November 2020 News

We had a heavy hailstorm here on the 25th. It only lasted for a short time but it has destroyed houses, crops and so many others things in the village. We have not had such a rain for a long time.

The picture above is the house of Proscovia who is a church member here. Proscovia is a mother of 10 children, and her daughter Patricia is one of the girls who helps set up the church each Sunday. Proscovia joined this church from the beginning when we were starting it. So, as a church, we find it worthy to help her. We made an official announcement in the church and we are hoping that different people will come to help provide a shelter for her. We need roofing sheets, pieces of timbers, cement, sand, stones, food and workers. Even her toilet collapsed! You can see at the back on the right, all her bananas have been destroyed by the wind and hail.

The storm damaged our banana plantation; the passion fruits ended up on the ground; and some bee hives were blown over by the wind. It was one of a kind which we don’t usually experience here. Due to the leakage in the pig sties, we lost one piglet. It rained heavily on them.

Here is a picture of Alex and Christine making vows at their wedding. We really appreciate all your help and prayers, and all who were able to attend - more so your prayers. If there is anyone who thought they would never get married, it was me. My brother Simon and I went through real hard times in our early years. But the Lord has been on our side each step in our life.  

Above is Joyce who is a lay leader in an Anglican Church in a far away village. Even in her old age, she is one of the Christians who have courageously joined us to persistently motivate local church members about the importance of having the Scriptures in their own hands. She is also part of the village group that regularly calls us to share with them the purpose of the Scriptures, and also other ministry themes for pastors and church leaders. She has really done a great job. 

More Bibles getting out there. So many churches have been helped and reached through the ministry of the Bibles.

The ministry of food has saved many lives from starvation. Above is Jaja Akim, a Muslim, who came for food, and below is Isha, formally a Muslim, but converted to Jesus Christ. Her smile shows that she was so grateful   

Simon continues to shop for most of the chemicals used to make soaps for people who need them to use at their homes, and this has enabled us to share the gospel with people who don’t know Jesus as their Saviour. 

To be sure, the family of Proscovia has been the most privileged in our food distributions, and they are so thankful to God for this provision. We are thankful to God for all the provisions for food and soaps. Male, a church member, was giving out the food, although it was in the dark and you could hardly see. 

These pictures show that we are back to having Sunday services. We now have English service, although it has less attendance compared to the Luganda service. Uncle Dean is preaching and Simon interpreting for him. We bless the name of the Lord that they are here to serve with us. We think Madam Sherilyn will help us a lot with women's ministry - encouraging, praying, counseling and equipping them with ministry skills, once we resume normal trainings, possibly next year. We will be working hand in hand with Uncle Dean with the ministry of men; pulpit ministry with pastors; church leaders; and other activities. Also, we want to reach out to our community with the transforming power of the gospel. Please join us prayerfully, and if you feel God leading you to support this ministry, we would be so grateful. 

Below is a picture of some of our passion fruits picked before the storm. After the hailstorm they look pretty bad.

Prayer requests

I. Pray for Sali who came to Jesus, that he will become a strong Christian and seek to grow spiritually. We also had Florance come to Jesus. 

II. Thank God for the provisions of Bibles and food.

III. Pray for God's provisions and help with the shelter for Proscovia and her family 

IV. Pray for different ministry activities which are under way. 

V. Thank God for the wedding of Alex and Christine which went so well

VI. Pray for God's protection, and our ministry outreach to people.

VII. Continue to pray for our Sunday school kids. We are still not allowed to have Sunday school due to covid-19 restrictions; although some village kids do come to church with their parents. 

VIII. Pray for the provision and availability of Bibles. 

IX.   Will you pray for single young mothers in and around this ministry? Most of them are   school drop outs. 

In the Lamb,

Alex and Simon

October 2020 News

Our October news comes to you with joy for what God has done. The Lord has been good to us. You know it has been our prayer that God will up raise vibrant spirit-filled leaders in this ministry. Possibly if you have been following this ministry, you know about Joyce who came to Jesus through our door-to-door ministry. She testifies how she was lost in satanic worship, and how she had suffered serving Satan; her testimonies are moving. But Joyce has become a strong servant in her Christian faith as she shares the gospel with other ladies. She tells how she used to abuse people who shared the gospel with her. Actually she was violent to me one time when I tried to share the gospel with her. Then when I did it the second time, she came to Jesus.  She is the one in the front on the right. She now heads women's prayer group and worship in the church.

We have been also joined by Esther Musiime (picture below) who is a young lady in her early twenties, and a single mother of one boy. She loves the Lord and wants other youths to come and serve Jesus. Next year we are hoping to be having two services each Sunday. We are thinking she will be a great help with this. She yearns to grow in the Word. That is how God is growing this ministry in His own way.

                                   

Below is one of the ladies getting food for kids and babies. Many families are starving due to Covid-19, and many have been helped through food distribution. If you can be part of saving lives by enabling us financially to buy them food, that will be great. 

On 10 October, Alex and Christine had their introduction (engagement) in Rukungiri (South Western Uganda). It was a long journey. We left Kampala early in the morning, expecting to reach the function center before 1:00pm, but we were two hours late getting there 😒. It rained so heavy. The function was very African, with lots of people, and the food was just fantastic.

