A Rainy Day in Arua

Many of you have sweetly emailed and checked up on us due to the flooding in our area. Thank you so much for your prayers and support in that way. We are doing well. In general the Arua area is ok…we have had much rain and many gardens are ruined, but most people have not been displaced from home or anything at this point. Again, that is in our area. We have heard the same stories you have about areas around, so do continue to carry the weather in your prayers. Dry season is due to arrive soon!In the mean time, Billy has enjoyed the privilege of pulling people out of the mud! He thinks that is great fun! Last Saturday was an interesting pull/push situation. Our friend and colleague John Rinehimer found himself making room for another car to pass when the road fell away into the ditch beside him. He called for us to come and pull him out. Another missionary friend reached him before we did and as Frank pulled John forward we tried to keep him from rolling down the steep rode backward! That was an exciting challenge. Thank you for your prayers for our safety on the roads…during the rain and always!

Earlier that same day Erica Rinehimer blessed me with a baby shower!!! (Erica and I with Baby Elsie in all her glory!) She invited all of the international ladies from a bible study we attend here in town. We had SO MUCH FUN!!! Did you know that Americans are some of the few in the world who celebrate babies in this way before their birth!?! Our friends thought it was an “interesting” idea to have a party in honor of an unborn little one. They have obeyed Jesus and followed Him to Arua from Austria, England, Germany and New Zealand. We enjoyed not just celebrating Elsie, but also learning each other’s cultures that day! (I am pictured with my friend Sarah, from England, who made Elsie a mobile!)

Thank you for joining us this weekend in Nebbi, through your prayers. We travel Saturday to teach the five men there who have been so eager to learn more of God's Word! Also continue to pray for the pastor's that Jesus has entrusted to us in Sudan. We'll be meeting with at least one of them, John Onek, in two weeks time.

CHICKEN, CHILDREN, and COLLEAGUES

There is something amazing about traveling to the village and having the privilege and responsibility of sharing the Word of God with believers there. What a humbling assignment. On Sunday Jesus helped and many in the Yumbe district heard of Jesus’ desire to be their Lord and their God! In response for the day’s journey and exhortation we received one of our favorite village gifts! A chicken! Jesus is so good to provide abundantly!

Another great joy about being in Arua at this time in our lives is the joy of bearing new life here. Joanna and Baby Elsie are doing well (thank you for your prayers!) and are eagerly anticipating meeting one another face to face! While we wait though, we have had the privilege of hosting our friend Hope in our home with her new baby girl Awadifo. Hope loves Jesus and is eager to continue growing in her love relationship with Him. Do pray over our relationship with her as well, that we might be a light and a challenge as we all enter this new stage of parenting together!

Many of you have continued to pray over the health and wholness of our dear friend and colleague Jeannie Banter. We wish we could report that she is back here in Arua with us, still she is in the states. We are trusting Jesus to make a way for her return. The doctors are struggling to find answers for her. Pray for clarity and discernment for her doctors and patience and Jesus’ nearness and blessings for Jeannie! Jesus knows the best time for her return to us, so we are waiting on Him! Thank you for carrying her in prayer as well as the ministries she was leading here.

Sometimes we stand amazed at Jesus’ good gifts to us. This last month we had the privilege of having my parents in Africa! We had so much fun and it was so special for my mama and daddy to see where we live, get to know some of our Arua friends, visit our Nebbi pastors, and even just be excited with us over our coming baby. Hallelujah! Praise God Forever!
We were able to arrange for my daddy to share with the church in Nebbi and both he and I got to speak which was a great father-son memory. The church promptly honored him with his very own wooden carved Ugandan crane! They were able to meet several of our friends, including Christopher who many of you all pray for. He is slowly improving with physical therapy so thank you for continuing to pray.
We were able to take them on an African safari even got away for a bit of a holiday. We slept and read and then slept again… which was magnificent. Somehow being able to show our family our world just opened up whole new perspectives for them as well as understanding for all of us to communicate in ways that had not been possible before. Hallelujah! Praise God Forever!
We thank Jesus for His traveling mercies. Joanna has had a great attitude with being pregnant and the baby seems to be healthy and lively. Please continue to pray for her and the baby these last two months (she is due November 4). We need God’s grace and discernment to know how/when to transition Joanna to Kampala. He knows though and will lead us.
We thanking Jesus for the chance to be back in Arua and we are excited about the opportunities that Jesus is opening this morning. Hallelujah! Praise God Forever!

Billy & Joanna & Baby Coppedge