Jake and I left the village with a goat and a chicken as a statement of honor for all to see. There are however, a lot of funny things that happened to us because of it. We got the chicken tied up and hanging upside down from the motorcycles handlebar, and the goat was hog tied and was laid on the seat between Bosco our friend and the driver. Since one motorcycle was taken up with all of our gifts Jake, the driver and myself were on the other. Because the motorcycle did a pop-a-wheelie on the way to the village I got to be the man in the middle. Oh happy days for me.
Just so everyone knows, if you have an issue with people seeing you do something and thinking that you are gay, you get over it quick here. Men hold hands as a sign of respect. Men ride 2-4 people on one motorcycle. It is strange to also know that you can go to jail for being gay; if the mob doesn’t beat you up or lynch you for it first. Contradictory in American eyes but here one does not associate with the other here.
Back to the story!!! So I am stuck between two guys on a motorcycle for 1.5 hours and all the way back you hear the goat screaming and we later get a flat tire. We make it back but not after we decide to call the goat Yummy. Yes we are a morbid bunch here but really funny. The goat would scream and I would yell back to the other motorcycle, “Don’t worry Yummy, your not lunch yet!” Oh we have so many issues.
We left in the morning and the goat is loaded into the luggage compartment under the bus, and the chicken rides on the floor by Bosco’s feet. That is right, the goat is in the luggage compartment, tied up and your suitcase is with it; not mine, someone else’s. We make it back to Kampala and we have a man carry the goat on his shoulders to the taxi van where the goat is stuffed in the back behind all of the seats. We then get off and we walk the goat from the slums to our house. Everyone that saw us knew we were to be respected and wished to go with us because the goat would soon be dinner. They left when we left the slums.
We then get to have Yummy as a pet for a few days. The chicken was dinner for Bosco on Easter Sunday. We named the chicken Obama because Obama is so popular here and so are chickens. I know, we are a couple of weird ones here.
The day came for us to cook the goat. Some of the workers on our compound knew how to kill it and so we let them do their thing. The ladies on our team were a little squeamish about the event. It all turned out ok. The feast was huge and the food was great. Praise God for the small things in life.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Lira
Jake and I have a friend named Bosco here who invited us to visit his family up north. He accepted Christ while we have been here and Jake is namely the tool that God used in that, the reason for the invite. Two days after the Kisoro trip we left for the town of Lira.
We three get to the bus barn at 6am since it is suppose to leave shortly there after. After 2 hours we got to wait a little more. It was around this time that Jake’s backpack went missing from the over head luggage compartment. We looked everywhere but alas it was stolen. His clothes and camera were all that was stolen but we have insurance and thank God for that. We finally leave around 10am and I get two of the most selfish travelers that I have ever met. These two ladies take up most of the seat and no isle to place my feet in due to all the boxes and bags in it. It basically means that a 6’4” 210lb. guy is sitting on a seat of maybe 10 inches for what took almost 7 hours. Towards the end of this trip these two ladies end up buying 2 live chickens, yes live ones with their feet tied up. These ladies bring them in and their wings are practically flapping me in the face and arm. (Chickens say, “Who’s your daddy? Whack!) These ladies then want me to move my feet so they can place the chickens there. I kindly turn to them and say, sure take the only place for my feet so that I can be even more uncomfortable on this trip. I then began singing, “happy days are here again”. KIDDING!!! I really just kindly told them no, that there is no other place for my feet. They placed the chickens behind the driver of the bus, safely.
We get there and the three of us stay in a nice yet cheap motel; 21,000 shillings/$10 per person. We end up going to the village the next morning and had to rent motorcycles with drivers for the whole day. Not bad for $30. We stay there and have food and later head back where Jake gets some new clothes and I got some cheap shirts. These clothes are mainly used American but good quality. Each shirt at this market cost $1.50, Yes!
