without a
preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” Romans 10:14, 15
NKJV
Friends: May
greetings to you from Kampala! Our verses above tell us of the necessity that
sinners hear the Gospel in order to be saved; someone must go and preach the
Gospel, someone must be sent to the lost. Since 2016 we have been seeking the
Lord and been in ministry to least reached and unreached peoples here in
Uganda. Pictured at the upper left is Pastor and Missionary Jabkore in Pokot,
Eastern Uganda. The Pokot are not a widely reached people and we worked with
Jabkore in training pastors and leaders and in church planting in Pokot. 4 new
churches have been planted in villages in Pokot where there was a need for
churches and about 77 people attend these churches now.
In the
second photo from the top are Karamojong people, another tribe from Eastern
Uganda. They are herdsmen and many flock to Kampala where they live in shantys
and many become street people. We began outreach to the Karamojong in 2015 and
that continues. One challenge in this work is that the Karamojong move about a
lot, some coming to the city for a few months and then leaving again. Another
challenge is that they don’t mix with other tribes well and the Karamojong
language is difficult. Many have heard the Gospel including many, many children
and about 4 adults have professed faith in Christ and attend a church in city
centre.
For the
safety of our friends and the ministry we won’t identify the peoples in the
next outreaches. We began outreach to the _______, an unreached M_____ people,
in late 2016 and to date 14 meet in secret meetings, 9 have been baptized.
There are about 15,000 of these people in an area near Kampala. About 30 young
people have secretly professed faith also in another type of outreach to them.
We have hopes that a _______ church will be planted with believers who are
stable and able to withstand the sure and strong persecution that will come
upon them when they publicly profess faith in Christ. They are being nurtured
and discipled by a pastor who loves them and is wisely helping them grow in the
faith while they remain secret believers at this time.
A new
outreach began very recently to ________. There are about 50,000 of these
people in Kampala and this work is progressing slowly through friendships and
beginning evangelism. Pray for the pastor who is leading this work. He and I
recently visited a _______ who had come to Christ and who experienced great
persecutions. He lost his family and was threatened with death but has a strong
faith. _______ who come to Christ will face severe persecution. One converted man
was killed here.
Please pray
for these ministries and for the pastors and workers who are befriending,
evangelizing and discipling these peoples. Pray for their protection and
wisdom, for much love for the difficult work they are engaged in. Pray for the
converts for protection and wisdom, for strong faith in our Beloved Lord Jesus.
We’ve tried to share this discretely for the welfare of the ministers and
people. Our website was recently blocked in Uganda (with other sites) because
of security issues; apparently our Christian site was targeted by hackers and
posed a security risk to the hosts. It’s visible in most countries. Kappy and I
are well and safe here.
We were
recently blessed to receive 1000 Life Application Study Bibles, a special gift
thanks to Chapelstreet Church of Geneva, Il. See photo at right. Distribution
of these has begun and we plan to distribute most of these Bibles in Pastor
training Ministry around Uganda.
Kappy’s
birthday is May 11! Love and thanks to you all in our Jesus!
KAPPY’S
CORNER —The Windshield Factor
Jim and I
left California in the year 2000 and arrived in the Mid-West in September of
that year, just a few months before winter. Where we had lived in California,
when we wanted snow, we would “go to the snow”. In the Mid-West snow came to
us. I remember seeing a magazine advertisement in California for a cold and flu
remedy that pictured people all bundled up in hats and scarves and multiple
coats with the wind blowing sleet in their faces. I wondered where in the world
they took that picture. When we got to Chicago I knew. I had to learn a new
language and a new way of life. When the thermometer said one thing but the air
felt colder, I thought people were calling it the “windshield factor”. It took
a while before I caught on that they were saying “wind chill factor”. When I
needed to go somewhere, to avoid being late, I had to remember to build in the
time it took to scrape the snow and ice off the car. I learned which roads were
safe when it snowed, and which were not, and how to brake without skidding. The
first time the reading on the thermometer fell below zero I thought the thing
was broken.
As I write
this, nearly eighteen years later, I’m sitting in my office in Uganda, East
Africa, and thinking about the “wind chill factor”. It’s 69 degrees according
to my thermometer, but it feels colder. The rain is pouring and the wind is
blowing through the perpetually open vents near the ceiling. I’m not bundled up
in a hat, scarf, coat and boots, but I am wrapped in a thin shawl. It’s
funny...I don’t remember being cold in Chicago because I was prepared for the
weather. Here in Uganda the colder weather is a bit unpredictable and almost
always takes us by surprise. We don’t have a heater because there is ordinarily
no need for one, but I’ve lit a candle to give the illusion of heat and warmth.
It’s market
day. Our dear Harriet (in her hooded rain coat) just came in from the wholesale
market on the back of a motorcycle (boda) with fresh fruit and vegetables for
her kitchen and for ours. She’s dripping wet and her hands are numb, but she’s
cheerful and laughing. She said no one was working; they had all of the produce
covered up. She had to plead with them to sell to her. I gave her boiling water
for her thermos and some instant coffee to help her defrost. What a blessing
she is.
As I write,
we’re on the verge of the month of May and I’ve heard from our loved ones and
friends in America they are still waiting for Spring to arrive. Flowers are
pushing their way out of the ground there in spite of the snow. We’ve seen this
before. Solomon the wise wrote in Ecclesiastes: What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the
sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has
been already in the ages before us (Eccl. 1:9&10 ESV).
Solomon also wrote: He has made
everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart,
yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end
(Eccl. 3:11 ESV). And: I perceived that whatever God does endures forever;
nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so
that people fear before him (Eccl. 3:14 ESV).
These words give me peace and
hope in my heart. God is God and that is the most reassuring truth in all that
will come our way. There is excitement in this as well. We know Jesus is coming
back and that will be a glorious day!
Happy
birthday Kappy!!!
For our Lord
Jesus and His people,
Jim and
Kappy
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