April 9 2012 Newsletter 

First, on behalf of Shannon, Danielle, the entire Hurley family, the SOS USA/Canada Board of Directors, and the people of Uganda, I want to sincerely thank you for your faithful support, in prayer, in ministry through missions, and financially.  Second, this Newsletter is in a different format, as we have much to communicate.  We welcome your input as to how we can better communicate, encourage and spiritually bless you.  Finally, we ask for your continued prayer and support as SOS is entering a season of tremendous growth, change and opportunity.  With that comes a great weight on the Hurleys and SOS Uganda staff – they truly cherish and depend on your support through these times, always knowing that it is His Kingdom for which they labor. 

Here is a quick summary of what’s new in 2012:

• Several staffing changes (additions, losses)
• Change in Baptist Union Uganda leadership
• New opportunity with African Baptist Fellowship
• Nearing completion on a new church building
• Plans for the new Primary School are progressing
• Major focus on a Strategic Action Plan

Half of December and January were spent running around the USA, taking doctorate classes, visiting beloved supporters, having board meetings, and making sweet holiday memories with my incredible family (which included the official adoption of my two Ugandan children and teaching my daughter Emma how to drive).  Upon returning from Uganda, life has continued at this same pace.  Since late January, I have spent two weeks conducting conferences: First, a Transformed Life Conference (an expositional training through Romans 5-8) for pastors in eastern Uganda. Second, I spoke at a Glorious Gospel Conference (an expositional training through Romans 1-4) for pastors and lay people in Canada.  I also spent a week in Kenya assisting the African Baptist Fellowship President (Michael Okwakols) to bring about reconciliation between a divided Baptist Convention (a division that was headed toward a split without our intervention) and a week visiting Baptist pastors in the southwest part of Uganda.  In addition to this traveling, SOS has welcomed and integrated three new incredible staff members: The former BUU President Sam Wamanga (to manage Community Outreach in Anthony’s absence), David Echau (to manage Biblical Training since our local church responsibilities have increased), and Solomon Kavuma (to manage the education Department).  All of these men are very capable and are bringing SOS to another level.  On the building front SOS has just finished a new staff house (#4), which is now occupied by the Echau family and we are now working on another staff house (#5) for the Kavuma family.  We have also continued the building of our church, which was delayed due to a problem with the roof.  We are hoping it will be completed by the end of April or early May. 

Here is a slideshow of the construction work underway on the new Kubamitwe Church, and clearing the grounds for the primary school and soccer fields.

Here is a slideshow of the Kubamitwe Church baptisms (at SOS headquarters in Luweero).

The full story on these and other recent events is in our newsletter!! Please contact us with any questions, or if you’d like more information on SOS Ministies.

SOS Uganda has had some wonderful short-term missions teams in the past few weeks – if you have photos or stories from these teams please email them to us!!  Here is a photo of Shannon on a bulldozer helping get the property ready for a new church building and the primary school! [ the school is under construction as we speak ].

Stay tuned for more updates on church and school construction, and Shannon’s upcoming calender through 2012!

A great Hurley family photo!

SOS is working hard at continuing to improve the website functionality and interactions with existing and potential SOS supporters.  Should you ever have any questions, comments or concerns regarding SOS, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Thomas, SOS/USA Executive Director, at kevin@sosministries.com.

We have just released the August Newsletter, which can be viewed HERE.   We hope you enjoy it!!

http://www.placeritachurch.com/home/140005082/140005082/audio/The%20Passion_%20To%20Glorify%20God.mp3

This past week I had the privilege of visiting the pastors of West Nile.  I was accompanied with members of Calvary Bible Church, pastored by Bryan McKenzie.  During our visit we stopped to visit churches in 6 different Baptist Associations (Pacwach, Piyita, Zombo, Arua, Moyo, and Adjumani).  The journey involved loading up 10 people with luggage into a 9-passenger car (Ethan 8 and Evan Hurley 5 being two of the passengers) and driving around 800 kilometers (500 miles) on a bumpy and dusty road and sleeping in tents along the way.  The adventure consisted of several highlights:  One highlight was getting the privilege of putting a roof on a Baptist Church in Moyo.  With the local wisdom of the Moyo pastors and the brute strength of the Grace Bible church, a church in the deep village bordering Sudan now has a covering.  Another important part of our trip was the time spent encouraging the pastors of Adjumani.  Upon our arrival, we came to discover that there was conflict among the association of churches in the area.  The conflict was a result of a heretical group coming into the area and persuading the churches with their false teachings.  This group is much like the Judaizers of Paul’s days, having come into the area and brought confusion to God’s beloved church.  The Lord used us to bring some reconciliation and encouragement to these beloved churches. 

