Looking for a Coach?

We believe that our mission this year- and every year- is to coach individuals to be more missions active. And perhaps you've been thinking, "I really need to be more involved in missions, I just don't know how." We would love to serve you in this way.

We are praying that God would lead us to 12 people that we could coach in a very intentional way in the coming months. If you would like that type of challenge and accountability- shoot us an e-mail. We'll be praying too- and maybe we'll e-mail you first :) We're excited about the new places God is going to take us as we strive to love His people and His world in a more complete way!

Grafted into Holiness

Just read this amazing illustration of holiness... a little lengthy... but so worth it!

"...let us think of the grafting of a tree, that instructive symbol of our union to Jesus. The illustration is suggested by the Savior's words, "Make the tree good, and his fruit good."

I can graft a tree so that only a single branch bears good fruit, while many of the natural branches remain, and bear their old fruit- a type of believer in whom a small part of the life is sanctified, but in whom, from ignorance or other reasons, the carnal life still in many respects has full dominion.

I can graft a tree so that every branch is cut off, and the whole tree becomes renewed to bear good fruit; and yet, unless I watch over the tendency of the stems to give sprouts, they may again rise and grow strong, and, robbing the new graft of the strength it needs, make it weak. Such are Christians who, when apparently powerfully converted, forsake all to follow Christ, and yet after a time, through unwatchfulness, allow old habits to regain their power, and whose Christian life and fruit are but feeble.

But if I want a tree wholly made good, I take it when young, and, cutting the stem clean off on the ground, I graft it just where it emerges from the soil. I watch over every bud which the old nature could possibly put forth, until the flow of sap from the old roots into the new stem is so complete, that the old life has, as it were, been entirely conquered and covered by the new. Here I have a tree entirely renewed- emblem of the Christian who has learned in entire consecration to surrender everything for Christ, and in whole-hearted faith wholly to abide in Him.

If, in the last case, the old tree were a reasonable being that could co-operate with the Gardener, what would his language be to it? Would it not be this: "Yield now yourself entirely to this new nature with which I have invested you; repress every tendency of the old nature to give buds or sprouts; let all your sap and all your life powers rise up into this graft from yonder beautiful tree, which I have put on you; so shall you bring forth sweet and much fruit." And the language of the tree to the Gardener would be, "When You graft me, O spare not a single branch; let everything of the old self, even the smallest bud, be destroyed, that I may no longer live in my own, but in that other life that was cut off and brought and put upon me, that I might be wholly new and good... I have only to abide in that which I have received. He cares for the immediate repression and removal of every bud which the old nature would put forth..." -Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

It's Time to Party!

Today is the official Kick-Off for the Candle in the Corner event! Join Heidi as we get this party started! And do your part to support and encourage the missionaries highlighted the next two weeks! Can't wait to see how God shows up and brings Himself more glory!

And I also wanted to bring your attention to the fact that I am kicking this blog into high gear! I've been slacking! Starting next week- we're digging into the World Go! Manual. You can download it for free here. Get ready for a great time in His word, and discussing how we can get missions active right at home! Can't wait!

Ministry to International Students- You Can Do It!

While we will be in Uganda discipling students at Kampala International University- you can be partnering with us in international student ministry right here! I am sure there are international students at Rowan University, Rutgers, and Drexel to name a few colleges around us. You can check out ISI staff listing page here to find someone already working with international students near you! Or you could check out Intervarsity International to find a group here. Here are some tips on befriending an international student from International Students, Inc:

Friendship Tip:

Making Friends
International students are eager to get to know you and your family, typical Americans. They want to be included in your routine. Welcome them into your home as it is. Let them see your normal, day-to-day life. This is the relaxed hospitality they long for. Genuine hospitality says, "Join us today. Relax, watch television, play with the children, wash your clothes, bring a friend, take a nap, or whatever you would like. We offer you friendship. Come and be with us, just as we are." This is hospitality, not entertainment. Entertainment says, "Before I can invite an international student into my home, I just have it neat and clean with everything in order." Hospitality says, "Come into my home and be with us just as we are. Let me put another plate on the table." This is the comfortable "homey" place every international student longs to find while here in the United States. The great tragedy is that very, very few ever get to experience it. (In fact, most international students return home without ever seeing the inside of an American home-or church.)

Friendship means moving beyond a superficial knowing to a deeper experience of being understood. Ask your friends about themselves and listen carefully to their responses. Focus on drawing them out. Ask specifics-who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Ask about their families, friends, favorite activities, holidays, foods, religion, and customs. Respond with statements of interest and acceptance, which begin to build trust. Say, for example, "That sounds very interesting; tell me more about it." Avoid controversial political discussions and projecting an attitude that "America is best."

Take the time to read and discover what is taking place in your international friend's home country. Ask informed questions, such as, "I've read about serious environmental problems in your country. Does that directly affect you and your family?" Don't, of course, assume that you know all about a country without some added time spent learning.

Real friendship accepts the other person as he or she is. True acceptance says, "I respect who you are. God made you in His image and I will value your thoughts and opinions. I will not try to force you to accept my way of thinking, or base my friendship on how much you agree with me." Only in a sincere atmosphere of acceptance will the international student risk exploring Christianity and its personal message. He or she needs to see a demonstration of unconditional love as you reach out with Jesus' love.

