“Rains down in Africa” 🎶 -Toto

Family Updates:

Well, Dawson is officially 1!! We celebrated our two February (Bonnie’s & Dawson’s) birthdays in Karamoja. Though we miss our traditions and loved ones back home, we are thankful that cake tastes yummy anywhere and we have loved ones to enjoy it with here! I cannot believe it has already been a year since that snowy day Dawson entered the world outside the womb! We are so thankful for him! He has learned to walk and is always on the move. He enjoys being involved with what everyone else is doing or getting into whatever he can find! He keeps us on our toes!

February had some really hard moments too. We had to take an emergency trip to Mbale to get medical care for Jackson. In the course of two days, he went from his normal toddler self to high fevers and being really sick. We took him to the clinic here in Karamoja on the first day with fevers to test him for malaria which was negative. We took him back the next day to double check the malaria test and run another test which showed really high levels of white blood cells and a high inflammatory marker which indicated that he had a bad bacterial infection and was potentially already in or headed towards sepsis. It was too late in the day to travel down to Mbale (it is not wise/safe to travel in the dark in certain areas). So, we started him on oral antibiotics. We talked with two American doctors who work(ed) in Uganda. Both stated he needed IV meds and a doctor to evaluate him. We got one dose of IV meds at the clinic that night and the next morning headed to Mbale to get treatment at a hospital. Praise the Lord, He allowed us to catch it quickly and get Jackson the care he needed. After numerous blood tests, IV fluids, and IV antibiotics, he was on the mend, and we returned to Karamoja.

Upon returning to Karamoja, we all got head colds and then after almost recovering from that, we got hit with another nasty virus that caused fevers, body aches, and pounding headaches. Thankfully, it ran its course and we were all healthy again until the kiddos got hit with a stomach bug… I have been told after the first year, you don’t get sick as often, and I am really praying that is true. Though, I know whether here or in the U.S., we have four littles who are building their immune systems and this season of life is full of illness which is exhausting…

In fun news, the twins are beginning to READ!!! They have been learning and growing so much in this first year of school, and we have loved watching the growth. They are mastering writing their letters and numbers, sounding out words, learning to read clocks, figuring out coins, adding numbers, counting by tens, and so on. What a blessing to be able to teach them!

Ministry Updates:

Language Learning

We were supposed to start language learning the day we had to take Jackson to Mbale. So, the week we got back, we started. We have now completed week 6 of the 9 week intensive course our team has put together to give us a good foundation of the Karimojong language. Wadyo, Wadyo (Slowly, slowly), we are learning. It is a fun and humbling experience to share with our Karimojong workers/friends what we are learning and practice with them. They normally have a good laugh and encourage us as we make some progress! The children have also been learning with Bonnie’s language helper, Loupe, once a week. They have started to pick up greetings (Ejok a? Ejok; Engeleo a? Ee Engeleo) and words like aate (cow) or Ngaatuk (cows). Their curiosity and love of learning is contagious!

NPC

Nakaale Presbyterian Church (NPC) continues to grow and develop. Since the beginning of the year, the church has added 12 members (many of whom are long time attendees but are now taking the step of membership) and had 4 baptisms! Praise the Lord! Many of the ministry team members are back at school, so we are down to two full-time ministry team members who fill the void of not having an offical session here. The presbytery just gave approval for NPC to move forward with receiving nominations for candidates from the congregation for elders and deacons – an exciting development! Travis sits in on the ministry team meetings every Monday. It’s encouraging to hear how these two men and Pastor Julius are caring for the congregation. NPC had a congregational meeting recently where several encouraging/important topics were brought up: Observing the Lord’s Day and being on time to worship together, bringing our children to church, inviting our unbelieving spouse/family, taking ownership of the mercy committee as members, being involved in each others lives throughout the week and checking in on each other, etc. Topics we can all learn from.

Knox

We had a chance to stop by Knox School of Theology (KST) to see the progress on several building projects. Travis has helped behind the scenes with many of these projects. He has also helped coordinate some plumbing/solar work on the guesthouse in Mbale to get ready for some missionaries coming in soon. It was a blessing to see some of these come to completion. It also hopefully marks a turning point of being able to shift our focus more and more towards Karamoja and the ministry here.

