I recently came out of a meeting and saw a large group of men parading down the street. They had completely taken over the road and were blowing whistles, horns and singing all kinds of songs. It was a traditional Bagisu circumcision parade. For the past two months it has been the season of these celebrations, and they mark when a young boy becomes a man in the cultural society. Continue reading
Author: Leland Sawyer
Castaways on Bugaya Island
No we weren’t castaways, but we were in a world completely new to all of us. Bugaya Island is in the middle of Lake Victoria, a 2-hour boat ride from Kiyendi, very nearly on the equator. Lake Victoria is the 2nd largest fresh water lake in the world (behind Lake Superior). When we set off, we could not see our island, but the captain knew the way and set us on course. I couldn’t help but sing in my head the song from Gilligan’s Island the entire trip. Continue reading
Go West Young Man
Over the “summer” months, my primary teammates were traveling and visiting the USA. But now the gang is all together and the three of us – myself, Dennis, and JP – are traveling together. This past weekend we made the long journey to the far western parts of Uganda, in a region called Rakai. The people there are drummers and cow herders. Continue reading
From A Visitor’s Perspective
Recently, my (Leland) mom and step-dad came to visit our new life in Uganda. We wanted to get their fresh perspective on how they saw and experienced this new place. Here are some musings of my mom, Kim Broadway. I hope you enjoy them…
When Leland and Gina told me they were moving to Africa – and taking Adalyn with them, by the way! Continue reading
Village Work
The past two Sundays I have had the pleasure and responsibility of standing in the pulpit and speaking on behalf of the mission for village church clusters. Wow!!!
Let me back up…the mission that we work with, New Testament Churches of Christ (NTCC), is connected to about 300 churches all over Uganda. These churches are grouped together into clusters that are near one another, and these clusters come together occasionally for mutual support, worship, encouragement, fundraising and unity. We at the mission office travel to visit churches and clusters in order to strengthen, teach, lead and encourage them. We are partners with them in the work they are doing in their local community. Continue reading
Visiting the Village
As many of you know, much of my work will take me into villages around Uganda. I have finally started traveling a little bit with our team. Within the past two weeks, we have made three trips to different areas and churches. Here’s a peak into ministry and life in the village… Continue reading
Crying Over Old Dishes
When it comes to emotions, I’ve never been one who is overly expressive. I try to use my words and think/talk it out, but in sadness or joy, tears are few and far between. But I had a weird experience last week unpacking our plates and bowls, and I think there is more to it. Continue reading
Prayer…the FINAL Frontier!
I have a confession to make: I don’t pray as much as I wish I did. I don’t pray as fervently as I wish I did. And while I value conversing with the Almighty God, sometimes my actions don’t reflect that. But prayer is at the core of what it means to be a Christian… We have an approachable, involved God that we can interact with (talk to and hear from), who cares what we have going on, and who wants us to pursue Him in all things. There is so much power in prayer because of WHO we pray to! Continue reading
Living in the Moment…
In mid-October, we returned to Texas from our cultural training in Colorado and we hit the ground running. Our hope to have a garage sale the weekend we returned was postponed due to severe storms all weekend. But, after some creativity, Continue reading
So What IS Missionary Training?
We really had no clue coming into this. We didn’t know what to expect. Our team members in Mbale raved about it but gave us very little details. So we showed up with our car full of stuff, our 2-1/2 year old, and a lost look on our face. And now, near the end of the second week of our training, we are starting to get into a rhythm here. Sort of. Continue reading
