I'm Back...

There haven’t been any blog posts lately, and it’s partly my fault. I’ve been really busy since coming back from our safari and I want to give everyone an update on what I’ve been doing.

Dave and Teresa took off on Tuesday, January 9. That left me with about a week to get a draft copy of the Westminster drawings and report finished so that we could get their input before our final publishing. I worked some extra hours in order to provide WTCS with a substantially complete draft of the final product. The following week (January 14-20) was crazy as well. Monday was office cleaning day (I can’t believe I’m going into this much detail) and Tuesday we shifted to our new duplex (you don’t move in Uganda, you shift). On Wednesday the new interns arrived and I spent the rest of the week doing intern orientation and Westminster related things. The next week? You guessed it…Westminster Theological College & Seminary in Uganda.

So maybe you wonder why I spend so much time on this project. The simple reason is because interns really only work on one project at a time. The real reason is because I care a lot about seeing Westminster grow, and so I want to do everything I can to labor towards that end. There’s such a need for Biblically-trained, Christ-centered, grace-focused pastors in Africa and this school is eager to continue training men and women for leadership roles. A secondary reason is because I care about having accurate and informative drawings, for two reasons. First, well-made plans are necessary when it’s time to actually begin construction—I want as little confusion as possible about floor elevations, wall locations, and door openings so that the space is utilized efficiently. Second, the plans are being used, right now, for fundraising in the States. (Emma, Dave, and Darlene left on Feb. 20 for a three week trip.) As potential donors view the plans, I hope they recognize all the effort that has gone into this campus and are moved to fund the future construction.

So, back to the timeline of the last month…on February 5, I left for a one week project trip to work with a group called Africa Renewal Ministries. We stayed at Bethany Village, an orphanage community about an hour from the eMi office (15 minutes in a car and then 45 minutes in a boat). The community is made up of about eight homes, each with house parent(s) and 15 brothers and sisters. There is also a primary school on a portion of the site that serves about 550 children. It was exciting to be at this location, first because it is an eMi project that has been constructed (we did the master plan three years ago) but also because of all the kids running around.


ARMs has a sponsorship program helping over 4,000 children all over Uganda. Part of their pledge to the sponsors is that the kids will receive a Christian education. As ARMs looked to the future, they realized it would be better to build their own secondary school than send the children elsewhere and pay school fees. Enter eMi, for the second time. Our team consisted of about ten people (picture to come soon), but I spent the week working primarily with an architect from the UK and a landscape architect from the US to develop a master plan and building designs for the secondary boarding school. It was actually really difficult for me at the beginning of the week. At that time, ARMs wanted to put about 1,000 students on ten acres. I was marginally ok with the density (it’s Africa) but not ok that the ten acres was divided into three different plots that didn’t touch. Ugh. Tuesday and Wednesday of that week were rough for me as I didn’t think the project would ever be feasible.



As the week progressed, the ministry acquired more land that connected the sites and made agreements with other people to create pathways through their land. By the grace of God, a master plan came together by week’s end. The night before our project presentation was different than last time. When we were at the Eby’s for Westminster, we spent about four hours discussing theology and went to bed at a decent time. On this trip, we were coloring, scanning, and prepping until late in the night. I didn’t put the final touches on the PowerPoint until about 2 AM. Ahh, it was like working on a project with my friend Darrell all over again.


I arrived back home on February 12 and was thankful to be reunited with Amanda. We were only able to talk two times during the trip because the cell phone reception was very weak. I spent the rest of the week working like crazy to get the final report for Westminster finished. Here’s the rendering of the final site plan for you to enjoy. We ended up have 37 drawing sheets—that’s quite a few for eMi. If you are interested in seeing some of the other plans, I’d love to share them with you. Or, if you’re interested in donating to Westminster, I can put you in touch with those people as well.



As you pray this week, please pray for two things related to the construction of Westminster.
1) That God would bless their fundraising efforts in the US.
2) That God would work out the details as Amanda and I consider coming back to serve as construction manager for WTCS. Thanks!

