Rest

The computer and I are not getting along very well this afternoon but I'm so determined to write this post. I'm going to ignore that the text is red and underlined! We just got home to Adjumani on Thursday after being away for 10 days. We wanted to have a special family vacation away with our three older boys before they headed back to school for this next term. We stayed at a beautiful camp right on Lake Victoria and had a most wonderful time.

We spent most of our days swimming, canoeing and hiking through the lush rainforest.

It was so good to have time to sit and be still, enjoying watching my boys play together and soaking in God's creation. It's amazing how helpful it is to get away. It's like you can suddenly see your life from new eyes and can be so helpful for evaluating how we're doing and what we can be doing better. These last few months have been soooo exhausting and I've been reading a very insightful book called "Finding Rest when the work is never done" and it opened my eyes to see that I've actually not been functioning in a very healthy way and I need to make some changes.

Carson is already greatly missing his big brothers but we're so thankful for all the little friends he has here in our neighborhood.

This was my favorite right here. Waking up early to have coffee and sit with Jesus. Reading His Word, journaling and one thing I did differently this vacation was to spend more time listening to Him than speaking.

While the littles were sleeping we sat around the campfire with our 3 big boys and talked about the new school year ahead;

So yeah, we had a marvelous family time away. We put the boys on a bus back to Kenya, spent a few days in the city doing some errands and came home on Thursday. I wish I could properly explain all that God is doing in my heart as He speaks to me about margin and being still and that He loves me no matter what and that doesn't depend on what I "do for Him." I'm 41 now and been a missionary for 15 years and yet I feel like God is still teaching me some very basic things about who I am. I'm trying to peel back layers to figure out what the root of my crazy overdrive is. Both Eli and I are "ALL IN" kind of people plus we're people pleasers and have a hard time saying "No" so that is a recipe for a cycle of fatigue/burnout that I'm just so tired of facing. I know there's got to be a better way.I hope to share more along this journey. But for now, I'm over here in Uganda sipping coffee while my baby naps and trying not to feel guilty that I stayed home from a funeral for an elderly lady in our church.

So many good months

Mother's Day photo with my youngest

It's been a really really long time since I've shared on our blog and I feel so bad about that. I know that I love being able to share what God is doing and give you a peek of our amazing life in Uganda. But alas, the theme for me these past few months has been OVERWHELMED. Many times in a good way but because my hands are so full, it's hard to sit at the computer and update our blog. So this post is to share some photo highlights of the summer so far.

Carson really enjoys running errands with Eli on his motorcycle. As you will see in other photos, there is a great love of motorcycles in this family!

In June Eli and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary and went on a beautiful ride through the bush.

We are so thankful for new American friends in our town. A new family with three little kids came to do ministry here as well.

This is my new sister friend Abby

My season of life - everything with a baby on my back

Isaac brought some friends home from school to experience life in Adjumani for a week.

Isaac turned 18 in July and is entering his last year of high school - that is REALLY hard to believe!

I've made two new friends in our community who have babies born in the same month as Judah so that's fun.

My parents came to see us for a quick visit in July and spent as much time as they could with their grandboys.

Tea with Mimo

Judah is finally interested in eating solid food!

As Judah gets older it's so much fun to watch the two little brothers interact more.

Carson's personality keeps getting better!

Thankfully after 4 months in Uganda Judah will finally let other people hold him

We got a new puppy named Mocha in July

As far as ministry goes, we are so thankful for the new things God has started this summer.

In June I started teaching a literacy and beginning English class for women. I teach twice a week and my students have been very disciplined coming ON TIME and prepared every class period. It's been great to see their progress.

This month Eli started a diploma program for TEE students so that is exciting. We currently have 12 students, 10 men/2 women working on earning their diploma. So exciting!

So there you go. Quite a photo dump. As you can see life has been full of so much good. The big boys have been home from school all of July and August and life is definitely crazier but sweeter. It means lots of cooking and laundry for me and lots of motorcycles, bikes, mechanics, football and friends for them. 
 

A New Sister

 This last Sunday Eli was invited to preach at a church in a village not far from us. The pastor of that church is a graduate of the theological training program Eli is running here in Adjumani. He and his wife are an amazing team and a shining light in that village. During prayer request time a young woman came forward with her baby boy. She was obviously troubled. Though she looked timid, her story began pouring from her lips and the congregation listened intently as she shared a difficult past of growing up without a father, turning to men and then witchcraft to try to find peace and satisfaction in her life. Her life has come to the point where she feels at a total loss and while staying with a friend who is a Christian, that friend encouraged her to come to this church and ask for prayer. This young woman who I will refer to as Kate, even brought some of the items she'd been using for the witchcraft she'd been involved in.

At one point, the pastorcut her off (her story just kept going...) and came face to face with her at the front of the church and asked her point blank, "Daughter, are you here today to receive Jesus and turn from this old way of living?" She said yes. So simple and yet so life changing. The pastor explained the gospel and then led her to pray and confess her sins and believe in Jesus. He also asked her to bring those witchcraft things to the front so the elders could take them outside and burn them. While this young woman knelt and prayed to Jesus for the first time, tears streamed down her face and I could visibly see the relief and peace she was experiencing.

