Prayer Mail

Dear praying friends,
This is our public prayer mail for this week.

Over the last few days, Lydia has joined us at home on Spring break. We have been enjoying the warmer weather in Lent. And, a viral video has appeared describing an area of Uganda that we visited last month and in which we have been considered ministering as missionaries.

If you are interested what life in post-LRA northern Uganda is currently like, I refer you to the Diocese of Northern Uganda's blogsite: http://dioceseofnorthernuganda.blogspot.com/. ;

Thanksgiving:

1) Julie and I enjoyed the children's sermon and the adult sermon at Grace Church in Waterford, on Sunday.

2) Lydia went with us to worship at Oaks of Righteousness in Troy on Sunday afternoon, where we were also joined by my nephew from Vermont who has been helping at Oaks of Righteousness this weekend. Great sermon at Oaks of Righteousness. Gripping.

3) SAMS has updated our SAMS website this week, and Jeanne Gizara has updated our blogsite look, this week. Thank you, everyone!

4) I have resumed learning Swahili.

Prayers:

1) Upcoming mission presentations/updates:

March 17: Metropolitan Deanery Convocation, St. Paul's, Troy
March 18: Christ Church, Coxsackie
March 25: St. John's, Ogdensburg
March 28: Trinity, Lansing burgh

April 1 (Palm Sunday), April 8 (Easter Day)
April 15: St. Michael's, Colonie
April 22: Good Shepherd, Canajoharie
April 29: St. Thomas', Tupper Lake

May 6: Christ Church, Ballston Spa
May 13: St. Mary's, Lake Luzerne
May 20: Christ Church, Schenectady and Grace Church, Waterford
May 27: probable location chosen, to be confirmed.

June 3: St. James', Ausable Forks
June 8-10: Diocesan Convention (workshop and booth)

2) We are waiting upon a few remaining parts to fall into place as to which site would be the best mission site for us in Africa; we are within our current time frame for doing this. Keep praying.

3) For Lydia. She is improving. Keep praying.

4) For the current planning and preparation phase of our mission work. We have been blessed by what the Lord is doing here. Keep praying. Among the many things going on, we have some missionary materials in the works for our upcoming presentations, and we would like the materials to arrive in a timely fashion, this week.

5) For increases in pledges in support of our mission venture. We are partially self-funding, and every additional support for what we are doing, helps. Keep praying that the Lord would bring alongside those people who share our vision for the Lord's work in East Africa.

6) We are planning to do a workshop on the Friday of Diocesan Convention in June, on the subject of "Mission Field Dos and Don'ts." This would be basic practical stuff that people might like to know before they head off into the mission field, for either short-term or long-term mission work, anywhere in the world. Pray that the people would attend who the Holy Spirit would want there, for his purposes.

7) We are planning to have a booth at Diocesan Convention, as well. Hope to see you there. Pray that we would present the Lord's work in an inspiring way.

8) That we would be the missionaries that God has called us to be, to spread the Gospel, and to help grow the church with our brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever we might be.

9) In addition to updating our webpages on the current SAMS website, SAMS is currently developing an entirely new website. Look for us at the new SAMS website, when it is completed. The new website could be ready as early as this month. We are waiting on one more website to be updated. Please pray that the current SAMS website change and the remaining webpage update would occur in Jesus' timing.

Your prayers are important for us, and I pray for you, every day.

God bless you,
Shaw+ and Julie+
Missionaries of both SAMS and the Diocese of Albany