...:::When God Speaks; CLEARLY:::...

God still works and the Spirit still moves! 

So, as some of you may have noticed, our blog has been a bit quiet for the last few months. Honestly the reason for our silence has been a lack of something to write about. There's been a lot going on, but we haven't really wanted to write about it because none of it had to do with us getting home! But, before I get into that, let me give you a breakdown of the last few months…

Coryn and I have both been on personal leave from our jobs in the US the whole time (1 year+) that we’ve been here! Since my job is, let’s say, a bit undefined, it’s been easy to take time away. That, unfortunately, wasn’t the case for Coryn. She was blessed with a one year leave of absence from her teaching job, and that year ended in September. That meant that Coryn was on a plane in mid-August, with Nemo in tow, so that she could prep for the coming school year AND keep her job! That was a bummer, but at the time, we thought we’d have Daniel’s visa sorted, and follow in a week or so. That didn’t quite play out as we had hoped though.

We got our appointment for Daniel’s visa at the end of August, which meant a trip to the Nairobi Embassy for me and “D”! We had an amazing time there with our new friends, the Magruders, as we awaited the approval of his visa. Unfortunately, we learned that or case had been sent for an “administrative investigation” for reasons the Embassy would not divulge. They also couldn’t give us ANY type of time-frame. They only told us it could be days or months! GREAT!!! :/

Daniel and I have since been back in Uganda; couch surfing in the homes of our closest friends, dearly missing our wife, son, mom, and brother. All the meanwhile, Coryn has been single parenting Nehemiah, moving into a new home, working a full-time job, and missing the snot out of us! It’s been absolutely miserable!

…and then a prophecy?!

One and a half weeks ago at church, a woman named Nicola was teaching on Philippians and how God is in EVERYTHING, even our times of trials and suffering. As she spoke, she kept getting various spirit inspired words, although she wasn’t quite sure what they meant or who they were for. First she said she felt there was someone there who was dealing with some tough family stuff. That definitely resonated with me, but it seemed like it could with anyone. Then, a bit later, she said that she felt the person was a father who felt alone but God was in this with him. Now I was really listening, but still, it could have been for anyone. As she was finishing up, she paused during her closing prayer. She said “it might be weird” but she felt the Spirit saying, “There’s a visa issue and God is going to bring a breakthrough in the coming week.” Bingo! She hit the trifecta! I was completely wrecked and the whole church prayed over our family and the word we had received!

Throughout the following week, we had a ton of support from our friends and family as we awaited God’s big breakthrough! People were praying for us and even fasting with us and we really felt the love of God tremendously! Each day passed, but still we remained confident in the work and will of God.

As Friday came and went, I started to feel a bit down. At one point, I even swore that I had gotten an email notification from the Nairobi Embassy but when I checked it, nothing was there. I was obviously disappointed that nothing had happened, but more than that, I was disappointed that the opportunity had passed for God to show our church and community that GOD STILL MOVES.

This week, out of pure desperation and frustration, I kept trying to call the embassy to see if there had been any progress on our case. Monday must have been some sort of Kenyan holiday or something because I tried the whole day and couldn’t get a call through. Today (Tues) started out the same way but I finally got through! The lady one the phone told me she had emailed me on Friday (phantom email above) asking me for Daniels passport so they can issue his visa. She forwarded the original email, and sure enough, God came through on Friday morning, just as He said he would!!! OH MY GOD has never felt more right to say than at this very moment!!!

“So now what?” you may ask. Now we come home!

It should take a week or so to get the visa issued, but after that, we’re on a plane, and into the arms of the ones we love!!! We’re excited to get home and begin the next chapter (church plant?) of our lives, but I’m suddenly a bit sad at the thought of having to say goodbye to all the amazing friends here who have fed us, housed us, encouraged us, and just plain loved us through this rollercoaster! But right now, the thought of a big ol’ family hug has me grinning from ear to ear!!! GOD IS SO GOOD

If you’d like to unite with us in this undertaking you may send your financial blessings to: C/O Andrew Galbreath 354 Avocado Street #16 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Please make checks payable to "Jamesdon and/or Coryn Kissling"

..::Hard Truths::..

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! 

When we first started working with Align, I was asked to begin coaching our team through the project management process. In corporate America, this would seem a fairly common skill-set but, here in Uganda, it hasn't quite been adapted. After a ton of preparation (much more than I anticipated) I've now lead two half day classes and the matter. The team here is really beginning to receive the model well, and to be honest, I'm learning a ton through the process too!

Coryn has also been quite busy (way more than me) this month. 

One of her main tasks as of late has been to manage the development of an operations manual for Align's Life Homes. It's been a challenging experience to format their structure since the homes have been running without it for some time, but the team is really making great strides regardless.

Alongside her other responsibilities, Coryn also managed to plan and execute a much needed 2 day retreat for the teachers at Donela Primary School. It was a huge success. The staff really enjoyed getting time to relax, pray together, eat great food, play ridiculous games, and most importantly, there was no work! The leadership really wanted to simply appreciate the staff for their hard work so we made sure there was no training or any other activity that wasn't fun or relaxing. Coryn still hasn't stopped receiving accolades from the staff. For most of them, it was a first time experience, and they're begging for another!

All this awesome work (and a ton more I didn't mention) that we get to be a part of has been such a blessing, and I think there's a big part of us that's sad at the thought of our time here being over. 

