We
have just returned back to Uganda from a great trip to the US. After spending a
handful of days in Northern California with Ashley’s family, we drove along
Route 50 which calls itself (and rightfully so) “Loneliest Road in America”
through Nevada and Utah to Colorado. Highlights of that road trip for us
were a half day stop in Utah’s Arches National Park, and a morning hike at
Hanging Lake in Colorado.
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| Arches National Park |
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| Arches National Park |
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| Arches National Park |
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| Arches National Park |
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| Hanging Lake |
For
our last week in the States, we met up with the majority of the EMI family for
the EMI World Staff Conference hosted at a YMCA camp just 2.5 hours west of
Denver. Though overwhelming at first with so many new faces and people to meet,
it was a wonderful week in the mountains connecting with EMI staff located
around the world, as well as reconnecting with EMI Uganda staff that have been
on home assignment or furlough for the past couple of months to year, and
meeting the many new faces that will be joining the EMI Uganda office…6
families/couples from now until January!
The theme of the week was Restoration.
Time was spent in morning and evening all group gatherings with guest speakers
focusing their topics mostly on discipleship, and breakout sessions with themes
ranging from living cross culturally to raising to children to maintaining
spiritual vitality, as well as a few work specific meetings for Matt…and
plenty of free time to enjoy the facilities which we took advantage of by playing
some tennis and taking walks. It was a week that we did leave feeling restored
and rested, and ready to get back to Uganda and back to work to implement
themes discussed at the conference…but before we set off on our 28 hours of
travel, we spent a day with just the EMI Uganda staff and families at the
Nature and Science museum in Denver, and got a night and a day with dear
friends that we met in Uganda who left just about a year ago to return to the US. A wonderful way to end out trip.
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| View at the conference |
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| EMI World Staff Conference Attendees |
We
are now getting ourselves back to normal in Uganda-readjusting to the time
change, stocking our house with fruits and veggies, hanging out with friends,
and of course, getting back into work. Thank you for continuing to invest in
and support our lives in Uganda. As always, we would love to hear what you have
been up to as well this past month.
God
bless,
Matt
& Ashley
Praises:
-Great
trip to the US, and refreshing EMI World Staff Conference
-A
house and friends to come home to in Uganda
-A
continued healthy pregnancy. We will be looking at the hospital we plan to
deliver at within the next month.
Prayer
Requests:
-4
new EMI offices are beginning the launching process in Nicaragua, Senegal,
South Africa and Cambodia. Pray for their beginnings, that strong foundations
would be built, and that new staff would adjust well to culture and life in
these new places.
-Our
readjustments back to Uganda and implementing what we learned at the EMI
Conference
