As someone who has led short term mission trips to several different cultures, I have had the pleasure to watch students and adults witness powerful testaments to the nature of God. I’ve been part of some amazing moments and memories that last a lifetime. I’ve also made more than my share of mistakes in coaching trip members on how to connect and communicate with people that we are ministering to during our travel. Continue reading
Author: Leland Sawyer
Mission Expansion in Soroti
The Mbale Mission Team is ecstatic about the work for 2017. A major area of emphasis is the development of the Soroti Discipleship Center. One challenge that we have is our location in Mbale as compared to the churches we work with throughout Uganda. For most of our churches (about 60%) in Eastern Uganda, we are located within an hour. But for many of our churches the distance is much further, some as far as 9 hours away. So, as we seek to DISCIPLE the pastors and leaders of the churches of Christ in Uganda, distance can become a real hurdle. One such area is north of us. Creating the Soroti Discipleship Center will make an additional 25 churches within 2 hours, making it reasonable to bring people to one central location for discipleship groups. Continue reading
Servant. Leader.
Our team has been working on revamping our discipleship book that we use with the pastors/leaders as we work in small groups (cohorts). JP Robinson adapted the current book from some work that his pastor had done. JP coordinated with Dennis Okoth to fit the context here in Uganda. It has been a good book that has guided many of conversations with the pastors, but, as with anything, changes, tweaks and improvements are needed. So, in December JP set out to revamp the book as we prepare to start new discipleship cohorts in 2017. He recently asked me to write the chapter on servant leadership. And it got me thinking… Continue reading
Year in Review – 2016
What a fantastic year of learning our new culture, building relationships and joining in the ministry God has been doing here in Uganda.
Here are a few highlights and photos:
* The mission team here has been discipling a total of 15 pastors from around the Mbale area to help them grow spiritually. One of these groups will be concluding in March 2017 and we will begin 2 more groups. We are praying that God leads us to 8-9 guys for each group.
* We have significantly partnered with 10 churches in their work of development and visited over 50 churches all over the country to encourage them and equip them with Bible study tools. Continue reading
Discipleship and Bwikhonge
We want you to know what it is that we do here in Uganda. My #1 priority is the discipleship of Ugandan pastors and leaders. This means small group meetings, life-on-life discipleship, and a lot of prayer. This video introduces you to one of the pastors from Discipleship Cohort 1, which has been meeting for about 2 years. Hear from John Kahuka what discipleship means for him, his church (Bwikhonge Church of Christ), and his community…(click image) Continue reading
Crossing Borders
Last week I, along with 4 other members of our Church Planting & Discipleship team, traveled to Nimule, South Sudan to encourage and teach the leaders from the churches of Christ. There were 22 leaders and pastors from South Sudan and northern Uganda that traveled to the border town for basic theological training and discipleship. To reach Nimule, these pastors traveled from safety into a war zone, from refugee camps to where they had fled, or across rebel controlled areas. Continue reading
Cultural or Christian?
I recently came out of a meeting and saw a large group of men parading down the street. They had completely taken over the road and were blowing whistles, horns and singing all kinds of songs. It was a traditional Bagisu circumcision parade. For the past two months it has been the season of these celebrations, and they mark when a young boy becomes a man in the cultural society. Continue reading
Castaways on Bugaya Island
No we weren’t castaways, but we were in a world completely new to all of us. Bugaya Island is in the middle of Lake Victoria, a 2-hour boat ride from Kiyendi, very nearly on the equator. Lake Victoria is the 2nd largest fresh water lake in the world (behind Lake Superior). When we set off, we could not see our island, but the captain knew the way and set us on course. I couldn’t help but sing in my head the song from Gilligan’s Island the entire trip. Continue reading
Go West Young Man
Over the “summer” months, my primary teammates were traveling and visiting the USA. But now the gang is all together and the three of us – myself, Dennis, and JP – are traveling together. This past weekend we made the long journey to the far western parts of Uganda, in a region called Rakai. The people there are drummers and cow herders. Continue reading
From A Visitor’s Perspective
Recently, my (Leland) mom and step-dad came to visit our new life in Uganda. We wanted to get their fresh perspective on how they saw and experienced this new place. Here are some musings of my mom, Kim Broadway. I hope you enjoy them…
When Leland and Gina told me they were moving to Africa – and taking Adalyn with them, by the way! Continue reading
Sawyers In Uganda 