A Very Special Team...

This past weekend we said goodbye to the mission team from New Hope (pictured right) that was here for three weeks, which included my brother & sister, Ryan & Ashley (pictured below). This team was filled with incredible people, some of who are good friends of ours from home even~ like John Banter & Maddi & Joanna Ury! It was such an incredible blessing having them here, and I will always cherish the memories we made!

Our last entry was about the team’s first week here… A lot of their second week was spent just living life with us here in Arua~ going shopping in the local market, visiting some of our Ugandan friends’ homes, doing a scavenger hunt in Arua town & using local transportation! They also ministered to the children out at UCU once again with more Bible stories, skits, songs & games.

And on Wednesday, we all went to the high school behind our house and led an assembly (pictured below). John gave a message to a few hundred students on how to live a godly life. (if you look closely, you can see John standing up in the middle of all of the students in the picture to the right!) My brother, Ryan, also gave his testimony, and another member of the team, Amanda, performed a solo with her guitar that was really sweet.

After their 2 weeks in Arua, John & I had the privilege of taking the team on a safari to the game park~ That’s always a fun part of being a missionary here in Uganda! And on a 3 week mission trip, I think this break was really good for the team to be able to rest and reflect on what they’d just experienced, and simply enjoy God’s amazing creation! We even got to see a leopard, which is very rare in this park!

And for their final week here, the team went on to Kampala to carry out more ministry, and we were blessed to have some quality time with my brother & sister alone in Arua. It was SO amazing to have them there with me, ministering to the children I've been building relationships with over the past year, having conversations that are too difficult to have over the phone with a delay… And just to see how much they have matured and grown over the past year and a half that we’ve been apart. I am just SO proud of them!

And finally, last weekend, we all met up in Kampala… And this team was ministering up until a few hours before they got on the plane! They ALL led worship along with John at a fellowship we have for missionaries on Sunday nights, and every single person on the team shared a little of what Jesus had been teaching them on this trip. I was SO proud of them! And John & I even got to take the team to the airport to say our last goodbyes until November, when we come home! This team was truly a blessing, and we are so grateful to Jesus for bringing them to Arua! Every person on this team ministered to both us & many Ugandans in such a special way. It was so incredible to see our family and friends from home (Joanna & Maddi Ury pictured right) and get to know our new friends as well! We thank God for these special young people! And thank you for your prayers for them & their time here! We definitely felt them!