Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year! We are enjoying the unexpected extra holidays in the states (though we were looking forward to it being our first holidays in Uganda). Still, we cherish the moments we can spend with family. It’s bittersweet knowing it’s the last holiday season we will likely be able to spend with family and friends here for several years.
Please continue to keep the rest of the Orthodox Presbyterian Uganda Mission (OPUM) team in your prayers as well. The other families preparing for the field are most likely having the same mixed emotions. Those already on the field are spending holidays away from family and friends. We should mention though, that we’ve been promised that holidays spent over there are full of their own special joy and fun. With many comings and goings of the team, pray that God encourages each one of us and continues to unite us together with hearts of service and love. We are thankful for each team member and look forward to serving with them.
We’ve just started to “settle” into the new house we are staying in and into our daily routines. We (especially the kids) are really enjoying being able to still live at Camp Sankanac. Travis has been able to plug back in and work for the camp. We love being back with our church and serving in various ways. Again, it’s bittersweet knowing that these are the last few months of being able to be physically present with our local church body.
It’s exciting to see how God continues to grow and bless our church. We recently were able to host a conference on evangelism which was well timed as we went into the Christmas season. Pray that God would continue to lay a greater burden for the lost on our hearts.
Of course, just as we settle into our routines we are going to be switching gears in several ways. Travis was able to find some condensed classes through a local college on electrical, welding, and residential construction. The classes start January 18th and work well with our family schedule and departure timeline. The extra time here allows us to prepare for the field in multiple ways. Sometimes it’s in small, practical ways (like not having a dishwasher anymore and washing our dishes by hand, or by not having a washer and dryer in our current house).
The constant packing and repacking processes aside, perhaps the biggest reminder that this feeling of a settled routine is temporary is the change coming around February 19th! We are all getting excited and anxious to meet the newest member of our family! Please continue to pray for a safe pregnancy and delivery for both Bonnie and our baby boy.
Many individuals have asked how they can practically help. Continued prayer is the greatest need! Also, if you are interested, we have an online baby registry that includes some items that are needed for when we are on the field (especially since we will be cloth diapering 2 littles!).
We are so thankful for the individuals, families, and churches that continuously pray for and encourage us! We are learning to ‘trust God and roll with it’ (which seems to be our family’s theme of late). It’s grown our faith to see how God is working all things sovereignly and providentially for His glory and our good. We look forward to updating you sometime in the new year!
In Christ,
The Emmett’s
Praises
- Jackson’s improved appetite and gaining weight!
- God’s working in the hearts and minds of our children as they are learning to love and serve His Church.
- For continued education opportunities for Travis.
- Multiple opportunities for outreach and sharing the Gospel as a family and as a congregation.
- Multiple other individuals/families joining the OPUM team.
Prayers
- Safe pregnancy and delivery for Bonnie and baby.
- That God would continue to help our children grow to love God, His Word, and His people. For their salvation at young ages. For their processing all the current and upcoming transitions and changes in their lives.
- For the other members of the OPUM team and the church plants/congregations in Mbale and Naakale.
