University

Latest University Developments and Prayer Requests

July 1, 2005

Dear Intercessors,

Greetings from the continent where the day of Christ is dawning!

Thank you for praying for our Steering Committee meeting last week. Because of the intern schedule, we had to move it into the evening, and we were all tired. However, we still had a positive meeting and feel like we are making progress. However, it seems like every step we take only reveals a dozen or more steps between us and what we thought was "next."

May you know that you are heard and that you have what you ask for in Jesus' name,

Phillip

Pray for...

1. Agriculture Survey Trip. Specifically pray for Thomas as he finalizes his survey instrument and for him to have quick insight into any changes or additions that may need to be made on the spot in
   Uganda. Also pray for Keith Gafner (Kenyan agri missionary on the AgriGroup) who we hope will be of some assistance on this trip.
2. Recognition of God's timing, opportunities, and cautions. We continue to come face to face with the size of this project and our own human limitations. However, we have seen God repeatedly open doors and make paths for us. Pray that we can recognize those even as we pay attention to his warnings about doors that are open too wide to be true. There are many pitfalls on the road to this dream--more-so because of the cross-cultural situation.
3. Land and building for library and other needed expansion. Susie Bullock tells us that 50,000 books could be ready to ship by the end of the year (the Ministry of Education requires 50k books for university status). Currently, we have no place to put them! We are under pressure from a physical standpoint of accommodating our current ministry as well as cultural pressure from landowners who have offered to sell without getting a timely response from us. We also need some specific and detailed information from our advocate to guide us in the purchase process once we have funds available for land.
4. Praise for Library cataloguing process. James Morrill and his intern accomplices are making great strides in cataloguing and shelving our existing collection of 10,000+ books. Dr. Ken Neller was able to check books out of the library and make them available to students last week in his Advanced Certificate course on the Gospel of John. Wow!
5. Resolution of boundary dispute. No change to report. Please continue to pray. Ian has led the way in praying specifically for the conversion of our Muslim neighbor and his Muslim lawyer.

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June 22, 2005

Pray for...

1. Land Purchase! On Wednesday afternoon, I was in the Post Office and ran into a city councilman. He recognized me and asked why we had not brought in a proposal for using the derelict market immediately adjacent to MTI (and on the tarmac road). I told him we were still interested but had not found the funds. He invited me to submit a written proposal to the mayor and executive committee for using that land. He said that now was the time to begin negotiations before someone else "grabbed" the land. He also asked us to include in the proposal the ways in which our project would benefit the community. This could be an excellent site for a building to house the first steps towards a School of Agriculture (among other things). This land would be "allocated" to us "freely" after we paid appropriate fees to the municipal council, providing we developed the property and gave some
   attention to community benefits. Please pray for funds so that we can proceed quickly on this unique and valuable land opportunity.

2. Thomas Kipkurgat's and David Lawver's planned survey trip to Mbale next month towards a School of Agriculture. We are becoming aware of many agricultural opportunities here. At a recent MTI extension course in Rakai, a leading agricultural innovator (who is also a church leader) offered to come to Mbale and teach an MTI course on growing a new hybrid passion fruit vine that produces significantly more juice (see photo below). Keith Gafner was also in town over the weekend and
   discussed his plans for developing a 1.3 acre demonstration plot in Kenya that could be duplicated in Mbale. Pray for discernment and resources so that we can follow up on the appropriate opportunities.

3. University Name Selection. We are ready to poll secondary school students in and around Mbale to narrow down our field of 15 or so possible names. We hope the poll will give us 3-5 top names that we can propose to supporters and interested people in the U.S. Choosing a name is important for the registration process with the Ministry of Education in Uganda.
   Recruitment of African Advisory Committee members. Pray for time and opportunities for us to contact all the people on our list. Pray for positive responses from those who are genuinely interested and willing to give of themselves.

4. Registration/Accreditation process. Pray for the information-gathering process that will include surveying and interviewing other educational institutions in Kenya/Uganda. Pray for a helpful Christian contact well-situated within the Ministry of Education in Uganda.

5. Deaf Ministry. A team from the U.S. came through Mbale last weekend exploring the possibilities of further developing MTI's deaf ministry. We already host up to nine deaf students at Basic Certificate courses (Benjamin Werunga interprets). The team (including Jerry Drennan, a member of the AgriGroup) encouraged us to offer courses in interpretation for the deaf as well as recruiting more deaf students. Very few Christian ministries target this group, and we are not aware of any theological school that currently offers interpretation for deaf students. Could outreach to and inclusion of deaf students/faculty/staff be a part of the university in Mbale?

6. Resolution of boundary dispute. Several more amicable meetings do not seem to have changed the situation. However, our neighbor has agreed to work together with our semi-retired advocate.

7. Funding possibilities. Susie Bullock has a number of exciting opportunities for funding in her hands right now. Pray that we will respond as quickly as God allows to submit proposals. Pray for all who will participate in the process of finding sources, selecting appropriate partners, writing applications, and following up on proposals.

I can also report that James Morrill is making excellent progress in cataloguing and shelving books in the MTI library. He and the interns are potential recruits for the mission team in Mbale and/or the future university.
 

For more information about the plans for a Christian university in Mbale, contact Phillip Shero at:

plshero@bigfoot.com