Day Eight

Walk, Walk, Walk, Walk . . .

It’s so rewarding when God allows us to actually see the marks He leaves on people. It has been a long eight days and we are pretty well spent but right at the end of it all, with one day left, God allowed this to happen. We started our time in Uganda by leading the children’s worship rally at Ggaba Community church last Sunday and then teaching the children’s classes for their small group time. We sang our trademark children’s ministry song: “Walk, Walk, Walk, Walk, In the Light”, several times and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. Well, today we went back by the church to retrieve our passports and plane tickets from the church safe. Ggaba has a huge Awana program with close to 1000 kids each Saturday. We were walking by one of their Awana rooms and we couldn’t believe our ears. We heard 70 children singing: “Walk, Walk, Walk, In the Light”. It’s great to know that we brought a little light to Africa that will shine on long after we have gone.

Good News

Another great thing that happened in this same vein was when we were in a very remote part of Luzira in a very poor area when we turned a corner and a little boy (who we later guessed was about 6 or 7 years old) came running up and said “Good News!” He proceeded to go through all the main points in the Helping Hand to Christ Gospel Presentation. We were amazed that this child remembered so much of the gospel after only hearing it one time in his school assembly the day before. It confirmed that this tool is blessed by God, applicable in other cultures and MEMORABLE! Praise the Lord…Amen…God is Good…All the time…All the time…God is good…That is His nature.

Donnie


What’s Cooking?

I figured that I would be concerned about nutritional issues when we came to Uganda. Today wrapped this up in a nutshell. We had a “Fun in the Son Rally” at a boarding school located very close to Luzira. When we first arrived I just stood in awe—children of all sizes and ages were washing by hand uniforms and sheets in wash buckets, hand wringing them, and hanging them on barbed wire or lying them on the ground. This was a lot of work this early in the morning. Then I saw a group of kids wander out of a building with little blue bowls in their hands. This is when the Pediatric Nurse in me kicked in. I made a beeline to talk to these kids and see what their breakfast was….2 slices of bread and about 3-4 tablespoons of sugar heaped on top. Near the end of the program we were able to “treat” all the kids with a drink, package of biscuits, and one piece of candy for an approximate cost of four cents per child. Later in the day when the program was completed, I noticed some really tall boys. They smacked of NBA all over their foreheads. They were in their early teens and at least 6’4”. Then I took a step back. They were eating (drinking) their lunch. They each were given a large cup of “porridge” for their lunch. Of course I stayed a while and talked about basketball, their homeland (Sudan), and how I could pray for them. As I walked away, I stood and prayed that God would meet their nutritional needs that were grossly neglected. These guys are huge and their growth velocity is huge at this time in their lives—but the deficit is also huge. But when asked what I could pray for them about, they didn’t mention or complain about empty, underfed, undernourished stomachs—they wanted prayer for upcoming exams and families afar. God bless the little (tall!) children.

Diane Elrod


How Precious is His Word!

What an awesome day of ministry we had today! We began the morning at our “Fun in the Son” program and it went great. The 17-year-old boy I led to Christ a couple nights ago, Vincent Okello, came by to help us with the kids. What a blessing it was to get to minister together with a new babe in Christ and to also get to pray with him once again! One of the highlights of my day was on the bus ride back to Luzira Church after our morning program. We were all hot, tired and hungry and our day had just begun. Sitting next to me on the bus was one of our interpreters from Ggaba Community Church, Paul, who had just been given a gift Bible from one of our team members, Judy Dalmolin. I sat quietly watching him as he paged through it. Then, he brought the Bible to his face, pressed his nose to it, closed his eyes, and began praying. After he finished praying I asked Paul if he had just received the Bible from our team and he said, “Yes. I have never had my own Bible and I have wanted one for a long time. I am so happy to have this Bible.” This just reminded me of the several Bibles I have laying around my house…and how I take the availability of God’s Word for granted.

Wow. God is good…all the time.

Brenda

Day Seven

Day Seven

30 Seconds to Preach!

These are troubling words for any preacher! Whether they mean: “you only have 30 seconds to preach the word” or “you have 30 seconds until you preach” (without prior notice). However, personally I much prefer the latter…and that’s what happened last night. The Ggaba praise team led in thirty minutes of lively worship including a time of dancing before the Lord. When the time came for preaching the pastor had been called away and the translator/worship team member came to me and said, "Pastor Donnie, you must preach the word now…we have finished the music time and if not, the people will leave." So, I grabbed a Bible and in the next thirty seconds God impressed on me to preach on the story of Nicodemus. I don’t remember exactly what I preached but I do remember the invitation. I looked up at the altar call and down the aisle came Mike whom we had led to Christ at a table in Bbiina and the most amazing thing was that he was bringing a friend with him to pray to receive Christ. Then two of the other boys that were sitting at that table came to profess faith in Jesus publicly. I believe that Mike will become a leader in Luzira church. After counselors had taken the new converts out to meet with them, the Lord impressed on my heart to offer another invitation to those who are born again and are planning to join Pastor Enoch in planting this new church. The response was overwhelming and it was such a blessing to see Pastor standing there with what will be the nucleus of his new church. God is good…all the time…all the time…God is good…that is his nature! (This is what the students say at the Christian schools before we begin each presentation).


Shop 'til you drop!

Actually, we didn’t shop that long because this was also a ministry day since we had a school assembly but it was fun to buy all sorts of unusual and exotic gifts for each of you!...O.K. we really only bought for MOST of you!...O.K. I’m lying straight up! We only bought for our families…and really, really...most of the really good stuff we bought was for ourselves, but we do love you.


