JUNE 2009

Dear Friends,

Greetings from sunny Sarasota, Florida. It has been sunny and lovely since I came home in November, but now the rainy season has started which is a relief. Everytime it rained here, I was praying for my friends in Uganda because I had heard that they were suffering from lack of rain with some deaths due to lack of food. Thankfully, I found out that it had started to rain the same time it did here. For us in America lack of rain means nothing more than hot weather, in Africa lives are dependent on the rain.

God has also rained blessings down on me since I have been back in America. I have a wonderful job and a nice apartment in a beautiful area of Sarasota. My mom is doing well and is actually better now than before she had a stroke in March, 2008. She has lost 50 pounds by changing her eating habits and exercising and is taking her medication which has brought her blood pressure down to normal. My brother-in-law, Buddy, is also doing well. He has been back to work full time now for the last month after almost 5 months of rest, healing and physical therapy for his back injury that occurred last November. He now has a new job which is closer to home and in a much better environment. Thank you all so much for all of your prayers for me and my family.

I am now happy to write to you once again with plans for the future.  When I accepted the position serving the congregation of St. Armand’s Key Lutheran church as their Parish Nurse,  they agreed for me to go back to Africa once a year in the summer for 1 month. God provided the job, the time off and now He has provided the funds for my flight back to Uganda through a generous donor. I will be leaving on July 10 and returning to the states on August 14.

It has been exciting to hear from those who were trained last year in Uganda. They have sent reports of trainings which have taken place in schools, churches and communities since I came home. One report stated that a small team went to a high school in Soroti, Uganda and trained many students on HIV and the consequences of premarital sex. They are planning to go into 15 other schools. This group has minimal funding to organize the trainings. Another young man wrote to tell me that he has been performing dramas about HIV. These reports have been so encouraging especially since in Uganda it is very unusual for anyone to do any volunteer work. However, the church has some sense of obligation to the community and its own members so we were able to motivate them through the Word of God and they are helping others and being blessed in the process.

PAG Church in Nakatunya has started an organization called Christian Development Initiative. They have trained 25 church/community leaders in a place called Tubur, Uganda. They are currently training in another area. They have plans to do more trainings but are hindered by lack of finances. Please pray that they will find an organization which would fund the work that they would like to do, working with the churches and using the modules we designed. I will be going to Uganda to follow-up on the places where the trainings have taken place to encourage those who were trained to continue reaching out to others. We will then work together to refine the training to include family planning and any other needed training. Family planning is a subject which has come up frequently in the trainings we have done in the past but we did not have a formal training module prepared for this.

Thank you so much to those who have given faithfully over the last few years and those who continue to give towards this work in Uganda. I do have funds remaining in my Global Outreach Account which  will go towards the expenses of this trip. I would like to raise more funds to assist several African friends who are doing ministry in Uganda and other countries. One friend I have known now for 12 years.

Here are some of the ministries that I hope to contribute to:

• Reverend Francis Atwau and PAG Church Nakatunya – They need support to continue the HIV trainings when I am not there as well as to complete the church building.
• Rebecca & Peter Kimbugwe are friends who are helping 30 orphaned and needy children. Rebecca is a friend from YWAM who has sickle cell anemia and in spite of numerous bouts with severe pain she has survived to marry and help others.
• Joseph Magora is a Zimbabwean YWAMer who is working in Bukavu, DRC (Congo) with the local church and with the pigmies in the forest outside of Bukavu.
• Manuel Bonga is a Mozambiquan YWAMer planning to go to Angola to minister in the area of HIV/AIDS.
• Goshen Nursery School was started by some friends of mine who are teaching a Bible based curriculum to these small children who sometimes go home and minister to their parents.
• Mary Eteu is a good friend who is the Prison Fellowship chaplain for Eastern Uganda and needs funds to facilitate her work with the prisoners.
• Pastor Richard Epiu is a friend who is a great teacher/preacher but needs to be facilitated to be able to go out to train church leaders who desperately need training in many areas.
• Reverend Samuel Ngorok is a good friend who has a desire to get a degree in theology or development but needs sponsorship. He has planted five churches in Karamoja and is a great leader in the community but needs a degree to better help his people in the future.

A few days ago, God impressed upon me I Corinthians chapter 16. In this chapter Paul was speaking to the Corinthians about the doors God had opened for him as He was leading him from place to place and their support of His work and the people in Jerusalem. He was very thankful for those who were devoted to serving God as they assisted him along the way. I am also very thankful. None of this work would have been possible without your help and support. So many of you have given so much throughout the last several years. Many have prayed endlessly. Thank you all so much for all your love and support! You are welcome to continue praying as well as continuing your support through Global Outreach. May God bless you exceedingly and abundantly beyond all you can ask you imagine.  

“Therefore, my dear brothers (and sisters), stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.” I Corinthians 15: 58 & 16: 23-24

Hi Everyone,

Below is my  newsletter which was written several weeks ago now. I have started my new job which is so awesome. It is so wonderful to be on the staff of a very strong church. Only God could have arranged this. I would never have dreamt it to be possible. Thank you to all that have prayed so much for me. I am very blessed to have such wonderful friends and such a wonderful God. See below for details... I have also been blessed to be staying with a friend near one beach and will be moving about 5 miles away to an apt. near another beach. I will be 0.7 miles from work so I plan to be walking to work and to the beach. Pray that I will follow through with the plan to walk to work ;) You are welcome to come visit!

Update December, 2008

Merry Christmas

& Happy New Year!

September 2008

My Dear Friends,

Greetings from Sarasota! Yes, I am still here though I had planned to go back to Uganda at the end of August. It has been a summer of ups and downs. The first month that I was home was spent helping my mom as she regained her independence. She is doing well for 84 years of age, though she remains unsteady on her feet and has some small remaining effects from her stroke. The next few months were spent speaking in churches and other small groups bringing awareness about the situation in Africa as well as the problem of HIV/AIDS in the world. I was also blessed to attend the International AIDS Conference in Mexico at the beginning of August. I was moving forward with preparations to return to Uganda at the end of August and had even purchased my ticket to leave.

At the end of July, I received some news that brought a change in plans. Earlier this year I made a decision that I would not return to Uganda to work with CLIDE and had talked with some American friends in Soroti about joining with their team so that I would have more freedom to form a team of my own to focus on the HIV trainings instead of trying to fit into the CLIDE team which was very busy doing many other things. These couples initially agreed for me to join their team for prayer and accountability as well as for support as needed. However, at the end of July, due to different circumstances, they decided that it would not be a good time for me to join them.

