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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.

Arches National Park

Arches National Park

Arches National Park

Arches National Park

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.

View at the conference

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