Recap 2025 – Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens

Another year of ministry in Uganda has come and (too quickly) gone by. This has been YEAR 10 for our family serving in Uganda, and each year seems to get busier and go by faster. Here are a few highlights of the year in ministry:

Continue reading

Thankful in the Midst of Hard

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.

Continue reading

Partners in Ministry

We are always so blessed when people visit Uganda to see the ministry here. Not only do we get the opportunity to show them how God is at work for His kingdom in a variety of ways (from disciplemaking in villages to community development projects to bible studies in churches to conferences and trainings and so much more) but we also get the opportunity to share our life with people. And answer questions about our everyday life that is so different than what our life was like in America.

At the end of June, we were blessed with 15 men and women, ranging in age from 14 years old to adult (we won’t mention ages), from Quaker Avenue Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas. This is a special trip because of the history Quaker Avenue has with the mission work in Uganda. It’s the founding church who sent the first missionaries here to Mbale to start the work with New Testament Churches of Christ thirty years ago, which is the organization from where all the various ministries have come from (Messiah Theological School, Livingstone International University, Tyler Homeschool Cooperative, Good News Production – Mbale branch), and of course what the work is doing now with disciplemaking and church leader development.

Continue reading

Women’s DiscipleMaking

It is exciting to see how God’s kingdom continue to expand not just with pastors and men, but also with women. Since 2018, there have been three women’s discipleship groups that have concluded their meetings, and there are two women’s discipleship groups that are currently meeting in two different villages with women from area churches in the same cluster. These clusters are made up of area churches who come together for encouragement and helping one another.

At the end of April, the first two women discipleship groups met together for a time of prayer, encouragement, and spurring on one another to making disciplemakers. These groups started in 2018 and 2019, so we moved together through two Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions that delayed our group meetings, extending our time together for more than three years. It was a challenging journey for both groups, and we completed the groups unsure how the ladies would take disciplemaking to their churches and villages.

Continue reading

Retreat is a Good Thing

In a life that is so busy, we often forget to make time to retreat, to get away, to intentionally rest. We don’t make the time or we feel guilty because we think maybe we should be doing other things with our time. But I have learned I need retreat. Not just the Sunday afternoon naps, although those are very restful and needed, but also the intentional time with God, by myself, and with others. A happy balance of all those elements is so refreshing for my soul.

Throughout scripture, Jesus gets away to be by himself and with God. If Jesus saw the importance of that time, why don’t we also make that time a priority? In Mark 1:35, Jesus went to a solitary place to pray after a long day before of healing many people. He spent the night praying to God in Luke 6:12 before appointing the twelve apostles. After a long day of ministry and the miracle of feeding the 5000 in Matthew 14:22-23, Jesus spent time alone to pray. Even at the end of his earthly ministry, he knew he needed time alone with God in prayer. In Mark 14:32, Jesus took a few of his disciples along with him to pray in Gethsemane. We all need that time of prayer, refreshment of our soul.

Continue reading