For my Dear Joyce...

 

   

 Today, October 26th, happens to be a  very special day for myself and my family. Twenty Eight years ago on this day, My wife, Gune(GOO-NAY) Joyce Kenyi, was born in an refuge camp in Uganda. Little did a South Sudanese girl or a young New Hampshire boy growing up in New England know, that they would one day find their spouse from half way across the world. 

Working in a clinic during our courtship

First Christmas together

    My first observations of Joyce were of her quietly serving and helping others as she cooked, cleaned, and treated others medically in South Sudan. My admiration for the quiet strength that God has given her has only grown. She is such a blessing to me and our children, diligently cleaning, cooking for us and loving us on a daily basis. I have seen how many are drawn to her humble and considerate character. Joyce is a woman of few words, but when she speaks people listen to her thoughtful perspective.  I have learned so much from her, including:

Working Together

`-How to hammer a nail into a cement wall.

-How to carve a hoe handle with a machete.

-How to carry things on my head.

- Taking care of patients at a clinic and not accidently killing them...

-Getting the rest I need..

-Selflessly loving others..

-Patiently waiting on the Lord...

-Having a sense of humor in the midst of challenges.

Adventures together!

Hiking with an excited Patience!

    God's Grace has been poured out on Joyce and she is the best wife and mother a man could ask for. I thank God for Joyce every day and she is tirelessly serving our family daily. The two beautiful children God has given us definitely have Mama to thank for their good looks. They got their hyperactive energy from me. As the Lord leads us into serving and hopefully living in Africa, I couldn't ask for a better friend and help mate. I consider being her husband the greatest job in the world and look forward to the lifetime of adventures God has in store for us. 

"We love Mama"

Joyce, you bless many and are dearly loved. Jesus loves you more than I ever could, so I am praying that He gives me more of His love for you. I fall so short, but desperately desire to love and serve you as Christ loved the church. (Ephesians 5:25) I also pray that you experience more of the Lord's love and grace this year than ever before. (2 Corinthians 13:14) Ma'le Nyi Ndo!

Happy Birthday!

Following God together around the next bend in His Trail.

Your Husband,

Jona

 

He Brought Us Through! An Immigration Miracle!

    Heartfelt Greetings to you!

 I am very excited as I write this with very good reason. Many of you may have heard the wonderful report of God's Faithfulness on Facebook via our travelling press person (AKA my mother). For those who haven't heard or would like to read a first-person account of our immigration miracle, please read on!

Patience and Benaiah say: "Ingoni(Hello)!"

    Joyce and I want to begin by thanking those who have been apart of our immigration journey since 2016 and have supported us through prayer, letters, and words of encouragement. We cannot thank you enough for how you have walked alongside us in this! 

    It has been a long road of paper trails, last minute travels, late nights on the computer, and anxiety in wondering if we brought the right documentation. There have been depths of deep frustration and heights of awe at God’s providential intervention. The past four years often seemed to crawl by and yet the process was speedily expedited by the Lord, so that we got paperwork though much quicker than usual. Praise the Lord! 

    The culmination of this journey was Joyce’s naturalization/citizenship test that took place on October 6th, 2020. We had applied in May of this year and were scheduled for an interview by the end of August. Many 2019 applicants are still waiting for an interview so this was uncharacteristically quick. In preparation for our trip, we misplaced important identification for Joyce, but found it the next day. Our car started driving rough as we got to the hotel, but we prayed and asked the Lord to get us to the interview the next day.

Playing in the leaves outside the hotel

    Finally D-Day came. Joyce and I were both anxious, but Joyce had studied hard and we put the rest in God’s hands. I was denied access at the door and Joyce went into the immigration office alone. I rejoined my mother and the children outside and waited. Patience made a grandfatherly friend who was showing her how to jump up and down and do a “tight rope” walk. He turned out to be a fellow believer and a pastor of a church near the Berkshires! Thirty minutes after Joyce entered, we received a text from Joyce: She had passed with flying colors and was waiting for her swearing in ceremony. Due to Covid-19, they did not allow families to come inside for the swearing in ceremony, but we were waiting outside to welcome her with open arms. Our van had no problems that day and our drive back home was uneventful.

Joyce, the new USA Citizen

Yay for God and Mama!

