Five Day Dental Clinic at R.A.U.
Carol and I trust you all had a blessed Thanksgiving! We have an abundance to be thankful for, as expressed in “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were NOT a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). May our good Lord guide us all to live in a spirit of gratitude for God’s mercy, grace, and the gifts meant to direct our hearts back to the Giver of these treasures.
“…Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. ..” (2 Corinthians 6:10.) Carol and I are diligently growing in our understanding of this profound verse. One might assume that missing holidays with family, mainly Thanksgiving and Christmas, would become easier over time, but the reality is quite the opposite—our heartache deepens. Yet, at the same time, our hearts swell with joy as we serve as ambassadors for the King among those who have little to no witness of Jesus’ love shown through His sacrifice to redeem, reconcile, and justify His people. “…Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. ..”! Please view this not as a complaint but as a prayer request for us to experience the peace mentioned in 2 Corinthians 6:10, which is essential for all who recognize that we are pilgrims on this earth.
On Thanksgiving Day, we were blessed to host 21 students from ACTS Bible School Adjumani, along with our RAU staff. We focused on our necessity of being good “Bereans” (Acts 17:11-12), understanding proper biblical hermeneutics, and emphasizing “What Is the Gospel?” Each student received a study Bible and theological resources. We also spent some time in RAU’s grafted mango orchard to receive instruction from RAU’s agricultural officer, Zackeo.
Thanksgiving day training at RAU
In Carol’s last blog post/newsletter on November 16th, she highlighted several prayer requests for upcoming events—some have already occurred, while others await us. By the end of this week, she will have crafted a comprehensive blog post filled with pictures and updates regarding answered prayers. Until then, here’s a brief “snapshot“.
One, from November 18-22, we successfully hosted our second dental clinic in partnership with “Hope Smiles Jinja.” During the five-day dental clinic at RAU, we experienced a mix of gladness and sadness. On the clinic’s final day, people arrived at the gate as early as 4 AM, and we reached the maximum capacity by 7 AM. A remarkable 558 individuals received the invaluable gift of dental care this week. While this brings immense joy, the fact that we had to turn away so many due to exceeding our daily limit of 110+ patients is a cause for sorrow.
This situation underscores a HUGE need for dental care in our region (RAU is located in northern Moyo district, Uganda, just a few kilometers from South Sudan) and the necessity for a permanent dental clinic. Several people from the community stated very emphatically that we have really found the point of need. At the very least, we must increase the frequency of visits from Hope Smiles! It costs RAU about $5,000 for each five-day clinic, amounting to less than $10 per person for services ranging from cleanings to fillings, root canals, veneers, and extractions. This is simply astounding! With several thousand additional dollars, we could double the Hope Smiles team and greatly increase the number of patients seen in just five days. We urge you to consider contributing to future dental clinics, bringing hope and beautiful smiles to those in need!
Showing Jesus’ love through dentistry
Dental Video One: “Hope and a Smile on the Uganda/South Sudan Border” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkFxkhLvOsI
Dental Video Two: “Appeal for Funds for Larger Scale Dental Clinic” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6OQWDBcswY
Two, by God’s grace, we distributed around 5,000 of the 20,000 ESV Pew Paperbacks available in our resource center to students, church members, prison ministry workers, and church leaders. Additionally, everyone who received dental care at the clinic was also given one of these Bibles and dual language tracts.
Secondary students rejoicing after receiving bibles
Three, numerous theological resources continue to be distributed to church leaders weekly.
Video: “Bibles, resource center and more”
Theological resources at RAU for church leaders
Four, it’s inspiring to witness firsthand accounts of those who have received training actively embodying 2 Timothy 2:2, which is RAU’s primary mission and vision. Samuel Misengile is doing this in Northeastern D.R. Congo. Sam, a Congolese who worked closely with us over the years, remains a dear friend. It is a tremendous joy to see him teaching others what he has learned. From time to time, we have been able to provide him with theological materials in French and a significant supply of French Bibles, as French is widely spoken in his area. Joshua Abraham is also putting into practice 2 Timothy 2:2 in the BidiBidi refugee resettlement camp reaching church leaders from both South and North Sudan.
Five, we are diligently praying and working towards acquiring many Africa Study Bibles for church leaders at our resource center. Will you join our effort? –> “20,040 Africa Study Bibles to R.A.U.“
Six, Carol and I praise the Lord that we are ABWE associate missionaries while continuing our role as RAU missionaries. We see this as God’s direction to fulfill the mission/vision of Reaching Africa’s Unreached. Please keep the Langworthy and Pryce families in your prayers as they raise support to join us as long-term missionaries. We are excited about Dr. E.D. Burns joining ABWE as our Executive Director of Training and Development. Carol and I have been greatly encouraged by E.D.’s books. Paul Davis, President of ABWE, notes that E.D. brings “over 20 years of experience in missions and theological education. Dr. Burns is a missionary-theologian whose passion for integrating biblical spirituality and missiological practice will help ABWE rise as a global leader in equipping and supporting gospel-centered laborers.”
Seven, in closing, whenever we consider our contributions to missions, whether foreign or domestic, it is crucial to prayerfully assess whether our support genuinely aids or inadvertently causes harm. Carol and I have found particular books incredibly insightful in our journey as long-term missionaries, serving in an area with significant spiritual and physical needs. Each book below provides unique perspectives we believe can greatly benefit others. Notably, Helping Without Hurting in Africa has become a foundational text in our training modules at the Hall of Tyrannus.
As we approach the final month of 2024, we invite you to partner with Reaching Africa’s Unreached (RAU) in our mission and vision. However, I must emphasize that supporting RAU should not divert your giving from your local church or other Christ-exalting mission work.
Above all, we request your prayers. Please pray that we will be good stewards, filled with God’s wisdom as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your consideration and partnership!
Jacob and Carol Lee
www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org
“What we do now in the Lord and for Him will echo throughout eternity for His praise and honor….all else is dust in the wind!” (Jacob Lee)
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“It is our conviction that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16) and we have been entrusted to proclaim it passionately and rightly. Our dependence is upon the Holy Spirit for the power to preach, teach, live and endure all things for the sake of the elect. (1 Timothy 2:10). As Christians, we are called to lay down our lives so that the Gospel will be preached to all. As ones who are confident in God’s sovereignty and passionate for His glory we seek to reach the many that have never heard of the Savior and His work of reconciliation. We understand that this work cannot be accomplished in our own strength but only through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. The means He uses in His people are cross-centered living, sacrificial and loving service, Bible-soaked preaching/teaching, fervent intercessory prayer, and Christ-likeness.” (From Reaching Africa’s Unreached Mission & Vision Statement)
Checks also may be written out to “RAU” and sent to our secretary Beth and she will deposit them into RAU’s account : Lifegate-RAU, 395 Lifegate Ln., Seguin, TX. 78155
Mission & Vision Statements: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/about/
Mercy Ministries: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/agriculture-project/
Blog Posts: www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org
RAU’s YouTube Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRmHafoBSemE7jS8kEHCG6Q/videos
RAU Donation Page : https://reachingafricasunreached.org/donations/
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RAU is in partnership with ABWE
Our ABWE Personal Donation Page: https://give.abwe.org/worker/2125
Our RAU/ABWE Uganda Ministry Operations/Projects Page: https://give.abwe.org/projects/rau-uganda-short-term-teams
Carol and I are grateful to be Associate Missionaries with ABWE. Video Interview: What does it mean to be an Associate Missionary with ABWE?
Reaching Africa's Unreached 