Author: Gina Sawyer

Summer Travels Keep Us Going

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This has been a great summer! We have visited 15 states in the 2 months we have been traveling around America! Crazy! But we have really enjoyed our time with different churches, family, and friends. We are so incredibly blessed to have an amazing support team of family and friends, so “work” is more like catching up and sharing life together. We know we are blessed in this unique experience of home assignment. We know many missionaries and families who have to do a lot of fundraising in order for them to continue their mission work, so we are very thankful our time refreshes our souls, even when it’s physically exhausting traveling, sleeping in other homes, and living out of a suitcases.

We can’t express our gratitude for all the love we have received over the MANY years!

Our trip back to the U.S. had a bit of a rough start with the U.S. government restrictions causing us to change our flights and travel plans due to their concern for Ebola. We were not in any danger or a threat to anyone else, but it was a very stressful and expensive change for us (apparently it is our responsibly to re-route flights and pay for the added expenses). We were frustrated and disappointed, but we made it to the U.S. and had an extra day in Dallas to get some sleep and prepare for the summer travels. We are blessed by a ministry called Tech Team Advantage, where we were able to rent a minivan for all our travels and the cost (including vehicle insurance and mileage) is about $25/day – a WAY better rate than if we had to rent other vehicles, especially since we practically lived out of the minivan as we roadtripped all around.

After Dallas, we made our way to Central Texas to spend 9 days with our supporting church, Western Hills Church of Christ in Temple. We enjoyed conversations and meals with many friends and supporters who are like family. While it was a really busy time with 4-5 meetings, meals, appointments, and meet-ups each day, we loved our time with people we love and who love us. Adalyn also got to spend some time with dear friends and ride horses, which made her very happy.

After Central Texas, we went to Houston to see my mom and we were blessed to enjoy a vacation with her. It was a nice break after a hectic time and we made some great memories together as a family. We went on an Alaskan cruise to see Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria BC, and returned back to Seattle, Washington. Then we traveled back to Houston to do laundry and repack for our next travels. We are thankful for the time together as a family. Plus, Alaska was beautiful!

We then drove about 12-hours to Franklin, Tennessee to visit with our former teammates, JP & Jill Robinson and their family. We also got to spend time with Harpeth Christian Church, who are partners with the mission work in Uganda. We are so thankful for their support, prayers and partnership. Plus, spending time with JP & Jill is always a blessing since they know the life of missionaries and how stressful home assignments can be. They always spoil us and make sure we get some rest.

We traveled to Georgia to see my sister and her husband, and we got to visit with former missionary friends from Uganda before continuing to Alabama to spend the weekend with Leland’s brother and family. It was such a nice time to see family and friends. We continued to Arkansas to see Leland’s other brother and our niece before we drove to Oklahoma to see some friends on our way to Colorado.

Colorado was another busy week of seeing many dear friends, and meeting with Legacy Church in Boulder. Legacy Church is a new church that was formed when two churches merged together a few years ago, so our relationship with Legacy Church is new compared to our relationship with the previous Boulder Valley Church of Christ. It was a nice time seeing old friends and enjoying the beautiful weather in Colorado. We also celebrated my birthday with dear friends.

Over the long weekend, we took a flight to California to spend time with family and friends before returning to Colorado for more road tripping. We drove up into the mountains at 9,100 feet to stay with some friends who have a cabin near Jasper. Then we drove through New Mexico and got to see a few friends as we continued back to Texas. It was a lot of miles and elavation changes, but we enjoyed the time with family and friends.

We spent the weekend in Lubbock, Texas to visit with Quaker Avenue Church of Christ. As the founding church of the mission work in Uganda, there’s a long history and lots of relationships to connect with and share about the ministry. It was a good weekend of seeing many sweet people.

After our time in Lubbock, we drove back to Central Texas for a few days to see other people we weren’t able to visit earlier in the summer. And we were spoiled with a day on Lake Belton, which was beautiful! There are so many people in the area, so there’s never enough time to see everyone, but we are thankful for all the support of everyone who loves us well. After Central Texas, we continued through College Station to see family and friends before spending some time in Houston and Dallas as we are wrapping up our time in the U.S.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired writing down all the travel we did this summer, just reliving it all. But as we wrap up our time in America, do our final shopping of the items we need for Uganda, and begin the packing and preparations to leave, we ask for your prayers for smooth travel and easy flights. It never gets easier to say goodbyes, and it’s always emotionally and physically exhausting to travel across the world. We have been blessed by our time with so many people in so many different states. While it was a really busy trip, we are so thankful for the opportunity to be able to travel and see people. Thank you for your continued love, prayers and support for us.

