a wild goose chase

Time flies when you're having fun...Right...well I don't usually try to vent or speak negatively about things on here, and I will continue to try not to do that, but if I am perhaps a little too heavy on the sarcasm of this post or it comes across negative a bit forgive me, just a little frustrated. Since I last posted we have been on what I think can only best be described as a wild goose chase.  Some time in the first week of June we found out that the American Embassy in Nairobi had finally scheduled Ruudy for an immigrant visa interview. I say finally only because we had started the process of applying for said visa about a year ago. All of the sudden we were expected to be ready for the interview in Nairobi by the 1st of July, that gave us about 3 weeks.  And the bonus, Ruudy had to schedule two health appointments in Nairobi at the only authorized place, allegedly two weeks before the interview.  That gave us only one week to prepare to go for the health appointments and interview. We emailed and called the health clinic and after a couple days found out the only available time slots left were on the 27th and 31st june. So much for two weeks prior to the interview. But there was no other option so we decided to go with it. This is already long so I will spare you the details of the 4hr drive to the border and the 10hr bus ride from the border to nairobi and the amazing driving skills that apparently most Kenyans have. Ruudy successfully made it to the two health appointments and he passed! woohoo! And he didn't even need two weeks for results or anything, the embassy had everything they needed in one day. Praise the Lord. We went for the interview, a little nervous, and if we somehow failed this attempt, WHEN WOULD WE EVER MAKE IT TO THE STATES!?! People want to meet this beloved of mine already. Anyway, we didn't fail, but we didn't really pass either. We had his birth certificate and our wedding certificate (both the church one and the one from the local gov't) but it wasn't quite good enough. They needed to see both of those things from the Central gov't not just the local gov't, so, we packed up our things went back to our friends place just out side of nairobi and started making phone calls. Ruudy has some friends who know how to handle such things. So, they started working on getting the certified central gov't copies of things. After a couple days we realized that we would have to go and chase these things ourselves, and it wasn't going to be as easy as one might think. We headed back to Uganda on Sunday the 6th. We had been in Nairobi about 10 days, but very little to show for it. We immediately proceeded to get remarried as a civil marriage because we were told that the church that we married at wasn't registered with the marriage registry and so there was no way they could certify it. At least my sister-in-law lives at that border where we crossed and was so helpful to us. If you don't know uganda you may not understand the kind of waiting game we first played with the guy who was supposed to remarry us, but finally by like 5pm monday we were officially re-married. Only they had put the wrong ages. We took the thing back to the guy to fix, but they just crossed out and put the correct age and initialed it. We then headed about 2 hours closer to kampala, to our new place in Jinja. We slept there and ruudy continued on to kampala and I stayed behind to help with the classes for pastors that week. Tuesday, ruudy arrives and after much waiting and talking they inform him that they cannot certify it because of the age correction, he calls his sister at the border and she talks to the guy and explains the situation and after much talking and begging, he agrees to make a new one and sign it the next morning. Wednesday, his sister waits for the guy and eventually she boards a taxi with the new certificate and meets us in Jinja. We sign it and I drop Ruudy back off at the taxi stage and again he heads to kampala trying to make it before 5pm. Upon reaching this time he is told that the certificate is in the wrong form. So ruudy gets on a taxi van and heads the 4+ hours back to the border where we did the civil marriage. Thursday, after much hassle the guy finally makes a new certificate for us, ruudy takes a 2hr taxi ride back to jinja, where he meets me for 5 minutes, I sign the new thing and he continues on to kampala another 2hrs, but it's too late to do anything, so he waits till Friday. Friday, he tries to get the now 3rd copy of our civil marriage certified, but they say now that they need a letter from the states saying that I was really single when I got married. But of course I was not because I was already married in the church wedding, so there's no way I'll get a letter from the states saying that I was single. Hmm...now what? I called the people at the embassy in kampala and they said that the church certificate should work to get certified, so ruudy calls the pastor in Mbale, which is about 5 hours from kampala. The pastor says that the church is registered with the registry of marriages and he would provide the proof and write a letter on our behalf explaining why they haven't registered our marriage yet, and that they should allow ruudy to register it on their behalf. I'm tired just writing this. Ok, so ruudy gets on a bus and travels the 5 hours to mbale friday afternoon, gets the paperwork from the church and heads back the 2+hours to jinja on a taxi. Our class on teaching bible story telling for evangelism and discipleship is now over and ruudy arrives back in Jinja having to miss all of the classes. Saturday and Sunday, recovery days. Monday, Ruudy goes back to kampala, and attempts to file the paperwork that he was given by the pastor, so our marriage can be registered and then we can get the certificate certified, as redundant at that sounds. Well guess what? The church is supposed to be registering new marriages monthly, and the last one that they happened to register was in 2012. And the registry is refusing to register ours alone, but the church has to register all the marriages that have happened between now and then in order for ours to be registered.  The church charges everyone a filing fee, and the gov't requires 35,000 (around $14) per wedding registered. So you would think when we call up the church and tell them to come and register all of the weddings from the last two years, they would have saved up all of the money that they collected over the years and been able to file, but no, they don't have a single shilling to even help transport the pastor to file the thing.  Don't ask me what happened to all the money people paid over the last two years to get married, but there are 18 marriages that went down, and not a shilling to show for it, and SO...if we want to get our certificate certified we'll have to pay 630,000 shillings (about$252) to pay for the church to file all the marriages, but at least the church has said that they will try to borrow half of the money. ?!?! Tuesday, hopefully the church people come to kampala with their half of the money and all of the marriages get filed before the end of the day, so that by wednesday we can have our certified certificate and then we can mail ruudy's passport with the certified birth certificate and this elusive marriage certificate and we can prove to the embassy in nairobi, that yes ruudy was born, and yes we were married in Uganda. And then a week after it arrives at the embassy, hopefully ruudy will be headed back to Nairobi to pick up his passport with the immigrant visa in it...and then we might start thinking about when we can go to the states... so that's the long of the short of it... if you made it this far, you're really a trooper. well done. please pray for us, as it's a very frustrating process that has swallowed up a good chunk of change and perhaps some sanity as well.