Proverbs 19:21 says that “Many are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” After returning from spending a few weeks in prayer and in the Word, I met with my pastor, Tom Renno, and a team from my church, Peace Christian Fellowship in North Port. Together we made the decision for me to take a break from missions for now. There are several issues which make it difficult for me to go back to Uganda at this time to continue full-time work. Some of those issues are related to my family. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Tom is not willing to let me go back to Soroti on my own under Global Outreach because the other missionaries from Global Outreach are about 4-5 hours drive away. Because of my family and other issues, I do not have the strength to try to start over in another area of Uganda or with another organization elsewhere at this time.

In 1996, the original vision that God gave to me was to do short-term missions about three months out of the year and to be self-supporting. This changed quickly when I had a chance to go to Nigeria later that year. The only way I could go was to raise support. After raising the support, the trip was cancelled. I later went back to the original plan of attending YWAM’s Discipleship Training School which I did in January 1997 with the funds which were raised for the Nigeria trip. Later, after going to Africa several times, I felt that God was leading me to full-time missions. Now He has put a hold on, or a stop to, this idea. I do hope to return to Africa at some point in time whether it be for short- or long-term work. I know the needs are great and I am willing to go, but I need to be obedient to God and stay home for now.

HOME!

I am so happy to be home in Sarasota which is such a lovely place to return home to! I returned home on May 19^th. It is amazing how time has flown by. I have been staying with my mom and helping her to reorganize her apartment. My friend, Karen Goulet, helped me to do a makeover of the living/dining room. It looks so cute now. If you are in the area, please come on over. My mom is doing well after having a minor stroke at the end of March. She has very minimal effects remaining from the stroke and will hopefully be stronger than before the stroke if she will continue the exercises she has been taught and encouraged to do. Thanks for all your prayers!!!

THE HEART OF AFRICA

Since I last wrote in April, I traveled through 7 countries and spent approximately 60+ hours on buses, 40 hours on a cargo ship, 2 ½ days on planes and in airports and about 20+ hours on the road traveling back and forth to Soroti in Uganda and that is just a rough estimate. It was a great trip! I really enjoyed visiting so many new places and being able to minister in the heart of Africa. However, one of the challenging things on the trip was to see that the heart of Africa is bleeding. So much blood has been shed in the countries of Rwanda, Congo, Burundi as well as in Kenya and Zimbabwe and even South Africa recently. My heart bleeds for Africa.   

I left Uganda for Rwanda on Monday, April 7. We arrived in the capital city of Kigali around 4 pm. All of the stores and restaurants were closed in observation of the Memorial for the genocide that took place in 1994 when 1 million people were killed in 90 days. We went to a Genocide Memorial the next day and then the rest of the week all I could think about was all the people who had been killed there and apparently are still being killed, slowly and quietly. It was very sad to be in Rwanda during this week.

Tracey's Newsletter

October 2007

Greetings From Uganda! 

I am still here after 5 months. Things are going well outside of the normal challenges associated with being a missionary living in a foreign land. Praise God and thank you for your prayers!

Hospitality

The last few months have been so busy. We had many students visiting CLIDE from America during their summer break. Most were Veterinary Medicine students but we did have a few others as well. I was happy to host these visitors in my house as they came from the airport before going to Karamoja and back, as well for rest periods in between. I live approximately 8-9 hours from the airport and where we work in Karamoja is another four hours drive. One student Jessica was here for three months and she was such a blessing to so many people including me.  The students helped me to make cushions for my sitting room and to pick out material for drapes which still need to be sewn together. So Hospitality has been my first assignment that God had planned though I had no idea about it. He provided this nice house with several bedrooms for many visitors. I have had dinner parties for up to 14 people during the last few months. Thankfully, He has also provided a lady named Janet who has been helping me to cook for all the visitors and to keep the house and clothes of all very clean. She is so wonderful and I am so thankful for her along with Herbert who God also provided to stay in the boys quarters to help me with cutting the grass and keeping this place clean as well as to provide security. Thank You for your prayers!

CLIDE – Community Livestock-Integrated Development Consultancy, is the organization I am working with here in Uganda. The last few months have been a major orientation time for me to get to know the members of staff as well as what everyone is doing. I would like to share about the different ministries that we are involved with.

Veterinary Medicine/Livestock Training - This has been the main area of work for Dr. Val Shean, my co-worker, in the past. She trained Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) who have also been trained in using herbal medicines for animals, as well as to produce them for marketing purposes. These are locally and freely available to be used to treat animals as well as humans, and knowledge about these useful plants needs to be preserved. In October, I attended a one week training for about 40 CAHWs. They produced some of these medicines during the training. One is similar to medicine on the market in the US containing Capsaicin for pain. I gave it to a friend here who used it for chronic pain in his feet and legs and it helped him so much. They also make black stones which draw venom out of a snake bite which is useful here as well.  I led a session one morning with the CAHW to introduce the subject of HIV/AIDS. They actually know a lot about HIV but have requested further training which we hope to do in the future. Since I have been here CLIDE also had goat trainings where widows and needy people from two churches were trained to care for goats and also given a goat. These goats will multiply and provide a source of income for them. We have been asked by one of the churches to do HIV training, which we plan to do in November.

Social Transformation/Peace – In September, we had a two week training in Karamoja about peace according to Biblical principles. Five men came from Dr. Val’s church in Oregon and they helped to facilitate the meetings by telling Bible stories and relating their own personal testimonies about forgiveness and reconciliation. These meetings were held for the church leaders the first week, then community members and church leaders the second week. At the time, I wondered how these few (50 or so) people could make an impact on the warriors in the communties who were raiding to steal cows and taking lives at the same time. However, many people were praying in America during the meetings and the outcome of these meetings is so far very encouraging. Since the training ended, there have been two more meetings of over 200 people led by the Archdeacons from the Anglican Church in the opposing clans, the Pian and the Bokora. There was also a meeting which was called by the Jie along with the Bokora. The Jie are another clan which was not involved with the meetings but decided to call their own meeting. People do want peace and they have discussed many ways for that peace to come about. One of the plans is for the Pian and the Bokora to start a new village and live together. They are planning to meet soon in the area where they want to build the village. I learned so much during the meetings about the Karamajong and was also able to participate in the meetings by leading one session on the Traditional Approaches to Peace and also looking at what other organizations have been doing to promote peace. Many thanks to those of you who were praying. About 35 people made decisions to follow Christ or rededicate themselves to following Him. Many who came forward were church leaders. Praise God!

