What are we doing now???

It's now been a little over a month since we arrived back in the States! Several have asked about a blog update, so we thought we'd take a minute and fill you in on what we've done since we've left Uganda...

Our Time in Europe…

We slowly started adjusting back to Western life while we were in Europe for two weeks. When we arrived in London from Entebbe, I was overwhelmed by how smooth the roads were and how clean, charming, and pristine everything was. Everything was so green, cool, and lush; it felt like winter had just melted away and spring had crisply sprung. The fashion was quite amusing as well: mini skirts, tapered jeans, and even some mid-rifts in Italy, none of which we saw in Uganda!

Yum...David enjoys a mouth watering pizza in Naples, home of the original pizza!

Our time in Italy was lovely- and hot! We probably got more sun being in Italy than we did in Uganda. The whirlwind tour included stops in Rome, Naples, Orvieto, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terra, and finally Geneva, Switzerland. We walked around all day, every day, saw many breathtaking cathedrals, ancient ruins, art museums, country sides, and of course dined on scrumptious Italian cuisine.

Cinque Terra, five quaint fishing villages built into the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, was absolutely breathtaking and one of our favorite places. As you can see in the picture, the water was a sparkling Caribbean blue. We spent a day hiking the difficult trail between the villages. We camped and enjoyed meeting some young backpackers and two young Christian couples from Sweden and America.

Cinque Terra

David stands with the great reformers in Geneva, Switzerland

The Engineer is trying to fix the problem

Our trip ended in England with a visit to Jean, a fellow eMi intern. We visited her hometown in the countryside of England. On Sunday, we went to her dad's church in a charming village and ate fish and chips by the sea. It was raining and chilly the entire time we were there, just how you'd imagine England to be. Jean also took us to Oxford, where she attended University. It was very sophisticated and extremely posh--old stone buildings, exquisite gardens, and cobblestone streets were everywhere. We even ate at the pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien hung out, Eagle and Child.

At the chilly sea side with Jean in Ipswitch, England

So what are we doing now?
Realizing that Westminster Theological College and Seminary only has $40,000 in the bank and they are in need of $275,000 before we can return, we decided to live in St. Louis for awhile. Actually, God provided jobs almost immediately after returning for both David and me. I will be teaching 4th grade at Twin Oaks Christian School at 141 and Big Bend where I used to attend elementary school. David took a three month job with his dad's company, Guarantee Electric. They are really busy with the electrical design at the new St. Clare Hospital at 141 and Bowles. I actually visited him last week and saw the job site trailer where he works with other designers. He is looking for an engineering firm to begin using his Arch E. degree.

We will be in St. Louis for a bit and we have no idea how long that "bit" will be. My parents graciously let us stay at their place for awhile (along with Matt and Becky!) and now we're at the Baca's. We're currently looking for a place to live....

Prayer…
We are thankful and rejoice in the opportunity God provided for us to serve him in Uganda. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support; it could not have been possible with out you "sending" us. Please continue to pray that the money would come in for Westminster and that we would be patient on God's timing during this interim period. You can also pray that we would find a place to live and for David to find an engineering job.

Welaba Uganda! (Goodbye Uganda)

It’s really hard to believe that our ten months in Uganda is already over- and that we survived! We both have been surprised about how much we’ve enjoyed our time here, and how Christ has even worked in our hearts a desire to return. It has been amazing to look back and see how God has orchestrated our coming to Africa and the work that he “hand picked” for us while we served here. We are sad to say goodbye to Uganda, but are hopeful that the goodbye is only temporary. Though we are still unsure of the future, we trust in God’s timing and his purposes for us, his children.

We leave Uganda Monday morning, June 11th, and will fly British Airways to London. We are using some savings to travel through Italy for ten days, spend a couple of nights in Switzerland, and visit our friend Jean, an eMi intern, in England as well. Our return flight arrives in St. Louis in the evening on Tuesday, June 26th.

We greatly anticipate our reunion with everyone!!!


On Monday, we traveled to eastern Uganda to a mountainous region, near Mt. Elgon, called Sipi Falls. The rolling, green mountains, patch-worked with matoke, tea, coffee, and maize fields, has a series of three magnificent waterfalls cascading through them. We spent a day hiking and climbing and were simply in awe of the beauty of our creator. It was also a refreshing time to reflect on our past year here.




Saying goodbye to friends...
On the last day of school, Heritage had a chapel service and said goodbye to several of us who are leaving.This is a picture with my friends Catherine Osborne, the 6th Grade Teacher, Annie Brown, the Kindergarten Teacher, and Keeley Wickham, the secondary English and Drama teacher. Heritage is still in need of teachers for this coming school year if you or someone you know is interested!
My 5th graders, waving "hello" to you-our friends and family in the states!

A: We don't know what we're doing yet

Q: What are you doing when you come back?

