November 1, 2025 • 30 mins
OPC Foreign Missions is looking for a short-term missionary to attend to diaconal needs in Uganda! The OPC Uganda Mission in Karamoja is in need of a facilities manager to fill a short-term need while current missionary Travis Emmett and his family are in the States for medical leave early next year. Please consider how you may be able to help!
In this episode of The Reformed Deacon, host David Nakhla speaks with Douglas Clawson, General Secretary of the OPC’s Committee on Foreign Missions, and Travis Emmett, who serves as the current mission’s facilities manager. Together, they explain what it means to serve as a short-term missionary focused on diaconal work, the importance of the role in supporting gospel ministry, and what life and service look like in Karamoja.
Travis shares both the joys and challenges of maintaining mission facilities in a remote part of Africa. Those with general handyman skills—and a heart to serve Christ’s church—are encouraged to prayerfully consider whether they might step in to help during this season of need. You don’t need to be an expert tradesman—just willing to work hard and serve faithfully.
Please pray that this need is filled quickly and for all who labor for the Lord in Uganda.
If you are interested in hearing more about this opportunity, please reach out to OPC CFM General Secretary, Douglas Clawson: Douglas.clawson@opc.org.
You can find all of our episodes at thereformeddeacon.org. Make sure to follow us on your favorite podcast player, so you don't miss an episode. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for giveaways and more information. Find other resources on OPCCDM.org. Make sure to send us some feedback on your podcast player or ask a diaconal question by going to OPCCDM.org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Travis Emmett (00:00):
Well, I think you're right.
It is the opportunity of alifetime.
Not many people can say they'velived in another country.
Not many people can say they'velived in the bush of Africa.
And Karamoja is still very muchthe bush of Africa.
The infrastructure isimproving.
You actually have the benefitof still kind of getting to say
you live in the bush of Africaand getting that experience,
(00:20):
rural experience, at the sametime.
Things are not as challengingliving here as they were when
missionaries first came.
David Nakhla (00:28):
Welcome to the Reformed Deacon, a casual
conversation with topicsspecifically designed to help
local Reform Deacons.
There are nearly a thousanddeacons in the OPC alone.
So let's take this opportunityto learn from and encourage one
another.
We're so glad you could joinus.
Let's jump into our nextepisode.
Hi, my name is David Nakhla.
(00:49):
I'm the administrator for theOPC Committee on Diaconal
Ministries.
Today we'll be talking with mygood friend, mentor, and
colleague, Douglas Clawson.
Douglas has been serving as thegeneral secretary of the OPC's
Committee on Foreign Missionsfor about three years now, after
having served as the AssociateGeneral Secretary for 20 years
(01:10):
or so.
Also joining us from Uganda isTravis Emmett.
Travis is an ordained elder inthe OPC, and he currently serves
as the facilities manager inKaramoja.
He and his wife Bonnie, alongwith their four little children,
have been serving in Karamojafor a little over a year.
The three of us have gatheredon the podcast today to talk
(01:31):
about missionary deacons in theOPC, specifically about the need
for someone handy and skilledto serve in Uganda for four
months next year in 2026, whilethe Emmett's are back in the
States for a medical leave ofabsence.
So, Douglas, Travis, thanks forjoining me.
Hey, glad to be here.
Great to be here.
(01:52):
Some who are listening may notknow what a missionary deacon
is.
I suspect that some may belearning just now that the fact
that the OPC has such a thing asa missionary deacon, but it has
been an essential role in ourhistory of four missions and
especially in such places asKaramoja.
(02:13):
So we'd like to talk morebroadly about that, but then
also talk a little bit morefocused on the specific need and
really opportunity to servenext year.
So those listening, please,this is for you to consider
whether the Lord is calling youto serve in this capacity for a
stint next year.
Travis, let's begin with you.
(02:34):
Thanks for taking the time toshare.
I know it's late at night therein Uganda.
Kids are in bed, and so we gota few minutes of your time
before we hit missionarymidnight, as they call it.
So what's happening with theEmmets that requires you to come
home for a few months nextyear?
Travis Emmett (02:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
So first I'll say it's aprivilege to be able to talk
with you both on a podcast.
I've listened to multipleepisodes from the Bush of
Africa.
So I've been following alongand I love what you guys are
doing.
So right now, there's still alot of moving parts.
But like you said, we'rerequesting a medical leave of
absence for really two mainneeds of our family.
First, my wife Bonnie isexpecting our fifth child who's
(03:13):
due in April.
And we would love for manyreasons to be able to have the
child in the States.
Second, we're hoping that thistime in the States would give us
an opportunity for our thirdchild, Jackson, to have a minor
surgery that we're hoping wouldhelp resolve an ongoing medical
condition that he's been dealingwith.
So there's really two medicalneeds we're hoping this time in
the states would help us dealwith.
(03:34):
And then obviously for both,the level of medical care that
you can get in the States isstill much better than you can
get in Uganda.
And we would also have ourfamily and our church as a
support system as we're goingthrough all these things.
So that's kind of why we'rehoping to spend that time in the
States.
And then we might also have tospend some few months in Mbali.
The newborn is old enough tomove up the Karamoja.
(03:55):
So, like I said, there's a lotof moving parts, but it's kind
of summarizing the need rightnow.
David Nakhla (03:59):
Well, congratulations on this joyous
occasion in the Emmet family.
That's very exciting.
Thank you.
Douglas, can you take us up toa very high level now and maybe
describe the concept of amissionary deacon in general
terms, not specificallypertaining to Karamoja, but just
conceptually what is this andhow it pertains to foreign
(04:20):
missions?
Douglas Clawson (04:21):
Yeah, in a way, I want to emphasize that uh
when we're talking about this,we're not talking about somebody
who's necessarily ordained as adeacon or in Travis's case as a
ruling elder.
We're talking about D with asmall D, the way that we're all
supposed to be servants to oneanother and serve in the church.
And I think at first, when westarted thinking about this
(04:45):
concept, maybe we were a littletoo overfocused on the whole
ordination aspect of it.
We've had three ordaineddeacons over there over the
course of time who've beenworking with the facility.
Of course, the work started ina way where there were big
buildings that had to beconstructed or had to be
(05:05):
repaired, major, major, youknow, like re-roofing jobs and
and uh walls being put up andthings being moved around, big
ditches being dug, and so andand a lot of stone that had to
be moved around as well.
And so when that bigconstruction was going on, we
needed a certain kind of personto be there.
(05:25):
Our next person who was therewas a doctor.
And then finally we had anotherman where we weren't doing the
big construction anymore.
It was more we realized we weremoving in the direction of
needing to just have somebodywho would help maintain what had
already been built, and therewere no future buildings in
view.
But in the meantime, you gottaunderstand that Uganda changed
(05:50):
in all of this.
Uganda is like many othercountries where you get a lot of
guys who say, I can fix a car,I can do electricity, I can do
plumbing, and they can't fix acar, they can't do electricity,
and they can't do plumbing.
