Holding on ... !!!

Have you ever felt like this guy pictured to the left?... Hanging on & not sure of what God has planned next. We all have times in our lives like this where we wonder ... "Where is God in all of this?" Romans 5:3-5 tells us ... There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! (the Message Bible).

We have been feeling a lot like this guy pictured above... holding on & not sure what the next step is that God wants us to take. Last week, we heard from Southeast Christian Church about John's job, and they actually ended up choosing someone else. We were so shocked & totally surprised when we got the phone call. We truly couldn't believe it... that we've waited this long (5 months) to hear & go through this process & now this is the outcome. But we truly do trust in Jesus, and we know He has something else planned for John. Although, it is overwhelming to say the least, with a baby due in just 1 week & no jobs yet; we are holding on to Jesus & know that there is more of His Faithfulness up ahead. It is actually so encouraging in our relationship with the Lord to experience first hand that we really do trust in Jesus more than a job.

Our good friend at Southeast Christian Church, Michael, who was involved in the entire interview process, was so encouraging to John. He told him that it came down to John & this one other guy... and out of 55 people, for a position this big, I think that is quite an accomplishment in itself that they considered John so seriously & it took them a whole week to decide. Especially since this other guy is 10 years older with 16 years of missions experience & has been working in a similar job already for some time! Tough competition! They said that it just basically came down to age & life experience when they were comparing him & John, and that was the ONLY thing that kept John from getting it. Which we totally understand. It's a big deal to oversee a multi- million dollar budget with limited experience in that area. But I am still just so proud of John & how far he made it & how much he impressed everyone involved in the interview process. Michael told John that he wishes he would have had a tape recorder when they debriefed after John's interview so that he could hear how highly everyone spoke of him, calling him a rising star & that for just turning 30 he has a ton of life experience. And he said that once they came to the final decision, everyone said that if another position opens up, John will be the first person they call.

So... anyways, we just wanted to thank you all for your FAITHFUL prayers for us over this whole process and let you know how much we appreciate each of you. We have no idea what the next step is for us... For now we will just keep trusting in God to provide & pray that He opens our eyes to see whatever He has for us next! We love you guys and appreciate you & your friendship more than you know!

Jesus also encouraged us with Psalm 32:8~ "I will instruct you & teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you & watch over you"

Love you guys & we'll let you know when the baby arrives!!!:)

Ski Retreat & Birthday Bowl!

This weekend, John had the opportunity to be the speaker for the WGM/ Asbury Ski Retreat at Perfect North in Indiana. He was able to share with over 100 college students from Asbury & Indiana Wesleyan University about where God may be leading them in their lives & where God is calling them after college. John has always had a heart for college age ministry, so this was a sweet time for him and hopefully a challenging and insightful time for the students as well!

And yesterday we finally got to celebrate John's 30th Birthday with a real Superbowl/ Birthday Party! A bunch of our friends came to our house from Lexington (5 of whom had come on a trip to Uganda together while we were there!) and of course our friends & family from here were there too! It was such a blessing to have electricity for the party... since we woke up yesterday and ONCE AGAIN DID NOT HAVE ELECTRICITY!!! It was only out for a few hours this time though, thank God! I was so thankful that the power came back on!

The Past Couple Months...

Dec 20- Jan 12: Spending Time with Family in New Jersey~
It has been so good to be home again with family & friends in America! John's family was so good to us while we were in New Jersey... They took good care of us & even threw us a Baby Shower! And we got to spend New Year's Eve with his extended family who we hadn't seen in 2 1/2 years! Dec 20- Jan 12: Visiting Friends & Supporters in New Jersey~
While in New Jersey, we also spoke at 7 different churches and got a chance to thank those that supported us during our time in Uganda & give them a report of our past 2 years there. (Pictured Below- Brick UMC with JD, Jana, Tim & Kathi~ all 4 of these friends came on a short term trip to Uganda while we were there, so it was so good to see them again!)









Jan 24: Tenth Avenue North in Louisville, KY~
Many of you may have heard of them... They have been around for a long time now, but they've recently become pretty well-known! Their newly released single is "By Your Side," and it is amazing! They came to Louisville to do a conference last week, so we got to go with our friends Sarah & Glenn & hear them sing! We know them from Delanco Camp in NJ, so it was really good to see them again!








Last Week: Updated Prego Pics of Erica~
The first one was taken in October when I was only 4 months pregnant, and the second one was taken just last week, when I was 7 1/2 months! Only 6 more weeks to go now!!!


Jan 28: John Turned 30!!!
Despite the fact that we woke up to no power & an ice & snow storm in KY on John's birthday, he still had a great day! He did shovel 7 driveways over his birthday & the next day, but we still managed to have a birthday dinner, cake & presents that night... thanks to the fact that my parents' house had electricity & we've been staying with them! John is so precious & always has an AMAZING attitude! I am SO thankful for his life & that God has blessed me with such an amazing husband!

This Week in KY: ICE & SNOW STORM IN KENTUCKY!
When we woke up on John's birthday to no power in 20 degree weather, I have to say, a part of us wished we were back in Arua with our solar panels & the warm sun! It has been crazy here... with 600,000 people in KY without power. But it is getting better! We just got our electricity back today (Jan. 30)~ Yeah!!! And we are thankful that my parent's house has had electricy & we've been able to stay with them. Please pray for the MANY people here who are still without power in this freezing weather! They're still expecting it to take another week before everyone has power again.

