Surprise!! that was to be her name until the sanity and ridicule of a name like that hit home with me and we named her Paulah Julia Achilles. Everything about her had been elusive – After 3 different gynaecologist’s fiddling back and forth to ascertain her arrival date and on the third trimester one would eventually warn us that PJ would be due on the 2nd of September.
Personally, I thought the date would be a bit earlier -may be mid August; and thus I set out on one of those trips, that would see me to South Africa and ultimately to the USA.
With much grace the Lord carried us through as we kept a daily contact with my wife and all seemed to be going pretty well. Ministry in South Africa with YOLO IMPACT MANDATE was awesome (YOLO is a movement aimed at mobilizing native South African youthful professionals into Missions and World Evangelism). Many thanks to the great work by the steering taskforce and the Speakers.
From South Africa – I headed to North Carolina for the Annual World Mission Centre’s leadership meeting. While in North Carolina, I also spent time with a very special group of friends who had braved a mission trip to join me in Uganda’s towns of Soroti and Gulu for Live School meetings and training. I further had the pleasure of spending time with a generation lower- a teen class that to me was the assurance that beyond what is happening in the USA, God has His hands upon the generations and remnants.
It was on one of those late nights in North Carolina when I would receive my surprised wife’s call that ultimately surprised me even more. She was having contractions and I was miles a way!!
In despair I poured my heart to God, surely nothing had caught Him by surprise. I was stuck between dashing back home and finishing what yet remained. Much as I would have loved to; practical and logistical issues made the dashing back impractical and thus in faith I continued.
While flying to Minnesota for a two day Missions awareness conference where I had the opportunity to present Missions and introduce the Live School to those present with much thanks to St Peters’ Calvary Baptist Church for providing us with the venue and CJ and Yvette for all the labour in hosting me and co- ordinating the event.
I was wrestling with God on the inside because I truly didn’t know what I was doing in St Peters’ except that He wanted me to be there and when through the meeting 3 generations stood together in prayer for the USA, I knew that it was serious prophetic statement – He at a personal price was showing me what tomorrow may be like for His family; the Church in the USA and that there was hope!
Back home, my mother in law who was scheduled to spend a month with us during her holiday arrived barely 3 days before my wife Pam would eventually deliver Baby PJ on the 28th @ 07h53 West Africa Time; because of her presence at home together with Prince’s Nanny, Alyx I was at peace. He had covered my back and my family.
Looking at St Peters’ and what is happening in the USA we felt it impressed upon us to start up a Missions Training using the Live School and the details will be communicated later.
From Minnesota, I flew to South Carolina for the Global Leadership Summit 2015, a meeting that was helpful in every way for effective Leading. While here, Team Kenya (friends that have in the last while taken a trip to Kenya with me) treated me to a special early birthday which highlight were the prayers by Ps Ken Jumper and Indar Singh of Church of the Harvest in Colombia.
I left the USA for Gabon via South Africa where I spent two days to get my connecting flight before finally arriving home on the 14th of August and held PJ for the first time.
The trip was hectic and personally tough, but I met a number of great people and good friends as well as amazing ministry. I am ever so grateful for the love you keep showing not only to me, but to my entire family. I hope and pray that the fruit of my life’s walk and work will be worth the sacrifices you make and the love you give with the Lords’ commendation of well-done faithful servant in the end.
Now that I am home, besides work, I am taking some special moments in bonding with our young and growing family. I am getting used to night wake up calls again, but all to the glory of God.
I could ask a thousand things, but as I reach this far and with my birthday fast approaching announcing a whole new level- I am looking back with thankfulness to every delayed and answered prayer, to every experience that has shaped and molded me, to every hand, knee and heart that have invested in my life and ministry and the many others that have opened their homes and hearts to me.
I am looking back to the fulfilled and failed promises, the breakthroughs and disappointments as well the many lives that I may have let down from my own personal end for one reason or another and asking for nothing but one thing only; please do not cease praying for us because like the Apostle Paul- I want to finish well. 1 Timothy 4:7
In the words of the poet William Wordsworth;
“I made no vows, but vows were then made for me; bond unknown to me was given, That I should be, else sinning greatly a dedicated Spirit.”