Many of you have asked how we got to Uganda. Some of you have been with us throughout the long journey, but some of you are new to reading our blog and don’t know the full story. So, as we celebrate 10 years in Uganda, here’s the story. It’s a long one, so be prepared….

We laughed a bit and then ignored the question. We went back home, enjoyed life in youth ministry, had a baby and were figuring out life as first-time parents. We simply got busy, so the years passed by. In 2014, we felt like God was telling us to sell our home in Central Texas so we could be debt free and have no strings to tie us down any where. We loved our home, so this was a big decision. We didn’t know why at this point, but we were obedient and sold our house, one vehicle, and then we were 100% debt-free. We started seeking what God had in mind for us. We interviewed for different job opportunities, but every time we looked into other ministry options the question kept coming to our minds: “What about missions?” We decided we needed to answer this question, but we didn’t know how. We met with some friends at Missions Resource Network in Dallas, whom we had been working with to help our church restructure the missions program, so we asked them what missions might look like. It felt like such an overwhelming and daunting question: from living in Texas to now having the whole world open to us was a VERY scary thought. And where do we even begin? Through prayer, guidance, and relationships, God opened doors. And honestly, we kept asking Him to shut those doors! But God kept presenting opportunities for us, so we kept going down the path. In October 2014, we decided it was time to check out the mission work in Uganda, once again in hopes that God would shut the door and lead us in another direction (spoiler alert – He didn’t).

Honestly, it was the worst survey trip we could’ve imagined. First, Adalyn got sick with a stomach bug the morning we were traveling, so we left a sick child with family and friends. We had a joke with our eventual teammates that they burned the sales brochure on Day 1 when it took over 9 hours to get from the airport to their house in Mbale, and when all the small talk was finished, there was nothing left but to share the challenges of the mission work. There was a significant tragedy that happened to the team while we were in Uganda, which I won’t go into detail here, but it was intense. We got introduced to the skeletons in the closet on that trip, and any normal person would’ve run away. But…about a week into our two-week trip, Leland and I both knew God was calling us to Uganda.

So after that trip, we shared our hearts and decision with the elders, our church family, our parents, and the youth ministry, and we began preparing for missions in Uganda. We went through a LOT of training, psychological, marital, culture, even language. Even through the trainings, we kept thinking maybe we had misunderstood and God would shut doors. But He didn’t, so we continued to be faithful and walk through them. God was so affirming to us and our family during the process. In January 2016, with fear and excitement for the new journey, we packed our 9 trunks, and took our 3-year old daughter along with some family and friends to the DFW airport to travel the 28-hour journey to Mbale, Uganda. It was intense. It was emotional. It was hard. But it was also exciting, and God had given us so much peace in the midst of chaos. Now it’s been 10 years since we moved to Uganda, and we still can’t believe we’ve been here this long. This is our home! Our daughter is now a teenager. We couldn’t imagine our life any other way.

Throughout this journey we have been, and continue to be, incredibly blessed with church families who love and care of us, financial supporters and prayer partners who are constantly making sure we are okay, parents and families who did NOT like the idea of us moving across the world but completely support our decision, and friends who always love us through thick and thin. We couldn’t ask for a better support system to make this life possible! It has not been an easy road, but God continues to be faithful through it all. God has done some amazing things in us and around us. We are so humbled that God has been patient with us, and used the simple question “What about missions?” many years ago to move in our hearts and lives. We will never be the same!