End of the week...

Our first week in Regina is coming to an end.  We are glad that we are here and are finally getting settled in.  A part of us is a little sad to be so far away from home, namely Kansas and Texas, however, we are excited to be here in Canada with these great people.   The members of Discovery Baptist Church have gone out of their way to make us comfortable and help us get acclimated.   Please continue to pray for us as we begin our first week at the church beginning tomorrow.  Tomorrows message is entitled, "Introductions."  It is the introduction to the letter of Paul to the Philippians.

One week from now...

...we should be settling in our new home! We have less than one week before leave for our cross-country trek to Regina.

This time of preparation and transition could not have been sweeter. DJ and I both had our final days at work last Thursday. We have been spending the past few days preparing and crossing items off our "Master To-Do List." Day by day we are getting closer to being prepared logistically and emotionally.

We have been increasingly blessed over the past few weeks. I would love to share with you some of the special blessings we have experienced.
- A family from our church was generous enough to purchase for us a ton of clothing from an employee sale at the American Eagle Distribution Center. We now have an assortment of new, warm clothes to take with us! Wow! God's blessing was even more evident because we love all the clothes and they ALL fit us too!
- A couple from our church has been allowing us to live at their ranch outside of town and has asked us to only reimburse them for the utilities. It has been so peaceful and beautiful to be surrounded with God's creation! We have come to adore the horses that greet us each morning and evening out our front door.
- Our church family threw us a wonderful "Sad to See You Go, But Glad You Are Going Where God Is Calling You" Party. It was a special and emotional time of reminiscing about the past and celebrating the future. We felt overwhelmingly blessed by all the touching memories that our friends and family shared. It was an event that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

- Our church family also blessed us with an overly-generous financial gift. We feel so humbled and honored by this gift and all the kind words that have been shared with us before our departure.

There have been many other gifts and blessing from those we love. We are thankful to times that we have been able to spend with different members of our family before we leave, also. Everyone’s support and love for us has been unbelievable. Between the caring graciousness in which our loved ones here are sending us off and the joyful excitement that our new church family is already welcoming us with, this transition has been enjoyable and bearable. We are thankful for that!

Until next time,

Amanda  

Road to Discovery

Greetings… Due to the high demand of individuals who are wanting to follow our move to Regina, Saskatchewan, our blog has been revived. Amanda and I are planning to make the move to Regina on November 14th and barring any difficulties at the border, we should arrive in Regina by the next evening. In the weeks leading up to the big move, we are preparing our immigration paperwork, trying to sell/giveaway our furniture and extra stuff, and prepare spiritually for the journey.

The church we are going to is Discovery Baptist Church in Regina. The faith community there is made up of about 100 lovely individuals. It is in the southeast part of the city. We anticipate that the move will take approximately 18-19 hours to drive – maybe longer pulling a trailer. Please pray for us. Pray that we will get the necessary preparations and transitions completed in a timely fashion as the date of our departure quickly arrives. Pray for our health as we seem to be in less than optimal health as of late. Pray that God would guide and direct us as he wills and more importantly pray that we would be open to his direction and faithfully abide though it might be difficult.

Blessings

DJ and Amanda

First Run Video

This is the first draft of our Video to Uganda.





This video mainly features only us and not the rest of the team since it goes out to our supporters and sponsors.

Day 5 & 6 - Makindu

Day 5 was more clinics and seminars. I didn't speak on this day but supported Brent and Richard. Richard preached the crusade in the evening where about 5 came to the Lord.

Amanda continued her work with the clinics. She helped to document the children and pray with the patients. The clinics were overwhelmed with people seeking medical care.
Day 6 -I went with the clinic teams to Busagasi. Busagasi is another smaller village further in the bush. Busagasi was even more in need and more impoverished. This was my first time to serve with the Dental Team. I assisted Dr. Mcvey and Kersten. It was a very rewarding ministry for me. We mainly pulled teeth since a dentist was way too expensive for them. We also passed out toothbrushes. I was allowed to pray for every patient that came through the dental office.

Amanda worked in the medical clinic nearby. She comforted the patients with her love and served as an assistant and pharmacist along with Dr. Gail and Daniella.

Later that evening I returned ahead of the medical teams to prepare for the evening crusade. I preached an evangelistic message about seeking after the spiritual versus seeking after the physical things in life. It was a moving experience for me as 35 people came forward to receive Christ. I praise God for allowing me to be His instrument.


Afterward, the pastoral team ministered to a full room of new believers.

Day 4 - In Makindu

Day 4 - Our first full day in the bush consisted of clinics and seminars. The medical and dental teams started viewing patients while the pastors went and led a seminar. The first day at the seminar Richard Franz and I preached for about an hour each.

I spoke mainly on unity out of Romans 12. How we are one church even though we are so far away from each other. Because of Christ we are united in His Body.

Afterward, I ate lunch with the pastor. It was the first time I ate with my hands while at Uganda. Thanks to the Newkirks for preparing us ahead of time for this!
Amanda served in the medical clinic documenting the patients as well as just administering her love.


This photo is of Amanda and Mariam (our chef).

The clinics were overrun with people who needed medical care and for many it was the first time they had ever been in a medical clinic.

That evening Day 2 of the crusade began with Brent preaching the message again. He did great and about 4 came to Christ. One of the duties of the pastors was to meet with the newly born again Christians and to encourage them in their new walk.

Day 4 was all about serving and work. It was a great day!

Day 3 - Off to the Bush

On day 3 we headed out for the bush. Everybody moved their belongings to travel pack that we brought along with us. After a quick breakfast everyone gathered together for a moment of prayer before heading first to the capital city of Kampala then to "the bush" (undeveloped region) where we would stay the night in Makindu, our first stop.

We rode in minivans through Kampala where we picked up a lunch and some supplies. We also exchanged some American Dollars for Ugandan Schillings. The exchange was in our favor since it was 2400 schillings to an American dollar.

It took us about three hours to arrive in Makindu. In Makindu they have what they call "Kansas College". Kansas College is the secondary school that Uganda NOW supports. When we arrived they gave us a tour of the campus.
We would stay in Makindu for several days. One of the first people we met was a couple named Rosette and Moses. We quickly became friends. You would be amazed how much we had in common with them. They were the Ugandan version of DJ and Amanda.




The day wrapped up with day 1 of the crusade that the pastors would be preaching. The first night 4 people were saved. Brent preached the first night and did a great job. The crusades start with about 2 hours of worship.

That night we set up our bunk beds that came with us from Entebbee and headed to our first night in the bush.

A little about the team:
-I served as a pastor and also as a dental assistant.
-Amanda - Documented patients at medical clinic and ministered to women at Makindu
-Kerstin - Dental assistant from Fort Hays University
-Daniella - Served as Pharmacist at medical clinic
-Laura - Team Leader
-Mariam - Photographer and Documentarian and Educator
-Dr. Gail - Doctor at Clinic
-Dr. McVey - Dentist
-Richard - preacher and construction
-Brent - preacher
-Zach Mcvey- Played with Kids
-Zack Franz - Played with Kids
-Carol - Educator