Saturday, August 9, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Back Home
Well Friends,
Yesterday was such a blurr as the team arrived at Houston's IAH airport after two endurance flights from Entebbe to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Houston. Why does it always seem to go faster when we leave than when coming home?
Everyone arrived in good spirits and all the luggage that we put on the conveyor in Entebbe showed up on the conveyor at IAH. Our thanks to all who held us in their prayers for these last 2 weeks. God used this team in a mighty way! He not only allowed us to be encouragers to the pastors and elders at Bulucheke and Namaje villages last week, but we were able to demonstrate to fellow US missionaries that the joy of the Lord was with each team member while at Mt. Elgon Hotel.
Our ministry schedule ended up looking like this: Sunday, July 27th the team visited Kapchora and Muyembe churchs for Sunday service where the team preached and led men/women/children's Sunday School. Later that afternoon we visited Lulwanda Children's Home to spend a couple of hours with the kids at LCH.
Monday-Tuesday, July 28-29, had the team split with 3 people visiting/speaking at schools, 3 people visiting/preaching at prisons and the remainder of the team at Bulucheke where hut to hut evangelism occurred in the morning and outdoor crusades occurred in the afternoon.
Wednesday, July 30, was a repeat of Mon-Tues except we did not go to prisons.
Thursday, July 31, the team moved to Namaje village for morning hut to hut and afternoon crusades. A team of 3 people went to schools again and the remainder of the team hosted an afternoon field day at Lulwanda Children's Home for about 400 kids from inside LCH and the local village.
Friday, Aug 1, the team fielded 3 people again for schools and the rest of the team went hut to hut in Namaje, held afternoon crusade and spent time at LCH with the kids.
Saturday, Aug 2, was a repeat of Friday except no schools. The kids at LCH gave the team presentations of dancing and singing after lunch.
We have numerous stories to tell about each other and the work that God did in Uganda. From my perspective, this team was a group of unselfish and dedicated servants of the Lord and a joy to work beside. The Lord allowed this team to witness to Ugandan muslims, practicing Christians, Christians who have backslide and Christians who were "lazy". We ran into Catholics and 7th Day Adventist who wanted to debate just about anything except talk about the Gospel. And we even saw a former member of the Lords Resistance Army accept Jesus as his personal savior. Our time at the crusades impacted me this trip as we we took part in public altar calls and saw men and women come out of the crowd to come down to the front of the wooden stage to publically pray the sinners prayer. Of sweet memory to me was the Saturday crusade when Judy and Ann gave their powerful testimonies and Andrew illustrated how sin hardens and darkens our heart. At the end of this witnessing by the Muzungus, a 17ish year old boy came out of a crowd of his peers to walk to the front of the stage to receive Christ as his savior. It became especially sweet when Don saw him coming forward and was able to put his hand on him during the prayer. But as sweet was this new Christian man, a former member of the LRA, to join Don in placing HIS hand on the young man while the prayer was said. God let me watch a young man from Texas preach about sin, a young sinner from Uganda respond to the message, an older Christian servant from Texas extend a hand of fellowship to the young man, and then a new, baby Christian who was up in age and certainly knew he had a sinful past (LRA) join in the moment.
I asked the team as the week went on and they were growing weary "Would you come all this way and work this hard for just 1 person?" Without hesitation, each person responded they would come. Well, Team, God blessed us mightily last week with hundreds of people answering the question "Is there anything keeping you from accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior today?" with the response, "there is nothing". But just for good measure, the Lord added this last young man to the mix just to confirm that he is soverign and that this young man was special to HIM. I am so honored to have been a part of such a wonderful group of co-workers for Christ. God Bless each of you.
Team, I have one last question for you......
"Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You’ll find me
With eyes wide open to the differences,
the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle"--Casting Crowns
Did you spend last week knowing that you served the God we want or the God who is?
Did you spend last week feeling that you are caught in the middle?
Or did you trade your dreams for His?
