Christmas Eve-Eve

Scott went to perhaps the only Christmas "office party" happening
within a hundred miles, the annual holiday feast for the Lubwisi Bible
Translation Project. A couple dozen literacy workers, committee
members, spouses, and the two men primarily involved in the Bible
Translation work came together to celebrate another year (the 13th) of
progress. There are 18 books of the Bible so far translated, though
only three are available in booklet form. Though SIL and the Tabbs
still offer invaluable support from a distance, this is one example of
a project that has passed successfully into indigenous hands with
solid results. And an example of God raising gifted people, who have
passed up other careers and opportunities to remain faithful here in
this outpost of the Kingdom. Scott spoke from Rev 12, the word being
a primary instrument of the defeat of the dragon. Amen.

Meanwhile we continue in the half-normal life of patients and
problems, this week a forged check and malfunctioning water lines,
medicine shortages and absent staff, the usual struggles, a full
pediatric ward (as many as I send home for the holidays, the spaces
seem to fill right away). One god-send, literally, along the same
lines as the translators above: a nursing student whom we have
sponsored the last two years showed up for his "holiday" from school
and is pretty much single-handedly managing all nursing care on the
ward. Then the half-holiday life of baking cookies and more cookies,
kids hanging out, a dozen for lunch and football yesterday, watching
Christmas movies (a scary British-accented version of Dickens'
Christmas Carol last night). Many have asked about Melen and the
family; I've seen them smiling lately, perhaps there was some lifting
of burden in passing the one year mark, perhaps just the slow healing
of hearts. After last year's stressful December, I think daily of how
good it is to be home with all the kids, to be greeting neighbors on
the road, to be having friends in to see our tree, to be living a
normal life this year with team and family and Ugandan friends, with
dust and cut-out snow flakes and the ipod shuffling music and the
extravagance of candles and lights.