The First Farewell

Our dear brothers, Brian and Dave, said their farewells to Uganda. It seems as if they’ve fallen in love with the people and the place as much as we have. Their work here was priceless, and they’ve left an empty spot in our mission house and our hearts. They should be arriving home in just a few hours. We pray Godspeed to them, with hopes of their future return.

We had a packed week of more evangelism, fellowship, and dancing with neighborhood kids, and the long-awaited graduation of two of our seminary students, George and Maxwell! They finished well, and now the real work begins. Just as in America, ministry is often lonely and difficult. Thankfully, the leadership and the congregation at Rock Baptist, for the most part, embrace and respect its leadership. They are a tight-knit family who protect one another. We do request you pray for these young men, along with the other leaders at RBC, as they proclaim truth and teach others how to discern solid doctrine and theology.

We had a wonderful message from home this week! Our VBS kids at Church of the Open Door, Fayetteville, NC, together with all of the amazing volunteers, helped raise enough money for a new roof to be put on Rock Baptist Church! During the rainy season, the church has been flooded due to the damage and age of the roof. But praise God, He has provided through the generosity of these little children. Bless the Lord!

We are missing so many friends from home, but our work here keeps us busy. This week, Pastor Jon and Aslan will also be returning to America. We’ve loved having them along for the adventure – even though it was short. The pastors here enjoyed getting to know Jon better and have gleaned from his knowledge and experience. He took time to listen to their concerns and needs, which often seem overwhelming. Prayerfully, the Lord will answer them according to His will. This week, please continue for Jon and Aslan, as well as the village pastors, Geoffrey and Nicholas.

Last week, while evangelizing, Brian met a man named Michael who was about to go search for work in order to feed his children. He does odd jobs and drives a motorcycle taxi any chance he gets. Sadly, this means his children are left alone most days. Brian was so moved and went back to see him, bringing with him a bag of corn flour to help feed Michael and his children. This act of kindness went a long way. Yesterday, Michael and his children were in church, and Michael came to Pastor Julius, Jon and Jim to declare his desire to follow Christ! We pray that Michael’s heart is truly transformed by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. To God be he glory!

For the sake of one soul is why we are here. Let the souls be multiplied, not for our glory, but for the sake of Christ and His cross. To Him be glory, power, and dominion forever and ever!    

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

~ 2 Corinthians 6:2(b)

Until next time…Tuonane!

Chrissie and the team

Photo link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HmMBzVwQLCJSppFF8

Preach The Word!

 

Welcome back to Karibuni Tororo! This week, the men (Jim, Brian, Dave, and Jon), spent another day in the village of Kawete within the district of Iganga, where Pastor Nicodemus serves at Jerusalem Baptist Church. If you refer to my blogs last time we were here, you can read about Pastor Nicodemus’ testimony and how his church has prevailed. The men led a Pastor/Church Leader conference based on 2 Timothy – Preach the Word. Pastor Nicodemus was so grateful, and the men in attendance were given tools, teachings, and admonitions they’d never received before. Praise God for the truth that went forth, and may these leaders continue to bathe in the Word of God, so that their teachings may be right and their sheep may be fed.

The girls and I are now leading the women’s Bible studies each Tuesday afternoon, as well as teaching the children on Sunday mornings. Teaching Ugandan women presents a set of challenges all its own. Not only can our accents be tough to pick up, but we must consider the examples we use, as not many of our “Americanisms” or even our humor transfer. The ladies are attentive, but they fear messing up their English around us, so getting them to answer questions can be a tug-of-war. Please pray that the Lord would break down language and cultural barriers, so that we can better engage our Ugandan sisters.

The children, on the other hand, are the easiest to connect with. They are full of love, life, and fun. Many remember us from years past, but I see many new faces too. Auntie Hannah and Auntie Aslan, as they are affectionately called, are superstars here! Both are baby-whisperers extraordinaire, and they love working with the preschool-kindergarten-aged kids. I have the joy of working with the elementary-aged kids, which is just like home. These young people are so bright, and it is such an encouragement to see the Word of God planted deep within them.

