Hi from Uganda!  I am so excited to be sharing with you about how God has been working in my life recently.  So much of this story would be missing if I just told you about my time since I've been in Uganda.  God began orchestrating and working out this trip just weeks before I stepped onto the first plane.  I knew in my heart that God had asked me to step out in faith and travel to Africa for a second time, but I just wasn't sure how He was going to do that.  He was asking me to go soon, very soon.  But how in the world was I supposed to get a cheap plane ticket, coordinate a place to stay, update my passport, get a visa, and pack all of my bags in just 2 weeks?  It seemed impossible! Thankfully, I serve a God who is in the business of performing the impossible!
     There are three major purposes for me embarking on this journey. The first and foremost is because God has undoubtedly called me to it.  The second is to share the Gospel and disciple the young men I was able to meet during my initial trip to Africa.  And the third is to meet with a separate team in South Sudan and build a relationship an work with a local missions organization.
     After I knew God had placed this on my heart, I began to look into plane tickets and plan the duration of my stay.  When I first searched for plane tickets, the price was pretty high.  Not that I expected it to be super cheap, but I was hoping to reserve a ticket for much less than what the estimates were showing me.  I specifically said, "Lord, if you're in this, please help me find a ticket in my price range."  After fumbling around with dates and re-searching tickets, God sovereignly gave me a ticket at the exact price I needed.  It was then that God had really shown me He was in this.  But the cool part was that He didn't stop there.
     Once I got my plane ticket in order, I ran into a pretty major problem.  My passport was going to expire while I was on the trip and I needed to get it updated.  My flight was set to leave 11 days later. Doing all that I could, I got the paperwork turned in, expedited the process, and let God do the supernatural stuff.  Let me remind you that He is not limited by a passport complication or slow government paperwork.  In fact, what seemed like a set-back, God used as a set-up to prove His glory all the more.  So I waited in faith and received that passport the morning of my departure date, just hours before my flight was leaving!  "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
     If any of you have ever tried to get a Visa before, you know this process can also take several weeks.  I was within days of my trip when I began all the paperwork and knew that there was no way I was going to be able to send the papers up to the office in Washington D.C., get them processed, and sent back to me in time to leave.  By divine grace, my first flight out of Jacksonville was connecting in none other than Washington D.C.  I called the South Sudan Embassy office(located in DC) and they told me they might could get the process done in one day if I were to physically bring the papers into their office early one morning.  With hope that they would be able to do so, I called the airline and tried to get on an earlier flight to DC.  This would give me a longer layover and more time to ride the Metro train to the office and get back to the airport before my next flight.  The airline told me I must wait until 24 hours before my original departure time and see if there was any room on a sooner flight and that I would be charged a $75 fee.  My original flight was set to leave on a Tuesday at 2pm.  The hope was to get on the Monday night flight that left around 7pm.  So, Monday rolls around and I call the airline at exactly 2pm, just 5 hours before the departure of the flight I was hoping to get on.  God let me wait on hold on that phone for 45 mins just to stretch my faith in His sovereignty! After someone finally picked up, I was able to get the last seat on that flight, and they completely waived the $75 fee.  May God get the glory for all of that!
     So, I got the final pieces of my luggage together and headed off to the airport.  I arrived at the DC airport late Monday night and then traveled into downtown DC on Tuesday morning.  I was waiting at the office doors until they opened up to let me in.  They were able to complete the process and give me my visa in under an hour! It was so encouraging to see God confirm all of it and direct my path so clearly.  After several hours of flying, changing planes, and layovers, I safely landed in Uganda on Wednesday night.  I had friends waiting there to pick me up who I had met from my first visit about a year ago.
    When we arrived to the house I was staying at for the night I was so at peace.  The smell of "Africa", literally burning trash, was all too familiar and I felt at home again.  The transition was so natural and my African accent even came back to me!  I stayed in a house with some missionaries for the first week and was able to work closely with the local church, helping with projects and getting reacquainted with the people.  This last weekend, I moved in with a local friend of mine.  In doing so, I can build better relationships with the locals because they will see me as one of them, not just a white guy who goes back to the comfort of his nice home each night.  
     God has been humbling me and stretching my faith daily.  Today was very cool. I was able to talk with some of my neighbors for nearly 3 hours.  We opened up the word of God and read Romans 7 and 8.  It was so encouraging to hear them speak about their struggles against the flesh and we rejoiced together about the spirit of adoption God has given us.  Everyday I walk from my house to the local church.  On that walk I get to stop and talk to locals and share the gospel with them.  Then I work with the local pastor and church to help with whatever needs to be done for the day.  I have also had opportunities to travel to some of the islands on Lake Victoria and meet with the local people.  Each day is a new journey and God has opened so many doors.
     If you haven't gotten the point by now, it's that God is faithful in all things.  He has done so much already and I am expecting more miracles to come.  I have about seven weeks left in my time here and I will be spending one of those weeks in South Sudan with a missions team.  The best thing you can do for me is be praying! Pray that God will open the hearts of the people here in Uganda to be receptive to His word.  Pray that God will receive the glory for His goodness.  Pray that lives will be changed and forever impacted through salvation and sanctification.  And pray that I will be faithful in obedience wherever He asks me to go. I am so thankful for all of your prayers and support!  

    Through it all, God is faithful and sovereign.  May He receive the glory for all that happens and all He will do! 

-Ashton

" Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

"Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it.” Ezra 10:4