A Grand Opening

This past Sunday (25 March 2007) the members of MCC enjoyed their first Sunday at the new town building - and it was a great day! We had 168 in attendance (about 50 were children), which is a new attendance record for the town church. After the worship service, we all had lunch together, and to top it off, we were blessed to witness a “new birth” as a young lady put on Christ in baptism! It was indeed a grand opening, and a wonderful way to end our “50 Days of Unity” as well…

Click on the thumbnail image to see a large version of the picture:

Occupancy Granted!!

We have been given our occupancy permit for the new town building!

We praise the Lord, because this could have been a very, very difficult and tedious process… but the inspection went well and the permission process took less than a week.  Thanks so much for your prayers!  God is so good!

The finishing work of the first two floors continues to go quite well, and the town church members will hold their first worship service in the new place this coming Sunday morning (25 March).  The second floor (church level) will not quite be finished at that point, but it will be far enough along to be functional enough to use.  Please continue praying for the construction and good use of this building, and for the Lord to provide the funds needed to complete the building.  (Though the building is functional now, there are some very important things that still need doing, and we are still seeking funds to finish the job…)

Here’s a photo from 13 March, click it to see a larger picture…

Team Fun — March 2007

Oh what fun it is to be on this team!

We’ve been blessed this month by a special visitor: teammate Brett Lindsey, on his first trip back to Uganda. During a team dinner a few nights ago, Brett brought some special gifts for the team… Just take a look for yourself…

(Click on any photo to view a large picture)

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Leaders Meeting - March 2007

Another Great Meeting with 40+ Leaders!

This week we had a great meeting with more than 40 Ankole church leaders - it’s yet another productive meeting in a series of exciting and important ones we have been having over the past few months…

Nick arranged for the Abajubi (our core group of leaders) facilitated this week’s meeting, rather than doing it himself. One item that was talked about at length was an encouraging and challenging discussion about the nature of a true servant-leader, and the kind of commitment it will take to further God’s misison here among the Ankole.

But perhaps the most exciting aspect of all this is that we have begun to see a new level of collaboration and partnership between the missionaries and the Ankole leaders, as well as between the leaders themselves! Please pray that it continues!

Thanks for your prayers for the churches… and their leaders!

Prayer Request — Town Building

Pray for Occupancy Permit!
We may be able to move into the first two levels of the new building within the next couple of weeks… if the town council approves our occupancy permit.

Please pray that permission to occupy is granted quickly, so that the town church can move in soon, as we must move out of our current rental facility very soon!

Go to www.AnkoleMission.com/town-building.htm to read more about the building that is being constructed in Mbarara town.

(Click photo to view a larger picture)

(Front view of the building, 30 January 2007)

Abajubi Meeting — “Fishers of Men”

A Great Meeting This Week…

For most of Wednesday and Thursday, Nick Fouts led a meeting of the “Abajubi” (”Fishermen” in the Runyankore language). It was the latest in a series of very important meetings that we have been having with some of our most mature, dedicated leaders among the Ankole churches. Once again, we enjoyed a GREAT meeting with these men!

(Click photo to view a larger version.)

Among other things, we talked about elderships, how the missionaries and Ugandan leaders can cooperate better together, and how we can help empower and equip them to be able to make good decisions for the future of this movement of churches.

Nick says, “It was a great meeting. I continue to appreciate the openness these men have to honestly discuss the current status of this work as well as a vision for the future. I am always challenged by their faith, and the strong desire they have to carry on this mission with the Lord’s help. We’re gradually learning what it means to work more effectively together with these guys, making our work much more of a real partnership between us and them — and that is exciting!”

Please keep the leaders of the Ankole churches in your prayers…