THEIR EYES WERE SMILING!

 “For the first time I have new clothes that have never been worn before”

“I remember when I didn't have a shirt, so I borrowed my sister’s, and they laughed at me”

Thank you Jesus, for letting us witness these children’s testimonies!

It is times like this that I realize being here is a gift from God!  We may think we are here to serve Him, but this is our God allowing us to be part of His plan.  

 Allowing us to be the messenger and distributor of these Christmas gifts, doing what our organization’s name says; Love In Action.  God has guided us here to distribute His gifts for His children.  These are gifts from God and have made their way here through many people and in many different ways.

   A group of ladies in our church made little girl’s dresses and shipped them here from many miles away.  Many people sent boys and girls underwear so they could be distributed continents away, and some gifts are from financial contributions from loving and caring people.  When we all come together to serve and care for the orphaned and widowed, we are living scripture!

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Needless to say, the children were excited and thankful for these new things.  We had a wonderful praise and worship service on a recent Sunday evening where the children were invited to give their testimonies which allowed us to hear some of their stories, and to see what God has done in their lives.

Yes, we could see their smiles in their eyes! 

 I think we saw the love of Jesus!

A Gift of Sight

A couple weeks ago we joined forces with Fay Girouard, who is the Director of "To Africa With Love," for a special project to give the gift of sight!  We went to a village church that was leading a crusade for all the people in their surrounding area.  Part of the purpose of an event like this is to show the Love of Jesus in all that we do. So on this particular Friday and Saturday afternoon, we set up shop to perform a basic eye exam and distributed free glasses that had been so generously donated by many people as well as the Lion’s club.  We had a long line of people who patiently waited for their turn, and as they waited, they listened to the Gospel preached by church members.

Fay was trained by an optometrist, who had also given her examination lenses, so she was equipped to perform the eye examinations.  After Fay gave the examination, I would fit them with the optimum lenses that were comfortable for reading.  When you hit the right lens strength, all you have to do is watch their face for a big smile and observe how they would continue to read, like it had been a long time without a drink of water.  

One woman told me she was a nurse and was having trouble reading things like the vials of medicine.  A few people were pastors who were having trouble reading their bibles.  We had children that couldn't see the blackboard at school or some who were having difficulty with their book work.  So it was a blessing to many people, and over the course of two days we saw 90 people!

We did have a few people that needed more specialized treatment, like cataracts or a more complex prescription.  We pray that they will be blessed by God someday so they too will be given the gift of sight.  

Thank you for your prayers and financial support that allows us to serve!

A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

Our trips to Uganda always bring us new adventures and experiences, and this trip is without exception! 

We have learned to listen to the Lord for the direction He wants us to go to serve Him.  In fact, one of our favorite Bible verses has been this:

A man's heart plans his way,

but the Lord directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

This past week, Robyn and I moved into the main house and compound for Love In Action, the ministry we serve. Our directors unexpectedly needed to return to the UK.  So it was in God's plan and timing that He sent us here to serve. We feel very blessed that we were here, ready and able to step-in at a very hectic and stressful time for them.

This is a very busy time because the school year has ended and the children are on holiday for the next two months. We bring together the children from the village school to join the local ones, needless to say we have many children here!   

During Christmas week, we send most of the children to their village for a few days, so they can connect with their relatives. They go in many directions with some having to travel quite a distance. 

So here it is Christmas day, and it is so quiet and not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse, well except for some birds singing their hearts out, and what a beautiful sound that is!

So instead of opening presents and celebrating Christmas like we would traditionally do back home with our family, we are here, right where God wants us, going through clothing and big stacks of boy's and girl's underwear that were donated by so many people.  We are filling about 30 gift bags for the children when they return from their visits "home."
How awesome is that?

We are so honored to be working here on behalf of all our supporters who make it possible for us to represent them, in serving our Lord Jesus, on His birthday!

Merry Christmas,
Jim & Robyn

  

A Song of Praise

As I awaken to the early morning sounds of Uganda, melodies that I have only heard in this land; a choir of birds, each singing in their own language, their voices echo through the trees. The song reaches my soul.  "It's a new day, rise and praise the Lord!  The sun is shining, the land is green and fertile, let us give thanks to the Lord for He is good!"

