Team comes to see our Lives and Ministry!

We are so excited that for the first time in our mission career (since 2001) a supporting church sent a team!
We are very thankful it was our home church, Georgetown CRC.  It is so encouraging to have those who have supported and prayed for us and the work here for so many years come and be part of  it themselves.  We love that they came to learn, to see, to hear, and to be with us and our Ugandan Co-workers.  It was a joy to share our home, friends, church, and work
God is doing here.  Our church here was thrilled to welcome visitors from the church that sent us here.
The team; Diane, Joy, Cindy, Pat and Sherri; were wonderful guests to have.  They were appreciative, helpful, flexible, they had great questions, and did an awesome job interacting with people here.  They allowed God to show them, teach them, and speak to them.  They said that they have heard and read for years what we do here, but they could not fully understand until they came and saw for themselves.

The team received a joyful welcome from the youth!
The team was supposed to arrive in time to join in youth group but the van broke down so they arrived late.  The youth stayed and prayed for the team to arrive.  They were practicing their choir when the team finally arrived.  Praise the Lord!

Then the youth sang and danced to welcome the visitors.

That night we went to Serere to see Josh, Micheal and Charles teaching Freedom In Christ on Serere Radio.
Unfortunately, a storm was coming and power went off and they could not finish the lesson.  God is using FIC on the radio in amazing ways and bringing it to many new people.

Sunday we worshiped with our church.  Afterwards Sherri said, "That was a piece of heaven!"
We love the joy-filled worship at our church!  The Holy Spirit is present and people are real.  People respond in praise and in confession.  The Gospel is preached and people receive the Lord.  The Sunday the team was there five people came forward to return to the Lord or to be freed from what binds them.  It was beautiful even with tears.  After the service the leaders met with these five people and later in the week went through the steps to freedom prayer time with them.  Praise the Lord for His truth that sets us free!

Our church was so excited that our Michigan church sent visitors that they had a lunch for the whole church! 

Sherri trying to learn the thumb piano - a local instrument. 

After lunch we had evening Bible study together. 
It was a long day at church (like seven hours) but a really great one too.

I love visiting neighbors whenever we can in the evenings.  It is an important part of life here.
 The team went with me to visit my friend who had a baby two weeks ago.

Monday the ladies went with Josh to see the prison ministry and in the afternoon they visited Christ the Answer Primary School.  They are always encouraged when we bring visitors.

Two of the ladies on the team are teachers so I think they really enjoyed the visit to the school.

In the evening Pastor Martin (and the director of the school) and his family had us over for a meal.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship and good cultural experiences.  Before we left we had a prayer time for their family and all the ministry they do here.  Later in the week another friend had the team for a meal.  They were very touched by peoples hospitality and generosity.

Tuesday we went an hour away to Pingere where Josh had all the Freedom in Christ teachers (and some who are participating in a FIC course right now) gather for a day of prayer, teaching and testimonies.  It was a wonderful day hearing God's Word from Josh and Pastor Martin about going deeper and wider.  Deeper meaning we want to go deeper in Christ.  Like a tree needs roots to go down deep to be strong, we need to be rooted in Christ to be strong and for God to use FIC.  We saw from Peter that before Jesus said he would be a fisher of men, Jesus called him to follow Him.
We want to also go wider and see FIC go out to all Uganda, to bring God's truth to the nations!  We want to see God open doors and lives to share the message further.  Josh and FIC do a great job of empowering people who have received to take it and share it with others.  We took time to pray over each area.  Then we heard great testimonies of God using FIC to bring truth and freedom to people.  What a day of rejoicing! 

The church in Pingere.  We gather a crowd wherever we go!

Wednesday the ladies went to the prison again with Josh and in the afternoon we went to the secondary school in Obule.
The head teacher loves when we bring people to see the school.  He loves America so much his two year old son is named Donald Trump - funny!  We asked some of the students what subject they liked best and what they hoped to be.  One hoped to be a pilot, another an architect.  One said he wanted to be the president some day so I shook his hand in case he does become president some day.  Every class asked the visitors if they are coming back to Uganda.  The ladies were surprised to hear that over and over again.  I think Ugandans value guests, feel remembered when people come and it is away of appreciating them to tell them to come back.  Our guests said they would come if the Lord had them come again, but they hoped to send others to also come and see Uganda.

We also walked around Obule center (the place people come to sell and buy and socialize).  A man came through with fish and we got to see a huge Nile Perch.  I could have bought it for less than $30 but who needs that much fish?
We also toured Obule's health clinic and we saw a baby who was born less than an hour earlier!  The baby was healthy and cute and mother was doing well too.  Another women was there just waiting to give birth.  I think the nurse on the team enjoyed seeing a clinic here.    

One of the highlights was the Georgetown team joining the women's Bible study at our church.
The women really connected.  The team realized their women's Bible study back in MI was meeting at the same time.
We shared a powerful prayer time that was very real and full of tears.  The women here have difficult lives, especially those whose husbands are not believers.  We were all able to encourage one another.  God's truth and our Lord is our unity.

Emalai was so happy to have her "little lambs" teacher, Pat, come to be with us!

Our kids had fun riding with Cindy on safari.
Actually, this picture is from we weren't having so much fun - the rented van broke down and we had a two hour delay.  Thankfully God provided another van and wonderful driver.  Lydia was reading her Bible while we waited and read the verse in Psalms that said we don't put our trust in chariots but in the name of the Lord our God - Amen!

We were so thankful to make it to Murchison Falls National Park!
We had a fun time together seeing the greatness of God's creation.

Our family was very excited to see a leopard!
We have lived here 11 years and probably gone on safari 13 times and this is the fist time we got pictures of a leopard.
We saw one 11 years ago but too far away to get a pictures.  This one we were able to watch.  He was lazy but eventually moved, then climbed down and disappeared into the grass.

See him?

So cool!

Beautiful sunrise on the Savannah

Our God is so creative and awesome!

We are so thankful that Diane, Joy, Cindy, Sherri and Pat chose to say yes to God and visit us in Uganda.  These ladies are forever special to us for choosing to come and for sharing in our lives and ministry here.  We now have a special connection because they can understand us better.  We pray they are able to bring back to church what God has shown them and spoken to them.  May the Lord use it all for His purpose and glory.