genda rat

AH!!! So many important things to talk about. Wow. Ok.
1) I know in the last blog Mckenzie told you about how many of kids at the school couldn’t pay their school fees. Really unfortunate for the school and the parents feel a lot of pressure to try to get the money together. So we prayed about it and from our calculations we will have some money left over and we wanted God’s wisdom in how to use it. One of the things we felt like God wanted us to do was offer to cover the 37 students that couldn’t pay. We talked with Pastor Emma and decided it’s what we needed to do. We wanted you who supported to know that according to Pastor Emma, this is the first school term since the school opened (7 years ago) that all of the students have been paid for. Praise the Lord. Thank you from them to all of you! Here is a list of all of the students:

Baby Class (Pre-K)-

1. Jackob Kigundu


2. J. Kisekka


3. Halima Takola


4. Gladys Nakibuule


5. David Naliima


6. Teo Nantongo


7. Joan Namwanje


8. Violet Nakafu


9. God Sowagudde


10. Shamim Namule


Top Class (Kindergarten)-


1. Christine Ndagire


2. Sandra Namuli


3. Martin Kato


4. Vaniva Naxidde


5. Denis Kazibwe


Primary 1-


1. Grace Namugwanya


2. Shadiah Nakato


3. Joan Nalukoago

Primary 2-


1. Joseph Kasaga


2. Felix Damuliv


3. Maureen Nalugo


4. Jamiru Kisebe


5. Michael Kakande


6. Flavia Nakawunde


7. Anold Kyimba

Primary 3-


1. Rebecca Namusisi


2. Rose Babinye


3. Ben Kawuka


4. Monday Mugisila


5. Joseph Katumba

Primary 4-


1. Moses Luutu


2. Douglas Mubiru


3. Samuel Kawooya


4. Henry Kande


5. Maureen Nalweyinza

Primary 5-


1. Doreen Nantongo


2. John Kaziinza



*We are only paying for the first term. There are three terms in the years, at roughly $10 a term per student. So $30 a year covers the school fees for one child, including breakfast, school books, pencils, and lunch.



2) We recently went to Rwanda (yes, like Hotel Rwanda) to renew our visas. Our attempt to upload a blog to inform everyone of our upcoming journey failed but we really wanted to let everyone know. We left on Thursday the 5th and returned on Monday the 9th. Isaac, from Teen Missions, went with us. While we were there we visited someone whom he fondly refers to as, “Jjajja”. Jjajja (means grandmother in luganda) supported Isaac during his youth and school years. This woman is incredible. If you think that God can’t send people of all ages across the world to do His will, you are sadly mistaken. Jjajja, Monique, is 80 years old, beautiful, spunky, and so so full of life. Was born in France into a missionary family, and has been working for the Kingdom all her life. She has been living in Africa since 1993. She runs an organization that works with orphans and widows in Rwanda and Uganda and at the moment she lives in Rwanda. For those of you who got the memo that we were leaving earlier thanks so much for your prayers. We had an awesome visit and felt the Lord’s hand on us the entire time. What else is new? He is always faithful, thus we are ever thankful.

3) And that Leads me to my next thing. Pastor Joseph has a niece, Grace, who is in Primary 3 at our school. She’s really sweet and bright and we all like her a lot. Her father died last year so now her mother and her stay with Pastor Joseph. He lives quite a distance from Lusoga and so it’s been really hard for her to make it to school consistently but she really likes school. Today he told us he was going to try to find a way for her to stay in Lusoga with someone….anyone see where this is going? Yeah. Well he tells us this and then walks outside to talk to Pastor Emma. I immediately was struck with the scriptures about helping the widows and the orphans and helping the least of these. We all start discussing the possibility of her staying with us. God reminded me that the night before when we had been praying together I told Him we were willing, just show us what we could do to help. After a quick discussion we decided to offer our home. So as of now we’re not sure where she will sleep. I think me and Marlee will share a bed and Grace will take mine until we can get her a mosquito net and a mattress. She will be eating with us too which is good cause we usually have leftovers. But yeah, we’re going to be mothers from Sunday night to Thursday night, possibly until we leave. That starts the Tuesday after we get back…so things might be a little crazy. So you can pray once again, strength for us. Also patience and grace and willing hearts to change anything about our life right now to welcome in Grace. There is the part where she doesn’t really speak English and we don’t really speak Luganda…so that we would be able to communicate what we need to and that she wouldn’t feel isolated.

