SAMS Missionaries Archives | Page 9 of 33

Belong in Christ at Uganda Christian University

by Jessica Hughes | Aug 4, 2021 | Africa, SAMS Missionaries, Theological Education, Uganda

Above: SAMS Missionary Jessica Hughes and her theological student Lovincer Katana at GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem. Jessica teaches at Uganda Christian University (UCU), and Lovincer serves in the UCU Chaplaincy while continuing her education to serve Christ’s kingdom. Lovincer shares below the impact that UCU has had on her. – Kate Ulrich, SAMS Communications Coordinator

My name is Lovincer Katana, a first-born-child of six children. I was born and raised in Kalerwe, one of the slums on the outskirts of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. My parents loved God and served in the church as wardens, and I came to faith while in Sunday School because our parents faithfully raised us in church.

I grew up and started serving in the youth ministry. Having graduated from university by God’s grace, I was placed as a teacher in one of the best girls’ schools in the country, Gayaza High School. The Lord used me to minister to the girls as I taught and engaged with them through various activities.

I received a call from the Lord to join full-time ministry, which I must confess I wrestled with for two years. I was inspired to study for my Masters of Divinity at Uganda Christian University (UCU) by my priest at St. Nicholas Church, the retired Rev. Kisitu Frederick. He used to talk fondly about Bishop Tucker Theological College, the College from which UCU was launched. I was particularly inspired by the way he taught and engaged the Scripture, and I was certain that I wanted to study where he had.

Having said yes to the Lord’s call, I joined the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology at UCU in 2015. I found the University’s atmosphere calm and enabling in that both students and staff were able, on a daily basis, to know Christ, to grow in faith, and to make Christ known in their different fields of specialty. I don’t remember a single day that any of my lecturers came to class to teach and we did not say an opening prayer, closing prayer, or share in the grace (2 Corinthians 13:14) at the end of class. Of course, even during the lectures themselves one would vividly see faith integrated in whatever we were learning, something which blessed my heart since I got my undergraduate degree from a government university.

There were two days in the week I always looked forward to: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-1pm. On these days, all students and faculty members pause whatever they are doing (including classes) and come together at Nkoyoyo Hall for Community Worship, where we are fed on God’s Word. I felt a unique sense of belonging in Christ during this time that transcended class, age, expertise, and our distinct backgrounds. This is the community’s way of paying attention to what God is doing in our lives, and it is an opportunity to study His Word.

The University setting itself makes anyone grow closer to God if only they pay attention to their surroundings. Apart from the time set aside for community worship on Tuesdays and Thursdays, UCU has a beautiful compound which is always green and clean. If you are walking around, you notice Scriptures mounted on almost every building. I remember a time I was feeling so low and discouraged, and as I walked through the compound, I stumbled on this Scripture on a building, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25). I had always passed this spot, and I had probably seen the passage many times, but this time I read the Scripture and it came afresh to me and I was encouraged.

I graduated in 2018 with my Masters of Divinity, and in 2019 my bishop placed me in the UCU Chaplaincy to serve. This was a beautiful homecoming for me. The Lord placed on my heart a passion for biblical languages, especially Hebrew, and a desire to help other students through sharing knowledge with them. I enrolled to study at Bishop Tucker again in 2020, this time in the Master of Arts in Theology (Biblical Track). The Bishop Tucker faculty has great men and women (my favourite being a SAMS Missionary, the Rev. Jessica Hughes) who pass on their knowledge of God’s Word, helping us grow in immense ways. I am enjoying my work and my studies tremendously, and I am always looking for ways on how to pour myself out into the lives of students so that we journey and grow together. I am grateful for each day that passes in this community.

God the Alpha and Omega, to Him alone be the Glory!
Rev. Lovincer Katana Kanyike

Get to Know & Support Jessica Hughes

Empowering Students with Gospel Abundance

by Kate Ulrich | Jul 27, 2021 | Africa, Education, Poverty and Development, SAMS Missionaries, Uganda

Above: Mary Chowenhill and Kalo Jusef, a former UCU student from Sudan who equips refugees with entrepreneurship skills.

The economics of God’s abundance fuels SAMS Missionary Mary Chowenhill’s mission work, and also informs the way she counsels entrepreneurship students at Uganda Christian University (UCU). She may not have a car to drive into the city of Kampala, but she sees God’s abundance in neighbors who bring fresh garden produce to her door. A broken hot water heater opens her eyes to God’s provision in a kettle to heat water for her shower. No hot water heater means a lower electric bill, which translates into cash she spends on other things—such as crafts created by a local artisan. Mary does not see the world through the typical economics of scarcity. She sees opportunities to lean on God’s sufficiency. With this experience and mindset, she helps her students start businesses with limited capital.

