We apologize for the lack of posts on our blog. We wanted to share the letter sent out to our partners in October from our sending organization. We will be following up soon with an exciting update!
October 2021
Dear family, friends and all who are praying for and supporting the Wray family,
Thank you for your prayers and ongoing prayer. Kris Tarkiewicz (Family Bible Church) and
myself (Cord), have been working very closely and been in constant communication with Rocky
and Chelsea over the last few months. I wanted to take this moment to share more in depth
what they are going through and the plan as we move forward. This is shared with Rocky and
Chelsea’s blessing. Kris prepared much of the letter below and it has been an honor to not only
represent and partner with the Wray Family but to be able to partner and support Kris in his role
as a sending church.
“...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Paul wrote the words above to the church at Philippi. Words that mattered both in the highs and
lows of life as they served the Lord. Earlier this fall, on August 25th, the Wray family flew to
Uganda, sent there as missionaries to serve in Soroti. A few weekends ago, as you may have
heard, the Wray family flew back to the United States for a yet to be determined amount of time.
First, I’m thrilled to report, the need God revealed to them to serve in Uganda has been
confirmed. They have witnessed great need, especially in the area of addiction and recovery.
Rocky has been amazed at the need, lack of understanding and the opportunities for ministry
and generational change that is possible. Ground was gained, even in this short time, on
territory and strongholds in the lives of Ugandan people.
As we should know, any great move of God will be opposed by the enemy. We should not be
surprised when there is opposition. The Scripture teaches us that “our struggle is not against
flesh and blood (human beings), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Within a few days of arriving in Uganda, Rocky and Chelsea learned that Chelsea was
pregnant. In most cases this is exciting and joy filled news and I am sure there was excitement
and joy, but as new missionaries to a third world, experiencing culture shock,
setting up a new home, a new life, preparing for a new ministry and all that comes with transition, being pregnant
was very likely the last thing on their minds and I imagine brought about a good amount of fear and stress. My wife and I (Jon and Sharla) served in Thailand for many years and we were five months pregnant when we first went to the field. Thailand is known for its excellent medical
care. We had time to process, prepare, research medical care, hospitals, doctors, pack and plan in anticipation. Based on the stress and pressure we felt in spite of all of this, I would never recommend anyone to follow suit.
So you can start to imagine the difficulty it must have been for Chelsea in particular to digest this news. This, as well as an early worm infection and then soon followed by malaria were some major early battles they faced. From there on out, Chelsea has been fighting for her health. Fighting for her physical health but also her mental, emotional and spiritual health.
Chelsea's first stay in the
hospital with malaria
Chelsea met with many medical and care professionals in Uganda as well as over the phone
here in the States. She was in and out of hospitals for care, spending her last week in a hospital in the capital city of Kampala in a search for better care. In spite of all of these action steps, Chelsea was not showing any signs of improvement and therefore we felt other actions needed to be taken for her health, the well-being of the entire family, and future mission in Uganda.
Chelsea at the hospital in
Kampala, Uganda's capital
After much prayer, care and communication between the Wray’s, their sending mission agency (CORD), their receiving ministry in Soroti, her doctors in Uganda, and Kris Tarkiewicz their sending church pastor, it was unanimously recommended and determined that they need to return to the United States as soon as possible for care and healing.
This has and will continue to be a “guided return” and everyone involved (CORD, ministry in
Soroti, medical, church) will play a part in this healing and eventual return to Uganda. While
Chelsea heals, the current plan will be for Rocky to continue to prepare, serve and minister at a
distance with one trip to Uganda potentially planned prior to the delivery date. Please see the
Note From Rocky below for more details on what he’s working on and planning for while here in
the States. This is a wonderful opportunity for further preparation and he will have his hands full.
Pray for him.
What Rocky and Chelsea need from you are your prayers, encouragement, and support as they
navigate this time. It is the recommendation of both Cord and The Family Bible Church that
those of you who are financially supporting the Wray’s continue to do so as we see this as a
setback, not a redirection. It’s important for their support to continue as they cover the
unexpected expenses, work through extra expenses here in the States and prepare to head
back. We continue to trust in the Lord’s timeline and His leading of the Wray family to ministry in
Uganda.
“...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Thank you for how you have previously cared for the Wrays and how we anticipate you will
continue to do so in the future as. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to connect
with either Kris (specifically for questions on ways you can care for and support the Wray family,
future direction and ways you can pray) or myself (specifically for funding and support
questions, timelines and direction). We would love to spend time talking with you.
Kris Tarkiewicz: kris@familybible.church (269) 781-8400
Jon Rubesh: jon@cordmin.com (425) 381-9748
Blessings,
Jon Rubesh
Cord Ministries International Director of HR
Cell: (425) 381-9748 Website: Cord Ministries International
"And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not
quickly broken." Eccl. 4:12
NOTE FROM ROCKY:
I was given “The Landing” curriculum two days prior to going to Uganda. The Landing is a 12
step program/group for teenagers that is Christ focused which is derived from Celebrate
Recovery & Alcoholics Anonymous. Since returning to the U.S. I have been able to reach out to
multiple Landing groups and have been able to contact a leader in a town near me. I will be
meeting with this leader next week to collaborate and review the curriculum. Also, he will
provide me with further resources, guidance, and additional curriculum’s. I plan to also attend as
many The Landings and Celebrate Recovery's as possible before returning to Uganda. Lastly, I
have begun compiling a list of supplies that are needed for running the groups, for example,
markers, pens, journals, a dictionary, and other random supplies used in the groups 52
sessions.
Upon returning to Uganda, The Landing will ultimately be implemented to the children, no
longer living on the street, whom are living with Uncle Mike and his team run by “Saving Arms”. I
will be running groups while training his team on how The Landing groups are to be executed
and how each session should be performed. Lastly, I will be working with the street children that
are still living on the street. I will be helping them with basic needs, building rapport, and getting
them to move from ambivalence to recovery. I also hope to educate the Saving Arms team (as
much as possible) on substance abuse and recovery.
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