Reasons to Celebrate

The past two weeks have been filled with new ministry opportunities, the arrival of the sixth member of our community, Jaclyn Konczal, the completion of our first chicken coop, and today we are celebrating Rick’s 28th birthday. (click for pics) It’s a lot to be thankful for and we’re definitely feeling the excitement in the house. Today there was much singing, dancing, and eating of good food thanks to our excellent pizza makers, Michelle, Jaclyn and Jackie. Rick got some early morning surprises too with balloons infiltrating our mosquito netted bed at 7:00 a.m., followed by gifts of Pringles, chocolate and a trip into town for selecting fabric and having measurements taken for a shirt that Rick will wear at the wedding of our friends Henry and Regina this Saturday. Today also marks the completion of Rick’s weeklong project – our chicken coop prototype that will hopefully be replicated at several nearby churches as an income generation project. We’re all very proud of his handiwork and thankful that our hen Gloria (a gift given by Ciforo Baptist Church this past Saturday) will have a proper coop to roost in and lay her eggs. We’re praying that she’s a good layer and are encouraging her production with all our food scraps. Rick says rice, cheese rinds and guacamole are her favorite.


Last Saturday Rick, Esther and I were invited to the Amazing Grace Orphanage where 30 Sudanese children are living together. Together with a retired nurse from Oregon named Lyla Peterson, we spoke with the children about health, their changing bodies, and how God wants to protect them from disease and a broken heart. It was a real joy to stand before these young women (Rick spoke with just the boys) and share about God’s guidance and healing in my own relational journey and also His desire to protect both our bodies and hearts from the wounds of the world. Rick and I were invited by the orphanage director and “mommy” to lead a weekly Bible study for the youth (12 girls, 16 boys between the ages of 8 and 18 that represent 5 different tribes). We’re both excited to get to know these kids better and be a loving and consistent presence in their lives.

Michelle, Esther, Jaclyn and I are also planning with Margaret Lumai, the Madi Baptist Women’s Leader, to facilitate women’s meetings within each of the 20 MBA churches. Our first visit will take place March 3rd at Openzinzi Church, followed by a workshop at another nearby rural church a week later. Our hope is to encourage women in the various roles they play as wives, mothers, sisters and friends and guide them through an interactive discussion about how they can be agents of change in their own community. So often we find that the people here feel incapable of making change on their own and that they must have the assistance of outsiders to make a difference. We want to help them recognize the strength they have in their unity and ability to utilize available resources.

Next week Jeff, Michelle, Esther and Jaclyn will return to Sudan to continue work on the Resource Center. Rick and I get to stay behind since our passports are in Kampala for processing our Ugandan work permit. It’ll be a good chance for us to have some alone time and rest a bit. The heat seems to be sapping a lot of energy these days, but promise of the rainy season is holding us over.

Much love to you all!!