Uganda: Update #4

A team of our brothers and sisters in Christ - men, women and children from West Texas - are in the east Africa nation of Uganda for Christian mission. Here is the fourth report from Midland's 2008 Uganda Mission Team.
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Second Day in Nalubembe

What a God-filled day we had today! Twenty three of our team members walked the trails behind the church and it was a day marked with stories of salvation, long discussions about Christ and friendships started with the people of Nalubembe. The day was quite warm as we traveled the trails with our translators. The people along the trails were so gracious – many times they would stop the activities of the day, place their simple chairs in the shade for us and quietly sit and listen. Other times, we would simply stop along the road to share the Gospel with those passing by.

Kathy Schorr shared an encounter with a middle-aged man walking on the road. Even his eyes were listening as the story of Jesus was shared. When asked if he had any questions, he replied, “How can I pray to receive Jesus, I am a drunkard?” Kathy was able to tell her own story of her father’s drinking, his faith in Christ, and his healing from the disease of alcoholism. What followed was a “laundry list” of concerns that might keep him from being acceptable to God. “What if I have two wives?” “What if my two brothers and I share a shrine and practice witchcraft?” “Will my family disown me if I make this choice?” Kathy and her translator described to the man how and who Jesus loved when he was here on earth, how he loved prostitutes just as he loved his own disciples, sinners just as he loved the righteous, and that he welcomes us all, just as we are. The man humbly prayed for God’s forgiveness and confessed Jesus as the Lord of his life. He had only spoken Luganda during their visit, but his last words were, “Thank you.” Truly we all have a laundry list which can keep us at a distance from God. This man’s soul-searching honesty was truly a blessing.

Robin, Elizabeth and Jeff Darr, and Lewis, Nelson and Link Grimes visited Mbale Prison. Robin and Elizabeth met with 17 female inmates. They each gave testimonies and Robin taught everything from the hand prayer to dancing and singing. Elizabeth played with the three small children who live with their imprisoned mothers. Lewis, Nelson and Link gave testimonies to more than 500 male inmates and Jeff delivered a powerful message to them about the woman at the well. The prisoners had a wonderful traditional African sting and drum group that played fantastic music praising God. The messages were well received with grand enthusiasm.

Today Jim Longstreet and Dr. Patrick Mutono visited about a dozen water wells, half of which were donated out of love from caring people of Midland, Texas. Jim was amazed to see and discuss how these six artesian wells have transformed the health and lives of thousands of Ugandan people. About 600 to 1000 people use the water from each well. To date, twelve wells have been donated by Midland, making clean water accessible.

We also visited three new fish ponds fed by one artesian well. The fish provide much needed protein for the community as well as a new source of revenue which has truly changed the complexion of the community. People are healthier, stronger and more productive members of their village. We visited Kanginima Hospital which Dr. Patrick serves as the only full time doctor. The capacity is 25 beds and has a patient load of 1000 per month. There is an urgent need for expansion and the hope is that it can even become a teaching hospital. It is obviously a holistic gospel offered by Dr. Patrick and that we seek to offer through the new church plant at Nalubembe with its water well and medical clinic which will be coordinated by Dr. Patrick.

Joey and Randy Willis, Louisa Musselman and Ben Spinks went to the schools today. It was a day full of laughter and jovial worship. The team’s most impactful aspect of the day was the fellowship established with the Ugandan Christian hosts who went to the three schools with them. The team taught students the words and motions to “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” and joined the kids in worshipful dancing. About fifty students professed a new belief in Jesus as a result of the day. The team was sad to witness the sunset (beautiful as it was), symbolizing the end of an amazing day!

The crusade tonight started out sparse but people quickly poured in from the fields as soon as all the music and praise began. The location of the church next to the school has provided us with children coming out the rafters. Tonight we had over 400 children during the children’s chapel. We’ve never had this many children before and we are working at ways to accommodate these numbers. What a great problem to have! Robert Winkler gave the message on “The Body of Christ” and testimonies were given by Karen Winkler, Page Price and Sam Spinks. The response at the alter call was amazing. We are all excited by the numbers of the men present at the crusade. The attendance in general is up from past years but the number of men is encouraging.

Today we all encountered lots of illness with the people we met. This area seems to be more impoverished than most so the poor health is not a surprise. How perfect was God’s plan to have our wonderful new medical clinic in this location where it is so desperately needed.

The weather has been unseasonably hot, taking a physical toll on us all, but tonight we were blessed with a wonderful thunderstorm that cooled things off. All took shelter for about 20 minutes and then the preaching started right back up. It seemed to lift everyone’s spirit—not dampen it. Please pray for strength and rejuvenation, as we have a few that are fighting colds and fatigue. Tomorrow we will send people back to the trails, schools, and prisons but we will also have a team going to the Children’s Home (orphanage). We are confident that God will again bless our day. Blessings to all of you at home.
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Please, keep them all in your hearts and on you minds, in your thoughts and in your prayers.

Want to know more about Uganda? You can visit the Uganda entry in 'The World Factbook' maintained by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. You can also visit the official Uganda tourism website maintained by the Uganda Tourist Board. And Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church of Houston, Texas, has a webpage devoted to Mbale Presbyterian Church of Uganda.