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Sufficient Grace
The last 3 weeks have been a whirlwind! Well, let me use the analogy of a hurricane instead, as rain has been a major theme of life at Musana Camps. As I write, we are in the middle of a week-long retreat hosting a group of 20 street boys from Jinja. They have been wonderful, and seem to be having a great time. Among other things they hiked the stream, went swimming in the lake, played several initiative games, and joyfully washed dishes for us. Tomorrow they will do a work project and Friday they have challenged our local village boys to a football match! Pray for their last few days here, that God would meet them in ways they have never experienced! When they leave us Saturday, another 20 boys from the same ministry (www.1morechild.org) will join us for another week. We appreciate your prayers for us as we host them and share God’s love with them.
Just before their arrival, we hosted our family, the Samuel family, from Kasana. It was so great to have them on different turf and interact in a more intimate way with them. They truly had an awesome time! By far their highlight was every afternoon they got to spend in the lake. However, a close second would be the endless supply of sugar cane growing in our gardens. They also enjoyed the evening campfires- Dave shared with them about choices each evening, from salvation to our moment by moment choices, and on the last night they even got to roast marshmallows over the fire- an absolute first! They went away refreshed and reunited, two of our many purposes in having them here.
In the midst of our transition here, we said goodbye to our dear friend, Wes Foley, who spent his summer at Musana Camps. He was such a blessing to us and the Sparks during his 2 ½ months in Uganda. Micah hasn’t quite understood why Wes isn’t “sleeping on the top bunk” anymore. We are missing you, Wes.
On the family end, we are all doing fine- at the moment, healthy, and for the most part adjusted to very different circumstances. The biggest adjustment has been the removal of the privilege of electricity and plumbing. Of course, a close second would be the 5 of us moving into a two-room house with all of our belongings. But if there has been one thought that has come to mind over the last very strenuous 3 weeks, it is that His grace is sufficient. Personally, this is by far the biggest transition I’ve ever experienced to date and I’ve seen the Lord meet me where I am and carry me. Daily I’m faced with the choice to succumb to my circumstances, and while I don’t win every moment, God has been pouring out His abundant grace to us.
Will you pray for us? Here are a few specifics you could remember:
-Our current retreat, followed by another on Saturday. Pray for God to work powerfully in the lives of the boys while they are here.
-Our health.
-Our continued transition to life here at Musana Camps- the kids are adjusting well, though Katelyn has probably struggled the most, missing a big component of her personality, people.
-Our daily interactions with those around us, whether construction crew, guards, employees or guests- that as our name implies, we would shine the “light” of Christ; willing vessels, living in obedience to Him.
-We need rain. At the moment, we are trying to run retreats, construct buildings, and live on one small cistern filled with rainwater. It isn’t adequate (nor is it full of rainwater). Pray for rain and the funds to solve a problem that will only continue. -
Moving…again…
I have literally lost count of how many times I have moved in my life…maybe that’s a good thing since being an overseas missionary involves a lot of moving and it’s not the huge stressor for me that it is for someone who has only moved once in their life…or never. Regardless, it’s time to do it yet again.
In about 2 weeks we will finally be moving to the Musana Camps property. As you can imagine, this brings lots of mixed emotions. Our first 7 months in Uganda have been spent living at the Kasana Children’s Center, which has provided an amazing opportunity to live in the most genuine Christ-centered community I’ve ever been a part of. It will be tough to leave the people and relationships behind and move to the camp where there is only one other family and a single Ugandan man on staff that we’ll work with each day. The kids will feel it the most. They have absolutely thrived here with all of the other kids they have to play with and now will have only themselves at the camp. As I write this, Andrea is homeschooling Emileigh and Katelyn, and Micah is sitting on the floor playing with Rachel, the daughter of Uncle George Opuche, the family father of Samuel family, which is our family group here at Kasana. She is one of many playmates. Rachel will be missed.
