Bush Fire

On a particular Thursday, we were enjoying some time of rest and reflection. No classes occupied our time, just the inexpressible beauty of living the in great African Plains. I had been sick for several weeks and had been relegated to a tight regime of sleeping. Tired of this regime, I rebelled and decided to make a cake for everyone at camp. This is not an easy task considering that I only had five ingredients to work with and no oven to bake it in, but where there is a will, there is a way. So, with a determined will, I built a good fire and heated sand to bake my cake. I mixed the five ingredients that we had with as much vigor and love that I could muster and when the fire was hot enough, I nestled my pan in the midst of the sand to cook it as best as possible.

In the midst of my endeavors, I heard a strange sound… almost a popping, snapping. I ignored it at first, but it grew louder. I went to investigate. It was coming from behind my hut. In the valley below a farmer had set his fields ablaze in an effort to clear them before the next planting season began. Smoke soon filled the sky and the birds of prey swooped in to collect rats, snakes and other critters that tried to escape the flames. I went back to cooking, not thinking much about it.

But the wind changed, and the fire charged up the hill with wild abandon. Flames taller than I consumed the brush that blanketed the hill. In horror I realized that its’ greedy appetite wanted to consume our huts as well. In front of my hut there was a large pile of grass and sticks- left over building materials from the school house. If the flames captured the grass we knew that all would be lost. My grass thatched roof would easily catch fire and the few possessions I had with me would be consumed.

Everyone jumped into action. We carried bundle after bundle of grass to a safer spot across the road. Just as we were about to grab the last couple of bundles, the fire suddenly leaped out at us and chased us away. The grass burst into flames and we were forced to redirect our attention on saving the houses. We grabbed sticks and began to beat the flames; we poured water from the jerry cans onto the roofs of the huts and removed items of value from inside. It was a fierce battle, but the hand of the Lord was fighting with us and we were able to conquer the flames! The fire left an ugly scare on our land, its fingers reaching within a couple of feet from my hut and several other huts.

But once we were saved from one battle, a new one began for me. I had a major asthma attack, and found that I had to fight for every breath. I sat inside a vehicle and tried to breathe the cleaner air, hoping that it would help, but as the minutes ticked by, my breathing became more and more labored and painful.

During this time, one of my teammates explored the damage done by the fire. The fire had wiped a blackened hand throughout our camp but amazingly nothing of importance was burnt and no one was hurt. Our cooking area had experienced the flames as well, but there, sitting on the charcoal stove sat my cooking pot. When they lifted the lid they discovered that my cake was baked to perfection!

Another teammate poked around in the charred bundles of grass. There he found a burnt snake- in the very pile of grass that I was reaching for as the flames chased me away!

In the aftermath of the fire we ate cake (and crispy snake!) and rejoiced in God’s protection. Then I went to Kaabong to get breathing treatments and to be in cleaner air. I recovered well and am doing fine.

“This is what the LORD says- He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:1-2

There really aren’t very good pictures of the bush fire, so here are some random ones… On top are pictures of our cooking area. Then there’s a picture of me being cheeky, and a beautiful sunset, and on the right are some of my favorite Karamojong guys: Ngole, Teko Simon and Nalobe. Ngole was our language helper. Simon was our translator extraordinaire. All of these guys are men of faith and are ready to share their faith with their tribesmen!

Sickness in Lotim

The fever had struck before, but with each blow it struck harder. Its 48 hour cycle was draining me of energy and leaving me weak and achy. I asked God why I was sick, and I felt His answer “it is good for you to be weak, to be cared for by others, to allow me to carry you in My arms. For too long you have had to be strong, as a team leader, as a single woman, as the one with experience living here, you feel you must be the strong one. But you’re not. I am. Allow me to be your strength and allow others to grow through your weakness.” There is peace in this answer, though not relief. Shortly after this prayer one of the leaders called me out of my hut to be tested for malaria.