Mary advises students at UCU’s business incubation center. Edina Kia, a young woman who wanted to start a honey business, only had one hive to start. Now with six hives, Kia is about to sell the fruits of a successful harvest. Another student, Douglas Wegulo, markets char-briquettes made from by-products of sugar and coffee. The briquettes are an alternative fuel to wood—a valuable resource in Uganda. Mary has encouraged Douglas to see that, although he can’t afford two acres of land, the abundancy is in finding like-minded business partners to come alongside him—even if they become competitors someday.

Mary’s mindset is rooted in the Gospel: God’s abundant grace and holiness meets us in our spiritual state of scarcity. This biblical truth touches the lives of students at UCU, which attracts people from across Africa. One of Mary’s students in 2016 was Kalo Jusef, from the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. “Born a Muslim, he converted to Christianity, as did his father and his entire family, as a result of his time here at UCU,” Mary shares. “He came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and started a ministry in Uganda to refugees from Sudan and South Sudan. He provides them with the practical skills they need to develop their own businesses.” Kalo and his wife, Leah, seek to go back to the Nuba Mountains to minister there. We pray that God may continue to send students like Kalo out from UCU to share Gospel hope through their vocations, as His abundance brought Mary to Uganda through senders who partner in her ministry.

Click through the gallery below to see pictures of Edina Kia’s log-beehives, and Douglas Wegulo’s char-briquettes business!

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Learn more about Mary

The Morning of a New Day

by Richard and Catherine Ranger | Jun 28, 2021 | SAMS Missionaries

SAMS is happy to report that Richard and Catherine arrived to serve at Uganda Christian University last week, after a year of delays. Praise be to God! – Communications Coordinator Kate Ulrich

Dear friends –

At last we are in Uganda, all three of us.

Your prayers have carried us over a couple of substantial hiccups and bumps in the road. We have so many people to whom to extend special thanks, starting with our friends Dan and Ann who bailed us out ‘above and beyond’ when we missed our first flight. Dan drove us to and from Dulles twice, and they put us up in their guest room and provided us with two delicious meals and the loan of their car for the last minute tasks of our last morning before departure. Our travel agent who worked the miracle of reticketing us for only a modest change fee. Our friends Phil and Linda, who purchased our car. Our friends Arnold in Montreal and Franklin in Uganda who assisted us in so many ways with rescheduling our Ugandan arrangements. The many people whose services we relied upon to store, ship, and receive donations who were consistently helpful. Our leasing agent Janice who gave us a day’s grace on our move-out. Vanessa at UCU housing who was unfailingly gracious and helpful. Our SAMS missionary colleagues here at UCU, who also went above and beyond. In the several chaotic moments of this relocation, we were blessed by the kindness, grace – and in Dan’s case, strong shoulders – of others. We could not have done this by ourselves – and, in fact, we humbly confess that we didn’t.

Sunday, around 2:00 pm East Africa Time, our KLM flight crossed above the Egyptian coastline above El Alamain, and we entered African air space. Our route ran west of the Nile, over desert, over scrub, and over savannah, and continued over forest as darkness fell. Upon arrival at Entebbe we cleared immigration without issues, and having been both vaccinated and possessing four day old negative PCR tests, we were not quarantined. Instead we headed off to a lovely Entebbe hotel that generous Ugandan friends had arranged for us, and fell into dreamless sleep.

Uganda is in a second round of COVID lockdown, with a 6 am to 7 pm curfew. Personal travel is sharply restricted, and there are police checkpoints everywhere. Tourists must hire a tour operator driver for travel to their destinations. Fortunately – again with the invaluable help of our Uganda friends – we knew one of the best from our 2018 trip, so we had a joyous reunion with our safari driver Robert who took us through a much quieter Kampala than we could have imagined to get to our final destination – the Uganda Christian University campus in Mukono.

Our dog, Trooper, who had a separate flight schedule, was met by the animal expediter’s Ugandan handler and kenneled overnight and, as is his practice, he made friends with the handler’s staff, wagged his tail at everyone, and when let out of his cage, he instantly began to stalk and follow his nose like few dogs they have seen. They delivered him here before we could get here, so our SAMS colleague Jessica Hughes took him. He was delightful company for her and barked at the monkeys from her screened porch. He was overwhelmed by the time Jessica brought him to meet us.

