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2023 has come, and along with it, the hope of more opportunities to love others and share resources with our brothers and sisters in Uganda. Cindy and I are packing for our departure in two days. Cindy will visit for two weeks, quickly touring to check in on our sponsored kids, associates, and our home in Gulu. I will remain for three months, during which I hope to continue building relationships and cultural relevance in the northern territory of Uganda known as Acholiland. I hate to admit it, but my Acholi is getting rusty already. A work permit is one of my first orders of business, but there will also be a lot of real estate investigation. We will follow up on the possible acquisition of a vacant hospital in Minakulu. I will also be viewing several properties with potential for use in TLCU’s other planned projects, which include a church meeting hall and community outreach center. 

Our ambitions are bigger than our budget. Still we are faithful to do what God has called us to do, acknowledging that it is out of His riches, not ours, that He will glorify Himself (Philippians 4:19, Ephesians 3:20). At this time of year, while you are praying for us on this trip and developing your annual budget, would you consider joining us as a financial partner? A commitment to monthly support would help secure our place in Uganda and open that window of blessing to our impoverished brothers and sisters there. Not everyone can “go into all the world," (Matthew 28:19) but we are more than happy to represent you!

God bless you and your families this year! May God’s richest blessings warm your heart to overflowing, so that all with whom you have contact recognize that you have something they also need. 

We would love to hear from you while we are in Uganda, but we turn off our American phone lines while overseas. Instead, try us on WhatsApp or Instagram. 

Cindy with our new granddaughter

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We are fond of saying that we are in relationship with those who follow, pray, and support us, so it is our responsibility to let you know what is going on in our lives. 

Cindy’s father, Roy Shimp, died last month, August 24th. He was in Hospice care at home, surrounded by his family and holding his wife’s hand. Several weeks before, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, an answer to thirty years of prayer. 

Cindy spends her days divided between her job and caring for her mother. Her two brothers help as much as they can, but hers is the part-time job, and she is the one that drops everything to go when no one can. She is pretty burnt out as well as grieved, exhausted, and afraid her mother might not recognize her the next time she comes through the door. She and her brothers are trying to get her placed in a memory care center.

When I returned from Uganda and spent a little time in Jacksonville with Cindy, I traveled to Memphis to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday. As I was starting out to return to Florida, I received notice that my mother was having heart attack symptoms, so I turned around and got her to the hospital. She is beginning her third week there, trying to survive heart failure, the five surgeries it has taken to get her pacemaker right, blood clots, and bleeding from blood thinners.

Meanwhile, my Dad, who is completely visually impaired, is beginning to learn how to get along without his wife catering to his every need. My two sisters and the neighbors in his retirement home are helping to get him back and forth to dinners and he is learning to cross his apartment alone. 

While the world around me is spinning, my own situation has stalled. Medical clearance for my shoulder surgery was delayed for a sinus infection. I have spent way too much time lying at home, and then waiting for the next appointment scheduler to call. I had hoped to complete six weeks of immobilization before our first grand baby is due to arrive in late October, but those hopes appear dashed. 

As I write this, Cindy, who finally had a day of rest, had it interrupted for a sudden change in her mother’s mental status. She is at the hospital with her now. Tomorrow would have started her three-day shift of mother-sitting anyway, but she just cannot seem to catch a break. 

While you pray for us, keep these things in mind. If you, like me, aren’t sure how to pray, please do it like Jesus did:

“Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”