More than Casual Observers

Written by Merle "Pops" Stoltzfus (Corinne's father)

“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him.” (James 2:5)

Not everyone is invited to have dinner in Nyenga Village. In fact, few have this privilege of an entire meal cooked over charcoal. The location is remote, the kitchen simple, the dining room small and we won’t mention the restrooms. But, it is a priceless experience.

Upon arrival, the Honda CRV squeezed between two buildings to park in a front yard of dirt sprinkled by clumps of grass and litter. The neighborhood trash bin is convenient for this home but creates some challenges as well. By the time we pried ourselves out of the packed car, we heard the chant of children’s voices, “Dan—eee’, Dan—eee’, Dan-eee’. “ Neighbors; children and mothers (fathers were still at work) came from 3 directions to greet the family who, three weeks earlier had suddenly departed for a medical leave. “How are you? Welcome. Daniel, are you better.” It was evident the Iya family was greatly missed but none as much as Danny.

After the multiple locks and latches of the house were released, it was evident the neighbors had provided good 24 hour security surveillance. Danny broke out his new soccer ball which quickly hatched a pick up soccer game between buildings, trash bin and the car. Rules were quickly established followed by the shouts of competitors echoing off the concrete walls. Too young to compete, Danny turned his attention to a three year old girl chewing a piece of potato from each fist. She generously offered Danny a bite. True to his self, he accepted more than her offer and relieved her sticky left hand to share in what remained of its entire contents. Grandpa (“Pops”) quickly protested but then realized sharing food was the common practice in Nyenga Village. After all, we were one of the few privileged outsiders invited to dinner. Gratefully sharing, receiving and accepting were far more important than sanitation.

The coveted pace of life in Nyenga allows for lengthy greetings. Time is never more valued than relationships. “This is my mother and father” was responded to by the Ugandan handshake which initially feels like we had joined their secret society. By the end of the visit, the handshake was endearing. These Nyenga neighbors have been through a lot together. The mother who gave birth in the back seat of Daniel's truck 2 years ago accompanied by her daughter were one of the first to greet us. It was obvious how Danny and the commonality of young children has been used by God to build strong relationships. “All of this for your benefit, so the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (2 Cor. 4:15)

Fifteen months ago when Danny was born there was question about whether the continuation of this living environment could continue. Each month this question continues to become more difficult. Danny is sick more days than healthy. Does God intend for missionaries to put their children in continual health risk for the sake of the gospel? This question is asked every day and the answer is only sufficient for that day. Corinne & Daniel are committed to follow God in both their responsibility as parents and ministry. Like all of us, each day demands a new commitment to follow Jesus and make the choices related to being His bond-Servant.

The days of living in Nyenga Village are likely numbered. Five years of building relationships have born eternal fruit. The whole experience has been very much a 2-way Street. Just the thought of moving away from this loving adopted home is sorrowful to contemplate. The joy of the relationships far exceed the difficulty of the primitive environment. But the responsibility of parenting seemingly is demanding a change. For God’s people, the momentary troubles of this life are achieving an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Pray with Daniel & Corinne through this challenging decision. “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19)

Welcome Home; Sorry

Sunday, October 21st brought significant changes to what we were anticipating in our lives for this last quarter of 2018. Sundays are for rest from our labors. A Sunday afternoon nap, kicking back to read a good book, strumming a six string or a pick up game with friends; rest looks different for each of us. For Daniel, a competitive game of soccer with friends is true rest from the stresses of ministry.

The Lord specifically knows what we most need. We trust His wisdom in having Daniel’s Patellar tendon rupture while leaping for a head ball on the soccer field. The injury was much more complicated than we could have imagined. Necessary surgery in the United States, 8 weeks on crutches followed by 6 months of physical therapy is daunting. Fortunately, the physical, emotional and financial challenges of this seeming interruption have dribbled into our lives in a divinely controlled rate. God is faithful in His promise; “I will not test you above what you are able.”

Five days later upon arrival in Newark, NJ, on Friday, Oct. 26th we first heard, “welcome home” from Mom & Dad Stoltzfus. “We’re so sorry.” Sunday worship at Brick Lane Church initiated dozens of friends lovingly greeting us with: “welcome home; sorry.” The greetings were much more than words. Hearts reached out to us backed by generous gifts verifying the promises of Jesus to supply all our needs according to His riches.

God’s obvious care for us has been a daily evidence of His grace. The timely wisdom of Dr. Dan Iya (Daniel’s father, a general surgeon) and the Amazima medical director prompted us to immediately get an MRI. That information was emailed to Dr. Iya, who urged a trip to the US to have the surgery performed by a specialist. God went before us in providing a miraculous chain of events, people, and timing too numerous to tell in order to accomplish successful surgery on Tuesday, October 30th.

