February 2021 News

Our mission trip to Eastern Uganda went well. Thanks to you for all your prayers. Alex went with Jovia and Allan, while Christine remained back home, as did Simon to take care of the church through the week, and to prepare for preaching on Sunday. We left here on Wednesday 24th at 5am to beat the traffic jams in Kampala. Our main lodging was in Mbale City which is far away from Mpigi toward the eastern side of Uganda. Our first day of meeting was in Mbale. Have a look at the new modernized bridge at Jinja which crosses over the Nile River. 

Look at the welcoming mountains to Mbale city. Most Christians were coming from below those mountains. 

This is the first church where we met

In the group picture above is Alex on the right, then Allan Koki, and some of the pastors from the surrounding areas. Below is the group photo of some of the church members who came to graduate from the Book of Romans and Colossians studies.

The following day we went to Busia and our drive was really great on good roads - almost no potholes! It only gets worse when you go to villages 😟. The churches were so welcoming, and one of the Pastors took us to his home and gave us a good feed. Good Christians with a heart for the gospel. 

We had a meeting on Thursday with a good turnout. Through these ministry projects, we had an 83 year old man, strong in the faith, who has led five people to come to Jesus.

The Reverend of an Anglican church gave us and the Church leaders a warm welcome. 

We were expecting to have over sixty lay leaders with some other reverends involved in the project. Just as apostle Paul puts it in his letter, Ephesians 4:13-14 “…until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” This is what we really need as a Church now – the Church with leaders who can defend their faith and are discerning in all their teachings.  

Soroti mission - We met with Pastor David Ochua, and the Baptist Church welcomed us nicely too. Pastor Max had done really well in mobilizing people to come to the meetings. 

We had one participant who had finished the project on the book of Romans, but his house caught fire the last day before we came. It seems to me that due to poverty, many people still live in grass thatched huts. As we drove through, I saw many huts like that on generally flat land similar to where the man's house burned.  

In the picture above I am with some of the committee members planning the way forward. The committee was so thrilled at the way things were going, and they had really done well. The lady second on the left in the picture, is a brethren who has done really well to revitalize the ministry of women in that region. 

Where you see empty seats below, you might see a chicken in front of the right hand blue chair. After the meeting, the chickens entered the church- hahaha.

This same month we had evangelism at our church coupled with fasting and praying for a full week. Simon was leading in teaching about the purpose of the evangelistic church. Many church members joined the meetings, although fewer went out to share the gospel. Usually Alex, Simon, Scovia, Pasco, Easter, Robinah and two kids would go out (Pasco is a young man that we are trying to disciple and teach him how to serve the Lord with us). 

Below are Pasco (left) and Scovia (right) sharing the gospel with a village friend near our church.

We had five souls come to Jesus, and now we have Stella meeting and praying with us. Joyce came to Jesus through this ministry during such outreaches to the community. We are blessed to have her, and her spiritual transformation is really encouraging. Each Sunday she is at church before anyone else just to usher people in and make sure the church is set up properly. We are also proud of another man called Deogracious whose picture is not here. Each Sunday he comes really early to clean the church. It is such a great blessing having these people in the church. We trust the Lord that as we disciple Pasco, he will be of great service to the church as well.

We had one Muslim family come to Jesus during our evangelism. The wife had never been to church. Her name Yudaya is of Muslim origins, and she needs your prayers that God will heal her and totally transform her heart from the influence of Islam.

In the picture below are Joyce and Margret leading Dorcus to confess Jesus. Dorcus (on the right) is a young lady who went with an already married man due to lack of school fees and poorly stricken environment at her home. These cases are so common here, especially with school drop-out girls who end up with early pregnancies. Joyce and Margret tried to counsel her and show her what dangers she could meet in future if she does not make right decisions now. 

Could you please pray with us for the following?

1.       The five people who came to Jesus during evangelism to be sincere about their commitment

2.       Thank the Lord for the mission trip to Eastern Uganda and for the good fruits

3.       Thank the Lord for His graciousness and His provisions for food to this ministry

4.       For the provisions for funds to register this ministry to get a permit and registration for the certificate

5.       We are out of Bibles in both Luganda and Rukiga/Runyankole. Pray for provisions, we are in great need.

6.       We also need to enlarge our piggery farm which is diminishing and we need to revive it. Pray that God would provide for us.

7.       Simon has not been well, he has cough and flue. Pray that he gets well.

8.       We are planning to have a seminar at our church here in Lungala, pray for the ministry provisions. 

Yours in Christ, Alex and Simon. 

January 2021 News

Great wishes to you for the New Year in the name of the Most High King Jesus!!  We praise the Lord for this ministry again. You remember it has been our prayer that men would come to Jesus and willfully submit to His authority. In the last months we have had more men come to Jesus than ever😊. A few of them were spiritually down and needed encouragement, while others never had a Bible at all. But we were able to help them to meet their spiritual needs. We continue to thank those of you who have been able to donate a Bible, or a box of Bibles to this ministry. Each box of 24 Bibles from the Bible Society costs UG sh. 756,000 (approx. USA $205.00 depending on the exchange rate). There is no comparable treasure than that of helping someone to know God through His holy Word the Bible. 

This is one of the participants in the pastor’s seminars we hold. We were doing an exploration of the Gospel of Mark (Christianity Explored). 

