“God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.  He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations.  Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join His global purpose.”  - John Piper

In January of 2015, I’ll be heading back to Uganda, with a small team, to work in the village of Nakayot, in sub-Saharan Karamoja.  I’ll be returning to the area where Meggan and I first fell in love with Uganda and its people, over 2 years ago.  This will be the 3rd and 4th trip to Karamoja for many members of our team, and in that time, we’ve observed two obstacles hampering the Karamojong, in Nakayot and its surrounding villages, from prospering as a people, and church.  Our team is committed to meeting these obstacles, and seeing God’s glory shine within, and through, the Karamojong, regardless of how long it takes. 

The first obstacle is clean drinking water.  Historically, the Karamojong are pastoralists, moving from place to place herding cattle and living in small clans, constantly at war with each other.  Only within the past 20 years have the Karamojong been forced, by the Ugandan government, to give up their large herds of cattle (cattle is the primary source of conflict amongst the Karamojong people) and settle down in, what have been called, “peace” villages.  Karamoja is an extremely arid land, making clean drinking water very difficult to find, let alone enough to support an entire village.  Our team of partners have been committed, over the past year, to meet this need.  We’re working with several organizations to begin the process of drilling, and teaching the Karamojong to drill, simple hand-dug wells to meet their ever increasing water needs. 

The second major obstacle, that we’ve discovered, is the lack of a solid Biblical foundation for the members of the new churches that have formed during our ministry in Nakayot.  The church that exists in Nakayot, was formed during the large campaigns of our past trips to the region.  We’ve seen some amazing and miraculous advances in the Gospel over the years, but much of the growth of the Karamojong church has stagnated do to a lack of resources and sound understanding of the essentials of the Christian faith.  This year we’ve downsized the size of our team and we’re focusing all of our energy on discipling some of the key national leaders and village elders that we’ve worked with in the past.  Our goal is to train these leaders in a basic understanding of the Christian faith and to leave them with some simple tools to continue that training with the members of their own village/church.  To be clear, our goal isn’t to teach our Ugandan brothers how to be American Christians.  We want to strengthen the Karamojong church, by investing in its leaders, and encouraging them to be Karamojong Christians.

As most of you already know, mine and Meggan’s journey in Uganda extends well beyond our recent adoptions.  We’re committed to Uganda, and it’s our intent to maintain a close link to the people and culture of two of our beautiful daughters.  With that being said, this is a fundraising letter!  So many people came together and supported our efforts to bring Faith and Joyce home, and it’s hard for me to ask for any more, but I believe that God still has work for my family in Uganda and we need support to accomplish that task.  If you feel led to give, please know that your gift isn’t going to pay our bills or support our lifestyle.  Every dollar goes directly to our work in the field and to cover the cost of travel.  My family and I covet your prayers and please feel free to ask any questions that you might have about our life and ministry.

Sincerely,

Dane Love