A Dark Providence

I know that this blog has been quiet for some time.  Sometimes God's people walk through such dark valleys that it is hard to even know what to begin to say others...the dark is so dark, that you are tempted to not want others to see.  That has been true for our family in the past three weeks.

We have recently discovered some serious struggles and sin in our family that need to be addressed.  Because of that, we are taking at least a 6-month leave of absence from Uganda in order to fly to America and get some significant counseling and help.

Our hearts are broken.  Our kids' hearts are broken.  It's hard to even begin to make sense of it all.  We know that these things did not take God by surprise.  Our only landing place right now is to trust the sovereignty of God and know that he is working all things for our good.

Please pray for us.  We do not see America as home.  For our kids, America is a strange land on the far side of the sea.  This has been a time of chaos and unsettling events that are difficult to make sense of as an adult, let alone a child.

For now, our immediate plan is that we will be in Georgia at my parents, where God has graciously provided a house for us to stay in.  Eric is already there waiting for us to come this Wednesday. (The kids and I fly out Tuesday night) We are still in need of a good mode of transportation.  We have access to a van that we can borrow, but it is not large enough for all of us.

I read this blog post recently,  never imagining that it would soon apply to us.  But yes, we are coming back as broken people right now.  We are having to trust our hearts to our Christian brothers and sisters in America.  We need much prayer, support, and love.

Please pray:
:: Pray for our hearts.  For repentance, truth, and forgiveness.

:: Pray for our kids and ourselves as we transition to America for a while.  Unlike when we go on furlough, we are not mentally or emotionally prepared for this transition.  It came up quickly (we decided to go about 11 days ago and we leave in 2 days) and has been full of turmoil.  The kids and I are going to have some sense of closure here, but nothing close to what we wish it could be.

:: Pray for the church here and the mission.  Pray that God will protect the church and mission from Satan, who will surely try to use this to destroy the gospel work here.

:: Pray for my health and strength.  I am on a high level of steroids to protect my body from going into an Adrenal Crisis due to my Addison's disease.  But even still, I'm struggling physically with all the stress/lack of sleep over the past weeks and the stress that is to come.

Because of the nature of the situation, I won't be posting too much on here, although perhaps I will continue to post about any fun memories in America that God chooses in his grace to give us.

The song that has been on constant repeat in the past couple weeks is What E'er My God Ordains is Right:

What e'er my God ordains is right:
His holy will abideth;
I will be still what e'er He doth,
and follow where He guideth.
He is my God, though dark my road.
He holds me that I shall not fall.
And so to him, I leave it all.

What e'er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me.
He leads me by the proper path;
I know He will not leave me.
I take content, what he hath sent.
His hand can turn my griefs away,
and patiently I wait His day.

What e'er my God ordains is right, 
though now this cup I'm drinking.
May bitter seem to my faint heart, 
I take it all unshrinking.
My God is true each morn anew.
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart, 
and pain and sorrow shall depart.

What e'er my God ordains is right.
Here shall my stand be taken.
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine, 
yet I am not forsaken.
My father's care is round me there.
He holds me that I shall not fall, 
and so to Him, I leave it all.

Updates and Visits

::First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for all your prayers after our break-in.  We still praise the Lord that no one was hurt and that we didn't lose any possessions.  The intruder has been in jail this whole time and will appear in court soon.  Eric will need to go to court also.  Please continue to pray that God's will be done.  It appears that this is not his first time in prison.  In the meantime, Eric has a student that is from the same tribe as the intruder and has gone a couple times to meet with him in jail.  He was able to share the gospel with him and pray with him.  It also appears that he was not alone in his plans to break into our house.  His cohort is not locked up at this time however, as the evidence against him is still technically considered "hear-say" and not enough to imprison someone for.    The kids have recovered quite well from all of the trauma.  The first few days were rough, but God carried us through.  To Him be the glory!  It was such an encouragement to know that so many were praying for us!  The Lord has also sustained me, particularly in regards to my adrenal insufficiency which really doesn't like stress (I took lots of extra steroids!) and I praise him for that.  It does seem, however, that the stress and busyness have thrown me into an RA flare and the past couple days have brought lots of joint pain.  I know it will pass soon though!

