“The Lord sustains all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.” Psalms 145:14
As you may know, our primary ministry here in Uganda is the biblical training of pastors at the Terebinth School of Discipleship. However, God has surrounded that ministry with a few other ways for our team to reach the Acholi people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A more recent addition has been the widows’ ministry. As we take our students through the whole of Scripture one of the themes we highlight is God’s heart for the widow and last year God opened the door for us to not only teach our pastors about His heart towards them but to partner with them practically. We train committees at our students’ churches and give them supplies to provide healthcare, food, discipleship, fellowship, and work to the widows in their areas. By God’s grace we’re hearing a lot of testimonies, and seeing a lot of families come to know the Lord because of this practical display of love. We even have a witch doctor enrolled in the program who is receiving discipleship. We hope and pray she responds to Christ soon. In the month of February, God opened the door to triple the number of widows in the program, and we pray that He will continue using this ministry mightily.
Close to one year ago I was placed as the Administrator over our medical clinic, which is another branch of Terebinth. The medical center has been used by God to reach the Acholi people in so many ways. In a month we can treat as many as 250 out-patients, care for 50+ in-patients, deliver more than 30 babies, and immunize 300-400 children. We see a lot of motorcycle accidents, snake bites, and cases of severe malaria. The spiritual atmosphere in our surrounding village is very dark, and we see several attempted suicides a month, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. But we see that Jesus’ light is shining, as we open every day at the clinic with devotions with our staff and willing in-patients, and our chaplain who is a pastor who has graduated from our school who encourages, counsels, and prays with the patients even late into the night. God has used this position to stretch and grow me in a lot of ways but it’s not always easy. It’s been hard to see the harsh realities of life and death in the bush. And it’s hard to work so closely with a corrupt local government. We praise God for what He’s doing and what He will do with the clinic.
As a family we are doing well, as we await the arrival of my parents, who will be staying with us for the month of April. We miss all of you, and we pray that God would give us better communication skills to keep in better contact with you.
Praise God…
- that He healed our pastor of his stage-4 cancer.
- That we were able to trade in our van for a 4 wheel drive vehicle that can better manage the roads surrounding our village.
- That Luke is back and well! Thank you for your prayers concerning his health, we are happy to have him back in Uganda.
Please pray…
- for me (Matt), to have wisdom in leading the medical clinic
- For favor in the eyes of the local government as I look for grants and programs to help offset the cost of the medical center.
- That our pastors would grow in their theology of suffering as they look at the book of Job this week.
- That God shines the light of the Gospel into our community through the local church and empowers us with the Holy Spirit to proclaim His word.