Timothy Project – This is a project which started to help street children who were returned to Karamoja from the streets of Kampala, the capital city. CLIDE is now sponsoring 130 children and is looking for donors to help with this sponsorship. We have also been mentoring the students that have come to work with us this summer. They also helped with the Timothy Project students by taking histories and photos of the students.  Meanwhile, I am still sponsoring the same three students I was helping before, thanks to your generous gifts. One will be finishing university soon. He was able to come with us to Karamoja for the CAHW training and he really enjoyed seeing much of what he is learning in his mass communications major being put into practice.

Emergency/Relief Projects – The Timothy Project started out as an emergency/relief project when 700+ people were brought by bus suddenly to Karamoja from the streets of Kampala, the capital city. Some are still living in the camp where they were settled. CLIDE assisted with relocating people and getting the kids in school. We are now having another serious situation in all the areas surrounding Soroti. We have had serious floods which have washed out several major roads. The water is threatening to break the one remaining bridge that we have to the capital city. Many people have lost their crops and homes. CLIDE will be able to help some of these people with its emergency funds if needed. The UN and other relief organizations are flying supplies to many areas. Please pray for the floods to recede and for assistance to those who have lost all they have.

Tracey’s Newsletter

July 2007

Uganda

Praise God!

I am finally back in Uganda and doing very well. I am so happy to be back in Soroti after 10 years. I was first here for my   Discipleship Training School with Youth With A Mission in 1997. Soroti is such a nice town with very nice people. It will be a great place for me to be based to go out to the more remote areas.

My friends Jonathan Miller and Darrell Miller came to Uganda with me to look for and fix up a house for me to rent. If you know them you can ask them to show you the video they took while here in May. You can also ask them how they liked the fried white ants. They were successful in helping me to decide on a very good house which is one block from Dr. Val’s house and also one block from the office where I will be working. It is interesting that this is the same house where I stayed in 1997. It was a house for YWAM staff and preschool. At that time I stayed in the Boy’s/Servant’s Quarters. Now God has given me the whole house including the Boy’s Quarters. I plan to have some boys coming to stay there to help me with the compound and for security purposes. I really thank God and all of you for making it possible for me to have my own house! I also thank God for my new watch dog, Sheba. She is now three months old and is growing very fast and will soon be a big German Shepherd Watchdog.

Unfortunately, when Jonathan and Darrell were here, there was not much time to work on my house because it took so long to meet and negotiate with the landlord. However, they were successful in getting not only water but hot water running in Val’s house. She had lived there for over 11 years and had a brand new hot water tank in the house but it had never been used.  She has been using only water from a rain water tank which flows into the kitchen. So after several weeks of hard, frustrating work, Jonathan and Darrell were successful in providing hot showers for all of us. Val is a wonderful person who takes things in stride and is always busy helping many people so she has not minded heating up water on the stove for bathing. She is also not in Soroti most of the time and has even more rustic conditions in the village where she stays in Karamoja. I have somehow  enjoyed watching her eat grasshoppers and ants for breakfast. Although I must admit, I have been a very big chicken and only ate one grasshopper one morning. Yum L

At the end of May, I attended an HIV conference in Jinja which helped to confirm the vision that I believe God has given me to work with churches in training people about HIV and encouraging them to minister to those who are affected by the HIV epidemic. We have two churches in Karamoja who would like to have training to begin their own programs. I also have invitations for training from my last stay in Uganda to follow through with.

Meanwhile, I have been trying to get my house painted and functional. There have been a few challenges along the way, like the day I came home to a flood after the floor had been painted a nice green color in the hallway. Somehow the toilet tank decided to crack open and then messed up part of the nice newly painted floor. Because of the newly painted floor, I had slept in a closet off the dining room the first night and was bitten by the many mosquitos who reside in the house with me. The next day I bought a nice new mosquito net because Val had my other ones and was out of town. So now I have many mosquito nets to match the many beds that I will have for you to come visit me!

CLIDE

If you will remember, CLIDE – Community Livestock-Integrated Development Consultancy, is the organization I will be working with here in Uganda. Dr. Valerie Shean is the veterinarian who recently started this organization. It has been great to get to know Dr. Val and the CLIDE staff. They are all great. My role in the organization is to be the HIV/AIDS Education Coordinator. I will continue to work under the administrative supervision of Global Outreach but will be working with Dr. Val’s team based in Soroti. So far, we have had several team meetings. A few weeks ago we had three days of planning for the next quarter. One of my tasks has been to train our staff on HIV on July 18^th. I will also be developing training modules to be used by staff to train communities. Some of the topics will include HIV Awareness/Sensitization, Counseling, Home Based Care, Nutrition, Income Generating Activities (IGAs) and Proposal Writing. These trainings will help communities and churches to develop their own programs to carry on the work of caring for their neighbors, family members and friends.

Prayer Requests

• Please keep me in prayer for health and safety.
• For CLIDE to be registered and obtain NGO (non-government organization) status in Uganda.
• For someone to help me with my yard work and stay in the Boy’s Quarters for security.
• For a vehicle – I was thinking of purchasing a vehicle together with CLIDE. It would be shared for my personal use and for CLIDE. We each have some funds but not enough for a good vehicle. The vehicle we are planning to purchase is a “91-“93 Land Cruiser which will cost at least $15,000. This type of vehicle is necessary to manage the roads     especially in the rural areas and in Karamoja. I would prefer to purchase a vehicle on my own but am very short of funds. Please pray that God would lead us in what to do, for us to find a good vehicle/vehicles for the right price at the right time, and for God’s provision.

Thank You

There are several individuals and churches who are helping me on a monthly basis, occasionally, or have given one time gifts. I want to take this opportunity to recognize Peace Christian Fellowship, Bethel Mennonite Church, The Tabernacle, St. Armand’s Lutheran Church, Abundant Life Church, New Life Worship Center, Faith International Christian Center, Christ United Methodist Church, and the many individuals that are helping me. Without you, it would be impossible for me to be here. I am so blessed by how God has increased my income as the need arose. It has not been easy for me to think of renting a house but God knew I needed a good place to stay so He is providing through all of you. I appreciate you so much. May God Bless You All.

Blessings to you & yours

this Christmas season 2006

& in the New Year 2007!

Greetings from Sunny Florida! I am so thankful to be in Florida for Christmas this year. Sarasota is surely a wonderful place to come home to for the holidays. I am very thankful to my mom for deciding to move here in 1983. It gets a little chilly at times but not bad J and the beach is awesome when I get time to go there. I have started working part time doing admissions for Tidewell Hospice and Palliative Care so I am keeping busy while continuing communications with my friends overseas and working on getting myself ready to go back.

I am sending this as a mini-newsletter to update you on what is happening with me since I won’t be sending another newsletter until the end of January. I am doing better physically after many months of several health issues. Praise God! Keep praying for 100% healing physically, emotionally & spiritually. God has been good in providing many caring persons to pray for me and care for these issues. I was thanking God yesterday for the many kind professionals that have helped me. God has been very good to me.

