Love Your Neighbors

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:30-31

 Welcome to our little neighborhood in Northern Uganda. We currently share a compound with five other families and have since last June. However, when we first moved here, there were nine children running around. Now we are left with only three. There has been a lot of transition, with families headed back to their home countries, or moving because of new jobs. Whatever the situation, the community dynamics change with the coming and going of tenants. 
With all of the change we've been experiencing in our compound, God has really been speaking to me about Mark 12:30-31. It's a verse that I have tried to live out, but probably not with as much attention as deserved. However, despite the fact that our main purpose is to serve the pastors and people of Uganda, I also desire to serve my neighbors. These people are after all, our community. 

A few weeks ago we hosted a compound cultural potluck. It started about an hour and a half late, but the food and conversation was amazing. Let me say it again...the food was amazing!! There was such a variety of cultural foods and plenty left over.  We have many nations represented in our little compound including Korea, India, Uganda, USA and Canada. It was a great way to get to know one another, especially with new tenants recently moving in. 

It's been such a blessing to create a little community here while we all live far from our families and friends. We look out for one another and do our best to help when we can. Community is essential for us to serve here in Uganda, and we've been truly blessed with the neighbours we have. We look forward to deepening our relationships and definitely enjoying

more ethnic foods!

April Update

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GENERAL UPDATES

Checking out land with Pastor Thomas

In our monthly newsletters we usually pick three things to highlight, but this month we have a handful of things to share with you. We thought we'd put them in shorter form and will be able to share more when we're back in North America for our visit.

In two weeks we'll be flying back for a six week visit and Kylann (Janessa's brother) and Aimee's wedding.  We'll be in Pennsylvania (May 16 - 22), Winnipeg (May 23 - June 12) and back to Pennsylvania (June 13 - 26).  We're working on plans to have a fundraising event both in Butler and in Winnipeg to share about our upcoming plans for Gulu. We'll send out an email in the next few weeks to let you know the details. If you'd like to plan a time to meet while we're home shoot us an email or facebook message and we'd love to arrange a time to see you.

One of the pastors in our discipleship group, Pastor Thomas, will be leading the Bible study while we're back home.  For the past few weeks we've been working together to prepare the lessons that he'll teach on being a servant leader.  We're praying that this will be a great opportunity for him to grow and also a chance to see how he does leading the group.  He's been a great help to us and we're praying he'll be a part of the ministry in the future.

I was hoping to share a picture of us with our new car in this update, but it has been delayed due to issues found during the vehicle inspection. The good news is that it will have a completely new braking system when it arrives. The bad news is that it won't arrive in Uganda until the beginning of June, so we'll pick it up when we arrive back from the US.

Our languages lessons are continuing well.  I feel like this is the same update every month, but it really is going really well.  Our teacher is excited at the progress we're making and complimented us this week by saying that our "acoli is ripening". That is definitely welcomed encouragement because there are frustrating points when you spend hours learning, studying and practicing. Then when you try to use it in public all you get back are confused looks at times. I think often, they're confused because they don't expect us to be speaking Acholi. However, once we repeat it again they realize it's Luo.  One way or another we're pushing forward. Please pray that we find time to study while we're home so we don't fall behind.  Feel free to test us when you see us and maybe even learn an Acoli word or two!

We've begun the process of looking for land to build a discipleship center on.  It's not a simple process and one of the most difficult parts is that I can't really be involved.  The moment a munu (white person) shows up, the price of land doubles.  This is one way Pastor Thomas has been a blessing to us, by leading the search.  He's traveled all around Gulu visiting and meeting with potential sellers, then informs me about the different options.  For now, we have a price range in mind and when we come back will be hopefully be able to select the right place and begin the process of purchasing it.

One huge praise report is that rainy season is finally here!  It came about a month and a half later than usual, but we've had good rainstorms at least every other day for the past week.  That means city water is working again and farmers are busy planting their crops (that should have been in a month ago).  Thank you so much for everyone who prayed. 

We also have a new mailing address for Uganda! Check it out below! Thank you so much for the blessing each and everyone of you are in our lives. We couldn't serve Uganda without the support of those back in North America. We look forward to seeing you all soon!

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CYPHERS ON SAFARI 

Our neighbors recently invited us to join them on safari. We had a wonderful time looking for animals and seeing the beauty of Uganda. Silas enjoyed seeing all the animals and can now name quite a few. We saw giraffes, elephants, hippos, warthogs, a crested eagle, cape buffalo, antelope and baboons!  We even managed to see four young lion cubs resting under the shade of a tree. All in all it was a very long but wonderful day!

