A Very "African"... Very Amazing Sunday!

Yesterday (Jan. 28) was John’s 29^th birthday! And he got about the best present he could have asked for... His mom was here in Arua to celebrate it with us!!! Betty Rinehimer, John’s mom (pictured right), arrived in Uganda last week, and it has really been fun having her here! We feel so blessed to have just had my best friend Katie here, and then not even 2 weeks later, John’s mom here!

We have been trying to give her an idea of what life in Africa is like… we took her shopping in the city for crafts, we brought her to Arua by car instead of plane (so she got to experience 8 hours of Ugandan driving!), we’ve taken her shopping in the market here in Arua for food, and on Sunday, we took her to her first African church service!

We visited a church in Padel, Uganda, where one of the pastors we are training, Pastor Cosmas, is overseeing. I led Sunday School for the congregation (adults & children together), and John preached the “3 Chair” sermon, which describes the 3 places a person can be in their relationship with God.

It was definitely an African experience… we left for church at 8:00am and got home at 6:00pm… a 10 hour day! It made for a long day, and we were all definitely tired at the end of it, but it was an amazing day and definitely worth it! We first had a brief meeting with the pastor & translator, then Sunday School, then singing, then preaching, then lunch, then the best part of the day… 2 people came forward to give their life to Christ!!!!!!!! It was about an hour after the sermon, after we had eaten lunch, when an 18 year old boy named Dennis came into the hut where we were with Pastor Cosmas and told us that he had “backslidden,” or grown apart from the Lord, because he didn’t think he could live the Christian life until he got married… and that today, He wanted to accept Christ and give his life to the Lord! It was amazing! (Pictured above from left to right: our translator Geoffrey, Dennis, John, Erica, & Pastor Cosmas).

And then just a few minutes later, an older man, probably in his 80’s, named Luigi, also went to Pastor Cosmas and said he wanted to become a Christian as well! (Luigi is pictured to the right in the striped shirt to the right of John). We were able to talk with them about their decisions and pray with them, as they asked Jesus into their hearts. It was such a precious time and amazing day. It is so sweet to me that John & I get to be a team for Jesus, and work for His Kingdom together. What an amazing privilege and honor.

And finally, the 2^nd best part of the day… the gifts! Ugandans are huge on hospitality~ and visitors are a very big deal to them! So… as a gift for visiting their church, they gave John & I each a chicken!!!!!! It was so funny!... Yet so sweet, because it is such a sacrifice for them. And for his mom, they gave her 2 Ugandan wood carvings of a leopard & giraffe! We are pictured above with our chickens & carvings!

Coppedge & Volunteer Update:

We have a new “Volunteer-in-Action” (VIA) with us here in Arua as of Saturday, Jan. 26. His name is Mark Landerholm, and he will be here for 2 months, helping out with the pastor training. And also, Billy & Joanna return with their 3 month old baby, Elsie Jayne, tonight (Jan. 29)!!! They will stay in the city for a few days & come to Arua on Friday, Feb. 1. We are SO excited to see them, to meet Elsie Jayne, and to just have them back in Arua! Praise the Lord for bringing them back!

WGM’s 1st Official Pastor Training for Northern Uganda!

Last Saturday (Jan. 19), John & I got to be a part of the beginning of an amazing work that God is doing here in Uganda! We held the 1^st official pastor training for WGM in northern Uganda! As you know, we have been working with 5 key leaders/ pastors in Nebbi since June, 07 and going through the “Membership Manual” of Africa Gospel Church (AGC~ the WGM church here in Uganda & Kenya). The past 6 months of training with these 5 key pastors has basically been to make sure they are in line with the same beliefs as AGC, and that they have a basic Biblical understanding of core beliefs.

The 5 pastor that we trained, went on to train 7 others themselves, as we went through the manual. So in December, there was a total of 12 pastors who took the entrance exam for the “official” pastor training, which began this past Saturday, Jan. 19, and they all passed!

So now our WGM Arua team (the Rinehimers & Coppedges) will be training these 12 pastors over the next year! We are so incredibly excited that this dream has become a reality! We knew before we even came to Uganda, that it was very well a possibility that we may never get to train even one pastor. Everything is slower in Africa... it takes time here to build relationships and get to know the culture before you even start projects.... and we knew that our western dream of wanting to start a pastor training in our 1st two years could have been just that... a dream. But God is moving here, and it is so apparent that this is the work of HIM and not us. He has opened doors that we could have never imagined. He has brought these pastors into our lives, and us into theirs. And we are just so excited to be a part of this & work alongside the Creator of the universe!

And the icing on the cake to John & I is this... each level of training takes 11 months. And with us starting in January, we will very likely be able to finish the work that we have started by our scheduled time to come home, in Nov, 08... 11 months from now! That is pretty amazing to both of us! We weren't even sure we'd be able to be a part of starting a training in just a short time of our 2 years here, and not only did we get to be a part of starting it, but we may be able to finish it too, Lord willing!

Also, Jon Mayo, our field director, and Bob & Tom, who are part of the "WGM Media Team," came with us to both help us start the training & get some footage of our ministries here in Arua & Nebbi. It was a real blessing to have Jon there to kick off the first training and answer some of the tough questions! And it really meant a lot to the pastors that he was there. And the media team was great too! Bob & Tom came with Jon all the way to Arua (an 8 hour drive from Kampala) to witness what God is doing up here, and that meant a lot to John & I. They worked SO hard in their 2 weeks in Uganda! We are so grateful that we work with such a great organization who truly cares for their missionaries & the nationals alike.

Our 1st Friend to Visit us!