Lord, give me the instinct you have placed in your creation, to be full of worship to you as each new day begins, help me to wake up on the other side of night with a cheerful sound, one that alerts other souls to the joy that is in my heart.  I want to live fully in the breath of your salvation.  You are everything to me, may my actions speak this truth.
In Jesus name,
 Amen

Last Sunday as Jim and I worshipped at Kasaka School Church, the Lord guided me to Psalm 100.  The scripture proclaimed a beautiful message.  I realize now, that He intended it to reach not only me, or that sweet congregation, but to reach each one of you too.  God's timing is perfect, may Psalm 100 touch your heart as it did mine.

Happy Thanksgiving America!
Robyn

Psalm 100
A song of Praise for the Lord's Faithfulness to His People

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is Good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

Our God Of Wonders

Hi Everyone,

As I sit here, I realize that my greeting may sound impersonal. In actuality, it refers to each one of you, whom we love very much. Our family, our friends, all our brothers and sisters in Christ, and faithful sponsors, many of these titles overlapping and melting into one another.

This journey to Uganda has already begun very different. We have been blessed with the sending out by our church family; our home church in Harrison, Idaho and The Lord’s Church in California. We know each of you is lifting us up in prayer, and our experience thus far is evidence to that fact.

God has gone before us and prepared the way.

Our “welcome back” greeting consisted of children running to the compound gate, flower petals in hand, showering our car with drops of color, cheering and shouting. Smiles along with giggles of excitement filled the air. I am seeing God’s hand in the details. There is a heightened awareness in His gifts to us. I am so grateful and overwhelmed.

Every good and perfect gift comes from above.

The next event I didn't capture in a picture, but I will forever have this precious image in my mind. It is the reunion of Jim and Moses, one of “our” boys.

  Jim could barely squeeze himself out of the car, on the other side of the door, stood Moses, much bigger now and many inches taller. He commanded the space with his presence, smiling from ear to ear, that boyish beautiful smile. Joy fills our hearts. The greeting speaks love. Jim and Moses reach out, wrapping their arms around each other.  It’s a loving father-son embrace. The kind of embrace that speaks without words, saying, “I’m here, you matter to me, I’ve missed you”.  Moses lays his head on Jim’s shoulder and closes his eyes. Time seems to stop in that moment. It is the place of contentment; to rest in the peace and comfort of a “father’s” arms. It is the moment they have both waited for.

And He will shelter you in the shadow of His wings.

I am a little embarrassed to say that we have had a leisurely beginning here; instead of immediate demands placed on us, we have had the freedom to settle in, and get reacquainted with life here. Our “welcome back” day has actually turned into weeks. We have had the opportunity to see many friends; to be welcomed into their homes, share a meal, share God’s faithfulness, and to testify to what he has done in each of our lives these past three years. Each reunion carried within it, the same reoccurring theme,  a triumphed praise of thanksgiving to God.

All glory and honor is His.

I love making the trek to visit the “sanctuary” of Love in Action, the ministry we are working for. The above mentioned is really the home of Alan and Beryl Went. The property is guarded by a wall of plants and trees, and beyond this wall of beauty there rests a beautiful English garden. It’s not the garden I come to visit though, but the people who dwell there throughout the day; the children, teens, and young adults; those who live with Love in Action. When not in school, this is their sanctuary; a place of peace for them.  Here they gather for their meals, play together, do chores, and share daily life. When evening comes they go to their homes, provided by Love in Action, one for the girls and one for boys.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

I thank God for this place.

Lastly, I must make mention of each of you. Though, we are continents away, we carry each one of you in our hearts. We treasure the relationships we have and who we are as a body of Christ together. This journey is complete because of the oneness we share. All of you have been instrumental in our going. Everyone has played a part, each one significant, and each one in God’s plan.

We thank God for each of you, and remember you in our prayers.

Until we see each other again, may you dwell in the love of Christ.

 Thinking of you,

 Robyn and Jim

Praise God, We Have Arrived Safely!

It seems whenever I am in Africa, it takes me a little longer to get things done as I slow down my pace. It has taken a few days to get situated and it has taken a few more days to get the word out that we have safely arrived at our destination! So let us thank God we are here!

After our wonderful send off from our congregation at Harrison Community Baptist Church, we traveled to a long time supporter of our ministry, The Lord's Church in Sacramento CA, where they blessed us with fellowship, prayers and gifts, God is good!

