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Hands Across Nations Newsletter - April 2022Sharing the Love of Christ in Practical Ways
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Connee Potter and Carolyn Jones
Greetings to our Hands Across Nations HAN “family” across the USA and the world! It has been quite a long time since our last newsletter, so we have some catching up to do! The Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions have brought challenges, changes, and new opportunities! There is no doubt that God has been guiding us to reconsider the ways we had been accomplishing His plan for us in Uganda, and that has given us struggles and victories. We are now returning to Uganda after our time back in the USA coordinating a successful online fundraiser with a fabulous team and preparing a new way to carry out the “Learning to Read, To Read the Bible" program in the prisons.
The best news is that Connee Potter, who could not go to Uganda last year due to her bout of Covid-19, is going with us this year! She has been on Jean Homer’s team in the USA typing the easy-to-read Lango language translation of the Bible, which was completed by HAN translators Richard Otim and Victor Ouni in Uganda. Unfortunately, Victor recently passed away in his late eighties so Richard will team up with another translator to complete the editing of the translations with Connee. It takes up to 9 readings through each Bible passage to complete the editing for punctuation, spelling, and grammar, etc. It’s tedious and necessary but Connee is well experienced in editing and has been an enormous blessing to HAN for her typing of much of the Lango language translation of the Bible as well as the Farming God’s Way, guide to farming in Africa. Connee will be with us for a month, helping us and experiencing the Ugandan culture and countryside.
The best news is that Connee Potter, who could not go to Uganda last year due to her bout of Covid-19, is going with us this year! She has been on Jean Homer’s team in the USA typing the easy-to-read Lango language translation of the Bible, which was completed by HAN translators Richard Otim and Victor Ouni in Uganda. Unfortunately, Victor recently passed away in his late eighties so Richard will team up with another translator to complete the editing of the translations with Connee. It takes up to 9 readings through each Bible passage to complete the editing for punctuation, spelling, and grammar, etc. It’s tedious and necessary but Connee is well experienced in editing and has been an enormous blessing to HAN for her typing of much of the Lango language translation of the Bible as well as the Farming God’s Way, guide to farming in Africa. Connee will be with us for a month, helping us and experiencing the Ugandan culture and countryside.
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Connee and her husband Jeff were also instrumental in supporting Rebecca, a young girl with a brain tumor who was paralyzed, unable to speak, and had a fractured leg. We plan to have Connee and Rebecca and her family meet to celebrate Rebecca’s continuing recovery.
In 2019 Rebecca had brain surgery to allow the fluid to drain from her brain. She also had plates and screws placed in her left femur to stabilize it for healing. At that time, she could not speak and was completely paralyzed, needing assistance for every activity for daily living. By 2021, having stayed with her brother Bonny, and our HAN illustrator Isaac, at his home, with a caregiver who exercised her daily, Rebecca was able to sit up by herself and walk with a rolling walker with someone standing by her side. She could eat and drink without help and decided that she would like to return home to her village to live with her father and the rest of her brothers and sisters. This year we plan to take Connee to Rebecca’s village to see how she is progressing. 
Rebecca with her brother Bonny, (L), and our HAN illustrator Isaac (R), at his home.
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Rebecca, following brain surgery to allow the fluid to drain from her brain.
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Thousands of pairs of reading glasses have been donated by Mike and Helen Salapka so that even elderly learners with poor reading vision are able to read well.
Due to Covid-19, HAN was locked out of the twelve prisons but communicated with the Regional Welfare Officer who reported that there are still many teachers remaining who are willing to continue with classes. Thankfully, we were allowed to restart this past fall in Lira Prison with new materials we sent through our staff for learning to read in the Lango language as well as English. Bible Discovery groups have continued as well with prisoners at Lira Main Prison who are now reading well, and they have read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the books of James and First, Second and Third John. What an amazing feat that is for men who could not read until recently! The new group of learners have finished their training and are waiting for us to return to take their exams and move to learning to read in English, while new classes learning to read in the Lango Language will start up. While we are in Uganda for the next 2 months, the plan is for 2-3 more prisons to restart their classes. Hallelujah! God is on the move through “the least of these brothers and sisters of Christ”! They have been incredibly capable teachers when they return to their villages and start up classes!
While we have been locked out of the prisons, we have continued to assist people arriving at the gate to our house/office in Lira. One example of how our helping others who arrive at our gate needing assistance expands as those people also reach out to those around them who are sick, hungry and need help too.
Dickens, seen in the picture on the left, who had been hit by a car while driving his motorcycle has done well with his recovery from facial reconstruction surgery and has been assisting others living around him: He has sewed knee pads and gloves for a woman who is unable to walk and must crawl on the ground. He is visiting and encouraging a neighbor who was already on crutches who fell after having drunk too much “local brew” and fractured his shoulder. He also helped care for an elderly neighbor woman near death and after she passed away, accompanied her body to her family in the village for burial. Dickens read the book of Matthew from our Bible Discovery program, recognized his need to be “Born Again” and has been seeing the needy people God shows him nearby and is helping them. He is now one of God’s “rebuilders”!
Dickens, seen in the picture on the left, who had been hit by a car while driving his motorcycle has done well with his recovery from facial reconstruction surgery and has been assisting others living around him: He has sewed knee pads and gloves for a woman who is unable to walk and must crawl on the ground. He is visiting and encouraging a neighbor who was already on crutches who fell after having drunk too much “local brew” and fractured his shoulder. He also helped care for an elderly neighbor woman near death and after she passed away, accompanied her body to her family in the village for burial. Dickens read the book of Matthew from our Bible Discovery program, recognized his need to be “Born Again” and has been seeing the needy people God shows him nearby and is helping them. He is now one of God’s “rebuilders”!
There are others whose stories are as amazing and positive which we will share later. In the meantime, we will be traveling to Uganda and hopefully arriving in Lira by the evening of April 25th. We appreciate your prayers for a safe journey from Chewelah, across the Atlantic Ocean and beyond to the far side of the world, ending in Lira, N. Uganda.
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Go with God,
Keith and Carolyn Jones Hands Across Nations “Sharing the love of Christ in practical ways” www.handsacrossnations.org |
