MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 11-13-2007

Greetin's! Things are progressing well down here in Bowie, TX. We finished up our study of Phonemics last week. Both Anna and I did very well, and are maintaining our A+ average. We have completed Phonetics, which deals with all the sounds a human mouth can make, and Phonemics, which deals with specific sounds of a specific language, and have moved into Morphology and Syntax this week. Morphology is the study of words, and Syntax is the study of sentences. We are learning how to identify words in a language, and then analyze how they are modified by other segments of sound (called morphemes), which are used in a variety of ways to communicate complexity of meaning. For example, in English, you might have the word 'run'. 'Run' is a verb. If you add the morpheme '-ing' to the end, you get 'running', which expresses continuous action. If you add the morpheme '-er', you get 'runner', and the verb becomes a noun. Observing and quantifying the rules of language like these will allow us to quickly gain fluency in the dialects we will need to learn when we get to Uganda. So, once we recognize the system by which the language organizes itself, we will be able to take what to the untrained ear sounds like a meaningless jumble of alien sounds, string these together to form words, weave these together to form sentences, and from these, an entire tapestry of communication.

We had a meeting Sunday before last here in town in Bible Baptist Church with Pastor Jerry Jones. It's a great church, and we had a wonderful time ministering to these dear people and sharing our burden for Uganda, Africa. The kids got to be in their Awana program, which they really liked. God has really worked with meetings, and I have been able to schedule many meetings in the general area while in Texas.

This past weekend, we went to a Preacher's Kid conference being held by Pastor Garry Way at Fair Avenue Baptist Church in Gainesville, TX (about an hour away). Both Anna and I are 'PK's', and are raising five more, so I thought it would be a good thing in which to involve ourselves. It was a tremendous two-day conference. We had some great preaching, and it really drove home how critical it is that people in ministry guard their families, and not make the mistake that some have of sacrificing their family for the ministry. It reinforced what the Holy Spirit had been impressing upon me for some time, that my family is my ministry. I want my kids to grow up loving God, and loving church, and not wind up hating both because of me. It was a brilliant time of spiritual refreshing, and I'm very glad we were able to attend.

Thanks for praying about meetings. The calendar is nearly full for next year. October is squared away. As of now, we are planning to drive to Alaska (yes, drive) right after our church's missions conference at the end of September, and won't be back literally until days before Thanksgiving. God has just put this trip together and it's amazing to behold. I will be in both our supporting churches' missions conferences (they haven't met the family yet), and several other missions conferences and meetings besides, everywhere from Fairbanks to Ketchikan. It is by far the most ambitious trip we will have taken in all of our deputation, and will, LORD willing, be the last. Pray that we will get still more support from this trip. Pray that churches will continue supporting us from here on out, and that churches where we've been in the past will do likewise. Pray that we will have nearly all our support by the time we go to Alaska a year from now. I would like 2008 to be the final year of deputation for us, and am confident that God can do it.