We then traveled to Southern CA to stay with Robyn's sister to prepare for the "big trip!" We packed up all the donations that were sent to us; for the underwear drive, little girl dresses that were made by some of the ladies at our church, along with a variety of other things including about 50 pounds of diapers for a baby orphanage here in Masaka,that is run by a friend! All together between containers and suitcases we lugged seven pieces along with our carry-on's (about 450 lbs.) for our 9,500 mile journey!

When we arrived on Sunday to our compound, we were surprised by the children showering our vehicle with flower pedals, what a greeting! This is where after three years, we were so blessed to see all the children, and as you can imagine, they have grown so much! It was quite a reunion to see these smiling faces through our watery eyes, and the hugs were mighty indeed! The ministry has grown with so many more beautiful children being cared for.

 On Sunday we visited the school in the village where we had church service and got to meet more children. This school has several building projects going on, including a water purification system and tower, livestock, agriculture, and additional classrooms! It is a well organized project and looking really good.

On Sunday evening, back at the compound, we had our traditional praise & worship service with the familiar sounds of the drums and singing in the local tongue. The teaching was in English by our director and translated to Luganda & Swahili by two of the girls.

We are helping to support a wonderful organization! Thank you everyone for your prayers and financial support! We thank God for these special moments as we look forward to see how we can best serve Him!

God Bless,

Jim

Be Ready!

We are so excited as we are getting ready to see our children in Uganda.  We will be in Uganda for three months assisting Love In Action, the ministry we help support.  This is where our children are cared for and we will have the opportunity to help out in many different areas; from visiting, playing, or teaching the children to painting classrooms, wherever we can serve.  We will see some familiar faces as well as some new ones!

Our presentation at church was to share as we remember some of the things we experienced in the mission field and how it has prepared us to always be ready to serve the Lord!
We invite you to listen to our presentation, Click here:


God Bless,
Jim & Robyn

Sponsor A Meal

 

Sponsor a meal at Kasaka Primary School.

It is a well documented fact that hungry children find it difficult to concentrate on their lessons at school, they are slower learning and even fall asleep in class.

Many of our children come to school without lunches, and some even come without breakfast. We have been giving our sponsored children a cup of local porridge at mid day and would like to extend this program to the whole school.

We believe that by doing this our children will be healthier and will learn better.

The cost of the 'light lunch' for all 300 pupils for a day per month is £15 ($25.00 USD) each month. 

We could also provide a full meal at Lunchtime at a cost of £65 ($105.00 USD), this would be a substantial meal of beans and Posho (cooked millet flour).

To participate in our partnership with Love In Action, Uganda:

Click here to sign up as a meal sponsor

Christmas Challenge 2011

The Love in Action Christmas Challenge has started, this year we would like to buy every child we are helping a T Shirt. The cost is £10 for 3 - How many will you give! Visit www.loveuganda.com to place your order. Thank you

We are joining Love in Action with this Christmas Challenge! $16.00 USD Will make three shirts for our kids. You can donate through us at 
http://www.hewillprovide.org/giving/financial_donation.php
or at www.loveuganda.com

We Are Called to Have Faith

On a recent Sunday morning, Jim was given the opportunity to share his and Robyn's testimony of faith, with the congregation of Harrison Community Baptist Church in Idaho. Listen how God changed their lives prior to going to the mission field in Uganda.
Please click on the following link:  http://harrisonbaptist.org/sermons/31Jul2011.mp3

See How God Is Working!

Here is an update from Love In Action, our project partner in Uganda! 

Hi everyone.

It has been a while since I visited the school at Kasaka and I was amazed. “What is that?” “That is the canteen” – I opened the door to find a builder hanging up his trousers (he had another pair on). The canteen will be a small shop where children (and possibly others) will be able to buy small snacks for lunch, (eg small bag of peanuts, or a local bun made by an enterprising parent, or a piece of sugar cane perhaps) and where the teachers will be able to buy credit for their phones etc.

I saw the bore hole, complete with pump, and a good fence around it. I had a go at pumping, and was surprised by how much water came out with each fairly hefty pump.

Then I wandered around to the clinic – well, not wandered exactly, more like scrambled on dusty mounds of earth where giant tree roots and scrub were in the process of being dug out in readiness for future construction. This building, which Alan told me was at wall plate level last week, had a tin roof on it. It is brilliant, and beyond our dreams at this stage. This clinic is being funded by a group of medical students from Birmingham University who arrive here in 1 week’s time. They will also be funding the nurse to work there for 2 years.

