Update from Uganda, Africa
Last updated on November 16, 2008 at 10:30 PM.
The following update was sent by Keith and Tina Miller from Uganda.
The Great Bible Challenge
To kick of a new semester and new school year we conducted a special conference at the Makerere campus community. The conference was titled "The Bible—an Amazing Book". Our goal was to capture the heart and attention of new students for the Lord by "wowing" them with the wonders of God's word. We fully believe the Bible has the power to bring a person to life and turn the backslidden and apathetic into Jesus lovers.
The 4-part Bible conference covered a variety of topics related to the Bible including: who wrote it, notable facts, the English Bible history, the functions and subject of the Bible, and how to read and understand it. At the end of the conference we asked the audience to register to take the "New Testament Bible Challenge"—to read the entire New Testament in just 65 days. Several of those challengers have now begun to consistently meet with the church.
Emma Lubuulwa, leader of the Kireka community, decided to open the Bible challenge to those saints involved in his weekly service training. About 20 saints from that community are also now undertaking the Bible challenge.
Burning in Spirit, Serving the Lord
As new people come into the church and gain precious experiences of the Lord, it is not long before they come to a place where they desire to serve Him. When this happens, we discovered that as shepherds, we had better be prepared to take action and implement a practical means to foster their growth lest we miss the priceless work of Christ in them.
Trainees who finished the "20 days for Jesus" training, for example, expressed to us a desire to serve the Lord in a fuller capacity. Thankfully, many of them are now actively involved in practical church service and ministry. At present, there are 8 areas of service in the church. Deacons watch over each team. All of the service teams involve either direct or indirect care and shepherding to others.
In addition, there is an ongoing monthly, one evening per week training that covers basic principles in serving. New church members who want to get more involved in the church attend one of these ongoing trainings before being placed on a service team. Service teams then function like a miniature church life. People learn valuable lessons in serving such as coordination, recognition of others gifts and talents, fellowship, prayer, and faithfulness.
Changing Eternal Destiny
Every day, patients are dying without Christ in Uganda. Often, the last person to see them alive is a healthcare provider. We conducted a three-evening Christian seminar at Mulago School of Nursing and invited nurses, nursing students, MD's, and medical students from nearby Mulago hospital to attend. The seminar focused on bringing an awareness of the spiritual needs among sick and dying patients crowding Kampala's hospitals and equipping healthcare providers to address that need. The burden was that if these healthcare providers could come to understand and appreciate the salvation they possess in Christ and learn how to present it to their patients, then they could potentially change the eternal destiny of countless lives in Uganda.
Some 300 healthcare providers attended at least some aspects of this seminar. Let's pray that the Lord uses what they learned in this seminar to lead many patients to know and love the Lord Jesus.
Expanding Ministry
David Mutanda was a student at Mulago Paramedical School (a medical branch of Makerere University) when we first met a few years back. During his university years, David was zealous to grow in the Lord and did his best to get as much involved in the church as his schedule permitted. His good character and reputation as a student opened the door for the administration to allow us to conduct Bible studies with the Students in the Paramedical School.
Last year, when David graduated as a pharmacy technician, he was offered and accepted a job with TASO—an AIDS research organization operating in Masindi, a small town some 200km northwest of Kampala. Some of David's coworkers, after getting to know him, requested that he lead them in studying the Bible. By disposition, David is timid and does not see himself as a leader. Their request drove David to seek the Lord afresh and strengthened him to stand against his natural disposition. David has now begun to conduct a Bible study among several coworkers and friends using the things he learned during the time he was with us.
A New Start
The Naguru community in Kampala is rapidly changing. The poor are gradually being pushed out by wealthy business owners to make room for newer, more modern housing. The present land lease where the Naguru meeting hall was located was expiring. The property owner let us know that this year, he would not be renewing our lease as he also wanted to develop his land. This meant that the Naguru temporary structure would need to be dismantled and the meeting place relocated.
The Lord opened a nice facility at a primary school with a two year lease in neighboring Kololo community just about half a mile up the hill from Naguru. Initially, the news of having to move was very distressing but we soon came to realize that the forced move had opened an entirely new field of labor for the saints from Naguru. The new meeting place was cleaner, more accessible, with parking and situated within a largely middle class neighborhood. George Kiiza modified his labor strategy in accordance with the new circumstances and began to actively reach out to the people in the new Kololo neighborhood. Some from Kololo have now begun to meet with the church. It seems when one door closes, the Lord opens another. Being flexible and open to an ever changing environment keeps our experience of Christ fresh and new. Never a dull moment as a servant of Christ!
A Word of Thanks
Tina and I would like to express our heart felt thanks to all the people who have made it possible for us to be here and supported the ongoing and expanding work of the Lord in Uganda. And "expanding" it is. I know these brief newsletters do not do justice to all that the Lord is doing. Everyday, it seems we witness the Lord doing something marvelous in someone's life. Let us all pray that as the Lord moves, we will be able to keep up and continue to labor alongside.