Uganda in pictures

Please allow me to preface this picture parade from our Uganda trip with a caveat: Pictures cannot do the experience justice!

Pictures can't capture the warmth and openness of the people. They can't express the daily challenges and unexpected events. They are not able to convey the stench of a pit latrine, the fear of Kampala traffic, or the panic that seizes you when you are told to share your testimony with a large group of men in prison.

Most importantly, they can't share the genuine love and admiration that we now feel for our many new Ugandan friends. But pictures CAN give you at least a glimpse into life in what seems like another world. Thanks to all who helped us get there! We are so grateful!!!


Our missionary cover story was that we were dorky tourists... Convincing, no?


Dave Eby is in his element in Uganda!


70% of Ugandans are under 30. There is a tremendous need for education and children's ministries


Katie T and friends in Kifimbura


Kat bonded with this woman, Sara... It was amazing how quickly cultural barriers could be overcome in this type of relational ministry.


Chris and friends in Kifimbura


Life at the Eby's started so peacefully and tranquilly each morning...


.... Only to give way to the scariest, smoggiest, and most aggressive traffic I have ever experienced!


Between the 2 weeks of ministry we were able to visit the Nile River and Murchison Falls


Our van driver was bribing the boat captain to let us on at the time... This is Africa!


Rowr, Crocodile!


Big snake... which we very narrowly avoided running over


Graceful giraffes ~ I love how they just seem to glide around


John Mugabi is a man of vision. He was a tremendous host for our 2nd week of ministry!


Can you see the future?


So many new friends!


We found that songs were a VERY helpful way to round out our teaching lessons


Someday that will be a lion... It IS Africa, you know!


Homecoming... It was so hard to say good-bye!

Kat's Uganda Update

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! We need it all the more, as we leave in less than two weeks.

I am amazed to report that the gifts from our church alone to the group have totaled over $7,000 so far - almost $1,200 per person! In addition, Brent and I are coming along very well in our fund-raising and others on the team have received significant external support as well. God has provided more than we expected.

Not only are we receiving funds for travel, but as a church we quite possibly wiped out the entire Staples inventory of pencils and pencil sharpeners during their recent sale! They were selling those items for a penny each (limit 3), and LOTS of people from our church stopped by. We are putting together tote bags of school supplies for the orphans we will visit. The kids at North City's Vacation Bible School will decorate and fill the bags next week. Hopefully that doesn't qualify as child labor!

In addition to the school kits, we will take over 350 dental hygiene kits (each with toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, and instructions) that have been generously donated. Africa has a big need for education on dental hygiene, since the diet has included more sugar in recent years without a corresponding growth in dental care. We will teach primary school kids at Nkumba School how to properly take care of their teeth, while at the same time emphasizing why we take care of our bodies - to glorify God by caring for his creation!

As if these things weren't enough, we're hoping to bless the long-term missionaries in Uganda by fulfilling some of their requests for things like books (sheesh - they'll be heavy), blankets, pillows, eyeglasses, nuts, and chocolate chips.

Add in to the mix sports equipment (soccer balls, frisbees, etc.), two laptops (donated), two cameras (also donated), and our own personal luggage, and we'll be fully loaded down! You may wonder how we'll get all this over there...all I can say is very carefully. An extra bag or box (up to 70 lbs) costs $150, but shipping it would cost over $800. That's why when teams go, they take as much as humanly possible!

Ok, so enough about the stuff...beyond prayers that we can successfully pack it all, we would cherish your prayers for the preparation of our hearts. The team is beginning to feel more cohesive, and we are thankful for that. Brent and I still find ourselves getting caught up in the logistical prep more than the spiritual. All the toothpaste in the world won't stop our bodies from death and decay; we must bring the Gospel clearly, in faith and love.

The other day in Walmart, I had to apologize to an older couple behind me for separating my things into two piles, one personal and one Uganda-related. When I told them I was going to Africa with my church, the woman said, "Oh, are you a missionary?" It took me a minute before I said, "Well...yes." I am too small for this task, but I am grateful for God's choosing me to go and making it possible. Pray that we would represent Him well!

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

Tres Uganda

Our team met last night for our 3rd of 6 team meetings in preparation for our trip. Its been beaten into my head through corporate trainings that teams have to DEVELOP... and that there is a natural and healthy process of Forming, Storming, Norming, Conforming, etc. that all go through...

Yet it IS always so nice to see that those trainings are actually RIGHT! Last night it felt like our team was finally starting to hit the "conforming" phase ~ Interesting how at first everyone is kinda shy and awkward ~ We all knew each other in the sense that we go to the same church... But it is a whole different ballgame to be either working closely together or planning something substantial.