In one way, Uganda changedbecause there's been way more
education, way more training.
Now you can find guys who canactually do construction.
(06:13):
So one project that we had doneduring COVID, for example, was
able to be completed by a realconstruction company.
The second thing that hascontinued to change during the
course of this time is thegovernment of Uganda and its
regulations.
So where you know you go from agovernment that doesn't have
very many regulations withregard to building, now you have
(06:36):
a government that starts to putinto place requirements for
construction and uh requiringsite management and figuring out
what's going to happen with thewater after you've built this
building.
So those things are stillmorphing, the government's still
morphing with regard to thosekinds of regulations as it
begins to realize and thinkabout environment impact and and
(06:59):
those kinds of things.
But that's been a constantlychanging thing.
We've been in Uganda for 30years, and we've been up in
Karamosia for like 27 or so.
All these things have beenchanging, and so the needs
changed, and the kind of guysthat we needed changed.
In other words, there's allthese changes with regard to
education and governmentrequirements and the kind of
(07:22):
things that we do at the clinic,and now we've realized you know
what, there's a lot of inUganda stuff available, and so
we don't need to bring in stufffrom the West to do that.
One of the things thatunfortunately has not morphed is
the quality of materialsavailable in Uganda.
So I'm not going to name thetwo Asian countries where most
(07:42):
of the plumbing supplies comefrom, but I will say that those
things are pretty much garbage.
I mean, they split all the timeright on the seams, and they
just don't last.
I hope that eventually thatchanges too, but that depends on
things outside of our controlbecause we can only buy what we
can buy.
It's not like Travis can hookinto Amazon and get it delivered
(08:05):
tomorrow.
So when we're talking aboutDeacon here, we're talking about
somebody who comes alongsideand help.
We need somebody who's going tocome and relieve the officers.
You know, there are guys whoare preaching and teaching.
There's the training of women,there's the training of
officers, there is the regularwork that goes on, and people
just can't be occupied all thetime by saying, honey, the zinc
(08:28):
got broke again.
Could you come over here andfix this?
So when we talk about deaconhere, we're not really referring
to it in a super sophisticatedway.
We're talking about the way itwas in Acts, where the apostles
needed to be concentrating onteaching and praying and ought
(08:48):
not to be distracted by thingslike figuring out which widow
ought to get what and makingsure that all those widows get
treated equally.
So we're talking aboutrelieving people who need to do
other sorts of ministry bythemselves ministering to those
who are there through themaintenance of things, the
(09:09):
repair of things.
And I think that that's wherewe're at today.
But all those buildings aregonna have to be maintained.
The electrical stuff is gonnahave to be repaired, the
plumbing is gonna have to berepaired, the uh damage from
termites is gonna have to befixed, new roof might have to be
put on for one reason oranother.
So we're looking now for guyswho are willing to be servants
(09:34):
by helping to allow regularministry to go on and mothers to
be able to take care of theirkids while they're taking care
of their husband who's doingsomething else.
Just guys who are over there tohelp.
And there's car stuff too, youknow.
There's not a car repair guy togo to up in Karamojia.
If you have to take it to areal guy who can repair it, you
(09:55):
got to get it down to an embali.
So that means you have to atleast get it into the running
condition where you can drive ittwo hours south.
And that's another thing that'schanged.
I I haven't even talked abouthow the infrastructure in Uganda
to Karamoja has changed.
There's a paved road, but thereare only two spots on the whole
road that aren't paved now.
(10:16):
I could not believe it.
I got a ride from Nakalay downto an ambali, and it took an
hour and 45 minutes, an hour and45 minutes.
And I personally remembertaking four and a half plus
hours to get from one of thosethings to the other.
I've driven it where it took methat many hours.
(10:36):
And so getting a ride for anhour and 45 minutes, and my
driver wasn't drivingparticularly fast either.
I mean, you know, he was justbeing efficient, it was just a
smooth, wonderful ride.
So and you're not covered withdirt when you get to your
destination.
Exactly.
It is like completelydifferent.
So things are close that way,but there still is the regular
(11:01):
maintenance of life.
Think about your own house andthings that break down the
house, a ceiling fan doesn'twork any longer, or you know,
you got a faucet that's leakingor something, or a toilet that's
running, and you got to repairthese and then like multiply
that times Ted.
That's and it's not because youhaven't repaired it.
(11:21):
Nobody can say you didn't doit.
What it is is it keeps breakingbecause you've got to use junky
parts to fix it.
David Nakhla (11:29):
Well, it's a good thing you don't have to fix any
ceiling fans.
I've never seen a ceiling fanthermojo.
Douglas Clawson (11:33):
You're right.
I was just using that as anexample that some that somebody
at home here, one of thesepeople we want to volunteer, is
just trying to example for themto identify with.
David Nakhla (11:41):
Ceiling fan repair is good to know, but not a
requirement for this role.
It's not going to help you.
Travis, let's segue to you.
What would you add to the listof maybe qualifications, gifts,
abilities that somebody who'sgoing to come fill in for you
for a number of months?
What what what are thoseaspects you think would be good
(12:01):
for a man or maybe it could be agal too to have?
Travis Emmett (12:04):
Yeah, sure.
So also just going back to youroriginal question about the
history of the role of deaconmissionaries at the OBC, one
important change, not just theinfrastructure and the different
needs of the mission, but nowwe're also working with an
indigenous denomination,indigenous church.
And so we've handed over thosediaconal responsibilities of the
(12:25):
church we were working with tothe church.
And they're really handling alot of diaconal needs from the
community now.
So going back, you know, it waskind of an unreached mission's
location when we first camehere.
No infrastructure, noindigenous church.
And so, you know, I think thedeacon was necessary in a lot of
ways, specifically like Douglaswas saying, freeing up the
(12:47):
missionary evangelist to be ableto focus on preaching and
teaching and prayer becausethere was no one else to help
repair those things and to takecare of all those other needs.
So times have changed in a lotof ways.
David Nakhla (12:59):
Yeah.
Travis Emmett (13:00):
But to your question about what are some
qualifications or some skillsthat would be helpful for this
type of person to fill thisneed, I think in some ways,
maybe you've gotten a sense ofit from just hearing Douglas
talk.
And this might be a case whereit's better to be skilled in a
lot of different areas and maybespecialize in just one.
(13:22):
Kind of the saying Jack of alltrades, master of none, is
sometimes actually a benefit inthis role because you never know
what you're going to face.
Oftentimes, especially justlike Douglas was saying, the big
building projects are mostlydone.
It's a lot of routinemaintenance now.
It's actually the title of myrole actually fits most of the
(13:43):
day-to-day needs as far as thefacility goes, facility manager.
And so you don't necessarilyhave to be highly specialized in
any one area.
You have to be able to adaptand to kind of meet some of
those lower level needs that aregoing to come up.
So if you can have a handymantype of person, I think that
would be better than maybe justhaving someone who's really
(14:06):
skilled in one area but is notkind of worked in other areas of
trades.
