My dear friends in Christ, greetings to you all. I just want to let you know that on December 4, 2019, I will be heading to Uganda for a mission trip through our organization Teach Men to Fish. SAMS, the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, is sending me as a Bridger Missionary. I will continue to reach out to the young men and women in the rural area of Mityana whom we have been training with construction skills to become independent and live a decent life. Additionally, we will teach them spiritual values that make us human for God’s glory.
Our spiritual theme for the youth this year is about generosity, compassion, and God’s love for his people. Through our ministry, we are sponsoring the renovation of a maternity facility which is in very bad shape. As we give the apprentices skills, they are also giving back to their own community for the renovation process, to show how God’s love and compassion can be shared with others and, in the long run, build His kingdom. During that period, we will be launching a sustainability program for the youth, for which men from Christ Church in Denver, Colorado campaigned to buy a cinder block/paver making machine. We will buy the machine locally in Uganda, and the launching will be on January 6, 2020. So we are appealing to anyone of you who might have friends or missionaries in Uganda to come and join us in Mityana at the main Namukozi cathedral. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about what our ministry does to empower these young women and men. Let me know if you would like to be part of it and I will send you all the details.
Please, we request your prayers for this undertaking, but we trust in the Almighty who is already ahead of us.
Amen
Patrick Lutalo
Founder of Teach Men to Fish
www.teachmentofish.com
Speaking of waiting, so sorry for the long delay in writing. I went to SE Asia and was incredibly busy without secure Internet, so chose not to write. In fact, I will most likely end this blog, but figured I could and should still use it to communicate for now, so I’m back. 🙂
I’m limited with what I can share and will use this to very briefly catch you up. The trip was very good, helpful, and informative. I suppose it’s appropriate that Advent began yesterday as I’m very much in a season of waiting. Waiting on details, waiting on timelines, waiting to go!
I’m reminded that Advent is a time not just to wait with boredom, passivity, distraction, or impatience, but with purpose and preparation. I’m grateful for a book I recently purchased at the recommendation of the New Wineskins’ workshop speaker: Henri Nouwen’s A Spirituality of Fundraising. Raising support (aka finding ministry partners) is also the season that I’m in. Going through this book is part of my personal preparation to work on my heart and mind during the waiting while transforming me in the process! I really like his insights, approach, and example of prioritizing loving people over the task (not just of fundraising, but of ministry). That’s a way that you can pray for me. :).
May all of us guard against the distractions and plain busy-ness of the world’s view of Christmas and embrace the sweetness that comes with bringing our unfulfilled desires to the One who will fulfill them with eternity in mind, the One who is the Beginning and the End. We wait for more than a day on the yearly calendar, but a day unknown to our calendars when our Lord will return and satisfy our longings with Himself. Happy Advent, y’all!
During WWII, the British Crown created a royal image
with the text “Keep Calm and Carry On” to encourage the people to press on
through a dark time. Our Heavenly King is also calling us to persevere and
carry on His mission.
Why #CarryOnAdvent? Advent is a season of past and
present waiting – we remember how the Israelites waited for the Messiah and the
Magi sought for a King who came as a baby, and we ourselves practice waiting
with hope for the second coming of King Jesus. How is God teaching you to wait
in joy or lament for Him to make all things new? How is He calling you to carry
on His message of hope, whether through persevering yourself or raising up new
disciples? Share in the comments below, or on social media with the hashtag
#CarryOnAdvent!
Additionally, we have a request for you to prayerfully consider. Here at SAMS, we are answering God’s call to help missionaries “Carry On” in the mission to which God has called them. We forge ties that the global church may carry on the Good News of the coming Kingdom to all. Would you support us in this through a gift or pledge towards the Great Commission Fund?
Check out this video for more information on your
Society’s role in the missionary sending process.
Type #CarryOnAdvent into our blog search bar or into social websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for stories of perseverance in Christian mission, and don’t forget to share your own!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV
