Raising Support to Serve in Uganda

So we are now moving forward with actively raising support to get us to Uganda. We thank you all for praying us through to this point in the journey and ask that you continue to labor in prayer for us as we seek to establish a support base.

The campaign that we are starting we will call the 4/40 pursuit. What we need to be in Uganda is $4,000 per month and $40,000 initial deployment expenses. This will get us there, keep us there, and provide the necessary funds should we need to evacuate the country for any reason. Since we do not have a large organization supporting us (or taking a cut of our donations :-), this is imperative. We would be happy to share with anyone interested the specifics of this budget as we wish to be absolutely transparent concerning the financial side of things. The more eyes that take a look at something, the more likely we will catch things before they become nasty surprises.

We will be attending the missions celebration hosted by First Baptist Waynesville, Ohio this weekend. The dates for this celebration are from Thursday the 30^th until Sunday the 2^nd. Pray for the connections we might make here and that Christ's mission is moved forward as a result of our attendance. This is the first missions conference that this church has undertaken so pray for them as they sail into uncharted waters. We look forward to being used by God to encourage others to catch His vision for world missions!

We are happy to speak at any venue that we can fit in with our current schedules. Please, please, please, please share what God is doing with our family with others. We would love the opportunity to speak to your church or group to simply share the vision that God has given His people for the nations.

If you are interested in being a financial partner with us, I’ve given details on how to do this below. I assure you that you are investing in a venture with the best return on investment you can imagine.

How you can help financially:

Pray!!!! After having done that, consider how you might partner with us financially as we seek to impact Africa for Jesus. A pledge of any amount monthly is our primary need at this point. If 100 people give only $40 per month, we have met our monthly expenses. The math is simple and no amount is too small. Every $132 pledged monthly buys us a day on the field providing high level conservative theological education to African pastors and teachers. These pastors and teachers (UBS students and graduates) are currently impacting an estimated 170,000 African children. The multiplication from this work is staggering. The fruit from this endeavor will be shared by all who are connected to it through praying, giving, and going (see Philippians 4:14-20). However, none of us can be a part until the funding goals are met. If God leads you to be a monthly partner with us, simply contact me and I'll record your pledge and you can start giving right away (see below).

If monthly support is not feasible for you at this time, a one time donation toward our initial deployment expenses is another way to help. We will be purchasing and shipping a 20' container with all of our household goods in it from here to Uganda. We will also need to purchase 6 plane tickets. There is the expense of purchasing a vehicle in Uganda. Ugandan work visas must be purchased. All of these (and more) things are needed before we can go. We welcome general donations or donations toward specific parts of the mission.

Any and all donations are tax deductable and all of your donations will go directly toward supporting this mission (we have no admin overhead). There are two ways to give:

By check:

Make your check out to Gateway Global Outreach; annotate on the comment line BOGAN Uganda

Mail it to:

BOGAN c/o Gateway Global

PO Box 591

West Chester, OH 45071

Electronically:

We have coordinated with our home church (Urbancrest Baptist Church) to receive electronic (credit card) donations. Note that there is a 3% service charge levied by the credit card company that is taken from all donations tendered in this manner. Go to http://www.urbancrest.info/Donations. Enter the amount of monthly or one time donation in the "Other" field. Enter BOGAN Uganda in the box below that and select the one time or repeated option as appropriate. Click "Donate Now" and you'll be directed to the PayJunction site to make your secure donation.

The Decision Is.........

We are going to serve in Uganda at Uganda Baptist Seminary. Aaron made it home safely, and since then we have been praying, talking, and working through options. God has made it abundantly clear that we are to serve in Jinja, Uganda. We are so excited to have a direction!!! Thank you to those of you who have prayed for us and supported us through encouraging words and hugs.

So what are we going to be part of when living there, you may ask? Well, Aaron will be teaching at a seminary that educates pastors from all over sub-sahara Africa. He will begin by teaching a few courses the first year, along with us learning the language and culture. The faculty there was quite excited to know that he had taken Hebrew and would be willing to teach that course:) I will be busy acclimating the family to a new culture and homeschooling the children. There may be opportunities to assist the nurse practitioner, Evelyn, at the seminary to help do nursing care for the students. Also I'm hoping there will be time to volunteer at the local orphanages with our children. Our whole family is excited about the many opportunities and possibilities in Jinja. There is a tremendous amount of support in place from other missionaries that have lived in this area for several years. That helps quite a bit when you have a family and this is the first time living in another country. God has blessed us tremendously by placing us in an area with that kind of support and a place where our home church visits yearly. I could have not asked for anything more:)

The next phase is to concentrate on raising up a support team that will help get us there. Right now we are planning on trying to be in Uganda by June 2011. Please pray for churches and individuals to partner with us in Uganda. We are so excited to see how God is going to work through us. Our prayer is to remain obedient and rely solely on Him. If you feel led to pray and/or financially support us please contact us at boganaw@muohio.edu. We will get you on our distribution list for updates and further information on how you can become partners with us.

Aaron Will Be Home Soon

Aaron will be flying home on Wed. August 18th. Please pray for safe travel and that jet lag will not be much of an issue. We have alot to discuss and pray over in the next few days. Aaron has immensely enjoyed his time in South Africa and Uganda. In just a short period of time he has experienced so much. Please continue to pray for discernment and that we have a clear direction from the Lord where we are to serve.