So things are good- We are doing a Group Fundraiser on June 8th called Parents Night Out where we will encourage parents to leave their kids with us for an evening and have a nice night out. Our two youngest team members are in charge, which is SUPER! Gives me a chance to ... let... go... of... the control... So... hard... to not want... to control everything!!! WHEW! But I'm learning~ Oh how I am learning!

Kat's quals are today... We'll find out in a few short hours whether or not she is an OFFICIAL candidate for the PhD at the Scripps Research Institute!!! Woo Hoo!!!

The Uganda Trip... From the pen of Mrs. K

Hi all,

Here is an excerpt from Kat's letter to her prayer partners for Uganda. She did a GREAT job of summarizing the team (and our) state of mind and current progress about Uganda. And now you can't say that Kat never writes in the blog!

:-)

Brent

Hello, Prayer Team!

I wanted to send a quick update on the progress we are making towards the missions trip. The group had our second team meeting last night, and we covered a TON of stuff. First we addressed and stuffed envelopes to send out support letters to folks within our church. We thought it would be good to send one letter on behalf of the team to people in the church so they don't get 3 or 4 letters each. (We each will then have a more personalized one to send to friends and family.) The purpose of the letter is to ask for prayer and financial support, so please pray that people would give joyfully and generously. There are so many demands on the church body right now, like the building fund, Faith Promise (which supports many missionaries), the Uganda Children's Sponsorship Program, the Deacon's fund, and the regular tithe. So we are trying to be sensitive to this and learn how to walk by faith.

At the start of our meeting we had a great time of praise. We are blessed to have a beginning guitarist among us - a college freshman named Chris - who was brave enough to play for us. Between his playing and my missing the high notes, we had a good laugh about how the Bible says "Make a joyful NOISE to the Lord," not "Make beautiful music to the Lord!"

We covered a lot of logistical stuff about vaccinations and insurance during the meeting, but we also had a devotional on the importance of giving and worked on the team goals part of our Team Covenant, which we'll continue to develop as the meetings go on. To tell you the truth, this was the hardest part of the meeting, since each member has different expectations about what the team should be like. We really need prayer for unity and open communication in our group. Brent and I talk SO much about the trip together, but we rarely get feedback from the other group members in response to the dozens of trip-related emails and phone calls we send. I think that's been particularly challenging to Brent, since it's difficult to trust people with big things (like planning fundraisers) if they don't follow through with small things. So please pray that our team would encourage each other and not resent all the work that goes into planning a trip like this! Pray that each person would be diligent and fulfill the roles we have taken.

One cool idea for a fundraiser we discussed: First Aid training! The Red Cross will come and do training at NCPC for a group of 8 or more for a fixed rate. We were thinking that if we opened it up to our church and other local churches and got a group of 25+ (when the 10% discount kicks in), we could charge people less than or equal to what they would pay for a First Aid and CPR training course at the Red Cross location ($70), but more than the per-person cost to run the on-site program. All the proceeds would then be split between our group members. Please pray for this and other ideas to be carried out, to help relieve the financial burden. Also, if YOU have ideas for group fundraisers, please let me know!

Another item: Brent and I have proposed to a visiting colleague that she rent our spare bedroom for the month of July. She goes back to Connecticut July 31 and is currently staying in a hotel. It would be fantastic for us to bring in some extra cash for the trip, and it would be cheaper for her as well. Not only does she seem kind and interesting, it turns out she is a Christian, too! Something of a rarity among scientists. So, please do pray that Juliet would take us up on our offer, if it is God's will.

Whew! Thanks for reading to the end, and for your prayers and encouragement. Oh--perhaps the biggest thing you can pray about for me, in particular, these next few weeks: I have my Qualifying Exam on May 23. I am working really hard for it, and Brent is trying to do more household things to help me out. God give me the grace to accept help gracefully and show my appreciation and affection towards him, and for him to sacrifice for me and be assured of my gratitude and love. And may God give me success on the writing and defending of my proposals!

Love,
Kathryn

Vaccination Quiz

OK, folks... Let's see how well you know your world travel trivia... Or at least, how much paranoia you have to be checking the CDC website!

Question: In order to travel to Africa, it is either required or highly recommended that you receive a vaccination for: (Choose all that apply)

A.) MMR (Booster)
B.) West Nile Virus
C.) Hepatitis A
D.) Meningococcal (Meningitis)
E.) Whooping Cough
F.) Tetanus, Diptheria, and Pertussis
G.) Typhoid
H.) Yellow Fever
I.) Green Fever
J.) The Gout

Want the answers? Scroll below













Answers: A, C, D, F, G, H

Whew! I tell you what! These CDC cats don't mess around! Our trip is coming along well, though. We met as a team for the first time this week, and we are hard at work getting ready to raise support, develop our project, get those vaccines out of the way, and more!