Kumpe Jul 2019

Dear friends and family,

We have officially been residents in Uganda for six months. We have been witnesses of so many instances of God’s faithfulness and answered prayer since we have been here. From simple things like making sure you see someone you need to speak to on the Village grounds, to divine protection in the intense Kampala city traffic, to a great connection moment in a RICE class or sharing devotions in cottages at night with our residents—God’s power and grace is evident to us daily. We are so thankful to be here serving in Uganda. We are making progress with acclimating and do not have to have our “maps app” open every time we venture out and we can make the money conversions mentally most of the time. The local language, Luganda, is still very challenging are some of the Ugandans’ speech patterns are in the “Queen’s English”—affectionately known at “Uglish”. But such is the adventure of living here.

The majority of our residents have left the Village for home stays to be with relatives or host families for about two weeks of our three-week break between terms. These residents get to experience a more typical way of life for Ugandans than here in the Village. For example, here in the Village we have hot and cold running water—most Ugandans haul water from a community well or get their water from cistern systems. The water then needs to be boiled to prevent disease and sickness. Shopping is mostly done in a market setting and bargaining is common and expected. These are all skills that are not practiced daily as residents of Rafiki Village Uganda. Cars are for the very wealthy in Uganda so one must learn to use boda boda transport (motorcycles that carry 1-4 people), and the taxi van system which operates with set routes like a bus line or walk. Lots of folks walk in Uganda. The residents that remain in the Village are doing revision (study hall) and preparing for major national exams. There are also fun activities like movie nights, board game nights, working in the Village garden, baking lessons, and tending to our chickens and goats. We welcomed twin baby goats mid-June, so our Village goat herd has increased to seven! It has been a joy to watch these spunky little guys growing so quickly! The boys in cottage ten take care of the goats and they were very proud “papas” when the twins were born!

We are busily preparing for term three which will begin on July 15. Residents and day students will begin another term at the Rafiki Christian Classical School here on our campus. Our RICE students will also return on that day and we are praying for new students to come and join us. We graduated one of our RICE students in June. She completed two years and received her second year certificate which enables her to teach Preprimary and Lower Primary grades. We were thrilled to have her accept a job here at the Rafiki School teaching Christian classical curriculum to preprimary students beginning in term three. She did an excellent job in her practicum and is so excited to be teaching her own class. Teaching young children is truly a dream come true for her and she is so thankful to the Lord for his leading and help.

Life in the Village is always an adventure—however some things are very routine. These are the boys from cottage five that wash our car every Saturday. They faithfully come and ask, we supply the soap, brushes, and rags. They even scrub our tires! Boys and cars! They receive some cookies as a treat and they always faithfully ask for some to share with their cottage mamma who keeps a close eye on the cleaning process!

We wanted to share a common sight with you. This is what we see every Sunday as we share the road going to church for worship—a Ugandan cattle drive. Being from Texas this is of particular interest. The horns on these Ankole cows are impressive!

THANK YOU for your support and prayers for us and Rafiki. Would you like to experience Africa and be part of a Short-term Mission? Or sponsor one of our residents? Go to www.rafikifoundation.org for more information.

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