Abridged from Becoming a Friend With an International Student, by Meri MacLeod, (a training publication of International Students, Inc.) For ordering information, see Review below.

Review
Becoming a Friend With an International Student
by Meri MacLeod

Revised and updated several times, this booklet has become a classic resource for ISI Friendship Partners. After a quick overview of the importance of outreach to the international students who come to your local campus each fall, this booklet provides not only a motivational boost to Americans who are making friends with internationals but also experience-tested, practical advice for how to make every meeting count. A few paragraphs of Becoming a Friend With an International Student have been excerpted above (see "An Adventure's First Steps").

This 30-page booklet may be ordered from the ISI website :
Hard copy $3.80 + shipping & handling
PDF download $1.90

One Thousand Gifts...

Some days all I can do is praise Him for His goodness and presence- not because the days are fabulous- but because I don't want to find out what would happen if I didn't!

164. a thoughtful mother-in-law who let me borrow her car on a rainy Friday165. free $10 lip gloss

166. chocolate chip cookie and a steamy cup of coffee on a dreary day

167. an empty Saturday sprawling before us, to fill as we delight

168. our first WGM paycheck169. a surprise from Josh
(including a gooey chocolate dessert, and a chick flick for a Friday night)

170. snuggles, even from a cranky Caleb

171. His covenant of love... I am chosen!

172. His goodness, though I am often unaware of it

Perfect timing

Why we ever question Gods provision and why we are ever surprised by His impeccable timing I will never know (and never learn). As many of you know Kelly and I have been praying to be at 35% funded for quite sometime now. At first our prayer was to be at 35% by the end of June so that we would have health insurance through WGM. That did not happen and we wondered why God hadn't answered that prayer. We realized that He had answered the prayer for health insurance but not the way we wanted. He was just waiting for us to stop being so stubborn and to open our eyes to His provision. Since then we have continued to pray to be at 35% funded as we watched our savings account drop and realized week after week at being a valet does not provide very well for a family of 4. Being the one who keeps track of our finances I have recently been stressing knowing that we were very quickly running out of money and wondering "what is taking God so long?" However, I always knew He had everything under control and would provide- that never seems to keep the stress away. As we shared recently we have made it to 35% funded and continue to move on towards out next benchmark (50% by years end). We filled out the paper work as quickly as possible and sent it back in to WGM. Today we received our first "pay check" from WGM and I truly felt the weight of the world lift from my shoulders.

I dont mean to put so much emphasis on money but it has been a stress of mine and a prayer I've been praying for some time. It is such a relief to see the answer come to be reality. Thank you God! One thing I know I need to continue to give to God is my stresses. Knowing that He will always provide is one thing, living that way is another. I pray that I will continue to grow in the knowledge that God is always in control, knows all of our needs, and will indeed always take care of His children!

Hard...

Life is just hard sometimes. The life of a missionary on home assignment... the life of a mama with a sick baby... the EARLY mornings... four generations living under one roof... I'm sure I could dwell on this list... but I don't like to think what would happen if I did...

And so today, at the prompting of Ann at A Holy Experience, I am looking for gold. Yesterday was much better than the day before, as I paused to praise God for the little things, like delight in a pile of leaves. Being stuck inside with two little guys on a stormy day will force me to get more creative! Will you join me on this treasure hunt to find the silver lining in the midst of the storm? Leave a praise note so that I can rejoice with you! Tomorrow I'll let you know how it went, and will hopefully have some delightful pictures to share!

One Thousand Gifts!

Cultivating a heart of gratitude... i've gotten lost in the daily... fixed my gaze on the mundane... and my whole spirit shrivels up... a good dose of gratitude is in order...

...the glorious colors of autumn...

...the scent of easy apple cake in the oven...

...starting and finishing a task (emptying the dishwasher)...

...time with Jesus...

...jj heller (check her out on itunes!!!)...

...friends stopping by, that bring sanity to my stay at home life...

...friends who are brave enough to welcome the least of these into their home and hearts...

Drinking in Autumn...

Autumn is definitely my favorite season- the brilliant colors, the rich scents, the delicious treats... and I am drinking them in this fall! It makes me sad in some ways, that Africa doesn't have autumn, but I am excited to create new traditions (like the Rain Festival at HIS). But now, this autumn, I am feasting on the glories of the season!

Which is why I was so excited that my friend, Alex, told me to check out R.M. Rilke:

Autumn

The leaves are falling, falling as if from far up,
as if orchards were dying high in space.
Each leaf falls as if it were motioning "no."

And tonight the heavy earth is falling
away from all other stars in the loneliness.

We're all falling. This hand here is falling.
And look at the other one. It's in them all.

And yet there is Someone, whose hands
infinitely calm, holding up all this falling.

-R.M. Rilke
Translated by Robert Bly 

I am so glad that no matter where I am, He is there, holding me up, sustaining me.

