After months odf preparation, a team of our brothers and sisters in Christ - men, women and children from West Texas - are at work in the east Africa nation of Uganda for Christian mission. The 2010 Uganda Mission Team from First Presbyterian Church of Midland will be sending back regular reports from Uganda, along with photos.
Update #3
Cynthia Howard gave our devotional this morning on the first part of chapter 3 entitled, "Suffering". Through the discussion, Cynthia had team members share about times when they endured suffering and found joy in the midst. A quote from the book would help prepare the team for what they would encounter on the trails at Kanyumu - " When I discover that I am no longer alone in my struggle and when I start experiencing a new "fellowship in weakness", then true joy can erupt, right in the middle of my sorrow. But it is not easy to step out of our isolation. Somehow we always want to solve our problems on our own. But God has given us to each other to build a community of mutual love where we can discover together that joy is not for others but for all of us."
Stories from the day:
Today Robert Rendall had a most unexpected thing happened while visiting houses on the outskirts of Kanyumu. While he and his amazing interpreter, Stephen, were sharing the story of Jesus with a couple, a woman who lived in the next house was listening and asked Robert and Stephen to come talk to her. After completing the visit with the first couple, Stephen realized that the other woman spoke Swahili, which is not a language he can translate. After a difficult series of questions and answers they discovered they could speak limited amounts of another language. The woman explained that she was Muslim and her husband was Catholic. She wanted to be the same religion as her husband but did not know how to do so. Stephen was able to communicate with her and share the story of Jesus. After visiting for almost an hour the woman asked for help in becoming a Christian. She was happy to accept Jesus. It is our prayer that she and her husband will now grow in their faith together!
Allison Ellis was very nervous about going on the trails for the first time today. She was hesitant at first, she wasn't sure how she would tell them about Jesus. With her attitude, she felt she wouldn't get very far. Allison's first couple of houses were disastrous. She had no structure to what she was saying and was stuttering and stumbling on words all over the place. Then she experienced something wonderful. At the fourth or fifth house she arrived at, a man stopped her smack dab in the middle of her speech. She thought to herself "Oh gosh ... another failed attempt at speaking God's Word." The man began to speak to her about the structure of our states in America. He asked her if we had "sub-counties" back home in the United States. When she replied, "Yes sir, we do" he smiled a toothy grin and said, "Well here in Uganda we have sub-counties. Within these counties we have leaders and government officials, you see?" She imagined her response was nothing more than a confused expression, so he chuckled and told her, "Well I am the co-chairman of the county you are in right now. In this county, we lead according to our faith. I approved the building of the church you have been called to help, and I approved your visit to this village today." She felt so honored to have spoken to this man. He was so thankful and so gracious for everything that we were doing for the village of Kanyumu. She thanked him for allowing the church to be built and for allowing us to speak to his people. He told her how thankful he was that there were people coming that would help to affirm the Word of God, because that was the motive behind the area's leadership. As she left, the man smiled and shook her hand, and as she turned to leave he shouted, "Go do God's will!" Allison received a much-need affirmation on this day and it has given her new strength to continue to share God's Word.
Karen Williams' first day witnessing on the trail in Uganda was absolutely wonderful. She was matched with her interpreter Sandra and it turned out to be a very good fit. Right out of the gate two young boys and one young man trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Karen was also blessed to lead a discipleship class of some 30-40 people. This is the first time a class geared toward the new convert has been offered in the history of a FPC church plant. Praise God for the gift of Karen and her passion to disciple and nourish new believers.
Ramon Billhimer and Pat Hunter went with Dr. Patrick to visit the artesian water wells that FPC has recently constructed. The first well they visited was constructed in memory of Ramon's brother and made the visit especially moving for Ramon. Ramon and Pat had great visits with the villagers at each of the wells. They were so very grateful for the clean water now provided in their community. Ramon and Pat made sure the people knew that God sent the water wells and that we were only His messengers and instuments.
Steve Schorr, Ben Spinks and Melissa Rendall went to the prison today. It was a small, low security prison where most inmates are housed for less than a year. There were 20-30 men and one woman. Ben preached about God's love and how it doesn't differ between him and the prisoners, which was very encouraging for the men. Steve shared his testimony about God knowing his name all his life, even when he wasn't following. It was powerful for the inmates to hear that the Lord has not forgotten them. Melissa thought she would be speaking to the women but they were at court today. She gave her testimony to the men and talked about the relationship between a father and their daughters and challenged them to turn from sin and be the spiritual leader and role model for their families. There were several men who prayed the confession prayer and then all praised God by singing a song about our Mighty God.