The next and final day we go to the village and get a surprise; white ants. I believe that is what they are called anyway. These are interesting insects. Their upper half is that of an ant, the bottom is of a bees (minus the stinger and all a dark gray), and huge white, almost see through wings. The people here collect them and place them in a basket where they shake it up and the wings easily come off. From here it gets interesting for there are several different ways to prepare them. Our first bowl of ants were fried in a pan, so made crunchy and covered in salt. We had sodas with us for this so it actually was not as bad as I feared. I still almost vomited though. After this I walked around outside the hut to make sure I was not, or if did not in their presence. We had lunch, chicken again, and this time got to see the woman chase the chicken while another had a knife; then see the end result.
Then we got a huge surprise. Jake tells me that he smells bugs again. The thing is that these people eat meat rarely, if not once a year and the same goes for the ants. We get two meals with chicken and now our second bowl of ants. This is a huge honor and cannot be passed up until the hosts are satisfied with your eating of it, meaning all of it or full. These ants were not crunchy at all. These ants were ground up, boiled, and then made into patties. I like to call this dish an ant meatloaf. These were served with rice and oh the taste was interesting. We had no seasoning, ketchup or sodas; just grin and eat away. Jake ate almost all of his, I did not fair so well. I ate enough with much still left in the bowl, but passed the hosts requirements. I quickly left and walked around to avoid what you may want to do after reading this segment.
We left shortly afterwards and were blessed beyond measure. We left with prayer and praise, but mostly were honored by them giving us a chicken and a goat. This is a huge honor and we left feeling as much. It was a great honor.
We three get to the bus barn at 6am since it is suppose to leave shortly there after. After 2 hours we got to wait a little more. It was around this time that Jake’s backpack went missing from the over head luggage compartment. We looked everywhere but alas it was stolen. His clothes and camera were all that was stolen but we have insurance and thank God for that. We finally leave around 10am and I get two of the most selfish travelers that I have ever met. These two ladies take up most of the seat and no isle to place my feet in due to all the boxes and bags in it. It basically means that a 6’4” 210lb. guy is sitting on a seat of maybe 10 inches for what took almost 7 hours. Towards the end of this trip these two ladies end up buying 2 live chickens, yes live ones with their feet tied up. These ladies bring them in and their wings are practically flapping me in the face and arm. (Chickens say, “Who’s your daddy? Whack!) These ladies then want me to move my feet so they can place the chickens there. I kindly turn to them and say, sure take the only place for my feet so that I can be even more uncomfortable on this trip. I then began singing, “happy days are here again”. KIDDING!!! I really just kindly told them no, that there is no other place for my feet. They placed the chickens behind the driver of the bus, safely.
We get there and the three of us stay in a nice yet cheap motel; 21,000 shillings/$10 per person. We end up going to the village the next morning and had to rent motorcycles with drivers for the whole day. Not bad for $30. We stay there and have food and later head back where Jake gets some new clothes and I got some cheap shirts. These clothes are mainly used American but good quality. Each shirt at this market cost $1.50, Yes!
The next and final day we go to the village and get a surprise; white ants. I believe that is what they are called anyway. These are interesting insects. Their upper half is that of an ant, the bottom is of a bees (minus the stinger and all a dark gray), and huge white, almost see through wings. The people here collect them and place them in a basket where they shake it up and the wings easily come off. From here it gets interesting for there are several different ways to prepare them. Our first bowl of ants were fried in a pan, so made crunchy and covered in salt. We had sodas with us for this so it actually was not as bad as I feared. I still almost vomited though. After this I walked around outside the hut to make sure I was not, or if did not in their presence. We had lunch, chicken again, and this time got to see the woman chase the chicken while another had a knife; then see the end result.
Then we got a huge surprise. Jake tells me that he smells bugs again. The thing is that these people eat meat rarely, if not once a year and the same goes for the ants. We get two meals with chicken and now our second bowl of ants. This is a huge honor and cannot be passed up until the hosts are satisfied with your eating of it, meaning all of it or full. These ants were not crunchy at all. These ants were ground up, boiled, and then made into patties. I like to call this dish an ant meatloaf. These were served with rice and oh the taste was interesting. We had no seasoning, ketchup or sodas; just grin and eat away. Jake ate almost all of his, I did not fair so well. I ate enough with much still left in the bowl, but passed the hosts requirements. I quickly left and walked around to avoid what you may want to do after reading this segment.
