Update: Gospel-Centered Apprenticeship Provides New Maternity Center for Ugandan Community in the Midst of Pandemic

Update: Gospel-Centered Apprenticeship Provides New Maternity Center for Ugandan Community in the Midst of Pandemic

by | Jul 15, 2020 | Africa, Children at Risk, Health, SAMS Missionaries, Uganda, World Relief

In February, we reported on the work of Missionary Bridger Patrick Lutalo, founder of the Christian apprenticeship program Teach Men to Fish in Uganda. In the midst of the pandemic, Patrick’s team of young disciples has been able to complete the new maternity center in Mityana, Uganda. This facility, built by a group of young adults equipped spiritually and practically in Christ, will be a blessing to the overall health and wellness of mothers and children in the community. See updated pictures below. 

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SAMS World Relief Fund (WRF) provided a grant towards this project completion.  Would you help support practical, incarnational ministry in Christ with a gift to SAMS WRF? We thank God for the generosity of Senders equipping Missionaries to provide relief in this increasingly tragic time for our world. In this case, SAMS WRF also helped provide funds for development through local Ugandan youth. We praise God for Patrick’s enthusiasm to mentor these young adults in Christ.

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Apprentices put finishing touches on the eaves of the roof and eaves.

The maternity center will benefit the overall health and wellness of mothers and children.

Patrick Lutalo mentors Ugandan youth in Christ while equipping them vocationally.

Apprentices finish up the new maternity center

Apprentices construct the roof of the maternity center

New maternity center in Mityana, completed

Medical Clinic in Nigeria Serving Rural and Urban Poor Receives PPE Through World Relief Fund

Medical Clinic in Nigeria Serving Rural and Urban Poor Receives PPE Through World Relief Fund

by | Jul 2, 2020 | Africa, SAMS Missionaries, SAMS-USA, World Relief

,SAMS missionaries are still serving and sharing the gospel in the places they are called during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are living out their Great Commission call, and the SAMS’ incarnational service value.

The Rev. Tom Furrer leads Kateri Medical Services, a medical ministry to the rural and urban poor in Nigeria. Tom received a World Relief Fund grant to provide personal protective equipment [PPE] to all of the clinic’s staff. The funds have also been used to purchase sanitizing equipment and food for the people they serve.

Below is the transcript of Tom’s video update:

Hello. I’m the Reverend Tom Furrer. I’m an associate missionary with SAMS, and also I am the executive director of Kateri Medical Services. And we work in conjunction with the Anglican Church of Nigeria. We have six clinics in Nigeria, in partnership with local dioceses, wherever we are. And our goal is to bring simple, decent, affordable medical care to the rural and urban poor in Nigeria.

Nigeria has a population of about 180,000,000 people. Half of whom, 50% about 90 million people live on less than $2 a day. And those are the people we try to reach with our medical clinics. Those who can’t afford medical care otherwise. So, we run six clinics. And just recently, SAMS through your World Relief Fund has given us a grant of $3,000.

And what we did with that grant of $3,000 was we bought PPE’s personal protective equipment for all of the staff of our six medical clinics. And we bought sanitizer equipment. So [they] have a sanitizer station and each of the medical clinics. So patients and staff could wash their hands and sanitize their hands regularly.

We also bought face masks for people in the churches, because the churches have a lot of very poor people in them and can’t afford face masks, and the government requires facemasks to be worn in churches. And lastly, we also purchased food because of the lockdown there. Just like in this country, a lot of people on the bottom of the economic ladder, when you have a lockdown, they have no means of income. And so, people are starving to death. The churches there are trying as best they can to bring food; just basic sacks of grain for people who don’t have anything to eat. And so, because of your grant, we were able to buy some food for those folks.