At the same time, some thingsyou face are a little more
intense than just your regulardo-it-yourself projects around
your house.
And for some of those, mostguys in the states are not going
to come across maybe workingwith solar unless you're into
(14:26):
homesteading or something likethat.
So, you know, a lot of ourbuildings are off-grid here.
So there's going to be someareas that you may have to be
working with for the first time.
So you just need to be able tobe adaptable and to be able to
learn.
I'm getting my master's degreein YouTube Academy right now
every day.
So, but there's other resourcestoo.
(14:47):
Christopher Verdick, who's ouradministrator at the clinic, has
lived here for over, I think,13, 14 years now.
He started in maintenance here.
And so he knows a lot about alot of different things.
He's been a great resource tome.
He knows a lot about solar andareas that I wasn't so strong in
when I first came.
He was a good resource.
Although, you know, a lot ofthe missionaries here were a
(15:09):
small team, and so we wear a lotof hats already.
And so, you know, you can'texpect him to do all the work
for you, but yet he's he's thereto to be able to answer
questions or to bounce ideas offof.
So he's been helpful in thatarea.
But there's a lot of differentareas: small engine repair,
basic welding fabrication, basicelectrical, solar work,
(15:32):
plumbing.
I mean, you name it.
I again, like Douglas wassaying, Uganda's come a lot of
ways as far as the resourcesthat are available in every
place except Karamoja.
So there's it's really hard toget skilled labor here in
Karamoja.
It's it's coming along, butwe've had contractors come up
(15:55):
from down in Mbali or even fromKampala to come and do some big
projects.
We've contracted those out, butyou're not going to have an
electrician in Nemalu 15 minutesdown the road who can come and
just fix electrical issues.
So a lot of those types ofthings still fall on you to kind
of take care of, at least to apoint, like Douglas was saying,
with the vehicles, you may notbe an expert mechanic, but just
(16:18):
trying to figure out, okay, howcan I get the vehicle down to
Mbali or apart from Mbali up tohere so that we can get it
running again?
So you don't have to be anexpert, but I think the biggest
thing is just adaptability andaid and ability to learn.
I mean, because a lot of guyscome over here.
Jed Holman, for instance, wasover here as a short-term
(16:38):
missionary and he did a lot ofcarpentry.
And that was one of hisspecialties.
And he came over here andrealized they don't do carpentry
at all because of termites.
You know, all of our buildingmaterials are masonry, you know,
and metal.
And so for me as well, I didsome carpentry, but I had to
learn some welding before I cameover and then after I got here,
because a lot of what we'redoing is basic fabrication, and
(17:00):
then we're doing masonry anddifferent projects like that,
because there's hardly anycarpentry because of termites.
So anybody who comes over, evenif you have a background in the
trades, you're still gonna havea little bit of a learning
curve just because the materialsyou're using might be
different, the parts you'reusing might be different.
They're using all parts eitherfrom Asia or your or Europe that
(17:21):
we might not be using over inthe States.
Electrical is different here.
So uh basic principles apply,but there's still going to be a
bit of a learning curve.
David Nakhla (17:30):
It's very helpful, Travis.
Hopefully, somebody listeninghas maybe had his ears or his
heart pricked.
He's thinking, wow, what anopportunity.
I'd like to go.
I think my employer might allowme off, give me a leave of
absence, or maybe he's an earlyretiree or self-employed and has
the time to go.
But he's gonna need to convincehis wife.
(17:51):
Travis, share with ourlisteners what life looks like
in Karamoja.
There's certainly hard aspects,but there are also great
blessings in living there.
You're a young family, youpicked up and went, you
survived, maybe even thrived.
So let's look at the positiveselling it.
We'll have an opportunity totalk about the difficult parts,
(18:12):
but how is this an opportunityof a lifetime not to be missed?
Travis Emmett (18:15):
Well, I think you're right, it is an
opportunity of a lifetime.
Not many people can say they'velived in another country, not
many people can say they'velived in the bush of Africa.
And Karamoja is still very muchthe bush of Africa, sub-Sahara.
And so just like Douglas wassaying, the infrastructure is
improving.
So you actually have thebenefit of still kind of getting
(18:36):
to say you live in the bush ofAfrica and getting that
experience, rural experience, atthe same time.
Things are not as challengingliving here as they were when
missionaries first came.
And so you're not gonna have todeal with some of the hardships
that you would have dealt with20 years ago.
At the same time, you get someof the same experiences.
(18:56):
It's a really beautiful place.
Oftentimes I find that I'm toobusy to take advantage of the
fact that I live here sometimes.
I have a beautiful view rightfrom our house of Mount Kadam
and its foothills.
And looking one direction,there's mountains.
Looking the other direction,you're looking over a plain, a
basin that looks right out of apicture book of Africa.
(19:17):
We're 15 minutes from Pianu BayGame Park.
So if you get even just acouple hours, you can go through
a game park and see giraffesand zebras and all those sorts
of things.
And so it's pretty surreal forus missionaries.
Sometimes you lose some of thatexcitement over time.
It becomes normal for you.
But once in a while, you youstill wake up and realize uh
(19:38):
wow, I'm still in the bush ofAfrica and experiencing all
these things.
You get a cruise and a landcruiser down a road all by
yourself in Africa.
And so you have these momentsuh where you realize, wow, this
is really a privilege and reallya unique opportunity that not
many people get to have justgetting to live here in
Karamoja.
And it's still rural Africathat is hard to find sometimes
(20:01):
now as the continent and asUganda is developing.
So that would be one thing.
The other is, you know, in thisrole, every day is a new day.
No day is the same, no work dayis the same, which for some
people might be challenging.
It's something that I enjoy.
And so if you like to learn newthings, I'm always learning
(20:22):
different skills that I hadn'tneeded before.
I might need the next day, andso I'm learning that on the go.
I'm working on a differentproject every day.
You also get to interact withthe local Karamajung, which is
really neat, and get to interactwith Nakalay Presbyterian
Church and the church membersthere and see how they're living
for Christ in the midst ofhardship.
(20:43):
And so it's a reallyspiritually, it's a special
opportunity to get to see theLord at work, building his
church all around the world andbuilding his church and seeing
believers live out their livesfor Christ in that area where,
in many ways, they're sufferingmuch more than we are, even as
missionaries, and they're beingpersecuted, and they're always,
(21:04):
I feel like I'm being taughtmore than I'm teaching them
every day.
And so spiritually, it can bereally impactful.
And even just vocationally, Ifind it can be a really
rewarding job.
Getting to serve themissionaries and the church and
community here, it's a uniqueopportunity to get to know your
missionaries.
I know many of you guys arepraying for us, and so getting
(21:26):
to meet people in person, you'veseen the prayer cards and even
seen our names, but getting tosee the work firsthand and
having the freedom that thisshort-term commitment provides,
you know, when you're here longterm, there's other necessary
and good responsibilities thatare on your plate.