We left shortly afterwards and were blessed beyond measure. We left with prayer and praise, but mostly were honored by them giving us a chicken and a goat. This is a huge honor and we left feeling as much. It was a great honor.
Kisoro
Recently I went on a men’s retreat where we all went and saw the southwest corner of Uganda, to Kisoro. Kampala, my current home is full of vegetation and mountains. In Kisoro, the same is true but only more so. It has to be the most beautiful place I have seen on this earth.
It is not easy to get to this paradise. It takes roughly 10 hours to get there. It is not far but the roads are atrocious. They have speed bumps on the interstate. If this is not bad enough, the road itself is nothing but potholes and crumbled pavement. When on such a long trip things happen. One of those things happened to me. A couple of hours after having my picture taken at the equator, you heard right, we stopped at a gas station to fill up the vehicle and rest a bit. Well, we all had to use the bathroom but I was privileged enough to use the squatty potty. I know several of my missionary friends are laughing right now. This particular floor and hole was more disgusting than usual. Oh well, when you gotta go… When I exited I made sure I was presentable and good to go. Well, my front of my trousers, pants in America, touched that floor and had a small brown substance on it. It could be mud, or it could be something else. Well, I still have to make it to the car and of course the whole world will see me. Of course I get sympathy from my fellow travelers as they point, laugh, and try to get this scene on camera. I change in the car once we get into the country and properly disposed of them. Ah, good times, good times.
The trip is not over yet. We get to our destination and it is truly breath taking. Kisoro is about 2,000 meters/6,562 feet above sea level. With it being so high it gets nice and cool there. We visit many churches and encourage them and I got to know more about an amazing man, George. Br. George is by far, the most remarkable native that I have met, if not one of the top ten men ever. George works with numerous churches with no real financial support directly to him. All of his churches that he grew or helped grew was mainly financed by the local people. Words cannot say what this man has done. It took us traveling all day just to visit these places. We went to schools with hundreds of children that all knew him and were ecstatic to see his visitors. Some of these children have never seen a white person up close and personal. One school was so happy that when we left I had about 50-75 students around me wanting me to do animal sounds, or just be goofy in some way or another. It seems that everyone in Kisoro knows George and George seems to know everyone there as well. If he wasn’t busy enough, he plans on working with well over 100 churches in unknown areas because they have not had proper discipleship. George is an amazing man and God bless him for that.
When night came we settled down with a game of poker; no there was no gambling what so ever, chips only. I came close to winning too, ha ha.
The morning of our departure my teammate Jake became ill and threw up. The poor guy did so again as he hung out the passenger window. Jake knew he was going to again so asked another one of our guys to capture him spewing via camera. Gross I know. Well, he asked us to pull over, with a great landscape view with the biggest mountain in the background. He gets over as best he can and we had two cameras that captured it. Mine was not one of them but I sure let out a laugh at the absurdity of a guy wanting that on film. He got sick at least two other times on the way up and we truly did feel bad for the guy.
Every guy road trip has to have some sort of weirdness to it and this one fit the bill. If I ever get the ability to go again I will. It truly is a beautiful place. All of these pictures are on my friend Jake’s blog site.
It is not easy to get to this paradise. It takes roughly 10 hours to get there. It is not far but the roads are atrocious. They have speed bumps on the interstate. If this is not bad enough, the road itself is nothing but potholes and crumbled pavement. When on such a long trip things happen. One of those things happened to me. A couple of hours after having my picture taken at the equator, you heard right, we stopped at a gas station to fill up the vehicle and rest a bit. Well, we all had to use the bathroom but I was privileged enough to use the squatty potty. I know several of my missionary friends are laughing right now. This particular floor and hole was more disgusting than usual. Oh well, when you gotta go… When I exited I made sure I was presentable and good to go. Well, my front of my trousers, pants in America, touched that floor and had a small brown substance on it. It could be mud, or it could be something else. Well, I still have to make it to the car and of course the whole world will see me. Of course I get sympathy from my fellow travelers as they point, laugh, and try to get this scene on camera. I change in the car once we get into the country and properly disposed of them. Ah, good times, good times.
