Dec. 19 - "You will make his people know that they can be saved through the forgiveness of their sins." Luke 1:77 - Gulu Women's Prison

 

Ministry Partners,

A very good morning to you from Gulu, Uganda where it is a bit cloudy this morning. I slept until 7am this morning, which tells me I was very tired after yesterday’s long day. I am thankful that we will stay in this spot for the next few days while we minister to prisons in the area. 

Children in Gulu, Uganda pumping water

This was a good reminder for me today from Bible Gateway, “You, child, will be called a spokesperson of the Most High. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way. You will make his people know that they can be saved through the forgiveness of their sins. A new day will dawn on us from above because our God is loving and merciful.” Luke 1:76-78 GOD’S WORD Translation

 Breakfast at 8:30 was an absolutely amazing buffet and gave so many wonderful choices like yogurt and wonderful pineapple, muffins, sautéed mushrooms along with all kinds of hot dishes like goat, which the guys said was good.Thank you for those of you that were praying about our meal situation.  Following breakfast Alfred got on the phone and started contacting O.C.’s in the area to set up times for our visit.

We visited 167 women at Gulu Women’s Prison this morning and I must confess, God has given me a heart for all prisoners but there is something so very special about ministering to a group of women inmates. When I Arrived I saw them seated under two large tents and as I entered, they were all singing and continued singing while Aaron and I after waited a bit for Alfred to come with the O.C. The stern officer at the gate would not let us enter with our sound system so it took Alfred some time to convince the O.C. that because I am 81 years old I needed to use a microphone for my voice. Well, not really but he uses my age at different times to get something we need. It is interesting how at the end of our crusades many O. C.s comment about how amazing it is for an 81 year old woman can stand and preach for 2-3 hours, sometimes twice a day, and how a young inmate would not be able to do it. Those kinds of words just make me smile; of course, it is the anointing from the Holy Spirit that gives me strength to preach that long.

The woman translator I had today was absolutely the best ever as she translated into Acholi, she was fast and never asked me once “What?”. She smiled broadly at the end when I thanked and praised her, in front of the other women, for the wonderful job she did. Then she thanked me for coming and said how important my messages were. I was disappointed that I did not have enough scarves for them or caps for the children but I will use what I have left for the remaining women prisons. We had 15 officers also attend our crusade today, the most ever and it was wonderful to watch them also respond to the salvation, forgiveness and apology messages.

After finishing at the prison the guys took me back to the hotel and then they took the van for a “check-up” to make sure it is in good order for the remainder of the trip and drive to Kenya. The roads we have been on are pretty hard on any vehicle. I is almost 6pm and Alfred just messaged me that, “We were in the queue but now they are working on us, we are still waiting for a replacement part.”

I will wait a bit before I decide what to do for dinner but I will post this for today.

Please continue to pray for:

·       1- The salvation of many prisoners

·       2- That we would find favor with everyone we meet

·       3- Health and a fresh anointing for the team by the Holy Spirit

·       4- Safety as we travel about

Blessings on each of you and your families, I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season.

That none would be lost,

Arlene