Dan and RosieButton - Uganda |
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Prayer Letter July 2008
Dear Everyone,
Sunny greetings to you all from Uganda.
Family Matters…
As you can see our children are enjoying all that life here has to offer, including playing in a truly beautiful mud-bath, and collecting pets from the garden: an orange snake which they named Heston – we only kept him for three days both because we weren’t sure if he was poisonous, and we didn’t know what to feed him. The snake was our second reptile “pet”, having kept a chameleon for a few weeks last year. Abigail especially is a great animal-lover and is now considering being a zoo-keeper, whilst Alex is sticking with the archaeologist plan. This month Abigail has her 8th birthday. She is losing lots of teeth and looks all sweet and gappy! They are both well and full of energy.
Thank you for your prayers for my involvement in the working group on Religion at Ambrosoli (the children’s school). I was encouraged by the parents’ responses to the questionnaire which showed that parents on the whole do want religion to play a part at school. Our group is now writing up our recommendations, but the board will make the decisions on the school’s policy over the next couple of months. Please pray for a positive outcome of this process.
The traffic on the road to Kampala is steadily getting worse as hundreds of cars are being imported every month. We now leave home at 7.15 in the morning to get to school by 8.15. (If you know me (Rosie) well you know this is not good!!) Please keep praying for safety and patience as we drive. Next term we should be able to start lift-sharing which will help enormously. As with everywhere fuel prices are rising which is hitting us hard.
We have had visitors from England and America in the last few weeks, including the youth worker from one of our link churches, All Saints Preston, and Malcolm and Dolly Reid from Christchurch in Boston, the church which built the house we live in. He came for the consecration of a village church which they were involved with building. It has been fun and encouraging to see them (and good for our chocolate consumption!)
University Life…
At the same time we are in the midst of a busy term. Both Dan and I are preaching (Dan several times) in chapel this month and would appreciate prayer as we prepare and speak. Dan has also been elected chairman of a society for promoting dialogue between Christianity and science (called the African Areopagus Society), which many of our lecturers and students in theology and science subjects belong to. They have lunchtime discussions on topics such as Christians and global warming, genetic modification, and creation and evolution, among others.
This is Amos Turyahabwe, with his son Taremwa. Amos is Dan’s right hand in the Foundation Studies Department, and a good friend. Dan is slowly handing over more of the responsibility of the department to him. Please pray for Dan and Amos as they lead this vital part of the university’s work. Recently the Bishop of Kampala, Bishop Zac said that he regarded the Foundation Courses as the most important work that the university does, in giving all our students (ie those not in theology) an exposure to the whole Bible and the Christian faith. Please pray for the lecturers and tutors who take the students through these courses, that they will be guided as they teach, and that many students will come to faith during their time here.
Dismas is one of our former Theology students who is now a tutor in the Foundation Biblical courses. He is also taking a part-time MA in Counseling. Please pray for him that God will guide his future, as we feel he has a great ministry ahead of him but he is not sure where that will be.
There are plans afoot to build a large new library, since the one we have is still the (slightly-extended) one left over from the days when we were a Theological College – and so much too small. This library is the biggest single building work the university has undertaken. Thankfully the architect’s plans are being given pro bono to support the university. Please pray for the fundraising for this much-needed project.
Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology… (aka “The School”…)
Thank you for praying for the group of students who finished and graduated in June. Our new intake of theology students, a large group of over sixty, has started now. Pray for them that they will learn and grow spiritually during their time here. Please pray for the lecturers, Alfred, Olivia, Edison, Moses, Christopher, Michael, Milly, Daniel and Dan, that their teaching would always build up and serve to equip these men and women for their future ministry. The Women in Ministry Fellowship is over twenty now and we have had some great meetings already this term, including some very open discussions which they would never have in a mixed group here. Please pray that these meetings will be an encouragement to them all, as they are to me.
The Wider World…
This month our Vice-Chancellor Stephen Noll, and many of the Ugandan bishops and our Archbishop Henry Orombi, as well as our Crosslinks General Secretary Andy Lines, are all attending the Global Anglican Future conference in Jerusalem. We are praying for them and also for Zimbabwe in this crucial and awful time. Please pray for the Anglican Christians and their leaders in Harare who are facing great difficulties, for courage and perseverance for them all.
Thank you as always for all your prayers, gifts and letters, which we value very much,
With our love and prayers,
Rosie Dan Abigail and Alex. xxxx