And if we get more grants, we’ll buy more food. So, we want to thank you very much for this great grant that you’ve given us. And we have added that with our own funds, so that we’ve supplied about $12,000 worth of PPEs, sanitizer equipment and food for the rural and urban poor in Nigeria. So we on behalf of all of them, thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

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World Relief Grants Help Inject Funds into Local Madagascar Economy

World Relief Grants Help Inject Funds into Local Madagascar Economy

by | Jun 25, 2020 | Africa, Madagascar, SAMS Missionaries, World Relief

SAMS missionaries are still serving and sharing the gospel in the places they are called during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are living out their Great Commission call, and the SAMS’ incarnational service value.

Jacky Lowe, missionary in Madagascar, received a World Relief Fund grant to build concrete benches at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Toliara, providing work for local builders and businesses. This video update is from Jacky who serves at the Women’s Center on the St. Patrick’s Cathedral compound in the Diocese of Toliara. Jacky is helping to establish the Women’s Center and is an anchor for prayer within the Diocese. As Jacky mentions in her video, people travel on foot for hours for meetings and services at the cathedral, and the old benches on the compound were recently eaten by termites.

Below is the transcript of Jacky’s video update:

Hello. My name is Jackie Lowe and I’m a missionary in Madagascar. I live on the St. Patrick’s cathedral compound in Toliara, where I work at the women’s center. I also live in the women’s center. In the afternoons when I’m there, I sit on two benches by the labyrinth and these two benches are made of wood.

And in 2018, and again in 2019, they made a wonderful banquet for the termites. So at the end of 2019, I decided we needed to build some benches for people to sit on made of a material that was not edible. Piave, the night watchman helped me. He got a quote for the benches, for the materials and for the building.

I returned to the US in January 2020 to raise the money for the two benches. They cost $125 each. The bare materials for the benches were purchased in Toliara. So it helped the businesses. And local men built the benches. Beanie, one of the women who works at the center, her son actually helped. So many people were helped. On my return, I learned that SAMS had a world relief fund offering grants to missionaries, and I applied. They awarded me $1,200 to build more benches on the compound. The benches will be built by the building committee and they will decide where they are. They will provide a place for people to sit and pray or read their Bible, or just to meet with others.

Many people walk an hour each way to come to the cathedral for meetings and services. So the benches will provide rest for them. If you are interested in helping to build more benches, if five people donate $25, that’s enough for one bench. Thank you for listening and thank you for helping. May God bless you.

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“We had to send students away…” Pandemic Complicates Pastor Training at Solomon Islands Seminary

“We had to send students away…” Pandemic Complicates Pastor Training at Solomon Islands Seminary

by | Jun 18, 2020 | SAMS Missionaries, Solomon Islands, World Relief

Because of a lack of proper sanitation facilities at the Trinity School for Ministry and Theology at Airahu in the Solomon Islands, faculty and staff, including SAMS Missionary Jonathan Hicks, were forced to send students training to become pastors home when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Thanks to the support of SAMS senders giving to the World Relief Fund, the seminary is receiving funds to build the proper facilities to support students in their studies.

SAMS missionary Jonathan Hicks provides this update to show where the new facility is planned. Video transcript is below:

George: Welcome to Airahu School of Ministry and Theology. I’ve been here for attending this school for three years. I am just walking around in the campus with Father Jonathan to show how campus is like.

Jonathan Hicks: We wanted to give you a picture of our bathroom situation.

This is the road that leads to our outdoor pit. And the new plan is to make a bathroom facility that would go underneath the new, the dormitory. Here’s some of the housing, that’s our house. And then over there, you can see the site where the school was founded as well as the new classroom building, and then this is the dorm here.

So we had to send our students home because of the COVID outbreak, because of a lack of water and sanitation. And our, our hope has been to put a sanitation block under this building here. And, thanks to your help, it looks like we’ll be able to put in a block that will have two shower heads and two toilets as well as two rain tanks as well. So this is, these are the students at Trinity. And they’re just having their breakfast before class right now. And that’s the site of the new sanitation block.

