Happy New Year, All! We hope the holidays brought you time with loved ones as you reflected on the joy and hope we have because of Christ! We have had an eventful couple of months, but we are thankful for the Lord’s watchcare over us and protection for our family – especially recently!

Catching Up!

November continued with our usual schedule of schoolwork for the twins, playtime for the littles, and plenty of work projects for Travis. We took a short break for our team meeting and for Thanksgiving. We celebrated Thanksgiving Day with Tina who we usually spend Thursday evenings with and then had a team Thanksgiving that Saturday with some other missionaries in Karamoja. It was fun to get to know others in the area!

The end of November and beginning of December was marked with Jackson having his recurrent fevers and then Dawson getting sick with amoebiasis. He was treated at the clinic here in Karamoja but did not improve as hoped. So, while Travis was on his way back from the airport to surprise the children with their grandparents, Tina drove Dawson and I down to Mbale to a hospital where they diagnosed him with a bacterial infection. He was admitted for IV medications and fluids. During this time, Travis and our parents had made it back to Karamoja (stopping in to see us on their way through) and surprised the other kiddos thinking we would be back together with them in a few short days.

On night four at the hospital, Dawson took a turn for the worst. So, we left that hospital in the middle of night and travelled down to the capital to get to a hospital recommended to us by other missionaries. This hospital would be the best one to either stabilize him or make the call to have him medically evacuated to another country. This was the night many of my fears of moving my littles to a different country came to fruition, but the Lord sustained us every step of the way. The ambulance did not want to take us in the night, so we had to hire a driver. Meanwhile, Travis was working with our insurance and head office in case a medical evacuation was necessary along with trying to pack the family for either a trip to Kampala or the States.

Though Travis was not with me, the Lord provided teammates in Mbale to help us get on our way from the first hospital, and a dear Ugandan friend traveled with us in the car all the way to Kampala. We made it to the hospital safely which was a huge answer to prayer in itself. Driving in Uganda is wild during the day and driving at night is even more so. The pediatrician assessed Dawson and said “I think we can stabilize him here, his circulatory system is not compromised yet” and even though that fearful “yet” was in there, it was such a relief to hear the Lord had preserved his circulatory system after almost 2 weeks of unsuccessful treatment. Septicemia along with the other diagnoses they gave him still swim in my head. Another week of hospital care was in store for us, but Dawson bit by bit improved.

He was a champ through all of it! We are so thankful for the many, many, MANY prayers offered on behalf of our family. What a sweet blessing to have the church around the world praying for your family. The best day was when Travis, the kiddos, and our parents came! They walked into that hospital room, and Dawson just lit up with a huge smile that I hadn’t seen in a long time. The Lord provided time and time again for us and even in moments where my heart felt like it might fail, He sustained me and carried Dawson through. If you could continue to pray for us, thinking that your child might need to be medically evacuated and that you might lose your child has definitely taken its toll.

Murchison Park and the Holidays

On a brighter note, after Dawson was cleared medically and a few more days were spent in Kampala, we were able to continue our “vacation” with our parents. We spent some time at a lodge to do a safari at Murchison Falls National Park. It was a sweet time away to make memories as a family! We celebrated Christmas back home in Karamoja with our team and church family there. We celebrated Boxing Day the only way we know how (because we have only celebrated it since last year) – eating pizza with the clinic staff and team at the Verdick’s. New Year’s Eve/Travis’s birthday was supposed to be spent with our team, but in our usual family with young kids likeness, we had some more sickness go through the family. So, we spent the night in with food brought from our team who has loved us so well.

Sickness has still been hanging around these last two weeks which has been a little discouraging. We have not been to church as a whole family in a few weeks and have alternated which parent goes with the healthy kids and which one stays behind with those who are ill. It has been hard to settle back in and feel plugged back in with the medical emergency, travel, holidays, and now sickness. Pray we would be able to invest in the weeks we have before we leave.

Another exciting moment, we had another snake in the house last week….. It’s one thing to know they are outside, but it’s another to know they can get in…… thankfully, our snake-sighting Clayton spotted it and Travis and I tag-teamed its demise. I think we could use a few uneventful weeks….. But this week is elections in Uganda, so we shall see!

Upcoming

We head to the States in early March for a medical leave to have our baby and to get Jackson seen for his recurrent fevers. Pray for safety travelling, smooth transitions, and that we would get the needed medical care and be able to return to the field with our newest family member and with some improvement for Jackson! We are also looking forward to spending some much needed time with family, friends, and our church!

Again, we are so thankful for you all and for your check-ins, prayers, encouragements, and so on! I did not even mention all the ways the Lord provided and answered those prayers, but I hope you caught a glimpse of it!

In Christ,

The Emmett’s

Praises

We have so many things to be thankful for in this newsletter. The Lord is good!

  • DAWSON is better!! And the many answers to prayers that entails!

  • School has started back up for the twins
  • Our parents visit went well and they are safely back in the States!
  • We have two men who are coming to fill Travis’s role while we are away!
  • We have a vehicle and housing for our leave!
  • NPC’s Youth Conference this past Saturday had over 200 young adults who heard the Word of God!

Prayers

  • For our team and our family as we leave for a few months

  • For the men filling Travis’s role to adjust and fill the role well
  • For a healthy remainder of pregnancy and delivery for baby
  • For wisdom for the doctors caring for Jackson and for an effective treatment plan going forward
  • For health and safety
  • For travelling mercies as we return to the States
  • For the numerous tasks that need to be completed prior to us leaving
  • For the church and ministry team here in Karamoja to continue to grow and mature in their faith
  • For Travis as he and Pastor Julius prepare for church officer training when we return from our leave
  • For the mission-sponsored young men to be discipled well and excel in their studies while remaining faithful to the Lord and for the new ones who are joining to come to saving faith if not already there and for their walk with the Lord to be strengthened and their studies to be beneficial.