I go, feverish, wrapped in a blanket and sit on the bench. Soon everyone has gathered around. I am NOT alone. They watch in curiosity as Kelly, then I, and then James tried to prick my finger to draw blood. James is finally successful and they drip a few drops of blood into the test kit, watching intensely for the little line to appear to show that it is positive. There is no line. I don’t have malaria. Maybe it is just a virus. They lay hands and pray for me. I am so sick I can hardly speak, but I am grateful for their love, grateful for their presence, grateful that I am not alone. I head back to bed. The group begins to sing “kire jok Akuj” (which means “truly God is good”). It is one of my favorite Karamojong songs. As I lay in my bed the joyous song floats over me. Truly God is good. Now, In this circumstance, truly God is very, very good.

But two days later I am not able to remain at camp. My fever is too high; the puzzle of my symptoms not easily understood by the malaria test results or the medical field guide. I must come where ice can be put on my feverish body, and medicines are more readily available. The leadership team huddles over me and try to diagnose the problem. The next morning I am taken to the hospital where I have blood work done. The results are surprising; I have both malaria and brucellosis. (Brucellosis is caused by drinking milk that has not been boiled). No wonder I felt so weak and sick!

I was put on heavy medication for the next 42 days and commanded to rest. Thankfully, only the first few days were miserable as I fought on-going fevers, headaches and fatigue. But it took a very long time to regain my strength. I am grateful that God put me in a community to support and love me as I recovered. They were a source of encouragement, love and kindness.

I am blessed to be so weak.

I am carried in the strong arms of a loving Father.

Thank you for praying for my health. Over this last year I have had eight bouts of malaria. I have been physically weak much of my time here. Please continue to pray that God would be my sustaining strength. Please pray that He will guard my heart from discouragement and that He would continuously whisper His Words of encouragement in my ear. Pray for His healing hand to be upon my life. Pray for His protection against these diseases.

Snakes

Snakes are an unavoidable reality of life in Africa. And where there are snakes, it is the inevitable reality that you will one day encounter them. Thus I recount to you the unavoidable and inevitable realities of life here.

On a particularly unassuming day, we went about the business of camp life: Collecting jerry cans of water from the borehole, making pocho and beans over a charcoal fire and attending classes under the grass roofed meeting house. The sun shone as it always shone. The wind blew as it always blew. The benches we sat on were as hard as they always were. And the classes captured my interest, stimulated my faith and equipped me as they always did. As the adults sat in the meeting room, the children were nearby in a small school hut (the school hut was built with half walls that gave view to the African plains below- beautiful). Miss Shelly and Mama Lane were entertaining the children and teaching them lessons as they always did. Mama Lane sat upon the mat with the younger children reading a story aloud to them, ignoring dust, bugs and ants that ran across their toes. It was a normal day at school… until that fateful moment when Mama Lane looked up. There, crawling through the grass thatched roof was a slimy beast of Eden!

Mama Lane acted calmly, as every mother, grandmother, teacher extraordinaire should. She whispered to Miss Shelly that she should get the children out of the school house and then she came to interrupt our classes. “Excuse me” she said politely, “I need Simon Gruber’s help.” Class stopped as we considered this request. Simon, having no children of his own was not usually the one called to the school house. Sensing that we were not grasping the urgency of the situation, she looked directly at him and implored, “Simon, there’s a snake in the school house, could you please come kill it.” Simon was on his feet in two seconds flat and ran to the school house drawing his knife from its sheath as he ran.


As Miss Shelly ushered the last of the confused, but oddly calm children out of the school house, Simon rushed in. With one swoop he flung the snake from the roof and chopped off his head. The rest of us watched in a dumb stupor as he proudly lifted the snake up and declared “meat for dinner!”

An ordinary day of teaching in Karamoja!

So happy that Simon Gruber is on my team to face the unavoidable, inevitable encounters with the lowest of God’s creation!

We ate snake for dinner.

Please read and pray through Psalm 91 for us.

