MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 07-21-2005

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Just a quick note before we pull out of Dillon, MT (and while have access to the hotel broadband). Our meeting last night went great. Pastor Rick Hammond has a great little church going here, in Stone Creek Bible Baptist Church. He has a real heart for God, and for his community. Pray that the church will grow, and that he and his wife will not be weary in well doing (I don't think they are, just that it would be a good idea to pray as such), and that God will continue to encourage them.

On the way to Billings the night prior, we had an encounter with a deceased deer, just over a rise, in the dark, and right smack in the middle of the lane. All I had time for was to try to center us in order to minimize the damage. As it turned out, he, well, "a'sploded", and sprayed the underside of our van with blood, hair, and deer guts. Nasty. So, we got to smell the lovely smell of cooking deer guts 'til this morning, when Pastor Hammond came over to the hotel and helped me clean all that mess out of there. Talk about a servant's heart! We swung by a car wash out of town to clean up the remainders, so we should be alright.

We'll be with Richard and Candy Miller on Sunday in Billings, MT (Grace Baptist Church). Pray for our continued driving, and that God will bless in the meeting on Sunday.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 07-18-2005

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Greetings, all! We're still in South Dakota at the moment, in Rapid City. On Saturday, we drove to Hovine, SD for a meeting. It was 106 degrees. Hot, hot, hot. Thank God for air-conditioning. Our meeting in Glory Bound Baptist Church (Pastor James Ruckman) went very well. Hovine is a small town in the middle of what some folks might consider to be "nowhere", but it is the epicenter of a thriving local, NT Baptist Church. Pastor Ruckman is doing a great job here, and his people are just the greatest bunch of folks. Before he came here to plant a church, the only "church" in town was the Catholic "church". Needless to say, they were not happy when they heard a Baptist was coming to town to challenge their unscriptural supremacy, and fought it tooth and nail. Didn't work. Way back when I scheduled this meeting with Bro. Ruckman, he guaranteed us support if we could come to his church. That's something that rarely happens, and is a definite blessing and encouragement to us, seeing as how we've been hovering at 10% for six months. It was a real pleasure to be here. We stayed in Gettysburg, SD, which has a sign as you enter town that reads, "Gettysburg, Where the Battle Wasn't". We took a picture, which I'll get up on the site as soon as we get home and I get a chance.

On the way back today, we drove through the Badlands National Park. It's this beautiful collection of intricate geologic formations, with lots of box canyons, gullies, and what not. We stopped to take lots of pictures, and while we were at one these spots, I took the boys rock-climbing. Ethan and Elizabeth were too little to do anything ('cept cry because they kept sliding in the loose soil), so Anna kept an eye on them while I took James and John with me. They loved it! They're naturals it seems, and are quite adept little climbers, to the extent that their small bodies will allow. So, I escorted them, to keep them away from the dangerous ledges, and to lift them places they couldn't reach. They were on top of the world, literally, and loved every minute of it, my bold, adventurous little men. I'll get all these pictures posted as soon as I get to a place where I can so y'all can see.

Tomorrow, we're going to Deadwood (where Wild Bill Hickock was shot), to "see the cowboys", so the guys are really excited about that. On Wednesday, we'll be driving to Dillon, MT for a meeting in Stone Creek Bible Baptist Church (Pastor Rick Hammond), so pray for us as we drive. Pray for the meeting, that we'll be used of God to call others to the harvest field, and that we'll be an encouragement to the Pastor and the church. Pray that they'll be moved of God to partner with us financially to get us to the field. Please continue praying, as always, that the rest of the $2500 we still need for the new van will come in in time to pay them on July 31, and that the churches where we've been will be moved and enabled by God to take us on for support.

