Life in the City

Since getting here we have been really busy with working on getting settled. We are quickly reminded how things don't generally happen very quickly. I can't easily drive to the local department store to get furnishings, curtains, etc. However we do now have our van and we are in our house. It is a huge blessing! We are busy now getting supplies for the house and making it a home. It has been a lot of work, but I have enjoyed nesting and making it homey even though it will take quite some time to put together. We even have 2 lab dogs! I was shocked to learn we could even get labs in Uganda. They happen to be my favorite dog, and I grew up having labs.

The kids have been enjoying being outside a lot and the older boys have been playing a lot of soccer at the local "football pitch." Carter and Malachi have been catching a lot of lizards and geckos and know all the "good" spots to find them. We like the small town feel of our neighborhood. The kids feel comfortable walking down to the local produce stand and getting me fruit and vegetables for meals. We are excited to get to know our community better and we have hopes that we can go fishing on Lake Victoria in the future. (You can see the lake from our balcony!)

Eliana makes a friend, but it more like she is bossing him around.

Samuel and Joshua fish in little pond at the temporary house we stayed at. We enjoyed 3 tilapia for dinner from their labor.

Going to the football pitch

Want to know how to keep an 8 month old cranky teething baby happy? Fresh pineapple!

The swings in our yard!

Samuel reading with Sheera our yellow lab.

Joshua plays fetch with Scout the black lab.

Eliana and Janaya find flowers from our yard and put them in their hair. Look we have grass!!!!

Briana and Malachi hanging in the hammock.

Thanks for all your prayers. We feel very blessed! More pictures to come! Don't forget to stay in touch.

The Latest and The Akiru Project

We are now on the week count down, and there happens to be a lot of packing going on. I envisioned writing a blog that would be moving (no pun intended), but my creative juices have been depleted with the move. We are however very excited to get back to our other home, Uganda. God has truly been amazing this past year and I am truly moved (literally....sorry my brain is single minded) by his goodness. Many of you probably received our newsletter, and if you didn't then it either went to your spam, we have an outdated email address, or we don't have your email address at all. You can sign up to receive them to the right (and down) of this post (titled "mailing list"). In case you missed it and wanted to know what my wonderful husband had to say here it is:

In less than 2 weeks, all nine of us Fulks will step onto an airplane on our way back to Uganda. The 18th of September will mark the end of our time here in the states. It has been very healing and refreshing for us all however we are ready to return. Your prayers have been a constant encouragement to us during our time here. As we struggle to fit our lives into 18 pieces of luggage we are reminded that all these things are nothing compared to our heavenly home and we look forward to building up a kingdom in Uganda were moths and rust can not destroy (Matt. 6:19-21). In many ways, things here in America are finished for us. We are saying "bye for now" to friends and family, though "for now" will be 3-4 years for many of you. That is unless you would come to Uganda for your vacation or short-term mission trip while we are there.

 

Our financial support has been increasing, but we still need monthly commitments to meet our budgeted needs in Uganda. We are also asking that you would commit to praying for a specific individual of our family and of course for the Karamojong. If you could support us in both or either of these ways, please visit our website at 

http://followingjesustouganda.com/PartneringWithUs.html

to fill out your information and make your commitment known to us. Financial and prayer donations of any quantity really do aid us in our work, so please don't think any kind of commitment is insignificant.

 

It is exciting for us to be sharing in this ministry with you. We are more aware this time than every before how much you are a part of our lives. Please pray with us and for us as we travel for 2 days to get there and settle in with the family. We will get communication with you back up and running when we can and will write our next newsletter from the great continent of Africa.

 

God bless you all richly,

 

Cody

 I also wanted to get the word out about these great journals and the women behind them!!
Our friends, the Williams, that are serving in Kacheri, among the Karamojong have an amazing project to help extremely vulnerable women. The women make homemade paper, and then journals. This project has provided 8 women incomes, and the best part is that Kristi has been discipling them with some great fruit. You should check out their website (It is pretty awesome!  http://www.theakiruproject.com) and then buy a journal on esty! I have seen these up close and personal and have even seen them in the making. (Even helped myself once) They are beautifully made and would make a wonderful present for any occasion.

