We have been in Uganda for 3 months now…months that have been filled with lessons learned, joys experienced, and challenges faced.
What lessons have been learned? We have learned much about Ugandan culture through practical experiences and through our language lessons. The family has language lessons together 3 times each week, with Stephen having additional lessons every morning. The family’s teacher is a student at the seminary, while Stephen’s tutor is a Muslim man which affords both learning and witnessing opportunities. We have learned that culture far transcends language differences. There are so many little things that must be adhered to in everyday interactions. We have also learned that navigating the bureaucracy of East African politics can be a constant challenge. We have learned to shop in the markets, cook without meats, and live with sporadic water and electricity. With God’s help, we will continue on this large learning curve.
What joys have we experienced? There is a great joy of preaching in mud and thatch churches that are overflowing with people trying to hear this white man with God’s Book. There is great joy in helping young pastors get access to some type of biblical training. There is great joy in providing food to orphans and church leaders who have nothing to offer the hungry little ones that are before them. There is great joy in seeing the contentment of the pastors here who have nothing of worldly possessions, yet labor tirelessly to spread the Gospel. We praise God for the joys that we have experienced.
What challenges have been faced? Challenges have confronted us on the emotional, political, and financial fronts. Emotionally, this has been an extremely trying time for all of us. Rarely does a day pass when one of the children does not ask to return to Alaska. For all of us, we know of God’s current call on our lives to serve here, but our hearts do miss serving in Alaska tremendously. Challenges have come on the political front as we face the system of bribes, changing laws, and delays in so many legal areas here. Challenges have come on the financial front as the dollar has lost so much value since our arrival. Our budget was based on the dollar’s value back in September, when it received almost 2900 shillings per dollar. Today we are getting 2300 shillings per dollar. That is a net salary decrease of around 20% in just three months. The dollar continues to slip at the same time inflation in Uganda is around 30%. We praise God for our faithful team of partners, along with an infinite God, which gives us the confidence that these issues will not hinder ministry. All of these challenges are much smaller than our God.
There is a snapshot of the lessons, joys, and challenges of our first 3 months in Uganda. We are so very, very thankful for each of you. We continue to cherish your prayers and support as we partner together to serve the church of East Central Africa. You are an enormous blessing to our family and those we serve here!
May you have a wonderful Christmas, celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

We can’t believe that a month has already passed. Our family has been learning so much. The different foods, the culture and even some language. Life is full everyday. Looking for a home and having a language tutor are keeping us busy. We are so blessed to have the Fulks home as we look for our own. Having Frank Gardner as a neighbor is extra special. God is teaching us to be content. As we so much miss our Alaska family. We are here to do God’s work. Pray with us as we try to follow were he is leading. Doing ministry together as a family is very important to us. We are learning to love a whole new culture. Think of you all as the snow falls. It is beautiful and sunny here. The locals are wearing jackets in the mornings, but for us it helps us feel like it might be fall. Blessings until next time.

We are now in Jinja. A wonderful journey. It is so wonderful to be with the Fulks and John Gardner. We thank you all for the prayers that got us here. We continue to be so blessed by all of you and your faithfulness to our family. We will keep you posted as the journey is just beginning:)

In about 60 hours, our family will board a plane in Tampa, Florida – then to Atlanta – then to Amsterdam – and eventually land in Entebbe, Uganda – and then a couple of hours drive to our new home in Jinja, Uganda.
These last few days in the States have been filled with excitement about finally leaving for Africa – hectic schedules of getting last minute tasks completed – and questions about what the next days and weeks will be like.
There have been challenges, like one of the boys reacting to mandatory yellow fever vaccinations, another one being taken to the hospital in the middle of the night with breathing difficulties, and putting together mounds of paperwork in preparation for securing visas to live long-term in Uganda – in addition to saying good byes to grandparents whom will probably not be seen for a few years.
There have been blessings, like finishing a 17,500 mile road trip without even a flat tire, seeing God bring many new people onto our ministry team family, and joining even closer as a family while living on the road for over 3 months.
A special blessing in these last days was talking on the phone one more time with Pastor Rick. Rick and E and the Glacierview family have been such a tremendous source of encouragement & support for our family. Hearing his voice once more before we head overseas was a gift from the hand of God. We praise Him for our pastor and the entire Glacierview Baptist family.
In these next days, we cherish prayers for the journey which will comprise leaving Tampa on Wednesday afternoon and arriving in Jinja, Uganda on Friday afternoon. Please pray for smooth connections in flights, the arrival of our baggage, and easy transitions through immigration and customs. Thank you for being a vital part of this team!

We Have Tickets!
Global Outreach has given us the Green Light to make the final preparations for our family to move to Uganda! Our tickets have been secured, and Lord-willing, we leave on September 28!
We continue to cherish your prayers. Some specific requests are:
- Continued safety in 4 weeks remaining on our speaking/traveling schedule
- More partners to join in the ministry
- Effective use of our time during our last weeks in the States
- Knowing how/what to pack
- Visas in a country where it can be a difficult process
Our family is so thankful for our amazing sending church, Glacierview Baptist, and the tremendous support and encouragement they have been to us. We praise God for you all!

As we continue on this journey which now has us over 12,000 miles and 11+ weeks, we are ever so greatful for the friends and family we have in Homer that are praying us along. The 3 older boys were able to spend a week at a camp in Georgia, this was a much needed break for them and they loved it. We are now in central florida. It is warm down here, we sure miss the cooler temperatures of Alaska. We continue to get pumped up everytime we share about our journey to Africa. We are anxious but we also know God is in control. Praise the Lord. Miss you all. We will keep posting as we can. Esther and Crew.

Hello Glacierview Family,

We have now covered 17 states at over 9,000 miles! Most of our days are spent on the road, with the evenings being filled with visits with families, speaking in churches and at camps, and sharing our upcoming work in Africa with anyone who will listen.

New ministry partners have joined the team from Montana, Kansas, Alabama and Michigan.  Lord-willing, many more will follow.

Thank you for your prayers for our family while we live on the road.  Our prayer remains the same – that we will be effective in ministering at each location God allows us to share and that we are faithful in our role in sharing the work. 

This week we are speaking in Centreville, Michigan, Howe, Indiana, and Huntington, West Virginia.  This weekend we will be in Pelham, Georgia.  We continue to cherish your prayers while we are on the road and keep looking to being in East Africa by the end of September.

Blessings,

The Napier Family

We pray that the summer is going well for you. We are chugging right along. We have met so many wonderful people in the last 4 weeks. We are now in Mississippi at Global outreachs headquarters. Our mileage count so far is 5500…and counting. The boys are doing well. Tomorrow (Fri.) is Josiahs b-day. The big 4. He is aware of the Chuck E Cheese in town so I think we will end up there tomorrow:) .

Blessings to you all. Love Esther