Last two issues of "Watch & Pray"

Here are the last two installments of our "Watch & Pray" update. I overlooked posting the previous one on the blog, so here is that one and the one I've sent out today.

23 April 2010

We have two situations for which we ask you to join us in prayer right now.

1) We need wisdom for deciding whether to try to keep renting the house in Mbale in which we have lived the past few years, or let it go. We have been hoping that our new coworkers, Darin and Stephanie Northam and their children, would be able to use the house from late May when they arrive in Uganda. There's a new landlord as of the past several months, however, and he has been very difficult to deal with so far. We are praying that he will either change his attitude so that it will be feasible for the Northams to use the house for at least a year or so until we return to Uganda; or that the Lord will direct us to another housing solution with a landlord who appreciates good renters. This decision has major implications for what we will do during the three weeks that we visit Mbale this summer (it would be nice not to have to spend the whole time making arrangements to move to another house!).

2) We need to apply for new passports for several of us, including Emily. Somehow our copy of her adoption order has gone missing, and we need that for her passport application. As we look for the lost document here in Abilene, we have also been working on getting an official copy of the adoption order from the high court archive in Mbale. As is often the case when one needs a paper from that bureaucratic maze, it's taking a long time. After about three weeks of process, we're still waiting for a file that was finally located, but had to be sent to Kampala, then retrieved and brought back to Mbale. It's supposed to be there Friday and maybe to be available for someone to send to us Monday. Time is getting short to be able to complete the normal passport-application process, so we are praying earnestly that we either find the missing paper here or get the certified copy from Uganda in the next few days.

Please pray that in the midst of everything else that is going on we receive grace to rest and trust in the Lord, not to stress out with anxiety or frustration over these things. God is good, and he is in control.

Watch and pray!

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14 May 2010

It's good to have a report of answered prayer for you. We received a certified copy of Emily's adoption order a few days ago and were able to submit it along with her passport application. We have deposited a rent payment on the house in Mbale for the period until the end of August, and there has been no further negative remark from the landlord. We feel considerable relief regarding both of these issues, and do thank God for his help and you for your prayers!

Let us mention three other matters for your help in prayer:

1. Leila leaves for Uganda Sunday, 16 May, for a three-week visit. She will be traveling with our coworker Phillip Shero. Please pray for safety and help on their trip, and for blessings on Leila's visit in Mbale.

2. Our new coworkers Darin & Stephanie Northam and their kids move from Texas to Mbale later this month. We pray for them with thanksgiving for God's provison of spiritual and financial support, and for more grace every day (James 4:6) as they make this major life and ministry transition.

3. We are praying for the Lord's help and wisdom as the five of children who are in public schools finish our their semester and we prepare for a trip to Uganda June 27 - July 19. Ian is also planning to take three more graduate courses during the summer as he continues work on his degree at Texas Tech University.

Watch and pray!


Ian, Danetta, Leila, Josiah, Nathanael, Jonathan, Luke, Emily, and Asher
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Ian & Danetta Shelburne

http://safariyetu.blogspot.com
http://livingstone.ac.ug

Tel. 325 267 0605

"Watch & pray" is an occasional prayer update from the Shelburne family, sent by Northwest Church of Christ to serve with the Mbale Mission Team in Mbale, Uganda.

Donations may be sent to this address:
Northwest Church of Christ
Uganda Mission
1509 Ben Richey Dr
Abilene, TX 79602-7971

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