I know the answer to the question I asked you during the opening devotional. You let the Ugandan people know... The Word is Alive!
Larry for the Uganda Team
Yesterday was such a blurr as the team arrived at Houston's IAH airport after two endurance flights from Entebbe to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Houston. Why does it always seem to go faster when we leave than when coming home?
Everyone arrived in good spirits and all the luggage that we put on the conveyor in Entebbe showed up on the conveyor at IAH. Our thanks to all who held us in their prayers for these last 2 weeks. God used this team in a mighty way! He not only allowed us to be encouragers to the pastors and elders at Bulucheke and Namaje villages last week, but we were able to demonstrate to fellow US missionaries that the joy of the Lord was with each team member while at Mt. Elgon Hotel.
Our ministry schedule ended up looking like this: Sunday, July 27th the team visited Kapchora and Muyembe churchs for Sunday service where the team preached and led men/women/children's Sunday School. Later that afternoon we visited Lulwanda Children's Home to spend a couple of hours with the kids at LCH.
Monday-Tuesday, July 28-29, had the team split with 3 people visiting/speaking at schools, 3 people visiting/preaching at prisons and the remainder of the team at Bulucheke where hut to hut evangelism occurred in the morning and outdoor crusades occurred in the afternoon.
Wednesday, July 30, was a repeat of Mon-Tues except we did not go to prisons.
Thursday, July 31, the team moved to Namaje village for morning hut to hut and afternoon crusades. A team of 3 people went to schools again and the remainder of the team hosted an afternoon field day at Lulwanda Children's Home for about 400 kids from inside LCH and the local village.
Friday, Aug 1, the team fielded 3 people again for schools and the rest of the team went hut to hut in Namaje, held afternoon crusade and spent time at LCH with the kids.
Saturday, Aug 2, was a repeat of Friday except no schools. The kids at LCH gave the team presentations of dancing and singing after lunch.
We have numerous stories to tell about each other and the work that God did in Uganda. From my perspective, this team was a group of unselfish and dedicated servants of the Lord and a joy to work beside. The Lord allowed this team to witness to Ugandan muslims, practicing Christians, Christians who have backslide and Christians who were "lazy". We ran into Catholics and 7th Day Adventist who wanted to debate just about anything except talk about the Gospel. And we even saw a former member of the Lords Resistance Army accept Jesus as his personal savior. Our time at the crusades impacted me this trip as we we took part in public altar calls and saw men and women come out of the crowd to come down to the front of the wooden stage to publically pray the sinners prayer. Of sweet memory to me was the Saturday crusade when Judy and Ann gave their powerful testimonies and Andrew illustrated how sin hardens and darkens our heart. At the end of this witnessing by the Muzungus, a 17ish year old boy came out of a crowd of his peers to walk to the front of the stage to receive Christ as his savior. It became especially sweet when Don saw him coming forward and was able to put his hand on him during the prayer. But as sweet was this new Christian man, a former member of the LRA, to join Don in placing HIS hand on the young man while the prayer was said. God let me watch a young man from Texas preach about sin, a young sinner from Uganda respond to the message, an older Christian servant from Texas extend a hand of fellowship to the young man, and then a new, baby Christian who was up in age and certainly knew he had a sinful past (LRA) join in the moment.
I asked the team as the week went on and they were growing weary "Would you come all this way and work this hard for just 1 person?" Without hesitation, each person responded they would come. Well, Team, God blessed us mightily last week with hundreds of people answering the question "Is there anything keeping you from accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior today?" with the response, "there is nothing". But just for good measure, the Lord added this last young man to the mix just to confirm that he is soverign and that this young man was special to HIM. I am so honored to have been a part of such a wonderful group of co-workers for Christ. God Bless each of you.
Team, I have one last question for you......
"Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You’ll find me
With eyes wide open to the differences,
the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle"--Casting Crowns
Did you spend last week knowing that you served the God we want or the God who is?
Did you spend last week feeling that you are caught in the middle?
Or did you trade your dreams for His?