You're having to learn thelanguage, you have
administration responsibilities,all these different hats you
(21:48):
wear.
But when you come over shortterm, although I'm sure you'll
have to wear some hats inaddition to maintenance, that's
just the nature of it, butyou're a little more free to
pour into this specific need inways that I can't, because I
have other responsibilities aswell that I have to take care
of.
And you get to enjoy your timehere and the fact that you're
(22:09):
living in Karamoja in the Bushof Africa, maybe a little more
than even the full-timemissionaries get to because of
all the other things they'vehad, and because just over time
some of that, you know,excitement and newness wears
off.
So yeah, I think it's a greatopportunity.
David Nakhla (22:26):
That's really great.
Can you put on your Bonnie hatfor a minute and uh speak to
what would she say to the wivesof the guys who are listening to
this going, man, I don't knowif my wife would, I don't think
she'd be up for this.
What would Bonnie say to them?
Travis Emmett (22:40):
I think she would say, I hear you and I know what
you're going through.
She was in the same boat whenwe were first considering coming
here.
Obviously, for us, we werelooking at a much longer
commitment, which has itschallenges.
Although I I have to say Irespect those considering
short-term ministry too, becauseyou're also going to go through
(23:01):
the challenges of uprootingyour family.
And uh, you know, my wife willtell you the logistical
challenges of packing for yourfamily and all those little
things that us guys don't alwaysthink about, but you know, the
wives are on top of.
And uh it's it's a logisticalfeat in and itself to move a
family from the States, the Bushof Africa.
And so even short-termmissionaries are going to have
(23:24):
to be willing to do that, butmaybe even for a shorter time.
And so, you know, we respectthat.
I mean, the Grimsley family washere for two months overlap
when we got up here.
They were here for a year, andso they did that as well.
But it's also rewarding, it'snot just rewarding for me, it's
rewarding for my wife.
She's also, you know, gettingto reap the spiritual rewards of
(23:46):
serving the Lord here, justlike I am.
She's facing the samechallenges in many ways that I
am.
And we get to go through thisprocess as a couple, as a
family.
The Lord called our wholefamily here, and so we're going
through this together.
And so, you know, it can bereally strengthening uh for your
marriage and your family, eventhe hardships, maybe especially
(24:07):
the hardships that you gothrough as a family.
Uh, you can come out the otherside, uh, strengthen and your
walk with the Lord as a family,strengthened.
It can be, you know, for us, wehave four little kids as well.
And so you there's hard thingsthere.
The transitions can be hard,but it can be also really good
for the kids too.
I was a missionary kid.
(24:27):
So I remember it from theperspective of a child when my
parents were missionariesoverseas, and that has
challenges being what they callthird culture kid, but it also
gives you a lot of strengths,even into adulthood.
And so that was one of thereasons we also wanted to come.
We wanted to give our childrenthat opportunity to experience
the world and see the world froma different perspective and to
(24:48):
see the Lord building his churchin another place.
So it yeah, it's it can bereally challenging.
I won't minimize that.
It has not, it's probably beenone of the hardest things we've
ever done as a couple, as afamily, but I think it's also
been a big blessing.
I remember when we wereconsidering coming over here,
the Fulkirt family, some of youguys know, you know, they went
(25:10):
through many hard things as afamily here during their term,
but they said they didn't regretit and that they said it
overall was positive for theirfamily.
And so we thought if theirfamily can go through harder
things than we've everexperienced on the field and can
still say that it was overall abeneficial thing and a blessing
for their family, then youknow, we have no excuse either.
(25:31):
So no, I think it's Bonniewould even say it's been a
really positive thing for ourfamily.
Not easy, but a positive thing.
But in the end of the day, youknow, it comes down to if the
Lord calls you to it, then youhave to answer that call.
So, and that's how she feelstoo.
David Nakhla (25:45):
Excellent.
Very great answer, Travis.
Super helpful.
I had the opportunity 20 yearsago to go as a short term for
five weeks, and it's anopportunity of a lifetime.
I saw the old Karamoja, theroadless, powerless, off the
grid entirely.
But uh yeah, it's definitelythere's no regrets, and
(26:06):
definitely would encouragebrothers to consider this
wonderful opportunity.
So, Douglas, if there are thosewho are listening to this and
their hearts and ears have beenpricked, what's the next steps
for them, Douglas?
Douglas Clawson (26:21):
Yeah, first of all, you should know the time.
The timing, the Emmett's aregonna have to leave the field
because of the timing of thepregnancy, you're not allowed to
be in the air.
They're gonna have to leavesometime around the beginning of
March to fly back to the UnitedStates.
And ideally, I even think forthe volunteer, what you would
want is you would want a littlebit of overlap time with Travis.
(26:43):
So, you know, if somebody wasof a mind to help out, maybe
they can't do the full fourmonths, but if they could do a
couple of months, that would bereally fantastic.
Under a certain uh point, it'sjust not going to be worth it.
I mean, if you can only put intwo weeks, three weeks, I don't
think that that's gonna be worthit at all because there's just
too much adjustment, and you doneed to understand that because
(27:06):
we have so few missionariesright now, there's no one to
give you orientation.
So uh if you are I pray thatyour heart is being moved by
this, but it would be good tothink in terms of getting over
there no later than mid-Februaryso that you have some overlap,
can get some ideas of how thingsare going on, build a
(27:28):
relationship with Travis becauseI'm sure that he'll take your
phone calls and he'll answeryour emails, make sure you have
WhatsApp.
And the next step then would beto write to me and ask for a
missionary associateapplication.
So you want to write to DouglasD-O-U-G-L-A-S.Clawson at
(27:48):
opc.org.
I would love to be able to sendyou that application.
So I can also say to this, ifyou're wondering about finances,
we can talk about that, how wemight be able to help.
I think that that's fair to saywe really need somebody.
So, you know, we would try towork with you on the kind of
need for making sure that you'renot paying to fly over there.
(28:09):
And there's a whole visaprocess we would help you walk
through.
But if you're a generalhandyman, you have the kind of
skills, or you know, you've donea little bit of everything so
that you have familiarity, sothat you're not afraid to get
involved with that electricalstuff and possible rewiring or
thing, then please contact usand we'll talk to you about it.
(28:32):
You can talk to us, you can askmore questions, and I'll get
you an application to do that.
Anyway, please contact us,Douglas.Clawson at opc.org, and
I would love to be able to workwith you and talk to you about
this possibility.
David Nakhla (28:47):
Great, thank you.
Those of you many who are notable to respond to this, you can
participate in this effort bypraying that the Lord would
raise up the one to go.
And thank you for joining us inthat important effort.
Douglas and Travis, thank youfor joining us today.
Travis from all the way on theother side of the globe.
Thank you, brother.
Thank you for having us.
Travis Emmett (29:08):
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Great.
David Nakhla (29:10):
And our prayers that the Lord would use this
episode actually to bring justthat right individual and maybe
a family to come to Karamoja injust a few months.
