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!
