My First Couple of Weeks Back

I have been back in Uganda for a little more than a week. After a day of travel I arrived back in Kampala. I was warmly welcomed at the airport by some good friends. After temporarily moving back into my apartment I went to hang out at Doors for the evening. I was warmly welcomed there. It has been great to see all the boys and the leaders. I missed them a lot while I was away.

The first Sunday our team at EMI had a potluck dinner to catch up and meet a new family that will be joining us later this year. They were visiting for a few days to check out the office and Uganda. I have received a warm welcome in many different places.

I have been able to slowly get back into the swing of things. But last week has felt like I was in limbo. At work I don’t have any design projects on my plate right now so I have been catching up and waiting for things to start up again. I moved back into my apartment for a week but I was waiting to shift over to Doors.

On Wednesday I had a meeting at Doors, first with some of the leadership and then with the boys that I am living with. We talked about how the house is going to run, the rules and responsibilities for the boys. It was a long meeting, about five hours. But it was good for me to start into my new role there; although there are occasional thoughts of ‘what am I getting myself into.’ On Saturday I moved in to my new place and got settled. So after a couple of days things are going fine. We will see what the next year holds. There are lots of new things this year that would concern me more but I know that God is with me through all of it. 

Here are some pictures of my new accommodations.

My room that I will be sharing with the other uncle.

Our living room, the boys room is through the door.

The front of our house.

The front of our house.

The courtyard between the two houses on the compound. The other house in the compound will be used as the school for all the boys at Doors. Our house is on the left.

The back of our house.

The entrance to our compound.

The front of the school house. Our house is behind.

This is staff week at EMI. We have meetings each day to look back over the past year and to talk about the year ahead. Today we discussed the vision for EMI as well as the vision for our office in Uganda. I am excited about the year ahead. There is a lot of transition happening in my life, at EMI and at Doors. I am excited to see where God is going to lead it all.

Prayer Points

Praises:

-I returned to Uganda fully supported. It has been great to see God provide abundantly.

-I have felt very welcomed back to Uganda. A reminder of the great community I have here

-My time back in Canada the past four months was very fruitful, more than I anticipated. Originally it felt like an interruption to the work that I am doing here in Uganda. But as I look back over this time, I can see that I am in a healthier position to continue serving here. God has again shown me that his plans are better than mine.

Requests:

-I have been a little sick the past few days, nothing serious, but it has been annoying

-I have a lot of new responsibilities on my plate at EMI and at Doors. I don’t feel equipped to do some of them, but I believe that God is leading me there and will provide the strength that I need each day.

-I am trying to establish a new routine with all the changes that have happened since I returned. So I am trying to discern what I should continue doing and what should change. One of those things is where I go to church, whether to go where I was before or to go where the remainder of Doors goes.

-While talking with different people about my role at Doors they have raised concerns about my wellbeing and getting enough time to look after my needs. I am not sure what that is going to look like. I ask for wisdom to find that balance.

-Doors is still looking for a second uncle to live in the house with me and share the responsibilities, we will also be sharing a room. In the interim one of the uncles at the other house with be helping me out.

May you be aware of God’s nearness today,

Matt