This is just around the corner.
We're excited with you, Travisand Bonnie, at the anticipated
arrival of the new member ofyour family.
Thank you, brother, forresponding to the call to go and
serve the Lord overseas.
(29:31):
We're encouraged by your workand by your humble heart of
service.
And may the Lord continue toguide and keep you, brother, and
may his face shine upon you andgive you peace.
And go in peace.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Special word of thanks to ourproducer, Trish Dugan, who works
faithfully behind the scenes tobring this podcast to you.
(29:53):
Be sure to visit our website,thereformdeacon.org, where
you'll find all our episodesprograms.
notes and other helpfulresources, and we hope you'll
join us again soon for anotherepisode of the Reform Deacon
podcast.
Well, I think you're right.
It is the opportunity of alifetime.
Not many people can say they'velived in another country.
Not many people can say they'velived in the bush of Africa.
And Karamoja is still very muchthe bush of Africa.
The infrastructure isimproving.
You actually have the benefitof still kind of getting to say
you live in the bush of Africaand getting that experience,
(00:20):
rural experience, at the sametime.
Things are not as challengingliving here as they were when
missionaries first came.
David Nakhla (00:28):
Welcome to the Reformed Deacon, a casual
conversation with topicsspecifically designed to help
local Reform Deacons.
There are nearly a thousanddeacons in the OPC alone.
So let's take this opportunityto learn from and encourage one
another.
We're so glad you could joinus.
Let's jump into our nextepisode.
Hi, my name is David Nakhla.
(00:49):
I'm the administrator for theOPC Committee on Diaconal
Ministries.
Today we'll be talking with mygood friend, mentor, and
colleague, Douglas Clawson.
Douglas has been serving as thegeneral secretary of the OPC's
Committee on Foreign Missionsfor about three years now, after
having served as the AssociateGeneral Secretary for 20 years
(01:10):
or so.
Also joining us from Uganda isTravis Emmett.
Travis is an ordained elder inthe OPC, and he currently serves
as the facilities manager inKaramoja.
He and his wife Bonnie, alongwith their four little children,
have been serving in Karamojafor a little over a year.
The three of us have gatheredon the podcast today to talk
(01:31):
about missionary deacons in theOPC, specifically about the need
for someone handy and skilledto serve in Uganda for four
months next year in 2026, whilethe Emmett's are back in the
States for a medical leave ofabsence.
So, Douglas, Travis, thanks forjoining me.
Hey, glad to be here.
Great to be here.
(01:52):
Some who are listening may notknow what a missionary deacon
is.
I suspect that some may belearning just now that the fact
that the OPC has such a thing asa missionary deacon, but it has
been an essential role in ourhistory of four missions and
especially in such places asKaramoja.
(02:13):
So we'd like to talk morebroadly about that, but then
also talk a little bit morefocused on the specific need and
really opportunity to servenext year.
So those listening, please,this is for you to consider
whether the Lord is calling youto serve in this capacity for a
stint next year.
Travis, let's begin with you.
(02:34):
Thanks for taking the time toshare.
I know it's late at night therein Uganda.
Kids are in bed, and so we gota few minutes of your time
before we hit missionarymidnight, as they call it.
So what's happening with theEmmets that requires you to come
home for a few months nextyear?
Travis Emmett (02:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
So first I'll say it's aprivilege to be able to talk
with you both on a podcast.
I've listened to multipleepisodes from the Bush of
Africa.
So I've been following alongand I love what you guys are
doing.
So right now, there's still alot of moving parts.
But like you said, we'rerequesting a medical leave of
absence for really two mainneeds of our family.
First, my wife Bonnie isexpecting our fifth child who's
(03:13):
due in April.
And we would love for manyreasons to be able to have the
child in the States.
Second, we're hoping that thistime in the States would give us
an opportunity for our thirdchild, Jackson, to have a minor
surgery that we're hoping wouldhelp resolve an ongoing medical
condition that he's been dealingwith.
So there's really two medicalneeds we're hoping this time in
the states would help us dealwith.
(03:34):
And then obviously for both,the level of medical care that
you can get in the States isstill much better than you can
get in Uganda.
And we would also have ourfamily and our church as a
support system as we're goingthrough all these things.
So that's kind of why we'rehoping to spend that time in the
States.
And then we might also have tospend some few months in Mbali.
The newborn is old enough tomove up the Karamoja.
(03:55):
So, like I said, there's a lotof moving parts, but it's kind
of summarizing the need rightnow.
David Nakhla (03:59):
Well, congratulations on this joyous
occasion in the Emmet family.
That's very exciting.
Thank you.
Douglas, can you take us up toa very high level now and maybe
describe the concept of amissionary deacon in general
terms, not specificallypertaining to Karamoja, but just
conceptually what is this andhow it pertains to foreign
(04:20):
missions?
Douglas Clawson (04:21):
Yeah, in a way, I want to emphasize that uh
when we're talking about this,we're not talking about somebody
who's necessarily ordained as adeacon or in Travis's case as a
ruling elder.
We're talking about D with asmall D, the way that we're all
supposed to be servants to oneanother and serve in the church.
And I think at first, when westarted thinking about this
(04:45):
concept, maybe we were a littletoo overfocused on the whole
ordination aspect of it.
We've had three ordaineddeacons over there over the
course of time who've beenworking with the facility.
Of course, the work started ina way where there were big
buildings that had to beconstructed or had to be
(05:05):
repaired, major, major, youknow, like re-roofing jobs and
and uh walls being put up andthings being moved around, big
ditches being dug, and so andand a lot of stone that had to
be moved around as well.
And so when that bigconstruction was going on, we
needed a certain kind of personto be there.
(05:25):
Our next person who was therewas a doctor.
And then finally we had anotherman where we weren't doing the
big construction anymore.
It was more we realized we weremoving in the direction of
needing to just have somebodywho would help maintain what had
already been built, and therewere no future buildings in
view.
But in the meantime, you gottaunderstand that Uganda changed
(05:50):
in all of this.
Uganda is like many othercountries where you get a lot of
guys who say, I can fix a car,I can do electricity, I can do
plumbing, and they can't fix acar, they can't do electricity,
and they can't do plumbing.
In one way, Uganda changedbecause there's been way more
education, way more training.
Now you can find guys who canactually do construction.
(06:13):
So one project that we had doneduring COVID, for example, was
able to be completed by a realconstruction company.
The second thing that hascontinued to change during the
course of this time is thegovernment of Uganda and its
regulations.
So where you know you go from agovernment that doesn't have
very many regulations withregard to building, now you have
(06:36):
a government that starts to putinto place requirements for
construction and uh requiringsite management and figuring out
what's going to happen with thewater after you've built this
building.
So those things are stillmorphing, the government's still
morphing with regard to thosekinds of regulations as it
begins to realize and thinkabout environment impact and and
(06:59):
those kinds of things.
But that's been a constantlychanging thing.