Today we had our most powerful experience in a school. It was also the school that is located closest to the church. We were invited on campus by the Scripture Union Club but other students came and joined us. Some of our schools have started out pretty tough with kids that were sitting back, reluctant to join in, but this one was different. From the very beginning they were alive and involved. We sang songs for them and with them and taught the Helping Hand to Christ. They were truly excited about learning the Helping Hand to Christ, and about twenty of them prayed to receive Christ. Afterward, a young man that was clearly the leader of the group, Roland, came and told us how much he loved it and said that he would be responsible to continue to teach it to others at the school and to lead the way in praying for revival. Please pray for Roland. He could be a key person at the Luzira church.
-Donnie

This week, God has continued to whisper this phrase from Matthew 9:27 to my spirit “…According to your faith, let it be done…” "Get serious and stop playing games with God" has also been a recurring thought. I have really been stretched in my faith by the sweet Christian young people of Uganda to trust God in areas that I had previously reserved for myself. God has shown me His character and nature in such beautiful ways. Today, one of the most precious and loving young men from Ggaba Church was used by God to fulfill a promise given to me by God several years ago. God had encouraged me to become a gospel clown with the thought of using this tool internationally to share God’s salvation and to raise up other believers as clowns. Tanya and I have “clowned around” at each of the schools that the team visited and we helped Ivan Woods, the young man from Ggaba Church, to become a clown for Jesus in Uganda. A group of us huddled around him as he applied make-up and laughed to see his new character emerge from the grease paint and clown clothes.

Your prayers and encouragement have made it possible for God to strengthen my faith and see the reality of His word come alive. I am looking forward to seeing what He has waiting for me tomorrow!

Bump a nose for Jesus!
Bob
AKA Buzz

Day Six

This morning our devotion was from Galatians 6 on encouraging one another. We talked about how that godly encouragement is a double edged sword including both the willingness to not only speak positive words of encouragement that are sweet but careful words that can challenge each other in areas of need. This team has been the most encouraging team I have ever led and it has not gone unnoticed. We have a wonderful team of 20 African nationals from Ggaba Community church who are serving alongside us as evangelists and translators. Godwin is one of the most experienced translators who blessed us by telling us that we were the easiest, most encouraging group he has ever worked with.

Demonic Opposition

I hesitated to share this yesterday but after praying and considering it I think it would give the Father glory…I woke in the early hours of the morning yesterday from a horrible dream with the feeling of oppression in my room and had a sense that Satan had sent me a message that I was on his radar screen and that he had plans to destroy my ministry through a false accusation. In the dream I actually saw this happen and woke up very alarmed in my spirit. I am so thankful though that God immediately took me in the word to John 8 44 and surrounding verses which reminded me that he, Satan, is the father of lies and that I do not need to listen to or be afraid of this lie he had whispered to me in my sleep. It is very common for people to experience such attacks on the mission field and I found it interesting that the day before Bob King had specifically prayed that we would have spiritual protection as we entered the territory of Satan. I was reminded of this prayer request in the early hours of the morning. I had just finished reading the word when the Muslim prayers began to ring out over the city from the huge loud speakers at the top of the mosque near our guest house. It was an eerie sound that made me think I was hearing the voice of a demon. Surely they are behind this religion which oppresses millions. I knew God had given me my devotion topic for the morning and after teaching on this several confessed that Satan had also whispered lies to them as well. We prayed over each person and our team was strengthened and revived for our next adventure. To God alone be all glory and honor and power, Amen.
-Donnie


I’m In The Lord’s Army

Our first school presentation yesterday was a nursery school. These children were absolutely precious. They filed in high step marching then stopped in straight lines. Then later towards the end of our presentation they graced us with a song. Before they sang the head master said “at ease” they all stood at ease. Then she said “attention!” They all went and stood at attention. I was stunned thinking my husband would have loved this as he serves in the Army. This headmaster ran her school with much discipline and during playtime they did things like jumping jacks and other exercises that reminded me so much of exercises done in the military. Another moment that left all of us in awe and some in tears is when Donnie said to the children “let’s pray.” Before Donnie could begin to pray their small little voices rang out in prayer. We all looked up to see their little heads bowed and they were all lifting up a prayer to God.

There were many touching moments for me today. One occurred as we were doing door- to-door evangelism. My partner Tanya was sharing Christ with a group right outside a store. Before I go on I must say watching Tanya share Christ while dressed as a clown has been quite an experience. No lie, they always seem to take her very seriously and never once questioned her wild makeup and red yarn hair. As Tanya and Chance began to pray with a few outside I felt God’s urging to step into the very small shop. A lady named Grace was there along with another gentleman. Grace had been outside listening but quietly slipped away when Tanya gave an invitation to pray to receive Christ. I asked her if she understood what my friend had shared. She responded “I did not.” I asked her gently if I could explain it to her again. As I walked her through the “hand thingy” she began to shake her head in understanding. I also turned to address a man named Charles who had seemed very cold and intimidating when I walked in. I asked them if they understood and if they knew if they died today were they 100% sure they’d go to heaven. Grace responded with a soft “no.” Charles said “yes” with much confidence. I asked Charles why he knew, “he said my soul is a good soul, why are you telling me that this is the only way? I need to understand this.” I again talked about our sinning nature and that Jesus Christ was God’s perfect son. That is why he was the only one who could pay the price and close the gap between us and God” he said a bit more quietly “I understand this.” By this time two more had come in and heard the second presentation. All four prayed to receive Christ right there. What a precious moment in my life. Donnie has spoken of divine appointments many times and until that moment I had not personally experienced one.