Village Visits

I (Travis) recently had the opportunity to visit a member of NPC with Chris Verdick. I had learned a few days prior that this man had lost his grandmother when he called and asked to borrow a few shovels from the maintenance shop so he could dig the grave. Chris and I set out by bicycle (which I was embarassingly rusty at) and traveled for about 45 minutes to reach where this member lived. It was both an encouraging and sobering experience. It was encouraging to find this young man living for the Lord despite his circumstances (a life marked by much suffering – domestic abuse, becoming the bread winner of the family at a young age, mistreatment and being ostrasized/looked down on by his extended family/clan members for living out his Christian convictions and standing for truth, etc).

As we arrived, I was nervous about not knowing what to expect or the cultural norms/expectations of the situation. The man generously hosted Chris and I while we sat outside in the shade of a thorny tree (Looking around, I noticed the harsh/bleak environment mirrored the life that most karamojong live through). Elderly and other relatives of the grandmother had traveled in and were staying for multiple days to perform certain rituals observed when an elderly relative passes away (As best as I can understand/explain it) to obtain some of the blessings/good luck that person/spirit gave. They were eating goats that they had slaughtered; however, this man/we were not allowed to partake as it was reserved for certain of these elderly relatives. It would have also made this man partake in their pagan ritual which he would not do. So, this man had gone into “town” and bought some chicken and drinks for us.

It was a strange cultural experience for me as I am used to the guest bringing the gift, especially when visiting to encourage a bereaved friend. It was a good reminder that though we as a family have suffered trials in coming here, it often pales in comparison to what our Karamojong brothers and sisters in Christ deal with on a daily basis- sometimes just because of the harsh life the Karamojong live, but also because of their love for Jesus Christ and their willingness to live differently than all those around them.

Life here:

RAINY SEASON

After many hot days and nights (no fans or AC here!), the rains have returned- well, somewhat! This means a few things. Planting season has started! The fields are being plowed and seeds are being planted. The mornings and evenings have cooled off which is a sweet relief! You might even see us in a sweatshirt now and again! It also means the showers we take feel much colder….brrrr. Most people use dry season to fix up their homes, thatch their roofs, or build new ones. So, as they complete those, they move on to planting as the rains become more consistent. Right now the weather is still trying to decide if it want’s to be rainy or dry season.

WILDLIFE

We have gotten to see lots of wildlife. So far, some of what we have seen are monkeys, baboons, ostrich, yellow-billed kites and lots of other birds, plenty of spiders, ants in abundance and of varying size, GIRAFFES, and some snakes …. Like the boomslang snake which is highly venomous (look it up – it is pretty too!). We have also seen a few other snakes that we don’t believe were venomous, but in Africa, you kill snakes first and ask questions later. We have heard and seen the tracks of hyenas but have not yet seen one. Travis got to see a warthog and her babies while travelling to pick up visitors. Clayton would like you to know we have NOT seen zebras yet – 0. Though, they are here, and we are hoping to see some!

PLANTING

As we noted earlier, it is planting season. We are hoping to start our garden in the next week or so. Travis cleared out an old “green house” that was here and had some of the guys help him get it all set up! In Karamoja, there is not as much available and having some of our own produce will help diversify our diet! We were told everyone needs to start a hobby or you’ll go crazy here. Travis wants to pick up gardening as a hobby since he had to leave most of his hobbies behind (Bonnie thinks he had too many anyway, haha).

We normally buy our fruits and veggies in Mbale and then use them before they go bad or clean, cut, and freeze them for later use. We also buy frozen chicken while there. Danielle Grimsley taught me (Bonnie) how to can it and left me the supplies to do so which saves a lot of time in dinner prep and saves freezer space for other items. Our team takes shopping trips every two weeks to Namalu (a local town 10 minutes away by car) to pick up things like eggs, tomatoes, cabbage, bananas, and potatoes. Otherwise, our shopping is done in Mbale and normally you are buying for a month or more at time…. Talk about a big order. All that to give a glimpse of life here and say, hopefully our garden does well!

We are thankful for you! And if you actually made it to the end of this one, great job! It was a LONG one.

In Christ,

The Emmett’s


Praises

  • Jackson is feeling better!

  • The church has had 13 new members and 4 baptisms in the past two months
  • We have language helpers and have started language learning
  • Homeschooling is going well
  • The children are enjoying Karamoja and their friends here
  • Relationships with the team and locals are continuing to grow and deepen

Prayers

  • Safety, good health, and REST

  • Opportunities to disciple others
  • ANPC and NPC
  • Knox School of Theology as they finish a building project and have graduation in May
  • For Travis’ trip to kampala at the beginning of May for RECA Presbytery.