George: That’s all. I’d like to thank you for your generous support towards this project. And we are very happy for the support you give to us. Thank you.

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Mental Health Ministry during COVID-19

Mental Health Ministry during COVID-19

by | Jun 4, 2020 | SAMS Missionaries

Statistics are hard to find in Zambia, and they are even harder to find in a pandemic. One thing we do know is that we have been getting twice as many need requests for help than we usually do.

My work in Zambia centers around providing mental health support. Even at normal times, the need is dire and the numbers are shocking. There are less than 15 psychologists for the whole country of 17 million people and those few are centered in the capital, which is 6 hours away from where I live and serve. I live in the second largest city in Zambia. My Zambian friend Luyando and I have built a program to provide mental health support through trained volunteers for people that need it. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the need for support has doubled.

The pandemic is like a hot stove that a pot of water is placed on. We all have stressors and pre-existing mental conditions, and during normal times we might be able to keep them under control through routines and coping mechanisms. But turn the heat up on that stove and the pot will boil over very quickly.

With a limited amount of volunteers, an even smaller amount of psychologists to refer people to, and increased demand for help, it is getting harder and harder to open email and see requests like this:

Hey, I’ve been feeling low lately and my boyfriend has been repeatedly trying to kill himself, I feel so useless and I guess I’m just trying find out how I can help us both feel better.

At this time, we are certainly not the only ones feeling overwhelmed and limited in our ability to help. And all we have is: to do what we can and turn to the Lord. For He is there to help us when every other avenue fails. He will still be there.

We pray for those that are suffering in mind and body at this time of pandemic.

We pray for mercy dear Lord.

April Sylvester - Missionary to Zambia

“I thought to myself – they’re not going to die from COVID, they’re going to die from hunger” – Video Update from Margarita

“I thought to myself – they’re not going to die from COVID, they’re going to die from hunger” – Video Update from Margarita

by | May 28, 2020 | Honduras, Latin America, SAMS Missionaries, World Relief

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SAMS is sharing missionary updates about ways ministry is adapting because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many missionaries are already called to areas of great need, and those needs are increasing in light of the pandemic. We invite you, as you are able, to provide these dioceses and communities resources through the SAMS World Relief Fund. More information is on our website.

[Video Transcript Below]

We have four shelters that care for about 150 children. I received a video from one of the administrators, that showed the Ministry of Health in Honduras talking about the first two cases of COVID-19. Shortly thereafter, like a couple days later, the country went on lockdown. It was very frustrating for me whenever I heard that the government had completely shut down. And I thought to myself, “They’re not going to die because of COVID. They’re going to die from hunger”.

For example, we have a case of a mother who prepares tortillas and she sells tortillas for the neighborhood. Well, under COVID 19, she can’t do that. So whatever little living she could provide for her family, it’s gone. She can’t do it. And that’s where we really felt like we needed to come in so that we can at least provide for food. So I became very concerned and, I, I’m always communicating with the administrators.

So I started a group chat with them in about how could we help them out? One of the shelters is in the mountains, which is a more remote area, and therefore not as affected by COVID-19. But they had the same lockdown as everybody else. The administrator of that shelter said that he and his wife and his family would prepare meals. And have the families come and get a prepared meal to take home. Because the country’s in lockdown, it was interesting trying to figure out how could they provide food for the children. I am so proud also of our young graduates. Some of our graduates participate and help each of the shelters buy food and put it in bags to provide for one or two weeks of meals. And we really have seen God at work in many ways.

We have an administrator that has diabetes and she has an elderly mom, so she was really scared to go out. So we brainstormed, and we thought about a graduate from that neighborhood. And it’s, it’s a slummy kind of neighborhood, and it’s kind of a dangerous neighborhood. And, this young lady who graduated with us from high school two years ago and it’s now going to university and working also volunteered to go ahead and go get the keys from the shelter. Her mom is a cook at the shelter, so the two of them, they like got it together to be able to get the food.

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