Dear Friends,In Matthew 28:19-20, Christ commands His followers to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and this has very practical application. As a result of this command, we wanted to let you know of an opportunity which has come before us to travel to Uganda this summer to share the gospel and display the love of Christ by working in an orphanage as members of a team from our church, First Baptist Church of Columbia, Illinois.
Our church has been very intentional about developing mission partnerships around the world and one of the newest partnerships we are developing, in conjunction with the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services (BCHFS), is in Bukaleba, Uganda. We will be working with an organization called Arise Africa International at the Bukaleba Babies’ Home. This orphanage is a relatively new facility which provides a home to over 50 children, age birth to six, and provides a primary school for children in the orphanage and the surrounding bush.
The date of the trip will be from August 1-12 and will encompass a number of different projects. Primarily these projects will include work at the orphanage, including maintenance of the orphanage buildings and helping the staff care for the children, but will also include evangelism in local villages, community outreach projects directed toward children and families, and several preaching/teaching opportunities in local churches.
For many years we believe that God has been drawing our hearts toward adoption and over the past year or so we have been looking at Uganda as a possible location for this adoption. When this opportunity came to go and work with orphans in Uganda, it seemed a clear indication that we should go and explore the possibility that God may indeed be moving us to adopt from this African country.
There are a few primary ways that we are asking you to consider becoming partners in this gospel mission with us.
Prayer – As we prepare to go, we ask that God would direct your hearts in prayer for Uganda and for its people. We ask above all that God would penetrate the heart of Uganda with the gospel and that lives and hearts would change. We also pray that God would care for these many orphans and would do so primarily through the Church. We do pray for safety, but more than our safety for the safety of the region, which has been torn by war and strife for many years. While there has been relative peace for the past few years, it has deep wounds and God’s restorative hand and abiding peace are desperately needed. Our desire is that the gospel would be manifest in our actions and words as we seek to minister to all we encounter.
Financial support – We pray also that you would consider partnering with us by helping our team financially make this mission a possibility. The cost of our trip will be approximately $3,000 per person, including all travel and living expenses, and support for the Bukaleba Babies’ Home. Though this trip is in August, with the increasing prices of fuel we have a limited timeline to raise funds and purchase tickets. We do understand that these have been difficult and trying financial times for many and if you are unable to assist in this way we completely understand and we trust that God will provide for the needs that we have as we serve for His glory among the nations.
We deeply appreciate your friendship and support. Thanks ahead of time for your willingness to partner with us in spreading the gospel and the love of Christ across the globe. I know that God is going do incredible things in the coming months, and we look forward to sharing with you the fruits of our hands and the testimonies of God’s faithfulness.
Yours in Christ,
Shayne and Christina Nicole Robinson
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18
