Welcome to the Restoration Gateway (RG) family.  If you are reading this handbook you are probably called to join this family or praying about joining this family. As with all families, there are spoken and unspoken policies that should help each family member grow in God’s grace and help the whole family effectively serve the Lord.  The handbook is a work in progress designed to outline some of the spoken policies that guide us here.  The overarching policy is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself.  Each family member is encouraged to actively seek to hear God’s voice and passionately develop a personal relationship with Him by becoming obedient to all He says completely, cheerfully and quickly.  Our God is not a God of confusion or conflict, and we must work and pray together to understand God’s heart on every issue.  Love covers a multitude of sins, and truth spoken in love will quickly cancel every assignment the enemy will design against us.

Our motto is “Preparing the Way of the Lord”.   We should actively seek to do this in all aspects of our own lives, the lives of our teammates (young and old), and in the lives of all those we have come to serve.

Restoration Gateway is a God-given vision to help restore righteousness in every domain of northern Ugandan society by  building a community centered around God’s Word with a Bible/mission training school, a hospital and dental center, an orphan school and homes, a large tabernacle auditorium, a children’s camp, a pastor’s retreat, a resort and agricultural/fishery demonstration farms.  There are presently 500 acres on the bank of the Nile River at Bedmot Village, near Karuma Falls in Masindi District which was nothing but remote grassland when the project physically started in Jan. 2007.  At that time Tim McCall moved to Uganda and was joined in July by his wife, Janice, and then by Peggy Stratton in August of that year.  Because of the tremendous favor of God, the efforts from many from around the world and many Ugandans, the project is progressing at a rapid rate.  Many are now seeking to help us as long and short term team members.

We are very excited that you desire to be a part of what God is doing at and through Restoration Gateway, and we want to fully support you in this endeavor.  We want you to be well informed of the conditions as well as the opportunities at RG.  While things are rapidly changing, we are still located in the “bush of Africa” and the work here can be considered pioneer missions.  Thus, sacrifice of amenities and creature comforts must be a part of every call to RG.   Ministering here is both enjoyable and exciting……but fraught with challenges.  So don’t fail to count the cost, but let us quickly add that the rewards far outweigh the challenges for those of us who call this home.  Qualities you can expect God to develop in you here are patience, flexibility, endurance, self control, contentment in whatever circumstance, and gratitude for the simple things of life.

RG has been and continues to be financed by donations from individuals, churches, businesses and foundations that embrace the vision of RG.   Faithful and effective stewardship of all the donations is a core value for RG, as is clear and open accounting.  Due to both the extent and early stage of the project, team members are expected to make provision for their own support so that donor’s contributions can be allocated to those things that benefit the restoration of northern Uganda and Ugandans.   In obedience to God’s assignment, the building of the vision is already making us a gateway through which many ministries will bring the Kingdom of God and His righteousness to bear in this devastated part of the world.

The following is information to help you be better prepared for your arrival at RG.  In all of this be prepared for things to change without notice and when you least expect it.  Rest in the Lord and know that He is in control, even when you are not.  Any concerns or questions should be discussed with the Lord and possibly RG leadership immediately.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is the general rule for immunizations, and these should be completed prior to departure.  Having said that, the decisions regarding which immunizations you need are highly individualized, based on your medical history, susceptibility to each disease entity, length of stay in the country, and your activities while in the country.  These decisions are best made in conjunction with your personal physician.  Medical personnel at RG can give advice and personal thoughts  regarding general recommendations, but they cannot give  individual advice because they do not have knowledge of your personal medical history.  We recommend you look at the CDC travel website for a place to start for immunization recommendations and health information while in Uganda (www.cdc.gov/travel/destination/uganda.aspx ).  We do recommend you sleep under a mosquito net in Uganda, and they are available for you at RG for short termers and can be readily purchased by long termers.  If you are on regular medications, you should bring enough to last you for your intended stay in Uganda, determine a way for them to be sent to you from the USA, and /or check to see if they can be purchased in Uganda and at what price.  Some meds are vastly cheaper here than in the USA, but some can be more expensive.

