Homecoming

We made it to ARUA!!! HOORAY!

So many of you have been praying and we are so thankful for your interceding on our behalf. We have literally sensed your prayers and have known you have been holding the ropes for us. Thank you.
We left Kampala early last Saturday with three vehicles loaded to the roof racks. The caravan team included us and Billy’s sister, Katy Beth Searls plus our soon to be Aruan colleagues, the Rinehimers as well as our field director Jon and his wife, Lisa with their two boys, Jordan and Ethan. The journey was a safari of delight, whether munching on roasted Ugandan peanuts (which they call groundnuts); taking pictures of posing baboons on the side of the road; or straining to see through clouds of sand.

We arrived safely for which we praise Jesus and were immediately greeted enthusiastically by our guard Christopher. He is a joy and was a tremendous blessing in unloading and unpacking. And there was much to unpack but fortunately with plenty of tea breaks we were able to persevere!

Probably the highlight of the weekend was the “home church” service we had on Sunday morning. Katy Beth shared from various parts of Joshua 1-6 about claiming the land for God and then we had a terrific prayer time as a team. Finally, we closed out with special prayer and anointing over all the doorways and rooms of our house and yard. Particularly, we asked God dwell in our home; to keep watch over all who come and go as well as accomplish His purposes for Arua and Africa. It was a precious time.

That afternoon we spent emptying out a container that was full of furniture which another mission organization needed to get rid of. We gladly “helped them out” and where delighted at all we found buried in boxes and under other treasures. It made for a long and “unique Sabbath” but we praise Jesus for providing so abundantly and helping us furnish so much of our home as well as providing some things for others like Rinehimers and volunteers who will stay with us in the future.

On Monday morning Mayos and Rinehimers headed back to Kampala. Their departure was hard in some ways as it began to dawn on us that we are staying here. But we cannot thank Jesus for His Presence and their help in so many ways.
Finally waking up in our own home here in Arua has brought to mind one particularly favorite African quote… “Here (we) are, where (we) are suppose to be.” Hallelujah! Praise God Forever!

(Thanks for being patient with the random layout of pictures - Still working the kinks out)

Processing & Preparation

Hallelujah! Praise God Forever! Having been two weeks now since the accident, we continue to be very thankful to Jesus for His gracious provision of His presence. Daily life continues on and while there continues to be much to process, pray through and give back to the LORD, there has been a very real sense of His guiding us forward. We move to Arua a week from today (Saturday, 20th). There is a whole mixture of emotions as we anticipate such a pivotal transition. It has been since the summer of 2002 that this town Arua has wooed our hearts and now that we are on the verge of arriving, there is a certain “angst” at what lies ahead. Some of it is fear of the unknown; responsibilities that we’ll suddenly assume; balancing various expectations at differing degrees and levels… All those things make us quite prayerful. Yet there is a humility and excitement about the whole venture. It is a privilege to be a part of what God is doing in Africa. This is uncharted territory for us. There are no other WGM missionaries up north. Our cell phones will still work but our field director Jon Mayo will be a seven hour trip away. He will not be able to answer and fix all the questions or problems. Daunting? A bit. Yet there remains a certain pull on our hearts where in we know that if we were to stay in Kampala it would be disobedience. There is something…or someOne that calls us to Arua. We believe God wants to train pastors in that region of Uganda and believe He even wants to spill over into Sudan and Congo. The subtle sense though is even with that as our “goal,” Jesus may very well be calling us to Arua for the work He desires to do in our hearts. Somehow that does not seem quite as heroic. Not quite as fantastic. Or spiritual. None the less, it very well maybe real. And so we follow where He leads us. We thank you for joining us in the journey.

The picture is of our friend Felix. Many of you all will remember that this man’s testimony of the need for pastoral training in his village and people in Southern Sudan was very inspirational in the LORD calling both Joanna and me back to Uganda. We had the privilege to reconnect with him this last week and had a terrific time sharing and listening to the possibilities of what God might do in raising up church leadership in Sudan. Please continue to pray for him as well as the right connections and networking upon arriving in Arua.

Our new postal address is P.O. Box 53, Arua Uganda. We will no longer use the previous addresses.

Celebrating Life with Thankful Hearts

There are times in our lives when we all have to pause, even as life races by, to thank Jesus for Himself and His gracious love, provision, and protection. This last weekend has been one of those times. Thursday afternoon of last week we were hit by a Rift Valley Railway locomotive. The details are frustrating, confusing, and African but needless to say a large train struck the front driver side of the car and spun us off the tracks and quite some ways. Our list of thankfulness to Jesus continues to grow each time we play back through the scenario. The car deflected off the train instead of something worse. There were no immediate bystanders so we did not strike any Ugandans. Inspite of the steering being locked, the vehicle followed a small pathway across a rather ugly drainage ditch which would have add a whole other set of possibilities if we had fallen in. Almost immediately, there was a couple from Ireland who came running over to help us. They not only verified we were relatively ok but they secured the vehicle, all our valuables, and arranged for us to take their taxi to the International Hospital. Our very close friends, John and Erica Rinehimer met us at the hospital and were like Jesus through the whole experience. Erica stayed to gracious care for us while John went back to work out logistics, a tow truck, and insurance. There are no words for such expressions of love through such friends in circumstances like that. Our entire ER experience including stitches, X-rays, and meds cost about $27; only in Africa. Friday was a challenging day of working out paperwork and jumping through legal hoops but Jesus helped us jump and we got the bulk of that out of the way. Sunday was our four year anniversary and somehow it has a different feel than previous celebrations. We are just so thankful to wake up to each and another day of loving Jesus, each other, and the people Jesus brings into our lives. We thank you so much for your prayers and concern. How grateful we are to Jesus and we pray as you launch into your new year that you sense His Presence in very near ways. Celebrating life in 2007 – Billy & Joanna

(We included a picture from Christmas Eve just so you'd know we are alright)