Connie's second encounter on the trail began with a major cultural faux pax. After introducing herself to a storeowner, he invited her to sit and talk with him and his family. In mid-sentence, Joseph, her translator, stopped her and directed her attention to the man at his side. It was the grandfather of the family - a tiny, grizzled stick of a man with coke bottle glasses, a cane, and a ferocious scowl on his face. In Ugandan culture, it is appropriate to address the elder of the family when speaking. She felt she had made a major blunder and just knew that he had closed his heart to anything she might say. But he allowed her to continue and tell him about God's grace and gift of eternal life. However, the whole time she was speaking, he was scowling and never once directed any head movement towards her. Her heart sunk at the thought of the potential result of her mistake. She came to the end of her talk and asked him if he understood and if he believed that Jesus died for his sins and was the Son of God. For the first time he slowly turned and looked at her. With a tear rolling down his cheek and a softened expression on his face, the grandfather nodded and said yes, he believed. We are all learning that God can use our shortcomings to fulfill his plans.
Carole Campbell, Robert and Karen Winkler visited three schools today. They were blessed to be with the Ugandan school team led by Pastor Godfrey, Susan and Mike. They visited Kanyum Primary (890 students), Aurot Primary (780 students) and Kanyum Secondary (400 students), all located near the new church at Kanyumu. The children were so well behaved, sitting quietly as the team shared their testimonies, sang songs and shared the Gospel. It is always amazing to be able to share the Good News of Christ Jesus with so many children at the schools. The team was especially excited about the 30 secondary students who gave their life to Christ today. It is wonderful to witness the next generation coming to the Lord. Robert, Karen and Carole finished at the schools in time to join the crusade and were pleased to see many of the students from the schools praising, singing and dancing.
Hannah Schorr, Vicki Miller and Ralph Green shared their testimonies at the crusade and Jeff Darr preached a powerful message to the people. It was a great day in Uganda!
Tomorrow will be another busy day for the team. Thanks to your prayers, the team members who were not feeling well are doing much better. We ask for prayers of encouragement for the team members so that they will be bold and confident in their purpose of sharing the Gospel on the trail, in the schools and at the prison.
Webale! (Thank you!)
Cynthia Howard gave our devotional this morning on the first part of chapter 3 entitled, "Suffering". Through the discussion, Cynthia had team members share about times when they endured suffering and found joy in the midst. A quote from the book would help prepare the team for what they would encounter on the trails at Kanyumu - " When I discover that I am no longer alone in my struggle and when I start experiencing a new "fellowship in weakness", then true joy can erupt, right in the middle of my sorrow. But it is not easy to step out of our isolation. Somehow we always want to solve our problems on our own. But God has given us to each other to build a community of mutual love where we can discover together that joy is not for others but for all of us."
Stories from the day:
Today Robert Rendall had a most unexpected thing happened while visiting houses on the outskirts of Kanyumu. While he and his amazing interpreter, Stephen, were sharing the story of Jesus with a couple, a woman who lived in the next house was listening and asked Robert and Stephen to come talk to her. After completing the visit with the first couple, Stephen realized that the other woman spoke Swahili, which is not a language he can translate. After a difficult series of questions and answers they discovered they could speak limited amounts of another language. The woman explained that she was Muslim and her husband was Catholic. She wanted to be the same religion as her husband but did not know how to do so. Stephen was able to communicate with her and share the story of Jesus. After visiting for almost an hour the woman asked for help in becoming a Christian. She was happy to accept Jesus. It is our prayer that she and her husband will now grow in their faith together!