After the service I looked for Kate and gave her a big hug and said, "welcome to the family of God!" As we began to talk I realized I had met her before but it had been a few years. She knew where I lived so I invited her to come anytime so we can pray and encourage one another in our faith.

She came yesterday. She looked tired and sad. We both sat under our mango tree with babies on our laps and she continued to share her life story. I ached with her. As I listened I felt like the Lord was telling me to give her another clear explanation of the gospel and what it means for her life now that she believes. I explained that life will still be hard. Our troubles in this world will never be over until we go to be with Jesus in heaven. But we have HOPE. We have hope that this life isn't all there is. This is our training period when God is teaching us and growing us and using us to be light and share with others the Good News of Jesus' sacrifice for us. We don't have to carry the heavy burden of our sins anymore. We don't have to be in chains as she had been. We are free and forgiven.

I also rejoiced with her when she shared that she was no longer having the terrible nightmares at night since Sunday when we chose to follow Jesus. What a beautiful answer to prayer!

It was getting close to sunset so I prayed with her and walked her part of the way home (as is the custom here.) I cannot stop thinking of this new believer. So vulnerable. Struggling. Alone. And yet as I reminded her yesterday. She will never be alone again. God is always with her.

I have been blown away by her story. How God can change such a broken life and make it new. We all are broken too until we embrace Jesus and all He has done for us. Please pray for Kate in her new life with Jesus.

More change

 This isn't the best picture but it was such a welcome sight for Eli and I yesterday. Saturday evening we put our three older boys on a bus to the capital and then arranged for a friend to pick them up and take them to the airport to fly to Kenya for school. This is the photo Isaac sent us Sunday morning after they were all checked into their flight. We are so grateful to the Lord for getting our boys through every step of their journey.

Meanwhile Eli, Carson and Judah and I are trying to adjust to the new normal of just the 4 of us at home. The house feels really quiet and I haven't had to cook since Saturday because we're just eating leftovers. As i move through the house a hundred things make me think of my big boys and my heart aches with missing them. I know we will all get used to this, it's just hard right now. We were just getting into a new groove back in Uganda life and now it's changing again. I keep trying to remind myself that change isn't bad. 

Allow the sad moments, admit it's hard but keep pressing on.

Our first week back

 

Just a few days after we arrived back in Africa, we were  reunited with our three older boys who came home to Uganda for their one month break. Coming back to Adjumani has definitely required a lot of adjustments - mostly to the heat - but has been so sweet in many ways.

After an 8 hour drive north, we arrived in our driveway, greeted by a group of men and women from our church singing, dancing and cheering for us! With many smiles, laughs and hugs we were welcomed back with such amazing love. Baby Judah was passed around and by day 2 he was given 2 Madi (local tribe) names: Opini (which means dedicated to God) and Anzo (meaning thanks and praise which is exactly what Judah means!)

Don't be too fooled by this smiling face. The hardest part of our transition back has been the heat. But we are thankful that we are all getting sleep at night and so thankful for our solar system which powers our fans through the night. 

Jumping back into life was like we never left. Back to cloth diapers and washing by hand.

Day 2 we also spotted our first snake back where the boys were working on their motorcycles. Thankfully it's not poisonous and Isaac used his new knowledge from an interim trip at school to save the snake and simply transport it somewhere else OUTSIDE of our yard.

Carson remembers a lot about life here. He quickly reconnected with his old friends. In this picture Judah is joining Carson and Jonah playing under the mango tree.

The #1 thing Isaac and Evan were looking forward to was riding their motorcycles again. The 3 big boys went on a 3 hour ride in the bush and found some mountains to climb with spectacular views. They've also jumped back into evening soccer with their friends.

Everyone has been so excited to meet little Judah and of course everyone wants to hold him. He's learning to be passed around. Tomorrow that will really be stretched as we return to our wonderful church family for our first Sunday service since we've been back. Eli's been asked to preach, so yes, we're definitely jumping right back in.

Isaac, Evan and Joshua will only be with us another 2 weeks before returning to school so we've been trying to soak up the time we have with them. They've been so thankful to spend this school holiday home in Adjumani.

We'd really appreciate your prayers as we continue to adjust back to life here. We've already been amazed at so many ministry opportunities. Our friends here comment that we seem fresh and younger looking. :) I do agree that our time stateside was the rest and refreshment we needed so now we'll be tapping into that energy for all that God has ahead of us.

 

Here are some ways you can be praying for us:

1. Pray for Eli as he checks in with each of the TEE centers and begins the diploma program. The diploma program will require a lot of added work.

2. Pray for Eli to have the chance to do his 8 weeks of research for his PhD so that he can finally complete his dissertation and complete this degree he's been working on since 2017!

3. Pray for health and safety. The heat has been oppressive and this area has so many mosquitoes.