One week out...

The big trip is upon us! Its hard to contemplate all that will be happening over the next 30 days...in many ways it is very surreal. But with God the surreal is real, and the unlikely is very likely going to happen.

• One week from today we will be en route to Africa.
• Two weeks from today we will be finishing up our first marriage conference in Uganda.
• Three weeks from today we will be finishing up our second marriage conference in Kenya.
• Four weeks from today we will be back Charlottesville, living out the truths of the gospel in our marriage here in the states.

Yesterday we attended a Bible study at Advancing Native Missions out in Nellysford that our team leader, Phil Smuland, was leading. In addition to the great teaching on Romans 1 we received, there were a few VIP's in the room whom we greatly admire:

1. Mike Carderelli, a missionary who has spent the last ten years in the field of the 10/40 window giving all of himself to the work of the Lord. When we saw him Sarah and I were both brought to tears...
2. Beau Barado, another missionary who has spent much time in the 10/40 window ministering in a very difficult environment. We don't know him as well, but have a great respect for he and his family because of the stories we have heard over the years.
3. Four pastors from around the world (Africa, Israel, India, and Viet Nam) who shepherd flocks in places that have many wolves.
4. A young lady from Brazil who appears to love the Lord deeply and is seeking him daily while she spends the year in the states.

Sarah and I have always, since our conversions, admired and respected foreign missionaries in a way very similar to the way young men admire athletes and young ladies admire ballerinas...to be in the room with these men and women was awe-inspiring.

Pray for our last minute preparations...there is a lot of excitement and nervousness about where the Lord has brought us so far and where he will be taking us in the next weeks.

Joyful Journey

In the past few months of preparation we have had many opportunities to grow in our faith. The Lord has been providing for our trip by creating a team of prayer warriors and financial partners! We are about 80% of the way financially, with just about $1500 to go to have the trip fully paid for. Each day we hear from old friends who have become new supporters! It has been a very joyful journey so far...thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the ways you have shown God's love to us and to the pastors in Uganda!

Here are a couple of prayer requests:

1. Joyfulness in our marriage! Pray that we continue in the joy He has provided us.
2. Good study of His Word. Pray that we are each being fed daily in His Word. Pray also that the training we are receiving from the pastor we are going with will stick in our minds!
3. Final preps...we're just over a month from leaving and there are a ton of little things to do between now and then! Pray that we get things done in good order and with patience.

God bless you!

Sharing the gospel in the process...

Last weekend my 81 year old uncle called me for the first time in my life. I lived with him for a year back in the mid-90's and we are on good terms, he just never picks-up the phone to call. At first he left a message without any details and, assuming the worst, I called him back as soon as I got it. He was looking for information about a hip replacement for his girlfriend and thought I could help.

When the call first came through I was instantly nervous that it was going to be an announcement about some terminal disease...I figured he was calling me to tell me he was going to be dying soon. The prospect of his death was scary and sad for me on many levels. He is the last living Uncle on my mom's side of the family and from what I can tell he has no faith in God in any way, shape, or form.

Once we were chatting for a bit I mentioned our trip to Africa and he asked me, in a mocking way, if I thought that the end of the world was near (this is a topic he often would ridicule me about when I lived with him in LA). I told him that I did not know, and that there seems to be a lot of worry about the end of the world but not about the end of our individual lives. He laughed that off a bit and didn't take my bait...I couldn't get him to grab the hook that would take us into a chat about death and eternal security.

None the less, I have decided to write him a letter sharing with him the key elements of the gospel. He has never been very open to these types of chats, and I am nervous about his response, but I felt led to write the letter so I am sending it today.

Please pray for my uncle Paul in LA...that the letter will hook him on Jesus!

Study Time...

Its time to study. There is a 20 page outline, single-spaced, cross-referenced, and with a myriad of Bible verses that we will need to know inside-and-out while we're in Africa. The African pastors are hungry for the Word of God and will listen attentively to the Bible being taught for hours on end.

Unlike the U.S., there are not many places to which a pastor can go for intense Bible training...that is where Equipping Pastors International comes in! Pastors like Phil regularly meet with indigenous pastors overseas to hold Bible teaching conferences that supplement the other small amount of training they receive.

Tonight we are the students. Between now and our departure in July Phil is going to be teaching us the same content we will be helping to share in Uganda and Kenya. In small chunks at a time he will take us through the lessons line-by-line, step-by-step.

This is actually our second time through much of this material. It is the same teaching we received in our pre-marital counseling 13 years ago this summer! How exciting to share with others the keys to the door to our marital house.

Plane tickets...

Tomorrow the plane tickets will be reserved! This past Sunday we had the Smuland's over for some planning discussion and trip dreaming. We'll be in Entebbe, Uganda for the first week and Mt. Kenya for the second. We'll be gone a total of 19 nights.

If you are reading this and have not received a prayer/support letter please let me know! I probably don't have your most current address.

Keep praying!

Childcare...

Since beginning the process of traveling for an overseas mission trip, there has been one unanswered question that comes up over and over...What are we going to do with our 4 lovely little children that are not coming with us?!? With 4 active children under the age of 10, we have to be thoughtful in considering how they will be taken care of while we are 10,000 miles away!

