We are made for this place

It’s been a season of pure fun,
fueled by suspense, uncertainties and raw life ministry realities as we went on
our first family mission trip, visiting Yei in South Sudan via Uganda.

Planning and preparing for this trip made us stronger as a family. Not just because the children for the first time fasted and prayed for three days straight but the overall sense of purpose and focus was remarkable. 

Our road ride into Yei from Uganda was incredible. I’ve had several
challenging rides on that road, but this outclassed them all. In retrospect,
the presence of my family made a huge difference as to what levels of danger I
could tolerate with them present. There’s a vital lesson here.

God answered us at every turn during this trip and proved His word true in ways we’ll not soon forget.

From provisions that came in all within
the week of travel to the very last day of this trip, to provision of the taxi driver
that took us from Koboko village into Yei, who masterfully waded through the
muddy roads and ditches, the flight out of Yei that saw Ed and Othniel sharing one seat, we could never have planned it like this.

The Students’ and Youths’ Conference, our ministry to the youth and Sola’s connection with the young ladies were all profound. We were overjoyed every evening as we reflected, debriefed
and prayed.

The children blended in so well, as most
children their ages do and made friends everywhere. Their outgoing nature and
good manners made a clear statement. “Your children are well
behaved…” was a comment we heard often. We were proud parents. 

They learnt a new song in Arabic – “ile ita Yesu ile ita…” meaning “It’s only you Jesus it’s
only you…” Truly, truly, so true!

When Gift, now 16, whom we took
into our home four years ago was serving the kids in Dreamland and reading to
them, tears of joy moistened my eyes. She came into our family unable to read or
write. Here, she’s ministering to these less privileged children and making a
difference.

You know you’ve hit the bull’s-eye in any family trip when the kids begin to use lines like, “When we come again…”  in several sentences. Gift, Ed and Othniel made several promises to their new friends, assuring them of their return. We’d certainly be back.

Though short, this is by far, one of my best
mission trips in many ways. Once again, the presence of my family was key.

We have several notable
testimonies of tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy, of hope restored, of prayers answered and of needs met. We’ll be sharing them later and reflecting on the lessons learned.

When Sola said, “God’s giving us
a glimpse of what our ministry here could look like when we finally settle
in…” She took the words right out of my mouth.

We’ll post a few pictures later to help you
connect with the fun we’ve had. But for now, please join us to appreciate God for all He’s done with and for us.