All our adventures as missionaries, past and present.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 12-06-2006

/in /by

We're back in the 21st century again around here. Thanks for praying for us. A fleet of linemen showed up shortly after dark on Monday evening, and had our power back on in a couple hours. Internet connectivity was restored last night, so that's why you're getting an update just now.

It was a very cold couple of days. We all bundled up to stay warm. We sealed up the house, burned candles, and boiled water to add heat to the mix. On Sunday, a church member let us borrow their propane-fueled catalytic heater, which was a HUGE help. It was still dark, but at least we were warm. Needless to say, we were quite happy to get our power back on Monday. As far as I know, none of the over 4,000 linemen who labored tirelessly to restore power were hurt, which is an answer to prayer.

Thanks again for praying for us!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 12-01-2006

/in /by

Just a quick note so you can be praying. St. Louis was hit with a major winter storm last night. The ice and snow combined has knocked out power to over 500,000 in Missouri and Illinois. The ice is making repair difficult for Ameren UE. With no power, and temperatures expected to be in the teens tonight, it is understandably cause for concern, especially for the elderly. It may be days before we get it back. We're keeping warm ourselves, and thankfully, we have natural gas, so we can cook, and have hot showers, but we can't run the furnace without power. The church has electricity, tho', so services should proceed normally on Sunday.

Pray that the linemen will restore power soon. Pray that they'll be safe (during the power outage in July, two were electrocuted). Pray for the many people without power, that they'll keep warm.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 11-27-2006

/in /by

Hello, folks! I trust everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We went over to my parent's house, and then swung by Anna's folks' house on the way home. The day after Thanksgiving is the day we traditionally get decorated for Christmas. We put on the Christmas music, put up the tree, set out the Nativity and assorted other Christmasy things, and lastly, put the ornaments on the tree. The kids enjoyed it tremendously, as always. The weather was unseasonably warm this year, so I was able to get the Christmas lights put up without losing fingers to frostbite, so that was good. Of course, it was more poignant knowing that this time next year we'll be in language school in Texas, and the year following in Soroti, Uganda, so this is basically our last Christmas in St. Louis. We try not to think too hard about it, but you can't help feeling a scoche sad as you contemplate these things.

Friday night, we were visited by the Grim Reaper – our old nemesis stomach flu. Anna spent the next 48 hours in the valley of the shadow of death, while I got to be Mr. Mom, cleaning up puke, doing laundry and dishes, and trying to keep the healthy kids entertained. We're okay today, and it appears that neither I, James, nor Elizabeth have had it, which is good, but those who did were wiped right out. Anna had the works – fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, aches, vertigo, and weakness. Poor thing.

We got a new family picture today, in lieu of new prayer cards which we'll be getting to press soon. I'm working on getting our Christmas prayer letter ready to go. Other than that, all that remains is to plug a few gaps in next year's schedule, which is pretty well packed now. Pray that I'll be able to get those slots filled. We're looking forward to doing all the cool holiday things, like baking, Christmas shopping, visiting family, and what not. The kids are all in the Christmas play at our church coming up on December 10. Pray that it will go well, and that the participants will be healthy enough to make all the practices and get prepared for the play. Pray that a lot of the mostly Catholic folks from the area will be willing to come to a Baptist church to see a Christmas production, and that we'll see folks saved, baptized, and added to the church. Pray that God will bless the service, and make it an edifying and profitable time for all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

/in /by

Happy thanksgiving, everyone! We're thankful we're saved, we're thankful God called us to be missionaries, and we're thankful for your faithful prayers this past year.

Have a great holiday!

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you," Philippians 1:3

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 11-15-2006

/in /by

Hello, folks! It's been a busy week since last we wrote. Our meeting in Flagstaff, AZ last week in Bible Baptist Church with Pastor George Feaster went very well. Here is a man of God who has simply stayed put. Flagstaff is a very hard mission field to reach. It's full of Mormons and New Age type people, and is a society that has a very high turnover rate due to the very high cost of living. He has toughed it out in this very hard field for 22 years, and has witnessed at least eight other Baptist works begin and falter in this time. Because of the high turnover, he continually has to start from scratch with new folks. The people are hard of heart, and simply don't feel a need for church. As a result, you don't get the big numbers that churches out East seem to think you need in order to be a success. Nonetheless, he and his wife have remained faithful and continued to minister in an area where a Baptist church is so badly needed. Pray for Bible Baptist Church, and for the Feasters. Pray that the LORD will raise up laborers for this very needy field in Arizona to come alongside and help the Feasters, and remain there for the long term.

On Sunday, we began a Missions Conference in Tucson, AZ with Pastor Steven Morris and Sun and Shield Baptist Church. Jimmy Rose, the Brazilian director for BIMI was the main speaker. It was a great conference. The folks were very gracious to us, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship and ministry with them. It was an African conference, specifically for the purpose of bringing in missionaries to Africa that they could support. It's not every day I am contacted by a Pastor for such a purpose, and it was a great blessing.

Today, we drove up to Silver City, NM for a meeting with Calvary Baptist Church (Pastor Eldon Fowler). We had dinner with the Fowlers and had a great time of fellowship with them, and then I preached and presented our burden for Uganda that night in church. The people responded well, and the LORD blessed.

Our whole time in the Southwest has just been tremendous. God has raised our support, and we've been able to get into some vibrant churches who are just holding forth the Gospel out here in the "Wild West". God has blessed and provided for us very well this trip, and we're very glad we came. In all likelihood, we will plan another trip down this way next year in order to visit some of the other churches we simply didn't have time to get into.

Thursday, we will begin the drive home. Tomorrow, we will be driving to Tulsa, OK, a very long drive, so pray for us as we attempt it. Friday, we will complete the trek back to St. Louis, and home.

God bless you, and thank you for all your prayers during our long travels this past Fall. We have seen those prayers answered again and again, and have truly experienced God's provision and protection on the road.