I know the answer to the question I asked you during the opening devotional. You let the Ugandan people know... The Word is Alive!
Larry for the Uganda Team
Monday, August 4, 2008
Last Full Day in Uganda
The team is winding down its time in Uganda with some fun activities before we board the KLM airplane on Tuesday night for our journey back to Texas. 8 members of the team today boarded two rafts for a white water rafting trip down the Nile River. I am happy to report that 8 members also were returned to Jinja Nile Resort safe and sound (I'm throwing in this last comment for those concerned moms and spouses there in Texas). Everyone had a great time and the talk around the dinner table tonight was all about the trip. The remaining 4 went to Bugugali Falls to allow Judy to dip her toe into the Nile(which she did) and to watch the 8 rafters come by us as they experienced their first Class 5 rapids of the day.
While the rafters were doing their thing, some of the team visited a children's home and clinic in Jinja to compare and learn from the operation of the home and clinic. It was a great afternoon and ended with the full team experiencing some awsome fellowship under a one of the many trees on the JNR complex. Aidah was able to share some of her life experiences in Uganda during the country's many brutal leaders before the current government was established (some 20 years ago). Aidah shared how God had protected her from harm those many years ago and how God is protecting this beautiful country now.
Tomorrow, we are going to be sleeping in and resting while we wait for the Tulsa and Wimberly teams to catch up with us here at JNR. We will all eat lunch together here at the resort and then make our way to Kampala to do some shopping before boarding our return flight home.
We are watching The Weather Channel on the web and see that a storm is brewing in the Gulf. We pray that as Jesus spoke to the wind, he will speak to this storm also and not allow this storm to cause damage in the Houston area.
We will see you soon.
Larry for the Uganda team
While the rafters were doing their thing, some of the team visited a children's home and clinic in Jinja to compare and learn from the operation of the home and clinic. It was a great afternoon and ended with the full team experiencing some awsome fellowship under a one of the many trees on the JNR complex. Aidah was able to share some of her life experiences in Uganda during the country's many brutal leaders before the current government was established (some 20 years ago). Aidah shared how God had protected her from harm those many years ago and how God is protecting this beautiful country now.
Tomorrow, we are going to be sleeping in and resting while we wait for the Tulsa and Wimberly teams to catch up with us here at JNR. We will all eat lunch together here at the resort and then make our way to Kampala to do some shopping before boarding our return flight home.
We are watching The Weather Channel on the web and see that a storm is brewing in the Gulf. We pray that as Jesus spoke to the wind, he will speak to this storm also and not allow this storm to cause damage in the Houston area.
We will see you soon.
Larry for the Uganda team
Rest and Fun at Jinja Nile Resort
We are currently at the Jinja Nile resort. We arrived yesterday afternoon and witnessed another of God's great sunsets over the Nile river. Friday most of the team returned to Namaje to evangelize while Bob, Betsy and Ann went to three schools. The school team had a great time and were able to witness and sing praise and worship songs with the children. At Namaje, we had many good encounters with the villagers and many came to Christ. One in particular was a former LRA member that was deeply disturbed that he had killed others in the past. He had asked for forgiveness and had accepted Christ.
Saturday, the whole team went to Namaje for the morning and went to the Children's home for lunch. The day was very good and was capped by the crusade where Judy and Ann gave their testimonies and Drew preached. The man formerly of the LRA was present and was visibly joyous when a young man came forward to accept Christ. God is good! After the crusade, we returned to the children's home to see the children before we left. It is always hard to leave the children.
On Sunday, we all went to the Mbale PCU (Pastor Morris' church) where Larry preached on forgiveness. It's was an appropriate topic with all that happened in naboring Kenya this year and also has great application in all of our lives. After church we ate lunch with those at the church and drove to Jinja.
Saturday, the whole team went to Namaje for the morning and went to the Children's home for lunch. The day was very good and was capped by the crusade where Judy and Ann gave their testimonies and Drew preached. The man formerly of the LRA was present and was visibly joyous when a young man came forward to accept Christ. God is good! After the crusade, we returned to the children's home to see the children before we left. It is always hard to leave the children.
