Different, Not Bad, Just Different

Jambo from Uganda! We are here safely. We have been praying for a long time that Jesus would get us here and He answered our prayer! He is amazing. We are in the capital city for a week trying to get used to a new time zone. Did you know our day starts 7 hours earlier than yours? So that means I have to teach my body to wake up earlier, go to bed earlier, and eat at different times. I think I am getting the hang of it.

There are lots of things that are different here. Instead of eating apples for snack like I do in the states, I eat mango. When we go to someone’s house, instead of knocking we say, “hodi!” And instead of someone opening a door, they say, “karibu” which means “you are welcome to come in.” Ugandans drive on the other side of the road. There are so many different things, not different bad, just different.

I am learning a lot. Will you pray for me and Ben as we learn all these new things? I am so excited to see my new house. We will drive up to our new home in Arua next week. Will you also pray that we make friends quickly? I miss you lots. Thanks for praying for us and know that we are praying for you too!

*This is a friend we found in our kitchen. So fun!

Learning a New Language

Ben here, I decided that I wanted to update you about my life, and Tim was nice enough to share his blog. Mom says that the blog is for both of us, and any other siblings that come along, so we need to share. Tim just keeps saying "mine." Mom and Dad are working on that with him.

Any way,  things are going well. We are getting ready to leave Mississippi to go to Colorado for some training. Really I mean Mom, Dad and Tim will have training. I will just be in the nursery making new friends. The first two weeks of training are about how to learn a language when you have to just learn it by living it instead of a classroom.

Learning a language is tough! I should know. I am learning my first language right now. While I have not been able to say any words yet, I have some that I am learning. I know both mama and dada. Dad wanted me to be sure to tell you that I have said "dada" and that should count as my first word. Mom says that it doesn't count because I was just babbling when the sounds came out.

Other phrases I am learning are "no mouth" and "no touch." I learned no mouth when I was trying to eat the swing I was in. Mom kept saying "no mouth" and pulling me away so I could not chew on it. At first I was annoyed, doesn't she know I have teeth coming in? Then I realized what she was saying and also realized I was not going to win. My "no touch" lesson was much the same but it had to do with the funny slots in the wall called an outlet.

So learning a language is tough work. Will you pray for Mom and Dad in these next two weeks as the learn how to learn a language? Will you pray for them also as we move to Uganda May 15th and actually have to learn the language? We love you and we love the support we get from our friends and family!

Hitting the Jackpot!

I want to introduce you to my “best buddy.” He lives in Mississippi and we call him, D. We have such fun together. D and I love to play at his house, at my house, at church, at the park, really anywhere we go. Coming down to MS was hard at first. I missed everything in New Jersey. I missed my house, my dog, my family. I was sad. But my first night in our MS house D came to greet us. I was so scared of the new adults I met, but D made me feel comfortable. From that night on, I always asked mom if I could go to D’s house.

I want to tell you also how Jesus used D. We are raising money to go to Uganda to tell them about Jesus. D has heard about what we are doing and he wanted to help. He decided to give all the money he was saving to Jesus to use in Uganda. Mom was so touched she cried, she is such a girl. 

D brought his bag of money he had been saving to church. He gave it to me during the communion service but I dropped it. Spilled it is more like it. Coin by coin it fell to the concrete floor. It made a loud noise and people started looking at us. At first we were embarrassed but mom said it made Jesus so happy to hear all those coins being given to help others. Jesus was so proud of D.

After the service people started asking us what happened. Mom kept saying that Jesus was laughing with us. Aunt Fran said it sounded like I hit the jackpot. I don’t think I did, but I know that Jesus did. All the coins D gave will help to train the pastors in Uganda so they can share Jesus' love with others.


D’s mom was proud of him and his choice. Are you like D? Would you give all that you have been saving to Jesus? Would you give your time and talents to help someone who might be scared and struggling? What is Jesus asking of you today? Is Jesus in Heaven looking down and laughing with you? Is Jesus proud of you and your choices? I hope and pray that in all I do I can make Jesus proud like D did.