We've been in Uganda for 30years, and we've been up in
Karamosia for like 27 or so.
All these things have beenchanging, and so the needs
changed, and the kind of guysthat we needed changed.
In other words, there's allthese changes with regard to
education and governmentrequirements and the kind of
(07:22):
things that we do at the clinic,and now we've realized you know
what, there's a lot of inUganda stuff available, and so
we don't need to bring in stufffrom the West to do that.
One of the things thatunfortunately has not morphed is
the quality of materialsavailable in Uganda.
So I'm not going to name thetwo Asian countries where most
(07:42):
of the plumbing supplies comefrom, but I will say that those
things are pretty much garbage.
I mean, they split all the timeright on the seams, and they
just don't last.
I hope that eventually thatchanges too, but that depends on
things outside of our controlbecause we can only buy what we
can buy.
It's not like Travis can hookinto Amazon and get it delivered
(08:05):
tomorrow.
So when we're talking aboutDeacon here, we're talking about
somebody who comes alongsideand help.
We need somebody who's going tocome and relieve the officers.
You know, there are guys whoare preaching and teaching.
There's the training of women,there's the training of
officers, there is the regularwork that goes on, and people
just can't be occupied all thetime by saying, honey, the zinc
(08:28):
got broke again.
Could you come over here andfix this?
So when we talk about deaconhere, we're not really referring
to it in a super sophisticatedway.
We're talking about the way itwas in Acts, where the apostles
needed to be concentrating onteaching and praying and ought
(08:48):
not to be distracted by thingslike figuring out which widow
ought to get what and makingsure that all those widows get
treated equally.
So we're talking aboutrelieving people who need to do
other sorts of ministry bythemselves ministering to those
who are there through themaintenance of things, the
(09:09):
repair of things.
And I think that that's wherewe're at today.
But all those buildings aregonna have to be maintained.
The electrical stuff is gonnahave to be repaired, the
plumbing is gonna have to berepaired, the uh damage from
termites is gonna have to befixed, new roof might have to be
put on for one reason oranother.
So we're looking now for guyswho are willing to be servants
(09:34):
by helping to allow regularministry to go on and mothers to
be able to take care of theirkids while they're taking care
of their husband who's doingsomething else.
Just guys who are over there tohelp.
And there's car stuff too, youknow.
There's not a car repair guy togo to up in Karamojia.
If you have to take it to areal guy who can repair it, you
(09:55):
got to get it down to an embali.
So that means you have to atleast get it into the running
condition where you can drive ittwo hours south.
And that's another thing that'schanged.
I I haven't even talked abouthow the infrastructure in Uganda
to Karamoja has changed.
There's a paved road, but thereare only two spots on the whole
road that aren't paved now.
(10:16):
I could not believe it.
I got a ride from Nakalay downto an ambali, and it took an
hour and 45 minutes, an hour and45 minutes.
And I personally remembertaking four and a half plus
hours to get from one of thosethings to the other.
I've driven it where it took methat many hours.
(10:36):
And so getting a ride for anhour and 45 minutes, and my
driver wasn't drivingparticularly fast either.
I mean, you know, he was justbeing efficient, it was just a
smooth, wonderful ride.
So and you're not covered withdirt when you get to your
destination.
Exactly.
It is like completelydifferent.
So things are close that way,but there still is the regular
(11:01):
maintenance of life.
Think about your own house andthings that break down the
house, a ceiling fan doesn'twork any longer, or you know,
you got a faucet that's leakingor something, or a toilet that's
running, and you got to repairthese and then like multiply
that times Ted.
That's and it's not because youhaven't repaired it.
(11:21):
Nobody can say you didn't doit.
What it is is it keeps breakingbecause you've got to use junky
parts to fix it.
David Nakhla (11:29):
Well, it's a good thing you don't have to fix any
ceiling fans.
I've never seen a ceiling fanthermojo.
Douglas Clawson (11:33):
You're right.
I was just using that as anexample that some that somebody
at home here, one of thesepeople we want to volunteer, is
just trying to example for themto identify with.
David Nakhla (11:41):
Ceiling fan repair is good to know, but not a
requirement for this role.
It's not going to help you.
Travis, let's segue to you.
What would you add to the listof maybe qualifications, gifts,
abilities that somebody who'sgoing to come fill in for you
for a number of months?
What what what are thoseaspects you think would be good
(12:01):
for a man or maybe it could be agal too to have?
Travis Emmett (12:04):
Yeah, sure.
So also just going back to youroriginal question about the
history of the role of deaconmissionaries at the OBC, one
important change, not just theinfrastructure and the different
needs of the mission, but nowwe're also working with an
indigenous denomination,indigenous church.
And so we've handed over thosediaconal responsibilities of the
(12:25):
church we were working with tothe church.
And they're really handling alot of diaconal needs from the
community now.
So going back, you know, it waskind of an unreached mission's
location when we first camehere.
No infrastructure, noindigenous church.
And so, you know, I think thedeacon was necessary in a lot of
ways, specifically like Douglaswas saying, freeing up the
(12:47):
missionary evangelist to be ableto focus on preaching and
teaching and prayer becausethere was no one else to help
repair those things and to takecare of all those other needs.
So times have changed in a lotof ways.
David Nakhla (12:59):
Yeah.
Travis Emmett (13:00):
But to your question about what are some
qualifications or some skillsthat would be helpful for this
type of person to fill thisneed, I think in some ways,
maybe you've gotten a sense ofit from just hearing Douglas
talk.
And this might be a case whereit's better to be skilled in a
lot of different areas and maybespecialize in just one.
(13:22):
Kind of the saying Jack of alltrades, master of none, is
sometimes actually a benefit inthis role because you never know
what you're going to face.
Oftentimes, especially justlike Douglas was saying, the big
building projects are mostlydone.
It's a lot of routinemaintenance now.
It's actually the title of myrole actually fits most of the
(13:43):
day-to-day needs as far as thefacility goes, facility manager.
And so you don't necessarilyhave to be highly specialized in
any one area.
You have to be able to adaptand to kind of meet some of
those lower level needs that aregoing to come up.
So if you can have a handymantype of person, I think that
would be better than maybe justhaving someone who's really
(14:06):
skilled in one area but is notkind of worked in other areas of
trades.
At the same time, some thingsyou face are a little more
intense than just your regulardo-it-yourself projects around
your house.
And for some of those, mostguys in the states are not going
to come across maybe workingwith solar unless you're into
(14:26):
homesteading or something likethat.
So, you know, a lot of ourbuildings are off-grid here.
So there's going to be someareas that you may have to be
working with for the first time.
So you just need to be able tobe adaptable and to be able to
learn.
I'm getting my master's degreein YouTube Academy right now
every day.
So, but there's other resourcestoo.
(14:47):
Christopher Verdick, who's ouradministrator at the clinic, has
lived here for over, I think,13, 14 years now.
He started in maintenance here.
And so he knows a lot about alot of different things.
