Have you noticed that Christmas comes earlier every year? This year I noticed stores selling Christmas decorations before Halloween! One of my usual radio stations starting playing only Christmas music before Thanksgiving. How many times can I listen to “Santa Baby” and “Frosty the Snowman”? The day after Thanksgiving is one of the craziest shopping days of the year. Bargain hunters flood the stores, looking for deals and parents are trying to grab the hottest new toy for their child. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to find the perfect gift for someone you love, but I hope we don’t lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas.

I know it sounds cliché but Jesus really is the reason for the season. Our Heavenly Father wanted to give us the perfect gift so he gave us his Son, through whom we have eternal life. I think all of us would agree that Jesus was the best gift ever. But God didn’t stop there, he gave us another gift; the gift of the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians 1:22 says that “God set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance.” Our Heavenly Father wants to give his children not just good gifts, but great gifts. Luke 11:13 says, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Have you ever been so excited about giving someone the perfect gift that you let them open it early? You just knew how much they were going to love it and you couldn’t wait to see their face when they opened it. This year I feel like God has been letting me open my presents early. As my family has been preparing to move to Uganda, Africa in January to do mission work for six months, we have been in constant prayer. We have been asking God to bless our preparations, to open doors, to show us how he wants us to serve, and to help our children with this transition. Sometimes I feel like I am treating God like Santa Clause by handing him my wish list. But Jesus said in Matthew 21:22, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” So I gave God a really long wish list. Ephesians 3:20 says that “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” And he has done just that for our family.

We know God has gifts waiting for us in Uganda. We know we will have life changing experiences as we share his love with those in need. We know he will open our eyes and change our hearts. We have been anticipating all the great things God has planned for us. But what we didn’t anticipate were the gifts he would let us open early before we went to Uganda. It seems that our Heavenly Father was so excited to give us these gifts and he must have known that we needed them, so he didn’t make us wait.

As I said, I had been praying for many things as we prepared for Uganda, but the prayers I prayed the most were for my children. I prayed for God to comfort my oldest daughter Jessica as she was struggling with leaving her friends behind. I prayed for God to heal the ear of my son Joshua because he still has a small hole in his ear drum even after going through many surgeries. I prayed for God to take away the stress that was causing my youngest daughter Jennifer to have stomach pains. In late September, I had a breaking point. I had tried to do whatever I could to help my children, but they were still in pain. My heart was breaking for my children and I told God that I couldn’t do this alone, that I needed His help. Within one week God let me open one of my presents early. Out of the blue, my husband got an email from a stranger named Steve in Oklahoma who had read an article in Guideposts magazine that they had done about Jim’s work in Uganda with teen prisoners. Steve told Jim that his friend was moving his family to Uganda next year for six months to do medical mission work and our families should talk. This sounded interesting, but it turned out to be more than we could have asked or imagined.

Allow me to compare our two families. We are Jim and Joline Gash, in our early forties. They are Jay and Jill Gregston, in their early forties. Our kids are Jessica, Joshua, and Jennifer, who are 16, 13, and 11. Their kids are Jake, Jared, and Jayne, who are 16, 12, and 11. I was a school teacher and retired when we started a family. Jill was a school teacher and retired when they started a family. We have a Yorkshire Terrier. They have two Yorkshire Terriers. We are moving to Uganda for six months on January 26th. They are moving to Uganda for six months on February 2nd. My husband is a lawyer looking to use his legal training and experience to serve the underserved in Uganda. Jay is an ER doctor looking to use his medical training and experience to serve the underserved in Uganda. Our oldest children will be attending school on line, and our younger two will be doing an independent study/home school curriculum. Both our families are deeply committed Christians and looking to live out our faith in Africa. After meeting the Gregstons through Skype, they made arrangements to live in the same apartment complex as us, in the apartment directly below us.