PS- The locals killed four very large puff adders (third most dangerous snake in Uganda) in the field below our hill. This is the same field that I walked through every week on the way to the village… They are the ugliest snakes I’ve ever seen! Praise God I’ve never seen them alive!

Prayer letter, April 2013

April 17, 2013
Dear Beautiful Friends,
These last months have been full of God’s provision and care in my life. I am overwhelmed as I consider all that God has done. Thank you for your prayers and support during this time. Please rejoice with me at the provision of the Lord!

New Team:
Simon and Carina Gruber arrived in January, God’s special gift to me. I have been praying for new teammates to be able to continue to live and work in Karamoja. Simon and Carina are God’s perfect provision for my needs. Simon is an enthusiastic outdoors man who loves the Lord and is passionate about teaching God’s Word to the people here. Carina has a gentle and compassionate heart for people and for animals. As a vet doctor she will help us open doors into the community through animal health. I am very grateful for both of them.

Motorcycle:
When I had to say goodbye to our last truck, I wondered what I should do. I looked at the resources I had and decided to buy a motorcycle. A motorcycle is good for traveling between villages and can reach places that a truck can’t. So I bought a dirt bike (Yamaha AG 100) and expected it to be my primary means of transportation for a while (not my most favorite thought, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do). My first solo ride: Mbale to Kaabong, 416 km one way on the dirt roads of Karamoja. Beautiful scenery, gorgeous blue skies, open spaces. But, not going to lie, it’s not the most comfortable ride in the world (especially for that distance!). And, I’m not really over the ‘fear of death’ aspect of riding a motorcycle, so I can’t quite enjoy the scenery yet. Plus, as God provided new teammates for me, I recognized that it wasn’t the most practical means of getting around. Three people on a motorcycle, though common in Uganda, is not ideal. A motorcycle is a great thing to have as a team resource; it will be used for doing local things (like Bible studies or vet programs in nearby villages), but not for long-distance commutes (especially when we have to bring supplies for 3-4 months at a time). So I praise God for my motorcycle and praise God for His provision, but I also praise God that He enabled me to buy a truck as well. I feel so lavished in God’s love. He is providing not just the bare basics but He is providing for ALL of my needs!

Vehicle:
Today I drove my new land cruiser for the first time! I love sitting behind the wheel, discovering this new machine. It was difficult to find a good vehicle at a decent price in the maze of car lots and con-men, but I prayed and I believe God directed me. My friend Aaron, a mechanic, checked this one for me and gave me the OK, so I went forward with confidence. I look forward to the many adventures I will have in it. I look forward to all the places that God will take me. I look forward to seeing what roads God will open up for me and for the ministry. This vehicle is a physical reminder of the presence and the provision of God in my life. In a week where I am faced with changes and challenges, it is God’s gift to me to remind me that it is He who is keeping me here, He who is guiding me, He who will sustain me. Thank you to every person who contributed to this provision. You have been more than just a blessing; you have been a tool of ministry to me and to the people of Karamoja. I am dedicating this vehicle to the Lord, to be used for Him to the utmost of His glory.
For those interested, I bought a 1993 Land Cruiser VX, turbo, 4x4, 80 series with a rebuilt engine. It has a study roof rack; good tires (with two spares), high lift jack, flood lights and even a small frig! It’s also a really pretty silvery color. I think it will be good for the roads of Karamoja. My only complaint is that it’s an automatic, I would much rather have a manual, but you can’t have everything!

Training:
On January23, I began a ten week training course with the Baptist Mission. My teammates for this training were a delightful mix of people- Simon and Carina Gruber were from Germany, John, James and Elice were from South Sudan (Dinka), Teko Simon, Ngole, Nalobe were from Uganda (Karamoja), the Lewis Family was from America, the Jeriamidass Family was from India/America. How amazing that God would take us from all these corners of the world and put us together in Lotim!?! This is the church. This is the body of Christ. We are united together through the blood of Jesus Christ, through grace, through love. We are called together by one commission “Go into all the world and make disciples…” And we have come together with one purpose, to be strengthened and equipped for the work that Jesus has called us to.

