John Patterson - Uganda |
 |
Prayer Letter September 2008
Dear Friends,
Hello again. I thoroughly enjoyed a month of leave in the UK during the summer, and it was lovely to see some of you in person. Thanks to all of you who offered hospitality and helped with arrangements in various ways. Thank you all also for your continued financial and other support.
The day before I left Uganda I attended, on 3 June, the annual Uganda Martyrs celebrations at Namugongo, not far from Kampala. It recalls how an initial welcome to the Christian Gospel in the 1870’s turned sour when there was a change of leadership in the country. Some thirty to forty Christians were put to death, the youngest being just eleven years old. It was sobering to be at the place where this had happened, but encouraging to reflect that the church had not only survived, but actually flourished in the years that followed. The persecution of Christians in a number of different countries at the moment reminds us that such opposition is not limited to the distant past.
Things here are fine. I had a second, milder, brush with malaria soon after getting back but I had learned the lesson of getting treatment quickly after the first time. In August the remaining TEE students sat their last exams (barring the need for any re-sits). Now we wait and hope for good news from Uganda Christian University where the papers are marked. All being well, some of us will attend a graduation ceremony at Bishop Barham University College in Kabale on 25th. October. Another Crosslinks couple, Craig and Claudia Smith, have just arrived in Kabale with their two small children so that Craig can teach at the National Teachers’ College. I hope to meet them in October.
I am now turning my attention to the project which will replace TEE for my last year here, namely the formation of a development plan for the Diocesan Training Centre. I am excited to be doing this, but have no doubt that any attempt to equip future Christian leaders will incur spiritual opposition. I wrote about this project last time and so won’t repeat the details here. (You can find that letter here) We have already done an audit of the present buildings, helped by two people with extensive building knowledge. It is clear that three of the present buildings, the main administration block, the kitchen and the men’s dormitory, will need extensive repair or rebuilding, and that is before we start to think of what buildings should be added. Please pray that we will be able to think God’s thoughts after Him as we plan for the future. As a project within a project I hope to start work soon on removing from the library books that are not likely to be of use to us, but this could be a sensitive issue! With money already given I then look forward to buying some new books.
The final term of the academic year is just beginning and so, after a month off, my duties at Bulera Primary Teacher College also resume. We have a confirmation service planned for 22 November. Preparation here involves memorising a lengthy catechism and other material (about 13 pages) and the candidates are struggling to master this. Progress, please, and with all the other arrangements.
I continue to be involved in promoting Alpha courses. My own local church, St. Luke’s Hospital Chapel, finished its first course in July. About 25-30 people were on the course and it seemed a happy and worthwhile occasion. Plans are being made for the next one. Rev. Isaiah Mukuru has been a big help in translating the English course materials into Runyoro but has been hampered by lack of regular access to a computer. When I was in the UK several churches gave donations for me to use here and I have used the lion’s share of the money to buy a laptop computer which Isaiah can use. I hope it will help us make good speed.
The Diocese here is encouraging churches to offer mass weddings so that those who are deterred by the cost of a wedding can go ahead with a number of other couples. I attended one in our local cathedral during the summer where 22 couples were getting married in the same service. One bride, already pregnant, had had her turn when she went into labour. She was whisked off to a local clinic while her husband and the Best Man remained in church. Before the service was finished (it ran to nearly six hours), word came back from the clinic that she had given birth to a son, and photographs were being passed among the congregation showing the Mum with her newborn baby. There was great celebration. It was a minor set-back that the new husband had to leave church without his bride. I don’t know whether she made it to the reception!
I am expecting to leave Uganda near the end of September, 2009, so I have just about a year left from the time of writing this. I don’t expect to return to the UK before then, but look forward to a visit from family in the second part of January. While I was on leave it was helpful to receive some information and advice about various aspects of what next. I hope to work for another three to five years before retiring. At the moment I don’t know what the work will be, or where I will retire, so I will value your prayers for discovering what God’s plan is. I also value your prayers to be able to complete the tasks in hand here and not to get sidetracked.
A book I have greatly enjoyed in recent weeks is Alex Haley’s “Roots”. It begins in Africa and the story of how it came to be written is a story in itself (read right to the end but don’t read the end first!). I won’t say more for risk of spoiling it for you, but if you want to be informed and moved, this book did it for me.
Love and God bless,
John
For Thanks
- The Good News we have to share
- Good health, and safety
- Enjoyable and refreshing leave
- Continued good help from Vincent who lives
here - Supportive working environment
- Good relationships with neighbours
- Help in completing TEE (I hope)
For Prayer
- Spiritual protection and effectiveness
- Good personal relationships all round
- Preparation for Confirmation (22 Nov.)
- Family visit in Jan 2009
- Planning for beyond September 2009
- More effective promotion of the Alpha course
- Progress with accurate translation of Alpha (Isaiah and his brother Philip)
- Development Plan for DTC