Sunday in Kitgum

Awesome day! We all had a wonderful breakfast at Erica's house. We made the trek over to CC Kitgum, where we were met by 80 to 100 Sunday schoolers and about 30 adults. Pastor Zane and the congregation greeted us and we worshiped together. Our team sang a worship song, performed a drama, and Pastor Jeff shared the Word. A man named Bossco gave his life to Jesus! After church, we ate a great lunch with one of our translators, Pastor Zane, Brian, Jill, Gregg, Josephine, and all of Zane's kids. (the unfamiliar names are fellow missionaries visiting Zane). Then we went to the Tender Trust orphanage, which is run by Lois. Lois has been in Africa throughout many of the wars. She is doing such a good work. The orphanage was one of the cleanest buildings thst we have been in. When we were teaching the kids, they know more about the Bible then most adults. It was amazing and we were so blessed. When we left, we went back to the house to pack things up. Very early tomorrow we are flying about 100 miles north to Sudan. We are very excited about what the Lord is going to do. We are sure that more awesome and amazing things will happen in our lives, and the lives of the nationals. Tomorrow we will be speaking with some of the SPLA chaplains. They will tell us their testimony. God has done awesome things in their lives!

Once we get to our base in Nimule, Sudan, we will be able to determine whether or not we will have cell/internet service. If we have it, we will post by Tuesday. However, if we do not get service, the next time we post will be while traveling home. Pray that we have great phone service so we can post! Also pray for the health of the team, as a few have cold symptoms. In addition, pray for safe travel and a safe working environment. We praise God for all He has done and we know that His will be done. God bless...

Two days in one

We have two great days to cover! God has blessed us so much. We will describe the work the Lord did yesterday first. In the morning, we went back to Lukwor to teach the children and hand out their brand new backpacks. We began then morning by singing to the children and doing a drama for them. The all were very happy. Then Jeff stood up and gave the gospel to the children. It was amazing to see how excited the children was as they sat and listened. Then when Jeff asked them to stand up if they wanted to receive Jesus, nearly all the children stood up. It was sooo awesome! All of our hearts were blessed. However, there was still spiritual warfare. Not all the kids stood up, and we saw one of the children pulling on the hands of the other kids to get them to sit back down. Pray for these children. Then we handed out the backpacks and new clothing. The kids were on fire with excitement. These children do not get new things. The packs were filled with pencils, mosquito nets, notebooks, school uniforms, underwear, and t-shirts. The kids loved everything they received. After that, started to leave. The kids swarmed us, saying goodbye, asking if we would take them with us, giving us notes, and many gifts (more chickens!). In fact, we have already eaten 6 of the chickens that have been gifted to us, and we have three more to go. Whoo hoo! After that, the team split up. Some went to the prison and some went to the hospital. The hospital was impressive in how filthy, degraded, and unsanitary it was. It is the last place a person would want to be. Jeff, Stan, Cortland, Grace, Chess, Colton, Sammy, Quinn, Lisa, and Darby went to the hospital. They prayed over the people and gave them the Gospel message. It was awesome to see the Lord call 25 people to accept the message. They greatly encouraged the people. After that, Ben, Landon, and Jason (Maranatha Team) went to a prison to teach on living a faithful life. The worship music that they did was unbelievable. Jason gave his testimony, which was very powerful. Then Landon taught on Hebrews 11, which blessed the prisoners. He did a wonderful job and all the prisoners were paying close attention. They were hanging on every word. Ben taught about how Jesus went to the cross, and how all forsook Him. Then we presented the gospel, and 20 to 30 of the 200 plus prisoners stood up to receive Christ. It was awesome. In the day's free time, several of the team members went into the neighborhood to spread the Gospel.

