Day Eight

TWO YEARS LATER…WHAT A CHANGE!

Two years ago on a Sunday we were at the very first service of Luzira Community Church. Although it was only beginning, it started off with a bang. The attendance the very first day: 80 people. Now, two years later, we saw a vibrant community complete with elders, an associate pastor AND AN ATTENDANCE TODAY OF OVER 300! It was such an honor to preach at both the inaugural service two years ago and again today two years later. The church is alive and well and experiencing phenomenal growth both spiritually and numerically. This evening our team met with the church leadership team to encourage them, train them and give them each a new bible. It was so inspiring to hear their comments and questions about where they believe God is taking them. We had two general sessions on vision, leadership, church policies and discipleship. Then our team had breakout sessions to meet with the leaders of each age group for further training and encouragement.

THE CHURCH IS NOT A BUILDING

Luzira Community Church has illustrated this truth by growing and expanding despite the very small rented building they occupy. But, although the church is not a building…it is eventually going to need one. This was a continuing topic and prayer and discussion during the week with Pastor Enock, Senior Pastor, Pastor James, Associate Pastor (entirely volunteer), Pastor Peter from Gaba Church and our team. It is quite unbelievable how much land can cost in Luzira. A plot right in town here is comparable to a lot in one of our nicest subdivisions costing upwards of $150,000US. And that, of course includes no building. So, we have been talking about trying to find some land in a slum area that would be much cheaper to put up a large tent so that we can stop paying rent and begin to help this church get a permanent location. THEN WE SAW IT! Did you ever see something- I mean really just see something that you have been walking by over and over and missed? One day we were driving up and we looked up and right across from the church is a beautiful four story structure that was built but never completed! It has been standing like a huge concrete skeleton now for over five years. (yes it was here last time and we did see it but we didn’t really SEE it.) This building is amazing. It would keep Luzira Community Church right where they have established themselves as a lighthouse in the community, it would give them plenty of room for worship, for a child sponsorship office, for christian education, for a school and a clinic! These are all things that have been in our heart from the beginning. We know that it will be priced through the sky but…that’s where the money would come from anyway, so our team has been united around praying that God would do a miracle and give LCC this building. It was lost by it’s owner in a bitter divorce after his wife found out that he was a bigamist. The man had put many of his assets in her name so when she discovered the other wife, she took ownership of the building but had no means to complete it. It may take a couple of thousand cattle on a couple of hills but we believe God could give it to us. One day this week after ministering in the slums I asked Pastor Enock to take Janet and I over to this building. As we climbed the steps we could not believe our eyes, this is one of the highest points in Luzira and the view of Lake Victoria from the fourth floor is breath taking. (Yes, once again we are praying for a fourth floor and yes Jeff you may have to come and bring a team to build it out). And, I know you will believe me when I tell the next thing that happened. Just as we got to the top of the stairs, I walked over and written on a pillar with a piece of charcoal were these words: “My God is Able.” If you don’t believe it see the picture below! Pray, Pray, Pray…I’ve been waiting my whole life to see a miracle of this magnitude.





REACHING INTO THE LUZIRA COMMUNITY

Wow….why am I so amazed at what God has done? This has been such an amazing trip. I have been most touched by the people of Luzira through the malaria net distribution. We started off into a row of huts and then started going into the community and kept going and going—through many twists and turns there were hundreds of huts in what appeared to be 20. As the Luzirans were given malaria nets, they were also asked if we could ask some questions about how Luzira Community Church could help their family and community. Every single person was eager to respond and shared many heart felt issues for themselves and their families. It was very clear that by providing nets that would take care of their families and showing interest in their needs, the door was opened to hear about God. Dolores and I worked with Jerome and Becky who were our Ugandan interpreters. Right away we encountered a Muslim woman that had her entire body covered except for her eyes. Dolores did the talking and I did the interceding. I could feel the very presence of God as the woman continued to answer questions, honestly open to hear about God and His Son, and then wanted to pray to receive Jesus. It did not matter that we could only see her eyes---that was the only part that counted because when she looked up from her prayer, they were filled with tears. The next hut a woman explained that what appeared to be a 6 year old was an orphan and had nowhere to go. She said she felt sorry for him when the schoolmaster sent him away because there was no one to pay his school fees, so she would feed him. She was not sure where he spent his nights. When I asked what she would tell God if He asked her why He should let her into heaven she stated, “I would tell Him to let me in because I wanted in and no one told me what to do.” She prayed to receive Jesus along with another Muslim woman and a young man named Gideon. The love of God demonstrated through the malaria net distribution was contagious. Everyone was touched: the community, the interpreters, and Team Uganda.
Another awesome miracle is the response of Luzira Community Church members to rise to the challenge of redirecting priorities from being a church plant to a growing, ministering church in the community. Specifically they identified a need for assistance with discipleship with new believers. I was able to sit down with Associate Pastor James and listen to his heart for new believers. We presented to him an entire New Believers discipleship program that was in PDF format on a CD that was reproducible. He was so happy to receive this gift that could be used as a tool for the Luzira Community Church. It was also set up for developing as a correspondence program when the proclaimers would be deployed to remote areas and new believers could mail in their completed chapter and receive more. He was just moved to tears, so you can go figure what I was doing as I went over this program with him.
So much work has been set in motion with this trip. Our team is in “shock and awe.” We even stopped to count and came up with 11 new initiatives that have been accomplished. This has been possible only because of faithful prayer warriors like yourself. God has prepared, covered, and blessed this community.
Diane Elrod

