With the Finish Line in Sight

 Greetings All! I apologize for the gap in our updates, but life here has been busy, and we needed to spend more time with the people in front of us, while we’re still here. Not to mention, rarely do we receive any questions or comments from the updates, so I figured, it was best to just spend the rest of the days focused on finishing strong. However, before concluding, I wanted to share one more.

 Time has flown by and we are left with less than two weeks, which brings a combination of tears and a little excitement. We are sad to leave our Ugandan family, who we waited so long to see, yet we look forward to returning to America, with friends, and being back home.

We have been blessed abundantly while serving in ministry here. We are grateful for the prayers you have offered on our behalf, and we look forward to sharing more stories with you upon our return, provided you want to hear them.

There is much work left to be done, and it extends beyond what we can do, and even beyond what our home church can do. Our prayer is to get a few American churches to partner with some very solid Ugandan churches, as they build their ministries in areas that have no truth or light. Aside from Rock Baptist Church, which receives support from Church of the Open Door only, there are four particular churches we have in mind that could truly benefit from a partnership.

The first, Word of Life Baptist Church-Namungalwe, in the district of Iganga, (a Muslim and Pentecostal stronghold), is where Pastor Nicodemus leads a congregation of approximately 100 people. I wrote about him in a previous blog. His story is quite amazing. Nicodemus’ hope is to purchase some land to build a proper church that would accommodate his congregation. This would also allow him to move back into his home, rather than living in a temporary mud hut with his family.

The second, Mbula Baptist Church, is where Pastor Isaac Othieno leads a congregation of approximately 80 people. Currently, this church is a temporary structure, made of aluminum and iron sheets. The congregation meets very early Sunday mornings, as the sunshine heats the structure too much after 10am. Isaac’s prayer is to build a more permanent brick structure, as well as send one or two young men to seminary, to aid in the teaching and preaching of the Word.

Below 👇 are pictures of the next church, Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Ebenezer Baptist Church before service.

Ebenezer Baptist Church during service.

Eli with Pastor Geoffrey

The third, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Mudakori, is pastored by Geoffrey Oktella. This little church is positioned in the middle of a village that has no Christian churches. It stands as a collapsing mud structure, and a tent, recently purchased through the generous donations of two elementary students back home. Geoffrey’s church is still small, with approximately 30 people, but it has the capacity of growing, not only in size but in solid, biblical truth and application. This church needs immediate help with its structural soundness. But in order to build, the congregation needs to purchase land. Currently, the structure is on a rented plot.

Nicodemus, Isaac, and Geoffrey have been to seminary, and they all have a strong background and training in Reformed Baptist theology. They are beacons of truth in a corrupt land.

The fourth, Amurwo Baptist Church, is pastored by Timothy Olwenyi. Timothy is a bright young pastor, who loves the Lord and his congregation very much. Timothy has not gone to seminary but has been trained by solid, biblical teachers and pastors. Though he is unable to go for formal training, his prayer is to send a couple of young men to seminary, in order that the Word of God is rightly divided and proclaimed. He, along with each of these pastors, desires to raise up others to carry the torch of the Gospel.

Please pray for each of these churches as they continue on in their current conditions. If you or your church would like more information about any or all of these churches and pastors, or if you would like to help the ministries at Rock Baptist Church, please contact me via email at: cabrockman66@gmail.com. Jim and I can provide answers to your questions or information you want to know.  

Finally, here is a photo dump of the last couple of weeks. I will have more to share when we get home, but for now, these will do. 

Eli and Daniel now

Eli and Daniel 5 years ago

Gurty!

My lovely ladies during Tuesday Bible study.

Baby dedications are so precious.

Preaching the Word!

Wedding at Rock Baptist

Evangelism in Tororo

The dusty, village roads

God's handiwork

Thank you for going along on our journey with us through this blog. I really love writing it and love it even more when there is discussion or questions about what God is doing through us and our brothers and sisters here. We continue to pray for you, our beloved friends and look forward to our reunion, as the Lord wills. 

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with each of you. 

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” ~ Acts 20:24

Christ, Our Hope in Life and Death

As we fast approach our final month, we have had abounding joys and heartwrenching sorrows. While some days seem to run together with a 'same thing, different day' feel, the past 10 days have been different. It started with a significant amount of power and water outages...which is always fun. 