This past February, God worked miraculously to get Daniel’s US citizenship. We cannot imagine the difficulty this trip would have been without Daniel’s US passport. May we look back and again see this grace and be encouraged to have faith in the specific loving providence of God to us.

Since returning to Good Shepherds Fold, to Amazima, and to Nyenga village we have heard hundreds of friends and co-workers greet us with “welcome home; sorry.” Going before us, God provided Corinne’s Mom & Dad as our assistants for this first 10 days of our return to Uganda. Their trip to spend Thanksgiving with us was purchased a month before the injury occurred. This perfectly provided for our needs to travel back to Uganda and get back into ministry after 2 1/2 weeks away. And it is our prayer that Daniel’s recovery will progress to allow us to spend Christmas in Jos, Nigeria with Daniel’s family. We know the “welcome home” greeting there will be repeated.

So where is home for us? It is good to have many places we call home. It is even better to have friends who see us as “coming home” to them. Multiple places to call home and the people there who embrace us in the challenges of life in ministry is God’s specific and continuous grace to us.

But ultimately, in all the challenges of life, it is good to be reminded that true home is not anywhere in this world. On this Thanksgiving Day, we want to express our thanks to EVERYONE; we cannot thank you enough for the means of grace you have been for us. God has used you and your generosity in an eternal way. But no place or people or even family can be the ultimate grace to sustain us. Ultimately, we give thanks to Jesus. We look forward to the final and ultimate welcome to our true home, that welcome from Jesus our King! And no “sorry” then!

“Then the King will say... Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
Matthew 25:34 (NIV)

Thank God with us. Your continuous coming beside us through prayer is vital for us.

Daniel, Corinne, & Danny Iya

Remembering — to Forget God’s Miracles is Unbelief

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?’” (Numbers 14:11)

The past six days are ones we should never forget; the miraculous signs of Jesus and his grace in our lives were evident and cumulative. Just over a week ago we wrote: “The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! (Isaiah 30:18)”

During Daniel’s citizenship interview in New Jersey this past Tuesday, he heard the sobering words from the USCIS interviewer, “You will not receive your citizenship today.” Thirty minutes later the USCIS Supervisory Officer at that same office told Corinne and Daniel that there was one missing piece needed: an application Daniel mailed over a year ago. This USCIS Supervisory Officer (Keith) further told us the application was in Vermont and filed with literally millions of other applications.

The miracle began with what Keith said next. Despite the "seemingly impossible” task to get the application from Vermont to New Jersey and have the application approved before our Saturday travel date, Keith said he would personally see to getting it done. Taking at least 20 minutes of his time to speak with us, Keith asked to exchange personal cell phone numbers and said he would communicate with us how it was going and when to come back to the office. We were beginning to think your prayers planted an angel in that USCIS office called Keith.

As the result was still pending, we asked and you continued to pray. At 10:00am on Thursday morning, we received a call from Keith describing his incredible and unexpected ability to find the perfect contact person in Vermont, who in turn miraculously located Daniel's application (among millions of other applications) and mailed it overnight to New Jersey. Keith asked Daniel to report to the Mount Laurel, New Jersey USCIS Field Office that same day at 2:00pm, with a 98% chance his citizenship would be approved and Daniel sworn in as an American citizen at 3:30pm. That afternoon, some from our family joined Corinne and baby Danny to share the tears of joy and witness Daniel's Oath Ceremony.

“And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” (Exodus 12:51)

This short verse describes something seemingly routine - if not embedded in the context of the miraculous signs God performed in the previous 10 chapters. Forgetting these miraculous signs showed contempt for God and resulted in the loss of rest in the Promised Land for all, except Joshua and Caleb, who witnessed them.

On Thursday, Daniel became a US citizen. This short sentence has a long and complex back story including years of your prayers. Thank you! We have experienced the miraculous grace of God together. 

After the Oath Ceremony, when we told Keith of hundreds of people who had prayed for this moment, he was not surprised. He told us how his staff scolded him for “giving us hope” after the Tuesday interview. Finding and retrieving that application, among other things, was a miracle.

We should never forget this week. “The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18). We together have asked, and we return to Uganda as a family of US citizens now - able to more freely travel in this ministry to which we have been called.

Remember with us as God calls us — as God calls you. Have faith in the future by not forgetting his past grace.

Daniel & Corinne

Grace, Compassion, and Blessed Waiting

“The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! (Is: 30:18)

We thank so many of you who have petitioned the Lord for us many times regarding Daniel’s citizenship and related travel documents. We believe we are nearing the end of a long process towards US citizenship for Daniel, and for that we are grateful. We are still waiting on the Lord and asking you to pray. 