The initial entry visa for everyone is as a tourist or short term business trip and the visa is secured after you deplane in Entebbe, Uganda as you pass through immigration.  You show them your valid passport and pay $50.00 USD and they will stamp your passport with up to a 90 day visa.  If you are planning to reside in Uganda, you will begin the paper work for a resident visa from Uganda Immigration Department.  The fees and other links can be found on the Ugandan Internal Affairs Ministry website at: www.mia.go.ug/page.php?1=immig_fees&&2=Immigration Fee.    It will be necessary to have recent passport pictures to apply for a resident visa; extra passport photos may be brought from the U.S., or they may be made in several places in Kampala.  It is generally a good idea to have some extra passport pictures available for any unexpected transaction that may require a photo.

When applying for a resident visa in Uganda a police report from your local police department is required.

Your in-country contacts are Janice and Tim McCall, and their address is Restoration Gateway, P.O. Box 828 Karuma, Bedmot Village, Karuma, Masindi District, Uganda, East Africa.

Your in-country contacts are Janice and Tim McCall, and their address is Restoration Gateway, P.O. Box 828 Karuma, Bedmot Village, Karuma, Masindi District, Uganda, East Africa.

Baggage claim is done by you from the carousel after you pass through immigration at the Entebbe airport; luggage is seldom inspected as you pass out of the arrival hall.  We recommend that you mark your bags so that they are easily identifiable by you.  Bags have been lost by others claiming bags by mistake.  Also, be aware that Kenya Airways has a great propensity for losing luggage, if you are traveling through Nairobi.  Pick-up at the airport should be arranged prior to arrival either by contacting Legacy Services (admin@legacy-services.org; 011-256-312-294-901) or by arrangement with RG; Legacy Services is operated by friends of RG and is a company in Kampala that helps facilitate travel/accommodations for those visiting RG.  Those arriving in the afternoon or evening into Entebbe will stay overnight in Kampala prior to coming to RG the next day.  Booking of accommodations for the night in Kampala must be arranged prior to arrival to assure availability.  Again, this may be done by either Legacy Services or RG.

The currency is Ugandan Shilling (UGX) and the rate of exchange is constantly changing. The best exchange rate is obtained from new $100.00 dollar bills with a series of 2003 or newer. Older and smaller denomination bills bring a significantly lower exchange rate. You can find the latest exchange rate at www.oanda.com but is generally figured for convenience as 2000 UGX to $1.00 USD. The best exchange rates are obtained at the Forex (money changers) in Kampala, but there is more than one Forex available in the airport. If you anticipate needed shillings, then you should make the exchange in Kampala before coming to RG, as we do not always have the ability to change money at RG, and there is no bank nor Forex near us. ATM’s are available in the larger cities of Uganda (not Karuma). You should check the transaction fees related to your ATM card in foreign countries and the exchange rate prior to departure to Uganda. Those moving to Uganda will need their own bank account, and Uganda has many banks from which to choose. Information for each can be obtained online, from locals, or from the RG staff. Check with your stateside bank to see if they will wire money to your bank in Uganda and what the fee is for this service. Opening a bank account in Uganda requires you to appear in person with all who have permission to use the account so that a signature card may be signed. A letter of introduction from a reputable source, your passport and passport pictures, and generally a deposit of $100.00 – $500.00 USD is also needed to open the account.

It is recommended that you register with your embassy in Kampala.  This can be done on line for US citizens, and you will receive traveler and citizen alerts from the embassy from time to time as situations develop.

For US citizens this is best done before leaving home at your local voter registration office.   Alternately, you can get the forms at the US embassy in Kampala.  Rules governing absentee voting vary from state to state in the U.S.

You can drive legally in Uganda with a valid American driver’s license, but remember to do so on the opposite side of the road.  A Ugandan driver’s license can be obtained in Kampala with the proof of a valid American license.  The process can be facilitated with the use of an agent, but this is costly.   Making sure that licenses and passports are kept current is your responsibility.

This is an individual matter and may vary greatly from person to person.   If you are prepared to live and eat local food, the cost is quite reasonable.  If you want to maintain your western lifestyle and habits, the cost can be high but is entirely possible.  Most individuals have been able to live here for about $1,500.00 USD/month.  Remember that most long termers live in two cultures and continue to have expenses back in their country of origin.  These expenses are taken into account in the $1500 USD and must be considered when planning a budget.