As consolation, I have agreed to let the kids get a puppy. One of the other family’s dog had some pups, and Katelyn begs to spend every waking minute with them. She has named the one she wants “Joy,” which is “Ssanyu” in Luganda. So we will soon have an addition to the family. Ssanyu comes amidst some busy times, and I can’t say I’m overly excited about training a puppy in the midst of moving and then have several groups come to the camp for back to back programs in August. It’s funny because when I was younger, I was a huge dog lover and dreamed of having my own golden retriever and a husky when I was married with kids. Now, dog = work, hair, smell, ticks, vet bills, babysitters when you travel, large expensive bags of dog food, and that inevitable drooling and licking thing…which I hate. At least it will provide a measure of protection for the family when I am away. How can I say no with all the transition the kids will be going through? It is our hope that Ssanyu lives up to her name and truly brings our kids JOY as they adjust to a new life at the camp. I will admit she’s rather adorable. The things we do for our children…
So now it’s time to live like the stereotypical picture of a missionary I grew up with. We’ll be in the bush miles away from civilization and modern conveniences such as supermarkets and hospitals. The house we’re moving into is a 2 room building designed to be a cabin for our camping programs. There’s no running water in the house, hundreds of bats living in the attic area (which we hope to have killed & removed before we move in), no toilet or shower in the building, and bedroom walls made of papyrus reeds. Our kitchen, dining room, and living room will all be in one room about 18′x18′. But lest I sound all negative and dreary about the situation, out the window is one of the most gorgeous views I have ever seen in my life with a constant gentle breeze and the occasional monkeys playing in the trees chattering with the jungle birds. There’s no hustle and bustle of modern civilization. No manmade noise and pollution. No individualistic, materialistic, consumerist culture that leaves you feeling empty, alone, shallow, and tired. Life will be different and definitely involve some big adjustments. But the truth is, we’re excited about it all at the same time. It’s what we came to do. It’s where we know God wants us. It’s our journey and ultimately we know where it will lead and what this journey is unto: The Glory of God.
With that in mind, please keep us in your prayers. There is much work to be done for the development of the camp. We still need to raise the remaining $25K for the construction of our permanent house. Relationships, love, and the Gospel need to be shared with those in our surrounding communities on and off the camp property. Our family and friends need our love. Our children need our focus and consistent attention. Our marriage needs to be nurtured…all unto the glory of God.
Through it all, there is a lot going on. We’re moving. But action is a good thing…especially when accompanied by faith. I don’t want to sit still and stagnate in the midst of fears about the future and challenges ahead. The Kingdom of God only advances when his people are about his business…moving…for him. So the Bouffards are moving…again.
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New website for New Hope Uganda
I’m very excited to say that New Hope Uganda has launched a brand new website…and it’s pretty sweet! Check it out @ www.newhopeuganda.org. Be sure to visit the Musana Camps pages. We’ve had many questions about NHU and the many facets of our ministry…the website should answer lots of them! Enjoy!
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Blogs are great if…
So blogs are great if…you update them. As I signed on to post this, I saw that the last time I posted was exactly one month ago today! Pathetic! Shameful! Lame! We beg you to forgive us! So much has happened since then and it would be impossible to summarize it adequately, so lemme give you a few highlights:
- We completed the New Hope Institute of Childcare and Family on May 21st! It was an amazing 5 month training program that drew us closer and deeper into the heart of God and confronted us with truth that we pray will lead to change in our daily lives unto the glory of God…particularly in our marriage and parenting. Our fellow students became dear friends and we were sad to see the bazungus (whites) go back to the US, but are glad that we can continue relationship building with our fellow Ugandan classmates.
- Dave started his role as the Executive Director of Musana Camps immediately following graduation and very much enjoying this new role which is challenging and stretching him in new areas of leadership…particularly fundraising and community relations. God is blessing at the camp in serious ways and it is truly exciting to be part of this new ministry.