Missionary Parent Perspective

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GUEST POST: Kim Broadway

When my son and daughter-in-law asked me to write a blog post about what it’s like to be a parent of missionaries, I immediately replied, “Of course!” because that’s what we do. We help them in any way we can. But when I tried to start writing, it was much more difficult than I anticipated. Not because I didn’t want to write it. Not because I couldn’t write it. Not because it was too much to ask. There are just so many different aspects and emotions wrapped up in it that I couldn’t figure out where to begin. I wasn’t sure I could accurately explain or describe it all, and above all else, I didn’t want to leave any parent with the feeling that they should try to persuade their own child not to go into the mission field. Because if your child is being called to the mission field, not only should they go, but they need to know that their parents support them.

With that being said….here it goes…

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Memories from Tyler Homeschool Co-op

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GUEST POST: Adalyn Sawyer

I have been at Tyler Homeschool Co-op since kindergarten. It has been a place for me to learn and grow alongside my friends and people who love me. It’s a place where I have not only grown physically and in education, but also spiritually. To honor my time at Tyler Homeschool Co-op, I wanted to share some of my memories of my time there.

1. What do you remember about starting your first day of school at Tyler?

I only know what I did because my friends and parents remember it. I had been going to a Ugandan school for pre-school, but I had to leave there because I was scared of the big kids because I was singled out for being different (not Ugandan) and it was overwhelming to me. I started homeschool with my mom before I was able to join kindergarten at Tyler. I thought that there would be more mean big kids, so I was scared. I was crying because I really didn’t want to go, but eventually, I calmed down and made two best friends in my class who have been my classmates for all 9 years I’ve been at Tyler.

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How to Care for Missionaries and TCKs on Visits…

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It’s hard to believe we are preparing for our 6th home assignment trip back to the U.S. and it’s hard to believe we’ve been in Uganda for more than 10 years. With those years has come some lessons learned, both on the field and while we’re traveling around the U.S. There are some things we have recognized about ourselves and about our family, friends and supporters over the years of our relationship.

First of all, to be 100% honest: home assignment isn’t a vacation or break! We are NOT traveling to and around America for a break from life and ministry in Uganda; we are traveling in order to report and raise support FOR our life and ministry in Uganda. We don’t refer to it as “furlough” because that suggests rest. It is not a vacation. Traveling to so many different places, staying in other people’s homes, eating too much food and drinking too much coffee is not relaxing. And while we are very thankful for the opportunities that traveling to America affords us (reconnecting with churches, friends, and family), it is often more stressful, more exhausting, and we feel more foreign as we visit so many people and places. It is an important part of our mission work, and we have learned over the years of travel, there are things we (and you) can do to help this time not be so stressful for our family, and other missionaries.

We are blessed to be loved, cared for, and supported through all of life – whether in Uganda or traveling around America. THANK YOU for asking good questions, asking us what we need or want while we’re traveling, offering your homes for us to rest, seeking opportunities to get to know us better, and helping us relax while we’re traveling. We see you and appreciate you! But we also know from our experience, and from the experience of others, that some of you WANT so desperately to bless, encourage, and help, but may not know how to help. So, HERE are a few ways you can help missionaries feel loved and supported while they are in their home country…

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Uganda – From a Visitor’s Perspective

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As we have mentioned before, we love hosting visitors! We are so thankful when people make the sacrifice of time and finances to come experience Uganda with us. Not only do they get to see the ministry, but they can also relate to our life a little better. In March, we had some very dear friends come to visit and we asked them to share their thoughts about their visit to Uganda. Hopefully this will encourage YOU to come visit, too!

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How to Pray for TCKs / MKs

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For those who don’t know, a Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. A TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures they experience while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into a TCK life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of a similar background. A Missionary Kid (MK) is a subset of TCK – they are born or raised abroad, and have both the privilege and the challenge of growing up in their family’s place of ministry. Adalyn is an MK. She has spent 10 years in Uganda. She came to Uganda as a toddler and is now a teenager. She is part American, part Ugandan, with several of other cultures that have influenced her since living in an international community.

