Sunday, March 15, 2009

Bittersweet reunion

Briley and I have experienced a lot of mixed emotions since we safely arrived Jinja Friday afternoon. We went to tour the Source Cafe and Opportunity Center first. A lot of great things continue to take place there. We saw the reorganized library that Candice Garner and several others have done a great job on. We saw the new Kibo Group / Mvule Project office. The Source Cafe and coffee shop continues to do well. Lazarus Wagoli and Ronald Mugulisi are providing great leadership and wise management for the facility and its operations. Numerous ministries and positive programs take place at this facility thanks to the profits of this missional business.

At the same time there was a noticeable missing piece in this experience for us. The late Moses Kimeze was not there. We met Irene, Moses' widow, face to face for the first time since Moses and Adam Langford were tragically killed in a vehicle accident. The Kimeze's 3 year old son, Zach, became instant buddies with me as we toured the facility. He insisted I share his cheerios and snacks with him so I did just that. He is energetic and has a great little personality, much like his father he will never know. Briley and I grieved at the thought of Zach and his siblings not having the ability to enjoy Moses as a loving father.

I also gave a long hug to my friend Nyanga Grace, who tragically lost his wife, Goretti, and his young son, Emmanuel very recently in another vehicle accident. I had the privilege of marrying Grace and Goretti during our time here and am deeply saddened by this loss.

Hazardous roads continue to take the lives of gifted people living in Uganda. Everyone here is a little weary of it yet remain faithful that God is present and that He is working through these difficult situations.

In these first few days we have also.....

  • Had joyful reunions and laughs with many other Ugandan friends.
  • Visited our former home and remembered some great times our family had living here.
  • Enjoyed time with Bobby and Candice, the Bogles and the Manrys.
  • Had a wonderful dinner with Richard and Ida Bazonoona and their family. We had great conversation and prayer and then slept in their house Saturday night but didn't get much sleep due to some powerful thunderstorms all night. Ida is expecting a baby very soon and despite being uncomfortable was a joyful and wonderful host for us.
  • Had a great reunion and worship time with the Jinja Church Sunday morning. I had a chance to preach Christ to them once again.
  • Visited the home of Irene and her children and wept at the grave of the late Moses Kimeze this evening.
  • Eaten lots of great fruit like sweet bananas and pineapple and I have enjoyed several cups of fresh Ugandan coffee.
Tomorrow we will continue to reunite with more Ugandan friends and attend meetings where we will learn the latest about how the various Kibo Group projects are offering development opportunities and creating better lives for Ugandans.

We hope to see the Ben and Kym Langford family briefly as they fly in Tuesday.

The Garners and us will begin our journey to Rwanda on Wednesday.

Thanks for all your prayers.






1 Comments:

At 6:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Clint & Briley,
I was sure excited when I saw there was an update on your blog.
It sounds like you have experienced joy and sadness. I know that it has to be hard to see the families that have lost loved ones. I wept as I read about your time with Irene, her little boy and at Moses gravesight. I'm sure it has been hard seeing Grace, too. I am happy to hear that you preached for the Jinja congregation this morning. I know how special they are to you and you two are to them. Give special greetings to Idah and Richard for me and congratulations on the new baby.
The overwhelming feeling that I have is that I wish I were there with you. I loved my times there.
I am doing double, triple praying for you as you are on the roads going to Rwanda. I love you two very much. Mom

 

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