- We have set a tentative date for moving to the camp property…August 1st! Our departure date from Kasana to head to Musana has changed several times, but this is now the plan. Initially, we thought we’d go to the camp immediately following the Institute, but then we had decided to wait until our house was completed. However, after some recent developments and reassessing needs at the camp, it has been decided that we should go sooner than later. So we will move into a small 2 room building that has been housing or co-staff, Syd & Andrea Sparks and their baby Malachi, which was originally designed to be a duplex dormitory style cabin. With no plumbing or electricity and detached latrine and shower stalls, it will truly feel like camp! We will live here until our house is built and ready to be lived in. You would not believe the view…
- A house design has been finalized, a building site has been selected, and we hope to begin construction within the next month! Hopefully, the house will be completed by the end of the year. If you’d like to come help with that…
- We’ve begun new efforts to try to raise the remaining funds needed for the construction of our house. Right now we have about half of the funds needed to build the house, furnish it, and install a fully self-sustaining solar system as electricity is not available. The original cost estimates proved to be low and it will be quite a bit more expensive than we had planned on (imagine that!), even though we’ve used a smaller design and taken steps to cut costs by several thousand dollars! God knows our needs and we are totally trusting in him to provide the funds needed for the house. If you would like to help us out in that way, please let us know or make a donation! Visit our downloads page and open the document entitled “Bouffard brochure support card” for information on how to give towards this project. We welcome one time gifts and monthly support pledges!
- At the camp, most of the squatters have been paid off and we’re waiting for the last few who’ve been “dragging their feet” to finally move off of our property. We will begin construction on some much needed basic facilities like more latrines, shower stalls, and hopefully a camp kitchen within the next week or 2!
- Several family groups from Kasana have come down for retreats at the camp! Some of you reading this may have been a part of making that a reality by participating in the Black Rock Summer Camp missions offering project from summer 2009, where over $3,000 was raised to help pay for the transportation costs of getting the family groups to the camp! It is SO awesome to finally see our sons and daughters from Kasana coming to the camp property and enjoying themselves and growing in their relationship with Christ and each other through our programs. That’s what we’re here for!
- Andrea has begun homeschooling the girls now that Institute is over and their teacher, Cristen Wall, has gone back to the US. We’re using a lot of the “Sonlight” homeschool curriculum mixed with some other stuff, which is great because our girls love to read!
- Both Emileigh and Katelyn recently started riding their bikes and now we have to tie them to the house or we’d never see them as they are always off playing with friends! Micah is not a baby anymore and is quite an independent little guy who loves it here. His friendliness is adorable and he remembers people’s names at 3 years old as well as his parents do. Our family group, Samuel Family, loves laughing and playing with him and he is always willing to entertain! He is “all boy” and is quite content to play in the dirt, play with sticks, and ride his toy boda boda (motorcycle) all over the compound. Of course, his sisters do keep him in touch with his feminine side as he painted his toenails last week…as well as his sister’s bedsheets in the process. It was a very pretty sparkly purple. =)
- Our friend, Wes Foley, is here till August and is living and volunteering down at the camp property. Dave has worked with him for several years as he was on summer staff at Black Rock Retreat since 2006. It’s been great to have some time with a friend from the US here and his parents are coming here to visit tomorrow as well! That has been really cool, even though he’s at the camp and we don’t see him everyday. He seems to be enjoying his time here and we’re hoping to get him involved with more interacting with kids as much as possible.
- New Hope Uganda has launched a brand new website and it’s awesome! Please check it out thoroughly, and don’t forget to check out the Musana Camps pages! www.newhopeuganda.org
There’s so much more I could write about, but those are some of the main highlights. We need to post some new photo albums to our site, but I’ve included a few pictures to hold you over. Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading! More to come…
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Almost there…
So I realize it has been a LONG time since we’ve posted. Next week is our last week of Institute and we graduate on the 21st of May. We’re almost there! These last 2 weeks we’ve had tons of homework as we’re wrapping up final projects and papers. Then we will be sending out another big update. In the meanwhile, please pray that we finish well with the Institute and transition well into life after the Institute! It has been a great experience but we’re ready to finally focus on what we came here to do as far as the camp goes. There’s so much that has happened and it’s hard to go back and blog about it all. Our minds are very much on the near future. For now, rather than rambling on and on trying to catch you up on the past several weeks events (cause it’s very late), let me just leave you with this random thought instead: “I don’t care how much a man talks, if he only says it in a few words.” – Josh Billings
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A LIFESTYLE of repentance?