I told you this was more than we could have asked or imagined. Now our children will have friends their own age in Uganda who they can relate to, we have built-in medical care from our own personal ER doctor, and we can share in each others’ ministries, struggles, and joys. Our preparations for Uganda are going much more smoothly now as Jay and Jim share ideas about travel and our living situation, and Jill and I share our “to do” list and packing list. I could not have imagined that God would give me a moving buddy like Jill. We talk about once a week to see how the preparations are going and we pray for each other all the time. This has been a greater gift than I could have imagined.

But God didn’t stop there. He wanted to give me another early gift. I had been praying for God to show us how he wanted us to serve in Uganda. People kept asking me what exactly I would be doing there, and I said I wasn’t sure yet but I hoped that my children and I would be able to work with teen prisoners and orphans. I knew there would be plenty of work to do and I could make contacts when I arrived in Uganda. But I think God knew how I like to plan ahead, so this month he connected me with an organization called Sixty Feet that is doing exactly the kind of work I hoped to do. When Jim took a trip to Uganda a couple of weeks ago, he met with two of the Sixty Feet volunteers who encouraged us to come along with them to help in their work. Then last weekend the co-founders of Sixty Feet from Atlanta happened to be in southern CA and visited us at our home to talk more about their ministry. I know this is God’s plan for us.

God’s plans are always better than anything I could have imagined. He gives way better gifts than anything I could have put on my wish list. He knew exactly what I needed even before I asked, but I think He is pleased when I climb up into his lap and tell him what I want. I am so thankful that Christmas came early for me this year and that my Heavenly Father already let His daughter open a couple of gifts. Those gifts are just what I need to go to Uganda and share the gift of Jesus with others.

Our preparations for six months in Africa have generated more than a little stress as we attempt to ready our house for five renters, line up the kids’ school work, and determine what we will bring with us in the two suitcases we each get.  As a consequence, the five of us have taken to doing shots together.  Unsurprisingly, Joline was the clear winner.  It wasn’t even close.  I was the biggest lightweight of all of us.  But to be fair to me, I had already done quite a few shots over the past year, so I already had a head start.

I am, of course, talking about the vaccinations that we have had to get in advance of our travel, which is now less than two months away.  Last weekend, we ventured to a shot doctor to make sure we had all the shots recommended by the US State Department.  In order to be permitted to enter Uganda, one has to have proof of being vaccinated against Yellow Fever within the past ten years.  It is also recommended that travelers get a series of Hepatitis A (two) and B (three) shots.  Add that to the polio booster, the Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis, and seasonal flu shots, and you have the makings of pin cushion.  Wash it all down with a four-pill series of live Typhoid virus, and we are set to go.  Well, except for the daily (constipating) Malaria pills we will be taking for seven months (including the month after we get back).  The good part is that none of it is covered by insurance, so there goes $2,500 . . .

I am planning on laying out naked at sunset, drinking from a public toilet, getting a half-dozen tattoos from a street vendor, and licking my fingers every few minutes when I am visiting the children’s prison just so I can make sure to get my money’s worth.

Next Post: Waka Waka

As usual, I spoke with Henry on Wednesday morning.  He is now back at home in Hoima, Uganda with his family, after having finished the final term of his S4 year (“O” Level) and after having completed the national exams, which consist of about a dozen subjects taken over the course of three weeks.  Henry scored well on the practice exam, and hopes to focus on the sciences for his “A” Level education.  The results of these exams are scheduled to be released in February.  After the results come out, then there is a mad scramble to apply for admission to “A” Level schools where students focus on a smaller number of subjects for the their S5 and S6 years.

I am pleased that we will be in Uganda when the results come out so that we can assist in his efforts to get admitted to a strong school.  Selfishly, we hope he is admitted to a school in Kampala so he will be nearby, but the schools in Kampala tend to be the strongest anyway.

In the meanwhile, Henry is working for his parents’ envelope business during the day, folding and gluing plain paper into the shape of envelopes for use by the local pharmacy.  When I spoke with him on Wednesday, his family was all gathered around the phone trying their best to understand my mzungu English.  Not so much.  He was in good spirits and repeatedly reminded me how surprised he was that I had come for his graduation.  I had told him I wouldn’t be able to attend, so I guess it is a good thing that he is surprised that I was lying to him.  I also talked to him about the price of cows in Uganda, since his family had been forced to sell their small herd of cows (seven or eight) when Henry, his brother, and his father had been arrested and then were confined to jail for two years (prior to being exonerated).  He told me that the price depended upon the gender and size, but that they were approximately 1 million shillings each, which is just under $400 using the current conversion rate.

