How do we let the months slip by so fast without sending an update!?! Since we last wrote in April so much has happened it’s hard to know just how best to share it all with you, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so with that in mind, here’s our best shot at it!
At the end of April we had a wonderful time with our Pacific family on our Family Vacation to a hotel in Jinja for swimming and then on the YWAM base on Lake Victoria where we conquered the challenge course and enjoyed team building games and activities.
May began with our annual foreign staff retreat. It was a sweet time of fellowship and encouragement for the missionaries/ families who were there. In May we also helped our Kobwin site host a medical outreach team, and hosted the Alpine Church team as well as two family teams at Kasana and welcomed several new staff members/ families.
We also added Caleb’s cousin Julia to our household, Pacific family and the greater Kasana family (until the beginning of July). Julz was not only a help and joy to have in our home, but a true blessing to the girls in Pacific family (who miss her terribly already), to Hope House (and each little life she touched with her care), and to her P3 class at Esubi Eppia Primary School.
The months of June and July were filled with more than World Cup mania! We had the unexpected blessing of a team from John Brown University, and the long awaited blessing of the Raber family from Blackhawk Ministries (our sending church) in Fort Wayne, with the Solar Powered Water Pump equipment! The work they came to do was a huge service to New Hope and the surrounding community, as we now have water pumping to our tower even when the electricity is out thanks to God’s power- the sun and to all those who made it possible for the Raber’s to come and donated many items! Their family’s visit meant even more to us because of the timing and circumstances surrounding their service, fellowship, and encouragement to us and our boys!
From June until July we welcomed two more teams, another family team and still more staff to our ministry! We celebrated the fourth of July in Uganda as a group of Americans from an assortment of states and we even allowed couple from Canada to join in the only alternative to celebrating Canada Day (July 1)… close enough, eh? If that isn’t enough many of our kids, decked in RED, WHITE, and BLUE even took a ride in a Chinese fire truck!
The second week of July we had an “intimate” ground breaking ceremony (just the four of us, the construction director and our contractor) on the land that construction of our house has now begun!
Most of you probably couldn’t have missed our most recent event that made a top story on major news stations around the world- the bombings in Kampala the night of the final World Cup match. What a stark reminder to thank you for your ongoing prayers for our safety. We drove through Kampala the afternoon of the 11th with the Raber family to take them to the Entebbe airport. After dropping them off the next morning we learned of the terrorist attack. Entebbe is about 20 miles from Kampala so we were well out of the way of any threat. A text came through from New Hope telling us to stay put in Entebbe until the next day. Please pray that there will not be any more terrorist attacks- especially as Somalia has declared that Uganda is its enemy, and in the words of one of its Sheiks "anything that makes Uganda cry makes us smile." We are praying for reconciliation, for God's intervention, and for many to come to know Him through this time.
The Mitchells are about to celebrate two major events in our family, and one belated event- the first being “God Made You a Mitchell- Day” for Nicolas on July 17th and Nathaniel’s 1st Birthday on July 28th! A third noteworthy event (that both of us forgot) was our 13th anniversary (July 1st). You “facebookers” may have gotten the full story on that one. As teams slow down for a bit we are taking a weekend away- a perfect way for us to have some focused marriage/family time. Praying all is well and would love to hear about what’s going on with you!
The Mitchell’s- Caleb, Alair, Nico & Nate
At the end of April we had a wonderful time with our Pacific family on our Family Vacation to a hotel in Jinja for swimming and then on the YWAM base on Lake Victoria where we conquered the challenge course and enjoyed team building games and activities.
May began with our annual foreign staff retreat. It was a sweet time of fellowship and encouragement for the missionaries/ families who were there. In May we also helped our Kobwin site host a medical outreach team, and hosted the Alpine Church team as well as two family teams at Kasana and welcomed several new staff members/ families.
We also added Caleb’s cousin Julia to our household, Pacific family and the greater Kasana family (until the beginning of July). Julz was not only a help and joy to have in our home, but a true blessing to the girls in Pacific family (who miss her terribly already), to Hope House (and each little life she touched with her care), and to her P3 class at Esubi Eppia Primary School.
The months of June and July were filled with more than World Cup mania! We had the unexpected blessing of a team from John Brown University, and the long awaited blessing of the Raber family from Blackhawk Ministries (our sending church) in Fort Wayne, with the Solar Powered Water Pump equipment! The work they came to do was a huge service to New Hope and the surrounding community, as we now have water pumping to our tower even when the electricity is out thanks to God’s power- the sun and to all those who made it possible for the Raber’s to come and donated many items! Their family’s visit meant even more to us because of the timing and circumstances surrounding their service, fellowship, and encouragement to us and our boys!
From June until July we welcomed two more teams, another family team and still more staff to our ministry! We celebrated the fourth of July in Uganda as a group of Americans from an assortment of states and we even allowed couple from Canada to join in the only alternative to celebrating Canada Day (July 1)… close enough, eh? If that isn’t enough many of our kids, decked in RED, WHITE, and BLUE even took a ride in a Chinese fire truck!
The second week of July we had an “intimate” ground breaking ceremony (just the four of us, the construction director and our contractor) on the land that construction of our house has now begun!
Most of you probably couldn’t have missed our most recent event that made a top story on major news stations around the world- the bombings in Kampala the night of the final World Cup match. What a stark reminder to thank you for your ongoing prayers for our safety. We drove through Kampala the afternoon of the 11th with the Raber family to take them to the Entebbe airport. After dropping them off the next morning we learned of the terrorist attack. Entebbe is about 20 miles from Kampala so we were well out of the way of any threat. A text came through from New Hope telling us to stay put in Entebbe until the next day. Please pray that there will not be any more terrorist attacks- especially as Somalia has declared that Uganda is its enemy, and in the words of one of its Sheiks "anything that makes Uganda cry makes us smile." We are praying for reconciliation, for God's intervention, and for many to come to know Him through this time.
The Mitchells are about to celebrate two major events in our family, and one belated event- the first being “God Made You a Mitchell- Day” for Nicolas on July 17th and Nathaniel’s 1st Birthday on July 28th! A third noteworthy event (that both of us forgot) was our 13th anniversary (July 1st). You “facebookers” may have gotten the full story on that one. As teams slow down for a bit we are taking a weekend away- a perfect way for us to have some focused marriage/family time. Praying all is well and would love to hear about what’s going on with you!
The Mitchell’s- Caleb, Alair, Nico & Nate