Holiday Reflections from Mom and Dad Drissell

Mom (Teresa Drissell) Says….
Our trip to Africa was quite stretching for me personally. Admittedly, ashamedly I am prone to anxiety on long plane flights. I have a hard time of settling on a plane. It seems that with all the unknowns ahead for me (and at times even with some of the knowns) I often feel way out of my comfort zone in such circumstances, out of control. The truth of the matter is I am not in control of anything, only God is. So since I really don't enjoy flying on planes for long periods of time, and the thought of flying to Africa and being on a plane for almost 19 hours seemed awfully long to me, I would quite naturally have avoided such a journey. Truth be known I would have dreaded it, and had it not been for two very special anticipatory individuals at the other end of the world (that I longed to see,) every excuse in the book could have been found so as not to go and I would have missed out on an adventure of a lifetime! Actually, I have even thought that a long flight like that would be the very thing that would keep me from ever wanting or believing that I could be used of God to do any kind of short term missionary work, much less to be used of God in mission work as a missionary serving in a far away country. I used to think, "I'll do the supporting of the missionaries, but not the going!" The reason, I can not sleep or relax on a plane without some medical assistance and sleep is a must if one is going to enjoy the people and the experiences of another land. But, our African "holiday," praise God, commenced with rest and relaxation and blessed sleep en route! Those precious gifts came through personal prayer and the prayers of others, and admittedly a little medical aid. Thankfully too, the Lord imparted peace to this anxious loved one, assuring me that we were under His loving watchful eye and care.

Today I am missing Africa. It is winter and cold here in Missouri. There is a chance of snow tomorrow 2-5 inches! It was such a sweet and at times challenging experience to be with Amanda and David in a third world country. I even am missing the some of those adventures we endured (i.e. being stuck in the mud several times) en route to, in, and from the Masai Mara. At times it seemed as if we were in an Indiana Jones adventure! We have been back in the states for a little over a week now and our Missouri ice storm and power outages have reminded me of what we left behind in warm, temperate, sunny and at times rainy Africa. I miss the fresh produce, the beans and rice, the fruit, and the delicious dinners prepared for us. Many of them were at the mercy of our chef’s palate and skill, and not necessarily on our preferred hunger time schedule on the Masai Mara. I miss the affordable menu prices and the numerous cuisines we tasted at the restaurants outside Kampala- Italian, Mediterranean and French. I miss Amanda's breakfast muffins and David's egg sandwich and the daily passion juice at eMi. In Africa, we learned to be content in whatever circumstance we found ourselves, even if it required some tonic water to settle ones stomach! David and I both lost over five pounds while we were there.



Africa was glorious and beautiful- amidst poverty and clay dust, sickness and disease, cloud bursts and sunshine, mud roads, and enormous pot holes, roaming wild animals, and washed out bridges. Even camping in a tent seemed a novel experience considering the fact that many of the wild creatures were within a short drive from our campsite! We rested knowing that the Masai warriors were guarding our campsite at night under God's heaven. Additionally, we count ourselves among the privileged to have been able to worship in two totally unique urban settings. We were grateful to have been a part of worship in music that praises our mutual God. Whether it was in African-Swahili or in English many of the tunes were familiar and we sang along. As a visible witness and participant in worship it was obvious that these people were loving God with their hearts. Gratitude and praise is a universal act of worship whether in Africa or in the US, but these were truly grateful people! Our first house of worship was in the Kibera slum ( a Presbyterian Church that our church in STL sends teams to) crammed in the midst of dung/ mud houses with tin roofs and dirt floors.





These people know what it means to depend on the LORD materially. They know of His goodness, and they have tasted of evil. Unless God comes through for these people, they have no hope of ever recovering their health much less their dignity. And God is coming through! He is using Imbumi Makuku and others to share His love with these precious children in some very special ways . . .