I went into the shell that will house a nurse, and then clambered over bricks and assorted buildingy  stuff into the waiting area which separates the accommodation from the clinic. The next room will be divided into two by plywood, and will be the examination room, and the treatment room. All as prescribed by the government regulations here.

Of course a well is no good without drinkers, and the clinic will need a nurse and patients. I believe there will be no shortage of patients at all, and we will start advertising for the nurse very soon.

In a similar vein, the school is just a building without staff and pupils, and after wandering round the site we went into some classrooms. All seems so ordered now, and if the standard is maintained, we should soon have an excellent reputation. Of course, I can always see room for improvement, and no laurels are being rested upon.

The teaching style is teacher/blackboard/questions and a forest of arms waving around. I suddenly had a vision of the donkey in Shrek shouting “Pick me, Oh pick me”. I wondered though about the row of boys who looked like they had no idea “How many sticks Cate picked”, and what was more they did not care!

The teacher had mentioned that she had just had the class up singing a song because they were in danger of falling asleep. I guess it had been a long maths lesson. My sympathy was with the boys in the 4^th row.

Reaching home I had a cup of tea, and thought through the morning. It wasn’t the buildings I remembered, or the maths lesson, or the one classroom that was filthy, it was one little girl.

We have a few children for whom we are fully responsible who live at the school during term time. We have a brilliant young lady looking after them, but a couple of children had been sneaked in without our knowledge, and Alan had sent them back home to live. I did a check on which bed belonged to which child, and came across a name I did not know. I asked to see the little girl. Meanwhile I phoned the office to check the story. Yes, we had given permission for her to stay, because she had received a cruel punishment at the hands of a relative for stealing.

The little one has a visible scar. As I sat with her I could see that that scar was pretty unimportant in the great scheme of things, but the one in her heart was dreadful. Her little face was so sad and her eyes were deep. Rovence translated as we talked, and as I prayed for her. I do not have a good memory, but if I could draw, I would be able to sketch her as she has captured my heart.

Over the next few weeks we have UK visitors who will visit the school, and do some fun things with the pupils. This is one child that I hope will catch more than a ball during games, or learn more than maths during a lesson. I hope that she learns that not all adults are cruel, and that love can conquer all things.

Having returned from Kasaka, I had asked our visitor to swing by the bakery to get some bread for lunch. As Alan drove them back they saw a teacher hitting children with a stick as they left the classroom in a school over the road.  For several reasons it was not possible to physically intervene – not least because at that distance, it would not be possible to identify the teacher. This is an everyday occurrence here in Uganda, and when and where possible, we act – when our children are beaten in school, we complain and make a huge fuss. Beating children is against the law here, but continues none the less. It makes our blood boil, and we feel powerless on many occasions, such as this. Please pray that we would always have the wisdom and courage to know where and when to intervene. It is a hard mindset to change, because there are parents who endorse this harsh discipline. One teacher told us –“We have to beat – I have been to Liverpool and the teachers there wish they could beat children!” On another occasion Alan and Noah complained to a head-teacher “If you carry on like this, a child will die”. His answer was “If a child dies, it is between me and my God”.

This is one of our main motivations for building and running schools – to run establishments where children are safe from harm, and where teachers can teach children who can learn in an environment that is conducive to fear-free learning. We want to teach other ways of disciplining children – which in the end will lead to self-control.

Would this be Beryl if I didn’t moan? Three weeks now without water. Country wide 24yr power cuts mean that there is no water in our town. Little water is being processed, because power is off, and because of where we live – up a hill – above the level of the town tank , we are very very low in the pecking order. Until today, judicious use of the water we had, and large rain water tanks, and a delivery by water tanker, means that we have eked it out. Now though, the last drop has gone, and it is THE LATRINE, and baby wipes for washing, until the next tanker load arrives.

Not being able to bathe or wash up may be many a teenager’s dream, but after a day the novelty wears both off and me down. How do you even prepare food without a tap? On the plus side we will all smell like a baby’s bottom – (the fresh and clean ones until the baby wipes run out!). We cannot wash our floors, our feet or our clothes. Lively debates are around the best way to reuse underwear, and our lovely visitors think it is all great fun. I will reserve my judgment in case my awaited tanker does not come.

