Update from AFRICA # 4

We hope this finds you well. The team rose early Wednesday morning to an incredible African thunder and rainstorm. The flashes of lightning, roars of thunder, and rain that pounded the dry African soil reminded us of God's power and the words of Job as he said in Job 26:14; "His mighty thunder, who can understand?"

As I prepared this update at 5 a.m. in our small dining hut, our team guards, who are in tents by the compound gates, came running into the hut...it is not everyday that you hear "good morning sir!" from a group of men carrying AK-47s. I am sure I will fail to put adequately into words the glorious day in ministry that the team had.

The pastor's conference has been an incredible success. The pastors have been awed by the Calvary Chapel style of verse by verse teaching. During our afterglow, some of the pastors were crying out to God and repenting of some of their sins that had been made clear through this conference and the Word of God. Many denominational pastors have confessed to us that they have not been teaching the full counsel of God and have been convicted and now have the desire to teach verse by verse. The workshops have been impacting not only for the pastors, but for the teachers as well. These workshops opened up the door for us to field some of their amazing questions that were sincere and heartfelt. Towards the end of the conference, we had a powerful communion message and a time of worship that truly helped us understand the impact that this conference has had on the hearts of these leaders. The final song was a traditional African goodbye song. The congregation began praising and dancing. The mood was magnified even more when the power went out; worship got even louder in the darkness.

As the conference closed, a local pastor brought in two young girls. One was struggling with evil spirits. Her head seemed almost forced down, her back was hunched over, and her neck was turned sideways. As she spoke, it seemed as she was almost controlled by someone else. Oftentimes, she would only nod her head to answer our questions. The pastors explained the scriptures to her and expressed how she could be freed from the bondage of the spirits by putting her faith in Christ. As we laid hands upon this precious child and prayed over her, she told us she wanted to know the love of Christ. She prayed the sinner's prayer, and we began to see a change in her countenance. What began as an empty stare, was replaced with a wonderful joy and a beautiful white smile that touched our hearts.

The other little girl who was 14 years old wanted the same peace. She told us that she wanted to receive Jesus, but her father, who is Muslim, had threatened her and said he would no longer pay for her schooling if she converted to Christianity. She began to weep and shamefully raised her worn hands to cover her tears. As we began to minister to her, we noticed the cuts on her arms; scars from the spells of witchcraft. We explained to her that God has a great love for her and that He will be her provider. We introduced her to David Onzima, our Promise Child director so that he could watch over her and get her into discipleship. She gave her life to Jesus; it was a wonderful close to a simply amazing day of serving the Lord.

The hospital was another trying day for the team. A little baby was rushed into the hospital; she was dying from the effects of malaria. She was in desperate need of an immediate blood transfusion. The malaria parasites had attached to this one year old's spleen, her hemoglobin levels had dropped, and dehydration had set in. Her body had begun to break down. This child was in desperate need of blood immediately. The problem was that because of dehydration, the team could not find this child's veins. It was a chaotic scene as our medical team assisted the staff while others prayed and cried out to God for mercy. Our prayers were answered as the team was able to get the blood needed for a blood type match, and immediately start the blood transfusion. All we can do is wait and pray, but what we are seeing, is that this is an everyday occurrence for the medical staff here in Midigo. For our team, it was a crushing reminder of the depths of despair that the people of Midigo face every single day. Their only hope lies within the hope of a God that most here have never heard of.

The other thing that has touched the lives of our medical staff is what the women in Uganda have to endure. We could see the pain in the eyes and facial expressions of the women who bring their children to the hospital. In some cases, grandmothers have been forced to raise children whose parents have abandoned them or have been killed. The aged and worn faces of the women here make a 50 year old look like she is 70. Almost all of these women have been abused in one way or another. Please remember to pray for these women who are suffering.

The entire team was also able to attend a formal ceremony with the government health care officials, community leaders, and elders from Midigo where we formally presented the 15 bins of medical supplies that were donated and purchased in country for the Safe Harbor clinic. The ceremony and the time spent together did a lot to build goodwill with those involved and laid the groundwork for the future.

The outreach team journeyed out to one of the most remote areas in Midigo where some Promise Children live. To meet and see the huts that were funded through those of you who had given to the Promise Child Ugandan relocation project, brought tears to many eyes and joy to all of our hearts. We were able to minister to the widow and her two teen age boys. We found out that they have given their lives to Christ and are regularly attending Calvary Chapel Midigo. The team was able to install malaria nets in the new huts that were large enough for the entire family to sleep under. David then pointed out that the acre of land surrounding the new huts were filled with corn and other vegetables, which were completely funded by Promise Child support. (The land was donated by the community elders).

Next, the team spent time witnessing to the Promise Children and their families at local schools. The first school we went to after receiving permission from the teachers, allowed us to go and share worship music with each of the classrooms. The children's eyes were big and smiles were bright, as they clapped with us while we worshipped. When we played the song, "Let it Rise", we taught the children to join us when the song says, "Whoooooooa, let it rise". So here's the picture; Joe strumming on the guitar, the team is worshipping, and the children are singing and lifting their hands in a song about worshipping Jesus; a pretty sweet scene for a Muslim school! Eventually, the district representative came to the school and said we were causing chaos, and forced us to immediately leave. The joy and the laughter of the children told a different story.

At the next school, we used a little more wisdom and approached the principal in a more diplomatic way. This is a school where five Promise Children are being supported and the principal is very much behind the program. He explained to us that the doors to their classrooms have fallen from their hinges, paint was peeling off the walls, the roof was damaged from recent storms, and the government has no funding even for school supplies. We told him that we are grateful for the opportunity to love the children of Uganda and asked for permission to have a general assembly. We let him know that we had bags of school supplies and gifts for the children. He was excited about our team sharing the message of hope. After leading a few worship songs, we preached the uncompromised Word of God to this Muslim school. It is difficult to determine the fruit of an outreach like this, but we know that the seeds have been cast. David will give follow up discipleship to those students who received Christ. We closed our time at the school by presenting the headmaster with school supplies, Gospel bracelets, and visors that the children can decorate. We decorated the first visor with the message, "God loves me" and brought a little girl forward, placed the visor on her head, and the other children roared with laughter. As we left, the headmaster explained to us that more than funds for buildings and more than school supplies, these children need food. With the food shortage here in Midigo, he explained to us that some of these children will go two days at a time without food. Please join us in praying for the precious children of Midigo.

The team continued by gathering updated profile card information for more than 58 current Promise Children. With the food shortage that is devastating this area, we have decided to take a step of faith and take on 60 new Promise Children and are trusting God for His provision on these children and their families. If you feel led to support one of these children, please go directly to our website at promisechild.com and click on "Support a Child".

Thank you for allowing us to bring the good news of the Gospel to the broken and hurting in Midigo, Uganda. Your prayers and partnership are an irreplaceable blessing. Thank you for sending us out; we love and miss you all.We will be sending an update about Thursday shortly- it was another incredible day!

These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer.Acts 1:14a