The Kanyike Update

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving season there is so much to be thankful for.  As I meditated on all I have to be thankful for, the number 1 reason that kept coming to my mind was my family.  Being in ministry there is a tendency to always be occupied with every-one around you and their families and prayer requests.  Recently, while I was missing both my parents, the Lord showed me my family and I realized I needed to always be sure that I was ministering to them first and with my best, not with what was left over after ministering to others.  I am so very thankful for each of them and their unique personalities and giftings.  I am thankful for my husband Brian.  For his upright, loving pastor’s heart.  I love the way he takes time to talk and pray with everyone who needs it, when they need it. I love how he is gifted with teaching the word in a simple yet challenging way that draws the people to want to know more.

I am thankful for my son Luke.  I can not believe he is 12.  He is gifted in so many ways.  He plays the piano and is learning guitar.  He is very artistic and can draw as well.  He does very well in school. Recently he tested for his brown belt in Karate. I pray for him to grow in his walk with the Lord as he is also a gifted speaker to whom evangelism comes naturally, even when he does not realize that is what he is doing.  I am thankful for my oldest daughter, Laylee who is now 11.  She is shy but loves people.  She is a beautiful ballerina and also plays the drums.  She raises bunnies and loves animals.  She is very helpful around the house and at the guesthouse.  She is especially good at cooking and baking. She dreams of one day having her own hotel. I am praying for her as she is my only child who has not openly professed a personal relationship with Christ. I am thankful for my baby Liana, 8.  She is a handful: energetic, hyper, active, nonstop.  She likes to dance and play sports.  She would gladly spend the whole day outdoors in the dirt. She does not like to do anything that requires sitting still except to play chess.  She recently won a gold medal for her age group at a chess tournament.  She is very social and has many times brought a child she has just met an introduced them to us as her best friend.

Losing my parents also caused me to realize how thankful I am for my sisters.  I am the youngest of 4 girls.  I am thankful for my eldest sister, Julie.  She has always been another mom to me as she is almost 18 years older.  I am thankful for my 2nd sister, Jenny who is 14 years older than I.  It was through and her husband that I learned to love the Lord.  I am thankful for my sister, Jan, who is just 17 months older than I.  We grew up more like best friends than sisters. Though I am very far from these sisters we are now much closer than we ever have been as we now turn to one another instead of to my parents.  I pray for each one to know and love the Lord as I do.

Another thing I am so thankful for is our family in Christ.  Yes we have 3 children but the Lord has brought many others through our doors who we consider part of our family.  Evelyn and Shiella came to us when they were just teens after their father had left.  Though they are now grown, with jobs, they still consider us their parents.  Amina came to us after she was born again from a Muslim family.  She is “our eldest” and is now married to a pastor with a son of her own. We have 2 god-children, Israel and Lindiwe, with one more on the way.  We love them and enjoy when they come stay with us in Kampala.  Recently, we have had the privilege of caring for friends of ours’ little girl they are adopting while they had to be out of the country.  Also, we have had another friends little boy whom they have adopted but are waiting on his paperwork to be able to join them in the States.  One of the chaplains in Sudan has a teen niece, Lovina, going to school in Kampala.  On the weekends and when she has a break she spends it with our family. Our house is often noisy and chaotic and some people see it and say our quiver is full but we know that our house is always open to a child in need. I am thankful that the Lord continues to provide for each of these young ones.

There are so many people, so much ministry and so many things we are thankful for that it would take a book to write about it all!

Prayer Requests

• We are so thankful for the many ways the Lord has blessed us and for everyone who supports us and the ministry in Uganda.
• Pray for the Kanyike children to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord and for Laylee to know Christ personally.
• Please pray for the unsaved members of Jill’s family. Pray for Jill’s relationship with her sisters.
• Pray for the all the young people who have come through the Kanyike house in the past and for the children currently under their care.
• Pray for the Kanyike children to get called for their citizenship interview.
• Pray for Brian as he pastors and leads the ministry team at Arise Christian Fellowship.
• Please prayerfully consider becoming part of the Kanyike Family support team.