Video of the Kids

We have 2 weeks until we leave! Time is flying by. I have been trying to post this video for several weeks but haven't been able to because it was so large. Here it finally is, in its compact form. We made it for the recent fundraiser in hopes that people could get to know our kids more.  The sound is low so you will have to crank it up, or use speakers to hear. Please continue to pray for us during these next few crucial weeks. Pray that we can be productive and accomplish the things needed. Pray for us to raise the rest of our monthly financial and prayer support. Pray that during this time we can have extra patience with the kids during this transitional period.

Talmidim

Meet my Talmidim

The what? (You might be asking). Any guesses as to what talmidim means.......

 

 

 

No it's not a terrorist group, nor it is a group of really cute kids (even though that is true). So what is a Talmidim? Let me explain, or rather I will have an excerpt from http://followtherabbi.com/journey/israel/to-be-a-talmid1 explain:

Like other rabbis of his day, Jesus had disciples called talmidim, devout followers who were probably in their mid-teens.
Gifted students approached a rabbi and asked, "May I follow you?" in effect, saying, "Do I have what it takes to be like you?" The rabbi either accepted the student as a talmid or sent him away to pursue a trade. Jesus broke this pattern when he chose his own talmidim. As he asked his disciples to follow him, they knew without a doubt that their rabbi believed in them.
A talmid followed the rabbi everywhere, often without knowing or asking where he was going. He rarely left his rabbi's side for fear that he would miss a teachable moment. And he watched the rabbi's every move, noting how he acted and thought about a variety of situations.
Talmidim trusted their rabbi completely. They worked passionately to incorporate the rabbi's actions and words into their lives. The disciples' deepest desire was to follow their rabbi so closely that they would start to think and act like him.
Jesus' twelve disciples ultimately succeeded in becoming like their rabbi: Their missionary efforts changed the world, and most of them gave their lives in the process.

Basically it is the Hebrew way of saying disciple, but to know more about the culture and the lifestyle brings about more detail into what that looks like. I read about talmidim in a book I was reading this past year. The question they then posed was who is your Talmidim?  For anyone who has kids the first obvious answer is our children.  Deut 6:6-7 says, "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way and when you lie down, and when you rise."

After reading the definition of the talmidim and this scripture in Deuteronomy it seems like a bigger task than we make. Let's break it down:

Gifted students approached a rabbi and asked, "May I follow you?" in effect, saying, "Do I have what it takes to be like you?" The rabbi either accepted the student as a talmid or sent him away to pursue a trade. Jesus broke this pattern when he chose his own talmidim. As he asked his disciples to follow him, they knew without a doubt that their rabbi believed in them."

Do I believe in all my talmidim, or just the ones that seem more promising? Jesus knew that Judas would betray him and he continued to teach him, to love him. My prayer is that I will have that same kind of love, and devotion. That I would see the potential in each of my children.

A talmid followed the rabbi everywhere, often without knowing or asking where he was going. He rarely left his rabbi's side for fear that he would miss a teachable moment. And he watched the rabbi's every move, noting how he acted and thought about a variety of situations.

Now this seems easier when you have toddlers. They follow you everywhere and you can hardly get a moment by yourself. Once they become teens it seems like this happens less and less. But regardless of the age of my children they are still watching; they see how we react to them, the world, to our spouse. Sometimes I am utterly shocked by what my kids say and do, and sometimes I realize I have said the same thing or had the same attitude towards them. Sometimes their repulsive behavior is from watching us.

Talmidim trusted their rabbi completely. They worked passionately to incorporate the rabbi's actions and words into their lives. The disciples' deepest desire was to follow their rabbi so closely that they would start to think and act like him.

Do I strive to be someone my kids want to follow? Is the way I live so contagious that they can't help but follow? Am I following Jesus so closely that all they have to do is look over my shoulder and see Jesus?  These questions challenge me to following Jesus more intently. To strive for this lifestyle. It seems far away some days and close others, but I keep stepping one step behind my savior. I seem to trip many times but the important thing is getting back up and continuing. 