Jim teaching Bible study during a power outage.

Despite the power being out during our Bible study hour, Jim still taught by flashlight and a few dim solar lights. It was pretty surprising and encouraging to see how many people still walked in the rain and darkness to sit in a dimly lit church. What makes these studies a little more interesting are the bats that swoop overhead, eating mosquitoes. I've had a few near misses, where I probably sounded like an amplified mouse letting out a dreadful squeak.

Our first joy was spending an afternoon together with about 20 of the upper-elementary students as we taught them about the purpose and importance of evangelism. We presented the gospel to them, role-played, and talked about the real fears we have in talking about Christ to others. We peppered the day with games and songs, and pizza, which was a treat for all. It was truly a blessed day with such lovely souls.

Eli, Junior and their kiddos!

On Sunday, we celebrated with one of our seminary students, Joseph, as he and his wife dedicated their new baby, Janai. The church committed to praying for and coming alongside these new parents. It was so encouraging and it made us miss our budding families back home. 

Dedication of Baby Janai 💗

                                                  

  

Speaking of home, we have another praise from our VBS students and staff, who used the mission focus to raise money for the children at RBC and the surrounding villages. The hope was to raise $2000 for school shoes, backpacks, basic supplies, and malaria meds for each school-aged child. This amount was surpassed by over $1000! Then, a family stepped up and matched what had been raised!! The total gift amounted to over $6000!!! Such an unbelievable gift from such generous hearts! 💖💖💖

The extra funding will be able to provide Bibles to those children who can read, emergency food and medication to the children of village churches, and an emergency food fund for the children at RBC during drought or famine. God works through such unlikely means. He is truly awesome and so faithful. Thank you to all back home who contributed to this effort. May the Lord abundantly bless you.

In other news, Eli bought a heifer (she is still a baby calf). We named her Yogurt - Gurty for short. He bought her from a friend who needed money to send his children to school. Although we'd love to bring her home, Gurty will be gifted to a good home before we depart. 

Yogurt!

A boy and his cow 🐮

                                      

On a more serious note, we met two wonderful village pastors this week, Timothy and Wilberforce. They are faithfully working for the Lord, but not without challenges. Wilberforce lost his first (only) child last week. Geoffrey was just a baby and died of malaria. This pained my heart so deeply. I met Pastor Wilberforce's wife, and while her eyes were deep with grief, her joy in the Lord shone through. Please pray for this dear couple as they learn to lean upon the Lord through their sorrow. Pray also for Timothy and Wilberforce, as they continue to meet physical and spiritual trials and tribulations as they fight against the culture and destructive traditions in their villages. 

Pastor Timothy with us.

Pastor Wilberforce, Ida, and Pastor Timothy

As we were preparing for evangelism this week, Julius told us that another child had died at one of our village churches, so our priorities have shifted. Julius will be preaching at the funeral tomorrow. Please lift up these parents, as losing a child is one of the hardest things to bear. I am reminded at times like this, that God the Father knows our grief, especially that of losing a Son. He catches our tears in a jar, and it is so comforting to know that the God of all Creation walks with us through the darkest valleys. 

Ministering to Ida and Wilberforce.

Malaria and Typhoid are everywhere, and so often, those in the deep villages just cannot afford the medication or the transport to the doctor. This is all so preventable, and it is heartbreaking to see such loss. We are praying for God's mercy to cover this family and community.

Barnabas gifting Jim with a Guinea chick.

The emotional roller-coaster continued with Jim being blessed with a Guinea chick from a man who helped build the Biblical Training Center. He was out of the country when we arrived here, but Jim evangelized at his home. To express his gratitude, he gave Jim this lovely gift. 

I am constantly reminded, by things around me, how important Christ and His Word are. While out evangelizing, we saw this woman fetching water from a bore-hole. Take a look at the condition and color of that water. Yet, this is what people drink. Just as people thirst for clean water, their greatest need is the Living Water that comes from the Gospel. 

Water from a bore-hole

The Living Water from Christ is the only thing that satisfies.

Please continue to pray for us and our ministry as we begin the countdown to return home. We have only a month left and still much to do. Please pray that needs will be met, despite the challenges. God has been so good to us and we praise Him for all He continues to do. Drop us a line through text, FB, or wherever. We love and miss you very much. 

