Update from February 11:
“Wusuze Otyanno”
Luganda for “Good morning”, literally means, “How did you spend the night?”
We have been in Uganda for one month. Many things have occurred since our last prayer letter but we are adjusting to our new home, community, culture and country.
James has had the opportunity to preach/teach, with the aid of a translator, each Sunday since arriving in Uganda. He has preached within the State Prison twice and has taught several Bible studies for men and youth. Sonya has been involved in teaching women Bible classes and ministering to children. She has worked with the team leader to assist in the organization of the ministry’s medical clinic, planning for upcoming volunteer groups and with other administrative duties. We have seen six people come to faith in Christ.
We have had to make many adjustments since arriving in Jinja. James had his first auto accident the same day we received the 1998 Toyota RAV. I am happy to say the push mower survival the crash, and the automobile was undamaged. When we first got on the streets of Jinja, James used only the 1st and 2nd gears. He is now able to drive in 3rd and 4th gears but hasn’t driven fast enough to utilize the 5th gear.
It is difficult learning to drive a manual automobile while also learning to drive on the right side of the road with no marked lanes, dividers, few stop signs, or street signs. The biggest challenge with driving here is that automobiles share the roads with, numerous buses (fourteen passengers vans filled with people), boda-bodas (motorcycles with passengers); piki-pikis (bicycles with passengers and crates), along with pedestrians all sharing the same narrow, rutted streets at the same time! A trip from Jinja to Kampala is approximate 97 kilometers (60 miles) and takes over 2½ hours, with an hour of stop-and-go traffic. (While in O’Fallon a trip to Springfield, IL was approximate 90 miles and took about 1½ hours to travel). Any extensive travel is very taxing physically and emotionally. This is why very little travel takes place after dark. There are few street lights and the driving and road conditions are dangerous.
We are learning how to get around in Jinja, our new city. We are now driving to the markets and negotiate prices. Food and other items here are very expensive, comparatively speaking to the states. The local supermarkets are often poorly stocked with foods with extremely long shelf lives and questionable expiration dates. Anything made in the US is especially expensive. Produce purchased at the open air markets are affordable and abundant. Thank God of that, so we can afford to eat! We have both loss weight since being here.
We have started language lessons. We are “speaking” Luganda as toddlers. “Tuyiga Oluganda mpola mpola”. We are learning Luganda slowly, slowly.
The Lord has allowed us to work with a wonderful team, George and Geraldine Smith. They are mentoring us as we make adjustments to ministry in this country. There are many things we need to learn in order to effectively minister to the people of Uganda. Please continue to pray for and with us as we serve the Lord here in Uganda.
Please pray:
- For our spiritual growth with the Father and our sensitive and surrender to His will each day
- Our language training that we are able to learn so we can communicate the Gospel in the native tongue of the nationals
- Our language teacher, Ali, who is a unbeliever. Pray for our witness to him
- Two orphaned teenagers who live in huts in the forest. They have no family or other support and both need approximately $500.00 for boarding school fees and supplies for this school year.
- Sonya’s work with the women of Zinga and Kilitia, two villages on Buvama Island
- Sonya’s dissertation research on marriage and family on the Island
- Safety in our travels to and from Buvama Island on Lake Victoria
- Our continual adjustments to the country, culture, people and language
- Cohesion among the team (nationals and missionaries)
- God would develop leaders among the nationals to spread the Gospel more effectively
- Our health. Work here is often strenuous and physically taxing. Sonya is fighting her first bout of traveler’s diarrhea
Continue to follow our activities in Uganda on our blog, divers4hm.blogspot.com. We can also now be found on Facebook.
Thank you for your prayerful support. Weraba, “Good bye.”
In HIS service
James and Sonya Herron
Prayer Request from Wednesday, January 13:
Sonya and I have arrived in Jinja. We arrived Sunday night and spent the night in Entebbe. We are now in our house, and are attempting to settle in. We will be in orientation with George Smith, getting our house together and getting adjusted to our new living conditions over the next few weeks. We received our “Lottie” automobile today, and have been getting acquainted with the city.
Please continue to pray for us as we continue to make adjustments to our lives and ministry in Uganda. We will be sending updates in the near future.
Prayer request from December
"...before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language...." Revelation 7:9 (NIV)
James and Sonya Herron, IMB Missionaries Uganda
Fishers Of Men Prayer Letter Issue 1
(Update & Prayer Requests)
December 2009
The vision of the International Mission Board is to see a multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Prayer Partner: This is the first of a monthly prayer letter to our prayer partners in the U.S. We will have more recent updates on our blog, We're Diving-In. Sonya and I have completed our two month training at the International Learning Center, (ILC) in Virginia. We will be in the Metro-East area for one week before we visit relatives in California and Tennessee. We will return to Cahokia January 4th, and will leave Saturday January 9th with arrival in Entebbe, Uganda East Africa the next evening. Please pray for:
· Our travel as we visit relatives in California and Tennessee
· Our speaking at churches in California and Tennessee
· That our team members will be able to secure housing for us in Jinja
· Our travel to Uganda—Pray
—we have safe travel
—for our witness of Jesus as we travel to Uganda
—pilots, attendants, and those servicing the planes
· Our witness for Christ as we are in transit
We also have a Blog where you may receive update and prayer request on a more regular basis. To view our Blog please follow the link: We're Diving-In.
Thank you for your prayerful support
In HIS service
Please continue to pray for us as we continue to make adjustments to our lives and ministry in Uganda. We will be sending updates in the near future.
