Our First Goodbyes

Rinehimers & Coppedges with our Pastors in Training in Nebbi

As many of you may know, John & I will be leaving Uganda soon! Our commitment here with WGM has been fulfilled as of November, and we will be heading home! We have always felt that God was asking us to come just for these two years. We have been seeking His guidance & direction for our future ever since we got here it seems, and we continue to feel that He is still leading us back home. So we will be returning to the States on November 8!

This past weekend began our goodbyes, as our pastors in Nebbi threw a going away party, Ugandan style, for us! It was so humbling & special! As soon as we told our pastors we were leaving, the first thing they thought of was giving us a party! And a party it was! We left our house with the Coppedges at about 9 am & got home around 5 pm! That is very African~ it isn’t a party unless it lasts 6 hours or more! And I even got a chance to finally wear my traditional Ugandan dress I had made in the market here!

Our 10 pastors in training represent 8 churches in the Nebbi area, and they had representatives from all 8 congregations come to the party! This is huge, because it takes some of them all day just to get there~ so many of them traveled on Thursday to be there on Friday just to honor us… so incredibly humbling! And they gave so extravagantly! We had no idea they’d be giving us even one gift, but each church presented us with a special gift in a special way~ they all lined up & danced their way to us in the front to give us their gift! It was so sweet! Erica is pictured right with Joyce, our only female pastor in training, who gave her a matching hat! And John is pictured right with the Ugandan warrior wood carving~ when the pastors presented this gift to him, they said he gets a hunter, because John is a hunter for Jesus! Precious, isn't it! John preached a sermon as well, challenging them to not miss Jesus in their daily lives, and they had lunch for us and singing too. It is a day that John & I will always remember.

We are so thankful for these pastors & churches that God has placed in ours & the Coppedges’ lives over these past 2 years. And we continue to be amazed at the extravagant love & generosity of our precious friends here in Uganda! We really are so blessed!

Partnering with Pastors

We have made so many great memories while in Africa that it would be impossible to try and list them, let alone rank them, in any kind of order. One of my most recent favorite memories happened just this past Friday & Saturday at pastor training. Two friends of ours from Kampala, James & Kennedy (pictured above with Erica & I) were able to travel up to Arua & help us teach in our most recent pastor training in Nebbi, Uganda. James & Kennedy pastor two of the Africa Gospel Churches in Kampala that World Gospel Mission partners with. Pastor James is a senior pastor and also oversees all of the pastoral training centers around Uganda. Pastor Kennedy planted a church inside of a Muslim University and has nearly 1,000 students and faculty worshiping at the church. These are two guys who really love Jesus and are making a significant difference in the lives of all they come in contact with.

Having James & Kennedy around was such a blessing because they are just so genuine & authentic. It doesn't take very long before one can tell there is something different about these guys, and the difference is Jesus. They are also two of the funniest guys around and having them in our home was truly a blessing. James & Kennedy really carried the major load of the teaching during this training because of the subject matter. Part of our system for teaching is not just teaching all of the lessons ourselves, but doing our best to schedule the best teachers for whatever topics we are covering. In case you were wondering what topics I had these guys teach, it was: "Angels, Demons, Evil Spirits, Witchcraft & Deliverance Ministries." You may find this hard to believe, but we don't have a lot of experience in these areas, and somehow throughout my seminary experience there was never a course offered on casting out demons! This is such foreign material to us as Americans; so we decided the best thing to do would be to use our extended network of AGC pastors and have them come and teach since they are well trained academically and have so much life experience as well.

The Nebbi pastors loved James & Kennedy and the Biblical teaching they brought. They confronted many of the myths that are prevalent in this culture and contrary to a Biblical world view. They reinforced that the Bible needs to be the main source that guides the way we think, the way we live our daily lives and what we base all our decisions on. You would not believe half of the stories and experiences that Kennedy & James have had and how they have seen God move in miraculous ways. They even said, "Bible college never taught us this, we just had to study the Word of God and learn through experience."

This truly was one of the best experiences that I have had while in Uganda, because there was a true sense of interdependency, teamwork and commitment to equip these pastors. Erica and I felt so blessed to have James & Kennedy with us to teach these culturally sensitive lessons, help us to understand how to relate further to this culture, and just have fun serving Jesus with our African brothers. This was a great reminder of how the Body of Christ works together to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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!