Here at the corner of the UCU campus called Tech Park, Jessica’s warm welcome was echoed by SAMS colleague, next door neighbor, and trove of information Mary, along with our Ugandan neighbors here in little duplex units. One of those neighbors – Immaculate (Ugandan Christian names are wondrous) – made a dinner of simply outstanding matooke (I did not know it could be so), greens, and beef heart. The little children were intimidated by Trooper, who gaily wagged his tail at them. But one, Ebenezer, who will soon be four, told his mother, while hiding behind her legs, that Trooper is his friend. We were also welcomed by a couple of power outages (and it gets cavernously dark if they occur at night) and the shutdown of campus wifi. We are hard by the campus fence, so we hear the voices of the neighborhood across the road (and will hear the noises from a nearby bar when the COVID lockdown comes to an end).

Our UCU hosts set us up with essential furniture and kitchen supplies in our small apartment and delivered the missing bag when it arrived from Amsterdam. We are just beginning to learn our way around the shops of Mukono to purchase such random necessities as Uganda cell phones, a shower curtain, plastic chairs for our patio dining area, and a tea kettle. We have rediscovered that Uganda has simply the most delicious pineapple in the world. We learned how the water heater operates, and the location of the potable water tap about a hundred metres away where we carry our jerry cans. We have been awakened on our first morning by a crackling African thunderstorm (which prompted Trooper to leap onto the bed between us, and on our second morning by the calling of a bird so loud it must have been right under our window. Then come the roosters and the stirring of the people who live across the road outside the campus fence.

It is the morning of a new day.
In faith,
Richard and Catherine

Learn More about our ministry in the UCU Law Department

Stolen Heirlooms and Abundant Life

by Kerry and Cynthia Buttram | Jun 28, 2021 | Europe, SAMS Missionaries, The Church and Evangelism

Dear Praying Friends,

“A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10

The first week of June began as a normal week but quickly became quite the “un-normal” week. Kerry’s family shared with us that Mom B was diagnosed with Stage 4 Mesothelial cancer. At 91 years old, there are not many options at this advanced stage. The next day, I had a bad bicycle accident – the bike went left and I was catapulted right. We thank God that nothing was broken but there was much soreness and bruising. Then, the next day, we heard someone in our bedroom upstairs. (We were in my office, which is just below our bedroom on the next level of the building.) We went into our apartment to find an intruder who had come through a usually-locked chapel door and found his way to our home. We confronted him but somehow he ran past and escaped. He had – in less than 3 minutes – stolen my bank card, family heirloom rings, iPad/keyboard and a few other small items. It became very apparent that our enemy was not happy with how the Father is healing and growing this chaplaincy of three congregations. “For we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) However…the young man who left the inside door unlocked, which gave the thief access, came to apologise for his carelessness. I told him that I forgave him and all was fine and that he was more important than the items stolen. Shocked, he replied that he wouldn’t have forgiven me. Wow! An open door to speak of God! I then shared of God’s love for us and that we must allow God’s love to flow through us. It was a time of rejoicing for me as those paltry, earthly things became a down-payment on this man’s eternal destiny.

Serving, and serving with, these congregations, we have had many sadnesses and many joys. We had the privilege to come to the bedside of a dying friend, pray with her, say our farewells and walk with her daughter in the days since her mother’s Homegoing. There have been ongoing Morning and Evening Prayer, another 24 Hours of Prayer Vigil, The Alpha Course followed by The Prayer Course, and Intercessory Prayer Workshops via Zoom by a dear friend in the USA. We are thrilled to hear so many say their desire is that we are a chaplaincy saturated by prayer.

As Covid restrictions are loosening, we are now meeting physically in three locations with limited numbers and precautions. Once a month there is a joint service. Our tech team has made it possible to have those who cannot come participate on Zoom so they feel a part of the congregations gathered. Open Wednesdays are bringing neighbours and visitors as well as congregants who wish to fellowship. This autumn will be the 250th year since worship began in our Groenburgwal building so we are working toward an event that will celebrate God’s faithfulness. During the past 12 months financial support has decreased. This is not surprising with the uncertainty of these Covid times and job losses. Prayers are much appreciated and, if so led, please invest in this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic ministry.

Highlighted below are a few of the wonderful blessings of God we have recently experienced in the chaplaincy of Christ Church. Thank you for your prayers, words of encouragement and faithful giving.

