JESUS-Shepherd of my soul

With less than a month left of our time here in Vegas,I seem to be experiencing a fair share of anxiety and strong momentary emotions of homesickness. They remind me very much of our very first weeks on arrival.Yester morning was particularly strong.I woke up and the prevailing thought on my mind and soul was..."I want to be home,right now." It was like a power just swept over my being.

Well, during my quiet time God spoke very gently to my soul thru Psalm 23.The words that calmed my raging soul to be specific were:

I am your good Shepherd and therefore you shall not be in want.
I make you lie down in green pastures and lead you beside quiet waters.

I restore your soul and guide you in paths of righteousness for my Name's sake.
I am the Shepherd of your soul

Since then my soul has been rested.We all have different anxieties and raging seas inside us.I pray that you too will find comfort,peace and rest in knowing that Jesus is the Shepherd of your soul.

SP Onaba

FOOD,FUN,COMMUNITY AND TRANSFORMATION

We just finished a 5 day Middle/High school Camp at Canyon Ridge.It reminded me so much of the camps in Masaka,kako,Mt promise,Ignite.In working with young people, camp is just one of those things that we have seen God use in powerful ways to bring transformation in several lives.

The power lies in focusing deliberating and intentionally to allow God to work in incredible ways.The theme of this camp was based out of the story of Exodus,ie,The calling of Moses to go deliver God's people from slavery in Egypt so they may worship Him, the true and Living God.

I had the privilege of leading a guyz small group.3 of my guyz got baptized and it was one of those God things that just thrilled my soul.I am tired but as i think about the impact,my soul says,the sacrifice was worth it.Who knows what God can do with one life that's surrendered to Him?

There was this one guy who shared with the rest of the group the first night we met that he really was not into this Jesus stuff because of several reasons.I silently kept praying that God would reveal Himself to not only him but to all the 274 students in attendance.After one of the messages,(I believe the sermon was about freedom from slavery) he turns to me and says,"SP,now I get it" and soon after this he asked if I could baptize him and I said yes.This guy could not stop sharing his new found faith and decision.He told everyone who cared to listen.

So much happened but here are some pictures to give you a feel.

The Main auditorium where we had our meetings.


My small group guyz-(we are going to continue to meet)
Worship and praise time

Baptising them in the Name of the Father,Son and Holy Spirit (there were 41 baptisms)


SP ONABA

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

This is more of a schedule/event update that I would like to share with you.And while I am at it,I really want to thank you for taking time to read our blog.It's the encouragement for us to keep posting and seeking to do even better.So thank you,keep reading,dont hesitate to comment and feel free to share it with others.

Yesterday(Saturday)was a special time as the Mens ministry of Canyon Ridge layed hands and prayed for me during the last Men's breakfast meeting for this season.They commissioned my wife and I to go back to Uganda to be a lighthouse in the darkness.Then one of the guys came up to me at the end and prophesied over my life in Spanish(we had an interpreter).God used him to confirm the things He has been speaking concerning our call and mission for Uganda.

I also get the privilege to be this weekend's speaker for both middle school and High school services.Travis Fox,has me speaking on James 2:1-13.My major point is favoritism should be far from us because we are family,brothers and sisters in Christ.It breaks the heart of God when we discriminate and look down on others.We should instead be champions of God's love.I prayed that God would give us a "swine flu of His love" so that anyone who comes in contact with us will be infected.

Love
SP Onaba

FROM JOY ONABA HERSELF

I finally finished my first trimester after experiencing a unique mixture of emotions.The one question I have had to answer everytime someone finds out I am pregnant...."Are you excited?" My answer....Yes I am excited; though of course the expression on my face is different because of all the changes I can not keep up with like morning sickness(thankfully I have not thrown up) unexplained headaches, loss of appetite-my food desires keep flipping. The only constant desire I have is for Ugandan food,katogo,smoked beef in G.nut source,matooke etc etc. At some point peanut butter was my comfort food but this lasted only a few days and to-date I don't even want to look at it.

