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Pastoral Training Institute

March 2nd, 2018 1 comment

It’s now been one year that our feet have been on Ugandan soil, and I’m still learning about the extent of the impact New Hope Uganda has, and continues to have on this beautiful country.  I am so thankful to God for bringing us here to be a part of what only He can do.  I’m amazed at the diversity of Read more…

Needs and Vulnerability

January 14th, 2018 7 comments

As we are closing in on the end of our first year in Uganda, we wanted to address a question we are asked quite often:

What specific financial needs do you have and how can we help?

This is perhaps one of the hardest topics for us to discuss as missionaries.  We have put off publishing this post for many months, and in fact, I (Staci) drew the short straw.  I’m not sure if it comes from pride or insecurity, maybe both.  Perhaps it comes from stories we’ve heard from other missionaries.  For example, we know of one family who lost support because of a picture they posted containing an avocado, which was deemed to be a luxury by the now ex-supporter.

When we said “yes”, both in obedience and in faith to God, we knew that living on support would be difficult in many ways.  It is both humbling and incredible to know that we are being supported financially by people, not on the basis of Read more…

Musana Community Clinic

November 9th, 2017 1 comment

The last couple of months have flown by at Musana Camps, and I’m very happy to be at Kasana (Head Office for New Hope Uganda) where we can reset a bit and take the time to provide an update.

Since our last post, we have struggled through some Read more…

Musana Camps Security Team

April 19th, 2017 1 comment

Among my responsibilities in administration of Musana Camps is providing for the needs of our security team.  This team is tasked with keeping our staff and children safe, and our land secure.  With roughly 750 acres of camp property, and a boundary that crosses some very difficult terrain, this is a difficult task for them to accomplish.  The boundary is a 7-mile path through jungle, swampy low lands, and hilltops with stunning views.  They guard the main gate that provides vehicle access to the camp, but also patrol the entire boundary and the countless foot paths that are regularly travelled by people who require access to gardens, water supplies, and neighboring villages.

Just last night we had a man wander onto camp property from a footpath.  The man was intoxicated, and seemed lost.  Our herdsman encountered this man, and tried to direct him back to the road that leads out of camp, but the stranger became belligerent and began arguing with our herdsman.  As one thing led to another, the altercation escalated.  Security responded, the man was detained, and authorities were notified.  The night ended peaceably with the drunken man headed for home, but it was a reminder of the value of our security team and the need to have them well equipped.

There are many ways that we think of equipping the security team with the necessary tools for their trade.  The first I will mention is a new effort to train them on the vision of Musana Camps.  It is important to us that they know what they are protecting, not just the physical aspects of land and property.  Our desire is that the security team members would take ownership of the vision, and thoroughly understand how important they are to accomplishing God’s work in a safe and secure environment.

The second way we intend to provide for our security team members is through a training program.  We have a gentleman working with New Hope Uganda who previously served in the Ugandan military.  He is very skilled and knowledgeable, and has already started to evaluate and train or security program at Musana Camps.  With his help, we are developing an ongoing training program to provide job specific education to our team members.  In addition, we will also be providing general staff training that encompasses everything from money management, work ethics, and spiritual enrichment through Biblical teaching.  Our hopes are that through job specific and character building training, we will decrease turnover and build mutual trust and respect with these valued employees.

The third and final way that we must provide for our security team is through physical provision.  We desire to have our security team be a highly respected, organized, and professional group of men.  In order to accomplish this, we are adjusting our budget to account for projected expenses to keep them well equipped in years to come.  In the short term, we have to find a way to equip them with some of their basic necessities.

Here is our current needs list for our team of 8 guards:

Mukudadi – Security Team Member

  • Uniforms – 2 sets per guard
  • Boots – 1 pair per guard
  • Flashlights – 1 per guard with 3 spares on hand
  • Bow and Arrows – 1 for Main Gate
  • Knife – 1 per guard
  • Baton – 1 per guard
  • Solar Battery for Main Gate
  • ID Badges – 1 per guard

We can source all of this equipment in Uganda, and we estimate that filling these needs will cost approximately $75 per guard, or $600 for the entire team.  We estimate the cost for the shared equipment at the main gate to be approximately $100.

Of course, we anticipate having to replace these items as they wear out, so we will be taking a look at our budget in order to cover those costs in the future, keeping this team well equipped.

It’s hard to have to ask for these basic necessities, but I believe that there are many who know the value of having the appropriate equipment to do your job well.  Will you help us to meet these immediate needs, and get us started on this corrective path?  Do you know someone who has a heart for public service that might consider helping us to establish this team of young men who provide for our security every day of the year?

If God so leads you to consider a gift for this cause, you can make a donation online at https://newhopeuganda.givingfuel.com/default-donation.  Simply specify an amount, and type Musana Camps Security Team in the Additional Info text box.  This note restricts the use of those funds to this specific need.

I’d like to also thank Between The Lines Officials Gear who generously donated high quality whistles and lanyards for the Security Team in March.

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Mission and Purpose

January 20th, 2017 2 comments

As we have continued our farewell tour, it has occurred to me that we must have poorly communicated the details of our mission, and our purpose in going to Uganda.  Many people, even in the last week have asked what we will be doing when we arrive in Uganda.  I’m amazed at the outpouring of support, of how we have raised so much money to fund this effort, when it seems that so many are still unclear about our mission.  We are continually humbled by this transition to live our lives on the support of our friends and family.  We are even more humbled to see that people have generously contributed believing that God is at work, even though they may have been uncertain as to how exactly He was working.  Here’s an attempt to briefly explain Read more…

Christmas Thanks and Support Update

December 24th, 2016 6 comments

On this Christmas Eve, we’d like to take time to give thanks for all the workings of God in our path to missionary work.  We’d especially like to take the time to thank all of our supporters for helping us along the way.  We have humbly benefited from the outpouring of support from brothers and sisters in Christ from all parts of the country.  We have received your prayers, your financial contributions, and open doors to your families and homes.  We have received the benefit of deepened relationships, and know that we will also receive gifts according to the blessings with which you have been called to share.  Thank you so much for being willing to share in this journey with us.  It is so amazing to see the many parts of the body of Christ uniting in the work of glorifying Him, and it’s wonderful to see the truth of the gospel that the disciples of Christ would be known by the love they have for one another.