The trip is not over yet. We get to our destination and it is truly breath taking. Kisoro is about 2,000 meters/6,562 feet above sea level. With it being so high it gets nice and cool there. We visit many churches and encourage them and I got to know more about an amazing man, George. Br. George is by far, the most remarkable native that I have met, if not one of the top ten men ever. George works with numerous churches with no real financial support directly to him. All of his churches that he grew or helped grew was mainly financed by the local people. Words cannot say what this man has done. It took us traveling all day just to visit these places. We went to schools with hundreds of children that all knew him and were ecstatic to see his visitors. Some of these children have never seen a white person up close and personal. One school was so happy that when we left I had about 50-75 students around me wanting me to do animal sounds, or just be goofy in some way or another. It seems that everyone in Kisoro knows George and George seems to know everyone there as well. If he wasn’t busy enough, he plans on working with well over 100 churches in unknown areas because they have not had proper discipleship. George is an amazing man and God bless him for that.
When night came we settled down with a game of poker; no there was no gambling what so ever, chips only. I came close to winning too, ha ha.
The morning of our departure my teammate Jake became ill and threw up. The poor guy did so again as he hung out the passenger window. Jake knew he was going to again so asked another one of our guys to capture him spewing via camera. Gross I know. Well, he asked us to pull over, with a great landscape view with the biggest mountain in the background. He gets over as best he can and we had two cameras that captured it. Mine was not one of them but I sure let out a laugh at the absurdity of a guy wanting that on film. He got sick at least two other times on the way up and we truly did feel bad for the guy.
Every guy road trip has to have some sort of weirdness to it and this one fit the bill. If I ever get the ability to go again I will. It truly is a beautiful place. All of these pictures are on my friend Jake’s blog site.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
There are a lot of things to tell about the last two weeks. I am mainly working with the Kisugu church, but recently I have also been blessed to go to Kibuli. I know these names are strange so let me explain. Kisugu is actually within walking distance from where the team is staying. Myself and my teammate Sarah work there. Our goal is to make sure that the church recognizes the importance of children’s ministry and for the ministry to continue after we the team leaves. At Kisugu they have already recognized this and we are doing what we can to strengthen it as much as possible. The church is in the middle of the slums and the teacher there is called Diana and the other is Ester. There is a gentleman there named Dickson who is very interested in the ministry and I will try to get him plugged in, Lord willing.
Kibuli is a little further away. We have to take a taxi or bota (motorcycle taxi) to get there. This church meets at a school classroom. Their numbers fluctuate but many churches in the area grew from this one. This church has a children’s ministry but only meet when the numbers call for it. I am going to try and have it on a regular basis. The preachers are also beginning to tell their congregation to bring their children so that they also may hear the word of God. I met the two leaders for a brief period and will continue to meet with them for the remainder of the time if I can.
There is yet one more place that I am plugged into and that is Ntinda. It is here that they really have a ministry going, and believe it or not they have an Awana program going. It is the only one in Kampala maybe all of Uganda. The two pastors over it are both named Sam. The main Sam is the one that works on the compound I live on so I will refer to him when talking about Ntinda. Their Awanas is different but effective. Sarah and I have mostly been working with Sam and I will be meeting with him tomorrow to help get ready for next Saturday, when they meet, and talk about lessons and ideas of how to present them. A lot of stuff going on but it’s great!
Now it is time for the fun stuff. When I went to Kibuli I recorded some ladies singing praise and worship. Wow they are good. I also went to Silueto (I believe that is how it is spelled) which is also within walking distance, neighboring Kisugu. It is also in the slums and do they know how to worship. I have all of their videos and should have them downloaded soon; either on this blog site or on facebook. I will also have some new pictures to go along with it.
Another good bit of news is that we have a volunteer team here from Texas for the week. They are here to help us out for a week and they are a great help and a lot of fun. It’s nice to have some Americans around to talk with.
Prayer Requests: Diana’s baby is terribly ill and vomiting, and Diana does not have a lot of money for the doctor and they think that it is malaria. Also pray for the churches here to get permanent locations. Many do not have one. They usually just put a tarp over an alley way or kicked out due to the lack of payment.
