Saturday, February 24, 2018

February 25, 2018

       
Paul posing with the new/used motorbike.  He is still learning how to operate it, but I think he was pretty happy to have it around to use! 

  February has been a busy month for us!  With Amy and the kids settling back in to our house in Lohutok there has been lots of transition, joy, unexpected challenges and work!  Amy has been doing a wonderful job of getting into new routines, learning where everything is and how everything works, anticipating new challenges with the kids (Caleb actively seeks out ways to injure himself…), practicing language, discipling Teresa, meeting new people in the village and dealing with a constant influx of people (she loves that part!).  Ezekiel and Caleb have made a couple of new friends, found new places to climb, animals to chase, villagers to charm, and some sickness.  Justin has been doing Bible and Theology courses with Paul, managing the “Honey-Dos” that Amy has found since she’s arrived, traveled to Uganda for some much needed car repairs, and then traveled to Uganda again to get some things for the church. 
          Last month I updated the project list with two new ideas for Lalonga.  Paul was struggling with coming to Lohutok every week for our class meetings (It’s a 3-4 hour walk) and it’s just not possible to meet at his house because of constant interruption.  We thought it would be a good idea to get a motorcycle for him to use for ministry, and coming to Lohutok for class.  We had also been discussing (Paul and I) ways for the church to be more self-sustaining.  They had decided to save the money they were getting from the church garden (using the offering money to help plant it) to eventually buy a grinding mill, but since the offering money is being consumed by their building need I decided to add the mill to our project list as well. 
          This month we had a couple visit for two weeks (He had been here before, she hadn’t) and when they came, they had raised the money we needed to finish out both of these projects.  We drove to Uganda and spent 2 days buying and loading the motorbike and mill, and now Scott is taking the lead on helping get the mill installed and running for the church.  Now Paul has a way (once he learns how to shift the gears…) to get to class without consuming the whole day, and the church is on its way to having an income-generating, job-creating resource for the building, pastor support, and to help with other needs that always come up! 
          The busyness hasn’t ended yet.  I’m writing this from Juba where I’m awaiting a team of visitors from the USA who are coming to explore the church’s long-term relationship with the ministry here, and at the end of this month we have someone coming who is looking at the possibility of joining our team long-term.  Pray for us as we manage our time and resources while God is meeting all of these needs.  Pray that God will provide some long-term team mates to help us shoulder the load.  Pray that we would find good language helpers and start to take off in our language study.  Pray for Scott who works tirelessly when he’s away from his family to complete his own projects while also helping with(or more accurately, just completely doing) whatever we throw at him.  Pray for our family time and health as the “tyranny of the urgent” tries to take over.

Thanks as always for your love, prayer and support!

Justin, Amy, Ezekiel and Caleb
The grinding mill sitting in our workshop.  Scott is building the mount that he will cast in cement to hold the engine and mill.  He’s also surrounded by spare parts for the motorbike…my workshop doesn’t stay as organized as I’d like!