********AFRICA 2017******

                 

                            Some of our Ugandan Kids                        Our Kenyan Grandkids                                 Some of our Kenyan Kids

Dear friends & family,

Our 4th mission trip to Africa was amazing! It was the first time that none of us got sick; thank you so much for your prayers!  We sincerely appreciate every single one of you who helped us get there! Whether you donated $10 or $1000, whether you mowed our lawn while we were gone, stocked our fridge when we returned, shop- vacced our flooded basement, took care of our mail & kept an eye on our house, drove us to/picked us up from the airport, donated supplies for us to take along, donated items for our bowling fundraiser, prayed for us diligently each day, donated to Haywood School, bought basket/jewlery that we sold after we got back, etc, etc…all of you had a hand in the work God is doing in Uganda & Kenya! We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the MANY ways all of you partnered with us!  

The resonating theme that we see over & over again in Africa is “obedience”.  All of the organizations we serve with were started because ONE person/couple stepped out in obedience and answered God’s call, no matter how crazy or difficult it seemed.  And because that ONE person/couple said “yes”, thousands of lives have been changed forever! 

*How many souls will spend Eternity in Heaven because of the church plants, Sunday School classes, Kids Clubs/VBS, Bible Studies, Christian radio station, and numerous other outreaches that have taken place into the surrounding villages & communities.

*How many children have been saved from death because of the feeding programs, medical care and surgeries. 

*How many widowed or abandoned single moms are now able to provide for their children through the sewing, jewelry or basket-making programs that have been started for them to earn money in a respectable God-honoring way.

*How many children have been given a hope & a future by receiving an education!

*How many orphans have been given a “family” and introduced to their Heavenly Father who will never abandon them and loves them more than anyone on earth ever could.

*How many future leaders have been raised up into Godly young men & women who are positively impacting the next generation.

It is such a humbling honor to see how far-reaching and wide-spread these organizations have grown over the years and to just be a small tiny piece of the puzzle.  It is such a tremendous blessing to see first-hand the many ways that God is working in and through these organizations.  One of our greatest joys is to see the multiplying affect of child sponsorship.  Again, how ONE child who has been given an education, and more importantly been given love, can end up helping so many in return…the rippling effect is astounding.  Our older sponsored children who are now successfully employed and supporting themselves, find ways to “pay it forward.”  They pay for their younger siblings or cousins school fees, they buy things to improve their relatives/guardian’s homes and circumstances, one of our older sons even started sponsoring his own little boy while he’s still in med school.  (He doesn’t have a source of income, so he skips meals and sells his artwork to be able to sponsor the boy!)  God uses our sponsorship dollars to stretch so far!!! 

NOTE TO OUR HOME CHURCH:  CCC will be having a Sponsorship Sunday on Nov 4 & 5th. Stay tuned! 

If anyone else is interested in child sponsorship, please email me and we can hook you up!  Change a life forever!!!

It is impossible to sum up everything we experienced during the 8 weeks, but here are a few of the highlights: 

*Loving on all our sponsored kids (young & old), pouring into them, engaging in heart-to-heart discussions, playing games with them, sharing laughs, worshipping & praying with them, etc.

*Meeting our 2 “grandchildren” in Kenya! (Our kids are growing up and starting families of their own!)

*Visiting the Haywood School that one of our older sponsored sons started in our honor! (We put him through college to earn a Social Work & Community Development degree).

*The week of MK Teen Camp (Missionary Kids) at Musana Camp on Lake Victoria—Joey & Anissa were counselors along with a team from our church in WI and Jonas & Alea got to attend as campers!

*Reading bedtime stories every night and cuddling with our youngest sponsored daughter (in Kenya) who would smother me with butterfly kisses while I read to her, tucking her in for the night, and praying over her. (Cue the song “Butterfly kisses and bedtime prayers….”). 

*Worshiping with our Ugandan & Kenyan brothers & sisters in Christ!

*Jonas—being a Veterinary assistant for one of our older sponsored sons (who we put thru college to become a Vet)…for 3 weeks they did house calls on bicycles every evening to the surrounding village. He got to help casterate a calf & 2 pigs, neutered 2 cats, tagged a bull, dewormed lots of rabbits, gave injections to lots of goats, and shoved pills down chickens throats. What an amazing hands-on experience in rural Uganda!

*Alea—holding, feeding, bathing & changing babies at the 3 baby houses we visited. [She gathered info about serving there full time after graduation]

*Anissa—Worshipping with Deaf Kenyans in Kenyan sign language and making new Deaf friends!

*Joey—Home Visits.  We experience such sweet fellowship and hospitality when visiting our sponsored kids’ families, our missionary friends, our grown up sponsored kids, and other precious friends we’ve made along the way.  Enjoying a meal with them (or some fresh fruit, tea, ground nuts or freshly squeezed fruit juice), laughing & sharing around the table, worshipping in song together, extended prayer time with them, walking through their garden or compound, and connecting on a deep personal level.  At one of the homes, we even had a dance party out in the yard! :) 

Our theme this year for all our children outreaches was “Walk With the Wise: Lessons from Proverbs”.  We enjoyed the teaching time, crafts, songs, skits & games with so many schools & groups of kids throughout Uganda & Kenya! Joey had fun playing the role of King Solomon all summer long!  The African kids would all giggle right on cue when he would call Jonas up and start off a Bible verse with “Listen my son….”  ;)  All the children received a brand new pair of socks to remember to make wise choices to keep their feet on the right path.  We also love passing out school supplies to all the schools we visit.  We have never seen the depth of gratitude anywhere in America compared to what we witness in Africa!  You never saw kids more excited about a new pair of socks!  And handing a gallon-sized ziplock bag of used crayons to a teacher, well you might as well be handing her a million dollars!  Our biggest hit this year was colored chalk…some teachers never even knew it existed! (Chalkboards are their primary teaching tool).  We feel soo blessed to be able to distribute these small gifts and materials/supplies to all the schools and missionary organizations we partner with.  Jonas once again used his birthday money to buy sports equipment for Musana Camps.  Thanks again to all of you who sent donations over with us and our team!!

It gets harder & harder to leave Africa each time we go.  It was completely heart-wrenching to say goodbye this trip…all four of us sobbed the whole way to the airport and Anissa started sobbing again as we touched down at OHare airport in Chicago.  There’s just so many loved ones we left behind. And it’s not just the kids we sponsor…it’s ALL of the kids. And the missionaries that live there full time.  And our new friends from the teams we we got to serve with.  And the amazing staff that serve the kids (and us while we are there)…the cooks, the drivers, the gardeners, the social workers, the teachers, the nurse, the aunties/uncles & nannies that love & care for the kids year round.  The love runs deep. The relationships are real. Everyone there has a story…and we are all connected by being a part of HIS story. . Thank you for playing a part in what God is doing in Kenya & Uganda. THANK YOU for standing with our family.  

From the bottom of our hearts….Webale Nyu (Lugandan) & Asante Sana (Swahili) “thank you very much!” 

For His Glory,

Joey, Anissa, Alea & Jonas

P.S. Sorry we did not get our blog up and running this trip (we had technical difficulties & limited wifi).

     *****ATT LOCALS:  Our Uganda sharing night is THIS SUN, 9/17 6-8pm at Calvary Community Church*****