MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 01-10-2005

Howdy folks! We're back in St. Louis. Currently, we're doing the usual Monday morning routine, which is resting and playing catch-up. As soon s I fire off this email, Anna I will be going out alone for the first time in weeks (tomorrow is the anniversary of when we got engaged 5 years ago!). We just haven't had time before now. Have to get groceries, run some errands, and lastly get some Chinese food at this new buffet that opened up nearby (mmm…mmm…good…). This is very romantic when you have 4 children! 🙂

Last night we were at Sweet Springs Baptist Church in Huntsville, MO. The meeting went great. They gave us an exceedingly generous love offering, which is very helpful, since our support level isn't very high yet. We'll be in a missions conference in Manchester, MO, Lafayette Bible Baptist Church and Pastor Ed Bragg to be precise, in a few days. Really looking forward to it. I love missions conferences. I'm really enjoying deputation. It feels great to be doing what you were meant to do, full time, and without having to juggle a full-time job. The kids have been great, more or less.

Great news! A pastor in North Carolina contacted me with the outstanding news that a member of his church, a widow, has a van she wants to give us. It's an '87 Ford Econoline conversion van. They bought it new, and it has 20 to 25,000 actual miles. The only thing is it's been sitting for two years. The battery is stone dead, and there may be some dry rot in some belts or a dirt dauber nest under the hood, but other than maybe that, it's in great shape. The pastor is going to check it out for us and make sure it runs. What a blessing! We got news of it barely 48 hours after our other van was declared Dead-On-Arrival. Thank you everyone for praying. I've checked out pictures of this make and model, and it looks very much like our old van. God was good to us in taking away the other van. We don't know all the reasons why, but everything He does is good. He has continued to be good to us in providing another van. Not that He had to do so. He is under no obligation to us to do anything. We are just so thankful that He has chosen to work in this way.

I'll probably be flying out next week to get it and drive it back to MO. Neat…

God bless y'all.