 

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PRAYER POINTS

• For getting things organized as we prepare to leave Uganda for 6 weeks.
• For safe travels as we travel between Canada and the USA
• For continued good health and quick adjustment to a new time zone
• For our friend Christine's daughter (Irene), who is home from school due to mental sickness. She has been on medication for Epilepsy but doesn't appear to have those symptoms. Pray the doctors have wisdom as they change medication and try to find the source of the sickness. 

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We will continue to keep you updated with monthly newsletters.
For more updates, check out our blog,
http://cyphersinuganda.blogspot.com
or click the orange blog link below.
Thank you so much for your prayers as we serve in Northern Uganda!

Blessings,
Tim & Janessa Cypher

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We would love to hear from you!

E-mail us at:
cyphersinuganda@gmail.com

CANADA:
Attn: Tim & Janessa Cypher
Heartstrings World Mission
430 Lakewood Blvd
Winnipeg, MB R2J 4B6

USA:
Attn: Tim & Janessa Cypher
Harvest Alliance International
3620 Ocean Ranch Blvd
Oceanside, CA 92056

UGANDA:
Attn: Tim & Janessa Cypher
P.O. Box 329
Gulu, Uganda

To be Married or Not to be Married

In our recent newsletter I wrote briefly about the cultural challenges of marriage here as a Christian. The first pastor I talked to about marriage was someone I've known since 2010 when he was still in his teens.  I had met with him a handful of times for discipleship, spoken at the church he was apart of and even helped him plan his weekly Bible Studies.  Last year when we got back in touch, I found out that his wife was pregnant.  Then I found out that the term "wife" didn't mean they were married.  

Last month I decided that we had to talk about the "elephant in the room" and I began a very straight forward conversation about him and his wife's relationship.  He told me that they were engaged and saving towards getting married, but because they had a child together they needed to live in the same house. We went into much deeper discussion and he was very open and honest.  He knew that they had made a mistake by not waiting until they were married to be together.  They had also recieved church discipline when it came to light that they were expecting a baby out of wedlock.  I was curious to find out what the church did as church discipline and I was told they were kicked out of the church for a number of months and then after time had passed, they were allowed to return.

After hearing his situation and his heart, I shared with him that true repentance means not only feeling sorry about what you've done and asking forgiveness, but also leaving the sin and turning from it and going the other direction.  I told him I felt like he was halfway there but as long as he and his fiancee were still living together unmarried, he hadn't really completed his repentance.  He agreed with this but shared that the challenge they now faced was finances.  Usually the best a couple can hope for is that the family will allow them to pay a portion of the dowry and then get married. The good thing in my friends situation is that his future in-laws have agreed to allow them to have a church wedding before paying the dowry.  This in itself is uncommon. The only condition the family has put on their wedding, is that it needs to be big so that not only the whole church can come but the neighboring churches as well. 

Here, the couple (especially the groom) is expected to pay for the wedding with help from family and friends.  Fundraising for a wedding like this isn't a cheap event.  It might not be as expensive as a wedding in North America but they are expected to feed hundreds of people, not to mention the traditional wedding expenses involved. It's a good chunk of change to come up with, especially in a country where the average annual income for an individual is approximately $550.  After the wedding, he will still be expected to pay the dowry which is a little less than $3,000 in his case.  

When you do the math you can see that in many cases it can take years for a man to save for the dowry.  Many people aren't making near the national average in income and it can take them over ten years of saving every penny.  So then, the decision they face is to wait until they are 40 to get married and start a family or to live with someone they aren't married to.  Its not a simple situation.  Some churches won't marry you until you have paid the dowry and have approval from the family.  But to totally disregard the tradition of dowry would also give the church a bad name in the community. Culturally, if you haven't paid the dowry the woman's family has the option to forcibly take her back to their home until you pay it. The community and government will respect this action.  

All of this forms a tough situation for believers here.  It's also caused many young adults to simply walk away from the church.  In another pastor's situation, he is living together with his fiancee and their two children and the church has no problem with it.  But if they decide they want to honor God by getting married, regardless of whether her family approves, it is written in the church's bylaws that he'll be kicked out of the church. 

Keep all these situations in your prayers.  One pastor told me we need to start a revolution in the church in Northern Uganda to change the way marriage takes place in the church.  Its a tricky line to walk.  The number one priority is obviously to honor God, but if not done carefully could turn many people away from the church because it disrespects the culture.  Not to mention that many churches aren't willing to make the change.  It's not very surprising that among the dozen church leaders I've discussed this with, the opinions seem to vary widely. It depends if the person is around the point in their life the are hoping to get married and need to pay a dowry, or are old enough to have daughters that will soon be getting married.

Please pray that God gives us guidance how to walk through this issue with his wisdom.  We want to work in unity with believers and to help them honor God with their lives.  Its hard to see how both those things can be accomplished in this situation but when know that God can do it!

