Finally!

Well, it's Tuesday morning, but here I am! The past two weeks have been full of sweet times and long drives! We traveled to Punxsatawny, PA (home of Punxsatawny Phil the Groundhog) for WGM's Northeast Celebration and had a great time (despite the long drive)! Caleb made fast friends with Kelsey and Brendan who were interested in his Cars! They were a neat family who have traveled to Honduras twice (Dad went first, then took Brendan) and now the whole family is going this year! They get it and are an awesome example of a missions active family! We also got to spend time with the Bemm family who serve with WGM Kenya. It was great to meet Amy, who has been a missionary mom coming home after her first career term! She was so encouraging! And Caleb made new friends with their adopted daughter Hannah who is just 6 days older than he is! It was a sweet time sharing our story and connecting with new people!

We got home Saturday night just in time to go to bed and wake up Sunday so Josh could preach at Trinity! And then I took a much needed mini-retreat to Sandy Cove with some lovely ladies from First Baptist in Clayton!

Jesus was so good to provide that 24 hours away from home- and even though it was my first overnight away from Seth- it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! I was able to just sit at Jesus feet, surrounded by amazing women, and a gorgeous view! The last session was the most touching. The speaker challenged us to face overwhelming situations with this strategy: react (as women, we need to allow ourselves to do this), release it at Jesus' feet, and then rest in His goodness! After that session I asked the speaker to pray for me as we transition from Clayton to Sicklerville and continue fundraising. I was in tears as she prayed and spoke truth in to my life! I came home Monday evening refreshed and energized to make some changes in my life to serve Jesus and my family better!

Friday I shared God's vision for Uganda at our MOPS Tea- and it was such a great time with women I've grown to love! And then Josh headed out to Delanco for the Spring Retreat where he was the main speaker! Saturday we were blessed to celebrate Josh's Grandpop Harry's 90th Birthday! And then I spoke at Barnsboro UMC's missions dinner! It was great to be at the church I grew up in, with people who have known me since childhood! I felt their prayers and support when I was in Uganda in 2002, and know we will continue to partner together for the Gospel!

And here we are. Tuesday and I am still trying to get myself together from all the activity of the past week or so! God is so good, and we are praising Him as we try to keep up with Him! I'll share more about how I am trying to stay energized another day!

Thanks for keeping us covered in prayer as we follow where He leads!

Apologies

There is much to share about all God is doing and where we have been the past week or so, but sadly, we're still zooming at the speed of life- and don't see an end in sight! My goal is to blog on Monday. There, I've said it, now you can hold me accountable!

Anyway- just a sneak preview: WGM Northeast Celebration in Punxsatawny PA, mini-retreat to Sandy Cove (for Kelly), sharing at MOPS, preaching at Delanco's Spring retreat, speaking at Barnsboro UMC (tonight!), and some cool God moments interspersed liberally throughout our travels! Whew! I'm getting tired just thinking about it- so grateful that He has carried us! And that you have too!

Being Disciples...

"To follow Christ means to relate to each other with the mind of Christ; that is, to relate to each other as Christ did to us... Discipleship is walking together on the same path. While still living wholly in this world, we have discovered each other as fellow travelers on the same path and have formed new community... We have become a new people with a new mind, a new way of seeing and hearing, and a new hope because of our common fellowship with Christ." -Henri Nouwen

I have found new meaning in our title, Missionary Disciples; not only are we being discipled this year in how to be missionaries, we are called to make other disciples of those we meet. A very cool part of our HMA (Homeland Ministry Assignment) is spending time with men and women who love Jesus! It is a privilege to walk this path with them and perhaps open their eyes to what God is doing around the world. I absolutely love sharing what God is doing and ways that others can join Him! Which is why it was so sweet to be at the 20 Something group that meets at the Brower's home last night!

But with some transparency I confess that it wasn't completely easy for me last night. While lots of great conversation was happening around me, and worship was being lifted to the Father... there was an inner struggle going on within me. Maybe it's the homeschooler in me, but I am not good at striking up conversation with people. I find myself on the edges of conversation not knowing quite how to jump in. And I was convicted last night of my self-centeredness that hinders relationship building. And so this morning I have been praying for eyes to see people the way Jesus sees them... for a heart that is interested in all that is going on in their lives... for a curiosity that just begs to know more about someone else... I'm tired of being so pre-occupied with self. This HMA isn't all about me. In fact it has very little to do with me! It has everything to do with what God is doing in Uganda, and how each one of us can partner with Him! Gotta love it when the Holy Spirit whispers a reality check to my soul.

Would you pray for me that I would get out of the way and allow Jesus to teach me how to build lasting relationships? It is such a privilege to encourage each other along the path as fellow disciples. Thanks for letting me walk with you!

~Kelly

Resurrection Power!

Rejoicing today that Christ has conquered death and defeated the grave... His victory gives us power to live holy and fruitful lives! We have much work ahead as we finish our time at Trinity UMC in Clayton, and transition to full-time fundraising!

Please pray that we would fully depend on His resurrection power- and abide in Him moment by moment. The task is great, but this Easter we are reminded that our God is GREATER! Praise Him!

Old Friends... New Journey

It was so sweet to travel to North Carolina this past week to see some dear friends from very significant moments of my life! It is such a blessing to be invited into someone's home and life and invite them to join us on our journey in return! We had a great time reconnecting and doing life together!

First, we stayed with my roommate from Uganda, Heather who lives in Charlotte, NC. We were able to share with her middle school girls Bible Study on Wednesday night- they were a lot of fun! Then we spoke to her 5th grade class at Carmel Christian School. The kids were really interested in what God is doing around the world- it was perfect timing because they had just finished up Missions Week at their school! They were such a blessing to us- it was especially sweet to read a book of encouraging notes from each child in the class! We will be reading it often to encourage our hearts! And we will always remember Caleb leading them in his "Everybody Africa!" chant! He was in his glory, working the crowd and dancing all across the room!

We had planned to see Tricia and Nate (I knew Tricia from our homeschooling group in highschool!), but since Caleb came down with a cold we didn't want to share our germs with Tricia who has CF. Although we were sad that we couldn't see them, and join them at their Transplantiversary Party- it was a little gift from our loving God to have a mandatory vacation from people in the midst of our traveling!

We rented a room at a hotel in Raleigh and just enjoyed being a family! We spent both afternoons that weekend outside in God's glorious creation- rest for our souls and a feast for our eyes!


And we stayed with my roommate from college, Emilie who lives in Raleigh. It was just like old times as we reminisced about our college days and laughed about silly inside jokes! But the sweetest moments were shared at the feet of Jesus as they gathered around and prayed over us on Tuesday night! It was a perfect end to an evening of sharing God's vision for Uganda over tasty food and amazing dessert! It was great to see Emilie, and our other college friend, Erin and to meet Erin's husband Brian, and Emilie's roommate Brandi.

Thank you for praying us to and fro safely! Thank you for praying for our sleep- the boys did pretty well! Pray with us that God would raise up champions of missions to join our Team! We are so grateful for those of you already on our team. Let us know how we can help you put feet to the mission God has given you! It is a privilege to work hand in hand with you!
~Kelly