Women's Outreach in Bwera

“All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” – Romans 8:28-29 (theme of Bwera Outreach)

About four months ago, George and I visited the town of Bwera located about two and a half hour drive southwest of Ft. Portal, in a effort to renew our visas’ through the DR Congo border.  We unexpectedly had to stay overnight which opened a door for us to fellowship with the pastor and his family of Calvary Chapel Bwera (CC Bwera).  Pastor Joachim is a national who attended the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Kampala some years back.  He has since returned to his hometown of Bwera and planted a church.  After sharing with him my ministry with the women in Ft. Portal, Pastor Joachim invited me to return to encourage and teach the women from the Word of God and to share with them some practical skills that would empower an enable them to provide an opportunity to generate some income for their families.

Luan teaching the women how to use a receipt.

After much prayer and preparation, final arrangements were made for Emma and I to travel to Bwera to lead a women’s outreach at the end of June.  The first two days of our stay in Bwera we were busy preparing for the outreach.  As we moved around town, Pastor Joachim invited women from other churches and from around the town to attend the outreach.  Praise the Lord, more than one hundred and seventy women attended the two-day outreach.  Some attended even though their own pastor’s instructed them not to attend out of fear and selfish motives. The small church building where we gathered was packed with women, often overflowing out the doors. The leaders and students’ from the Bwera Technical Institute (BTI), located next to the church, also attended and blessed us with their generosity and catering skills. They allowed us to use their large cooking pot to bake our cakes in and helped to serve us lunch each day.

The women mixing the ingredients
together for a carrot cake. 

Each day we introduced the ladies to the basic ingredients and the standards of measures used in baking a cake.  We also instructed the ladies on how to read and follow a receipt.  On the first day of the outreach we applied what we learned by following a receipt to make a couple of banana avocado cakes.  The following day we made several carrot cakes. Each day after lunch, Emma taught the ladies how to make butter and royal frosting. We also took several sets of cake decorating tips with us.  Emma demonstrated how to use food coloring to mix various colors of frosting and how to use the cake decorating tips.  The ladies seemed to enjoy themselves as they tried their hands at mixing different colored frosting and using the various decorating tips to make different designs.  After enjoying the fruit of our labors by tasting the cakes that we made, we ended each day with a Bible study and a time of prayer, praise and worship.

Pastor Joachim watching his wife Joyce try her hand at using
the decorating cake tips with pink frosting.

Multiple cakes baking inside large, covered iron pot.

Lunch consisting of cooked bananas and beans is served by
the BTI students for about one hundred women each day.

One of the ladies sharing how
she was encouraged through
our Bible study together.

The ladies also had an opportunity to share their thoughts with us about our time together.  Many of them expressed their thankfulness and appreciation that we opened the training to everyone and that it was free of charge. Some of them shared their enthusiasm to use what they have learned to get started baking cakes right away.  Still others shared that they were encouraged by the Bible study in which we looked at the life of Joseph as an example for us to “know that God makes all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes.”

I am excited to share with you that since our visit, a group of about twenty ladies who attended the training have formed a women’s fellowship at the church and are meeting together regularly to bake cakes for selling and for a time of prayer. Please pray that the women will use what they have learned to earn extra income to provide for and bless their own families and others.  Also pray that the Lord would do a mighty work in the hearts of the women who are attending the women’s fellowship.

Thanks to our many supporters and those who contributed for Emma to be here, we were able to cover the cost for the outreach as well as provide lunch for all those who attended the outreach both days.  We also left them with a set of standard measuring cups, a set of cake decorating tips and a small financial contribution to help them purchase some of the needed items and ingredients to get started baking.  Please pray for provision and direction as I have been invited to return again to minister to the women in Bwera in the near future.

Blessings,

Luan

Cooking Without Fuel!

Pat filling a cooking basket
with local grasses.

Some time back I read an article in a newspaper about a woman who was making and selling cooking baskets in Kampala. The basic bamboo baskets resembling those traditionally used to store grain, but when lined with plastic and filled with local grasses and/or other such insulating materials, they supposedly not only cook food but also keep it hot for hours. Food is initially pre-cooked before it is placed in the cooking basket. After being placed in the basket the original heat continues to cook the food as it remains in the basket. Although some initial heat is needed, no more heat is needed to complete the cooking. I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but wasn’t sure how effective a basket could be at cooking food without fuel. I saved the article thinking that I might revisit the idea at another time.

