Six weeks from now I'll be heading back to Kenya and Uganda.  It is such a blessing to have this upcoming trip in the works with all sorts of inspiring opportunities ahead.  The company that I work for has asked that I take a team of staff to Nairobi and Nakuru, Kenya to follow-up on visits that I made this past November-December.  This will be a research and training endeavor with colleagues joining me from other locations.  After two weeks of training and business exploration I'll be heading back to Entebbe, Uganda.

 

Our dear friends at Good Shepherd's Fold are doing well and it will be such a joy to see them all again this summer.  This will be my third trip out to Jinja and on to Buundo to see the kids and staff at the orphanage.   The directors of this group have moved out to 'the land' and are doing well having been recently encouraged by visits from members of their home church here in the States.  We were able to send guitars and a laptop with this last church team visit and I understand that there are now more than a dozen kids playing guitar and nearly enough guitars for everyone who now plays and leads in worship. 

 

My wife and I were both able to work at Good Shepherd's Fold this past November-December during our month stay in East Africa.  I was encouraged to play guitar with a group of the older teens including one young man by the name of Paul who in just 6 months of playing guitar proved to a better guitar player than most I know.  He plays about 6 hours a day and leads worship at GSF Bible church.  We took a few hikes with the teens to help with Mercy Ministry.  I watched a few of the teens as they helped us sort the gifts we brought from North Carolina - they kept putting some items over in another little pile and I asked what these things were for that they were setting aside.  What a surprise to hear them explain that these gifts were for the children in the nearby villages who were in many cases "in such need with much less than we have here".  It was humbling to see these young teens generously think of others before thinking only of themselves. 

 

I hope to have news to share again in the days to come.  We were thrilled to meet 2 college students that are going to GSF this June.  We were introduced by way of this blog and recently had the privilage of having them over for dinner here at our home.  Please keep Chad and Chandler in your prayers as they will be heading out soon for Uganda - a first trip that I know will be a life-changing time in their lives.  Please keep our family in your prayers as I prepare to leave for the trip in July.  Our church is helping us raise some funds and I'm hoping to get letters out soon to past supporters to let them know of the upcoming opportunity to have gifts and projects completed at GSF.  Most of all, please keep the children both in Buundo (at GSF) and in Gulu, where other friends have recently opened a new orphanged that they are calling Sanctuary of Grace, in your daily prayers.  Pray that God will provide for their daily needs and that the many local staff and missionaries from abroad will do their very best to raise them up as Kingdom people. 

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

HGST graduate (2004) and CEDS student Steadman Harrison and his wife Alyssa just returned from a very rewarding trip to East Africa.  They spent the first two weeks of their trip as temporary missionaries with Global Outreach, encouraging the directors, staff, and children of GSF: Good Shepherd’s Fold Children’s Home in Buundo, Uganda.  The orphanage was founded seven years ago and is now home to 150 children. Steadman made his first short term mission trip to the orphanage a year ago.  The joy of these children from desperate pasts and the beauty of the land stirred a longing and a prayer in his heart for the opportunity to return again.

 

Almost a year later, Steadman’s workplace, The Center for Creative Leadership, approved and funded a research initiative for a project called GVOL, Global Voice of Leadership.  Steadman spent the second week and a half of his East Africa trip with three CCL colleagues who were invited to host leadership workshops along with him in Jinja, Uganda, in Nairobi, Kenya and in Nakuru, Kenya. These workshops were able to serve the staff of Good Shepherd’s Fold and more than sixty African leaders including local business men and women, Ministry officials, pastors, directors of orphanages, professors, school administrators, humanitarian aid workers, and missionaries. 

 

Steadman said of his recent trip, “God provided a way for me to bring together my desire to return to the children at GSF and my business career in leadership development. Our workshops were extremely well received and we have already been invited back.  This was the first leadership training the staff at the orphanage had ever received.  Many said they now felt responsible and equipped to begin to make small steps of change and progress together as a team.  When I think of ten-year-old Nora who is sick with AIDS and tuberculosis and wants to live to sing in this year’s Christmas concert,  or of fourteen-year-old Paul who leads music at the church with the guitar I gave him last year, I know that they are already servant leaders in God’s kingdom.  I hope that these short term mission trips and leadership workshops will be used by God to encourage them in His name.”

Last year about this time, I was preparing to take my first mission trip to Uganda, to Good Shepherd’s Fold Orphanage, during my 10-year sabbatical from the Center for Creative Leadership. Having made that first visit, I have had an increased burden for the children that I met and the staff that are caring for them.  I made some deep personal friendships with many of the kids (some of them dealing with the day to day challenges of AIDS and Malaria) and have stayed in touch with the staff.  My wife and I have prayed and have recently made the decision to take another mission trip this year with some of our vacation time.  Alyssa will travel with me this November to Buundo, Uganda where we will work for two weeks on various project needs at the orphanage including the expansion of their field hospital, enhancement of their new sports pavilion, and additions to the computer lab that I set up last year. 

 

Please pray for our safety, effectiveness, health, and the many logistical details that need to be covered in the coming months.  Please pray for the very real needs of the 2 million orphans in Uganda.  God cares for these kids, and it is a great privilege to be able to go in person to do what we can to help with their needs. 

