Back in Action, Leaving July 23rd

Well, It has been quite some time since we have been on the ground in Uganda. Since the addition of our beloved Kingston to our family, our home has been a place of immense growth and learning… One thing is for sure. With the new love that has developed in our lives through parenting Kingston the capacity of our hearts has grown too. Over the last two years we have thought of our friends and ministry in Uganda often and now we feel ready to take new steps ahead in this journey with our Ugandan brothers and sisters. 


We have really been thinking through and praying about the right opportunity to get back to Uganda. It’s been hard because our time together as a family is so limited and precious due to the demanding times of this generation along with our 2 full time jobs. As an answer to our prayers, a unique opportunity has come that will allow us to continue the adventure of investing in our friends half way around the globe.   We wish we could say that the three of us were  heading out together but it is with great excitement and anticipation that we tell you that I, Jason Kanapkey am planning on going back to Uganda in representation of our family on July 23rd - 31st with our team from Preston Trail Community Church! 

Our team will continue our work with local Uganda ministry partner, Foodstep and Native partner, Hesed International. We have been serving along side and supporting both of these partners for several years and this will be my fourth time being a part of their ministry and care for the Ugandan people. 

Our team will begin their time serving the children and leaders of Footstep before I arrive four days later. With Foodstep the team will be visiting a children’s prison where we have personally been able to serve, love, give and share the gospel of Christ. Our team will also spend time with Foodstep at the Home Coming, a home of about 103 kids that Nathalie removed from a children's prison. Here the team will spend time, loving the kids and showing them they are valued and loved by God.

  I will be joining the team before they journey further east to Jinja where we will be investing in local Ugandan pastors and putting on a discipleship and ministry conference with Hesed International. I am so excited to get back to Jinja because I have really developed a passion for working with the pastors of this areas to grow in discipleship and the ministry of Christ. In the past we have worked with pastors and leaders from the Anglican Church. This time we are starting what will be the first of 3 conferences for a group of independent pastors. These pastors are a bit more evangelistic in nature so I am excited to see how we can partner with them to help broadcast God’s word and the love of Christ into their communities. During our time with the pastors and women leaders, we will pour resources, training and encouragement into these amazing people. We will be teaching on biblical marriage, foundational church forming principals, recovery programs and biblical interpretation. These leaders will take what they learn into their own churches, communities and villages to expand their knowledge of God’s word, understanding of the gospel and even vital health and hygiene practices for the community. On our past trips I have developed some cherished friendships with these pastors. I can’t wait to meet this new group of brothers and sisters in Christ!



We like to say that some of the best ministry opportunities happen “In between the lines” of our formal ministry endeavors. That’s another reason we are anxious to get back to build on some of those precious friendships we have developed as we forge new ones Our team of about 7 are beginning to prepare the teaching materials and activities for the July trip and conference. Please pray for God’s wisdom, truth and love to be reflected through all they will do and say while in Uganda. We will be praying a great deal about the Men, women and children we will meet along the way. We can’t wait to see what God does in our hearts and through us on this journey.

As always your partnership in this ministry in a crucial element to the success of this mission.  We would love to hear from you… We value your words of encouragement, your prayers, and of course,.. your financial support also keeps us moving. The trip costs an average of about $3200 per team member. Please consider how you will be a part of this next trip, which is less than 2 short months away. You can contact Jason through email at imcreated@gmail.com  Also, you can follow our progress during the trip by going to facebook and “like” our page called Uganda Ministry at Preston Trail and see the right side of this page for ways to help.  We are looking forward to continuing to build on relationships and forging new ones. We are expectant to see God continuing to change all of our hearts and transform our lives.
 


Serving With You,
           Jason & Carrie Kanapkey

Uganda Bound, July 16th

I can't express how much God is filling my heart with excitement and anticipation for the upcoming journey. In less than 20 day we will embark on another amazing journey half way around the world and into the depths of God's love... We are knee deep in preparation to leave for our next trip. God is blessing us richly and putting inspiration in our hearts and we hope your hearts will be tied to this mission with us..