a glimpse

I could write about this big move we have coming up, and how I'll miss my beloved Soroti, and my beloved team, and how I'm gonna trust God for this opportunity in Jinja, and thank Him for it. Or I could reflect on the past year of marriage to a Ugandan, and how I know that I know that marriage has brought out the worst in me so that it can be killed and the best can come forth. Or maybe I should talk about living with 6 young men (one of them being my husband) and how to feed the group for under $7 a day. Or I could share each of their stories, and how they ended up staying with us. Or maybe I should talk about the purity clubs we have started and the journey of finding dedicated teachers. Or the kids we are finding sponsors for. I'm sure their stories could fill pages.  There's mango season and then the harvesting of white ants. There's the motorcycle ride to the village clinic with a very feverish young girl, and the arguing for the right cut of pork at the right price. There's hanging banners in the market declaring the love of God for His children, or the constant search for sponsors for our kids. Like how we went to the same shop about 5 times looking for money promised for sponsorship, people dodging us, tossing us and finally there was the kicking of the dust off our feet as we moved on.  Then again there are powerful times of prayer in our house, people slain in the spirit, demons leaving, praises ringing and worship of the King of King pouring out of laughing freed lips. Chapati business and visiting street kids, hospital prayer times and grieving with those who have lost loved ones. What can I say about roasting rats? And there are chicks sleeping in our kitchen pantry every night. Fast moving storms and power outages. Oh and advising young girls on how to keep pure in the ever persistent pursuing of young men at school and on the streets. Then there's family issues and celebrations back in the states and being far away, and how sometimes the distance makes things easier, and sometimes harder. Each subject could be it's own post. Each story is worthy of it's own, but then again, I should talk about time, and how it is endless and yet it never seems to be enough. And if I had the time I would expand on each of these things, but this will have to suffice for now. Call it a picture, a glimpse in to my life right now. Let it be enough for now. For another fast storm may be coming and power may go out and...

Seasons

WE ARE MOVING! WE ARE CHANGING ORGANIZATIONS! Don't worry, we're still the same crazy, God-fearing, people-loving couple, but God has called us to venture out of our much loved home of Soroti to Jinja, Uganda. WHAT?!? Yes, to the source of the world's longest freshwater river. If that isn't exciting enough...

