The Busy Month of May!

May 2008 went by in a flash!

We said goodbye to two wonderful teammates, Betsy Glover and Desarae Smith, who have been here for the past year teaching the team kids and doing some super ministry with college students. We’re going to miss them greatly. You can read about their adventures at their blogs:

http://betsyinuganda.blogspot.com/

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http://desaraejean.blogspot.com/

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Also, the Huttons continue to get settled in to life and ministry very well here. We’re so thrilled to have them! Please check out their website and blog, to hear more from them:http://www.huttonsinafrica.com

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Finally, we’ll close with some photos: one from one of the two Ankole Bible School courses that Shane taught in May, and a few from the annual Ankole All-Churches Meeting. Both ABS courses went very well, and we were again reminded of how much God has done to raise up servant-leaders from these churches. This gives us such encouragement, as we think about how the Lord will continue to use these men in the future! (Click on photos to see larger version.)

Marriage Seminar

A group of our top church leaders and their wives were recently blessed by a marriage seminar that was taught by Fielden and Janet Allison. The Allison’s are seasoned East African missionaries who are now traveling around the region (and beyond) to teach about strengthening marriages… and the seminar was a HUGE encouragement and blessing to our folks who were able to attend. We are so thankful for the way that the Lord worked through Fielden and Janet!

Please pray for the marriages among all the people here, and that these leadership couples can spread the good things they have learned to others in their churches…

Ten Years In Uganda !!!

In October the Ankole Mission Team passed the ten-year mark in Uganda!

Over at the team’s main website – www.AnkoleMission.com – you can read a story about our “Super Ten Years” in Uganda… These photos are of the team shortly after arriving in 1997, and one of the team in 2007 (click on photos for larger versions)…

 

Thanks to all our supporters and partners in this work over the past ten years!

(Click here for a direct link to the “Super Ten Years” story.)

The Future…

It has been a wild and crazy few months for the Ankole Mission!

Teammate departures, baby arrivals, preparing for new teammate arrivals, and some very significant changes in the way “things are done” around here…

With the departures of Jay and Nick, we all knew that things would change, and missionaries and Ugandans alike have felt the uncertainty of the “unknown.” These next few months – indeed, the whole of 2008 – may well be the most trying time in the history of the Ankole Mission. We don’t say that lightly. It is sure to be a time of testing, and a faith-stretching time for the missionaries and the Ankole churches. In one sense, more responsibility must be shifted onto the national church leaders than ever before. In another sense, we hope and pray for a different reality…

Hopefully, this will be a time where more faith and trust will be put in the Lord, as we all learn to depend upon HIM more than ever before.

Shane and Scott are working with church leaders to envision new ways to practically accomplish this mission, and continue the growth of this movement of churches with less missionary help than ever before. It is a leadership challenge, and we pray that a trusting partnership will develop that is equal to the task (a partnership between the missionaries and the Ankole leaders, as well as a sense of trust and teamwork between the Ugandans). It is also a financial challenge, to work out new ways that this movement can sustain itself with a significant drop in foreign-donated income. And of course, it is a spiritual challenge… and a time of great opportunity!

Please pray for the Lord’s guidance, provision, and teaching! Pray that everyone’s faith will be taken to new levels of trust in God as we work through this time of transition. Pray for growth, especially spiritual maturation among the Ankole churches and leaders.

For all we know, the wild and crazy months may just be getting started. Whatever the future holds, we rest in the assurance that the Lord of all creation is with us, leading this mission to what He has envisioned long before we answered His call!

First Colony Youth Group 2007 #5

What a wonderful group this was!  What a great two weeks!  Our team would like to express our deepest gratitude to the group that came, and for those that sent them… Well done, folks!  Here’s the last few photos…

(The gang at the game park lodge – NOT a real elephant!)

  Elephants1   Elephants3

(However, we did have an amazing elephant experience!)

  (Praying together on the final night…)

(Click photos or links to see larger images…)

First Colony Youth Group 2007 #4

Bonding Experience!!  The kids have been dropped off for their ultimate “African experience.”  They’ll have two fascinating days and one night with their Ankole host families, soaking up everything they can about Ankole life and culture.  Here are a few photos of some of the kids with their bonding families…

   

First Colony Youth Group 2007 #3

Today was mudding day!  We had two crews go out today, and both did a wonderful job. The first four photos below are from the group that went to work on the Birere church building, and the last two are from Kabaare…

(Clicking on the photos above should bring up a larger image…)

First Colony Youth Group 2007 #2

The group is doing GREAT! They’re just a few days into their time in Mbarara, and they are already such a blessing to the Ankole churches. Saturday was orientation day with language lessons and a tour of Mbarara town with MCC tour guides. On Sunday, half of the group went to the town church (MCC), and the others went to village churches. Then today (Monday), they went to four different villages. Most of the group had a “regular village day” which consists of much visiting over chai tea and lively times of worship. One group went to the Ibanda Orphan’s Home to build playground equipment for the kids. Tomorrow is mudding day; then they will enjoy their “bonding experience” later this week!

UPDATE: for some reason, the photos and links below weren’t working for many people.  I’ve tried re-loading them… 

    Orphanage Crew   Kishenyi Kids

(Click on the photos or links to view larger images…)

First Colony Youth Group 2007 #1

We have 22 people from First Colony Church of Christ with us for the next two weeks.  Thirteen high school graduates and 9 adults will enjoy many fun days of new experiences.  We love having them here, and we will try to post a few photos of their latest adventures every few days.  We’ll start here with their group equator photo, rafting the Nile river, and a tasty snack (grasshoppers) from this afternoon!

 

Grasshoppers! (Jennifer and Natalie)   Grasshoppers! (Paul)   Grasshoppers! (Grant)

(Click on the photos or links above to see a larger version of the picture…)

All Churches Meeting 2007

What a GREAT day!

On Sunday (20 May) we had our annual “All Churches Meeting” here for the Ankole Churches of Christ, where every church sends as many members as they can to a big day of worship, teaching, and fellowship.

Last year we had around 330 in attendance… This year the number we were able to count was 437!  (That is a little less than half of our total membership.)

It was a wonderful day.  A committee of church leaders planned the meeting and made sure that all 437 (plus?) people were well-fed come lunchtime.  And the town church worship/ushers committee did a wonderful job of hosting and making everyone feel welcome in their new building. (Now the second level is almost complete, see photo below!)  The worship was lively and powerful, the preachers of the day did a great job, and you could tell that everyone was quite thrilled to be together on this special day.

Thanks for your continued prayers on behalf of these churches!

( Click on photos to see a larger picture…)