As for Africa, I am still hoping to go back probably in April. We are still working out the details and this is based on continued healing. Pray for all my tests to be normal in January. I am having a special test done on January 22 which needs to be normal for me to be able to go back to Uganda and to other parts of Africa where God has opened doors for me to do HIV seminars.

Thank you again for all your love, support and prayers. You all are so wonderful to me. I wish you all Happy Holidays and I pray for you in 2007, as Paul did for the Ephesians.

“I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season!

Love, Tracey

Tracey’s Newsletter

August 2006

Global Outreach

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15

Greetings to you from Sarasota, Florida, where God has been speaking to me recently from this scripture in Isaiah. God wants us to rest in him, in quietness and trust, repenting of our individual sins (which means turning our back on these sins, rather than just confessing our sins). It is not easy to do this, but if we don’t He says in Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the obstinate children, declares the Lord, to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.” However, in vs. 18, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” and in vs 21, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying “This is the way; walk in it.””

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a loving and compassionate God. He wants us to rest in Him, be quiet and trust Him and He will direct our paths. As I learn to do this, He will give me the direction I need as I look forward to returning to Africa possibly in March of 2007 to work with the Karamajong in NE Uganda. “If it is the Lord’s will, we will do this or that.” James 4:15. I believe that God will restore me and show me the way even if it means staying home. I praise God because he is restoring me. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in March but this has now resolved through prayer, good nutrition, supplements, and rest. I believe that God will continue to heal me physically, mentally and spiritually so I can go back to Africa. Meanwhile, I am still continuing to try to rest amidst the busyness of life – being on the prayer and missions teams at church, advisory board for Hearts Afire (a new short term medical missions organization started by a friend here in Sarasota), organizing my life and connecting with many people.

Students

Now I would like to introduce to you three Ugandan students that I started to support this last year through this ministry. In Uganda, people are often struggling to find funds for high school and higher education. Elementary school is free, besides some small costs like uniforms. However, to continue past the equivalent of our American 6^th grade, it is too expensive for most students. So I have helped one student finish high school and now have 3 others whom I am now helping with school fees.

The first student is Ben Ochieng who is 22 years old. He stayed in the Ugandan household where I stayed in Jinja in 2004. He was the best out of the many kids that were supported by this household. His parents are alive and working as missionaries with YWAM on the Buvuma Islands so they do not have any regular income though they have been trained in the teaching and nursing professions. They have 5 children they are trying to support. Ben is a very strong Christian who is now attending a Bachelor’s Degree program in Mass Communications/Public Relations at Uganda Christian University which is a great school. He is now in the second of six semesters in this 3 year program which costs about $1200 per year for tuition and housing. After graduating, he hopes to work as a journalist for a few years as a voice for the voiceless especially those from the Buvuma Islands. He is also interested in doing public relations and counseling for an organization working with HIV.

Habakkuk Esadu is a 30 year old S4 (10^th grade) student. He had to drop out of school due lack of funds. Both of his parents have died. He has a desire to finish S6 and continue in a Teacher’s Training College. He loves children and he is a very funny guy. We worked together on the islands. He has never married and does not have any children of his own. He has been working with YWAM for many years without any regular support just managing day to day. He worked with the Discipleship Training School for several years before going to the Buvuma Islands to help out. He is now taking a break from YWAM to pursue his education. He is from a war torn area of Northern Uganda and his family has all been displaced from their home village. His school fees are approximately $320 per year.

Winnie Birenge is a 17 year old S3 (9^th grade) student. Her father has died of AIDS and her mother is also HIV positive and is not supporting her children. Winnie has 6 siblings. She worked in our house in Mutufu last October doing house work. She was very clean and hard working. She has a desire to finish school and attend a program in accounting. Her fees are only $170 per year.

If you are interested in helping one of these students or all, it would be greatly appreciated. You can send a check through Global Outreach to my account and let me know if it is for a certain student. Those who have been giving on a regular basis are already helping them. I thank you & they thank you so much. Please pray for these students to do well on their exams and for the fees to be paid and other needs to be met.

Prayer Requests

• Thanks for your prayers for my friend, Elsie Maayasi, who has finished chemotherapy with moderate discomfort and is now receiving radiation therapy. Please continue to pray for her.
• God’s wisdom and direction in my own life. I am thankful for a car that was given to me to drive and I am also happy to be staying in Sarasota. Pray for me to hear that voice behind me saying…..
• Please continue to pray for the country of Uganda. Pray for the government to make good decisions and fight corruption and that money given for the poor will bring development in the rural areas and not just to those who are in control of the finances. Serious prayer is also needed to end the suffering in Northern Uganda where people are still living in camps as well as in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo and many other areas of the world.
• Pray for peace in Jerusalem (Ps 122:6). As we pray, I believe we are also praying for Jesus to return to take us back with him to heaven, because I do not think that peace will come in Israel or on the earth until that time. Are you ready to go? Do you have a relationship with Jesus? I hope so.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you

and may He give you peace.     Numbers 6:24-26 paraphrased

Merry Christmas

& Happy New Year!!

2005/2006

Holiday Greetings to you from Uganda J This is the third holiday I have spent in Uganda and I have to say that I am happy to be here with my friends. It is a privilege to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In good times and in bad. With electricity and without. It is the bad times in which we grow closer to HIM, so I am thankful for the difficult times he has brought me through this year and throughout my life.

Behold, our God is Great and we do not know HIM (Job 36:26 KJV).

Recently a friend of mine brought this scripture to light for me and it was on my mind as I was thinking what to write in this Christmas message to all of you. Most people celebrate Christmas without even knowing or caring who God is. Even those of us who are Christians do not always nurture our relationship with the triune God – The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. At Christmas time we focus on the birth of Jesus then at Easter his death and resurrection but we never celebrate the Father or the Holy Spirit.

Behold, our God is Great and we do not know HIM

He so much wants to have an intimate relationship with us. He wants to talk to you and to hear your voice speaking to HIM. He wants to be involved in all aspects of our lives. Not just church on Sunday or only at Christmas and Easter. He wants us to grow in our knowledge of Him, though He is so great we can never fully know Him.

Behold, our God is Great and we do not know HIM

He is so great, He came to earth to live and die for us. But we forget about Him in our daily mad rush of life.

I pray that you will not forget GOD this holiday season and that you will grow in 2006 in your relationship and in intimacy with HIM and will feel His presence in your life. I wish you all the best in this holiday season and in the New Year to come.

God Bless You,

 Tracey

Newsletter June 2005

Tracey Rzepka

Greetings from Mutufu!