Allison Ellis was very nervous about going on the trails for the first time today. She was hesitant at first, she wasn't sure how she would tell them about Jesus. With her attitude, she felt she wouldn't get very far. Allison's first couple of houses were disastrous. She had no structure to what she was saying and was stuttering and stumbling on words all over the place. Then she experienced something wonderful. At the fourth or fifth house she arrived at, a man stopped her smack dab in the middle of her speech. She thought to herself "Oh gosh ... another failed attempt at speaking God's Word." The man began to speak to her about the structure of our states in America. He asked her if we had "sub-counties" back home in the United States. When she replied, "Yes sir, we do" he smiled a toothy grin and said, "Well here in Uganda we have sub-counties. Within these counties we have leaders and government officials, you see?" She imagined her response was nothing more than a confused expression, so he chuckled and told her, "Well I am the co-chairman of the county you are in right now. In this county, we lead according to our faith. I approved the building of the church you have been called to help, and I approved your visit to this village today." She felt so honored to have spoken to this man. He was so thankful and so gracious for everything that we were doing for the village of Kanyumu. She thanked him for allowing the church to be built and for allowing us to speak to his people. He told her how thankful he was that there were people coming that would help to affirm the Word of God, because that was the motive behind the area's leadership. As she left, the man smiled and shook her hand, and as she turned to leave he shouted, "Go do God's will!" Allison received a much-need affirmation on this day and it has given her new strength to continue to share God's Word.
Karen Williams' first day witnessing on the trail in Uganda was absolutely wonderful. She was matched with her interpreter Sandra and it turned out to be a very good fit. Right out of the gate two young boys and one young man trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Karen was also blessed to lead a discipleship class of some 30-40 people. This is the first time a class geared toward the new convert has been offered in the history of a FPC church plant. Praise God for the gift of Karen and her passion to disciple and nourish new believers.
Ramon Billhimer and Pat Hunter went with Dr. Patrick to visit the artesian water wells that FPC has recently constructed. The first well they visited was constructed in memory of Ramon's brother and made the visit especially moving for Ramon. Ramon and Pat had great visits with the villagers at each of the wells. They were so very grateful for the clean water now provided in their community. Ramon and Pat made sure the people knew that God sent the water wells and that we were only His messengers and instuments.Steve Schorr, Ben Spinks and Melissa Rendall went to the prison today. It was a small, low security prison where most inmates are housed for less than a year. There were 20-30 men and one woman. Ben preached about God's love and how it doesn't differ between him and the prisoners, which was very encouraging for the men. Steve shared his testimony about God knowing his name all his life, even when he wasn't following. It was powerful for the inmates to hear that the Lord has not forgotten them. Melissa thought she would be speaking to the women but they were at court today. She gave her testimony to the men and talked about the relationship between a father and their daughters and challenged them to turn from sin and be the spiritual leader and role model for their families. There were several men who prayed the confession prayer and then all praised God by singing a song about our Mighty God.
Connie's second encounter on the trail began with a major cultural faux pax. After introducing herself to a storeowner, he invited her to sit and talk with him and his family. In mid-sentence, Joseph, her translator, stopped her and directed her attention to the man at his side. It was the grandfather of the family - a tiny, grizzled stick of a man with coke bottle glasses, a cane, and a ferocious scowl on his face. In Ugandan culture, it is appropriate to address the elder of the family when speaking. She felt she had made a major blunder and just knew that he had closed his heart to anything she might say. But he allowed her to continue and tell him about God's grace and gift of eternal life. However, the whole time she was speaking, he was scowling and never once directed any head movement towards her. Her heart sunk at the thought of the potential result of her mistake. She came to the end of her talk and asked him if he understood and if he believed that Jesus died for his sins and was the Son of God. For the first time he slowly turned and looked at her. With a tear rolling down his cheek and a softened expression on his face, the grandfather nodded and said yes, he believed. We are all learning that God can use our shortcomings to fulfill his plans.Carole Campbell, Robert and Karen Winkler visited three schools today. They were blessed to be with the Ugandan school team led by Pastor Godfrey, Susan and Mike. They visited Kanyum Primary (890 students), Aurot Primary (780 students) and Kanyum Secondary (400 students), all located near the new church at Kanyumu. The children were so well behaved, sitting quietly as the team shared their testimonies, sang songs and shared the Gospel. It is always amazing to be able to share the Good News of Christ Jesus with so many children at the schools. The team was especially excited about the 30 secondary students who gave their life to Christ today. It is wonderful to witness the next generation coming to the Lord. Robert, Karen and Carole finished at the schools in time to join the crusade and were pleased to see many of the students from the schools praising, singing and dancing.
Hannah Schorr, Vicki Miller and Ralph Green shared their testimonies at the crusade and Jeff Darr preached a powerful message to the people. It was a great day in Uganda!
Tomorrow will be another busy day for the team. Thanks to your prayers, the team members who were not feeling well are doing much better. We ask for prayers of encouragement for the team members so that they will be bold and confident in their purpose of sharing the Gospel on the trail, in the schools and at the prison.
Webale! (Thank you!)
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