The first picture is of the Student Council: (L-R) Kadooli Moses; Roman Francis Brown; Were Jackson; Mulumba Julius; Musoto Jonathan.
All of them are students in my classes and wonderful humble souls.
Roman's Dad is a chaplain in the Kenyan Army and an evangelist; Musoto is the President of the student body.

The second picture is the entry to the Seminary and a joy to pass through each morning. We unload the truck of students and often their bikes and head to the office for tea and g-nuts. Great way to start the day. John told me that they purchase g-nuts in huge bags. I will try and bring some home if I can.

Instructors and Dormitory Improvements

The attached pictures are of the instructors: Geoffrey Kadia; Mark Nymeyer; Pagent Kintu' Owillie Moses; Erowaga Dominic; John Fulks - These men teach the 12 class offerings and we are a good team. Dominic and I are becoming good friends; he attends my Ecclesiology class and it makes for some fascinating discussions.

The second photo is the back wall of the men's dormitory - The improvement that the men have been working on is the rock at the bottom of the wall. They work on it in the evenings and weekends. They have made a lot of progress and it makes the buildings look great! their labor defrays the cost of the term for those who want to work.

Classes are winding down and exams are imminent - the students are getting anxious and the married guys are ready to head home - as am I.

I am taking the Fulks family out to eat tonight so I am off.

Dancing in Church

Worship in a typical Ugandan village Church is incomplete without dancing. You can't really see it in the photo but this is a snapshot of the congregation dancing in the middle of a worship song that was very repetitive. The man whose back is to us in the photo is the "lead dancer" and was described by the pastor as "very dynamic". He comes out of the crowd and leads dancing when the time comes. He is very rhythmic and could easily make it as a dancer in America.

The man who translated for me, Kasito, told me that as far as he was concerned Bugembe First Baptist Church has the best dancing anywhere. I had little or nothing to compare it to but they were "enjoying the Lord" while I was going deaf next to the speaker and trying to keep up with the beat.

I suppose their might be dancing in heaven - I hope I can keep up!

Sunday in Bugembe

I am attaching a picture from my trip to First Baptist Church in Bugembe. The Pastor's name is Willie and the translator is Kasito Francis. The pastor is a graduate of the Seminary and has been at the Church for 5 years. Francis is a graduate as well and attends there. He teaches for John in satelite campuses and in 2 week training workshops and seminars. He is wonderful young man and an excellent translator. I would love to have him around. At the Church there is a young man named Andrew who is in Bible School and he leads music at the Church. I visited with him after church and he is another Ugandan that I would love to have around me. Both of these young men are genuine servants of God with gifts and talents that bless the Bugembe Church.

Andrew is the tall young man up front on the right in the picture. Kasito Francis is sitting in the rear of the auditorium.

This week will be busy so pray - thanks.

Open Air Market

Jacob, Fulks second son, and I walked into town so I could go to the open air market and snoop. I got a polo shirt for $2.50 that needed to be washed but looks good and will serve me nicely in this hot weather. I hope to have John put the school logo on it before I leave.

The two pictures are of me in a typical street market store front and the second is in the open-air market where you purchase fresh fruit and vegetables as well as hunt for woven items, sewed clothes, and other "knock off" stuff that people wear in this country. Most of the vendors were women but there were men in the fish market. It had rained early this morning so the place felt "damp" but most of the people were friendly and only one person did not want their picture taken. She looked away as I photographed her weaving a really nice straw thing.

After I was finished we took a "boda-boda" back home. The man agreed to transport both of us for 1500 shillings/.75 cents. When we arrived at the gate of the house and he saw the money I took out to pay him he changed his price to 1500 shillings each. We took a moment to get things square and he left with only 1500 shillings. They tell me that it is standard for drivers to mess with "mzungoes" white people. Jacob knew what to do.

I am spending the day grading papers, preparing for next week and catching up on reading. We are having something Mexican for dinner. I speak in a village church in Jinga tomorrow. I should be home after 2:00 PM.

