Chrissy Comes to Visit!

Two weeks from today I'll be leaving for Uganda! It has been 15 days since my surgery and I am feeling great. My nose is still very swollen (but will be for a few months apparently). My black eyes are almost gone, but I still have a lot of redness in my eyes. Most of the stitches inside my nose fell out today and I can tell a difference in my breathing today also. It is slowly improving and I am anxiously awaiting the day that I will be able to breathe better than before the surgery! This past week Chrissy, who will be my roommate in Uganda, came to visit. Chrissy was in Uganda for 6 months and is in the States for a while, but should be returning soon. Since Chrissy has spent time in Bundibugyo I loved being able to ask her my thousands of questions about our house, what to pack, the people in Bundi, and just tons of questions about Uganda. I'm looking forward to having Chrissy as a roommate :)

This Gibbon was flirting with Chrissy :)

After our trip to the zoo we ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach.

Another incredible concert by the Avett Brothers!

3 Weeks To Go!

Check out my September Prayer Letter. Three weeks from today I fly out to Uganda!

Reasons #643-#650 Why I Love Ashley

Seriously, I have the sweetest, most caring, wonderful sister-in-law in the world. Since the day I met Ashley (8 years ago) I have loved her. There are a lot of reasons that she is so wonderful. Here are just a few.

Reason #643~ She is always willing to help when I need it, and she is happy to do it with a smile on her face.

Reason #644~ I love singing and dancing to the radio with her in the car (and she doesn’t even mind that I am terrible at both of those things.)

Reason #645~ Thursday morning she took me to the hospital for my surgery (deviated septum correction). She stayed with me all day Thursday, all night at the hospital, and all day today too.

Reason # 646~ She put ice packs on my black eyes every 20-30 minutes, plus helped me in a zillion other ways too.

Reason #647~ She always waits in line with me to ride the front of roller coasters.

Reason #648~ She is saving money to visit me in Uganda (plus she and my bro support me).

Reason #649~ She will lay around on a Saturday with me watching some new TV show that we don’t want to turn off.

Reason #650~ She is my best friend.

I love you Ashley! You are my BFF and I am SO THANKFUL for you! Words cannot express how much you ROCK!

Spontaneous Trip to Mizzou

One of my fav pizza places, Shakespeare's. Mmmmmm :)

Picnic lunch at Rock Bridge State Park

Saturday morning I woke up thinking it was perfect the weekend to visit my sister at Mizzou. I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it earlier, but I decided to look at flights to see if there was one available at a reasonable price. Well, there was a flight (2 1/2 hours later) and Becca said she was up for a visit. So, I threw some stuff in a bag, got a ride to the airport and was in Missouri in time for dinner! Becca and I have had a wonderful weekend hanging out, wandering around campus, and eating at all of my fav places in Columbia. I love spontaneous weekend trips like this :)

You Could Never Have Imagined

Today as I was completing my Sonship homework this is what I was reminded of in the lecture by Josiah Bancroft. “God has not changed your heart and spoken grace into you to bear no fruit. He can and will use you to do things you could never have imagined.”

Wow! What a wonderful reminder! There have been things God called me to do in the past that I couldn’t see myself doing. Nonetheless, he carried me through. I am trusting in His faithfulness to carry me through this next calling of going to Uganda. I see example after example of Christ’s faithfulness to me, and others around me. I am trusting Him to carry me through the next years, which I know won’t be easy.  Something else Josiah said that encouraged me was, “ Missions (ministry) costs a lot, but in it there is joy.”

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

August Prayer Letter

Check out my August prayer letter. If you aren't on my email list, and would like to be, please leave a comment with your email address or send me an email at pjstephens2@cox.net.

Sister Time

Last weekend my sister, Becca, drove all the way from Columbia, MO to spend the weekend with me. Pre-Field training for Uganda has been a paradox, which I'm learning is also true of life on the mission field. Before coming to training I had perhaps an overly optimistic view of what life might be like in Uganda. I have been told the reality of missions, I've even experienced it in a small dose. I prefer to focus on the positive side of things, sometimes denying reality. Being at Mission Training International has given me a healthy dose of reality. I needed this training, and I have no doubt that God is refining me for the mission field. The refining process can be painful at times though. Having Becca come spend four days with me in-between the two sessions I'm attending in Colorado was a welcome and necessary reprieve. We had a blast hiking, skydiving, zip-lining, whitewater rafting, attending a baseball game, spending the day at a water park, and just being together. There is one-week left of language acquisition training and I have to admit I have mixed feelings about leaving Colorado. I will miss the friends I have made here and the perfect weather, but I can’t wait until next week when I will be laying on the beach with my friends and sisters J