February 28, 2015

February 28, 2015

February has been a month of waiting and trusting God. Usually I try to start off my newsletters with a cool story, but this month I just don’t have one! Back in December we went to Uganda for a few weeks to get some work done on the car and have a little rest. The day that we were supposed to leave for home Ezekiel came down with Pneumonia and Croup and had to be admitted to the hospital. We spent two extra weeks in Uganda and then, by the time we got home we had two weeks before we had to go to a Risk Assessment and Contingency Planning training back in Uganda. What are we supposed to do in two weeks?!

I spent the first week going out to the villages and letting people know I was back, and then on Thursday I got an email. There is a family who wants to come to Lohutok to translate the Bible, and the only time that worked for them to come have a visit was in four days! So, we hosted Ryan and Kim Puterbaugh and one of their co-workers, Leah, for a week and then the day after they left we went to Uganda.

I’m as task-oriented as they come and all of this traveling around and being off-task is frustrating at the start, but the security training was a huge blessing and definitely needed. We learned some new tools for dealing with everything from traffic stops to terrorism, and we feel way more confident about being here and staying out of trouble. We also got to meet some great people living in Northern Uganda who are basically doing the same thing that we’re doing among the Lopit!

I’m writing this newsletter from Kitgum (in Uganda) and we’re headed home tomorrow. When we go back it will be my introduction into doing this discipleship ministry without having Chuck around to help! Please pray that we make it home safely, and that God gives us a good transition back into discipleship and language learning.

Thanks!

Justin, Amy and Ezekiel

January 31, 2015

January 31, 2015

“The Lord is near to all who call on Him; to all who call on Him in truth.” -Psalm 145:18

As you all know, we came to Uganda for Christmas and planned to remain here for a few weeks in January. The car needed repairs, we had shopping to do that can’t be done in South Sudan, and we really needed a break (most missions organizations recommend you leave every few months to do all of these things, especially to avoid burnout). While here we had some trouble meeting people and building relationships – it’s hard to get out of the house with a 2 year-old and a car in the shop! So at the end of those 3 weeks, I (Amy) was still feeling pretty lonely! I prayed that God would bring some godly women into my life who lived close, and who speak the same language!

Justin planned a really sweet birthday celebration for me on the 12th, and that evening Ezekiel came down with a pretty bad case of croup. The next morning we went to the ER as he was showing signs of labored breathing and we spent that night in the hospital. Exactly two weeks later Ezekiel was declared “healthy” and ok to travel. But during the past two weeks we’ve moved to a different part of town – closer to the friends we have made, Ezekiel has spent a LOT more time with a new friend as he recovered, we’ve had some much needed quality couple time and I feel restored and prepared to return to South Sudan! We even got to meet some people who are thinking of coming to Lohutok to translate the Bible!

In the midst of all of this, we had a follow up appointment with the doctor for Ezekiel 1 week ago. We brought his favorite toy, Elroy (the ONLY toy that he's ever really gotten attached to). The doctor would listen to Elroy's lungs, then Ezekiel's. Ezekiel feels comfortable with him. Thirty minutes later Elroy was nowhere to be found. I thought maybe some boys in the waiting room had taken it, one of them had tried to take another one of Ezekiel’s toys (which became quite a scene) and later kept bursting into the exam room while we were talking with the doctor. We went home with no Elroy. Every time we put him to bed, Ezekiel asked for Elroy. So every night we prayed that God would bring him back. Today we went back for another follow up, and WE FOUND ELROY!!! I am so thankful for sweet mommy moments, to teach my son about God's faithfulness and tender care for the things that are important to us - even his night-night toy. Tonight as I put him to bed, he said "Thank you, God... God loves you! Loves you!"

January 1, 2015

January 1, 2015

With the new year coming, we’ve taken some time to evaluate what we have been doing with our disciples and how things could be done better. Before we came to Uganda I was able to meet with all of our disciples in four different villages and was struck by the difference in “where they are” in discipleship.

I went to Loming and met with Matthew Aphore. Aphore has had a tough year. He was forced into a second marriage by his family, and was discouraged in thinking that he couldn’t be a Christian if he had two wives. This idea that Christians have to keep themselves perfect or else God won’t accept them is widespread here and causes lots of problems in the church. We have been able to use this opportunity to teach some clear things about the gospel, and our righteousness being found in Christ, so Aphore is starting to understand the gospel in this way.

Moses, who I am with more than any of our other disciples, is excited about the gospel and willing to do anything, and is growing in his understanding of the grace. Paul, our disciple in Lalonga, is showing clear signs of regeneration, scripture being illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and is probably our most mature disciple. He’s pastoring a church faithfully, and even working toward baptizing some ladies who are believing and worshipping there.

We went to visit Lacharok before going to Uganda, and the guys who we usually do Bible Study with were all drunk. Not just a little drunk, they were drunk. We stayed with them for a few minutes and then left. This is the group we have been working with for the shortest time, and it’s hard to say that there are any believers there, but God is at work!

Pray for us as we go into a new year. We’re trying some new things with our disciples, and asking Paul to take more of a leadership role in discipling the Lopit believers and churches. We need direction about how to teach in each place so that people really understand the gospel so that they can believe.

Thanks!

Justin, Amy and Ezekiel

Hi.  We haven't posted regular updates to the blog for a while.  I'm trying to figure out an easy way to do this, it's just a step I haven't been able to do since we've been in South Sudan.  If you want any of our updates just send me an email or a message on Facebook.

You can sign up for email updates using the link on the right side of the screen, there's also a link there to access our Facebook page, where our updates are regularly posted.  Signing up for the email list is probably the best way to do it though!

December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas! I’m writing this letter on Christmas day, so most of you probably won’t get it until afterward, but our past week has been busy!