Day 5

An update to Helen’s previous post…
The Rest of the Story
Yesterday we told you about a little girl whose name we now know to be Suzanne. We want to finish telling you about God’s amazing plan for this family… Suzanne showed up once more today as soon as we arrived at the church. She again ate with us, and after a while she soiled her clothes. So Melissa, Krista, Adolph, and myself went to look for her mother so we could get her a change of clothes. When we found her mother just down the street, a man came walking up to us. It was Suzanne’s father (Steven). Interestingly enough we had just prayed yesterday evening for this man, and now we were meeting him. With a smile on his face, he explained to us how happy he was over his wife having new joy and that we loved his daughter. We asked him to come to the crusade this evening (Thursday). And he, along with his wife and Suzanne, showed up.
After the presentation of the Gospel (The Bridge to Life by Donnie) we asked all who prayed to receive Christ to join us at the church, where we would counsel them. As people filed into the church I looked for Steven, but he didn’t show up. I was heart broken. But how faithful God is to answer our prayers! After beginning to counsel those who had come, in walked Steven. After counseling him, the entire family stood before us beaming with joy. Isn’t God amazing! They are planning to attend Sunday morning, and we are quite sure that Suzanne will be back for lunch tomorrow.
Helen

Cross One Off My Bucket List

The top three things on my bucket list (the list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket…in case you haven’t seen the movie) were: 1.) have donkey basketball at CHFBC (ask me later if you don’t know what Donkey basketball is…or google it), 2) drive a race car on a real track over 160 mph and 3) do The Bridge to Life Gospel Demonstration in Africa. And…we did it! We did the Bridge to Life in Africa. This was the second night of our Open Air Crusade and although we could not bring any of the supplies we normally use on such a trip, we found everything we needed within a few blocks of the church. The men at the neighborhood lumber yard not only provided the wood but were happy to fabricate the bridges and cross for free.

The Bridge to Life is an adaptation of The Bridge track made famous by the navigators. It is a sermon that illustrates two false bridges to heaven…the bridge of good works and the bridge of religion both symbolized by long boards that break when I try to cross them. Then, the cross that has been standing by in the corner is brought and found to bridge the Valley of Sin perfectly with enough strength to get me to the other side. It is quite dramatic and the Bugandan people received it enthusiastically. At the close of the message, the sight of men, women and children coming toward the stage to receive Christ is something I will never forget. We directed them to Luzira church which Dolores Reyna had set up as a counseling area. As I walked through after the altar call, there was a holy hum of salvation as I watched our team sharing the gospel and one by one saw people bow their heads to pray. Today WAS the day of salvation. I have had the opportunity to do this demonstration in three countries but this was by far the most impactful to me.




The Gospel WILL be proclaimed…by the proclaimer.

