the beautiful busy

It began last November. 

The planning for the student summer project has been in the works for months. Kelley {staff in Waterloo, Ontario} and Jamie began hashing out details and plans, putting together a staff team and sorting out details.

And now it's here!

Last Wednesday night Kelley arrived, followed by the rest of the staff {Hannah, Angela, John, Johnny & Bim} on Saturday night.
It's been a full house here with the three female staff staying in our guest room and the three male staff staying at the guest house right around the corner from us. We've already had some great times to laugh and plan and acquaint ourselves with each other. 

some of the staff in our dining room enjoying some lunch together

Tonight {at 11:20pm Kampala time}, 12 students from across Canada arrive at Entebbe airport {just under an hour outside of Kampala}. They will likely be exhausted but excited and we hope to welcome them in a way that helps them transition a bit more easily to this very different country and culture than they are used to.

Would you pray with us?

- pray that everyone would arrive safely with all their luggage and personal belongings

- pray that the students would have favour with all inspection and customs personnel

- pray for safety for our staff on the roads both to and from the airport tonight

- pray for all {previously arranged} housing details at the guesthouse to fall into place and that everyone would have a bed to sleep in tonight

Thank you for walking alongside us and our team - especially over these next 6 weeks of intense ministry!

Stay tuned for more updates and urgent prayer requests!

A full day with the most influential students in Uganda!

Tomorrow (Saturday), we are doing a full day of training at Makerere University for the Student Guild (Student Union leaders), including the Student Union President. The training will be focused on how to be a leader of integrity.

This is an amazing opportunity for us to build credibility and relationships with the most influential students on the most influential school in the country. I am sure that future Ugandan MP's, teachers, journalists and business leaders will be in attendance. This teaching on being a leader of integrity could help transform this nation!

It is amazing that we will have them for a full day tomorrow! 20 years from now when they are in their professions, there will be no chance to get a full day with them to teach them in being a leader of integrity!

Please pray:

• that all 60 students expected will show up
• that we would be able to form relationships that would allow us to clearly share the gospel with them at a later time.
• that all our speakers would speak well, so that our credibility is built for future opportunities.

Thanks for joining with us as we influence the future leaders of Uganda!

Canadians invade Uganda (with the gospel)

We are excited to share with you that from May 1 - June 11, we will have a group of 12 students and 6 Power to Change Staff members coming to Uganda from Canada on a missions trip! These Canadians will join our work on two campuses, and give us some much needed help in bringing the love of Christ to Ugandan students.

In addition to campus ministry, we will be doing some ministry in smaller towns and villages. One exciting aspect will be doing some activities at a boarding school in Gulu. This school is set up for children that were affected by the war. As you have probably seen from the Kony2012 campaign, the Lord's Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony ravaged Northern Uganda and Gulu in particular. Many of these children have been orphaned as a result. We will also interact with former child soldiers, who never got to go to school and are now 18 year olds in the equivalent of Grade 3. We will be sharing the love of Christ with this children through fun games and activities, and showing the Jesus Film in their local language.

Our goal in this trip is to accelerate what God is already doing in and through our team with Life Ministry. It would be silly to engage in activities that cannot be sustained after the Canadian students leave, so we are working hard to ensure that whatever we do during this mission can be followed up by us who will remain, or local churches that we partner with.

As we are preparing to receive this team, please pray that:

• we would be able to make all the necessary practical arrangements (pick up from airport, accommodations, permissions from campuses, etc)
• Canadian students would be able to raise all their needed funds (each student coming is required to raise $4900 CAD). 
• God would provide the extra $2500 CAD that we need as a family to participate in this mission. (click here to donate online)
• Many Ugandan students would hear and respond to the gospel, and would be integrated into our movement on campus, as well as a good local church
• we would be a blessing to those in Gulu affected by the war.

Thanks for partnering with us!

traffic cop

so I {Vanessa} got pulled over today.

we were driving to my friend kelly's house today to hang out with her boys and there is this one spot that i've almost always seen a traffic cop standing at, pulling people over. I've gotten pulled over once before and the cop just checked my license and wished me well.

not so today.