Feb. 3: John will have his FINAL INTERVIEW at our church here in Louisville for the job in the Missions Department!
Please be in prayer for John extra on this day! Please pray that God's will be done in this situation. We only want God's best for both the church and for us. We know that if John doesn't get this job, then the Lord has something even better in store for him that we don't even know about yet... And we are trusting in Him & waiting on Him in this process. We will not find out if John gets the job or not until the week of Feb. 16th. Thank you all SO MUCH for your prayers~ please continue to pray that God will give us confidence in Him to provide for our needs & peace that He is in control as we wait to hear about this job & wait for our baby to arrive... all within 2 weeks of each other.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY & FRIENDS!!!

Sorry we haven't blogged in a LONG time... We've just been busy settling into our new home, interviewing for new jobs, going to our doctor's visit for the baby, and traveling~ visiting with friends & family in Kentucky, friends in Mississippi, & now family & friends in New Jersey! We just got here to New Jersey last weekend (Dec 20th) and we'll be here until Jan 12th. Then we'll be back in Louisville, KY for good... finally settling into our new life in America hopefully and getting ready for Baby Boy Rinehimer to arrive some time around March 10th! We thank God that both Erica & baby are healthy & her pregnancy is going great!

Also, many of you have been asking us... "What is next??" Well, we have both had interviews for jobs... John is in the interview process for an amazing opportunity with our church in Louisville in the missions department & Erica has interviewed for a position with a hospital in Louisville. John flies back to KY on Jan 5th for his second interview, so please be in prayer for him extra that day!!! And please just pray for clarity for both of our job opportunities & that God would lead us to what HE has for us.

We love you all & hope each one of you & your families have a blessed Christmas today & a Happy New Year! Below are some pictures of our time with friends in Jackson, MS...

Visiting with our good friends, Bill & Amanda Blair (& their new baby Sam, born in July!)Our precious friends, Mike & Janie Jarvis, Jeff & Patty Christie, and Laurie Holloway threw us OUR 1ST BABY SHOWER in Jackson!!! (Thank "ya'll" SO MUCH!)
Mike Jarvis also took John, Bill Ury & Ron Smith quail hunting, which was another 1st for John! :-)
AND... In KY, we got to have dinner with our friends, Matt Pittman & Joanna Ury, who came to Uganda with a team while we were there! (They get married next Saturday, Jan 3rd!!!~ Congratulations, Matt & Joanna!)

We're Home in AMERICA!!!

We are SO sorry that we have not updated our blog in so long! Please forgive us! Things have been just crazy busy as we finally ARRIVED HOME IN AMERICA this past Saturday, Nov. 8th!!! It was definitely sad to leave all of our friends in Uganda, but at the same time, it has been such a blessing to be reunited with our family & friends after being apart for these past 2 years! Since we flew into the Louisville, KY airport, where Erica is from, all of her family & friends were waiting at security to welcome us with tons of balloons & hugs! It was such a sweet reunion! We are really looking forward to that same precious time with John's family & friends when we get to New Jersey!!! And we had a ton of time with our family & friends over the weekend...

But this past week we have been reminded of how hectic life in America is! We have been trying to get cell phones, buy a car, open a bank account, apply for jobs, find clothes that fit my growing tummy, and we move into our house today!!! You can probably imagaine why we haven't had time to update our blog! But God is giving us strength and energy to get it all done!

And this weekend we speak in/ teach a Sunday School class of about 150 people at Southeast Christian Church, and then we head to Marion, IN where our WGM headquarters are for debriefing & to speak in chapel there on Monday & Tuesday! Please pray that Jesus continues to give us extra strength & energy to do all we need to do! And just so you know, Baby Rinehimer is doing great~ he's been kicking a TON lately & LOVING all of the yummy food in America! Thank you so much for your prayers for all 3 of us!

SAYING GOODBYE TO ARUA :-( ~ our friends, Joel, Alice, Alfred, Joyce & EdmondLEAVING OUR DRIVEWAY & FRIENDS FOR THE LAST TIME :-(
JOHN PREACHING ONE LAST TIME AT KAMPALA INT'L UNIVERSITY








OUR LAST NIGHT WITH BILLY, JO & ELSIE JAYNE COPPEDGE (along with the rest of our WGM missionary family in Kampala!)OUR FIRST NIGHT IN AMERICA WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS!ERICA'S MOM MADE US A WELCOME HOME DESSERT WITH THE AMERICAN FLAG :-)FINALLY HOME IN AMERICA WITH ERICA'S DAD, SISTER & BROTHER :-)OUR SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS~

Nov 8th- Arrived Home in America!
Nov 16th- Speak at ETS Sunday School Class at Southeast Christian in Louisville, KY
Nov 17th & 18th- Debriefing & Speak in Chapel at WGM HQ's in Marion, IN
Nov 30th- Speak to Christ UMC Youth in Jackson, MS
Dec 7th- Speak to Christ UMC Sunday School Classes in Jackson, MS
Dec 21st- Speak at Central UMC in Linwood, NJ
Dec 28th- Speak at Brick UMC, NJ
Jan 4th- Speak at Sicklerville UMC, NJ
Jan 6th- Speak at Leeds Point Community Church, NJ
Jan 8th- Speak at Emmaus UMC in Smithville, NJ
Jan 11th- Speak at Sharptown UMC, NJ
Jan 25th Speaking at WGM Asbury student center, Wilmore KY
Jan 28th- JOHN's 30th BIRTHDAY!!!