With love, Cynthia (for both)

Praises! and Prayer Needs

• Several new members for Council and Leadership Teams! (We are still in need of a Safeguarding officer for Centre and Zuidoost (Southeast) and the building up of Kids’ Church)
• Healing of hearts and relationships in the Chaplaincy
• Wisdom for the Council, Mission Leadership Teams, and the Search Committee for a new chaplain
• Provision to continue ministry here in the Netherlands
• A desire of many in the chaplaincy who long for a broader and deeper prayer ministry

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Healing Dreams During A Pandemic

by Denise Cox | Jun 25, 2021 | Missionary Discernment, SAMS Missionaries

By Denise Cox, SAMS Associate Director

Early in the pandemic I awoke startled by my vivid dream – a dream in which I was once again talking and laughing with a dear friend who has been dead for several years. It seemed so real and so wonderful that I immediately wondered what was the meaning of this night reverie. I turned to God in contemplation and prayer. At once I knew. I was missing very important people in my life. I was longing for close relationships, for church family and work family. This “covid-dream” revealed my deep longings.

Soon I found out that I wasn’t the only person having dreams that God was using during COVID-19 isolation. A missionary in Africa told me he dreamed that he and his wife were in a road race. They felt excitement to be at the head of the race until they ran low on gas and pulled over to a gas station. The pumps were closed and they watched in dismay as the other racers sped by. Then they looked up to see that there had been an explosion ahead on the road, and they had been spared driving right into it. The missionary awoke feeling God’s protection and providence. He rested in the knowledge that God provided guidance and that God was aware of his frustrations in the midst of a pandemic.

Yet another missionary related a reassuring dream that she had during the pandemic. She had formerly served as a missionary teacher in Latin America. Currently in the U.S., she longed to return but wondered if she was even wanted. She received an invitation to judge an international spelling bee on a virtual platform. The school at which she had taught was the host of this competition. In the midst of the preparations for the event, she dreamed she had returned to the school. The students were waiting for her and welcoming her. She awoke, feeling that God sent her a message. She had a renewed sense that her time of missionary service wasn’t over.

What about you? Has God spoken to your spirit during the pandemic with a meaningful dream? Let me know. I will share these encouragements with others.

Following God’s Agenda: Todd and Patsy McGregor’s Journey in Missionary Service

by Kate Ulrich | Jun 3, 2021 | Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, Missionary Discernment, SAMS Missionaries

SAMS is excited to announce the availability of two Missions Coaches for prospective missionaries seeking counsel in their discernment journey. Missions Coach Sarah Blaine is a former missionary to Cambodia who now lives in Colorado, church-planting with her husband, Jesse. Missions Coach Bishop Todd McGregor is a former missionary to Madagascar, and now lives in Florida with his wife Patsy.

Missionary service always has its share of ups, downs, and surprises. All in all, God is faithful and has a beautiful purpose for all who surrender themselves to Him. Read about the journey God has had for Todd and Patsy McGregor below.

The one chapel service Todd McGregor missed in college turned out to be the one that changed his life. A chapel speaker at his Bible college had invited students to go to Nepal on a mission trip. The speaker caused such a buzz on campus that all his friends were talking about this call to go to Nepal, to minister in a place where it is against the law to share your faith and baptize. Despite his not going to chapel that day, the invitation caught Todd’s attention. He encouraged his friends to go, “That’s really good, you guys should do that.” He said he wasn’t interested. Yet the Lord kept bringing this back to him. Todd had felt a pull towards ministry as a teenager while exploring a remote, roadside graveyard with his father. The following words drawn from scripture were on one of the stones: My friends of mine hear my voice, you are my friends if you do what I command. “I sensed that the Lord was calling me to serve him,” Todd recalls.

He felt the call again in college: “Isn’t it interesting that the Lord showed me something earlier in life, and that He kept bringing it back. I kept hearing about Nepal, and I said no, no, I’m not going to do this, and eventually I made a deal with God. I thought it was impossible and would never work out. I said to God, ‘If you can convince my parents to say “yeah, you can go to Nepal and do what’s illegal and there’s a possibility you might get thrown in prison,” if they’ll approve it, and Lord, if you can raise this money, I will go.’ Wouldn’t you know, that the Lord worked this all out: that when I called my parents, they were very encouraging. People started giving, and the money all came in. So, I went to Nepal, trusting and really believing that it was the Lord who was calling me. I was open to whatever he wanted me to do. That was the neat part of experiencing missionary life: being open, not coming with any agenda.

