Josh's Journal

May 4, 2009
Greetings everyone. We are supposed to get our internet hooked up today so maybe you will be able to read this by tomorrow. This is not the first time (or even the 2nd, or 3rd) they were supposed to come, but I am actually optimistic they will come today - because I did not cancel my other plans like I did the first few times they were supposed to come. Our old internet was to slow to attach anything, so it was not able to do all we need to do with International Teams. Hopefully we will be up and running again soon.
Last Friday was International Laborers Day and the national celebration was here in Soroti, which meant the president would be here. We thought it would be fun to try to see President Yoweri Museveni so we decided to attend the celebration in the sports grounds in the middle of town. Police were everywhere - hundreds of them. It is not an exaggeration to say they were every 15 feet. We all had to enter through a metal detector. There were a few hundred chairs set up under tents for people who had invitations (not us) and the rest of us had to stand out in the field some distance from the stage. We could not see much so we decided to keep walking around the outside since the president had not yet arrived. As we approached the rope on one end of the field the police decided it was time to fill the chairs which were not filled so they let about 20 people in, including us. We sat right on the outside edge of the tent. There were some traditional dances which was interesting. About 30 minutes later the president came, parked near us, walked right past us and planted a commemorative tree behind the tent. As he was walking back up front, he stopped right by us and greeted Mandy briefly. It took us totally off guard. It was so cool to think the President Museveni greeted Mandy.
Last week we had our team retreat in Jinja. We spent two nights at Kingfisher Safari Resort (an impressive name for a place that has nothing to do with animal safaris). It is a series of little cabins on the shore of Lake Victoria. They have beautiful flower gardens. The best part is their swimming pool. It is the most kid friendly pool I have been at - our girls loved it and spent many hours in it. The retreat was a good experience as a team to get away from the business here, worship God together, and enjoy one another’s company. It was a true blessing.
I have also resumed teaching children’s church. Last Sunday we had about 25 kids; yesterday we had 52 kids. It makes me wonder how many will be there next Sunday. It is overwhelming, but I have seen that many kids come to church simply for that. I know God loves children and I trust He is working in the hearts of many of them. I try hard to make myself available to Him. Last year I went through stories of the Bible from the OT then the NT. This year I started with the resurrection since I started teaching the week after Easter. I plan to go through Acts and then teach on what it means to follow Jesus.
I keep plugging away at learning Ateso. Some days I feel like I can run and not get tired; some days God simply keeps me from fainting. However, last week I went to visit a blind man out in a village. I shared the gospel with him using Ateso. I still feel lost most of the time, but it was exciting to see I had learned some. It also struck me how closely people listen to God’s word when I speak Ateso. Men, women, and children stopped what they were doing to listen as I presented the gospel. Granted, some were probably listening for the entertainment value, but they still listen.
Today I have a meeting to discuss beginning the Timothy Leadership Training in the village of Obule. I am going out there to meet with a couple of pastors. Perhaps God is opening a new door for that. Next week I will be in Amuria teaching it there all week. Please pray for my voice and my family as it is always difficult when I do week-long workshops. Actually, please pray for my motorcycle as well. The road to Amuria challenged the motorcycle last year.