My Many Homes

My sincerest apologies. It has been awhile since I checked the blog. I am outraged by the lack of posts since DEC 6TH!!! Let me assure you that I, Timbo, have done my part in writing but someone has not put them on the internet. If you do not believe me ask my friends at the churches we are connected with. They have heard from me. So, I am making mom post what we sent out in January. I will work on getting my new post up soon as well. Thanks for sticking with us.

From January 28th

    We are currently in Mississippi. (and we still are!) It took two days in the car to get here from our home in New Jersey. It was a long drive but we are here safe and settled into our new home. Mom and Dad say that home is wherever we sleep. I miss my NJ family a lot, but I am getting adjusted. (Things are a lot better now. I like my MS house and have made some friends, I will write about that soon.)

    All this traveling is good practice for all the traveling we will do this year. We will be in Indiana the first week of February and then back to Mississippi. (It was good. Got to see the cousins.) We will be in Colorado for five weeks in April and we will go to Uganda as soon as Jesus provides all our funds. (Join us in praying that we will be at 100% funded before we go to CO in April.) Even when we get to Uganda, we will have two homes. We will live in the capital city of Kampala for a few weeks, then we will move to Arua where we will do the ministry God has called us to. So many new homes. It can be hard to move around so many times. Will you pray for me in this time? Pray that I make new friends quickly and that I will feel “at home,” wherever home is.

The swahili word for this month is “nymbani” which means “at home.”

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming soon. I am so excited! Did you know we get presents? I just had a birthday so I know all about presents. Are you looking forward to Christmas? I am, but for more than just presents. At Christmas we get to celebrate Jesus’ birth. That is more exciting than presents. Jesus came to us! He  loves us enough to come to earth as a baby. 

Trust me, I know about babies! Ben is two months old now but he still cries more than I would like. He has started smiling which is fun. I love having a brother, even if he still wears stinky diapers and wakes me up at night. Can you believe that God became a baby because He loves us? How amazing, I wouldn’t want to be a baby again.

This year lets remember that there is more to Christmas than presents. We should thank Jesus for coming to us. Merry Christmas or in Swahili “Krismasi Njema.”

Love, Timbo 

Getting Ready and Being Prepared

Mom and Dad have been getting ready for Uganda. We want to be ready to go as soon as all our support is raised. Some things are fun to do; I got to go shopping this fall and buy lots of summer clothes on clearance. Mom says that it is summer all the time in Uganda, so I need summer clothes in lots of sizes. I am also learning some Swahili. It is fun to learn new words. I know how to say elephant (tembo), lion (simba), giraffe (twiga) and lots of other more useful words.

One of the things that is not as fun is getting shots. To go to Uganda I need to get six shots that I wouldn’t need here in America. I have had three and will continue to get more as we get closer to leaving. To be ready to serve Jesus we need to be prepared. What are some ways you prepare for serving Jesus? Are you reading your bible so that you can know God better? Do you pray for your friends who do not know Jesus? We need to be ready to show Jesus' love to everyone we meet. As we are getting ready to go to Uganda, we are also making sure we are ready to serve Jesus here as we are able. 

 

By the way, I am loving being a BIG brother. Benjamin is cute when he is not crying. He does sleep a lot though... I can't wait until he is big enough to play with. The Swhaili word for the month is "dawa" which is the word for medicine. I will be excited when all these shots are over. Love Timbo

Taking Care of Each Other

I want to introduce you to Benjamin Daniel. He is my brother and he was born September 23rd. I am so excited to have a brother. Mom and Dad like him too. Ben can not do much by himself yet. He needs mom to feed him and he needs his diapers changed. He can’t play yet. Mostly he just eats and sleeps.

Because Ben needs so much I try to help when I can. I give him toys if he is crying. I put his dirty diapers in the trash. Sometimes I help dad pick out Ben’s clothes. I also help mom find the pacifier when it is missing.

It is my job to help take care of my brother. Did you know that we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus? We are all God’s children and we should take care of each other. We should love and be kind to each other. We should help in any way we can. I pray that you will help those around you this week and show Jesus’ love to them.