Please remember those mentioned in prayer, as we, 

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." ~ Romans 12:15

Defeating Strongholds and Combating False Teaching

Due to difficulties with the network, my pictures are not loading. :( I will add them as I am able, but for now, I will put some on Facebook. Thank you for your prayers, love, and support for us and this mission.

Since my last entry, life in Uganda has been very busy. Evangelism is always part of our program. We have gone out to very deep villages, with long dusty or muddy paths, sometimes to be welcomed and well received—other days, we are chased or not welcomed. The largest threat came to Jim, who, while preaching to a family, had a madman come out of his hut swinging a club, moving straight toward Jim and his translator! Praise God, Jim and his team were faster than the attacker. While we are prepared for opposition, it still reminds us of the hostile realities we occasionally face here.

Jim joined Eli in preaching and teaching. He preached on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 and it was a wonderful sermon. God continues to grow these men into blessed proclaimers of truth, for His glory.

We visited the villages of Muisi and Mbula with our evangelism teams. In Mbula, we spent the day with Pastor Isaac Othieino and some of his church family. They were truly gracious and made us feel so welcome. Pr. Isaac even cooked for us - such a humble servant.

We had the distinct privilege of leading a conference for church leaders this week in the village of Iganga. I’ve previously mentioned Iganga and Pastor Nicodemus, who hosted the conference in his home-church. There were over 40 in attendance. Being that this area is a strong Pentecostal stronghold, the practice of female pastorship/eldership is common. This became a main teaching point at the conference. As I taught women, two of who claimed to be pastors, Jim and Eli taught the men about proper roles and responsibilities the Lord has assigned to us. We presented two sessions, morning and afternoon. My first topic included why God forbids female eldership/pastorship – to include females teaching males. I cannot deny that throughout my sessions I was a bit fearful. I was met with glares and scowls from several women. I never pointed fingers, but the Lord provided His Word, which I spoke with clarity. At the end of the day, the ladies had a time for questions and comments. It was then that the two “pastors” publically repented and thanked me for the teaching. They confessed that they had been wrong in calling themselves pastors and asserting authority over men in their churches. They admitted that they had heard it was wrong, but no one had ever shown them in Scripture. Now that they had seen it with their own eyes, they desired to change! Praise God, for His perfect Word, which opened the eyes of the blind.

Though I did not hear what Jim and Eli taught, it was said that they brought clear teaching from God’s Word and it cut straight through the hearts of many of the men. There were a few that struggled to take teaching from a man as young as Eli, but they could not dispute the Word. Please be in prayer for these pastors who go back to their community with truth.

We concluded the week with church service in Nagongera, a village we have visited since we started coming to Uganda. We were hosted by Pastor John Obbo, and we were blessed to spend time with his wife, Susan, and long time friend, Scovia. Please continue to pray for Pastor Obbo and his family, as they hope to complete the construction of their home. Also, pray for Nagongera Baptist Church, as it continues to be a place of hope and truth for the lost.

This week concludes our second month here. We have completed two-thirds of our adventure. I am not ready to come home, so I pray this final month does not go by too quickly. It took so long to return to Uganda, I don’t want to think about leaving yet. However, we keep a countdown calendar so we make the most of every moment. May each of us live like this, as we ask the Lord to teach us to number our days. We are not promised tomorrow, so live for the Lord with your whole heart!

Our faithful brother and ministry partner, Julius Odungo, continues to be a constant means of support and encouragement. Between managing church business and ministry, he still finds time to go with us to the deeper villages, evangelizing and encouraging right along with us. He is part of our family forever, and we ask that you continue praying for him through the challenges and joys of ministry.

Next week, we will be traveling to the mountains of Kapchowra to visit Grace Hill Baptist Church. After we return, we will be focusing on developing a marriage workshop and preparing for marriage counseling, while Eli works with the children and youth. Please pray for us to have wisdom and discernment, as we navigate through destructive, cultural traditions that negatively affect many marriages here. We hope to present this blessed union as the shadow of Christ’s love for His bride. More to follow on this endeavor…

And now, may the grace and peace of Christ be with each of you, as we continue to contend for the faith from different sides of the world. You are prayed for and we look forward to our joyous reunion next month.