The children and I had a wonderful trip to the Smokey Mountains. We saw a few bears, trekked to the top of Clingman's Dome, managed to keep all the kids alive tubing on the rapids, and tried our hand at gem mining. It would have been nice to have Dad with us, but all in all it was a great vacation.

We thank all who have prayed and supported us through these past few months. It has been greatly appreciated.

How You Can Pray

The time is almost upon us for Aaron to be leaving for South Africa and then on to Uganda. He will be leaving on August 6th and will return home on August 18th. Please pray for his health, safety, and discernment from God if one of these places is where God would want us to serve. Aaron will be arriving in Johannesburg, SA on the 7th. He will then be traveling again by car on the 8th to a Bible school that is about five hours from Johannesburg. Needless to say all that traveling makes a person very tired. He then will travel back to Johannesburg on the 10th and fly to Uganada on the 11th. Aaron will be in Uganda for seven days. On the 13th he will be meeting with the Board of Directors from the seminary to be interviewed. Please pray that they will have an opportunity to truely see who we are as a family, and how God has so blessed Aaron with the gift of teaching and preaching. It is most important that this be a good fit for all involved on both sides.

While Aaron is in Africa, I've decided to take the children on a short trip to the Smokey Mountains. This will be the first time all the children have visited, that they can remember. Please pray for safe travels and for health. Nicholas just had nine teeth surgically removed a few days ago. We are praying that no complications arise from this and it won't hinder us from going. We will be leaving on Aug. 9th and returning on the 14th.

We once again want to thank all of you who are lifting us up in prayer continually. The prayers are definitly felt. If you are not receiving regular updates from Aaron and would like to be on our distribution list, email Aaron at boganaw@muohio.edu to be added.

God is Opening Doors

Revelation 3:8 (NKJ) I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

These past few months have been trying to say the least. However, we have found strength in the Lord and have kept God's word as our guide. In recent weeks two opportunities have presented themselves. First, an opportunity for Aaron to possibly teach at Uganda Baptist Seminary in Jinja, Uganda. Second, to work with Multi Ministries in South Africa. Aaron is planning a trip to Africa in August to visit both of these ministries to see if one of these is where God may have us serve full-time.

Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment for us. We know God has a perfect plan for our family. The hardest thing is not to get ahead of His plans and to remain patient. With Aaron only having one more year left to teach at Miami University, I sometimes feel the time crunch and get anxious about what is next. However, I believe that God is very aware of this and all things will work out according to His perfect plan. Our family so appreciates the love, support, and prayers that we have received from so many of you. We thank you for showing the love of Jesus to our family through this stretching time.

Nothing New

Aaron and I returned from a few days away in Amish country. It was extremely relaxing and rejuvenating. God blessed us with good weather and lots of quiet time with Him. We still continue to pray about what is next. Right now we are resting and waiting on the Lord to reveal His plan. Please continue to pray for discernment and wisdom for Aaron and me.

Our family is adjusting to our new home and town. Oxford is a beautiful town and we are hopefully going to get involved with some outreach in the local community soon. I'm trying to finish up homeschooling the children for the year. We have found a co-op in Oxford that we will be starting next school year. The children are excited to be meeting some children their ages. This co-op has about 60 children, and about 40 of them are in high school. That is very exciting to Nicholas and Dylan. Last night we attended a drama production that was put on by the high school students at the co-op. They did a fantastic job and I was amazed at the props, costumes, and acting. I can't wait for our children to be a part of such a production next year.

Please continue to pray for our family. We covet your prayers.

Change in Plans

It is with a heavy heart that Aaron and I report to our family and friends that we will not be working with Ric and Jane Taylor in Kenya. Many issues became apparent to all of us as we drew closer to physically initiating this work that made it clear God was moving us in different directions. We are grateful for the time that God gave us with Ric and Jane and, without a doubt, we have grown closer to Christ as a result. Please do continue to pray for God to use them in Kenya to expand His kingdom and bring glory to His name.

So, the question that looms large for us: what now? Well, we don't have a definitive answer yet, but we know that God has called us to serve Him on the international mission field. Our home sold in three weeks which is a miraculous event in and of itself (we closed on the place two days before it was decided to not move forward with Kenya). We are unemcumbered and ready and willing to go anywhere and do anything that He wills. We are already praying over possiblities in places like Uganda, Malawi, South Africa, Australia, and many other locations. Please join us in praying that God's perfect will for our family will be done. We know He will show us what to do when the time comes; please pray that we will be found faithful.

In closing, I wanted to share from Oswald Chamber's devotion (My Utmost for His Highest) for April 29th:

Title: The graciousness of uncertainty
Base scripture: 1 John 3:2

Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainity as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some end, but that is not the nature of spiritual life. The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainity, consequently we do not make our nests anywhere. Common sense says---'Well, supposing I were in that condition ....' We cannot suppose ourselves in any condition we have never been in.

Certainity is the mark of the commonsense life: gracious uncertainity is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God, and do the duty that lies nearest, He packs our life with surprises all the time. When we become advocates of a creed, something dies; we do not believe God, we only believe our belief about Him. Jesus said "Except ye....become as little children." Spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, but uncertain of what He is going to do next. If we are only certain in our beliefs, we get dignified and severe and have the ban of finality about our views; but when we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainity and expectancy.

"Believe also in Me," said Jesus, not ---'Believe certain things about Me.' Leave the whole thing to Him, it is gloriously uncertain how He will come in, but He will come. Remain loyal to Him.


Please continue to pray for our family as we continue on the path that God has laid out in front of us. We only look to Him for the answers.