It’s a bit early to talk about details, but there is a good chance we might be changing our assignment a little. Moving from doing media and communications for the Sudan field to a more regional role for E. Africa acting for the International and USA offices of SIM. If we move forward, it would likely take effect around February of next year as we have commitments to the Sudan team that we need to complete.

We are talking one-on-one with some supporters as well as our sending church. Without the blessings from our church and supporters, we do not feel this would be a wise move.

Would you please intercede on our behalf so that we might be able to understand clearly what God would have for us and our ministry? This is an unexpected move early on in our careers as missionaries.

We do not foresee a change in our support requirement, but we are unsure as to how this would possibly effect the financial support coming in right now from our donors.

After of month of recovering from illness in Nairobi, we are back home in Malakal. In the first hour I’d already killed a mouse who had made his home in my media cupboard. So far no wires or electronics damaged, but let’s just say it’s dirty. That’s tomorrow’s project.

We are happy to be back with our teammates and Avery has taken to Sudan again quite well.

It’s hot. Our taxi driver told us that the last two days were very cold. During the rainy season, a hot day indicates rain is soon to come. So we’re looking forward to the first ‘real’ rain (+3hr down pour) in Sudan.

Unfortunately with the rain brings some not so fun realities. Our latrines are totally full of water. So using the bathroom is an new challenge and our shower drains are backed up. But the big plus is that with the water catchment system we built a while back, we never have to worry about water supply. Even with the massive amount of visitors (while we were gone) they never ran out of water.

We plan to be here for about two months this time around. Taylor’s sister, Allison, will be joining us for a week in November and then we’ll head back to Nairobi for a little more family time before she heads to South Africa for a bit.

Please pray that we are able to maintain good health. We want to get back to learning Arabic and do so without distractions as much as possible.

SIM maintains a secondary school in South Sudan that serves over 1 Million people. Up until recently it was the only one, but in the last year some muslim secondary schools have opened in the area.

Historically the students have been uncompromising in various demands they have. Many if not all of these demands are directed at the head master of the school (an American missionary) and made personal, even though they have nothing to do with her. For example, they have long complained about having to pay tuition (a token amount that doesn’t come close to the actual cost).

This came to a head last week when the students posted their grievances on the wall of the school one morning. SIM chose to close the school temporarily until the local church board (who has been given ultimate authority over the school) can meet and make some decisions about the current events. The local piam (the leadership of the area villages) is resisting SIM’s move to shut the school (however temporary) and saying that SIM would no longer be needed should they shut the school.

The church leadership was to have met yesterday. Please be in prayer with us as our missionaries on the ground there as well as our leadership in Nairobi meet to discuss how we should move forward.

One important difference in the handling of situations in Africa is not so much WHAT should be done, but HOW it should be done. Relationships mean more than anything else in these contexts. Please pray that the missionaries can build relationships through these hardships and become closer with the community there as they work to seek an amicable outcome.

Allison and I had the opportunity to share at a church in Shell Knob, MO. If you’ve ever been to NW Arkansas or SW Missouri, you know what the area is like, beautiful. Nestled up next to Table Rock lake, the beautiful views are limitless. They have seen a lot of rain and flooding is putting it mildly. Many people are trapped in their homes surrounded by 15 foot waters. The lake is over 40 feet above it’s normal level. To say the least, they could use your prayers. It is a retirement community and would be extremely difficult should someone have a medical emergency.

We were very blessed to be able to share with the community about the work Allison and I will be doing in Sudan. They received us with much love and prayed over us. After a quick lunch with the church body, Allison and I excused ourself for the 8 hour ride home. We made it back safe and sound.

Avery always gets a bit of schedule when we go out of town, but is sleeping longer a night. Such a praise for both of us.

Stay tuned as we have a lot going on these next few weeks.

Once a year, the missionaries from each country get together to have their own recoup time. It’s a time for prayer, spiritual healing/awakening/refreshment, and a time to get to see the whole team together. Many of them never see each other but for this one time every year because they work in such remote areas.

The team is extremely diverse with missionaries from Ethiopia, Wales, New Zealand, England, Kenya, Canada and America. This creates such a unique experience while doing God’s work for his kingdom.

Click the image for the larger version.

Well, today, December 28th, is our due date. There’s no signs that it’s going to be happening any time soon. Today also happens to be our half year anniversary. We’re now at 4 1/2 years.

We could sure use your prayers as we enter this final stretch of the pregnancy. The room is ready, bags packed, baby car seat installed and ready to go… we just need the baby to want to be here. We look forward to sharing this new joy of our lives with you in the very near future.

Thank you for your many gifts through baby showers and mailings. You’ve blessed us immensely. We hope that we can return some of that blessing with the new child God will be bringing into this world very shortly. Please come and visit us soon after the baby has arrived. Look back here often for updates on the baby and mother. We’re sure to have photos and video up for everyone to see.

The Problem:
Right now the financial back bone of SIM is very outdated. Much of our process is still done all on paper. Everything is separate and nothing is databased together. When you change something, it has to be done in 10 places and 5 people informed to change in their 10 places.

The Fix:
For the last 6 months SIM has begun the process of making the major overhaul of changing the entire system from the ground up. I recently heard from the project coordinator and a lot of very important decisions are coming to a head before the end of the year. Some of them involved costs DIFFERENCES of $250k. The vendor they would like to use for everything is just to expensive for the whole package. Since SIM would like to still use portions of their package instead of the whole enchilada (as we say in Texas), the vendor wants to remove the special pricing they had, understandably. So now SIM is in a rock and a hard place.

Pray:
Please take a moment as this is not just about a project, but changing a lot about how SIM is run. How every person’s finances are handled. How your donations are processed, communicated, etc. etc. It will all be better once this is done.

No doubt the worst situation is if everything is delayed. This is such a big project, it will take over a year just to build out and implement. The current system is so outdated, it would be a shame to delay this any further.

Please pray for the SIM leadership, and that if God wills it, that the vendors would be willing to discount products for SIM.

It turns out the same man carried out the shooting in Denver at the YWAM office and in Colorado Springs at New Life Church. YWAM has an office in that church. The young man worked with YWAM a few years ago and had a falling out. Please continue to be in prayer for the families involved in both incidents. The young man was killed at the church by their security.

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