I was polite and gave my license when the cop came to my  window and asked me for it. then she proceeded to ask me to put on the brakes and checked my lights. then she came back and proceeded to ask me to put it in reverse to check my reverse lights. then she told me she was going to write me a receipt {ticket} because my back tires were not filled enough. I politely said that I was not aware that this was an illegal offense in uganda.
she told me she could "park my car" right now or write me a receipt and hold onto my license until I went to the bank and paid it and then i could pick up my license at the police station. I told her that I would be happy to go to the station and she could write me the receipt and I would pay the ticket there. she repeated what she had already told me.

she left to go back to her other traffic cop buddy and so I called jamie and told him what was happening. noah asked me why she had pulled me over at this point and I {somewhat bitterly} replied that it's because I'm white and she thinks I have lots of money to give her {which is generally the case the more I speak with other expats regarding this particular issue on the roads}.
she came back with an official receipt book and showed me that my offense was {on the back of the receipt} for not having a car that was fit for driving on the road.

at this point I was getting frustrated and feeling taken advantage of and again said that I was not aware that my tires were less than full and that I did not know that this was an offense that would get me a ticket. she then started saying that my brakes lights were out and reverse lights are out and this and that {she started pointing to random things on my car} and that my seatbelts - oh no, you're wearing your seatbelt. I told her that of course i was as it was unsafe not to.

she kept saying that she would write me a receipt, etc. etc. and then finally {I admit, with frustrated tears in my eyes} I told her to write me the receipt as she was leaving me no choice and I had two small children with me and had no other options. she just looked at me and then said,
you go to a gas station and buy new tires. I am forgiving you this time. but you go get those tires replaced.

I took off as soon as she gave me my license back before she changed her mind.

these are my tires when I got home today {no filling with air, no replacing.}

front tire

back tire

how are my back tires flat? 

she was totally looking for a bribe and to take advantage of the white woman. I was so angry when I got to kelly's house and looked at the tires for myself.

so this is life here in uganda. bribes are expected but today I'm glad I fought the system and also didn't get a ticket while I was at it.

Please pray for:

- police men and women who would stand up to the way corruption is just a part of the system here and that Christ-honouring leaders of integrity would start to infiltrate every working sector here in Uganda

- safety as we drive on the roads and for favor among the police here

- a humble spirit for us and not a heart of bitterness or frustration

the "scoop" on our family's expansion

That's right! We are expanding our family.

in 2D - approximately 11 weeks old

in 3D - approximately 11 weeks old

On Boxing Day we found out that I was pregnant and it has been exciting to see the progression of this pregnancy so far.
It has been fun to be pregnant with slightly older children who can comprehend more what it means that "Mama has a baby in her belly" and ask hilariously honest questions.
We are expecting this little one to arrive in September and we will be staying in Uganda for the birth.
I have been seeing a midwife here at one of the hospitals who is from the UK and has been great so far although she will be returning to the UK around the time that I am due. I will likely be delivering the baby at the hospital with one of the doctors she works closely with.
Next week we will have another ultrasound to make sure the baby is developing properly {this is a routine scan} and hopefully be able to find out if this little one is a boy or a girl. We are so thrilled for this baby and are so thankful for another straight-forward and relatively easy pregnancy for Vanessa.

Ugandan's on mission to Tanzania!

Hi Everyone,

This week we have a group of about 30 Ugandans from our various universities going to Dodoma, Tanzania for a missions trip. They leave today and return next week. This is exciting as part of our vision in coming to Uganda was to see Uganda become a sending ground of missionaries to the rest of Africa. We as a family did not go, but Nick and Trevor, our fellow Canadians have gone.

