Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Smooth Travels & Sweet Reunions

Imagine yourself stuffed into a small Toyota 14 passenger van, which is actually holding 18 passengers, then driving for 6 hours from Arua, Uganda to Yei, Sudan over less than favorable roads. This is the situation Billy and I found ourselves in last week with both of our vehicles being out of commission for the next few weeks. We traveled to Southern Sudan to conduct a pastor training with the 5 men Jesus has provided throughout Southern Sudan. It was quite an adventure traveling by taxi to Sudan but the Lord's faithfulness was completely evident throughout the trip. Jesus provided a place to stay, new contacts and friends, brought the pastors safely over difficult roads, gave us smooth border crossings, helped us find Billy's phone (which got lost!) and gave us a great time of fellowship and training with our pastors. We are so thankful this training actually happened despite the difficult odds to get to Sudan. Please pray for the future ministry in Sudan.

Just about 24 hours later ... Erica and I traveled down to Kampala to pick up the team from Asbury & Georgetown College (which included Erica's brother and sister, Ryan and Ashley. It was so much fun to see our family again and pack up the van and travel back up to Arua. In good ole African fashion our van had some problems right as we began to leave Kampala ... so we had to get it repaired. Again the Lord's faithfulness shown through and we were able to leave yesterday and arrive very late to Arua last night. So we are a bit tired, but the attitude of the team has been outstanding and they have already been a blessing to us. We are anticipating how God will use this team to help advance His work here in Uganda! Thanks for praying and we'll keep you posted.

2 comments:

Nate Youngblood said...

Oh, the blessed van. For many happy hours she has carted visitors around, merrily showing us all parts of the country we'd never seen before. I'm glad the ole gal is still puttering along, even if (sigh) she is giving you trouble every now and then. Just remember to talk sweet to her, she responds well to kind words!
But seriously, it's amazing to be reminded of how the Lord demonstrates his faithfulness in new ways. I continue to be blessed through your service with Him in Uganda, Sudan, and the Congo. I'll be praying for you in the coming weeks as you lead visitors and teams...may he give you wisdom and energy as you guide them during their experiences.

Peace,

Nate

Bill Ury said...

We prayed for you all tonight. We pray Jesus' richest blessings upon all your ministry and relationships. Let us know how the first week went.
Love,
Bill, Di, Mers, and Setherdude Ury