It gets easier to share every time and I’ve gotten to the point where street evangelism is one of my favorite things to do!

The harvest for lost souls was so good today. We had twenty three decisions for Christ today during our door to door evangelism in our group alone. We spoke to a group of women in a home and I shared the gospel while holding a tiny infant, just one week old, in my arms, while Tanya shared Christ with another young woman in the home. By the time we left three had prayed to receive Christ including a Muslim named Sharon. I did not know she was a Muslim when I shared the gospel with her. Betty our translator told me as we left her home. In hindsight I’m glad I didn’t know it would have been much more intimidating. What a neat group of women, as I left their home the prayer in my heart was that they would grow in the Lord and that they would be followed up with and nurtured spiritually by our Ggaba team long after we are gone.
-Ginger Cunningham



When I think about what to write to tell you all, so many stories come to mind, stories of experiencing God’s sovereignty. I would love to tell all these stories, but that would take pages. As we were evangelizing door to door (or person to person) a young man walked up to me as I was wondering where the Spirit wanted me. We introduced ourselves, and I somehow came to ask him if he knew Jesus; he replied with saying he was born again but asked me what I could offer him, because he was an orphan. At that moment the Holy Spirit brought to my mind when Peter told someone “silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have you I give you.” I gave Dan (the orphan) info about how beautifully God put together his Church to build each other up and praise his name, and that we were planting one in Luzira. I told him to come that night to a Crusade. Later that night he came early to the church and he was sitting next to a new believer. After I was done dancing with the children, I decided to talk to the other man sitting down next to Dan, he looked lonely. He had a Bible and I asked if I could show him my favorite verses, I asked Dan to come listen. I walked these two young men reading verses from every book that came to my mind explaining the Love of Christ for us. We read numerous accounts of how God lavishes His love on us in different ways and how we can love others with His Love. All this time I was trying to strengthen the other man because I sensed he was “on the fence” of Christianity. It did not come to my mind that Dan needed these verses to confirm his worth as a beautiful child of God, even as an orphan, After the music and preaching was over Dan responded to the alter call and was saved. It was awesome to watch him surrender his whole heart to Christ’s life so that Christ can now live through us. After the service I hooked up Dan with Pastor Enoch and they established a connection. It’s amazing to know that Dan now has a new family, Praise God!
-Chance Pircher

This has been an amazing experience, and I am humbled that God has allowed me to be on this team. I am in Uganda…somebody pinch me! I have been Kippy the Clown for four days now. I do get opportunities to change and be Tanya…feeling a bit schitzoid. I get a kick out of the second-looks I get from people on the street when I sit by a window on the bus. All kidding aside, being a clown has opened up so many opportunities to talk to people. Our first day going “door-to-door” (I have yet to knock on a door…people are everywhere), the Uganda people had no problem with me coming up to them in a red wig and red nose. So far the people I have talked with do not know what a clown is and keep asking me why my nose is red. I shared the gospel two times that day, yet 10 people prayed with our team to accept Jesus! Praise God! The first time someone told me they wanted to pray, I was speechless. I had to grab Chance Pircher and ask him to lead the prayer. The second time I presented the gospel, six men accepted Jesus at one time. I am not used to this!

The next day was not as fruitful for our team, but was an interesting experience. Ginger, Chance, and I along with our interpreters kept bumping into Muslims. One invited me to his mosque, one debated with my interpreter, and another one scoffed when I showed the picture of Jesus on my Evangecube. The scoffer later offered to buy my Evangecube…I’m guessing to take my tool away.

Today has been my most spirit-filled day. Last night I could not go to sleep. My mind kept wandering on thoughts that should not be thought. I recognized immediately that I was being attacked by demonic forces. I prayed and confessed to God. Several hours later I finally fell asleep. This morning, I did not have my normal peppy and obnoxious energy. I had to force myself to be clowny for the precious preschoolers. During lunch, I confided with some team members that I have “hit the wall” that Brother Donnie had warned us about. When Brenda asked if I would like to be prayed for, I broke down. This amazing team covered me in prayer just in time. I could immediately feel the Holy Spirit take over. We then took off for “door-to-door”, my energy was back, and I was looking forward to sharing my Jesus. To make a long story short, in one hour and 45 minutes, Ginger, Chance, our interpreters, and I talked with 23 people who chose to accept Jesus. I am so overwhelmed and am a true believer of the power of prayer.

Please, pray for the Uganda team against the demonic forces all around us. Evidently, we are upsetting them….hee, hee!
-Tanya

SALVATION AND THE SQUATTY POTTY

Well, today was fun! We started in a primary school where we sang and had time to play with children. All of us had to dig deep to recall childhood games to keep the children happy. We did the hokey pokey, duck duck goose, roll the ball and more. It was hilarious to hear the kids say, “And me, And me” when they wanted the ball tossed to them.
After lunch, we went door to door again, or hut to hut, as one of our team members said. This is definitely a more appropriate description of what we are seeing here in terms of dwelling places. Donnie, Crystal, Dorothy (our amazing translator) and I walked down a road where we encountered many believers. I called it “Born Again Road.” Even still, we were able to share the gospel with some people who accepted Christ. I was very excited to pray with a sweet lady named Janet who became a believer. I have to admit it is overwhelming how many people so quickly say, “Yes, I want to do it. I will pray.” I’m thinking, “Are you sure? Don’t you have more questions? Do you really get it?” One thing Donnie said to us during training was not to complicate things or over-explain things. I think in America we are such a contemplative society and are in the habit of weighing pros and cons before doing anything. We really do have to make a case for Christ. Here, though, people are so hungry and thirsty for truth that they are confessing the Lord left and right.
So…on a funnier note…. You may have seen the picture of Laurie, Crystal and I with a caption saying we are trying to embrace the culture. Well, there’s one part of the culture I WILL NOT EMBRACE. I have been avoiding the squatty potties at all costs!! Seriously, I go in the morning and then not again until we get back to the guest house at night, sometimes a thirteen hour span. I just can’t do it. Until today, Ginger was my partner in this endeavor. She got on the bus today and said something like, “I should have stuck with the plan. My skirt just fell in the toilet!” I died laughing. There really is an art to using them correctly. Props to those who have done it.
-Katrina Simmons