Update on the Van Saga

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As you probably know, we've been trying to get a new van since our larger van died an ignoble death back in January. We have been saving up to buy a new one, in this case, a 2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager with 53,000 miles. It's in excellent condition, and it has loads of cargo space, air-conditioning, and plenty of passenger room. It meets our needs perfectly. The total cost for the vehicle is $8250. We have raised $5670, leaving $2580. We are leaving for South Dakota next Tuesday, July 12, and absolutely had to have the new van by then. Well, here's the good news – we're going to pick up the van on Saturday. We'll have it to make our drive to Stockton, MO on Sunday, and will be heading to South Dakota in spacious air-conditioned comfort on Tuesday. Mission Auto Connection is working with us to get us the van for our trip, and is giving us time to raise the rest of the funds. We have to have $1300 in our bank account by July 31, and the remaining $1280 by August 14. If any of you would like to help us by contributing to this need, please make your check out to our home church, Grace Baptist Church, send it to 11642 Riverview Dr., St. Louis, MO 63138, and make sure you indicate that it's for James and Anna Huckabee, and that it's for the van. We thank all of you who have already contributed towards the van. We wouldn't even be able to attempt this, if it weren't for you. Whether you can help us with this financially or not, please pray that God will move folks to help us, that He will raise up someone to buy our existing van, and that we will be able to get the money in our account to pay Mission Auto Connection in time. Also, pray that God will keep us safe, and that the new vehicle will last us well for the rest of deputation. If any of you have any questions, you can reach me by cellphone at (314) 330-4597, or you can call my pastor, Ken Spilger, at (314) 438-0945. God bless all of you, and thank you for your prayers, and kind support.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 07-05-2005

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Greetings, all! I trust everyone had a good Independence Day yesterday. I got us some firecrackers and set 'em off after dinner. The kids really enjoyed them (well, not so much the "loud ones", but the colorful jumping jacks and the bottle rockets they really liked).

We were in two churches on Sunday. In the morning, we were in Victory Baptist Church in Columbia, MO (Pastor Gary Crumly). In the evening, we were in Victory Baptist Church in St. Louis, MO (Pastor Mike Andrews). Both services went very well. God blessed in the services, and we were able to minister to the people.

Good news! I found out that another $1220 came in for the van from our home church, which leaves now only $2500 to reach the $8200 we need to purchase the new van. Pray that the remainder will come in this week, cause we'll need it before July 12, to go to Montana. Sitting in an oven-hot wind-tunnel for eight hours at a stretch for days at a time to get to Montana will be undoable for Anna, and no good for the rest of us, either.

Also, Kyle Guimon called me on Sunday, and informed me that Sudan is dividing into two nations, a Christian south, and a Muslim north. They will have a Unity government, with representatives from both sides, and a referendum in six years to determine if they wish to become totally independent. Imagine, missionaries in Sudan, a nation closed to the gospel for 50 years. Be praying for Sudan, as they enter this exciting, but challenging, new phase, and for the missionaries in Uganda who border this new nation, that they will know what their roles, if any, are to be in response to this unprecedented opportunity. Pray that the LORD of the harvest will send forth laborers to the harvest in Sudan.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 06-15-2005

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Greetings! We have returned. Last week was candidate school at BIMI in Chattanooga, TN. It was a good week, but, as Dr. Sisk is fond of saying, "It's like heaven, because there is no night." Sleep deprivation aside, tho', things went very well. We had some great preaching by Randy King, Pastor of Wyldewood Baptist Church in Oshkosh, WI. We finished up our official training with BIMI, and got our certificates for attendance. I was able to get some good leads on some missions conferences in 2006 which I'm following up on. In addition, I did schedule a missions conference in April with Lakewood Baptist Church (Dr. David Bragg), which is great, cause we know some folks there from BIMI, and it's a great church. I got some great training on discipling, church planting, and starting Bible institutes, which gave me a bunch of ideas for when, at long last, we finally do get to the field. I got to spend some time with my director, Ron Bragg, and get some good direction to help me while on deputation, and so forth. All told, it was a very profitable week.

We have a meeting tonight in Belleville, IL (very close to home) with Hope Church (Pastor Darrell Coons), and that's it for the month. We had another meeting on the 19th, but the church cancelled at the last minute. We need the break, but consequently finances are going to be tight. If we can make it to July, we'll be all good, because that month is packed, but June was our lean month, leaner still with the loss of that meeting. Pray that we'll be able to pay all our bills, and still be able to buy food and gas. Our support it still ten percent, where it has been for the past six months, and until we get up to thirty or forty percent where we need to be, gaps in meetings like this really hurt us financially. It also makes it hard to save anything for future expenses, because everything practically is going right out the door in bills. Please pray that God will move the churches where we've been, who have not already done so, to take us on for support. Another critical need is the van for which we're trying to raise money. We have $4450 – we need $3000. Please pray that the remaining amount will come in time for us to be able to purchase the van before we leave for Montana the second week of July. It's going to be very hot in our un-air-conditioned Astro, and the possibility of getting stranded in the middle of nowhere in the 17 year old vehicle is very real. That, and the support issue, are our most dire needs right now, so we truly need prayer, and answers to them, soon. Unless something changes, our next meetings are on July 3, so we'll be in the St. Louis area and at our home church, Grace Baptist Church in St. Louis, until then.