Snakes in Uganda

One good friend of mine tried to alarm me before I came to Uganda, warning perilously that she "had looked it up and there are snakes in Uganda!"  Of course, she wasn't actually trying to alarm me but rather to find a convenient excuse not to brave the 24 hours of travel time and considerable cost required to pay me a visit. Well, I've been on the lookout for these mysterious creatures since I arrived, my creative imagination conjuring up images of man-eating vipers waiting around every corner.  My next door neighbor has seen two itty-bitty snakes in the last six months but I've never seen even a one. 

Tonight I finally can claim to have seen a snake in Uganda.  Granted, I was on the road in the truck, going some 45 miles per hour, but I saw it!  On our way to Entebbe airport to pick up some short-term missionaries my truck passed right over the top of a slithering serpent as it made its way across the road.  The question I had to ask myself, of course, was "Why?  Why did the snake cross the road?"  I'll let you creatively provide a witty answer.  If it hadn't, my snake-free record would still be standing!  Nevertheless, it did indeed cross my path, and, I can confidently say, it passed underneath my truck with narry a scratch as I zipped on about my business.  So, my dear snake-shy friend, you were right.  I can now confirm that there are indeed snakes in Uganda. That's still no excuse for not visiting.  -Shauen

Our First Field Film is Released

With great joy we would like to announce that we have released a Field Film from Uganda! 

Field Films are video productions in Windows Media Video (.wmv) format and should be easily viewable with software already installed on your computer.  Field Films are companions to our monthly newsletter, Field Notes.  We hope to release a new Field Film two to three times a year to help show you what God is doing here in Uganda. 

This Field Film is less than 6 minutes in length.  The full resolution video is 111 MBytes, which may take some time for you to download, so we've also made a very, very small compressed version of the same video which is only 9 MBytes - it's basically just a taste of what the full resolution video is, enough for you to see if you want to download the full resolution video or not. 

To download, right-click on the link below and select "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."

• Full Resolution Field Film (111 MBytes)
• Compressed Field Film for preview (9 MBytes)

This is our first ever Field Film and we would really enjoy any feedback you're willing to give. 

Solicitations from LCMS

Like any charitable organization, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod's World Mission wants to keep you connected to its work of Gospel proclamation.  As part of a larger family of LCMS agencies, there is some sharing of lists that occurs within the LCMS.  It has recently come to our attention that a few supporters receive solicitations from other operations of  the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) after they have sent in financial support of God's work in Uganda.  We were not aware of LCMS World Mission's policy of exchanging lists within the network of LCMS agencies but want to assure you that it is simple to opt-out of any such exchange.  LCMS World Mission has released a statement which we think explains the issue well:

In a donor base as large and diverse as LCMS World Mission’s, names are identified in many different categories. We are thankful to have a strong base of regular supporters for LCMS World Mission and our other Synodical ministries. But, no matter how hard we work to retain our donors, we do experience attrition, losing a number of donors each year that we depend upon to support our missionaries and support our operations. Due to that attrition, approximately once a year we sign agreements with other LCMS agencies who are involved in Gospel outreach to share names in specific categories. We share names within our church because these Christian donors tend to have a giving spirit and passion for helping others, coupled with the fact that receiving mailings from other Lutheran ministries once a year gives the donor an opportunity to learn more about God’s work through the various services and ministries with whom we work.

It is always possible to limit the use of a name or to withhold a name at the donor’s request. We honor such requests regularly. Any donor may ask to be coded for limited contact, do not mail, do not call, or do not trade name. Such requests normally come after the fact of receiving a letter or phone call, and will be honored as soon as received. To restrict contact with World Mission, simply make your request by E-mail to jackie.peterson@lcms.org or by phone at 800-433-3954 Ext. 1017.

If you have received any unwanted mail, phone calls, or solicitation from LCMS agencies, simply contact them as indicated above and they will gladly recode your name to discontinue all inter-agency sharing.  And feel free to let us know if you ever have any concerns about our sending organization - we're all in this together.   Thank you for your generous support.  -Shauen

May Field Notes Published

Field Notes for the month of May have been published. This month, Field Notes included the following articles:

• 20 Baptisms and 30 Confirmations in Ikumbya - Shauen baptizes and confirms for the first time
• Ready and willing hands - Krista volunteers as a nurse and travels for a vaccination clinic
• Mourning from abroad - Shauen mourns the loss of a close friend of the family, Elsie Markgraf
• Facts in Focus - A sampling of the menu of Uganda's only Mexican Restaurant

Our prayer requests include:

• For short-term missionary volunteers coming to Uganda this summer—especially for Alec, Liz, and Christine
• For the family and friends who mourn the passing of Elsie Markgraf on May 22nd in Tacoma, WA

And we praise the Lord:

• For the newest members of God’s family baptized this month in Ikumbya Lutheran Church
• For the blessings God provides in rapid communication—email, Skype, and fast mail delivery—allowing us to stay connected even from 8,800 miles away

If you haven't seen it yet, download Field Notes for May 2009 (PDF file, 439k) now!

Missionaries Solomon and Georgina Ayagri

Georgina & Solomon Ayagri, Rev. Charles Bameka, and President Noah IsangaAfter 9 and a half years on the Ugandan mission field, missionaries Solomon and Georgina Ayagri are returning to their home in Ghana.  Solomon has been an Ablaze! Alliance Missionary from Ghana - funding for his work in Uganda was provided through LCMS World Mission.  Solomon and Georgina worked most recently in the Mbarara region of Uganda, in the southwest part of the country.  They had a farewell celebration at the dedication of Grace Lutheran Church in Mbarara as well as a special recognition dinner here in Kampala the night before they flew home to Ghana. 