...We are so excited about what God is doing there. We have an opportunity to come under two other couples in training local pastors, from the nearby villages, including the Lake Victoria Islands, on basic theology, marriage and family, and Framing God's Way among other topics. Most of them have basic education due to the lack of funds to further their studies. We will also be helping at Welcome Home Orphanage which is run by the same organization that we will be working under as well as helping with village outreaches to the several villages across Jinja. One of the couples we will work with is Josè and Sol Nuñes who I, Beckie, met through a friend when I first came to Uganda 4 years ago...and they are the very couple who married us just one year ago! They have become like parents to us. And we are excited to come alongside them.

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Our main focus will be teaching and learning how to run the Kingdom Life Training Center, which the school for village pastors.  Ruudy has the gift of teaching and we are excited to see him grow even more into the man God has called him to be as he develops this gift. As a newly married couple, the opportunity to come under and grow with these two mature Godly couples is such an amazing blessing. With Ruudy growing up here in Soroti, he has so many connections in Soroti pulling at him and trying to fit into the organization that I (Beckie) was already working with was challenging. We see this opportunity for us to have a fresh start in a new place that is unfamiliar to both of us.

We are still passionate about the ministry that we have started in Soroti, the Purity Clubs and the Child Sponsorship. We have the next three months to transition full time to Jinja and try to line up the right people to keep the work going in Soroti. We will stay involved in this ministry albeit from a distance.

We love International Teams and have been blessed working with them. And we will miss our teammates in Soroti, but are thankful we are still nearby. They are only a 4 hour drive away.

SO....As of May 31st I will no longer be working for International Teams. We will no longer be able to receive support through International Teams shortly after that date. 

Instead, we will be receiving support through Calvary Life Fellowship.  We urge you to make this transition with us and continue supporting the work that God has called us to. If you can accept the inconveniences that making this change may bring and journey with us as we continue to spread the Kingdom news we would be so blessed. You can begin sending support, already this month, to: 

Calvary Life Fellowship

Missions: UG-Ruudy & Beckie

PO Box 1161

Brea, CA 92822

Because Calvary Life Fellowship is a small church they are not set for electronic funds transfers but you can set up with online banking to have your bank send a check each month automatically to the address above. If writing a check you should just include our names on the envelop or a slip of paper not on the actual check.

Thank you for your support over the past 4 years! We couldn't have done it without you, and we still need you, for, "The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Cor 12:21.

We are going to put together a short video soon that will better explain the work we will be involved with in Jinja. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please email us. We would love to hear from you.

Blessed to be a blessing,

Ruudy & Beckie

Christ Reigns in our Purity Clubs!

As a young man growing up in the villages of Uganda, my eyes were kept away from the immoralities of this world. All i knew was that one had to grow up, by the age of 15 if he or she wasn't at school or was deemed over aged, the elders advised him or her to get married. The young man's aunts would then recommend various good girls where they themselves were married to the young man and he would pay his aunts different visits to have a look at different girls and from among them, he would pick for himself a wife! This was the way, the sure and respected way for every young man.

With years however, the trend started changing and young people would just pick one of their classmates when they reached adolescence or puberty and get married, or the boy would make the girl pregnant and in return, the girl's parents would chase the girl to marry her "husband". Getting young people who went through their teens without getting married started becoming a rarity.

After primary education, my sister took me to the capital Kampala in search of better quality education. Not did i only see some new and interesting stuff like many cars, tall buildings, new kinds of dressing by the females, i also witnessed immorality at it's peak! My cousin, the one i used to share a room with, a student like me just a class ahead of me one night shocked me when he brought his "sweet" stealthily to our room as i was sleeping. I later woke up and the scene wasn't good. After pleading and vowing not to do it again, i didn't report him. But as they say some habits take long to die, my cousin repeated the same thing after a few days and i walked out in the wee hours of the night for about a half kilometer to where my elder brother was staying. Surprisingly when i told him why i was knocking at his door at such a time, he wasn't amused and curtly told me that "don't mind, one day, you will also grow and go though the same experience". I didn't know what to make of his statement, a curse or a statement of fact?

Some how, these events, coupled with what i was seeing all around me, made me curious and many questions started to linger in my mind. After three years in the city, i decided i couldn't take it any more and returned to study in my sweet home town Soroti. I thought the foolishness and wickedness in Kampala hadn't reached Soroti, how wrong! 