Running List of all Prayer Requests:

Please pray for Krista Tope and Chance they have sore throats but are getting the proper medication

Pray for our team to have strength- the next three days will be very full with street evangelism in the mornings, school assemblies in the afternoon and open air meeting with the Jesus film in the evening.

Pray against dehydration- our team is provided water on a moment-by-moment basis.

Pray for traveling grace in and around Kampala- the traffic is unbelievable and we travel across town twice a day.

Pray that Satan would be bound from distracting or dividing our group- so far He has been defeated at every turn.

Please pray for Joy Martin and Adolph Ramirez, they are not feeling well.

Please pray for Tish Hicks, she has experienced both headaches and nausea.

Please pray for boldness as we face the enemy and spiritual protection as we enter his territory.

Please pray that we will allow God to lead us into any area of ministry He desires for us.

Please pray for Pastor Enoch's family, his infant daughter, Vickie, has had a fever.

Please pray for the volunteers/translators for Ggaba Community Church.

Please pray for Donnie for leadership and decisions for our team.

Please pray for our overall team health.

Please pray for Maureen, a new convert who is HIV positive.

Please keep Laurie in your prayers as she found out tonight her grandfather is very close to dying. It is difficult for her to be so far away from her family at a time like this.

Please pray for smooth arrangements tomorrow. Tish and Ginger are supposed to be able to see the children they sponsor. Pray transportation and timing work out perfectly.

Day Five

THE REST OF BRENDA’S STORY

Yesterday Brenda shared about leading Maureen to Christ and how glad she was that she did not quit sharing when she hit “the wall” we talked about in devotion. Maureen showed up for the crusade service this evening and said that she wanted to share a testimony. I always defer to a pastor regarding anyone who desires to speak in a service so I introduced her to Pastor Enoch. She shared her story with him and he was so moved he has asked her to share it this Sunday morning. Here’s how it goes: Maureen used to frequent the Sun Set Pub which has now become home to Luzira Community Church. She admitted that not only was she addicted to alcohol but that she slept with many men who were regulars there until she contracted HIV. Her next statement was so sad. She stated that not one of the friends she partied with at the Sun Set Pub cared enough to come and see her in the hospital. And, not one of the men she slept with so much as called to check on her. Then she smiled, though her face is already distorted by the effects of her disease, and said that she was finally happy now that she had accepted Jesus. Tonight, when she walked into the very place that Satan had used in the past to destroy her life, she was greeted by her new brothers and sisters in Christ, who she said, “really, really love me.”
-Donnie

Oh my goodness! I don’t even know where to begin or how to describe this amazing journey. I am truly overwhelmed with all of the things happening. First of all, I have fallen in love with the children. They are the most beautiful and precious children I have ever seen in my life. Every time we go to a school, it’s so exciting to see their smiling faces. You can see the anticipation they have as they wait for us to talk to them and tell them about Jesus. I love it! Secondly, I have to be honest for a second and say that going door to door or doing street evangelism is really not my cup of tea. I knew that was part of the trip, but I was never really excited about it. However, it’s amazing to me how God has worked in that area, not only in me, but with everyone. Although it still makes me nervous every time we get off the bus, I know that God has divine appointments waiting for us. Donnie, Kat, our translator Dorothy and I work together when we go door to door. Yesterday we stopped in Bbina and the first stop we made we talked with five different guys and Donnie led each of them to Christ. My eyes were full of tears as they each prayed the sinners prayer, and I was so amazed how obvious God was at work. Today another divine appointment was waiting and once again I was nervous as we walked off the bus. Kat talked to a few people and Donnie and I stood back. We were her prayer warriors for that encounter. As we moved on down the road we saw a place where three girls were sitting. Donnie said to me “I want you and I to tag team this one” so I said okay and walked on in. We all introduced ourselves, and then Donnie started talking and sharing with them about the new church in Luzira. Then I shared the hand thingy, and Donnie added more when necessary. At the end I asked them if they wanted to take that small step of faith, and they said YES. The girls told Dorothy that they were excited and if we left without leaving them this special gift of Jesus, it would be so bad. So for the first time in my whole entire life I led these girls in the sinners prayer, and they accepted Jesus into their hearts. What an amazing moment for me. I’m not the only one with stories like this. Each of us on this team has unique encounters with people each day, and I am so overwhelmed each night when I hear them. As we have stated before – the harvest is very ripe for picking, and I am so excited we have so many new members in the family of God!
-Crystal Gulley


