The Difference a Pronoun Makes

When talking about the work that God has called the Kay family to do in Uganda, I have tried my best to use the pronouns “we,” “us,” and “our” as much as possible. This is OUR Adventure in Africa, not MINE. It is Andrea’s, Hannah’s, Rachel’s, and Maggie’s African Adventure as much as it is Tim’s.

But Tim - you might say - you have been in Uganda for almost two months now and Andrea and the girls have been in Atlanta. They are only coming for a month, and you will be there for five months. You are doing all the work for this “Kingdom venture” in Africa, right? WRONG!!!

Andrea, Hannah, Rachel and Maggie are coming, and they are coming to participate in the work here, particularly the work of 60 Feet. But that’s not all – and this is the really important point I want to make here – Andrea and the girls are participating in the ministry of ABU and Sixty Feet and Gateway Bible Church in Bwerenga right now in Atlanta. They have been participating in it for the past two months; they will be for the next two and a half weeks before they come over, and they will continue to participate in it when they go back home until I join them there in June.

Here is what I mean: I would not and could not be in Kampala, Uganda, doing what I am doing, if my amazing wife and three wonderful daughters were not willing to endure the hardship of my being gone, supporting and encouraging me through prayers, emails, notes, text messages, Facetime sessions and phone calls. But there is more, much more. They are there at home continuing to do ALLLLL the mundane necessities of life, without me to participate and help. Three birthdays will happen back home in Atlanta while I am here in Uganda, school continues (homeschooling three girls without Dad around), the “not un-complicated” social lives of one preteen and two teenagers continue, bills have to paid, taxes had to be prepared, passports had to be applied for, plane tickets had to be ordered, the apartment we moved into right before I left had to be settled into, cars have broken down and had to be repaired, preparations for a trip for four to Uganda have to happen, and on and on it goes. So much is going on, and it is going on without me around. My admiration and appreciation for those four women in my life is HUGE, though they do not hear me say so enough. And the work that I am doing “on the ground” in Uganda would never happen without them! Not one bit of it. So any usefulness God in his grace is giving me in his work here in Uganda is owing to the hard work of Andrea, Hannah, Rachel, and Maggie.

But there is still more. This whole Adventure in Africa would never have happened if not for Andrea (hold the comments about the sovereignty of God, all you reformed theologians out there; I am talking about the human instrument God used, okay). Sure I have known about the ministry of African Bible College pretty much all my life. I have appreciated and respected and prayed for this ministry for many years. But I never said to Andrea, “Hey let’s go serve God in Africa.” It was Andrea who about two years ago – completely unbeknownst to me – began quietly, consistently praying that our family would have an opportunity to go serve Jesus in Africa. Initially, she was not even really sure why she was praying it, except that the Holy Spirit had laid it on her heart to do so. And she definitely did not know what it would look like, and I…I was oblivious to it all. Then along comes Shelly Owens (co-founder of Sixty Feet). She and Andrea met at a homeschool moms once-a-month sanity-preserving evening of wine, salad, chocolate, and each other. They hit it off, and as they talked Shelly began to share about their work in Uganda. Andrea was intrigued. Then…Andrea received a call one day from Shelly inviting her to come over to Uganda with a group of women to see and participate in the ministry of Sixty Feet. We were amazed and recognized this as a partial answer to Andrea’s prayer that we would have a chance to serve Jesus in Africa. And away Andrea went last June.