Solomon and Georgina first came to Uganda and began work in the Jinja area.  They also spent some time in Kampala, before following God's lead to the southwest.  They were the pioneering missionaries who brought the Lutheran faith to this southwest area only 6 years ago.  Georgina and Solomon Cut the CakeSince then, God planted 11 congregations in this area through Solomon and Georgina.  Twenty lay leaders were raised up in service to those congregation and three men from this area are in Seminary today.  Five of the congregations have received permanent church buildings through Solomon's hard work partnering congregations here with LCMS congregations in the United States: Ishongororo, Kemihoko, Ibanda, Kinyamugara, and Grace Lutheran Church - Mbarara.  The Mbarara church was the last to be constructed, even though Mbarara was Solomon and Georgina's base of operations for this region.

Solomon and Georgina will be missed as they return to their home in Ghana.  As a new missionary to Uganda, I will especially miss their experience, wisdom, and insight into Ugandan culture.  We celebrated their service and God's work through them with a party at a local restaurant.  Krista baked a cake (always popular - although American cakes are sometimes too sweet for Ugandans).  We praise the Lord for their service here and pray that we may somehow continue what God started through them.   -Shauen

Ikumbya - my first baptisms & confirmations

This weekend one of our TEE (Theological Education by Extension) students had invited us to come to his congregation for the dedication of their new building and to perform baptisms and confirmations.  What an honor.  Together with fellow missionary Rev. Jacob Gillard, visitor Mike Schaser of Friends Serving Uganda - Aboluganda Mu Kristo, Reverend Charles Bameka, and several of the Bameka family (who are from this village), we traveled to the Kamuli area and to the Ikumbya congregation.  We set out early on Sunday morning for the three-and-a-half hour drive and were met with joyous singing and ululating upon arrival. 

Ikumbya CongregationThis church structure is a different style than others I have seen here in Uganda.  It's based on the same pole-system, where several poles are erected and a roof is held up - sometimes it's a tarp-covered structure and sometimes the roof is iron sheet.  At Ikumbya, they have filled in the wall space between the poles with bricks, up to about 5 feet, which allows some air to pass all the way around, keeping the interior cool but also allowing for a more enclosed area.  Anyway, it's a good looking little church and I like that it looks more appropriate to the area and the type and size of construction seen in other local structures. 

Pastor Charles did the opening dedication, led the liturgy, preached, and administered Holy Communion.  I was asked to Baptize and confirm.  So, for the first time in my life I baptized.  Shauen Baptizing with Pastor Charles AssistingAnd baptized.  And baptized.  There were 23 names on the list for baptism!  What a joy, what an honor, what a privilege!  What an amazing opportunity to witness God working a miracle right before my eyes, to be a part of His amazing work in water and Word.  As I baptized, Pastor Charles translated into the local language.  23 times, for infants, children, and young adults.  I got wonderfully wet over the course of the morning.  Then, after the baptisms, confirmations!  There were 34 on the list to be confirmed!  So once again, one by one, these brothers and sisters were confirmed in the faith they received in their baptisms years before and welcomed into the Lutheran Church. 

The offerings collected at Ikumbya included maize corn, avocados, and I think even some mangoes, as well as the cash and coins one would usually expect.  The fruit and vegetables were sent home with us missionaries as a gift - something that often happens when we visit congregations up-country.  After church we were treated to lunch at Pastor Charles' father's home nearby, with chicken, goat, sweet potato, rice, and all kinds of other wonderful food.  As honored guests, when a meal is served after church for special events like dedications, we are generally served set apart from the rest of the congregation.  This time we had a table set up for us with some chairs and benches, with bottled water available and forks.  The food was served at our table family-style.  The rest of the congregation sat on the ground nearby and had plates brought to them directly, eating with their hands according to the custom.  It does make me feel a bit uncomfortable to be elevated and set at a table while everyone else sits on the ground - to be set apart this way.  I'm still learning.  Perhaps to refuse the honor would be a greater offense than the lesson it could teach about servant leadership.  Perhaps to decline just so I feel more comfortable would cause more problems than its worth.  I don't know.  Like I said, I'm still learning. 

What a great day - Baptisms, confirmations, Holy Communion, and time of fellowship.  Praise the Lord for His amazing work at Ikumbya!  -Shauen

Dedication of Grace Lutheran Church

Grace Lutheran Church, Mbarara, UgandaThis weekend I was privileged to travel immediately after our TEE session with a few of our students back to their home congregation in Mbarara for the dedication of a new church building sponsored by Trinity Lutheran Church in Roselle, Illinois.  The drive to Mbarara takes more than 5 hours and a good part of the road is considerably poor, although it is mostly paved.  My truck was full and three people were even riding in the far back - which is apparently somehow more comfortable than taking a bus, and certainly cheaper.  We arrived at Missionary Solomon Ayagri's home in Mbarara and were treated to a wonderful dinner with some Ghanan dishes and jackfruit for dessert.  We stayed at the Tripple A hotel (yup, that's how they spell it), which is a nice little place with breakfast included and clean sheets and a big towel (funny what makes a place "nice").  The showers are cold, of course, but they have showers.