Another high point of our day was a meeting Stephen and I had with Pastor Enock and several Luzira church members to train them on the deployment of three “proclaimers” which are incredible digital audio players I lovingly refer as “scripture in a box.” Faith Comes By Hearing is an visionary mission agency that has developed these small black boxes that have the entire New Testament in an easy-to-understand version that has been dramatized using actors and music. In addition, though these unique units are half the size of a shoe box, they can be heard by over 300 people and are powered by rechargeable batteries that can be charged by plugging into AC power, by a solar panel attached to the back of the unit and even by a hand crank when no direct sunlight is available. Since Faith Comes By Hearing had already produced a dramatized version of the New Testament in the Lugandan language and are currently seeking points of contact to distribute them, our mission venture was a natural fit. They donated three of the units for us to deploy through Luzira Community Church. At the meeting yesterday was the first official “proclaimer evangelist” named Ruben. When he saw how the units worked he lit up like a 1000 watt light bulb and accepted the challenge immediately to take the Word of God to a remote island that has no witness currently. He has been so excited that he has already asked one of our members to accompany him to the island this week! Pray about this opportunity with us, I am not sure of the timing but it is awefully hard to tell Diane Elrod “no” so I will rely on her to discern God’s will in this matter. Hearing the word of God in Lugandan is more like music than any language I have ever heard. Please pray for this ministry because it is our goal that Luzira Community Church be missional in it’s DNA and they are answering the challenge with fervor.

Day 4

Hi everyone! Let me start by sharing with you an incredible thing that started yesterday (Tuesday). A baby girl, maybe two years old, kept wandering into the church as our group ate lunch and fellowshipped. She began to stare at the food on Melissa’s plate. Melissa began to feed the child, sat her in her lap, and shortly she got down and wandered out and down the street. Today, we came back to the church to have lunch. The same little girl came back and was staring at the food on Ashlea’s plate. We began to feed her and began to fall in love with her, a very special love that God was putting on our hearts. As I began to feed her and hold her we realized that we had not seen her before, so we asked the ladies from Luzira Community Church whose child this was. We were told that she was a child that wandered in from the street, nor did they know her family. Immediately God put in my heart to have Diane, Krista, and Ashlea join me in praying over her, that her mother would come to know Jesus.
After a while, this precious child became very weary and laid her head on my chest and fell fast asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake her up. So 30 to 40 minutes went by, and the mother came into the church and was looking for her child. One of the ladies from the church interpreted as I talked to this mother. I began by apologizing for keeping her child so long and causing her fear. Then I began to explain to her that her child kept coming into the church each day because she felt a special love. I asked her if I could share this special love with her. And the mother said, “Yes.” Through my using the Helping Hand to Christ, God began to reveal Himself and His love for her as tears ran down her face. I then asked her would she like to ask God for the free gift of Jesus and this special love. She immediately said yes and prayed to receive Christ. She is coming tomorrow for a copy of God’s Word and has already stated that she will have her children at Fun in the Son Club on Saturday and plans on attending church this Sunday. She left still in tears overjoyed. This is only one of many amazing stories from the past few days. We can’t wait to share more in future blogs.
Helen Schaper

Free Time is not Down Time
By Adolfo Ramirez

I have learned that when Pastor Don (as he is called here in Africa) gives us some time off to rest that this does not mean we cannot minister. So, I stand outside the Luzira Community Church gate and talk to the people who pass by. It is so amazing that when you just smile at them this is like giving them a gift. Ivan, one of our African interpreters says that this is because their lives are so difficult that they struggle day to day just to be sure they have food and shelter and seldom have anyone really stop and take time to appreciate them. I was standing at the gate today when a man named Edward was walking by. I gave him my smile and said hello and he was so happy to talk to me. We began talking and I just felt led to go ahead and ask him if he was very sure that if he died he would go to heaven. He said that he thought he would but he wasn’t sure. I offered to lead him to Christ but he said that he would come on Sunday and make a decision at that time. Please pray for him, it is so hard for me to know that he is not sure about something as important as eternity. He then said something that brought me to tears: he thanked us for loving Uganda so much that we would come so far to tell them about the love of Jesus. I explained to him that Jesus’ love is unconditional and that this is why we were able to love them the same way…because His love flows out of us. Suddenly, on the street this grown man twenty something years old gave me a hug and wouldn’t let me go. I am praying that I will see him on Sunday.

p.s. Annie, I am so sorry we haven’t been able to talk yet, please know that I miss you and I am doing great…I’ve cried a lot but they are tears of joy. Love you.

Day 3

Prayerwalking…Clearing Stones and Leveling the Land

We spent our morning doing school programs again but the afternoon was devoted to prayerwalking. Prayerwalking is the single greatest spiritual weapon in the modern missions movement. Every country that has had new work established in the last 30 years has done so beginning with prayerwalking. It is basically praying on site in a small group as you walk through the area allowing the sites and sounds and smells to be used by the Holy Spirit to direct the intercession.