:: We were blessed this past week with a major distraction from the heaviness of the break-in, by a visit from Eric's mom.  Her timing couldn't have been more perfect as she was not here for the break-in, but was here right after!  We enjoyed introducing her to our friends, our church, the college, and our lives here.  We're eagerly anticipating her and Dad coming back one day soon!

Driving up Mt. Wanale:

Visiting Eric's students at the college: (who's that cute little student right up front?! ;-) )

We also were able to visit some friends in the church.  Mama Evangeline is the oldest member of our church (past 90 years).  She broke her leg a couple months ago and has not been able to recover her mobility.  She's a precious dear sister in the Lord.

Last Nights Break In

Last night God carried us through some scary moments as we had someone break into our house.  It was about 11pm.  Everyone except Eric was sleeping.  If you look at this picture that I took today, Eric was sitting by the window where Jimmy is pictured reading a book.  If you look in front of the doors, you will see a hole in the ceiling.  That hole is the access point to our attic.  The perpetrator climbed onto our roof (we aren't sure if he did this during the day or just before the incident), broke through the clay tiles on the roof, into our attic and started to come through the hole.  Eric saw the door slowly close and thinking a child was perhaps hiding behind the door needing something, he watched, but then through the screen on top of the door he saw two feet start to come down.  

He immediately yelled and our security guard came to help.  The perpetrator went back into the attic.  In the process, I woke up and the Magalas (whom we share our compound with) also woke up.  Pastor Charles sounded an air horn to alert neighbors and we called in more security. (our security company responds more quickly than the police in situations like this)  In all the noise, our big kids woke up, but we also realized that we didn't know where the guy was, if he was alone or if he was armed.  So we also woke up the little kids and ushered them out to the van and locked them in the van, which was parked right by our water tower, which is close to the roof.  About 10 minutes passed of the men trying to look for him.  Suddenly, as Timothy (age 18) was starting to climb on top of the roof, the perpetrator came up onto the roof and Timothy chased him.  The kids in the car saw Timothy running after him and then he jumped from the roof to the water tower and down.  He started to run.  We all yelled.  Then Matthew (our 15 years old) rushed him from behind, grabbed him around the waist and threw him to the ground.  (His courage and strength amazed us all and I'm so proud of the man is becoming!  If it wasn't for his courage and quick thinking we probably would have lost the guy. When we asked him about it later, he said, "I just did what I have always seen them do in the movies." hahaha!)  Our security guard was about 20 feet away.  He came and jumped on him.  Then Eric was the next to the scene and jumped as well.  The three of them, after a short struggle, subdued him.  

We still didn't know at that point if he was the only one.  So while we were waiting for the police, we began to search the compound and stay on alert.  Then the police came and took him away.  

The kids were understandably upset and afraid to go back in the house and try to sleep, so I took them to the hotel while Eric and Timothy stayed in the house to make sure everything stayed calm.

The police hypothesized that his goal was to get into our house and unlock the doors for his friends to come in.  These guys almost never move alone, but we're quite certain his friends didn't actually make it into the house.  Once the alarm had been sounded they probably took off.  These bad guys need to realize that between us and the Magalas and all our children, we have a small army on this compound!  haha!

Please continue to pray for our safety, that none of these guys or their friends try to get revenge on us, and for the hearts of our kids that they will be full of peace.  While it was super important to get them out of the house and away from possible danger, it meant that they didn't blissfully sleep through the trauma (the little ones surely would have!) and instead they were alert to the fear and unknown of the situation for quite a while before the guy was arrested. 

Loading up on the police truck

Rehashing the nights events, encouraging small hearts, and answering many questions over a yummy breakfast at our local hotel.  Turning their eyes once again to the goodness of God to keep us safe, framing a practical theology of God's love, power, and sovereignty and our ever-guarding warrior angels that God sends to take care of us.

