Dear Prayer Team,
We are praising God for His protection after an eventful evening yesterday! At around 5pm we were all in the kitchen preparing supper when we heard our dog, Jethro, barking excitedly and then yelping in pain.
Nate stepped outside to see what was going on. He saw a man wearing only underwear standing on our boys' swing in the backyard, apparently trying to get away from Jethro. Nate came back inside and then the man ran around the front of the house and climbed onto our front porch. He tried to open Nate's office windows and then tried to enter our front door, which was thankfully bolted and locked. As we observed the man through our front windows, we were able to tell immediately that he had mental problems.
Nate called our night guard, Bosco, and asked him to come to deal with the man. He was here within a few minutes, just in time to meet the man as he was climbing over our front gate. He told us later that he was sure the man was demon possessed.
Surprisingly, during the whole episode none of us felt fear. The boys were more curious than alarmed. Elijah was constantly asking questions during the ordeal, "Will he hurt Jethro? What's he doing? What's wrong with him?" We prayed aloud several times for God's protection while he was here, and then after he left, we prayed for the man's protection from those who may try to harm him. Society here doesn't have a way of dealing with such people, so they end up roaming the streets and often being beaten for disturbing people. We wondered later if we could have handled the situation differently and if maybe Nate could have had the opportunity to cast the demons out of him in Jesus' name. We are praying for this man now as he roams around town that he would be delivered from his demons before he is harmed by someone.
As vulnerable as we felt, and as angry as we were at his intrusion, we know that he is someone's son and we know that Jesus died for that man. We keep thinking of the accounts in the New Testament of Jesus casting demons out of individuals and of the miraculous transformations afterwards – "clothed and in his right mind". We know that God has the same power to work miracles today as He did when He walked this earth.
A few hours later I (Rhoda) narrowly missed stepping on a snake in our home as I walked out of our bedroom to the living room. I turned on the light in the living room and looked back down the hallway to call out a question to Nate when I saw the snake slithering right outside our bedroom doorway, just where I had stepped a moment before. We have been told to treat all snakes as poisonous here, no matter the size. This one was only about a foot long so Nate was able to kill it easily with a shoe. This is only the 2nd snake we have seen since coming to Uganda – both of them being in our home. ☺ We are thankful that we have had minimal exposure to them as some of our missionary friends nearby have literally been over run with snakes, finding 3 foot long cobras in their cupboards and everything. We praise God again for His protection!
We have received emails from several of you asking if we've been affected by all of the flooding in our area. The hardest hit areas are in the North, so we are far removed from it. Bridges have been swept away, crops have been destroyed, thousands are homeless, and over twenty people have died in Uganda alone. The floods stretch across the whole of Africa from Western Africa to the Red Sea. There is expected to be another wave of heavy rains hitting East Africa soon.
After a wonderful month with my parents here in August, this month has been spent getting back into our normal routine of language study. Nate has been hitting it hard with our language tutor, but I have taken a break from the last few weeks of lessons as I have been spending a lot of time in bed with morning sickness. Yes, God has blessed us with another little one! We look forward to meeting him/her sometime next April.
Nate continues to meet with the ELCU pastors each Saturday for Bible study, singing and prayer, as well as fellowshipping over a meal. Since the Jesus Film campaign, a few of them have started Bible studies in the areas where the film was shown and are making plans to begin more in other villages. It is exciting to see their passion for spreading the Gospel. We have had several financial gifts lately designated for purchasing Bibles, so we have been able to get Bibles into the hands of many existing members of the pastors' churches and now into the hands of those who are seeking Him in the Bible studies. His Word will not return void.
Please pray with us…
Praise God for:
- His protection from the mad man who tried to enter our home yesterday
- His protection from the snake in our home
- The new little one that He has blessed us with!
- Great strides in language learning for Nate
- The new Bible studies that have been started since the Jesus Film campaign
Pray for:
- Protection and deliverance for the mad man
- Those affected by the flooding in the North
- A healthy pregnancy for Rhoda and safe delivery of our little one
- Unity amongst the ELCU pastors
- The salvation and growth in faith of those attending the pastors' Bible studies
- Wisdom as we are soon to enter our 2nd phase of missionary service here – "the planning phase"
- Protection from the Enemy
Thank you for your prayer support and for all of your encouragement in the work here!
In Him,
Nate, Rhoda, Elijah, Judah and baby
* Website: jorenews.blogspot.com
"I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:8
As I prepare for my fall mission trip I am grateful that I can count on your prayer. I am trusting God to enable me to bring encouragement to believers, pastors and other leaders. I desire to teach and preach the word of God as it deals with the message of salvation through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, marriage, family and personal living issues especially for young people.