I also had a chance to catch up with Bob Goff yesterday, who was back at Pepperdine to teach his final Non-Profit Law class and to speak at an undergraduate gathering.  He was running on “pop tarts and coffee,” having stopped through DC with Hero and Darla on their way back from Uganda.  Hero absolutely loved the Oval Office and had his picture taken while sitting in Obama’s chair.  Too bad the President was out of town that day, or Hero could have sat on his lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas.  From DC, they traveled to Los Angeles, and spent Tuesday at Disneyland.  All of it started to catch up with Hero who got a bit emotional, but he caught a second wind after he spoke with his mother on the phone.

Bob dropped Hero off with the family with whom he will be living for the next six months while the surgeries are taking place, the first of which is scheduled shortly after Thanksgiving.  I really wish I could post a picture of him and tell you his real name – he is so innocent and precious.  He is also a hugger and considers no one to be a stranger.  It is simply heartbreaking to know what happened to him, but heartwarming to know that Cedars Sinai is stepping up to the plate and doing its best to make him whole again.

Next post: Our Twin Family

At some point in the middle of the night, a huge thunder strike hit that sounded like a bomb blast.  I remember waking up briefly, and then nodding back off.  My over-active subconscious quickly transformed the thunder strike into a bomb blast and built a dream around it.  In the dream, rebels seized control of the Ugandan government, and my family and others were trying to find a way out of the country through neighboring Rwanda.  The daily Islamic calls to prayer at 5:30 a.m. were integrated into the dream as rebel force warnings against leaving the country.  It was a relief to finally regain sufficient consciousness to recapture a hold on reality.  I hope God wasn’t trying to tell me something through that dream . . .

A few hours later, I met with Justice K at my hotel for a farewell breakfast.  During the course of the conversation, my resolve to drive while in Uganda next year solidified.  The court-supplied driver will take me to and from work, but the car will remain with me and I will drive in the evenings and on the weekends.

After breakfast, Tango picked me up for a day of meetings.  This was the first time I called Tango back since he was a no-show three days ago.  I really like Tango and know that he, his wife, and two year-old son really need the income, so I decided to give him a second chance.  After he picked me up, I gently questioned him about why he didn’t show up last time.  He was in jail.  On his way home the prior evening, a Boda Boda driver ran one of the few stoplights in Uganda and hit Tango’s front right corner.  The Boda driver suffered some scrapes and bruises, the car suffered a broken headlight, and Tango suffered the indignity of being arrested and taken to jail pending the outcome of the accident investigation.  At noon the following day, the police declared him to be innocent of any wrongdoing and gave him his car and phone back.  When I asked him why they had arrested him, he simply replied: “This is Uganda, the police do what they want and you can do nothing about it.”  I, of course, felt like an idiot for using other drivers for three days as a punishment for him not showing up.

As we were heading to town, I called John Niemeyer to find out how getting 9 year-old Hero through the airport security went, and found out that it had not gone according to plan.  After Cedars Sinai had agreed to perform the surgery to reconstruct what the witch doctor had damaged, a visa for Hero and his mother was secured from the US Embassy.  Hero’s visa says “Minor Traveling with Mother” or words to that effect.  Later, it was determined that his mother was unable to accompany him, but the visa still has the restriction written on it.  Bob had been assured by the US Embassy that this was merely descriptive, and not required so he would be fine as long as he had the paperwork granting him legal guardianship from the Family Court.  Wrong.

The airline refused to allow them to fly without his mother accompanying them.  But Bob was not to be denied and was able to track down a US Embassy official who convinced the airline to reverse its decision, saying that Embassy official would personally guarantee that they would have no liability for allowing them to fly.  Whew.