Once again, I am writing to you in the dark, since there is no power... Things are getting better here, as they are improving & settling down in Kenya as well, and we thank God for that. Although there is still potential for further violence & crisis to come with the rallies & protests scheduled for next week in Kenya, so please continue praying for this whole situation. Here in Arua, we still have a shortage of fuel, and because of that, we still have rationed power & water... but we have enough to get by, so we are thankful.

We did have one great bright spot in all of this... my (Erica) best friend, Katie Weeter, visited us from Kentucky! She was our VERY FIRST personal visitor from home, and it really was a special time. She arrived on Dec. 30 and left on Jan. 11. And it is only because of your prayers that God gave me the strength to say goodbye to her without even crying! As most of you know, I am very much a "home body," and I used to get homesick so easily... even being just 1 hour from my family when I went to UK in Lexington, KY & they lived in Louisville! So it really is a miracle & an answer to prayer that God has allowed me to be here in Africa and not be incredibly homesick! (I have only been homesick 3 days since we've been here by the way!) He is so good! Thank you for your prayers!

So... here are some pictures from Katie's trip! I hope you enjoy! And to those of you that are coming... Betty (John's mom) on Jan 23, Ryan & Ashley (Erica's brother & sister) in May, our good friends, the Christies (in June), and hopefully even more... we CAN'T WAIT to make memories with you as well & have you here in Uganda!

WHAT WE DID WITH KATIE:

We visited our friends, Alice & Joyce, at their homes. Alice's children & the neighborhood children all came over & sang songs for us! It was precious. Alice is pictured to the bottom left in her house with all of her Christmas decorations~ so cute! And in this culture, hospitality is a big deal... So Joyce & her husband Christopher (pictured with me to the bottom right), had tea, cookies, popcorn, peanuts, rolls & even cokes for us! It is always hard, knowing that they don't have much at all, to accept so much from them... But it is also very humbling and special and, it touched both my & Katie's hearts.


















We went to church in the village with our watchman & good friend, Joel, & his children.









We went to the market & bought Rolexes! No... not watches! But food! In Uganda, rolexes are basically a breakfast burrito~ a tortilla (which are called chapatis), eggs, tomatoes & onions. They are so delicious & they are made in the middle of the market by street vendors like the guy below to the left, with a small charcoal stove. Then we went home & ate them with some of our friends, Joel, Edmond, & James, pictured to the right. Katie & I had a good time hanging out with the boys!









We went to UCU so that Katie could see the children's ministry I've been telling her about for so long! Do you remember Alice from one of our blog entries a while back????... The little girl who was so sad and just lifeless really? I could barely get her to look me in the eye the first week I met her. Well, here she is pictured with Katie to the right!!! And do you see her huge smile!?!?! It is just amazing to me! I have invested a lot in this little girl in particular, and I feel like God has really honored that & changed her heart and life. Don't get me wrong... I am NOT taking credit for it by any means! Jesus has just allowed me to show her His love, and I think she's finally getting it! Praise the Lord!!!

Thanks for loving us & caring enough about us to read this blog! Here is a look at our upcoming calendar so you can know how to be praying for us! Thank you for your prayers, support, & friendships!

OUR CALENDAR:
Jan 18, 19- 1st Official Pastor Training in Nebbi!!!!
(with the WGM Media Team & Jon Mayo)
Jan 18- Filming at UCU of children's ministry with the WGM Media Team
Jan 23- John's mom, Betty, arrives in Uganda!!!
Jan 25- New VIA (volunteer in action), Mark, comes to Arua!
Jan 27- Preaching at a village church in Nebbi
Jan 28- John's 29th Birthday!!!
Jan 29- Billy, Joanna & Elsie Jayne Coppedge arrive in Uganda!!!
Feb 4- John's mom leaves.
Feb 5- Short term missions couple, the Guillams, arrive in Arua
Feb 8, 9- 2nd Pastor Training in Nebbi
Feb 16- Trip to Yei, Sudan to visit John Onek & other pastors in training

Crisis in Kenya

As I am typing this post on our blog the power has just returned and will be shut off again in a just a few hours. Why? You might be asking yourself. This time, it’s not just that we live in Uganda. Here's why...

By now you probably have heard that Kenya is having a crisis over their recent presidential election. Both parties have taken it upon themselves to swear in their candidacy. You may be wondering, as we did, "How can a presidential candidate just swear himself in without winning an election?" We asked one Kenyan this, and his response was, "This is Africa." So sad, but true, unfortunately. And each party is pointing the finger at the other accusing them of rigging the voting system. There are riots, looting, people being murdered for no reason, and just total chaos.

(The pictures above are taken from BBC's website. You can read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7170200.stm)

As a result of all of this, Kenya has closed its borders, which means there is no way for importing or exporting of products. This does not sound so bad at first, but the major product exported to Uganda from Kenya is gasoline and diesel. Right now there is a huge fuel shortage in Kenya, Uganda and all the other surrounding countries. Which is why we do not have power.... Because the whole town of Arua gets power from one huge generator that runs on diesel. And they are having to ration out the the electricity in order to make it last. Currently we are getting power apx. 7 hours a day, and at this rate, there is only enough fuel for 10 days.

Please pray for peace in the near future for Kenya. This crisis affects World Gospel Mission and Africa Gospel Church ministries all over Uganda & Kenya. We are looking at canceling several of our upcoming planned ministries due to lack of fuel for us and high transportation costs for our pastors. There is a large peace rally that has been planned and will take place on Tuesday in Kenya, and if this goes well it could really expedite the process of re-opening the borders and restoring order in Kenya.

Please pray that God would bring peace to this situation and that His will would be done as to who becomes president of Kenya. Please pray for our WGM missionaries in Kenya, especially, and all of the Kenyans that are in the middle of chaos and riots. And please don't worry about us! We are completely safe here in Uganda!... Only lacking fuel & electricity. Thank you for lifting this situation up to our God, who we know will hear our prayers!