    Joyce is a United States citizen! This is a huge milestone for us and we thank God for the stability that Joyce now has, as we will be travelling back and forth from South Sudan to the USA. We now are planning for a trip to Africa in winter 2020/2021. The hope is to stay for two to three months and get some quality time with Joyce’s family. We are also praying for an opportunity to assist getting her parents, brothers, and sisters back to their homes in South Sudan. Passports and Yellow fever vaccines for Joyce and the children need to fall into place before we can book flights, so we are trusting in the Lord’s timing. We will keep you updated on the progress of travel preparations and when we have set a date for our travels.

 

Enjoying the leaves on a family walk

Running with Baba!

    October 12th was Benaiah’s birthday and we celebrated the anniversary of his first year with a healthy sweet potato corn bread cake. He just took his first steps as I was writing the post! Happy Birthday Benaiah! 

First Cake... Benaiah is thinking about it,

 Prayer needs:

 -Continued prayer for Lozi, who went for a check up on October 14th. Unfortunately, the outcome was that the Doctors said there was nothing more they could do at this point, but hope for improvement of the infection and the leg, and are continuing to monitor. Lozi is back home with family. Pray for his physical healing and a spiritual renewal in his heart to experience the grace and mercy of Jesus on his behalf.

 -Joyce’s father was diagnosed with an ulcer and malaria and her Mother has been experiencing chronic back pain from a degenerating lower back. They were seen at a clinic and have both received treatment. There is some improvement, but keep praying for their continued healing. 

 -Preparations for a winter trip to South Sudan and God’s timing for our travels. 

 -Time needed for our Sonship studies and for the Lord to prepare our hearts spiritually to reach others with His Grace, both here in the states and in Africa.

Fall in the Berkshires

 That’s all for now. God bless you and keep you! 

Jonathan, Joyce, Patience, and Benaiah

Prayer Update for Joyce's cousin, Lozi

Thank you for your prayers for Joyce and I's cousin, Lozi, and I wanted to give an update.

"Lozi and his Mother"(picture above). The infection in his leg is quite deep and has gone to the bone marrow. He has just been sent home from the regional hospital after a month and a half stay. They have scheduled him to come back on October 14th to do another surgery, this time to remove the infected bone. The previous surgeries have failed. Lozi is able to walk at this point, but he can't bend his leg because of the inflammation and pain. We really need to pray for Lozi as the infection has gotten out of hand and could become critical at any moment. Joyce and I's desire for Lozi is healing, spiritual and physical. We so want his leg to heal in order that he can continue to help his Mother, play Futball(Soccer), and go to school. We pray the he could return to being a healthy young man. Beyond that, I pray that God would touch Lozi in the middle of this trial and reveal to him how much he is loved by his Savior. Jesus was beaten, whipped, and was killed for his sake. Isaiah 53:4-5: "Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Jesus knows the pain he is going through and weeps with him (John 11:33-36). I want Lozi to have a new revelation of God's Grace and mercy that would open his eyes and heart to a deeper relationship with God, his Father. That he would learn to abide in God's love (John 15:9) and be able to give the comfort and compassion that he has (and will) receive to others. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." I know that the Lord Jesus hears our prayers and that even now is interceding for Lozi and each one of us. (Romans 8:34) Jesus will touch our dear cousin and friend in the way that He knows is best. Thank you for your prayers!

Also pray for Joyce and I as we travel to Joyce's Citizenship interview that will take place on October 6th at 12:30. My prayer is for God's favor and blessing on all of Joyce's preparations. Thank you! Jonathan, Joyce, Patience, and Benaiah!

A Home Provided and crying out for God's Mercy; Update from Jon and Joyce

"Grace, mercy, & peace will be with us, from God the Father & from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth & love." 2 John 1:3.

 I hope you are all feeling God's presence and clinging to Him in this time of uncertainty. We are holding onto the Lord and have seen both blessings and challenges in the last several months. We have some very big blessings in our life to share with you so you can rejoice with us and also pray for us.

    Our family activity level is rising everyday as Patience is becoming more verbally eloquent and Benaiah is crawling faster than an African lizard chasing a beetle! The kids love to be outside and Joyce has greatly appreciated the warmer weather, though dreading the looming approach of winter. Planting, Going to Farmer’s Markets, barefoot running (Jonathan’s crazy pastime), and taking walks has occupied a good part of our summer. Here in the Berkshires we have begun to enjoy fresh apples and a tinge of color in the foliage.

Hiking with "Baba".

Benaiah loves fresh Corn!

Family hike on Mahanna Cobble.

Harvesting Asobi(Black-eyed Pea Greens)

          

  

Our first big praise report is the provision of housing!

From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank the dear friends who let us stay in their home for a whole year before we found this place! You will always be family “Papa” and “Grandma”.  

