Sing to the LORD, all the Earth; proclaim His salvation day after day.
-1 Chronicles 16:23
Dear Friends and Family,
Happy Thanksgiving!!
We have so much to be thankful for. God has done so much for all of us, the most important of all sending His Son to die for our sins that we might have salvation and spend eternity with Him.
In response to all He has done for us my heart and thoughts turn to worship. God created us for that purpose and there is something that seems to draw us ever closer to Him when we worship.
I thought in this spirit of thanksgiving and worship I would share about what has been happening with our worship team. God has been using them in many ways. They bless our church, the
y are involved in missions both in the community and in other areas, they minister to other bodies of Christ . I am sure you will be excited in all the ways God has been using them.
Lets begin with our worship leader Evelyn. Evelyn began leading worship at my woman’s bible study when she was just a teenager. God gifted her with the ability to pick up the guitar and just learn to play whatever she heard. Since then she has matured not just in music but in her personal walk with Christ. She works for the Christian organization, Mission Aviation Fellowship, which flies missionaries to hard to reach areas. We use them to fly in to South Sudan.
Worship at MAF
Village outreach
When we set out to church plant, Evelyn was right beside us and naturally fell into the role of worship leader. At the church she not only leads us for services but she trains others who feel called to be a part of the worship team as well. She disciples the young ladies interested in worship as to the true meaning of worship, helping them to grow closer to God through their calling and to not look to be seen for their gifts but to use their gifts to help others see God. At Evelyn’s workplace she leads the staff in worship during devotions and retreats. Our church is very mission focused and Evelyn accompanies us on most of our missions to lead worship and to teach worship conferences. While it already seems like God is using Evelyn mightily, I believe He has even greater things in store for her.
Arise Christian Fellowship started almost 3 years ago. From the very start it has been mission focused. I believe it is because the majority of the church came to know Jesus through outreaches and evangelism. In the short time the church has been established we have sent out 2 full time missionaries to South Sudan. Both of the missionaries came from our worship team.
The first is Ivan. Ivan has been ministering with Brian and I since before we were even married. He has a very lively personality that carries over into his worship. His joy is contagious. Ivan was our first missionary we sent out. He had gone on several mission trips to South Sudan and saw the incredible need there. He is currently leading worship at Calvary Chapel Cush while training the nationals there in worship and how to lead worship.
The second missionary we sent out was Timothy. Timothy was our drum player. Unlike Ivan Timothy went only once to South Sudan before he felt the Lord was calling him to serve along side Ivan and Calvary Chapel Cush. Ivan and Timothy also minister through community outreach. There are many refugees and displaced people in Nimule, where they are located. Each week they minister along side Far Reaching Ministries as the feed the refugee children. They accompany the chaplains for evangelism and home visits, bringing worship to the lost and needy. Besides ministering through worship, Ivan and Timothy lend a helping hand wherever there is a need, often this is in the form of construction work at the chaplain’s base. We miss having Ivan and Timothy as part of our worship team but are blessed to see them reaching the people of South Sudan.
The last member of our worship team that I want to mention is Eddy. He is a very talented musician and songwriter. He plays the piano and saxophone at church. He uses his gift to teach others music, including Luke and Laylee. Eddy plays concerts to share his music as well as the gospel message. This month he launched his very own album called Suubi, which mean Hope.
At the album launch Brian was able to address the crowds and share about hope and present the Gospel message. We are thankful for those who received Christ and pray for God to continue to use Eddy and his music to do so.
Thank you for praying for our family and the ministry in Uganda.
In Him,
Brian, Jill,
Luke, Laylee & Liana
Luke, Laylee, & Liana
PRAYER REQUESTS
- Praise the Lord for all the people who are being reached through the worship team and all the ministries they are a part of.
- Pray for our missionaries to South Sudan. Pray that God would use them mightily to reach the lost and keep them safe.
- Pray for Eddy and for the success of his album and for those who heard the gospel during the album launch.
- Pray that we would get all the official documents from the Lawyers so that we can get Liana a passport and visas to come home for furlough. Pray for the finances for everything involved.
- Pray for health for all the Kanyikes. Sickness has been a real struggle for everyone, especially Jill.
- Pray for Brian as pastors and leads our ministry team at Arise Christian Fellowship.
- Pray for all the ministries and leaders.
- Please prayerfully consider becoming part of the Kanyike Family support team.
