Renewed Vision

Where have we been?

We are in the midst of five and a half month home assignment. We return to Uganda on December 13th. The goal of this time has been to rest, reconnect, and become better equipped to serve in Uganda. When we return to Uganda, we will have slept in 19 different beds, been on 14 flights, and changed time zones 12 times. Though we have been busy, overall, this season away has been refreshing. One of the main themes of this time has been renewal.

Renewed Vision for Rest

We left Uganda more exhausted than we realized. In the busyness of life, we let life-giving activities fall away. We found ourselves responding to life instead of prioritizing what's important in life and planning/doing accordingly. We got busy but without a focus and purpose. We were created with the need for rest. When we don’t get sufficient rest, our bodies slowly decline. We are now feeling rested, at least as much as we can with two small children. With all the changes in the past few years, we are now in a very different stage of life than when we first came to Uganda, and some of our priorities and focuses have changed. (Matt first came as a year-long volunteer with EMI having a primarily engineering role. Where he now primarily has management responsibilities and is a more senior staff member at EMI. Ashley first came as a fulltime volunteer of Doors Ministries serving on the leadership team and now primarily focuses her time at home with the children and engaging local vegetable stands.) As we prepare to head back to Uganda, we are looking to make adjustments to get regular rest and prioritize our commitments and activities with more focus.

Renewed Vision for EMI

Stepping away from the day to day of work has allowed Matt to reflect on the bigger picture of EMI. God’s heart for the world is restoration. EMI’s vision is people restored by God and the world restored through design. We desire to take our skills, experience, and knowledge and align them with God’s vision for the world to bring about transformation in our sphere of influence. 

What excites Matt most about EMI’s direction in Uganda is the focus on discipleship and industry transformation. We want to develop our people and raise up new leaders so they can influence the world for God’s kingdom. We are looking to connect more with the local industry. We want to be part of transforming the design and construction industry to reflect kingdom values. This goal cannot be accomplished alone. It is too big for us. However, God is able, and God is already using other people. We want to join with them.

In October, Matt was able to participate in the EMI Network Conference at Judson University, outside of Chicago. He gave a presentation on EMI Uganda’s partnership with UCBC and shared about EMI Uganda. It was a great time to reconnect with staff and volunteers. Matt left with a renewed excitement for the work of EMI. 

Renewed Vision for Life: 

Does our life’s focus align with God’s heart? We have been asking ourselves this question. During our home assignment, we have been taking a course, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. The purpose of the course was to align our hearts with God’s heart for the world. It has been intriguing, thought-provoking, challenging, insightful, time consuming, and fruitful. This course has equipped us with new thoughts and desires as we return to Uganda. We look forward to prayerful implementation. 

Renewed Vision for Learning

Matt started a master’s course during our home assignment. He is taking a Master of Management of Nonprofit Organizations through Biola University. This time of studying has renewed Matt’s love of learning. He has a desire to share what he has learned with colleagues in Uganda. 

Renewed Vision for Faith:

One of the most significant things that we have been learning is what God is up to in this season of our lives. We came into our home assignment with many hopes and expectations. After a few months of frustration with unmet expectations, we began to ask if our desires align with God’s desires. Have we indeed sought God’s desires, or have we asked God to bless our plans? The overarching theme in this season has been an invitation from God into deeper relationship with him. God is interested in our hearts and character. God has been working on our hearts. It has been a painful experience, but it has been fruitful and exciting.

Renewed Vision for Support

One objective for this time is to increase our support. We could not be serving with EMI without those of you who support us. We are grateful for the support we have received over the years. It has been encouraging to connect with many people during this time. We were created to do life together in community. The vision God has given us, to bring his kingdom transformation to Uganda, is impossible alone. We need people who will support us in this vision. While we do need finances, we also need prayer, encouragement, connection, friendship, and communication. We want to remain in a sustainable place to be able to continue to serve God here in Uganda. We need to be supported. If you are interested, send an email to matt.lammers@emiworld.org

Here are some ways you can be praying for us: 

• We want to see the transformation of the design and construction industry in Uganda. Pray that God would connect EMI with the right people. Pray that God would give us the wisdom to know our role. 
• For God to bring the right people to mentor our young professionals at EMI
• Continued rest and renewal during the remainder of our home assignment.
• That we would finish our home assignment well. We are getting ready to come back to Uganda, but we don’t want to miss out on what God has for us in the next four weeks.

Here are some pictures of life in the past few months:

 

Matt sharing at the EMI Network Conference in October. Attending and speaking about UCBC in Congo renewed his passion and love for EMI and their vision. He is excited about the work he gets to do and be apart of.

In the past 5 months, our kids have been on 2 ferry rides and 8 flights! (We still have more flights to go until we land in Uganda mid-December)

Playgrounds and swimming pools have been some of the kids’ favorite North America activities.

 

We got to participate in the annual Lammers Family Camping trip in Canada, which was such a treat. Joshua loved sleeping in a tent, and both loved the atmosphere and being outside almost constantly.

 

We have loved seeing so many friends and family, including former EMI staff and volunteers during a week-long Colorado trip.

 

Aquariums were a quick family favorite of ours. Abby especially loved watching all the fish through the tanks.

Hiking is the one activity Ashley misses the most while in Uganda as the opportunities just aren’t as plentiful. (pictures from our time in Southern California, Banff, and Colorado)

The kids even dressed up for Halloween this year, a fireman and a supposed lamb (though she refused to wear the ears).