On Sunday, we all went to the Mbale PCU (Pastor Morris' church) where Larry preached on forgiveness. It's was an appropriate topic with all that happened in naboring Kenya this year and also has great application in all of our lives. After church we ate lunch with those at the church and drove to Jinja.
Don and Ann for the Uganda Team
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday Update
As Zach and Amanda mentioned yesterday, we took on new ministries today at Namaje church and Lulwanda Children's Home. We also sent a team to several schools as well. The Namaje church is about 30 minutes away from LCH so we evangelized hut to hut in the morning and went to LCH for lunch. A few team members returned to Namaje to give testimonies and preach at the afternoon crusade while the remainder of the team worked with over 400 kids during their field day activities at LCH. Some burlap sacks were brought over here by the Metz' which resulted in kids doing 3 legged races along with various other fun events. We were hoping for 300 kids but when the word gets out that some fun events are going to occur at LCH, the whole neighborhood turns out. The words I heard were something like controlled chaos. Ribbons were given out for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the events.
The team tomorrow will again support the school ministry, Namaje hut to hut evangelism, a crusade and then afternoon craft time at LCH. Pray that as the energy level of the team members begins to fall that the Lord will pick each person up and give them new strength to finish the week strong.
God Bless,
Larry for the Uganda team
The team tomorrow will again support the school ministry, Namaje hut to hut evangelism, a crusade and then afternoon craft time at LCH. Pray that as the energy level of the team members begins to fall that the Lord will pick each person up and give them new strength to finish the week strong.
God Bless,
Larry for the Uganda team
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Mid-Week Recap
Friends and Family,
It is now Wednesday evening and we have just completed our third day of doing hut-to-hut evangelism at Bulucheke village. This village is about an hour and half away and high up in the mountains. It is a spectacular view, although the van ride there is a little bumpy to say the least. It is about 40 miles away with most of that being on a dirt road. But it is obvious that this is where God wanted us to be these past few days and He has really blessed the ministry. Many people have come to hear God's truth and trusted Him as their Savior. In the evening we host crusades at the church, complete with several testimonies, a children's ministry, a message from the Bible, an invitation to trust Jesus as Savior, and lots (and lots and lots) of praise and worship. Thank you for your prayers for no rain. We have only had one rainy afternoon, but it did not hinder the ministry. In Judy's words, there was "a lot of mud -red mud, but it was really fun."
While some of our team have been at Bulucheke, we have also been rotating some members of the team to go to the prisons and/or the schools in the area to evangelize. Unlike in the U.S., the public schools here allow and even welcome Christian evangelism in school, so this has been a powerful tool. It has been incredible to see how interested the children are to hear from the Bible. Many have professed to believe and trust Jesus for the first time. We have all taken turns sharing our testimonies, presenting the Gospel, and sharing from the Bible. The largest school we have been to consisted of over 1800 students! So God's truth is certainly being heard by many Ugandans.
As you continue to pray for our team, please pray for health and energy. So far, no one has been sick, although a few have had some sore throats and sinus problems. Tomorrow we begin our ministry in Namanje village and in the evenings we will be going to Lulwanda to spend some time with the children there. We will be doing the same type of ministry in Namanje, with hut-to-hut evangelism in the mornings and crusades in the afternoon. Please be in prayer for our time at both places. Specifically for Namanje, you can pray for open hearts to hear and receive the Word and to trust Christ as Savior. For Lulwanda, pray that we can show Christ's love to the children. They are so excited to spend time with us and we have some fun crafts and a field day event planned for them.
Thank you for your prayers and support. We are so grateful for you.
We hope to post again soon, as the internet access allows.
