As the finish line of 2024 comes into view, Jacob and I would like to update you on recent events and highlight upcoming events that will be a “baton pass” into the New Year–2025!
On the heels of a very successful and inspiring 2nd Dental Clinic, we received 3 members of the McComas family (2nd generation missionaries to South Africa). Wade and two of his five children made the trek (by plane) to visit us here at RAU. Also in company was our dear friend, Caleb Mitchell, who with his wife and children, served for many years as ABWE missionaries in Uganda. As usual, Jacob filled the itinerary full to the brim so they got the broad spectrum of RAU’s ministry in this region.
This broad spectrum of experience included their first night an all-night-long (or ‘trans night‘ as they say here) blaring, disco-music, sleep disruption!! The next day (Saturday) we traveled to Bidi Bidi Refugee settlement, Zone 2, to attend a graduation organized by our dear brother, co-worker and good friend, Joshua Abraham, from Darfur Sudan who lives in Bidi bidi Zone 1. He has been key in promoting a reading culture among Christian leaders in the camps. African culture is also a celebrating culture–so this occasion was marked by a marching band leading the graduates through the town and back to the church building where the graduation ceremony was held.
Over a 100 church leaders have done the one-year study in the last two-year period. This group went through 15 theological books from RAU in 2024. The great need in the regions where we work is mature and biblically sound leaders for the rapidly growing church in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Joshua is great example fleshing out 2 Timothy 2:2. He is a dear friend and faithful coordinator, bringing Sudanese to RAU for training in the Hall of Tyrannus, training leaders in refugee resettlement camps and helping us get Study Bibles, Bibles, and theological books into the camps to leaders, as well as into both South and North Sudan.
These are the books which they covered over the course of the year:
“9 Marks of a Healthy Church; 20 Attributes of a Godly Man; Do You Believe?; Family Life of a Christian Leader; Pastoral Preaching (Building a People For God); God’s Design for the Church in Africa; 40 Questions about Biblical Interpretation; Theology of Suffering; Dangerous Calling (Pastoral Ministry); Biblical Leadership; Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus; Expositional Preaching; Tools for Understanding God’s Word; The Richest Man in Babylon; New Testament Messages”.
WOW!!!
What a gift it is to the Body of Christ to have leaders shaped by Christ-centered teaching and which roots them deeper into God’s word!
For Sunday prayers we met up with our brothers and sisters from Gbari, Arapi, Duku and Oyo–the ‘northern‘ side of the Metu Mountains, a mountain-top away from South Sudan. Wade preached the message from the word as it was translated into Ma’di and Gbari.
Without slowing the pace, we set off for Yumbe on Monday morning to meet with our brother and friend, Charles as well as with Omar and his family. After a meal at Charles’ home and an opportunity to hear their stories, we met with several Sheiks from the community, including the District Khard. Wade’s children chose a day free of dust and rough roads to, instead, spend part of the day with Zakeo (our Agricultural Production Officer) and learn about grafted mangoes–as well as enjoy some! As for the rest of us, at the end of the day, we showered off layers of orange dust and nursed weary bodies at war with the potholes.
Tuesday was MY day to skip out on the day’s activity–hiking down into “Pristine“!! Not only have I seen it before, but I also remember the climb back UP the mountain!! However, Wade and the two kiddos enjoyed the hiking and getting to meet people from the hills and valleys of the Metu Mountains. (Jacob amazes me that, at 69, he still finds the energy to face the rigors of driving and hiking.) At each of the church plants, Oku/Lea, Cinyi (“Chinyi“), and Ijujo, they gathered for a short time with members there and, in Aya, Pastor Tobious and wife, Beatrice, served them a meal. Since I did not go along, there are few photos to document the day!
On Wednesday–MAN!–just like that the visit was over and we were taking the McComas family back to the Moyo Airfield for their return to South Africa. It’s amazing how little time it takes to get to know and love people when you spend meaningful time with them. We hope they come back again–with the WHOLE family.
Along the way (since our return to RAU from the States), we have been enthusiastically handing out the 20,000 ESV Pew (Paperback) Bibles which we received for free from ChristianBook International Outreach. Because we want to emphasize ownership, we have asked for each person to give 1,000 Ugandan Shillings (which equals about 27 cents) for each Bible which they are happy to do because that is a reachable goal for everyone. Pastors are buying these books by the box to ensure that every member in their congregation has a Bible. They are also being handed out to Secondary School Students who use them for group studies and in prisons to prisoners who have trusted in Christ.
While every Bible is a great gift where such a resource is rare or expensive, our big push is for the AFRICA STUDY BIBLE (ASB). It is a New Living Translation version in British English (spelling and vocabulary) and is an easier-to-understand version for those who know English as a second language. In addition, the study helps are particularly apropos to African believers in their context. The ASB contains “2600 study tools and notes from 350 contributors from 50 countries, reflecting unique African insights and experiences.” Jacob has been using this version over the last year and reports great encouragement and insight. He is keen on getting a copy of this Bible into the hands of, especially, church leaders. Our hope is to bring 20, 040 copies to RAU–printed in and sent from India to Mombasa, Kenya, and then carried by truck directly to the RAU campus. There are 4 containers at RAU sitting with shelving ready to store them safely from the elements and pests (rats and termites)!! There is more information at one of our web page “20,040 Africa Study Bibles to R.A.U.”