My lovely father used to give us rainwater from our underground tank each Friday with which to wash our hair. I felt like a princess. Yesterday Alan bought a large pump to transfer the remaining water from the rainwater tank up to the main tank so that we could shower and flush the loo. It was quite a performance to prime the pump, and someone had to climb the water tower, and several somebodies had to hold up the pipe. In all the melee, and calling for more jerrycans to fill the bucket that the pump was sucking water from, it was noticed that one lad was filling the jerrycan to feed the pump with water from the tank that we were trying to fill! Sometimes I feel like a princess with my soft rainwater shower – and some times I feel like I am starring in a Carry On film (minus the naughty bits). TV? Don’t miss it much. We have it all here – comedy, culture, and more than a little drama.

Please do not sympathise or spend much time worrying – we can drive the 20 mins to the school to collect water from the borehole if we need to – doesn’t that bring me back to where I started? Ever decreasing circles!

Have a good weekend,

Beryl (& Alan)  Went

Love in Action

Masaka

Uganda

www.loveinaction-int.com

Weebale Nnyo

(Thank you very much)

Dear Sponsors and Friends,

  We are so thankful to you for your faithful support to make all of our work in Uganda possible!  Over the past few years, because of your support, we have provided a home for many children, but besides shelter, we have provided love, food, education and most importantly, their spiritual needs.  Our goal has been to teach Christianity and for the children to discover a personal relationship with Jesus.  In addition to the care of our children, we have been able to give medical aid to save lives, bring food to some starving drought stricken villagers and help spread the Gospel to everyone through evangelism, in person and over the radio.  We really want you to know that we could not do this work without you; therefore, this is your story:

This is Moses.  Life on the streets is tough; we had to teach the children how to play!

He carved this truck from a banana tree.

   In 2008, you took in a ten-year-old Muslim street- boy, who spoke no English.  He eventually accepted Jesus and he changed his name to Moses, and after about another year he learned English and became an excellent student in school.  Every Sunday he would sit next to me in church and when he knew that I would soon be leaving to come home, he asked me if I would baptize him before I left, and indeed, before I left we celebrated his 13^th birthday and his baptism.  Just this week we were informed, with the assistance of our social worker from Love In Action, that we found his little sister.  He has missed her because he has not seen her since he went on the streets and he has really  been burdened with worry about her. 

To be continued… 

                      

  We give God all the glory for this and we all should be thankful to Him for allowing us to play a part in any of this.  These are real lives being changed through the grace of God!  We really want you to know how important you are to us to help make all of this happen, because the works of this ministry have been very fruitful, praise the Lord!

   As you recall, after a very long time in Uganda, of literally nonstop work, Robyn and I are on furlough in Idaho.  This lengthy journey was not by design, but out of necessity and dedication to the job that just needed to be completed.  You probably have heard the acronym TIA (This Is Africa), what it is referring to is true, nothing is easy in Africa and in fact, some things that are simple back home become very difficult over there.  One of the difficulties in working the mission field is a lack of long-term help from dedicated people, but God has His plans to take care of all our needs.  Unfortunately, in 2009, thieves stole our money that we had set aside for our trip home, so it was a test of faith to see how our Lord would take care of us.  When the Lord decided it was time for a break, He provided the means to make it happen, and we offer a special thank you to those who provided the airfare for both of us to return home.  When God has blessed a plan, it is destined to be successful, and no man can destroy it.  This time at home has given us a much-needed rest, and has allowed us time to rejuvenate physically, mentally and spiritually. We feel especially blessed, because God provided a home for us right next door to our daughter Jenny and our son-in-law Todd, and five of our grandchildren, on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho!  We serve an amazing God!

Proverbs 16: 9  In his heart man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. 

   Remember when we shared the story of our friends, Alan & Beryl Went of “Love In Action,” a Ministry from the UK?  They came to us and offered to take in our children so we could return to the US and leave with the confidence that our children would be properly cared for during our absence from Uganda.  We continue to send funds every month from our sponsorship program to support our kids.  This has become a wonderful relationship with our ministries, and our children have been doing really well.  With this, we see how our Lord has established our steps.