 

You can provide a tax deductible financial gift directly to Good Shepherd's Fold by sending a check to:

Global Outreach
P.O. Box 1
Tupelo, Mississippi 38802
(write Steadman Harrison 11-06, acct #2303 in the memo section)

 

Steadman and Alyssa Harrison will personally oversee the transmission of the funds to ensure that 100% of the money goes to projects and supplies at Good Shepherd's Fold Orphanage.  Thank you for considering this opportunity to help with these needs.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

This was the first day that I ‘took it easy’ getting up and out.  I took my time cleaning up, packing, making coffee, and enjoying the morning hours.  We are so blessed in the US to have both Saturday and Sunday as days of rest.  I noticed that everyone was working hard today.  Claudia had me down to her house at 10:00am and I gave her house the new laptop with the DVD player.  They were so thankful and blessed.  I took their old machine to the computer lab making 6 machines with audio and CD for the kids to use.  

 

We had our Advent Devotional at noon and I played guitar for the last time here at GSF.  I’ve had so many tough emotions about leaving.  I miss my family but would love to have them here and stay in Uganda.  Chad cried when the devotional was over.  The kids all sang a special goodbye and Claudia prayed for me.  

 

I really dodged the whole goodbye scene.  It was just too much.  I gave Chad and Henry special gifts and hugged Jaja Mary goodbye.  Bob drove me out and I choked back the tears. We came to Jinja and I did a little shopping for Christmas presents.  The evening was spent debriefing with Bob and Carolyn.  They are great folks.  Some of my take-away lessons had to do with building relationships rather than buying them.  It is easy here to give gifts and in a sense buy friendships.  Before giving a gift it is really important to be patient and build a relationship first.  The staff at Good Shepherd’s Fold have a big job cut out for them and I pointed out the importance of capitalizing on existing leadership among the youth and staff.  Talking to Alyssa and Miles and Mom made for a wonderful end to my day.  I miss my boys!  Miles sounded so grown up and so excited to hear about Africa.  May they be able to see this place through my eyes and may we come back soon!

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

I worked with Peter again this morning and we completed more work on the GSF financials.  I created a master spread sheet that has every employee, bank account, social security, base salary, taxes, withholdings, net salary, benefits, the works.  He honestly couldn’t believe what had been created.  What used to take him days and days of entering numbers one at a time has been reduced to literally a matter of minutes.  I wonder what he’ll find to do with all his extra time? 

 

Bob and Carolyn arrived from Jinja with more computers, the food for the Staff luncheon, and guests.  Bob asked me into his office and we talked business for a little while.  They would like me to spend the night tomorrow evening and then go to Entebbe on Sunday morning and spend the night.  We will have time to debrief.  Tomorrow I’ll give he and a few others the scoop on the computers.

 

The staff appreciation banquet was wonderful.  The staff appreciated it so much and my dear friend Jaja Mary received a special appreciation plaque for her 10 years of service with GSF.  After the luncheon and celebration I was able to show Keith and Lisa, Claudia and Kerrie, and Bob the new computer lab… all their first time to see it and they were so thrilled.  They were also a little daunted by the complexity of teaching the kids, monitoring the use, and maintaining the computers… another reason they all said that I need to come back very soon.

 

We pulled the younger children together for another Advent devotional and I played guitar leading them in Christmas songs and other kids worship songs.  They now have “Simple Song of Love” down and I am hoping Kerrie will be able to play it for them when I leave.  The Caldwell Kindergarten cards were a huge hit and I am going home with about 20 cards from GSF kids to share with Mrs. Ellis’ class.  I am so proud of these kids for putting these together.  It was great to see Henry and Chad making cards to send back.  Chad tells me he is making something for Miles… we will see.  I’m torn about how to say goodbyes.  I keep dodging the thought and mostly want to sort of sneak out of here without making too big a deal about leaving.  I’ll need to say something to Chad but I just don’t know what and how to put it.  Lord, give me grace and give me your words of love and comfort for these kids as I go to leave.

 

I’ve returned for a shower, some warmed up spaghetti and to just chill out.  I felt like I was fighting a cold this morning and I’m praying for good sleep and good health and I leave here tomorrow.  Lord, please take me home safely… watch over my luggage, the gifts I have for the folks at home, the energy I need to get back to RDU, the safety of flights and the timing of all the connections.  Please give me the stamina I need and patience as I now begin the journey home.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

Well, it has been 3 days since I last emailed or spoke to my family by phone.  I really am concerned that they will worry about me… especially Mom.  I’ve tried multiple times to connect by cell but either the electrical storm, the power outage, or the weak signal has kept the cell phones from working out here at the Land.  I’m hopeful that one of the missionaries will return soon and I can use a phone to give Alyssa a call and perhaps Mom as well.

 

Despite the lack of contact with the outside world it has been a wonderful day.  I woke early and had a good breakfast.  Coffee is such a treat for me here in the mornings.  I love the process of boiling water and making that perfect cup with sugar and milk.  I had a good time reading Micah and I’m thinking of a sermon for CF for when I return. 

 

I did see some of the other full time missionaries later in the day.  The other Mzungu missionaries had been to Jinja and then Kampala… it would have been nice to know but not that big a deal in retrospect.  I think they sort of forget I’m here honestly.  I met Peter first thing at his office and we were able to get the formulas completed to calculate his tax information for all the employees.  I added Christian music and a Bible to his computer and he said, “Thank you Mr. Steadman, you have brought the Lord into this office and it is such a good thing.”  I met with Patrick, one of the teachers and helped make the PC in the staff room a working machine with Office software and speakers.  I spent most of my day working on the older computers and networking the new computers together – it worked!  I’m hopeful that the power won’t be a problem in that room.  The kids now stand all around the door and beg me to let them come in.  I hate to keep them out but they cover the room up standing 3 deep at each machine when I give them the OK.  I’ve done a pretty good job of teaching basic computer skills and getting the kids to take turns.  Now when they see me coming in the morning I have kids begging me to let them have the 1^st computer, I have the second another one will yell, they argue over who has the 3^rd and the 4^th.  The teens came in after their driving lessons today and I showed them how to burn CDs and how to get information off of one of the other computers via the network.  They were so impressed and kept saying ‘Good job, well done, thank you so much”.  They invited me to come to Thursday night Devotional Time at 6:00 and I came to an incredible worship service.  I said that I would be there.

