Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. Psalm 66:16
Dear Friends and Family,
I believe everyday we all are experiencing God. Whether it is in loud obvious ways that may even be miraculous or it’s in a still small voice bringing comfort or direction. In this newsletter I would like to share a couple of the testimonies that our church members have shared that speak of God working in all different ways in our everyday lives.
The seasons in Uganda are not quite like the seasons in America . We have summer from the end of Dec to the end of March, where temps can reach up to 110F. Then we have fall and spring. They kind of are blended together with some rainy days and some hot days. Then we have winter from the end of September to the end of December. That time of year is our rainiest and coolest, the temperature stays mostly between 70’s and 80’s. This year the summer season lasted much longer and when the fall / spring time came the rains came extremely heavy, hard and long. It caused a lot of damage first to the farmers by washing their seed away since this is the time of year they plant. There also has been so much damage to the homes of the people in our church who live in the slums because the heavy rains caused flash floods. Some women in my Bible study said their things were just floating out of their houses.
The unusually heavy rains have also caused an extremely large mosquito season which has led to so many sicknesses. The ladies in my Bible Study were commenting on how we’ve only had one week since Easter where we weren’t praying for someone who was seriously ill. We took time to focus on praying for the weather to return to normal and the farmers and people affected by floods would be spared any more suffering. Almost immediately it seemed that the weather stabilized and God was answering our prayers. This is our testimony as a group of answered prayer for the weather. Now we are praying for complete healing for those who are still sick and for good crops when harvest time comes. Prayerfully and with faith we believe that testimony is coming soon.
Deo is one of our assistant pastors. He has recently been taking classes for Sports Management to help with the work he does with youth, coaching soccer. His testimony was that one day as he was at class his motor bike was stolen. He said he almost didn’t report it to police because of two reasons: police aren’t always helpful and motor bikes are so common it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. That bike was his only form of transportation and he felt desperate so he prayed and felt God said report it to the police. He went to the nearest station and gave them all his details. They were not reassuring at all. They said they get reports of stolen bikes every day and most are never located. He went home and told his family what happened. They prayed. The very next day as he was leaving class the police called and told him to come into the station. He went thinking they needed more details. As soon as he approached the station he saw his bike out front. The police said someone found it lying on ground. Something had broken on it and the thieves had been unable to take it any further so just left it. Even the police were in shock. Deo told them he had prayed and his family had prayed. The police said for sure they believe his God heard and it was a miracle.
Betty is one of the ushers at our church. She gave a testimony of how one day she had just finished bathing and was looking in the mirror and all of a sudden it felt like she was going to pass out. She said she sat down and started to panic because she couldn’t see properly and her body was feeling numb. She said she couldn’t even move her arms. As she was panicking, thinking her life was leaving her, she remembered Philippians where it says, “be anxious for nothing but in all things with prayer and supplications with thanksgiving make your requests known to God…” She said as she prayed with what she thought were her last breaths she heard in a still small voice that it was not her time to go and she should get up and go back to her family. She said immediately all her feeling returned and her breathing became normal. She wanted to testify of God’s goodness that she has remained well since then.
Emmanuel’s testimony is one of salvation. He came to Kampala because he thought it would be easy to make money, legally or illegally he didn’t care. He got the idea to visit churches and take advantage of Christians because he had heard that they give things for free, even money. Also, he had heard it was easy to pick pocket when the Christians were distracted with worship. After a couple weeks of hanging around our church he was convicted and realized he had come to “hustle” but what he found is that he needed Jesus, he needed to be saved more then anything else. Proverbs 20:24 “A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?” Emmanuel’s name means “God with us”. God truly was with Emmanuel and led him right where he needed to be, to find something better than a hustle that satisfies just for a moment, instead he found eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Thank you for praying for our family and for the ministry in Uganda.
In Him,
Brian, Jill, Luke, Laylee, and Liana
PRAYER REQUESTS
- We are so thankful for the testimonies of all God is doing in the lives of the people at Arise Christian fellowship.
- Pray for the weather to remain stable and that there was no lasting damage to farms and people’s homes after the floods.
- Pray for health for those who are suffering from malaria and other sickness caused by the extreme weather.
- Pray for 2pastors who are coming from Jill’s church to visit Arise and other missionaries in Uganda.
- Pray for the Kanyikes’ finances as they have had some unexpected expenses, medical and Luke needing braces. Pray for Luke to adjust to having to wear braces and for it not to be too painful.
- Pray for the Kanyike family’s spiritual life as well as their physical needs.
- Pray for Brian as he pastors and leads the ministry team at Arise Christian Fellowship.
- Please prayerfully consider becoming part of the Kanyike Family support team.
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