Hi everyone,

It has been quite a while since I’ve posted. Sorry if anyone was sorely disappointed. Today’s post might be considered a cop-out by some, but I wanted to share it with you because it shares a bit of our heart for the gospel in Africa and because it might help you understand a bit about our future plans. What follows is an email I wrote to EMI in Colorado Springs sharing our history and aspirations for the future. I’ve taken out names and left all but one piece of the original email basically intact:

Greetings from Africa! My name is David Baca and I am currently an intern at eMi EA. I am contacting you regarding the possibility of serving a ministry called Westminster Theological College & Seminary (WTCS) through a construction management role with eMi. I believe our office director may have mentioned this to you, but I have some new questions as the reality of this opportunity comes nearer.

A brief history to bring you up to speed...I'm a BS Arch Eng, MS Eng Management; I've worked in the field at residential construction company for four summers and co-oped in the office at a medium sized design/build contractor; I've been married to Amanda for almost 3 years; we're both 25, no kids, no house. When we began pursuing overseas missions, we first investigated opportunities with the mission agency of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), Mission to the World (MTW). After finding that MTW didn't offer any opportunities in the engineering/construction field, through the sovereignty of God we came to eMi, applied, and were accepted for a ten month internship here in East Africa (so that Amanda could teach a full year of school). In October, I went on a project trip to serve WTCS as an intern. WTCS is a school open to all students but run by the Presbyterian Church of Uganda (PCU) and committed to Reformed theology. During the project trip, it became apparent that WTCS would need full-time, on-site, construction management. While the project was being completed in the office, we continued to pray for WTCS, particularly that a project manager would volunteer. Around November/December 2006, Amanda and I began to prayerfully examine our hearts to see if this was an opportunity we should explore and came to the decision, YES! Christ calls us to serve when a need is made apparent and we were joyful to begin considering this opportunity as a new way for us to labor for the Kingdom.

So, fast forward to February 2007, when we delivered the final project reports to WTCS in mid-February. There were three WTCS representatives at the meeting:
• Emma-Dean of WTCS, Ugandan
• Dave-Dean of Graduate Studies, American, MTW missionary
• Scott-An experienced contractor from the US
In early March, Dave (with his wife Darlene) and Emma wrapped up a fundraising trip in the US that involved visiting 17 different churches. Since then, WTCS has received pledges and donations of ~$72,000 of the approximate $270,000 needed for Phase 1. They have received word from several churches that they will be giving donations, but have not received them yet. (Side note: I'm from the PCA and understand a bit about how Presbyterians work...if a group asks for money, it takes a few months for the missions committees to process and approve the proposal. I think it's a good process, unless, of course, you want the money to come in quickly!)

Now that the history is somewhat in place, I'd like to share a little about the present and ask some questions about the future. Our desire to serve God overseas, our close theological and relational connection with the ministry, my existing skills and the desire to learn new ones, together with the need for someone to fill this role at WTCS all point to God's hand being consistently involved in our lives. Amanda and I are both convicted that serving Christ through building WTCS is an excellent way to use our God-given gifts and desires to advance the Kingdom so that He receives the glory. We would be absolutely ecstatic to help fulfill the vision of Westminster. There are a few conclusions we've come to that influence the questions I have:

1. We would like to come back to Uganda at this time in our lives to help with the WTCS construction management. We've decided that serving in an eMi office as a design professional isn't a good option at this time, simply because I don't have any structural engineering design experience.
2. We would like to come back to Uganda by the end of October, at the latest, otherwise we're in an odd position with finding housing and jobs in the US, and, we miss out on the construction itself.
3. Serving at WTCS and learning from Scott is also a bit strategic in my mind. Scott has many years of building experience in the US that could really help me hone my construction skills. WTCS would thus be a good training ground for future construction projects in developing countries.
4. If we can't come back by October, we will probably stay in the US for a couple of years so that I can get my PE license out of the way, with the idea of potentially coming on staff with eMi at a later time.

The questions...

WTCS's Funding Stream: A while back I asked our office director, "How much money should WTCS have in the bank before we come back?" He responded to the effect of "95% of it, if not all." At that time, Scott was not available to work on an as-needed basis. Now that he is, WTCS won't wait until they have $270k in the bank; they'll build as the money comes in, and thus, never have "all of the money in the bank."
1. Can we be approved to come back through eMi knowing that WTCS probably won't have all of the money in the bank in October?
2. Other people's experience suggests the funding stream will "dry up" at times so it will be important to have a plan in place for when that happens...could we develop an agreement so that I am approved to do other types of work (train worship leaders, teach vocational training, teach English/writing at WTCS, mentor younger men at WTCS, etc) as needs arise?

Application Process: As mentioned above, we'd like to come back soon. I’ve learned that the application/training process is becoming significantly longer. A lengthy application/training process could adversely affect our plans, so I'm curious about what the process would be like for us. I'm in a bind, because on one hand, Amanda and I have already lived in Uganda for some time, we won't be working at eMi EA on a daily basis, and we don't want to be in the US much longer than three or four 4 months. On the other hand, saying that we want to forego the training seems too bold. Could you please describe what the application/training process would entail for us?

