Prayer Update #10 ~ The hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you

 [originally posted 10 Aug 2022)

Dear Family & Friends,

 

I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother [and sister], because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. (Philemon 4–7)

During my final three days in Uganda, "the Pearl of Africa", I spent time visiting Jinja Town, where I was richly blessed by the refreshing fellowship of God's people, and especially the fellowship of my Handong student, Boyeon Han. Jinja is one of the most international cities in Uganda.  Many NGO's have located their offices there, including the Korean NGO, Good Neighbors, with whom Boyeon has been serving for the six years.  She recently accepted a 3-year posting in Jinja in March of this year, and she is now an integral part of Good Neighbors' project to assist young girls with their education and healthcare.

Together, we enjoyed a delightful time of worship and praise with the believers gathered at Arise Africa Church, one of the largest international Christian communities in the eastern part of the country.  Arise Africa grew out of a ministry started by World Reach Partners and a local Uganda pastor.   In addition to enriching worship, I was also blessed with delightful hospitality and delicious table fellowship provided by Boyeon at a number of local food courts, cafe's, and restaurants.   The Ugandan version of Kung Pao chicken, that we enjoyed at a food court nearby the church, was particularly tasty.

In addition to both refreshing fellowship in the Word and at table, Boyeon arranged for some outings to provide opportunities to view both the natural beauty of the equatorial countryside as we joined a cycling trek of over 30 km, and the glorious displays of tropical birds and animals along the shoreline of the Nile River viewed from our group's boat excursion.  (a plethora of pictures from these peregrinations may be found on my Instagram "pulls_against_the_flow" page here.)

All too soon, though, my short visit in Jinja came to a conclusion.  My driver, however, evidently wanted to provide me a few more minutes of joy and encouragement by arriving nearly 90 minutes late (yet one more experience of "African time") our departure to Entebbe (a 2-4 hour drive depending upon the jam (short for traffic jams) that are all too frequently encountered along the roads in Uganda. 

After a farewell reimenisent of Acts 20:36-37, I took my seat in the driver's Toyota SUV for our journey to Entebbe airport.  Within a few minutes, we were on our way along the route and enjoyed this final view of the Monday evening setting sun (seen below).  Upon being dropped off at the airport, I began a nearly 38-hour jouney back to my home in St. Louis via Brussel, Beligum and Chicago.  By God's good and gracious hand, I arrived safe and sound Tuesdsay night to the welcoming arms of Sandy and my son, Justin, who met me at the gate!

Once again, I wish to express my deepest thanks to you all who have joined with me partnering through prayer for my well-being and ministry during these past 18 days in Uganda.  Only by God's grace do I truly have a greater experiential understanding of Paul's words as he wrote to the young Thessalonian believers:

For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:9–12)

 

This ministry would not have been possible had it not been for the many faithful prayers and supportive gifts that God graciously provided through many of you.  My heart has been refreshed and profoundly challenged to make the most of every opportunity that the Lord provides to me to strengthen the faith of our sisters and brothers in Christ both nearby and in the remotest places of the earth.  I invite and challenge you to consider the possibility of joining me in another mission abroad in the coming year.

2 John 12

grace & peace for this day,

brother cordell