Hello from Jinja, Uganda

Hello everyone!  We have once again found a spot to connect to the internet, praise God!


Tuesday - We started out our day by visiting the newly purchased GBI (Gaba Bible Institute) campus, which is an awesome new facility that will give the bible school the opportunity to expand it's current operations and increase the amount of students that can study the word of God. After lunch at a food court in a mall in Kampala (which was very western), we took off to visit a section of slums in Kampala.  This areas is known as a very dark place riddled with witchcraft, witch doctors, and a lot of death.  The area is known for participating in child sacrifice and recently there have been child abductions for this purpose.  Unfortunately I cannot remember the Ugandan name for this area, but I cannot forget what it means.  "Here another has come to death".  Needless to say, these slums are a place where the power of Jesus is very much needed.

The great news is there is a church and school project in the heart of this slum, and it is making a dramatic impact in the lives of the people, and the witch doctors.  There used to be almost 200 hostile witch doctors in the area, most of which casting spells on the pastor of this church.  He shared with us how this frightened him initially, but in his small faith he claimed the power of Jesus, and amazing things began to happen.  As of now, there are 22 witch doctors in this area, most of which have a reverant/submissive attitude toward "The Mighty God".  They are no longer hostile toward the church and are actually in relationship with the Pastor.  It was amazing to hear and see how the power of Christ has beaten down the devil's foothold in this area.

Our purpose in being in this area was not only to see the church and hear its story, but also to go out in teams and pass out food and medicine, which was provided by a ministry called the Mercy Network.  We went in teams of 4 with 2 local Christian leaders (to translate and keep us safe).  The things we saw and experienced on this outing were devastating and heartbreaking.  I personally struggled to cope with the intense emotional and spiritual impact this place was making on me.  I had been poured out fully already in Kachungwa and other places, and this was so much my cup poured over.  These slums were tightly arranged, most of the buildings being made of concrete and bricks.  The homes were very small, and had no electricity, plumbing, sewer system, or services.  There are a lot of stories to tell, but I will tell you about one specific story, of Ben and Sara.

I was on a team with Ken Harvey, Pat Smith and Melody (from ARM).  We entered a house that was overflowing with children, 19 in all.  We sat together inside the small room and began to talk with our translator regarding this family.  At each house prior we had prayed with the mother of the home, but she wasn't home at this house.  He explained that both the mother and father had died most likely from AIDS or Malaria, and that in this house were 3 children.  James was the eldest at 15, then Ben at 9 years old and Sara at 8.  James was the one watching out for Ben and Sara and 3 other small abandoned children in this home, but he worked and went to school which left Ben and Sara to prepare dinner, take care of the little ones, and keep things in order.  These children were babies living adult lives, not to mention the heartache of losing both mother and Father.  We prayed over the children that God would protect them and keep his powerful watch over them.  I felt helpless.  Who would watch over them?  Everywhere I look there is disease and hunger and poverty.  I wanted to fix it all, but I knew I couldn't.  I spent the rest of our walk back pleading with God to show mercy and grace on this area and bring healing that only he can do.  I realized that day how in this situation, my faith would be the only thing I could rely on.  Is my faith big enough I wondered? God is big enough regardless of my inadequacy, and so I prayed bigger than I ever had.


Wednesday - We spent a restful night at the home in Gaba which provided us with warm showers and a good night's sleep. We packed a short bag for a 3 day stint heading North-east toward Kampala. Wednesday (today) was intentionally a lighter day.  With what have already seen and experienced some of us were pretty overwhelmed and were having a hard time processing each new place (OK, so mostly me).  We headed back to Gaba Community Church and the headquarters of ARM which is located right on the shore of Lake Victoria.  From there we got in 2 fishing boats and took a 30 minute boat ride to an ARM project called Bethany Village.  This would turn out to be a really encouraging place to see. 

Boat ride to Bethany Village

Bethany Village is in many ways the golden model of ARM projects.  It has a very excellent school, wonderful facilities (for Uganda), and the children are succeeding at a rapid rate.  In this place they have 172 children that are complete orphans.  They have no family to care for them or take them in, and so they were taken to Bethany Village to find love, encouragement and family.  These children live in homes with roughly 12-15 children in each home.  The homes all have their own "Mother" that serves as a mother to the family of children in her home. We met one of these mothers and it was very apparent they have a deep passion for these children. These "homes" weren't just building with kids staying, but functioning family units where the children consider themselves brother and sister.  I felt blessed to see what a good work ARM is doing. The best thing is they have many plans to expand and impact even more children.  How awesome.

A family home at Bethany Village

Now - Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Jinja, Uganda. Pastor Rob sits to my left playing with his phone.  We had a good evening tonight, visiting the headwaters of the Nile River.  This is where the Nile begins at Lake Victoria and runs until it hits Egypt. 

In summary, God has been very good to us and his people here are doing some very impacting work for the gospel.  Our Canby team is already talking about our "next team to come" and the ways we can help.  Is God calling you here?  Before you say no, pray.  Don't just read my words, but actually pray.  We are excited to bring back a flavor of what ARM is doing here, and how the Canby Christian Church community of believers can get on the God train here in Uganda.

Blessings,

Neal T.

  





Nice house in Gaba