In the beginning of July, we were able to move into a small cottage in Lenoxdale, MA. We are renting from the lady who was the midwife for our son Benaiah and it really has been a mutual blessing to be here. In addition to affordable housing in a beautiful little town, Joyce is getting one-on-one mentorship in midwifery, which has been the desire of her heart. It has been a great joy to have our own space as a family, with a beautiful piece of land for the children to play on.

Our New Home!

A woodstove to keep Joyce warm.

Our Living room and Dining Room

Joyce has just finished a Doula/birth assistant workshop and after some required study and attending some births, she will be certified as a Doula to help mothers before, during, and after childbirth. A big thank you to all those who helped with driving Joyce and taking care of the kids! This is the beginning of our vision for Joyce to help mothers in South Sudan and East Africa and for us to work together in public health education that will save lives by preventing many disease and complications in the community we will be serving. We are excited for Joyce’s opportunity to learn from our midwife and for more educational and practical opportunities to equip her for our return to Africa.

 

Joyce's Doula Training

The Birth Circle in our backyard.

Another very big praise we have is concerning Joyce’s citizenship process. We have been waiting for an interview to be scheduled for Joyce’s citizenship test and the date has finally been set. This is a great miracle, as we only applied back in the spring and some applicants who applied in 2019 still haven’t been scheduled. The day is October 6^th and we greatly appreciate your prayers as Joyce tries to find time, between taking care of the kids, to study and prepare. Once Joyce is a citizen, we would be able to freely move in and out of the USA without any fear of being blocked entrance.

 

 Our hearts desire is to travel to Africa in late fall or early winter 2020/2021. We are yearning for a reunion with Joyce’s family and asking God to make a way. There is a list of things that need to come together such as Joyce‘s citizenship, Passports, Yellow Fever Vaccines, and open borders. We know God has the perfect timing for our trip and are taking the steps that we can, trusting that He will take care of the rest.

Bath Time!

 

Patience the acrobat!

"We love Mama!"

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank all those who have and are supporting us, whether it is through prayer or by giving. God has been generous in many creative ways to supply our daily needs and the ability to help Joyce’s family in Africa. For those who are supporting us or who might consider supporting financially, please know that we are putting the funds we receive towards:

 -Communications with our family in South Sudan/Uganda

-Preparations for our upcoming trip to Africa

-Helping Joyce’s family with any pressing needs that arise.

 

We have been busy in the last several months and I have not had a chance to send an update (I had a fully composed blog post deleted on me a month ago, Technology is great when it works!). Even though there has been a lack of posting on our end, we are always grateful for your prayer and support that we receive. Thank you for partnering with us as we follow God’s trail back to East Africa and pray that we can be a light of the Gospel to our family and people there.

 

 

The African Luekens

For those who wish to pray for us, our prayer needs are:

 

~Studying and preparation for Joyce’s citizenship test which is scheduled for October 6. We are at two weeks and counting!

 

~The Lord’s blessing on Joyce as she learns from a seasoned midwife and prepares to help mothers in S Sudan and East Africa.

 

~ The time needed to continue working through our Mentored Sonship Discipleship course, while juggling the daily activities of a busy family.

 

~For borders to be open and preparations completed for a late fall or early winter 2020/21 trip to visit Joyce’s family in South Sudan. We can’t wait to see all of our dear family there and trusting God will open the way in His timing.

 

~ Joyce’s cousin in the refugee camps who has a severe infection in his leg and has not received proper care from the medical facilities there, allowing the infection to spread. He has been dealing with this problem for years and has not received the proper diagnosis and treatment, even from the largest regional hospital. A very similar situation to what Joyce’s brother Lodu (AKA “Reggae”) went through. We are praying for healing, but also that God would speak to his heart and use the physical trials he is going through to draw him closer to Jesus.

 

~The Gospel of Jesus Christ to continue to spread into the hearts of Joyce’s family, her people in South Sudan, and those in the Refugee camps.

 

 

Rubanga Kolu Anyito (God be with you all)!

Jonathan, Joyce, Patience, and Benaiah

Phone #: 774-203-8308

 

PayPal jonlueken@gmail.com  

 

Mail checks PAYABLE to Jonathan Lueken   

PO Box 1611 Stockbridge, MA, 01262

 

Temporary GoFundMe link for those who don't have Paypal: www.gofundme.com/jonathan-and-joyce-lueken-in-s-sudan

 

Jonathan and Joyce Lueken 

Roger and Pattty Lueken

PO Box 1611, 16 West Stockbridge Rd., Stockbridge, MA, 01262