Merry CHRISTMAS & Happy New Year!

Posted January 1, 2014

The New Year’s Reflections….

Well, it’s the New Year, and as I sit here in my bed with Malaria once again, I reflect on the last four months of our time here.
I am amazed at God’s faithfulness. He has guided our steps all along the way. Not knowing what to fully expect to experience as a full-time missionary, there were many questions I pondered before coming. Questions like, ” will I fit in?” ” Will I really reach the women in the way I desire?” ” Will it be safe for my children, and will they thrive or flounder?” “Will they receive the education I am hoping for them as I choose to homeschool them instead of send them to an international school?” So many questions came to my mind.
These questions came before we arrived here in Uganda. Once we touched ground and were actually here in reality, I realized all of my questions and worry were vain imaginations. I soon began to realize, that when The Lord called our family to this specific location on the planet, He knew what He was doing, and He knew us. I started to see the Lord’s hand in EVERYTHING. From walking down our streets and meeting new friends, to teaching women all over Uganda about the love of God, and how perfectly He had prepared my kids to be taught in this environment.
I have to admit I have suffered from culture shock quite a bit! I have felt homesick a lot and it comes in waves. From everything I have read on culture shock, it makes sense that a person would feel resistant to such a huge change of life. My prayer this morning for the first day of this new year of 2014, is that The Lord would take down any walls in my heart for this place and these wonderful people and allow me to be fully present. That I would have perfect peace because my eyes are on Him. I am realizing that I am not an ambassador for America, or an ambassador for Uganda. I am an ambassador for Jesus Christ. He is my standard. I’m not trying to fit into the culture I am in to please the people, but shining the love of Christ to the lost and broken world, which is cross cultural. It’s not about keeping quiet about issues because I don’t want to offend a culture, it’s about speaking the truth in love no matter where I am on this earth. It’s a Jesus culture.

On another note, the holidays have been wonderful for us! My mom surprised us and flew out here two days before Christmas. It was the surprise of my life! My kids are on cloud nine right now:) We spent Christmas camping in a tent on the Nile river in Jinja, Uganda. It was just what the doctor ordered! We have been going at neck breaking speed for these last four months, so to be able to unwind and relax was a gift from God. My mom leaves in two days and so I am trying to savor every moment with her that I can. She has definitely been touched by the love of the people here and the state of living. She said that the pictures just don’t paint the picture of reality here. It’s hard to capture the smells, sounds, traffic jams, smog and poverty on a snapshot of a moment. I am glad for her fresh eyes to see things here again because I have become so used to seeing things that I forget the beauty of first sight.

Next week Jason and I start our bible studies again and my prayer going forward is to go deeper with the women and really get to the core issues of daily life here. To equip them to know the word and how to apply it to their lives and situations.
May God bless you all in this new year and may He draw you close to His side.
Love,
Michelle Folkestad

Team ECF

Posted November 19, 2013

After spending two months in Uganda, Edgewater Christian Fellowship sent us a team of five. Ryan and Natalie Evans – Trevor Hanks – Jason and Riki Fletcher. As I reflect on their time here- I see it as a gift. Thank you ECF!

Pastor Jeffery – new DB sticker on his old boda

 

The moment they arrived there was no time for rest. The gals had a women’s bible conference to attend.  The conference was held in Mukono, Uganda at Pastor Jeffery’s church. Michelle, Natalie, Bruk and Riki all taught through the bible at the conference. Sign of the Dove Church also brought along their choir to provide worship and praise during the conference. The women in this area are hungry for The Word.

Uganda is not all the same. Different communities carry different qualities. The Mukono area has been known for their witch doctors. Historically this is where someone would go to seek out treatment through spirits.  Because of the way in which this area was founded, I felt a spirit of strife in some of the people I spoke with. Pastor Jeffery (to the left) is fighting a very real battle.

The conference lasted six days. Monday through Thursday was held in Mukono. Friday and Saturday were held in Zzana (where we live).

During the women’s conference, the men and I conducted bible studies for pastors and men. The studies were very effective.

Conferences are very common here in Uganda. The frequency of the conferences are new to me and my family. Please pray that the Spirit moves during these events.

 

 

The team was able to attend two church services at Sign of the Dove while visiting. As you can see from the picture to your right, they have a large church. Though the church is unfinished, this does not stop them from worshiping. Unfinished projects are very common in East Africa due to the lack of finances. Their church consists of approximately 250 members. Pastor Daniel Kaggwa leads the church in many different ministries. Teaching through scripture is our number one ministry here in Uganda. So, when Jason Fletcher agreed to teach through James 2 on Sunday it was a huge blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

A half mile from our home there are twelve children living in an orphanage. Ida is the gal who oversees the facility. So we call it Ida’s Orphanage. We’ve been spending more time with the kids as time has past. We become extremely close with several of them. Most of these kids have remarkable stories.

