Greetings from sunny Jinja!
In less than 6 weeks we are flying back to the U.S. for our first furlough. There is so much to do before we leave! After pursuing renters for our house for the last several months & not having any success, we have decided to stop renting this place and to find a new location when we return in January. That means that instead of just packing a few suitcases for our 6-month stay in the States, we now need to pack up our whole house & put it in storage. We're so thankful for wonderful friends here who have offered to let us store our things in their garage.
We can't focus on packing yet, however, because we have a team coming on the 12th to spend 2 1/2 weeks with us. Sam & Rachel Menge and their son, Jericho, are hosting the team of 7 youth from the Midwest. All 10 will be staying in our home. It will be tight, but I think we'll have a good time. :) We look forward to some late night "Settlers of Catan" games with them. The team will primarily be helping with the training that Nate does in Naigobya and Butagaya, as well as staying overnight in those villages and bonding with their host families. They will also be visiting an orphanage, sharing at a few secondary schools (high school), playing soccer with a group of street boys that our missionary friends work with, and going on a safari. Please pray for their protection as they travel here, and for a fruitful time while they are here.
After Nate's students took their 1st set of exams at the end of their 1st term, they took a 2 week break during which Nate worked ahead to prepare the stories that will be taught while we are in the States. Three of his students (Chris, David and Wilson) will be taking over the training during those 6 months. We are so thankful for these 3 men. They are humble & teachable, and we believe that they will do a wonderful job. Please pray that they would be completely dependent on the Holy Spirit as they prepare and as they teach, and that they would remain faithful and be given much wisdom.
Last night our faithful watch dog died, and we believe that he was poisoned. Some of our missionary friends down the street have also recently lost a dog to poisoning and have since had thieves trying to break in. We would appreciate prayer for protection during our remaining weeks here. We are feeling at peace because we know God is our ultimate Protector and will not allow anything to happen that is not in His plan. We are thankful to our friends who have allowed us to "borrow" one of their dogs for our remaining weeks here.
The boys are counting down the days 'til they can be reunited with their grandparents and cousins... 41 more days. :) We are so excited to return "home", and yet we know that we will also be excited to come back in January. Will you pray that we will finish well and that we will have good time management during our final weeks here so that we can finish everything that is important? Thank you!
We updated our blog this past month with recent pictures. Check it out! (www.jorenews.blogspot.com)
We are so thankful for all of you! We look forward to seeing many of you very soon.
Blessings,
Rhoda and Nate Jore
Elijah, Judah and Hannah
