Update on Our Progress

There is a great little book called Serving as Senders that walks communities through what it means to be called to support cross cultural missionaries.  It contains the following diagram (which I incorporated into another presentation):

See that little ziz-zag line in the C area?  That's where we are.  Some days excited and motivated, some days overwhelmed and dragging -- but always moving forward, and that by God's grace alone!  And weekly we receive varying kinds of confirmation that God is faithful to his call and promise to send us to Uganda.

I (Travis) work from home now, spending my mornings in particular writing emails, creating proposals for churches, calling folks and communities on the phone.  In the afternoon we're trying to switch, and I focus on home/kid care, and Leslie steps into Partner Development mode.  It's a new rhythm of life, and it is taking a while to catch the beat.

November and December will be a bit of traveling for us.  We're visiting several different churches on the weekends in November.  Early in December the whole family will be spending a week in South Carolina visiting churches that have joined with us, and inviting others to do so.  Then, within a week or two after that trip, God willing, we'll begin our move to Texas!  More on that in a future post.

It is a difficult season for inviting people into partnership.  Not only does the recession challenge folks, but so many of the churches in our Anglican network must take into consideration present and potential litigation.  We also are growing in communicating a call to authentic partnership.  We want so much more than just getting individuals, families, and communities to send checks so that we get sent to Africa.  We really want to find ways of being in genuine relationship with our partners, and ways of facilitating relationship between them and our future community in Kabale.

I've been spending a lot of time in the earlier chapters of Hebrews recently, and am reminded again and again of the promise of God's presence and provision -- especially in fulfilling the things he has promised!  So pray for us that we remain faithful, that we return to a place of believing in the presence and provision of the Trinity in every circumstance, resting in Jesus who is knows what it is like to struggle the way we do, and who promises mercy and grace to help in our time of need.