Family and Friends,

We know it’s a bit late but we wanted to express our love, gratitude and appreciation for your prayers and support of our last trip to Uganda. We have so much here in the United States but one thing we lack is time. It seems like the moment we got back, the wind-storm began and we were thrown back into this busy life. We finally took some time to sit down and tell you a little bit about our February trip and also let you know that Jason will be returning in just a few short weeks, July 16-27th. Click on the Upcoming Compassion Tab for updates on our previous trip and details about the upcoming trip.

You can always follow our progress before, during and after the trip by going to facebook and “like” our page Uganda Ministry at Preston Trail 

BTW: Are you planning on coming to All Hands on Deck for Uganda?! We have lots of {FUN} stuff to do to get the team ready. If you are not going on this journey, but want to be part of it--this event is for you.
Wednesday, July 11th at 6 pm at Preston Trail Community Church We will have several stations set up and you can work one, two or a few. See what the kids in Uganda will be doing. See what the pastors and women will be learning. See what our team will be bringing. Fun and practical--hope to see you there! See the Ways to Get involved Tab for other ways to get involved.

We depart February 20th!

We will be departing soon for Uganda, We would have never imagined we would be heading back so soon, but our Father had different plans for us. We love Him so and are honored to follow His leading!

 Our team of 9 will depart in just a few short days. Over the past couple months we have become unified in the Lords purpose, love and grace. And we have become united with so many of our loved ones who's hearts have been tied to this mission through support, prayers, encouragement and resources. We have been broadsided by God's faithfulness and abundant provision while we have been humbled by the way everyone has come together in support of this amazing ministry. God has encouraged in so many way BIG and small and there is absolutely no doubt in our minds that the Lord has brought this group together and planned a way for us that we haven't even fully grasped.
Love and grace has been poured out on everyone of us and we feel the strength that only the Lord can provide through the unity of His body, The Church... YOU!

So we will hit the road Monday Feb 20th and arrive in Uganda on Tuesday evening where we will hopefully sleep and get rested for our first day of service with 60 Feet. We will bump around on many dusty roads that cut thru dramatic landscapes. Above all we will see a couple of our new friends from July and meet some new faces from beautiful Uganda. We have great hopes to forge new relationships that are rich with God's grace, love and truth as we look to serve anyone from a malnourished baby to an esteemed Ugandan Pastor and everyone in between....

We are honored by everyones love and support and we desire to do well with all that you and our Lord have entrusted us with. So we will GO, and it gives us great encouragement to know that you are GOing with us... in heart, in spirit, in prayer and above all In Christ.
        "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus."

Uganda Compassion Trip, 1 Month in Counting!!!

We had an amazing overnight retreat with our Uganda Compassion Team, preparing our hearts minds and materials for what we will do in Uganda. We are getting very excited! We will be leaving home on February 20th (the day after Carrie's Birthday) We probably won't have time to celebrate Carrie's Birthday until we get on the plane because there is a lot to get done over the next 4 weeks. But we've already started having our fun as you can see in our team building exercises.


We have a lot of great opportunities ahead of us so far;
Through our Partners at Hesed Ministries, we have confirmed that we will be teaching 30+ Ugandan Church Leaders and at least 10 of their wives, Each of our team members are preparing to teach between 2-4 topics during our 4 day Pastors training conference where we will teach on topics ranging from Biblical foundations (God, Bible, jesus, salvation, the church ect..) to a complete Marriage Study as well as Health and Hygiene.

In partnership with Sixty Feet, we are also confirmed to go back and visit the Children's Prison "M1" where we visited last time. We look forward to humbly serving these children with compassion, worship and whatever else God equips us with..


We are hopeful in our plans to build on our partnership with Serving His Children.. We are planning to spend sometime serving the children and care takers and may also have the opportunity to go and teach in the village about Nourishment and Nutrition of children..




God has blessed our team with overwhelming unity, passion and vision. Everyone has approached this trip with reverence, obedience and faith in what God has in store for us.


Please pray for the preparation of teaching materials, our travels, our families and the hearts of those who we will meet and serve. We are expecting huge things and know that it could not be possible without God's provision and the blessings and support of His Church, our family, All of you!

Glory in the Uganda Tree!

Behold..!!! The Uganda Christmas Tree is complete. There is such glory represented in her branches.
God's Glory!!!