Sunday morning we headed to Solomon's place and then on to the new church.  I had seen the church under construction a while ago when we went to the dedication in Ibanda.  This church building is the most impressive Lutheran Church I've seen in Uganda - beautiful architecture and fully appointed complete with stained glass windows and prepped to receive electricity when power comes to this part of Mbarara.  The church is nicely situated on a hillside overlooking a little valley. 

Solomon Salam AyagriThis church was built in 90 days and represents the culmination of Missionaries Solomon and Georgina Ayagri's 9 years of work in Uganda.  More on Missionary Solomon in a future post.  The church was officially opened, the keys were handed over, and we entered singing.  The Service of the Word was joyous and full of hopeful excitement.  I read the Gospel reading in English, followed by someone who read it in the local language.  Solomon's sermon was, as usual, full of life, full of illustrations, and full of excitement.  Afterwards, the dedication service began, with speeches and recognition of special guests and visitors.  I read a letter from Pastor Mueller of Trinity Lutheran Church, the sponsors of this building. 

Catered LunchThere were also special presentations for Solomon and Georgina as this Sunday was also the recognition of their years of service in Uganda before they leave to return home to Ghana.  A special offering was collected to send them on their way, according to the custom of this area.  While the leaders of the local congregations laid hands on Solomon and Georgina, I led a prayer over these departing servants of the Lord.  The dedication service concluded with a few more words from the master of ceremonies and lunch was served! 

Lunch was quite an affair - catered even!  There were a couple kinds of rice, fried potatoes, millet, matoke, cassava, chicken, beef, beans, greens, pop, and some other stuff I couldn't even identify!  What a glorious celebration of God's blessings.  The church building was overflowing, the little detached kitchen/children's gazebo was well utilized, and the toilets out back were nice and new.  This church is a testimony to God's work in this place, a gift just like the grace He provides, and a beacon that calls to the unchurched to come and meet Christ Jesus.  Praise the Lord for His people in Mbarara!  -Shauen

Short Term Missionary Alec Fisher

Short-term Missionary AlecWe are happy to share with you that a short term missionary has arrived in Uganda for three months of service.  Alec will spend about a week in our home as he overcomes jet lag and gets oriented to Uganda - maybe he'll get to run errands with me (like trying to get our work permits this week).  Mostly during his orientation we'll want him to just soak in as much culture as he can and reflect on what he's seeing as well as reading some of the books we highly recommend for visitors, like When Charity Destroys Dignity, African Friends and Money Matters, and Serving with Eyes Wide Open.  After his time of orientation, Alec will probably travel to one of our congregations up-country, stay with a local host family for one or two weeks, and teach and serve in whatever capacity they can use him.  We'll arrange his first few locations and after that let him decide if he wants to return to one location for the remainder of his time, or cycle back to the ones he already visited.  Please pray with us for Alec as he serves God's people in Uganda! 

If you're interested in an opportunity like this, check out our Short Term Missions page or start at LCMS World Mission's Service Opportunities page and explore the possibilities.   -Shauen

TEE - The Pastor is Not the Boss

Christian servanthood is perhaps one of the most counter-cultural teachings of the faith.  This weekend as we taught about servanthood we learned a lot about Ugandan culture and about the expectations our students have of clergy.  Their perception of who a pastor is has been shaped by the pastors they see in Uganda.  In the Anglican church, a man must be fairly well off if not wealthy before he is eligible to be an Anglican priest according to one of our students who was formerly a lay leader in the Anglican Church.  The other prominent pastoral figure in Ugandan society is the preacher at the churches we would identify as pentecostal in leaning although they are more appropriately associated with those who preach the prosperity gospel - the message that if you give your money to the church God will bless you for your generosity, lifting you from poverty and liberating you from the oppression under which you struggle.  It's a message that preys on the weaknesses of desperate people - the worst kind of lie - that holds only empty promises and false hope.  As you can imagine, though, these prosperity gospel preachers are very wealthy.  Some of the Miracle Center churches which preach this message have more than 5,000 members attending every Sunday.  So when a Ugandan thinks of a pastor or priest, these are the people that spring to mind, men of wealth and power and influence, men of secular success.  An individual of such wealth and financial security, a business owner, an individual who employ others, is known in Uganda as a "big man" or a "boss."

And I'm sure that this is the image many of our students have of what it will be like to be a pastor in the Lutheran church here. For maybe as long as 10 years some of our students may have had their eyes on the financial security they would have once they became pastors.  So as we walked together in our TEE class this weekend and learned from each other we wrote this startling message up on the whiteboard: "The pastor is not the boss."  We walked through Scripture, from Isaiah to the Gospels to Paul's letters and together we investigated this Christian servanthood, this way that God has turned things upside down, using those who are weak so that His strength may be made known, taking those who are least and making them greatest.  And together with our students we all struggled with this difficult teaching.  As our presentation began to wind down and the students began leading the discussion, over and over again they spoke of money.  For half an hour they talked one after the other about money and funding and how a church can make money.  Finally, Rev. Gillard stopped the discussion and pointed to "The pastor is not the boss" and asked, "What does money have to do with Christian Servanthood?"  So we struggled together.

Students approached me individually during sessions or at breaks to talk to me about how difficult this is - how we are in essence deconstructing their image of a pastor right before their very eyes.  One student even told me, "this is against our culture."  Well, of course it is.  It was against Jewish culture at the time of Christ and against every human culture before and after, including American culture, and of course including Ugandan culture.  It wasn't that they didn't believe us - we walked through the Scripture together and they attest to the integrity of what we were learning.  It was just a struggle to see what should be in contrast to what is.  In the Lutheran Church here, no congregation has had the privilege of having its own pastor - no congregation has ever had opportunity to financially support a man dedicated to serving them.  But in the next few years almost 20 men will be graduating from Seminary and returning to serve in the Lutheran Church Mission in Uganda.  These servants of the Word will need congregations who embrace them and provide for their work.  We hope that, starting with these men in TEE, the Lutheran church here will see and embrace Christian servanthood - we are none of us the boss, we are all but servants.