He's been a great resource tome.
He knows a lot about solar andareas that I wasn't so strong in
when I first came.
He was a good resource.
Although, you know, a lot ofthe missionaries here were a
(15:09):
small team, and so we wear a lotof hats already.
And so, you know, you can'texpect him to do all the work
for you, but yet he's he's thereto to be able to answer
questions or to bounce ideas offof.
So he's been helpful in thatarea.
But there's a lot of differentareas: small engine repair,
basic welding fabrication, basicelectrical, solar work,
(15:32):
plumbing.
I mean, you name it.
I again, like Douglas wassaying, Uganda's come a lot of
ways as far as the resourcesthat are available in every
place except Karamoja.
So there's it's really hard toget skilled labor here in
Karamoja.
It's it's coming along, butwe've had contractors come up
(15:55):
from down in Mbali or even fromKampala to come and do some big
projects.
We've contracted those out, butyou're not going to have an
electrician in Nemalu 15 minutesdown the road who can come and
just fix electrical issues.
So a lot of those types ofthings still fall on you to kind
of take care of, at least to apoint, like Douglas was saying,
with the vehicles, you may notbe an expert mechanic, but just
(16:18):
trying to figure out, okay, howcan I get the vehicle down to
Mbali or apart from Mbali up tohere so that we can get it
running again?
So you don't have to be anexpert, but I think the biggest
thing is just adaptability andaid and ability to learn.
I mean, because a lot of guyscome over here.
Jed Holman, for instance, wasover here as a short-term
(16:38):
missionary and he did a lot ofcarpentry.
And that was one of hisspecialties.
And he came over here andrealized they don't do carpentry
at all because of termites.
You know, all of our buildingmaterials are masonry, you know,
and metal.
And so for me as well, I didsome carpentry, but I had to
learn some welding before I cameover and then after I got here,
because a lot of what we'redoing is basic fabrication, and
(17:00):
then we're doing masonry anddifferent projects like that,
because there's hardly anycarpentry because of termites.
So anybody who comes over, evenif you have a background in the
trades, you're still gonna havea little bit of a learning
curve just because the materialsyou're using might be
different, the parts you'reusing might be different.
They're using all parts eitherfrom Asia or your or Europe that
(17:21):
we might not be using over inthe States.
Electrical is different here.
So uh basic principles apply,but there's still going to be a
bit of a learning curve.
David Nakhla (17:30):
It's very helpful, Travis.
Hopefully, somebody listeninghas maybe had his ears or his
heart pricked.
He's thinking, wow, what anopportunity.
I'd like to go.
I think my employer might allowme off, give me a leave of
absence, or maybe he's an earlyretiree or self-employed and has
the time to go.
But he's gonna need to convincehis wife.
(17:51):
Travis, share with ourlisteners what life looks like
in Karamoja.
There's certainly hard aspects,but there are also great
blessings in living there.
You're a young family, youpicked up and went, you
survived, maybe even thrived.
So let's look at the positiveselling it.
We'll have an opportunity totalk about the difficult parts,
(18:12):
but how is this an opportunityof a lifetime not to be missed?
Travis Emmett (18:15):
Well, I think you're right, it is an
opportunity of a lifetime.
Not many people can say they'velived in another country, not
many people can say they'velived in the bush of Africa.
And Karamoja is still very muchthe bush of Africa, sub-Sahara.
And so just like Douglas wassaying, the infrastructure is
improving.
So you actually have thebenefit of still kind of getting
(18:36):
to say you live in the bush ofAfrica and getting that
experience, rural experience, atthe same time.
Things are not as challengingliving here as they were when
missionaries first came.
And so you're not gonna have todeal with some of the hardships
that you would have dealt with20 years ago.
At the same time, you get someof the same experiences.
(18:56):
It's a really beautiful place.
Oftentimes I find that I'm toobusy to take advantage of the
fact that I live here sometimes.
I have a beautiful view rightfrom our house of Mount Kadam
and its foothills.
And looking one direction,there's mountains.
Looking the other direction,you're looking over a plain, a
basin that looks right out of apicture book of Africa.
(19:17):
We're 15 minutes from Pianu BayGame Park.
So if you get even just acouple hours, you can go through
a game park and see giraffesand zebras and all those sorts
of things.
And so it's pretty surreal forus missionaries.
Sometimes you lose some of thatexcitement over time.
It becomes normal for you.
But once in a while, you youstill wake up and realize uh
(19:38):
wow, I'm still in the bush ofAfrica and experiencing all
these things.
You get a cruise and a landcruiser down a road all by
yourself in Africa.
And so you have these momentsuh where you realize, wow, this
is really a privilege and reallya unique opportunity that not
many people get to have justgetting to live here in
Karamoja.
And it's still rural Africathat is hard to find sometimes
(20:01):
now as the continent and asUganda is developing.
So that would be one thing.
The other is, you know, in thisrole, every day is a new day.
No day is the same, no work dayis the same, which for some
people might be challenging.
It's something that I enjoy.
And so if you like to learn newthings, I'm always learning
(20:22):
different skills that I hadn'tneeded before.
I might need the next day, andso I'm learning that on the go.
I'm working on a differentproject every day.
You also get to interact withthe local Karamajung, which is
really neat, and get to interactwith Nakalay Presbyterian
Church and the church membersthere and see how they're living
for Christ in the midst ofhardship.
(20:43):
And so it's a reallyspiritually, it's a special
opportunity to get to see theLord at work, building his
church all around the world andbuilding his church and seeing
believers live out their livesfor Christ in that area where,
in many ways, they're sufferingmuch more than we are, even as
missionaries, and they're beingpersecuted, and they're always,
(21:04):
I feel like I'm being taughtmore than I'm teaching them
every day.
And so spiritually, it can bereally impactful.
And even just vocationally, Ifind it can be a really
rewarding job.
Getting to serve themissionaries and the church and
community here, it's a uniqueopportunity to get to know your
missionaries.
I know many of you guys arepraying for us, and so getting
(21:26):
to meet people in person, you'veseen the prayer cards and even
seen our names, but getting tosee the work firsthand and
having the freedom that thisshort-term commitment provides,
you know, when you're here longterm, there's other necessary
and good responsibilities thatare on your plate.
You're having to learn thelanguage, you have
administration responsibilities,all these different hats you
(21:48):
wear.
But when you come over shortterm, although I'm sure you'll
have to wear some hats inaddition to maintenance, that's
just the nature of it, butyou're a little more free to
pour into this specific need inways that I can't, because I
have other responsibilities aswell that I have to take care
of.
And you get to enjoy your timehere and the fact that you're
(22:09):
living in Karamoja in the Bushof Africa, maybe a little more
than even the full-timemissionaries get to because of
all the other things they'vehad, and because just over time
some of that, you know,excitement and newness wears
off.
So yeah, I think it's a greatopportunity.
David Nakhla (22:26):
That's really great.
