ABA = AFRICA BLESSES AGAIN

The Lord taught us how to celebrate Christmas in Africa.    After the Lord’s birth He soon fled as a refugee to Egypt / Africa (Matthew 2:13-23.)   In Africa He was safe and blessed.   

  There is something about the experience of sojourning that displays Africa’s ability to bless.    Home is heaven.   Everything else is temporary.    Home for Christmas means we are where God has called us on this earth serving with family and friends.   

Young Sophia with Jacob and Mona

Our first years in Africa were difficult during the Christmas season.    Yet, those first years taught us that we must display the Lord’s compassion.    The churches we shepherded were open at every opportunity over the Christmas season.   Our home also was full of people.     We assumed there were many who felt a sense of loss at Christmas.    Thus we must celebrate in community.   The Lord is near.   The Lord saves us from all our sins (Matthew 1:21-23.)   In that process of service Africa blessed us.  

Our second Christmas in our Chicago missionary posting had a familiar feel.   Africa blessed us again.    

In our early years in Uganda Jana and I mentored a young couple preparing to marry, Jacob and Mona Zikusooka.   Sophia was in their wedding.     We may have blessed the Zikusooka’s, but we were also truly blessed by their youth.   

Timothy, Gabe, and us with the Zikusookas and their daughter, Jasmine

As time went on the Zikusooka’s moved to Nairobi.    We lost a bit of touch.    Yet, in 2011 when we traveled to Nairobi seeking healing from seizures for our foster son, Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs we stayed with the Zikusookas.    When Mugisha went into seizures our families held him and prayed.     Eventually a drug combination was found and the seizures went away. In Christmas 2011 Africa blessed again.   

Starting over as missionaries can be a very lonely season.    Mystery reigns.    We can be active in prayer and listening.     Yet when asked by donors, “What are you doing?”   The answers only make sense if one understands the missionary journey.

Chicago is not where we grew up.    America changed greatly while we were away.   Being a missionary to America is not “home.”   In seasons like this visitors from “home” are the treasures of earth.    They remind us of the kingdom in our midst.

Jacob and Mona traveled to the USA this Christmas for Mona to do her residency as she

Chrismas Eve 2013 with the Zikusookas

studies for a Ph.D.    An added blessing was for them to visit family and friends.   They spent Christmas Eve with us.   

Then they gave gifts.    One was a kitenge shirt for Dave.   Another was a purse for Jana.   Yet, one was a very deep blessing that proclaimed our future and gave ongoing responsibility.   Jacob gave us an African map key chain.   On the map were nations in which we have served (Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda) colored in.   

 

Then he spoke, “I believe you are just where God has called you to be.    In Africa you can only serve in your location.   In Chicago you can serve the many places of the Diaspora.    Your influence will grow here.”

Last year Dave preached at a Liberian church.   This year Dave preached at a Tanzanian fellowship.  A few days ago Dave was asked to preach at a South Sudanese church.   Jacob told us to have each nation we serve in Diaspora to etch their nation off of the map.    Africa blesses again.

As we come to the end of the year we trust the blessings of our African family.   In relinquishment of being located in Africa we can have greater influence for Christ in dispersion.

Can you make a year end gift to bless our family and ministry?   If so you can send a check to 

ROC Partners
- Jenkins Memo
3007 NW 63rd Ste 205
Oklahoma City, OK 73116-3605

Or you can make an on line donation at https://rocfoundation.worldsecuresystems.com/Donation-Form

Mungu akubariki (God bless you),

Dave and Jana

ANNOUNCING THANK YOU TOUR

Our family running in our new post of Wheaton, Chicago

Dear Family and Friends,

Two commands fill God’s word when His people are in seasons of transition.  Those words are “Remember (150 references),” and “Thanks (100 references).”  (References counted by www.biblegateway.com.)

