Blog, FAMILY, Grannies, granny-families, Nasuti, Nasuti Uganda, Uganda, widows & orphans

Gasping @ “Jesus Loves YOU”

Today is Monday, June 1.

It was time for a special time with our staff to talk about the transition from the close of the Gospel’s after Christ had died, rose from the dead (according to the various witnesses, including the report of Dr. Luke) and the beginning of the Church in Acts. Several men were on our compound and are temporarily working with a sub contractor. I’ve enjoyned speaking with them and admiring their work the past few days. None of them believe in Jesus as God or as Savior. They were kind of skeptical, at the suggestion Jesus is God, but were very interested at the testimony of Luke talking so confidently, just reporting what happened but in so doing expressing his own belief in it all. Because they are of another faith, with so many of their friends and family of the same faith around, there’s a lot of pressure to be skeptical of a Christians’ motives. One thing I wanted them to know was what I called an American proverb. I said: ” a person’s judgement is only as good as the information he has”. I told them “we will continue with Acts tomorrow to be picked up by Alfred and Simon when I leave in a week, but remember, whether you believe what the Bible says, or even want to come to a study like this tomorrow or any time, is a matter of free will. Your job is not at risk if you don’t come”. I told them “I examined the scripture for years myself, but after that, I believe it is all true, but you should decide for yourself. The meeting to hear scripture is only the sharing of good, and I believe very accurate, information”. We will see who shows up tomorrow!

We met with three more Granny’s to sign their home construction agreements (one a mother but a terrible situation she is in and an exception was made for her). One is Granny Fatina who with her 4 daughters, one son and three grandchildren all sleeping on the dirt floor together in a 9′ x 10′ feeble hut. Her eye had a thorn in it. It has been worked on by a Physician who knew what to do, thanks to our nurse, Asaph, who took care of her needs. In the process of signing an agreement we talked of a number of points but when I told her “Jesus loves you very very much” she gasped and cried very quickly, caught herself and gained her composure, trying to conceal her emotion. She also is of another faith but something special happened just then. Fatina accepted our Granny Coordinator, Simons’ invitation to join the Granny Group meeting very close to her for the group Bible study Simon leads. Please pray for Fatima and the children in her family.

Our new guard dogs (well…”guard-puppies” so far!) are lodged in our guest house courtyard to allow them to be nurtured and grow. A very nice environment to raise them to a bigger size. The staff love them although generally Ugandans cannot really love dogs. But these dogs are here as “guards that do not take bribes”. As such they protect and cannot be corrupted according to one of our guards. Hope so. Already I’m looking forward to seeing how much Ricky and Lucy will have grown when I return again to Uganda in August, God willing.

God bless, Russ

Blog, Discipleship Center, FAMILY, granny-families, Nasuti Uganda, The Way Home Discipleship Village, Uganda, widows & orphans

May 28, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Truth going forth!

Praise the LORD for what He has done ~ and will do…

Pastor's training Center classroom! — Pastor’s training Center classroom frame !

Alfred’s contracted with a man having experience to put a proper grass roof on TWH. That looks to be so! Alfred built a foundation with bricks and cement that is very strong and this roofing contractor is doing his part to put the stick built trussing structure up to support grass roofing material. When the poles are all up and in place grass is put on in bundles, layered and secured. I hope the end product looks so good. But by the quality of the rafters the grass will probably be good too! Now, where does he get the grass? He travels by taxi from Nasuti about 5 hours to the shores of lake Victoria, then by boat to an Island where the grass is growing. He hires local men to cut it, and bundle it, and stack it. They don’t have termites there. We do, so we need to spray our grass as it waits to go up and finally again when it gets to the roof. After the cutting on the island, they heap it on one or more boats (it’s going to take a lot!) and the boat travels over pretty dangerous waters (a storm can kick up any time like one of the great lakes of Michigan). When it arrives they load it onto a truck then to its home in Nasuti. We’re hoping all the grass we need arrives soon as the rafters may be done next week.

The Latrine too is nearly done, a four stall beauty with a real septic system hand dug and hand mixed and poured concrete made right there. With the 4 pit latrine style toilets there are two baths for bathing and changing. What luxury we will make available to our Pastors!

Again, you all, thank you for your generous praying, and your generous giving and praise the Lord over and over for what He has done. We look to what He will do as well!

I meet our teacher, Daniel Isabirye Friday, to talk about things I need to know to facilitate a Pastor Bible Training Program. Marcia and I are so thankful it will be run by Pastor Terry Nester (our missionary Pastor from our church in Jinja) and taught by Pastor Daniel and probably a few others along the way. Pray for men on our staff and those others God has to come, that they will come and be faithful to work diligently and persevere to transform, and become the Shepard of their community God calls them to be.

We’ve signed agreements Monday with two Grannies to receive 3 room homes and latrines.

They are Beatrice (having 4 grandchildren ages 2 1/2 to 14)

and Elizabeth (having with her two grandchildren ages 8 and 10).

Yesterday we approved two more after the interviews. Fatina lives in the smallest straw and broken brick home (9 x 10) with four daughters and her son PLUS her 3 grandchildren (ages 9, 6, and 3). She has a thorn stuck in her eye.

We will get her to an eye doctor and hopefully get her agreement signed next week and start her home and latrine very soon. Please pray for God to be their Husband and their God.

Thanks and talk to you soon!

Russ

Farming God's Way, Missionaries, Nasuti, Nasuti Uganda, Servants serving, The Way Home Discipleship Village, Uganda, widows & orphans

May 27, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Arriving in Uganda…

I like that…

There’s an immediate change in attitude that is pleasing. Ugandan’s value relationship. They know respect and are trained as very young children usually with some firmness that respect matters, being polite matters, and understanding other people have problems so “we don’t need to push or hurry them or condemn them for being late because there probably is a very good reason they are late. Even if the reason is not good, it’s ok”. Paramount is that they generally really really honor and respect their parents and grandparents. Uganda is a hot culture where people matter more. It’s changing, the West has it’s influences and many are good, but Uganda is changing, especially in the Capitol and larger cities. I witness more Ugandan’s speaking with one another in English! Just noticed that.

