Heart, Mission, and Calling

Since our decision to go to Uganda, these are some of the responses we’ve heard: “God bless your heart for Africa…. So you’re off to the mission field…? Sounds like your calling has been clarified….”

Although we haven’t been thinking in these terms specifically, heart, mission, and calling are all a part of the reason we feel God is saying a clear ‘yes’ in response to the question of Africa. Here’s more of what’s behind the ‘yes’ we’re hearing from God:

• The flow of our lives. We never planned this, but looking over our shoulders we can see fairly clearly how God has been guiding us to this point.


• The current circumstances of our lives. Our past preparation, future opportunities, and current family situation all have us in a good space for such a move.


• The excitement we feel. Nothing else we’ve considered excites, interests, and challenges us like this opportunity does.


• Our unity. Leslie and I both feel confident that this is our next step. We’ve listened together to God in a way different and more focused than with previous decisions.


• The reality. Going to Africa cut down the romantic trees, so we see the forest clearly. There are some hard and scary things in there. As we have considered these things, however, we see how they have potential to shape us to be more like Jesus.


• The people in our lives. Most people have been very excited about this next step in our lives, and no one has said they feel we are wrong to move forward.

We’re praying and seeking God about the many next steps on our way to Africa from Ambridge. There’s more to come!

Keep Checking Back...

Please keep checking back. I'm beginning the slow slide into the burial of studies, but I'm committed to keeping my few loyal blog-fans updated.

Coming soon:

-Revisiting why we're going to Uganda.
-How God has confirmed the call.
-Excitements, Fears, and Prayer Requests

Heck, I might even throw in a few tidbits from my studies just for fun!

We're going to Kabale!

Leslie and I agree that this is the direction God is taking us. Here's a snippet of the email I sent to the principal and deputy-principal of Bishop Barham University College. (For a refresher on the school, look at the second paragraph of my "Thursday in Uganda" posting and the entirety of "The Swiss Alps of Africa." You can also go to Bishop Barham on the Web for more details.)

---snip---
Hello again George and Jovahn,

The past couple of days were set aside by Leslie and me to fast and pray about our decision concerning coming to Africa. We talked and prayed at length tonight, and we both feel strongly that God is saying a firm 'yes' to committing to come to Bishop Barham. We are both humbled and excited by your willingness to invite us into your community, and even rather scared by all that such a move entails. We know, however, from both our experience and from Scripture that God will be beyond faithful to support us and provide for us in ways that will not only strengthen our family, but bring blessing to those with whom we serve.

We will need to talk in greater detail in the future, I'm sure, but I wanted to let y'all know as soon as possible about our decision, and to begin afresh our conversation with you. To begin with, one thing I would like to put before you for your consideration is our length of stay. Originally, before I visited Uganda, we were thinking that we would only come for one year. After my visit, however, it seems to us that one year is too short of a time to accomplish much lasting work. We are now thinking that we should commit to a minimum of two years, providing that time frame seems good to you and to the Lord. One immediate implication arising from this choice is the challenge of raising financial support. To raise the funds necessary to bring us to Kabale for an extended time is going to take a lot of work on our end. As a result, we are now thinking that we will probably need to spend one year after my graduation this May raising funds, which means we would not arrive until summer of 2006 at Bishop Barham. This possibly poses several challenges for you and for us, including postponing the opportunity to serve y'all directly. Among the advantages, however, are the extra time to prepare for our departure, time for me to prepare to teach whatever classes y'all decide I should teach, and possibly even opportunities for me to research and pursue funds for the technology needs of Bishop Barham. Please let me know what thoughts you have about these ideas.
---snip---

And here are some snippets from the deputy principal's reply:

---snip---
Dear Travis,
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are very happy to know that you feel the Lord is saying to you "go to Bishop Barham". What a joy!! This comes as good news to us all at Bishop Barham.
...
We look forward to receiving you at Bishop Barham either may this year or next year. I think our Principal will respond to the idea of either coming this year or next year.

Extend our appreciation to your dear wife for joining you to accept the all to come to Uganda and to Kabale in particular.

God bless you.

Jovahn Turyamureeba
Deputy Principal
---snip---

Please continue praying for us as we move forward. I'll give more details on our next steps in a few days time.

Decision Time!

This Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 7th and 8th), Leslie and I are fasting (yes, even on Mardi Gras), praying, and listening. We are going to talk and make a decision on Tuesday evening. Would y’all please join us in prayer over these two days?

By the way, not only are we praying for discernment as to whether God is calling us to Africa, but we’re also needing to decide whether we will enter the Anglican communion and pursue ordination within that tradition.

Please do pray for us, and feel free to share with us anything you feel God is communicating to you.