Watoto

My niece who is a fabulous photograther will be going to Uganda in about three weeks to phtograph children for Watoto.  Watch the video here about what they do in Uganda.  May her heart be moved by what she sees as I was when I was there last month.

Give and it will be given you.

I have often quoted this verse but always were sceptical of those who always said that you had to give to get.  Now I still believe that you don't give to get but you give to bless.  However, God sometimes surprises us with giving back to us.  Let me explain.

While we were in Uganda I gave away my little notebook computer.  I knew I could always replace it with another one and the need was so great there.  When I got back I decided not to buy another computer right away but wait to see what my real needs were.  As I was preparing for last Sunday's lesson I realized that I needed a laptop to do my presentation.  Well it happened.  Someone who wishes to remain anonymous showed up at my door with a brand new laptop for me.  I was stunned.  What a blessing.  I never expected when I gave mine away that someone would be led by God to give me a much bigger and better computer.  Now I will not give to get in return but what a blessing when that happens.  God is good and God's people are good.  Thank you to the giver for responding to the Spirit as you did.  You blessed me and may you feel God's blessing on your life.

Uganda: Some final thoughts

Though our trip to Uganda was difficult it is one that I will never forget.  We did have some tough times.  I got something in my eye that made my eyes hurt for a few days.  Curtis had a negative reaction to malaria medicine.  Our first night in Kabale was without electricity and our first few days in Mbarara were without water.  We seemed to eat a lot of matoke and beans and the roads were very rough.  However, ...
There are some great memories.  The scenery was spectacular.

The children were beautiful.

The people were great.

We had time to relax...

and a time to worship.

We met with kids who were no longer homeless...

and we got to know some very special people.

Was it worth it?  Absolutly!
Would I do it again!  Yes, I would.  However, not tomorrow.
Here is a final picture, how I always pictured Africa.

Thank you to all who supported us with gifts, money and prayers.  Yes, we left a part of our heart in Africa.

The Danger of Presumptuousness

Christians are a blessed people.  We are forgiven, we have the promises of God.  However, it is also easy for us to be presumptuous.  We take the philosophy of the French philosopher who said that it was God's job to forgive.  We sin presumptuously because God has forgiven us.  We also fall into the sin of presumptuous by taking God's promises and turning them unto ourselves.  An example of this is prosperity theology.  God has blessed us spiritually so we presume He will bless us financially. 
We need to guard ourselves against the sin of presumptuousness.  The Bible tells us that we are not to put to tempt the Lord our God.  Hophni and Phinehas thought that they were the sons of the High Priest so they had special privileges before God.  However, God took their lives because of their sin.  Psalm 19:13 says, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be innocent from the great transgression." Presumption is a "great transgression", and if we think we stand, we better take heed lest we fall (1 Cor. 10:12).

Abide

ABIDE - Amagara Bible Institute of Discipleship & Evangelism. ABIDE is a non-denominational Christian leadership training program of Juna Amagara Ministries in Uganda designed to enable youth who have graduated from secondary school to transition into sustainable adulthood on the foundation of Jesus Christ by forming them in Christian faith, character and leadership. The program invites students each year to participate in a six month residential discipleship & leadership training at two campuses. These new high school graduates join ABIDE to seek God, develop leadership skills and engage in service projects. It includes outdoor adventures, challenge course and team building activities, guidance counseling, vocational skills, spiritual formation, classroom study and supervised ministry outreach. After graduating, students are equipped to pursue further education and/or work with a passion for building Christ's Kingdom and impacting their community. Below is a picture of the ABIDE house in Mbarara.

Here are some pictures of the students in class.

Both Steve and I had an opportunity to teach.

They also teach them life skills such as computer skills and farming.

They are also constructing a new facility in Kabale.

Listen as Matt describes what is happening.

Talk Radio again

Every now and again I listen to Christian talk radio for a few minutes. Don't ask me why because most of the time it makes me annoyed. One thing that I find annoying about talk radio is that it is always about our rights. We hear how the political left is eroding the rights of Christians. What happened to the Gospel? Our rights are not important but the Gospel is. Paul often gave up his rights for the sake of the Gospel but there were times that he insisted on his rights because in doing so it would advance the Gospel. Which is more important to you, your rights or the advancement of the Gospel?

Patrick

One of the young men that we met that impressed me was Patrick. He first met us at the airport in Entebbe and drove us to Kampala then Mbarara and Kabale. Patrick is the man on the opposite end to Curtis.

Patrick grew up in the village of Kishange which is about an hour from Kabale. Below are pictures of the village.

When he was about 14 the Rowandan rebels invaded his village and his family had to flee to the jungles to survive. When they finally return to their village his mother died and he found it impossible to live with his father. He left the village and ended up on the streets of Kabale.

Someone took an interest in him and sponsored him to go to school. While he was in his final year of school he felt deeply burdened by the invisible children in the refuge camps in the north. Joseph Koni had killed the parents and kept the children with very little food and clothing and nothing else. Patrick and his friends felt the Lord was leading them to collect supplies and take them to the refuge camp. The story of how he got the materials and how they finally got a bus and enough money for gasoline to take the trip is amazing and he has written about it in a little booklet.

When they drove north to the refuge camps they had no idea if Joseph Koni and the rebels would kill them but they felt God's leading upon their lives. Their trip was successful and they were able to give those children hope as well as food, clothing and school supplies. Upon return to Kabale he was able to complete university and then enrolled in the Abide program (I will write about that next). Upon completion he felt lead by the Lord to help street kids such as he had been. Patrick rented a place and has 16 boys staying at the Shepherd Centre. You can read about the Shepherd Centre in earlier blog entries.

Patrick was extremely generous with his time and what he had. It is my desire to support him and his ministry. He is like a modern day George Mueller running his centre by faith. We learned that before we left he ended up in the hospital with Malaria. Below are some pictures of Patrick and me.

Here is Patrick in a suit that we brought from BFM Chatham. Thank you for your support.

Here is a couple of pictures of Patrick. Please pray for this remarkable young man. He is now 29 years old and is taking care of 16 homeless boys. You can tell that they love him and they know that they are loved by him. His burden is to have more room so that he can help more boys.