Hello Friends,
We trust all of you in the U.S. had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Doreen and I just returned to Zambia a couple of weeks ago from our U.S. visit and we returned thankful for what God is doing in introducing many new people to Northrise University in the U.S. and for the work He is doing here in Ndola, Zambia and throughout our country. It is the rainy season in Zambia and we are experiencing monsoon storms. In fact, we incurred some damage from the last storm to our dormitory roof and we lost our beloved “Northrise tree” as it was uprooted. God has provided, and we have repaired our roof damage and we will plant a new, beautiful Northrise tree in the coming months. God continues to bless our work at Northrise University and the students we are educating to give back to our country and share with others in Zambia what “God has done and is doing” in their lives. Of course, we could not be living this vision and growing this university without all of you that support us. And you know all that we do is to His Honor and Glory!
Our U.S. visit was very well planned and organized thanks to Dave Murray and his team! Doreen and I participated in Northrise Gatherings in California, Arizona, Texas, and Alabama. At our banquet in Orange County, California, we had 150+ in attendance and in Phoenix 100+ with many new people being introduced to Northrise. Our home gatherings in Dallas, TX and Fairhope, AL with more than 60+ participating were successful and resulted in several new friends wanting to visit Northrise and Zambia. In each location, we had the opportunity to meet one‐on‐one with many Northrise supporters and be introduced to new people who have an interest in Christian education and the Northrise work. Doreen and I are grateful for the Northrise volunteers who give so much of their time to facilitate these events and allow us to share God’s work through Northrise with them. It is an exciting time as the Northrise story is being shared in new places around the U.S. and we are developing new supporters of Northrise University, its students, faculty and staff across the U.S. and Canada. In 2016, Doreen and I will have traveled to 15 locations in the U.S. to share the Northrise story! In the last 2 years, we have almost doubled the locations we have visited and as we implement our strategic plan in the U.S., we will expand our reach geographically and introduce more and more people to Northrise University.
During this visit, I had the opportunity to preach in churches, and lead the Chapel services for the students at Baylor University. We continue to develop our partnerships with Baylor University and Dordt College and we had the privilege to travel to both campuses on this visit. There is some exciting news to come from both partnerships that we will share in the near future! We are so grateful for our educational partners and the meaningful support they have given to us. It means so much to Northrise University, its students, faculty, and staff to have access to individuals at these universities who share our beliefs, values, and Kingdom view. They are teaching us! We are blessed indeed!
This has been an exciting year for Northrise University and we are growing in so many ways! We must finish strong! The fourth quarter is always a strong giving period for Northrise University! And this year we need our end‐of‐year support to be very strong! While we are on‐track to achieve our student scholarship goal of $240K and have commitments for the remaining campus infrastructure needs, as we enter the end of the year, we are in need of $125K to meet our operating budget and position ourselves well for 2017 at Northrise University and Northrise University Initiative (NUI). You will receive reminders from our NUI staff of the end‐of‐year giving needs and a letter from the Board of Trustees who have again put in place a matching gift opportunity in December for our Northrise supporters and I would ask you to pray and consider participating. Doreen and I cannot thank you enough for your prayers, love, and unending support! Our friends in the U.S. are family and your walk with us as we have lived the vision God gave us … to empower the people of Zambia through the development of Northrise University…one student at a time ‐ has always lifted us and given us the strength to carry on! And we will carry on to His Honor and Glory!
God bless you all! We pray His blessing for you and your family!
Have a Merry Christmas,
Moffat and Doreen
