Visitors & Visiting

June brought us Matt’s sister Michelle, July has brought us his aunt and uncle Henry & Yvonne Lammers for 2 weeks, and August will bring us to America for just over 2 weeks including a visit with Ashley’s mom and sister. With all of this travelling and receiving of travelers, we’re reminded of Hebrews 11:15-16 speaking about the Old Testament men and women of faith.

“If they (these Old Testament men and women of faith) had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had the opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared for them a city.”

Thank you for supporting us as we have gone out into a land that is not our own, and sought the heavenly country that He has for us. While we miss everyone in the States and Canada, we continue to remain confident that this is where God has asked us to remain for the time being. We are so thankful for family visiting (and look forward to more in the future!), as well as the opportunity to visit more family soon!

Hiking in Sipi Falls in eastern Uganda with Henry & Yvonne recently. Sipi is at the base of Mt Elgon and home to 3 main waterfalls. Relaxing and refreshing trip outside of Kampala.

Ashley enjoying the view

June brought the end of a project term at EMI. The interns have departed back to their homes and the office has been quieter. Matt enjoyed being able to supervise two wonderful interns this term. It was enjoyable to be able to invest in them and in their careers. We finished a land use plan for Hope Alive! near Gulu, Uganda. Below is a picture of the plan we produced. Matt was able to meet with the Hope Alive! director to present the finished product. They were appreciative of the work and excited to move forward in developing their site. Construction drawings for the second phase of The Amazima School, the other main project Matt has been working on, are finished up and moving into the estimating stage. We are progressing with work at UCBC and are nearing completion of the first phase of renovation as well as preparing drawings for the next phases of construction.

Masterplan for the Hope Alive! site

Ongoing construction work at UCBC

Ongoing construction work at UCBC

July has been the beginning of a season of transition for EMI. We had one staff member leave after being here for almost 5 years. Rose is a good friend of ours and we will miss her a lot. Two weeks ago two families arrive in Uganda to join the team. We have been helping to show them around the area and get oriented to life in Uganda. We have three families that are currently in the US on home assignment that will be returning in late August. We have two families that are just starting a home assignment, one for 6 months the other for a year. In late August/early September we have 4 families arriving in Uganda. At the end of the year we have two people transitioning back to the US. And at the beginning of next year we will have 3 people/families arriving.

Ashley has continued to work with the volunteers of DOORS over the past 2 months. It has been refreshing for her to share life and ministry in Uganda with them, as I am reminded of why I came here in the first place and more importantly, why I am still here- to make disciples and send disciples out. Volunteers left and were sent out last week, which will slightly free up my program for a couple of weeks. Yahaya’s Plot, DOORS nutrition farm, has wrapped up our chicken income generating project and we have been able to learn a lot of lessons about chicken rearing in Uganda moving forward. Last week, both schools and the homes were able to enjoy a protein packed chicken for lunch as part of this project. We are looking to restart it again next month to catch the market around Christmas time when chickens are in high demand. 

Another highlight this month for Ashley has been looking through the anthropometric measurements of the DOORS Primary School students. I was able to write my Masters’ exit paper on the nutrition status of the school after completing my 6 month internship with DOORS in 2013. I really enjoyed inputting the heights, weights, and MUACs of the pupils into a spreadsheet and discover that micronutrient malnutrition is on the decline in the school overall. Ringworm treatments, vitamin supplements, changes in menu, protocols for treating diarrhea, and training and empowering of a nursery teacher there to take over day to day medical needs and programs on campus is working for God’s glory and for the students’ good!

 Pupils at DOORS Primary School in Namuwongo.

In baby news…we had our 20 week appointment two weeks ago and are happy to report that Ashley and Baby Lammers are healthy and progressing normally. Our estimated due date is around November 24^th. Starting next month we are planning to begin having our prenatal appointments at the hospital we will deliver at, a local private hospital that is about 20 minutes from our home. Ashley is feeling a lot better and encouraged by her new surge in energy and appetite! We are thankful for all the friends and family that have already given us so many things (and advice) for having a baby including a crib, blankets, and maternity clothes.

Ashley said that people probably like pictures of us, so here are a couple.

Us outside EMI's office

Us at the fish market for lunch

In August, we are looking forward to a 2 week trip to the States. We’ll be spending some time in northern California with Ashley’s family to celebrate her sister’s upcoming wedding, before taking a short road trip from there to Denver. In Colorado, we are attending the week long eMi World Staff Conference where the staff and families from eMi offices all across the world will be gathering together for a week of fellowship, refreshment, and equipping before being sent back out all over the world. We are looking forward to the opportunity to connect with (and reconnect with for Matt) many eMi staff from other offices, as well as build deeper community with our Uganda office crew and families.  

Praises:

            -Awesome season of DOORS volunteers and lessons learned from Yahaya’s Plot chicken project

            -Better nutritional status of DOORS Primary School pupils
            -Completed projects at EMI

            -Michelle’s visit with us, as well as Henry & Yvonne’s-restful and refreshing

Prayer Requests:

-Continued health of Baby Lammers

-God preparing us to become parents in coming months

-Safe travels to America and back home to Uganda
-Transitions at EMI, and upcoming transitions at Doors. Strength and energy to welcome new people well
-God's continued provision, personally and at EMI and Doors

Thank you for your love and support. We would love to hear back from you.
Blessings,
Matt & Ashley