Island School Trip

The clinic I have been volunteering at has a connection with a school located on a small peninsula that is only accessible by boat. The area, along with the villages on surrounding islands, is completely ignored by the government when it comes to health care and education. The school was recently built by an expat using small grant money. The teachers are unpaid volunteers with little or no training and parents have little money for books and school fees. The clinic had been there twice before, once with deworming medication and then with oral polio and DTaP. This trip our objective was to administer oral polio, DTaP and measles. We had a lovely 45 minute boat ride and then a short walk to the school. School was not in session, but parents had been told to bring their children at 10:00am. Of course, not all of the children showed up! We tried to be organized and had kept a record of who had been previously immunized, but not all of those children showed up to continue their series of vaccines and we had brand new children. The children reacted a variety of ways to their shots, some were very stoic, some only winced, some cried but were accepting, some attempted resistance but were easily restrained by their parents, and then there were those that got absolutely hysterical. A toddler can easily be restrained by Mom or Dad and the shots given quickly and safely. An 8 year old child is a different story. Although the parents tried to hold down the flailing arms and legs, it just wasn't safe for us to give them their shots. Not to mention what the hysterical screaming was doing to the other kids waiting for their shots! Those children we didn't immunize and asked them to step outside so they would stop scaring the others. Unfortunately, one mother was so upset she started beating her daughter, chasing her out of the classroom and hitting her. It happened so quickly and unexpectedly and was very shocking and heartbreaking to see and hear. We asked our Ugandan social worker from the clinic to ask the mother to stop and just take the child home, that it would be okay, but who knows what happened once they were out of sight of the school. After immunizing all the children who had come, we had our lunch and continued on to a neighboring island. There are about 30 kids who come by schoolboat to attend the school and needed to continue their immunization series. After that we headed back to Kampala. A very interesting day that I very much enjoyed.  -Krista

Kayunga - 4 Congregations in 36 Hours

This weekend Paul, one of our TEE students, invited us to come to the area where he ministers for a visit.  So we departed Kampala on Saturday morning for Kayunga, only a couple hours northeast of Kampala.  My fellow missionary Rev. Jacob Gillard, Vicar Jerome Wamala - the Ugandan Vicar serving the Kampala area, and I traveled to Paul's home to spend some time with him. 

Our drive was fairly uneventful until we passed Kayunga Town and the paved road turned to murram.  It had just rained.  Now a murram road is basically compacted clay-like dirt.  Murram roads generally have a considerable crown to them, to keep the murram from washing in ruts down the center of the road.  The problem is that when it rains this clay-like dirt becomes extremely slippery.  In fact, after a rain if you aren't able to balance on the crown of the murram road and you move off the crown even just slightly your truck will probably slip right off the road and into the ditch which in this case was full of water from the rain. Which we did.  Trying to pass a motorcycle traveling my same direction I had to get over just a bit and schwoop - right off the crown and sliding sideways into the ditch.  Now you know our truck - it's all time 4 wheel drive with big tires but I knew if I risked allowing my forward momentum to stop I would have to use my winch to get us out of that muddy ditch.  So I kept my foot on the gas and the steering wheel turned "up" out of the ditch and we traveled for a few hundred feet that way - I'm sure spraying mud and water behind us.  Finally we reached a little driveway that had just enough rise out of the ditch for us to pop back up onto the crown of the murram road.  There wasn't much traffic - I think most people just stay where they are and wait for the road to dry before going anywhere.  The experience provided a little more insight into why Paul was late a few sessions back and gave the excuse, "It rained."

Paul's "Street"We turned off the murram road onto a side road 15km north of Kayunga and continued for another 5 or 6 km before that smaller murram road gave out.  Then we continued another km or so driving on a walking path that meandered down a swath that had at one point been cleared for the road to be extended.  We finally did safely arrive at Paul's home.  He farms about 3 acres of land, raising maize, beans, pineapple, mango, guava, and some bananas.  He's a hard worker and also holds a job teaching geography at a nearby school.  He happens to be one of our very best students in our TEE class so it was a privilege to be able to visit with him and his family.  After some time of rest and recovery from the drive we began to visit the congregations that were expecting us.  We continued driving down the walking path past Paul's home - very slow going with several sink holes along the way.  We eventually made it back to a road and continued back towards the murram road leading to Kayunga Town.  We were almost back to the main road when we encountered a little... um... obstacle.  Murram piles - our little obstacleApparently there is so little vehicle travel in this area that some minor construction work - installing a drain pipe across the road - had been started but no provision had been made for vehicles to pass and of course there were no workers present.  There were huge piles of murram waiting to be smoothed over the drain but no way to pass by on either side.  A little walking and bike path wound between the murram piles and the water-filled ditch on one side.  There was no way I was going to chance going over the top of the murram piles and high-centering the truck.  After a few minutes of walking possible routes around the obstruction, we determined that we would be able to drive across a freshly plowed field for a few hundred feet and then make it back onto the road if we kept enough momentum to get over a couple other low spots and ditches.  Well, we made it.  May I just say that this trip is one of those that reminds me that our truck is not just for show - it's highly functional and necessary. 

