Prayer Mail

Dear partners in prayer,
This is our weekly public prayer mail.

This week's update:

1) Hannah has arrived back with photos and movie clips from her Uganda trip. Awesome. The photos and videos seem very similar in some ways to Julie and my short term mission trip to Uganda in February.

2a) Regarding the Belize online campus:

Course materials are in place on the Web sites. Thanks to Bill Schrull's efforts, software and hardware pieces are in place. Course content is on-schedule for the Fall courses ("Fall semester" is really "semester 1" as you get closer to the equator; there is not an "Autumn.") Students are discovering the sites.

2b) Our first time together as a class is this coming Saturday at 9 am Belize time (which is Mountain Time in the US at this time of year); I am discovering the advantages of some of the dictation software in the new operating system on my computer.

2c) This week Jeanne Gizara has been helping me proof-read materials, some of which could be used for the other online campuses. She has been very helpful.

3a) Regarding the Albany online campus:

"Albany" is a catch-all site for people who wish to take online courses in the Diocese of Albany and elsewhere. Bill Schrull has put live Moodle site in place for the Albany campus, and I am now beginning to put the overall course structure in place. The goal is to have the first course or so available at the turn of the year.

3b) The Albany campus library is up and going - feel free to browse it; it is the same library on the OATC website as is used for the Belize campus ("OATC" is my theological program name: "Online Anglican Theological College"). https://sites.google.com/site/onlineanglicancampus/

4) By the time you read this, Lydia may be back on campus for her Fall semester.

5) Praise God that I survived the upgrades of my both Web browser and operating system this week. The future had seemed pretty grim, initially, when things did not go well. I came to know some tech support people really well. They were great.

Prayer requests:

1) For the students taking the Fall online courses; there is a fluctuation among the non-Commission on Ministry students. But there are a good number of Commission on Ministry students. First chat class begins on Saturday; 11 am East Coast time.

2) For course development of the on-line programs for Belize, Albany, and W. Tanganyika.

3) For Lydia as she adjusts to college this week. She seems to be excited about both that and about the fact that she has a birthday coming up this week.

4) For the goals of each of us, that we would be the ministers whom Jesus has called us to be.

5) For plans to visit Belize City in October, during the Diocesan Synod. Bishop Philip would like me to talk about the on-line program at the Synod for the Diocese of Belize (Central America).

6) For plans to visit the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania in December/January, to work out on-line plans for Kasulu Bible College (East Africa).

God bless you, and thank you for praying for us. Your prayers are very important for us, and I pray for you every day.

In Christ,
Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+
SAMS missionaries, as well as missionaries of the Diocese of Albany
Serving globally.