Today, we went to a conference for woman that had adopted the children of their daughters or orphans. Some of the team gave their testimonies, and others taught the Word of God. The women were so blessed. The babies we saw there were a blessing, but also it was very sad. Many of them were very malnourished. However, it blessed us to see how the women were caring for these children. We really need your prayers now. We are getting tired, but we are still excited. Today, Erica was saying how mission trips and missionaries are not the front line. They are the second line. Prayer is the front line of missions. So continue to labor with us in prayer. Thank you and God bless.

A sentence from the team...

A sentence from the team.

Cortland... Harvesting in Africa.
Sandy... Apwoyo (hello in Acholi).
Stan... God is good all the time.
Darby... The kids are amazing.
Sammy... Top three things: Jesus, babies, and potatoes.
Landon... All the kids love me.
Lisa... We ate my chicken for dinner.
Jeff... Simply amazing.
Grace... No where else I'd want to be other than right here right now.
Amber... The Holy Spirit is moving.
Quinn... The Gospel is being preached.
Colton... God owns.
Chess... I love you.
Ben... Wow

Praise God!

Today was an awesome day. We were back at the school teaching the little kids. When we drove up, the kids were all waiting for us to show up. As we went out of the car to the main gathering place, we were greeted with a song from the kids. It was such a blessing to the group! These beautiful children have a sense about rhythm that I have never seen in children. They know music as well as they know how to walk and breathe. Then Jeff and the team lead the children in a couple worship songs. We went into our individual classes and began to teach the children about the Daniel 1 and 3, as well as King Josiah. It was such a blessing. After lunch, the team did a drama for the group. The drama showed the kids the Jesus wants to take our burdens. The Lord poured His Spirit into the play and the effect went beyond our own human capabilities. The Lord has blessed these kids with the new understandings. When we debriefed at the end of the day, the team marveled about how well the kids listened to the treasure that was being given to them. When class was over, we were blessed by a special treat. The mothers of some of the children had prepared a dance for us, with a beautiful song. They gave us gifts out of their poverty. We accepted three live chickens, which were delivered from their hand into ours. They gave us a beautiful basket they made, a melon, and about two and a half gallons of peanuts (which they picked themselves). The gifts were extremely generous. According to the full time missionaries, it would take one person more then a day to pick that many peanuts. They equated the gifts that were given to each of the 14 members of the team giving $100 as a gift. The team was concerned because of the poverty of the people, but we were told that refusing a gift of that magnitude would crush the givers of the gift. It would be similar to us saying, "even though you think you gave so much, we see no value in what you are offering". We received there gifts (Lisa had to grab one of the chickens... ). The Lord showed the team amazing things today. We are so grateful for the blessings that God is pouring out through His Spirit. We received word from one of the translators about his fellow translator. Cortland and Jeff prayed yesterday for his son, who had a type of malaria that was resisting the treatment. The translator told them that their prayers had been answered and that his son had been healed! Praise God!! Tomorrow is going to be another big day, with lots going on. We need prayer more then ever. Please pray for the team. Some of your prayers have already been answered. Sandy received her luggage today!

Just to remind... If we miss a post or stop posting to this blog, do not worry. Signal is bad put here, and electricity can be scarce. Remember... No news is good news. Thank you and God bless.

Awesome is our God

What a blessed day. The team went to a school to teach the children about the Lord. These kids are very poor and almost all of them are living with people other then their parents. In fact, 95% of the parents have HIV, which they contracted while living in Inter Displaced People (IDP) camps. The children are so beautiful and happy, despite any problems in their lives. There are about 275 children ranging from 5 to 17 years-old. We started the day by introducing our selves, and telling a little about each one of us. Then we broke into the different age groups to teach the lessons. These children LOVE the Lord Jesus sooo much! It blessed our team so much to work with them. For most of the group, teaching with a translator is a new experience, but the Holy Spirit was there and the message went out. We taught about how God provides for us. Since there were visitors at the school (from Pocatello), they served lunch. Normally, the kids do not get any food while going there. After lunch, the team did a drama called "The Sin Box". It showed the kids that once we let sin into our lives, it is very difficult to remove it. The only way we can conquer our sin is by leaning on the strength of the Lord. It was easy to see the kids were blessed by the play. After that we continued to teach and play games with the kids until school was out. We will be going back tomorrow. The team was blessed by the Holy Spirit today. We need prayer for the team as we continue. The team has knit together in a way that could only be the work of God. Please pray that we would continue to be effective and in the will of God. God bless you.