Zach and Amanda for the Uganda Team
It is now Wednesday evening and we have just completed our third day of doing hut-to-hut evangelism at Bulucheke village. This village is about an hour and half away and high up in the mountains. It is a spectacular view, although the van ride there is a little bumpy to say the least. It is about 40 miles away with most of that being on a dirt road. But it is obvious that this is where God wanted us to be these past few days and He has really blessed the ministry. Many people have come to hear God's truth and trusted Him as their Savior. In the evening we host crusades at the church, complete with several testimonies, a children's ministry, a message from the Bible, an invitation to trust Jesus as Savior, and lots (and lots and lots) of praise and worship. Thank you for your prayers for no rain. We have only had one rainy afternoon, but it did not hinder the ministry. In Judy's words, there was "a lot of mud -red mud, but it was really fun."
While some of our team have been at Bulucheke, we have also been rotating some members of the team to go to the prisons and/or the schools in the area to evangelize. Unlike in the U.S., the public schools here allow and even welcome Christian evangelism in school, so this has been a powerful tool. It has been incredible to see how interested the children are to hear from the Bible. Many have professed to believe and trust Jesus for the first time. We have all taken turns sharing our testimonies, presenting the Gospel, and sharing from the Bible. The largest school we have been to consisted of over 1800 students! So God's truth is certainly being heard by many Ugandans.
As you continue to pray for our team, please pray for health and energy. So far, no one has been sick, although a few have had some sore throats and sinus problems. Tomorrow we begin our ministry in Namanje village and in the evenings we will be going to Lulwanda to spend some time with the children there. We will be doing the same type of ministry in Namanje, with hut-to-hut evangelism in the mornings and crusades in the afternoon. Please be in prayer for our time at both places. Specifically for Namanje, you can pray for open hearts to hear and receive the Word and to trust Christ as Savior. For Lulwanda, pray that we can show Christ's love to the children. They are so excited to spend time with us and we have some fun crafts and a field day event planned for them.
Thank you for your prayers and support. We are so grateful for you.
We hope to post again soon, as the internet access allows.
Zach and Amanda for the Uganda Team
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Worship Africa Style
The team broke into two groups with one team spending the morning with Pastor Steven at Muyembe church and the second team spending the morning with Pastor Samson at Kapchora church. Muyembe was the church that was rebuilt last year and the TBC team rededicated it after spending the week evangelizing the area. Kapchora church was built in 2000 and has faired very well. Kapchora is in the mountains about 50 miles from the Kenya border. At both churches, the teams experienced worship Africa style with the traditional African "high pitched bird sound", as was quoted by an earlier team, greeting us as we got off the vans. What a hoot!
The teams returned to Mbale PCU church, Pastor Morris' home church, around 1pm and enjoyed lunch along with playing with the church's kids. A side visit to survey the church grounds of Pastor Ogenga for future seminary expansion occurred and then the whole team left for Lulwanda Children's Home. 90 kids greeted the vans in a rush of humanity. Hugs and smiles were abounding in both the kids and our team.
Everyone ate supper at Mt. Elgon Hotel tonight and have retired to get some sleep or last minute preparation for tomorrow's first day of hut to hut evangelism. It should be fun. We are back in the mountains again at Bulucheke church. Pray for no afternoon rains so that the crusade does not get washed out and that each team member has peace in their first face to face encounter with gospel presentation Uganda style.
Larry Hoelscher for the Uganda team
The teams returned to Mbale PCU church, Pastor Morris' home church, around 1pm and enjoyed lunch along with playing with the church's kids. A side visit to survey the church grounds of Pastor Ogenga for future seminary expansion occurred and then the whole team left for Lulwanda Children's Home. 90 kids greeted the vans in a rush of humanity. Hugs and smiles were abounding in both the kids and our team.
Everyone ate supper at Mt. Elgon Hotel tonight and have retired to get some sleep or last minute preparation for tomorrow's first day of hut to hut evangelism. It should be fun. We are back in the mountains again at Bulucheke church. Pray for no afternoon rains so that the crusade does not get washed out and that each team member has peace in their first face to face encounter with gospel presentation Uganda style.
Larry Hoelscher for the Uganda team
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