri

Non-cluster pastoralists in attendance were the Suri, famous for the women who put saucers in their lips, the Murci, whose men, like the Suri, fight with long poles, the Bunna and some special guests from the Maasai. It was an unexpected pleasure to see several troops of tourists (not unlike a troop
of baboons) drive through while we were there to see this "human zoo" in all its wilderness nativity. Not really. I gotta say, though, the plates in the lips were a little off-putting, perhaps as much as the eating with open mouths and generous (!) bodily scarification. Still, we learned a good bit about pastoralists by seeing them all together and listening to everyone's stories. We met at Tulgit, found only on certain National Geographic maps of south-east Ethiopia, near the Sudan border, and accessible by weeks of walking, or two-plus days of four-wheeling or several hours by helicopter.
We chose "Door #3"!! Whooo-Hooo - never been in a helicopter before (though I have a brother who's been in a helicopter crash; does that count?) so it was going to be memorable no matter what. Thankfully, it wasn't as memorable as my brother's experience.

Miriam at Karamoja stand

After having 6 sessions she has no voice anymore, the next session is to be tomorrow evening. We pray she gets her voice back.

"So, what do you want from us?"

This question came from a Ng'atom church leader after a couple of days of . well, not grilling exactly, but some intensive questioning on their strategy of evangelistic outreach. The Ng'atom are on both sides of the Sudan-Ethiopian border and are, together with the Toposa of southern Sudan and the Turkana of northern Kenya, part of the Karamojong cluster.
Good question, I thought. OOOPS! You mean no one told you? So I said (out loud): "over a year ago, Trent and I spoke at length about the vision God's been giving each of us." (Trent Cox is another CVM missionary, partnering with SIM in Ethiopia.) "He wants to send missionaries - not muzungu/ferengi
missionaries but Ng'atom - across to Uganda. I want to train Karamojong to be missionaries reaching all the way across to Ethiopia."  What I didn't say out loud was, "I WANT RED-MEAT-EATING CHURCH PLANTERS WHO WILL GRAB THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS BY THE THROAT AND SHAKE IT UNTIL ITS DEAD TEETH RATTLE
LOOSE IN ITS BONY HEAD! AAAAAARRRR - ARE YE WITH ME, BOYS??!!" It might have
lost something in the translation. Our translator was James, a Toposa pastor from Kapoeta, south Sudan, speaking to Ng'atom of Sudan & Ethiopia, and conversing with Jean and Martha (a Presbyterian colleague who lives near us) who use Ng'Karimojong. Nice, eh?! One of the by-products of SIL's meeting of pastoralists from the cluster was this confirmation of the member's linguistic proximity to one another. This is also yet another reminder (as if we needed another reminder) that we must make progress in language study. Learning Ng'Karamojong will open up not only the whole of Karamoja but at least three other language groups across three other nations covering more than a million lost pastoralists ("lost"? But I knew where I was the whole time - you know what
I mean). Speaking of which, I've made some progress. I was able to hear some of the conversations around me and (drum roll), I can count all the way up to 10!! So, if "Sesame Street Karamoja" ever takes off, I CAN WATCH IT WITH THE OTHER 5 YEAR OLDS! Well, progress is still progress, so you guys keep praying.

from Jean

hey - i need some prayers. i buzzed to the states for a 9days for  my mom's 86yr b-day and to support my family of ten many of who are going thru some extreme difficulty. pray for unity within the siblings, pray for my mom as end of life issues are on the forefront - there's struggles and frustrations as she would like to continue living at home with her companion, Floyd. please just pray - this is a very hard time with court hearings and a lot of siblings personal desires and health issues in the mix. we all love mom - and i know one-another - but it's hard for some of us to feel it or understand it. meanwhile - i just took some meds for malaria. i haven't had it in over 5 years, must've picked it up in Ethiopia last month

Prayer Card Jean and Tom

Prayer Card

„KKAB“ Hand-Out zum download (german)

Flyer

Goat project

KACHEP has a women’s goat project in which they give a local she- goat to a window or needy woman. After the goat delivers a female kid, it’s given back to KACHEP so another woman can benefit. This week we have a student from Wisconsin here helping us get ready for the arrival of Pablo- a 6yr old Boer buck, will is making a pen for Pablo so he can um…service the girls, He’s much taller than the local goats and we’d like to gauge the community response to and see how much more milk and meat his kids will bring. Goats are the most common meat that the Karamojong eat. Their milk is better for children and doesn’t upset lactose intolerant people or carry common cattle diseases. Pablo debuts this Saturday!