We also worshiped at New City Bible Church. It was equally heartwarming and enlightening. Dr. David Eby's message on "Seeking first the kingdom" . . . and "Blessed are the poor in spirit" was a reminder of the great wealth these people have. They most certainly have known poverty of spirit. It took everything in me not to bawl my eyes out as we and they sang about God's grace. We fell in love with the Eby's and knew without a doubt of God's commissioning them to serve the people of Africa. The Ugandans love them and call them "Mom" and "Dad." Please pray for the Emma at Westminster Bible College and the Eby's desire that a seminary be built in Africa for the native people there and that those funds may come in by March of 2007!

Our drive from Kenya to Uganda gave us such beautiful panoramic visuals. There were fields of lush thick green vegetation and flowers on vines above as well as the ground below, There were breath taking scenic and rolling hills alongside of profusely growing coffee beans and tea leaves and harvesters in the fields. In both of the cities that we visited the people of Africa appeared to be neatly dressed and well groomed considering the conditions that many of them are living in- clay dust and dirt for their yards! Their individual dressing seemed to me to be expressive (through their array of colors) of life, and hope. Amazingly it did not seem to be indicative of a spirit of oppression or depression which one might think appropriate for such poverty and sickness. Material wealth is possessed by very few in Africa. Their colors in dressing were displayed with very bright, alive and vibrant primary and secondary colors. It seemed to me that the vast majority of the women there wear skirts and/or dresses. I loved that! And I loved my boda-boda ride. (That’s right~ Both Dave & Teresa rode a motorcycle!)



Asanti-Sana (Thank you in Swahili, the main language in Kenya) Amanda and David! Thank you so much for giving us an experience of our loves! Thank you for introducing us to God's people in Africa. Thank you Lord, you do indeed have the whole world in your hands! We miss Africa and we miss you guys!
Much Love,
Mom (Teresa)

Dad (Dave Drissell) says…


I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Africa to visit Amanda & David. The long flight went better than I anticipated. I found the people of Kenya & Uganda to be very friendly, especially the children. They all love to wave & smile at you, especially when you wave to them. They seem to really appreciate the work that many "whites" or "muzungus" as they call us, are doing in their countries. I enjoyed meeting the American & African friends that surround Amanda & David. We visited & dined & attended church with them. They are very dedicated & loving people committed to serving the Lord by using their gifts & skills to help those in need. I can now appreciate even more the calling that David has to help use his talents for the EMI ministry & for Amanda to teach in Uganda.

To be with Amanda & David on their "Holiday" was great. I loved the safari. Seeing the animals & beautiful country was special but to enjoy it in the mud was even better! Meeting & visiting with our 4 European safari companions was a fun learning experience also.



Sure there were some stressful times during our trip, but David & Amanda were very good at handling the situations. Being familiar with the local customs & terms and with David's ability to make the Africans laugh kept me at ease. I returned with a greater appreciation for all the comforts that we take for granted here in the United States and a greater appreciation for the natural beauty of East Africa that I only saw in books & magazines before this trip. It was a wonderful experience and with our 500+ pictures - I'll never forget!
~Dad (aka Dave D)

Safari Pics!

The Masai Mara was absolutely amazing. It was thrilling to see zebras, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, elephants and many more animals, in the wild, uninhibited. The beauty of the savannas, acacia trees, green rolling hills, and endless blue sky was a breathtaking reminder of our glorious God and creator!

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I loved seeing the Zebra’s bold stripes jump out at us while they grazed in the fields.

Yes, we were really this close to Simba and Nala! We could have reached our hands out of our vehicle to pet them! We even got to see a litter of baby cubs! They deceivingly looked so sweet and friendly, lazily taking a nap in the shade.

The lions came right up to our vehicle and then walked along the road like they owned the place, completely oblivious to the cars!

We had gorgeous weather (despite threats of rain!) We were never hot and there was continuously a nice, cool breeze~ especially with the roof open! We all got a lot of sun too, since the elevation is higher quite high in Kenya. At night, it actually got pretty cool and we had to sleep with a blanket and several layers of clothes in our tents. (Not so in Uganda!)

I could not believe how huge the ostrich was (up to 9 feet tall)! The babies were quite large as well; as eggs, they weigh up to three pounds each.

