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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Mighty Warriors: Teachability



Caleb's story is filled with one surprise after another. When he came to us he was so shy and self depreciating that it was hard to believe that the Lord could do much with someone who lacked so much self-confidence. But as he passed through training he was the most improved of any of the missionaries who came to us. It seems the Lord likes to use men just like Caleb. He just soaked up new information like a sponge. Then he went to serve in Bolivia, when his support ran out he returned home and we didn’t hear from him for a couple of years, then he shows up again and we learn that he had been applying all that he had learned and training others outside of his home town. I like to say Caleb was most improved for 5 years in a row. Lord, help us all to continue to grow and learn, never getting stuck in a rut of doing things. Grow us in your likeness and send us more missionaries like Caleb, who are teachable and moldable.
update: Caleb is now married and has a child. They are planning on moving to Southern Peru to reach out to a unreached segment of the Aymara. Proud of you Caleb.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Mighty Warriors: Adaptability & Longevity




When Javier came to us, he was like 18 years old. He was young and inexperienced, but the hand of the Lord was clearly on his life. We were priveledged to watch the Lord teach him and turn him into a mighty man of God. He has now been with the xtreme team for the longest of any current member. Even though his support is always a question, he continues on and trusts God to provide for him. Javier has been given the gift of adaptability. He can learn to fit in almost any culture. (or as we jokingly say, he can be robbed in any language. he holds the record of being robbed 9 times in one year) Lord please send us more young men like Javier who are adaptable and willing to conform to any culture to reach more for you. Also, bring us missionaries who are in it for the long haul, who consider being a witness and making disciples their lifes work.
update: Javier continues to work with the team, he has moved from working in Bolivia to working in his home country of Peru. He will soon start working with yet another tribe and another language.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Inquiring men want to know

I thought I would try to satisfy some of the questions I know all the men have. So this post is for you guys! That means, less words...more pictures.
This is what j is driving

1996 Toyota Land Cruiser: 4x4, 5 speed, Manual, 6 cyl. 

Steering wheel on the right hand side


This is Robert's Truck: 2008 Toyota Hilux 4x4, 4 cyl. 5 speed Manual

filling up the truck

Here are some pics of Lake Victoria and the roads we travelled to get to Entebbe.


We leave Monday for Jinja, and then Friday to go see where we will be living in Kaabong. your prayers are appreciated.

Mighty Warriors: Perserverence



E came to us to finish the practical part of his seminary education. He was a bit surprised when we didn’t have any textbooks or classrooms. But after his required 3 month stint with the team, he returned and stayed with us for 4+ years. He would be the first one who woud tell you he was not cut out for this type of difficult work. But yet, he continued out of obeience to his Lord and excelled in many things but most of all he was an example of perserverence in the faith. There are many things he wanted in life, but he has sacrificed them to the Lord, knowing that the Lord himself will give him what he needs. and God will sustain him in good times and bad. God, send us more like E!
update: E continues to serve the Lord in Peru. Due to the nature of his work we can not use his full name or tell you much about what he is doing. Just take our word for it, he is doing well.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Mighty Warriors: Shepherds



Lord, thanks for sending us Bobby while we were on xtreme team. Double thanks for calling him to join us in this new endeavor in Africa. Please send us more who excel in  caring for others and shepherding his fellow sheep. Bobby was often the glue that held the team together during good times and bad. He made breakfast, encouraged, listened and just helped people to grow in the Lord. Many a funny story starts with, Remember when Bobby....  Lord, send us more men like this to the Harvest field.
update: Bobby is here, in Africa. He and his wife Maridith are our fellow leaders on this new team in East Africa.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mighty Warriors: TEAMWORK




Lord, give us fellow workers in Africa like, Johnathan & Chris who excel in Teamwork. These guys were some of our first workers on xtreme team. They were both very gifted individuals in their own rite. But when they worked together as a team they accomplished much for the kingdom. They submitted to one another and encouraged one another. Lord send us men like these to the Harvest field.
update: 
Jonathan is married with 2 kids. He is a published author, and pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston. 
Chris is married and has 4 kids. He has a growing recording career and works outside of Austin as a plumber.




Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Mighty Warriors



As many of you know, we have left our former team, xtreme team and begun a new team, Echelon in East Africa. We are still early on in this journey and no one really knows what will happen yet. However, as I was in my morning prayer time this morning I began to pray for those who will join our team. I was reminded of how faithful God was to send us workers while in South America. During our time there I feel like we had the best team in the Americas, hands down. But as I reflected on what God did through these His servants, it also became a prayer for our future team. Lord, send us men and women like this to Africa. Choose carefully your servants Lord and teach us to care for one another in love and encourage one another to grow closer to you and most importantly may we declare your name among the nations. Lord, I don't know where they are or where they will come from, but you have been faithful thus far and I trust you to build this team the way you want to and guide us in your ways. May your will be done and your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

The following entries will let you see what we are praying for...who knows? you may be the answer to this prayer.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Memphis to Newark to Brussels to Kilgali to Entebbe… all in a day and a half's time.

Dear Faithful Prayer Partners,

What a whirlwind the past 4 days have been. We woke up in Memphis last Wednesday, were in Belgium by Thursday morning, took off from Rwanda Thursday night and landed in Uganda on Friday morning… only with one carseat missing, which showed up today! An exciting way to start a new year, I'll say. I am humbled to say that Robert and I are 4 days old in Africa now and are loving the road God is taking us down. 

We are currently in Kampala, which is the capital of Uganda. We will be here from anywhere between 2 weeks to 2 months, waiting on our residency and work permits. In the mean time, we are learning Ugandan culture, dabbling in the Lugandan language, finding our way around town, learning where/how to buy groceries, and attempting to drive on the LEFT side of the road. Notice I didn't say "wrong side," Kate Webster… :)

Thank you so much for praying for us. We are still working through some jet lag (we are 8 hours ahead of EST), but we are adjusting to African life very well. All of us have been amazed at how God was preparing us while serving in Central and South America… a lot of similarities so far!

Please keep praying for…
*our paperwork for residency that is still processing. Pray for us to trust God's timing!
*us to get plugged in with ministry to nationals. We want to be intentional during this unknown amount of time in the capital as we wait.
*the little ones on our team to adjust well. This extensive transition is hard on the 3 year old, 2 year old, and 3 month old.
*mine & Robert's marriage to strengthen during this time. Pray that we press into Jesus and lean on each other during whatever challenges that come our way.

Please let us know how to pray for you too. We are committed to praying for those who pray for us!

Maridith Lane

{Pictures, L to R: Bobby sleeping on the plane, the map on the plane ride, me enjoying one last Starbucks latte!}

startled...


startledpast participle, past tense of star·tle

Verb:
Cause (a person or animal) to feel sudden shock or alarm: "a sudden sound in the doorway startled him".


Ok, so usually our posts are pretty serious, but today we are gonna stray from the norm a bit. I just couldn't resist telling this story. 

We had been in Uganda maybe 48 hours or so. All of us were jet lagged and had very odd sleeping schedules. I (Jeremy) woke up around 3 in the morning, couldn't sleep so I went into our living room to work on our prayer partner list. Now, I should explain that we are currently sharing a house with Robert and Maridith Lane. We are upstairs and they are downstairs in the basement. Since It was so early I didn't want to turn on all the lights and wake someone up, so i was sitting in the living room working with just the light of my laptop. 

I heard noise downstairs like someone was stirring. It seems like I wasn't the only one struggling with sleeping. I heard Robert coming up the stairs and I decided to have a little fun. I shut my laptop (which was the only source of light in the room) I was now sitting in the dark. I realized I had my ridiculously bright flashlight at my side, I picked it up...and as Robert casually strolled into the living room I shone the flashlight in his face and said "WHAT R U DOIN!!!" (I am literally cracking up right now recalling how it went down) He jumped up, eyes flew out of his head, look of horror on his face like he had just stumbled into a scene from a horror movie. My only regret is not getting any of it recorded for posterity. It literally took me 24 hours to stop laughing. Thankfully, it took Robert only a fraction of that to forgive me.