Throughout the course of this training we lived in simple mud huts with thatched grass roofs. We fetched water from the borehole at the bottom of the hill. We lived without electricity of any kind; kerosene lanterns were our only source of light at night. We cooked over charcoal fires and ate only pocho, beans, rice and small amounts of produce. We lived simply so that we could more aptly identify with the peoples around us. There is sacrifice in living simply, there is discomfort, frustration, hardship, but there is also joy and true gratitude for the provisions that we have. There is growth and learning as we humble ourselves and choose to do the hard things.

Days were filled with the tasks of survival, with classes, language learning, building relationships with the communities around us and fellowship with one another. Sometimes my brain hurt by the end of the day due to all of the learning and growing that it was doing. The classes focused on language learning, church planting and spiritual disciplines. They were fantastic. I loved digging into the Scriptures purposely and intensely. I loved listening as the Scriptures were read in four languages and discussed in those languages. I love praying together, all of our voices lifting to the One Living God, yet all of our voices speaking in our own languages.

Two days a week were dedicated to going out to the villages. Our task was to find people of peace and to build relationships with them. It was exciting to see how God directed each one of our paths to different villages, to different people whom God had prepared to welcome us. It was wonderful to build relationships with the local people and to practice language. I was hugely encouraged that by the end of the training I was able to tell a very simplified story of Jesus healing the blind man in Ng’Karamojong- and the people understood it!!! Slowly, slowly I am making progress. Someday I pray that I will be able to speak the Words of Jesus to the people of Karamoja fluently. For today, I rejoice in this small victory and press forward with the task of language learning.

God used our village visits to plant seeds of truth and we pray that those seeds will someday bear fruit. The above picture is of a man named Hunington. Hunington was an elder in a village that Simon and Carina visited, but soon he became a friend to all of us. He was a true “man of peace”, a man of influence that opened his community to us through hospitality. He was also interested in spiritual things and showed a keen interest in the Bible. He had completed the equivalent of third grade and could read at a very basic level, but when we gave him an Ng’Karamojong Bible, he was thrilled. He began to carry the Bible with him everywhere and read passages with enthusiasm. And because he was a respected man, people would listen to him as he read. Though he reads slowly and has no Biblical knowledge, we believe that God will teach him and use him to share his word in this community.

After starting relationships and seeing God at work, it was difficult to leave the Lotim area. This is the area that Tom once dreamed of settling our team, it is an area that I have hoped would someday become our home. But the logistics of living in this remote location are daunting. During the rainy season it will be nearly inaccessible by any kind of vehicle. So we continue to pray for guidance and direction for where we are to settle. In the meantime we rejoice in the partnerships that God has given us for the sake of the Gospel. Here in Kaabong (about 23km from Lotim), God has raised up three local men who have hearts to serve the Lord through church planting. These three, Ngole, Nalobe and Teko Simon participated in the training with us. They are amazing guys and I know that God will use them powerfully to be witnesses to their own people. Please pray for them as they begin their ministry. Pray that even if we are not able to live and work in Lotim, God would send others (such as these) in our place.

The training was an answer to prayer, a provision of God for all of us. It was the perfect introduction for Simon and Carina to begin their work in Karamoja. It was a safe place for us to get to know one another and to see our strengths and weaknesses in action. God is so good! This training provided us with a new beginning for the next chapter of ministry for my team.

Borehole:
In order to live in Lotim for the training, we needed to provide the community with a borehole. This fulfilled a need for the community as well as satisfied the practical needs of the training. Water is a need. Butte Bible Fellowship in Chico raised the money for this borehole but unfortunately, the actual cost of the borehole was much higher than we expected! But it was no problem for God, He was already at work providing through another organization (in association with the Baptists).