 

On my way back to get cleaned up I was called from the house on the hill and I went up to meet James and Marilyn Bumgardner – James is 80 years old and his wife is the nurse for GSF.  They have been here 3 years and just returned from furlough.  They were great company and he really seemed to like talking Theology with me.  I was warmly invited to come back here and bring my family – James said they needed me to teach these kids the Bible.

 

After a little rest and clean up I headed back to the Thursday night service.  The leader was a teen named, Alice, who seems so full of joy and security in her salvation.  She keeps the singing going without pause for up to 45 minutes with charismatic prayer breaks where everyone is praying at the same time and the drums continue softly in the background.  Then the drums swell and she begins leading another song.  They had a testimony time and to my surprise and pleasure about 15 kids stood up to thank God in different ways for the computers, for my visit, for the computers, for me working on the computers, and for the computers… ha! 

 

I was the only Mzungu at the service – something I’m more and more comfortable with… I began wondering if they would ask me to speak.  As I learned some of their songs and sang the familiar ones the Lord helped me with a clear tie between my Sunday sermon and a message for this Thursday night crowd.  As I imagined, they asked if I would teach them from the Bible.  It was cool to have not had this planned and an honor to be asked back since most of them were there on Sunday morning.  I asked who all had been there Sunday and got a nearly unanimous show of hands.  I explained that I was talking to them as my brothers and sisters in Christ… as fellow disciples of Jesus and that we needed to look to the example of Jesus to know how he would have us live.  We walked through the passage where John washes the disciples feet and Paul’s words in Philippians 2 which I feel are hidden inside me now after several years of study.  It was so easy to apply these words to their setting to their circumstances and it was a blessing to hear a man pray thanking God for each of the lessons that he had learned from that time in the Word.

 

Chad carried my Bible back for me and held my other hand.  I must tell Steven Jobes what a sweet and solid young Christian boy Chad is.  My heart is really broken for him.  Chad wants a family so badly and asks me constantly how many more days I will be here, will I leave the pictures of my family, will I ever come back here?  Henry and Phillip begged me to come read a story to them so I went up and found the last of the stories I have yet to read to them and headed down to Agape House.  They sat at my feet with wide eyes as I read a book called the ‘Crippled Lamb’.  Talk about a tough one to read to a group of kids with AIDS.  It is all about how Jesus loves the different kids, the kids with challenges in life, and how they are special to him and have a purpose.  I was crushed just reading it to them.

 

When I got home, Claudia and Kerrie had returned from their latest trip to get Christmas gifts for the kids.  She came up and as I was about to ask for the phone, she said – Bob called, you need to call home – your Dad emailed Bob to see if you were OK.  I knew they were worried – I could feel it.  So I called and got Alyssa on the phone.  She had Ethan in her arms and I could here his voice – so sweet even though he was fussy.  I told her I could stay here for a very long time if I just had my family with me.  The house is now formally on the market (no lookers yet it as it sounded), the car is being fixed (Alyssa was rear-ended and had to deal with a car full of kids and getting a van, insurance, police reports, and getting a van).  The reality of the world at home seems so different right now.  It will be difficult going back but I know the Lord has a plan for our family.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

I was able to sleep a little later this morning… not really getting up until 7:40 or so.  It is great that I’m getting used to the jungle sounds and farm noises that have been waking me up before dawn since I arrived.  I got up hungry and cooked my first real breakfast with three fried eggs, cheese grits, and coffee.  I doubted if I would get lunch so it was good to have something significant before starting the day.  I had a nice quiet morning and had a chance to take some pictures as the sun rose and read the Word.
 

Back to my day… I dropped off some things at the computer lab and did all the things that came to me in the middle of the night to reorder the machines and clean up the software.  Then I headed over to see Peter.  By the time I’d left him today, he had real speakers and was listening to blues!  We spent most of our time working in Excel.  I created a spreadsheet to track all the employee taxes and we put in formulas to automatically summarize gross annual income and tax based on bracket.  He was so pleased.  We printed the spreadsheet and it looked like a smaller version of the giant tax forms that he has been keeping by hand for all of the employees.  I was able to pull all his needed files off his old machine with the new USB drive and I got lots of great pictures to replace the ones I’ve lost.  Praise God for all of this.

 

Bob and Carolyn came in with most of the remaining equipment for the computer lab and today I tapped Paul, Aaron, and Isaac again to help me with the setup.  I had some group of five to ten younger boys at the iron door begging to come in and play games or watch videos the entire day.  Paul did a wonderful job and Alex joined us near the end of the day.  Around lunch I had a visit from the mechanic and handy man of GSF.  His name is Paul also.  Paul asked if there was any way I could show him how to “lay down lines” on the computer to draw buildings so that he could show city planning staff and builders what was needed.  At first I was excited to show him the Floor Plan software that I brought with me but it wouldn’t work on the new XP machines.  I pulled up PowerPoint and tinkered a bit and was able to very quickly generate the same drawings without the meters and feet by using the drawing tools.  Paul came in around three o’clock and let me tutor him.  He initially looked as though he had never touched a mouse.  However, within a few hours he was clapping his hands saying ‘look at this’… he had created a nice 2D side view of the pavilion and was so pleased with himself.  He is planning to come back again tomorrow.  When I finally let the flood gates opened I had a good mix of boys and girls numbering about 25… note that the computer lab is off by itself and I never told anyone what I was up to down there.  Can you imagine if I had made an announcement?

