Dear Friends, September 23, 2009

The big news is that we have set a date for our move to Uganda! We will be leaving Houston on the afternoon of November 3. We had our Aid Sudan retreat last week, and it was an intense time of prayer and team-bonding. As the retreat drew to a close, God really challenged me to step out in faith and to set our departure for early November.

Although we are not fully funded yet, (we currently have 2/3 of our monthly commitments) we believe that God will provide the additional funds that we need between now and the time we leave or shortly thereafter. Because He has so clearly called us to do this, we trust in His timing and in His provision. If you have committed to or feel led to support us financially, please do not wait any longer! Please click the link below to set up your contribution:

https://public.serviceu.com/payment/default.asp?OrgID=11615&PaymentID=5108

As you scroll down the page you will see my name and a box next to it where you can enter the amount of your contribution. You can also tell the website when you want your contribution to begin, so if you need to wait until after the first of the year, just indicate that as you go through the steps. You can also mail a donation to: Aid Sudan, PO Box 770693, Houston, TX, 77215-0693. Please reference “Bob and Suzy Livingston” on your check.

I’m also pleased to share that Suzy will be going with an Aid Sudan team into southern Sudan about a week after we arrive in Kampala. I am so excited for her to have this opportunity to see firsthand the incredible needs that exist in Sudan and also the incredible hope that God is bringing to the people there through the ministries of Aid Sudan. Suzy will be going to the village of Kulu for a little over a week, and she and the other team members will be focused on evangelism using Chronological Bible Storying. They will tell from memory eight stories that summarize the entire Bible from Genesis through the resurrection of Christ. Click below if you’d like to hear the stories:

http://www.aidsudan.org/api/Index.cfm/cms.page/i/2317/t/Chron.-Bible-Storying.htm

So here are some key dates for us and some things that you can be praying for in the next several weeks:

Oct. 19 – 27- We will head back to South Carolina and spend a week or so there.
Nov. 3- We board the plane for Kampala arriving the evening of Nov. 4.
Nov. 10 – 19- Suzy travels to Kulu, Sudan.
Nov. 24- Kerry Henderson, our Uganda director, and his family return to the States for a 3-month furlough. We will be staying in their home, and by God’s grace we hope to be able to hold things together until they return to Kampala in February!
Feb. 2010- We will move into our own home in Kampala provided that our funding has all come in. Otherwise we will return to the States to raise additional support.

Please pray for us as we pack and organize our things over these next several weeks. Also pray that as God challenges people to support our ministry that they will be obedient to what He has called them to do. Pray for Suzy and for the team traveling to Kulu that God will prepare them well for their trip and help them to learn each of the Bible stories well. And finally, pray for our families as we leave them behind that God will comfort and strengthen them.

Thanks so much to all of you who have prayed for us and given to our ministry over the last several months. You are such a blessing to us! None of this would be possible without your incredible faithfulness, generosity, and obedience!

I’ll send out another update in a couple of weeks. Until then, may God richly bless each of you!

Bob, Suzy, Elise, Brody, and Milenia

September Update

We arrived back in Texas last weekend after a month of traveling. Our first stop was Disney World, and we had a great time. The kids loved it, and I know will be left with some great memories from our vacation. (To be honest, Suzy and I loved it just as much as they did, especially visiting all of the different countries at Epcot!) From there, we traveled to Isle of Palms, SC, where we spent a couple of days with Suzy's sister who just so happens to live right across the street from the beach! Then it was off to Columbia where we spent a couple of weeks with friends and family. We also had the opportunity to make some new friends as we did several presentations about our work with Aid Sudan. (For those of you who are new to our newsletter, welcome!) On August 23 our home church in Chapin had a commissioning time for us, which was a blessed and powerful time as the church sent us out and committed to pray for us during the years ahead. Finally, on the 29th of August we started the long journey home with a brief stop in Birmingham to visit with the Axworthys, our dear friends from Brazil. What a blessing it was to see them one last time as they left the next day to return to their work in Brasilia.

September is going to be an exciting and challenging month for us. We are in the process of trying to schedule more presentations for September and October. We currently have commitments for 60% of our monthly support, and we praise God for His incredible provision. We continue to pray that the additional commitments will come in between now and November so that we can set our departure date for late this year or early 2010. Please join us in praying for God to stir the hearts of those He wants to partner with us financially and that they will be obedient to what He's called them to give, even in these uncertain and difficult economic times. We also will begin homeschooling this week. We've received all of our materials, and Suzy has been working diligently to get ready for her new role. Please pray for her and the kids as they get adjusted to this new way of learning. Also this month we are attending a class on Chronological Bible Storying at Houston's First Baptist Church, and Suzy is going to attend Beth Moore's Bible study, also at First Baptist. Finally, our Aid Sudan retreat is going to be September 15 - 18, and it will be great to have a time of prayer and fellowship as our team gathers together in Cleveland, TX.

Follow the link below to see the latest Aid Sudan news including the opening of our new Bible school in Nimule and the repair of several water wells near Aweil.

http://www.aidsudan.org/api/Index.cfm/cms.page/i/1430/t/Aid-Sudan-News.htm

Thanks to all of you for your continued support of our ministry with your prayers and giving. As always we'd love to hear from each of you, and please let us know if there is any way we can be praying for you.