Archive for category: MISSION: Uganda Blog

Welcome to 2005! We got a much needed rest around the holidays. I've been pushing very hard so as to make a successful conclusion to the year, in an attempt to get us on firm footing for the big transition to full-time mission work on January 1. So, we were all quite tired, and it was about time to just rest. We got lots of sleep, spent time together with family and with each other, and just caught up a bit.

The kids had a great time of course. The boys got a wooden train set, and Spider-man action figures. Elizabeth got one of those Little Tikes kitchenettes with all kinds of pretend foods, and dishes, and a stove and a sink and a microwave and a phone, and she is, of course, loving playing with it. The LORD provided some much needed money to buy these gifts, and it was very encouraging to me to be able to give some good presents to my children.

The end of an era has occurred. I have worked a job in one form or another since I cut grass for money as a 12 year old kid. That ended on December 31, 2004. I am now a full-time missionary, on deputation and on the way to Uganda, East Africa. It feels kind of odd, and, although I won't miss having to race out in the morning every day to get to work, there is a slight sense of loss. My employer was sad to see me go, because God had really prospered me in that job, and I hated to go as well. Nevertheless, it is truly great to be able to serve one master, and be focused fully on the great calling of God that He has placed in my heart. I can set my own schedule, manage my time more efficently, and get the work of the ministry done more easily now that I no longer have to answer to a secular job.

No sooner had the year ended, than we were driving up to Scotts Bluff, Nebraska on January 1 to visit my wife's uncle, Donald Brush and his family, and to be in a meeting in Bible Baptist Church in Scotts Bluff. The main reason we made the trip is because a) Don recommended that if we could, try to get a meeting in January, and this was the only weekend still open, and b) Burton Brush, Anna's grandfather, is probably dying, and we felt an urgent need to get up to Rapid City, South Dakota quickly to visit with him and Mildred. It seemed very apparent what God was setting up for us to do, so we changed our plans and made the trip. It's been great. It was a real pleasure to get to visit with the Brush's (Donald). Our kids and their kids are close in age, and they had a great time playing together. The meeting in Bible Baptist went well, and we were able I think to be a great encouragement to the Pastor, and ministered to the Church. There a great bunch of people, and it was a joy to be in their church. Afterwards, we drove to Rapid City, SD to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Brush. Got to see Mt. Rushmore on the way (coolness), and some buffalo (more coolness). While in Rapid City, we have a Wednesday night meeting in Emmanuel Baptist Church, and will be showing our slides. We'll be here 'til Thursday, and then back to St. Louis to crash, catch up, and get ready for a meeting in Sweet Springs, MO on Sunday.

Be praying for Bro. Brush. He's having a lot of trouble sleeping these days, and is very tired. His illness is wearing enough without the lack of sleep to exhaust him on top of that.

We were at Lifegate Baptist Church in Ellisville, MO last night. I have no idea what great thing God was attempting to do last night, but the Devil was surely fighting us. What a day! None of the kids took naps, which meant neither did we. They all had to be spanked, and were all crabby and hard to deal with before we left. Plus, there was a lot of last minute stuff that almost made us late to church. It felt like walking into the wind all day until we got there. Like I said before we left "Well, we must be going the right way, because the Devil sure is fighting us." The meeting went well. Pastor Squires and his wife Marion were very gracious, and everyone was very helpful. They gave us a very generous love offering, which is very important in these weeks remaining before I quit my job. I'm going to be leaving my job a week earlier than planned, because Anna's grandfather is doing worse. We'll be taking a meeting up in Scott's Bluff, Nebraska on January 2, then spending the rest of the week with the Brush's in South Dakota. I think God is motivating these churches to be generous to us because he planned all along for it to be this way, and wanted to reassure us that everything is in His control, and that we will be provided for. We have a conference in Philadelphia, MO next weekend (Philadelphia Baptist Church, Roger Stevens), so be praying for us as we drive, and attend the conference. I am going to have to take a half-day off on Friday, and again on Monday so we can crash when we come home Sunday night (it's a four-hour drive from here). Also, I have to give my boss the news of my looming resignation soon, and I dread it a bit, because I hate to leave a good job where people are depending on me. And yet I must.