Tango brought me to the Garden City mall where I picked up a book for the American couple trying to finalize their adoption (A & S).  The book contains The Children Act, the law governing foster parenting, legal guardianship, and adoption in Uganda.  (I had purchased this book for myself on a previous trip to Uganda).  From there, I met A & S for lunch and we talked about their appeal, the statutory and case law governing the issues in their appeal, and got to know each other a bit more.  Their Ugandan attorney and I are in contact and I hope to be able to assist them in the briefing before the appellate court.  They were in remarkably good spirits for a couple who had planned to be in Uganda for less than a month, but have now been here for about eight months.  This peace comes, I am sure, from an abiding belief that God has knit together their family that now includes both the boy over whom they have already been granted legal guardianship, and the girl they are also seeking to adopt.  As we departed, I told them that I hoped never to see them again in Uganda.  Under a best-case scenario, they could be gone by Christmas.  Under a worse-case scenario, they would have be here another two and a half years.

While we were eating, the skies opened up again in ways that I will never get used to.  Accordingly, the trip to the Naguru Remand Home was more like wading than driving.  The good thing is there is never a chance of hydroplaning in Uganda – the texture of the road is way, way too uneven for that.  I spent about forty minutes talking to the Assistant Warden Moses at Naguru about the status and makeup of the children in this prison.  There are 18 girls and 155 boys.  Only about 10, however, are charged with capital offenses, so there does not seem to be a significant backlog at the High Court right now.  There are several, however, who have been held there awaiting trial in excess of the statutory limit.  I hope to be able to remedy that when I return.

After a quick stop at the craft market to buy souvenirs, we headed out for the airport.  I wanted to get there plenty early, and arrived about three hours before my flight.  I could tell the pace of the week was finally catching up with me when I was completely perplexed by the lack of urinals in the men’s restroom in the airport lounge.  I stood there about ten seconds trying to figure this out, and then saw distinctly women’s shoes under the door of the stall.  Oops.  I got a few nasty looks as I exited the clearly marked “Ladies” room.

After a quick Skype call with Joline and the kids, I caught up on some e-mail and college football scores.  I learned that Bob and Hero made it safely to London.  After they landed in London, Hero asked Bob if they could just walk the rest of the way back to America.

I slept most of the nine-hour flight to Amsterdam, which means that I am guaranteed to have my sleeping patterns messed up when I get home on Sunday around noon.  I am sitting on the floor outside of the KLM lounge in Amsterdam.  I have now gotten it down to a science — wander into the check-in area at the lounge, present them with my Delta Sky Miles Card, have them politely reject me for entrance because I am not important enough, leave having memorized the wireless code they have posted, then sit on the floor outside the lounge and connect to the internet.  Is that wrong?

It will be good to be back in the States, but I am excited to return and introduce my family to this wonderful country.  I hope to be able to report tomorrow about Hero’s very cool two-day stopover on the way back to Los Angeles tomorrow.

When I am 90 years old and having trouble recognizing loved ones or even remembering my name, I will still remember this day like it was yesterday.  It began like the others this past week — up early catching up on e-mails and world events.  The prior evening, I learned why Tango (my driver) hadn’t come the day before – he had “knocked” (had an accident with) a Boda Boda driver that morning.  His car was damaged, but no one was injured badly.  Maybe I shouldn’t drive here next year after all . . .

The driver took me to the Naguru Remand Home where there are currently 160 juveniles of both genders between the ages of 13 and 17 imprisoned waiting for their trials.  I met briefly with the warden and one of the social workers I have gotten to know.  I also saw the ladies from Sixty Feet joining arms and singing with some of the girls.  They are living Matthew 25:36, “I was in prison, and you came to visit me.”  I wasn’t able to stay long myself – I hope to be able to return for longer on Friday.

