HOME TOMORROW AND UGANDA PREPARATION PRESENTING WORTHWHILE CHALLENGES

This will be a long day for us. Those of you who have traveled to Darwin and want to take advantage of the cheaper air fares will know that it will more than likely turn out that you arrive after midnight and fly out after midnight. Today began my regular trip to McD’s to upload and download stuff via their very handy wireless hot spot. We will get on a plane tonight at about 1:30 am and fly to Brisbane, change for Sydney, pick up a car and drive Nola’s Mum to Port Kembla and then hit the road for Canberra.

Last night we had a great Bagot experience once again. The young people go to a water park at Leanyer (spelling ???). Nola and I went to cook the barbecue and then I spoke to the kids. It is always a challenge because they are kids who seem to travel in every direction at once and flat out. Getting them to sit and planting something in their hearts is a great challenge. Last night we had a ball and they were terrific. One of the young girls who is in Paula’s discipleship group had a birthday and Nola had bought her a little cross and dove necklace. She was blown away by it and spent the rest of the night with it around her neck, but I don’t think there was a moment when she wasn’t touching it. We introduced Nola’s Mum to Rachel who is a strong Bundara (near Katherine) woman who has prayed for her almost every day since she had to go to hospital for surgery. Rachel is very shy but incredibly strong in faith. It was a good and God connection for a mother in law who is afraid of just about everything that moves including God.

All the while we have been here in Darwin, preparations have been going on for the Uganda trip next month. We are seeking to raise up money for sound equipment to take with us and leave there when we return. They need it for church planting in villages toward the centre and north of the country. We will be going there after the crusades in Mbale. We are also looking to raise money to be able to feed the people who come for the meetings and to give the refugee people among them blankets for when they need to come into the villages each night for safety. Jaemin Frazer’s church and our church are working together on this and the money is beginning to come in. If you would like to contribute to this very worthwhile cause, please contact our office and talk to Renee or Graeme or Karen.

One of the challenges at present is being able to get the equipment there either AS or BEFORE we arrive so that we can take it up country from Entebbe with us. There will be between 400 and 500 kgs. of excess baggage. We are trying to find ways of minimizing the cost on this so join us in prayer and the Lord will show us how to be clever. We will obviously need to pay something for it, but we want to conserve as much as possible for the feeding, clothing and blanket crusade. We are currently looking at possibilities like purchasing and shipping from Johannesburg and all kinds of things like that. I have a friend called Anthony Price who is a great bloke and knows almost everything there is to know about sound gear. He has made a very difficult task possible and has been really happy to help. So pray specifically that arrangements will be made so that when we get to Entebbe the gear will be there and gettable.