Despite this,I am doing well and I am thrilled at the thought of carrying and nurturing life inside of me.This is such a divine partnership. I often tell my husband that I do not know how unmarried people (young people) go through pregnancy without the support of a loved one,husband because sometimes its gets so lonely and very helpless. I am convinced beyond doubt that sex and pregnancy were perfectly designed by God to belong in marriage.Love,commitment, acceptance support and community,celebration not shame and isolation make the journey of pregnancy enjoyable. Am so thankful for the support, community and shouts of joy I have received from my husband, our host family (the Fullers), our small group and our church family both at Canyon Ridge and Makerere community church.

I am a week into my second trimester and its amazing the strength that I am beginning to experience. I am able to do a couple of things by myself and the timing is just right especially as we get close to going back home there has been an increasing need for me help my husband pack stuff. I look forward to going back home and yet at the same time it really makes me sad to leave all the friends I have made here in Vegas. I catch myself many times looking forward to the next phase of our life, having a home of our own, having babies, and all that comes with it. Am aware that this is going to totally change my life(it has already started) yet at the same time I know that God has prepared me for such a time as this.

Much Love.
Joy Onaba

THE GRAND CANYON IS A MASTERPIECE,GOD'S MASTERPIECE

We made it to the Grand Canyon and back to Vegas safely.In one sense the GC is a big hole in the ground but yet in a more truer sense it is God's masterpiece.....The Psalmist would say....Creation declares the glory of God.....

Besides the GC,Joy and I saw some of the most beautiful places ever.Here is a brief run thru of the places we went to.

We left Vegas late thursday and spent the night in Kingman (i hope to visit queen woman someday).After our breakfast Friday morning we headed for the Grand Canyon,I was not sure what to expect until i finally got there.Words fail me at this point.Joy took some pictures but they are not as close as being there and experiencing.But let me try....it's this huge huge huge hole sorrounded by mountains and its so wide you can not see one end from the other.You know you are at the GC when you look down and you feel your head start to spin.....thats as best as i can try.

After the GC we drove down to Flagstaff where we had dinner and spent our night ready for our next destination....Sedona (the one thing i remember about Flagstaff was our hotel breakfast...it was lame,the coffee was the worst i have had in my entire life so far) Sedona was our next stop before heading to Prescott where we would spend the night while heading back to Kingman via the historic route 66.

Except for all the new age and sorcery disguised as psychics....Sedona is this beautiful little art town with Red mountains sorrounding it in the middle of nowhere.I loved their houses.If i had to choose between living in Vegas and Sedona,i would go to Sedona.All i recall about Prescott was the nice Mexican-(Casa Ranchez) restaurant that we went to for dinner and the cold that i picked up that i carried along the rest of the trip.At somepoint i thought that perhaps i had caught the swine flu.

Our 2 final stops were,the Caverns at...i forget the place.Perhaps one of my aha places was the hoover dam and the new bridge.Someone please tell me.... how did they build those two things?The dam and the new bridge are humongous.I know our tour guide explained how they did the bulding but i am not satisfied.

I am slowly recovering from my cold which has drained alot of energy from me.Joy held up pretty well on the trip.She actually surprised me.Pray that she doesnot catch some of my cold.

.....Here are some pictures we took...
Love,
Onabaz

ROAD TRIP TO SEE THE GRAND CANYON

Its 5:53pm, local Las Vegas time and in the next 60mins,we will be on our way to see the Grand Canyon.Some have said it is God's master piece while others maintain it's a big hole in the ground.I will find out for myself this weekend.

We have a camera with us so we can capture some pictures that we will share with you so you can decide who is correct...masterpiece or big hole???

We will spend tonight in Kingman and tomorrow proceed to our destination where we will be for the whole weekend.

Packing
We also just finished our first phase of packing and shipped our bags and had some taken by friends to Lancaster,PA.(A team of 25 is headed to Uganda on June 17th for a short term mission trip and so they are helping take some bags for us.)

Doctor's Visit
Today we did visit the doctor for Joy's routine check up and the report is that Baby O is growing normally and so is Joy's health.Thanks and keep the prayers going up.

Pray for our protection as we travel and that God would use this time to refresh our souls.

See ya soon.

SP Onaba