Before I came on this trip, I had been learning about the power of the Holy Spirit living in us and the authority we have in Christ. This morning we talked about spiritual warfare and mentioned different ways that Satan is trying to distract or discourage us. So as I read my Bible on the bus this morning, God took me to Luke 4, where Jesus casts the demon out of a man. As I sat there, He prepared me to go out, and He placed on my heart that I needed to be aware of that spiritual warfare going on around us. So I went out with confidence as we shared the Gospel, knowing that God had already intended for me to have a divine encounter. Susan and Julius, both from Ggaba Community Church, interpreted for Laurie and me as Adolf prayed for us. Almost immediately we encountered five people. I could tell immediately that two of them were Muslim. It was apparent to me that demons had control of them. So I began praying with confidence that these demons, just as when Jesus had sent them away, would leave! As I began sharing “the hand” presentation of the Gospel with this group, both Muslim women turned and walked away. I probably don’t need to tell you what happened next. You probably already know. After sharing some scripture and explaining the Gospel to the other three, all three (Jeffrey, Richard, and Diane) knelt down and prayed to receive Christ.
Then, this afternoon after lunch, I felt God impress on me that I just needed to go prayerwalking. So I grabbed Adolf and two translators from Ggaba Community Church, and we began up the road near the church. The members from Ggaba had never prayerwalked before. So we were able to mentor them. After a while, we came to the end of a dirt road, and there we found a man digging a ditch on the side of the road. So we told him about the church that is being started, and he was willing to hear what we had to say, so as Adolf prayed, I shared the Gospel with Alex. Without any questions or objections, he said he wanted to accept Christ right now. So standing in the ditch, this man prayed and became our brother in Christ.

I told Judith, Pastor Enoch’s wife, that it is so unusually easy to share Christ here. With childlike faith, these people accept the truth readily. She told me that this was because God has anointed us to go out and has gone out before us. These are only two of many amazing stories about what God has done. God is great, isn’t He?
-Krista

A Busy Muzungu is a Happy Muzungu!

We just finished dinner with Pastor Peter Kasirivu from Ggaba Community Church. He came to hear what God is doing at the new church plant in Luzira and he was amazed at the many stories of miraculous conversions. When he heard our hectic schedule and all the types of ministries we were doing, he said: “one thing we have discovered in hosting groups from America is that A BUSY MUZUNGU IS A HAPPY MUZUNGU! The one thing that seemed to blow him away was the fact that we were allowed tonight to sing and preach the gospel at a huge tin auditorium filled with 1500 SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST students! African Renewal Ministries has never been allowed to speak at an Adventist gathering. We sang our worship songs and I preached the gospel including a sinners prayer. I was not sure if I had offended the headmaster but I guess it was o.k. because he invited us to come back if we were ever in Kampala again. He also told us that the reason we had been invited was that of all weeks of the school year we had come on “International Week” so it gave them a perfect reason to allow the Americans to come into our school. We were not able to counsel them afterward but many, many of them prayed to receive Christ.
-Donnie

                                Krista & Adolph leading 3 people to the Lord


                                                 Child playing by the road


                      Tanya, Judy & Adolph sing with Luzira children


                                              Seventh Day Adventist School


                  Crystal, Laurie & Katrina try to blend in with the locals

Day Four

I am overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounds us, even as we travel through the vast poverty of Luzira. The children, dirty and dressed in rags, are stunning as they run up to us, eager for hugs. They are so excited to see visitors in their communities. God continues to amaze us with His power. Our team has been carried moment by moment by the Spirit and we are witnessing lives being changed.

As we followed another group from our team, we prayed as we walked the streets. God answered our prayers within a block as we encountered our first Luzira residents. We had intended to only invite folks to view the Jesus video that evening at the church. But the Spirit led Brenda, Stephen and I, along with our interpreter, David, to share Jesus with each person we spoke with. I am humbled that God allowed me to lead Lydia and Wamula to Christ. Pray for them as they begin their new lives in Christ.

The first service at Luzira Community Church was amazing! The African people love music and expressive worship. They began playing music to draw in the crowd. Children and adults began arriving right away. The music had a great beat – something you just have to dance to! We began dancing with the children and they loved it. It is so touching to see how little things mean so much to them.

Thank you for your prayers and for helping make this trip possible.
-Janet


God is the God Most High. I don’t know where or how to start. There are so many miracles that are happening every moment. The children—oh my—when I looked into their eyes—God spoke to me and said—“You are looking into the heart of God.” It was a very clear thought in my mind and it was there—no doubt. This is a hurting nation that is hungry for healing—their heart is ready and God is “raining a healing “on the people of Uganda. Within steps of every team praying and walking, people prayed to receive Jesus. They are open and inquisitive—they are listening to what we are saying and they ask very good questions. A father was wearing a cross with Jesus on it and then looked at Judy’s cross. He started to turn it around and around—the other people in the crowd were also looking at the cross. She told him, "He's not there—He is no longer dead, but risen and alive and he lives in my heart. He can be in yours and yours and yours” she said as she went around to each person. His wife, who was standing in the background, popped her head forward and said “that is a very good answer." The people here are sponges—they can’t get enough. In preparation for Team Uganda I impressed in my heart to pray for miracles in Uganda. All along the miracles have been coming in—weather breaks, healed team members, lost souls eagerly receiving Christ. I had thought that God had more than answered this prayer. Today a sister came to Gaba members, Judy and myself to come to the house across the street for prayer for her 16 year old brother, Mark. Judy and I eagerly entered the house. Phyllis got her brother—wheelchair bound recovering from a stroke secondary to a sickle cell crisis episode that happened during a gall bladder removal procedure. I am overwhelmed that God has found us to be faithful to raise this small child to Him in prayer and supplication. Judy and I are claiming Matthew 17—faith the size of a mustard. The team prayed for complete healing of little Mark. Pray for strength and endurance for his sister Phyllis who has done a wonderful job of caring for him. God be Praised.

