“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
We would like to invite you into our plans for the next season of our lives. We are happy to announce that we will be going to serve in Uganda for an extended time (1 to 2 years). Our plan is to leave in July this year (2019). We will be based in Gulu in Northern Uganda under the leadership of Pastors Martin and Hope Onen. Pastor Martin has an incredible ministry of training new pastors to plant churches. One area that we might be sent to is called Adjumani, located just south of the border with South Sudan. There are hundreds of thousands of refugees in this area and we would be blessed to help there in whatever way we are able.
Our Story
I (Yvonne) was going about life, wholeheartedly involved in my employment as a Teacher-Librarian at Frank Augustus Miller Middle School in Riverside. I also happily served as a volunteer at The Grove Community Church as a Bible study table leader and media tech for worship services. Jeff was enjoying his life as well. He was retired and working as a consultant to the Glendale Parks and Open Space Foundation as a Field Naturalist, leading hikes and campfire programs and volunteering at the Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo in Orange County. He, too, gladly volunteered at The Grove in the parking ministry and as an usher. We were preparing to lead a group of high school students on a short term (2 week) trek to Uganda. We had been to Uganda several times (Yvonne 7 times, Jeff 4) and we were looking forward to reconnecting with the friends we had established.
Then something happened which altered our plans. On May 12, 2018 I was in a car accident. I crashed my VW Beetle head-on into a palm tree on Victoria Avenue. The impact was directly on the driver’s side. The police said they were surprised to see me alive. My car was totalled and I had a broken back. (For those of you who know about/ are interested in the details, it was a T12 compression fracture of 85% reduction in height). It was quite painful and there was no question in my mind that I would not be going to Uganda last summer. I was off work for the rest of the school year, healing and undergoing physical therapy. Jeff went to Uganda as planned as one of the Trek leaders while I remained at home.
It has been a long journey for me. One major lesson learned from this experience is that people are truly the hands and feet of God, right here in Riverside. There are many people who care about me. God provided this as a tangible lesson through the cards, visits, meals, and e-mails with encouragement constantly flowing into my life. Another realization is that God’s plans are always higher than our plans. Due to pain issues I was unable to return to work in August when the new school year began. As the weeks turned into months, it was evident that returning to work in the near future was not going to happen. After much prayerful consideration, we decided that I would retire.
During Pastor Daniel Bishop’s sermon on September 8th, he was talking about troubles in life. He said something that resonated with me. He asked, "Do you trust God to use trouble for a greater purpose and plan?" Looking back over the past year, I can see the trouble of a broken back being used for His plan. Almost the minute that we made the decision on retirement, we both had the same thought. Our hearts are in Uganda. Over time we have felt that God is calling us to serve there in some capacity. Retiring allows us the freedom to serve in whatever capacity God wants, wherever He wants.
At church, there have been sermons that seemed to be written specifically for us. Our church’s theme verse for the year is: "And without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews 11:1. Themes that were interwoven were Pastor Tom Lance’s call to step out in faith which included the call to continue actively serving God both in the Church and the community, even after retirement. And then we heard Pastor Daniel say, ”when you hear God’s call, you can listen and obey or listen and go astray.” We have chosen to obey.