The elegant Crested Crane is Uganda’s National Bird and is also depicted on their flag.

Gazelle

A Masai momma and her baby.

The Masai are one of the few tribes left in Kenya who still maintain their ancient traditions. (Most tribes have become more modern and westernized.) Masai continue to live in cow dung huts in their village. The men hunt with spears and gather food while the women maintain the home. They surprisingly practice customs such as the circumcision of both boys and sadly girls (in their early teenage years,) polygamy, and also drink cow and goat blood mixed with milk.

Two Masai Warriors, driving a Safari vehicle!

African Holiday: The First of a Few

Happy New Year to everyone! Amanda and I are getting settled back into our work after spending about 2 weeks away from our normal schedules here in Kampala. There are two main chunks to this entry, an overview of our time with Amanda’s parents, Dave and Teresa, and a longer story about the start of our safari. Hopefully, we’ll find time to fill in the gaps for everyone in the coming weeks.

Amanda and I met Dave and Teresa in Nairobi, Kenya, on December 30. We came out two
days earlier (the 28th) so that we could check into our guest house, learn the city, and just have a bit of a “holiday” on our own. It ended up being a pretty good plan because we became familiar enough with Nairobi and the taxi system to feel at ease when we picked up Amanda’s parents from the airport. The next day, Sunday, we spent half of the day with Imbumi Makuku and Cindy (Heinz) Neal at Imbumi’s church in the Kibera slums. On Monday, all four of us went into Nairobi for a few hours and stopped by the US Embassy Memorial in honor of the people who died in the 1998 bombing. We also stopped by the safari company to check in on the road conditions, since the Masai Mara had seen about 3 weeks of consistent rain, causing part of a bridge to wash away. The next three days were spent on safari, which is the story I’ll get to in just a second. Anyway, after the safari, we boarded a bus for the 13 hour trip back to Kampala. Honestly, the trip back was luxurious compared to the journey there; the second bus had a much better suspension system that made most of the potholes disappear. Our time in Kampala included a bunch of different activities: we went to our church together on Sunday, walked the roads to Amanda’s school, and ate meals with the other missionaries who have become our friends, the Hoyts, Sinclairs, Heather, Gambles, Nichol, & Ebys. Before the Drissells left on Tuesday we walked up a big hill overlooking Lake Victoria and visited the future site of Westminster Theological College & Seminary (my current project). But let’s go back to the safari…

When we went to Sana Trekking on Monday, a really nice company representative, Agere, said the roads were muddy but passable, so we were all excited at the opportunity to visit the Masai Mara. In fact, had we tried to go a day earlier, a key bridge wouldn’t have been repaired, so we would have been turned away. Before we left the office, Agere said our safari driver would meet us at our guest house at 8:30 the next morning to drive us back to the office, where we would meet the rest of the party.

At 7:50 AM on Tuesday morning, I get a call from the front desk saying our driver was waiting downstairs. As I walked down, I was somewhat surprised (because “African time” is never early) but somewhat pleased, as this would lead Dave to feel like the company I picked was on top of things.

I walked downstairs, “Good morning! What’s your name?”

“I’m called Michael. And you’re David?”

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you Michael, but I didn’t think you were coming until 8:30, so we’re not quite ready yet. Can we get about 20 more minutes?”

“Sure,” he said, “the driver went out to get some petrol and will be back in a little.”

I walked back upstairs and informed everyone we had to get a move on it. Sana Trekking isn’t on time, they’re early!

At 8:15, Dave, Teresa, Amanda and I were downstairs. The driver was outside and everyone was excited. Dave and I withdrew our cash from the guesthouse safe and he gave $500 to me. Everyone else was milling around, getting their last minute things in order.

“Let’s do the payment now and then we’ll load everything into the van?” Michael said.

Sounds good, I thought, I had the cash there and didn’t particularly want to hold onto it, so I said, “Sure.”

Michael and I stepped aside, I gave him the cash, and he wrote me a receipt. He didn’t have the $40 change he owed me, but I wasn’t too worried about it. They were early!