They raised the entire amount so I can use the money from Butte Bible for another borehole later down the road. Since I don’t know exactly where God is leading my team in the future, I am very grateful for this borehole money! I am sure that God will use it! Today, take the time to appreciate going to the sink and getting a glass of water.

This is a privilege that most people in the world have never experienced…

The Future:
A few months ago I was meeting with my area leader and she asked me “How has Jesus kept you today?” Jude 1 “To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ…” This is a most excellent question, one that has stuck with me today. In writing the above I was reflecting on the keeping power of Jesus in my life. He has given me these physical reminders that He is at work. He is keeping me here, He is providing for my needs so that I can physically remain in Karamoja. He has also kept me in my calling. As circumstances have changed, people have changed, situations have changed, God’s calling on my life remains the same: His calling to obedience, to be poured out for the sake of the Gospel, to the glory of His name. He has kept me in His love. In situations I feel lonely, His love is enough. As I learn new culture, His love abounds to me to enable to me to love others. His love is deep and powerful, it is sustaining. I am here because Jesus is keeping me. Apart from Jesus I would not be here, but because of Jesus I am filled with joy and I partake in abundant life.

How is Jesus keeping you today?
As I look at how Jesus has kept me up to this point, I know that He will continue to keep me in His perfect will. But I would appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek God to know where He wants us to go and what He wants us to do. We have enjoyed a positive relationship with KACHEP for this last year, but we feel that God is moving us forward. Our heart is for the people who do not have access to the Gospel, which means we need to move out from Nabilatuk. We will continue to live and work in Nabilatuk alongside KACHEP until God shows us what to do. We are walking by faith.

Thank you for your continued love, prayers and support. I am so glad God put you on my team!
With love,
Summer

Update from Summer's Parents

Summer's mission training has officially ended after two-and-a-half months in the remote location of Lotim.  She was so thankful for the borehole well, the people that trained with her that became like family, the couple who joined her team from Germany that have proven to have the same passion and love for the people that she has, the grace that God gave her as she endured sickness and hardship.

Pray for Summer as she travels to the city at the end of the week. She will ride her motorcycle out on 'interesting' roads.  Pray for God to help her get the vehicle that so many of you have made possible. We were able to tell her the good news and she was joyfully surprised and thrilled, she thought it would take years to have enough money to purchase a vehicle.  She has the amount that she needs for the purchase, now she needs wisdom to buy the best one.  We were also able to tell her that she had been given money to purchase goats to give to villagers.  She expressed her gratitude for all the prayers and the support and looks forward to having internet so she can write to you.

Thank you for praying for and supporting our daughter,
 Sherrie and Marvin

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Please help support Summer's missionary work in Uganda by prayerfully giving through Pioneers by using the following link, and fill out the form. Thank you so much!
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Missionary Name: Summer Root
Account Number: 111084

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Christmas prayer letter

December 2012

Merry Christmas!

I hope this is a season filled with great joy and peace.

Seven women gathered under the big tree near the KACHEP office. They were called from several different villages around Nabilatuk, specially chosen by the community leaders. These are women whose lives have been marked with difficulty; women whose hearts have experienced sadness, women who have toiled to provide for their families. These women have been deemed ‘vulnerable’, most of them are widowed, all of them are in poverty. In a culture that revolves around animals, these women have none. And so they have been chosen to participate in a goats project. The goats project is sponsored through donors in the States and facilitated by KACHEP. We hope that through participation in this program these women will have a tangible reminder that God loves them, that God is providing for them, that God is with them.

The program is set up as a ‘revolving loan’. The women receive a baby she-goat along with training, vaccinations and on-going care/support. The women are expected to take responsibility of the goat and care for it appropriately. When the goat begins to produce, the first female kid is to be given back to the program. The program then gives the baby goat to another woman in need, thus the program continues to bless the community. After the first female kid is returned to the program, the woman can use all ensuing offspring as she deems best. Many of the women use the goat milk to help feed their children, or they sell the male offspring to pay for school fees. In this way there are many long-term benefits for the recipients of the goat project. This is currently our third round of goat distributions.

