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| Eating at our favorite (and the only one!) local restaurant; Aidan grabbed the fried tilapia and bit its head off! |
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| Patton with his newest pet, Mr RhinoBeetle |
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| Now Eight Years Old! |
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| Travis preaches at Bundimalinga New Life Presbyterian Church, |
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| Amy teaches about the life of Noah at Kids' Bible Club on Thursday. |
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| Work is underway at CSB for the Rainwater Harvesting Project! |
Here's the prayer letter that has sat on my computer for weeks now...better late than never, I say!
"There is nothing like being knocked flat on your back to get you
thinking.
On Monday morning, I (Amy) could not move out of bed due to
severe back pain. It was the first day of the workweek, one that I had both a
written and mental checklist of all the varied mundane and important things
that I planned to get done: make breakfast, get kids to school, pasteurize
milk, have ministry meetings with teammates, entertain Aidan, email new
teammates, sweep the very dirty floor, meet with the librarian, write a prayer
letter, the list went on and on…none of which I could now do.
It was no coincidence that our women’s Bible study was on Martha
and Mary. A recent sermon (http://marshill.com/media/luke/mary-and-martha#downloads)
asked me: Are you trying to live up to your potential or living to your
calling? My potential? Oh, you mean: Make my life more efficient, create a
logical plan to fix the many obvious problems here, or put 36 hours of work in
a 24 hour day? Calling? Oh, do you mean: Love my husband, nurture and teach my
children, gladly host people in our home, greet neighbors in love, and seek
justice in a way that honors the Lord?
I have been heavy on the potential and low on the calling;
rushing to be capable hands of Martha without the reflective heart of Mary
first.
Living in Bundibugyo can be very overwhelming. The problems are
complex and confusing. The sickness is intense and numerous. It seems that
everywhere you turn, there is a need.
A need for food. A need for medicine. A need for health for your
child. A need for money to go to school. A need for safety from rebels. A need
for peace among tribes. A need for clean water. A need for a repair on your mud
home that just washed away. A need for children to hear the gospel. A need to
encourage teammates to persevere. A need to empower people in their ministries.
A need to recruit more faithful saints to join in the work. A need for rest. A
need for gospel perspective among all of the needs.
So, what to do?
Well, pray for us to know our calling and then live accordingly.
Simply that.
Daily, we are more convinced that only God can change hearts and
situations."
Update on what has happened:
*The tribal conflict
seems to have settled down. Yesterday, the heads of the clans met at the
WHM community center for discussion and have elected a cultural leader to
represent them.
*Things on the border with DRC appear to be calm.
*Thanks to generous donations, Dr Josh Dickenson has now
begun the Rainwater Harvesting Project
at CSB so that the students will be able to have drinkable water when the
road construction disrupts the water lines. The water lines to the nearby Bundi
Town have been restored as well.
*Uganda has been officially declared ebola free!
*Weekly Kids’ Bible
Club has begun.
*CSB students successfully
ended term 2 and have begun term 3 and
RMS began a new school year.
*Our family enjoyed a wonderful
week of family time! Upon return, Lillian
developed an infection that spread to her kidneys. It was such a difficult
time. She is now completely healed and
celebrated her 8th birthday on the 24th!
Update for prayer on
what is happening:
*For total
reconciliation to service in the local church for a Ugandan brother.
Culturally, this reconciliation involves public speeches and a shared meal.
Pray for humility on all sides of this situation.
*For Travis to
continue to have stamina, joy, partnership, and perseverance in serving in
the local health center. Yesterday as he was seeing patients, 12 more mothers
brought in their little ones who have malaria or are malnourished. Last week,
we grieved with the family of the CSB kitchen manager as they buried their
deceased baby girl. Two years ago, this same man’s two boys died of sickle cell
disease. Travis and Dr Jessica fought for the life of the little baby girl,
even creating an impromptu breathing machine. Travis is partnering with a WHM
sponsored medical student Amon to do a study on the prevalence of sickle cell
disease in order to gain attention of others about this deadly problem that is
overwhelmingly high in this region.
*We are grateful for the healthy lives of three mission kid
boys, Patton, Aidan and Finch and
will celebrate their birthdays in the next weeks!
*For our teammates as
they lead water projects, the fence project, the last term of CSB, the
agricultural project, Bundinutrition outpatient program, RMS, and leading two
incoming interns.
*Travis and I to have wisdom as we plan the Renewing Mission Retreat in November
for WHM teammates.
*Our family will be in Charleston SC from Dec to midMay for
a furlough/home ministry assignment
to reconnect with supporters, for professional development, and to enjoy our
families. We look forward to meeting our new nephews Oliver Lang Cass and
Elliot Courage Johnson! Pray for us to find a grace-filled balance during this time.
These are the details of life here. Mostly, we ask that you pray that, like Mary, we sit at the feet of
Jesus to know His heart. It is only from that close companionship with
Jesus that we can have energy, love, endurance, and perspective to serve here.
Thanks for partnering
with us. We love you.
Amy, Travis, Lilli, Patton, and Aidan
PS Click here to
see a video of highlights of this summer.
PPS My back is improving.