“We knew there was a big risk; we knew there was a big chance we would be thrown into prison. But we trusted in the Lord. If he opened this door, then he would show the way. I was with a group that travelled through Western Nepal — we were able to pray for people, and miracles happened. We saw people come to faith. We were stopped and put in prison, but our trust was in the Lord during this whole time.” The Lord opened doors for Todd to go to Nepal, his release from prison, the Gospel to be spread, and seeds of future calling to be planted in his heart.

After Todd got back from Nepal, finished college, and met and married his wife, Patsy, the Lord continued to tug on his heart for overseas missions. As they both studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, Dr. Bill Taylor’s teaching on missions brought Todd’s mind back to his experiences in Nepal. Todd sensed a call from God to serve overseas as he studied for a Master of Divinity. Patsy, happy to take advantage of opportunities where the Lord led Todd, studied for a Master of Arts in Religion. Meanwhile, the Lord blessed them with two daughters. As they looked to the mission field, neither Todd nor Patsy could see the discouragements they were to face or the unexpected developments in their callings — but they followed their Good Shepherd.

At the time, Patsy felt one clear calling — to be married to Todd, supporting him in his calling as a missionary. Yet this was not a shallow commitment on her part. As they prepared to go to Madagascar, she brought her whole self to the support-raising process with Todd. Not all their loved ones wanted to let them go overseas, and some even opposed their plans. Yet for Todd and Patsy the call became clear. With their departure date approaching soon, they still needed to raise significant funds. They went on a bike ride to pray and process the challenge facing them. Patsy was confident: “I just believed that if God was going to have us go to the mission field, that he would raise up [the support]. We got on the phone and asked people: ‘If you believe this is what God has called us to do, then can you please send us something just to confirm that? And if you don’t, that’s all right, because we’re seeking God’s will.’ And everybody [we called] was very, very much in favor of it. But we had to ask: ‘Do you believe God’s called us? And if so, send something in. It could be 20 bucks, but it’s just saying you believe.’” After these prayerful efforts, God brought in $45,000 in 10 days! Todd and Patsy headed to Madagascar with their two young daughters, ages 11 months and two years.

Todd encourages prospective missionaries: “If God calls you, He will open up a means for this to happen. One thing we have learned over the years — A lot of people say, ‘Lord we want you to open the door.’ Maybe part of it is saying, ‘The door’s already open. Lord, if you don’t want us to go, close it.’ It means we have to step out in faith and trust Him.”

Todd originally shrank back from the idea of ordination. He wished simply to serve as a lay person among the Malagasy people. Yet during the first three years, the archbishop in Madagascar, The Most Rev. Remi Rabenirina, (who was also his bishop on the field) pushed him to get ordained. Todd submissively entered into the process. He expected to get a lot of pushback from his home bishop back in the USA, The Rt. Rev. Calvin Schofield, and thought that might be the silver lining to sidestep this calling. Indeed, Todd did experience a lot of pushback, and he was doubtful he would become ordained. He was in for a surprise, however. When Todd met with Bishop Schofield back in the USA one last time, the bishop opened up the door and said, “We’re gonna make this happen.” What a shock! The Lord had the door to ordination open, and by His grace, Todd walked through it.

Together, Todd and Patsy spent their first 11 missionary years in the capital city of Madagascar, Antananarivo (Tana), opening up health clinics, starting churches, and training leaders in evangelism. Life in a poor city required self-sacrifice and endurance. They saw Christ’s hope transform people’s lives, and the communal culture of the Malagasy began to change the McGregors deeply.

Patsy had her own share of surprises in her calling. While in Madagascar, Patsy had a dream that she was supposed to become a priest. She woke up a bit befuddled, telling Todd about it. Todd responded, “Yeah, I think so. I think that’s right.” Patsy pocketed that dream, unsure of what the Lord was doing in her. In 2002, the McGregor family moved to southern Kenya to enroll their daughters at an international high school. Patsy served at St. Julian’s Centre, an Anglican retreat and conference center, where she experienced great joy serving and equipping the Christian community. The archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, The Most Rev. Benjamin Nzimbi, saw Patsy’s ministry and encouraged her to become ordained. Patsy was already prepared for this step thanks to God’s leading in her graduate education 15 years prior. When she had studied for her Master of Arts in Religion, she didn’t have a clear purpose for it. Today she says: “I needed that training, and I didn’t know exactly why I needed that training, but I was glad for it. There’s never a scrap wasted. God will always use it, however he is equipping you.” She also followed Todd into doctoral studies through Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Patsy’s attitude was: “I’ll just sort-of tag along and do the same thing. And it ended up being good because the Lord was always allowing me to be trained in ways that I wouldn’t necessarily have pursued in my own self.”

