All our adventures as missionaries, past and present.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-20-2009

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Greetings! Here's some exciting news: we just found out from missionary Dan Dwire (Soroti, Uganda) that we may not have to spend as much on plane tickets as we thought. The catch is, we have to go to Chicago (that's where the closest British Air gate is located). However, we can get enough bus tickets from Coach USA to cover all of us and our luggage (we're allowed 21 bags). It's actually cheaper than if we were to drive, and everybody will have lots of room and can be comfortable. We can pretty much buy the tickets anytime, so we'll be doing that soon. Pray that all of the money will materialize to accomplish that.

I'm still waiting on a quote on shipping, so I have no further details as yet, but we still need significant funds to accomplish that task. Things are coming together, and that is always encouraging.

We leave on Thursday to head down to Chattanooga to do our Departure Interview with BIMI. That makes sure that all our paperwork and what not is squared away in order to smooth our transition to the field. Pray that we'll be able to get it all done on Friday. On Sunday, we begin a missions conference in Fairview Baptist Church in Athens, TN (Pastor Jack Scallions). Pray that all will go well with this trip.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-09-2009

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Greetings! Our missions conference in our home church last week was a great success. We had some great preaching from Bro. Robert Meyer (SE Asia Director), and got to re-iterate our call to Uganda before our church. Most important, a momentous decision has been reached: we're going to Uganda the first of the year, 2010! We have enough support coming in now that our Pastor and director are willing to allow us to go to Uganda. We have many preparations to make in order to get gone, and the details are a bit sketchy because it's only been a few days since the decision was made, but I will keep you all in the loop as we move forward. At the moment, it looks like we're going to begin our ministry in Mbarara, which is about 45 minutes north of the Rwandan border in the far Southwestern corner of Uganda. We have heard from Bryan Stensaas, the senior missionary there, and we are needed sooner, not later on the field, just as quick as we can get there. As he puts it, the "sky's the limit" in opportunities to minister the Gospel. They have a radio ministry, several village churches, orphanges, refugee camps they visit, and a Bible translation work already in progress. Mbarara is located at a geographic crossroads, and will put is in reach of not only the good people of Uganda, but also Rwanda and the DR of the Congo (Zaire). We are excited about the prospect of working under this great man of God, and gaining the experience necessary to make us the kind of missionaries we need to be in order to serve the LORD well in Uganda.

Here are some specific prayer requests:

We are in need of some further funds to get ourselves to Africa. These figures are subject to change, but my initial estimate of the expenses we are going to incur are as follows:

Cost for a 20' shipping container: $2000
Cost to ship that container to Mbarara: $8500
Cost of plane tickets (for which we have already received some funds): $900 apiece for a one way flight to Entebbe
Outfit costs (we have to replace all of our American appliances, and buy some specilized equipment, like a water purifier, and a whole house battery backup system for example): $10000
Cost for a vehicle on the field: $12,000

It's a lot to raise, so God is going to have to do it. As such, I'm hoping to mobilize as much prayer as possible towards attaining that goal. Pray hard folks! Pray also that I'll be able to get all the logistics of getting a famly of seven moved from America to Uganda worked out in the next three months. There's a mountain of tasks to get done by then and I want to be sure I get it all worked out in a timely and accurate manner.

Pray also for our meeting on Sunday in Victory Baptist Church in Columbia, MO. I have to go there by myself so Anna can be here for a wedding shower at church that she and some of the other ladies have been planning for some time. The week afterwards, we have a meeting down in Athens, TN, and will be taking the opportunity of proximity to Chattanooga to go ahead and get our Departure Checklist with BIMI worked out. These are exciting times!

Thanks again for all your prayers!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-29-2009

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Hello again! We were in a missions conference last week in Landmark Baptist Church in Evansville, IN (Pastor Barry Kirves). It went great. I got to preach and present the work in Uganda, and the LORD blessed. Our kids made some friends, which is good, but then we had to say goodbye at the end of the week, which was a bit sad for them, but that's the life I'm afraid. Our deputation is progressing well. I just heard from a church in Nevada, MO which we visited the first year of deputation, and they are going to support us. I've heard from others recently also, but that one was a surprise. It's great to know that, even though it was years ago, we were remembered and are being supported. I'm praying that more churches we've visited will do likewise, so we can finish the last of our deputation and get to Uganda next year.

In the meantime, I'm scheduling busily for the first quarter of next year, in the hopes that this will be the last of the meetings we will need to attend. We will be primarily in New Mexico next year, and possibly elsewhere in the Southwest if I can swing it. Pray that my scheduling will continue to progress well, and that we'll see the last 10 percent of our support materialize soon.

Our home church, Grace Baptist Church, in St. Louis, MO begins it's missions conference tomorrow, and we will be in attendance. Pray that the conference will go well  and that our church will be able to raise it's Grace Giving this year so that we can maybe take on a few more missionaries.

God bless all of you!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 08-31-2009

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Greetings! National Hoops (http://nationalhoops.com) was a great success. Mike Washer and his associates did a fantastic job. They came in, canvassed the area, recruited several teams, and got set up in a nearby parking lot for the Saturday tournament. We had 19 teams, more than we've ever had in previous years. This was the first time in 3 years Anna and I were in town for the tournament. They completed Round Robin competition in the morning, and came over to the church in the afternoon. Mike Washer preached, and most of the 80 or so people responded to the invitation. All told, 36 were saved. Anna got to lead three to the LORD, and I got to lead four. It's a tremendous ministry, and a most effective evangelistic tool.

In a few weeks, we have a missions conference in Landmark Baptist Church, Evansville, Indiana, so be praying. I'm still trying to schedule meetings where possible, so if any of you have any red hot leads, let me know.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 08-19-2009

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Greetings! We drove to Scottsbluff, NE over the weekend for a meeting there in one of our first supporting churches. In case you've never made the drive, Nebraska is a REALLY wide state. It took us 13 hours to get there, including stops. Fortunately, the speed limit goes up to 75 once you cross the Nebraska state line, so we were able to make good time. We had a good meeting. It was great to get to visit with Pastor Clement and the church again, as well as to meet some new people who've joined since we were there.

I'm still lining out meetings for the Fall. If you know of churches in your area of like faith that might be in need of a missionary to Uganda, let me know. Also, if we visited your church a while back, and you would like us to return for a visit, again, let us know. We are very near to being done with deputation, and lack only about $850 a month. Pray we'll be able to get that raised by the end of the year, and that we'll be able to raise the needed outfit and passage money to get ourselves and our gear to Africa early next year.

This weekend, the National Hoops ministry is at our church. We will be holding a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, followed by an evangelistic service. We have seen many saved from this ministry in past years. This will be the first year where Anna and I are in town and able to be involved. Both she and I will be counselors. I'm looking forward to the great harvest of souls in which we will be participating this weekend. Pray for the National Hoops ministry, and for the precious people of St. Louis.

As always, it's good to communicate with you all, our faithful friends and prayer partners.