The team was able to make a few visits during their stay. They immediately became aware of the conditions inside the orphanage.  The following day they had all agreed that they would like to replace the mattresses on each bed. The old mattresses were an old polyethylene foam that was simply deteriorating. We have since been back to the orphanage and the  children we very thankful for their new sleeping conditions.

Several of the children at the orphanage have been infected with HIV.  They each receive a daily dose of medication. The ultimate goal for each one on these children is to get them adopted into a loving home. As we are here, and only a half mile from their orphanage our plan is to spend as much time with these kids as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to make our way east while the team was here to visit the Nile River. It was a wonderful day with extraordinary people.

Malaria – the real terrorist

Posted October 19, 2013

I woke up on Monday October 14th feeling a little off. Very slow to rise and as I gained enough energy to get to my feet the room began to spin.  I was nauseous. I thought to myself, “ok…today I’m going to take it slow.”  What I didn’t realize was “slow” wasn’t going to be slow enough.   I spent  the majority of my morning on the toilet. Gross I know, but roll with me – I’m trying to set the scene.  Today was grocery day….in Uganda you make a day out of it.  It then hit me hard. “I can’t leave the house”, I thought. Just the sunshine glaring off  the tile on our front porch put my stomach in knots. I laid down as the rest of the house left for the market. As I lay there the aches and pains grew with the nausea, I knew I needed to go.  I called for a car. Arriving at the nearest clinic, I walked in slowly trying not to make any sudden uneasy movements. I saw the Doc and explained what was up, and he agreed that I needed to be tested; so I went to the back to get some blood work done.  With me I carried a tan plastic bag…just in case. As I turned the corner two nurses were waiting for me….and I knew it – I had 2 seconds before projection. I said “sorry”, and proceeded to puke into my plastic bag.  If you can ever recall vomiting in your past you’ll agree that everything around you goes mute in that moment.  I heard nothing. I just wanted that demon bug that was tearing my stomach apart to end up in that plastic bag.  In the midst of it all I noticed a bunch of sandal wearing African feet running

around me. That is when I noticed I had a hole in my bag; more than a hole really, it was like there was no bottom to my bag, so the bag was useless. They helped me out, cleaned me up, stuck me with a needle and confirmed that I not only had a bacterial infection in my gut, but I had also been infected with malaria. “Wonderful” I said.  ”What?” the doctor replied-Ugandans don’t have the most sarcastic sense of humor. He than began to fill me up with more fluid treatment than I have ever had to put in my entire body in the combined 33 years of my life. And if you’re anything like me you don’t like medicine; so I was not happy.  After two hours they sent me home with some tablets that I was to take twice a day with whole milk, and in the span of those days I was to try to keep my stomach full of fatty foods. This was no good because I had no appetite – I had a bacteria eating away at my stomach. 3 days in bed popping tablets, drinking milk, and eating bread went by. I was feeling better, but my stomach felt like it had a new problem. So Friday came and I had a bible study to teach at 7am. I thought I would give it a shot since I had missed so many this week. I put two hours into the study and than told the crew I needed to go…back to the doctor. My stomach had a deep burning, bruising feeling underneath my rib cage. Turns out the malaria medicine ate an ulcer into my stomach on account that I didn’t eat enough fat and drink enough nasty whole goats milk – not really sure which animal it comes from.

But today is Saturday, and I feel great! I even played football (soccer) today. God is good!

-Jason Folkestad

Folkestads in Uganda

posted October 13th 2013

 

Pastors Study

Posted October 5, 2013

Over the next 12 months I will be training over 80 Pastors. Our intinerary will cover study techniques, counseling, prayer, teaching and seeking the Holy Spirit. The introduction to our study has been completed as I shared my testimony.  These are some great men who have sacrificed themselves in order to further God’s kingdom. Please pray for them and myself as we begin to make our way through the book of John.   -Jason Folkestad

First Ten Days…

Posted September 22, 2013

We are a little more than one week into our time here, and yet it seems as if we have been here a month.  So far, our daily routine consists of daily walks around the neighborhood,  washing clothes by hand, and cooking (a lot)- praise The Lord for food! Learning the language has been a fun challenge, as we pass people on walks and try out our new phrases, they cheer and tell us great job Muzungus(which means white people)!

This first week has been a week of learning the culture and getting acclimated to our surroundings. We have been told next week we will have a full schedule, as they are ready to utilize us in ministry as a family.  We will be heading to several schools with Brooke Marsh to spend time with them and possibly perform some skits from the Bible to share the gospel.  I will be teaching a women’s Bible study every Friday night starting next week on being a woman of God.  Prayers are most welcome.

Jason has started on a garden in our yard, which by the look of the Ugandan soil will be doing great in no time.

Faith and I both have bacterial infections. We’ve had to spend several hours at the doctor getting treated; typically consisting of antibiotics and a IV solution. Don’t worry all is well and our bodies are getting used to this new experience. Pray that our systems will adapt.

