Update

Summer Travels Keep Us Going

/ Gina Sawyer / Leave a comment

This has been a great summer! We have visited 15 states in the 2 months we have been traveling around America! Crazy! But we have really enjoyed our time with different churches, family, and friends. We are so incredibly blessed to have an amazing support team of family and friends, so “work” is more like catching up and sharing life together. We know we are blessed in this unique experience of home assignment. We know many missionaries and families who have to do a lot of fundraising in order for them to continue their mission work, so we are very thankful our time refreshes our souls, even when it’s physically exhausting traveling, sleeping in other homes, and living out of a suitcases.

We can’t express our gratitude for all the love we have received over the MANY years!

Our trip back to the U.S. had a bit of a rough start with the U.S. government restrictions causing us to change our flights and travel plans due to their concern for Ebola. We were not in any danger or a threat to anyone else, but it was a very stressful and expensive change for us (apparently it is our responsibly to re-route flights and pay for the added expenses). We were frustrated and disappointed, but we made it to the U.S. and had an extra day in Dallas to get some sleep and prepare for the summer travels. We are blessed by a ministry called Tech Team Advantage, where we were able to rent a minivan for all our travels and the cost (including vehicle insurance and mileage) is about $25/day – a WAY better rate than if we had to rent other vehicles, especially since we practically lived out of the minivan as we roadtripped all around.

After Dallas, we made our way to Central Texas to spend 9 days with our supporting church, Western Hills Church of Christ in Temple. We enjoyed conversations and meals with many friends and supporters who are like family. While it was a really busy time with 4-5 meetings, meals, appointments, and meet-ups each day, we loved our time with people we love and who love us. Adalyn also got to spend some time with dear friends and ride horses, which made her very happy.

After Central Texas, we went to Houston to see my mom and we were blessed to enjoy a vacation with her. It was a nice break after a hectic time and we made some great memories together as a family. We went on an Alaskan cruise to see Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria BC, and returned back to Seattle, Washington. Then we traveled back to Houston to do laundry and repack for our next travels. We are thankful for the time together as a family. Plus, Alaska was beautiful!

We then drove about 12-hours to Franklin, Tennessee to visit with our former teammates, JP & Jill Robinson and their family. We also got to spend time with Harpeth Christian Church, who are partners with the mission work in Uganda. We are so thankful for their support, prayers and partnership. Plus, spending time with JP & Jill is always a blessing since they know the life of missionaries and how stressful home assignments can be. They always spoil us and make sure we get some rest.

We traveled to Georgia to see my sister and her husband, and we got to visit with former missionary friends from Uganda before continuing to Alabama to spend the weekend with Leland’s brother and family. It was such a nice time to see family and friends. We continued to Arkansas to see Leland’s other brother and our niece before we drove to Oklahoma to see some friends on our way to Colorado.

Colorado was another busy week of seeing many dear friends, and meeting with Legacy Church in Boulder. Legacy Church is a new church that was formed when two churches merged together a few years ago, so our relationship with Legacy Church is new compared to our relationship with the previous Boulder Valley Church of Christ. It was a nice time seeing old friends and enjoying the beautiful weather in Colorado. We also celebrated my birthday with dear friends.

Over the long weekend, we took a flight to California to spend time with family and friends before returning to Colorado for more road tripping. We drove up into the mountains at 9,100 feet to stay with some friends who have a cabin near Jasper. Then we drove through New Mexico and got to see a few friends as we continued back to Texas. It was a lot of miles and elavation changes, but we enjoyed the time with family and friends.

We spent the weekend in Lubbock, Texas to visit with Quaker Avenue Church of Christ. As the founding church of the mission work in Uganda, there’s a long history and lots of relationships to connect with and share about the ministry. It was a good weekend of seeing many sweet people.

After our time in Lubbock, we drove back to Central Texas for a few days to see other people we weren’t able to visit earlier in the summer. And we were spoiled with a day on Lake Belton, which was beautiful! There are so many people in the area, so there’s never enough time to see everyone, but we are thankful for all the support of everyone who loves us well. After Central Texas, we continued through College Station to see family and friends before spending some time in Houston and Dallas as we are wrapping up our time in the U.S.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired writing down all the travel we did this summer, just reliving it all. But as we wrap up our time in America, do our final shopping of the items we need for Uganda, and begin the packing and preparations to leave, we ask for your prayers for smooth travel and easy flights. It never gets easier to say goodbyes, and it’s always emotionally and physically exhausting to travel across the world. We have been blessed by our time with so many people in so many different states. While it was a really busy trip, we are so thankful for the opportunity to be able to travel and see people. Thank you for your continued love, prayers and support for us.

Goals & Plans for 2026

/ Leland Sawyer / 1 Comment

January is a time of year of dreaming big for what’s to come! It’s an exciting time, full of hope and possibilities. People make resolutions, big life changes, and dare to dream BIG! As a mission here in Mbale, we also want to dream (and PRAY) for big things in this New Year!

We are praying BIG THINGS for 2026. The first BIG thing we are praying and planning for is the Leadership Team. Last year, we started meeting regularly with leaders, who have been discipled and moved closely with over the past decade, to involve them in decisions, planning, discerning, and guiding the overall ministry. These are leaders who have traveled around with us to visit churches near and far, so they have a feel for the needs of leaders from all over Uganda. They are also men and women who we’ve seen fruit of spiritual maturity in their lives – and seen them actively making disciples – so they are able to think of Godly solutions in difficult circumstances. This year, our plan is to empower them more and more as the year goes by, so that their voices grow and their impact deepens. We believe this kind of leadership team is vital to the future of the mission work here in Uganda.

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Recap 2025 – Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens

/ Leland Sawyer / Leave a comment

Another year of ministry in Uganda has come and (too quickly) gone by. This has been YEAR 10 for our family serving in Uganda, and each year seems to get busier and go by faster. Here are a few highlights of the year in ministry:

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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

/ Gina Sawyer / Leave a comment

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

/ Leland Sawyer / Leave a comment

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

/ Gina Sawyer / Leave a comment

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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