Thank you for your prayerful support.
-Diane


I am sitting here with our bus driver, Patrick. He has been such a blessing to our team and he is an excellent driver. He has driven us up hills, over hills, down steep embankments, through tremendous traffic and we’re all still in one piece. Praise God! Patrick loves the Lord and we love him! These past five days in Africa have been the most amazing days of my life….I know I will never forget Africa or the hundreds of faces I’ve seen. Today we ministered in a school of about 150 children. Some of the children were orphans and some had families. They were so excited and at the end of our program we gave them toothbrushes and presented a soccer ball to the Headmaster (better known as football here). In our team meeting this morning, Donnie told us that many of us might “hit a wall” in our ministry here, and that we must be in prayer constantly, yet rest in God and allow him to break through the wall for us. Well, I hit the wall today. After we ministered in the school I was ready to call it quits for the day. Yet the Lord had other plans. Donnie felt the Lord leading us to minister in the streets so he led our team and the team from Ggaba Community Church to a market area and we sang praise songs right there in this market as people shopped and moved about! Yet they were listening. As we sang, a man approached Stephen Hokenson and asked him how he might be saved. While we were singing, I watched Stephen share the love of Christ to this man…..and guess what. God used this to break through that wall I hit today. After we sang we went in teams to walk the streets and see who the Lord might draw us near. He led me, Janet, Stephen and our interpreter, David, to a small beauty shop and I shared the love of Jesus to Maureen while she had her hair done….then she prayed to receive Christ as her Lord and Savior. Down the street Joann prayed to receive Christ. I am so thankful that I didn’t call it quits today….the Lord had an appointment with Maureen and Joann that he allowed me to witness. Praise His holy name. Please keep us all in prayer…that we “rest” when needed, yet remain expectant and open to how the Lord will use us. Love to you all and my family…I miss you all.
-Brenda

Hello to all back home. What an experience it has been to be here in Africa! God has moved in so many ways. Before coming here, I was never one to be comfortable sharing Christ w/ people by way of talking to them one-on-one. I have always done so by “living by example.” Boy, God has broken those walls down on this trip. Adolf, Krista, two translators, (Suzanne & Julius) and I are in a group going door to door on the streets. I have shared with many people and every time it gets easier and easier. There have been some very difficult questions that people have asked me, but I am continually amazed that He has given me the words to say. On Monday, a man stated that his parents were in hell because they did not believe, therefore, why shouldn’t he sacrifice eternity with God so that he could be with them? He also asked, for their sins to be forgiven could he pray long enough? Wow! What do you say to that? Thank the Lord he gave me the words to say……We as humans can’t tell if they are in heaven or not. That would only be between them and God. I also said there is nothing he could do to save them, but the only thing he needed to be concerned about is his relationship with the Lord. At that point, Donnie came over to help out and the man asked him the same questions. Hearing Donnie’s answers confirmed that my answers were true. Later, Donnie said that those were the hardest questions he has faced when witnessing to people. No open professions of faith were made, but many seeds were planted and people said they would visit the Luzira church that night. Today, I talked to a man named Vincent who is “riding the fence” between Catholicism and Christianity. I believe he is close to making a decision, but he wants to learn more before praying to receive Christ. The greatest news today was that Krista led a 15yr old girl to the Lord today….Praise God! There are so many other stories to tell but I think you can see God is definitely working here. Thanks for your prayers, they are definitely working.
-Laurie

The Jesus Film-

Last night after our crusade service an African evangelist joined us and set up a huge screen ten feet in the air which can be viewed from both sides. People from the community not only packed out our little facility but were crowded onto the street adjacent to our building, to watch the story of Jesus in Lugnadan. At the close of the movie twenty four people prayed to receive Christ.

HERE’S THE REST OF THE STORY! Three days before we left for Africa I am sitting at my desk and a man calls my office. His name was Greg and he told me that he had heard that we were going to Uganda and he needed us to carry a generator there for him. Let me share my first impulse…are you crazy? We were already taking over one hundred bibles, six microphones, mic cables, a twelve channel mixer, a direct box, two microphone stands, two thousand pencils, one thousand toothbrushes, two thousand gospel bracelets, twenty presentation bibles, and on and on. On top of this, saying you need to take a generator to Uganda is a bit like saying you need us to take something to your friend in Texas. I could see all sorts of potential for problems in making the connection once we arrived there. But, then I found out that this guy was Devin Holmes’ uncle and Devin is a faithful missions champion in our church so reluctantly I agreed to bring the generator and worry about the details later. Brenda actually checked this as her second bag at the airport. This past Sunday morning after church at Ggaba a man walked up to me and introduced himself by saying something like: “I think you have something for me!” He told me that his name was Jonathan and that the generator was for him and he needed it desperately because he had been assigned to SHOW THE JESUS FILM EACH NIGHT FOR THE CHURCH PLANT AT LUZIRA. In short, if we had refused to bring the generator these precious souls might not have a new address in heaven.
-Donnie

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for Joy Martin and Adolph Ramirez, they are not feeling well.

Please pray for Tish Hicks, she has experienced both headaches and nausea.

Please pray for boldness as we face the enemy and spiritual protection as we enter his territory.

Please pray that we will allow God to lead us into any area of ministry He desires for us.

Please pray for Pastor Enoch's family, his infant daughter, Vickie, has had a fever.

Please pray for the volunteers/translators for Ggaba Community Church.

Please pray for Donnie for leadership and decisions for our team.

Please pray for our overall team health.

Please pray for Maureen, a new convert who is HIV positive.

