“We’re just not sure we should go back,” said Kyle and Danae Schmidt, upon returning from West Africa to the U.S. in February 2022. They had just completed a three-year apprenticeship as global workers with Multiply.
Kyle and Danae certainly felt that they had learned a lot through a very rich experience, not to mention developing strong relationships in the country where they served in West Africa. However, they also felt that it was important to embrace a time of debrief and discernment.
“Yes, Lord, walking in the ways
of your law, we wait for you.
Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”Isaiah 26:8
Their first two months in the U.S. were spent reflecting on their apprenticeship. “It was so important for us to unpack our experience,” said Danae. “We really needed to process our years there, because we had some strong feelings about what went well and what didn’t. We needed to sift through the dirt to find the gold.”
At times during the debrief, it was tempting for them to think that something had gone wrong during their apprenticeship or that things had just turned out poorly. “We went through some deep valleys of doubt,” said Danae, “but we just anchored our faith on the experiences we had when Jesus proved himself to us. We recalled the faithfulness of God and remembered his goodness. And by the end of those two months, God had clarified our identity and calling.”
In May 2022, Kyle and Danae sat down with Multiply leadership and their ministry partners from West Africa for a day of conversations and discernment around the partnership. “Through some difficult conversation,” Danae recalled, “it became clear that the opportunities to serve in West Africa did not make the most of our gifts, passions, or calling. So, we decided together that our season of service there would come to a close.”
According to Kyle, it was not an easy decision to make. “We had grown to love the people and the church family in West Africa, so it was really hard to imagine not going back,” he said. “Yet we also had incredible peace that our Father was leading us into a new season of fruitful service somewhere else.”
With the same confidence that God had faithfully led them to serve in West Africa for a time, Kyle and Danae were also confident that he was leading them away. Almost immediately, they began a discussion with Multiply’s leadership about other service opportunities in Africa.
“We still very much wanted to be involved in the work of the Gospel in Africa,” said Danae. “We were eager to invest our passion for discipleship and our practical skills in coming alongside local leaders to further their ministry.”
During this time of discernment, they recalled a verse from Isaiah that spoke simply, but powerfully: “Yes, Lord, walking in the ways of your law, we wait for you.
Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts”
(Isaiah 26:8).
Kyle pointed out an interesting paradox: “Saying yes to the Lord often means walking and waiting, not quite seeing the full picture,” he said. “We still faced a lot of uncertainty about our future, yet it was our heart to remain committed to God, his leading, and making his name known.”
“It’s like we were waiting in the dark for the next step to be illuminated,” Danae made clear. “But we knew the Father would be faithful to lead us. So, we walked into his invitation to step away from West Africa and into something yet to be seen.”
Throughout the season of debrief and discernment, God reminded Kyle and Danae of his goodness. “Over and over again, we heard the Father saying that we could trust him,” said Kyle, “not just in the good times, but also in the challenging times, when things felt less than perfect. The Father is always faithful. He doesn’t make mistakes.”
Before long, Multiply leadership presented another opportunity to Kyle and Danae. In recent years, a strong partnership had developed in Uganda with Robert and Esther Mponye. They had started a ministry for vulnerable children called King’s Kid School, where more than one hundred children were full-time residents and almost four hundred attended daily classes. In addition, the Mponyes were involved in overseeing a network of churches, as well as a Bible school, vocational school, medical clinic, children’s choir, evangelistic outreaches, agricultural projects and more.
“We immediately loved how the invitation from the Mponyes intersected with our passion for discipleship.”
“We immediately loved how the invitation from the Mponyes intersected with our passion for discipleship and our call to partner with local churches,” said Danae. “And we just felt like we could say yes to God’s kind invitation to us, this time in Uganda.”
In the summer of 2022, Kyle and Danae took a two-week trip back to Africa. In West Africa, they said their goodbyes to dear friends and closed the door on a season there. “It was a time of celebration,” said Kyle, “and a time to remember all of the wonderful things that God did during our years there.” A week later, the couple made their way to Uganda, where they visited with the Mponyes face to face for the first time. “Our trip was everything we hoped it would be,” said Danae. “A foundation of relationship was built with Robert and Esther and God showed us so many amazing opportunities for us to come alongside them in discipleship ministry and supporting sustainability.”
After their trip, Kyle and Danae returned to the U.S. to share the vision for what they felt God was calling them to next. “We have lots of dreams and ideas for our ministry in Uganda,” they said as they prepared, “but our first several months will be filled with observing, asking questions, joining in where we can, learning the local language (Luganda) and getting to know people. We trust the Spirit will lead us into the work he has set aside for us there.”
Kyle and Danae moved to Uganda in late September 2022, and they were again struck with the magnitude of acclimating to their new surroundings. “Even though we knew better, we thought that our two plus years in West Africa would allow us to just pick up where we left off,” said Danae, “but honestly we feel like babies—everything is so new and different—learning a language, adjusting to different roles—everything takes so much time and patience.”
As Kyle and Danae begin to find their way in Uganda, they are excited about what God has for them in this new place. Yet, during their first year, the emphasis for them is on language and culture learning. “We want to come in slow and low with our ideas and our gifts,” said Kyle, “because we still have so much to learn in order to serve well.”
According to their ministry partner and host in Uganda, Robert Mponye, there is a strong sense of optimism about the partnership. “We are delighted to have them in Uganda,” said Robert. “Even before Kyle and Danae arrived here, our hearts were warmed by their desire to join us. And once they arrived, we right away felt that we had received teammates, not strange missionaries!”
In the first few months, Robert was happy to see how Kyle and Danae were exploring service opportunities. “As the days go by and we watch them getting to know our community, I get more and more excited about them being here. I see Kyle serving in practical ways on the farm and other hands-on adventures, and I see Danae diving into discipleship opportunities with young girls and kids. As a couple, they are clearly becoming a part of what our Father is doing here in Uganda.”
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