In one of our Thursday Bible studies, our souls were rejuvenated as we heard Mare lead the group in the church. We continue to see the hand of God in this man’s life and his whole family. We were encouraged to hear him as he took us through scripture by scripture, and as he reminded us to examine ourselves to see if we are in Christ. He concluded by asking us to be pursuers of peace and love – 2 Cor 13: 5, 11). The reason this means so much to us is that Male had been deeply involved in witchcraft, but then he came to Jesus. When he did we burnt all the things he had been using to serve demons.   He had never been to church before, but now he shares the gospel and people come to Jesus. This is exciting for us and the church; we feel proud of the work God is doing in people here in this village 

That's Mare below on the far right corner .

Below are some kids pumping water for the fish ponds. We normally work with them, and when they are going to school we buy them stationery. This project started in June last year, so the fish are six months now. They have multiplied to thousands, and although they are still too small to sell for eating, maybe they could be for farmers who also want to breed. 

We dug a big hole in the ground and we pump water from it when it’s full. It’s in the swamp area. There are some bigger fish that can be eaten, available from the big pond in the photo below.

These are some of our weekly church services. 

    Below is the Mayor and his team visiting our church.

Some of the single mothers and a few men from our church have their own piggery projects. Some of the piglets were given to single mothers to enable them to have some income. Below is Jackline attending her pigs. Her sow is ready for the boar. 

Below is Joyce’s daughter Nantongo who had a baby when she was in secondary school (class S.3). It has been really very hard for her mother to push her on through school. We hope once her pig gives birth it will contribute a lot to her school fees. There are 15 people who have benefited from this piggery project, and many of them have got incredible testimonies. Most of them fellowship together with us. We think this project will enable them to support their kids in school and medical treatment if needed.

Ministry registration is still in progress with all the paper work is in the hands of the Lawyer. It has been a very complicated process for our ministry to work through due to the slowness of government officials. Also Covid-19 has affected so many things, and service processes have changed in most offices. This has led Madam and Uncle Dean (from NZ) to leave. They came with a tourism Visa (3 months), and were trying to apply for a longer term Visa. It was great to have them here for three months, and to work with them in serving in this ministry. We have been talking with the Lawyer and he says the final endorsement for the ministry registration will be ready by Monday or Tuesday, and then we will pay the last fees. 

Prayer requests

1.    Pray for the complete registration of this ministry, and that God will provide the money needed for the fees. 

2.    Pray for the provision of Bibles. We have many Christians calling, and other church leaders needing help.

3.     Pray that Proscovia’s house will be finished

4.     Pray for high school ministry and university that we resume on a good note once schools open normally.

5.     Pray for the ministry provisions. Our church has holes in it. Recently we had a heavy rain with hailstorm and it left holes in it. When it rains people get wet. We also need to expand since the number is really big compared to the capacity of the church. 

Alex and Simon

December 2020 News

As we write to you our last newsletter of the year, we are mindful of our dear friends who are being hospitalized, and some who have died due to pandemic Covid-19. This has happened across the whole world. Just as a reminder, the Lord has not forgotten you. Isaiah 60:2 “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you”.

We had an exuberant Christmas day. Usually in Africa, on the day before Christmas, most people travel from Kampala to their villages to have Christmas with their relatives. We had new Christians from Kampala here, and the church was totally full. In fact we ran out of seats. We had a couple of testimonies and some were so touching. “I have not been in church for the last ten years, …”. Says Evaresto Niwamanya. He was thankful that he can be in church again after all that long time, and we pray that he will keep on coming.

  

We had Ester dedicate her son Gabriel. Ester is a single mom and supports her son. She loves the Lord and wants her son to grow in the Lord. She loves to serve and a couple of times we have had her interpreting in our church.  

This is little Shivon sleeping in church.

We had a great Christmas dinner. A lot of people turned up to eat with us and have a bottle of Soda😊. Sodas in villages are still a big thing. In the picture is Madam (Sherilyn) working with ladies, preparing for the big event - Christmas dinner. The ladies pealed all the bananas, ready for early morning cooking on the next day. We applaud Madam and Uncle Deane for their initiative in this ministry. That is a bunch of bananas from the garden on Madam's head.       

                                                 

Christmas Eve with people eating and all having a Merry Merry Christmas😊      

                                                     

We are still working around the clock to see that this ministry is officially recognized by the government, so that it is easier for volunteers, especially missionaries like Deane and Sherilyn, to complete the required documentation, and stay for a longer time. Our very limited finances make this difficult, and we ask you to keep this in your prayers. Usually such processes are not easy in our country as they may involve a lot of bureaucracy. In case you're wondering what this registration is about - it's to enable our ministry to get a work permit certificate. 

We are still fixing Proscovia’s house due to a wall falling on one side during the storm last month.  We now have workers, and sand, bricks, and three bags of cement. I have shown again the picture which we had in our last newsletter. For the last three weeks, collections (offertories and gifts) have all been made for this cause. We still need iron bars and a couple of more bags of cement, and then we can start work on raising up the walls.

Alex recently had typhoid, but it had not become too intense. He was put on the right medication and had to drink a lot of fluids. He is now back to normal. It was not to long after his recovery that one of the church member's daughter also got typhoid. She was severely sick and admitted to the health center. She is recovering now and has been discharged. 

Above is a box of Bibles on the motorbike for people to be able to have this Christmas. 

      This is Norah who leads an Anglican church in a remote area near Lake Victoria. 

She was taking Bibles to her congregation. 

                      

Prayer requests

•  Pray that our ministry will  get a work permit

•  Pray for the provisions of Bibles

•  Thank God for the growth of this ministry, and for all people who have come to Jesus this         year

•  Pray that the repairs to Proscovia’s house will be finished

•  Pray for families who have lost their loved ones due to Covid-19

•  Thank God for the food provisions for starving families here

•  Pray for the high school and university ministries, that we can resume on a good note once schools reopen here. 

  Yours in Christ,

  Alex and Simon

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