Visiting Swaib's Village

Today we had great fun visiting Swaib's village.  If you are new to our blog, Swaib is the young man that has been living with us for just over a year.  About a year and a half ago, he was in a severe accident that left him burned from the knees down.  Our church first met him in the hospital where his life was on the line due to severe infection, malnourishment, collapsed lungs and no oxygen or medicine available.  His burns and skin graft sites have just recently healed.  He now has one more surgery to go in order to correct his toes that healed incorrectly so that he can once again wear shoes.  That surgery will be February 8 in Kampala.  Please be in prayer for him for that. He's come so far though!  Last year, we went up to visit youth camp for a day and we were so happy because he was able to walk from the building to a nearby rock...he was so weak from his injuries, collapsed lungs, and tuberculosis, that the 50-yard walk was a huge accomplishment!  This year he attended youth camp with all the rest of the students in our church and kept up just fine!  God's healing hand has been so gracious!

In Ugandan culture, visitors are given food and drinks in the living room, but the hosts do not stay with them while they eat.  It's only after eating that fellowship takes place.

But we still have lots of neighbor kids peeking in the house to see the visiting Mzungu...haha!

Swaib with his mom, uncle and auntie.

Talitha found a puppy that was bounding through the compound.  All the neighbors were laughing when she chased it down and picked it up.

Lots of neighbors to visit...

They gave us a hen to take home. So kind! Talitha held it in her lap on the way back.  (An hour drive on dirt roads!)

Traveling to America!

Next week, 6 of the kids and I are leaving to go to America.  Three weeks later, Eric and the other kids will join us.  The big occasion for the trip is that Eric's little sister met this guy and decided she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.  We are so happy for them and are so thrilled that we can make the trip.

I say "little sister" because when Eric and I got married, she was little!  Our little flower girl.  But time has flown and she is now a beautiful bride to be and Talitha will have the chance to be a flower girl in her wedding.

Some of the kids and I are going a bit early because I am going to be seeing a bunch of doctors at Emory to try to get back on track with my health.  In addition to hypothyroidism, Adrenal insufficiency, and chronic kidney disease, I've also recently begun treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis.  The medicine has been working and I'm not in nearly as much pain as I was a couple months ago, but I'd like to have a long-term plan worked out for continued improvement in all areas so that we can stay in Uganda for many years to come.  Please pray with us to that end.  Pray that the Doctors have great wisdom and are a real help to me!

Have you ever thought about sending us a care package but realized how expensive it is to ship internationally?  We will have a LOT of luggage space (33 pieces to be exact!!) when we come back to Uganda in 6 weeks and we are hoping to fill that luggage with items that either we can't get in Uganda or cost a lot more here than in the US.  If you would like to bless us, we have an Amazon.com wish list set up.  You can order off that list and let Amazon ship it to us by Thanksgiving.  Amazon gift cards would be great too.  If you would like us to send you a link to that list, please email us at ericdianna(at)hotmail(dot)com OR contact Eric or me on Facebook. 

The Church at Kakoli

Yesterday we worshiped in Kakoli village.  The church in Kakoli has suffered a lot in recent years.  God sovereignly allowed them to pass through many trials due to wicked leaders and in it all, they lost the building that they were worshipping in but have grown in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  We praise the Lord for all that he has done!

The drive out to Kakoli is beautiful!  All along the way, there were people gathering white ants...manna from heaven...as the dry season ends.  These white ants are a great source of protein while the people wait for crops to grow.

We were so sad to see how horrible the crops look right now.  The corn that has managed to grow in the drought is already tasselling out when it's only a few feet high and even the cassava (which is saved for hunger season because it can withstand almost anything) was so dry and beginning to die.  It is so sad.  Most people in the village are down to one meal a day.  The Daddies, Mommies, and children are sleeping hungry. They are using more calories than they are able to consume.  It's not starvation point yet, but hunger for sure. It makes me hug my own children a little tighter at night and breathe prayers of thankfulness that I don't have to hear my little ones cry for food as they are falling asleep or watch their hair turn orange with the lack of nutrients.  We praise the Lord that the rain seems to be beginning again, but for many people, it's too late.  Some will be able to re-plant.  Some won't have enough seed left.