I had no idea what we were in for when we divided into groups and were led through the entire Luzira area beginning at the front door of the church. We had trained our groups before leaving San Antonio on warfare praying to identify and break the strongholds and spiritual principalities in Luzira. There were two recurring themes which we believe revealed the strongholds in this area; witchcraft and alcoholism. One group walked by the home of a known witchdoctor that is known to skin goats alive and release them into the area streets. As they walked by they prayed for this evil to cease and for Jesus Christ to be revealed to the family involved. One group led by a compassionate African lady walked to a nearby medical facility to pray. Upon arriving they realized that it was the only existing government mental health facility in the entire country of Uganda. Many of the mental disorders are attributed to abuse by the witchdoctors who are consulted by family members and in the end are given dangerous concoctions of drugs that cause permanent brain damage. They prayed that the demons of witchcraft would be expelled from the area and that the witchdoctors would be discredited.

Alcoholism is also rampant. It was amazing to hear one of our dear Ugandan friends praying over his own neighborhood because alcoholism has driven dozens of families from their normal homes to the slums which are disease infested and unsafe.

Please, Please take time today to join us in praying over these heart-wrenching issues which have a stranglehold on this community. Greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world. We have a lot to learning about praying…but we are on the journey now.

Day 2

I don’t ever remember being this tired! But then, I do have a fading memory. And besides I hardly ever remember being more blessed either. We had a hardy breakfast of scrambled eggs and just picked pineapples and bananas, fried plantanes, toast and corn flakes…oh and how could I forget…delicious hot tea…my favorite.

We packed up and headed for Luzira church next where we were met by Faith and Holly from a local medical mission who trained us how to properly distribute mosquito nets. Here are some interesting facts we learned:
Malaria is a virus
Malaria is the #1 killer in Uganda
Malaria is only transmitted by a bite from a female mosquito carrier
Malaria is quite treatable if diagnosed early
Malaria is easily avoided through the use of nets since the mosquitos in Uganda are nocturnal
We were then trained as to how to educate people regarding the nets:
They must be aired out for 24 hours before use because they are treated with
powerful chemicals that can otherwise cause serious skin irritation
The nets can be washed one time every three months without losing their
effectiveness.
The bags the nets come in must be brought back and disposed of properly
or people will allow their children to play with them which can
result in poisoning and even death.
Armed with this knowledge and with questionnaires designed by Pastor Enock to find out the greatest needs of the community, we deployed our teams by bus to a zone close to the church. When we arrived, we were met by the Chairman of that zone (much like a mayor) who welcomed us and thanked us for coming. Pastor Enock thanked him as well and then something amazing happened. Pastor Enock asked this mayor in front of our group and all our interpreters if he knew Jesus personally as Savior. The man honestly replied that he did not. So, Pastor Enock asked him if he would like to confess Jesus as his Savior and the man replied: “Yes, I think I would like to.” He then asked me to come forward and lay hands on the man and lead him in a public prayer of salvation. Never in 34 years of full time ministry have I witnessed such a salvation. It was so wonderful and afterward our group gathered around him and prayed over him. In Luke 10 Jesus is sending his disciples out to evangelize a particular area (or zone) and he speaks of finding a “son of peace” there in the community they are going to which will be a blessing to that people. Well God has truly provided our man of peace for this area in the person of the Chairman. Later the Secretary of the zone joined us and went with one of our groups from house to house and after hearing the gospel so many times, Katrina Simmon’s Steven Hokenson’s team led him to Christ as well.

Many, many people answered our questions and received the much needed nets and many of them received Jesus as Savior as well. From the reports of team leaders we now estimate that close to 60 people were saved. Each of these people gave us contact information and many are planning to join Luzira Community Church this Sunday!

This afternoon we had been invited to a Rock Hill Elementary School for a program and were very blessed by the students. They joined in our motion songs and truly loved our clown skit. Several were saved as I gave the invitation.

