...:::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"

"God, let my faith be real!"

At a church service earlier this year, I was in the middle of worship, and all of a sudden looked up and thought “This is all fake.” Instantly, I not only didn’t feel God’s presence, but completely doubted His existence. With that one thought my whole world seemed to be flipped upside down and my joy was stripped from me immediately. It was the scariest feeling I have ever had. Could it be that the last 9 years of my life I had wholeheartedly believed in something that wasn’t real? I started to rationalize every “God” experience and came up with a logical explanation for what “really” happened in those periods of my life.

Jamesdon was wrecked because if I truly believed that God didn’t exist, it would change everything. How would our marriage last without Jesus being in the center?  How would we raise our kids? What would our lives look like without God being in everything we do? I watched Jamesdon struggle through all of this and because of my commitment to him, I continued to go to church on Sunday’s. Plus there was no way Daniel would have let that one go without questions that I would be unable to answer. I continued to pray with my boys every night (when I tried to sneak out of the room after kissing them goodnight, Daniel would ask “Mama, could you please pray!”  I would try to tell him that I wanted him to pray instead, but he would say “No mama, I like it when you pray”) That was probably the most difficult part; praying to a wall, with absolutely no faith that anyone is listening. 

For two months, God wasn’t distant, He was nonexistent. Because of the complete devastation to my family, I started playing the Devil’s advocate “Okay, so if I don’t believe in God, what do I believe?” As I ran through my options of what I would have to believe if I didn’t believe in God, they all sounded crazy. So one morning I woke up and said “Okay God, I am going to choose you.” Now this was not at all a spiritual moment that had some huge significance in my life, it was just a moment that I decided to follow a God that I was still pretty sure didn’t exist. That weekend at church there was a call for prayer and I forced myself to get up out of my chair and kneel down at the front of the Senior Center. Soon I felt a hand resting on my shoulder, but it took a few minutes before she started praying. When she did start praying, she told me that she felt like God wanted her to tell me that He knows exactly where I am and that He knows that this is not a place of comfort, but that He has me in this place because He wants my faith to be real! So that became my new prayer “God, let my faith be real!” Again, my mind was not changed overnight, but between these two occurrences, I slowly began to feel my joy coming back, and soon enough I was able to be at church and actually worship God again. 

Some people may have called what I experienced “a spiritual attack” but looking back I think it was exactly what God said it was, a period of time in which He shook me so hard that when He was done I had a faith that was more real than I had ever experienced. What better timing than right before all of these issues with Daniel’s adoption. He totally knew what was coming and wanted to make sure that I was ready to follow Him wherever He called us. So that is where I am! Ready to go, with a faith that is undeniably real!

An update…

Jamesdon and the boys leave on August 28^th and I will leave on September 21^st (3 ½ weeks after).  We have had an overwhelming amount of support that has continued since our last post and are incredibly excited for what God has in store for us in Uganda. The fundraiser this past Friday at The Baguetier (Simply Layered Cake Designs) in Huntington Beach, was another overwhelming and amazing expression of generosity by our community and also just another way for God to be glorified in the middle of a city that desperately needs to experience God. For anyone who was there when Daniel was worshipping alongside Will and Sally know exactly what I mean when I say that God was on display! We are so incredibly thankful for all of the people who continue to support our family in prayer. When we first started to realize what was happening with all of Daniel’s paperwork we had no idea how we would be able to afford this trip, and here we are a week away from leaving with the majority of our trip fully covered, plane tickets, visas, vaccinations and lawyer fees included! Although there is still an uncertainty about the length of our stay, we are certain that God has us covered for however long He wants us to stay!

Please continue to pray for…

• Preparations to leave (packing up our house into storage and tying up loose ends)
• The 20 plus hours Jamesdon will spend on the plane with the boys (this does not include layovers and traveling time to and from the airports.)
• Our family being apart for nearly 4 weeks (Jamesdon being a “single” dad in Uganda)
• A court date
• That are hearts will be ready to love the people of Uganda and that our ears would hear and our eyes would see how God wants to use our family to further His kingdom.