In Pastoral Epistles I only have 7 more lectures; 8 more in Biblical Characters and 8 more in Ecclesiology. Exams must be written and graded and two full sets of papers that are due before the end of term. Next weekend will be three times more work than today and I am preaching in a new church plant for one of the students. I will not be speaking the last Sunday that I will be here. We may go to Entebbe early - don't know yet.

The Old Truck

The picture is of the old truck that has seen its best days and will be replaced. KBC and another of John's supporting churches gave the money to replace it. A man from the school was in Campala yesterday looking for a good used replacement. He will take a mechanic into Campala next week and hopefully we can purchase it before I leave. If we do I will send a photo and the students will be thrilled. We use the truck to pick up students every morning and take them home at night not to mention a myriad of things it is used for in day to day operations.

This morning I spent the first couple hours grading papers that were hard to read but I finally got done. The power is off because of a rain storm that came in about 5:00 AM and it rained for 1 1/2 hours. It was good because it has been very dry recently and the fields need rain.

Second Half

Things are going well here; we just turned the corner into the second half. Today the team from Memphis left - John is taking them to the airport tonight and will not be back until after classes tomorrow. I will be teaching 4 classes tomorrow and staying after to watch the soccer match amongst the guys. John hopes to return in time to be in the soccer match - I hope so as well.

My work load and prep time has increased with the third class - ecclesiology - which requires new preparations each day. It is material that I have never taught before so it is challenging to keep up. I give my first test on Monday and the students are nervous. I will be glad when tomorrow ends; today was long, tomorrow will be even longer.

We ate out with the Memphis team before they left at lunch today and the fish was good but the fries were not - too greasy.

The two pictures are from life on campus. The first is of our first year students with their instructor Dominic. The class is Deuteronomy. He is excellent at teaching and preaching and sits in my ecclesiology class after chapel.

The second picture is what happens during lunch every day in the office. We eat family style, serving ourselves and in this picture we had rice and pork with light gravy - it was good. We use the same cups and bowl every meal and the kitchen staff stays busy washing because there are just enough to go around.

Mid Terms Already!

We finished our 11th day out of 25 total - Tomorrow is midterm and then I start teaching my third class - Ecclesiology. It will get busy with 150 papers to read & grade plus 100 exams to grade as well. Nevertheless it is moving quickly and I continue to get to know the students and they interact more and more.

The weather is cooler and good for sleeping and later this week the team from Memphis leaves. Tomorrow I will go with them and do some evangelism in a neighborhood. - it should be exciting.

I took a "bike ride" called a "boda boda" from town back to the house - first time for that - 25 cents! That is the price no matter how far they take you.

The attached picture is of two students painting - it is going well and it really improves parts of the structure. Tonight we have Spanish food to the liking of the team from Memphis.

This picture was taken today in a village where I preached. The man in front of me to my right invited me and these folks are mostly his family. We had quite a trip getting to and from the village however. We had a flat tire getting there and on the way home on the highway the same tire came off the land cruiser causing us to swerve, yet the driver succeeded in keeping us from hitting anyone or going in the ditch on my side of the vehicle. Needless to say it was an exciting day. A man who was part of the local people who helped us retrieve the tire and get back on the road said I was lucky. I told him I have a great God and he walked away saying, no, your god is the god of luck.

We made it home late but we are all safe and very thankful,

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to Good Shepherd's Fold and visited for 5 hours. What a great place for kids to meet the love of God. Now I know why Debbie loves this place. They are hoping for her return.

This evening we will celebrate Jacob's 14th birthday and relax before we head into midterms on Tuesday. From now on there will be papers to grade and exams to write.

Thanks for all your prayers.

Nile River Rapids

Mark and John at the Nile River Rapids

Two Weeks Finished...

Two weeks are finished - classes are going well and I am learning more and more names. Today during lunch one of the men sought my advice on some church issues; this occurs more and more and I suspect it will not let up.

This weekend I will be preaching in a village - one of the teachers will pick me up and take me there. The leader of the village is Muslim but the man who
invited me has the church on his property and he is older so the people will come and the children will follow me around all day. It should be interesting.

Tonight we are eating at a restaurant on the NIle river, and picking up the crew that went rafting. John says there will be good pictures. I will send one.