Please pray for a friend of mine by the name of Patrick who is caught up in the lies of these false teachers.  I intend to return to Adjumani again to help bring further encouragement and clarity.  Also, pray that these churches that are caught up in this movement will come to our Glorious Gospel Conference in August.  Another highlight of the trip was to see the growth of these churches since the last time they were visited.  Prior to SOS’s involvement in the Baptist Union, many of its churches were splintered, discouraged, and feeling alone in the ministry.  Today, however, the churches are really building, gaining vision, and passion in their ministries.  Even the area that we were the most concerned about because of its total lack of any spiritual presence, now has a missionary helping the churches in the area.  God is building a sweet love and unity between SOS and the Baptist Churches.  They are viewing us as one of them and as a major group God is using to bring revival the God’s Church.     

Please continue to pray for the effective work of SOS Ministries with the precious saints in Uganda, through Baptist Union of Uganda and our other friends.

Your fellow servant of the King,

Shannon

Bible Study: I don’t know if I’ve updated the new Bible study theme since we finished our parenting series a couple months ago, but in the Community Ladies’ Bible Study, we have been studying how to live like a Christian since the leadership ladies agreed that our women lack a clear concept of Christian growth and Christian living. Coming mostly from unchurched backgrounds (or very weak teaching), they have never been taught about godliness nor have they seen godliness modeled before them. This has become apparent as I’ve observed their speech and conduct. I’m convinced that some of these ladies have truly been transformed by Christ, but are still infants in Christianity. So I have decided to study the fruit of the Spirit with them. But more than two months into the study, we are still in the preliminaries. We’ve been studying the nature, the motives, and the means of godliness before we look at specifics. A few weeks ago, after discussing different types of wrong motives for godly behavior (many of which we convicting to me!), one new believer asked, “Why is it wrong for me to do something kind in order for others to look at me with respect or admiration?” Although we had just finished talking about the dangers of stealing God’s glory from Him, I again reiterated the filthy audacity of us creatures stealing the glory that only God deserves. We also discussed that a concern for God’s glory grows as our love for Him grows. And our love for Him grows as we understand more and more what He saved us from. Throughout these past weeks I have been extra conscious of my motives for serving, frequently asking myself, “Am I doing this out of my love for God, for His glory?” Unfortunately, many times my answer was, “No—I am robbing God of His glory!” God’s glory is the only correct motive for my service. But I’m not alone; Martha (Mary’s and Lazarus’ sister) had the same problem. She wanted to serve the Lord, but somewhere along the line, her heart motives became skewed. Had her motive truly been for God’s glory, she would have prioritized correctly and would have let her perfectionistic hospitality desires go. She certainly wouldn’t have yelled at the Lord, ordering Him to force Mary to help her. But on the other hand, Mary’s motives were right, even though she appeared to her sister as being lazy and self-serving. But Mary didn’t care what others thought of her, only what her Lord thought. I have so much to still learn from these two sisters, as I usually fail to maintain the priority of God’s glory.

