Somebody once told me how Martin Luther answered the question, “What would you do if you knew you only had one more day to live?”  They said his answer was, “I would plant a tree.”  Whether or not Martin was ever actually asked that question or answered in such a way, the thought struck me. The thought of spending one’s last day to plant a tree which he would never see flourish and produce fruit could easily seem foolish.  However, I have become increasingly aware that God calls me to plant trees and sow seeds…that I often don’t get the privilege to watch produce fruit.

I have less than ten weeks left in Uganda.  Micah will be returning at the same time as me, but he’ll be coming back within a month after that, so we’re not quite in the same boat.  During our last stint out in the village, we planted almost 100 trees on Nate Jore’s land.  The thought of the quantity and quality of oranges, mangos, tangerines, and avacados that could be produced in a couple years is exciting…but not mine to see.  I labored to plant those trees, but I’ve got move on to the new place God is calling me.  Thoughts of my physical labor and the hope for physical and very edible fruits have turned to thoughts of spiritual labor in the kingdom of God and the fruits which bring Him glory.

I’ve met a lot of people, seen a lot of sights, and done a lot of things in Uganda.  I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I’ve been a failure at times.  But through it all, I cling to the promise that God called me here, and that He has been using me.  Looking forward at these last two months, I want to be planting as many trees and sowing as much of the Word of God seed as God allows and enables.  There is a great spiritual need for Christ in Uganda – in our apartment, on the streets of Jinja, in the villages, and on the islands.  I know that I likely won’t get to see any of the longterm affects of my investing in the lives of people here in the next couple months…but it’s not about my getting to see the fruit.  It’s about God’s glory.  He calls me to plant and sow His Word, so planting and sowing is what I am going to do.

The Bible has a lot to say about sowing seed, trees, producing fruit, reaping harvests, and the growth that God alone can give.  If it interests you to look at just a few, check out: I Corinthians 3:6-7, Mark 4:26-29, John 15:8, 1 Peter 1:22-25, and Psalm 126:5-6.  There are many others, but those are some that have interested me today.

Don’t try and produce fruit in the lives of others, my friends.  It doesn’t work.  Listen to the voice of God and obey in doing what He calls you to.  He provides abundant grace, and His Word is full of promises to which you can cling.  God is surely good.

I look forward to my last 10 weeks in Uganda.  I don’t know everything that is going to happen nor whether I am going to get to see any immediate fruit from my ministry…but I know God is going before and with me.  And that’s enough.

May the grace of God and the riches of Jesus Christ be with you.

Planting and sowing,

Hans

Here are some pictures from our last couple weeks in Uganda:

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Dear Family and Friends,

It has been a while since you have heard from Micah and I.  We were enjoying a break from the busy schedule of town & village Ambassador Institute classes, working at the land, and other responsibilities.  The highlight of my break came when my family and Janna arrived on December 26th.  The following 12 days until their departure were my “12 days of Christmas.”  They were some of the most blessed days I have ever experienced.

Here are just some photos from their time here:

Micah and I are getting ready for a transition during our time here in Uganda.  Coming this February, we will be moving into an apartment in an old, run down mansion.  The place is looking pretty shabby right now..but we’re in the process of fixing it up (will post pictures of the place soon).  More than just moving for the purpose of our own growth during our time here in Uganda, Micah and I are moving to this building because the spiritual condition of most of the tenants is similar to the current condition of the building – broken, in disrepair, and dark.  Micah and I are praying that God would use us there to bring His light and to be His fragrance.  We are praying for meaningful opportunities to interact with these other tenants as we live in the same building as them.  Pray for us.

An update email is going to be sent out soon that will have more information about what is going on in our lives and how you can be praying for us.  Micah and I say “thank you” to you for the ways you support us.

To God be the glory!

Hans

Tusangaile!  Muli mutiya? (How are you?)

Now that I finally have had a stint in town that has been long enough to sit down and do some computer work, I can share with you some glimpses into our lives through the pictures I’ve been taking.  There’s been no lack of great pictures to take!  Actually, I think that photography is becoming a new passion of mine.  The previously unknown joy of pouring creativity and effort into capturing the Creator’s completely creative creation in pictures has got me hooked.  Thankfully, I’ve got a connection to a superb photographer in the form of Janna’s sister, Abby – soon to be my sister-in-law.  I’m soon going to be asking her for loads of advice!  Hopefully, the pictures show the results of what I learn.

I just sent out an email with a detailed update on different aspects of the ministry that is occurring here in Uganda.  If you didn’t get it, and you want it, just let me know.  For now, the plan is to primarily use the blog for sharing pictures and videos.