4) We are getting there….um, so last night me and McKenzie where talking and really felt like God put on our hearts to do a healing/ministry revival. We don’t really know how to plan one of those in a village in Uganda, but we’re trusting in God and trying to get that going. The plan as it stands right now is it will go down the first Saturday in April. We are looking for people to speak and music stuff and a location. We also want to “shop hop” the weeks leading up to it and get the word out and kind of pre-minister to some people. Plant seeds. Put up flyers. Make announcements over the loudspeaker thing. Get the church involved. We’re so excited to see where God takes it. Please please be praying for the doors to open up to take care of some of those things, for us to be lead by the Spirit, and for His name to be glorified in everything that is done.

5) Another way we want to start reaching out is through “Jump Rope for Jesus.” It was Marlee’s idea and we tried it out the other day. We took a rope outside and started jump roping. Before long there where like 20 kids hanging around, some jumping with us, some just laughing and watching. Plus there where about 10 adults watching from a little ways away. After it started to get dark we sang some Luganda Christian songs we’ve learned and some of the kids sang with us! We want to do it daily and maybe even get them to memorize scripture while they jump. Plus we want to get out our guitars, maybe get a djembe and have some kid sing-a-longs. Really exciting.

7) Lastly, we have some trials around the house…..For instance, behind our house used to be pretty quiet, save the neighbors. But there where only like two families back there. Well the other day, we hear some construction going on back there and low and behold, they built a road behind our house. In one day, we have a dirt road going behind our house. As if it wasn’t bad enough to have to walk outside for the world to know you’re using the latrines, now a road goes behind our latrines and sometimes kids throw rocks on the latrines while you’re in there shouting “Muzungu! Muzungu!” It’s really awesome. Second, adding to the major cockroach problem we had before, we now have a rat…and he’s smart. We tried to poison him and everyone told us it would work. Never touched the stuff. I’ve seen him and we hear him crawling around sometimes and he eats our food…..uggh. Not our friend. He also steals our stuff and wedges it under our stove thing on the counter. We daily find rags, candles, apple cores, napkins, boxes of matches….and who knows what else up under there. Pretty gross and annoying.
Plus I have to play man of the family whenever anything gross shows up. Story. Last night we went to bed really late between getting really excited about the revival and then life being so incredibly funny. So I’m lying there and I’m exhausted and I’ve just fallen asleep when Marlee wakes me up with, “TJ. TJ! I hear him. He’s over there. In my stuff.”
Me: ok. It’s ok. Just go to bed.
Marlee: Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I just saw him!!!
So I climb out of bed and go over. At this point I’m awake enough to get a little nervous cause I don’t really want him jump on me. So I have to reach right over where she saw him to turn on the light. Marlee’s curled up in her bed. And I go looking for him. Real scary cause I was waiting to move something and have this monster rat come jumping out at me. We can’t find him. Marlee thinks it may have gone into Mckenzie’s room. I’m getting real annoyed because I just want to go to bed but go check anyways. Well what I discover is a huge toad sitting on McKenzie’s backpack. Terrifying, huh. At that point I’m about to go to bed but then McKenzie wants me to get rid of it. So I chase it out, block the base of the door with some towels and head back to bed. The rat needs to go. It’s interfering with my sleep in a major ways….."genda (go in luganda) rat. genda."

Well that’s about it. Sorry this is so long! Lots of things to share!
Oh, and just to let you know we have joined the worship team at church. That involves a few songs with the guitar and the rest in Luganda, doing the whole dance and sing and sway thing in the front. It’s pretty embarrassing sometimes but I think it blesses the people for us to show that we’re getting involved in the community. Like Mckenzie said last time, we don’t have 7 years, so we’ll skip straight to dancing with the worship team if it will open the doors to the people’s hearts!
Love to all! Wish you could see this place, it’s amazing! Thanks again for your prayers.JEAN