The Adventures of Sticky- Steven + Niki

Our amazing congregation in Uganda had a wonderful farewell party in our honor. What a joy it's been to serve alongside some of the best most zealous people we've been privileged to meet. Jehovah has surely blessed us with lifelong friends. Here are some of the highlights that will be forever etched in out hearts. Even though we are under 50 publishers we often have over 100 at the meetings.  Definitely some of my favorite human beings...  Being away in Uganda was really difficult at times because of how much I missed my family and friends in the states. So for fun and health reasons I flew home early and surprised them all! There were lots of tears and everyone was genuinely shocked! Steven is just finishing a few things up in Uganda then he'll be on his way to join me. We'll have less to write about for awhile, but I'll try to do some updates if anything exciting happens. That's a wrap!

It's with heavy hearts and teary eyes that we announce our departure from Uganda. Soon we will be packing up, saying goodbyes, and moving on. Being here has been life changing. This experience and these people will be memories we forever cherish.  But but why? This has been some of the best times in our life. But it's not exactly easy... We came to Uganda with the goal of 1 year. Well, a year came and went! After that the goal was to make it as long as we could with the money we have in had in the bank and energy we had in our tank. Both, especially the second, are running  almost  empty, but just enough to be excited for what's next. We made it almost 2 years, and when we reflect on that we are overjoyed. Because of health reasons in the past, our dream of serving in a foreign country seemed to be unreachable. However with Jehovah's help and a few changes I was able to make almost a full recovery. Thus we revisited that goal of foreign service. Still, honest evalu

The Widows Jar... So remember the Bible account of the widow of   Zarephath who's jar of flour and jar of oil didn't run out as a miracle from Jehovah God for her faithful obedience ? Well we joke a similar thing has happened to us. When I was in the states in February I bought a bottle of this most magnificent shampoo the smells like raspberries. It makes me happy everyday when I get to wash my hair with it. It's a big bottle, but I didn't expect it to last too long since I have long hair and wash it pretty much every day. It's now the end of October, and somehow that shampoo bottle is only half empty after 9 months! And mysteriously it seems to stay half empty... In add ition somehow I only used 1 normal sized bottle of contact solution in a whole year, when apparently most people go through a bottle in 2 months!...Next Steven's razors. After a week in Florida they would be too dry to use, but now in a dryer climate,one razor last a month without it wearing o

Life is full and as September has fallen upon us we're feeling upbeat and eager to hit it hard in the field. Jehovah's blessings are abundant, and we've really seen him reward our hard work and endurance lately. Many good things are yet to come... The large Sudanese family we've been studying the Bible with since January are continuing to advance steadily. The little girls 7, and 10 could barely read when we started, and now they're around 1st grade level. I'm so proud of them! Every time we come, they're waiting with their books and Bible excited to begin. The boys are also excelling. They've been memorizing the Bible books and are enthusiastic as they take their turn in reciting them. One of the older boys, whom we believe is autistic, has always been tough to get through too. He's really coming around now though, and recently made everyone in the house a cover for their book and Bible out of notebook paper. We thought that was a sweet gesture a

June proved to be an exciting month for us. Our friends Heather and Braxton came to visit from Florida and stayed about 3 weeks. It was nice to have people from our home area to talk to and take in the ministry. So many times we have imagined sharing this experience with close friends, so to have them visit was up-building and needed "friend therapy". We were blessed to enjoy another safari together, along with some other friends Natasha and Andrew from the states who we met here in Kampala. Uganda can really just be indescribably lovely; it's hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes. The following pictures don't quite do the beauty justice, but it's a small view of what we experienced. And yes these are pictures we really took! Steven, myself, Natasha, Andrew, Heather, and Braxton enjoying a boat cruise down the Nile.  At the top of  Murchison Falls nearly getting pushed over by the powerful gusts. The King himself! From just 5 f