Todd was uncomfortable in Kenya at first. The ministry environment at St. Julian’s was unlike what he had been used to during their first 11 years in Madagascar. After nine months of searching for purpose, he was given the opportunity to travel to northern Kenya for a few days per week, helping with church planting and evangelism in a primarily Muslim territory. His name was put on a hit list and he needed armed guards, but the lives changed in Christ were worth it.

Rev. Todd and now Rev. Patsy were quite content and fulfilled ministering in Kenya. Yet God had more plans for them. One day, Todd got an email from a delegate of the Diocese of Antananarivo in Madagascar. They wanted him to submit his name for election to be Assistant Bishop, in view of starting a new diocese in Toliara, southern Madagascar. Todd reflects: “One has to be open minded on the mission field. Whatever you think you’re going to do — my experience has been — very seldom does it turn out that way.” Todd did submit his name and was elected. Patsy was stunned. She had just reached an exciting ministry season in Kenya. Her ministry would have to look very different in Madagascar. Their daughters were reaching adulthood, and Patsy was on the verge of empty-nesting. What would be her purpose in Toliara? How would she cope with living in an even more destitute part of Madagascar than before?

You will need to read Patsy’s book, Tamana: At Home in Africa (Xulon Press, 2013), to get the full answer to that question. However, we can put a snapshot here. Residing in Toliara tested Patsy with dramatic changes to her lifestyle. They lived in a cramped apartment, which they nicknamed “the box.” Conditions of heartbreaking poverty surrounded them in a hot, humid slum with many strange odors and activities. Yet when the joy of surrender to God’s will found Patsy, she was able to say: “Looking back on the first weeks and months in Ankilifaly [the slum in Toliara], things that had made no sense at the time became vividly clear. Had I not lived in ‘the box’ I would not have understood God’s complete calling on my life.” (Tamana, p. 102)

The McGregor's neighborhood in Ankilifary

Todd and Patsy found it exceedingly worthwhile to live among the Malagasy people again. The friendly, open-souled people of Toliara were hungry not only for food but also for the Lord. In her book, Patsy shares about one Malagasy woman:

“It wasn’t a Mercedes or even a two-wheeled bicycle. She was saving for a prayer book. Having just been given a Bible, her smile spread from ear to ear. ‘Now,’ she said in Malagasy, ‘all I need to save for is a Book of Common Prayer.’ Its equivalency in U.S. dollars would be a cup of gourmet coffee – a grande latte at a specialty shop. For her, it was a week’s wages, that is, if she had a job. In the meantime, she hoped to gather and sell a few used discarded plastic water bottles and save for a Book of Common Prayer. I don’t know how she did it. Perhaps she was able to wash some family’s clothing to bring in a few earnings. A while later, I saw her turning the crisp pages in her prized new Book of Common Prayer. I had been shown through her sacrifice and perseverance the precious value of prayer.” (Tamana, p. 110)

The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Malagasy of Toliara. When Todd and Patsy began ministering there, the diocese started with 11 churches and about 300 people. As of December 2020, when the McGregor’s moved to Florida after 14 years in Toliara, there were 110 churches and 10,000 communicants (people partaking in Holy Communion). Clergy of the Diocese of Toliara, now led by the recently installed Malagasy Bishop Samitiana Jhonson Razafindralambo, baptized 1,189 people in February 2021! [Read more, from SAMS Missionary to Madagascar Jacky Lowe, here.]

Bishop Todd and Rev. Patsy are now serving Christ’s kingdom from Florida after 30 years overseas. Patsy is Director of Spiritual Formation at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Stuart, a sending church that supported them on the mission field. Looking back on her challenging experiences, Patsy sees how God has equipped her to show pastoral care to American parishioners struggling through the pandemic.

Todd is continuing as a SAMS Missionary in multiple roles as a coach, discipler, and mentor. If the Holy Spirit is tugging on your heart to serve His kingdom as a missionary, then Todd, in his SAMS Missions Coach role, would love to talk with you. He is here to help you in the missionary discernment process. You may reach him at: toddmcgregor@sams-usa.org.

Get to know our other Missions Coach, Sarah Blaine, here. You may email her at sarahblaine@sams-usa.org.

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