 

On my way home for the evening the Agape House kids caught me and begged me to come read them stories.  I got a quick bite to eat… watched the monkeys playing at the edge of the forest, and headed back down the hill to read to the kids.  I took along my family pictures and was amazed that they were still more interested in the pictures of Alyssa (who they all think is a movie star thanks to Uncle Bob’s Sunday morning introduction), Jerry the policeman, Chuck, Anita, Miles, Liam, Ethan, Piper, and Storm… they know each of them by name and have pointed out where they are wearing different clothes.  It was funny to see Henry running around naked when I first got to the house… he was fresh out of the shower and I had to talk him into some clothes or I think he would have never considered slowing down to get something on.

 

Here’s a news flash.  My dear friend, Chad, who has been at my side most of the week and made the necklace for Alyssa… he asked if she had received it yet by the way… Chad told me the first day that his sponsor was named Steven and asked me if I knew him.  “He lives in America”.  I asked where and he said in the “U.S.A.”.  I tried to explain that it was a big place.  Well, in conversation with Carolyn, I learned that his sponsor is actually Steven Jobes!  I do know him!  When I told this to Chad he got this big grin on his face.  He told me to please tell Steven that he loved him and asked me if I would bring Steven back here to GSF.  Chad would go home with me in a heartbeat… he is so hungry for a family.  He asked today if I would take him home with me and it is so hard to answer questions like that.

 

The power went off just as I had read the second book for the second time.  I came up and took a long cold shower by candle light, made a cup of tea, stood out looking at the Milky Way and wondering where in universe the moon has gone???  I haven’t seen the moon since I left North America… just Venus and Mars?  It is great to have a battery powered laptop to write on.  I’ve looked at the pictures from today and I’m about to turn in and watch Star Wars.

 

Lord, please be with my family tonight.  It has been a couple of days since I talked to Alyssa and sent my last emails.  May they not be worried or anxious.  Take care of my boys and please return me to Greensboro quickly and safely with all the gifts I’ve purchased. Thank you so much for the blessings of each day.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

These past days since coming to GSF have gone by so quickly.  I woke up earlier than I would have imagined at Bob and Carolyn’s house.  The rooster started crowing at 5:30am and I went ahead and got up before 6:00.  I had time to read Bob’s “Longest Night” which recapped his experiences in Uganda in 1999 when he and his friends were hiding from rebels who attacked the village where they were staying.  That makes my trip look like summer camp.  I took a long ‘cold’ shower, had a shave, and basically cleaned up.  Since I discovered yesterday that only boys were shorts in Uganda, I put on my ‘trousers’ – not just my pants mind you – my belt, and tucked in my shirt like a big boy and headed out into the man’s world here in Africa.

 

The three of us had coffee at the house and I read the paper – it is fascinating to see how the current president manages the political world around him.  I’ll say no more about that for now but found reading the Daily Monitor to be a very educational experience.  After coffee we all went into Jinja to a local restaurant on Main Street across from “The Source” – a landmark for all the European / US folk in the area – an internet café.  While Bob waited for our food I walked down the street to do Christmas shopping and got some great gifts for the family.

 

We visited the government offices in Jinja briefly so Carolyn could file paper work for a replacement passport for a GSF staff person.  It was like walking backwards in time!  There were just a couple of electric lights hanging from the ceiling, 2 old wooden tables and a number of old wooden chairs.  About 6 ‘government’ staff stood around shuffling papers and standing at the attention of an older Ugandan man with a stamp in his hand.  Carolyn said they had already lost the paper work twice… no computers and just stacks of papers without file cabinets.  Next we went to the bank.  Bob knew the Branch Manager who was a very kind Indian man who drank water out of an old vodka bottle that he filled each morning… We simply needed to exchange my US dollars for Ugandan shillings.  First he looked at the money and said that the 50s and 100s would get one rate and the 20s would get a lesser rate.  He summoned a secretary who came with an assistant.  The two of them took a slip of paper with the instructions.  Another man came and took the US cash and gave the manager a receipt which he stamped and gave a copy of back to the man.  Some time passed and I could see the 2 secretaries consulting with another person who (after nearly 10 minutes) brought the manager the Ugandan shillings and got another receipt in exchange.  They do things a little different here in Africa.

 

We found a computer store that Bob thought could help us and sure enough Ali spoke my techno language.  We arranged to purchase 5 new computers and I bought 350 dollars worth of other supplies (power cables, printers, paper, transformer, dust covers, USB drives, etc.)  We had to wait while the owner put 2 PCs together and the other 3 will be ready tomorrow.  We headed back to the estate where Bob and Carolyn live and I sat talking with Carolyn while she made cakes for the 60 staff at GSF.  It was a wonderful talk and she had such great wisdom to offer.  
 

We went into Jinja and got the PCs and headed back to the Land.  I was really glad to be getting out of the ‘city’ and headed back to the Land where life seems to slow down a bit.  When we left for Jinja we had the beginnings of a computer lab… it felt really great to making this sort of progress on the project I’d come to assist with.

 

On the way to the Land Bob got a call that the GSF van had broken down with 2 flat tires and a bad spare – they had 6 kids with them and they had no idea if they could get the van back to the orphanage.  Bob had to direct other staff to take the only other vehicle out to help them repair the tires with new tubes and patches.  They all got back safely before dark… the plan was for one of the Ugandan staff to sleep in the van to guard it otherwise overnight out on the road – I can’t imagine having that job.

 

One of the ladies who works in the offices is named Anesia – we blessed her with a printer and I was able to present it as a gift from her brothers and sisters in Christ in America.  She was so shy and so clearly excited.  I offered to come back and install it whenever she had a few free minutes… she spoke up and asked if I could please set it up for her right away.  When I printed the test page that came out in color you would have thought that I had just pulled a rabbit out of a hat or sawed a person in two pieces in front of her eyes… it was a ‘magic’ moment.

 

The rest of my day was spent with Joseph, Isaac, Alex, and John – these 4 boys helped me clean out the room that is now the computer lab.  We organized things and they did a mirror image of what I did to set up a computer.  John helped me and the other 3 boys stepped through the process of unpacking, hooking up, turning on, installing software, and enjoying the fruits of their labors… they listed to Jazz from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s and Motown tunes on the new machines, played Pinball and were generally in total amazement of what they had accomplished by the end of the day.  About 10 other boys all jammed in around the computers to listen to the music and see the games that were being played.  It was a real joy for me to see these young guys figuring the PC out just like I’ve watched Miles and Liam do… the difference was that these were 12-17 year old guys and they have had less experience with PCs than our 6 year old.

 

It was a long day and I’m totally exhausted.  I’m headed to bed and will sleep well I am sure… at least until the rooster crowes.  Lord thank you for this day, for every gift it brought for all the blessings it included.  Watch over and keep us this night.  AMEN.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

I woke up late and hurried to get computer items together for my first day of work at the office.  Bob had made specific requests that I backup the financial software for the orphanage, give Peter a new PC (Eric and Diana’s Dell is now the main GSF computer) and move parts and pieces around to give Carolyn a computer as well.  It all sounded easy enough.  The first thing I tried was moving the backup database from QuickBooks to my USB drive… the drive kept showing up and then disappearing.  When I pulled it out is was burning hot!  I still don’t know what the cause was but over the course of trying to use it this morning I think I fried the drive… with all my pictures and files on it L  I keep remembering my surroundings and it puts my lost pictures in perspective.  I still have the rest of the week so there is plenty of time to take more photos.  Long story short… the entire morning was eaten up trying to simply move a 16MB file from one computer to another.  One method after the other failed.  Finally, my USB worked for a few brief minutes and I was able to successfully move the database they use for payroll, taxes, and every financial accounting of GSF from the old machine over to the new one.  I needed to be ready to go to Jinja by 2:00 and I thought at Noon that there was no way that I would be able to get it all done.  God blessed and prayer after prayer was answered.  When I left, Peter had a new PC and new printer, and Carolyn had a working PC and printer pieced together and cleaned up from older parts.  What a gift to have just been able to accomplish this one thing.  I felt like a conquering hero.  I got back to the guest house thinking there was still a chance to pull my files and Peter’s other backup files off my USB but it hasn’t worked on any of the 3 laptops that I’ve tried… Bummer.  I’m thinking of sending it off to SanDisk when I get back to the States to see if they can rescue my pictures.

 

Bob and Carolyn invited me to attend the missionary Security Meeting in Jinja and I tagged along to spend the evening at their home and help with the PC purchase for the computer lab.  On the way as we were driving through a nearby village we saw a big group of people walking down the road.  When we got closer it was clear that they were all following a man on a bicycle who had a casket balanced on the back of his bike.  Peter, who was with us explained that Ugandans all must be buried in the village where they are born.  People will carry bodies for days if necessary and travel by foot to get their relatives home to their tribal land.  This family had a bicycle and they were going the distance to get their family member home to be buried properly.

 

Crossing the Nile coming into Jinja we looked for crocodiles.  Did I mention that the reason the orphanage is ‘safer’ from rebels is because the head of the Lords Resistence Army (LRA) won’t cross the Nile?  Kony thinks he will lose his spiritual powers if he does. 

 

The security meeting was sobering.  There have been serious threats against the Christians in Jinja.  There were written threats distributed to missions in the area.  The missionaries are doing a good job of trying to be more culturally sensitive to do everything they can to work within this culture and not be a source of contention.  I learned interesting things like men wearing shorts in Uganda are considered to be youths, walking around with a member of the opposite sex or driving in a car one on one suggests sexual relationships, even married couples show no affection in public, Ugandans don’t show open affection the way we do in the States to children or parents, if you talk about ‘pants’ they think you are speaking of underwear.  

 

It was a delight to spend the evening with the Jacobsens in their home.  They are a wonderful couple and so generous.  We ate stew and drank Stoney (a local soft drink) and enjoyed some wonderful conversation.  I showered by candle light and thought how much Alyssa would love this place with the mosquito netting stretched across the big beds.  I gave her a call and we had time to talk and for me to share a few stories – Phillip, Charles Owart, my computer successes and woes.  I love to hear her voice… Oh how I miss my darling wife and boys!  I wondered how Ethan was doing… what was he up to?  I’m hoping to get gifts tomorrow but I’m beginning to worry a bit that I won’t have much of a chance to shop for them.  Lord, help me bless my family as a result of this trip.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

In the early morning around 5:00am the rain came… they seem to come every day at some point but only stay for a while.  The rain can be very powerful.  I heard the lightening and thunder and I thought of Charles Owart sitting out under the bush in front of my house guarding the camp.  I couldn’t sleep thinking of him sitting in the rain.  I got up and unlocked the kitchen walked out and asked him to please come sit in the kitchen if the rains came.  He at first said no, no, it wasn’t a problem but he finally said OK.  I heard him come running in when the rains came on stronger.  I worried about all the temptations that the items in the kitchen might present but I relaxed about it and hoped that my good wishes would be well received.  They were.

