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