April Already?

Hard to believe it is already April, this year seems to be moving all too quickly. The past months have brought a lot of changes and a lot of busyness…but also a lot of joys and refreshing moments.

Easter is a huge event in Ugandan churches. This year, we got to spend Easter in a village of Amuria District, about 9 hours driving distance from Kampala. A work colleague of Matt’s got married on Easter Sunday in her husband’s home village (as per tradition). Easter morning was spent in a Catholic village church which went on for at least 3 hours and included two weddings in the proceedings. We then drove to the property of the bridegroom and spent the afternoon enjoying the wedding entertainment and customs. We decided to enjoy the long holiday weekend and take a mini family vacation on our way to the wedding. All of the boys really enjoyed it and coped so well despite the long distances. For our two older boys, it was an eye opening experience going so deep in the village as both of them come from more developed areas of Uganda. They also had never been anywhere in Uganda where a language other than Luganda, which they speak, is the main vernacular. One kept saying, “Is this how you felt when you first came to Uganda and everyone was speaking Luganda and you had no idea what they were saying?” 

Our family picture at the wedding grounds.

Joshua enjoyed village life and chased some goats while we waited for the couple to arrive.

Joshua thought the reception needed some more entertainment.

FAMILY

The older of the two boys continues to work hard in school and amaze us with his work ethic. He is preparing for an end of year exam that will determine what quality of secondary school (high school) he can qualify to attend. He is looking forward to a much needed school break at the beginning of May and has been invited to attend a soccer program that an agent recruited him for after seeing him play a pick-up game over a weekend. He is still deciding if he would like to attend this as his primary self-given focus is his school work and passing this end of year exam.

Working hard during a weekend tutoring session.

The second oldest boy is doing well on his new school curriculum and is enjoying being in a new environment. He is doing better than we anticipated in making new friends and excelling outside of his comfort zone. His rabbits continue to flourish, and he has welcomed 3 new litters of bunnies since the beginning of the year. He has been spending his free time during this rainy season planting vegetables around the compound, dreaming about buying a chicken as another money making venture, and playing with Joshua. 

With a friend showing off some of his rabbits.

Joshua continues to be busy and learn new things every day. He loves exploring new places and continues to keep us on our toes with what he will do next, from running to trying to jump to saying new words or sounds. Recently it was pretending to read a book to us. He continues to love animals and tries to befriend any he sees from stray dogs to the birds flying high above.

Joshua at a playgroup he and Ashley recently joined. Both love the opportunity to get out of the compound and interact with different people throughout the week.

Joshua has also taken to helping chase and catch the rabbits when they get loose.

EMI

EMI continues to be busy. There is no shortage of current or future work. We are thankful that there are many opportunities to serve the church here in Uganda and in East Africa. Projects are continuing to move forward with one to be completed at the end of this month and the others scheduled to finish at the end of June.

Besides the busyness of this season of work we are thinking about the vision for the next few years, where is our office going and how do we get there while ensuring we remain aligned with EMI's vision and core values. Matt has enjoyed being part of the process and thinking about where the direction the engineering department should be going.

Among the future plans for EMI Uganda is an expansion of our timber and metal fabrication workshop. We have out grown our current facility and are planning expand to 5 times the current size. We are designing the structures this year and fundraising. Matt will be working on the building design later this year. As part of the funding strategy EMI is planning some fundraising climbs to Mt. Kilimanjaro in early 2019. Matt was participated in one of these climbs in 2014 when EMI Uganda was raising fund for the office construction. If you have interest in participating in one of these climbs, check out the details here.

DOORS

Doors has undergone significant changes since the beginning of the year and has been very much in transition. Some of this has been stressful for Ashley, and some encouraging as she watches Ugandan staff take ownership over the ministry and its growth and way forward. Her role continues to shift around at Doors and recently has been mostly advising which is great. One of the major changes that Doors is undergoing is the way sponsorship is done. Currently the ministry is looking for individual sponsors for each of the children attending the Primary School in Namuwongo slum where Ashley started her time in Uganda, for each of the Secondary pupils who have completed their primary education at Doors Primary School and moved on to high school, and for each of the children in the boys’ home where Ashley lived when she first landed in Uganda. Please let us know if you are interested in hearing more of any of these children’s stories or interested in what a monthly sponsorship would look like. 

One of the children that has been in the Doors Home when he was living on the streets before being recruited into Doors over 3 years ago.

 PRAISES

• A continued healthy pregnancy and growth of our little girl on the way.
• A fun Easter weekend adventure with our entire family.
• Joshua’s continued health and growth and joy he brings to our family and community.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• For Doors as the ministry passes through this tough transition phase.
• For Matt at work in this season of feeling very busy with too many things to do in such a short amount of time.
• For our oldest boy as he prepares for the end of year exam.
• Wisdom as we plan for our family’s future in Uganda collectively and individually.

