Teresa has been part of our family since soon after we came to Lohutok. She came asking Amy to teach her the Bible, and has been with us ever since! Her family is a tangled web of difficult relationships, most of them abusive toward her, and a few of them who actively mistreat her because she is close to us and wants to follow Jesus, so for most of the last seven years Teresa has either stayed in our home (when we are gone) or in our guesthouse. She is with us for supper, evening Bible time, she watches our kids, and even cares for our house when we are gone.
Teresa has always been the top student in her class, but after she finished primary school her options were limited. There isn’t a secondary school in Lohutok, so continuing with school meant traveling. There is a friend in the USA who has visited a few times, and always gives to support Teresa, and who really wanted to help her with going to school in Uganda, so on this trip I got her there. It took two years to get her passport straightened out, so even though Teresa is 20 years old, she is ready to start Senior One (the US equivalent to ninth grade). We got her settled in Uganda the same week that Chuck flew back to the USA. We were praying for a good gospelpreaching and Bible believing church for her to be a part of that was within walking distance of where she is staying, and God provided that for us on the first try.
Because of some unfortunate but understandable decisions, Teresa found out after being in Uganda for a few weeks that she would have some difficulty in starting secondary school. She has some exciting but difficult months ahead of her, and it kills us to leave her there alone. We’ve encouraged her to call certain people and make friends, and even to make friends at the church, but she is so used to being mistreated and alone that it is hard for her to do. There are lots of people around her who want to help, but you can probably understand the reluctance to feel like all you ever do is ask, so sometimes she needs help but won’t ask for it.
Pray for Teresa, that God would keep providing for the details of her schooling and other difficult situations she is facing. Pray that God would surround her with people who love and care for her, and that she would have the humility to receive that love and care. Pray that She would find her place in Uganda, and that the power of the shame-killing, life-giving gospel would overwhelm her life. Also pray for us as we see our daughter struggling, and long to go back to her, but wait for God’s timing in our current process.
Thanks as always!
Justin, Amy, Ezekiel and Caleb
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