We finished loading the van and started towards the office. It was an absolutely beautiful day and everyone was excited. Right before the office, Michael hopped out of the van to get our change while our group continued towards the company. We met Agere again and chatted about how nice of a day it was, how the rain had held off, and the animals we wanted to see.

Agere motioned to me to have a seat and opened up a book between us.

“So David, are you ready to pay for the safari?”

“We already have. I paid Michael at the guesthouse.” I smiled.

Agere looked confused. “Who’s Michael? I don’t know a Michael.”

Our hearts sank like a $1000 worth of quarters in Lake Victoria. This wasn’t happening. Other EMI people had used this company. They had a decent brochure. They were early!

Dave, Teresa, and Amanda started repeating these phrases: “Michael was at the guesthouse.” “He said he was with your company.” “He wrote us a receipt, see, it’s here!” “Michael knew the driver. They were talking and laughing together.”

Agere: “I don’t know Michael. No one named Michael works for this company.” Agere got on the phone and talked with the driver in Swahili, but it was quite difficult to decipher since we don’t actually speak Swahili. He got off the phone and said things we don’t remember. Agere and two other ladies started asking me for the emails that I brought to the office when we had come earlier. I didn’t have them but didn’t understand why I needed them either. They had seen them yesterday!

One of the ladies said she had to see the emails, so we walked over to an internet café to retrieve them. After she saw them, we walked back to the office and she explained what she thought was going on: the company employees had never seen my emails. Apparently, one person within the company, Nancy, was corresponding directly with me and then deleting the emails from the company server. Here’s why and how: In the safari business, people can earn a commission if they bring tourists to the safari company. I had corresponded directly with the safari company since it came recommended from my friend John, so the company was making all of the profit. Nancy decided she had a plan for getting the commission. She collaborated with Richard, aka “Michael,” to show up at our front gate on the morning of the safari. Nancy got all of the details right, my name, our guest house, the safari package and cost, everything except the 8:30 pickup time Agere and I agreed on at the office. In fact, Richard (“Michael”) even convinced our driver that we were his clients. Apparently, this hadn’t been a hard sell because Richard worked for the company in the past. And the receipt he gave us for the $1000? Well, Richard had left over receipts with the company name and logo used to check out vehicles, not to give clients.

So how did this happen? You may wonder, “How was she deleting emails from the server without people noticing?” Well, in Africa, internet and electricity are expensive, so why pay for them if you’re not using them all of the time? It appears as if someone at the company would go to the internet café a couple of times per day to check the email. There wasn’t a huge chance that someone would see my email one minute and then see it missing the next.

The end of this story is really the beginning of the next. Despite some hesitation, we decided to continue with the safari as planned. Agere and the other employees assured us that this was really an internal problem and wouldn’t affect what we were doing one bit. The only thing we needed to worry about was “having a good time” someone told us. And we did. I want to end this post for now, but I’ll leave you with two pictures. The first is of us getting pulled through the mud by a tractor (a common sight on this trip) and the second is of the sunset we saw on our way to the campsite. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Uganda!

We hope you had a joyful Christmas, celebrating the Savior’s birth with family and friends! We are so thankful that Jesus humbled himself, leaving Heaven’s glory to be born into our sinful world. He did what no man has ever done, living a perfect life, dying a shameful death on the cross, rising again all to redeem us~that we may have eternal life with him when we die!

Isaiah 53
2b-3a "He had no beauty or majesty to attract to us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. 5-6 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Having a warm, tropical Christmas, away from our family and friends, made the holiday quite unique for us but we enjoyed it still. We spent our holiday weekend out at Dave and Darlene Eby’s house, missionaries here with MTW (Mission to the World), our home church’s mission organization. (David stayed at their house for his project trip, they teach at Westminster Seminary.) We are so thankful for the “family” that God has provided us with here!



