You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14
Dear Friends and Family,
In Uganda the short rainy season is almost over. This season follows our very hot season when everything dries up and turns brown and dusty. Now with the short season of rain we have had everything has come back to life and it is very green. Flowers are everywhere you look and you can smell them in the air. The dry season was about 4.5 months it has only rained on and off for 6weeks. It amazes me how quickly the rain can make a difference and restore life. This somehow speaks to me about how our witness of Christ can be that life giving water to someone who desperately needs it.
Arise Christian Fellowship began as an out reach to the market people, mostly men, many of whom have almost nothing and often turn to substance abuse to numb their pain. The life giving water of Christ and His salvation has changed so many of these peoples lives and like the vegetation after the rain, they are also beginning to bloom and grow. These men are now the ones who are initiating outreaches and going to the market and streets of Kampala to evangelize.
Recently two of our guards, Fred and Jacob, who attend our church when on duty and local churches in their villages when they are at home, began to reach out to their communities with a joint effort from Arise and their home churches. This has resulted in many new believers. Through discipleship Brian is helping these men to disciple those they lead to Christ. We are thankful to our supporters who donated Bibles and tracts to give out towards evangelism and discipleship. At Arise we have offered various studies on discipleship and evangelism. Soon we are praying to begin a new study on what we believe and how to share it. We hope these men and maybe even some of those who they are discipling would come and be a part of it. It has been exciting as a church to see men and women get saved, grow in their relationship with the Lord and then go out in to the world whether here in Kampala or even further, we have a handful of members in Dubai/Abu Dabi and South Sudan, sharing their faith with others and helping them to grow.
Another evidence of growth this rainy season has been marriage and births. I think just about every month I could write about the newly engaged and married and then about the new babies. Our church is definitely a young church. The believers are young in their faith as well as in age. I am thankful for the number of marriages that are taking place. In Uganda it is so common for men and women to live together and have children but never actually get married. This is mostly due to the fact that most Ugandan parents still require a dowry which is often way more then a young couple could ever afford. As people grow in the relationship with the Lord the emphasis on dowry or at least unachievable dowry is reduced and couples are able to marry instead of live in sin. Children in Uganda are definitely seen as a gift from the Lord and most families are large. This is probably from the history of sickness and war which has left Uganda with a high infant mortality rate. Having many children also means many hands to work. A man with many children is considered wealthy. At Arise we have more than double the number of children and babies than adults. We praise God and are thankful that we have the opportunity to raise up the next generation of believers.
Laylee wanted to give a testimony about prayer in this newsletter. Laylee raises bunnies, they are probably her best friends. Recently one of her bunnies gave birth and died the following day. She was devastated, especially after we told her the babies would most likely die because they were too little for us to hand feed. She said she prayed for a miracle for those baby bunnies. That night, very late, we received a call from one of the off duty guards. He told us that one of his son’s rabbits had just given birth. He wanted to know if he could quickly come get Laylee’s baby bunnies to bring to that mother so she could also feed them. The babies all survived.
Thank you for praying for our family and for the ministry here in Uganda.
In Him,
Brian, Jill, Luke, Laylee, and Liana
PRAYER REQUESTS
- We are so thankful for the many ways the Lord has blessed us and for everyone who supports us and the ministry in Uganda.
- Please pray for the ministries at Arise Christian Fellowship. Pray for the evangelism and disciple that is taking place.
- Pray for the new marriages at Arise. Pray that the couples would cling to the Lord as they learn to serve Him together.
- Pray for all the new babies and for all the children at Arise. Pray for their parents and for the church body to help raise and guide them as Christians.
- Praise God for answered prayer and that He reveals Himself in so many ways.
- Pray for the Kanyike children to get called for their citizenship interview.
- 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.
