Wind of the Spirit

Notable Facts:

Today we had the most amazing day of ministry.

We ministered in the women's prison and went to the Loving Hearts baby home.

Keep these facts in mind as you read these touching blog entries from team members:

1) The beautiful african lady who translated for us today and led the ladies in singing praises before we ministered is herself a convicted murderer who is on death row. She was saved in prison.

2) Most of the babies in the Loving Hearts home are babies that were abandoned at birth in public places, a practice that is quite common in this third world country.


I received some instruction about the “filling of the Spirit”…being like a wind that fills the sails on a boat this past spring. When you are filled, your sails are working and moving the boat smoothly, efficiently, but when the sails are not catching the wind, the boat just floats adrift. Since then, literally the wind of the Spirit has been very apparent to me…..like today. Sitting with 5 women prisoners who are imprisoned with HIV…..as I began to sit myself onto the mat on the ground under the trees, the wind picked up, the leaves began to rustle, and I got goose bumps on my arms. Their eyes will never leave my picture memory. Their openness to share their hearts will always change my heart. Only by God’s presence and the coveted prayers by hundreds of Team Uganda members praying for us did a miracle occur….these dejected, depressed, downtrodden women opened their hearts to us and we opened God’s heart back to them. Many women prayed to receive Jesus, many women gave an awesome testimony of how God had worked a miracle in their lives already while in prison….their repeated prayer was that they would not die in prison so they would have the chance to have reconciliation with their families and give a testimony of Jesus to their loved ones before they die. So much more, but I am in a tear storm now so will share more when we return…God Bless.

-Diane Elrod

Second verse: Long before we came, I felt so strongly that, in some way, God would allow me the opportunity to minister physically to someone abandoned by their family due to AIDS. Today, that became the integral part of the tremendous witness time we had with some of the inmates at the Federal Women’s prison. First, we were blessed by the guards saying, “Bless you”, and seeing spiritual posters in the guard shack. The female head guard called the group to order with a Christian greeting, and they responded with same. Compare that to our country! As we stood to present our program, this brisk wind began to blow over us all- a sign of what was coming. Their enthusiastic singing and drumming to both their and our songs made for a great experience in worship. We presented John 3:16, and Donnie preached on the meaning. Many raised their hands to ask for salvation. THEN, the ministry really began. The group of ladies was divided into pregnant and new mothers in one group and the “clients” (HIV/AIDS) in another. Many of the second group have been abandoned by their families and friends. As Donnie divided our team, all those who felt really led to work with the client group were all in the right place! It was so wonderful to minister and pray, even with an interpreter, with 7 ladies, one of whom prayed to accept Christ before we left the group time. Two of the three condemned women in the client group were with me. What a privilege to talk with them about the difference in dying with HIV or LIVING with HIV, dying with sin or LIVING with Christ, and that our eternal lives started here, and would be enriched in heaven. And, there, we would all be whole, instead of just having our sin covered by the blood of Christ. As we prayed, there was a lot of love shared, as well as tears, and for once, God made my tears brief. God will have to be very creative to give us an experience that will show more of His Love and Power in the lives of His children than what we experienced today.

–Barbara Wright




Loving Hearts

Today was full of new things for Team Uganda. First, as mentioned above, we had the opportunity to go to the women's prison. Second, we were able to spend time holding precious babies that were up for adoption at the Loving Hearts Baby Home. We got the grand tour of the facilities and then we were let loose in the playroom to hold and play with these babies that ranged from one month to about 2 years old. Immediately we wrapped each baby in our arms and loved on them for a good hour or so. Oh my goodness it was so fun! My favorite was this baby boy named Aidan. He was probably one of the biggest babies I've ever seen because he had to have weighed at least 30 lbs. I had just finished holding this sweet baby girl and Stephen had just put Aidan down on this little toy truck. Aidan rode around on this truck and headed straight to me. He stopped in front of me, grabbed my dress and raised his arms for me to pick him up. How could I resist that? So I held him and loved on him for a while until my arms were literally about to give out because he was so heavy so I passed him on. Another favorite was this little boy named Peter who was a cell phone talker already! He held a cell phone in his hand and pretended to talk and text the whole time we were there. He definitely had a mind of his own. I know for a fact several people on the team fell in love and would have taken one of these babies home if they could including me. It was definitely hard to leave but I loved watching the team play with these babies and I loved watching the babies enjoy the love we were giving.

-Crystal