Compared to citizens of most other nations, international travel for US citizens is relatively easy. International travel is very important for a missionary and this is the primary reason we are working so hard on Daniel’s US citizenship; it would give Daniel the freedom to travel into and out of the US as well as open doors for travel to other countries. Nigeria and the US both honor dual-citizenship, so Daniel can be a US citizen and a Nigerian citizen! Moreover, Corinne and Danny are both US citizens, and we believe it would be wise to have unified citizenship in our family. 

This citizenship process has been complicated by Daniel’s missionary work. An important aspect of acquiring citizenship in the US is the establishment of residency in the US. Typically people applying for citizenship are living in full-time and continuous residence in the US. Given our station abroad as missionaries, this is not the case for our family! An attorney hired to assist in the process suggested Daniel stay in America for two years without traveling abroad. This was not an option for our missionary calling so instead, we asked people (you) to pray.

And God has answered your prayers. After all these long years of working through the mountain of paper work, repeated applications, interviews, and biometrics appointments, we recently received a naturalization interview appointment in New Jersey on February 27th. On short notice, we were able to arrange for our travel on the 26th and then immediately return to our work on Saturday, March 3rd; losing just one week of ministry time. In his short 6 months of life, Danny will have logged more air miles than most travel in a lifetime.

But we are not assuming anything. Instead, we are asking for your prayers for God’s grace one more time to get us over this citizenship finish line. Please pray on February 27^th at 12:30pm Eastern Time for Daniel’s naturalization interview. Pray that God would give Daniel favor and that his naturalization would be granted during the interview. For, “The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!” (Is: 30:18)

Thank you for praying with us. If God wills, we will return to Uganda on March 3rd; a whole family of US citizens with all three of us having US passports. Blessed are those who wait for Him.

Groundbreaking + Announcement

In February, Daniel and his construction crew broke ground on the latest building project: the Good Shepherd's Fold (GSF) MK School Building. As the project began, the workers and GSF staff gathered together for a time of prayer.

It is a significant testimony to the communities around GSF to begin such a project with prayer. Animal sacrifices (and at times even child sacrifices) are fairly common in the region as a way of beginning projects. People practice these wrong things in an attempt to gain favor from the spirits in the projects they are about to undertake. Please pray that the Lord would use this witness to bring about change in the hearts and minds of the surrounding communities.

The construction crew has been hard at work since February, and they are making quick progress on the School Building.

Daniel sharing a few words before prayer at the groundbreaking

For this project, Daniel's crew received new hardhats, coveralls, and gumboots. The workers were so excited they insisted on having their picture taken. It's amazing to see how far some new PPE goes for worker morale!

Corinne welcomed a new baby, Joshua, into the Baby House! Joshua was just 19 hours old when he arrived at GSF. He did fairly well at first, but he fell sick when he was just under 4 weeks old. He was taken to Jinja, but his condition worsened and we transferred him to a more advanced hospital in Kampala. Many of you were praying, and the Lord answered and Joshua was healed! Thank you for those of you who interceded on behalf of Joshua. After a few days, Joshua was discharged from the hospital in Kampala and has continued to grow in health and strength at GSF.

Baby Joshua

In mid March, we attended a Global Outreach International mission conference in Israel. It was wonderful to connect and worship with other Global Outreach missionaries.

At the sea of Galilee in Israel

Our family is growing! We are excited to share that Corinne is pregnant. We are expecting baby boy Iya to arrive in late August/early September. Please continue to pray along with us as we go through these next 19 weeks and prepare to meet our son.

Baby Iya is "on the way coming"

It's a boy!

In late March and in April, we were in Pennsylvania in the US. It was great to spend time at home, including spending Good Friday and Easter with our CEFC family.

While in the US, we continued working on Daniel's US immigration paperwork. Daniel is working to maintain status as a US resident while applying for a reentry permit to return to the US for the baby's birth. It has been a challenge for Daniel to maintain resident status in the US while residing and serving in Uganda, but we're thankful that we serve a God whose greatness exceeds any legal system!

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for grace, favor, and wisdom for Daniel as he works through the complexities of his US immigration status so that he can get back into the US for Corinne's delivery 
2. Pray that Daniel’s workers would know Christ and learn how to grow and mature in their faith
3. Pray for the completion of the GSF School Building before June
4. Pray for Daniel as he prepares to transition from GSF to Amazima this June
5. Pray for wisdom for Corinne as she trains and disciples the Baby House aunties
6. Pray for health in the Baby House, especially for baby Joshua
7. Pray that the kids in residence at GSF will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ
8. Pray that the Sponsorship Program would continue to grow and provide needed funds for GSF
9. Pray that God would use Daniel and Corinne to further His name in Nyenga village
10. Pray for a healthy pregnancy and delivery for the new Iya baby due in August/September

A Look Back

It’s the end of a year, and as we look back on all that God has done in the past 12 months, we are in awe of His goodness and faithfulness.