So while Andrea was in Uganda, there was a conversation about a pastor’s training conference that Sixty Feet was helping to sponsor in September. Again it was Shelly who said, “Hey, Tim’s a pastor; he should come.” The next thing I knew I was contacted by Shelly’s husband Dan inviting me to come. I will be the first to admit, that as excited as I was for Andrea about her trip and her experience, and as willing as I was to come over myself for a week or so, I saw nothing more. I had no particular passion or vision for Africa or Uganda. All of that changed in September when – just like Andrea experienced in June – my world was turned upside down by what I saw and experienced. The result is that WE, Andrea and I, are certain that Uganda will always be a part of our lives and our ministry as a couple and as a family. We do not know what the details look like beyond June 2013, but this much is clear: a part of OUR hearts is here in Uganda. And it all started with Andrea’s quiet, persistent prayers. It continued with the way God shook her up while she was in Uganda and returned to share with us. It continued still more as God did a number on me in September. But the clincher was this: as we prayed about it last Fall, Andrea was the chief encourager of this Adventure in Africa.  And so WE decided to accept the invitations from ABU, Sixty Feet, and Pastor Ernest to “come over and help.”

So WE would not be in Africa were it not for the spiritual sensitivity and boldness and vision of my incredible, godly wife, Andrea of whom I am so very proud. Thank you, Andrea!

WE also could not be here if not for the willingness of my three beautiful girls, Hannah, Rachel, and Maggie, who have endured having their lives turned upside down with two moves in less than two years, as their parents sought God’s direction for our future. Thank you H, R, and M! I am so very proud of you and thrilled to be your Dad.

So…pronouns do make a difference. This is OUR Adventure in Africa. WE are serving Jesus together here in Uganda. And WE need YOUR prayers. Do you remember that long list of all the things going on in my absence? Please pray for Andrea, Hannah, Rachel, and Maggie as they do all those things without my help and involvement.

Thanks for reading, praying, and sharing!

Tim

Worlds Collide

One of the things that was so compelling for Andrea and me in our decision to embrace our so called “African Adventure” was the fact that there were really three different aspects to the work that God was putting in front of us to do here: 1) teaching at African Bible University - “Christian leaders, transforming Africa”; 2) assisting the ministry of Sixty Feet – “…bringing hope and restoration to the imprisoned children of Africa in Jesus' name”; 3) trying to be a helpful resource to Pastor Ernest at Gateway Bible Church in Bwerenga, both in their ministry in Bwerenga and in Pastor Ernest’s passion for training and equipping pastors and church planters. We received enthusiastic invitations from ABU, Sixty Feet, and Pastor Ernest to “come over and help.” While there is, inherent in this, a danger of spreading ourselves too thin, we were convinced that these three “separate” opportunities had similar or related elements and could work together beautifully. And we have prayed for that to happen.

Today I had a rich experience of these seemingly different “worlds” of ours here in Uganda colliding in a very exciting and gratifying way. A few weeks ago I was describing the ministry of Sixty Feet to one of my senior students at ABU, and he was very interested, so I told him I would bring him along with me sometime. One day this past week he asked me when were we going. So today when I went to a nearby secondary school to visit with some of the students from the Sixty Feet Sponsorship Program, my student and friend Amos joined me. Sixty Feet team members Pastor Boaz and Mama Catherine were also there meeting with students, as well as Sixty Feet staff couple Missy and Austin. It was great to observe all of them helping, encouraging and ministering to the students.

Then one of the boys I had met a few weeks earlier approached me wanting to talk about some intense spiritual struggles he was having, and I asked Amos to join us. The struggles this high school age boy is having are on the one hand, the very same sort of heart-level struggles we all have whether in Uganda or in the US, but on the other hand they are very specifically related to the some of the unique kinds of spiritual darkness that are prevalent in this culture, including the practices of witch-doctors. I was able to share Scripture and gospel principles with this boy, but Amos was able to speak to him out of his own thorough understanding and personal experience of the context and very specific circumstances in which this boy is struggling. He was able to show the boy from Scripture how the power of the finished work of Jesus at the cross and his glorious resurrection to life is greater than any power or bondage or oppression of this “present evil age,” including the very sort of oppression this boy has been experiencing. What Amos was doing is what we back home would call “contextualization of the gospel.” Whatever you call it, it was powerfully used by the Holy Spirit in the life of this boy today. It was thrilling (and also a lot of fun) to minister with Amos and to see the training he has received at ABU coupled with the spiritual growth God has worked in his life brought to powerful expression in the life of a hurting boy. Praise God! The boy is clear about his own commitment to Christ, and shared with us how he has tried to be a spiritual encouragement to his peers, and so it was again so great to watch Amos pick up on this and both encourage and challenge him regarding the opportunity he has to be used by God now and in the future in the lives of others struggling in the same ways he is and has struggled.

