The Joy of the Lord Is Our Strength

Joy is the best way we can describe our last trip to Uganda.  Upon arrival we had to fill out a form describing any health symptoms and nurses with masks checked us for Ebola and shined lights at us to determine if we had a temperature.  Joseph and Joanitah, former Rock scholarship students met us at the Entebbe airport.  They reassured us that we were safe after a terrorist scare pertaining to Al-Shabaab was discovered by the Uganda police the day before.  Even our taxi driver friend Moses said, “You are safe and can go to the store to get groceries before going on to the apartment.”

The apartment is on the Uganda Christian University campus on a hill with small monkeys running around and swinging from the trees.  In the early morning the mist rises from the valley as the rooster crows and wakes us up. Upon arrival the students started to stop by and welcome us and we felt right at home.

We open the doors and they know they are welcome to stop by any time we are there for a snack or a chat.  Cooking is a favorite activity along with doing complex Lego creations.

The Honors College and Law Fellowship

Over the past several years we have connected with the Honors College leadership team and the UCU Law Fellowship team.  As a result we had given them Life Application Bibles, done devotionals in the morning,and discipled several of the chairmen.  The practical side of discipleship is a topic of discussion. The students read a lot and study the principles but implementation is something they crave and we create an environment for this to happen.

Mark led three sessions on “Solving Problems God’s Way” using examples of Samson as a bad example and Joseph along with David as good examples.  The main principle we wanted to students to take away from the training was “to inquire of the Lord” for all decisions which will lead to success.  Even when they think they have a solution that has worked before to still “inquire” because God sees all the variables when we don’t. The group of honors college and law fellowship students were divided into two groups and were given points for being early to the sessions, solving riddles, and bonus points for team building activities and creative solutions to problem-solving situations.

Over the three weeks we saw a paradigm change in the way they approached solutions and began to “think outside the box” with the emerging leaders reminding their groups to first “inquire of the Lord.”  It seems to resonate with them that this is the key to successful implementation.

UCU Staff Mentors

Rev. Abel Wankuma Kibbedi the faculty member in charge of the Honors College contacted Margaret to teach some classes to university staff members who mentor the students from different departments on campus.  Rev. Abel knew that Margaret had mentored many of the students and wanted her to share some practical ways to mentor and also how she was teaching the students how to write the shortened versions of the CV/resumes.  On three Tuesday mornings she met with 9-12 staff members from various departments to discuss the following topics:  Why mentor? Laying a Successful Christian Foundation for Life, Biblical Examples of Mentors, Practical Guidelines, Roles of the Mentor and Mentee (Role-playing by participants), Suggested Fun Activities, Time Frames, Objectives and Evaluation of the Process (Helping Students to be Effective Citizens and Family Members) The first two sessions were in lecture rooms on campus and the final session was in the apartment to demonstrate the easy mentoring at home.

Our Navigator Friends

Our friends at Navigators share our passion for one on one mentoring to the students and we plan joint activities for each trip to Uganda.  During this trip we discussed two movies, Heaven Is For Real and God Isn’t Dead with approximately 15-20 students each evening.  We analyzed the interactions of the people, their thought process and how different things influenced our perspectives spiritually.  This is a new concept for some of the students to watch a movie and discuss the implications pertaining to living out what we believe day by day.  Like our friends at Navigators we want to go deeper in our spiritual relationships so the foundational doctrines of the faith are put into practice on a day to day basis.  Movies have proven to be a great tool in opening up discussions pertaining to saying “yes” to God or “no” to God.

One evening we had four of the Navigator small group leaders over for dinner and had a rich discussion and time of sharing testimonies pertaining to life-style discipleship.  We love to be intentional about building up other ministries and leaders by encouraging them through hospitality.  It always knits our hearts together when we pray and share a meal.

Exploring Careers, CVs and Being All God Wants Us to Be

Three days a week during the month on site, Margaret had appointments from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. with students preparing to graduate. All of the students needed assistance with exploring career opportunities, writing quantitative CVs/Resumes, and setting up LinkedIn accounts to network with potential employers.  On average it took her 2 hours to interview a student and help them create a one page CV on their own laptops.  In addition she talked about presenting yourself in a professional, friendly way both in person in the way you dress and also on LinkedIn and Facebook.

