Preparing for Uganda

Preparing for Uganda

by | May 30, 2017 | Africa, Uganda

Camille is preparing for a mission to Uganda. She leaves tomorrow! She shares details about this mission nd how you can pray.
Dear Praying Friends,

I’ll be off to Uganda May 31 for two weeks. Thank you for praying with me that God would provide the means for this ministry to South Sudanese refugee camps. He has provided these means – material and spiritual – above what I could have expected. In addition to funds which have enabled us to purchase tents, curriculum, and related ministry needs, God has provided me with a gift I didn’t even know to ask for. Karen Ellis will be joining me on the trip, and though she is an accomplished teacher, she means to focus her energy on praying for and supporting me in the work. Wow. Thank you, Jesus. What must You mean to accomplish through Karen’s work? And now I ask you all too to pray for God to do His work through me and the rest of our East African team members.

Ministry projects:
Conference at Bethesda Ministries (Rev. Titus Baraka’s ministry compound) on pornography and sexual addiction. Conference & Outreach at Morobi Refugee Settlement, near Moyo, Uganda. We will be working with refugees of South Sudan’s current brutal civil war and man-made famine. We will do a 3-day conference with uprooted clergy living in the camps, discussing ways the church can help its traumatized folk (though many of these clergy are, no doubt, traumatized themselves).
c) Outreach in Kajo-keji district, South Sudan. While 100s of 1000s have fled horror and chaos of the war to the camps in northern Uganda, there are still some people (including rebel soldiers) remaining in the neighboring district across the border. We have had an invitation to go and share Jesus there.

For Prayer:
a) Power – from the Holy Spirit to give us needed words of comfort, hope and truth; to control our words, actions, motivations; and to produce fruit for His Kingdom.
b) Provision – planning, logistics, travel mercies, health, joy,team-spiritedness, Holy-Spirit empowered humility + confidence in the Lord’s authority & power.
c) Personnel – Bishop Immanuel of Kajo-keji, Rev. Canon Titus Baraka, Rev. Jale, Rev. Jonathan Soro, Francis Candiga (all of whom are members of the Kuku tribe, the primary ethnic group we will meet in the refugee camps), other local team members.
d) Protection – *Refugee camps can have poor sanitation; cholera etc. are possible. *Our visit to South Sudan needs special prayer because of current warfare. *Pray for the binding of Satan and any people he has deceived and influenced. *Pray for security & the will of God to be done. In all things.
e) Praise – For God’s bountiful provision of ministry material; for Karen joining the team; for the guarantee of His Kingdom’s victory– even when we can’t see it.

Support Camille here.

Called to Love

Called to Love

by | May 30, 2017 | Zambia

 


And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

A high percentage of the population in Zambia is under the age of 35. SAMS Missionary, April Sylvester, feels called to come alongside young adults. At GLO Zambia, April serves the Lord by mentoring young adults. The students learn about relationships, stewardship, missionary vocation, and HIV prevention. Currently, April is also teaching yoga and swimming.

God has called April to love the students at GLO. She cares for these students because she knows God first loved.  In return, these students care for April, and they are inspired to go on to treat others how they have been treated. A few students shared how they have been impacted by April and the mentoring program:

Shari: April has been a very good mentor. I already knew how to swim, but April has helped me perfect my swimming. I also used to smoke and she has helped me with my addiction, and now I don’t really want to smoke. She has been there for me when others have thought less of me. I thank her for that.

Peter: April has been my best swimming teacher. When was struggling spiritually, she was there for me. She prayed with me and continued to pray for me during my struggles.

Ana: We are GLO Students. April is our leader and she has inspired us and I have learned a lot about myself. I used to be afraid of water. Now April has taught me to be more confident and I am learning to swim. April is the kind of person has a gift of caring for others, and she really has invested in our lives.

Like April who mentors, we are called to love one another. What gift has God given you that you use to show love to others?

Names have been changed for the privacy of the students.

 

Would you prayerfully consider supporting April today? Pray, support, and give here.

 

April teaching swimming
Meet SAMS-USA: David and Mary Beth Alenskis

Meet SAMS-USA: David and Mary Beth Alenskis

by | May 3, 2017 | Belize

Meet David and Mary Beth Alenskis. They are missionaries in Belize where David is serving in ordained ministry by strengthening local leaders in two Anglican churches as well as in the local Anglican schools. Mary Beth is reaching out to the youth through music in both the churches and the schools. Learn more about their ministry and calling.
Ministry:

The church in Belize needs more thoroughly-trained leaders who are willing to serve inside and outside of the church in pioneering ways, to announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to embody his excessive and supernatural love for sinners. As SAMS missionaries, David and Mary Beth are dedicated both to serving as leaders for Anglican churches and schools in Belize and also to training up new leaders who will continue to grow and deepen the Body of Christ.

David has been called to serve as the Priest-in-Charge (Senior Pastor) of St. Andrew’s and St. Hilda’s churches and as chaplain for St. Andrew’s, St. Barnabas’, and St. Hilda’s schools. In addition to providing pastoral ministry on a local level, he has been serving more broadly among the western churches and the nation-wide Anglican diocese. In particular, he has been raising up newly ordained and lay ministers, and the goal is to continue this leadership development to the point where these local communities can disciple new believers, cultivate new ministries, plant new missions, and establish new schools.