 

I didn’t go back to sleep but it was a nice thought and a comfort given that I was preaching later in the day to have such a long morning ahead of me.  I stayed in bed as long as I could and prayed for my family, for Covenant Fellowship, for the missionaries and children here.  When I got up and walked outside an amazing sight was awaiting me.  The sunrise was spectacular.  Great clouds in the distance had a rainbow in their midst and as I watched a second rainbow appeared.  Who would have guessed that this place could be so incredibly beautiful!

 

The Lord blessed and after some breakfast and some study I was able to take a nap before church!  I’m almost certain that this is a first for me on a morning when I was to preach.  I wasn’t sure if they would want me to play guitar so I carried it along and again all the young boys came out to greet Mr. Steadman and to go to church.  At first this seemed like a wonderful thing… however, when we got to the church I discovered it was going to be difficult to manage the great collection of boys that I brought with me.  Instead of waiting for their Aunties or brothers and sisters they all sat with me.  Imagine being in church with 15 3 to 4 year old boys all wanting to sit in your lap, play with your watch, unzip your zippers, and ask you questions during an hour of praise and worship… it was nearly chaotic.  I kept thinking of the verses where Jesus said to let the little children come unto him and I did my best to focus on the praise portion of the morning and keep my cool and my patience.  I didn’t get much focused thought time… talk about serving others rather than thinking of your self!  Bob introduced me and we fumbled briefly with the podium which I needed for my notes.  My preparation served the Lord well, I think… without having thought through the short sentences and taking out the colloquialisms it would have been a tough sermon given that everything had to be translated into Ugandan.  It was also good that I thought about the translation time as I planned the sermon… Bob said I had about 45 minutes and it was just about that.  So here is the tremendous part… I did my best and sat down truly thankful to have had the opportunity to preach.  The church pastor got up and repeated every major point of my sermon and said that this was all a clear call for the lost to come to Jesus… What are you seeking?  Will you follow Jesus?  He is calling you to Come and to See Him.  He gave an alter call and at first I thought this would simply be a standard practice piece of the end of the teaching time and just like at home the meeting would end quietly.  To my surprise, and to my utter blessing from God, a middle aged man from the village came forward with tears streaming down his face… the pastor prayed with him and they tell me that he came to know the Lord… this was his first day at the church and he heard the Gospel and came forward.  While the pastor was praying for him, another village woman with a baby in her arms also came forward and the pastor prayed with her as well.  I was sitting there trying to hold back my own tears but it was impossible.  The pastor ended the service and came over and thanked me for the message.  He told me that there is a saying in Africa that missionaries bring good food, but I had brought something far greater for these souls to feed on.  He embraced me and gave me a huge hug and told me that the Lord had really blessed them with my teaching.  I walked back to the guest house in complete amazement at what the Lord had done.  Why am I amazed?  Where is my faith?
 

After a Sunday afternoon rest, I began thinking of creative ways to bless the kids.  I picked out a couple of pictures of the boys from 5B at King Fisher and printed them in color then went down and invited them back up here to see a slide show of the pictures from the trip that day.  While I was down there I checked in on Phillip of Agape house.  Carolyn had mentioned the day before that he didn’t feel well earlier and given his AIDS there was no telling what might happen.  I went in to find him laying listless on the couch.  Peruth came in a couple of times to rub him down with water on his back and chest.  He lay there moaning and I was so troubled.  I was the only Mzungu (white person) at GSF for the afternoon until Claudia and Kerie returned from Kampala.  I told the kids that I would be right back and I came up to the guest house and retrieved my guitar and the children’s books from Caldwell Kindergarten.  I need to let Mrs. Ellis know what good use they were put to.  I read to the kids and Phillip lay there moaning while one of the older girls occasionally bathed him down with a wet rag.  While I read I prayed.  I wanted to lay hands on him but, honestly, I was just afraid.  It is amazing how many times I have been confronted with fear since arriving here… Satan uses fear in such a powerful way.  By the time I stopped playing guitar and singing Phillip had stopped fussing and was sitting up on the couch.  It was so incredible to see my prayers being answered before my eyes.  I continued to sing until I could no longer see the pages in front of me because it was getting dark outside.  The time had passed so quickly.  One of the girls got up and turned on a light in the house so I could continue playing.  About 30 more minutes passed and I heard the car arrive with Claudia and Kerie.  They had received a call from Peruth while they were in Kampala telling them that Phillip was sick.  They came in and rushed him off to the clinic.  Despite the reprieve in his fever they think he has malaria.  Kerie said tonight that she is concerned that this could be the end of his life.  They will take him to the hospital in Jinja tomorrow depending on his fever.