Kaato CongregationThe first congregation we visited, Kaato, was meeting in a small shelter in a trading center (village).  They greeted us warmly and we held a simple service of the Word, with Vicar Jerome preaching a sermon on The Good Samaritan.  Next we traveled into a much smaller community to meet with members of the Kakiika Preaching Center, a small congregation that meets under a tree.  They were struggling with some accusations from other denominations in the area - especially hard to fight when no one has heard of the Lutheran Church and everyone is leery of "new cults."  For this congregation we met with them and encouraged them and prayed with them.  Paul will be returning to visit them and provide some of the instruction he's receiving in class to help this congregation answer the accusations brought against them by other denominations.  I know I've mentioned this before, but I just can't emphasize it enough - our very presence as Westerners brings a credibility to the congregations we visit.  Congregations grow after a white person visits.  Now maybe some of the growth is from individuals hoping to benefit financially from projects that may come to that congregation - that's fine.  While they're here, regardless of what brings them in, we'll share the Word of God with them and let the Holy Spirit work on their hearts. 

We decided to return Paul to his home by a different route to avoid crossing the freshly plowed field at night although I'm not sure the route we took was much better.  I mentioned driving on walking trails before but those were walking trails through land that had been cleared for an actual road even though the road wasn't there yet.  This time we drove on walking trails that were never intended as a road.  My truck was pushing back the brush on both sides as dusk fell and we pushed on into the night hours, finally delivering Paul to his home.  We then continued past his home back to Kayunga Town to stay at a hotel. 

The hotel we stayed at was probably one of the nicest ones I've been to for "station travel" - the kind of traveling we do when visiting congregations and conducting mission business.  Our hotel, which is pronounced "catacomb" but spelled Katikomu was pleasant and we paid a total of 114,100 Shillings (around $55) for three single rooms and three dinners at the hotel restaurant.  The price is fairly typical for our station travel - hotels between $10 and $20 per night.  I say this one was one of the nicest because it had carpeting and a comfortable bed.  My toilet didn't have a toilet seat on it and there was no hot water but I don't expect those things.

Preaching under the tree at LukondaSunday morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast and then drove back to Paul's home where Lukonda congregation meets under a tree.  They're working on a structure that they hope to start meeting under in June so we may be back in this area in a month for the dedication of that structure.  This time we had service and I had the opportunity to preach on baptism.  It was unfortunately one of my poorer sermons and I'm not too pleased about it.  I should have spent time this last week preparing for the opportunity to preach.  But Vicar Jerome did some baptisms and Rev. Jacob did some confirmations and we had a wonderful time.  After the morning service we traveled a little further north to the Kitwe Preaching Center and took an opportunity on the way to stop at the Nile River for a couple minutes. 

Kitwe Preaching Center meets in a school building and also had baptisms and confirmations ready for us.  This time I enjoyed the opportunity to be the observer and listen to the Rev. Jacob's sermon.  Vicar Jerome did the baptisms again since this area speaks Luganda and has a translation of the baptism liturgy that he uses.  Vicar Jerome Baptizing a ChildThere were so many to baptise that a mud puddle formed in the dirt floor under the water basin - what a great "problem" to have!  We were invited to come and visit one of the congregation's leaders for some lunch.  Another great meal!  We dropped our student back off at his home by means of the freshly-plowed field and were sent off with lots of gifts of appreciation - jackfruit, a rooster, and avocados!  We also bought some tomatoes and green (unripe) mangos from some of his neighbors, along with another rooster (this one cost $7).  Unripe mango, by the way, is really good.  It's crunchy like an apple in texture with a hint of mango flavor.  It was dark by the time we were on the road to Kampala and I think we didn't get home until after 10pm.  What a trip.  Four congregations in 36 hours, 24 baptisms, 10 confirmations, and the opportunity to share the Word of God with His people.

TEE - The Anglican Church

After last session's focus on Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, this session we needed to focus on the Anglican Church, the "state church" of Uganda for at least part of its history.  As a former British Protectorate, Uganda was seeped in Anglicanism for many decades. Our students have attested that tribal kings were forced to convert to Anglicanism in order to retain their status under British rule.  Consequently, many people here self-identify as Anglican, though they may not be practicing Christians.  Some of the men in our TEE class were even former lay leaders in the Anglican Church here.

This weekend, I presented the meat of the introduction to the Anglican Church, its history, its theology, and its current state.  Remarkably, even though almost all of our men in TEE are familiar with the Anglican Church in Uganda, almost none of them had any idea about the history and origins of the Anglican Church, or about its theology. Or course, teaching on Anglican theology is pretty difficult, since they have no formal theological writings, no declarations of councils, and no statement of faith.  But I tried to express how wide open their theology is and how their primary cause for a theological stance is to be as accepting and inclusive of as wide a breadth of opinions as possible.  My fellow missionary, Rev. Jacob Gillard, presented the Lutheran response to Anglican theology.

I find that teaching is something I really enjoy, as long as I have time to prepare for the lecture.  With adequate preparation time, I am able to feel confidence in the material, to own it, and to get excited about it - which I consider to be very important.  If I can't be excited about what I'm teaching it's going to be miserable for those participating in the lecture. 

