“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 Our month of November started on a high note as we taught at a marriage conference in the village of Pabbo at one of our students churches. It was truly a blessing to teach on marriage from a biblical perspective. Satan has been redefining the union of a man and a woman, what it is, what it’s for and how you actually go about it, since the beginning. Every culture sees the effects of those lies and the Acholi are no exception. They are plagued with polygamy, abuse, alcoholism, child neglect and on and on. But by God’s grace family’s are finding light as the Gospel continues penetrating the dark. Noelle and I were blessed to teach about God’s design of men and women as individuals and as a unit, we got to explain how marriage is a picture of the Gospel and that you can have peace in your family by living a lifestyle of repentance before Jesus Christ. ...

As a family we have decided to visit the churches of our students and friends once a month to see how they are doing and to bring them some encouragement from Gods Word. With the permission of each pastor we have also decided to allow you to join us on that journey so that you will be more informed as you think about and pray for the churches of Uganda. We pray that these short Pastoral Bios would encourage you in your walk with God and that you would grow in your love for Jesus as you see how he is moving in the hearts of so many people! ...

“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are.” 1 John 3:1a Over and over, day after day, conversation after conversation, again and again and again we are reminded that every part of our ministry, and moreover, our personal lives, should point to Jesus. The entire Bible, front to back, points to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every story has a picture, every law is a shadow, every prophecy a foretelling of what Jesus would do. And what has He done? To the praise of the glory of His grace, He has made us His children. ...

“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God,” 2 Pet 3:11-12a Thank you for your love, for your concerns, for all of your encouragement in the LORD and for all of your prayers. It is such a blessing to be partnered with you for the sake of the Gospel. Know that your prayers make a difference here in my family’s life and in our ministry. Know that God is using you. As we are here in Uganda we are often blessed to catch glimpses of what God is doing back home through people like you. God’s heart is for the whole world to know Him intimately, and you also play a direct role in that. As members of one body let us continue working together to bring the transforming hope of the Gospel into hearts and minds, not growing tired of doing good, let us obediently carry out the good works which God created each of us for. ...

As a family we have decided to visit the churches of our students and friends once a month to see how they are doing and to bring them some encouragement from Gods Word. With the permission of each pastor we have also decided to allow you to join us on that journey so that you will be more informed as you think about and pray for the churches of Uganda. We pray that these short Pastoral Bios would encourage you in your walk with God and that you would grow in your love for Jesus as you see how he is moving in the hearts of so many people! ...

“Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:28-29 This past week our ministry chose to make this verse in Colossians our theme verse. I am so grateful that God has placed our family within a group of likeminded individuals who’s desire is to make Christ known and understood through abiding in the Word of God. We have been sent by God through you, our brothers and sisters, that we might labor to reveal Christ here in Uganda. So, thank you for being partners with us in the Gospel! It is so exciting to see how God is working and moving all around us. Some days are more exciting than others, and we aren’t always on spiritual mountain tops, but we trust Gods promise that His Word won’t return to Him void. ...

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philipians 4:6-7 We started out this month with the first week of class for the new pastors. On the first Sunday of the month all the new pastors showed up at Calvary Chapel Gulu for their introduction into the class. Each pastor was introduced and given a study Bible for the course. They worshiped, went over ground rules, and ate together. For this first week, we only covered Genesis 1-12:3; from creation through Abraham’s calling from God. These first chapters of the Bible carry so many foundational themes for the rest of scripture, it was difficult to unpack them in only a weeks time. By the end of the week, one student pastor whom we work with at the BAM was saying it was as if he had never read the Bible before and was now reading it for the first time, despite being a pastor for many years. Praise God for that work! ...

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:31-32 Last month we finished our update by telling you about the guys who would end up meeting at our house for discipleship. That picture above is who all was here last Tuesday as we worshiped God together and looked at His Word. John 8:31-32 is our theme verse and we read it and talk about it every time we meet, which is every Tuesday. The guys show up around 6 pm and we have tea and bread together, than we play some worship songs before studying Scripture. Right now we are going through 1 Peter, and I plan to continue from that point through Jude, which should take just a few years. Sometimes the meetings go smoother than other times, especially when we have a good translator and someone who can read Acholi:). When that is not the case we just play worship together and break bread! ...

Dear loved one, God has truly blessed my family in our transition across the world. We are extremely grateful for each of you and for all of your prayers. Adjusting to our new family member, our new jobs, our new friends and our new life while Noelle is recovering from surgery would have been so hard had it not have been for all of your dedicated prayers. We know that God heard you. Thank you. Many of your prayers for this transition and for Noelle’s recovery were answered in the form of the long visit of my mother. Initially my mom was going to come in order to assist with Noah’s birth (since she is a doula), but God had other things in mind and had Noah come two and a half weeks early. So instead she was able to use her other awesome skills as homemaker and massage therapist to help my wife. It was really great to have family out here, and all in all my mom was a tremendous blessing! ...

We are all finally here! “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” Psalm 9:1-2 April has been a month full of thanksgiving for us as we have established our family here in Uganda. On April 12 our dear friends and family sent us off to Denver International Airport where we started our long journey across the world. We arrived the night of the 13th and have spent the remainder of the month getting established here so that we can have a firm foundation for our family. The director of our ministry has graciously given us as much time as we need to put our family life in order here so that when we start ministering we don’t burn out and suffer as a family. So we have taken this opportunity to put our house in order. Doing things like greeting our neighbors well, to fixing the solar on our house, buying our beds and water filtering systems and getting the ball rolling on our work visas. ...