In 2016, Daniel completed the construction of two houses at Good Shepherd’s Fold, discipling and managing 29 young men in the process. One of the workers even came to Christ – hallelujah!

After the completion of the houses, Daniel took as position as Assistant Construction Manager with Amazima Secondary School construction project where has been serving since June. Twenty-nine buildings later, and they have almost completed the first phase of the project.

In the baby house, we welcomed 5 new little faces in 2016: Monica, Mary Grace, Isaac Kisule, Emily, and Akhilam. The addition of these five brought us to a total of 12 babies. We saw malnourished babies grow healthy and plump, little ones take their first steps, wordless babes now speaking sentences, and overall progress and love filling the home to create a safe haven for the babies to flourish.  The caretakers all went through the book Love Walked Among Us, and we learned what the perfect example of Jesus’s love looked like on this earth (and how we can love like Him!).

We hosted Mercy, Precious, and Jesse for a holiday homestay twice in 2016. We led Cord Groups for 14 of the young girls and boys at GSF. We taught Sunday School and counseled children going through loss and emotional hardship.

Corinne sent out thousands of correspondences between the GSF children and their sponsors. She signed up 42 people to begin investing in the lives of children at GSF through the GSF Child Sponsorship Program.

We celebrated Daniel turning 30, and with the help of neighbors and friends, were able to pull off a surprise 30^th birthday party for him. What a beautiful opportunity it was to see our community come around us to celebrate and appreciate Daniel’s life and friendship.

Daniel had malaria twice in 2016, but he recovered and is healthy today. Praise the Lord!

We took a 3-week trip to the US and were able to visit family and friends while Corinne finalized the TBRI training through Texas Christian University. We traveled to Nigeria for Christmas (where we are now!) and were given the opportunity to speak at Daniel's home to church to over 1,400 people about the ministry we are doing in Uganda.

God has done a lot that we can see, and He’s done even more that we cannot see. We pray that God would continue to work in and through us; that He would complete the work that He has started in our lives and those around us.

"And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

We are looking forward to what He has in store for 2017. Would you continue on this journey with us and be a part of what He is doing here in Uganda and beyond? We would love to partner with you and bring you along. Stay in touch. Email if you have any questions. And consider giving financially in 2017 to help our ministry in Uganda continue.

New Digs & A Quick Trip

God provided a new truck at just the perfect time for us. Daniel’s role at Amazima meant a longer commute that was fit for a vehicle rather than a motorcycle. We’ve kept our hands on the motorcycle and continue putting it to good use, but we love the flexibility of the truck that allows us to travel around during rainy conditions and after dark. We purchased a 1990 Toyota Hilux. Within 5 days of buying the truck, it had already been used to deliver 1 ton of cement and our neighbor’s baby. But that story is for another post.

New Digs

We moved!......approximately 30 feet away. Daniel and I shifted from a single-room house to a double-room house, exactly doubling our square footage to about 200 sq. ft. We have enjoyed the extra space, especially the amenity of a bathing area inside of the house (opposed to the open-air shared bathing areas that we previously used). We’ve been in our new digs since June and are enjoying the new home within the same neighborhood.

Teaching Opportunities

Amidst Daniel’s busy schedule working with Amazima and GSF, God has given Daniel a plethora of teaching opportunities. These opportunities have ranged from preaching at Light of the World and leading devotions at the work site to speaking to 30 students about our heavenly purpose on earth. Pray that seeds planted would continue to grow for His kingdom.

House Guests

Daniel and I hosted 3 children from Good Shepherd's Fold over Labor Day Weekend. It was so special to share our home and hearts with Mercy, Precious, and Jesse for several days. We thank God for the opportunity to have them in our home!

A Quick Trip

Corinne started an online course called TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) Practitioner Training offered by Texas Christian University. The program starts with 10 weeks of online pre-course training, and it wraps up with a week of in-person training held in Texas. That means a trip to America for us! Daniel and I are heading to the States on Sunday. We will be spending Monday through Friday in Pennsylvania before traveling to Chicago for five days (Oct. 14^th – 19^th) and then ending with about 10 days in Texas (Oct. 19^th – 28^th). Although the time is brief, we are excited to see some of you and reconnect. If you are in PA, Chicago, or Texas, shoot us an email and we will try to meet!

Prayer Points

1. Please pray for us as we prepare to come to America. We are excited, but there are also last minute logistics and loose-ends to take care of. Pray for safety as we travel, sleep on the plane, and that God would multiply our time in the States. 

2. Pray for Daniel's work on the Amazima Secondary School. Pray that the process of construction would be honoring to God and that the project would be completed before the beginning of the school year in January.

3. Pray for Emily, our newest little baby at the GSF baby house. She is 7 months old and has a long way to go as far as development and physical catch-up. 

Thank you for praying for us! We are blessed by your support.