In Soroti, my classmates would talk about sex and how they enjoyed sleeping around during broad day light and all these things. I was shocked to hear all these nonsense. What made it even easier for students in Soroti was the fact that over 98% of them were renting and staying all by themselves in various ramshackled houses. They were their own bosses and couldn't control their appetites. From this set of events, my roommate, who was another cousin of mine was sexually active even though he was much younger than me. After hearing lots of lies and cunning words, i got a girl that i had known for some time and lost one of the most precious gifts i possessed. All the lies i was told didn't make up for any slight enjoyment i had been made to believe. I was broken, full of regrets and even doubted my salvation after this fall. I thought God was angry with me, but thank God after years of feeling the full weight of guilt, i forgave my self and all those who convinced me and helped me sin, and once again, i felt the full love of the Father and started serving him in knowledge and in truth.

When i reached university, albeit after lots of other hurdles, i came to realize the full extent of the broken sexual world around me. My university room mate was addicted to sex and tried several times to make me follow suit, but my earlier experiences made me resolved not to fall under this temptations again. With the grace of God, i sailed through university and came out intact. But inside me, i felt there was a part of the story that was not being told. A story of Love and Reconciliation, a story of a God who forgives and restores. I had a thirst to teach young people that all talk about the bliss of teenage sex was not as nice as they are being made to believe. I wanted to start a campaign that would counter the condom lies, but the time wasn't right. I shared this idea with several friends, but none of them seemed to care about it.

It was later after i got married to my dream wife, that one time i shared this dream with her, only to realize that God had put the same thing in her heart. How God managed to locate two people from different continents to come together in marriage and unite forces to stand for the same cause, shows his awesomeness! with other friends from church and outside our church, we teamed up to start Loveworld Community Development Initiative (LOCODI) to champion this cause as well as child sponsorship for many orphans, some of whom are orphans because their parents engaged in pre-marital sex and conceived them as well as getting infected with the deadly HIV virus. The death of my Kampala cousin from HIV/AIDS early last year left me thinking of many other young people who are destined to go the same road, unless someone told them the truth and the benefits of waiting until marriage. Today, we have purity clubs in two primary schools and one secondary school with participation and membership higher than any other club in these schools. Many other schools are inviting us to start the same in their schools, but we can't because we are short of volunteers. In just less than a month, we have led over 200 students to Christ and are now in the much tasking task of discipling them! Jesus is now reigning in our Purity Clubs and the joy and the laughter that takes place during these sessions, is just amazing. Today, after sharing in Pioneer primary school, a host of students came to greet me and as if they were trained to say the same thing, they all kept saying "Thank you for teaching sir, may God bless you". I was startled and elated at the same time. God is doing a lot of stuff through us and there's no better opportunity to partake of what is happening than now, you can partner with us today and if you are already a partner, we want to say thank you very much for making God's dream come true. Now we need Bibles and other christian materials for our new converts.

Sorry the post is long, but i hope you enjoyed it. With much love, we say, God bless you and may the knowledge of him and his grace increase in your own lives.
Ruudy and Beckie.

           

