Entries by James

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 01-10-2005

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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.

The Van Saga

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We're back. Alive. In a manner of speaking… Wink I spent most of the day Friday looking for rental vehicles. Nobody had any vans – not good. Well nobody had any cars either, not in Sioux City anyway – also not good. They either didn't have any to rent, or they wouldn't let us take them one way to St. Louis. Alamo would, but for around $400. So, as a last resort, I tried Alamo again and had 'em check Omaha, NE – two hours away. They had a full-size available. So I made the four hour round trip with my wife's Aunt Cynthia (her and Uncle Brad bailed us out of this mess by letting us stay the night at their house in Carroll, NE). We swung by the body shop first in Sioux City so I could strip the van of all our remaining goods. That was hard, and awfully final. I Left My Van in Sioux City –> there's a country music song in there somewhere.

Van Update

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Last night we called Anna's Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Brad. They called friends of theirs, Norm and Dawn Breece, who lived close by. They really came through for us. Norm called a tow-truck for us, and he and his wife ferried most of our belongings and us over to their house to warm up and wait while Cynthia and Brad were en route (they live an hour away). Then we loaded up and headed to their house in Carroll, NE. We crashed that night. I slept, but Anna did not, being all wracked with guilt and worry like she was.

We just got the word on the van, and it wasn't good. It's totalled. The frame is badly bent, and can't be pulled out without significant expense. So, this wonderful van that God provided is now ruined. I have to rent a car to get us the rest of the way to St. Louis, and we

Prayer Request

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Howdy folks! We are in Sioux City, Iowa at the moment. We took a special trip up to Rapid City, SD to visit Anna's Grandfather, Burton Brush, who is dying from cancer. On the way back today, we got in a wreck. Anna was driving while I was trying to get some sleep. It has snowed and iced pretty bad in the Midwest the past few days. She was pulling over to use the bathroom at the Sioux City welcome center of all places. While coming around a turn , she hit a curb that was covered by the snow, and skidded into an oncoming vehicle. The other car was taking up more than its fair share of road apparently, and she was trying to stay out of the way. Everyone is fine, thankfully, but it doesn't look good for the van. We have family in the area, so we have a place to stay while we get it fixed. However, we only have liability insurance. The van's a 92 Chevy G20 with 138,000 miles on it. It's spacious and has plenty of room for all six of us (my 6' 6" frame included), and all our stuff. It was supposed to be our deputation vehicle for the next little while. God provided it, and now it seems He has taken it away. I have nothing to replace it with and no way to do so. We had just gone full-time as missionaries, meaning, I quit my secular job. Then, as if it wasn't already bad enough, the Sioux City Police saw fit to give her a ticket for 'failure to control the vehicle'. Awful nice of 'em to kick us when we're down like that. I don't know what we're supposed to do. I have a meeting in MO in a few days, and we need a way to get there. Please pray for us. Pray God will provide. Pray that Anna doesn't kick herself over this too bad (she was pretty broken up about it). Pray that we'll be able to get back in town soon, if possible. Pray for safety for all missionaries who are on the road, and wisdom for me as I try to figure out what to do about this. If anybody needs to reach me, you can call me at 314/330-4597 (my cell).

Wrapping Up

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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.