Update

Our Life & Home – A Refresher

/ Gina Sawyer / 1 Comment

Many of you have been with our family from the very start of this journey to Uganda, but others have joined after we moved here. Some people have not seen photos of our home, our town, Adalyn’s school, and the mission property in Mbale, Uganda. This post is for YOU! I want to give you an update of everything, so maybe it will help you visualize when we talk about our life and ministry.

We live at the foothills of Mount Elgon, under a ridge known as Mount Wanale. We have spectacular views of sunrises, sunsets, and waterfalls when walking or driving through our neighborhood and town. It is easy to sing God’s praises when we look at THIS every day!

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Officially a Teenager

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We officially have a teenager. Adalyn has turned 13 years old. For us and for many of you, it’s hard to imagine that tiny little toddler who left America just as she was 3 years old is now a teenager. But Adalyn has grown into a beautiful young woman, both inside and out. Our prayer continues to be for her heart to love Jesus as she matures and gets older. Here are her annual questions and answers for your reading pleasure.

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Boys Becoming Men Through Disciplemaking

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Recently I read that “The church doesn’t just exist to make disciples. We also exist to bring those disciples to maturity” (Deeper Walk by Marcus Warner). This concept has been a driving force for us as a mission for more than a decade, and has been at the heart of our family’s ministry since we began. We were never called by Jesus to merely make converts, but rather to disciple people into maturity…mature disciples was Jesus’ goal, and it continues to be our goal as His Church.

Earlier this year, me and Peter (a coworker at the Mbale Mission) decided that something MORE was needed to help the young men at the city church grow into deeper maturity in their faith. So we prayed for the young men and decided to invite them into a weekly disciplemaking group. From that first meeting, we have been open with them about the serious commitment that spiritual growth requires of each of us, and that begins with making the time and opportunity a priority: meeting at 8am on Sunday morning for late-teen and twenty-something guys is NOT easy to do in any culture. But that’s the standard we set before them!

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Summer Fun

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I don’t know about you, but I love summer! I love the chill vibes, slower days, low-key plans, sunshine, swimming, and traveling. In Uganda, summer is a bit different. First of all, the weather is the same year around, so the sunshine doesn’t change. Secondly, the Ugandan school system is not the same as the U.S. school system, so they are still in school during our “summer break.” Thirdly, we have more people who come to visit us in the summer months than any other time of the year, so we are busier hosting teams and groups of visitors. And, in the years that we are not in Uganda, we are traveling around the U.S. visiting churches, family, friends, and supporters on our home assignment. When we are in Uganda (like this past summer), our summer relationship dynamics change because the missionary community travels back to their home countries at different times; so friends are coming and going. But I still love summer, even though it looks different than a typical “American” summer.

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Partners in Ministry

/ Gina Sawyer / 1 Comment

We are always so blessed when people visit Uganda to see the ministry here. Not only do we get the opportunity to show them how God is at work for His kingdom in a variety of ways (from disciplemaking in villages to community development projects to bible studies in churches to conferences and trainings and so much more) but we also get the opportunity to share our life with people. And answer questions about our everyday life that is so different than what our life was like in America.

At the end of June, we were blessed with 15 men and women, ranging in age from 14 years old to adult (we won’t mention ages), from Quaker Avenue Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas. This is a special trip because of the history Quaker Avenue has with the mission work in Uganda. It’s the founding church who sent the first missionaries here to Mbale to start the work with New Testament Churches of Christ thirty years ago, which is the organization from where all the various ministries have come from (Messiah Theological School, Livingstone International University, Tyler Homeschool Cooperative, Good News Production – Mbale branch), and of course what the work is doing now with disciplemaking and church leader development.

