Uganda Trip Update

Our trip preparations are STEAMING AHEAD! We are 1-month away from Uganda. YIKES!!!

Not to worry, folks. God is good, and I feel like we've got things going in a good direction. Here are some updates about what is happening with our trip, and some items for which we could really use your prayer:

Ministry development

Thankfully, we have been able to make great strides in gaining more clarity about what we (think) we are going to do over in Uganda. Our team members have been hitting the phones with our little Africa calling cards (gotta figure out that Skype thing someday) and making plans with our ministry partners over in Uganda.

We are at the point where we have a day-by-day schedule established. Our planned activities include door-to-door evangelism, sports ministries, home and school visits, and worship services. Now our team is working on collecting all the SUPPLIES we will need for these tasks. Big job for sure, but I know we are up for it!

Safari

While the ministry is certainly the focus of our time, we are very thankful to be able to spend a portion of our trip enjoying the beauty of Africa. Our team is going to go on a 2-day safari trip in-between the two weeks of work.

We will do a cruise on the Nile, watch an early morning game drive, and see beautiful Murchison Falls. I know that we will NEED the relaxation time. Everyone is telling us to be prepared for long-days, difficult conditions, and constant change! Oh, boy!!!

Support Update

Praise God and thank you all for your generosity! Kat and I are within $500 of our full support amount. At least one of our other team members has met and exceeded her goal! We feel so privilidged to be blessed by the people who have made it possible for us to minister in Uganda...

Prayer requests

We would really appreciate your prayers for the following:

• One of our team members, Chris, has an application in for his passport, but has not received it as of yet. Pray for expediency of the passport office!
• Our team is still coming together and trying to "gel." We will need to work well together in these times of packing and preparing. Please pray for our tempers to be held, our patience to be infinite, and our love to be sincere.
• Praise God for blessing us with such an abundance from you and others.

With our warmest thanks,

Brent and Kat

Life Hacker

I saw this site featured in Time, and thought it looked really cool:

http://www.lifehack.org/

I thought it was a wonderful mix of geekiness, short-attention span, and self-improvement. Because who knows when the need is going to arise for me to know How to pimp out my desktop for productivity???

The Jury is... coming about

I've been fulfilling my civic duties this week ~ That is, I have my 2nd day of jury duty this week. It is really hard to complain about this one, lone thing that Americans have to do. Especially when you consider other countries that have requirements about mandatory military service, size of family, and more...

But it is exposure to a world that I so often just forget exists. I'm waiting to see if I will be selected for a criminal/civil hybrid case. As a result, they've been asking all the jurors if they have ever been the victims of certain types of crime. It's just astounding to hear what people have been through!

I find that more than anything else, I am struck by my need to pray more thankfully that God has blessed Kat and I with such a peaceful life thus far, and to remember what we are being protected from each day that we are given...

Parents, Parents, Parents, and Parents

Mom and Dad Applegate have been staying with us since Thursday. It's been a great visit thus far ~ They went to the company picnic with me (Mom embarrassed me by putting me in my place in front of my work group ~ :-) ~ at least there was no paddling), we took them to a Farmers Market, and we all went to church together.

Cool highlight was getting together with Kat's parents, who also came into town for a conference. Nothing like having TWO sets of parents sitting across the dinner table... I'm still working on transcribing all the parental advice! *grin*

It's good to be loved...

B

Friends, Fairs, and Frogs

Its summertime in San Diego, and that usually indicates two happy things: 1.) Lots of concerts and events, and 2.) Lots of visitors. Fortunately, we love both!

Kat's college friend Mamina and her boyfriend Steve came out to San Diego to celebrate the completion of their medical board exams. Now this thing sounds INTENSE! I got the impression it was like every exam you have ever taken all stuffed into one grueling session!

So they were really ready to relax. We took them to dinner and then over to Del Mar, where there was a neat little outdoor concert at Powerhouse.


Nothing like a reggae plus harmonica version of "All along the watchtower" to accompany your sunset. I thought the helicopter swooping by was a nice touch. Jimi would actually have approved of that, as opposed to the harmonica.



That was Tuesday, and on Wednesday I talked Kat into going BACK to the San Diego County Fair (which faithful readers will recall she went to last Friday) - I had never been to this fair, and also country artist John Michael Montgomery was performing.

So we spent a couple hours taking in the sights and sounds of the fair. It is definitely a people-watcher's dream; you've got mulleted hillbillies from the east county walking around with bleach blond surfers from the coast. Only in San Diego!

I especially appreciated the volunteers at guest services (which we visited like 5 times for various reasons), the oh so tasty funnel cake, and the great flowers. The big draw HAD been the John Michael Montgomery concert that was included in admission.