Marissa Chick 9th august- 8th September 2011

Greetings from Uganda!  My flight from San Francisco went very well.  I changed planes in Amsterdam, then stopped briefly in Kigali, Rwanda.  Upon arriving in Entebbe, I was met by a couple of my new teammates with a sign. What a relief it was not having to find my own way.  After sleeping in Kampala at a small bed and breakfast for the night we took a 5 hour bus ride.  We stopped 10 times,  having chicken and liver on a stick for lunch along the way.  The plan is to stay in a city called Jinja on the shore of Lake Victoria before heading northeast to the mission. What a blessing to be with this team which prays often in thanksgiving. 

 

Arrived at the encampment

silvas_travels

August 13th, 11:44

We arrived at the compound at Nabilatuk in eastern Uganda near the border with Kenya. Travel from Mbale was rough because the roads are all dirt roads and it poured rain.  A number of big trucks fuil of rock got stuck including two that blocked the pass.  After noting a hugely flooded river nearby we decided to backtrack two hours and spent the night in Sipi Falls.  I enjoyed Sipi Falls. It is a gorgeous 3 tier water fall.

The road was only slightly improved the next day.  Our Land Rover got quite stuck in the mud at one point.  It took us and 6 locals pushing and pulling to free it.  Tired and cover in mud we finally got to Nabilatuk.

It is Ramadan and there is a new mosque in town.  The Muslim call to prayer  happens day and night, but it doesn't stop them from feasting on American music videos such as Magic by B o B.  Astounding.

Yesterday I connected with Kachep aka The Karamoja Christian Ethnovet Project.  I will work alot with their goat and chicken projects.

The best part so far is the consistant ebb and flow in and out of prayer.  Everything is accomplished through prayer.  Here prayer is the first and most valuable option. It strenghtens my heart!

There is much laughter about the roads and all the silly things that happen.  I'm so blessed to be here and am excited about the work ahead.

Blessings!

 

Being sick and other things you shouldn't do in church

silvas_travels

August 15th, 15:48

Monday, was my busiest day so far after waking up for a hour long devotion with the team that I led as a special surprise.  If was then off to the hen house.  If you haven't looked up the Karamoja Chick Project you should.  We have 53 hens we feed and check on twice a day along with 50 chicks in the community.  I've learned how to dispense rations to the local women who exchange eggs for feed.

I was led to a sick cow and was told that it was my job to treat it.  Talk about learning on the job.  Thankfully vet Jean came out and we examined the cow together.  The cow had East Coast Fever which is a tick born illness but is easily medicated.  The Karamajonj have a funny relationship to their cattle.  They have all these herds they use for trading and marriage and they lose them when they get raided.  But they barely eat beef.  Mostly beans and posho which is rice.

The reason for my title for this day's blog is that we went to a special 4 hour Catholic mission confirmation service yesterday and got sick for the first time on the trip., hopefully the last.   I had felt a little queasy but it was the smell of incense put me over the top.   In short I was grateful for my teammate Miriam.  She took me home made me peppermint tea and stayed just outside the tent.  When I finally was able to sit up she and vet Jean prayed over me a special blessings from two very God trusting women.  Just like at home, people here take the power of prayer literally.  If you need Gods help I learned you ask.  As I hear the words of Arabic over the loud speaker we praise God that he speaks to us English, French, Karamoja and pig latin even if we needed him to.  Thank you for you prayers!
Love,

More on:

 

Marissa

 

 

Shifting

From Jean per Sms on 27.9.2011

tonight’s the night. We have left to Pine Lodge tent, home for 13 months, and moved into our home stone homes. Mosquito net is hung, stars are twinkling above, singing with rhythmic jumping and clapping can be heard from the next village over. We’re home, again, some meters away is Miriam’s hut-whose out on furiough.Also near is the hen hut, thankfully no roasters.

Mt Kadam is towering in the distance from our front window, tomorrow morning,above her peaks, the sun will rise. Now I’m just thankful for crowing into my bed, hearing the crickets and cows mooing.