  After much thought and prayers and through the grace of God, we decided that if we combine our Ugandan resources, facilities, and work forces, it would provide the best situation, especially having more people to share the workload.  Love in Action is blessed with capable leaders and a staff; including social workers, who can take care of business and uphold their standards even during the absence of Alan and Beryl while they take periodic breaks.  Most importantly, we are committed to the same goal:  To serve our Lord.  Love In Action arranged to purchase property, with buildings, for our new boy’s home as they had about 60% of the needed funds donated to them for this project.  We were able to contribute $1200.00 towards the purchase of the new boy’s home.  This amount is what we have been able to set aside from various donations other than our regular sponsorship funds we receive.  We need about $1500.00 more to complete this acquisition.  This is really a great situation as there will now be a separate boy’s (Hallelujah House) and girl’s (Hosanna House) compound, and we will save on monthly rental costs. With these combined facilities, we will be able to take care of more children with more efficiency and ultimately do a better job.  We have always strived to be good stewards of God’s money, and we ask for His guidance in all that we do.

This is the new boy’s home!   The locations of the boy and girl’s compounds are now within a 15-minute walking distance to the main facility where meals and fellowship take place.

  Optimistically, Robyn and I are planning to return to Uganda for about five months, sometime around the fall of this year and returning home in the spring of 2012.  This would also place us in a better climate than what we would typically expect in an Idaho winter.  One of the things we will be evaluating this year is the feasibility of hosting short- term mission trips in the future, so please pray about this.  This year’s trip greatly depends on the availability of funds, as we have always paid for our travel expenses with our (now depleted) personal finances.  We have decided it is time to let our needs be known, and we want to give the opportunity to everyone to help make our work possible.  Airline fare for two round trip tickets is about $3500.00, which is one of our larger expenses, but there are several other expenses as well.  For your convenience, an automatic monthly payment ($10, $25 or more) for our support can easily be set up.  If it is the desire of your heart, you may contribute towards our support & mission trips with just a few clicks on our web site with the notation; “Jim & Robyn’s missionary account.” Missionary Donation 

 Since our beginning, from the founding of this ministry and the opening of the Door of Hope to help children and teens in Uganda, we have trusted in the Lord to take care of every detail... and He has.  For sure, the result has not always been what we expected, but we have the assurance that our loving God has our plans for this life and our eternal salvation as His glorious purpose for each of us. 

May God Bless You Abundantly,

Jim & Robyn Fruehan  

PS:  Keep up-to-date at our blog site:  http://www.hewillprovide.blogspot.com

Giving Our Heart To Jesus

What a happy Valentines day!

 We were asked to share a story of our mission experiences in Uganda with our church teen group.  We just don't know how the Lord is going to do His work, we think it is only the task at hand that is so significant in His eyes, but when you do God's work He will surely yield all of the flavor for His Glory. 

Four teens accepted Jesus Christ as their savior on February 14, 2011 (Valentines Day)

This was the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day that the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:23-24 

Praise the Lord!

PLEASE JOIN US FOR WEEKLY PRAYER

While we are enjoying our time back in the USA, we have resumed our weekly  prayer service that began more than five years ago during the beginning of this ministry.   When God blessed us with this home, we immediately knew we would set this back in motion.    

Please join us for fellowship in prayer every Thursday evening at 7:00 PM 

401 Lake Front Drive

 Harrison, Idaho

Bring a friend!

If you would like to have a prayer night in your community, we would be happy to guide you into hosting an evening with the Lord for your friends too!  Just let us know and we will share how God's grace will make it happen.  Just don't wait until you have time!

Please forward this to a friend!

1 Peter 3:12

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today, in the USA, we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.  It is an especially wonderful time for families to come together to celebrate a great feast and to give thanks for their blessings.

 We would like to celebrate today by praising our almighty God and thank Him for so many blessings because He has truly provided for all of us.  As missionaries, we have learned to trust in Him for all of our provisions as we are committed to serve Him.  God always amazes us with His plan for our lives and how He orchestrates everything  to work together for His good and in His time.  We have learned to honor "His time", but sometimes it takes a lot of faith and patience.

Our Testimony Of How God Has Provided For Us 

In January, God provided the airfare for Robyn and then again for Jim in July, for them to go on furlough in the US.  It was a much needed break because 18 months is a long stretch without a day off with the help of only one part time staff member.  In Uganda, nothing comes easy and a seemingly simple task back home can become a difficult challenge there.  To make all of this possible,  God provided a partnership with Love In Action, to care for our children during our break. This has been a wonderful transition and truly blessed by our Lord as our children are doing fine! This has been a great relationship for all of us because Love In Action has been able to provide additional support to our children, like social workers and other staff.  We have continued to transfer the sponsorship funds to cover all the costs of our kids for education, food, shelter and clothes, and we thank and pray for our faithful sponsors who help to provide for these children.