Ol' John was a little... well... low on energy at this particular show. Perhaps it was a let down to be playing the Fair Freebie show, or too much sun during the round of golf that he alluded to, but he just seemed kinda... Sleepy. He did some good ballads, but I found that everytime he tried to fire the crowd up I got all smirky. Some of his moves were right out of WWF/Hulkamania... But I shouldn't criticize... Free show. Nuff said.

Frogs - So we slept in the guest room in anticipation of my parent's coming and staying in our room. The alarm, which also doubles as an IQ test, somehow got set to frog sounds to wake up with. I tell you, it is a wierd sensation to be woken up by frogs blaring right next to you. You feel like this might be one of those "plagues ala Egypt" kind of days. We'll just have to see what kind of day a froggie morning will bring. Cheers!

Highway to the Grunion Zone

Kat and I have been blessed with a nice, leisurely, sunny, and enjoyable weekend out here in America's Finest City... It feels a bit like the calm before the storm ~ Next week we will have both of our parents in town, plus one of Kat's dear college friends...

So the fridge is well-stocked, the house is a bit cleaner, and hopefully we are ready to roll! Now, not to say that nothing good happened this weekend! Here are three cool things worth embellishing:

1. Kenny Loggins at the Fair!

Kat went to a Kenny Loggins show at the SD County Fair with Sara, Sara's Mom, and Katie on Friday night. They did the required Fair gastrointestinal workout of eating deep-friend and then scooted in to see what they described as "a pretty good show" from 80's icon Loggins. Never realized until now that the immortal Top Gun ballad Danger Zone is from Kenny Loggins... "Highway to the..."

2. Grunions at...errr... not at Torrey Pines Beach

So the Grunion (fish, I am told) live off the coast of California and have the somewhat bizarre mating practice whereby, "At very high tides the females come up on sandy beaches and dig their tails into the sand to lay their eggs. A male then wraps himself around the female to deposit his sperm. For the next ten days the grunion eggs remain hidden in the sand, but at the next set of high tides the eggs hatch and the young grunion are washed out to sea."

This bizarre fish behavior engenders even stranger people behavior, often involving frying pans!



The Grunions were supposed to be spawning on Fridy night from 10-midnight (conveniently just after Kenny wrapped up on his show)... We showed up, armed to the teeth with frying pans and buckets, and all set to scoop up these unsuspecting and twitterpated fish. The purpose for which we were to collect the fish was never quite clear to me... No matter, the grunion didn's show by 11, and so we (along with a good quarter of San Diego) dejectedly started heading home...

Sigh... No grunions... but a neat night out on the beach for sure!

3. Horshoes are in the HOA

Last cool thing! We went up to the new home of our friend's John and Heidi for dinner on Saturday. The food and conversation were both delish, but the highlight of the evening was the Applegate's come-from-behind victory in horseshoes, which the developer was forward-thinking enough to recognize as a GREAT thing to put in the little park in the middle of the development.



The action was fast and furious, with John and Heidi getting out to an early points lead with a couple of solid ringers. Kat and I had to dig deep forevery ounce of our collective midwestern Americana to overcome these two southern dandies. In the end, VICTORY! Or at least that's what I recall, but Heidi may have a different viewpoint.

So that's a weekend in San Diego... Can't complain! See yaz

Uganda Prayer Support Update

Here is a brief update to those of you who are supporting Kathryn and me in preparations for our two-week mission trip to Uganda from July 30th to August 15th. We really appreciate your prayers and encouragement!

Some bumps and bruises, but the team is beginning to “gel”

Our little team of 6 had our fourth group meeting this past Tuesday. To be totally honest, it didn’t go as well as we would have liked. After some reflection, we see that the culprit was mainly our lack of spiritual preparation. I think that I (Brent) in particular am learning that for an activity like a mission trip, having a full agenda and everyone completing their homework is just not enough. If we, and especially I, are not prepared spiritually, then things just won’t work very well!

Still, I think this is part of the process of “getting real” with each other. We must learn how to forgive each other and resolve our conflicts, or we will never be able to survive in Uganda!

Parent’s Night Out - first real chance to work together

From an emotional low on Tuesday after the meeting we came to a euphoric high on Friday at Parent’s Night Out. The event was a HUGE success! Our Uganda Missions Team was assisted by some 15-20 volunteers from our church. Together we took care of 34 kids on Friday evening for 3+ hours. The purpose of the event was both to raise funds for our trip and to give parents a much needed “night out!”

The event went off without a hitch! We split the kids up into groups by age. They had counselors who stayed with them, and rotated through stations in which they did crafts, played games, enjoyed snacks, and learned about missionaries.

The kids seemed to have a TON of fun, and I don’t think the volunteers were too far behind. As a team, we raised close to $500 that we will share to cover our trip costs. But I think that for our Uganda Missions Team, the sense of unity and trust that starts to develop after successfully completing such a project far outweighs the monetary gain. I was so encouraged to see how we rallied together in service for God!

