Archive for category: MISSION: Uganda Blog

Greetings! Summer sure went by quickly, didn’t it?

Our journey back to America went very smoothly. No luggage lost (we had one bag left in Chicago, but they brought it to our house the very next day), nobody got sick, and the plane didn’t crash – this is always a plus in international air travel. Thank you for praying for us.

As we knew we would, we got back to St. Louis and hit the ground running. This furlough we are moving our three eldest sons, James III, John and Ethan, to America permanently in order to attend Pensacola Christian College. This summer we had to work with them to get them fully plugged into the American system so they can function here as adults. Bank accounts. Jobs – they all three were hired by QuikTrip! Drivers’ licenses – Ethan has been getting the crash course (not literally) in training so he can take his driving test over Christmas break, along with Elizabeth. Shopping for the clothes they will need for school. Buying a used car for the three of them to have at school – I wanted them to have the ability to move themselves back and forth to St. Louis during breaks. Outfitting for college. And a myriad of other things. It’s been controlled pandemonium.

Men On Campus

They have just completed their first week of school. The rest of us have been staying nearby in the area so their mother and I could be available if they needed anything. They are well setup, and appear to be thriving. We have attended every chapel, meeting, and church service here. I’ve been impressed with the preaching and gracious attitude of the leadership that we’ve seen since we’ve been here. I’ve got my fine young men in the best possible place to pursue their educations (Mechanical Engineering for James and John, Computer Science/Software Engineering for Ethan).

We are about to kick off our Fall. We are traveling non-stop between now and right before Thanksgiving. I have been very diligent in scheduling meetings. I am trying to raise more support. We need 15 more supporting churches. We are doing the work of four missionaries. I want to expand our work in Uganda, and this will require more funding in order to remain effective. Please pray about this.

I need to raise $50,000. This will cover all of the buildings I need to rebuild, the library building, all the bookshelves, and medical and other health needs. This is an ongoing, serious need. Please pray. I want to head back to Uganda with these funds in savings so I can put Chrispus to work immediately.

Pray for our pastors and churches in Uganda. They have been through another dry season. Pray the rains will come soon. Pray for the continued growth and health of the churches. Pray for Pastor Theogene at Ngarama. He is still having problems. He has been to the hospital multiple times. It seems to be primarily due to mental issues, which has resulted in malnutrition – he is not eating properly. Pastor Zizi and our leadership at Sangano have been taking up the slack, but I am going to need to train somebody to replace him. I do not know how to help him, as his problems appear to be psychological rather than physiological.

Pray for our travels, for the health of our bodies, for our safety on the road, and for the mechanical health of our car.

God bless you, and if we’re coming your way, see you soon!

Greetings! Our time before the next furlough is growing short. We are coming to America in June and will be staying through March of 2020. I am still scheduling, so if you’d like a visit from us, please let me know.

Pastor Theogene at Ngarama is still having problems with his kidneys. Before he fled Congo for Uganda years back, soldiers captured him, detained him, and beat him. The beating damaged his kidneys, which continue to trouble him. He is a faithful pastor at Ngarama Independent Baptist Church. He has been a great help in our ministry. He also has ten kids to support. Please pray for his health and continued well-being.

Our church in Isanja has reached a critical stage. The building is in terrible condition. It’s not a question of if it will fall down in a storm, but when, and who will be hurt or killed. Our people have been working diligently to manufacture the sun dried bricks that will be used for construction. They contribute their labor to the project, without being paid, and on top of the work they already have to do personally. It will require more than they have to complete the job. I sent our contractor out there to work up an estimate. It will be a 25×55 ft structure, with a 4 seat pit latrine, and a baptistry. The total cost will be just shy of $8000, including materials and labor. Our contractor hires as many of our church people as can do the work, and any other locals that are qualified. This provides them with some needed income, and helps them have more ownership of their church building. If you can contribute at all to this project, it would be much appreciated.

We have just passed through the influenza plague that’s been going around. At this point, only Brennah managed to escape (so far). We have all been pretty miserable. Jamie’s fever got up so high last week that he passed out. I had to wrestle him into his shower and put cool water on him to get the fever down. He was the worst, but we have all had a hard way to go. We are recovering, but there’s just nothing like a flu virus to bring down a whole family and delete a week of your life from productivity.

I am pleased with the churches. They are growing. The leadership is doing well. Everything seems to be stable. The congregations are content and joyful in the LORD. They see the need for outreach in the community and are working diligently to spread the gospel among their neighbors. I am very proud of all of them. Pray for the work. I am going to try to get everything on stable footing before I return to America. I am always a little nervous about leaving our ministries, but God has provided some very good people who love the LORD and are very motivated to maintain what He has started here. Our men are working to train our young men for the work. This is precisely what our ministry strives to do, as 2 Timothy 2:2 states.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support.

Pile o’ bricks.

Pastor Byuma and some of our men, in the hole left from making all those bricks.