Jason had a meeting last week with the director of Compassion International Uganda to discuss his role as a water technician with Swayer Water. He is very excited to start distributing water filters to tribes all over Eastern Africa. Starting next week he also starts training 30 pastors. Walking them through Biblical studies, counseling and their spiritual relationships.

I am looking forward to what The Lord has in store for us this week, as we go out each day in faith,  that He will provide many opportunities to share the good news with our neighbors and invite them to church.

-Michelle Folkestad

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing The Love of Christ in Eastern Africa

Posted September 16, 2013
9/9/13 Leaving for Uganda

This morning we forced ourselves out of bed at 2:30am to intercept our first of four flights to Uganda, Africa. The kids rose with excitement, which soon turned to reality….we’re really doing this? Which then changed to sadness.
Sad to leave behind the ones we love deeper than any one person on the entire continent of Africa. Sorry Brooke; but these individuals are people who have helped mold and squeeze us until they saw the Holy Spirit oozing from our pores. We will forever love these people. They are family.

As we reached the United check-in counter at Medford International I quickly realized that the representative helping us with our chaotic itinerary, and baggage stacked to the sky was in no mood for conversation at 4am. She, with a stale look continued to tell us we owed $400 for our extra baggage, we probably wouldn’t be sitting with each other on the majority of our trip, the 35 min layover in Washington D.C. would more than likely put us in a position of missing our flight to Brussels, Belgium, and there was nothing she could do about it. I knew at that point we were in for an unforgettable journey.
A journey that would simply grow my faith.

First flight Medford – San Fran 45min. = a cake walk

I need to mention that 48 hours earlier Maci (our 8yr old daughter) sprained her ankle. Michelle took her to the ER and confirmed it was not broken. So, at this point in our travels Maci was getting the United Airlines wheel chair treatment. Getting wheeled from one gate to another by her own personal chauffeur faster than we could keep up.

Second flight San Fran – Washington D.C. 5 hrs = no problem, but also no food. -Typical U.S. domestic flight.

Upon our arrival to Dulles International we knew we had a 35 min layover; meaning as we got off one plane in the back of my mind I knew the other plane was just starting to board. And as you may know Dulles is not a small airport.
My wife and I talked, and we knew we were to give this worry to The Lord.
As we gathered all sixteen carry-on bags we made our way to the front of the plane, where like clockwork United Airlines was waiting for Maci with her airport issued wheel chair. They got her in that wheelchair and sped off into a sea of scrambling travelers. We followed far behind and attempted to keep pace. As we arrived at gate C27 there was at least a full planes worth of passengers standing in line ready to board. With Maci’s VIP wheelchair pass we were able to jump to the front of the line, board the plane and be the first passengers to stow luggage in the overhead compartments. Worried? Who’s worried, we got God. As we were boarding that plane I felt a presence that was beyond peace…it was a tear-jerking excitement. To KNOW that God is watching over our itinerary, our flights and even our steps hit me like a tsunami. Thank You Lord!

Third flight D.C. – Brussels 7 hrs 52min = superb flight, great food, remarkable media selection…overall phenomenal service. The kids were in airplane heaven and decided they didn’t need to sleep, rather enjoy every minute of their first international flight.

Layover in Belgium was four hours long and it hit all three kids like a ton of bricks. They could not stay awake as we setup camp in a corner of terminal B. When it was time to catch our shuttle to terminal T they didn’t want to budge. But we pushed through.

Fourth flight Brussels -Uganda, Africa 10 hrs 35min = a time of rest for the kids. Great gianormous Boeing 777 with empty seats to spare. One particular detour to our route surprised us because it simply wasn’t clear on our itinerary was that we had to make a pit stop in Rwanda to drop off and pick up passengers. We simply didn’t leave the plane, and all was well. Stepping out onto the Entebbe tarmac with my whole family was a moment of relief and nervousness all wrapped into one. A relief that our traveling was complete, but nervous to find in the next few weeks why God truly has me in Africa.

All twelve of our checked-in bags made it to their final destination! This was a great site to see.

Of course our Ugandan crew was huddled right outside waiting for our arrival. Reuniting with born-again friends is always a blessing, but this meeting meant something more substantial. “We have come to fight the battle with you”, is what went through my mind. There were at least six Ugandans, Daniel and Erica, and of course Brooke. I think they knew what sort of luggage we were hauling, so they brought reinforcements.

As we jumped in Daniel’s car it was close to midnight, and the outskirts of Kampala just aren’t lit up enough to go site seeing; so the kids picked up on a few little things as we made a 30 minute drive to our new home. They noticed the size of the palm trees, the air quality (not so good), and the women with baskets of fruit on their heads. When we rolled into our new neighborhood I could sense Michelle’s peace about its location, and I agreed. We rolled through a gated yard and were excited at how perfect the house was for us. We spent hours unpacking and rejoicing with friends. The next morning we rose early to find the sun shining on all we hadn’t seen the night before. We were over joyed.

-Jason Folkestad