Coming up this weekend, Jacob and I will be heading to Yumbe for a Youth Conference on Evangelism. Charles expects there to be around 100 youth in attendance. Both Jacob and I will be teaching on relevant topics. We will also go to a village market place to share the good message of Christ one-on-one with people there. Then, Jacob and Charles will climb atop the Land Cruiser and preach their hearts out! Afterward, we hope to show the Jesus film in Aringa to the gathered crowd. On Sunday morning, Jacob will preach from God’s word in a local church in Yumbe district. Please pray for these events and encounters. Ultimately, we need the Holy Spirit to open hearts, open eyes to a new Kingdom and its King. We simply want to be faithful to keep bringing the word of truth to them, trusting that God will do what He wills in the “other sheep“ that He wants to bring into the fold.
Since our move here to Reaching Africa’s Unreached the Lord opened the door many times for conferences, dialogs with Imams and Sheikhs, one on one evangelism in the markets, open air preaching market centers and the showing of the “Jesus” film among Aringa in Yumbe District. Below are some photos from those times.
The longer we are here, the more clearly we understand the marathon nature of RAU’s goal. In our reading together through a book called, “Great Commission Spirituality“, by E. D. Burns, Jacob and I both resonated with what the author wrote about Luther’s life:
“Luther realized he would need the courage to endure for a long life of routine discipleship, church order, and pastoral care. The sweetness of abiding in Christ, maturing in that union, and teaching families to enjoy their life in Christ became Luther’s mainstay. That was his table talk. He had to cultivate the humility and the courage to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Indeed, Luther had to come to terms with the fact that the work would still exist generations after him. It would be a bitter struggle till Christ returns. He had no categories for any sort of triumphalist Christianization of the world to usher in the return of Christ. Luther had to learn to rest in Christ as his life. Luther confessed that Christ is the King of his kingdom. He alone builds his church. We may be ambassadors of the King, but we don’t build his kingdom.”
As we continue to set our sights on and pursue the long term mission and vision of RAU, it also means we must pursue tangibles like work permits, NGO renewals, and other such bureaucratic necessities. Just recently, our request for permanent residency work permits was submitted to the Ugandan Immigration Office. If our applications are approved, it would mean we have entrance into Uganda for the next 10 years or even, potentially, indefinitely. We are able to seek this kind of visa because of living here as long as we have. With Christmas approaching, the process may be delayed until January. We would love to have this issue resolved before then. Please pray with us that the process will not be delayed or blocked. There is still much to do–we cannot say, “It is finished“. Of course, we do not have complete control over what we can and cannot accomplish–the Lord knows and has the final say over our lives and fruitfulness, but we want to run the race with faithful endurance and stay on course as long as He gives us energy to do so.
Please pray with us for a few other things as well and consider partnering with us financially to see them realized. Though we are not ashamed about the things for which we ask your help, we do worry that you will grow weary in hearing yet another appeal. The needs are overwhelming and we seek only to address ones which have life and wellbeing implications, whether physical or spiritual.
Please pray for and consider giving toward the total dollar amount for the Africa Study Bibles so they can be shipped to us soon and then be distributed carefully.
Please pray for and consider giving toward the borehole (water well) in Cinyi (Chinyi) whose pipes have corroded because of the high iron content in the water. They are back to collecting water out of a hole where water seeps up through the ground. (A few have donated, but we have not reached the $1100 needed to replace the pipes with stainless steel ones.).
Back to the Chinyi Water hole
This is from one of Jacob’s posts: “Shortly after the Lord birthed the Cinyi Community Church deep in the remote Metu Mountains 9 years ago, I went to see where the Cinyi community members were getting their water. It was important as there were so many health issues, especially among the children. When I saw where they were getting the water, I even wondered that there were not more illnesses.
“Soon thereafter, the Lord opened a way for us to find water and drill a well. Since then, they have had clean water and they have maintained the borehole. The health of the community changed drastically and the door was opened more for proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, when I visited the church last week, the elders informed me that the pipes were pulled and many holes were found . They were told it was because of the iron in the water. The many times I drank from it I could taste it but did not think much of it. Long story short, they are back at the hole collecting water.“
Jacob and I would like to wish you all a blessed Christmas Celebration and a blessed New Year. We pray that you would “run with endurance” with joy for the sake of eternally important priorities and plans. We pray that each of us would fight the good fight, finish the race and remain faithful by looking to the prize–which is God, Himself!
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” Galatians 6:9-10
“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
Reaching Africa's Unreached 