Most of all we enjoyed the extended time we and our kids got with our parents/grandparents. It has been incredible watching relationships form between our parents and the kids, truly a gift.

Oh yeah…and there was that time we went to Niagara Falls and became a family totem pole, and went to Banff and almost froze….

MAY/JUNE UPDATE: Wrapping Up

So much has happened in these short two months as we have been preparing for our 5 ½ month Home Assignment in North America. We lefton Monday and landed in Toronto on Tuesday. Our travels went reasonably well, thank you for praying with us.

So many “see you laters” have been said…the saddest of which has been with our neighbors we have shared more than just a compound with over the past 3 ½ years

In leading up to this departure date, we have enjoyed having our foster son home for his 3 ½ week school holiday, Matt has been on a work trip to Burundi, we took a short road trip to Kenya to visit friends, found places to store all of our possessions while we are gone, said plenty of “see you laters”, and to top it off…Abby decided to start walking.

This is where Ashley buys fruits and vegetables from each week (in Luganda). One thing we are looking forward to on our Home Assignment is sharing pieces of our life in Uganda with friends and family in North America. We are preparing a slideshow to do just that.

FAMILY

Enjoying our short roadtrip vacation to Kenya to visit friends.

For most of the month of May our foster son was home with us from boarding school. It was so nice to have him home, Joshua especially enjoyed spending time with him and was frequently in his room with him while he played the keyboard. He shared a lot about his experiences in boarding school, the good and the bad. Overall he is enjoying it and performing well academically…and above average socially. We are very proud of him and will miss him while we are gone.

Joshua loved spending 3 ½ weeks with our foster son while we was home on a break from boarding school. Our foster son is doing quite well in boarding school and we enjoyed having some time with him.

At beginning of June, Uganda has a handful of public holidays. We decided to take advantage of Matt’s off days from work and drive to Kenya. We have friends who live outside of Nakuru. The kids travelled well in the car despite the long hours which encouraged us as we prepare for several long roadtrips and plane rides in North America. We enjoyed spending time with our friends and seeing where they live and piece of their life. It was oddly very cold and rainy where we were and we even had a fireplace in the house we stayed in to keep the house warm on the very cold nights! Joshua’s highlight was the horses that were kept nearby to where we were staying, and running around outside jumping in puddles. Abby seemed to most enjoyed just having Dad around all day every day.

Joshua’s favorite part of our Kenya trip was the horses nearby the house we stayed in! Over the couple of days we spent there he slowly grew in confidence around them and began trying to feed and pet them.

Upon our return from Kenya, Abby decided she was ready to start walking. She took her first unassisted steps the day after we arrived back home, and hasn’t stopped since. Joshua especially has been thrilled by Abby’s new “trick” and can be frequently found cheering her on.

Abby took her first steps the day after returned to Uganda from Kenya. Joshua has been her biggest cheerleader!

EMI

Matt made a trip to Burundi for a week to check on the construction of the new pediatrics ward at Kibuye Hope Hospital. Matt managed the design team last year and has been the liaison between the construction and design teams during construction. It was great to see the construction, meet the construction team and engage with ministry that EMI has worked with over the past 6 years.

Matt observing ground floor concrete pour.

Ongoing construction at Kibuye Hope Hospital

The past few weeks have been busy wrapping up projects, handing over work and setting things up to be gone for a few months. Almost everything got done by then end of Friday, Matt's last day in the office this year.

As Matt looks to his future at EMI, he sees opportunity to step into more leadership positions. While searching online, he came across a master's program that appear to be a perfect fit. Matt has applied, interview and been accepted to the Master of Management in Nonprofit Organizations at Biola University. He will complete the course online and start in September while we are on home assignment. 

DOORS MINISTRIES

Doors Ministries has seen some huge answers to prayer these past months. A couple of fundraisers were launched on social media, all of which raised more than the desired amount! The organization is looking forward to hosting a number of teams and short-term volunteers this summer. A praise in this is that Ashley has not been involved at all in planning or arranging this. It has been all Ugandan run and done. So thankful to see this aspect of leadership completely passed off in more capable hands than her own. 

One of the fundraisers launched by Doors Ministries was for new water filters for Doors Primary School. The former ones had been around for more than 5 years and were no longer effective leaving all the children and staff susceptible to many dangerous water-born diseases. 

PRAISES:

• Great 3 ½ week school holiday having our foster son home!
• Have places to store all of our stuff while we are gone, and a place lined up to come back to in December.
• The amazing community around us who reached out our last days to help with the moving, offer space for storing our stuff, watch our kids while we run errands, bring us meals, and so much more!
• Good exit medical check ups. Ashley and the kids had bilharzia but were able to complete the treatment before we leave Uganda.
• Great mini-vacation trip to visit friends in Kenya.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Please join us in praying for our home assignment plans:
• Over the next few weeks we are resting and getting over jet lag, traveling to Calgary to visit EMI Canada and do some debriefing, vacation with family and a road trip in western Canada to visit friends and family.
• We have many transitions ahead of us. Pray that our family would find some stability with all the changes.
• We have not lived in North America for over 5 years. We will experience many cultural adjustments over the next few days, weeks and months.
• For our foster son while we are gone. He will be at school for the majority of the time, but will have one holiday which we are planning for him to spend with gracious friends who have offered a place for him. He looks up to these friends as well and is looking forward to his time with them.
• Pray for everyone at EMI that will be taking on additional roles and responsibilities during Matt's absence.