Bob Goff and the rest of the team were returning from a safari at Murchison Falls, and I was scheduled to meet them at the Family Court for a very important hearing.  Waiting outside the courtroom was Hero and his mother.  As described previously: http://www.throwingstarfish.com/2011/11/surprise/, Hero is a nine year-old boy who miraculously survived a witch doctor ritual last year, and bravely testified against his assailant.  On the calendar that day at the Family Court was the final approval to allow Hero to travel back to the United States with Bob for a six-month series of reconstructive surgeries by one of the top doctors in the world.  Hero and his mother remembered me from Saturday and they told me where to find Bob.

As it happens all too often in Uganda, the judge was late in arriving to court.  In fact, the 11:00 a.m. hearing was spontaneously postponed until later in the afternoon.  This threw the day’s itinerary for a loop, but after a few calls, a switch was arranged – we would head directly to Luzira right now, have lunch with distinguished members of the Ugandan Judiciary at 1:00, then come back to the courthouse for the hearing.  Unfortunately, this timeline meant that we would have to leave the rest of the group behind because there wasn’t time to get them from the hotel, so we set off for Luzira.

Luzira is the maximum security prison outside of Kampala where the Witch Doctor (WD) who carved up Hero was incarcerated.  When Bob had told me a few weeks ago that one thing he wanted to do on this trip was to go visit WD in prison, I wasn’t all surprised because I already knew that Bob was nuts.  In the car with me were the driver, Margaret’s pistol-packing female body guard (who looks fifteen years old), Bob, and Margaret.  Margaret is also nuts.  She was the Registrar in Masindi when Henry was convicted and she played an instrumental role in securing his ultimate freedom.  She is now the Family Court Registrar and she is also a pastor who has no fear because God is on her side.  Just ask her.

It took about twenty minutes to get through all of the various security check points, but we finally ended up in the Warden’s office.  The Warden’s office was nice and spacious, and had plush red carpet to match the furniture upholstery.  Bob and Margaret took seats just on the other side of the desk from the Warden and I sat behind them on a small couch.  They explained to the Warden who they wanted to see, and after some back and forth, he sent a guard away to retrieve WD.  While we were waiting, the Warden told us that they had 3000 prisoners at this facility that was built in the 1920s to house 600.  They have recently reached a point where more than half of the prisoners have been convicted of serious crimes – the others are still waiting for their day in court.  Until just recently, more than half of the prisoners were on remand, just waiting for something to happen on their cases.

After about ten minutes, the guard and WD entered through a door to my left.  WD looked nothing like how I pictured him.  More specifically, he looked exactly like I thought he would look, but I pictured him in cuffs, leg restraints, chains, or something that would restrain his movement.  Nope.  Just bright yellow shorts and a bright yellow short-sleeved shirt with something bulky in his breast pocket.  As he walked in, he slumped to his knees on the soft carpet and looked submissively at the warden, who said something to him in another language.  Bob and Margaret turned their chairs to face him, and he looked at me and then looked at the couch.  I was sitting on the right side of the two-person couch and nervously patted the seat next to me, motioning him to join me on the couch.  He did.  Gulp.

It was clear that he remembered Bob and Margaret.  Bob had sat with the prosecution for WD’s entire trial and provided critical support and assistance to the prosecution.  Bob also arranged for the entire trial to be captured on film.  This is going to be a phenomenal book someday, and I am confident that Bob will get it written.  Our meeting with WD will be at least a full chapter, but here are the quick highlights.

Bob asks WD how he is doing, and WD responds through Margaret, who is interpreting, that he is OK, but prison is hard.  WD tells Bob that he is not angry with Bob and holds nothing against him.  Bob tells WD that he hopes he knows how much God loves him and that God will forgive him for what he has done.  WD gives a barely perceptible nod.  Bob tells WD that he talks to Jesus every day and that he often prays for WD, praying that someday WD will come to know Jesus as well.  I, of course, am riveted, and no longer nervous about WD pulling out some chicken feet and shrinking my head.

