2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Juna Amagara Ministries (JAM) Staff, we chose these verses as the basis for our theme for 2015: to glorify God by prayerfully accomplishing His work through faith.

My first full week of the new year was full of staff meetings.

The ABIDE staff all reported on Monday, we shared a meal and time of prayer together in the evening, then began meetings that lasted from Tuesday morning through Saturday evening.

The meetings involved a combination of team building activities, training, evaluation of past programs, practical preparation, sharing God’s Word together, prayer & fasting, and more.  We have been quite busy!

Sunday we visited a church in the area to lead two services (one in English & one in the local language: Runyonkore).  Throughout the program, during most weekends we will be actively involved in ministry with the students.  So, it was good for us to start off in that way as staff as well.  Though students weren’t present to witness it, it’s always good to practice what you preach, so to speak.

Now we are waiting for this year’s students to arrive.  I believe the final count of students we invited was 34 (both boys and girls combined).  Yet, history has taught us that there are always some students who end up not reporting.  So, we have a waiting list as well, in case our numbers are lower than we expected.  Prayerfully, we are trusting God to bring the students who he desires to be part of ABIDE 2015.

Tuesday we begin an orientation week that is packed-full of activities as we all get to know each other and the students become more familiar with the ABIDE program.

Thank you to all of you who are praying for us!

JAM Staff Meeting for updates and prayer

Dr. Rev. Ben discussing the relationship between potential and effectiveness.

Even some alumni helped us out in the service. I love seeing these girls serve together again! (Pioneers from 2013 Girls)

Challenge Activities!

I love this picture because it shows how the team is having so much fun, even with a difficult task (everyone had to stand up together).