On a side note, many who have contributed to our Uganda efforts will never know the lasting impact you’ve made on this community. There are children who have continued in school and now have promising futures. Instead of digging in the garden for the rest of their lives, they may become teachers, tailors, medical professionals, or pastors. They have Bibles, curriculum, school supplies, and clothing that carried them through seasons and even years. They have a place to learn about the love of God out of the hot sunshine, which they have sweetly named the Children’s Open Door Annex, after the church that built it for them. And there are children alive today because of the medicine that you helped provide. This has strengthened families, the church, and the community. The families of Rock Baptist Church have grown in their knowledge of Christ and His Word. Pastor Julius faithfully splits the Word and helps them apply it. We pray this growth continues, by God’s grace. Challenges come, but God goes before us. Thank you again for your faithfulness to the Lord, and your love for the least of these.

Please pray as our evangelism efforts continue this week. We are also visiting the local Compassion International in Tororo District. Please also pray for Brian and Dave as they are preparing to return home. With the craziness in the world, please pray all flights are operational and they have a smooth transition back to family and friends. They have been a most outstanding duo, and they are going to be sorely missed. But, more about that later…we still have some time together.

Thank you for following us on our adventures. The link for pictures is provided below. I wish I could embed them as I used to, but until I get home, I think the link will have to do. Much love to you all!

“…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” ~ 2 Timothy 4:2

Tuonane,

Chrissie and the team

Here is the photo link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrUnt5NCXPFrzNSM6

Hard Ground and Broken Hearts

Now that the team is complete (Jon and Aslan arrived in Tororo around 1am Saturday morning), we began our work of evangelism within Tororo District. Though we have grown to know this area well, there are many new faces and families whom we’ve never had the opportunity to share the gospel with. Prayerfully, that will change within the next few weeks.

We set out in three teams, hoping to cover more ground in differing directions. We walked on hard, stony clay roads in very hot sunshine. Each team reached several people or homes, where we faithfully unpacked the Good News.

I, Chrissie, was teamed with Hannah and Brian. We shared the gospel with six people that first morning, not to mention taking time to meet others along the way. I’ve asked a few team members to contribute to this blog each week by sharing their experiences and encouragements with you. Sharing his evangelism experience, Dave Patrick writes,

Tuesday 6/17 – “On our first visit we spoke with a young man named Julius, his friend Henry, a young lady named Angel and her sister. We saw all kinds of soil there with Henry, a professing Catholic, showing the least interest and leaving after a short while. Julius was more interested but not much more than simply courteous, even when confronted with the prospect of spending eternity in hell. Hopefully, the seed of the Word will take hold. Angel was the most interested as she understood that salvation was by faith but she was wrestling with the security of salvation, so we spent some talking with her about that. We ended up speaking to this group for over an hour simply because folks trickled into the conversation over time and we had to repeat key points.

We spoke with a young lady (but older than the first group) named Evelyn who was out doing some cleaning on our second visit, who was also very hospitable and talked with us for almost thirty minutes. She said she was also Catholic and while she listened intently and answered all our soul searching questions, she appeared relieved when our talk was over.

The last visit was to another young lady named Precious who said she was Anglican. She graciously brought out several stools for us to sit on while we talked on the covered porch. Her view of life after death centered on whether a person had confessed all their sin before passing away. If all confessed up, heaven. If not, hell. We shared the good news with her that you could indeed know that you have eternal life and God's plan for attaining it, but the concept of Jesus dying in her place and gaining his righteousness through faith was so foreign to her that all we could do was leave her to contemplate all that was said.”

Dave and Brian come to us from Capshaw Baptist Church in Alabama. This is their first trip to Uganda, and it has been an amazing experience so far. They have both been a blessing to us and others they’ve met.