Mud, Mud, Everywhere Mud! Rain and mud welcomed me to my new mud walled room in Mutufu on May 27. I had a few days of culture shock but am now beginning to settle in. Culture shock occurs when a person goes to live in a culture or place totally foreign to them. I have been in Uganda enough times that I usually do not suffer from this. Only when someone does something that is so opposite to what I am used to, do I get shocked. However, when returning to the U.S. I normally suffer from the shock of so many vehicles moving so fast, huge stores full of so much and everyone moving so quickly and busily. It is easier for me to integrate the slower pace of Africa than America, though I usually adjust within a short time to start moving just as fast as everyone else.

Here in Mutufu things are very different to me. I believe God has lead me to this place for many reasons. One is to live very close to the people to get to know them better. I am the only white person (muzungu) living in this area. There have been a few others in the past but none recently. There are many people who speak English especially the young people so this is helpful. I do plan to learn some Lugisu – the local language of the Bugisu tribe in this area. This will help me to communicate to the older people as well as just to be friendly. This is the first time I have been open to learning a language so it must be God driving me.

My new room was added onto my friends, Fred and Gemima Manana’s, home. The walls are very rough, damp mud with some mold on top. It will take some time to dry because it is the end of the rainy season. May and August have the heaviest rain causing lots of mud. We got stuck in the mud near the house when arriving. The last few days it has been better. Fortunately, my floor is cement, though often damp as it is also new. My roof is made of tin. I could have rented a house somewhere but I believe God wants to use this to show others that not all muzungus must live in big houses and drive big vehicles. I can also survive using a pit latrine (outhouse with hole in floor) and an outdoor shower constructed of sticks with dried banana leaves for walls and water carried in a basin. There is no roof on the shower which I actually enjoy but was interesting one day when I had to bathe in a slight drizzling rain. Already the students have commented on the fact that I am living in these conditions.

Water is carried to the house in containers from a water source that is not very close to the house. Cooking is done with either charcoal or wood with a pot propped on 3 stones. Gemima does all this work of taking care of her family which includes Deborah who is 4 and Kezia who is 1 ½. We are hoping to get someone to help with housework soon but it is very difficult to find someone who does not already have children and is willing to live in and work. Most young people are either in school or helping their own families.

So this is a small picture of my new life. For the next few months, I will be attending the Primary Health Care School as a student/teacher and sharing with staff some suggestions to improve the school and later the clinic. Currently they are renting space for the clinic but are in the process of building a large building. God has been using me in Africa in the past as a consultant so I am continuing in this role. I have also had the opportunity to counsel some people and pray with them. God also opened the door for me to speak to some men and women in a prison a few weeks ago. I was able to share my life and testimony with them along with a friend of mine and several accepted Christ. When they were called to come up for prayer for the sick nearly every prisoner came for prayer.

Another area of ministry that God has put on my heart is to help a few friends with higher education such as secondary or high school. Primary school is now available to all students for a minimal charge but higher education is expensive so many are not able to go. I am now helping 2 young men. One has a sponsoring church youth group in Yorkville, Illinois. The other is being sponsored by all of you who have been supporting me. You are touching many lives through your support. I thank you & they thank you.

Praise Reports

·         Near completion of my living quarters

·         E-mail working through computer via cellphone

·         Successful ministry in Zimbabwe and Botswana in April - 25 were trained in HIV prevention and care in Zimbabwe and discipleship continued with a family in Botswana

Prayer Requests

• Household help to relieve Gemima of work so she can help with the school
• Electricity for the school and later the clinic
• Completion of clinic – construction has begun slowly
• Completion of my living quarters especially for the complete drying of the walls and obtaining some furniture

On my first weekend here in Mutufu while I was suffering from culture shock, God gave me reassurance of my being here through a scripture. I also used this same scripture to teach in the prison. Then the following weekend the Anglican church I visited used the same scripture in their readings for the day. I really felt that God was speaking directly to me that day. It was wonderful. I would like to share parts of it now with you. Even though I have felt weak at times, I believe God will make me strong, firm and steadfast.

 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. …. and the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast…

 I Peter 5: 6-11

Monday, May 2, 2005

HI Everyone!

I am now in Botswana. I will be heading back to Uganda on Friday April 6^th. Here is a newsletter written by my friend Judith. She explains things better than I in some ways so I thought I would share it with you. Please pray for me to get my phone unlocked. I have had a great deal of problems with this & need the phone to send e-mail in Mutufu. Please also pray for my room in Mutufu to be completed so I can move in when I move there approx. May 14^th. Is it really May already?

Thank you, Bless you, Tracey

Dear Brethren,

God has bigger plans for us!! This is exactly a new ministry God has sent us to start in YWAM Sub-Sahara Africa. My prayer for the journey to Zimbabwe was answered, I and my friend Tracey boarded a South African Airways plane to Johannesburg on the afternoon of 6^th April 2OO5. We arrived at 8.00pm in the evening, that meant we had to spend the night at Johannesburg since the flight to Gaborone would be the next day at 9.00 a.m. in the morning.        

God had arranged a wonderful place for us to stay for the night. Guess what! an  international hotel Holiday Inn , a kilometer away from the airport.We got free transport to and fro to the hotel, free accommodation and free food!! What a blessing!! I can’t express every thing but what I can say is we were international visitors because every thing was at an international level. Great!! I can’t forget the international food served on long tables with all types of fruits, snacks, pudding etc. Some were  sweet and others were bitter, it was a wonderful experience.

Gaborone was cold and had little rain the first day of our arrival, we met with Fred( my brother ) who picked us in his vehicle to his house at Ramotswa. We had a nice time with Fred and Lucy and the whole family. We were heading to Zimbabwe, but had to stop at Ramotswa where a young man Nani (a Tswana) and a friend of Fred was to join us for the YWAM HIV/AIDS seminar 11th-15^th April 2005at Bulawayo Base YWAM. We traveled with another young man Felix (Zimbabwean) a friend to Fred too.

THE JOURNEY TO ZIMBABWE

   Early morning of 8th April, we got on the first bus to take us to Francistown where we were supposed to board another bus to Bulawayo, city in Zimbabwe. It took us over 10 hours to Botswana border. The big old bus from Francis town to the border was full of luggage and stuff for Zimbabwean businesswomen who cross to Botswana to do their shopping at Francistown. It was extremely hot and squeezed inside the bus with the windows closed. We could hardly get some fresh air! We felt uncomfortable. We could not manage to stretch our legs since there was chicken and luggage packed even under the bus seats. It was very disgusting!!

