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Our website has not been the best indicator of the changes our team has experienced during the past year. But you could generously interpret our sporadic updates as a sign that our lives and ministry have been full and that we simply lack time for reflection. So allow us the opportunity to catch up with all of you.
Our biggest news is perhaps the way our team has been and will be growing. Three young teammates have been added to our three families Noah Adam Langford was born February 28, Adam Nile Bogle on July 11, and Tessa Marie Manry on August 18. We are thankful that God has blessed our team with life and that we are able to share it together. The seven-to-six advantage our children have over the adults will change when Jason and Jody King arrive on October 17 to begin their two year commitment to the work here. We are also looking forward to Bobby and Candice Garner joining us in February 2008 to begin working with the Mvule Project and the Source Café. We anticipate as a team the ways the Kings and Garners will shape and be shaped by all that God is doing in Busoga!
In the midst of all that is coming there will also be some going. The Bogles leave on furlough October 14 to return on January 6. Were sure there will be some very excited family members ready to receive the Bogles and hold their new little boy. Ben Langford flies out on October 24 to speak at the World Mission Workshop at Oklahoma Christian on Partnership in
Mission
. He will also visit
Rochester
College
and Rochester Church of Christ in
Michigan
to speak to our supporting communities there before returning November 6. Lori Manry and children return to the States for one month beginning November 3 to share Tessa Marie with her family. Make sure you keep all of us in your prayer as we travel to be with you.
In August we sent our first Ugandan missionaries to the states! Sara Ageno, the daughter of Grace and Goretti Nyanga and Priscilla Batamuliza, the daughter of Roy Mwesigwa enrolled at
Rochester
College
in
Michigan
. Many people helped make this life journey possible and needless to say, their parents are more than thankful. While at
Rochester
, Sara and Priscilla will be mentored by John and Sara Barton, former missionaries here, who will help them adjust to a new culture and dream of ways that their educations can serve people and churches in their home culture.
Two events at the end of summer stand out in our mind and among our communities. In late August 100 church leaders from around Busoga gathered in Kitukiro for the annual Busoga Wide Conference. We continue to witness a shared sense of identity and purpose among our churches, especially as more leaders rise up. At the beginning of September, 80 church leaders from around
Uganda
met in Jinja for the annual National Meeting. This was the first time Jinja has hosted the event since 2000. Dennis Okoth, the principle of Messiah Theological Institute in Mbale, was our guest speaker at the event. The theme was Becoming Like Jesus in
Uganda
, built around the recognition that following Jesus in
Uganda
presents unique challenges and opportunities. Both of these events were an encouragement to our leaders and by extension, the communities they serve.
We label our mission to Busoga holistic with the belief that Gods reality touches every aspect of our lives, physically and spiritually. We believe the clearest expression of holistic ministry in our context are health ministries. After completing two successful water well projects we began a third project in
Budoola
Village
through the church community led by James Okumu. We have plans to expand "The Water Source" during the next couple of years. Earlier in October, we hosted SEE Ministries who served communities in Bugoli-Kampala, Musima, and Jinja town with eye clinics. Over 300 people received new corrective eye wear or reading glasses. This ministry allowed church leaders to make many new contacts within their communities.
Two resource projects also have begun during the past couple of months. The Mvule Project planted its first 100 trees in
Wankonge
Village
. Well share more about the Mvule project in the months ahead as our new teammates arrive to work with the project manager, Abraham Mulongo. At the end of the month we start work on the Busoga Library project to establish a theological wing and enhance the existing library. The library project is still in need of donors or partners to bring resources to our community. If you are interested contact Mark at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
As always, we are thankful to have a prayerful and supportive community behind us and the work in Busoga. Thank you for who you are and what you mean to us!
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