kaliro

The Muslim village chairman welcomed me each time I came to Uganda. He would sometimes come and listen, but mostly he followed my teaching from afar. Over the years, though, he saw the changes in the lives of our congregation members as the Holy Spirit worked in them and transformed their hearts, their families, and their marriages. As I was completing my time here last June, he came by to bid me farewell and to encourage the village people to apply the things I was teaching them from the Bible. That day I asked him if he would allow me to give him a Bible. He said yes, he would read it. So I presented this lifelong Muslim with a Bible, then I had to return to the US.
Over the next 4 months, Chairman Dulaus read his Bible, secretly, in his bedroom, so the neighbors would not see. He sometimes read aloud to his wife, too. He would share with Musumba, my Ugandan ministry partner, how he found such joy and peace when he read God’s Word. He told my partner to be sure I knew he was reading. We made plans to meet when I returned in October so we could discuss what he had read and answer any questions he had.
However, when I first returned, he was not feeling well and did not attend the gathering with the village congregation. The next week, rain kept us from meeting that Friday. That night, Chairman Dulaus died. Musumba and I wept for that loss. But an amazing thing happened. We got word from his family that they wanted me to speak at his funeral. I am a woman, a foreigner, and an infidel by Muslim standards, yet I was invited to speak at this Muslim funeral.
The next day we arrived in the village at the funeral gathering. The preceding speakers spoke of how much Dulaus loved his village, and they spoke of the joy and peace they had seen in the chairman in those last months. They said he spoke highly of me all the time. As I stepped up to share, I commented that my connection to the chairman was because we loved the same people. He loved his village and he saw that I did too, so we connected. I shared, Bible in hand, about the one true God, the God of the Bible whom I serve. I spoke of how He created us in his image, male and female, and His desire to have a relationship with His creation. It was basically an “Introduction to God 101.” I concluded, “I know Chairman Dulaus would be delighted to know that you, as well, have discovered the joy and peace that he came to know through the God of the Bible.”
Some people appeared shocked as I spoke boldly at this Muslim gathering. But all listened intently. That was November 4th. This past Friday, December 29th, as I was passing into the village to minister to some sick people, we passed a lady who is one of the family members of the chairman. Musumba and I stopped to greet her, and ask about the chairman’s widow. She took us behind her house to the house where the widow lived. She greeted us warmly; they brought chairs for us. A man joined us. I learned he was the older brother of the chairman. The first lady we met was his wife. As we spoke with the three of them, Nisim, Dulaus’ widow, said she would like to become a Christian. It was then we learned that her husband had read the Bible to her as well. The brother and sister-in-law nodded in agreement, saying they too wanted to become Christians. Eesa, the brother, said the day I spoke they had recognized that I spoke Truth. They have been talking about that day ever since. And so, I shared the plan of salvation with them and had the precious privilege of praying with all three to be saved and brought into the Kingdom. Eesa said, “Your words have healed our hearts.”
He then told us that next Friday at 3:00 p.m., he will have his friends gathered at his house to come hear more. Will I come? So, next Friday we will be there to speak to whomever the Lord brings. We are expecting a harvest among the Muslims of this village. The Holy Spirit has prepared the way!

On November 21, when I concluded teaching from 1 John and invited people to prayer, the people kept coming. Fazira, Agnes and I prayed with about a dozen people for salvation in Yeshua/Jesus, plus two rededications and one for healing. What a privilege to see the Holy Spirit moving in a remote village in Uganda!

The next Friday, a young woman name Rebecca came for prayer. Rebecca and her mother-in-law, Ida, had not spoken to one another for over 7 years. In their Muslim household, they had quarreled long ago and refused to speak ever since. The grandmother cursed her grandchildren, and Rebecca’s children would not greet their grandmother. If they had to walk past one another they would spit on the ground as they passed the other person. The previous Friday, Rebecca and Ida both came to the service in Kaliro village and heard the message from 1 John about walking in God’s light and walking in forgiveness. They heard about a righteous Judge who provided his Son to pay the wages of our sin. And both Rebecca and Ida prayed to ask Yeshua into their heart to become their Lord and Savior. The next week, as I continued teaching in 1 John, we spoke of how darkness allows us to hold on to unforgiveness and anger. Only as God shines His light within us and through us can we forgive and let go of anger. We invited people who needed to forgive people who had hurt them to come for prayer. Rebecca quietly came forward to me, and as Musumba translated, she shared the above story of her relationship with Ida. She testified that after both she and Ida prayed to receive Yeshua as their Messiah and Savior, this past week she and her mother-in-law forgave each other and came together to thank the Lord for healing their relationship. Ida is now blessing her grandchildren and she and Rebecca are looking for ways to honor one another and to encourage one another in their newfound life. Please pray for these two women who are newborn daughters of the great King. Pray for their family, that the Love and Light in them will be visible to Rebecca’s husband and to their children. Pray for the Light to grow. Pray for the Light to shine.