Repentance. It simply means to change your mind, turn away from one thing unto another…180 degrees…at least that’s what I learned in Bible college. This word has recently taken on new meaning for me and God is using it to transform me from the inside out. For years, I failed to see that repentance is to be a lifestyle…not just something we do every now and then when we get really convicted about something we’ve done wrong. Rather, it is more of an ongoing and growing heart posture before God, choosing to acknowledge and believe HIS truth and then come to him in humility understanding that his grace enables us to boldly approach his loving open arms even though we deserve death and destruction for our sin. Peter denied Christ 3 times, but after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus leads him to repentance and gives him the responsibility of feeding his sheep, the church, the very bride of Christ that he loves more deeply than we can understand. But what did Peter have to do in order to step into this repentance? Say a prayer, perform a ritual, and then it would all fall into place? No! He had to choose DAILY…even minute by minute…to live for Jesus and not for himself. It required a change of heart and what he believed about Jesus…it’s about faith in HIM. This is because repentance is about choosing Christ over ourselves and our own fallen beliefs and desires. Our beliefs drive our behaviors. Once we begin to believe that God loves us, has forgiven us for our sin, and truly desires an intimate relationship with us…it will change how we live. The moment we are tempted, we cry out to God and repent! We turn from and reject selfish thoughts and actions and lies and turn towards God, believing in truth and his love. This pours over into our relationships with others. Suddenly, it changes how I relate to my wife…to my kids…to everyone around me. I begin to repent in my heart and even out loud to God and to others when I give in to temptation and sin against myself or them. This becomes a regular way of relating. It becomes normal. I will not cease to be tempted to sin this side of heaven, and may even continue to sin till the day I die though Jesus has made it possible for me to have victory over sin. But in the temptation and even the falling, I can choose to turn to God and live a lifestyle of ongoing repentance.
For me, the hardest part is repenting to people, not to God. I know he has forgiven me. Sometimes it is easier for me to believe this and live in it than others, but he gives a peace when I repent to him. I don’t have that guarantee with people, and it is tough! But when I repent to my wife and she accepts it and forgives me and says, “Be free!” There is no greater feeling in the world. I want this to become a way of life. I want a lifestyle of repentance to define my relationships. I want to be free from the bondage of self and turn TOWARDS God and others with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.
There is soooo much more I could say about this, but those thoughts were rattling around and I wanted to share a little bit about what God is teaching me. I encourage you to consider what it looks like for you to live a lifestyle of repentance.
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“Happy Good Friday!”???
In one sense, it seems odd to say “Happy Good Friday.” Think about it. It is the day that an innocent man endured the absolute worst pain and torture ever for other people’s sin…and it was far more than just physical pain. On the other hand, it really is a day that brings joy as well. If Jesus had not died…that pain would be brought down on you and me as we deserve. So it is a day for celebration! Of course, the story didn’t end there. Resurrection day is right around the corner! In case you forgot…the entire history of the world and the story of mankind is really not about us. It’s about Jesus. We’re part of the story…but it’s about him. I praise God once again that because of Jesus, I have freedom from bondage, and an adoption into an inheritance with the riches or heritages. God the Father is ultimately glorified over this holiday that some call “Easter.” It is through his love that he sent his SON Jesus to restore everything. We can experience the restoration of relationship now, but I have a future hope in the complete fulfillment of it all someday ahead. Were it not for his death and resurrection…I don’t even want to finish that thought. May you consider the truth of what this holiday is about and believe in the persons in whom it revolves around: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Happy Good Friday!
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Samuel Family
What started out as part of the requirements for the Institute has become one of the parts of being here we love the most. That is spending time with Samuel Family, one of the 7 family groups of orphans here at Kasana. We were assigned to Samuel Family because their compound is right next door to us and the kids walk by our house all the time. The family father there is Uncle George (Opuche George) who is also on staff at the Institute, and his wife is Esther. Their 3 oldest children are similar ages to our kids and have become some of their best playmates. George and Dave are the same age (only a few weeks apart) and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and the family.
We’ve spent several days working in the gardens with Samuel family. One Saturday morning, I (Andrea) found the family planting maize and joined in. The process looks like this: the oxen plow a line, we walk behind dropping seeds and covering them with our feet. I started out wearing flip-flops, but when they were completely caked in mud, I resorted to bare feet like everyone else. The kids just laughed at seeing “muzungu” (white person) feet planting!