Our family last week finished getting the kids in five different educational institutions (Lowell Elementary, Franklin Middle School, Wheaton North High School, College of DuPage, and Wheaton College in Chicago.)   This past Sunday at Willow Creek Dupage we heard Shauna Niequist remark, “Enrolling a child in kindergarten is like getting a job in the CIA.”  We concur it is thorough and exhausting.

Christmas 2011 with foster child, Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs

This week we are beginning the process of organizing 19 years of memories.  We must remember.   God was, is, and is to come “Faithful.”  He used many family, friends, churches, and organizations to share this journey.  Here are some highlights:

• Of 21 years of marriage, 19 happened in Africa’s Great Lakes
• 2 nations of day by day labor (Uganda and Rwanda)
• Raised 5 great kids (Sophia, Caleb, Ethan, Ruth, and Timothy)
•   Fostered 1 pre-mature baby through weight gain, colick, and at one point 3 seizure clusters per day until he was adopted (Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs)
• 177 churches developed and 55 missionary families entered Uganda through New Testament Churches of Christ (1993 – 2004)
•   2 urban church plants (Kampala Church of Christ and Christ’s Church of Rwanda)
•  1 School Start (Kigali International Community School)
•    3 ½ years doing a weekly prime time radio show with Monitor FM (now KFM)
•    Volunteering at Kampala Kids League
•    6 years writing a column for The Rwanda Focus
•    200 children sponsored to attend school through Christian Relief Fund
•   1 library developed (Better Living Resource Center)
•  1 ministry to university students and young professionals (UP)
•   Over 300 of Rwanda’s brightest studying at USA universities through the Presidential Scholars program
•   Over 2,000 university students in Ethics lectures (School of Finance and Banking, and Kigali Institute of Science and Technology)
•   10 adoptions facilitated
•   5 houses serving as earthly homes and guesthouses frequently filled with delightful visitors
•   Daily morning walks, runs, swims, and bike rides that occasionally became community endeavors (NTCC Bikathon, Kigali Peace Marathon, and Kumbya 3 Hump Island Swim)
•   More baptisms, baby dedications, weddings, and funerals than we could count
•   Countless friends made and experiences shared
•   ONE SOVEREIGN, PROVIDENTIAL, AND MYSTERIOUS GOD

We sense as the Lord transitions us to a new season as missionaries in the United States He asks us to thank many of you face to face for your participation in this journey.   We’re a little scattered, but starting to put a pencil to a calendar.   

Would you like to see us and share some of these memories?   We’d love to visit.   Please drop us a note and we’ll start planning to share the thanksgiving memories.

Mungu akubariki (God bless you),

Dave and Jana

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT PLACED THESE CHILDREN IN A FAMILY?

Ruth and Timothy with Ethan at Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

This week, my foster son, Gabriel Mugisha is hospitalized. He is having convulsions. We are in King Faisal Hospital waiting and trusting. Each day a few friends stop by to pray, offer support, and give wisdom and encouragement. I made a parental mistake. I should have taken Mugisha to the Emergency Room immediately on Friday, 18 November. Instead I thought his odd rhythmic movement must just be another part of being a premature baby. Thankfully, doctors I knew got him in the queue and quickly saw a problem needing attention on Monday, 21 November. As I offered remorse for delaying a few days one friend mentioned, “He would not be alive if you had not taken him home.” Her counsel is likely true. I have two adopted children and one foster child. What would their lives be like if they were not in my home? Or what if God had not placed these children in a family? God guides our lives. However, we make choices that have consequences.

My first adopted child Ruth is simply beautiful. We first saw her when she was six weeks old. Even as an infant she had thick diva hair and long captivating eye lashes. My dad saw her for the first time when she was two years old. He pulled me aside and said, “David, I’ve never seen a girl this beautiful. I can’t believe her eyelashes.” When Ruth enters a room I watch all the men notice. She has very unique features. Her hair and skin color are like the people from northern Uganda. Her facial features and body are refined and softly round like those from western Uganda. I’ve had strangers in both America and Africa courageously move past stares and ask, “Where did this girl come from? What is her story?” All we know is that she was abandoned outside a home in Kampala, went from Sanyu Babies home to our home, and is our daughter with all legal and relationship rights.