BOTSWANA/ZIMBABWE BORDERS

At last we got to the border very exhausted and tired. Each passenger had to hurry to Botswana Immigration Offices to join the queue for passport checking. I was over whelmed by the situation at both borders. Long curved queues of passengers were moving with their luggage and passports in their hands. Bags and suitcases were moved from the top of the buses and some just being thrown down if the owner delayed to get it from the conductor. The removing of luggage on and off the bus made me sick, it was quite disgusting and confusing. Some three guys - rustlers, drunk with a strong smell of alcohol and cigarettes coming from them, were busy pushing through the queue looking for whites (Muzungu) to confuse them. This was a way of stealing money from them. They were taken in the police cell but after a short time we saw them hanging around. We continued with the same process checking both the luggage and the passports even at Zimbabwe Immigration Offices. In that long struggle my suitcase got broken and it took us four hours to cross both borders. It was a real struggle!! We arrived at Bulawayo city at 2.30 a.m. in the night, we slept on the bus for we could not move to the YWAM base late in the night. Sleeping on the bus was a terrible situation. I couldn’t stretch my feet as we shared the seat with my friend Tracey. It was a big experience!!!!! Early morning on 9^th April Saturday we called the YWAM BLYO leader who drove us to the base.

YWAM BLYO

It is 24 miles from BLYO YWAM base to Bulawayo City. The base is quite deep in the village. It is situated at a hill with a number of other hills around. It has wonderful dormitories with grass thatched roofs. A beautiful chapel in the middle of the compound. They are seven staff members; they need prayers for their vehicle, which had just broken down recently. Transport is a problem, you walk a kilometer to the main road and you have to wait for an hour for any sympathizer to give you a lift to Bulawayo and wait for another hour to get another vehicle back to the base.

ZIMBABWE

It is a stony, hilly and rocky country with sandy soil and thorny trees all over the country. The rain starts from October to February, the rest of the year it is dry. There is less food since they have a drought in Zimbabwe. They have one season a year for planting. The population is 12 million and 25% are people living with HIV. Fuel, food, and home commodities is a big problem in Bulawayo in spite of the fact that the country is rich with gold mines. There is a lot of witchcraft going on in the communities. The country is spiritually poor. They need much prayers for the church to intervene. In their culture children are not allowed to attend funeral occasions / burial thus this means they would not know where their parents are. The relatives give them wrong stories and many lies that the parents traveled on a long journey. The things (property) of the deceased are kept away or destroyed. They believe that if it is not destroyed, the spirit of the deceased will disturb the person who has the property. Some girls get married at the age of 12 yrs and the man has got to pay the dowry. The women do most of the work through out the day, men go for drinking, those who don’t work. The government hospitals are very far and most women give birth at home by the help from the traditional birth attendants. There are very few schools both primary and secondary, and some children walk more than 12 miles to reach to school.

THE SEMINAR 11^TH TO 15^TH APRIL O5

The seminar went well, we had participants from Bulawayo, Brazil, Zambia, Malawi, England, America, Uganda. We also had some members from Family Impact organization Zimbabwe, Nehemiah Project, and some members from the community of Tombatemba village, and the YWAM Bulawayo staff .The participants liked all the teachings and they promised to go back and pass the knowledge to people in their communities. We again met Blessed, a Zimbabwean who was trained in our seminar in Botswana in 2004. The week before the Zimbabwe seminar, he was responsible for facilitating training for 350 youth about HIV/AIDS.

Due to the shortage of fuel in Bulawayo we were not able to visit HIV/AIDS organizations around the city. However we had to cancel the journey to Victoria Falls, in northern Zimbabwe, because of difficult transport. We returned to Botswana on 18^th April and stayed with Fred & Lucy and the family at Ramotswa.            Again I got the opportunity to visit some of the HIV/AIDS organizations at Gaborone.  I have also been able to minister to the youth group at Open Baptist Church Gaborone West, where I shared my testimony with them in their Youth meeting. Please pray for Nani, our Tswana friend who accepted Jesus as savior while in Zimbabwe. He needs Christian friends. Thank you for all your prayers.

Sincerely yours in Jesus,

Judith Talitwala

Tracey’s Newsletter

April 5, 2005

Greetings from Uganda!!

God is good! All the time! And so are all of you who have contributed towards my journey and have been praying for me. Thank you and May God Richly Bless You!

I am very happy to be back in Uganda. I feel comfortable here and it feels like I never left. I arrived in Jinja on March 21 after a journey of 2 days. I had a week to visit old friends and recover from jet lag before attending a retreat with the Global Outreach staff. It was a great way for me to get to know the other missionaries working with Global here in Uganda. We studied the book of Philippians and were reminded to consider others better than ourselves, refrain from complaining and arguing and be humble. Can you believe missionaries have problems with these things? Well, we do. I also was able to spend a few hours sitting by the pool with a view of Lake Victoria and got more sun than in my whole 6 months in Florida! It was lovely.

Last weekend I visited my new home in Mutufu. Things are coming along well with the school but my rooms need some prayer for completion. I will be returning there approximately May 14. Tomorrow I will be flying to Botswana and then traveling by bus to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe with my Ugandan friend, Judith Talitwala. Judith is HIV positive and will be helping myself and Kate Muammar to facilitate an HIV training seminar for YWAM staff during the week of April 11. The following week we are hoping to meet with the YWAM leadership of the Southern African countries to encourage them in the area of HIV/AIDS which is so prevalent. In all of the countries of Southern Africa, 20-40% of the adult population is HIV positive.

The elections in Zimbabwe went forth peaceably though maybe not democratically. This country needs a lot of prayer. As I was praying myself this morning, I was asking God why He is sending me to Zimbabwe. I believe he answered me through Isaiah chapters 1-3 and James 5. I believe God is sending us as an encouragement to the people there as well as to raise up people to pray. Many of you are faithful prayer warriors. Please pray for these countries who are so in need of a Savior. Salvation through Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives helps us to be obedient to God. This obedience and prayer are the only real solutions to HIV/AIDS and dictatorship. After visiting Botswana last year, I am convinced of this. Poverty is not the problem. These countries are rich in minerals. Botswana is doing fairly well financially but almost 40% of the adults there are HIV positive and many are dying. Immorality and witchcraft are rampant. People need God not only in Africa but in America where immorality is steadily rising and so is HIV in the youth. It is not going away.

So I thank you for praying. Please continue to pray. After Zimbabwe, we will spend two weeks in Botswana and return to Uganda on May 6. I need a lot of prayer for all my travel arrangements to go well. I am trusting God to work it all out. Pray that we will be an encouragement. Thank you and God Bless You.

Love, Tracey

Happy Easter!