As to what a typical TEE weekend is like, here's our schedule for this weekend:

Friday - class goes from 9am to 5pm

• Devotion by one of the students
• Attendance is taken, housekeeping items - Vicar Trump
• Students give reports on items of interest/evangelism/special events since we last met
• Verbatims (review of last weekend) are provided by students
• Test is administered covering last weekend's topics - Vicar Trump
• The Lutheran Confessions - Rev. Gillard
• Student's questions from last time are addressed: burial, suicide, and homosexuality
• The History of the Anglican Church - Vicar Trump
• Anglican Theology - Vicar Trump

Saturday - class goes from 8am to 3pm

• Devotion by one of the students
• Attendance is taken - Vicar Trump
• Lutheran Rebuttal to Anglican Issues - Rev. Gillard
• Translation Workshop on Baptism and Holy Communion Liturgies
• Tests are handed back - Vicar Trump

Our schedule is quite fluid - we do take lunch around 1pm, and most students (and us facilitators) walk just down the road to one of the itty-bitty restaurants on Ggaba Rd, where lunch usually costs around $1.  We usually have too much scheduled for Friday and end up pushing one of Friday's lectures to Saturday morning.  We have a question box up at the front of our "classroom" all the time and students write their questions about anything at all (as you can see, the questions we were addressing this time were on Christian burial, suicide, and homosexuality).  The translation workshop is a time for students to gather in their language groups (we have 5 local heart-languages represented in our class) and translate the current projects (Baptism and Holy Communion) into their local language.  Our hope is that by the end of the first year of TEE we'll have local translations for most of the key events in the Christian church - Baptism, Holy Communion, confirmation, marriage, and burial.  These can be published fairly inexpensively here and distributed to the congregations in that language group. 

I think I've mentioned before that I write the tests, with the exception of 2 or 3 essay questions provided by my coworker Jake and I also grade the tests although I do ask Jake to grade the short essay questions he wrote.  We consistently have one to three students practically ace the test, which is very encouraging to us. 

Here's the Anglican Test from this session and the answer key.  -Shauen

April Field Notes Published

Field Notes for the month of April have been published. This month, Field Notes included the following articles:

• Burning Fetishes - A man desiring Christian baptism burns the fetishes he inherited
• 10 baptisms, 3 offerings, and 1 coffee hour - Sunday at Kampala Lutheran Church
• Commissioned for Word and Sacrament - Shauen is commissioned to administer the Sacraments in Uganda
• Facts in Focus - Bananas

Our prayer requests include:

• For safety for those traveling to Mbarra for the May 17th church dedication
• For Missionary Solomon Ayagri as he prepares to leave the Ugandan mission field in May and return to his home in Ghana

And we praise the Lord:

• For safe journeys to Fort Portal and Queen Elizabeth National Park
• For God’s protection as Kevin’s father’s witchdoctor fetishes were burned and for anticipation of Kevin’s upcoming baptism

If you haven't seen it yet, download Field Notes for April 2009 (PDF file, 601k) now!

The... Worst... Haircut... Ever.

These really are all pictures of meWell, as many of you know, I've enjoyed different hairstyles over the years.  And I've encountered lots of different hairdressers and cuts, from the man in Strasbourg, France, who cut off about 4 inches of hair from the top of my head and shaved my full beard and mustache, to my Mom's hairdresser who gave me a "new look" which included a side-spike, to the guy in the Somali Mall in St. Paul, MN who had never cut a white person's hair before but managed.  And I've not only varied my styles, I've also enjoyed the full spectrum of color.  But I have to admit: never, never in my life, has my hair looked as comically bad as it does right now. 

Krista had lovingly and wisely suggested I wait until we returned from our most recent trip to get a haircut.  She knew we'd be taking lots of photos and wanted me to look presentable.  As I said, very wise.  So today I decided not to go to the Ugandan shop where I've had my hair cut twice.  The first time, things were going along okay until the power went out and the fella cutting my hair couldn't use the electric clippers anymore.  I knew I was in for an adventure when it took them a few minutes to locate a pair of scissors (which means they obviously weren't used often).  But by the end I did have a decent haircut, although it was still a bit long on top.  The second time I went to that shop, which is conveniently located just down the road from our house, another guy cut my hair and this time the power stayed on the whole time.  I came out with the shortest haircut I've ever had.  He used a half-inch guard on the sides and back and a 3/4-inch guard on the top.  It was short.  So this time I decided to try someplace new (and more "affordable").  My last two haircuts had cost $4 or $5 but I heard from fellow missionary Rev. Jacob Gillard that he gets his (more sparse) hair cut at a "normal" price for Uganda which is about 50 cents.  So I thought I'd try the "normal" Ugandan experience.  I should have known better.  Krista says if I told her I was going somewhere for a 50 cent haircut she wouldn't have let me go.  Even Jake's wife, Michelle, later asked me what in the world I was thinking - I think she said, "It's fine for Jake to go there, but you - you HAVE hair!" 