Here are some of those promised pictures:

We love getting our hands dirty! And just about the rest of our body as well!

We were working in the swamp to plant rice. It is a meticulous process of planting one piece of rice grass at a time.

Believe me, hoe work makes for blister-filled hands. Thankfully, those blisters later become calluses.

Sitting in the mud is actually really calming after having spent hours digging in it. Going to try it some time?

A picture of Nate’s whole swamp on the Nile – now completely dug and planted with rice.

Nate’s cow just recently gave birth to a calf! Micah, Godfrey, and I had to physically help mama cow in her process of giving birth – quite the experience!

Fresh milk! Yum!

Mulch Rd – an essential part of having a good crop.

This was one of three pictures that I captured of lightning on a particular night. It wasn’t easy!

This was a strange looking fruit that I found on Nate’s compound

Ha! This was an idea of mine to combat one of our chief enemies in the village: smoke. It is incredibly painful when it gets in your eyes while cooking. Now if only I could figure out a way to deal with the breathing problem that smoke also creates.

The Creator’s creation is captivating

There’s always an odd one in the bunch

Feel small?

Flower for my Fugleberg

This is a picture of the landscape overlooking where we meet for class on Wednesdays.

Godfrey’s grandpa (the man behind him) caught this bird while we were in Kamuli visiting Godfrey’s family

This is what he used as bait to catch the bird. Look tasty? I hear they’re not bad fried.

A recent family picture that I had the privilege of taking for the Jores

Will everyone be like this when Christ returns?

A boy and his daddy

Hey friends!

Sorry for the delay in an update on this blog – but we truly have been busy guys.  Micah, Nate, and I were just reflecting last night on how there really has not been a dull moment these past couple months.  It seems like our time here is passing both quickly and slowly.

Anyhow, I just sent out a more detailed update via email on our situation, Jowali and his family, and some other stuff.  If you want to be receiving the email updates, just let me know in a comment, or you can send an email to hanstanner@hotmail.com.

Here are some of our recent pictures that each have stories connected to them:

 

This is our good friend, Godfrey. He is a student in the Jinja town class, works for Nate in town and on his land in the village, and he teaches Micah and I many things about how to be a Musoga. I affectionately refer to him as my "stinky skunk" (yes, there is a story there).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just one of the many beautiful sunsets that I have witnessed out in the village. Our God is such an amazing artist.

So I call Godfrey my "Stinky skunk" - want to guess what he calls me? "Stubborn Chicken" he calls me. This chicken in particular was very stubborn. When trying to capture it to return it to someone, it was very quick to evade us, and it even escaped once after we caught it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy is getting really close to walking, and it is really fun to watch him grow!

It is also a lot of fun to be around this "princess". She is quick to let you know how much she loves you...and what her favorite colors and animals are. You know that you are really loved by her when she places you on a level above gum!

Beware bending down too quickly when doing village work! On one such occasion, these pants yielded to the pressure forced upon them – to my shame and for the enjoyment of others! They have since been repaired by a tailor and are being used in the village dirt once again.

 

This is a picture of the Ugandan landscape that was taken from one of the village class locations

 

 

This is Trevor, Godfrey's two-year old son. He is a bunch of fun, and I am glad that he has been staying with us out in the village these past couple weeks. One of his favorite English words is "pussy cat" - he pronounces it "puchy kake". Also, "potato" is "ta-toe".

Thanks so much for following us, praying for us, encouraging us, and being with us in this journey.  We are grateful for all the ways in which the Lord uses you!

Welaba Banange! (Bye my friends) & Mukama Abenimwe (The Lord be with you)

Hans

So it’s been three weeks since we arrived here in Uganda and where do I start?  We’ve been learning a lot.  I think God’s starting to teach us the meaning of “becoming all things to all people” as we’ve begun to experience life in the shoes of a Ugandan.  So far we’ve had the chance to get our hands dirty in the field with Godfrey and Kilenzi, learn the local way of cooking over an open fire, and practice speaking the Lusoga that we’ve been getting from our musomesa (teacher) Nate Jore.  Hans even got to slaughter a chicken which was promptly plucked, gutted, and cooked before being ingested by the two of us and our “cooking instructor” Godfrey.  I sincerely apologize for the lack of video.

But what’s really blessed us has been seeing the hand of our God actively at work here, even in the short time since we arrived.  We’ve seen it in a lot of ways, but I’ll just share one short story here.

There’s a man here named Jowali who hass become a close friend of the family’s and who lives not too far from their place.  The Jores have been praying for him and his family to come to Christ since long before we arrived.  And we’ve seen the Lord calling him in a variety of ways.  Just last week in fact, one of his sons was in a motorcycle accident on his way to the capital.  He wasn’t badly hurt, but he needed to go to the hospital. Well there was a Christian man whose name we don’t know who “happened” to be walking past at that time and helped to get Jowali’s son and his passenger into the city.

