A Heart Full of Gratitude!

Last week while the team from NJ was here, Joanna led a devotion on gratefulness and challenged us to stop and be thankful to God for every little gift He has given us. And I couldn't stop thinking about how much time I have spent in prayer asking God for certain things just over the past couple months, and how He has answered so many of those prayers. Yet I have only said "thank you" to Him maybe once or twice... So today, I just wanted to take time to thank God for all He has done for us and to challenge you to ask yourself, "Have I spent as much time thanking God as I have spent asking Him for my needs?"

The most recent thing that we are thankful for is the team that just came from NJ (pictured right). They were just so awesome & such an incredible blessing to us & our friends here in Uganda! And it was so amazing for John to have time with one of his dearest friends, mentors, & also his pastor when he was young, John DiGiamberardino (pictured below). And as if their presence wasn't a blessing enough to us, they also brought a very generous gift from an anonymous member of the church who just wanted to bless us! So since we can't thank that person properly, as we don't know who they are, we would like to use this blog to say THANK YOU!!! We hope you read our blog! (The team left on Wednesday and got home safely by the way.)

God has also answered our many prayers for the funding of the new engine for our vehicle! It is almost fully paid for! Many of you have given so generously, and we are SO incredibly grateful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And some of you may remember the entry I wrote last year about a little girl named Alice. (It's in the May 2007 archives to the right if you want to check it out) Alice holds a very special place in my heart. Since the first time I met her, I felt a bond with her. She was the saddest little girl I have ever seen when I first met her. Some people said it was because her parents abused or neglected her, some said it was because she was sick, and some said it was because she didn't receive enough love from home. I still don't know why she used to be so sad, but I took a special interest in this little angel over the past year~ taking her to the doctor when she was sick and just holding her & loving on her every chance I got. And if you could only see Alice today~ she has gone from a completely unresponsive child (pictured above in May, 2007) to a little girl who smiles, laughs, sings, plays & responds to people who show her love (pictured right last week with her little sister)! I'm not saying that I am the one who made a difference in her life... I know it had to be Jesus. And I am so thankful for the new life that He is able to give even to a 3 year old little girl!

And finally, we are just SO incredibly thankful for the little life I'm carrying right now! We prayed over the decision of when to start trying to have a family for months before we actually tried, and we truly feel that this is God's perfect timing. And He has confirmed that through so many of you & your encouraging emails! Thank you all for being so excited with us & so supportive of us! We are so grateful for each & every one of your friendships! Today, we are thankful for every one of you who is reading this blog!

Week with the Team

Last Friday we left for Nebbi with the team~ I think I can safely say that it has been an experience for them like they've never had before! But they have all been such troopers~ not complaining at all & just giving 100% to all they are involved in! We are thankful for their hard work, great attitudes & love for Jesus & our friends here in Uganda!

The team is pictured above with all of our pastors in Nebbi. Everyone on the team participated in the pastor training and helped with teaching the lessons. They were also able to help our pastors evaluate their sermons and give them advice on how to be effective in evangelism. (Tim & Kathi are pictured above left as the pastors practice their preaching & evangelism with them!) They also had a great time taking pictures of all of the children in Nebbi~ the kids get SO excited to see themselves on the screen of a digital camera! (pictured above right with Erin)

On Saturday night, we showed "The Jesus Film" on a large screen with a projector out in one of our village churches! It started with about 20 people & by 20 minutes into the movie, we looked around & there had to have been over 500 people watching this movie about Jesus!!!!!!! It was awesome! (pictured above~ sorry it's blurry because it was taken at night!)

Finally, on Sunday, we split up & attended different churches out in the villages of Nebbi. The chruch that John, Jana, Erin & myself attended was just under a tree~ no building. It always amazes me how the people here don't need anything more than a willing heart to worship God. The team has reminded us how refreshing it is to witness the simplicity of life here!

And this week, we started Vacation Bible School (VBS) out at Uganda Christian University (UCU) where I have been doing children's ministry over the past year. The team is doing great with the kids~ they've all learned a little of the language (Lugbara) to communicate with them better & the kids are SO attentive and really learning a lot from them! I am so honored to be a part of God's work here & witness all of this! Thank you for your prayers for the team & the people they are ministering to this week! We can feel them!

The NJ Team has arrived!

We just wanted to let you all know that the team from New Jersey has arrived safely in Arua! We picked them up from the airport yesterday (Wed, Aug 13) at 7:40 am and put the poor guys straight in the van for a 9 hour drive to Arua! We arrived safely last night, and we were all exhausted! But everyone got some good rest last night and woke up feeling rested & ready to go today! We go to Nebbi tomorrow for pastor training, where we will also show the Jesus Film and attend a village church. Everyone on the team has really stepped up to the plate & has volunteered to take part in training the pastors, and they will also be sharing their testimonies & teaching Sunday School in the churches! Please pray for the team & the pastor training this weekend! We get back on Sunday & will write more later! Thanks for praying!

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!

We just wanted to share some very happy news with you all today!... WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!!!! I am 10 weeks along, and our baby is due on March 10! We are SO incredibly excited and thankful that God has blessed us with this AMAZING gift of life! Words can't describe how excited we are to become parents!

On Friday, we had an ultrasound & were able to see how awesome God is~
our baby is only 2.75 cm & it already looks like a baby! He has hands & feet, and if you can see in this first picture, he just found his thumb this week & has already learned how to suck his thumb! (If you look closely, you can see it in the picture!) It's incredible! And yes, this is a 3-D ultrasound! Uganda is high tech!


















And to answer a few questions... no, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet. We're just calling the baby a "he" so that we don't have to call it "it!" And yes, we do want to find out, but we have to wait another month or so until we can know! And a huge blessing that I am thankful for is that I haven't had morning sickness or felt tired or anything! I feel great! And finally, we won't be coming home any earlier, for those of you who are wondering! We are planning on arriving home in Louisville, KY on November 8! Thank you all for your prayers & for being excited with us!

As for the rest of our life... Sudan went really well last weekend. Only 2 of the pastors were able to make it, but Billy & John felt like they had some good quality time with them. And the roads were super bad, but God protected them & allowed them to make it there & back safely, without a hitch! And our time with John & Beth Muehleisen, our acting field directors, was a blessing as well~ it was really great to have some good conversations with them & get to know them better!

Now, we have the team from NJ arriving this Wednesday, and we're so excited to see all that God has in store for them! Please be praying for the team's time here, and that God would use them & us over these next couple weeks! Thank you for praying!