Praises: The Lord has blessed all of the teammates. We have food, shelter, and many friends. There are so many people here open to the gospel. Praise the Lord for all of his wonderful blessings. Amen.
Kibuli is a little further away. We have to take a taxi or bota (motorcycle taxi) to get there. This church meets at a school classroom. Their numbers fluctuate but many churches in the area grew from this one. This church has a children’s ministry but only meet when the numbers call for it. I am going to try and have it on a regular basis. The preachers are also beginning to tell their congregation to bring their children so that they also may hear the word of God. I met the two leaders for a brief period and will continue to meet with them for the remainder of the time if I can.
There is yet one more place that I am plugged into and that is Ntinda. It is here that they really have a ministry going, and believe it or not they have an Awana program going. It is the only one in Kampala maybe all of Uganda. The two pastors over it are both named Sam. The main Sam is the one that works on the compound I live on so I will refer to him when talking about Ntinda. Their Awanas is different but effective. Sarah and I have mostly been working with Sam and I will be meeting with him tomorrow to help get ready for next Saturday, when they meet, and talk about lessons and ideas of how to present them. A lot of stuff going on but it’s great!
Now it is time for the fun stuff. When I went to Kibuli I recorded some ladies singing praise and worship. Wow they are good. I also went to Silueto (I believe that is how it is spelled) which is also within walking distance, neighboring Kisugu. It is also in the slums and do they know how to worship. I have all of their videos and should have them downloaded soon; either on this blog site or on facebook. I will also have some new pictures to go along with it.
Another good bit of news is that we have a volunteer team here from Texas for the week. They are here to help us out for a week and they are a great help and a lot of fun. It’s nice to have some Americans around to talk with.
Prayer Requests: Diana’s baby is terribly ill and vomiting, and Diana does not have a lot of money for the doctor and they think that it is malaria. Also pray for the churches here to get permanent locations. Many do not have one. They usually just put a tarp over an alley way or kicked out due to the lack of payment.
Praises: The Lord has blessed all of the teammates. We have food, shelter, and many friends. There are so many people here open to the gospel. Praise the Lord for all of his wonderful blessings. Amen.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The first days
Hello from Africa! Many things have happened already but I shall try to keep it short but informative. I am in the capital city of Uganda, called Kampala. It is about 50 miles south of the equator and is warm all year round. I am 8 hrs ahead eastern time zone so it is already late for me here. We are also a little higher than Denver here. The scenery is gorgeous by the way.
My team is that of 5 people; I will have pictures here very soon. There is Jena our facilitator. She has been in a different part of Uganda for over a year and a half as a Journeyman and has been our personal leader of late. She has given us many insights to the people and the culture; haggling included. Then there is Jana. She just graduated from college in Texas and is a prayer warrior. Sarah is still in college and is a complete extrovert. Jake is also going to college and just had his 20th birthday. He loves Texas and is a riot, and no he is not a hick either; hahaha! Well that is my team. I will have more info in future letters.
It is busy here and at the same time slow. It is busy due to Kampala being the capital city. The traffic is insane. This is no mere metaphor, oh no my friends. A 2 lane, one way street quickly becomes a 4 lane in traffic areas. The sidewalk and small strip of land separating the oncoming traffic make up the other 2 lanes. Today I almost got my elbow smashed because it was on the edge of the door and my driver pulled out in front of a taxi. It missed by an inch or two, no joke. Arms and legs are now safely staying inside the vehicle at all times. Motorcycles drive wherever and get away with it, but the bigger the vehicle the more right of way you get. Pedestrians have no such luck at all.
It is sow because you have an appointment set for 3pm, they regularly show up around 3:30-4pm. Relationships are the key here. Some people here actually play tic-tac-toe for several hours here. Shocking I know. If someone shows up 2 hrs late it is ok and they walk around and greet every person in the room regardless if you are preaching.
There is a lot to learn here. For starters, the people believe in spirits, ancestors speaking in their behalf, mini gods, and then the supreme god. They see God as being far off and detached. A personal God is unknown to them, hence the need for mini gods and ancestors to speak for them to the supreme god. Even when some accept Christ here they still where beads that they believe will ward off evil spirits and demons. They even place these beads around their babies stomachs to keep them healthy and spirits at bay.
