Reports: Uganda

After a very smooth flight from Heathrow, Tim and I along with Doug and Penny Orford arrived in the early morning light of Entebbe airport where we were met by an enthusiastic welcoming committee from the church.
Two hours later, having checked into our hotel, we drove into the church compound in Wabigalo to meet with the leaders of the Unity movement of local churches working primarily within the slum areas of Kampala the Ugandan capital. Tim then ministered at the first session of the conference and so we hit the ground running which was to be the case for the whole time we were in Uganda!
There have been some substantial improvements since our last visit as preparations for the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which welcomed Queen Elizabeth on a three day state visit had been completed. Practically speaking, this has resulted in a better road system in the centre of the city and locally, a huge rubbish tip which marked the entrance to Wabigalo has been removed and the air is somewhat fresher as a result!

We spoke at a three day conference for leaders in Kisugo, the neighbouring district, which drew some fifty pastors and leaders from the local area. The main thrust of our teaching was on the qualifications and character required for leadership. Alongside this we ministered at an evening crusade and saw some notable healings; one young man had damaged his knee in a motorcycle accident and was unable to move it at all. After a short time of ministry he was bending it with no pain whatsoever. A lady responded to a word about a lump in her breast and after prayer the next day the lump had gone. Dozens of people made decisions for Christ.

After a celebratory Sunday meeting with the church hosted by Joel Amonde, we left for Lugolole in the Mayuge district, some three hours drive east from Kampala. Unfortunately, three hours became six as the minibus broke down due to an oil problem with the engine. A roadside visit from a mechanic and then a repair carried out at a local garage got us underway again. On arrival, the team taught the rural church leaders over two days and engaged in a very lively question and answer time which centred mainly on behaviour within marriage and the challenge of bringing Biblical principles to bear where many are saved from tribal backgrounds where polygamy is common and the treatment of wives leaves a lot to be desired! We were able to support a group of pastors there who are working hard to empower marriage and bring Godly attitudes to bear.

Our return to the capital was rather slow due to heavy traffic (congestion may have improved but certainly has not disappeared!) and after a night spent in a hotel where every mosquito in the area also appeared to be lodging, we set out for the airport sporting our lumps and bumps after providing a feast for said critters!

We returned to England assured in the knowledge that the churches are continuing to grow, the leaders are maturing in their understanding and that they are open and have a heart to hear the input that we bring, from Biblical teaching through to governmental issues. It was a delight to see old faces and get acquainted with new as Father God continues to pour out His Spirit and blessings into a people who have many adversities yet are clear in their determination to follow Jesus and see His Kingdom win through in all situations and bring glory to God in Uganda.
by Kim Grant

In October 2006 I went to Wabigalo, a township in Kampala, Uganda, as part of a mission team led by Tim and Kim. As well as it being a great trip with many saved and healed, our hearts were greatly touched by the number of young children, many of them AIDS orphans, who the local church had taken into their homes and with whom they were sharing what little they had. On our return Tim launched a campaign for sponsorship of these children via the charity Kingscare and by the time of our return in April 2007, 35 children were being individually sponsored for education and home support. Seeing these children, now smartly dressed, better fed and learning to read, was both overwhelming and humbling.

In April we also met Geofrey Okoth, a bright gifted young man but very modest and unassuming, who in December 2006 had applied and been accepted to study Medicine and Surgery at Kampala International University but as he was very poor and his parents were unable to support him he had no choice but to defer his place. On my return to Farnborough where I am a doctors' receptionist, I spoke to the GPs about Geofrey and how if he were enabled to take up his studies and become a doctor, he had promised to return to Wabigalo and to help the people there who are in such dire need. In Wabigalo the only doctor most people visit is the witch-doctor! The GPs at my surgery have now agreed to sponsor him through his entire five and a half years training!

Geofrey started his course in November 2007 and is doing well. What a difference a young person like this can make as they are enabled to fulfil their potential and become part of the solution and not the problem. Geofrey's financial support is administered through Kingscare, an independent poverty relief charity based at KC21, Aldershot, as part of their child sponsorship programme.
Would you be able to sponsor a child's education? Or would you consider sponsoring an older child who has already been educated through Kingscare and/or has the opportunity to go on to further education say as a nurse or an apprentice? Do you have contacts with or are you yourself a business man or woman, lawyer, surveyor, architect, optician etc. etc? The company where you work might well be interested in sponsoring a young person in a developing country through a course of training that relates to their line of business.
The surgery where I work is so proud of Geofrey that they have put an article about him up in the Waiting Room for the patients to see! Any person who receives further education in a third world country is enabled to become a shaper and a mover in that land, so please consider whether you too might sponsor someone who can really make a difference. Please go to www.kingscare.org to find out how you might help sponsor a student.
by Penny Orford

How can you sum up a first encounter with Africa? Beautiful, funny, frustrating, exuberant, humbling, heartbreaking, hospitable, foreign and familiar… We had a wonderful time!
When you go on a mission trip you see how vital it is to have people at home praying!! We saw God’s protection, provision and agenda-benda in action every day.
We spent 10 days in Uganda – a beautiful, cheerful, chaotic country. Delayed in Heathrow, we arrived late for the “Finishing the Task” conference in a Kampala slum.
But that’s ok because the pastor delegates work on african time. And anyway, they knew we would be late – they had a prophecy!
It’s overwhelming at first, but you get to love the crowd of children solemnly offering their hands to shake as we get off the bus. We feel scruffy next to the immaculate turnout of the pastors. But they are so pleased to see us, so keen to honour us. We are sat in places of prominence and they watch us eat before they do. We are very humbled by their courtesy and grace.
We taught the Bible basics covered in our church’s new members course. Much of this was new to them. We videoed and recorded our sessions to leave with the churches for the pastors to teach their own people, building firm foundations for the growing churches. Pray for them that the word is passed on, and on, and on.
After a day off at the source of the Nile, we went to a church plant “just outside Kampala”. It took three hours in the minibus each way but gave us a glimpse of rural Uganda. Mud huts, mud roads and people everywhere.
The Nageria church’s welcome was just as warm and gracious and they gave us chicken and chips. Their chicken pieces sometimes have a beak! Here, our interpreter preaches a sermon with every line we deliver, it is hot, we sing songs with the children whose eyes are milky with cataracts from the poor water that they walk 4km to collect.
Back in Kampala the church holds a three day crusade. The crowds grow night by night, unembarrassed to stand and stare. The dancers dance , the singers sing and Tim preaches. People respond and we minister by the inadequate light of a light bulb sellotaped to the stage. But some of these people have found the true Light….
by Helen Lawrence