So there they are – my three worlds – beautifully colliding for the glory of God: a young leader who is being trained so that he can be used by God to transform Africa, bringing the hope and restoration of the gospel to one of our formerly imprisoned children and even planting seeds toward a possible future as a faithful servant of the church or – who knows? – possibly as a pastor or church planter.

As hard as it is to be apart from my family for so long (and it is harder than we ever thought it would be, but they arrive in three weeks!!!) – it is days like this that continue to confirm that this is indeed the very way in which God wants us to serve his Kingdom right now. Thank you for supporting us with your prayers!

Please pray for…

1)   This young man and his ongoing struggle, that the truths of the Gospel we shared with him today would go down deep, stay with him, transform him, and see him through these struggles he is having and prepare him for the ministry God has for him in the future.

2)   For Amos and others like him graduating from ABU in a few months, that God would indeed use them powerfully to transform Africa for His Glory.

3)   For Andrea and the girls in Atlanta preparing to come over – March 23! – and for the continued challenge for us all of being apart.

4)   For the Sixty Feet staff here in Uganda as they are in a season of transition with a few new staff settling in and a few veteran staff heading home.

5)   For me to be effective in my ministry to the Sixty Feet staff as a pastor to them as they continue to be engaged in so much wonderful ministry in the lives of the imprisoned children of Uganda.

6)   For continued effectiveness in my work at ABU teaching and discipling students and leading a discipleship training effort among students and faculty.

For Jesus’ sake,

Tim

Full Swing

The blog has been quiet for a couple weeks now, evidence that the "jump to warp speed" did indeed happen, and everything is now in full swing.

Andrea and remain convinced that, as hard as it is being apart as a family for this long, this is indeed precisely what God has called us to do for this short season. I am loving it here (just wish the fam was here with me). After two weeks of classes, I am really enjoying teaching and getting to know the students. I am finding that one of the ways I can most effectively minister to them is through talking with them one-on-one, so I am making as many opportunities for that as I can, and they really seem to appreciate it.

In addition to trying the visit the facilities where 60 Feet works as often as my schedule allows, I also am meeting with the 60 Feet staff on Sunday evenings for a staff fellowship - teaching a Bible study, sharing with one another and praying together. I am enjoying that very much, and it seems to be a good thing for the staff too. They are an amazing team, ministering very faithfully and effectively to the needs of imprisoned children here. I truly am honored to have a chance to try to encourage them, help them out anyway I can. Tonight when I got to their house, there were five new little faces. Sick little ones they are nursing back to health – malaria, worms/parasites, etc. No rest for the weary there. I got to hold them (the children, that is), help with feeding, give some medicine, etc. Here are a few pics.

 

             
 

So all in all things are going very well. There is so much more to tell you about, but it is late here in Uganda, so…

…to be continued.

Please pray for the following:

      1.     60 Feet Staff stamina as they care for these five little ones in their home while continuing with all   their normal daily work responsibilities.

      2.     For Andrea as she goes to the Atlanta passport office tomorrow (Monday) to get our girls’ passport applications done – time is short, and there has been a significant bump in the road with their passports; we need God to intervene on our behalf, so their trip over here will not be put in jeopardy (a great big "thanks" to Hal and Gary from Redeemer in Athens for hand delivering some documents to Andrea for me this weekend after their trip to Uganda last week).

      3.     For me to continue to connect well with the ABU students and be an encouragement to them and be effective in bringing to gospel to them with clarity in my teaching and preaching.