Ruth is growing into a woman. Life is changing.

The teachers, headmaster and bazamu at her school make her daily educational life safe. The men who pastor with me make her church life safe. The leaders of our umudugudu make our community safe. My dad, brothers, and sons are all strong and when near Ruth keep her safe. The leaders of Rwanda have made Kigali a city so safe I don’t worry when Ruth walks through the streets to visit friends. I am immensely thankful to all.

Yet, I know the fate of a beautiful young woman in a world where no men protectively watch her. Beautiful young women outside of families are often mistreated, exploited, and then harshly judged. What if God had not placed Ruth in our family? God guides our lives. However, we make choices that have consequences.

Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs with the nurses cared for him in Rwamagana

My second adopted child Timothy is simply athletically gifted. He is small in stature, but among his peers usually the fastest runner, best football player, and wins almost every dance off. Yet if you watch closely you will notice his right arm is not functional. Timothy has a minor case of cerebral palsy. Before he was born something went wrong. Maybe, his biological mother had malaria? There was a brain injury that left him with difficulty of function on his right side. When he was 10 months old we noticed that as he crawled his left side pulled his limp right. A doctor diagnosed cerebral palsy. Then he pulled himself to standing, took his first step, and it turned into a run. The running has never stopped. In a family with a dad and two older brothers he outran his handicap. By God’s grace he overcame. Some will notice Timothy’s struggle with his right arm. Yet none who know him consider him handicapped.

Yet, I know the fate of a handicapped child who is not in a family. They are labeled. If they are in an institution competing with many other children they lose the initial competitions. The extra care of a dad or brothers who run is never given. They become victims instead of victors. What if God had not placed Timothy in our family? God guides our lives. However, we make choices that have consequences.

My foster son, Gabriel Mugisha is a blessed messenger. His life has been too short for us to see all God intends. Yet, we know that he has a remarkably strong will to live. His story and spirit captures all who meet him. He was born on 11 March in a village weighing only 1.3 kilos. His biological mother abandoned him at the Rwamagana hospital the next day. He came to our home 8 weeks later weighing only 1.5 kilos. He now weighs 5.1 kilos. Doctors at King Faisal Hospital found a cyst in his brain on August 10. For 3 months it has been irrelevant. Now Mugisha is having convulsions. We do not know where this will end, but we have seen God do the remarkable through Mugisha. The most recent doctor’s appraisal is that Mugisha needs medication to manage his convulsions. After several days of medicine the convulsions are declining. We are all hopeful.

Yet, I know the fate of a premature baby who is not in a family? Most do not live. Most do not get the chance to fight for their lives with the support of a family, church, and community. What if God had not placed Mugisha in our family? God guides our lives. However, we make choices that have consequences.

Ruth, Timothy, and Mugisha all received a God intention to be a part of a family. Without that opportunity their lives likely would be tragic. Now, they are full of all the promise of childhood. Statistically, they are the fortunate few. There are thousands of children who are not part of this fortunate few. Yet, each day in Kigali thousands of us drive a car to work. If we can afford to drive a car we most likely possess the resources, network, and creativity to care for one more child.

Some may look at our family and conclude we are some type of “great men and women of God.” That appraisal is mistaken. Those who know us best know that what good we do is simply the result of God’s grace. This grace is available to all.

NYIRAMATAMA Zaina, with Mark, Chelsea, and Gabriel MUGISHA Jacobs

Others may look at our family and conclude that somehow our race makes us more capable to care for the vulnerable. That appraisal also is mistaken. Those who share my race sometimes make fun that our many years in Africa have made us “African.” We consider what some mean as an insult to instead be a blessing. It is by grace that we have become so “African.” Grace is available to all.

Thus I conclude. What if God had not placed these children in a family? God guides our lives. However, we make choices that have consequences. These choices are by grace. Grace is available to all.