Yet here on the side of a mud hut of a church member is written in large letters, "God is able to supply your needs." A visual reminder of truth!

Because they no longer have a building, we worshiped under the mango tree.  It was a lovely morning.  Only minorly interrupted by a cock and a hen giving a, ahem, "science class" behind the pulpit and Talitha jumping off the mat and running to inform me...with many giggles...that the chickens were wrestling...

Talitha kept her hands busy during the 3-hour service by braiding her brother's shoelaces.

Here is some of the singing.

Afterward, we were invited over to the home of one of the church members for lunch.  We have many memories from this home...some sweet (like the marriage introduction of their daughter) and some very grievous (like the burial of her husband and then son).  This is also the home of Peace.  Some of you may recall that she is Katelyn's friend, whom Katelyn was raising money for so that she could attend nursing/midwifery school.  She is finishing her second (of five) semesters now.  She's such a sweetie.  She told us of how she had no idea after her brother died how she would manage to pay for school that semester but that she fasted and prayed and then how the Lord provided through Katelyn's efforts!  She praised the Lord over and over.  She kept saying, "I don't understand how after all that we have passed through, I am just so happy.  Happier than I've ever been!"  Such a beautiful example of a godly woman! 

Talitha, who has been looking forward to eating in the village again, finally got her wish.  Village food does have a unique and super yummy flavor to it.

I had also posted this on facebook and here is the back story plus a little update.  Our little friend Sharon, who is from the church in Kakoli has a major heart defect.  In fact, we found out this past week that she was born with her aorta on the completely wrong side of her heart.  She also has a hole in her heart.  And actually, it's that hole that has enabled her to live as long as she has.  This past week, a clinical officer in our church here in Mbale took her to the Heart Institute in Kampala to get it checked.  Originally they said to come back in a month to do a heart catheterization, but then we got word that she was to have it on Friday.  We found out later that there were three scholarships available for this procedure and all the slots were filled.  But Thursday night, one of the three became too sick for it, so they put her in.  She will return to the Heart Institute in a few weeks to see if the doctors have made a plan for treatment.  There is already talk, however, of her needing to go to India for the surgery, which of course is a very huge deal.  Would you consider praying with us that God will make a way for her to have surgery?  We don't know how all of this will work out, but we can pray to our heavenly father and trust him to do it.  Her life is precious in the sight of the Lord.  It is worth every effort to save it.

This is her and her mom standing outside of their home.  They made it back to Mbale from Kampala late Saturday night, so they rode with us out to Kakoli.  Poor girl, she was so tired and still very sore from her procedures, but such a sweetie!

Bullet Post Update

::With 32 days left before we leave to go back to Uganda, we are beginning to ramp up preparations.  We can take 22 suitcases with us...full of clothes, school books, and a variety of things that are either difficult to find in country or very very expensive in country.  The kids are, for the most part, excited to go home.  For some of them, they are probably tempted to count minutes till we leave.  For some of them, they are still cherishing every minute left with cousins.