Finished cooking baskets.

Recently, I was visiting with my friend Lillian, a single mom and a primary school teacher. She was sharing with me about the rising cost of using charcoal and the difficulty of gathering firewood in the swamp behind the place she is staying for cooking their daily meals. Our conversation brought to mind the article about the cooking baskets. Soon after my conversation with Lillian, I ran into my friend Pat who is another missionary reaching out to the women here in Ft. Portal. I was telling her about my idea to make one of the cooking baskets to see how it works. Pat shared with me that she knew how to make the baskets and in fact had used them during her time living in Bundibugyo. She and I agreed to get together and make a few of the baskets to give to Lillian to try out.

Emma sewing heavy plastic
liner into sample basket.

Lillian agreed to use the baskets to cook the local foods and document the results. We wanted to see for ourselves how well the baskets worked. Both of us were a little skeptical at first, but if the basket performed up to even a fraction of what was reported it would be well worth our time and efforts. After using the baskets for over a month, we were both surprised and very happy with the result. Lillian helped me to develop a menu with the pre-cook preparation time needed for the various local foods before placing them in the basket and the time it takes in the basket to finish cooking. We also made some minor changes to the basket to better improve it’s performance. Lillian continues to use the basket for cooking food as well as keeping left overs hot for her children as they return home from school each day for lunch.

Lillian showing how the
saucepan nests in the basket

This past month, Pat invited Lillian and I to share how to make the baskets and how to use them with the leaders of various women’s groups that she works with. We knew the women would be a bit skeptical and that a demonstration would be needed to convince the women of its performance and benefits. All of their doubts vanished when we opened our cooking basket. Lillian had prepared dry beans in a saucepan before we left in the morning. She boiled the dry beans over a fire for about 40 minutes before placing them in the basket. We opened up the basket after lunch and the saucepan with beans in it was still too hot to touch. The beans were steaming hot and perfectly cooked! Dry beans normally take at least 2- 3 hours to cook over a continuous fire. When using the basket only 30 to 45 minutes are needed over a fire. No more heat is needed as the beans continue to cook in the basket for 3 to 4 hours before they are ready to eat. Although it takes a little longer for the beans to be ready to eat when using the basket the saving are well worth it.

Curiosity of the women peaked as we teach them how
to make the baskets.

Lillian explains to the women how to use the cooking
basket to prepare each of the local foods.

The cooking baskets can be a tremendous benefit to the women and their families. A cooking basket is very simple to make and is made out of locally available and inexpensive materials. A basket can be made for less than 15,000 Uganda shillings, which is equivalent to about six dollars. The cost of making one can be significantly reduced if the ladies know how to weave their own baskets out of bamboo or papyrus that is available locally. The benefits are extraordinary. The cost of making the basket is quickly returned in the savings gained by the reduced amount time it takes to cook the foods over an open fire, resulting in much less firewood or charcoal used and significantly less time spent tending fires to cook the local foods, freeing up the women to get other things done instead of spending all their time cooking or reheating left over food. Children’s risk of being burned by fire is also minimized as the time of preparing food over the fire is significantly reduced.

Women tasting the finished beans cooked in the basket.

Please pray for more opportunities to share the cooking baskets with more women and for those women who have learned about the cooking baskets to apply what they have learned by making their own baskets and to freely train others how to make and use them.

In His Grip,

Luan

Soap Making Launch

Emma and Luan mixing a trial
batch of soap on front porch.

In the fourth quarter of last year, I went to Kampala to investigate some income generating project ideas.  After much prayer and discussion with the women of Tukwatanize, we agreed to move forward with making bar soap as an income generating opportunity.  I agreed to spend the time and resources to learn the process and to then share it with the women.  So, in late April, I attended a one-day workshop in Kampala on how to make bar soap using a hot process.  The bar soap is primarily used locally to hand wash laundry, but the bar soap is also widely used for washing dishes and bathing in the village.  I returned from the training with basic knowledge, equipment and raw materials to get started.  Unfortunately, replicating the process observed in the training course was not that easy.  After several unsuccessful attempts on my own to make the bar soap and further consultation with the trainers via phone, I returned to Kampala for more specific one-on-

Pouring the trial batch of
soap into wooden moulds.

one training before traveling to England in early June.  After returning to Ft. Portal with Emma, I made it a priority to figure out the soap making process.  After several more batches, lots of learning and a few close calls at loosing my eyebrows, we felt comfortable enough to share the process with the women of Tukwatanize in mid-July. 