 It is a comprehensive approach that incorporates a student’s spiritual identity in Christ and the practical gifts and skills they have that are marketable in the workplace.  She even took pictures of the students so they could easily activate a professional LinkedIn account.  At the end of each session the student had a different picture of who that are as believers, what quantitative skills they possess, and gained confidence and a sense of God’s direction as they seek a job.  Part of the preparation is learning to inquire and trust the Lord to guide them as they apply for a variety of positions. Also they needed to prepare and have a realistic perspective about the employers’ time frame and expectations. Seeing the importance of an attitude of going out to meet people without fear and trusting the Lord to open or close doors as they take a step of faith was a new concept for most of them.

Weddings of Two Spiritual Daughters in 2015

Two of our Rock scholarship graduates are planning weddings in 2015.  Gorret and Leonard are planning to be married in January while Juliana and Lawrence are planning a July wedding.  We were so excited to meet these two godly men and hear the stories about how each came to love our spiritual daughters.  During the time we have known these young women, who are both total orphans, we have stressed the importance of studying a future spouse so you are equally yoked.  Observing their character carefully and developing a friendship before any romantic commitments are made was another consideration.  We had a fun conversation over a private dinner with each couple and the men were surprised when they heard how each lady had studied them carefully to determine if they would be a protector, provider and promoter.

Both couples shared they had been good friends since 2008 and only recently had romantic feelings entered the picture.  It was like God prepared them all, then “flipped a romantic switch” that changed the relationship from purely a friendship, doing ministry together, to “romantic courting for marriage.”

The joy of seeing these lovely young women find godly men to marry was so wonderful.  They share ministry at their churches and have found jobs they enjoy and are stable and strong in their faith in Jesus.

Fence Completed Around Kingdom View and Water Connected

God continues to lead us step by step with Kingdom View as we acquire the land, work with the architect and adjust the plans with guidance from the university administration.  With two hostels being constructed next door to our land by the Church of Uganda we felt it was wise to have a more permanent fence marking our boundary lines.  One of our missionary friends introduced us to Steven who has done all the landscaping around the university and has a passion for plants.  Mark shared our plans and the need of a natural boundary that was at the same time beautiful.  Margaret loves to arrange flowers so upon Steven’s suggestion we decided to plant bougainvillea all around the parameter of the property for security and beauty.  Steven said with proper watering the first three months we would have a substantial hedge with low maintenance in the future.  The next step was getting the city water line connected and God provided a miracle and it was connected in 5 days and ready to go.

A new development with the construction of the girls’ hostel with 300-400 students next door presents a wonderful discipleship opportunity.  In the past we have taught a class “Doing Business God’s Way” and the students have requested that we teach this class on an ongoing basis but also provide practical business experience like an internship.  As we prayed and thought about this we considered with our board members the possibility of developing a retail training area which would serve three purposes.  First it would act as a “business laboratory for training students”, second it could provide goods and services next to the new hostels, and thirdly it would help Kingdom View be sustainable.  As we researched the idea we found if we provided items and services for sale that were competitively priced with those the students were purchasing, it would be a win-win situation for all concerned. 

Next we met with our architect and shared the board members ideas to create a small takeout café, a small general store with basic necessities, a salon with two chairs, a shoe repair/alteration shop, and an Internet café/copy center.  The retail training area (lower left) would be open to the public by a foot path and gate and be outside the main Kingdom View property but also accessible and connected.  Security is an issue that the university administration has discussed with us frequently and this would provide a public place for students and also a more secure place for meetings and activities requiring the use of expensive equipment and monitoring of access so we don’t have problems with theft.

A Vision Requiring a Miracle for the Future

As we return home to Texas, we know the vision ahead is more than we could ever accomplish in our own strength. We trust the Lord because it is His plan.  He has pointed us in this direction, continues to surprise us with solutions, people and resources.  Each day we are filled with joy as we take another step of faith.  We are blessed to have ministry donors, prayer partners and a leadership team that is committed to honor God in all we do with Kingdom View.