Arise and Shine

Every year our church, Ggaba Community Church, choses a theme to focus on for the year. Every year, that theme seems to divinely resonate with the season we find ourselves in (2016 Steps of Faith, 2017 Renew & Restore). This year we expect nothing less. The theme of Arise & Shine comes from Isaiah 60:1; “Arise and shine; for your light has come and the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you.” The church is focusing on equipping the congregation to arise (get up and moving) and shine (walk fully in the calling of God). We were able to spend some time over the New Year praying about what it is we need to arise in, what our goals and focus should be for this year, and how can we move from arising to shining in those areas. We are excited about where we feel God leading us this year and about the vision we feel He has granted us for each of our boys, for our marriage, for ourselves, and for our places of work/ministry.

Joshua got to experience snow for the first time during our very cold visit to Canada.

One of Joshua’s 6 airplane rides.

FAMILY

We enjoyed a wonderful Ugandan Christmas full of too much food, friends, and lots and lots of noisy chatter. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday with much of our DOORS community. The day after Christmas, Matt, Ashley and Joshua set off for 3 ½ weeks in North America. We had a great and restful time in Canada and California and are so thankful for all the friends and family we got to see and visit with, and all the people Joshua was able to meet and connect with. He even started walking one day in Canada, and hasn’t slowed down since. We were also thrilled to be able to share some exciting news with our family in person…

Baby Lammers #2 expected mid-July 2018. Each of our parents were gifted with this picture in a frame as our way of sharing the exciting news with them.

Experiencing Niagara Falls in Canada while visiting Matt’s brother who lives near there.

Spending a day at a zoo in California. Joshua’s favorite part was the petting zoo full of goats.

Unfortunately our other two boys weren’t able to travel with us, but they both had a great time doing separate things in Uganda. The younger of the two spent three weeks at our friends’ farm in a village about 2 hours outside of Kampala. He learned a lot about gardening, which is what he desires to pursue in the future as his career, and also had some fun chasing chickens, killing snakes, and watching movies. The older of the two was able to stay with a friend of his for a week before heading off to a 3 week youth camp focused on listening to the Father’s Heart of God. It is a camp geared towards teens and young adults with rough backgrounds such as his. He thoroughly enjoyed the camp and it seems it has set a fire in him to continue on the path God has placed him on. As he is starting his last year of primary school, we’ve already seen an increased work ethic and dedication in him to the tasks placed before him.

The older boy quickly made friends at camp, and was frequently found playing his guitar.

The younger of the two boys helped to put up and decorate our Christmas tree which we ended up having to hang from the roof so that Joshua wouldn’t knock it down.

EMI

After a busy year for Matt at EMI in 2017, it was good to have a break for a few weeks at the beginning of this year, though after returning to work it feels like he is a few weeks behind. 2018 is looking like it will be a busy year as well but there is relief in sight. One of the two structural engineers who has been away will be returning in August. Unfortunately the other structural engineer will not be returning, it seems like change in our community is constant. Thankfully a new structural engineer and his family have decided to come this year. They plan to arrive in August as well.

Projects have begun again and are in full swing now. Matt is managing one project, updating the master plan for UCBC who Matt has been involved with for a few years. He is also overseeing the structural design for two other projects, one for GEM Foundation and the other for Rafiki Africa Ministries. There are several small project and support for ongoing construction. Though it is busy it is good to be back in the office and feel a renewed excitement for the vision of EMI.

DOORS

DOORS continues to change and evolve with the new year. Some staff and program changes were made in an effort to further pursue fulfilling the vision of the ministry in each ministry arm, and reduce costs to lessen seemingly continuous financial challenges. Ashley is excited about these changes initiated by the Ugandan leadership team. Her role overall continues as mostly an advisor to the leadership team and helping to oversee Yahaya’s Plot. Due to expecting Baby Lammers #2 in July, she won’t be hosting a summer DOORS volunteer program which is greatly reducing her workload even now allowing more time to engage with Joshua, one of the older boys who is now home in the afternoons, and get the needed rest to grow a baby.

Though it is currently dry season in Uganda and the hottest month (typically) of the year, Yahaya’s Plot has begun preparing for the expected March rains by beginning a nursery with eggplant and greens. The nursery bed is covered to protect the young plants from the sun and to help them retain water.

PRAISES

·        A restful and rejuvenating North America trip for Ashley, Matt and Joshua; and fruitful time for both boys in Uganda in our absence.
·        Joshua continuing to grow and hit milestones.
·        Vision and focus granted for 2018.
·        A healthy pregnancy thus far.

PRAYER REQUESTS

·        Perseverance to continue to pursue our vision and goals for 2018 in the months to come
·        Our oldest boy who is entering his last year of primary school. He has to take a national standardized test at the end of the year that will determine his eligibility for secondary school.
·        For the second oldest boy as he has changed schools and educational tracks this year. Thus far he seems to be thriving, but struggling to get out of his comfort zone and befriend classmates and get involved in the school.
·        Continued health for the pregnancy.