Extremely Pleased

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for praying for Vernon as he has been gone. I thought I would write a brief update and you could hear the rest from him when he returns!
Here are some highlights:
* Sunday morning preaching went well, the congregation is always so excited to see Vernon. We are there so often that they have really taken to him!
* Vernon got to spend some great time with the 10 boys from the Morobo Orphanage. He said that the boys were so open and real with him. He asked them what they wanted to be when they got older and it ranged from a mechanic, to a pastor, to a doctor! A couple of the boys said they would like to run an orphanage! Isn't that great! Vernon told me that they discussed openly the struggles of life as a young teenage boy in Sudan and that they were really candid. They also just hung out by the river and played a lot of soccer.
* The visit to the Morobo Orphanage was wonderful as always. The children are growing and getting healthier and stronger. They were overjoyed by the Christmas gifts.
* The visit to the Lura Orphanage was a hard day emotionally. Vernon and Bishop took time to visit with the children about their pasts and how it came to be that they were orphaned. It was sobering to say the least. It is so good for the children to be able to talk openly about what they have gone through.
* Vernon and Bishop were able to have a lot of time to vision cast for the future.
* Vernon had some special time with some of the men from EPC that we have become great friends with over the years.

Vernon is now in Uganda. For all of you who were praying for Muhammad the Imam in Kampala, Vernon met with him again this morning and was so amazed and encouraged. Muhammad taught his congregation about the TRINITY! Can you believe that! AMEN! So Muhammad is beginning to understand Christianity and is teaching it to his congregation...unbelievable! Vernon will be posting more on this!
He and Victor fly out Saturday morning but wont make it here until Sunday afternoon.

The Schedule

Vernon emailed me the tentative schedule of events so that everyone could be praying. Keep in mind that we are about 8 hours behind him. (oh and i forgot to mention he made it safely to Sudan)

Sunday Morning- Preaching on the transfiguration account in Mark

Sunday Afternoon- Leading a workshop with some of the men who work for Bishop

Monday all day- (this is so cool!) Vernon will be spending time with 10 of the older boy orphans from the Morobo orphanage. He will be talking to them about biblical manhood and just getting to know them better. We are way pumped about this!

Tuesday- They (Vernon, the 10 boys and Bishop) will travel back to Morobo. These children are so precious to us. Every chance to go to the Morobo Orphanage is special. Vernon will be playing with the children all day and giving out some Christmas presents!

Wednesday-They will travel to Lura and visit the Lura Orphanage. This will be a great time for Vernon to see the facility up and running and all the children moved in! He will also be giving out presents!
That's all for now folks! thanks for praying!

A Word From Vernon

Hey everyone! I just got an email from Vernon. He had great things to say about his time with Imam Muhammad. Thanks to everyone who prayed...Please keep praying for his salvation. This could change the course of Islam in Uganda. Here is a little blip of the email Vernon sent me about his conversation with Imam Muhammad.


"the meeting with Muhammad went incredible! we talked for over 2 hours. i am suppossed to go to the mosque he is an imam at next friday. he told me that his biggest problem was saying that God has a Son. I explained the Trinity to him, and he understood more about what Christians mean.

I told him that I did not believe Islam had an answer for redemption. I explained that if something is not pure it takes something outside of itself in order to make it pure. Therefore, it would be impossible for "good works" to save someone and since we are all tainted the only thing that could happen would be for our "tainted good works" to add to the problem. What this means is, since it is impossible to even have 1,000,000 good works cancel out 1 bad work, then really what is happening is that what seems to be good (in helping someone to escape hell) is really only compounding the problem, and thus the condemnation is even more, not less, unless Perfection comes to purify.

I am not sure is all this makes sense since i am typing really quick, but it made sense to him. He said that he had not thought about this much. He also said that we should both pray in order to find out the correct way to God. He said that if Christianity is correct, he would become a Christian. Please have people pray for Muhammad. "

Please pray for Imam Muhammad, this is a big thing for him to realize.
Vernon will be heading on into Sudan for the remainder of his time starting tomorrow, pray for his save flight into the country.

Praise and Prayer

Praise- Praise God, Vernon made it safely to Uganda. He is with Victor and a lot of doors have already opened for him to meet with Imams in the area! (Imams, the best i can describe them, are the Islamic equivalent to a Priest, they are the head of the Mosque and oversee all the leaders and pretty much their say goes.) We are so excited about this. During his last trip he built some great relationships with a lot of head Islamic leaders in Uganda. They are also going to get to visit an orphanage in the afternoon.

Prayer-
For Vernon, Tomorrow, (so tonight around midnight) Vernon will be meeting with Muhammad, an Imam in Kampala. Pray for great conversations and Vernon would have many opportunities to present the Gospel and that Muhammad would understand.
Also, pray for Vernon's health. He was very tired when I talked to him earlier and his stomach was not doing the best. He was pretty sure it was just from lack of sleep and travel.


A little Story
Last night my cousin Caroline came to stay with Titus and me. We had a great time. This morning after Titus woke, Titus and I were laying in my bed. Caroline came downstairs and jumped in bed with us. Titus looked up at her and said, "you know where my daddy is?" and she said, "where?" Titus replied, "oh, he is in Sudan teaching people about Jesus, isnt that cool?!" To which we both smiled and replied, "yah! that is awesome!"

One Week From Yesterday

Vernon is heading for Sudan on December 10. We are so excited for his time there. He is going to love and encourage our friends in Sudan during this holiday season. People often travel to family and friends over the holidays, to hug their necks and greet them with holiday wishes, and Vernon will be doing just that. He will be going to the different orphanages greeting them in the name of our Lord Jesus and encouraging them as they continue on day after day serving the Lord. Various donors have given money to get the children at each orphanage great Christmas gifts. Vernon will be purchasing and distributing the gifts, if time and weather permits. If not, Anngrace and Bishop Taban will continue delivering them.

We are especially excited about the last thing Vernon will be doing while in Sudan/Uganda. Vernon will be meeting up with Victor, a great friend of ours and nephew of Bishop, to fly with him back to the States. Victor has received a full ride scholarship to The College at Southwestern Seminary. He will be living with us and attending school. This will be his first time out of Northern Africa. We are so excited for this opportunity!