 

I came back to the room and the power went out.  I’ve been sitting here typing in the dark.  The light of a candle and my laptop were the only lights that allowed me to see the BIG bat that flew into my room.  I ducked and tried to spot it with my flashlight.  I can only hope that it found the door and left the same way it came in.  Just another day in Africa.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

This morning I was invited to go back to Jinja – the others were going in to the Internet Café.  Of course, my knee jerk reaction was to want to go and connect with home and the outside world, talk to my wife, post to my blog, shop for the boys.  But twice I was prompted not to go.  I backed down and was then talked into going again, and then (very unlike me) as we got to the car I just told the others I wasn’t going, that I needed to stay here and that I didn’t know why.  This always sounds so weird and ‘spiritual’ but that was all I could say.  I walked over to the kitchen shelter to see Jaja Mary and talked with the boys for about an hour or so.  I connected with Bob and we decided not to do any computer work until next week.  It is strange because all I thought I’d really be doing was computer stuff and I will have been here a week before we even touch the computers… I have yet to even see the computer lab???

 

I’ve come back to journal, and to read the word.  I read this Psalm and it spoke to my heart…

 

Psalm 34:3-5 (ESV) 

    Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

        and let us exalt his name together!

    [4] I sought the Lord, and he answered me

        and delivered me from all my fears.

    [5] Those who look to him are radiant,

        and their faces shall never be ashamed.

 

How perfect is the Word of the Lord!  Yes, Lord… as I preach on Sunday may we magnify your name and glorify You...  I have sought you and I trust you that you have heard my cry, my need, and have delivered me from all my fears!  Make us radiant as we look to you and may we never be ashamed.  May I speak your Word boldly without shame or fear as it is translated and shared with this community of Christians.  Make your Word clear, and simple, and understandable to all of us as I speak.  Teach me in my heart, give words to my mouth, that your Spirit would speak your truth through me.  I give thanks to the Lord for He is Good, His mercies endure forever.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

I had a wonderful day yesterday with the blessing of fellowship on Thanksgiving with many Christian brothers and sisters surrounding me.  I spent my morning visiting with the GSF folk… talking with the younger boys – especially Chad, Paul, Cochrane, and Adam.  They are delightful young brothers and would be good friends to Miles if he were here.  I sang for a crippled boy who could not speak and decided to get my guitar and come back to play for him.  When I returned I had a small audience of boys and girls (maybe 15 kids) who sang with me.  They knew “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” and “Shout to the Lord” and they loved echo songs – I was so blessed hearing them sing “I Am Bound” – what beautiful angelic voices they have.  I found great love and peace sitting with Jaja Mary (Granny Mary who is at least 80 years old) and Rose just talking to them while they sorted beans.  After a while I felt invited to sit and help and I stayed for about an hour sorting beans (a task that Jaja Mary does daily as far as I can tell).  They sort the beans for hours and hours to pull out the dirt, the grass, the dried or worm eaten beans to leave the good ones for cooking in huge vats that then feed the entire GSF village.  I was humming A-MEN quietly and Jaja Mary joined me in singing the song – we sang Amazing Grace together as well while we worked… my soul was soothed in an amazing way.  This morning when I was troubled I returned to just sit in the shade of the kitchen shelter in the presence of Jaja Mary while she worked and I talked to the boys.  The boys and I talked about movies, about my boys and everything they do in their day.

 

Yesterday was a rich and wonderful well of blessings – deep and wide with lessons and new experiences.  In the afternoon we drove to Jinja – Claudia drove and Marc and Kerie rode along with us for Thanksgiving dinner at Bob and Carolyn’s home.  There were a lot of new folks and I spent most of my time talking to Nick – the son of Keith and Lisa (previous directors of GSF still with Global but now working in a different ministry).  Nick is a sweet 16 year old kid from Mobile, Alabama who will soon be living in Northern Uganda outside Gulu.

 

We returned before dark.  Just before Leaving Bob asked if I would preach this Sunday – this has been the source of the majority of my anxieties – anxieties I need to be healed from and released from.  I am to preach on Sunday for GSF and the surrounding communities.  There will be a translator (this is freaking me out way more than it should).  There will be a broad audience – ages 6 and up.  They are used to hearing sermons that last as much as an hour or longer.  Satan has been at my back accusing me of not being prepared for this, not being able to do this, worrying me that I’ll lose my voice, that I won’t know what to say, that it won’t connect, that it won’t make sense to these people.  Isn't is just like the devil to throw so many fears and concerns our way.  The truth is I am inadequate... but God can do great things through my weakness.  I'll do my best and trust that He will do the rest.

 

On the way home we crossed over a river for the second time and in conversation it dawned on me that this really was the mouth of the Nile… I looked down at the great Nile river, looking for crocodiles which they say live all over this area.  What a beautiful river and it was another gorgeous sunset.  We drove in to GSF at dark and all of us stayed up until nearly midnight talking, eating popcorn, and working on Claudia’s laptop which isn’t playing DVDs (another request I place before the Lord – it seems so small but it would be such a blessing for this to be fixed before I leave).

 

I had a wonderful but quick talk with Dad, Alyssa, Liam, and Mom… it was interrupted multiple times by static, silence on one end, etc.  But I was able to talk to my dear sweet family and oh how much I genuinely miss and long for their company… I am nearly crying just saying this.  The distance, the difference, the challenges here just heighten that sense of missing unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

I called the front desk of this wonderful resort and asked that they give me a 7:30 wake up call.  No wake up call… and I slept soundly until 8:20 when the hotel knocked on the door to give me my newspaper.  I was to meet Bob and Carolyn at 8:30 for breakfast so I had to rush through getting ready and packed.  I was maybe 10 minutes late but it was no big deal.  We headed out promptly after breakfast in order to avoid more traffic than we would experience otherwise.  The traffic was really incredible.  Bob and Carolyn were both clearly a little anxious about the drive.  We made 2 stops – one to buy meat and one to buy paint.  The drive was such an eye opener.  There is just no way to describe seeing a 3^rd world country.  So may people, so much poverty, so many very rough looking places.  We passed through a preserved old growth forrest with huge trees that looked like giant tulip poplars.  We arrived at GSF after driving several miles on a very rough dirt path with ruts and holes and at times having to drive off the road to get through.  The orphanage is truly off the beaten path. 

