MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 08-04-2005

Howdy, all! We're home. The drive home, other than the fatigue and the weary kids, went without a hitch, so thanks for praying for us. I'll be heading to Indy on Saturday to pick up the other van, so pray about that. We have paid the first of two payments on the remainder that we owe Mission Auto, thanks to God's provision with a $1000 gift we received last month. The final payment of $1280 is coming up on August 14, and I've got to register the vehicle by August 9 (another $365 in sales tax) so pray about that also. Anna and the kids weathered the trip very well, and thank you for praying for them. Pray that the lady who's buying our van would get her title for her other vehicle soon, so she can sell it and get us the money for our old van, which she's buying from us, cause we really need the funds right now. Pray for our finances, which are very tight at the moment. Our trip west went very well, and the churches out there took good care of us, but gas is just really, really expensive, and there's just no getting around it. I can't even imagine how missionaries handle it in countries where they pay twice what we do at the pump, or more. Gas gobbled up much of the love offerings we received, and the support just isn't there yet to pay our monthly bills properly so we can use love offerings for travel expenses like we need to. I know I bring up finances a lot, but that's our biggest need currently, and I figured folks would like to pray about it. As a missionary, it puts a lot of pressure on you, and makes it hard to make the trips you need to make to get the support you need to get to the field, so it's kind of a Catch-22. Should I use the love offerings to pay for travel expenses so I can travel to churches and get support, or pay my bills on time, but have nothing left with which to travel, to raise support, to pay my bills? You see? It's a vicious cycle. At the risk of being accused of begging, I thought I'd tell you what's really going on, so you could pray more effectively for us. Frankly, I feel better knowing that people know our needs and are praying about them.

We'll be in Old Paths Baptist Church in Jefferson City, MO (Pastor Alan Golden) on Sunday. Pray for our meeting, that we'll be a blessing to folks, encourage the Pastor, and be used of God to call more laborers to His harvest field. Pray for the trip to North Carolina that's coming up the week after, that Anna will be able to endure it without harm (she'd like to go, but it's getting down to the wire on the pregnancy). Everything after that is close, and we have no meetings in early September, in anticipation of the birth. Pray that the funds will be there to get us to the East Coast and back. I've got lots of phone calling to get done this month and the next, so pray that I'll be able to get in touch with Pastors, and that I'll be able to fill up the first six months of next year entirely, and all of 2006 by year's end. Pray that God will lead us to the churches where He wants us, and that He will lead them to partner with us financially to get us to the field.