As with all of our animal health projects, we incorporate Bible teaching into the program. As I prayed about what story to teach, I thought about the Christmas story. I reread the passage in Luke 2 with renewed interest. This story is one of shepherds. Simple people, whose lives revolved around their livestock, people who lived off the land and who would probably have a lot in common with the Karamojong.

The shepherds were watching their fields at night. I can imagine the Karamojong shepherds in the
kraals at night. Their make-shift grass huts open to the night sounds. Bows and arrows readily at hand
in case any raiders or wild animals came crouching in the dark. Mosquitoes buzzing in ears and flies
tickling the nose. Smelly. They would be smelly, the sweat of the day mixed with dust and piles of sheep, goat and cow manure- but the smells would be familiar to them, comforting even. Smoke would curl through the air; flames bright against the penetrating darkness surrounding them… for the first time I can truly picture it, these shepherds watching their flocks by night. Away from the modern conveniences of the American life, I can see what it means to be a shepherd. I can appreciate the difficulties of it. I can understand it in new ways.

Shepherds are the caretakers of God’s creation. Shepherds are near to Gods heart. Smelly and dirty though they are, God looks at them and calls them his own. And so it was that God first revealed Himself to the lowly shepherds of Bethlehem. With the brilliance of the heavenly hosts, God exalted His name among the shepherds. They go running to see the Christ-child, the long-awaited Messiah. I love that God met the shepherds where they were at, in their fields, then He took them to the familiar surroundings of a manger and then He transformed their lives. When they saw Jesus, they could not remain the same. They could not return unchanged to their fields. They were now worshippers of Jesus, they were now witnesses of Jesus, they were now filled with the joy and the peace of the message of the Messiah. They returned to their fields, but they would never be able to return to life without Jesus. Their lives were now conduits for the glory and praise of the Lord.

I look at the seven women sitting before me and think that for the first time these women will become shepherds. They will receive a goat and take on the responsibility of caring for God’s creation. But I pray that as they hear this story they will be more than just shepherds of goats. I pray that they will meet Jesus and be transformed by His presence in their lives. I share this story with the women and proclaim the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What greater gift could I give them? I pray that as they go about their lives- as they fetch water, look after their households, care for their goats, that God will meet them at each of those places. I pray that God will reveal to them the glory of the heavenly hosts and that they will choose to seek Jesus, just as those shepherds of old did. I pray that their hearts will be full with the joy and peace that comes through meeting Jesus.

The following day, the KACHEP team, Melissa and I went to the village of Ngakobokobe. There we met with twenty four elders of three villages. We conducted a training on keeping healthy animals. I once again shared the story of the shepherds meeting Jesus. Once again I could envision the shepherds of old, the ones first entrusted with the message of Jesus. They were shepherds, but they were also people of influence. When they shared about Jesus, people listened to them, they were amazed by the message that they shared. These Karamojong elders were also shepherds. In fact one cannot be an elder without having been a shepherd, without having animals to shepherd. The community would only listen to the shepherds, the warriors who fought to protect and care for their animals. It is not a light responsibility to be a shepherd. Once again I think about the role of spreading the message of Jesus to others. God knew that the shepherds were the perfect ones to be entrusted with this message. So my heart prays that these elders will become bearers of God’s message. I pray that as they build their capacity for caring for their animals, they will also build their understanding of who Jesus is. I pray that as they hear the message of Jesus they will begin to share it with others. I pray that they will use the influence that God has given them for the glory and praise of God’s name.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the vast needs around me. Needs that reflect both physical and spiritual elements of the Karamojong. But I am reminded today that the most pivotal event in all history- the coming of the Messiah was shared with simplicity and spread through shepherds. I am in a land of shepherds. I am sharing the Good News of Jesus. I am praying that those who hear it will be quick to respond and joyful to share.