How did I get off track onto Mary and Martha? Anyway, last week, I decided to expand on the concept of God’s glory as our motivation. We discovered that every time we sin, it is because we value something else as greater than God’s glory. I gave them a homework assignment to identify a recent situation when they sinned. Then I asked them to identify what they were desiring as having greater importance than the glory of God. So today they gave me their answers. Answers included: loving sleep, peace, money, comfort, reputation, to be obeyed, and even unbroken dishes. A couple ladies couldn’t think of any sinful situation. But this led to a wonderful discussion about various sins. After sharing about a recent sinful situation in my own heart, I encouraged them to openly share with each other so that we can help each other to grow more like Christ. Then one lady asked about forgiving others when you are continually feeling “abused.” I asked how many of them believe that they deserve to be treated well by others. Most raised their hands. Then I reminded them that biblically we are all considered as low as dirt (Psalm 103:14), deserving nothing better than hell. Anything better than hell is a bonus! They looked at me dumbfounded, but I think they got it. I later jokingly ended our study by wishing my ladies who are only dirt a good night. But seriously, the more I thought about God’s grace of giving me so much more than I deserve, brought incredible joy into my heart. If I truly reminded myself of this, I would never complain again, because anything that happens in this life is better than hell. Although tonight at the dinner table, my kids began anticipating my response to anything “bad” that happened: “Yeah, Mom, we know…burning your tongue is still better than hell.”

Mama Mark: This week at our weekly prayer meeting in our home, Mama Mark (Maria, mother of Mark, our Cerebral Palsy friend) shared the change that has taken place in her heart toward God’s Word. She giggled as she confessed, “I used to only read my Bible at church on Sundays. Then it would stay on the same shelf in my house all week until the next Sunday. But now I am so happy! Now I read my Bible every day after lunch from 2 to 4 and am able to understand it!” She proceeded to ask a question about a specific application in what she was reading, wanting to make sure that she understood correctly the intended audience of the author. Not only is she understanding it, but has begun sharing it with others! She now leads the Sunday afternoon “Quest for Truth” Bible study in Kubamitwe.

Adoptions: The main reason I haven’t updated you during the past few months is because I have been in “adoption mode”, trying to complete an American home study in Uganda and obtain immigration visas for Emma and Emmitt to be adopted in Texas this coming July. We are still waiting to receive the visas, but have made travel arrangements to come to Texas at the end of July. The state requires every member of our family to be present at the final home study at my parents’ home in Montgomery, so we are planning this unexpected trip. I must confess that I have frequently failed in the “be anxious for nothing” department. So I am convinced that the Lord gave me this specific adoption “trial” to mold my anxious, weak heart. He is so good to tailor-make our trials, isn’t He? We would appreciate your prayers as we continue to walk through this process with many unknowns still ahead.

Gratefully,

Danielle

You may also note that we’ve updated our Facebook page a bit, and have switched to iContact to better communicate with our ministry partners.  Please take a moment to add your name to our email list (on Home page, right side) or update your information.

God Bless!

ps – here’s a great picture of the Hurley family!

Overview of SOS Ministries – this video provides a great summary of SOS;

SOS Ministries in Uganda

2010 Annual Report – open the attachment below. 

SOS 2010 Annual Report

January 2011 Newsletter – CLICK HERE to open the newsletter in a new window.  if you did not receive our January 2011 newsletter (via email), you are not on our mailing list!   The Newsletter has a ‘Year in Review’, 2011 Upcoming Events, Prayer Requests, and other information.  Please email kevingthomas@msn.com or click “get email updates” on the Home page.

For a “behind the scenes” look at SOS, you can find updated videos and photos at a recent SOS short-term missions blog here:  www.fbc2sos.blogspot.com.  Have other photos, video or blogs to share – please email us!  God Bless!!

This sermon was delivered at Placerita Baptist Church in Placerita, CA March 22, 2009.

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Download: Sufficiency of Scripture Ministries 2009 Year in Review

Download: Glorious Gospel Conference Booklet

Download: SOS Devotional Guides (PDF)

This study is designed to lead the participants to dig deeply into the text so that they can understand the authors original meaning and see what the Bible has to say for itself.

Download: Identifying False Teachers ~ Bible Study in Jude

Download the PDF

• What is religion? 
• Should I believe in God? 
• Is the Bible reliable?
• What does it mean to be a Christian?
• Who is Jesus?
• Why did he come?
• What must I do to meet God’s demands?

This study was borne out of Shannon’s own quest for truth and seeks to answer the common questions faced by new Christians in their  quest for maturity.

Download: The Quest For Truth (PDF)