You Are Welcome
This month we are in Kyabakuza, Masaka, Uganda. It’s a village of about 4,000. Masaka town has about 30,000 people and is about 15 minutes away where we get Internet. We are actually the first World Race team to be in this location. Our contact, Pastor John, told us a couple days ago that he didn’t know anything about us before we got here. He didn’t even know we were Americans in our 20’s until we got off the bus and met him. However, the first thing he said to us was, “You are welcome.” We were extremely confused because we hadn’t said, “Thank You” but it is the typical greeting here to tell us they are happy to have us. It’s been an incredible blessing to be here so far.
This month has been unlike any other because we are staying with a family that has twin 3-year-old girls and a 7-year-old daughter. We have all absolutely fallen in love with each one of them. Their parents Pastor John and Grace are equally awesome. Pastor John comes from a family of 34 kids. His father is a polygamist and has numerous wives. He grew up with his father telling him that he’d only pay for him to attend through primary 7. Through God’s faithfulness his uncle paid for his high school and then he went to university to become a teacher because it was the cheapest degree he could receive. Grace was sponsored by a woman from America through Compassion International for 8 years from primary 4 through graduating high school. She had dreams of becoming a doctor, but her father died unexpectedly and her plans changed. So both John and Grace teach at the school John started about 10 years ago.
The girls moved out of their rooms to stay with their parents for a month, so we could stay in the house. Each team member has a bed and every week they provide us with clean sheets! Grace is an amazing cook and is always preparing for the next meal. In Uganda, they have 22 different types of bananas, so we eat a lot of banana dishes. We also enjoy rice, beans, posho (similar to ogali), chapatti, maize, avocado & mango, tomatoes & onions, peas, and several different soups.
Pastor John and Grace are involved in so many different ministries and steward each of them so well! We learned last night that a little over a year ago, Pastor John was very sick and while recovering from his illness, the Lord spoke to him in a dream that he would have 18 ministries over the next 18 months! Right now they are involved in 9 and are anticipating more, ready to do whatever the Lord asks.
Let me try to give you a quick glimpse of what he is doing here and how we have been partnering with him. Pastor John taught at a government school for several years and then saw the need to start a school for orphans in Kyabakuza. It now schools 100 orphans and 50 other poor students. If the poor students can’t provide money for tuition they are asked to give chickens, beans, or anything else that can be used to help the school.
The school has 12 teachers and Pastor John started farming on the school property to help provide more income for their needs. Currently they have 2 cows, Blessing and Loving, which roam the schoolyard along with about 8 goats. We’ve had the opportunity to spray them for ticks on two occasions so far. Across the street they are growing maize (corn), cassava, other fruits, about 8 pigs, and some chickens. Not only do they use these for some extra income for the school, but they are also providing a way to teach the students practical agricultural and farming skills. Uganda has extremely fertile soil and can grow almost every fruit imaginable, but people here just aren’t equipped with the skills to grow them or to raise livestock, so our pastor is trying to change that.
So not only is he a father, pastor, teacher, and farmer, but he was also recently elected to be on an agricultural board that oversees over 2,000 farmers. He also works as a secretary for a local bank at their regular meetings. We have no idea how he has time to do everything he is involved in, but somehow he gets it done. He has an amazing testimony and God has continued to faithfully provide in his life.
We aren’t working with the orphans because this month concludes summer holiday for the students at the school and they won’t return until January 28th. So far we have been doing a lot of door-to-door evangelism and really just getting to know the community. Everyone here is so incredibly welcoming. We’ve been signing kids up for the new school year and inviting people to church. Last Thursday we had around 150 children and adults show up to play soccer and netball with us. It was awesome! We’ve also been involved in Bible study and prayer meetings. We’ve been blessed to see several people accept Christ in our first week here and numerous others express interest in learning more.
Hopefully I’ll be able to share some specific stories later in the month. Just know that this month has been so good and that the Lord has been faithful. Thanks for your continued prayers!