What they hear of Jesus and the gospel they mostly get from the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) channel. Joel and Benny are alive and well here. In fact, the leaders here tell us that Benny was banned for a while because some people were trampled to get healed; 4 died. It is somewhat to be expected because poverty and Aids, and any other health issues that are rampant here.
Witch doctors are still alive and well here. IF THERE ARE ANY YOUNG READERS PLEASE TURN THEM AWAY OR DO NOT SPEAK OF THIS NEXT TOPIC. EVEN THE STRONG STOMACHED MAY CRINGE AT THIS!
Yesterday we went and witnessed to several adults and had a loving mob of children follow us. It was a very blessed afternoon. Then we drove by a mob on the way back. Our local pastor and translator asked what the mob was there for. PLEASE, NO YOUNG READERS HERE! A person seeking wealth went to a witch doctor and the witch doctor took a woman and sacrificed her at an alter by disembodiment. The police arrested 10 witchdoctors for the crime.
Our pastor then discussed that if the media was not on their tales and what they do, then they would not be nearly persecuted. He also told us of how children are raised just for such sacrifices and some adults as well. They do this in order to achieve wealth or power. Please pray that this ends soon and all forms of this are abolished from the face of the earth soon.
O.K. THE REST OF THIS NEWSLETTER IS FRIENDLY FOR ALL READERS AGAIN, THANK GOODNESS! J
While this city sounds dark, it is also brimming with openness to the gospel. The people here long for a personal God and they already believe that he exists, they just never really had Jesus explained to them. The majority of people here are truly decent people with smiles and an open heart. In other areas of Africa this is true as well, except for wishing to hear about Jesus. That is what makes Kampala so amazing.
Everywhere I look the people have nothing or close to it. Their homes at times get flooded whenever it rains, in certain areas of the city, and yet they see us and bring out their best mats or benches to sit on just to be hospitable. They are an amazing and resilient people. I will show pictures soon so that you may see for yourself.
Our team’s ministry is mainly aimed at leading the churches here to begin children ministry so that a new generation will grow in the faith, but we also have been busy elsewhere. We have been to several house churches where I got to preach a little. It is not my forte but God has blessed me immensely with seeing the harvest of heaven. After one house church visit we later heard that 10 people accepted Christ and then there was the jail visit. No, we did nothing wrong. We participated in the local prison ministry. Thanks to my age and height, I guess anyway, they pick me to preach again; in front of 70 male inmates. After a couple testimonies and a lot of the Holy Spirit working, 5 men accepted Christ.
(While I was preaching my translator, and now good pastor friend Joseph, acted out some of what I was saying. I was retelling the fall of man in Gen.3. In this culture the wife would sometimes kneel or bow their heads when giving the husband a meal or special gift. So Joseph kneels beside me with hands lifted to me in offering of the apple that was not there, kind of like a man proposes to a woman in marriage, in front of 70 inmates. I laughed so hard that I could barely continue the message. It was a great day!)
Tomorrow I’m visiting the jail, a different one, and later this week a food distribution. Then there will be tons of children’s ministry jobs to do. Well I have to go. I know that I said that this would be short, but believe me it is. Take care and I love you all. God bless!
My team is that of 5 people; I will have pictures here very soon. There is Jena our facilitator. She has been in a different part of Uganda for over a year and a half as a Journeyman and has been our personal leader of late. She has given us many insights to the people and the culture; haggling included. Then there is Jana. She just graduated from college in Texas and is a prayer warrior. Sarah is still in college and is a complete extrovert. Jake is also going to college and just had his 20th birthday. He loves Texas and is a riot, and no he is not a hick either; hahaha! Well that is my team. I will have more info in future letters.
It is busy here and at the same time slow. It is busy due to Kampala being the capital city. The traffic is insane. This is no mere metaphor, oh no my friends. A 2 lane, one way street quickly becomes a 4 lane in traffic areas. The sidewalk and small strip of land separating the oncoming traffic make up the other 2 lanes. Today I almost got my elbow smashed because it was on the edge of the door and my driver pulled out in front of a taxi. It missed by an inch or two, no joke. Arms and legs are now safely staying inside the vehicle at all times. Motorcycles drive wherever and get away with it, but the bigger the vehicle the more right of way you get. Pedestrians have no such luck at all.
