August 27 Update

27 August 2012 - Greetings from Uganda!! I am thoroughly enjoying working with animals and veterinarians again. The quantity and quality of ‘gross’ things I have the opportunity to work on are much better here than in the stateside clinical setting. Watching the sun rise and set over the plains and various mountains, as we are out working amongst the livestock, offers no comparison to working inside a building. The vast array of stars overhead (including constellations I have never had the opportunity to see before), vibrant rainbows, storms rolling across the plains, and other displays of God’s wonder has me in continual awe.

I have honestly lost track of how long I have been here. If I don’t keep track of how long I’ve been here, I don’t have to think about how close I am to the time I have to fly back to the States, right? Six weeks is proving to be WAAAAY too short of a time to spend in a place you are falling in love with. But more importantly than loving it here, I have really been struck by how intricately God has been molding my entire life for this very moment and place.

From working with animals to changing flat tires to fearlessly hopping on a motorcycle to creatively fixing something out of nothing to cooking without a cookbook or measuring devices to fixing a generator recoil to living with no electricity or running water to…. well, so far there has been some experience in my life that has prepared me for everything I have faced out here. Plus, hearing about the other side of His years of preparations paving the way for me to come here has been humbling as well. Our Heavenly Father really does love us and weave our lives together with absolute loving perfection.

My continual prayer is that the Lord will reveal His love and heart for the Karamojong people. He is doing just that as I live here and make new friends. God is moving here. As Dr. Valery Shean (the Christian Veterinary Mission field worker that has been here for 20 years) discussed one night around the kerosene lamp, the harvest is ready, but the workers are few. This exact thing was told to me again today by another member of the CLIDE (Community Livestock Integrated Development) team. I’m honored and humbled to have been called as a worker to these amazing people. There is a solid local church in the larger villages but reaching out to the majority of people in the remote areas proves difficult. The cow being the most important thing to them makes our connection with veterinary medicine an invaluable tool.

Dr. Val is a great Godly woman with whom I’m honored to get to know as my boss and friend. At what point she becomes my boss permanently is still unknown. I have just met with Dr. Otim Moses, the CLIDE Team Leader and he is excited to have me become a member. Within the next day or two we hope to finalize my necessary paperwork here to email to the CVM home office for their tentative final approval before the Personnel Committee this coming Friday!! When I return home in September, Lord willing, I will begin my official deputation process. That is the fancy name for the time where a prayer and financial support base is built to facilitate the work that God is doing. Many have asked me how long this will take. I don’t know, only God does. It could be a matter of a few short months or years, but that depends on how quickly the financial requirements are met. I’m obviously praying for the former because once 100% of the needed support is raised, I will return to live here for as long as God desires!!  Every $10 a month will support this ministry for approximately (pending my final budget) one day out of the three hundred sixty-five in a year!! So as you can see, as with all things, many hands will make light and quick work!!

I want to thank all of you who have already partnered with what the Lord is doing through this ministry with your generous one time gifts and your commitment to continual monthly financial support. You can make a onetime gift or set up your monthly charitable contribution directly through CVM by calling 206-546-7574. I look forward to meeting with as many of you as I can when I return to share in more detail what God is doing and answering all of your questions.

The staff in the CLIDE office in Moroto is excited for me to join them and already have a room with a desk picked out for me! I’m still working on a photo for my prayer card that will be printed for future distribution. I personally think this photo of the warrior attacking me with his spear and the CLIDE member trying to defend me would be a great reminder for people to pray for me. But other’s told me it might not be the best idea. What do you think??

We just completed a two week ethnoveterinary medicine research project using Opuntia to increase milk production in cattle, sheep, and goats. This is what is known to most of us as Prickly Pear or Edapal in the local language. Right now I am in the middle of compiling the research data so we can graph the results to see which of our four formulations is most effective. From the traditional formulations most commonly used by the local herdsmen to our test variations that could easily be prepared and sold. This research is done in collaboration with the local Traditional Healers Association. They maintain the intellectual rights to these herbal medicines as CLIDE partners with them to produce a product that is modern and saleable.

This is a taste of what some of my tasks will be here as the CLIDE “Research Assistant”. Though there are many other ministry aspects to CLIDE with which the entire team assists as the needs arise. Several weeks ago I assisted at the spiritual retreat for their youth program, The Timothy Project. So I’m coming here with a job description but also knowing that God’s plan is the ultimate one that we must all follow. In my upcoming ‘official’ CVM prayer letters I will have a chance to share more of the details of CVM, CLIDE, life in Karamoja, more stories from my trip, and the ways in which God is working.

To God be the Glory,

Emily ‘Enakit’ Arndt, CVT

I Peter 1:22-25