Mary Beth will be taking her first steps in this missionary endeavor! Though it’s all a little new, she is excited to join David in his life and ministry in Belize. Mary Beth will be working with the women in the church (possibly through women’s groups and bible studies), as well as using the gifts God gave her in music to accompany for the churches (as they are currently doing all services a cappella), and work with kids in the church or school teaching them music and praising God.

Calling:

Mary Beth:

“I have always loved the idea of missions, but never expected to be a missionary myself. That’s not to say I wasn’t prepared to serve God where I am, I just never figured that it would be on the foreign mission field. But, as God brought David and me together to share our lives, he has also been bringing us to share in missions. I have visited Belize now three times, and I am looking forward to beginning life as a missionary next year!

If you are trying to discern God’s will for your own life, pray that the Lord will give you clarity, and then open yourself up to the clarity that he brings. When his direction within your own heart matches up with what “seems good to us and to the Holy Spirit,” I think you will be astounded by the places the Lord will take you!

Missionary life wasn’t my original plan.  Missionary life wasn’t even my back-up plan.  I knew I wanted to serve God, but I didn’t know what that would look like.  But through prayer and discernment, God has brought me to this next step in my life where I get to share the Gospel, serve Him and others, all with my best friend here in Belize. ”

Prayer Requests: 

  • That the Lord would give them health, and heal them when illness occurs.
  • That the Lord would grant the financial support necessary to continue serving in Belize.
  • That the Lord would guide their ministerial candidates as they discern God’s will.
  • That the Lord would daily fill them with his Holy Spirit, his fruit and his gifts.
  • That the Lord would cultivate their hearts and minds to serve wholeheartedly in Belize.
  • That the Lord would keep them diligent in meetings, study, prayer, and worship.
  • That the Lord would facilitate communication between them and their ministry partners.

Visit David and Mary Beth’s missionary page to learn more. Would you prayerfully consider supporting them? 

If you are trying to discern God’s will for your own life, pray that the Lord will give you clarity, and then open yourself up to the clarity that he brings
Mary Beth Alenskis

SAMS Missionary to Belize

How Gospel Goats is Impacting Gulu, Uganda

How Gospel Goats is Impacting Gulu, Uganda

by | Apr 12, 2017 | Africa, Uganda

Mary McDonald is a SAMS Associate Missionary and a veterinarian. Recently, SAMS caught up with Mary after her recent mission to Uganda.

SAMS: Tell us about Gospel Goats and the need you saw in Uganda.

Mary: In Uganda, there are families who have been affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Men grew up as boy soldiers and women were abducted to be wives of officers. The majority have received little education about health and nutrition and many are living with HIV. I had a call to equip and empower this marginalized group in Uganda. Gospel Goats is a revolving goat loan program that does that. We teach health, nutrition, and care for the goats which helps these marginalized families on the path to financial and food security. They are able to breed the goats and sell the offspring. With each training, we teach the Gospel and love of Christ. The first goat that is born to those who went through the training is donated back to the program. They learn that they are blessed to be a blessing.

How has Gospel Goats and an education program impacted the region?

When we surveyed the area to start Gospel Goats, there was a school across from an Islamic institute. This school hardly had pencils to work with. I went to the Bishop of N. Uganda and asked about starting a Compassion International sponsorship program at this school. So we prayed that children would be sponsored, and in the first year, we had 200 students sponsored by our church in Virginia. When I returned this year, there were 115 more students sponsored. I discovered that people were taking their children out of the Islamic institute and bringing them to the school. The pastor and volunteers said that Compassion International paired with Gospel Goats has helped stop the spread of radical Islam in the area.

How have you seen God at work through the people in Uganda?

With each Gospel Goat training, we do a clear sharing of the Gospel story. At the end, we ask if anyone would like to receive Christ. At the last training, 15 people prayed to accept Christ. 150 people between the two projects have received Christ, including 5 Muslims. One individual told me that they have felt like the poorest in the community, but because of the gift of a goat they feel like God cares about them and that God is a living and tangible God who cares for both their physical and spiritual needs.

How can people who want to help get involved?

There are already many refugees in Uganda streaming in from the civil war in South Sudan. Now this region is facing an extreme drought and famine. In Uganda, families are losing their crops and livestock. This week, I received a letter from Bishop Johnson writing:

A humanitarian crisis is at our doors. We are trying to share the little we can but both the refugees and the host communities are facing starvation due to prolonged drought and the leading to a shortage of food. As a diocese, we are appealing to whoever can help us to support the refugees to do so now. Thank you for making the appeal on our behalf.

Please pray for the people in Uganda and all of Africa. Please give so others may live. Go to donate go to the SAMS-USA World Relief Fund and designate the country of Uganda in the comment box
or by check to P.O. Box 399 Ambridge, PA 15003.

Give to the World Relief Fund

Mission Opportunity in Tanzania

by | Apr 12, 2017 | Africa

The Diocese of Victoria Nyanza is located in Mwanza, Tanzania. Villages in the region are without a church and the opportunity to hear the Gospel. There is a need for congregational development in this diocese where Islam is spreading. Bishop Boniface Kwangu is praying for missionaries to come to Tanzania to serve through the diocese. Missionaries are also needed for theological training and to teach at the international school. Are you being called to share the Gospel in this area? Contact info@sams-usa.org oto learn more about these opportunities in Tanzania.