The Saturday before Christmas, we attended our first wedding in Uganda. My friend Nichol, the third grade teacher at Heritage who’s an MTW missionary here from San Diego, married Emmanuel, a French Teacher at the International School of Uganda from the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo.) The wedding was quite a cultural experience, blending American, Ugandan, and Congolese traditions. Some different traditions were when the Africans cheered, hollered and clapped when the bride entered the church, the bride and groom sat down up front for part of the ceremony, they signed the marriage certificate a part of the ceremony, and at the reception the bride kneels to feed the groom and his family cake.







On Christmas Eve, David celebrated his 25th Birthday. I surprised him with his favorite blueberry muffins with crumble topping from America for breakfast. (Thanks, Mom!) We then worshiped at our church, New City Bible Church, (Presbyterian Church of Uganda) where Dr. Eby preached. Normally Gerald, a Ugandan pastor, preaches. That evening, the Eby’s hosted a Christmas Eve dinner. With over 40 people, a mix of Americans and Ugandans, it was quite a full house! We enjoyed steak, tilapia, BBQ chicken wings, veggies, cheese and crackers, punch (passion juice and Sprite), and of course, Christmas Cookies and the singing of “Happy Birthday!” (David’s had a mint brownie cake on Christmas.) The evening concluded with watching American football, the Eby’s are huge UCLA fans since their son used to play for them. They had fun teaching the Ugandans the rules.



On Christmas Day, similar to our American celebration, we had a large breakfast, read the Christmas story, and opened some presents in our pajamas with Christmas music playing in the background. The five college age Ugandans that Celebrated with us were so excited when they received soap, paper, pens, highlighters, gum, and watches from “Mom”, Darlene!





Christmas for Ugandans is not nearly as big of a deal as it is in the West. It’s refreshing and much more simple here not to have all the commercialism and materialism, most Ugandans cannot afford gifts. You really wouldn’t even know it was Christmas time until just a few days before when Ugandans start to sell mini, Charlie Brown sized plastic trees on the street with colored foil streamers/garlands. There are a few decorations up at the mall and grocery stores, but that’s about it. No Christmas light competitions here! To most Ugandans, Christmas is a time to visit with family and eat. Often, men leave their villages to work in Kampala where more jobs are in order to support their families. So on Christmas, many travel by matatu (taxi) home to their village to be together as a family. And of course, their celebration wouldn’t be complete without rice and matoke (a banana-like fruit that’s cooked liked mashed potatoes.) Traditionally, Christians also go to church on Christmas. Some my students were traveling on Christmas, the beaches of Kenya are a popular place, also Dubai and South Africa.



On Christmas, David’s biggest thrill was going 4-wheeling, compliments of the Sheffer family. This is a picture of him and Dave Eby after an hour and a half of playing! The winding village roads are so washed out that they are naturally perfect for off-roading. Heather (another girl who stayed at the Eby’s) and I enjoyed a nice walk while they had their adventure.

After our Christmas dinner, we were both able to talk to our families, just as they were beginning their day! We are greatly anticipating my mom and dad visiting us in less then a week now. They fly into Nairobi, Kenya on the 31st where we will take a 12 hour bus ride to meet them. In Nairobi, we will visit with Imbumi and his Presbyterian church in the slums of Kibera, one of the worst slums in the world. We met him at CPC last spring and several groups from our church have done short term projects with him and his church. Natalee, (my sister who died), was planning on doing missions work in this part of Kenya so we look forward to visiting there. After Nairobi, we will venture down to south Kenya and to the beautiful Masai Mara and go on safari there (if you’ve seen Out of Africa, this is where the movie was filmed!). We will then make the bumpy journey back to Uganda and share our lives here with them!

We are so thankful they are coming and have a lot to cram in during their 10 day visit! Please pray for good weather for their flights (leaving the US Friday), safety for them flying and for us (traveling by bus to Nairobi), that the luggage would arrive on time and intact, and that they/we would have an impacting, meaningful, and an enjoyable visit!

Here’s some pics of some of our Christmas celebrations:
My 5th Graders and Me:


Our Class Christmas Party:




eMi Staff Christmas Party:


Decorating Cookies!


The Whole Gang:


eMi Interns:
Tricia, Jean, John,
David, me, Julie