Jesus' twelve disciples ultimately succeeded in becoming like their rabbi: Their missionary efforts changed the world, and most of them gave their lives in the process.
I am not sure we will get to 12 children, but I do pray that I succeed in becoming like my rabbi, and that each of them would follow the Rabbi, and that in their own little world, or this great big world they would see change and give their lives in the process. My prayer is that when we return to Uganda I find others around me to be part of my Talmidim and that I would not act like someone who follows Christ but I would be someone who follows Christ and that this would be contagious and carry on to others. 

May God also give me the wisdom like Jesus to know when to rebuke and when to build up. May God contractually show me the teachable moments, and may my conduct always be worth following and when it is not, I pray your grace will abound, and fill the gaps. I pray that God would continue to teach me in His word, to grow me, and that my hunger for Him would grow insatiable each day.

Experiene Uganda Fundraiser

Most of you have probably already seen this but I wanted to post it on the blog for those of you who haven't. Send it along if you want. It is going to be a lot of fun!

The Year In One Word

If I had to describe the past year in one word it would be REFINE. The dictionary defines it as follows:

1 : to free (as metal, sugar, or oil) from impurities or unwanted material

2 : to free from moral imperfection

3 : to improve or perfect by pruning or polishing

4 : to reduce in vigor or intensity

5 : to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth 

 

During our furlough God has been working in my heart doing some quality pruning. It has not always been an enjoyable situation for me and at times my soul feels in disorder as my flesh and spirit meet head to head for a dual. My flesh wants to always take the easy and quick way, while the spirit quietly emerges to take a higher road. My heart has felt pulled in two directions, until I yielded to my Master, Creator. All the while God was working under the surface, healing, mending, molding, renewing, refining. The beauty at the end is something worth marveling at, but the process seemed grueling, confusing, daunting. One day I looked back behind me to see what looks to be a battle ground with lots of questions without answers. Looking before me I can only see God's goodness. His love, mercy, patience. And I can relate to the butterfly who emerges from the cocoon into a new beginning, only I feel like the same butterfly who continually goes through metamorphosis. It's powerful, He's powerful. I am grateful. My flesh feels a little more free from the unwanted material. A little lighter and a lot closer to the one who was without sin. The process was not what I expected, as it never seems to be. But again I am grateful for His sovereign ways. Thankful that He is never finished with the change, never quits at cleansing the filth. I smile at what is ahead, for what He will keep doing in my heart. With my head held high and my identity rooted more firmly in my Maker I eagerly await the next chapter. 

The Last 2 Weeks (And we are going back to Uganda in Sept)

Cody and I are pretty excited that we are now Field Coordinators with Missionary Ventures. God has really done great things with the timing of this all (thankful it happened so quickly). They are a great organization and we feel honored to be a part of their family. It was great being in Florida to meet the staff and to learn more about their organization and life as a missionary (some we already know, but it is always good to hear it again). We love that they focus on relationships with their missionaries, and this showed to be true during our 10 days there. The time there was very productive and Cody and I both left there feeling like this was a new beginning for us. It has in some ways been really hard to be in the States so long when your heart and calling is in Uganda, however God has done some amazing things in our heart over the past year, and we have both grown, emotionally and spiritually. We are grateful that God knows best and we feel like our time here is only going to make us stronger, and better equipped as missionaries. He has blessed us beyond measure and put us exactly where we need to be. After leaving Missionary Ventures we have a renewed passion for getting to Uganda to share the Good News to the displaced Karamajong.
With that I am pleased to share with you that we will be going back in late September! Hooray! We are pretty excited about that. We now work hard at building our prayer and financial support team.

Cody has been working hard on updating our website, so if you get a chance you should check it out. www.FollowingJesusToUganda.com. We are also trying to organize things better, and so on the right you will find a place you can put your email address if you would like to receive our newsletters.


Here are some pictures:

We did have one day off when we were in Florida, so we did the cheapest and the most relaxing things and went to the beach.

While at training the Jesus Film presented us with a projector and screen to share the Jesus Film in Ngkarimojong (not to mention the over 1000 other languages we can get it in!) This is a huge blessing. It is the latest version making it very compact and easy to transport.

We were not able to take all the kids, but we were able to Skype with them! Thankful for Skype!

Meanwhile Joshua's Club team won Regionals in Boise so now they will be traveling to Florida in July for Nationals!