As we have travelled the country, we want to let our financial supporters know that contributions toward our mission have not been touched.  By the generosity of the people of my family company we continue to receive a paycheck through their donation of paid time off.  It is our hope that we will be able to continue on those wages until we depart for Uganda so that the support we raise will be used as we start our life overseas.

We wanted to provide an update on our current support, and remaining need.  We celebrate God’s amazing provision!

We are currently receiving approximately $3100 of monthly support, with $1400 left to achieve our target of $4500 per month.  It’s hard to nail down a number, since each month varies from the next.  Until we start in Uganda, those monthly funds are being ‘banked’ in our New Hope Uganda Ministries account.  Of the total monthly contribution, 7% goes to the administration of New Hope Uganda Ministries.  This helps with member care, support for children in Uganda, and for some of our great team members in the Unites States that help to support us.  Our monthly support goes to our living expenses, including things like health and life insurance.  We budget some of the monthly support for future travel home for furloughs, or in case of any kind of family emergency.  We also budget ahead, anticipating that we will have fluctuations in support over time.

Sinkler Home in Uganda

For our start-up costs, we have raised $63,000, at which we are truly humbled.  This total means that we have already raised the support needed for our home that we will move into on February 12th (Praise God!!).  We can also start applying this toward our training in Uganda.  We will be attending the New Hope Institute for five months where we will be trained in African culture, Biblical application in that context, and language training in Luganda.  We were also able to cover the import taxes on our bicycles, 4 wheeler, and homeschool supplies that were shipped to Uganda ahead of us.  Our target is to reach a total of $97,000 for our travel expenses, the purchase of our home, our training, and our vehicle.

We rejoice in the Lord for the generosity of the saints and those who have felt led to give.  Our only remaining hurdle is the sale of our home, which we trust that the Lord will take care of as He continues to remain faithful to us in all ways.

This Christmas I cannot escape the thought of what Christ gave up in order to come and live a life on earth, denying His rightful place.  He left the very throne of God to humble Himself and become a man.  As if that wasn’t humbling enough, He died the worst of all deaths, rejected by those He came to save.  He did this for us because His love for us is so great, not because of anything that we accomplished for Him.  In response to that love, He asks for obedience to His calling and a life set apart to Him.  With His example of obedience to the Father, we are committed in obedience to Him.  We are blessed to find this true of all those who are saved by the grace of God’s gift which was sent to us at Christmas.  Thanks for being God’s gift to us.

Kanyike Family Training

November 30th, 2016 1 comment

As we are in our final stages of preparation to move to Uganda, we are still needing to raise additional support for both our start-up expenses and our monthly living expenses.  However, I am writing to submit to you the needs of some of our co-workers.

Our family mission statement in moving to Uganda is “Establishing Ugandan leaders to disciple the next generation in Biblical manhood and womanhood.”  With that mission statement in mind, one of our objectives will be to help the existing staff to explore their spiritual gifts so as to best utilize the tools that God has granted to the Kingdom work at Musana.

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Medi, Eva, Jesse, and Eden Kanyike with the Team Sinkler

This work has already started in Musana under the leadership of Camp Director Syd Sparks.  One Ugandan family in particular, the Kanyikes have answered the call to ministry at Musana.  While the rapid growth of camp has required Medi to contribute in many ways, his heart is for camp program.  With prayerful insight and wisdom, the Kanyikes were sent to the United States where they are currently in training at the LTD (Leadership, Training, Development) program at Camp Forest Springs in Wisconsin.

While they have obviously raised the funds to get here and get started on their training, they are still in need of support to complete the training and get home.  They currently need $5250 for tuition, fees, and their room at Camp Forest Springs.  In addition, they will still need approximately $3000 for their one-way tickets back home.

Selfishly, it is hard to ask for help for the Kanyikes when we are still needing support of our own.  On the other hand, we desire for the Kanyikes to gain further education in line with their gifts and heart for camp program.  We see this training as an investment in the community of Musana, and in the goal of discipling the young men and women of this rural area of Uganda in biblical manhood and womanhood.  Would you consider, or share this post with others who might consider helping to complete this important training for the Kanyike family?

To donate to the Kanyike family online:

  1. Click on New Hope’s Online Donation Site
  2. Skip past Sponsorship, and select an entry for the “Other Gift Amount”
  3. Specify if this is a one time gift, or if you’d like it to be recurring until the Kanyikes travel home in September of 2017.
  4. Under additional information, type in Kanyike Family LTD Training to specify where the funds will go.
  5. Complete the confirmation information and click submit.

To donate to the Kanyike family by mail:

  1. Leave the memo line blank
  2. Make checks payable to New Hope Uganda Ministries
  3. Include a slip of paper requesting the funds be directed to “Kanyike Family LTD Training”
  4. Mail checks to:

New Hope Uganda Ministries

PO Box 154

Belle Fourche, SD  57717

Please forward the email from your inbox to as many as you think might respond to such an invitation to contribute to God’s work in the Musana Community.  Support for the Kanyikes is certainly support for us, and for the mission of discipling the next generation of Ugandans in Biblical manhood and womanhood.

If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to the TeamSinkler blog here:

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