Hello and Greetings from Uganda. I have absolutely no idea what to include in this update. All I can say to start is my usual mantra: “Things are never dull here!”
Actually, one of the reasons I have delayed in writing this update is that I am struggling a bit to find positive and uplifting news right now. The last month has been very difficult, and many things seemed to hit all at once. It is mostly about being overwhelmed by new government regulations and paperwork, but there are other things as well.
Three weeks ago, I was still battling with the fallout from the witchcraft incident on the Called Christians compound. I had to fire all three of the night guards who were on duty the night that all our doors and gates were anointed with oil and salt. I also had to let go one of the women who has worked for us for many years. We started supporting her and her children long before she started working for us because she is a widow, and we have taken care of her for about twenty years. She worked for us for about fourteen years. I offered her a large settlement when I let her go, an amount that was far above what she was owed. Anyone else would have been thrilled to have that money to start a new life, but she got very angry, told me it was not enough, and sued me and Called Christians through the Jinja Labour Board. She wants an amount of money that is equal to one month’s budget for us, including all our salaries and ministry funds. Please pray that God’s hand will be evident through the entire process and that He does as He sees fit, whatever that might be. We were supposed to meet with the Senior Labour Officer again yesterday, but he is in the hospital with malaria. He offered to let his assistant handle it, but she is often biased and unfair, so we are waiting for him to get well and come back to work.
The week after the witchcraft incident, I was on a prayer retreat and received three unsettling emails as I was getting ready to return. One was from the NGO Board saying that I had not renewed my NGO permit (Called Christians is a non-government organization), and it was being taken off the list of valid NGOs in Uganda. I went through every crazy hoop for days at the end of last year and the first of this year and received the renewal, including the valid certificates. I wrote to them and asked if I needed to send a copy of the certificates, and they sent me a long list of extra information that they wanted from us along with the copy of the certificates. We have turned in all the documentation and hope things are settled now. We have not heard back from the NGO Board yet.
The second letter was from the Uganda Revenue Authority (like the IRS in the USA) saying that we owed them a lot of money, which we do not. I have had to ask our accountant to complete a lot of other documentation and protests so the demand for that money will be canceled. The third letter was from the Jinja Municipal Council, demanding millions of shillings from me in ground rent, which is paid when land is leased from the Council. In 2016 we were able to change the Called Christians land from “leasehold” to “freehold land,” so we do not have to pay ground rent any more. I had to write letters of protest, gather documentation, and turn in those letters to the Council for their consideration and judgment. It is a good thing I had spent the previous three days in prayer.
Satan knows where to come at me the hardest. I am constantly praying for and struggling over the finances here. It seems, just like most places in the world, that there is never enough money. Praise God that He is the one in charge!
We have had some good things going on around here, too; sometimes it is difficult to remember the good when you feel beaten down by life’s concerns. Ann Wibbenmeyer has soft-started her School of Ministry for Women, and she has a small number of women, mostly the wives of pastors and elders and deacons, coming once a week for Inductive Bible Study. When the country opens up, she will start the women’s School of Ministry full time. We are very excited about this.
We are still in severe lockdown because of COVID, but the president has hinted that the airport may open on October 1. That would be a blessing for Uganda; one of our main sources of income is tourism, and people have not been able to travel to this incredible country since March. If the airport does open, then I also have a big decision to make. I was scheduled to go to the USA on furlough last April, May, and June, but the lockdown kept me here. My tickets are paid for and must be used within a year of booking—I booked last February. I need to be back in Uganda by April because we have a team from the States coming in May, and another in June. I need to visit friends and family, but I also need to do some fundraising. Uganda is much safer than the USA when it comes to COVID, so that makes me a bit nervous. Many states are also still not open to people coming in without quarantining. Also, if churches aren’t open and people can’t meet in groups, it will be more difficult to talk about the ministries here so that people will see areas where they could assist us prayerfully and financially. And to tell you the truth, I don’t like going to the US when it is cold; it has been years since I experienced real winter.
One huge blessing we have had during this lockdown, when churches are not allowed to meet, is that Called Christians has, for years, been paying for a Sunday afternoon spot on a local radio station where pastors from The Bridge Calvary Chapel teach the Bible. When the lockdown hit, we already had the perfect spot to hold “scientific” church services (gatherings of less than ten people) on the radio. A small worship team, plus Pastor Isaac and a translator, have been holding church services on the radio every Sunday afternoon since the end of March, and that service has reached people in Jinja as well as in areas that are far from here. Even if the churches open, which may or may not happen soon, Called Christians and The Bridge Calvary Chapel will continue to share the Word of God in this way because it reaches so many people.
We still are not able to do many of our usual ministries. The prison here has 100 confirmed cases of COVID, so it is probably good that we haven’t been able to do our Bible teaching in the prisons since March. We only do the hospital run from the prisons each day, but we have found many other ways to minister to God’s people, and we are excited to continue these new ministry styles after the lockdown is over.
Deb tells me that people like to see a local interest fact sometimes, so let me close this update with this. I think that the Ugandan woman’s traditional dress is one of the most feminine and lovely in the entire world.
The gomesi started out as a girls’ school uniform, and I do not know how it became the traditional dress, but it is very distinct, though very difficult to wear. A gomesi is six meters of cloth wrapped around the body, held together by only two buttons and a wide, slippery belt. But the women wear it with grace, elegance, and incredible beauty. I will post a photo or two, and you see if you agree.
Blessings and honor to God, and all glory to Him. May He bless you and keep you always.
With so much love in Christ,
Beverly