 

The experience of my first afternoon is just too complicated to put into writing this evening.  I’ll come back to this after I’ve had more time to reflect.  For now I'll just say, I am simply so thankful for God’s care and protection and for bringing me to this place.   They are so grateful to have me here to visit and to bring the gifts from the US.  Lord, please keep me healthy, please keep me safe, and please let me be a blessing to these many wonderful people.

 

Lord thank you for each of these souls.  Build them up and grow them by your Spirit and by your Word.  I sang Jesus Loves Me and BIBLE with some of the younger boys at the playground before saying goodnight.  Michael – one of the guards – fought in northern Sudan for 4 years waging Guerilla warfare for the Sudanese Army.  He says he likes to work for GSF. He smiled as we watched the sunset and listened to the monkeys in the bush.  After a long pause he said, ‘there are no problems here’.

 

I was quickly called Uncle StayitDmon (sounds something like this).  It is a hard name for them – harder than I would have guessed.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman

 

Greetings from Ethiopia.  We followed the Nile river valley down through Sudan this afternoon and I got to see the desert melt into civilizations.  It was like the mud came out of the ground slowly to form huts, then houses, and ultimatelly buildings and bridges.  My seat mate from Frankfurt, Germany just 'happened' to be a long term missionary.  You can pray for him and his colleagues as they minister in Sudan this week.  They hope to influence the territory for peace and are willing to go into some pretty rough places.  The airport in Khartoum was lined with UN aircraft as if they were ready for a mass exodus in the event of some episode on a large scale.  My new friend assured me having been in Uganda often that Jinja and Entebbe were paradise compared with the starkness of Sudan.  Brothers and Sisters, our church is so large and Jesus has his servants in so many corners of this world taking the good news of the gospel to the very ends of the earth.  Let us praise God for their willingness to go to unfriendly places where their lives are certainly in jeapordy.

 

I praise God for the peace here in Addis Ababa.  What a blessing to arrive at a modern airport with so many helpful souls.  My luggage made it this far and is now checked on through to Entebbe, Uganda.  Please coninue to pray for safe passage.

 

May the Lord be glorified in all the earth.  His name known among the nations.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.

 

Blessings to all of you from Ethiopia,

 

Steadman

My wife and I are on a pretty tight budget at the moment.  We have been trying to make ends meet on my salary and only a little supplementary income from the Nanny work that Alyssa is doing each week.  It is tough to pull this off with 3 boys, 2 cars, a house, and a dog but it is worth it.  I am truly grateful to be able to offer Alyssa the opportunity to stay home with our boys and I’m committed to eating peanut butter and crackers to keep this going as long as she wants to stay home with them.

 

But I am on sabbatical and the first two weeks completely flew by with something going on every day and Alyssa thought that a vacation was in order.  We headed up to Belew’s Lake to Carolina Marina on Friday around noon for an afternoon of sailing.  (Before you think - Poor guy on the shoe-string budget, how does he manage to have a boat? - I’ll insert here that it was a very generous gift from my father.)  The weather was perfect and the wind made for a great afternoon of sailing.  Before leaving Greensboro we had loaded the car with our stuff for the boat and every bit of camping gear we owned.  After we finished with the sailing we headed to the Dan River Campground just a few more minutes up Hwy 220 past Madison.  When we made the exit off of the highway I mentioned to Alyssa that I was pretty sure there was a drive-in theater down the same road near Eden, NC.  I called my friend, Mark Nickens (a professor and potter who lives in Eden) and he was quick to confirm that the Eden Drive-In was a straight shot down Hwy 135.  He even gave us the number for the theater.  On the way to set up camp for the night we called and found out that the new Wallace & Gromit – The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was playing at 8:00pm!

 

I am a huge Wallace & Gromit fan.  What a great imagination and sense of humor their creators have!  After setting up camp, eating some cheese hotdogs wrapped in tortillas and a few Smores, we headed for the drive-in.  We pulled the Volvo wagon in backwards so the kids could sit in the back third seat and watch the show with the hatch open.  I set up our lawn chairs, ordered our popcorn and our family enjoyed an incredible night at the drive-in theater.  I thoroughly recommend the Eden Drive-In.  They have a deck with chairs and speakers, a play ground for the kids, concessions, and the FM 88.1 stereo option for listening to the movie (pretty groovy).  Then there was the movie!  Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a great family film… there aren’t many movies that you can take your 3 year-old, 6 year-old, and your wife to see that will make your whole family laugh.  If you haven’t seen the new Wallace and Gromit, it is well worth the money and the time.  If you live near Greensboro, make the trip up to Eden to the drive-in for an even better movie experience.

 

After our night at the Dan River Campground we packed up the car and the boys and headed to Madison, NC to Bob’s Restaurant for coffee and brunch.  What a perfect spot to get the full sense of what small town North Carolina feels like on a Saturday morning.  The food was great, our boys were really hungry, and the walk around the corner to Madison Dry Goods was the perfect ‘after-brunch’ stroll.

 

We are home now after a marvelous one-night vacation.  It’s time to wash the campfire smoke out of my hair and take a nap.  Praise God for the gift of family, for the great outdoors, for time away from the routine, and for the many blessings He has bestowed on us here in North Carolina.

 

Blessings to you ~ Steadman