We are off!

We are about to get on our plane in Minneapolis headed to Amsterdam. Thank you to all of you who have helped us to get to this point. Some of you have counseled us, some have encouraged us, some have contributed financially, and many of you have prayed for us Thank you so much.

I am also thankful to Judy who has done the lions share ( I am thinking African already) of the preparations over the last few weeks and especially the last few days. We both have a peaceful heart as we begin this next step walking with the Lord. As I have prayed about this trip, God has said to me, “Come and see”. So we embark with great anticipation to see what he is up to in Uganda. Please continue to pray that we would see what we need to see, hear what we need to hear, and have hearts that are willing to follow. We are also asking God to cross our path with those whom he is drawing to Jesus and those who need to know his deep, deep love.

7 days to Uganda

One week from today we will be on the ground in Uganda on our vision trip. It has been over 6 months since Ben applied for the job on the EMI website. On the one hand it feels like a really long 6 months, but on the other hand we can hardly believe we will be there in 7 days.

Please go to the EMI Uganda Vision Trip tab to learn more about EMI and how you can you can help us on this trip and in discerning if Uganda is a place we can join God in the way he has made us.

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Pursuing the hearts of the next generation

Demographics tell us a lot about Uganda.  48% of Ugandans are age 0 to 14, and another 21% are 15-24 (CIA statistics).  I am pretty sure I read someplace that 28% of the population is 15-25 years old, but I can’t find where I read that.  So 69% of the population is 24 years old or younger, and maybe 76% of the population is 25 years old or younger.   Think about that for a moment.  A country with few skilled people to pass on those skills to the next generation.  A country with few Christian elders to mentor the next generation, but also a country that is currently very open to the Gospel.  What an opportunity!

Many Ugandans claim to be Christians but also follow more typical African beliefs that a man’s value is determined by the number of children he has.  This has lead to polygamy being accepted, and a very sexually promiscuous society.  This has contributed to the continued devastation from AIDS, a major reason for the lack of people over 25 years old.

Many people in there early 20’s have not yet settled in their hearts what they believe about God and eternity.  That leaves 7 out of 10 Ugandans potentially still searching for truth.  From what we have learned so far it looks like God is at work in Uganda pursuing the hearts of this next generation.  There seems to be a hunger for the Gospel, discipleship and pastor training.

Judy and I have been exploring a couple of ways we might join Jesus in what He is up to in Uganda.  We will be leaving for Uganda May 24th and returning June 5th.  The purpose of our trip is to see if God is calling us there.

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