Day Three

Today was the first time we laid eyes on the newly acquired site of Luzira Community Church. We broke up into 6 teams to go prayerwalking around the neighborhood of the church. As God would have it, we encountered some of the neighbors along the way. They were very curious as to why “muzungu” (white people) where walking their streets. The first man that my group came upon was Paul. Paul was living a life of sin and alcohol. We witnessed to him using the Helping Hand to Christ.(the hand thingy) Davey and Michael, volunteers from Ggaba Community Church, interpreted for us as Paul prayed to receive Christ. Paul told alcohol that it no longer had a hold on his life and Jesus is the new ruler of his life. Praise God! A little further down the road Diane Elrod met a woman named Lorna standing at a well. Diane told her the good news of Christ. The woman at the well prayed to receive Christ right there, her hands still wet from washing clothes. We then loaded back onto the bus and visited our first primary school. The hundreds of children came to greet “Kippy” and “Buzz” (aka Tanya L and Bob K). The children of Africa are so precious. None of us will ever be the same. They are amazed to see their pictures on our digital cameras. Many have not seen their own reflection before so others had to point out who they were. They gather around us just to touch us and get a smile. As we went into a crowded school room, Donnie stood on a chair playing the guitar while the rest of us taught the children to sing “Walking in the Light” and “Brother, Friend”. The clowns did some skits and were a big hit. Katrina Simmons, Diane Elrod, Donnie, Janet Slayden and I explained the Hand of Christ to the children. Afterwards Donnie invited them to pray to receive Christ. Many did. This is an amazing trip and I am so grateful to all who sent us. One act of random kindness can change the world.
– Judy Dalmolin

Give Me that Old Time Religion- I’ve always heard about open air meetings and such was the very first service ever held at Luzira Community Church. I was so honored that they would let me preach this service. We opened the iron gates of the new facility at 4:00p.m. and the Ggaba Praise team began to play African Worship Music and sing in Lugandan. Soon a crowd had gathered and then our praise team provided “special music”. Then I had the privilege of preaching the word and 11 people raised their hands at the close and prayed aloud to receive Christ. Some of those who came forward were ones we led to Christ on the streets this morning. Twenty years from now when Luzira Community Church is a thriving ministry that has planted many other churches it will be awesome to remember the first service and the very first converts in this area. The wind of the spirit continues to blow and the fields are not just ripe for harvest- they are “white” which is when the kernel is past ripe and bursting at the seems.
-Donnie

Prayer Requests

Please pray for Krista Tope and Chance they have sore throats but are getting the proper medication

Pray for our team to have strength- the next three days will be very full with street evangelism in the mornings, school assemblies in the afternoon and open air meeting with the Jesus film in the evening.

Pray against dehydration- our team is provided water on a moment-by-moment basis.

Pray for traveling grace in and around Kampala- the traffic is unbelievable and we travel across town twice a day.

Pray that Satan would be bound from distracting or dividing our group- so far He has been defeated at every turn.

Day Two

I thought we had died and gone to heaven’s throne early! The worship at Ggaba Community Church this morning was phenomenal. The team of twenty singers were not only praising God with their voices which were intense and perfect pitched but they praised the Lord with their “whole self” with movements that were not choreographed except by the Holy Spirit at the moment. We did experience a bit of heaven on earth. Then, after such amazing worship, we were introduced and it was our turn. One of our team slipped up alongside me and asked are we really going to sing after them? And boy did we sing. The Lord had led us to sing “How Great it Our God” and I was so thankful to God that our team was so bathed in the spirit because it was not as if this was a singing contest…we opened our mouth and the Lord’s glory fell. Crystal belted out the verses solo and then when we joined in on the chorus…so did the whole church. This is one of their favorite songs!...in English! We were lost in the moment and there was neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, American nor African in that moment. We were just the family of our great God.

Hmmmmm…what to Preach

Well, the Lord did it again. Any preacher who has preached more than five times in his life knows the feeling that comes when God changes your tune at the last moment. Knowing that I would preach at perhaps the greatest evangelical church in Uganda (in front of Pastor Peter Kasirivu, one of my heroes) I had worked for a couple of weeks on a sermon from 2 Kings on my favorite King…Josiah. I really wanted to preach that sermon. But Saturday evening I could not get peace about it so I called for several of our team to come and pray over me for wisdom. I went back to my room and opened my bible and a sermon dropped out of the back cover (a “throw down” I keep in case I’m ever in any church where the pastor suddenly cannot preach…I’ll be ready). It was a sermon I had actually developed for my evangelism class and taught at staff meeting when Pastor James asked me to speak recently. It was only a skeleton of a sermon actually, a rough outline but I knew this was God’s answer when I realized that it was the story of the man that according to Christian tradition had been led to Jesus by Philip and had subsequently taken the gospel for the first time to the continent of Africa! It was the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunich. I’m not sure what all I said but a preacher always knows when God takes over…it was particularly moving for me that several young men came forward to surrender to be church planters or everyday evangelists in their communities. Praise God…he alone is worthy.

And then Chaos Ensued…I think they call it Sunday School.

After the service was over we went to minister to the children’s and student’s Sunday School. I have never in thirty two years of full time ministry seen anything like it…there were kids everywhere. We were led into room after room, two or three of us on a team, where between 100 and 300 students were waiting (approximately 650 total). We had brought crayons and coloring sheets and some craft items but were totally unprepared for the sea of children we faced. God took over the situation, we adjusted and flexed (Bro. Si always says: blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape) and in the end we sang, and taught the Helping Hand to Christ, and told bible stories and gave our testimonies and ended up with tearful eyes and joyful hearts again as the 650 mostly poor children came together at the end to get porridge a white milky liquid that would be for some of them their only meal today.

