10 days and counting...

First of all thank you everyone for praying for our family and all our sickness!  It was no fun having 4 of us sick at one time, but God is Healer.  We were encouraged by the care and prayers of God’s people.  Thanks.  Now we pray we all remain healthy.

Not only did God heal our sicknesses but He sent RAIN!  What a blessing to be cooled off and be relieved of the heat and dust and refreshed with clouds and water.  I know my attitude has changed because of it.  Praise the Lord for rain!

Unfortunately, it now looks like we may be back to dry season.  It has been almost a week since rain and the sun is back to full heat.  Hopefully rain will come again and water the fields people have begun to plow.

We are down to 10 days before we leave Obulle and travel to the States for three months.  With sickness and the heat our moral became pretty low and we are all ready for a break.  We are so excited to be renewed and refreshed in MI!  We can’t wait to be with our families.  But there are still times when we are torn with emotions.  Leaving here is hard too – it’s our home, what we know, and people we love.  Last night we watched a little March Madness at our friends house complete with commercials from America.  Watching ads on cars, food, and seeing the culture again almost put me into culture shock.  Am I ready for this?!  I live in a village in Africa, so America is quite the extreme difference even though I grew up there.  I guess it will have its good things and bad things just like here.  And just like here I will need to remain close to Jesus to handle it.  

It also means it is our last week with Sarah, our teacher.  Boy will we miss her!!!  Pray for our kids as they wrap up school here (and prepare for school in MI) and realize it is the end of their time with Sarah.  Keep praying God will provide the right teacher for next year too.  

Thanks for praying for us!  See you soon!

Just some pictures of Obulle center

Got pork?

Local "Meijers"

Women selling produce

Malai loves to read with Sarah!

Church

Playing with neighbor kids

Sarah's Bible study with youth at church

Pray for Health

Dear friends,

Our family has now had sickness in our home for four weeks.  It started with Josh having Strep Throat and Malai having a week with fever and cough.  Then Grace cut her foot and later had to start on antibiotic.  I then had Strep Throat and was out of commission for five days.  Josh got a mystery rash on his back that itches terribly.  Then Malai had a fever again, Sarah was sick a day and Grace had a fever and stomach pain again.  Now Luka has 102 fever and we presume Strep Throat, Lydia has 104 fever and I seem to have a fever and nausea again. 

On top of all the sickness it has been over a 100 degrees here everyday and dry.  Let me tell you, having a fever when it is so hot out is miserable.  When you shiver and need a blanket in this weather something is wrong!  

I really am trying not to complain, but we are all quite down right now.  We were looking forward to our last three weeks before home service but we feel stuck at home.  We want to go to church, teach, see our friends, teammates...go swimming to cool off!  But we can't do anything.

We know the enemy wants discourage us and our ministry, relationships and team.  We are praying with authority over our home and family!  Josh also returned from outreach from an unreached area in karamoja so we know there are spiritual strongholds there too.

Like I said, I know we have SO much to be thankful for -- we are so blessed.  God is with us!  When I think of the Christian dying for their faith in N. Korea I am embarrassed to write this email.  But the fact is we need your prayers.  Right now Luka is wiped out on the floor sleeping and Lydia is sweating on the couch with a high fever.  Please join us in praying for healing and health over our whole family.

Thanks you.

Karamoja

Last week Josh and 10 other from our church in Obulle, Pingere, and Apapai went to do outreach in Karamoja with missionaries there.  The Karamojong are an unreached, waring people group to the Northeast.  It was an eye opener for our church.  We know God used it to work in their hearts.  The people in Karamoja live in extreme conditions and without clean water.  Please pray for them.  Pray for them to have a source of good water and that they will come to understand the Living Water -- that they will never thirst again.