      4.     For God to bless my efforts toward sparking a discipleship movement on the campus of ABU that will spread and multiply in Uganda through our students.

      5.     For the ongoing effective ministry of 60 Feet to the great needs of imprisoned children here in Uganda.

    Tim

Getting Settled

Getting Settled

Great blog post from 60 Feet.

Prepare for the Jump to Warp Speed

Not much creative energy tonight, so you will have to settle for an information dump and a few prayer requests. Thanks for reading anyway.

It has been great having two weeks here to get settled in and acclimated, learn my way around a bit, reconnect with old friends, and make new ones. The time has also been indispensible for a lot of class prep that I never was able to get to before I left. The ABU campus has been very quiet and my schedule has been very flexible.

All of that is about to change this week.

I will make to jump to warp speed Monday morning, and I do not expect to slow down much if at all until Easter Break (which is also the week that Andrea and the girls arrive! Hooray!).

Monday (tomorrow) morning first thing I will be paying a visit to one of the children’s facilities with my 60 Feet friends even while the ABU student body will be pouring onto the campus. I will return to ABU in the afternoon for student registration, and classes start Tuesday morning.

In addition to the two classes I am teaching at ABU (Gospel of John and Missional Discipleship), I have also agreed to take responsibility for the Sports Class, and I have been asked to work on a couple of significant projects; 1) Establishing a discipleship emphasis among the faculty, staff and students, 2) Helping get the gym in a condition to use for sports, particularly basketball – this means getting goals put up and getting the floor finished, both significant undertakings given to the difficulty of obtaining the appropriate, necessary supplies, equipment and materials over here in Africa.

I will also be giving as much time as I can to the ministry of 60 Feet. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to assist this amazing ministry to imprisoned children in Uganda.

Finally, I will be giving time as I am able to my friends, Pastor Ernest and his wife Catherine and Pastor Boaz and his wife Faith and their congregation, Gateway Bible Church in Bwerenga. Bwerenga is a village between Kampala and Entebbe about 18 kilometers from the ABU campus (check out that metric system reference).

Speaking of Bwerenga, I do have to share a bit from my experience worshipping there today. Pastor Ernest asked me to preach, which is a great privilege and delight; they are such a warm, teachable, and appreciative audience, and passionate worshippers of Jesus. Today I witnessed in tangible ways how much they love their pastors. After the sermon a couple came forward and said that they were going to be recognizing and appreciating their pastors today. They proceeded to share how they owed their healed relationship and repaired marriage to God’s work in them through Pastor Ernest, Mama Catherine, Pastor Boaz and Faith, then the testimonies and gifts continued to pour in (among the gifts were two live chickens and a 100 pound bag of sugar!). One person after another – young and old, adult and child – came forward to share of how they had been loved, cared for, taught, mentored, parented and/or grand-parented by these two couples. It was a beautiful testimony to the power of the gospel at work transforming lives through humble willing servant-hearted people. What a great day.

This is longer than I intended, so I will wrap up with some prayer requests:

1.     Praise to God for giving Andrea and Hannah a great visit with old friends in Tuscaloosa and for using Andrea’s teaching in the lives of many of the women at the Warrior Presbytery Winter Women’s Event where she was speaker Saturday.

2.     For all of us as a family as we continue to be apart until Andrea and the girls come over in late March.

3.     For my teaching to be effective in training the students here at ABU to be leaders for the church in Africa.

4.     For my ministry with 60 Feet to be a blessing to the staff and the children with whom they work.

5.     For God to use my efforts to ignite a Life-on-Life Missional Discipleship movement at ABU that will spread across Uganda and East Africa.

6.     For Mama Catherine’s hand recovering from a bad infection after a puncture wound she sustained last week. She has been in a lot of pain and has had to make numerous trips to the clinic for treatment for her hand.

Keep your eyes peeled for a post this week from Andrea on the Atlanta end of this Africa Adventure (that’s your cue, Andrea!).

Tim