Now you have to understand that in Uganda it’s more likely for someone to stop and steal your bike and whatever you’ve got in your pockets than to bring you to the hospital.  So once he was safe at the hospital, the young man was moved to ask about the Christian’s faith.  We only heard about the encounter later from his father, but he told us that his son had become very interested and curious about saved people.

Please pray with us for this man and his family, that they would come to Christ and receive salvation.

We we able to celebrate Elijah's and Jeremiah's birthdays with them last week as well. It was lots of fun

Elijah's favorite gift was a swiss army knife from his parents. You know that your nearly a man when you get one of those.

Dear Friends,

Micah and I are now in Uganda!  Praise the Lord!  He graciously protected and provided for us every step of the way.  Here are just some of our adventures from the couple days of travel:

We got to the airport at about noon on Monday and had a couple hours before our flight left at 2pm.  People who came to see us off included my parents, Micah’s dad and two youngest siblings, and Del Palmer (World Missions Director).  We were grateful for the send-off.  During check-in, we experienced our first surprise.  Micah and I each had to pay an extra 200 dollars for our 2nd and 3rd bags.  We are trying to get a refund, but we’ll see what happens.

Our flight to Chicago was rather uneventful and quick.  Though we left about ten minutes late, we arrived twenty minutes early.  Soon after arriving, we found out that our flight got delayed about 2.5 hours.  With the extra time, I finished writing some letters.  Micah…

…did some sleeping.  We eventually boarded our plane and got situated.  Micah ended up not sitting next to me because he wanted a family to be able to sit by each other.  Shortly after I was seated, two young men came towards me and said they had the two spots to my left.  I let them in, and we began to talk.  Within about a minute, I discovered that these two young guys were actually Mormans.  They were on their way to Johannesburg, to serve as missionaries for a couple years.  Conversation with them got very interesting.  I was silently praying that God would direct my words, and that He would use me to reveal to them His truth.  We reached a point where they realized that we had different definitions of the gospel.  They viewed Christ’s atonement as something that enabled them to be good enough to be saved.  They are placing their trust in their works, not in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Pray for these two young men (their names are Elder Meyers and Elder Mackey – within Mormanism, you can be 19 years old and an elder!).  They hold that Scripture is authoritative and true, but they do not know it.  My hope and prayer is that God would make them think about some of the things we talked about while they are in Johannesburg.

While I was talking to my two new friends, Micah was figuring out some stuff for us to do in London.  He got the recommendation to check out the British Museum because it is free.  So after Micah and I got to London, that’s what we began to investigate.  It was really nice to get out of the airport atmosphere for a while!

Our greatest linguistic challenge so far came when Micah and I tried to have lunch in an Italian Cafe.  After struggling to try and tell the waitress that we wanted the special that was advertised outside the store, we finally got some food.  We gobbled it up and made off for the Museum.  It was huge!  There were many different exhibits that were organized based on continent.  We thought it fitting that our first visit should be to…

…Africa!  We saw many interesting things and got a taste of our year to come.

We continued to travel around the museum, taking in many of the interesting things stored there.  One of the things that I enjoyed most was getting to see things that dated back to Biblical times.  It was fun to think about how these things were present in the world during the time of Jesus Christ’s life on Earth.

We eventually made our way back to the airport by way of subway.  This was also an interesting experience.  We missed getting on the subway we wanted because we were not aggressive enough and pushing our way onto the subway before the doors closed.  Thankfully, we only had to wait a few minutes before we could catch another one (we had now learned our lesson).  There were so many different people who filled the subway, all of them with different life stories.  It seemed to me that London was also in need of missionaries, people who would be intentionally proclaiming and living out the gospel.

We got back to the airport, went through security one last time (I found out that Micah loathes security), and waited for our plane to Entebbe.  We boarded on time and got situated for our last flight.  This one was a bit more uneventful.  We both got a decent amount of sleep, so that we might dampen the effects of jet lag when we reached Uganda.

We finally arrived!  After getting off the plane, Micah and I hopped in line to get our visas.  We were able to get 3 month visas, so we have some time before we have to worry about getting them renewed.  We found our bags (Praise the Lord that all 6 came!)…and then we found Nate Jore!  He and his second oldest, Judah, were waiting for us.

And those were our adventures from our travels…you’ll have to stay tuned in to find out soon what our first days in Uganda have been like.  I’ll say this much: “they’ve been great!”

Thanks for your prayers!