Pray FERVENTLY

Brothers and Sisters,

It seems as though Satan is fighting every move of the Holy Spirit. God is longing to do great and mighty things in Uganda, and Satan hates it! I just got a prayer letter from our future field directors and we need to be in fervent prayer for Uganda! The missionaries on the field are experiencing great spiritual attack, some have been gravely ill, and there are at least 14 new missionaries trying to raise funds to join them. Would you stand with us in bold and diligent prayer? Here are the most up to date requests from the field- I just got them today!

And our own personal prayer request is for Seth's health- we will have seen the Doctor 3 times in one week- due to his wheezing and coughing- that they think is asthma and bronchiolitis. Pray that we would figure out the best treatment, and that he would get and stay healthy! Thank you! Hard to focus on much else when my little guy is ill :(

How you can be Praying for WGM Uganda…

Please pray for the physical & spiritual health of the missionaries & their families…

• Southern Uganda Missionaries:
  • John & Beth Muehleisen
  • Jonathan & Lisa Mayo (Jordan & Ethan)
  • Kenneth & Delight Hopson (Kaleb, Austin, & Emilee) (HMA)
  • Lisa Fish
  • Keith & Donna Bourne (Haley & Rachel)
  • Jean Komline
  • Teresa Duncan
  • Jenna Gaventa
  • Betsy Kurtz
  • Kristi Fuller
  • Brent Duncan
• Northern Uganda Missionaries
  • Billy & Joanna Coppedge (Elsie Jayne & Lucy Mae)

MDs Preparing to Serve Throughout Uganda

Jamie Friedrich

The Hallahan Family

Scott and Meg Rambo

Michael and Brenda Guilliams

The Bryant Family

Pam Wilson

The Ferg Family

The Burke Family

SPECIAL PRAYER AS WE MOVE INTO OCTOBER…

Beth Muehleisen has been quite sick as we have started October. Please pray for Jesus’ healing hand to be upon her in these days.

There will be a Bible Storying Conference hosted by Africa Gospel Church and World Gospel Mission in Arua October 13-16. Please pray for all of those traveling and preparing to come to the conference. Pray that Jesus might come and make Himself known to all in attendance as we learn from His Word.

In the last year, we have been able to begin a Community Health Evangelism ministry. We are seeing God move in an amazing way as these trained teams go into communities to bring about both spiritual and physical transformation. However, as we advance against the enemy in this way, we are seeing and experiencing a great battle. Please pray for this ministry that has great potential to bring about transformation for eternity.

Ongoing Prayer Requests for the Field:

• Please continue to pray for the field housing situation. With rent increases and more missionaries arriving, the need for affordable field housing continues to remain a need.
• Please pray for the monthly pastoral trainings taking place in 10 different locations including 1 in Sudan. Over 110 pastors are being trained at 3 different levels. (Also there will be a Sudan Bible Storying Conference the third week of October in Akot, Sudan. Please pray specifically for needed translators).
• Please pray for the youth pastor’s training as well.
• Please pray as we continue to look at new areas for outreach. New ministries have already begun in South Sudan . We are now looking at ministry opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 5 strategic locations within Uganda .
• Please pray that the Lord will provide 25 to 30 new missionaries in the next 5 years to meet the needs of the expanding ministries.
• Please pray for land to be purchased to build an Urban Center or to be able to purchase land with an existing building for multi-purpose ministries in Kampala. This Urban Center would be a place for the 600 plus students from 11 African countries in the University Ministry. It would be a multi purpose building for a church to reach professionals, a place to begin businesses or to rent out to other businesses to help fund the ministries of the church.
• Please pray that God will provide the necessary resources to meet the needs within all of the ministry opportunities.
• Please pray that we would all have the attitude of Christ, that we would keep Him the center focus of our lives, marriages, families, & ministries, and that we would be a light to Uganda.

Candle in the Corner Giveaway!

I am so blessed to announce this giveaway that we are a part of! Heidi over at Moms, Ministry and More is having a giveaway/fundraiser, and we are one of her featured missionaries! Grab the button to the left for your blog, twitter about it, donate and join the giveaway- this is an easy way to bless a wide array of missionaries! And you get a chance to win a little souvenir from somewhere around the world!

Check out her blog, pray for the missionaries featured, and expand your global influence!

Mission Fast Monday!

Our previous post shares how God has graciously provided our first 35% of monthly pledges. It also shared a verse about sacrificing a thank offering.

And so today- let's fast as our way of saying thank you to God! I know you have something to be grateful for.

And if you can't think of anything off the top of your head, perhaps I could suggest reading Psalm 103... "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's..."

35%! Praising Him!

**Repost. It's official, the paperwork is in the mail- we made it to 35%!!!!!!

"...for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." -Psalm 50:10-15

He doesn't need us, but we certainly need Him! And He is so good to us. Join us in giving Him thanks and praise! We finally made it to 35%! God is right on time, and we will have health insurance coverage and salary soon through WGM! We are grateful for His provision of health insurance up to this point through some amazing champions- and are so glad they can now pour those resources elsewhere! And oh, how grateful we are for each one who has pledged. But more importantly, how grateful we are to the One who generously provides all things (for us and for those who have pledged). Thank you for each of you who prayed us over this first hurdle! You are so dear to us!