Our Housing Arrived!

With "some assembly required" as Karen said on her blog. A truck arrived today with A LOT of cement, pipe, paint, and even a few sinks. It drove from Kampala, Uganda to Mundri, Sudan over the past week and half with a few delays due to a broken bridge and some import paperwork. The store which is holding all our supplies is complete except for a few finishing touches, and once the construction is finished it will serve as a tool shed/garage.

Dependent Engineer

Yesterday we installed three of the pipes on the water tower. We are making progress, and it is even starting to resemble the finished product.

Connecting the threaded pipes to the tank seemed like it would be a simple job compared to lifting the tank onto the platform, but it turned out to be far more challenging than expected. Things were complicated by the fact that our ladder has not yet arrived with the remainder of our building supplies. Michael climbed on top of the tower with one pipe wrench while I stayed on the ground with the other. One of the pipes had to be rethreaded once it was already bolted to the tank, and the cordless drill charger broke in the middle of the job.

As I learn how to work as an engineer who is dependent on God, I am continually reminded of the importance of prayer. I am not always diligent about praying before we start work, but when I don't pray I am more apt to get frustrated, feel unqualified, and act like an orphan instead of a child of God in a thousand other ways.

In the next few days the supplies we bought in Kampala for our housing will be arriving on a truck. I will learn a whole set of new skills as we continue construction including how to build structures with ferrocement.

As construction continues, please join us in prayer.
Pray for protection and safety.
Pray for success and efficiency.
Pray that we would be good stewards of our funds, supplies, and the land.
Pray for the community that will be impacted by our work.
Pray for my heart as I continue to grow in dependence on God.

Back in Mundri

For the last two weeks I have been in Uganda spending a few days on vacation and the rest of the time in Kampala doing some banking, getting my work permit, and purchasing construction supplies for our housing. As Michael put it, our team housing will arrive this week with some assembly required. We hope to be done with the construction by the end of this year.

I spent three days on vacation in Jinja near the source of the Nile and a little vacation time in Kampala. Jinja was beautiful and quiet. I had a lot of time to think and pray about my first three months in Mundri. In Kampala I got a pedicure, and my feet felt really clean for the first time in months. I also saw a movie in a movie theater, did some personal shopping, and went out to eat. I journaled a lot over those few days of vacation with no distractions or commitments. It was a perfect few days of rest and relaxation.

While I was in Uganda, I also got to meet Bob, a missionary water engineer, and his family. It was great to be able to hear about the work they are doing in Uganda, their vision for ministry, the ways God has worked through them, and the ways they have struggled. It also just so happened that several former WHMers were also in Uganda. Scott and Jane had us over for dinner along with Joel, who worked with Michael as an engineering intern in Uganda. It has been such a blessing to be part of the WHM family, and slowly I am getting to know my extended WHM family.

Now I am back home in Mundri with the rest of the team. After a month of people coming and going, the eight of us are reunited and sitting around the dinner table together again. This week we will resume work on the construction of our team housing and continue to seek funding for our rural water ministry grant proposal.