It seems that every week, our trip to Kaliro is always an adventure. Though it had rained in Jinja the next Friday morning, it had been dry to the north where we were headed. As we turned off the paved road and headed out the dirt roads, it was evident that it had not rained in at least the last two or three days, which we counted as a blessing. When we reached the first of the muddy spots, it was fairly passable with our 4WD van. The second mud hole was not as bad as it was last week, and with Musumba’s skilled driving he managed to get through it. We had sponsors’ gifts to deliver to some of the widows, which took us on even worse dirt roads. We managed to make the deliveries, then we headed on to the meeting place where we were greeted by familiar friendly faces. Rebecca and her mother-in-law Ida were there. Richard was there; he is now the congregation member who checks people’s temperatures to satisfy government guidelines for meetings. He always has a smile on his face that is so different from the first time I met him last year. Amina is there, sitting quietly in the back. Her heart is still grieving the loss of her little one, Isaac. Amida, Edisa, Zeuria, Ziliya, Zayina, Latif’s mother Mariam, Brother Christopher, and the other men: Patrick and Issac all greeted us warmly. Four-year-old Herbert continued with his memorization of Bible verses. I have given him a new verse each week, and he has been the only one who has learned the verses so far. However, on this day, one young lady came forward with a verse that she had learned: Psalm 119:33.

We continued studying in 1st John, still working through chapter 2. We learned of the need to abide in the Lord and remain in Him, to walk in the anointing of His Holy Spirit and let that Holy Spirit fill us so that we clearly bear the image of our Creator. As His Image Bearers, only as His Spirit fills us and flows through us do we clearly reflect His truth, His light and His love. After we ate a meal prepared by our hosts, we began the journey back to civilization. Musumba again managed the mud holes until we reached the last big one. Even though we had made it through that hole headed into the village, as we were heading out, the slippery mud drew us into the deeper mud and we were quite thoroughly stuck. Some young men came running up and they offered to help for a small fee. As they were talking among themselves, they told Musumba that they had heard of the muzungu (white person) who came to the village and helped the people. They knew we helped Zam and her crippled son, Abasa, and knew of the wheelchair we had procured for him. They knew who I was and they said because of the ministry that we do, they were willing to help. They told Musumba “She is the mother of our village, so we came running when we saw her.” Otherwise, they said they would have gone on and left us. They worked for a good half an hour with hoes and machetes digging us out, putting green branches against the tires, and then pushing all together to finally get us out of the hole. I got out to thank them profusely for their kindness and they said “What we really want are Bibles. Will you bring us some Bibles?” I told them that I would be back the next Friday about 2:30. I invited them to come to the meeting place and join our gathering. They said they would be there. Our God is a sovereign God, so I know there is no such thing as a chance meeting. We had a divine appointment at that mud hole to meet with these young men. The following Friday, one of them came. Livingston asked if we would meet with his friends to teach them more. We made arrangements to meet at Zam’s house the following Monday (she lives BEFORE the horrendous mud holes, so we can go in a regular car).

The following Monday morning, December 14, Musumba picked up me, Agnes and Fazira and we headed to the outskirts of Kaliro village to meet the young men from our mud hole encounter. Livingston, the young man who came to fellowship the previous Friday, had said he was going to bring several of his friends to hear more about our God. We weren’t sure what to expect when we arrived. Zam, at whose house we were meeting, was excited to have us there. She pulled out chairs, benches, and grass mats to provide seating underneath the trees. At first there was no one there, so Musumba flagged down a bodaboda driver to go further into the village and check on people and to see if some were coming to our gathering. Soon young men began trickling in by twos and threes; Livingston came by on the back of a bodaboda, and called out that he would be back in just a little bit. We ended up with sixteen young men. Only two of them said they had ever read anything in a Bible! I began with Genesis and told them about their Creator and His creation. We read how God made man in His own image. We then read how man forsook his first job to guard and keep the garden and broke his relationship with his Creator. We then read where God so loved the world because he wanted to redeem that relationship that had been lost in the garden. We talked about sin and the wages of sin and how a just and righteous Judge had to follow his own laws and pronounce sentence on we who have all earned death. We talked about how Jesus offered to pay the penalty for my sin and took my place and took my punishment. We talked about this gift of salvation that God offers to all who will confess their sins and ask forgiveness and allow the Father to cleanse them from all unrighteousness. At the end, TWELVE of those young men bowed their heads and prayed for salvation. Because of a generous donor, I had 10 Bibles to hand out. When we asked if they would like to meet again next Monday, one of the young men said, “We would love to meet everyday!” I laughed and said that I couldn’t do it that much, but if they will read their Bibles, we will come back. (WE NEED MORE BIBLES!!!) Several of them asked if they could bring other friends. I told them the Lord welcomes all who desire to join Him on that journey to become image-bearers of our Creator. Zam, our hostess, had prepared tea and some fruit. She has so little, but she was delighted to share. With the help of Agnes to translate, I thanked Zam for hosting our gathering, because when these young men choose to live righteously and fully give their hearts to the Lord, the changes that can take place in that community will be wonderful. Because of her willingness to see those young men’s lives impacted, I told her she has helped lay a foundation to change their entire village. Those young men, for the most part, were open and eager to hear about the Lord and they were ready to have a relationship with Him of their own. Please pray for these young men and their new found faith. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for me and the rest of our team as we disciple these young men and challenge them to wholeheartedly pursue God. We are excited to see what the Father will do. What an amazing day!

Lives are being changed in a small remote village in Uganda because of the power of the Living Word of God! How amazing for this flawed, ordinary woman from America to be used for the Kingdom of our extraordinary Lord. God is SO good!