Graeme and Jenny Riddle - Link Missionaries (Uganda)

Dear friends

On the way to Kasese
The decision has been made.  We will be living in Kasese.  A quick perusal of the Bradt travel guide to Uganda encouragingly offers the following insight:  ‘Hot, dusty, and rundown, Kasese is not the most prepossessing of Ugandan towns and its poky atmosphere contrasts oddly with its attractive setting…’. And yet, overlooking the heat and dust, there is nowhere we would rather be going and we see the decision to send us to Kasese as a real answer to our and your prayers.

The main reason we feel Kasese is the place we are called to is that ‘poky atmospheres’ aside, the Bradt guide fails to provide information about Kasese’s most important feature and the reason we are moving there – community.  There are around 50,000 people living in the Kasese area; each one created in the image of God and amongst whom we hope to make our home. In the small local Baptist church led by Pastor Moses (again surprisingly overlooked by the Bradt guide), we hope to find a spiritual family we can become a part of. Besides, who wouldn’t want to live in a town where the premier hotel is described by the Bradt guide as ‘…retaining the faintly depressing aura of outmoded institutionalism’. Start booking your holidays now folks!

Studies at IMC
We have continued to be challenged and encouraged by our studies at IMC.  This semester we have reassumed modules in Christian Doctrine, Missiology, and Missionary Life and Work. We have also started modules in Evangelism and Church Planting, Cross- Cultural Leadership, Paul, Psalms, Christian Ethics and Other Faiths.

As last semester, we both have to undertake a personal research project.  Jenny has decided to focus on Mediation and Conflict Resolution.  Graeme is looking at Child Rights and Child Protection from both a biblical and secular point of view.

Life at IMC
Many of you have asked what we actually do at IMC.  We start every morning with devotions at 0830 followed by classes from 0900 to 1300.  The afternoons are set aside for personal study and to complete assignments.  We also meet once a week for a service and at other times as small groups for fellowship, prayer and discussion.  The evenings are occasionally given over to the more worldly pursuits of greed, selfishness and conquest as we indulge in the games of ‘Monopoly’, ‘Risk’ and ‘Settlers of Catan’ (all vital preparation for the long evenings without electricity in Uganda).

Commissioning at Baptist Assembly
We recently attended the BUGB/BMS Assembly in Blackpool.  It was wonderful to be worshiping together with the wider family of churches; many of whom support BMS and ourselves.  On the Sunday night we were formally commissioned before the Assembly along with the other MIFTs (Missionaries in Full-Time Training).  We were so humbled and encouraged by all the support we received.

Church visits/link churches
We count it a real privilege to be invited to share about mission at various churches and have had a busy diary over the past few weeks with visits to Oxford, Coventry, London and a missionary weekend in Aberdeen.  We are now officially linked by BMS to groups as far apart as Inverness and Didcot, Coventry and London, as well as our home churches in Perth and South Ruislip.  We hope to visit all our partner churches in the coming weeks and want to express our thanks for all your hospitality and blessing.  We especially appreciate your prayers and are constantly reminded how we are all working as a team for the extension of God’s Kingdom both here and overseas.

Our commissioning
Two of the most important visits we will be making in the coming months will be to our home churches in South Ruislip and Perth for our commissioning services.  We would love to welcome any of you who are able to join us at one of these services.

Commissioning dates for your diary:
Sunday 22nd June,
 9:15am or 11:15am Perth Baptist Church, Almond View, Perth, PH1 1QQ

Sunday 6th July,
10:30am, South Ruislip Christian Fellowship, Deane Avenue, South Ruislip, Middlesex, HA4 6SR

Departure Dates
Our flights for Uganda are booked for August 19th.  We finish classes at IMC on July 17th then have time to pack up and freight some belongings to Uganda (mainly books) before heading to Scotland for a camping holiday and a time to say goodbye to friends and family. 

If you are able to pray:
Praise God for an answer to prayer as He has made it clear our future home lies in Kasese.
Pray for travel safety and energy as we visit various link churches and that God would be glorified in what we have to share:
Inverness link group – 25 May
Coventry link group – 10 June
Didcot Baptist Church – 15 June
Perth Baptist Church – 22 June
South Ruislip Christian Fellowship – 6 July
Rayners Lane Baptist Church – 13 July
Pray for our families as they prepare to say goodbye to us.

Thank you for your prayers and support,

Graeme and Jenny