  We thank God for this time with our family and to check up on our health and to rest.  While in the USA we stayed with our daughter Jenny and her family since we had no permanent home other than in Uganda.  Todd,  Jenny's husband, was offered a pastor-ship at a church in the neighboring state of Idaho.  We were then called into action to help prepare their house to be sold, this worked out pretty well since Jim's background includes owning a construction company specializing in home improvements.  The Lord had the house sold in record time as we have seen Him do before with our own house just three years earlier.  When God calls you, He will take care of everything, including all the necessary details.  In faith, our plan was to stay in the home until the close of escrow and then go wherever God sent us.   Just a week before the close of escrow,  the new owners of the house offered for us to stay with them for a while until we had a place to go, of course we thought; Wow!  It is just amazing how God works!  We have found that many times the Lord will give more than one solution to a problem or a need, just to remind us how magnificent he really is.  A few days later we were at the new location of our daughter's house in Idaho after helping them move.  On the day we were to return to Montana, we found out the house next door had become vacant.  We were able to meet with the landlord and she agreed to an extremely low amount for rent, (what we could afford) with no deposit or up front money, she simply said; "we need you here"!  A truck and trailer were provided for us to move our  possessions to our new home.  We have been blessed with a little home overlooking beautiful Lake Couer d' Alene, which is next door to our family with five of our grandchildren.

  In his heart man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

Late one night, a visit to the emergency room became necessary  because of a case of pneumonia. The bill for the ER services was $600.00, and we don't have health insurance.  When we went to make arrangements to pay the bill, the clerk said you have no balance.  The hospital bill was "mysteriously" paid!  

On a follow-up visit with doctors, many other needed tests were performed for various medical conditions, and all of the medical fees and several months of the very expensive medications were covered under a grant program.  Since getting settled, the Lord has provided us with food and other needs through many people in this wonderful community.

 ...The Lord will provide... Genesis 22;14

During this time in the US, besides resting, visiting and praying we have been working on our future plans in Uganda.  We were blessed again recently when we met with a director of Love in Action to discuss our future  in Uganda regarding the continuing care of our children along with some other exciting possibilities. 

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:19 

Yes, this is a time of Thanksgiving!

"Baptize Them In The Name Of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit"

On a recent Sunday we had another exciting event at the Door Of Hope!  We decided to have our weekly fellowship at the evening service at church, because one of our boys was ready to publicly proclaim his Christianity, by being baptized!  Our entire family was there along with the other church members, to witness this wonderful event.

  About two years ago, Moses accepted Jesus Christ as His savior and that is when he dropped his given Muslim name for his chosen Christian name.  It is encouraging to all of us as we witness our children take new steps in their walk with God.  We praise God and give him thanks for all of these opportunities as we watch our children grow in their faith and love of the Lord!

It truly is exciting to witness these milestones!  

This Is How We Celebrate Birthdays At The Door Of Hope!

Happy 13th Birthday Moses!

One thing Robyn has taught us at the Door Of Hope is how to celebrate birthdays.  In fact, anyone who personally knows Robyn will attest to this.  She makes it a special time to celebrate your life and to thank God for your existence.  It is a special day that begins when you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at the end of  the day.

  

Here in Africa so many of the children have no idea when their birthday is, let alone celebrating it.  Over the past year and a half we have introduced birthday parties and assigned birth dates to ones who didn't have one.  It has become a very popular event here.  The thing that is really exciting about our birthdays is that it is not focused on presents.  It is focused on everyone celebrating and having fun and of course birthday cake too!!

Why Was This Birthday An Extra Special Event?

Because we introduced Birthdays, "Door of Hope Style," to Love In Action!  They will be hosting the parties while we are out of the country and they joyfully welcomed our birthday party events!  The kids run the whole show, from decorating to games and skits.  It really teaches them a lot about loving their neighbor!

This was a special day for Moses as he turned 13!  This is truly a time to thank God for all His blessings, because just a little over two years ago, Moses was on the streets without a home.   The Lord has blessed him and us!

Stay tuned for later this week to see what else is in store for this young man!