A TCK/MK has some unique needs. Here are some ways to pray for Adalyn as she continue to grow into the woman God has created her to be…

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Oh the Life We Live…

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In the past, we have shared different blogs about the funny, beautiful and challenging things about living in Uganda – things that make us smile, things that drive us crazy, things we marvel at, and things that give us a serious laugh. I’ll list some old blog posts at the bottom of this post about the different aspects of life here. But in all of it, we regularly say “oh the life we live…”

For example, every morning, we wake up to ask the question “Is electricity and water on”? We have a small community WhatsApp group that is regularly messaging about power or water issues. It’s an every day thing! We are used to it, mostly. But there are time when electricity or water has been off longer than anticipated, so we have to ask others to determine if it’s an area issue or only at our home. There is solidarity of community in “suffering” when electricity or water is off for everyone, rather than the panic and going into “fix it” mode when it turns out to be just our house.

There are many times when products are no longer in stock – staple items that you might not fathom could be out of stock for months at a time. There was a period of several months when the ladies in the community were having ongoing conversations about how butter had been gone, and we were not sure how long it would be gone, so when some of us traveled to Jinja (about 2 hours away) for a weekend and found 6 sticks of butter – we bought them all! Frozen chicken and beef are regularly not missing. Yes, I could get a live chicken and slaughter it myself, but I have my limits. 😂 A good brand of toilet paper many people really like went out of stock without any knowledge of when it will come back (and yes, we have a favorite toilet paper). You might be thinking, just get another brand of toilet paper, but that’s easier said than done. Most of the options are either like using a soft sand paper or tissue paper – not ideal. 🤨 I don’t usually trust box food (cake mixes, cereal, oatmeal, bread crumbs, etc) because I’m unsure how long it’s been on the shelves and I have found them full of weevils on many occasions. No thank you! We also get excited when a new product comes into town for a little while, like chocolate chips, shampoo/conditioner, cream cheese, or American-recognized brands. We can’t expect them, so it’s a nice treat when “special” items arrive. We never know how long they’ll be there, but we rejoice for the moment. And we often take photos to share with one another, in case someone else might want the product.

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Journey to Uganda – 10 Years In

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Many of you have asked how we got to Uganda. Some of you have been with us throughout the long journey, but some of you are new to reading our blog and don’t know the full story. So, as we celebrate 10 years in Uganda, here’s the story. It’s a long one, so be prepared….

In 2010, Leland and I went on a “once in a lifetime” trip to visit our friend who was living in Nairobi, Kenya. We went on safari at Masai Mara, and then we took a 12-hour bus ride across the border to Jinja, Uganda to white water raft on the Nile River. Like I said, it was a once in a lifetime trip! One evening, Leland and I were walking around the village near the camp we were staying, and we asked the question “Could we live in a place like this? Our friend lives here, could we?” And thus the seed was planted…

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Thankful in the Midst of Hard

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I am in a season right now where I am feeling HARD of life in Uganda! In our training at Missions Training International, we learned that as missionaries, we wake up at a higher stress level than we used to when we lived in our own passport cultures by almost double. We have learned to adjust and adapt, and even thrive in our lives here in Uganda. But sometimes, all the things that we can normally manage become overwhelming: things that shouldn’t take as long as they do; having to go to several stores and still not finding the food items we want for months on end; instability of consistent water, electricity, and sunshine (which the combination is needed to do laundry); household items that continuously break without the ease of buying a new one or getting it repaired correctly; good mechanics are impossible to find and roads tear up our vehicles; having work done on the house NEVER goes how we expect or want, often with errors, lack of appropriate tools or supplies, and any mistakes are at our expense; and don’t get me started on driving with the “mosquitos” we call bodas (small motorcycle taxis) that swarm the streets in ridiculously large numbers. We typically manage these daily challenges, and they have been part of our lives for the past 10 years. We have not only adapted to these things, but things have also improved with more options available in town, people we can call when we need repairs, people who help us find things we need from town and even deliver them to us, and a community of friends that is always willing to help in all sorts of situations. In the midst of the HARD, I can also see the GOOD.

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Our Life & Home – A Refresher

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Many of you have been with our family from the very start of this journey to Uganda, but others have joined after we moved here. Some people have not seen photos of our home, our town, Adalyn’s school, and the mission property in Mbale, Uganda. This post is for YOU! I want to give you an update of everything, so maybe it will help you visualize when we talk about our life and ministry.

We live at the foothills of Mount Elgon, under a ridge known as Mount Wanale. We have spectacular views of sunrises, sunsets, and waterfalls when walking or driving through our neighborhood and town. It is easy to sing God’s praises when we look at THIS every day!

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