[2015] Our Mission

When preparing for and going on short-term mission trips, it is important to have a long-term perspective. It is silly to think that we are going to Africa to bring Jesus or that we will change the world of the people that we meet. Instead, we believe that we are taking part of the work that God is already doing in Uganda. There are already people, churches and movements happening. There are dedicated Christians and full-blown ministries that are reaching out to the poor and needy of Uganda. 

With that said, our team does hope to bring some skills and training that might not be available to our friends there. This year, we are bringing along Moses, who is an Ugandan that now studies agriculture at UC Davis. We met him last year (as he is a friend of our resident Ugandans) on our adventures as he was doing research in some of the areas that we visited. He will be providing some agricultural workshops for the local people. Additionally, Jenny and another new team member Cindie will be facilitating a chicken project that will include education, vaccination and some chicken coop building! Due to their work with chickens, these two have received a 4,000 grant and FREE airfare/travel expenses. Additionally, Uncle Greg, our team leader again this year, will be continuing his positive parenting discussions. Last summer, he started training some of the elders and pastors about the "Family Hui," a creation of his nonprofit that focuses on bringing together families into a larger community. He hopes to continue this training and spread the information to more people this year.

We will be returning to the village of Bukigai again as we witness more of the church construction! After returning home, one of our team members applied for a grant that would help with the building costs. And God provided! We received $9,000 that will completely cover the cost of the roof! There is no doubt that God's hand and blessing is over this project and the church in Bukigai. 

We will spend about half of our time in the village, doing our various workshops, as well as continuing the relationships we started last year! This is also where we will build a chicken coop, with the help of Jenny, Cindie and Moses. The other half of our time we will be stationed out of Mbale, the closest major city. From there, we will take day trips to other local churches that are under the care of Pastor Richard, our Ugandan liaison. Depending on the need, we will do more workshops and trainings, as well as relationship building! Again, we believe that the most important and lasting impact we will have will be in the relationships we form, not the things we produce or the knowledge we share.  

Please continue to pray as we move forward in fundraising, planning and final preparations!

Love,

The Team