Well, it looks as though the Lord is providing for this need! While there are still a number of details to work through, it looks as though we may be coming to the final stages of figuring this all out. Keep praying and we'll keep you posted!

Prayer letters in the mail!

We are about 2/3 of the way finished getting our prayer letters in the mail! It has taken us through about 2oo stamps and envelopes, but after two weeks of stuffing letters, we are getting close to the end. Having them finished will be awesome!

Travel Dates...

We received out travel dates for our trip to Africa! We'll be leaving on July 8 and returning on July 25. We'll spend most of our first week near Kampala, Uganda and our second week near Mt. Kenya, Kenya. We're getting very excited!

We've narrowed down the childcare situation quite a bit more, but still have a little bit of refining to go before we're completely certain of how things are going to work out. Please pray that we will find places for our children to go that will make their time, and the time for those with them, joyful!

Marriage Get-Away...

This weekend Sarah and I have the opportunity to get-away without children for one night at the Homestead, a hotel in the hills of western Virginia. I'm really excited about the retreat and feel as though it is something that will help prepare us to make the 3 1/2 month charge through all the preparation for Africa. Please pray...

1. That our love will be exciting and new!
2. That our children will behave well with their hosts.
3. That our rest will be invigorating and renewing.

Thank you so much!

Doug

Is it worth it...

In the last two or three weeks, as we've begun the planning process, the increased level of spiritual attack has become palpable.

It could be that my assumptions about spiritual attacks happening more when we step-out in faith are causing my eyes to open to what has really been going on all along; it could be that I notice it more because I'm looking for it more. The Devil has hated the church since the beginning and has not let up his assault since the garden. But I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that whenever I've stepped out in faith, I see/feel/sense the dark pressure mounting.

From crashed computers to mis-communications...illness to random temptations...children's nightmares to challenges at work...it all seems more intense lately.

One of the temptations is to ask the obvious question: Is it worth it? Is a two week trip to Kenya worth all these trials and temptations? Will the fruit we bear be equal to the assault?

Well, apparently the devil thinks it is worth it or he would be trying so hard to discourage and distract us. Along with that, I feel as though if we balk at the short-term mission how can we be open or prepared for the long-term mission God may want us to be a part of...the baby-step we're taking now will be an encouragement for others now and a signal to us about the boldness of our work (whether here or abroad) from here on out.

The Great Commission is worth the attack and all the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." We are committed to joy in the journey and that is what I feel is under the greatest attack.

Please pray for us that we will be wise, strong, and joyful. We cannot do this alone...we need the Holy Spirit each moment to sustain and protect us!

Thank you!!

Unity...

The Bible talks about a married couple being "one flesh;" that a man will "cleave" to his wife. Pray for us that we will have the courage and grace to connect in a Biblical manner.

The pre-trip-trip...

We are in the Pre-Trip phase, which is a trip in itself. Finding the frontal lobe time to complete the details is a challenge, and finding the time to talk together when we are not exhausted or distracted by the 4 little ones and/or work is just as challenging.

Here's what we've accomplished this week:

1. Our passport applications are 90% complete. Still need Sarah's birth-certificate, photos of Sarah, and the number from my old (expired) passport.
2. The "rough draft" of the prayer letter, along with a rough draft of the list of those we will send it to, is done.
3. We have copies of the teaching materials...all 18 pages of single spaced notes from Phil!

In addition to all of this, we have completed our taxes, application for a school we are looking at for Abe (along with the financial aid packet), and the paperwork for getting the kids settled in my school are all complete.

Its been a paperwork heavy two days, but I know we are just scratching the surface. My goal now is to get all of the addresses in an excel file in preparation for mailing them out. I also need to make an appointment with the health department to arrange for the first round of vaccinations.

Thanks for praying!

Prayer needs...

Here is a list of our top prayer needs...without God answering these prayers we cannot have a fruitful mission trip:

1. Joy in the journey, including our preparation for the journey. We don't want to be sour when we get there.

2. Passion and purity in our marriage...we need a good dose of both.

3. A caring and joyful place for our children to stay.

4. Clear minds as we learn the material we'll be helping to teach.

5. Money (somewhere in the neighborhood of $4000) and safety in our travels.

Over all of this is the need for a humble and contrite spirit before the Lord!

Thank you for doing this prayer work with us!

Our first steps...

Our first steps in planning out our trip to Africa have been quite small and extremely easy.

Step 1-Decide to go.
Step 2-Tell Phil and Ann that we've decided to go.
Step 3-Find prayer partners.
Step 4-Pick up the paperwork for the passports.
Step 5-Fill out the paperwork for the passports...this is the step I'm currently on.

Filling out the papers is actually not that difficult, but I am finding that what I call my "frontal lobe time" is very limited. My job keeps me busy and wears me out; Sarah's time at home with the kids is also very taxing and she is tired by the early evening. After bedtime we are needing to chill-out just to recover and get rest for the next day. Sitting down for an hour and doing paperwork is the feels like the equivalent of swimming the English Channel!

Pray for us. We have to find the energy and time to do the little things necessary each day. The thousand little details are not difficult, but if we let them add up we will be in a load of trouble come departure time!