“For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.” Romans 1:11-12
Our furlough continues to be the fulfilling of what Paul longed for, the opportunity to meet with and be encouraged together with so many brothers and sisters in the faith. We are always reminded of the ministry we have left in Uganda for this short time, and the work we have still remaining here in the US. Being here in America has been it’s own kind of ministry, one with it’s own reward, namely, the joy of being reunited with ones we have left long ago, and the strengthening of our faith as we see and hear testimonies of what God was doing while we were away. It has been a tremendous blessing to us.
During our few weeks in Colorado (we will return there after visiting Noelle’s family in Nebraska), we were very happy to be staying in the building of one of our supporting churches. We had prayed for a place where we could receive visitors without disrupting a host family, where the kids could be kids, somewhere close to family, and where we could be a blessing. God answered by letting us stay at Colorado Freedom Church, which was the church Matt grew up attending, just down the street from his parents house. The church had a small gym area where the kids were free to play, and we were able to bless them with some remodeling. It also served as a base for Matt to earn some money, which we used to purchase the next 4 years of our children’s homeschool curriculum. CFC has been supporting us from the beginning, and we were so happy that they allowed us to stay there!
We spent Thanksgiving week with Matt’s grandparents in Kansas. Seeing our kids interact with their great-grandparents was precious, and we were happy to get a few pictures in the process. We are so thankful that with the love offering collected by the church there, we were able to send money back to Uganda. It will be used to purchase land and build a roof for one of the churches that have been planted by our church in Uganda. We continue to pray for the ability to do the same for 19 other churches there.
During most of our time in CO and even on our trip through KS, we were blessed with the company of our niece Moriah, who was lent to us by Noelle’s oldest brother and his wife for nearly 6 weeks while Noelle recovered from the c-section. The kids really love her, and although she is still young, her maturity is beyond her years and she really helped reinforce what we aim for in parenting. She was a God-send in help as well as friendship!
Praise God:
- For health during our travels.
- For places to stay.
- For ability to see family.
- For opportunities to speak at churches.
- For funding for the church plot.
- For Moriah!
Please pray:
- For our presentation at Noelle’s childhood church this weekend.
- For additional funding ($1,500/each) for the other 19 churches who currently meet under trees and on rented property.
- For continued health for our family.
- For us to be filled with the Spirit to share with others the good news of what Christ has done and continues to do!