Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. -Isaiah 60:1-2
Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you all for praying for us while we were on furlough in the States. It was a full schedule of visiting and doctors appointments. While there was a lot going on we were also blessed with some rest and fun activities as well.
My health appears to be much improved though I am still being observed and treated. When we came to the States we originally thought that I would need either surgery or radioactive treatment for my thyroid. The Dr. decided against both for the time being. He said the lump on my thyroid was close to my vocal chords and it was too risky to remove it for fear of damaging them. He also said he tries to avoid radiation if he can because of possible side effects. His opinion was to test my thyroid every 6-8 weeks and adjust the medicine accordingly with the hopes of putting the disease into remission. His plan is over the course of at least 18 months. After which they will reevaluate what to do if it is not in remission. They are also treating me for anemia as the levels continued to drop while I was there. The last update on my health is my eyes. They began to swell while in the States. My Dr. was afraid it was the graves disease and sent me to an eye specialist. They did many tests on my eyes and could find nothing the matter with them that would cause swelling. The eye Dr. believes it must be an irritation or allergy. Please pray that now that we are back in Uganda it will go away. Pray my health overall will continue to improve.
While in the States we had many opportunities to share about the ministry. Some times it was with large groups and other times it was one on one. We also got to share with some potential missionaries who are still praying about going on the mission field in Africa. Brian had the opportunity to share at a Bible College and a missions class. We were also able to meet up with some friends who now live in America but used to live in Uganda. These were couples we had the privilege of doing their marital counselling as mixed couples in Uganda. It was fun to catch up and see how they are adjusting to being married and in the States now.
The kids would probably say the funnest part of their trip was getting to go to Disneyland. I guess I would say it was pretty fun as well. I also enjoyed the amount of time we were able to spend with my family, especially my dad. It had been such a long time and we don’t know when we will be able to go back. I am thankful for the kids being older that these are memories they can cherish.
This year has started off with many new beginnings for the Arise Christian Fellowship family. Since the beginning of our church our worship team has been a great blessing to our body as well as to so many others. Recently we were able to bless them in return with a bass guitar. Ruth who plays bass has been faithful rain or shine to find away to have a bass to play on Sunday mornings and for worship events. A gift was given towards the purchase of a bass for the church and she was so happy to know that there would always be one there for her to practice and play for the church.
Another new beginning was the introduction of Elisa and Cathy. An introduction is the traditional wedding where dowry is paid. It is recognized by the government as a legal wedding. During the introduction the grooms family is introduced to the bride’s family. They often play games and have dramas to make the event more fun. Then the groom’s family will carry in the dowry which is many baskets filled with gifts, live animals and envelopes with money. At the end of the introduction the bride is officially handed over by her family to the groom.
Arise Christian Fellowship also had their newest member dedicated. Ariinda Nichole was dedicated this past month. At Arise we do not practice infant baptism, instead we follow the example of Hannah in the Old Testament and dedicate our babies. This is not so much for just the baby but it is the acknowledging that the parents as well as the church family will do what they can to raise the child for the Lord.
Last but not least is the children’s ministry. They have been working very hard at putting together the story of Jesus’ birth. To tell the story they wanted to incorporate song, dance, drama. After much practice they performed on Sunday morning in front of the congregation. It came out beautifully and the children were so cute as they shared their part of Christ’s story. Pray that the children will continue to grow and know Christ more.
Thank you for praying for our family and for the ministry in Uganda.
In Him,
Brian, Jill,
Luke, Laylee,
and Liana
PRAYER REQUESTS
- Praise the Lord for all that He was able to do during the Kanyike’s furlough.
- Praise God that Jill’s Medical treatment is going well. Pray she continues to do well with the medication for her thyroid.
- Pray for all the new beginnings that are taking place at Arise. Pray for Elisa and Cathy to grow in their marriage and for baby Ariinda to be raised for the Lord.
- Pray for all the ministries of Arise Christian Fellowship as well as the other ministries we partner with..
- Pray for Jill and the children as they begin a new year of homeschooling.
- Pray for Brian as pastors and leads our ministry team at Arise Christian Fellowship.
- Please prayerfully consider becoming part of the Kanyike Family support team.