Can you put on your Bonnie hatfor a minute and uh speak to
what would she say to the wivesof the guys who are listening to
this going, man, I don't knowif my wife would, I don't think
she'd be up for this.
What would Bonnie say to them?
Travis Emmett (22:40):
I think she would say, I hear you and I know what
you're going through.
She was in the same boat whenwe were first considering coming
here.
Obviously, for us, we werelooking at a much longer
commitment, which has itschallenges.
Although I I have to say Irespect those considering
short-term ministry too, becauseyou're also going to go through
(23:01):
the challenges of uprootingyour family.
And uh, you know, my wife willtell you the logistical
challenges of packing for yourfamily and all those little
things that us guys don't alwaysthink about, but you know, the
wives are on top of.
And uh it's it's a logisticalfeat in and itself to move a
family from the States, the Bushof Africa.
And so even short-termmissionaries are going to have
(23:24):
to be willing to do that, butmaybe even for a shorter time.
And so, you know, we respectthat.
I mean, the Grimsley family washere for two months overlap
when we got up here.
They were here for a year, andso they did that as well.
But it's also rewarding, it'snot just rewarding for me, it's
rewarding for my wife.
She's also, you know, gettingto reap the spiritual rewards of
(23:46):
serving the Lord here, justlike I am.
She's facing the samechallenges in many ways that I
am.
And we get to go through thisprocess as a couple, as a
family.
The Lord called our wholefamily here, and so we're going
through this together.
And so, you know, it can bereally strengthening uh for your
marriage and your family, eventhe hardships, maybe especially
(24:07):
the hardships that you gothrough as a family.
Uh, you can come out the otherside, uh, strengthen and your
walk with the Lord as a family,strengthened.
It can be, you know, for us, wehave four little kids as well.
And so you there's hard thingsthere.
The transitions can be hard,but it can be also really good
for the kids too.
I was a missionary kid.
(24:27):
So I remember it from theperspective of a child when my
parents were missionariesoverseas, and that has
challenges being what they callthird culture kid, but it also
gives you a lot of strengths,even into adulthood.
And so that was one of thereasons we also wanted to come.
We wanted to give our childrenthat opportunity to experience
the world and see the world froma different perspective and to
(24:48):
see the Lord building his churchin another place.
So it yeah, it's it can bereally challenging.
I won't minimize that.
It has not, it's probably beenone of the hardest things we've
ever done as a couple, as afamily, but I think it's also
been a big blessing.
I remember when we wereconsidering coming over here,
the Fulkirt family, some of youguys know, you know, they went
(25:10):
through many hard things as afamily here during their term,
but they said they didn't regretit and that they said it
overall was positive for theirfamily.
And so we thought if theirfamily can go through harder
things than we've everexperienced on the field and can
still say that it was overall abeneficial thing and a blessing
for their family, then youknow, we have no excuse either.
(25:31):
So no, I think it's Bonniewould even say it's been a
really positive thing for ourfamily.
Not easy, but a positive thing.
But in the end of the day, youknow, it comes down to if the
Lord calls you to it, then youhave to answer that call.
So, and that's how she feelstoo.
David Nakhla (25:45):
Excellent.
Very great answer, Travis.
Super helpful.
I had the opportunity 20 yearsago to go as a short term for
five weeks, and it's anopportunity of a lifetime.
I saw the old Karamoja, theroadless, powerless, off the
grid entirely.
But uh yeah, it's definitelythere's no regrets, and
(26:06):
definitely would encouragebrothers to consider this
wonderful opportunity.
So, Douglas, if there are thosewho are listening to this and
their hearts and ears have beenpricked, what's the next steps
for them, Douglas?
Douglas Clawson (26:21):
Yeah, first of all, you should know the time.
The timing, the Emmett's aregonna have to leave the field
because of the timing of thepregnancy, you're not allowed to
be in the air.
They're gonna have to leavesometime around the beginning of
March to fly back to the UnitedStates.
And ideally, I even think forthe volunteer, what you would
want is you would want a littlebit of overlap time with Travis.
(26:43):
So, you know, if somebody wasof a mind to help out, maybe
they can't do the full fourmonths, but if they could do a
couple of months, that would bereally fantastic.
Under a certain uh point, it'sjust not going to be worth it.
I mean, if you can only put intwo weeks, three weeks, I don't
think that that's gonna be worthit at all because there's just
too much adjustment, and you doneed to understand that because
(27:06):
we have so few missionariesright now, there's no one to
give you orientation.
So uh if you are I pray thatyour heart is being moved by
this, but it would be good tothink in terms of getting over
there no later than mid-Februaryso that you have some overlap,
can get some ideas of how thingsare going on, build a
(27:28):
relationship with Travis becauseI'm sure that he'll take your
phone calls and he'll answeryour emails, make sure you have
WhatsApp.
And the next step then would beto write to me and ask for a
missionary associateapplication.
So you want to write to DouglasD-O-U-G-L-A-S.Clawson at
(27:48):
opc.org.
I would love to be able to sendyou that application.
So I can also say to this, ifyou're wondering about finances,
we can talk about that, how wemight be able to help.
I think that that's fair to saywe really need somebody.
So, you know, we would try towork with you on the kind of
need for making sure that you'renot paying to fly over there.
(28:09):
And there's a whole visaprocess we would help you walk
through.
But if you're a generalhandyman, you have the kind of
skills, or you know, you've donea little bit of everything so
that you have familiarity, sothat you're not afraid to get
involved with that electricalstuff and possible rewiring or
thing, then please contact usand we'll talk to you about it.
(28:32):
You can talk to us, you can askmore questions, and I'll get
you an application to do that.
Anyway, please contact us,Douglas.Clawson at opc.org, and
I would love to be able to workwith you and talk to you about
this possibility.
David Nakhla (28:47):
Great, thank you.
Those of you many who are notable to respond to this, you can
participate in this effort bypraying that the Lord would
raise up the one to go.
And thank you for joining us inthat important effort.
Douglas and Travis, thank youfor joining us today.
Travis from all the way on theother side of the globe.
Thank you, brother.
Thank you for having us.
Travis Emmett (29:08):
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Great.
David Nakhla (29:10):
And our prayers that the Lord would use this
episode actually to bring justthat right individual and maybe
a family to come to Karamoja injust a few months.
This is just around the corner.
We're excited with you, Travisand Bonnie, at the anticipated
arrival of the new member ofyour family.
Thank you, brother, forresponding to the call to go and
serve the Lord overseas.
(29:31):
We're encouraged by your workand by your humble heart of
service.
And may the Lord continue toguide and keep you, brother, and
may his face shine upon you andgive you peace.
And go in peace.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Special word of thanks to ourproducer, Trish Dugan, who works
faithfully behind the scenes tobring this podcast to you.
(29:53):
Be sure to visit our website,thereformdeacon.org, where
you'll find all our episodesprograms.
notes and other helpfulresources, and we hope you'll
join us again soon for anotherepisode of the Reform Deacon
podcast.
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