- Tim

Cooking Acoli

Last week I had the opportunity to help our friend Harriet cook lunch. Although, I have already had "official" lessons on cooking beans and rice, this is more a chance for me to practice speaking and writing Acoli. So, I've decided to create this simple recipe and provide the translation. If you are wanting a little taste of Northern Uganda, give it a try :)

* Note: If you don't a charcoal stove and gas oven, electric is fine :) 

Beans & Rice

Ingredients:              La rub dek:

1 cup dry beans                         kikopo acel me muranga

2 tomatoes                                 nyanya aryo

1 green pepper                          kalara acel

1 onion                                        mutungulu acel

3 garlic cloves                            garlic adek

1 tsp baking soda                      magadi/ kado atona

2 tbsp beef stock                       Muchumi Mix malaga aryo

1 cup rice                                    kikopo acel me mucele

Directions:

1.     Light the charcoal stove. Fill a pot with water and add one cup of beans. Let beans boil for one hour. 
Mok cigari. Pong agulu ki pii ci ony muranga kikopo acel. Wek muranga o yeny pi cawa acel.

  

2.    Check beans and add more water. Add a teaspoon of baking soda to the pot and stir. Put lid back on and return to a boil.
Rot muranga ci med pii mokene. Med magadi, ket giwiye ci dwok ka yenyo.

             

       

3.    Chop the tomatoes, green pepper, onion and garlic. Put the onions and garlic in a  frying pan and fry. Then add the tomatoes and green pepper.
 Tong nyanya, kalara, mutungulu, ki garlic. Ket mutungulu ki garlic i i cubaria ci cel. Ci med nyanya ki kalara.

             

4.    Add 2 tbsp of beef stock to the vegetables and stir until mixed well.                          
Med Muchumi Mix malaga aryo i dek ci i rubi wang ma o rube maber.

             

5.  Fill a pot with water and add one cup of rice. When boiling, reduce the flame/ heat and cook until ready. 
Pong agulu ki pii ci ony mucele kikopo acel. Ka o yenyo, dwok mac ma nok ci ted wang ma ocek.

6.    When beans are soft, add to the fried vegetables. Pour bean water into pot as well and stir in some salt.
Ka muranga dong yom, med i dek. Ony pig muranga i cubaria ci yeny kado i iye.

       7. Enjoy your meal! 

         Cam dek!

February Update

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MINISTRY UPDATE

Since we’ve been back in Uganda, we have had plenty of opportunities for ministry. Tim had the opportunity to join up with Terebinth, a group focusing on training pastors, for the first month. They focused on teaching the Joshua, Judges and Ruth.  Since then, Tim has been teaching three small discipleship groups he meets with weekly.  Two of the groups are comprised of pastors from Gulu and the other of young adults.
Janessa has recently started a discipleship group in the market with a group of tailors. They are studying Jesus’ interactions with women in the book of Luke. Within the next few weeks, Janessa will also be starting up another ladies discipleship group inside our compound with the ladies who work in our neighbor’s homes.
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                                     MINISTRY UPDATE

Acoli lessons are going well, as mentioned in our recent blog post. We are already a month into lessons and have learned so much. We are trying to devote 15-20 hours a week to studying on top of our three weekly lessons. Using flash cards and tests has helped us grasp the language and encourages us to use it every day. We're also been practicing Acoli by translating simple songs and books that we read to Silas.  Who knew that Dr Seuss can help you learn a new language!

Janessa has been using the Acholi Bible in her marketplace Bible study since the ladies are more comfortable reading and sharing in Acoli even though they are able to speak english. It’s a great opportunity to listen and understand what is being said through immersion. It’s amazing how much we know and already how useful it has been in ministry
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PRAISE REPORT

We are extremely thankful for God’s provision since we’ve returned to Uganda.  We were able purchased a two-year old washing machine from a missionary family transitioning back to the US for a quarter of what it would have been if we bought it new. We also bought solar panels so we can have partial power (internet, fans, & lights), which is an incredible blessing and will be extremely helpful when we are with power for days at a time.

Last week we also found an office to rent in the main market. It’s a small room on the third floor facing out across town. It’s a quiet place to meet with our discipleship groups and provided more privacy than meeting in a restaurant. Another small, yet significant praise report is for all the cooking and baking we have been able to do. It’s becoming easier to figure out our gas stove and adapt ingredient list to what we have. I (Janessa), felt overwhelmed when we first arrived in June last year with the amount of time cooking/baking took. But the more I’ve been trying, the more I’ve begun to enjoy it! We’ve managed to figure out how to make naan, tortillas, chocolate cookies, cinnamon scones, etc.