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Adalyn’s Baptism

/ Gina Sawyer / 2 Comments

Adalyn made the decision to be baptized last month – May 28th, 2025! We are so thankful for her growing faith and for her commitment! We are so thankful for salvation given to us from Christ’s sacrifice! And we are so thankful we were able to share the event with close friends. Adalyn shares about her baptism and what it all means to her…

It all began when I started asking questions about baptism before we went to Israel two years ago. We discussed what it means to be baptized and what following Jesus means. I was still unsure whether or not I was ready to commit my life to Jesus, but going to Israel really encouraged me. I went to the places that Jesus talked about baptism and where Jesus talked about what it meant to follow him. Honestly, I don’t remember a lot of the specific conversations that happened on that trip but I remember being moved to think and pray more about baptism. In the discussions that I had with my parents, my dad gave me something to think about: “Why now?” And my reply was, “So that I can share The Gospel and the love of God while I still am in Uganda.”

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Disciples Expectations

/ Gina Sawyer / 1 Comment

At the beginning of 2024, I asked the discipleship ladies to write down their expectations – how they wanted God to be moving in their lives, in their families, in their churches, and in their communities. When I looked at the expectations, they were common prayers I had heard before: they wanted God to help them by providing school fees for their children, provide ways for them to pay off loans or get money for various needs – seeds for the garden, building a home, etc. These were – and continue to be – ongoing needs, but my hope for these ladies was different. I wanted them to seek God for more than just physical needs. In a country of poverty, there will always be these needs.

So at the beginning of 2025, I asked them to reflect on what they had written in 2024, and prayerfully write down their expectations for how they wanted God to be moving in their lives, in their families, in the churches, and in their communities for this upcoming year. And man, was I blown away….

The expectations are so different than in 2024, and it’s a testimony to the spiritual growth and maturity I have seen in each of them this past year. What these ladies wrote down gave me chills. I am excited about how God will work in their lives and use them in 2025 because they are open and seeking Him.

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Focused in 2025

/ Leland Sawyer / Leave a comment

This year is flying by already…but not without some big plans and some big goals for the Mission here in Mbale. In December, we reflected on what God had been doing through and in the Mbale Mission in 2024 (Read HERE if you missed it). We are excited about what is ahead in our 10th year working with church leaders in Uganda. Instead of breaking down the nitty-gritty, I want to share with you the BIG things that are going on here:

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Looking Back at What God Has Done in 2024

/ Leland Sawyer / 2 Comments

Garth Brooks is one of my favorite all-time musical artists. Sure, some can say that he ruined country music, but it can also be said that he SAVED country music. And one of my favorite songs is “The Dance.”

“Looking back on the memory of the dance we shared beneath the stars above. For a moment all the world was right. But how could I have known that you’d ever say goodbye…”

No one is saying goodbye but I love the way he looks back on an experience with such love and passion, knowing that the joy of that dance was worth the pain and heartache. And in some ways, that’s how I feel about looking back at 2024.

The year was too busy…not in a healthy way or a way to celebrate, but in a way that could have really beaten us down. And that’s something we have to address in 2025. But at the same time, 2024 was FULL of amazing God moments, both in family and in ministry. Here’s to “looking back…”

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Tent Making in Uganda

/ Leland Sawyer / 2 Comments

Have you ever thought about the idea of a financially sustainable mission work? I sure have. That’s the dream, right? A mission work that has the capacity to sustain itself financially and continue furthering the Gospel of Jesus without the need for ongoing foreign funds…But is it possible?

That’s the question we are wrestling with as a mission team. Not only do we believe it is possible, but we actually believe it is within reach. One of our major priorities is to be able to sustain the mission work in Mbale, Uganda by using what has already been given to create further ongoing funds for the ministry, plus initial support from partners. And the main priority in this endeavor is to build an apartment building that will provide needed middle class housing in the growing city of Mbale in a convenient location, while giving the mission ongoing funding from right here in Mbale. It may not be 100% sustainable from within (yet), but to be able to provide income that will go directly into the ministry is certainly possible!

The idea of ministry (or mission work) being supported by others is the norm in the modern world, and has been for generations. Truth be told, it has been common since the FIRST missionary was sent: Jesus. When the Father sent Jesus to Earth “to seek and save the lost”, he was supported by several disciples, mostly women. We see this very clearly in Luke 8:1-3 where it says, “They provided financial support for Jesus and his disciples.” Though Jesus did not collect money when He spoke, He also wasn’t 100% self-supporting…he had help from His followers.

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