I have not yet adjusted to this heat but John tells me that I will before I leave - then I will have to readjust when I get back. One last thing, John was expressing his
gratefulness to me for "paying my way". There are those who come and expect him to pay for their meal and other stuff never thinking about the fact that it is
not in his budget.

Painting the School

Please be praying for Mark as he’s been having some stomach flu symptoms. Here is an excerpt from his latest e-mail:

A team showed up yesterday and today they began painting the exterior of the school - They are from Memphis from John & Rebecca's church there. Mid America Baptist Seminary is there and that is where John is getting his Ph.D.

The painting team and the two older boys here are going rafting on the Nile River tomorrow - They asked me if I wanted to go - No thanks!

I like being at the school and with the students - I am remembering their names better every day.

Love to all, miss you,
Mark in Jinga

Journal Excerpts

Here are a few excerpts from Mark's daily journal:


Traveling to the school every morning is an adventure in driving, with huge speed bumps, driving on the wrong side of the road, numerous bicycles and pedestrians and school children walking to school. Houses range from nice to abject poverty. We pick up students on the way and they ride in the back standing up. We pick them up at meeting areas, on the road and on the highway. We always stop to get a paper and if we don’t have enough change we agree to pay the next day – pretty nice.

Every home or compound has an “astari” (guard) who opens the gate as we arrive and there is one at the seminary as well. They are all friendly. Ugandans have big eyes, high cheekbones and huge smiles. The men are all thin – they have very little fat in their diet. Classes are filled with eager hearts and ever increasing questions. I just finished my last class for today – lots of questions from our lectures on Abraham & Joseph – all excellent applicational questions.

My biggest need is to figure out how to test these men. Please pray for wisdom as I design the tests.

We are waiting for lunch before we leave – yesterday it was rice and pork – it was good. We always stay for lunch, which is late (2:00 PM) and then head home. John likes to stop by the post office on the way home.

Wednesday I was asked to come and speak in a village on Sunday about 35 KM from Jinga. John & I will talk about it and decide. Thursday afternoon after class Rebecca & the children came to pick us up at school and take us to a very large sports complex to play badminton. The Fulks know the people who own the place and they have invited us.

Wednesday, July 15 – John headed to Entebbe to pick up a team of 4 people from their Memphis Church. They are coming to paint the seminary – we will all help them for the week that they are here. After they leave there will be some stone work done and they will pay the students to assist in that project. John will be gone for a day this week and a day next week and I will be covering his Algebra class while he is out.

Today we visited our second day on Moses and talked about rebellion. The students had questions about multiple wives – it took some time to get them back on point. Multiple wives is a problem in Uganda. There is a further problem with Pastors who are not accountable and that is revealed in the Pastoral Epistles class. We have lots of discussions about issues and the rest of the questions go to how to interpret Scripture.

The ecclesiology class is in the throws of preaching for the first 2½ weeks, so John, Dominic and I are evaluating the students and making constructive comments on each sermon. Dominic preached in Chapel and did a great job with Ephesians 6:10-17. He did not complete the sermon but did a great job none the less – he is gifted at preaching. The students are all different and take comments very well. Each has an interesting style and so far each message is good for the students to hear as well as good for me to evaluate and make suggestions. Their sermons all raise important issues about preaching that either John or I unravel. It is fun but still challenging to do. Thank God that the students are gracious and willing learners.

Designing the tests remains the most important issue before me – this will take wisdom.

Trip Down the Nile

The attached picture is me on the wood boot that we took down the Nile River on Saturday last week. John, Aaron, his son and some short term missionaries with the Church of Christ were with me. The skipper was Joseph who told us about a place very near the boat I am standing in that used to be much lower and there was a short waterfall exposed where Ugandan would come and worship a god who live in the waterfalls. However, when they built the dam upstream and the area rose covering up the waterfall they moved the island in the middle of the Nile and now go there hoping that their god will reappear. It has been going on since the 70's.

Joseph is a Catholic who thinks the local worshippers are full of nonsense.

It was on this river trip that I saw numerous birds and monkeys. Interesting stuff.

It rained today and is therefore cooler.