Here is an update from Nick:

The University of Dodoma is a fairly new university with a possible potential enrolment of 60,000 students - making it the largest university in the Southeast Africa region.  As a result, Life Ministry Tanzania has arranged this mission which will include ~250 Life Ministry students and staff from many of the nearby countries (Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, etc.) coming to the University of Dodoma with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Tanzania, itself, is on the frontlines of the battle between Muslim-Africa and Christian-Africa - with Dodoma being an area and a university with a predominantly Muslim population.  Imagine, if the university students of Tanzania gave their lives to Christ while they were students, only to grow and become Christ-following leaders of countries, corporations, teachers, lawyers, etc. in the near future.  Southeast Africa is the starting point for an all-African Christian revival - and it starts with movements like this! 

We are going to do evangelism and some basic follow-up/discipleship with the students of the University of Dodoma.  There will also be some training for everyone involved. 

Fuel for your Prayers:
- Safety in our travels
- That God would be working in the hearts and minds of the students of the University of Dodoma
- That there would be a great harvest and movement started at the University that will have a great impact on Tanzania, Africa, and the world
- That God would also be working in us to grow us in our faith and our walk with Him

Join with us in prayer and excitement for this Ugandan mission team!

Jamie & Vanessa

Application for worker's permit

Greetings from Uganda!

It is nice to hear that the weather has been getting warmer in southern Ontario. For us, the temperature since we have been here has ranged from 23-30 Celsius. The only variable is whether it is rainy season or dry.

Yesterday (Mar 20), we put in our paperwork for workers permits for us in Uganda. We should have everything we need to be accepted, but things are not always that straightforward here. Currently, we are here on our 3rd tourist visa, which allows us 90 days per Visa. We got our first upon arrival in August, then you may recall we had a harder time getting the 2nd in November, and then we got our third and current visa when we re-entered Uganda from our mid-year conference in Spain. If we get our Worker's permit, it will be a lot easier to move in and out of the country. It is also valid for a year, and once you get it, it is not so challenging to get it renewed.

Please pray that our worker's permit would be approved, and approved quickly. It is possible that we may need to get something called a "special pass" which gives us another 90 days, in order for the workers permit to be processed. Our current Visa's expire May 6th. It is our desire and prayer that we get our workers permits before then, so that we are set and not having to scramble around to get a special pass, or worse, another tourist Visa.

Thanks for your partnership in prayer,

Jamie and Vanessa

Good Morning from Gulu!

I am currently writing this from a small, modest, hotel in Gulu, Uganda. For you to get a bit of a picture in your mind, it is more like a motel back in Canada. One interesting feature is that in the bathroom, the toilet and the shower share the same space. There is no separate space for the shower. So the water runs on the floor right where the toilet is. It may be possible for me to save time by doing two things at once!

We had a great day of training yesterday with 15 students from Gulu University. We gave them vision for reaching their school, country, and the world, and then did practical training on how to build a spiritual movement, how to be a leader in a spiritual movement, and how to plan (what activities to prioritize) for a spiritual movement. I am again humbled by the opportunity God has given me to train and mobilze future leaders of Uganda. If Uganda is going to be transformed by the gospel, it is not because I will have a large event and preach to thousands. Uganda will be transformed as Godly leaders are raised up and sent into the society to change it themselves. 

These students here are very excited and so thankful for our visit. I only wish we could do more to help them. 

At the hotel we are staying at, for some reason there were people working outside all through the night. This meant I did not get a good sleep. I woke up a bit tired and cranky, but thankfully I went to God's Word and read from 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." I am just a jar of clay - weak, with not much value in and of myself - but I have this treasure, namely Christ, within me. This gives me strength to move forward and make a difference. 

Thanks for your partnership with us as we help accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission and societal transformation in Uganda and beyond!

Report from Bugema University Trip

On Feb 25, I travelled wit Nick and Trevor, our two Canadian teammates to a University 30 kms north of Kampala called Bugema. Bugema University is an interesting school as it is a private university run by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Due to this fact, activities by evangelical groups are not allowed. While most campuses in Uganda have an Anglican chapel on the grounds, this campus does not. In order to still have a presence on the student body, the Anglican church has built a chapel just off university grounds so that students can still attend an evangelical church.

A small Life ministry group had been started on this campus, and they have been requesting that we visit them to do some training for them. There is so much need for training in the basics of the Christian faith in Uganda, and so it took us a while to be able to make time to visit that campus. There are about 15 Universities with small Life Ministry groups that want us to visit them.