A bacon cheeseburger

Two of my favorite foods are bacon and cheese, and when a new restaurant opened up in town with a bacon cheeseburger on the menu I thought about trying it out. Then when a teammate passed on the word, that yes the bacon cheeseburger was indeed good (b/c here you don't always get what you might expect), I thought yes, I need to try it. The teammate did mention that when his wife got the burger it was missing the meat paddy, or shall I say the "burger" part of the burger,  that we so often consider an essential part of the burger, but after a quick trip up to the then embarrassed manager, it was settled and the burger was added to...well..the burger. Confident that that confusion was now settled in the newly established restaurant, I went with Ruudy plus one of our other teammates and I was so excited about trying the burger that the others came on board and also decided they too would go for the elusive bacon cheeseburger. When the waiter came to take our order and we asked whether the bacon cheeseburger was available today, because sometimes, ok most of the time, the things on the menu are not actually there. So our hearts were still not too settled, and then the waiter told us he wasn't sure about a few ingredients in the burger so he would have to go and check. This is good, because normally he would just take the order, go back to the kitchen and come back 10 minutes later and inform us that, actually, it's not there. We patiently waited, and shortly he came back and announced, that yes, all the ingredients are surely available. So now with happy hearts we decide all of us to go for the glory of the bacon cheeseburger. He told us it would be 20 minutes, I told him, I'm going to time him, b/c most of the time I multiply by 3 when I'm given a time in this country. He laughed and changed the time to 30 minutes, I laughed and started the timer as he ran off to the kitchen. About 35 minutes later, yay! not 20 times 3, the waiter comes forth bearing what appears to be bacon cheeseburgers! We are excited, the saliva is already dripping, and the anticipation is great. He slowly sets the plate down in front of us. We smile, we cheer, I slowly pull back the bun, to reveal neatly stacked cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and even special sauce...but wait...alas, something is missing, could it be? why yes...the burger, the paddy itself is surely missing. Waiter, the burger is missing, no, no it's there, um....let me check, yeah, it's missing. oh. We look at each other, was the burger the ingredient that earlier he thought might be missing? Could the cook have thought that it was a nonessential part of the burger? We may never know. We kindly ask the waiter to add the burger to the burger, he kindly replies, it's not there, tomorrow. tomorrow? Am I really ready to risk such utter devastation again tomorrow? No way. Well, at least sir, could you please discount the meal, since it's missing a main portion of the...well...burger? Tomorrow. Tomorrow? You'll discount tomorrow? Are you already anticipating that if I come tomorrow as suggested, I may run in to the same problem? No way, please, just discount today, I may not make it back tomorrow. He finally takes the receipt back to the kitchen, and gives a small discount.  And we quietly, slowly eat our bacon cheese"burgers". At least the toppings were good. I can't wait to try the whole thing some day, but I've learned my lesson, and will verify that, all, whether considered essential or nonessential ingredients are available before I order again. May you also learn from my mistake.

Partakers

I was reading Luke 8 this morning, and after I finished the last sentence of the chapter, Holy Spirit was quietly whispering in my ear, "Beloved did you see that? Did you really see what you just read?" Then I thought back through each part of the chapter, what happened? There was a parable, Jesus redefines his family, and 4 different miracles happened. One demon possessed man restored, one storm silenced, one dead girl raised to life, and one lady healed of constant bleeding. Again Holy Spirit whispers, "This is your God, see His power. Over the spiritual realm, over nature, over death, over sickness." And this is all in one chapter. Now as I again look back through the chapter, I see just before this, at the very beginning of the chapter is the parable of the sower and seed. In this parable it is taught the importance of the Word of God in our lives, and then just after explaining the parable Jesus says, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." Immediately after this statement follows the four different miracles, as if God is to say, "Hey, hello, uh, you see, if you listen to my Word and put it into practice, there's no limit to the power that you may experience in and through you." 
I guess I write this as an encouragement. That whatever you may be going through, cling to what God tells us in His word, cling to Jesus, and put it into practice in your life, let Jesus have His way in your heart and there's no telling how God is going to work in and through you. He has power over the physical and the spiritual and He has shared that power with those who believe in Him. We are partakers. So let's partake, and bring glory to His name and joy to our lives and the lives of those around us.

it might be dry season if

It might be dry season if:
you find yourself almost wiping out in the sand every time you ride your bike around town
you shower three times in a day and still feel dusty
your lips have become like sand paper
your skin has become like crocodile skin
you sweep the house three times in a day and still it feels dusty
you find yourself laying on the cool floor tiles in the afternoon
you get passed by a car and your visibility goes down to zero
you drink 2 liters of water and you're still thirsty
you see babies are wrapped in only one blanket instead of 3 or 4
your hair turns a light shade of brownish-red after a trip from the village
you only stop to talk in the shade
you are sweating before 8am
you are sweating after 11pm
you try to dig and the hoe just bounces back of the hard ground
you don't even think about showering with hot water
you actually want the shower to be colder
your skirt gets blown up by the wind when riding your bike
it takes you twice as long to ride to the north than to the south
nothing happens between 2pm and 4pm
you go to the bank when you don't need any money just because it's the only place to cool down in town

Since all of these things are occuring now, I conclude by saying, that yes dry season is in full swing. It's hard to even think about 3 degrees Fahrenheit or negative degrees. We are definitely in opposite worlds right now. At least God always gives us the greater grace, whether it's too cold or too hot. We learn to be thankful in all circumstances. So thanking God with you this season.