“He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know me,” John 10:13-14
This month is a blur in my memory. Each day went by so slowly, but now looking back it’s as if no time passed at all. I myself (Noelle) left our two-room, temporary apartment only a few times, so my concept of time and days has become very skewed. But here we are at the beginning of a new month, and I hope I can share with you what God has been doing here in Gulu, Uganda, even though I have not been directly involved with almost any of it.
First of all, I praise God for His provision for us as a ministry. He has done so much to sustain us and allowed us to reach out in more “practical” ways during this difficult time. He opened doors so that we can continue giving food to those women in our widows program. He brought in funds so we can give food to many people who are in need. He enabled us to give deals on certain products at our grain facility to make things more affordable. He allowed us to give a daily portion of food to the patients staying in our medical clinic, and to lower the cost of malaria medications as people are low on cash in these days.
Due to restrictions during the lock-down, we are blessed to partner with the local government to distribute food packages. People go to their local leader to be vetted before receiving a voucher for food supplies. They can then go to one of the 2 Calvary Chapels in the city and receive amounts of rice, oil, and beans, which are supplied by our grain facility. With all of this, along with the current radio ministry we are able to do, we are making a lot of relationships with those in the local government and also gaining a lot of publicity. Please pray for these MANY opportunities to share the hope of Christ to be fruitful!
Because the limit of how many people can meet together is only 5, the 2 Calvary churches we are closely connected with have been doing home fellowships. Each fellowship is lead by different leaders in the church, whether they are leading only their family or a few small fellowships throughout the day. Between the 2 Calvary’s, there are more than 60 home fellowships, who are currently going through either the book of Daniel, or through the I Am statements of Christ, depending on which church they normally attend. It is exciting to see so many believers staying faithful and even growing into leaders during this time. Pray for these leaders, that they would continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ, and be bold in preaching the gospel in truth.
For our family, by God’s grace we decided not to waste this time of separation from normal work and life, but to get ourselves more on track physically and spiritually. Physically we had been at a lower point than we would have liked to believe, but getting rushed out of our home and normal groove helped us to “restart” in a way. A new meal plan and changes in diet, and daily exercise for both me and Matt, have really helped us start feeling better in general. The extra time for Matt to be able to sit and read the Word has been a real encouragement. He was even able to attend the online Men’s conference put on by our church in CO and two other Calvary’s.
Praise God:
- For all the provision he is giving those in need.
- For the faithful worship of Christ through home churches.
- For our family’s health.
Please Pray:
- For wisdom as we seek to meet physical needs right now.
- That our “small church” leaders are equipped to faithfully handle the Word.
- That God would fill us with His Spirit.