MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-06-02013

Greetings from the Northwest! I have returned from Alaska, and we had to immediately load up to head North for meetings in Idaho and Montana. We are keeping the big blue beast for driving around town when we’re in St. Louis, but we had to rent something to make this trip. It’s expensive, but the folks at Enterprise gave us a good deal. It’s cramped, cramming eight people and their luggage into a vehicle made for seven. The alternative is to have our junk van strand us somewhere.

My trip to the great white North went great. In Ketchikan, I assisted Pastor John Judson with his cruise ship ministry. The cruise ships dock at Ketchikan and dump thousands on the town every day in the summer. Every time, Pastor Judson is right there, smiling, giving a warm greeting to the inbound tourists, and a friendly, non-threatening Gospel witness. The tourism industry brings the mission field right to his doorstep. It’s a marvelous opportunity to give the Gospel to folks from all over the world. Pray for this ministry. He’s thinking of raising money to be able to do it full time, and for the immense cost of professional printing, so it can be done right.

Meanwhile in Craig, Pastor Ensley is about to start a Christian school. Their ministry to the people of Prince of Wales is progressing well. Pray for this work.

In Fairbanks, the brothers Hamilton are each pastoring churches to the people of inland Alaska. Pray for Bruce’s growing Christian camp he puts on for village children from the Inuit tribes. Pray for Mickie’s country church, reaching our military men and women, and Alaska residents,

Independent Baptist in Anchorage and Valley Baptist Tabernacle in Palmer are both doing well. Pray for Pastors Roach and Hull. Pastor Wes Hudson and his family are holding forth the faith in Talkeetna, and Pastor Boutwell and Pastor Wood at Immanuel Baptist and Jubilee Baptist in Kenai and Sterling. Pastor Harbaugh in Homer is still going strong. Pray for these churches, as they continue in the face of fluctuating memberships, fluctuating economies, long, cold, winters, and all too brief summers where everyone is too busy for church it seems sometimes.

Pray for Darryl Serino and his family up in Barrow above the Arctic circle. He coaches the high school hockey and soccer teams, and is in every sense a good part of this 5,000 member community, of which 60% are Inupiaq natives, still hunting whales as their ancestors did for countless generations before. Pray for the spread of the Gospel to these dear people.

My personal thanks goes out to Tim and Julie Tuttle, our good friends, who hosted me for much of my time in Alaska. Their making me part of their family helped ease my loneliness at being separated from my family for 5 weeks.

It was a fantastic trip, and I was able to accomplish much. However, it is so good to be back with my family. Pray for us on our journeys in the Northwest. Pray for our support. I have been to several new churches now, and have many more to visit. Pray we will get the 10-15 new churches we need so we can be fully supported, and make up the loss created by inflation before we return to Uganda. Some of you have raised our support, which is a tremendous help – thank you! Every church that raises our support some helps us stay ahead of inflation and eases the pressure on me to need to raise more support. If your church is in a position to help us in this way, and would like to do so, I would be very grateful.

Project Libris is advancing well. We have collected enough nearly to fill a 40 foot container with books, and more are coming. As always, if you want to send us books, you can use our church address, Grace Baptist Church, c/o Project Libris, 11642 Riverview Dr, Saint Louis, MO 63138.

God bless all of you!