Each Branch represents your lives and your families that are unified in this mission of serving the wonderful people of Uganda.
Numbered are the Ornaments reflecting the fruits of the labor of our friends and family here at home. Those who's hearts are tied to this mission of teaching, serving and giving to a beautiful people that are grateful for anything we bring in Jesus wonderful name.
In the center is our Trunk; the center of all that we are and the source of all we can accomplish,... reminding us of the strength we can only receive through Jesus Christ! Apart from Him we can can do nothing of eternal significance.
Tucked among the branches are the Gifts that we have been given to accomplish the work we have been commanded to do. These gifts equip us to make disciples of all nations, to serve and seek what is lost, to mourn with those who mourn and celebrate with those who celebrate. To feed the hungry, to visit the imprisoned, to visit and pray for the sick or weak and to sacrifice our lives for the Lords purpose.
And the Star at the top of the branches is the light that unifies us all. The light that we may shine into an ever present darkness wherever we are!!! It lights the way, gives us clarity and draws us together in perfect unity.

This tree, with God's Glory, represents the unity of His people, bound by giving spirits for the work he has commanded from all of us.

Jesus tells us that because of the light that shines from our unity,... others will will more clearly see His Glory and believe in Him.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 1:20-23

We can' thank you all enough for being a part of this mission which is so close to our hearts. We are grateful for your gracious gifts and prayers. Above all your love and support. Each of your gifts are an answered prayer that we count as provisions from God. And our greatest joy is that you all are serving the Lord with us as we are humbled to be a conduit.

As a result of everyones generosity through the Uganda Christmas Tree, we raised a total of $1653. When added to the rest of our contributions, we are 61% to our total goal of $6100. Please accept our overwhelming gratitude to you and your families. We can't wait to see God in action and share His story with each of you!

with overflowing Hope and exceeding Joy, Jason and Carrie K

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Uganda Christmas Tree

Hello everyone, Christmas Week is here! We are building a Uganda Christmas Tree to represent the spirit of giving and help raise funds for our upcoming compassion trip to Uganda, which is coming quickly.
We need your help! Here is an easy way!

There are many parts of the Uganda Christmas Tree. (as you can see)

1 Trunk - $100

24 Branches - $25, $50 or $75

28 Ornaments - $10

1 Star - $150

Unlimited Presents - $ Any amount

Please "Comment" your pledge below and we will add it to the Uganda Christmas Tree so we can see her come to life.

Every donation makes a difference big or small. We are honored and grateful to have you, our friends and family, as a part of this mission.

You can honor your pledge and "follow" progress through the links to the right of this post. We commit to keeping you updated on the Uganda Tree as well as the details of our trip in February.

Just as we are all vital parts of one unified body, all these vital parts of the Uganda Tree will make it complete with your help.

Let's build us a Christmas Tree!!!

Much Love,
- The Kanapkey's

A little bit about our Ministry Partners in Uganda.

The need for spiritual strength and community development is very real in the beautiful country of Uganda. In the midst of much poverty, there are also attacks heading into Uganda from multiple directions in Africa as Islamic groups, cults and others look to take advantage of the weaknesses of a region where education is not abundant and resources are not plentiful. It is our hope that the work that God does through us and these partners in Africa will help to add strength and stability through the power of the Gospel as we “Go” and be The Church, The hands and feet of Christ.

 

Hesed Ministries in Uganda, East Africa:

In July we had the opportunity to partner with Hesed to put on a 4 day Pastors Training conference. For these for days we poured into around 40 - 50 men and women leaders of the local Church. We provided training and discipleship in the areas of Biblical Foundations, spiritual living, living out the gospel and much needed community health and hygiene principles.

We were extremely humbled on arrival when we met the men and women Hesed had brought together for us. Many of the men were Arch Deacons who have responsibilities and influence over 100+ congregations in Uganda. You can imagine that at first we felt ill-equipped to teach people of such status, but they were extremely humble and hungry for the knowledge God equipped us with.

We built many rich relationships and really fell in love for their humble, giving and gracious spirits. God graciously blessed us materials, resources and preparations.

