Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. – Romans 6:4
Dear Friends and Family,
This month at Arise Christian Fellowship, we have seen quite a few firsts. We had our first baptism as a church. We had our first wedding. Lastly, w
e had the birth of a baby to someone from our congregation.
As many of you know the church was born out of a baptism of people who had been saved through the market ministry. The church recently had its 6 month birthday and we celebrated with the first official baptism since the church began.
After worship Brian taught an in depth teaching on Baptism, 16 people made public declarations of their faith in Christ through baptism. It was really quite a moving time if you knew the background of those getting baptized. Alex, whom we wrote about last month, was baptized and cheers were heard as he was dunked and came back out of the water. We had a couple who had backslidden and were living together unmarried rededicate their lives to the Lord and were baptized. Soon they will be married, legally. There was a young man who was a construction worker and got saved while working on the boundary wall at the FRM compound. There was an older lady who said she went to a church when she was younger that made everyone get baptized but that at the time she had no idea what it meant and did it because she was told not because it was a choice. Most of the others have gotten saved over the last couple months through various ministries and outreach.
Just as the baptism began it began to pour
down rain. It was really quite awesome as Ugandans see rain as God’s approval or blessing upon an event. It did not hinder the baptism in anyway as everyone was already getting wet. Our worship leader, Evelyn, kept the worship going through out the baptism
As our church prepared for our first wedding there was much to do. Brian and I started preparing the couple for marriage 3 months beforehand with weekly premarital counseling. I really enjoy this time with couples as it helps us to get to know them better as they are getting to know each other better.
In Uganda unless a church owns it own land, a couple must get married legally at the marriage registrar before the church wedding. Brian and I stood with this young couple as their witnesses on the day of their civil ceremony.
Uganda is a polygamist culture. Being married civilly binds a couple to a one husband, one wife marriage that is only dissolvable by divorce or death. While most couples will still have a traditional ceremony, Christians take the step to be married civilly as well. Our first wedding was no different. After the civil ceremony and before the wedding the couple held a kwanjulla or introduction. This is where the boys family pays dowry and the girls family either accepts or rejects him as a groom.
For the wedding, Luke and Laylee were both in it. Luke was a peg boy and Laylee was a flower girl. It was their first wedding as well and we are so proud of how well they did.
The last of our firsts this month was one of the church couples having a baby. The father got baptized on Sunday and the next day his wife gave birth to a baby girl. They asked us to name her. We named her Hannah. We pray she grows into a woman who fears the Lord and knows His grace.
Thank you for praying for our family and for the ministry in Uganda.
In Him,
Brian, Jill, Luke, Laylee and Liana
PRAYER REQUESTS
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Praise the Lord for all who were baptized. Pray for them to continue to grow in the Lord and to be witnesses of Him in the world around them.
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Praising the Lord for the couple who were married. Pray for God to 1st in their lives and the center of their marriage. Pray that as the grow closer to Him they will grow closer to each other.
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Continue to Pray that we would truly “Arise and Shine” the light of Christ in this dark place.
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Pray for the upcoming out reaches we have planned for this summer and for those who will be participating in them.
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Pray for Brian as pastors and leads our ministry team. Pray for all the ministries and leaders.
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Please prayerfully consider becoming part of the Kanyike Family support team.
