…You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Dear Friends and Family,
We are praying for all of you, in you area of the world. Some days, as I watch the news it is hard to believe that it is actually the news and not a science fiction movie. I could never have imagined that one day this would be what the world we live in is like. As the world continues to fight off the effects of Corona virus we have been trying to help those who are further from any type of help or assistance then we are being in Kampala. Uganda is still under many restrictions. The number of cases is rising steadily as well as deaths. Due to these circumstances travel is restricted and there is a strict curfew.
The Far Reaching Ministries guesthouse where we live is well known to many missionaries around Uganda for many reasons. We host teams through out the year that often go to other parts of Uganda and Sudan to serve alongside some of these missionaries. We also have weekly Bible studies that host people from many different churches as well as quite a few missionaries. Because of this we have been sort of a central logistics center for those needing help during this pandemic. A lot of the assistance we have been able to give is office type work: helping missionaries submit paperwork, helping with banking, buying medicines and making inquiries. Besides office work, we have been able to be a supply gathering place for some missionaries. Due to the curfew we are under missionaries who live quite far from Kampala cannot drive to Kampala, shop for their supplies and return to their homes all in one day.
To help with this they have been able to order their supplies over the phone or online then have them delivered to us and we arrange transport, usually a boda boda, to deliver their supplies to them. We have also been able to help coordinate doctor trips, homeschooling supplies and tips, as well as advise those returning from abroad about what they need and the ins and outs of quarantine since we also went through that when we returned in March. We are blessed to live in such a convenient place where we are able to help others. During this time a verse from 1 Cortinthians really stood out to me:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted. by God.”
As we have been trying to help the people from our church through this difficult time as they face hunger and poverty, we have been blessed by my home church and Far Reaching Ministries who have given donations to help us help them. Last month these donations went out to help others as well. Through donations from FRM we were able to help a ministry in Northern Uganda. Combined Harvest Ministries is run by Moses Ouni, who is a missions coordinator and IBS instructor. He said that they have used the donations as an opportunity for door to door evangelism. “Our approach is to reach a place, tell them why we are there and give the food. Afterwards we interact with the group or family for a while before sharing the Word and praying with them, then departing. Enforcement of Social distancing and small gatherings is higher in towns so we try to be very careful on how many we minister to per time so there is no over crowding.” In Kampala, we have had the same issues with trying to minister to as many as we can with out doing so in crowds because the president has said anyone causing a crowd to gather during this pandemic will be charged with attempted murder.
The people of South Sudan have been severely devastated through this pandemic. With all the borders closed it has been difficult for them to receive food and the assistance they normally receive from countries such as Uganda. With funding from FRM we were able to arrange a food distribution through Calvary Chapel Nimule that has reached over 1000 people. Pastor Michael told us that some of the homes they visited had not eaten for many days before they reached them. He said that they used each visit to minister to the believers and share the gospel with the unbelievers and to pray for each household. Pastor Michael said that many unbelievers after seeing God provide for them after days of not eating caused them to come to believe. If it had not been for this pandemic and the extreme circumstances that people are finding themselves in, many of these homes would not have let Christians or evangelists in but now they have received salvation for themselves. We pray that many more would come to know Christ as they continue visiting homes and providing food. We pray that these men and women would grow strong in their faith and in turn reach out to others with the love of Christ.
Thank you for praying for our family and for the ministry in Uganda and South Sudan.
In Him,