"The harvest is great, the workers are few..." (Matthew 9:37) Per the 2016 yearbook, there is 1 Witness for every 6,737 people and a 6% increase in Uganda. The increase has been at a steady 6% to 8% for many years, so the truth is spreading. Still with the ratio we see there is MUCH work to be done. Where we live, Mbarara, it's been estimated that there is 1 Witness for every 25,000. In one year we have seen with our own eyes the incredible increase of 11 new publishers in the English congregation! We are surrounded with unassigned and seldom worked areas that are untouched or rarely preached in. It's been exciting to be a part of the "Macedonia campaign" once again this year as we set out to some of those seldom worked territories for June and July. The people there  eagerly welcome us. Many are searching to know the Bible, and they often ask sincere questions. Commonly they want to know how their prayers can be heard by God. Unfortunately they have been

About 6 weeks ago I began studying the Bible with two little Sudanese girls, sisters who are 9 and 10 years old. From the start I could see the great potential. They both read so well, ask lots of questions and always prepare for their studies. Along with that they started attending Bible meetings at the kingdom hall right away on their own. Needless to say I got attached and just love them. Then the news came Saturday; they're moving. First to a refugee camp in Kampala and then later to South Sudan. We haven't heard any official report, but rumor has it the horrific civil war in South Sudan is over. Because of that many refugees plan to return soon to be reunited with their families. Let's just really pray and hope the rumors are true, and no one is returning to danger! The girls wrote me these lovely letters. I think they speak for themselves. I corrected their spelling like a good teacher should! From Sarah: Dear Niki, How are you and how is your life? The reason I

In the great winding Rwenzori mountains of Uganda near the boarder of Congo we set out to reach two remote groups of Jehovah's Witnesses. Along the 6 hour arduous journey from our home in Mbarara, we caught site of some of the captivating wonders of creation. We climbed up and dipped down the nearly untouched mountains like a roller-coaster. From our view few sites are as beautiful, especially when you come from the flat US state of Florida. Rwenzori Mountains- towering almost 17,000 feet into the sky. The first group met in a modest school house in a district called Bundibugyo. Small children peeked through the wooden beams and makeshift windows studying our mysterious white faces. After some persistent hand-calling they shyly shuffled in to hear Steven deliver the talk.   The second group in Bugado gathered together in a simple mud Kingdom Hall. By this time the sun grew strong and our bodies grew weary. Sleep was tempting, just to close our eyes a few minutes...

It’s rewarding to be back into our routine in Uganda! Things quickly became terrifically busy for us. We feel as if our feet haven’t touched the ground, although our tired feet would hastily disagree. March 31st we were pleased to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ as millions around the world did. Steven had the responsibility of organizing the program and delivering the memorial talk. It was a bit stressful, but I’m extremely proud of him. He gave a fantastic easy to understand talk. From speaking to many in attendance, I saw it glorified the depth of Jesus sacrifice and increased appreciation for the greatest gift ever given. He was surely glad when it was over though! All together 268 people attended here. We were pleased to have many Bible students present. We also have our very first visitor to Uganda. Steven’s cousin from South Carolina, Hunter. So far I think we have worn him out a little, because he’s been sleeping LOTS. He’s adapting surprisingly well with l

...because "see you soon" just doesn't se em to cut it when you live thousands of miles away. Spending time back in the states recharged our fervor. The love we were shown invigorated us mentally to return to Uganda with extra zeal and enthusiasm. Thank you so very much to everyone who showed us hospitality and gave encouragement. Words could never cover how grateful we are for the incredible people we have it our lives. Seriously, we love you. Special thanks go to those who made an extra sacrifice and gave us a comfortable place to stay and great company. Here are some highlights. Let me just say, most family pictures are of my family and not Steven's. Of course we love his family too, but I have a really giant close family and stayed 11 days longer than Steven! Also didn't get pictures of all our special people, but you know who you are :) and we took mental photos.                      Some of our great blessings; my siblings, spouses, my beautiful niece,