We slept at our friends in Mbarara (Photo below). They gave us a warm welcome.

In the two photos below, we had James Wildy, and Joshua and James Onuke visit our ministry for the purpose of developing ministry opportunities and to see our farm. They were so thrilled to see the things we do in the village, and the enrichment of this ministry in the lives of people around us. James has a passion to train church leaders to become more equipped in sharing the gospel. He also has a passion to teach people about FARMING GOD’S WAY.  He suggests that this can help many people to make an income, including church leaders alongside the ministry.

As you can see, we are making progress in our church in spite of Covid-19. People are still coming. 

Below is Kagwa Deogracious slashing the grass around the church. We are blessed to have him here. He came to church through this ministry about four years ago. Each Sunday he comes to set up the church 6 am, and before 9:30 am the church is ready for worshippers. What a wonderful way of serving the Lord!!

Our prayer requests

1.  For provisions of Luganda and Rukiga bibles. We still have English bibles.
2.  Pray for the wedding of Alex and Christine on 14^th November.    
3.  Pray for expectant mothers in our church.
4.  Thank the Lord for the ministry food provisions for families affected by       Covid-19.
5.  Pray for all the ministry opportunities we have, and all the people God is   raising to serve Him through this ministry. 

Yours in Christ,

Alex and Simon

 

                              

September 2020 News

Alex has been reading a book by Charles Spurgeon, ‘Sermons on Prayer’. It has some snippets on p.123 which caught our attention.

“… the richness of the Word of God. Catch this thought, “If my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” The best praying man is the man who is most believingly familiar with the promises of God. After all, prayer is nothing but taking God’s promises to Him, and saying to Him, “Do as thou hast said.” Prayer is the promise utilized. A prayer which is not based on a promise has no true foundation.”

Prayer and the Word is the emphasis here – that is what the writer is calling believing Christians to focus on.

A few days ago we had Harriet Birungi - a church minister in one of the Kampala churches -come to visit us for the first time. She took time to encourage us both and to pray for us. In the picture below, Alex was dropping her off at her home. He drove our motorbike from Mpigi in the heavy rains, and as you see them, they got totally wet in their heavy rain jackets☹.  At the back of the motorbike is some food that we gave her from our garden. She was very happy and thankful. Our ministry has been helping poor and starving families with food since March, and there are lots of families that have been helped. We really want to applaud all the people who are involved in this ministry to save life physically and spiritually. We can honestly tell you, God will reward you. 

Harriet Birungi also went around different homes locally, interacting with other ladies; praying with them; and encouraging them to be involved in ministry and in serving God. The picture below taken by Alex is showing Harriet visiting Proscovia and her daughter Patricia who are some of our church members. Proscovia is a single mother with 9 children, and is one the ladies who benefited from one of the ten piglets we have given out to women in our church to assist them in making an income. We have also been helping one of Proscovia’s daughters to get through school.

After that long busy day, Alex got appallingly sick. It started as a cough and what seemed like a fever, or maybe Malaria. But on testing, none of these were found, and he had no major signs of Covid-19. He was admitted to the clinic and put on a drip. The Lord is gracious, as he was able to leave the clinic by evening. He is feeling much better, although still weak. 

Lock down in Uganda has been gradually lifted. Our president announced on 20^th that churches and the airport would be opened; although with many strict measures still to be observed. On Monday evening our church people were able to meet, and we had a great time of thanksgiving, prayer, and worship. There were quite a good number of testimonies from all who were there, and people were praising God for His goodness even in hard times. Some of the ladies are about to give birth😊, and others have already given birth to new babies since the beginning of the lock down.

These pictures are of our first Sunday meeting since the sad news of Covid-19 broke in March. The people came in larger numbers than we expected. If the number of people coming keeps increasing, we are going to use the new building for the extra people. Hence we will be having two services on the go. Simon will lead the one in the building and Alex in the tent. 

The picture below is of passion fruit. They are still green, but when they turn purple they are ready to eat. It’s a small garden, but it has really done well in yielding good crops. We have started to harvest the passion fruit which will be a help in supporting us and our ministry. If you're nearby, and you come to buy from us, it will be of great help to the ministry we do here. 

Our prayer requests

            1.   Thank God for the provisions of food, liquid soaps and sanitizers for the community

           2.   Thank God for the provisions of Bibles

           3.   Thank God that churches are opened

           4.   Pray for Alex's health, and that his strength will return

           5.   Pray that God will raise more ministry gifted people who can work with us

           6.   Pray for Alex’s wedding in November 14^th 2020

           7.   Pray for provisions for our home

     Yours in Christ,

Alex and Simon

August 2020

In this month during our devotion, Amos 5:4 has captivated our attention. See how it goes “For thus says the Lord to the nation of Israel: seek me and live”. We see from this verse that seeking the Lord and knowing Him will provide us with true life, both now and for eternity. I will not give further exposition, but it has been encouraging to us. 

