Dear Partners in Ministry,
"In the name of Jesus, we have the victory. In the name of Jesus, Satan will have to flee." Song
Adjusting-to-Life Update:
I have uttered a recurrent theme the past months."There is never a dull moment in Uganda." Our last trip to Kampala was planned to be restful and rejuvenating, but not everything turns out the way we plan. We put Eliana to bed in her Pack-n-play with a mosquito net over it. The next morning, she was covered with red dots. Somehow not just one but seven mosquitoes were trapped inside her net. They had a feast. We counted over 70 bites on her body. Praise the Lord no malaria has developed as of yet. That same trip we were hit by a taxi, and I spent a whole day repairing the vehicle. I received more rest returning home!
Culture Moment:
On Eliana's 1st birthday (Sep. 3) I performed my first wedding. Get this! The bride is from Tanzania and speaks Swahili but does not know Luganda or English. The groom is from Uganda and does not know Swahili, but speaks Luganda and English. When I first heard their situation during marriage counseling thoughts of disaster entered my mind. I was then assured that the groom understood her local tribal language. Imagine moving to a place where you do not know the two main languages spoken. The difficulty came when performing the wedding. I had to use a translator for Luganda and one for Swahili. (Luganda was for the people and Swahili for the bride and her family.) Only being used to one translator, I kept cutting off the Swahili translator. Boy, did it make for a long wedding having every phrase translated twice!
Ministry/Orphanage/School Update:
All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. We have clung to Romans 8:28 these last two months. Two recent church discipline situations have tested our resolve for purifying the church. The most difficult one is our associate pastor who was found to be a drunkard. Please pray that God will work on his heart, bringing him to repentance and restoration. Praise the Lord for His working in hearts amidst church trials and discouragement. We have been able to start a new children's ministry and a youth ministry. (In Uganda "children" can be from 2-18, and "youth" is considered 15-30 years old!) The leader of our new youth ministry has expressed a desire and calling to be a missionary to Rwanda. It will be a great blessing for our church to send out our first foreign missionary. I believe this process will take a couple years, but I praise God for this young man's willingness to heed God's call. Vian and Florence, whom we mentioned in our last update regarding marriage, have finally made it through the introduction stage. Having received the letter of permission from her parents, they will be tying the knot on Sunday the 16th. I am excited to perform my second wedding. Praise the Lord this time only one interpreter is needed instead of two.
In His Service,
Tony & Kristy Applegate
tony@theapplegates.net / kris@theapplegates.net
phone-011-256-782-903-147 / 011-256-782-903-137
CURRENT PRAYER REQUESTS AND PRAISES:
Praises: College classes went well; I have started giving church announcements in Luganda.
Prayer requests: 1. There are several people so close to excepting Jesus as Savior. Please pray for God's continued drawing in their hearts to a decision. 2. Wisdom in crucial decisions we are currently facing.