This is the day the Lord has made.

This was an absolutely awesome day. The team is so excited and in awe of how the Lord worked in our lives, and the lives of others. We started the day by waking up early at 4:00am (we had roosters directly outside our window). So we all spent time with God individually and then as a group. Then we loaded up and headed to Erica's house. From her house, we went to a disabled rehabilitation center for children. There are children there that are deaf and blind due to cerebral malaria, as well as children that were mistreated by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). We met a young man named Alfred that had both his arms cut off at the elbow, and had been cut with a knife all over his face, throat, and shoulders. Yet, he rejoiced in the Lord and was happy to see us. It is run by a woman that everyone calls Teddy, which is why the center is called Teddy's house. We first taught the children the Gospel in several different ways. The kids flocked around us and wanted to shake our hands. After that, half the team went to a village to a woman's bible study and the other half went to a children's center. We all taught the group lessons, some of which included Grace's topic about the woman at the well. Then we prayed for a woman with Typhoid fever. We prayed for a 11 month old baby who had malaria, and a little girl with a swollen ankle. Then an older woman said she wanted prayer because dead relatives were scaring her in her dreams. Erica asked her if she was born again, and she was not. Then Jeff gave her the Gospel, and she accepted Jesus into her life and we prayed for her. Then Jeff got an urge from the Spirit to present the Gospel to some people down the path. After explaining the Gospel, one out of the five said he would accept Jesus into his life. As it would turn out, it was a re-dedication. The young man had already accepted Jesus once when he was locked up. But when he was released, he said that there was no churches or Bible for him to read. He said that he fell away from God. He removed two bracelets and a necklace that represents demonic protection, and accepted Jesus again. This is the day that the Lord has made! Praise God. Please pray for us and continue to pray. The spiritual warfare is intense during these key moments in people's lives.

We are in Pader and headed to Kitgum.

We just got off the plane at a gravel airstrip outside a village called Pader. Only half the team could fit on the plane, so some of the team had to wait in an inn for a few hours. We had a great time fellowshipping with Far Reaching Ministeries' staffers Zane, Summer, Erica, and Emily. We also had a great time with the other short term missionaries, the Maranatha Team. The are sooo excited and we love the country the Lord has sent us to work in! Please remember to pray for us; as now the ministry has began.

We're there!

Wow... We finally made it. We arrived in Entebbe, got picked up by Wes, Vicky, Bob, and Brian, and drove the rest of the way to Kampala. We are staying at the Far Reaching Ministries guest house for the night. Fruit is one of the cheapest foods in Africa, and there are avocado trees, mango, guava, and banana trees growing all around. Bob, one of Far Reaching Ministries' staffers, showed us around the guest house and fellowshiped with us. We are very excited for the Lord's plan for us. Please continue to pray for us all, and especially for Sandy's lost luggage. Tomorrow we are headed to Kitgum, so pray for that too.

We made it to Africa...

Yeah! We made it to Nairobi, Kenya. We are loading onto the next plane, which is headed to Entebbe. We are fellowshipping with some missionaries from YWAM. We are almost there. Praise God!

Next stop... Africa!

We made it to London and things are going great. We had an English breakfast with toast and tea. We didn't have a long layover, so we didn't explore much. The team is on a Boeing 777 with Kenya Airways. We have another 8.5 hour flight to Nairobi. Right now, we are 8 hours ahead of our regular time zone. Ten o'clock here is 2 o'clock am in Pocatello. So, needless to say, jet lag is having an affect on us. However, we are depending on the Lord for our strength, and we can't wait for what is next. God bless...

First leg down!