Greetings from Uganda! I have made it safe and sound on March 21 and am very happy to be back in Uganda. I really do love it here & have enjoyed seeing my old friends here in Jinja. It is really fun greeting my Ugandan friends who were not expecting to see me even though some knew I was coming. They are so surprised and happy that I am back. It is good to be back.

Yesterday, I attended an Easter Crusade in town. YWAM performed a skit about Jesus. It was interesting that the sinners in the skit were not interested in Jesus when he was alive but when he rose from the dead they were very excited. I think that is how many of us are today. We forget about him in everyday life, but when he comes back someday, people will be very excited. Some will be full of fear because they have not had a relationship with Him when they had a chance. I hope you have a relationship with Jesus this Easter and are able to celebrate His resurrection, sort of like my friends are celebrating my return to Africa.

Love you,

Tracey

Happy New Year!

Greetings from sunny Florida! I hope your Christmas and New Year’s was as blessed as mine. It was good to be home with friends and family after being away in Uganda for the last two Christmases.

I am now very excited to share some good news with you which will affect my 2005. I am very thankful to have been officially accepted to work as a missionary under the mission organization, Global Outreach International. Global Outreach is an umbrella organization for missionaries working in the field. They do not provide financial support for me but they will help with administrative support like sending out newsletters and handling contributions sent for my ministry.

Presently, I am doing all the administrative work that needs to be done for me to return to Uganda in mid-March to work with a Ugandan organization called HUGU Youth Development Foundation(HYDF). Hugu is the short name for Buhugu Sub-county where the organization is located. This organization was started in 2001 by Fred Manana, a Ugandan who was trained in community development through YWAM. They provide vocational training for Primary Health Care Workers, auto mechanics, and builders. They have now started a clinic in the town of Mutufu and recently began building a school. They will soon start building a clinic and would also like to begin computer training courses. This program is very impressive in that they have gone quite far without any outside funding. This is very unusual in Uganda due to corrupt leaders who use money, like the students’ school fees, to fulfill their own needs while neglecting the organization. HYDF is different than the norm in Uganda with staff who are sacrificing time and energy to build this school.

My contribution to HYDF will be to work with the Primary Health Care School and Clinic. We hope to produce a correspondence course to enable missionaries or others to be trained in primary health care in their homes and then to come for practical training to our clinic. I will also be teaching in the school and eventually seeing patients and teaching in the clinic.

I am looking forward to returning to Uganda but am enjoying being home to visit with family and friends. I drove 5000 miles in about 4 weeks in October and November visiting and then attending two missions conferences. I am now trying to find time to relax and rest. This time seems to be elusive but at least I am enjoying hot showers! In Mutufu I will not have running water or electricity.

I would like to thank those of you who have partnered with me in the past in prayer and through  financial support. I could not do this work without you. I do appreciate your continued support. Finances in the future should be given through Global Outreach. They will give me 100% of the money that is designated for my ministry. I would also like to recognize and thank Pastor Tom Renno and Peace Christian Fellowship in North Port. They have graciously agreed to be my sending church and will cover my administrative costs with Global. I will continue to update you with newsletters and will periodically send out updates by e-mail, so please write to me if you have e-mail. I sent out e-mail updates in November and December, which you may have missed. Please check out my   updated website for photos of Mutufu!

I pray that God will richly bless you in the NEW YEAR 2005.            

Thank You, Tracey Rzepka

Greetings from Florida!

            I am home! I made it home safe and sound from my many travels over the last 2 months. I was greeted by Hurricane Jeanne one week after my arrival. During Hurricane Charley a good friend’s mom, Margaret Riggs, lost the home in Punta Gorda where she has lived for the last 45 years.  They were in the bathroom when the storm took off the roof of the house. It now has to be demolished and she has very little insurance. She is 77 years old and it is not easy to start over at this age. Please pray for all the people here in Florida who have lost or sustained damage to their homes. A few lost their lives. Life is not easy, at times, wherever you live.

Botswana

            The last time I wrote to you I was in Botswana. I traveled there with my Ugandan friend Judith. We visited her brother, Fred Wakabi, and his family. His 7 year old daughter, Tracy, and I became great friends while I was there and God used Judith and I to minister to their family and friends.

            We were also able to visit Maun and Rakops in Northern Botswana. It was freezing in the morning, then very hot in the afternoon, as we traveled 11 hours north across the desert in a bus with closed windows and no heat or A/C. We visited missionary friends who are working in this very dry country. It is dry physically and spiritually. There are very few good churches and many cult churches and “healing” churches where people who are ill pay to stay on church property plus an additional fee for the “pastors” to pray for healing. These churches resemble the widespread witchdoctors who also heal people, for a fee. We briefly visited a well-known witchdoctor who is related to Lucy Wakabi, Fred’s wife. We also met his son who is in training as a “healer” and who wanted to marry me in spite of the fact that he is already married. He smelled badly of alcohol and he told me he is Catholic when I told him I can only marry someone who is a Christian. He even had cows that he was ready to offer for my hand in marriage. I had to turn him down. I wonder if he will remember the white girl who turned down his offer.

Present and Future

I have just returned from spending two wonderful weeks in this small village in Eastern Uganda near Mt. Elgon. It is a very lush, fertile place with lots of rain (and mud). Sam Kisolo’s brother, Fred Manana, started a primary health care school there in 2001. Since starting the school 3 classes of students have graduated as well as a few who have been trained vocationally in auto mechanics and brick-laying. Fred was trained in YWAM in the Discipleship Training School as well as in an International Foundations in Community Development School. He then had a vision to go back and help his own village where many were dying unnecessarily of minor illnesses and in childbirth. He has successfully begun this school without any outside funding. I am very impressed with the team there. They have given their time sacrificially to work and grow. This is unusual in the culture here and even at home. Very few people will volunteer or work to help someone in need without payment. But God is good and He rewards those who are willing to serve as these Ugandans are doing in this small community.

God brought me for just 2 short weeks to visit them and encourage them. I was able to train the two current classes on HIV/AIDS. For many it was the first up close exposure they have ever had with a white person, so they were a bit shy my first day with them. I also taught three of the staff members some basics in computers, made a brochure with them and opened up a new e-mail account. Now I am praying about going back to work with them next year. There are many details that will have to fall in place so I am moving forward and waiting to see what God will do. I am excited about the possibility. Praise God.

Botswana

My brief time working in the national office has now come to an end. I am busy preparing to go to Botswana and catching up on other projects and investing time in people’s lives. Relationships here are more important than tasks. I am learning this but the tasks are still there, like balancing my accounts. I will not be going to South Africa as originally planned but will still go to Botswana. We will spend time visiting with Judith’s brother and I am hoping to be able to visit an American couple working there. We will then teach the YWAM staff and high school students about HIV. In Botswana, 39% of the population is HIV Positive.

