At the start of 2011, God gave me a sense that this is a year of more space and choices. In keeping with that an opportunity has already come up to join a two-week mission trip to Uganda in April. It has been 8 years since I did an overseas outreach so I'm really excited! This newsletter will be a special focus about the trip...
We will be involved with two different ministries. Firstly four days with a couple who are mission partners of ChristChurch Fulham (my church here in London). They have set up a charity called '1moreChild' working with street boys in the Jinja District of Bugembe in the Eastern Region of Uganda. 1moreChild has the vision to see vulnerable children empowered and encouraged to reach their full potential. Check out http://www.1morechild.org/ for more details. It provides kids with school fees, 3 meals a day, school uniforms, supplies, shoes, clothes, medical care, tutoring, mentoring and a football club. They currently rent a house in Jinja which serves as a home for 13 of their boys that don't have families, and as a 'youth centre' for all the boys. Our work with them will involve discipleship and mentoring, staff training, sports and games, prayer and intercession.
For the second part of our outreach we will be travelling to the village of Bulange in the Inganga District of Uganda, staying for 10 days to serve the staff and chil
dren of the Bushfire Children's Home (see pic). The ministry was founded by Sam and Eva Kitalya (Ugandan nationals), with a vision to bring skills training to the youth, and family and shelter to the orphans. There are many orphans of war and AIDS in this area, most of whom have little or no education and live a meagre hand to mouth existence. Initially a vocational training school (VTS) was established to give the teenagers and young adults marketable skills such as sewing, building, agriculture and animal raising ( basic skills necessary for survival in remote rural areas). The VTS training also included a clear Gospel presentation and healthy living education (sexual health etc).
In 2003, fifty acres of land was purchased and the first buildings included a community centre which has grown into the 900 member Bulange Community Church. Likewise the initial three family units for orphans have
expanded to six family units with over 90 orphans and children at risk. The children range in age from 3 to 18 years and are placed in stable family groups with 'parents' in a home unit. In addition to attending school they help work the land and participate in normal Ugandan family life: water carrying, cow milking, planting and harvesting their own food, etc. Over the past 7 years Bushfire has built a medical clinic, vocational training centre, primary and secondary school, and numerous farm buildings. You can see more of their ministry at www.bushfireproject.org
As a team we will be involved in all aspects of Bushfire life, helping out in day to day activities, including planting, harvesting, building, water gathering, school work, family devotions etc. We will also provide some healthcare and family-appropriate skills training for the staff, and social education for the children. There will be opportunities to visit local villages, to share in the Bulange Community Church, and take school assemblies. Praying for patients in a local hospital and a prison visit have been part of past team activities.
Our group is currently eleven people ranging in age from 12 to 50-something! Please pray for us in the coming weeks... As we get to know our team-mates, spend time together praying and preparing, fundraise etc. We want to go with hearts open to what the Lord has to teach us, being led by Him in serving alongside the local people.
I'm looking forward to the next update and being able to share some testimonies from the trip. Your prayers, support and encouragement bless me so much - thank you!
Love
Rebecca
Prayer Items
- Thanks for what happened through the Christmas Outreach, and for everyone who was involved or gave in some way towards it.
- Thanks for the new opportunities to pray for people and the way God is breaking down barriers to Him in their lives.
- Thanks for God's hand over the Food Hygiene administration and inspection!
- Please pray for the Uganda trip - for safety, team unity and openness to everything God has planned for the time.
- For provision of the funds we need (approx. £1000 each) to cover the costs of the trip including flights, team fees, visa, vaccinations, insurance, anti-malaria meds etc. (I have already received a couple of gifts, which has been amazing!)
A highlight this Christmas was when part of the entertainment programme planned for one of the days fell through. Bertin had prepared a message about how we get stuck in life in different ways, and how Jesus can bring freedom and help us to move forward. Since we had extra time to fill we weighed up the idea of offering a more public time of ministry, inviting people forward to receive prayer at the front. Normally they would come to a side area afterwards for prayer, so doing it this way felt a little risky! As Bertin came to the end he asked people to come forward if they wanted Jesus to help them in whatever 'being-stuck' situation they were facing. Five or six bravely stood up and a few of us we able to gather round and pray with them. Amongst them we prayed for freedom from alcohol addiction for a young guy from Lithuania, comfort for sorrow over the death of a husband, and one man gave his life to Jesus. God loves to show up! Please keep praying for His love and power to change lives in this community.