50 kilometers of Ugandan road is all that separates our home
from the Entebbe International Airport.
From the hours of 6pm to 9pm (especially on a Friday or Monday), the
same 50 kilometers takes right under 3 hours to complete…one way. Coming back takes approximately one
hour…no joke.
Driving to the airport to pick up visitors is always
exciting, especially when the visitors are family or close friends. We can’t wait to see them and share
life together once again. At the
same time, we’re just as anxious to meet and discover new friendships with
those we barely or have never met before.
All is good when you are a missionary far from home.
But then there is the drive after the visit; that same 50
kilometers can’t be long enough.
My father (which was just here with my mother for 3 short weeks) with a
tear in his eye, as we were leaving our compound said, “Parting is such sweet
sorrow”. He uttered those famous
words out loud as Emma, Annie, Lucy and Wendy were all huddled in support for
one another, watching as the van slowly drove away. As “Plank Eye”, a famous rock band once put it, “It’s
difficult to say goodbye.” We all
benefited greatly from mom and dad’s time here. Thank you for all you do!
The third and final term of the year for the FNC Academy has
begun. For some reason, I was a
bit nervous/anxious for the return of all 39 of our kids. Would all of them come back? In what shape would they be? Are our
teachers and staff ready for another term? Was this really a good idea?
With the exception of 3, all 39 students arrived on time,
uniforms cleaned, pressed and were more than ready to learn! The three M.I.A. eventually came the
next day. Our teachers and staff
blew us out of the water; it was like they never went for holiday. Let me take this time to thank Michael
Yikki and the amazing FNCA staff for the hours of preparation put forth over
the break. The support you all
showed (the weekly home visits, the more than 10 hour journey deep into the
village to love on little Dona and her family as we helped bury her mother),
and the many sacrifices only God knows about, showed on the children’s faces as
they returned. Thank you for
loving on our kids, and thank you for showing it through your service.
Wendy and I want to take this last section of the
blog/newsletter to inform all of you of a major shift we feel God making with
us, and the mission here in Uganda.
From the very beginning, we have been trying to replace ourselves,
pouring our lives into the next leaders of Friday Night Church. We have always believed, at the end of
the day, that Ugandans minister best to Ugandans…and it has been our desire, to
begin a work that could be carried on past our abilities and gifting.
With that in mind, we feel our time “on ground” in Uganda is
coming to a close. God has
assembled a great team here. We
strongly feel the best days of FNC and the academy are yet to come. Part of this transition is doing what
is in the best interest of our kids and family. But another big reason is our heart’s desire to see
FNC academy graduate to the next level.
It is our vision to educate kids all the way through the twelfth grade,
which is going to take serious efforts on our part stateside. From empowering our teachers and staff,
to providing the space and future facilities for the students, our stateside
efforts are desperately needed.
The story has to be told before it can be realized.
Now, there may be some concern that without our family on
ground full-time that the wheels of FNC have the potential to fall off. As my father always says, “Time will
tell”…it always does. But let me
bring this personal assurance…we have been committed, we are committed, and we
will continue to be committed. Once
we return stateside both Wendy and I will continue to be part of the weekly
FNCA staff meetings via SKYPE, and will be in constant communication to maintain
the health and wellbeing. We also have trips planned in February and July
to be back in Uganda to make sure our kingdom work through the academy is at
full capacity.
We are excited to be going home, but we are already looking
forward to our return; part of our hearts will forever remain here in Africa. Wendy and I humbly ask for your
continued prayers, as it is our desire to exit well, handing off the baton we
have thankfully carried for the last two years. With God and our family’s stateside commitment to The
Kissing Well and FNC, alongside your continued support, the mission of
providing “Hope to the hopeless” for the children of Uganda will go forward.