Remember, if you are interested in partnering or assisting us in this blessed ministry, please contact me via text 915-667-1571, email: cabrockman66@gmail.com, or FB Messenger. Thank you.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” ~ Jude 24-25

Hey, it’s Eli. After a brutal fist-fight with my mom, I have successfully hijacked this blog and wanted to let you know I am accepting/expecting Chick-Fil-A gift cards for our return. Must be $20 or over. No trades. No gimmicks. I’m a growing boy and I need my protein. As gratitude, you receive a (painful) church side-hug or fist bump.

God's Word Proclaimed - On And Off The Field

 

Evangelism is one of the primary reasons we come to Uganda. While we seize opportunities to share the good news back home, we are not met with as much hostility here...at least initially. Each week, we travel through Tororo District or into deep villages to share the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Churches and religion permeate the country, but about 98% of those we speak to do not understand salvation, nor can they articulate the gospel. Many have heard about Jesus and know that He died on the cross, but they do not know how that might save them. Whether Catholic, Muslim, Anglican, Mormon, and even some who say they are born-again struggle with the truth of “salvation by grace alone”. People, here and home, love the idea of grace, but they cannot wrap their head around the idea that Christ’s sacrifice was enough. The majority of people contend that they have to do something to earn salvation. This is where we meet with much hostility.

A fellow sister in Christ 

A home of Muslim women whom Jim preached to.

Jim and his team 💙

There are those who have grown up in a particular church, who have spent their entire lives saying repetitive prayers, tithing to a church, doing ‘good’ works, etc, and when the truth of the gospel removes their efforts, they get very angry. Rather than rejoicing and feeling relieved, they dig in with their self-righteousness and refuse to receive the glorious news. To have the gospel presented to you, and being so close to receiving truth, only to reject it is grievous.

Village centers where people gather to buy, sell, gamble, and drink.

Evangelism last week

Not all days are filled with rejection, as there are some who listen and thank us for the message. However, we never truly know the depths of someone’s heart. Perhaps, they are being courteous, or that they know there is truth in what they heard, but they may be unwilling to change at this time. Others display a humble and contrite countenance, and we pray that the Holy Spirit is convicting them and leading them to true faith and repentance. Right now, these things are not for us to know, but we certainly pray that we see them in eternity. Please pray for the hearts and minds of those we’ve met and those we’ve yet to meet, that God would open their eyes to the salvation found in Christ alone.

Rainy days in Tororo

The Aletheia Project—the 12 month course hosted by Rock Baptist through the Tororo Centre for Biblical Studies (TCBS) graduated it’s first class last Thursday! This was a huge undertaking and we praise God for those who led the course and those who attended it. May the truths of Scripture reach far and wide as the pastors, elders, and lay-leaders bring it to their churches and communities.

The graduates of Aletheia preparing for the ceremony.

The first Aletheia Project class to graduate from the Tororo Center for Biblical Training.

The TCBS will now focus on teaching shorter courses to small groups, as Reverend Julius and his team focus on doctrinal and theological application. For those who attended Biblical training, the TCBS is also hoping to eventually provide some trade-skills training for those with no jobs. Please pray for these efforts, and that the Lord may provide the staff, materials, and funding needed to support this.

     

This week has been a little tougher for me. When I send updates here or on Facebook, I get a few messages here and there with encouraging notes reminding us we are being prayed for. However, it gets lonely here, and not being able to chat with people can take a toll. I am surrounded by fellow believers, but our cultural differences make joking and our “American-isms” hard to understand. They just don’t get our humor. I am so grateful for those who have taken time to write, text, or even sent a quick video. We’ve even had a few chances to chat on the phone with some of you. We’re not homesick, but we are all missing friends. We are on the other side of the world, but we can be reached, so please do so.

We’ve only been gone 6 weeks, and I thought about those missionaries who commit years to the field. They must be terribly lonesome when they don’t hear from home. One must think they are forgotten. This week, please write a letter or send an email to a missionary who is far from home. Tell them how you are praying for them. Ask them what their day looks like. Be interested! It will make their whole week.

Eli had his third opportunity to preach - this time on Matthew 7. We are overjoyed at his obedience and love for the Word of God. Please continue to pray for him and Jim as they both teach and preach throughout our time here. 

May grace and peace abound in each of your lives. Continue living to honor your King. Love and Blessings.

💜