::I appreciate everyone's prayers for my health.  The doctors at Duke settled on a diagnosis of Primary Adrenal Insufficiency (AI) because of a form of non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia. (CAH)  I was likely born missing a partial enzyme that helps the adrenal glands produce the cortisol they are supposed to.  AI is a fairly rare disease and non classical CAH is a rare form of AI.  Many doctors haven't even heard of it...sometimes it's even featured on TV series that deal with rare diseases.  Often times people are surprised to hear that there is a group of people walking this planet that need daily steroids to stay alive.  AI is also a bit of difficult beast to work with, because your body doesn't produce the exact same amount of cortisol every day.  So I can't just take one pill every day and call it good.  If you are under job stress, a super busy day, have a difficult conversation, get in a car accident, or have surgery your body requires differing levels of cortisol for differing levels of stress.  Most stress is unpredictable...we know not what a day will bring...so more often than not, AI patients who loose the "fight or flight" hormone will have a few more sick days (for me that means lots of pain, fevers, stomach aches, nausea, racing heart, horrid brain fog, and lack of sleep) as we work in retrospect to gain back (cortisol) what God originally intended the body to do in tandem with life.  I carry a shot kit of steroid in case I were to ever find myself in a situation of sudden severe stress since patients with AI can easily and quickly go into shock. That is called an Adrenal Crisis and it can quickly lead to death if not stopped by a heavy dose of steroid. The positive news though is that most patients with CAH (me included) don't loose their ability to produce another hormone called aldosterone.  This offers me a level of protection (though not complete protection) from an adrenal crisis and I'm very thankful for that! (That's been the great news of the past couple weeks!)

I've known for quite a few years that this is my reality.  But it never fully set in until the doctor told me that it would likely be like this for the rest of my life.  Somehow I had always held out hope that if my life were to calm down enough (like maybe after Eric retires and the kids fly the nest? ha!) that I would someday be able to come off the steroids.  Well, that doesn't seem to be the case.  Seems like this is my "thorn" that God has given me to carry for his glory.  I do wonder sometimes at the idea that my life calling (homeschooling nine kids on the mission field?) doesn't seem to match with my diagnosis (take meds and do what you can to avoid stress. hmmm...)  I was convicted the other day though, that while I might not be able to do as much in life as I want, what I am able to do, I want to do well for the glory of God.  If I am able to do another activity with the kids or in the ministry, I want to do it for the glory of God.  If I am only able to sit on the couch for the day, well...that too should be done to the best of my ability for the glory of God.  Andree Seu says something like, "If the king asks you to conquer the hinter lands one day and shoe his horse the next, you do them both without slacking...for he is the king."  This is the cross that the King of Glory has called me to bear, so may I do it without slacking for his glory.

::We have several (about 10 plus) more churches to speak at through Michigan and Ontario, one more flight out to Oregon for our previous church's 25th anniversary, then a week of visitors, and then a week to pack.  Pray that we will find some rest, some time to pack, and a few more precious memories in it all.

Health Update

As we have driven all around the country, we have been so filled with gratefulness to hear how many people have been praying for us.  Specifically, how many people have prayed for Benaiah's asthma and Katelyn's back.  What a blessing!

::Benaiah

I took Benaiah to the pulmonologist for a recheck on his asthma and adenoid removal.  He is doing so so well!  His lung function has improved dramatically. So she said we could try to drop his asthma meds for a trial basis!!!  His sinuses are still a bit swollen and stuffy, so she gave him some antibiotics to help clear him out and hopefully he will stay clear.  All in all though, we have seen a huge improvement in his energy levels, his ability to learn, and his ability to run, jump, swim and play like a normal boy his age.  Praise be to God!  As you know this has been such a huge burden for so long, it's hard to believe that this trial is most likely coming to a close!  He will have a recheck on his lung function one more time before we head back to Uganda.  So please pray that this improvement continues!

::Katelyn

Katelyn's back is healing up very nicely.  Her two compression fractures are completely healed.  Her two pars fractures are still there but stable.  She was given the go-ahead to start Physical Therapy, which we did last week.  She has also been able to start running again and picking up more and more activities. While she still often uses a donut pillow to sit on (thanks to the pars fractures), she doesn't wear her back brace any longer.  She still has days where she gets tired and sore, but overall we thank the Lord for his healing.  We are praying for continued improvement and a good push in the right direction with re-strengthening her core before we head back to the not-so-friendly-to-a-sore-back roads of Uganda.