On this Saturday we had for seminars. They were:

•        Life Ministry Vision
•        How to share the gospel
•        How to grow in your relationship with God
•        How to life a Spirit-filled Life

I was so encouraged by the students desire to grow. In Canada, if we had offered a training day with these topics, you would have to offer the students coffee and muffins in the morning, a free pizza lunch, etc in order to get a good group out. We tauht a group of about 25 and they really want us to come back.

Please pray for this small group of 25:

•          as they face the challenges of following Christ on a campus that is not open to gospel teaching
•          as they seek to share their faith with their friends
•          as they seek to reach out to the community outside of campus in Bugema.
•         That God would bless the small Anglican church that is located strategically just off campus

Student protest on Campus

Today was an interesting day as I entered campus at Makerere. It seemed like there was a lot more police than usual. They usually have about 6-7 police officers at the main gate, but today there was around 30. I later learned that there was a student protest. It is quite intimidating, as protests are more common here in Uganda, and so you often see riot police around town. As you can see from the picture below, they are quite intimidating. They also are a lot quicker to use tear gas than they are back home.

Ugandan Police in Riot gear

Check out the article on the protest from the Daily Monitor, a local Ugandan Newspaper.

Please pray that there would be peace on this campus as the school year comes to an end. Please pray that the students desire for change would cause them to turn to Christ for that change!

Travelling to Bugema on Saturday

Tomorrow I (Jamie) will be traveling with Nick and Trevor to Bugema Adventist University to do some basic movement building training. This campus is a Seventh-day adventist (SDA) funded university, but allows people from any religion to enroll. Due to its SDA roots, no official ministry is allowed on campus. This means that we will be doing the training at an off-campus location.

Please pray for:

• safety in travel
• students to gain a vision for reaching their campus
• students to learn and apply how to share the gospel 
• a strong, Christ-exalting movement to be started at Bugema

Thanks for praying,

Jamie

our water tank

Just another day in Africa here...

The Water Tank from the Strickland scoop on Vimeo.

*a disclaimer* Don't worry, this isn't where we got our drinking water from. We buy giant bottles of water for drinking. This was just to collect rain water for things like watering grass, washing down outdoor areas, etc. Definitely NOT for drinking.

striving to see beauty

I wish I could capture the smell of the rain as it hits this dry, red earth.

I wish I could take a picture of the way it feels when the cool wind blows against my skin.

I wish you could hear the songs of the birds in the towering trees and the lone rooster crowing in the distance as the thunder rolls across the skies.

The rains bring life here. Those who complain about the hot season here, often complain about the "cold", rainy season. But me? I absolutely love the rainy season.
In this place we've chosen to live that is so different from the culture and climate from which we've grown up in, it's so important for us to strive to see the beauty in the every day. To look for the things that are delightful; the things that I never want to forget and will one day miss about living in Kampala.

Philippians 4:4, 11b

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice!

...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Lenten resources

For most of my life I didn't know what Lent was or what it meant for me, a Christian. 
It's only been a few years ago now that I've acknowledged it and most times participated in it and so to start off the first day of Lent, I thought this prayer by Thomas Merton would be appropriate to meditate on:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always,
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

 Some other Lent resources and ideas for you and your family: 

Ann Voskamp's Easter Tree

A meditation from Ann Voskamp on forgiveness.

Fast from all other drinks except for water and donate the money you saved to 40 Days of Water.

Some creative Lent activities for kids.

A Bible study for teens on Lent.

and here are 40 more ideas for Lent.

new look!

We have a new look!
In an attempt to streamline our look and as well as engage you, our supporters, we've revamped our blog, created a Facebook Group (you should join it!) and we'll be posting more updates, pictures and videos.
Please take a minute to either become a "Follower" of this blog (located a bit further down the sidebar) or subscribe to this blog by email or via the RSS feed (located on the sidebar) as this is where the main bulk of our updates will be located.
We're looking forward to letting you into our lives on a whole new level!