If you are a Christian, you'll want to know about the incredible things happening in Uganda. If you're a growing Christian, you'll want to know these insights about life and effectively living for Christ.

About Life and Uganda by Fred R. Lybrand, is a book about the amazing transformation of a church from minimal involvement to deep saturation the work of the Great Commission. In a little over three years this modest-size church has sent over 50 members as short term missionaries to Uganda. The results speak for themselves. In these three years, Midland Bible Church alone has shared with 25,000+ Ugandans in villages, schools, and prisons... seeing over 5,000 converts. In the villages alone 5,000 Ugandans have heard the message of God's grace, with at least 2,500 of those placing their faith in Christ. In these villages, the churches which were established are vibrant and continue to this day in offering God's Word and love to their communities. Back home the church is seeing a rebirth of interest in sharing hope within their own community and with their families. About Life and Uganda, however, is not just about missions. It is about life and the insights that can move you from a lackluster faith to a vibrant hope and freedom; you, touching your world through the unique spirit God has given you, as you learn to walk every moment with him. About Life and Uganda is also a book for anyone interested in Christianity, because of the compelling way Grace is presented through the full colour view of the encounters between ordinary American church members and ordinary Ugandan villagers... where the ordinary disappears into wonder. Fred R. Lybrand writes in a compelling style that provides few exit ramps once you're on the road. Beware, when the journey begins you'll find it hard to stop. Chocked full of thoughtful insights for life and Christianity, About Life and Uganda is a book you'll read again and again.. and just maybe, you'll go to another land yourself.

Cuba has loomed large in American memory and history. Throughout the last half-century, the island and its larger-than-life revolutionary leader have been key players in the Cold War and mythologized by Americans and American politicians. In 2016, relations thawed, and the country opened its doors to American. The Rolling Stones played in Havana. President Obama arrived too in March. He was the first President to visit the nation almost 100 years—since Coolidge in 1928. And then Fidel Castro passed away in November 2016, marking the end of the momentous era in Cuban history. In The Day Fidel Died, Patrick Symmes interweaves reporting from years spent traveling to the Cuban Island, a narrative history of the rise of Fidelismo and the last sixty-plus years of life there under Fidel. Symmes’ exploration of the Castros’ Cuba—how it came to be and what it’s becoming—paints a wondrous and striking portrait of the nation, its culture, politics and people for anyone first undertaking a trip or those still dreaming of doing so. A Vintage Shorts ebook original.

Since 1986, the Acholi people of northern Uganda have lived in the crossfire of a violent civil war, with the Lord’s Resistance Army and other groups fighting the Ugandan government. Acholi have been murdered, maimed, and driven into displacement. Thousands of children have been abducted and forced to fight. Many observers have perceived Acholiland and northern Uganda to be an exception in contemporary Uganda, which has been celebrated by the international community for its increased political stability and particularly for its fight against AIDS. These observers tend to portray the Acholi as war-prone, whether because of religious fanaticism or intractable ethnic hatreds. In Living with Bad Surroundings, Sverker Finnström rejects these characterizations and challenges other simplistic explanations for the violence in northern Uganda. Foregrounding the narratives of individual Acholi, Finnström enables those most affected by the ongoing “dirty war” to explain how they participate in, comprehend, survive, and even resist it. Finnström draws on fieldwork conducted in northern Uganda between 1997 and 2006 to describe how the Acholi—especially the younger generation, those born into the era of civil strife—understand and attempt to control their moral universe and material circumstances. Structuring his argument around indigenous metaphors and images, notably the Acholi concepts of good and bad surroundings, he vividly renders struggles in war and the related ills of impoverishment, sickness, and marginalization. In this rich ethnography, Finnström provides a clear-eyed assessment of the historical, cultural, and political underpinnings of the civil war while maintaining his focus on Acholi efforts to achieve “good surroundings,” viable futures for themselves and their families.

When Bekunda and her toddler son, Kayibanda, cross an international border, they are in dire straits and desperately need sanctuary, human kindness and divine favor. The new country gives them sanctuary, the natives show them kindness and the local spirits do the miraculous on their behalf. But can Kayibanda be as gracious to his new country as it has been to him? Can he overcome his profoundly flawed nature, which appears to be hereditary?

Efforts within the past decade to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa have dealt with HIV/AIDS principally as a medical concern—despite the fact that doctors continue to be confronted with the complex relationship of the disease to broader social issues. When medical and governmental institutions fail, artists step in. Contemporary performances in Uganda often focus on gender and health-related issues specific to women and youths, in which song texts warn against risky sexual environments or unprotected sexual behavior. Music, dance, and drama are principal tools of local initiatives that disseminate information, mobilize resources, and raise societal consciousness regarding issues related to HIV/AIDS. Through case studies, song texts, interviews, and testimonies, Singing for Life: HIV/AIDS and Music in Uganda examines the links between the decline in Uganda’s infection rate and grassroots efforts that make use of music, dance, and drama. Only when supported and encouraged by such performances drawing on localized musical traditions have medical initiatives taken root and flourished in local healthcare systems. Gregory Barz shows how music can be both a mode of promoting health and a force for personal therapy, presenting a cultural analysis of hope and healing.

Reexamines the first twenty years of the East African revival movement in Uganda, 1935-1955, arguing that through the movement African Christians articulated and developed a unique spiritual lifestyle.