Class Picture

Here's the class picture.
The picture is only of the students (and myself), I will hopefully get a picture of the teachers later. Of the men in the picture I teach all but 10 who are 4th year students. John teaches them mostly; although I will be their teacher tomorrow for Algebra 1. John teaches algebra to teach them logic and I made the mistake of telling John that I used to teach it. He is off to Entebbe tonight to pick up a team of 4 people who are coming with money to paint the school. They will lead the effort while the students volunteer after classes. I will likely help some after classes and on the weekend. They are only here for a week. I will get some pictures if I can.

It rained for the second time and the men all show up with coats when the weather cools and it rains. I just laugh but when the afternoon sun comes out we kid about the day starting "in heaven" and ending "in hell". That is not how they see it but we laugh just the same.

I came home from school early today because John had to leave for Entebbe so I have time to prepare for Algebra and write a few emails to supporters. For some reason the internet has been better the last couple of days. Also today with a light breeze the power went out for about 2 hours or more. It guess it happens a lot in the rainy season.

Love to all for now,
Mark in Jinga

Sunday in Uganda

Mark tried to send a picture yesterday in a separate e-mail, but it didn’t come. Here is an excerpt from his latest e-mail.

We are off to church in a bit - I may go elsewhere than with John & his
family - we will see.

We took a boat ride on the Nile river yesterday and saw numerous birds and
monkeys - very relaxing and interesting. We ate at our second restaurant -
it will take some time to get used to the way they cook here. The flavors
are different and unique.

Hope you have a good day - I will be praying for Matt as he speaks.

Tell the kids hi and I send my love to all -

Excerpts from Mark's e-mail:

The first week only got better as it moved along - with students coming for
questions more and more and even two men who want all my notes who are not
in any of my classes. All the classes are fun and we have lots of
interaction. I sat in on a meeting of the student council and heard about
all sorts of simple needs so I gave John some of the extra money early to
assist the students. It will be a great blessing to see their smiles when
some needed things come.(Fire extinguishers, a good used computer, more
mattresses so that each man can have a good used one). Their equipment is
old and outdated and often breaks down.

Today it rained so hard that we had to move out of the chapel (tin roof)
into the library so I could be heard, What a great class - eager men -
wonderful hearts to understand God's word and ready to obey God. Yesterday
we talked about suffering from Joseph's life and a first year student came
and talked to me about suffering in his life - he has suffered - his eyes
were filled with tears as he thanked me for the teaching which helped him
understand the ways of God in suffering. I was humbled by his grace.

This weekend I hope to help Johnny, their oldest son, find some lumber and
make a shelf for his room - nice diversion from lectures and bad lighting.

After my last class today a man asked for all the notes I have ever made on
the synoptic gospels - I told him that I only had stuff on Matthew and part
way into Luke - he insisted on getting all of it. He asked me to consider
coming permanently and working at the school - he was sweet, and very
passionate. Many are like him but much more shy. All of them are thin to
the bone, have high cheekbones, very large eyes and huge friendly smiles.
They love to greet each other and make the environment so pleasant.

Leaving here will be very difficult. Before our Biblical Characters class I
had one of the men lead in a song and it was so glorious to see this brother
shout with pure joy, move with grace and lead the men in traditional African
ballad praising God. A few men play homemade drums and they always clap and
move with rhythm that is a joy to watch. They love that I love it!

Anyway - let the church know that these men are truly grateful to them for
sending me and for the funds that we have given for the improved truck,
which we hope to get before I leave, and for the added funds
for scholarships and much needed things in the dormitories. You would love
the way they communicate gratefulness and joy - it is contagious and makes
me ashamed of myself every time I see it or hear anyone express thanks.

It is Friday and the lady who helps with the house is making homemade wheat
thins - time to go.

Love to all,
Mark

Badminton at the Sugar Cane Factory

Susan's note: Mark has been having e-mail issues. John and Rebecca are on dial-up and we're pretty sure that Mark's little computer doesn't have an internal modem. As of a couple of days ago, he can't access his GCI account online (the same thing happened to Aaron in Greece - they were able to get to it for a short time, then not any longer), so I've set up his GCI account to forward his e-mails to a gmail account. The risky thing about that is that I've set his GCI account to not save any e-mails after they're forwarded and I don't entirely trust technology!