Tears flow like rain here.

My eyes are wet here quite often and again we cried as our nurse Diane Elrod shared about doing crafts with second graders. The idea was for them to put their hands on a giant stamp pad and them put that imprint on a paper plate with a bible verse…something to hang on their wall. Her heartbreak came when she dipped many of their little hands into the paint only to realize that they were riddled with sickle skin disease and they couldn’t straighten out their hands because their knuckles were arthritic and frozen in place. We cried some and prayed for them and remembered that their hairs are numbered by our loving Father.
–Donnie Anthony

I am so blown away by the children here. I continue to be in awe at the responsibility level of the children. They are given responsibility for their siblings at such a young age. I watched this morning as a boy, no more than first grade carrying his sleeping eight month old brother slumped over his shoulder fast asleep up two levels of stairs all the while carrying his chair in the other hand.

Sickness and disease seem to be all around us and while at home it’s so easy to turn the channel and look away- you cannot here. For example, there was the child who obviously had hydrocephalitis. His brain was swollen to the point where he could no longer hold his own head up. His sister who was not much bigger than he was, carried him in and sat him in chair right next to her. Tears ran down my face knowing that this condition is more than likely going to be fatal. I can only imagine as a mother how painful watching this process must be.

Today doing the craft with them was so much fun. We were in way over our heads but none the less it was fun! There are no words to describe how many children actually were and also how much they enjoyed this. How simply amazing that they will treasure this and it’s only a paper plate with their own handprint on it!

We connected with these children in such an awesome way. We did not have enough hands to hold them all, they would reach up non-stop and pull at our arms. What a gift they are, their faces will be forever etched in my mind. Each one touches you in such a special way.
-Ginger Cunningham


We would love to hear from home - feel free to leave comments!

Day One

Well after 18 hours of flying, we finally touched down at Entebbe airport in Uganda… it was as sweet time as we stepped off the jumbo jet onto the tarmac… AND the very first person to greet us was an airport official who walked us through the process of getting our visas and then…he prayed to receive Christ! …the first person we met. I had been told that the spirit is moving here but now I have truly experienced it. Another amazing thing was that out of 36 bags we checked, only one was lost en route…and we hope to get it tomorrow or the next day…just pray that Chance Pircher can find another team member that wears the same size underwear. We stayed our first night in the Olympia hotel…of all my mission trips this was my first night sleeping under a mosquito net. We had an exhilarating (a.k.a. freezing cold) shower this morning and we’re off to visit Bethany Village, an orphanage that houses about 600 children. Tonight we will be staying at a beautiful colonial guest house called Adonai.

Later that day…

What a cool first day in Africa. We drove this morning to the waterfront of Lake Victoria and offloaded onto two 30 foot by 3 foot boats that resemble American Indian Dugout Canoes powered by tiny 15 horsepower outboard motors and steered by African teenagers. We were off for a thirty five minute ride across Lake Victoria. And no, there are no seat belts or life jackets. It was beautiful trip and although most of us were drenched it really kept the heat at a minimum and turned out to be refreshing. Once we landed at Bethany Village we met a group of over 300 orphans gathered to see out program. We sang “It’s a Great Day to Praise the Lord” over and over until they could act it out and sing it with us in English. Then we did our living parable of Adam and Eve and got kids from the audience to come and act it out. They were precious and some of them really hammed it up…especially the little girl playing Mary…she copied every movement and facial expression that Tish Hicks portrayed to a tee.
– Donny Anthony

What an incredible day it has been. I thought it was a joke when Pastor Enoch said we were getting onto boats to travel to Bethany. I said, “Get out!” We have definitely had an adventure. After the living parable/music presentation and lunch, we played games with the children. The entire team had as much fun, if not more, as all the children. One of the boys said he could tell I was from Texas because of my hat (it was a cowboy hat)! I can’t even begin to describe how precious these children were. The soccer balls we brought were a huge hit and I was almost stampeded after bringing the first one out to play. Probably one of the most moving things that happened today was that Tish got to meet one of the nine children she has been sponsoring for a couple of years. His name was Eric. He got to stay with Tish all day and he and his brother even ate lunch with us. Pastor Enoch said that was like Christmas for them. I have a feeling many of our team members will be sponsoring children after this trip! After a long day of touring the orphanage the loving on children, we arrived back at Adonai House and rested before an amazing dinner PIZZA! We even had pineapple for dessert. After that, we had our team meeting to prepare for tomorrow. During this time, we were surprised with letters from friends and family. So far, everything has been wonderful and the week hasn’t even begun! We are all so excited to see how the Lord will continue to move!
– Katrina Simmons

Weather Delays Already?

That's right...we're stuck in San Antonio for the time being. If you happen to read this in the middle of the day...please pray. We have three and a half hours layover in Houston but the weather there is bad and we're on indefinite hold...if we don't get out in the next hour or so we run the risk of missing the only flight to Amsterdam for today.

God will provide.

Donnie

Great Send Off!

I can't resist doing an update...even though we are still at the airport in San Antonio! Thanks to Bro. Si Wood, Brian Whitaker, Jonathan Griffin, Sally Schaal, Terri Lowe, Laurie McMillen, David Bradley and all the families who came to pray us out of San Antonio. Everything went so well with check-in that we went through the security checkpoint early...(sorry to anyone we may have missed by doing so.) We were able to get all our extra baggage through for a mere $460 extra. The new church will be so thrilled that their keyboard made it through...you can't buy those in Uganda.

Here's a photo or two...we won't have internet capability for a while so we'll check in as soon as possible.