::Dianna

I haven't ever really written much about my health stuff here.  For years I've had Hashimotos Hypothyroidism and what we previously thought was Addison's Disease....both auto-immune disorders.  It seems, with more recent testing (MRI and blood work), that my troubles with my adrenal glands aren't actually auto immune.  While I have adrenal insufficiency, we aren't quite sure what is causing it.  On January 23, my case is going before a board of Doctors at Duke University.  We would really appreciate prayers for clarity, so that we know how to best treat it.  In the mean time, we've been educating ourselves and the kids on what it means to be steroid dependent and how to use my emergency injection if I were to ever need it.  I also got a medical alert bracelet.  At the beginning of the new year I had chosen the word "HOPE" as a word to focus on this year.  Psalm 42:5 "Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him!" and I Corinthians 13:7 "Love...hopes all things."  So, when I saw a bracelet with the word "hope" on it, I knew it was for me...a continual reminder for the next few months to hope in the Lord...our rock solid foundation that we can trust in.

Prayerful, Patient and Prepared...

The church signed this very sweet poster/card for us and gave it to us yesterday.

It's hard to believe that it's time to say, "see you later" to our dear ones here in Uganda.  We have two more days and then we fly back to our dear ones there in America.  We are so excited to see Timothy and the rest of our families!  It's been so long!  But our hearts are still a quite sad that we have to be away from here for a time.  Six months is the goal.  On the one hand, we know that it will pass very quickly.  On the other hand...it's half a year!  That's a significant chunk of time to be away!

We have 20 pieces of luggage that we are putting together, and, what feels like, more than a million little details in order to be able to leave our house and ministry in a good place.  It's no small task.  Our bodies are exhausted and yet, as if our brains won't get that message, we have been waking up at crazy hours with minds full of details swirling..."I need make sure I remember those CDs for homeschooling on the road. I still haven't gotten our malaria meds to take with us just in case. I hope we have power and water for the next few days so that laundry can be done.  Can't forget to pay workers before we leave.  Instructions for animals.  Instructions for compound. What do I still need to order off Amazon so I don't have to face Walmart right away?" The list is endless.

And crazy won't stop when we get on that plane.  Within just a few days of arrival in America, we have our first homestudy scheduled in order to complete Denise's adoption.  We also have an appointment for Benaiah with a pulmonologist set up.  Within a week, Eric and I will travel to Pennsylvania for meetings.  Within two weeks we will begin a cross country trek to Oregon with several stops along the way.

I've had three words on my mind to ask of you for our furlough.  In some ways I'm thankful for a few quiet hours between 4 am and 7 am, before the kids wake up and the noise of the day begins, so that I can take a few moments to copy them down. Three words... prayerful, patient and prepared.  Here they are:

Please be in prayer for us.  Pray for the ministry here.  Pray that the people that we work with will stand firm in their faith.  Pray for our fellow missionaries who will take on a heavier load than normal so that we are free to leave.  Pray for our hearts and the hearts of our children as we miss our dear friends here.  Pray for us as we leave "normal schedules" and slip into six months of "chaotic/not normal schedules" Pray that we can get at least a little homeschooling done.  (I know it's flexible, but our kids do need to graduate one day! haha!)  Pray that we stay healthy.  We've had a lot of sickness lately.  Pray for Denise as she enters a new culture that she's never experienced before.  Pray for the rest of us as we enter a culture we are expected to know, but might not really.

Please be patient with us.  Know that our lives are a bit topsy turvy right now.  A nomadic life has it's bonuses.  It also has it's burdens.  Please be patient when we show up tired.  Be patient, knowing that we...who are a bit on the introverted side...will be seeing and interacting with a lot of people in the coming months.  Know that we won't have very much time with just our little family.  Be patient with my kiddos who are actually leaving "home" to go "visit" America.  Be patient with them as they are re-learning and learning for the first time, things that are "as American as apple pie."  American teenagers probably should know what a Sausage McMuffin is, but we realized a few days ago that sometimes they don't. ;-)  My children who lived their early years in a culture that was a beautiful shade of blue and moved to a culture that is a beautiful shade of red have now become a beautiful shade of purple...more lovely than I could have ever imagined.  They will never be the blue that they were, but they are wonderful mixture that God is stirring up and I'm thankful for that.