I was open to the possibility of working in Botswana in the future but now it seems God may be leading me to Mutufu instead. As I was considering and praying about leaving Uganda permanently, I was reminded that God brought me here. He has given me many friends here and there is still more work to do, so I don’t think it is yet time for me to leave for good. Hopefully, these relationships with my Ugandan friends are bringing discipleship and development to them and the people around them. So, I hope to come back next year in March after being home for 6 months. Meanwhile, I will be leaving July 24^th for Botswana with my friend Judith Talitwaala. Judith’s newsletter is now in place on my website - www.missionarytracey.com. We will be returning to Uganda on August 18. I will then say good-bye to my many friends and head home through England the first week of September.

Prayer Requests

Before I leave, there are several friends here whom I would like to help in special ways. I would like for you to help me in praying for them and also to contribute as you feel led. The first person is my friend, Joseph Magora. Joseph is from Zimbabwe and is working as a YWAM missionary in Bukavu, Eastern Congo. He works with the pygmies there who are isolated in the jungle. He takes public transport and then walks about 15 km to reach them. I would love to buy him a motorcycle to help him get there more easily. Recently there has been fighting in Bukavu with rebel groups taking over the city. You may have seen this on the news. It is stable now and he is able to go “home”. The second two friends are interested in furthering their educations, one in social work and the other in primary health care. The tuition and living expenses are high and I would like to help them. This is only a tiny drop in a never-ending bucket of needs and wants. It has been on my heart to help them so I thought I would share the needs with you and ask for your prayers.

As for me, I again thank all of you who are praying for me and supporting me financially. My year commitment is almost finished. I am glad that I now have something to look forward to in planning and praying. Please help me in praying for God’s direction for the future. God Bless you.

Love, Tracey

HIV/AIDS

My desire for focus of ministry is to do Biblically based training in the areas of HIV/AIDS and primary health care. Fortunately, there are still many opportunities available to do this. A few weeks ago I was able to teach students of a Bible School near Jinja about HIV/AIDS and STDs. I really enjoyed the students. It is always so much fun for me to hear the questions that students ask and then try to answer them. I am hoping to have other opportunities such as this in the next few months besides working in the office.

Another opportunity is an invitation to speak to the YWAM base and schools in  Botswana and to the YWAM leadership in South Africa in August. I am so excited about this. I will be working with my friends, Kate Muammar from England and Judith Talitwala from here in Uganda. I first worked with Kate in 1997 in Soroti, Uganda where she taught me how to lead AIDS training workshops. Judith is my good friend and counselor here in Jinja. We worked together early last year when we took a team to Namiti Island in Lake Victoria to teach about HIV/AIDS. We had a wonderful time together and became good friends. She also assisted in our training for the CHWs in December on Lingira island.

Judith is a widow from nearby Iganga, Uganda who was diagnosed HIV positive in 1993 but first had symptoms of HIV in 1987. She was tested after her husband died suddenly. Judith has been living very positively with HIV for close to 17 years and maybe more. She had 2 daughters. One has died of HIV and her daughter, Alice, is suffering from the same. She has 2 grandchildren and 2 stepgrandchildren and is struggling to provide fees for their education. Alice is often ill and is hoping to take medication for HIV, which is available in Uganda but is very expensive. Judith works as staff for YWAM, counseling people in the villages and her many friends about HIV and other issues. There are many people who depend on her for support. She could be working for the local AIDS agency making a good salary but instead struggles along as a missionary with minimal support. If you would like to read Judith’s newsletter please see my new and improved website – www.missionarytracey.com. Please pray for us as we prepare to go outside of Uganda to teach about HIV. We need prayers for all the details to be worked out, for good health for both of us and for the funding needed to travel.

So, God is good. All the time. This is one of the mottos that I learned in my YWAM Discipleship Training School. I am slowly learning to be flexible and also to wait on God for His direction. Waiting is not easy but God is good and He knows best!

I am again reminded of this verse in James 4:13+ “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.””

Thank you so much for continuing to support me financially and in prayer. You have been very faithful. This support has helped me many, many times when I was wondering what in the world I was doing here in Africa. Please help me in praying for guidance for the future and for God’s perfect will to be done in my life.

May God Bless You ALL Exceedingly, Abundantly Above All You Can Ask or Imagine.

Love, Tracey

Tracey's Newsletter

February 2004

Hallelujah!

HIV Training

Sanitation

Students

          For three weeks in January, we had the pleasure of hosting a team of 9 students and their 2 leaders from a Discipleship Training School in Maui, Hawaii. We had so much fun with the students as they came with us to do immunizations, cooked, dug a garden, moved bricks for the church and helped build a fence. They worked very hard but also found time to do evangelism on the football (soccer) field, at homes, and in villages where they did dramas or skits about creation and Jesus. Several people committed their lives to Christ. They also helped the church to experience small group Bible studies. We hope these studies will continue in the future. I believe this is the first time the church has had them.

Future

          February 9-19, 1 will be attending the Christian Medical and Dental Association's Continuing Medical Education Conference in Kenya. I am very blessed that God provided for me to go to this conference with Dominica, a Ugandan YWAM fhend of mine who is a clinical ofticer (physician's assistant). I am looking forward to American praise and worship and fellowship with other medical missionaries.

          The last week of February we plan to have a week of prayer and planning for the future of the YWAM Buvuma Islands Project (BIP) on Lingira Island. I will probably be spending most of March working on the BIP accounts and reports. All the accountability since last March needs to go into a computer.

Prayer Requests

Prayer Needs

U        Adam Powell – my nephew was sent to prison in December. He is 23 years old and having difficulty with the hardened criminals around him. Please pray that he will be transferred to a prison soon with a Christian rehabilitation program and that he will be safe.

U        Finances for the BIP project – we have many needs including the replacement of one of our boats. It was destroyed by waves during the night a few weeks ago. It was good that it didn’t happen with us in the boat!

U        My computer – It is currently infected with the "hurri" virus.

U        Health and Safety – It is very tiring to travel on public transportation.  It is also dangerous.  There are often accidents and many people are killed. I need continued prayers for strength, safety and good health.

Health and Safety – it is very tiring to travel on public transportation. It is also dangerous. There are often accidents and many people are killed. I need continued prayers for strength, safety and good health.

"To obey is better than sacrifice" I Samuel 15:22

I hope I will be able to add new pictures from time to time and I hope that the information included will be interesting to you.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to e-mail me at missionharley@yahoo.com.

Bless you all, Your missionary friend, Tracey