It is sow because you have an appointment set for 3pm, they regularly show up around 3:30-4pm. Relationships are the key here. Some people here actually play tic-tac-toe for several hours here. Shocking I know. If someone shows up 2 hrs late it is ok and they walk around and greet every person in the room regardless if you are preaching.
There is a lot to learn here. For starters, the people believe in spirits, ancestors speaking in their behalf, mini gods, and then the supreme god. They see God as being far off and detached. A personal God is unknown to them, hence the need for mini gods and ancestors to speak for them to the supreme god. Even when some accept Christ here they still where beads that they believe will ward off evil spirits and demons. They even place these beads around their babies stomachs to keep them healthy and spirits at bay.
What they hear of Jesus and the gospel they mostly get from the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) channel. Joel and Benny are alive and well here. In fact, the leaders here tell us that Benny was banned for a while because some people were trampled to get healed; 4 died. It is somewhat to be expected because poverty and Aids, and any other health issues that are rampant here.
Witch doctors are still alive and well here. IF THERE ARE ANY YOUNG READERS PLEASE TURN THEM AWAY OR DO NOT SPEAK OF THIS NEXT TOPIC. EVEN THE STRONG STOMACHED MAY CRINGE AT THIS!
Yesterday we went and witnessed to several adults and had a loving mob of children follow us. It was a very blessed afternoon. Then we drove by a mob on the way back. Our local pastor and translator asked what the mob was there for. PLEASE, NO YOUNG READERS HERE! A person seeking wealth went to a witch doctor and the witch doctor took a woman and sacrificed her at an alter by disembodiment. The police arrested 10 witchdoctors for the crime.
Our pastor then discussed that if the media was not on their tales and what they do, then they would not be nearly persecuted. He also told us of how children are raised just for such sacrifices and some adults as well. They do this in order to achieve wealth or power. Please pray that this ends soon and all forms of this are abolished from the face of the earth soon.
O.K. THE REST OF THIS NEWSLETTER IS FRIENDLY FOR ALL READERS AGAIN, THANK GOODNESS! J
While this city sounds dark, it is also brimming with openness to the gospel. The people here long for a personal God and they already believe that he exists, they just never really had Jesus explained to them. The majority of people here are truly decent people with smiles and an open heart. In other areas of Africa this is true as well, except for wishing to hear about Jesus. That is what makes Kampala so amazing.
Everywhere I look the people have nothing or close to it. Their homes at times get flooded whenever it rains, in certain areas of the city, and yet they see us and bring out their best mats or benches to sit on just to be hospitable. They are an amazing and resilient people. I will show pictures soon so that you may see for yourself.
Our team’s ministry is mainly aimed at leading the churches here to begin children ministry so that a new generation will grow in the faith, but we also have been busy elsewhere. We have been to several house churches where I got to preach a little. It is not my forte but God has blessed me immensely with seeing the harvest of heaven. After one house church visit we later heard that 10 people accepted Christ and then there was the jail visit. No, we did nothing wrong. We participated in the local prison ministry. Thanks to my age and height, I guess anyway, they pick me to preach again; in front of 70 male inmates. After a couple testimonies and a lot of the Holy Spirit working, 5 men accepted Christ.
(While I was preaching my translator, and now good pastor friend Joseph, acted out some of what I was saying. I was retelling the fall of man in Gen.3. In this culture the wife would sometimes kneel or bow their heads when giving the husband a meal or special gift. So Joseph kneels beside me with hands lifted to me in offering of the apple that was not there, kind of like a man proposes to a woman in marriage, in front of 70 inmates. I laughed so hard that I could barely continue the message. It was a great day!)
Tomorrow I’m visiting the jail, a different one, and later this week a food distribution. Then there will be tons of children’s ministry jobs to do. Well I have to go. I know that I said that this would be short, but believe me it is. Take care and I love you all. God bless!
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