Changes

There are so many things that are different here.
We are so thankful for America.
So thankful to be here these days.
We believe Jesus has ordered this reality that we could be here while my mom battles breast cancer.
yet
Elsie Jayne said it best today after her rest...
"I miss home-home mommy."
We do miss home-home.
Home is glory ultimately, but in her mind, it is wherever mom and dad are.
We have labeled our house and friends and reality in Arua as "home-home."
So many things are different...
Food-can you buy fresh fruit here!? seriously...even that seems to be pumped full of preservatives!
Clothes-pants to keep warm rather than daily dresses
Climate-it is COLD in northern Indiana...14 degrees this morning! This is the warmest time of year in northern Uganda and southern Sudan where we live and work.
Transportation-It has been REALLY hard for Lucy to get used to a car seat...she prefers the pictured mode of transportation...close to mommy always!
And yet the most important things are the same...
We are where Jesus has called us to be for today.
He is Love.
He is Lord.
He is Delighting in us even when we don't feel so delightful; if due to many runny noses or sensing you are disappointing people we can't get to because of life changes...still...He is thrilled in who we are...big lessons to learn, in Arua and in Van Buren.
So, we continue to roll with the changes and lean into the changeless One!
Billy is on his way to Alexander City, Alabama where he will preach at Flint Hill UMC in the morning at 10:45am! Do pray for him...these times apart in America seem to be a spiritual battle, just as our times apart in Africa have been.
The girls and I are in Indiana waiting on doctors appointments the first of the week with my parents. Both girls have had ear infections and now just colds I believe.
Thank you for praying for us even as we roll with the new changes a new week might bring.

An Update in the COLD!!!

Jesus has been so kind to us! He has allowed us to see all of our siblings and their families in the last month!!! What a love gift.

We've been slow at the blog because of computer issues...so still today I can't post pictures...sorry.

It's been really fun to see how cute our little ladies are in new things they haven't ever experienced before like...shoes that cover your toes, socks, long sleeves, trousers and what Elsie Jayne calls "many clothes." (a snow suit). We have really enjoyed the snow and the beauty of it!

We had some struggles as we were leaving Uganda...we were the very last to get on our flight and we nearly missed it. Lucy was somehow not in British Airways' system. So at the last minute we had to pay for an infant ticket that was only eighty dollars when we booked it but well over four times that on the night of the flight!

That was shocking and stressful enough...but as we sat down in our seats, I tried to call my sister quickly before they closed the cabin door...my mom had recieved results from a biopsy earlier in the day and I hadn't yet gotten word from home. As Jan told me "it's breast cancer, she will have surgery and radiation," the sweet stewardess made me switch off my phone. That was the longest the eight hour flight to London has ever felt. Finally from the airport there I spoke with my mom, Nancy. She assured us it was a small mass and would be outpatient surgery January 5th.

Since then, Jesus has remained faithful...

We keep trusting. We were with mom for that surgery...praise Jesus we weren't sitting in Arua waiting to hear that she came through that nearly two hour procedure just fine. She has recovered well and we have been in her home with her these days.

We learned just this past Wednesday however that the doctor failed to get the margin of healthy flesh he wanted to from around the two tumors he found once inside...so mom goes back for now a masectomy on January 26th. This next surgery is promised to be followed by chemo and radiation!

So, these months in America are quickly becoming nothing we imagined them to be.

It seems rather than some rest and visiting with many of you...every Sunday through July we are scheduled to be visiting churches...we will be engaging in a battle with my mom and dad.
Jesus is meeting us with His grace and peace. His same Spirit that fights for us in Congo and Sudan and northeastern Uganda...is fighting this battle for us. We rest in Him.

While mom and dad await the 26th...we are speaking in Payne, Ohio this Sunday. St. Paul UMC is hosting us all morning!! At an 8 o'clock contemporary service we will speak, then we will lead a joint Sunday School for the 9 o'clock hour and at 10 Billy will preach in the main service. If you are any where near we'd love to see you!!!

Thank you for your prayers, love and support!!!