Greetings from Uganda! Thank you for praying for us!
It has been a while since we last wrote and we apologize for keeping you out of the loop. We had encouraging visits from Kevin Olson (Ambassador Institute Director) for two weeks in January and Del Palmer (AFLC World Missions Director), Elden Nelson (AFLC President), and Lyle Mattson (AFLC World Missions Committee) for a week at the end of January. Both visits were timely and fruitful as we move forward with our vision of providing Biblical training here in Uganda.
The immediate result of the visits was the beginning of the Ambassador Institute training program in Uganda! Praise God! This is what we came for and now it is a reality. The plan is to meet one day per week and to study a series of Bible stories from Genesis to Jesus. So, every Saturday I am going to the village of Naigobya, an hour and a half trip from Jinja, to train a group of ten young men who have been mentored by Pastor Sospeter in the ministry. And every Monday I am going to Butagaya (45 minutes away by car) to train a group of 24 pastors and church leaders. This class is an interdenominational fellowship from a relatively large geographical area that Chris has been working with and that welcomed me to come and teach them. It is very exciting to see the students' eagerness to learn. Every week the students are required to learn the new Bible story and to share it in their communities ten times during the week. The Word of God is powerful and is already having an impact in the communities. A few weeks ago two people came to salvation after two of our students shared with them. Yes! The vision of the training is that the students would share the stories in their communities and that they would also train others to share the stories. Uganda is a very oral culture and though the literacy rate is relatively high, stories are still the best means of communicating.
It is a great joy for me to see this training begin after such a long period of preparation. Thank you for your prayers and support. The vehicle continues to run well considering its age (1990) and the regular beating it receives on the village roads. I have been teaching the stories in Lusoga which means some long hours of preparation with my language tutor, Roy.
Rhoda and the kids are doing well. It has been a lot of fun to watch Hannah's personality emerge lately. She's pretty feisty. She enjoys climbing up on the couch, pulling her brother's hair, going for walks, and eating beans. Elijah and Judah enjoy having school with Mom 3 or 4 mornings a week. Kalika, who is staying with us for 6 months, is a tremendous help to all of us. She frees us up to go out on dates each week, as well as to jump in and help wherever and whenever she's needed with the kids, housework, or errand running. We appreciate her so much.
We want you to know how much your prayer and financial support means to us. We realize that times are tight right now in the U.S. and we are humbled by the sacrifice you make to support the work here in Uganda. Our support remains high and we have not once dropped below our monthly support needs. Thank you!
Nate and family
(Check out our blog for recent pictures! www.jorenews.blogspot.com)
P.S. CORRECTION: Last update we wrote that we will be in the US from July 2009 to December 2010. We will actually be in the US for six months: July 2009 - JANUARY 2010. Sorry for the confusion!