We started out at "the 50-cent salon" with my hairdresser not understanding my Luganda and me not understanding his English.  It didn't help that the radio was blasting.  But, I figured, how bad could it be?  It's just a haircut.  And really, it is just a haircut and it's fine.  But Krista has never laughed so hard at my hair before, so I figure it must be rather comical.  I knew she was in for a treat when the hairdresser used the electric clippers to "straighten" my hairline in front.  Yup, he shaved my forehead so I'd have a nice straight line where my bangs had formerly lain.  Then he used the clippers vertically to cut straight across and remove those pesky bangs altogether resulting in (as you progress up my forehead) shaved scalp, 1/8th inch hair, 1/4 inch hair, 1/2 inch hair, 1 inch hair, and 1.5 inch hair.  It's really quite a stunning effect since the short hair stands straight up and the longer hair rests on top of it.  In the back things started out well as he used a trusty half-inch guard on his clippers to give me a nice even length.  But, once again, I should have just stopped the whole business when the guard came off and he began "free-handing" to try and even out the hair.  The problem, of course, isn't the hair but the shape of the skull underneath it.  In the end, he free-handed the whole thing with the clippers.  Cutting the top involved combing it down and then free-hand clipping any stray hair that stood up too high out of the combed-down hair.  So the top is still long, the back is patchy, I have good clearance over my ears (about a 1/2 inch shaved over the top and behind the ears), and a shaved forehead which transitions nicely into the full-length top.  Personally, I love it.  I even paid him a full dollar since he took so long and I'm sure he endured endless hazing after I left.  -Shauen

my forehead - profile viewthe back of my head - thinning strangelystrange new thinning behind the ears

Update on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 9:46PM by Shauen & Krista

I can't remember the last time I have laughed SO hard as I did when Shauen walked through the door with his new haircut. The pictures really don't do it justice, it's just so bad! He actually has it better than I do, he doesn't have to see it unless he passes a mirror. Me? I have no choice if I want to look at him! I did tell him that I was proud of him for being so adventurous, but why on earth did he not tell me he was going to Jake's barber?! Silly man! Knowing that, I could have predicted his results. I mean, when you live in a place where they don't know how to cut white people's hair, you splurge! Go for the $5 haircut, not the 50-cent one! I think he's learned his lesson.  -Krista

"I must burn my witch-doctor father's fetishes before receiving baptism."

Tomorrow morning, while all my Seminary buddies are celebrating their first placements as pastors on Call Day night in St. Louis, Krista and I will be traveling the four hours to Fort Portal in the west of Uganda.  To explain why, let me quote from my fellow missionary Pastor Jacob Gillard's prayer letter from last month (pdf document):

"Kevin is a woodworker. We [the Gillards] were first led to him when we saw his handiwork on the roadside—sturdy furniture made largely from raw timber. We placed several orders with him as we furnished our new home over the months. I invited him to worship and he later asked for baptism.

"We did some pre-baptism bible study but he later called me and asked to meet—there was a problem. He started by saying, 'I cannot be baptized this Sunday. My father was a witch-doctor but is now dead. My grandfather is a Christian and is happy for my baptism but he says that I sit on my father’s chair so I must first return to my village and burn my father’s fetishes before receiving baptism.'

So tomorrow we'll be traveling to Fort Portal to be with Kevin as he burns the fetishes used by his late father.  There's no rite in the Lutheran Agenda for the destruction of occultic materials, but we do have the entirety of Scripture at hand and the fervent prayers of the church here and - if you'll pray for us - the church in the States as well.  It is our prayer that God protect all of us during this dangerous task and that this important event liberate our brother Kevin.  May this be a testimony to all those who knew Kevin's father that Kevin is now being adopted by a new Heavenly Father and is becoming a new creation.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground." (Eph 6:12-13a)  -Shauen

Update on Monday, April 27, 2009 at 8:49PM by Shauen & Krista

At Kevin's home his family had gathered for the burning.  Almost all of his family is Catholic, so they were very supportive.  I think they expected some kind of formal rite but, of course, just as the magic is not in the fetishes, the magic is not in the rite either.  Instead, as I prayed silently for the Lord's protection, Jacob shared some Psalms with the people gathered there, said a prayer, led us in the Lord's Prayer, and then I read the Apostle's Creed.  Some paraffin had been purchased to help with the burning and it was applied to the fetishes and lit.  What did I expect to happen?  I don't know.  Maybe I expected the demonic forces these fetishes had called upon to object to their burning.  Maybe for the flames to soar and the fetishes to explode.  Maybe for the faces of demons to appear in the fire.  Maybe for the fire to rage out of control and damage people or homes.  Or maybe I expected that these worthless, meaningless objects were just that - mute and dumb idols which can do nothing, good or ill and that they would burn away without incident just like any other item. 

Or is it the case that though these items have no power of themselves, the demonic forces of Satan's minions are able to use the misplaced faith for their own purposes?  I dunno.  This wasn't exactly a situation used as a case study in Seminary. 

The task is done.  God's Word is certainly stronger than any two-bowled pipe, special gourds, or dark seed pods.  We rely upon His protection and promises.  He Is Risen!  And none of these inanimate objects can do that.  -Shauen

10 Baptisms and 3 offerings

The Sunday after Easter was full of joy at Kampala Lutheran Church.  Basking in the glory of the resounding echoes - "He is risen!", 10 children were brought into the Lord's family through Holy Baptism.  While I wasn't preaching or assisting with worship this Sunday, I was forward for the baptisms to assist Ugandan Vicar Jerome as he baptized ten children from newborns to children about 3 years old.  Baptisms are always cool.  But even cooler, we had three offerings this Sunday! First, there was the standard collection of tithes and offerings.  Then, there was a special offering collected in celebration of the baptisms.  Finally, an offering was collected in honor and loving memory of a member of the congregation who recently died to assist the family with expenses.  Three offerings!  Each time the offering was brought forward, Vicar Jerome emptied it upon the altar and sent the basket back out into the congregation while he shared the purpose of the offering.