We really felt that our time was extremely fruitful  in strengthening and equipping these leaders with truth and knowledge that will be magnified and increase as they take it beyond the walls of their church buildings and cast it into their communities.

Hesed will continue to strategically organize groups of key people that we can teach, train, encourage and equip on each of our visits to Uganda.  Our hope and vision is for them to grow in their ability to recognize and serve the spiritual and physical needs of their local community. Our women teachers for the next trip hope to bring some of the women leaders into the community to see some of the very real needs of the orphaned, forgotten and hungry children. We hope to open their eyes to the need that are right next door and inspire in their hearts a desire  to serve these needs.

Founded by Michael and Florence Kyomya in 1995, the ministry’s objective is to be a catalyst for spiritual renewal and growth in the Anglican Church of Uganda. These 2 have the biggest hearts I have seen and their vision is amazingly clear. Here are some key focuses you will find on their website.

Evangelism and Discipleship

Establishing a Culture of Prayer

Noble Women of impact

Community Development through Busoga’s Women

Reaching Young People for Christ

Pastoral Training and Church Leadership

·        Reaching Ugandans through music, theatre and dance.

 

Amazima Ministries, Jinja Uganda

Also while in Uganda, we had the pleasure of going to see and briefly be a part of an amazing work God is doing in Jinja, Uganda. Mostly we just played and worshiped with these amazing children while showing God’s love. I think our hearts were more touched by the children than our own presence. But our eyes were opened to this Amazing ministry and the very real needs of millions of children in Uganda.

We hope to at least provide support to Amazima. Just being there you can see how far this ministry can make an American dollar go. It feels like anything we could give up providing more resources to this ministry and these children as a sacrifice well made!  In the Lugandan language, Amazima means "truth." Amazima desires to reveal the truth of God's unconditional love through Jesus Christ to the Ugandan people. Amazima Ministries was founded by 19 year-old Katie Davis in 2008. The organization, based out of Brentwood, TN, feeds, educates, and encourages orphaned and vulnerable children and the poor in the country of Uganda. They do this through:

·         Education Sponsorship

·         Masese Outreach

·         Community Outreach

·         Vocational Projects

·         Discipleship

You can read more about Katie and Amazima on her website or her book, Kisses From Katie

 

Children’s Prison and Orphan Ministry, Uganda

One of the things we most looked forward to on our trip in July was our visit to a children’s prison,… where there are many kids that have been placed there for simply begging on the streets. Because no one will claim them, they are forced to stay there until they are 18. This is just of the many places in Uganda that you will find abandoned, deprived , hungry and orphaned children.

 

We were able to visit this prison with Foodstep, where we worshipped, prayed, preached, played  and showed loving acceptance to some amazing kids. Many of these children showed a faith and love for God beyond anything we have experienced in the states. One thing is for certain, the gospel was very real in this dark place of depravity! In the midst of much pain and suffering children are experiencing love and truth because these organizations have a passion to take a stand and we have hearts that say “Yes” to God’s promptings to go half way around the world to show love to these children!

 

Between 2 ministries we are working with in Uganda, Foodstep and Sixty Feet God is doing some amazing things. The kids are hearing and living out the gospel, having some of their most basic needs met and most of all experiencing what it means to be loved so that they can know what it means when we tell them “Jesus loves you.”

 

We hope to continue to work with one or both of these ministries and we are planning to return to the prison we visited in July on our next trip.

 

In Between the Lines, People of Uganda

We realized that beyond the obvious ministry opportunities we had lined up, there is ministry all around us. I  really believe that Life is a Ministry, just like We are the Church. When we are at home and when we are traveling half way across the world.

While out and about in Uganda we came across many amazing people with some of the most humble and giving spirits. People who had very little wanted to offer us the best they had, for simply being “visitors” They served us in such amazing ways it brought tears to our eyes.

Along the way we also made some great friends with our bus driver Rajab and his traveling companion Keith. We came to love these men as we learned their stories and really look forward to seeing them again when we return to Uganda. Since we have returned we have had the opportunity to stay in communication with and encourage our new great friend Keith.

 

We continue to pray for the new friends God has granted us in prisons, on the playground, at the conference and especially those he granted us in between the lines!!!