I also pray for you, that as you are reminded of the Good News of Jesus Christ this season, you will be filled with the peace and joy of that message. I pray that you would be empowered to share this message with others and that through you many more people will hear about Jesus. I pray that we would all be shepherds of God’s flocks.

Thinking of you this Christmas, with much joy and gratitude
Summer


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Please help support Summer's missionary work in Uganda by prayerfully giving through Pioneers by using the following link, and fill out the form. Thank you so much!
Website: https://webapps.pioneers.org/V2/giving/GiftInfo?name=Summer+Root&accountid=111084
Missionary Name: Summer Root
Account Number: 111084

Missed a Newsletter? View them on the Blog - http://summerroot.blogspot.com

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe please send an email to summerroot@gmail.com and let us know. Thank you!

The Truck

Hello Friends, Here is an update about a new opportunity on how you can help with the work the Lord is doing here... if the Lord moves on your heart to do so. I see this as a long-term need that is necessary for my continued work here. But it seems like such a huge need, but, if it's of God, God will provide.

The Truck

One of the notorious truths about Karamoja is that the roads are, what? Awful!!! As the natural resources of Karamoja are becoming known to the outside world, more and more rock trucks come lumbering up the road to exploit these resources. But the roads were not made to support multiple tons of rock and truck, and the trucks were not made to support the roads, and so they get stuck. And when they get stuck they create craters and ruts that become saturated with rain water and make the road nearly impassible for everyone. Thus a sturdy, 4X4 vehicle is a necessity for life in Karamoja.

When Dr. Jean first arrived here, back in 1998, she bought an old Land Cruiser that had been used in Sudan as an ambulance. So the seats in the back sit sideways and the suspension is nearly shot from years of hard driving on rough roads. During the time of great unrest, she added the cow horns to the front as a symbol that she came in peace, as a protector and helper of the cows and not as an enemy. God used these horns to help save her life several times as she drove through very dangerous territory. Now, as peace begins to settle in the land, the horns still represent our friendship and connection to the people and the cows. As we drive the vehicle, people will often rush to the road to wave at us and shout “Nakaala, Nakaala!” which is Jean’s Karamojong name.

Now that Tom and Jean are leaving the field the truck goes back to CVM (Christian Veterinarian Missions, whom Jean was with). I had the opportunity to buy the truck, but have chosen not to. As much as I like the truck for sentimental reasons, I recognize that it is not a reliable vehicle for me. Since I am not much of a mechanic, I need something that I can trust will get me to my destination (without costing me hundreds of dollars worth of fuel and repairs). So it is with sadness that I say goodbye to this great truck. I have actually really enjoyed learning how to drive it (left-side manual transmission), and taking on the challenges of the roads with it (love the adrenalin rush that comes from conquering the really muddy spots).

But since I am not buying this truck, and since it is necessary to have a truck for Karamoja, I must look into buying a new truck for me/the team. Vehicles here are very expensive. In addition to the initial cost of the vehicle, you also have to pay import taxes which can nearly double the price. Thus, for a good, used land cruiser you can pay about $17,000.00. I had initially thought that I would buy a motorcycle to travel around Karamoja (much cheaper), but with the changes of team dynamics, I know that I need a real vehicle instead of just a motorbike. So I am asking for your help. If you would like to contribute to buying a vehicle, you can send your donation to Pioneers (follow the directions below) and add a slip of paper specifying “vehicle funds”. I really appreciate your help in this. It is a need I cannot meet on my own. CVM has allowed me to continue to use the truck until March, 2013, so the sooner the funds come in, the better. Thank you!

Thank you for your faithful friendship and prayers.
Summer

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

Please help support Summer's missionary work in Uganda by prayerfully giving through Pioneers by using the following link, and fill out the form. Thank you so much!
Website: https://webapps.pioneers.org/V2/giving/GiftInfo?name=Summer+Root&accountid=111084
Missionary Name: Summer Root
Account Number: 111084