Most of you have probably heard the news about fighting breaking out in South Sudan. About a week and a half ago there was a fight within the South Sudanese military between two tribes that led to what is basically a civil war. In the northern part of the country there are battles going on between the two military factions as each wants more control over the country’s government. We are praying for a quick resolution to this problem as many innocent people are being killed in the process.

For us in Lohutok, the problem still seems pretty far away. The attitude among the people seems to be that they are not part of the fight, and don’t want to see the fight reach our region of the country. Our family left yesterday, on Christmas Eve, for Uganda, but not because we felt unsafe. We have some travelling to do at the end of next week and since it is uncertain what options will be available then, we took a flight that became available. Our original plan was to go back to Lohutok on January 23rd, we are praying that the situation calms down so we can continue with this plan.

The house is almost ready for us to move in, we wanted it to be done before this trip, but it just didn’t happen! Will you please pray with us about the following things:

- Pray for peace in South Sudan, not just military peace, but that the gospel would change hearts and people would begin to love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates.
- Pray for our travel plans. We were supposed to travel through Kenya, but now we are in Uganda trying to work out how to get to Ethiopia, which is where we need to be next week.
- Pray that God would provide for our needs. Because all of our funding has been going to the house, we haven’t really built up an emergency fund, so we’re trusting God for the extra costs we have from being out of the bush longer.
- Pray for the safety of our things and our house that are all locked up in the village without anybody to watch them.
Thank you for standing with us! God is faithful and has a heart for the lost souls in South Sudan, and we are confident that He is going to continue to reach them!

December 6, 2013

Here are some fun facts about the Lopit people and Lohutok, South Sudan:

- “Amy” means “Lion” in Lopit.  Now when people see     

Justin, they ask, “Where is the Lion?”

- They have the most beautiful butterflies I’ve ever seen!

-  Butterflies apparently like poop… especially baby poop!

- The funerals last 6 days and 6 nights, and they sing and

dance the whole time!

- Most nights we are going to sleep with the sound of a

wedding or funeral just a few hundred yards…they are not quiet!

While working on our house the other day, Justin had an interesting conversation with one of the pastors and some other men from the village.  They discussed the difference between marriage in the U.S. and in South Sudan.

Justin said to them, “The other day there was a man in the village with a swollen hand.  When people asked him what happened, he said he was beating his wife.”  At this the men laughed a little and said that they had to do this to “teach” their women.  They said it was necessary because the women here are uneducated.  Justin spoke to them about Paul’s command that husbands “love their wives as Christ loved the church” (Eph. 5:32).  They discussed what that means, and that Jesus said, “Father forgive them…” in regards to the men who were nailing him to the cross.  They also discussed the way that Hosea bought his wife back when she had become a prostitute, and how he loved her anyways.

Amy has been spending time with some of the teenage girls in the village.  Here girls get married between 15-20 years old, but these girls have said they want to finish school first.  We are currently praying hiring someone to help Amy around the house, which will be a great way to build a relationship with a Lopit girl and begin telling her about Jesus and discipling her.  We may hire Grace, Susana or Esther, three of the girls that Amy has gotten to know. 

Please pray for us as we:

- Consider who to hire as a worker

- Begin language learning

- Finish our house, that it would be done quickly,

well and that the funds would be enough.

- For the girls that Amy has been spending time with.

- For the men that Justin was speaking with, that

they would love their wives as Christ loved

the church.

 Support can be sent to:

Pioneers

c/o Justin and Amy Culp – 111886

10123 William Carey Dr.

Orlando, FL 32832 

September 30 Newsletter

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely.  And may your spirit, soul and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.  Brothers, pray for us also.  1 Thessalonians 5:23-25

We are leaving.  We are leaving, and we are a leaving soon!  A month ago I wrote to you about the exciting survey trip I took in August.  The loose ends hadn’t been tied up, but it looked like things were coming together . . . well now they have!

When I wrote to you last month we were $16,000 short of what we need for all of our startup costs.  After I sent that update, I realized that there was another $3,000 in travel that I didn’t factor into that total, so our need was actually around $19,000.  As I sit here and write this letter, our remaining need is just under $12,000.  That means in the last 31 days God has provided over $7,000 towards our need! 

Some of you have been faithfully downloading and praying through the prayer calendars that we send out every month.  On those prayer guides, I always ask people to pray that God would not only provide the money that we need for a vehicle, but that He would also provide a vehicle for us to buy.  Well, we know you  have been praying because God has definitely provided.

It is hard to find a good used vehicle in South Sudan because having the vehicle in South Sudan means excessive wear.  When I was in Lohutok last month I met someone from Diguna, a German organization that is working nearby, and they were extremely helpful with this.  We couldn’t afford a new LandCruiser, which costs around $50,000, but through these new connections we were able to find a used LandCruiser in Johannesburg.  Since the vehicle is from the city it is in much better condition, and it can be flown to Kenya and driven up to Lohutok all for about $14,000.  That’s 1/3 the cost of a brand new vehicle in South Sudan!  Since we still need about $12,000 for our startup costs, that means we have enough to pay for our travel, the house, and all of our other startup needs, but we still need to raise most of the money we need for the vehicle.  Will you pray with us for this?  We have a few more weekends of churches to visit and then we are done, which is exciting, but we really need a vehicle.

Speaking of “a few more weeks,” we bought our tickets!  We got the final approval from Pioneers to buy our plane tickets, so we are leaving for South Sudan on November 13^th.  Thank you all so much for your continued prayer and support!

Support can be sent to:

                Pioneers

                c/o Justin and Amy Culp – 111886

                10123 William Carey Dr.

                Orlando, FL  32832

Email us at:  justinamyculp@gmail.com
Justin’s cell phone (for now): 785-760-7146