Please be prepared for us.  So many people are working so hard to find housing, winter clothes, things we will need, etc...  Thank you for preparing for us in this way!!  We are so grateful!  If you live in North Carolina or Georgia, we are still in need of more winter clothes and sleeping bags for when we go across country.  Email me if you want details in how you can help out in this way.  Please also be prepared to hear what amazing things the Lord is doing in Uganda.  Christ's kingdom is growing and advancing and we are eager to tell you about it.  We look forward to being in many different churches in the coming months and telling you about what God has done.  We are also looking forward to hearing what God is doing in your neck of the woods!  Get ready to tell us!  We serve a great King, who is advancing his kingdom around the world.  Let's be ready to encourage each other and rejoice together in the mighty ways God is working.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.  For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with affection of Christ Jesus.  And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."  Philippians 1:3-11

Our friend, Corline

We have had a difficult week and weekend.  Our friend and worker at KTC, Corline, just passed away this past Friday.  He has struggled the past little while with illnesses and over the last two weeks began to really deteriorate.  After not receiving adequate medical attention in Mbale, we were able to move him to one of the best hospitals in Uganda in Kampala.  But despite our best efforts, the Lord chose to take him home.

He was 26 years old.  He left behind his wife, age 20 (pictured in the middle), his 8 month old son, his mother (also a widow), his brother and two sisters.  He was the sole bread winner of the entire family.  

The body being moved from the family's living room outside for the funeral.

Eric preached the funeral message.

The grave side...

Pastor Charles giving the final prayer...

One part of Ugandan culture that we love is that the family and friends actually bury the body.  They plant the seed that will one day be raised to glory.  (I Corinthians 15: 42-44)  They do this while singing hymns of hope in Christ.  It really is a beautiful and precious moment.

 I know the family would appreciate your prayers as they figure out how to move on and live despite their daily challenges that have just been extraordinarily compounded.  Thank you so much for lifting these dear sisters and brother before the throne of grace.  They need grace.  They need love.  May God be glorified to give them both in the coming days.

Uganda Elections Coming: Prayers Appreciated!

Downtown Mbale is pasted on almost every available surface with political posters.  It is a daily reminder that national elections are right around the corner.  On February 18th Ugandans will vote for the next president and other local elections will take place in the days following.  We are praying for peace during this time!

Police and military servicemen are seen now everywhere.  Police trucks, army trucks and riot equipment have been rolling through town.  Day and night we hear the noise of the civilian force being trained to help the police "maintain security" being pulled through a boot camp like training at our neighboring elementary school.  News reports from across Uganda tell about opposition troubles and riots.  We are hearing and seeing all the energy that is gathering daily and hoping and praying that it is not used inappropriately.

How does this effect us?  We hope and pray it won't really!  But we are gathering supplies and planning on staying away from downtown for as long as needed.  Full tank of gas, propane tanks full, enough rice, flour, sugar, etc to last for 7-10 days are going to be in our house.  Our missionary/expat community is also really good about keeping in touch with each other and alerting if there are troubles.  We will be picking up our missionary associate, Sarah from the airport on Tuesday, driving home Wednesday and then staying home until stability and peace have been reached.  It always takes a few days for election results to be released and some time for the loosing party to admit defeat (and hopefully not fight it out!)

So please pray for the country!  Please pray for peace to reign!  Please pray for our safety and the safety of our loved ones here!

New Life OPCU Ground Breaking for the New Church Building

Last Saturday we had the ground breaking for our new church building!  What an exciting time!  Through the gifts of church members, attenders and friends we have almost (but not quite!) raised all the money needed to build.  The septic tank was put in a few weeks ago.  On Monday they began to lay the foundation.  

Normally, we have men's Bible study on our compound on Saturdays.  But since they were doing the ground breaking, they decided to meet on the church property. 

These kids and their shirts make me laugh sometimes...