But then there's the other part of us... the part that's scared to death that we're going to have to accept the hard truth of us not making it home in August so we don't lose our jobs, The part that's watching our savings and support dry up as each days whizzes by, and the part that is desperately trying to figure out how We can fix it instead of asking, "God, how will You use us through all of this?"

The ridiculous part of all of this (besides our lack of faith) is that we've been here before... MANY TIMES!!!

When we first felt called to Uganda, we had no idea how we'd get here or what we'd do! When God placed Daniel in our lives, we had no clue how to go about adopting internationally or if we were even the right home for Daniel! When we felt God calling us back to the US, we knew we'd be jobless, homeless, and thoroughly culture shocked! When we had to come back to Uganda to finalize Daniel's adoption, and then found out that the process to get back home would keep us here MUCH longer, we were broke, homeless, and emotionally paralyzed by the news!

...but in each of these situations, we prayed! We prayed for God to reveal Himself and His plan. We prayed that our family would be fed, clothed and cared for! And we prayed for our faith to increase! Every time we did this, God responded in some ridiculous way!

So where does this leave us now, amidst another seemingly impossible dilemma? You'd think it's be obvious by now but we're not always the sharpest tools in the ol' shed!

PRAY!

We need to lift our silly heads back up to the heavens and ask our provider to do what He does best! 

So as we've come to this realization and prayed the last few days, we feel the thing that God's showing us right now is to be real! To share our "hard truth"! We feel spurred to let our community know what our situation is and humbly and honestly ask for help! 

So here goes... 

We're low on funds, running short on time, and scarred for what the future holds. We'd like to ask you to think about supporting us financially as we continue to partner with Align Ministries. We'd also like to ask you to SERIOUSLY CONSIDER remembering our family in your daily prayers as we're seeking God's direction through this season. These are some of the most humbling words we've ever had to type, but we feel that this is what we're being called to do, and know that God will do with it what He's intended for good!

We absolutely love you all, and can't wait to get back home to continue doing life with you!

I am finally here in Uganda with my family!!

So the week leading up to me leaving the U.S., was CRAZY! I had a list of things that I needed to accomplish before leaving, including shopping, getting my car smog checked for registration renewal, trying to prepare for my long term sub, and putting a last load of stuff into storage, all while trying to teach full time, coach, visit a few friends, and pack. Not to mention the cross-country meet I went to on Friday night and the family reunion I attended on Saturday right before getting dropped off at the airport Saturday evening to board the plane to Uganda. One of the best surprises was my mom and sister surprising me at the airport before I left (I didn't think I was going to get to see them before I left!) Although the last week felt like a whirlwind, I experienced so many blessings and so much support from friends and family, and I am finally here in Uganda with my family.

Leading up to this trip, Jamesdon and I have been so blessed to be part of such an amazing community, made up of family and friends that fully support us. It is crazy to think that with this trip comes so much uncertainty, yet we are so confident in God’s plan for Daniel’s life and we recognize that although there is uncertainty for us, God has it all figured out. Although we were not planning on this trip, God has spent the last 2 years allowing us to strengthen our marriage, our family, and become part of such an amazing community of people, in order to prepare us for this trip. He has also prepared many of you as our friends and family by letting you fall in love with Daniel the same way we did 4 years ago.

For those of you that do not know, I am a full-time Chemistry teacher at Beckman High School and the biggest blessing I personally received this week was from the staff and students at my school. On Friday, my last day at work before leaving, we had our Homecoming Assembly and in the middle of the assembly they put a picture up of me and my family and one of the ASB students gave a quick update on what was happening with my family. They asked me to come down so they could give me 3 big bags of stuff including snacks for the trip, toys for my little guys, and a target gift card. As I was walking down to the gym floor the cheers and support from the students was overwhelming, and yes I did cry a little! Throughout the day my students continued to show their support by bringing me cards, cupcakes, balloons, filling up my white-board with notes, all letting me know that I will be missed! On top of all of that, at the end of the day, I was given two cards from the staff and, knowing that my leave is entirely unpaid, they took up a collection for our family, to help support us while we are here and yes, I cried again! For those of you that are teachers, you know that teaching is a profession that does not allow for a significant amount of time spent with your co-workers and although this is true, I feel like I am absolutely supported by each and every person that I work with. It was absolutely overwhelming to know that I have so much support from my school as I embark on this adventure to finalize our adoption of Daniel.

With all of that said, I arrived here on Monday morning at 7:30 (Uganda time) which was 9:30pm Sunday night (California time) and hit the ground running! Well, not really running, I was completely exhausted, and feeling a little under the weather! Instead of going straight to our apartment, we decided to try to connect with some friends who are leaving for the U.S. on Tuesday, just to try to keep me going! We stopped off to get a bite to eat and then when we returned to the car it wouldn’t start…What a great welcome. Luckily we had friends who did not live far so I jumped on a matatu (taxi) with the boys (which they of course loved) and met up with our friends who happen to own a Japanese restaurant here and cooked us an amazing lunch and then let me crash on their couch for about 2 hours! So thankful that this is a place we know well and that we were able to get a hold of a mechanic who was very close by and was able to get the car running after a quick trip into the city and less than $25 worth of work. All that said, we never made it to our friends house we were intending to go to, but it was a great first day.

We are hoping to meet with the lawyer this week, but as of now, there are no updates about the court date. In the meantime, we are just enjoying being together as a family!