I've seen special offerings here before.  Generally, a family will speak with their pastor before the service, requesting an opportunity to give a special thank-offering.  After the regular offering, the family (the whole extended family) will come forward.  The pastor will empty the offering basket out onto the altar, carefully covering it so the wind doesn't blow the money away (remember we worship in a tent and congregations that do have permanent structures generally don't have any glass in their windows).  Then the pastor will turn around, announce the purpose of the special thank-offering ("The youngest son of this family has passed his final exams and is graduating from college this week") and present the empty offering basket to the family, each of whom then places an offering into the basket.  This is generally concluded with a prayer of thanksgiving and a prayer seeking continued blessings upon the family before they are dismissed back to their seats.

This Sunday, with 10 baptisms, one option was to have 10 special thank-offerings.  That takes a while.  Imagine that - the "problem" is that it will take too long to collect that many thank-offerings!  So instead, the offering basket was passed a second time to the whole congregation.  What an amazing testimony to God's goodness and one of the ways we are moved to respond.  Praise the Lord for his abundance in love and for calling ten more children to Himself here in Kampala!

TEE - Martin Luther

TEE this weekend focuses on Martin Luther. We found early on that this would be an important topic to cover after we received some... um... "interesting" questions about Luther from our students.  The Lutheran church has only been in Uganda for about 14 years.  Many people have never even heard the word "Lutheran."  It's important that our students, as lay leaders in their Lutheran church, be able to correct any misconceptions or address any questions raised about this "Lutheran" stuff. 

To set the stage, I condensed one entire 3-credit Seminary class into a 3 hour lecture: "The Church of the Late Middle Ages."  Rev. Dr. Erik Herrmann, my professor for the Seminary course, would have been appalled at how much I had to cut out of the material.  But we knew it was important to set the scene and to show our students how Martin Luther was at just the right place at just the right time for the concerns he raised to spark the Protestant Reformation. 

My co-worker, Reverend Jacob Gillard, presented some of the facts and people in Luther's story along with a timeline.  Then we watched the most recent Luther movie.  When we screen movies here we keep the subtitles on to help with comprehension and we stopped the movie occasionally to summarize or answer questions.  As one would expect, the movie helped tremendously.  They've asked us to show movies every weekend now!  Although I'm not sure how I'm going to find a good movie to explain the Anglican Church and its "theology" for next week!  -Shauen

Update on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 5:46PM by Shauen & Krista

Here's the Martin Luther Test we administered and its answer key.  -Shauen

Volunteering at a Local Clinic

Over the past several weeks, I have slowly begun volunteering at a local clinic. The clinic mainly focuses on immunizations, HIV testing, malaria treatment, and antenatal care and does anywhere from 15-30 deliveries a month. During one of my first visits there, after speaking with Mary (a Doctor from Canada), we went to check out the labor room. Apparently, a woman had just given birth! We were only about three doors down and didn't hear a sound, no pain medication of course. Women are told by the midwives that they need to be silent while delivering, and I am told that some can be quite harsh in their instruction if the patient fails to be quiet. I am curious to know why the woman is told not to make any noise, what the reasoning is behind the instruction, but I haven't yet asked. Very different from some of the patients I had in the States. Women here also need to bring all the necessary supplies with them when they come to deliver: gloves, roll of cotton, plastic sheet, plastic bucket for placenta, etc. Besides learning more about normal Ugandan deliveries, I also had the chance to go out in the community to help with polio vaccinations in children. I am very excited about this opportunity and feel that I am definitely going to learn a lot!  -Krista

Easter: He is risen! Hallelujah!

The last weekend in March I was commissioned by the Lutheran Church Mission in Uganda (LCMU) for Word and Sacrament ministry among their congregations.  Due to the shortage of available clergy here in Uganda, the church has a practice of commissioning appropriately trained men for administration of the sacraments.  Since I have completed the academic work at Seminary and since we do travel up-country to minister, the LCMU wanted us to be able to offer Holy Communion and Baptism as we travel, so they have commissioned me and issued a formal letter of commissioning (PDF format, 629KB).  Most congregations in the LCMU will wait to Baptize (except for emergency baptisms, of course) until someone commissioned by the church is able to come and baptize in their midst.  Likewise, congregations will not celebrate Holy Communion until they are visited by someone commissioned to administer it - frequenty waiting months at a time between opportunities to celebrate Holy Communion. 

This Easter morning I led liturgy here at Kampala Lutheran Church.  And, for the first time in my life, I consecrated the elements of the Lord's Supper.  To say I was nervous would be an understatement.  I don't think I was as nervous as Martin Luther was when he consecrated the elements for the first time - I don't think I was visibly shaking.  Afterwards, I confirmed with Krista that I had indeed consecrated both the bread and the wine, and not the bread twice or the wine twice.  I've distributed communion many times, of course, but have never been the one to consecrate - to actually say the words "On the night when He was betrayed..."  And you know what?  It never gets boring distributing communion - even when I've been in churches with hundreds of people coming to the altar - it never gets boring.  It's a new and personal message to every child of God - "given for YOU."

So this Easter, with special joy, I can proclaim with millions of Christians across the globe, "He is risen!"  Happy Easter.  -Shauen

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

Credits Running from The Passion of the ChristFor Holy Week, we had a few special events.  Maundy Thursday service focused on the 12 disciples gathered around the passover table.  Good Friday was the Tenebrae service, which I always enjoy.  We didn't have the sound system or any instruments at either service, so all the singing was a cappella.  These were the first evening services I've participated in at Kampala Lutheran Church, which, as you may recall, meets in a tent and has no lights.  So our candle-light services were of necessity but created a wonderful effect. 

On Holy Saturday we screened the movie The Passion of the Christ. 

It was a good Holy Week.  And here comes Easter!