 Martin Magala, Pastor Charles, Elder Tabytia, Eric, Pastor Messalamu, Deacon Milton and Paul Magala made the first digs.

Please continue to pray for this exciting project!  We are so thrilled that our church will finally have a place to worship in!  Pray for the building to go well, for safety for the workers, for the neighbors to see the love of Christ as they watch, and for the rest of the money to come in.

Bullet Post Updates

:: Tomorrow we head back to a "normal" routine.  We are all done with Christmas, all done with New Years, all done with Youth Camp... now back to our regularly scheduled program. We are thankful for the holidays, but thankful for routine too!

::William and Matthew are down with Malaria this week!  Poor guys!  Prayers appreciated for a quick recovery.  This is William, bravely getting his blood taken for the malaria test.

::  Benaiah had some rough days this past week too.  It seems as if he is very allergic to something around our house/compound, but we have no idea what!  This past Wednesday his whole face swelled up and his eyes were swollen shut.  It seemed to be an anaphylactic response of sorts.  We are now trying to track down an epinephrine injection (something like an epi-pen) to keep on hand in case this gets worse!  On Monday night, he had started to have an asthma attack. We had just given him a nebulizer treatment and were realizing that he needed oxygen too. We had been gifted an oxygen tank (so thankful to the Lord and our friends at Musana camp for that!), but we couldn't get the bolt loose on the tank and Benaiah was starting to shake and wheeze with every breath.  We prayed and asked for prayer from my prayer group here in Mbale.  A second later the bolt loosened and the tank worked beautifully.  But when we checked him again, he was back up to normal and the wheezing had stopped!  He didn't need the oxygen or any more medicine for the rest of the evening!  God was so good to us to answer our prayers so quickly and fully!  On Sunday, most of the gang went to a village church, but William (who was already sick) and Benaiah (who didn't need to be around any more dust) stayed home with me.  Benaiah and I had a lovely lunch date together since William was asleep in bed.

::On a sadder note, on January 8, our Missionary Associate's younger sister was in a very horrible head-on collision.  She broke multiple bones and has already undergone three surgeries.  Sarah, our MA, is flying out tonight to go be with her family and help them.  Thankfully, she purchased a two-way ticket, so we hope to see her back in four weeks.  Prayers appreciated.  Sarah has a vibrant ministry here, not just to our family (she is only with us part time), but with the children of our church and many other really great things.  While this is certainly in God's hands and in his good will that she return to America for a time, I can see that it is also a "messenger from Satan" sent to discourage the good work that she is doing here.  We are going to miss her terribly for the next few weeks.  Pray for her safe travels, her sister's healing, our kids' hearts, that the kids in her reading classes will continue to come and learn underneath Connie Jackson's substitute teaching, and that our little home school will run smoothly for the next month.

:: Here is a picture of my little buddy Jackson.  When I first met him, he was 7 months old and weighed less than 15 pounds.  He was frail, sickly, malnourished and the grandmother was discouraged.  His mom had died when he was an infant and his grandmother had only been able to give him porridge and tea that his body wasn't ready for.  I began to buy him a little bit of formula every few weeks.  The grandmother was very diligent to give him the formula, never asking for more than she needed and never "sharing" with others it wasn't meant for.  Over the months, as he has healed and grown strong and healthy, the grandmother has grown in her confidence to care for him.  I know the calories from the milk was not what saved his life, but I do think it was the small hand up that encouraged his grandmother to begin to own and invest in his care.  I love it that a small gift can do so much in the life of one little boy.  I saw on fb a meme that says, "You have the power (and I would add that it's Holy Spirit power) to say, 'I will not let their story end like this.'"  So thankful that God gives us these opportunities to be a part of a different endings to the stories around us and that we can encourage others (like this grandmother) to also be a part of better stories.  And don't ya just want to squeeze those cheeks??

::Finally, we have heard that our lawyers have applied for a court date for Denise.  Please pray that we get a court date soon, so that we can continue to work towards getting her a visa to travel with us to America.  She's a precious kiddo...worth every prayer and penny!  :)