Here's an excerpt from Mark's e-mail this morning:

We took a group picture today and I will attempt to sent it this weekend so you can post it.

Hopefully this weekend I can get at my gci account and read the emails and drop you a long note about what is going on. Tomorrow is Friday and that means that 20% of the term is over. Unbelievable! One last thing: we played badminton today at a huge sugar cane factory. The owners are Indians and there was a Hindu temple on the grounds - interesting but weird. We went inside but had to take our shoes off. The owners are friends with the Fulks and let them use the on campus gym for recreation. An old facility but still nice to use. We had fun.

First Day of Classes

Today was the first day of classes. I taught Pastoral Epistles (28 students) and Biblical Characters (57 students) There are 27 in Ecclesiology but John led the class today. I will speak briefly tomorrow but most of it will be sermon evaluations until the mid-term when I take over. I am speaking in chapel for the next two days.

We go to the school each day in a truck that has no springs - we load up with students we pick up on the way and drive over the biggest speed bumps you have ever seen. It is fun because the students are truly excited about heading off to the school. Part of the drive is on the highway - which is crowded with bicycles and pedestrians. Anyway the students are genuine saints who farm and pastor in rural areas.

Sunday night we had a missionary fellowship at a Nazarene Pastor's home - nice place, awesome view of the Nile River and for the most part older missionaries most of whom are involved in training nationals.

We will see if we can get my computer back in order - for now I will use John's and see how things work out. I am taking pictures here and there and tomorrow John will take some pictures of me teaching. Perhaps this weekend we'll send one so you can post it on the blogspot.

Sunday in Uganda

I had my first night here in Jinja - slept okay - the weather is very compatible for sleeping right now although John tells me that this is unusual. The trip from Dubai was long and with the delay still did not make me late. It was a rude awakening to arrive in Entebbe to see health workers all wearing face masks and everyone on the plane had to fill out a form and give forwarding information. I immediately realized that swine flue and influenza are a real threat her and that health matters are important.

I went to church this morning - under the trees - John was the preacher
- and I met a number of people with YWAM as well as missionaries that work with Global Outreach (John's organization).

Last night friends came over who lead an orphanage of 41 children from 7 mons. to 15 yrs. old all of whom have HIV-AIDS. They were heading to the states to meet her parents - he is a national who has not met his in-laws yet. Neat young people!

This evening we have missionary fellowship at someone's house so I will meet some more people and enjoy local scenery.

Tomorrow we begin by leaving at 6:45 and pick up a number of people on our way to the seminary. Things will get busy fast. For now a brief break.

Anyway - that's life for now - time for an afternoon nap and then off to missionary fellowship.

Arrival in Entebbe

Mark called just after midnight (Entebbe time - just after 1 p.m. our time) and said he'd arrived in Entebbe and was in route with John to the hotel. Joan's Rubbermaid Tote for the Fulks made it just fine. I could hear him very clearly, but he couldn't understand anything I was saying. He'll e-mail tomorrow from Jinja.

Travel Update

Note from Susan:

I received an e-mail this morning from Pastor Mark, saying that he was delayed 2 hours in Dubai. He was hoping he wouldn't miss his flight from Nairobi to Entebbe. I e-mailed John and Rebecca to let them know that there might be a delay and they e-mailed us back saying:

"It is 8:30 PM here in Entebbe. We are here and checked into the hotel. We have your key to your room also so you can slip in easy and quickly.

We have called Kenya Airways and we will be able to know if you are on the flight from Nairobi to Entebbe, but not until about 1 hour before you are scheduled to arrive in Entebbe.

If you do not make it on that flight, there is another flight scheduled to arrive at 9:40 AM on Saturday morning. We will be at the airport to get you either way.

If there is a problem/confusion on the airlines information, and we are not there to pick you up, call me on any phone from the airport.

We should be standing and waiting for you just as all the other people will be doing waiting on other passengers. We are only 10-15 minutes away." (John)


What a relief to know that they've already thought of everything! We'll let you know when he arrives!