An abundance of blessing!

We have been blessed by a tremendous outpouring of generous giving, both by those in our church and by our own friends and family. Praise God, Kat and I are well on our way to covering the cost of the trip!

It brings to mind Malachi 3:10: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

When we are faithful with a little, God blesses us with a lot! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Prayer requests

Our hosts for the trip, Dave and Darlene Eby, wrote recently to tell us that a tragedy has occurred in their midst, involving their good friends and fellow missionaries in Uganda, Scott and Laura Scheffer, of Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC. Laura and one of Scott's workers, George, were killed after being struck by a car outside a restaurant. Laura left behind Scott and four children, and George left behind a wife and two young children. Please pray for these families and the Ebys, who are most distraught.

Please pray for the development of our ministry and activities. Over the next month we need to work with the Ebys, a team from Connecticut, the Mission to the World (MTW) staff in Atlanta, and our contacts with Ugandan nationals to put together an itinerary. The communications challenges are daunting! I take solace in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God knows what is going to happen, even when I may not see the whole picture!

Closing

Thanks to all for your love, support, and encouragement! It has been humbling to plan this activity, but in a good way. Every time we get puffed up and feel like it’s our work, God most courteously smacks us back down. But every time we rely on Him alone, we see that He is faithful.

All blessings,

Brent and Kat

Brent's new email address

I am slowly weaning off my old yahoo email. I finally got fed up with the filing system and the annoying ads with gyrating people... Now, I'm all in favor of gyration, just not when I'm trying to write a dang email!

So my new address is:

brent.a.applegate@gmail.com

THX

Texas - Part 2 through a bunch

Ahhh, memories of those days gone by from... last Saturday. How I long for those days when life was simpler... *sigh*

Yes, folks, we're back in Cali again (there are certainly worse places to be) after our lovely jaunt through the big state of Texas. We came back from Texas with a few extra pounds from an endless procession of cakes, cookies, and glorious dinners that began with the words "chicken fried..." We also came back with a 37 lb stone carved in the outline of Texas (more on that story later.)


But MOST importantly, we came back with wonderful memories of friends and family... and absoulutely no armadillo statues dressed as wild west sherrifs. None! Kat whined a lot, but I had to say no!

Part 2 - New Braunfels: After our time in Ft. Worth, we drove down to New Braunfels to see Kat's grandmother, who the family always calls Omie. Omie is the best. She is a huge Spurs fan, visciously competitive at all board games, a pretty good mini golfer, and a provider of great cookies and hugs. We checked out the sites, took walks, and just had a grand time!





Part 3 - Austin: After Omie's, we spent one night in Austin. We have been thinking that Austin might be a good potential home for us someday, as it is known as a tech-friendly, science-friendly, creative sort of place. We stayed downtown and went to a really nice dinner at the Driskill... But on the whole, the place just left us feeling like it was really... gritty

Now, don't get me wrong! It's got some great stuff. We loved the Bob Bulloch State Museu, the State Capital, and the LBJ Library on the campus of UT...



But 6th street was all bikers and hippies and wierdness... I know I sound so much like Hank Hill right now, but we just never felt really settled in the downtown. Though we did get to see an Alfred Hitchcock thriller in a classic movie house, which was a plus. Ah, I'm just too conservative, I guess...

So Austin is not out of consideration, but its previous lustre has been dampened considerably.

Part 4: Sherman, TX: In order to ensure we would enjoy the true Dallas Metroplex experience, we left Austin at just the right time to hit Dallas at 5:00 rush hour on Friday. Loved watching the heat waves rise up off the asphalt as we inch forward... But we made it to Sherman (12 miles south of Oklahoma) by nightfall to see Kathryn's friends Jenn and Micah, and their baby Noel, at her Mom's place.



I'll say this much about the trip: I have no complaints about the level of cuteness of the babies we met! Great fun catching up with old friends and making new ones. Felt like a real Texan tooling around with Jenn's Mom's husband, Randy, in his 4wd buggie in their cow pasture. Sitting outside at night watching the lightning bugs and listening to the night sounds is such a treat after California, though I think I lost a pint of blood to the mosquitos.

All in all, this part of our visit was short but oh so very sweet! Before too long we found ourselves packing up to go... and faced with the dilemma of trying to figure out how to transport this 37 lb souvenier we had bought (for 10 bucks at Home Depot, so we weren't super-worried).

In the end, we wrapped it in bubble wrap, put it in a flimsy quilting bag, and I hand-carried it on the plane. Nobody even looked twice at me! Feel safe, fellow travelers! I've got this huge rock under my arm, but I surrendered my toothpaste at the gate! *grin*

But who am I to complain?... The rock has made it back to california... and so have we! Cheers!