Our 2016 Celebration Dinner was a success! We enjoyed sharing with so many of you about what God has done over this last year. We had our largest group yet; 9+ local churches were represented, and partners from 2 other states as well! Thank you for coming out! We enjoyed serving you, and we pray that you were blessed to see the lives touched through your partnership with B.H.I.!
|
|
ROAD TRIP!! Next week we will begin our travels through Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. This is an annual trip for us to connect with loved ones, missions partners and churches that would be interested in hearing about our work in South Sudan. If you have any new connections for us, or people who might be interested in having us share, please let us know!
Our Travel Schedule:
May 21-23rd – Rest time for our family in the CA, Redwoods
May 24-30th – Orange County (San Diego, Los Angeles, etc…)
May 31-June 2nd – S.F. Bay Area
June 3-7th – Redding
June 7-10th – General Portland, OR and/or Seattle
As always, our hope is to share with the Body of Christ about God’s work in South Sudan, to encourage people to be “on mission” no matter where they are, and to just plain be a blessing along the way. Thanks for your prayers for this journey and for new connections!
Our Plans For 2016/2017
Proverbs 16:1 says “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps”.
Proverbs 16:3 says “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans succeed”.
We’ve planned to head back to Juba, South Sudan mid-July. It is difficult to make plans when some of the necessary details are not available to us, or are unknown. This is where we ALL have to exercise faith (in a Good Father who KNOWS all those details); listening closely to His voice, and preparing as much as is possible. That being said… We want to tell you about our plans, as best we can, for this next season in South Sudan.
This year we plan to serve a longer term in Africa than we have in the past. Over the last 5 years we have spent between 6-9 months on the field with a USA re-connection trip in between. This has worked well for us, most especially the last two years because of the difficulties that come with living/working in South Sudan. This year we’re planning to stay in Juba for a total of 10-11 months, with a Christmas break spent in Cape Town, South Africa instead of the USA. We are so excited about all of the opportunities the Lord has given us to partner with Him this year in South Sudan, and this longer timeline is what we see is needed to make it possible.
Below you will find descriptions of the 2016/2017 outreach projects we will be working on, some of the financial needs for both our family, and that of the ministry. We hope you enjoy sharing in these, praying along with us, and partnering with us in those areas you feel led.
Equipping Communities (Weekly gatherings, held in 3 month blocks)
* Worship Community: Weekly gathering of young adults who are already serving, or want to serve the Lord through music ministry. This group is focused on cultivating a community of young people who will be Romans 12:1 worshipers wherever God plants them. Along with small group discipleship, prayer & worship, we work to practically strengthen their vocal and other musical abilities. Needs: $1,000 for a guitar, a box drum and other teaching resources.
* Women’s Health Education (W.H.Ed.): Weekly gatherings for women who want to learn more about women’s health. The goal is to cultivate a Christ-centered community, and provide health education that will equip and empower women in their role as caregivers. Needs: $300 for teaching resources and supplies, a female translator who speaks English well.
* Leadership Training: Weekly gatherings for the current and upcoming leaders of Divine Mission Church in Munuki. The goal of this community group is to assist Pastor Abraham in his desire to further develop a strong leadership team. We will be covering subjects such as: What is a disciple? The heart of a disciple maker, How to study the Bible, The Great Commission, Understanding the Old Testament, etc… in an interactive group setting. This will be similar to our Gateway Discovery Bible groups, but focused on equipping leaders to be disciples who make disciples.
1. Run a full teaching/implementation of the program with the Mundari people (March 2017)
2. Assist our last year’s graduates in implementing their plans to share FGW in their home communities. (As God provides opportunity in 2016)
Needs: $2,000 for farming tools, seeds, teaching materials and travel costs.
Needs: Approx. $1,000 to assist with the completion of filtration systems (water tanks, plumbing and transport of materials to location), and more filters. 1 Sawyer water filter costs $130 and filters 99.99% of all bacteria and virus. Each filter has a lifespan of over 1 million gallons. Contact us for more info.
Needs: $15,000 for tools, supplies for participants, building materials, etc… Contact us for more specific information.
|
|