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PRAYER POINTS

• The mosquitoes have been really bad since we’ve returned. Pray we find the source of where they are entering our apartment and protection from getting malaria.
• For the past two weeks electricty in Gulu has only been on 2-4 most days and some parts of Gulu are without city water as we approach the end of the dry season and the city resoviour is running dry.  Pray that rainy season comes soon and whatever issues are going on with the electric are resolved soon.
• We'll be beginning the process for our long-term work permit soon.  Pray that this process, and a few other pieces of paperwork that accompany it, will go smoothly.  
• We're hoping to importing a vehicle from Japan for personal and ministry use.  This is generally how cars are brought into most of Africa.  Pray that we find a good deal on a great car!

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We would love to hear from you!
E-mail us at:
cyphersinuganda@gmail.com

CANADA:
Attn: The Cyphers
Heartstrings World Mission
430 Lakewood Blvd
Winnipeg, MB R2J 4B6

USA:
Attn: The Cyphers
Harvest Alliance International
3620 Ocean Ranch Blvd
Oceanside, CA 92056

Is it cigiri or cagori?

Our second week of language learning is well underway and we've been trying to practice Acoli in everyday conversation. Yesterday, we went to the market to pick up a few things (Lawor ceto wa i cuk kwanyo jami ma nok nok). The market is a great place to practice what we have been learning and it always seems to brighten someones day. We were looking to buy a charcoal stove (it takes about 3 hours to cook beans and uses a lot of gas when using our gas stove), and found one just outside the market. Tim was attempting to use the acoli name for charcoal stove (cigiri), but was confusing the pronunciation. The lady selling it seemed as if she was having a difficult time understanding what he was trying to say.

Finally, Tim asked her, "What is the name for this?"
She looked at us like we were crazy and responded very slowly, "Charcoal stove."
We all laughed when she explained she wasn't from the area and didn't speak Acoli.

We are have language lessons on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour and a half each day. It's amazing how only having 4.5 hours of lessons a week can add up when you are making time to study and practice speaking. So far, we have been studying the following things: places, transportation, pronouns, time, colors, prepositions of location, numbers and household items.

Our new teacher is teaching a number of other missionaries in Gulu through a language immersion program. Within each lesson or LAP (Learner Acquisition Program), we learn themed vocabulary, sentence structure and speaking. Learning the local language is crucial to the ministry we feel the Lord leading us too. We've been talking with other missionaries who say they regret not making time to learn the language when they first began. Our goal is to be able to minister from the Acoli Bible and speak the language fluently. It's ministry in itself to be able to communicate through the local language and we know the Lord will give us the patience and learning ability to tackle this goal.

January Update

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WE'RE BACK IN UGANDA

We made it! After 25 hours of flying with a toddler (who did very well), we are back in the pearl of Africa!  We had a great time visiting friends and family in Pennsylvania and Winnipeg, but have been a little overwhelmed by the hot weather here in Uganda. When we left Winnipeg two weeks ago it was -30°C (-22°F). It's the beginning of dry season out here, which means it's +30°C (+86°F) everyday and won't rain until April. Needless to say, we have had some severe climate shock! However, it was so nice to have a place to come back to and now that we have finished unpacking, our apartment definitely feels like home. While we’ve been away, a large supermarket and a brand new coffee shop opened up in town (this is a pretty big deal) and we look forward to checking them out.  We appreciate your prayers and support as we get resettled and begin ministering here in Gulu.

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LOOKING FOR A VEHICLE

We are also hoping to purchase a vehicle as it is needed for both personal and ministry use. Public transportation (boda boda – motorcycle) is great, but we don’t feel comfortable taking Silas on one. Thankfully, a missionary family we know has been lending us their vehicle when we need to get around as a family and just this morning, our neighbor offered us the use of theirs while they visit family in India for the next month and a half.  God is definitely providing for us! We are praying to find a vehicle that would be good for traveling to and from the villages and in our price range. Once we are able to travel, we look forward to connecting with pastors and churches in the villages surrounding Gulu.
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LANGUAGE LESSONS

As we begin the new year with excitement for what’s to come, we will also be starting up our language lessons again. Learning the local language is incredibly important for us to be able to communicate without the use of a translator. Our goal is to be able to read from, prepare messages and understand the Acholi Bible. We were connected through another missionary family to a new language teacher and we are looking forward to getting to work. While we wait to begin our lessons, we have typed up what we were learning in the summer and have been practicing our vocabulary. 

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PRAYER POINTS

- For a financial situation with a friend who we had loaned a small amount of money.  This person is a potential ministry partner but we want to be sure he deals with this situation with honesty.  Pray that God shows us through this situation if he is the right person to work with.

- For understanding and persevering through learning Acholi

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We would love to hear from you!
E-mail us at:
cyphersinuganda@gmail.com

CANADA:
Attn: The Cyphers
Heartstrings World Mission
430 Lakewood Blvd
Winnipeg, MB R2J 4B6

USA:
Attn: The Cyphers
Harvest Alliance International
3620 Ocean Ranch Blvd
Oceanside, CA 92056