I had an awesome morning of getting things checked off my to-do list this morning, and finally made it down to “Write Update….. 76 days overdue” 🙂
Wow what a season this has been! Amazed would be an understatement of how I feel about all God is doing in Uganda. What a privilege it is to be apart of such a healthy local church, serving an awesome God, and surrounded by awesome people. Thank you to YOU for making it possible for me to be here. All my mini-updates below are made possible by your prayers, and support.
Ignite:
Our discipleship program at Life Church ended with a bang this year! We took our students on a “rubber-meets-the-road” mission trip just before graduation. People spread across two islands gave their life to Christ, were healed, and encouraged. It was so humbling stepping out in faith with 13 students and watching God meet us every step of the way. My favorite part was watching our students step out of their comfort zone’s and give all they had. I know that none of them will ever be the same, and neither will I.
Graduation was waiting for us when we got back. The church gave us a whole Sunday, and we celebrated! We thanked God for all he did on the Islands, and throughout the year. Heard testimonies, and a word from Brent…. and then….. partied! (In a good Christian manner of course.) It was a ton of fun!
We have already started interviews for next years Ignite. We start our 4th year of Ignite in the 2nd week of January!! Didn’t we just finish year 1!? Seriously, time has to move twice as fast in Uganda.
Island Annual Conference:
Right after Ignite we had the ILN (Island Leadership Network) annual conference in Kalangala. Steve Mickel and Ken Johnson from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon came and were our main speakers. We have done this conference for the last few years, but this year was a whole new level! There was such a fresh understanding of unity as 250+ Pastors from across the islands came together. Ken and Steve spoke with such transparency, and authority. Pastors were refreshed, challenged, and encouraged as they went back to their respective islands. God is continuing to grow Brent and Life Church’s influence on the islands. Watching the joy that comes from pastors being able to meet with other pastors facing the same problems is incredible. God is unifying His Church!
Transition to more focused youth ministry at Life Church:
Also during this season I have had the awesome opportunity of overseeing our High School group at church. We have split up the youth ministry into smaller chunks (junior high, HS, college, etc.) and I have been asked to be over the High School ministry. This is exciting and terrifying at the same time for me. It’s exciting as I get to step into more of a leadership and Pastoral role, but also scary as high school students will look to me as their leader. Pray for me as I step out in this new opportunity!
Mom coming:
In a little under 2 weeks I am flying to meet my Mom in London. We are going to Italy for a week, and then coming back to Uganda for 8 days. I’m super excited to spend time with her, and show her my life here in Uganda. Pray for an awesome time, and safety as we run around Europe and Uganda!
After my mom leaves we have a week to get ready for Christmas, and then it’s 2013! During the 2nd week of January we have our youth camp themed “No Limits”, with Pastor Joel Kaylor from Japan coming to be our speaker. I’m introducing dodgeball this year at camp! It was one of my favorite camp games, and I think it will work great here. Right after camp we start Ignite. I seriously cannot wait! God is great, and I love serving Him here. Thanks again for all that you do!! Love you a ton!
– Seth
Seth Sokoloff 