As part of our institute training, we all have to get behind the oxen and do some plowing. We guide the one bottom plow as someone else drives the oxen. It wasn’t much of a challenge for Dave, nor was it that unfamiliar. They even allowed him to drive the oxen at his request. I can’t say I personally enjoyed it, but it was certainly a new experience for me. I’ll stick to harvesting and cooking it.
Another time we helped the shell “g-nuts” (or ground-nuts, which are peanuts) by hand. It was funny to have them ask us if we’ve ever shelled peanuts before and if we eat them in the states. Their understanding of life in the U.S. is so far off so much of the time and the cultural world view difference really come out when you’re in the families with the kids. It was a great morning though, you get some interesting conversation when you shell peanuts by hand for 2 hours. That was the day Dave learned to count to 10 in Luganda. His teacher was a 10 year old girl named Anna (pronounced “ah-nuh). She was just as excited as Dave when he finally got all the way to 10…emu, biri, satu, nnya, tanu, mukaga, musanvu, munana, mwenda, kumi! Ugandans love it when muzungus speak Luganda!
Saturday morning we went out to find them weeding the cassava and joined in with our hoe and some muscle. The kids in the family spend an hour after school every day and Saturday mornings working in the gardens. Much of what they eat has been grown in these gardens. Our time in the gardens with them is one of the best ways to build relationships with them and find out what’s really going on in their hearts.
Later that afternoon, I had fun with all the girls from the family in my kitchen, baking cookies. They don’t have easy access to the amount of sugar and flour it takes to make the sweet stuff, so it was a treat for them and fun for me. Some of the girls in the family still have some real walls up internally and it’s good to just spend time with them and get to know them. Each time we’re with them we just pray that God would use us to reveal himself to them.
Every Monday evening we teach evening devotions for them. It’s challenging to know what to share as the ages vary and it’s so hard to know where the kids are at spiritually. Pray that they would truly experience God through our interactions with them! And pray that we would be experiencing God to be able to pass it on to them! They have family devotions each not, and we’ve found out that many of them never do their own personal devotions! So we’ve really been praying about what the best ways to share with them would be on Monday nights. The kids get a lot of biblical teaching and lecture, so we’re trying to make Monday nights more interactive and personal.
Once we go to the camp, we won’t see these kids very much, and we’re realizing just how precious this time with them is. They truly are starting to become our family!
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A visit to our future…
This is Andrea’s first time blogging! On Friday March 12th, we headed out to Musana Camps for our first visit as a family. If you remember, Dave was there back in 2008 when he first visited Uganda and helped clear some of the land. The trip from New Hope to Musana is not an easy one. It takes 5-6 hours and a large part of that travel is on very rough roads (ie. on the roughest part it took us 2 ½ hours to go about 20 miles). But it was well worth it and we were so blessed by our weekend there.
What a spot God has chosen! The view from the current building is incredible, and there is a constant breeze coming off the lake to keep it cool. Syd and Andrea Sparks are there alone, building their house and making things happen. During the month of February, they hosted several groups and teams. This weekend (Easter weekend) one of the family groups from New Hope will be going for the first time. We are praying that they are blessed and God uses the ministry at Musana for His glory! Check out the Sparks’ blog from the link on our homepage to find out what has been happening there.
If anything, the weekend got us even more excited about getting out to Musana! It will be challenging going from the New Hope family and community to the empty shores of Lake Victoria, but the Lord has been preparing us for this all along and we are anxious to see what He continues to do. We’re so thankful for our friends, the Sparks and are really excited to work along side them. We would appreciate your prayers, as the enemy would like nothing less than to see us fail at all things, especially in our relationships with those around us, and particularly our family.
Even thought we have about 8 weeks left in the Institute, Dave has finally started handling some of the administrative responsibilities of the camp in order to take some of the pressure off of the Sparks who have been doing everything. Though things are busy, Dave is glad to finally start getting more involved in that way and will be taking on a lot more in 2 months when the Institute ends.
Last weekend we had the opportunity to get away for a little refresher. We had our mid-institute break so we took the family to the town of Jinja, also on Lake Victoria, which is located right at the source of the Nile River. It is so beautiful there! The kids had a blast swimming in a pool and we were able to relax and let our hair down with some other westerners who joined us. Burn-out can be a real danger here and the staff try very hard to get away for a weekend every 6 weeks or so and we were grateful for the chance to do that.