But the Village has been the same and is pretty much the same for centuries. The Way Home ministries work in the Village. What an interesting time and place to be serving the Lord as Missionaries in Uganda.

Today in Church one of our staff, Asaph, who is Ugandan of course, like me as being a visitor introduced himself. He said: “I am DeWuke, Asaph. I come from where I come from”. That brought laughter…. but how that struck me as so true. Asaph moved around a lot growing up the son of a Church of Uganda Pastor who has been transferred so many times from area to area within Uganda. Asaph with his siblings always moved with his parents. Such a young man, but wise beyond his years. I think he knows more of where he is going (in eternity), more of where he’s going than he realizes about where he’s been. This is how we want it to be for those with whom we share the Gospel Village. To know Jesus as Savior, and “to know what today and the future in Christ has stored up for me”. I love that. Of course, being the only white person, I was asked to speak. I introduced myself as Russ Baugh and “I come from where I come from”.

Alfred, our General Manager and Construction expert, and Pastor, driver, etc. etc. picked me up on time at the airport on Friday evening at about 11PM. We have already covered so much in our conversations, getting the most current news from his side and my side. We have prayed together, laughter, shook our heads at this and that. Alfred is a Kingdom builder. Like Asaph, he comes from where he comes from, but he knows where he’s going.

God Bless!

Russ

dependency syndrome, Discipleship Center, FAMILY, granny-families, Missionaries, Nasuti Uganda, Servants serving, widows & orphans

March 4, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

until we meet again Fred !

What a blessing it was for the staff and granny-families to have Fred & Heather with them; serving so selflessly…it is bittersweet for us too Fred Thank you SO much for sharing your time there with all of us through this blog…we feel like we’ve been on the back of your boda 🙂 see you again ‘soon OR forever” !!

BITTERSWEET

Fred writes: Today was bittersweet as it was our last day at The Way Home. While today was sweltering and we’re tired and starting to look forward to coming home it will still be hard to leave this place and its wonderful people. This morning Heather sped off on the boda to track down the last three grannies while I stayed behind and spent some time talking to director Russ about how our church might be able to assist him in what God is doing here. Later in the day we had a very special treat as we were able to be present at a granny interview where she was informed that she would be receiving a new home. Her son passed away and left her with three orphaned grandkids and she still has three daughters at home as well. They are all sleeping in the round eight foot diameter hut pictured below. They will soon have a 10′ x 30′ house, a new latrine and three years of training and assistance with their garden. Director Russ shared with them how God has a heart for widows and orphans and that there are people in America who love God and desire to obey Him and invest in the things that He cares about and that is how they are receiving their new home. At the end of our time with them He then also had an opportunity, at the request of one of the Ugandan pastors who will be following up with the family, to share the way of salvation with them. It was astounding to hear the sensitive, culturally relevant way in which he was able to share the Good News – Good News that began 2000 years ago in Palestine and now traveled to east Africa by way of North America. Amazing stuff here.

At the end of the day we were treated by the Ugandan staff here at The Way Home to a traditional Ugandan dinner of mitoke (an un-sweet banana kind of thing cooked like mashed potatoes), greens, rice, potatoes and even some of Tom, one of the turkeys we’ve been watching strut around the yard all week. It was great to sit down and break bread with the builders, farmers and pastors who work so diligently bringing shelter, food and Jesus to the people of Uganda.

this granny-family's original house for 7! — this granny-family’s original house for 7!

turkey dinner BEFORE :) — turkey dinner BEFORE 🙂

Blog, Discipleship Center, granny-families, Missionaries, Nasuti Uganda, Servants serving, Uganda

March 4, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Barnstorming with Fred in Nasuti

BARNSTORMING

Fred writes: Yesterday we attended church at Acacia Community Church in Jinja, an open-air thatched roof church both reaching out to Ugandans and providing a place to worship for mzungu missionaries. And led by a pastor from West Virginia no less – “Can I get an amen!!” We then ate lunch at a little place called The Haven on the Nile river. Last night I had the privilege of executing our first African rat. Sucker was eating our bananas.

Today it was back on the bodas for a barnstorming run to 20 granny homes. We have only three left which we will get to tomorrow morning. One of the highlights was visiting a home where they had spent the very first night in their new home last night. They were walking on air. We went inside with the family and prayed a blessing on the home and that all who live there would know Jesus and look forward to the day when we all have a permanent home with Him. We also visited a home with a shrine behind it where the clan keeps their demons -not just any demons mind you, specialty demons. They give them a little house out back so they can call on them when they need them. Handy, I suppose. The granny there is a Christian but not all of her clan has followed in her footsteps, hence the continued presence of the shrine. Pray for them to see the Light and turn from their old ways.

I have a lot of time to think as I’m riding down the back roads and trails and today I was captured by thoughts about the masses of people I have seen, even out here in the bush. Walking, riding bikes, standing around in the trading centers, carrying jerrycans of water, pushing old bicycles laden with everything from huge bunches of bananas to massive bags of charcoal for their cook stoves, walking to and from school, laying around on their lawns with their babies (it was a scorcher today). I wondered how many of them have heard of Jesus. I couldn’t escape the question, ” If no one tells them, how will they know?” There are so many great things going on here and yet so much still to do and so many lost who need to be found.

Tomorrow we’ll catch up with the last three grannies and then observe an “interview” with a prospective granny home recipient.

Nasuti Uganda