So far, so good. We are in Chicago, and everyone is feeling good. We have already had prayers answered and we are seeing the Lord work and give us strength! Next stop is London, and we can't wait. We will continue to keep you posted and will look for your responses. Please keep praying for us and thank you.

Wow! We are actually going...

Yesss! We are finally leaving! Everyone is sad to leave our home, but we are filled with anticipation and excitement! We can’t wait to do the Lord’s work. We will keep everyone updated with the work the Lord is doing, where we are at, and what the Lord is showing us. Stay tuned…

Sooo... FYI

So, for anyone who doesn’t know, CCP (Calvary Chapel Pocatello) is sending us (a team of 14) on a short-term mission trip. Tomorrow night, we are driving to the Salt Lake City airport, where we will depart for Africa! We are going to be gone 14 days and we’ll primarily be in Uganda and Sudan. We will be coming alongside the full-time FRM (Far Reaching Ministries) missionaries, to encourage them, learn from both them and the locals, and to spread the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.


Once we get to the Salt Lake City Airport, we fly to Chicago. From Chicago we fly to London, then Kenya, then Uganda. In Entebbe UG, we get off the big planes and move to buses and prop planes. We will be in Kampala, Kitgum, and Lukwar Uganda before we head to Sudan. There, we will be in a town called Nimule, Sudan, which is in the Southern part of the country. When we are done in Sudan, we head back to the USA.

As you might imagine, “What will you be doing?” has been asked many times. In fact, many people think we are heading over to Africa with the sole purpose to convert people to Christianity (but that isn’t the case!). We know that God will be working (mightily!), and we hope that people will come to know Christ, and give their lives over to Him. However, we are going there to HELP. We are going to encourage the full-time missionaries, and learn from them. Also, we will get a chance to learn from Chaplin’s in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and hear what God is doing in their lives, and the lives of the soldiers. Finally, we are going to show the people of Uganda and Sudan the love and good news of Jesus Christ. Through working with the children and teaching them, doing bible studies and lessons, dramas, presenting the good news to prisoners, and by working with the other missionaries, we can show the love of Christ.



Whew… so we hope this gives people an idea of what we are doing (and why). God Bless…

Tomorrow we leave!

So, tomorrow night is when we leave. We are making sure that we have all our paper work completed, with copies of everything. Also, our luggage is getting to be a little difficult. The last part of our flight is in a little plane, so we all have a 30 pound limit. Thirty pounds is not much considering our travel list. I will include one of the lists.

Africa Checklist

Random Things
Pictures of family - Sunflower seeds - Phone with charger - Electrical adapter/converter - Phone with charger - Phone with charger (back up) - Leatherman knife - Kershaw knife - Camera with charger - IPod with charger - Notebook for journal - Bible - Notebook for Bible - Flashlight - Extra batteries - GPS - Water bottle - Water reserve pack for backpack - Peanut butter (for protein)

Clothing
Hat (floppy sun hat) - Shirts (3) - Pants (3) pants will convert into shorts - Sunglasses - Sandals - Shoes - Socks (6) - Underwear (6) - Towel - Nightwear/Pajamas - Knee braces

Luggage
Backpack - Carry-on bag - Collapsible duffle bag

Hygiene and Medicine
Mosquito Spray - Sun screen - Drain Plug - Little packs of detergent - Malaria medicine - Toothbrush - Glasses - Contacts - Deodorant - Toenail Clippers - Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer

Documents
Passport - Copy of passport (3) - Yellow Fever record - Copy of yellow fever record (3) - Immunization record - Copy of immunization record (3) - Copy of emergency contact sheet (3) - Money (Big Bills $50/$100) $550 total

Getting Ready

Only two more days until we are going to leave for Africa. We can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do with our hearts, and the hearts of the people we meet. The team has been sooo blessed this far, and we have seen God working with the team since our first fund raisers. (Wow... it seems like forever ago since we did "lunch on the patio). We can't wait to hop on the plane and take off!