Matthew 19:6 “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Dear Friends and Family,
One of the fun ministries Brian and I get to do at Calvary Chapel Kampala is premarital counseling. We meet with couples from
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our church who are engaged and soon to be married. We take them through 12 weeks of counseling based on the book “Preparing for marriage God’s Way”. Our focus during this time is to encourage them as a couple to grow in their relationship with God as they grow in their relationship with one another, as well as addressing common issues all couples face during their courtship and marriage.
It is so exciting to see couples grow and ultimately get married, vowing before God to love one another forever. The way weddings work in Uganda is that before you have your church wedding you first have your traditional party which is called an Okwanjula or introduction. This is where the dowry is paid to the girl’s family. Culturally, after this celebration you are seen as married.
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After this you need to get married legally and that is done before a registrar at the government office for marriages. Then after the civil wedding a couple can have their church wedding. It is like being married 3 times.
Since Brian and I have started doing premarital counseling we have seen a shift from mostly Ugandan couples to now where we mostly have cross cultural couples. Our marriage is blessing for us but it also has been a great tool in reaching out to and ministering to mixed couples in our church and from other churches. Currently we have 4 such couples we are cou
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nseling.
I love this cross cultural counseling and being able to use our experiences to minster to others as well as answer questions unique to cross cultural relationships.
Usually we do the counseling and Pastor Kelly does the wedding. This month for the very first time Brian performed the wedding.
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He says it was a privilege as well as a great responsibility to be the one to join them together before God.
Last month I talked about our Women’s ministry and how we were planning an outreach for single women. The outreach was amazing. We had 140+ women turn up. Some form
Jill teaching at the women's conference.
our church and some from other churches and some who were brought by their friends. Our topic was “Finding pure Love” We had 4 teachings and 2 times of discussion. During the outreach we had baskets at the back of the sanctuary where the women could drop in questions. During their lunch the teacherstook turns answering those questions to the best of our ability. I made a Purity scripture handout to give all the ladies so they could have biblical references to refer to after the event. Every women also received a book mark that had the names and contacts of all the married women involved in hosting the outreach. We encouraged them to feel free to contact us with questions and for further discipleship. Since then we have had many responses from the single women and many felt the
outreach addressed exactly what they were going through. At least 2 ladies dedicated their lives to Christ.
Women Conf Groups
Just as we were about to finish this newsletter a great tragedy occurred in our city. As the World Cup was about to come to an end terrorists detonated 3 bombs around Kampala where crowds had gathered to watch the final game. 2 of those bombs were at a Rugby club near our home (2 Kilometers).
At this time at least 84 people have died. Members from our church have lost family and friends. A good friend of ours, Ivan, who used to lead worship for Megamix was injured and his fiance and pastor (from a Pentecostal church) were killed.
Somalian terrorists have claimed responsibilities for these attacks. They have also threatened further attacks. 2 further bombs have been found since that time, one at a place where Americans gather for recreation. Praise God they were disarmed and did not explode.
While all missionaries are safe, we have met as a ministry team to discuss on how to be prepared in the event of a terrorist attack at church.
Please pray for Uganda and for the safety of the people in Kampala as well as for those who would seek to harm us.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
In Him,
Brian & Jill Kanyike
Ivan
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