My dear Ugandan sister, Janet, is with us again as our ministry support. She is a faithful friend and one of the hardest workers I know. She works tirelessly supporting our mission through cooking, helping with cleaning, translating for us at the market, as well as the ladies’ Bible study. She promised to teach us how to make a few Ugandan dishes, so there will be more to come with that. Janet is also the women’s leader at Rock Baptist Church.

The mornings here are my favorite time of day. Each sunrise reminds me how God’s mercies are new every morning. It is in the quietness of my day, when creation is waking up, that I feel the closest to the Lord. He reveals how good He is and how much He’s done. Each new sounding song from the birds, to the mist over the Kenyan mountains (which we can see from our house), glorifies the King.

Until my next post, grace and peace to you all back home. Pray for us as we pray for you.

Tuonane,

Chrissie and the team

PS - photos are still not loading, so here is the link to this week's photos - https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dc2iRXAoL2ti9Ntu6

 

Returning to the Rock - Finally Home

Stepping off the plane and onto Ugandan soil felt surreal. Although it has only been two years, it seems so much longer being away from family here. Our team was met by Pastors Julius and Nicodemus, with whom our churches have partnered in their formal seminary education. They joyfully received us, and after over 30 hours of travel, we finally made it home to Tororo! We were received with shouts of joy and hugs from our brothers and sisters from both Jerusalem Baptist and Rock Baptist.

Our team is currently at five, with two to follow on Sunday - Jim, Chrissie, Brian, Dave, Hannah, Jon, and Aslan. The five of us have settled in well and did the majority of the shopping to keep us going for a little while. We are excited to get into ministry, but we need to take care of other necessities first.

We were notified by Pastor Nicodemus that this Thursday, there is a marriage conference scheduled that we are all expected to speak at! Nothing like planning on the fly. 

Since writing that, we completed the conference, and by God's grace, it went very well. The marriage conference focused on God’s Design and Purpose of Marriage, God’s Design for the Family, and Roles of Godly Husbands and Wives. It was a lovely event, with about 30+ people in attendance. Each of the team was able to contribute to the teaching and mentorship. As noted in past blog entries, one of the leading issues within tribes in this area of Uganda is polygamy. Being an acceptable and even lauded practice within the culture, it makes God’s design challenging to abide by, due to the sinful human heart. Some of the stories shared by couples were heartbreaking. They truly need the healing touch of Christ in their marriages. Please pray for Pastor Nicodemus, who diligently and faithfully serves his congregation and brings the hard truths of God’s Word. Pray also for Jacky, his wife, who is expecting their third child in October! Praise God!

 

The team has adjusted incredibly well, and now the real work begins. The conference in ____ was a great kickoff to what lies ahead. The men will be very busy teaching, preaching, and discipling local church leaders from Tororo to ____, about a ____ mile spread. Though the work will take place at Rock Baptist or Jerusalem Baptist, the pastors and church leaders who come are from miles around. There is more in store for the guys, so please keep them in prayer as they teach these leaders how to rightfully divide the Word of Truth and how to live it out.

One of our team members, Hannah Allison, is a nurse, and today she finally got a chance to serve a little in her area of medicine with our clinic below the mission house. We pray Hannah has many opportunities to not only serve as a medical provider, but to bring the healing message of Jesus to those who are desperately hurting.

Tomorrow, Pastor Jon Wixtrom and his daughter, Aslan, will be arriving to complete the team! We anxiously await their arrival. Please pray for traveling mercies for Julius and Jim, who must drive 7 hours one way to pick them up, and then drive back home. Please also pray for the rest of us that we may use our time wisely and actively look for opportunities to share the gospel, even within our compound or the marketplace.

I have so many pictures to share, but the internet is not cooperating with loading them. I will post them as soon as technologically possible. :)

Your sweet comments and prayers through text and social media are so appreciated. I am sorry for not responding, but our internet is very unreliable right now. If that changes, I will do my best to reach out to you personally. Until then, please pray fervently for the hearts and souls of those we’ve come to minister to. May God be glorified through it all.