Personal Finances: (I took this section out just because I’m leery of posting financial information on the internet. If any of our supporters are interested in our current funding situation, by all means, please email me. There wasn’t anything too exciting, just questions about how any extra money in our support account can be used for future work at EMI or Westminster)

Well, thanks for making it all the way through this email. I hope there is enough information for you all to begin processing both the Construction Management and HR side of this situation. I imagine my email probably raised a multitude of questions in your mind, so please email them to me as they come to you. Amanda and I both desire to see the truth of the gospel advance in this continent and pray that we're able to serve WTCS through eMi.

Grace and peace,
David

--
For our supporters back in the States, please pray for Amanda and I as we navigate the next few months. I'm excited and grateful for working with WTCS or getting my PE in the States, although the opportunity to work at WTCS now seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity that might help me in a third world building career.

And here's a picture of the Africa Renewal Ministries project which we just wrapped up last week:

A Visit to a Village

Several weekends ago, a group of us from eMi went to visit our friend Allie, a Peace Corps. volunteer. Allie lives in a little village called Kangulumira, which is about a two hour matatu ride from Kampala. Allie is living pretty much like a local (no refrigerator, no indoor plumbing, cement home) but, she does have a laptop with every- other -day electricity. She even manages to cook some non Ugandan meals, spoiling us with spghatti and meat balls, stir fry, and even a cake on a char-coal stove called a shigiri.

This is Allie's front porch. Apparently one of the Peace Corps. housing requirements is that the house be painted. I guess that only applies to the front? In this picture, David is reading a book called African Friends and Money Matters which discusses the frequent confusion Westerners feel as they become familiar with the African economic system.

Living in "the village" isn't quite what I expected. The houses were lined up along the main road, not in a cluster or circle. Although, when David went to Lira a month ago, he noticed that this was how many of the village huts were arranged. Regardless, many of the precious neighbor kids were coming in and out of Allie's house all of the time. She is the only white person in the village and is quite popular as you can imagine.

On Saturday we took a 5-6 kilometer walk down to the Nile. It was a beautiful day as you can see in this picture. It's pretty common for people to wash their clothes (by hand, that is) and then hang them over a bush or lay them in the grass to dry.

This girl is standing in front of a building that is still being worked on.

I was quite excited to see my first pineapple bush! Pineapples are grown all over Kangulumira.

Children lined the road to greet us. Eight Muzungus walking through town caused quite a commotion! You seriously feel like a celebrity, constantly smiling, waving and hugging the children. They love getting their picture "snapped" and especially enjoy seeing it on the digital camera. Several even followed us all the way to the river!

We hadn't been this close to the Nile since we went rafting last August. We dipped our feet in to cool off, it was quite refreshing after the long hike, (in a long skirt!)

The Whole eMi Gang:

On Side: David, Rob- Civil Engineer from Australia
Back Row: Leah- Architect from Kansas, Jean- Civil Engineer from the UK, Megan- Architect from Oregon
Front: Me and Janet- Waste Water Engineer from New York

This mom effortlessly hauls a load on her head and her back!

A Visit to Entebbe

On Thursday, March 8th, Uganda celebrated Women’s Day. It was quite odd to have a holiday during the work week, but we enjoyed it none the less! David and I took a day trip to Entebbe, a 45 minute matatu ride from Kampala. Entebbe is a beautiful city, green and lush, on the shore of Lake Victoria. We flew into Entebbe early in the morning back in August, but hadn’t spent much time there.


We spent the morning exploring the Entebbe Botanical Gardens, enjoying the vast assortment of tropical plants. The British brought plants in from around the world when they started the gardens in the 40’s, including some Chinese bamboo and California Palm trees. They also had many Ugandan staples as well, including banana, matoke, avocado, cocoa, tea, and coffee plants. We enjoyed watching the fishermen bring in their nets on the shores of Lake Victoria and were refreshed by the shade of the small, dense jungle where the old classic “Tarzan” was purportedly filmed.


David pretending to be Tarzan!




After meandering through the gardens, at the end of our guided tour, we were surprised to discover a tree full of velvet tailed monkeys! Monkeys of all sizes were swinging and playing, eating and chatting. We were mesmerized by them and decided to track them as they traveled around the gardens.



When we had our share of monkeys we walked downtown and ate lunch at a local Pub, recommended in our Bradt’s Guide to Uganda book. Watching CNN kept us occupied while we waited one hour too long for our tasty yet inexpensive food, a spicy Chinese dish chicken pizza. After walking around and exploring Entebbe all morning, we were quite refreshed when we finally jumped into the cool pool at the Windsor Lake Victoria Hotel. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, napping and relaxing there. We had no problems catching a matatu back to Kampala and enjoyed our nice little get away.


Momma and baby


David communicating with the monkeys


Children who live by the gardens