In a letter to her Senders, Jessica Hughes reflects on the power of community and relationships, giving thanks to God for 10 years in Uganda and her recent graduation. – Kate Ulrich, Communications Coordinator

Hi friends,

There is much to celebrate this month. July is the month in which I returned to Uganda to serve as a lecturer, and it’s also the month that I became a SAMS Missionary. That happened way back in 2012, which now feels like a lifetime ago. By God’s grace, and your love, support, encouragement, and prayers, I have been serving at Uganda Christian University for 10 years. Thanks be to God! It has been an amazing decade, full of students, teaching, discipleship, growth, depending on the Lord, and being stretched in more ways than I can count. I am so grateful for how you have poured into me so I can pour into my students here. UCU trains students from all across East Africa, so we truly have a global reach. A friend commented that serving for ten years is having a generational impact, which I thought was an astute observation. That is also my prayer – that I would be able to impact my students, who will then in turn go and impact their congregations.

The second reason for celebration is that I actually graduated with my PhD from University of South Africa (UNISA) on July 1.  Back in March, it looked like UNISA was live-streaming the graduations, but not keeping the individual ceremonies on their YouTube page, and since I have multimedia experts on my eLearning team, I asked Mark to record my graduation for me.

So Mark dutifully recorded, and then sent the recording to me on WhatsApp. He also did the very Ugandan thing of putting it in a WhatsApp chat with members of the Academics team. At least one of them did the very Ugandan thing of putting it in all her WhatsApp groups. Next thing I know, students past and present are sending me the video along with their congratulations. The introvert in me is horrified, but the African in me is honored.

If you’re interested in seeing it, my graduation is here, and I appear at the 55:00 mark. The MDiv 2 students at UCU had a cake for me after chapel when I returned, which was incredibly sweet. It is all the more precious to me since I’ve not taught this group of students. The video of cutting the cake and singing praises to God is below.

Living in Uganda for so long means that one meets different people, and I’m always surprised when they remember me. On the flight back from graduation, I was chatting with the woman behind me: she’s Australian, and is on an epic holiday across several countries in Africa. She showed me her three-week itinerary, which sounded lovely. We ended up getting our luggage together and proceeding to the x-ray machine on the way out together. The officer saw her GoPro camera, and wanted to examine the suitcase. I stayed to help my new friend, and used my little Luganda to soften the exchange with the officer. To convince the officer that the GoPro wasn’t a drone (which are illegal), I told her that my friend would be using it to record herself floating down the Nile. The officer laughed, and then peered at me and said, “it’s as if I know you,” so I reminded her that I had an epic load of vitamins in December. We laughed about that, remembering how I talked myself out of her inquisition, and I told her that I would do the same this December, and that when she saw me, she’d say, “mukwano gwange!” [my friend]. We had a good laugh about that, but I really hope she does remember me in December.

What all this has shown, and continually reminds me of, is the power of relationships and social capital. Everything moves by relationships here; I knew that my knowledge of the culture could help my Australian friend. The MDiv 2 students who came for pork and fellowship (see the picture below) told me that they had heard that I am a tough lecturer, which is true. But they’ve also heard that I’m fair, and that I’m the lecturer who is on the ground with them. That’s given them the boldness to approach the muzungu (white) lecturer sooner than they normally would. I have been greeted by name and titles by complete strangers because they’ve seen me preach somewhere. But since they “knew” me, we weren’t strangers. This familiarity has opened doors for ministry and relationships much more quickly than if they had to open traditionally, and for this I’m so grateful. My friend’s comment about generational impact is really what I want to have, and that obviously happens through relationships. Relationships are what builds social capital, and social capital makes the world turn. I am grateful to have had the ability to meet and build relationships with so many. It is a privilege, and I do not take it for granted.

The MDiv 2 class asked to come and have dinner and fellowship; apparently they’re doing this with all the lecturers on campus. We had a delicious pork dinner, and it was a wonderful time of sharing. A group that seeks out its leaders to learn from them and grow together is a group that gives me great hope for the church.

Above: SAMS Missionary Jessica Hughes and her theological student Lovincer Katana at GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem. Jessica teaches at Uganda Christian University (UCU), and Lovincer serves in the UCU Chaplaincy while continuing her education to serve Christ’s kingdom. Lovincer shares below the impact that UCU has had on her. – Kate Ulrich, SAMS Communications Coordinator

My name is Lovincer Katana, a first-born-child of six children. I was born and raised in Kalerwe, one of the slums on the outskirts of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. My parents loved God and served in the church as wardens, and I came to faith while in Sunday School because our parents faithfully raised us in church.

I grew up and started serving in the youth ministry. Having graduated from university by God’s grace, I was placed as a teacher in one of the best girls’ schools in the country, Gayaza High School. The Lord used me to minister to the girls as I taught and engaged with them through various activities.

I received a call from the Lord to join full-time ministry, which I must confess I wrestled with for two years. I was inspired to study for my Masters of Divinity at Uganda Christian University (UCU) by my priest at St. Nicholas Church, the retired Rev. Kisitu Frederick. He used to talk fondly about Bishop Tucker Theological College, the College from which UCU was launched. I was particularly inspired by the way he taught and engaged the Scripture, and I was certain that I wanted to study where he had.

Having said yes to the Lord’s call, I joined the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology at UCU in 2015. I found the University’s atmosphere calm and enabling in that both students and staff were able, on a daily basis, to know Christ, to grow in faith, and to make Christ known in their different fields of specialty. I don’t remember a single day that any of my lecturers came to class to teach and we did not say an opening prayer, closing prayer, or share in the grace (2 Corinthians 13:14) at the end of class. Of course, even during the lectures themselves one would vividly see faith integrated in whatever we were learning, something which blessed my heart since I got my undergraduate degree from a government university.

There were two days in the week I always looked forward to: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-1pm. On these days, all students and faculty members pause whatever they are doing (including classes) and come together at Nkoyoyo Hall for Community Worship, where we are fed on God’s Word. I felt a unique sense of belonging in Christ during this time that transcended class, age, expertise, and our distinct backgrounds. This is the community’s way of paying attention to what God is doing in our lives, and it is an opportunity to study His Word.

The University setting itself makes anyone grow closer to God if only they pay attention to their surroundings. Apart from the time set aside for community worship on Tuesdays and Thursdays, UCU has a beautiful compound which is always green and clean. If you are walking around, you notice Scriptures mounted on almost every building. I remember a time I was feeling so low and discouraged, and as I walked through the compound, I stumbled on this Scripture on a building, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25). I had always passed this spot, and I had probably seen the passage many times, but this time I read the Scripture and it came afresh to me and I was encouraged.

I graduated in 2018 with my Masters of Divinity, and in 2019 my bishop placed me in the UCU Chaplaincy to serve. This was a beautiful homecoming for me. The Lord placed on my heart a passion for biblical languages, especially Hebrew, and a desire to help other students through sharing knowledge with them. I enrolled to study at Bishop Tucker again in 2020, this time in the Master of Arts in Theology (Biblical Track). The Bishop Tucker faculty has great men and women (my favourite being a SAMS Missionary, the Rev. Jessica Hughes) who pass on their knowledge of God’s Word, helping us grow in immense ways. I am enjoying my work and my studies tremendously, and I am always looking for ways on how to pour myself out into the lives of students so that we journey and grow together. I am grateful for each day that passes in this community.

God the Alpha and Omega, to Him alone be the Glory!
Rev. Lovincer Katana Kanyike