WD says something to Margaret as he reaches inside his breast pocket and pulls out a small Bible consisting of the Psalms and the New Testament.  Margaret interprets that WD has been given a Bible in English and has attended some of the church services at Luzira.  Bob asks WD if he can see his Bible.  WD hands it to him.  As Bob is flipping through it to see if it has been highlighted or marked in any way, he asks WD if he has any favorite verses.  Psalms 23 and 91.  Bob then asks if WD wants Jesus to be the Lord of his life.  WD responds that while he has been reading the Bible and thinking about it, he has not yet decided if he wants to follow Jesus (or words to that effect).  Bob leans in and asks, would you like to make that decision today?  WD pauses, then nods.  Would you like to ask Jesus into your heart right now?  Pause.  Nod.

I, of course, start crying (though quietly).  Bob moves his chair close to WD and reaches out to hold his hands.  Not wanting to be left out, Margaret and I place our hands on theirs.  With Margaret interpreting, Bob walks WD through his confession of faith and acceptance of Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  My eyes and nose are leaking so much that I think WD was wondering if he accidentally put a spell on me, but I kept my hands on his until it was finished.  Afterward, Bob stands up and opens his arms wide.  WD stands up and Bob hugs him, telling him that they are now brothers and friends.  Monkey see, monkey do.  I, the monkey, hugged it out with WD also.  Bob then arranged with the Warden to get WD a Bible in his native language, and we gave the Warden some money for WD to be able to purchase some things at the prison canteen.  Bob got instructions on how to write to WD and promised him that he would.

As we were leaving, I was still trying to process what had just happened.  Even now, I am still trying to process what happened.  I confess to being a bit of skeptic when I hear stories like this, but I will testify under oath that the foregoing is true and accurate in all respects.

From Luzira, we drove to a really good Chinese restaurant to meet up with some special friends.  Our group arrived before the others, and I tried to tell the rest of them what had happened, but I couldn’t really talk about it without choking up.  Shortly after we arrived, Katie Davis arrived to join us.  I was really hoping to meet her on this trip.  She, like pretty much everyone else in the world, is a friend of Bob so she drove in from Jinja to meet up with us.

The reason I was hoping to meet Katie was that I had just finished her new book before I left for Uganda on this trip.  It is called “Kisses from Katie” and it is a fantastic story about a girl who moved to Uganda after graduating from high school in Tennessee about four years ago and has decided to stay.  She currently has more than a dozen orphan girls she is foster parenting and runs an organization that educates hundreds, and feeds over a thousand.  Her organization is called Amazima Ministries and you can learn more about it and the NYT Bestseller book here: http://www.amazima.org/index.html.

Also joining us for lunch were Benjamin Odoki, Chief Justice of the Ugandan Supreme Court, Alice Bahigeine, Deputy Chief Justice, Yorokamu Bamwine, Principal Judge, Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Head of the Commericial Court, and Stella Arach, Court of Appeals Judge.  All of these judicial officials have made recent visits to Pepperdine.  It was great to renew our friendship with them over a good meal.

After lunch, Bob, John Niemeyer, and I set out for the courthouse.  Unsurprisingly, the judge was still not ready for the hearing, so we waited with Hero, Hero’s mom, and Hero’s little brother.  Hero is such a well-adjusted and friendly boy that one would never suspect what he has gone through.  Eventually, Bob, Hero, Hero’s mom, and a Ugandan attorney Bob hired went back into the Judge’s chambers.  Two hours later, they emerged with all the documents necessary for Hero to come to the United States to have his operations.  Praise God.

We left the courthouse at around 6:30 and it took us about 45 minutes to drive the two miles to the hotel where we met up with the rest of the group for dinner.  I was finally able to tell the whole story – Bob is too modest to tell it himself, and he is also a crier so I am not sure he could have gotten through it.  We ate at the hotel’s restaurant called “Spur” and I had a good burger and great milkshake.  Justice Benjamin Kabiito (Civil Division), whom I have gotten to know well on my trips here and his trip to Pepperdine, also joined us also.

It was a long and exhausting day, but one I will never forget.  I suspect tomorrow will be the same, as Bob and Margaret have convened a national gathering of witch doctors to try to educate them about the human trafficking laws and to warn them that they will be prosecuted if they persist in ritual mutilation of children.  For Bob, however, this simply means trying to make them his friends.  It should be another memorable day.