Mitchell Update May/
June and a bit of July 2012
Are we
really sending our May and June update in mid July? The past few months were so
full we will not be able to do justice when describing each event, but here are
the highlights. During the month of May two teams from the States were
scheduled to visit New Hope Uganda, Kasana, one from Utah and one from Arizona.
Their arrivals were anticipated but created a bit of a situation for our family
as Caleb is the Teams coordinator and our family hoped to be in California for
two weddings! Thanks to our friends Keith McFarland and Hannah Kusler (also our
old partner in Teams) and our assistant Jordana Bakimi for taking on those
teams so that we could be there for my Dad and his new bride Patricia’s wedding
ceremony on May 12th and my sister Janea and Josh Beakley’s covenant
union on the 19th! All four of us Mitchells were able to fly to
California and celebrate marriage because of a wonderful, which made it all the
more meaningful. Both occasions were uniquely special and we were blessed in a
myriad of ways and by numerous people during this season of celebration.
Thank you LORD for being a God of covenant
who perfectly demonstrates covenant love!
We arrived back in Uganda on the 23rd. Hardly
over the jet-lag from our two weeks in Cali, we jumped right back into the
activities here at New Hope! The last Friday of May New Hope’s Institute of
Child Care and Family had their class graduation. We were excited to celebrate
the graduation of Pacific Family’s Kigundu Wilson from this five month intensive
training. The word “intensive” is accurate, not because the class itself is so
tough, but because God so faithfully challenges, and transforms lives during
this time. Days after graduation Wilson joined the East family (fellow
classmates during their course) as they moved to Gulu and started their
childcare ministry (with Four Corners Ministries). What a joy to see God take
Wilson to a place of ministry where he will be privileged to lead others to the
healing hands of the Father God, where he himself has received healing! Thank you Lord for the fruit in Wilson’s life!
Never the less, emotions were
mixed as we said good-bye. I (Alair) fought back tears as we dropped him in
Kampala to catch a bus for Gulu, and to start a very new chapter in his life.
It was my first experience with one of our kids “leaving the nest,” but the
promise of many more similar experiences await (especially when you are part of
a family that exceeds twenty)!
About a week
later we travelled to Jinja for a foreign staff seminar/ retreat. Four days and
evenings were filled with discussions and teachings on co-ministering
cross-culturally, opportunities to encourage one another by listening and
praying specifically for each foreign staff person/ family, and time for fun
and fellowship. When we returned from the retreat we had a little less than a
week to finish preparations for the County Line Church of God team who arrived
on June 7th and 8th. This team did it all- from tutoring
in the primary school, working in the clinic and with the ladies who care for
Hope Family’s babies, to painting trusses, ceilings and even a mural in Hope
Family’s new home! Not only did they serve through their work, but they served
our Pacific Family by building the foundations of authentic relationship. They
shared testimonies of the journey God has had them on in their lives-
challenges, conflicts and change that He has brought them through. They served
alongside Pacific Family during an outreach to relatives of Peter and Rebecca
(the eight year old twins in Pacific Family) and literally walked life with
many of our kids. Thank you Lord for
using willing and empty vessels and thank you County Line for your many generous gifts, for loving our kids,
and serving our great God!
The third
Sunday of June Kasana Community Church had an afternoon baptism service and
several people gave testimony to their commitment to follow Christ before
entering the water to be baptized. It was a special time for Pacific Family as
we rejoiced with Sarah, Jalia and David! Thank
you Lord for the saving work you have
done in their lives!
June
finished with two more teams- Baker Lutheran from Montana who worked tirelessly
at Musana Camps with a short visit to Kasana and the North Creek Youth Team
from Washington who served our school, reached out to the community, and
blessed Worcester Family. And since it is pushing the middle of July we’ll
include New Hope Uganda’s Thanksgiving celebration last Saturday. The days
leading up to this year’s annual commemoration were full of planning for the event
(more so than an average Thanksgiving Day celebration because this year even
Janet Museveni, the President’s wife, joined in the festivities). But it was also a time of preparing our
hearts to bring an offering of Thanksgiving to God for all that He is and has done
over the past year. Thank you Lord for
your faithfulness to New Hope Uganda!