Then, it was on to the open air crusade. I have been so excited since I learned that we would be singing and I would be preaching in such a large venue. Pastor Enock secured a wonderful stage in the heart of the busiest market in Luzira which is just two blocks from Luzira Community Church. Literally thousands of Ugandans were at the market today since it is one of their two heavy market days (the other being Thursday when we will do the crusade again). After over an hour of lively African Praise and Worship complete with dancing in the Lord (our team included) we sang a song over the crowd and I was able to preach the simple Gospel of God’s plan for eternal life. As I gave the altar call it was overwhelming to see dozens of people come forward and huddle around our team. Many men and women gave their lives to Christ and we distributed bibles and information on the services at LCC to each one who trusted the Lord today.

Specific Prayer Requests:

• Ashlea Z- has had some nausea…pray for her complete healing…she is much better as I am writing this.
• Jet Lag- pray that our team will be able to sleep at night…they truly need the rest.
• Open Air Crusade on Thursday- for salvation decisions
• For those who received Christ at the net distribution- pray they will not be persecuted by the leaders of the mosque that is located right in their neighborhood
• For strength for Donnie’s voice- speaking and singing six times in two days without a p.a. system is taking it’s toll and it’s early in the week

God bless you all…we are lifting you up as well.

Donnie

Day 1

We’re here! Krista and I synchronized our first step back onto African soil perfectly onto the tarmac at Entebbe International Airport today to celebrate that we had finally made it to our destination. After a one hour flight to Houston with a short layover and a 14 hour and 55 minute flight to Dubai and a short ride to the Millenium Hotel for a sleepless night (for me at least due to jet lag) and a short shopping spree to a humongous mall, a meal at midnight at the hotel and a shuttle back to the Airport at Dubai very early the next morning to board a plane whose gate was changed at the last minute sending us on a mile hike just to board busses and drive around the airport for 30 minutes finally ending up at the outdoors boarding tower only to find out that one of the tires on the Boeing 777 200-R luxury liner was low…so it was another delay while they aired the tire up and then onward…with one minor detour (I failed to see on the itinerary) which was to land at Ethiopia to let off some passengers and sit on the tarmac for another hour after which we took off and made the last leg of our journey to Entebbe (another 4 hours). Whew!!! Is anybody keeping track?...that’s a lot of hang time.

We WERE glad we got to experience Dubai but the heat was unbelievable…San Antonio in July times at least 3! It made us appreciate what our men and women in uniform have endured in Iraq and Afghanistan…and we were dressed for the occasion and had almost no weight to carry on our backs. One cool thing we did was to have our Sunday morning worship service sitting in a circle on the floor at the gate. To put this in perspective remember that we were doing this in an Arab country where we were surrounded by mosques. The very first room we came to after leaving the plane was the Islamic prayer room complete with curtains and prayer rugs.

The Reunion at Entebbe was amazing…we flew through customs and were amazed that every single one of our 28 giant checked bags arrived with us…this despite the fact that I took a chance and had them checked all the way through from Houston to Entebbe so that we wouldn’t have to pick them up and store them in Dubai.

Pastor Enock was elated to see us along with his beautiful wife Judith and his sweet little girl Vickie, his middle daughter Deborah and his son Eric. We hugged and hugged before grabbing everything and meeting our dedicated minibus for the week with our new driver and friend Yesmin. On the way to Adonai House#5 Pastor and Enock and I caught up on the latest great news at Luzira Community Church and he informed me that he had booked me to preach on the radio later that evening. It was unbelievable to be walking through the market with complete goats skinned and hanging in the windows and suddenly walk into a radio studio. Pastor Enock asked me to share the message I preached at another location two years ago regarding the Ethiopian Eunich of Acts chapter 8. It was an anointed time with me preaching in English and Pastor Enock interpreting in Lugandan. It was especially meaningful to end my message by sharing the fact that I had been in Ethiopia that very morning where the gospel is spreading. Because Philip the Evangelist/Apostle was faithful the gospel came to Africa.

Thanks for a Great Sendoff

Here we sit in the San Antonio Airport about to board our very first flight. Special thanks to so many who took the time to come and pray for us at the terminal. I told Janet that if we had only had 5 more people we could have called it church and took up an offering! Our bright blue shirts that say: "16 people called to share hope" with a picture of Africa have already caused quite a stir at the airport with many questions regarding our mission.

From here we have a short flight to Houston and then 14 hour and 55 minute flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Lots of time to sleep and read and write. We'll do our best to keep the updates coming but we'll be out of touch for the next day or so of flying.

God bless and please pray for safety and Holy boldness.

Donnie

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.