Since March, following the sad news of the outbreak of this pandemic Corona virus, a lot of things have changed, generally in the whole country, but also in our ministry. The means of reaching out to the lost and showing the love of God to this community dramatically changed. But God has kept this ministry alive, and our passion for it through all this time has not withered.

The signs that show this ministry is needed in this community have continued to emerge and we are always thrilled to see this, especially seeing people coming to know Jesus Christ. In the course of writing this newsletter, a short time ago, I was with a family, one kilometer from our place. I was looking for a cat, to scare rats away from our house. We have many rats coming out of the bushes and disturbing us. But what caught my attention at this neighbor's place, was a round iron roofed house! I asked them what it was for, and the wife replied, “Our neighbors built it for their family ancestors" - meaning evil spirits of the dead. In our community, people still worship the spirits of the dead and build houses for them! How can we bring such a family to a full understanding of God? By loving them, praying for them, and sharing the gospel.

Our ministry programs are not running as they used to - like freely going to the homes of people and meeting their needs; fellowshipping at church etc. However, we still see God opening ways for us to reach out to them. As much as life is hard for most people around the world, many of you have been gracious to stand with this ministry through giving food, bibles, and pamphlets. You have no idea how these have impacted this community and beyond! These are some of the ladies getting rice and soap for their families.

There is still a great need for food and bibles here. If you have clothes for babies you can donate, we would greatly appreciate that. We have a few ladies in our church who are really struggling with a lack of babies clothing, and also others outside our church.

Our grateful thanks to those of you who have been praying for Kemirembe who gave birth to a baby boy in June (she lost her husband when she was pregnant); and also Carolyn who gave birth to a baby girl three days ago. Travelling in Uganda is now very expensive; but these ladies gave birth without too much disturbance, which would have required emergency assistance and transport costs. Lungala Bible Ministries Uganda has not lost its step in reaching out to such people in spite of the stumbling blocks. Churches in Uganda are still closed as one of the measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

However, we are now experiencing more cases and deaths than ever. It’s such a horrible experience for Uganda and the whole world. Recently Alex had an awful cough and flue. He had never had such a cough in all his life. We were scared but kept trusting in the mercies of God. Alex went to a clinic to be tested for malaria and typhoid, but neither of these were diagnosed. He was put on medication for cough and now he is well. Initially we were scared that it was Covid-19, but the Lord is really good. Our passion and zeal has not gone down.

Our two pigs gave birth recently. One gave birth to ten and the other to four. They are all fine, but they need a lot of food. At this time pig food has been expensive in Uganda compared to other seasons. This is the only challenge we have on the farm.

Prayer requests:

1. Pray and praise to the Lord for Joyce.

2. Pray that God will provide for us.

3. Pray for this ministry provisions, and thank the Lord for the food we give out each weekend.

4. Pray that God will keep us in good health.

5. Pray for this community, that God will draw people to Himself.

6. Pray that God will raise more people to support and grow this ministry.

7. Continue to pray that God would give us ministry land.

Thank you, and God bless you

Alex and Simon

July 2020 Newsletter

 

We are continuing to have great opportunities to serve the Lord’s people here. Our ministry to reach out to the people affected by Covid-19 lockdown with essential needs such as food and hand sanitizers is still ongoing. We are thankful to God that there haven't been too many people affected in our Mpigi district, with no deaths. In fact the whole country has only had two death cases. This situation has left so many people in the country jobless and miserable. You know that our economy has not been good at all, even before Covid-19, but now it has actually worse. Churches and many other institutions are still closed by the government as a safety measure to prevent the pandemic spreading.

We have therefore been taking the opportunity to reach out to the people through distribution of food. We get to pray for them and lead some to Christ if they do not know Him. We have also given to believers the discipleship course for the book of Romans. We have been making phone calls to check on their progress, and most of them are doing well. They read it about 20 times, memorize 6 verses, and also share it with their families. For us here, we don’t have live streaming where church members can view a service online, so we thought that the studies on Romans would be great especially for those who have Bibles. This discipleship course has really kept many brethren awake spiritually.   

Above is Sylvia with her little kids taking rice to Edith who is a grandmother. Edith expressed her gratitude for the food we were able to provide for her family. Her children, who have been working in Kampala and other towns in Uganda, came back home after the government implemented tough restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19. She says the food they get from this ministry is the only chance of meals for her grandchildren and the rest of her family members. She was so thankful. 

One of the great things about this lockdown period is that it has opened a window to share the gospel; although we have to maintain social distancing. We have been able to meet new people we have not even seen before, and we have led many to Jesus. 

Simon has been helping a friend Samuel to construct pig sties on his farm, as seen in the picture. He was also training some of his workers how to rear pigs. This friend Samuel is a good farmer. When he had seen our piglets on social media, he invited Simon to come and help him. It was a good time for Simon, as he was able to share the gospel with the village people of Mityana district.   Some Christians in these villages were also able to access Bibles. Many Christians in such remote villages can’t access Bibles easily. 

Please pray for our ministry including the following items:

- Pray for the provisions for this ministry

- Pray for the spiritual healing of this community

- Pray for provisions at our home

- Pray for the spiritual growth in the people who have come to Jesus.

Many thanks for your support,

Alex and Simon.