Friday, January 25, 2013

December & January Updates

Hello friends!

We hope that you are well where you are... And if you're in the upper midwest of the United States - stay warm!! We know you don't want to hear about if it's hot or sunny or even unbearable at times here on the Equator... So we won't tell you. But we do hope you stay safe and warm!

While we were in Kampala, we forgot to upload our December quarterly report. Which is a shame because the internet was much faster there!

At any rate, we got to UCBC about 10 minutes before 8am this morning, and we were able to upload our reports at last! Hooray!

So if you click here: You'll be able to see the last quarterly report from 2012. December's Quarterly Report - if you haven't seen it yet, it's a good one! :)

And if you click here: You'll be able to see a brief update that we sent out in the middle of January... Something we want to do this year is to send even short updates each month. This will help us keep you better informed about what's happening at UCBC and in our life here in Beni. So this is our January Update.
New Years Day in Kampala

We hope that you have a good day and an enjoyable weekend!

With Love,
Noe and Bethany

Friday, January 11, 2013

We're back!

Hello dear friends and family,

...Hello from Beni! We left Kampala on Monday morning and got back to our home sweet home that afternoon. It is so good to be back. We missed the comforts of living in our own home, even though we were well taken care of while we stayed in Kampala.

The trip to Beni was different from normal, and interesting, to say the least. Instead of driving from Kampala to the Uganda-DR Congo border in a taxi, and then hiring another one to Beni – we flew all of the way! Not just in any plane, but in a six-seat(er) plane. That was a new experience for both of us!

There is a visiting professor here who was trying to get to Beni the same time we were (last weekend), but we were all stuck, including an American couple who is new to UCBC, in Kampala with the news of a broken bridge on the road between the border and Beni. No way to get through. By God’s grace we were able to fly on this charter plane for the same price that we would have paid if we’d traveled by road! Talk about God’s provision.

God provided for us not just in giving us a faster, and different way for us to return to Beni. He also protected us in a little rain and thunder storm that we flew through near the airport. It was a little stressful (at least for some of us passengers!), but as we circled to get to the airport, God reminded us of his love for us with views of beautiful rainbows that surrounded us.

Needless to say, we landed safely, and got home not long after that. It was so wonderful to see the boys, David and Aselme, waiting for us at home. To sit in our living room, catch up with them, eat together with them, and then to sleep in our own bed at last! It’s good to be home.

We’ve been back at work at UCBC since Tuesday morning. Monday was the start of classes after Christmas vacation so students and staff are all getting back into the swing of things. The first semester ends mid-February so this last month will be crunch time before exams begin.

We’re both getting back into the rhythm of work and then balancing work and home life as well. It’s a good transition to be in and one that we are happy to be in. Noé has a Psychology class to finish teaching, Bethany has final English papers to grade. And of course lots more for both of us to do. We’re a little more tired than we had been in Kampala, but we are adjusting. And we are so very happy to be back.

It’s a little drier here than it was in Kampala. And the air is clear, clean, smog-free, and fresh. We’re going to the market tomorrow to stock up on all of the fresh fruits and veggies we can – which we missed a great deal while outside of Beni.

We thank God for the rest we had on this vacation last month. It was what we needed and the timing was great. We also thank God we are finally back home!!

With love,
Noé and Bethany

With the limited amount of luggage, we still had enough
instruments for a traveling band! Noe, Kate & Ryan :) 

Noe approaching our airplane with my pillows in tow...

We were excited and nervous about flying in this plane!

We sat in the very back, it almost looks like a car... It was
about the same size as one for sure! 

A rainbow flying near the airport and Beni.