For three days, Emma and I trained the women in the hot process of soap making.  We explained and demonstrated the process the first day and then assisted and encouraged the women the following two days as they applied what they had learned.  By the end of the third day, the women were confident to begin making soap on their own.

Luan teaching the women about
various soap ingredients and safety.

Thanks to the generous contributions of our supporters, I was able to leave the women with two wooden soap molds, each with a capacity to hold ten bars and with enough raw materials to make an additional 60-80 bars of soap.  This should be enough for the ladies to get started.  It is now up to the women to work together to take advantage of the training and opportunity that they have been given.

Please pray that the women will work together and use what they have learned to provide a sustainable income for their families through this income-generating project.  Pray that the ladies would be committed to the project and produce a consistent, high quality

product that they would be able to sell at a fair price.  Also pray that they would be creative and successful in marketing their product.  Learning to make the soap is only the beginning.  They have a lot more learning and work ahead of them to make this income-generating project a success.

Women learning to measure ingredients
for making a batch of soap.

The hot process used to making soap
requires lots of stirring on and off the fire. 

Removing the finished bars from the soap
moulds.  Practice will make perfect as they
move forward with the project.

About 20 women attended the training.

Learning to check soap temperature.

Pouring batch of soap into wood moulds.

Personal Update

View of the Westgate entrance to the historic town of Canterbury.
The Great Stour River runs along the remains of the old city wall.

Wow, the past couple of months sure have flown by!  We already find ourselves in August and we are just getting around to giving you a much-needed personal update.  The month of June was filled with much travel for both of us.  I traveled to Ashford, England to lead a workshop for the staff of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) International in the Fundamentals of Project Management.  This is the third such workshop that I have lead for MAF in their various programs in the past couple of years.  Please pray for the MAF International staff as they desire to be good stewards of the many resources the Lord has so graciously provided and for wisdom as they make decisions and support other missionaries serving in the mission field to reach the unreached with the Good News.  

View of the colorful beach huts along
the Coastal Maritime Heritage Trail.

This was my first time in England, so I took advantage of a day off from training to do a bit of traveling in and around Cantebury.  Canterbury, which is only a short train ride away from Ashford, is beautiful and rich in history.  I also enjoyed a walk along a seven and a half mile stretch of the beautiful Coastal Maritime Heritage Trail from Herne Bay to the harbor town of Whitstable, where I enjoyed the fresh catch of the day and chips for dinner before returning to Ashford.  

Click map to learn more about Rwanda.

During my time away, George took the opportunity to travel to Rwanda. Rwanda has been on his heart for a long time.  We have traveled there before but only for short periods of time to renew our visas.  The Lord laid on his heart the desire to go and check it out, specifically for ministry opportunities.  George really enjoyed his time in Rwanda as he moved in and around the capital city of Kigali and the surrounding villages.  Please pray for clear direction, wisdom and discernment as we seek the Lord’s will for us and as we consider where the Lord would have us to continue to serve Him.

Emma and Luan enjoying a day of hiking at the local
Amabere Caves and the surrounding crater lakes.

After my return from England, a young women name Emma returned with me to Ft. Portal to stay with us until the end of July.  Emma attends Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri where she is pursuing a bachelors of Arts in Christian Ministry, specializing in Women’s Ministry.  She has been a tremendous help, encouragement and a blessing to me in the various women’s ministries these past couple of months.  Sadly for us, she returned home this past week to continue her schooling.  She will be greatly missed.

George and I want to thank all of our friends, family and supporters for continuing to pray for us and encouraging us in so many practical ways.  We ask that you would continue to join with us in prayer as we feel our time in Uganda may be drawing to a close.  Our desire is for whatever and wherever the Lord would have us to serve Him.

In His Grip,

George and Luan