We are back and in full swing in Uganda!
Furlough Summary: It was great to see
and be with family and friends. We mostly spent our time in Georgia/Florida,
but we did have the opportunity to visit friends, family, and supporters in
California. We had a great time catching
up with people, enjoying the food, and sharing about what God is doing at
GSF. We also got approved and confirmed
by the Global Outreach International Board as full-time missionaries. Furlough is a great time, but also a hard
time. Cody and I felt like our life was
on pause because we were talking about our work in Uganda but not actually
doing much of it. Furlough also
confirmed what we already knew in our hearts that we are “home” in America and
“home” in Uganda. We love both for many
different reasons and are so thankful to have both in our lives. Thank you for all the hugs, conversations,
and love that you showered on us while we were there!
Holidays: We came
back and jumped right into the holidays, including: staff Christmas party,
special needs Christmas party, cookie sing-a-long, and last minute shopping (yes,
that happens here, too). It was wonderful to have Cody’s mom and one of his
sisters here to celebrate with us, and we all went on a safari together. We were so thankful to share our lives with
them and have them here with us!
Katie is preparing to help start
a class for struggling learners
(resource class) at the Ugandan School with a Ugandan teacher, beginning
at the end of February. She is making
small changes to the special needs program, implementing goals this year for the
children with special needs, and making future plans for the older individuals
with special needs who are 18 and above.
Cody is in
the 2nd semester of teaching this year. He is teaching Kindergarten-11th
grade English. He is doing A LOT of reading: from Sophocles and Plato to Cat in
the Hat and the Bob books J
He has his own Sunday school class, which he loves teaching. Cody has also been working a lot more with
adaptive technology to help Katie solve problems for the children with special
needs.
House: One thing on our heart is the
building of our house. It sounds like a
typical thing and a basic process, but I am learning that it is so much
more. First of all, a fellow missionary,
Daniel Iya, is the project manager, and he hired the foreman for the building
project who moves up to this area of the country during the times he works
here. They have worked together before on a previous project. Then they hired the labor workers. These men
range in age from 15 to 25. This shocked
me because they are so young! This gives Daniel the opportunity to really teach
them skills, help them provide for their families, raise money to go on to more
schooling, and disciple them and teach them about God. We know for a fact that a few of the workers
are Muslim and are excited for this opportunity for them to hear about Jesus. Please keep Daniel and his ministry of
building our house in your prayers!
Baby:Very much on our hearts and minds is our
little baby fox due to arrive in August.
We are very excited and thankful.
To answer a lot of questions:
We are
having the baby in Uganda. It will have dual citizenship. We have the best OBGYN in the country as our
doctor. The hospital we are using has a NICU and Neonatal Unit. We have prayed and thought about what was
best for the baby and really decided that this is the best thing for our child
and family at this time. We have many
back-up plans, but this is our course of action at this time. I hope this sets some minds to ease. We
really are thinking this through!
Progress on the building of our new home
Progress on the building of our new home
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