The Value of a Name

I could get my produce from the Embassy Supermarket that is convenient, clean, and usually devoid of beggars but I have always chosen to immerse myself with the people I love here in Uganda and try at every casual meeting to develop further relations.  Grocery shopping for 7 years every week affords one ample opportunity to get to know the people in the market.  I have been around for births and deaths, marriage and divorce, joy and pain.  It is a blessing to me to be among friends here.  Being a long term missionary allows me the opportunity to have the time in which to develop trust and genuine concern for this place and these people.  I am eternally grateful to God for this but…

Today was a hard day.  I am not sure why today was especially hard as it is not a new phenomenon for me to see the loneliness of children.  Perhaps it is because it is so close to Christmas time, a time that is already emotionally charged in my heart.  Today like every week I visited, I laughed, I bought vegetables, and I bought my little beggar a rolex.  He is called Baby Rolex and I am Mama Rolex as I rarely leave the market without buying him a Rolex, a street food made of flat bread with an egg rolled inside.  Ironically his real name is “Lubega” Israel.  I say ironically because phonetically the Luganda name “Lubega” sounds a lot like “the beggar”.  Sadly this makes it most fitting.  And then there is the name Israel meaning “He struggles with God”… Lubega Israel certainly has his work cut out for him as he ponders the question, “why this lot in life?”

Israel goes to the orphan school down the road and has a family that lives in Soweto, the largest slum in Uganda, located just behind my market.  He has family but this is his school holiday and his family cannot financially support him during the holiday.  During school term he gets to eat at the orphan school but on holiday he is sent to the market to beg for food in order to survive.  His dad sells pineapples on the street because he cannot afford rent for a market stall and his mom sells cow legs.  This is not enough to support a family so the name he was given seems appropriate.  He has stepped into his role as the little beggar.  I love this little beggar yet I know so little about him and there are so many exactly like him. 

I saw him playing with a dull broken box cutter and a burned out light bulb today and thought that with proper love, nutrition, and education perhaps one day he could be an inventor or an electrical engineer.  We will never know how much he could contribute but I do know that God has a higher plan and purpose for this little guy.  I saw him standing in the gutter with his little bare feet about the same size as my 4 year old Hannah’s and I wanted to bring him home with me.  I think, had I done this, that everyone would have been pleased and how sad that made me that his parents were in a place of such defeat that it would be better for them to give their child away.  I hate poverty but I know that God is the orchestrator of life and this life of Baby Rolex is just beginning and could yet prove to be powerful and bring Christ great glory.  But his circumstances still bring me to tears.

Most of my friends in the market have never even thought to ask this little beggar his name as they have all consuming issues of their own.  He is just shooed away so as not to be a nuisance to customers.  This week he will eat each day from our food budget as I left a bit of my grocery money in the hands of a trusted vendor and asked that she look out for this little one and try to show him God’s love.  This is not a solution just a Band-Aid but today in the market I helped give this little beggar a face, a name.  His name is Lubega Israel and he is not a nuisance but a child, a blessing from the Father.

God bless the lonely, the hungry, and the forgotten this year whether they are in the gutter of a slum market like mine, in a bedroom behind closed doors in a house full of opulence or just numbly looking for meaning for their lives.  We all need to know we are recognized.  Like Israel we all need to remember that He knows our name and He has a plan for us.

As we thank the Lord for each of you and your unique contribution to our ministry here in Uganda we pray that you continue to be blessed through the name of Jesus Christ who imparts great value to you and to the works of your hands.

Thank you and Happy New Year!

1^st order of window and door lumber called “Mugavu” arrived Friday. Amount shown represents 1/8^th of our actual “Phase 1” need.

It was legally cut near the Rwenzori Mountains (Eastern Uganda at the DRC border)…though it was farm grown, thus the mountain gorillas remain safe, the rains prevented the truck from getting within 2 miles of the source. So after using chain saws to cut down and rough cut the sizes shown the men carried around 250 - 12” x 2” x 7 foot and 25 - 12” x 2” x 14 foot pieces the two miles on their heads to the truck. Ironically the delivery truck lost a wheel 400 feet from the container shown. So using the ministries Toyota Hilux we loaded 19 - 7 footers at a time (or 6 – 14 footers) and moved them the remaining 400 feet. They were amazingly heavy…yes I helped carry, load and unload.

Depending on whom you ask it will take 3 months to 1 year to air dry. Since this is not nearly fast enough we will convert the container behind into a “charcoal & fan/natural air” kiln dryer. Hopefully this will drastically decrease that time.

The furnace will be built using some of the clay bricks that were not acceptable for construction. We will build it partly below ground level and the remaining parts, including the chimney, will be buried in a mound of dirt above ground. Air will naturally flow up hill (via a shallow brick lined tunnel) in order to fuel the charcoal fire inside.

The slightly inclined brick chimney will give the heat and smoke its only opportunity to escape the furnace; into the container.

Two holes will be cut at the far end of the container. They will be small enough such that a would-be thief cannot pull the timber out. It will also be small enough such that the two fans blowing the moisture out also cannot be taken. When there is no electricity, since the holes will be toward the containers top, nature should take its course.

A metal awning will be welded in place to keep the rains out.

Diversify

Sophia has decided to diversify her investments… just incase

Trust Jesus

He’s the King of kings

Site Inspection

A typical day at the job site. The girls are learning to build and to point and talk just like Daddy and the foremen Mr. Richard and Mr. Lawrence. They were really cute as they began building their own houses for goats and chickens right next to the site where all the workmen were really working hard on the school block. Sophia came to me to show me just how she had been so careful to make all her angles right angles. She really does listen to her dad and is learning a lot about construction.


Steve and Richard discuss the days activities at the job site. Steve does a walk through most every day, measuring and making sure that the walls are plumb, the corners are all set at the right angles and the windows are located correctly. He has to insure all materials are delivered and accounted for so as to prevent any slowdowns on the project. He is the liaison between the foremen and the building committee managing schedule, quality, and accountability on building project. This is no small task as this is an all cash society.


And he said he would never climb Ugandan scaffolding... Anything for God! Any OSHA conscious individuals should avert your eyes as these pictures show Steve measuring and checking for level at 10+ feet up on eucalyptus pole scaffolding held together with nails and rope.

"All for Him my precious Savior, I surrender all"

Hoyt Family Ministries in Uganda

It is our hope that this blog space allows for a real and active way to keep you our family, friends, supporters, and prayer partners up to date on all the activities with our ministry to Uganda through engineering Ministries international. We have for sometime been technologically challenged and we hope are up to the task of updating this blog regularly but as usual please have mercy for our internet is slow and inconsistent. Also please note that the best way to contact us is always directly via email at either steve@emiea.org or melinda@emiea.org

Steve is working diligently on Music For Life Primary School building project while the children and I are still consumed with living a life of learning and growing through Home School and Community Bible Study with both the women and children in our area.

Your Sister In Christ,
Melinda Hoyt