July 19 .....

Ministry Partners,

Sunday morning in Uganda and day to worship and praise the Lord.

It always makes me smile the way God does things that are so beyond word and cannot be a coincidence. This morning as we were eating breakfast in the garden we observed a man enter the door to a room across from the garden that we had been told was a room where church was held. As we finished eating Aaron left to prepare the van and load the Bibles and as we started to cross the garden to leave I stopped and told Alfred that I wanted to stop and introduce ourselves to the man we had seen enter that room who I felt was the pastor. As we entered the man I had seen was the only one there and he was in fact the pastor. It was a God ordained meeting as this pastor was broken from a number of events in his life and ministry. I will not mention any of what he shared with us as it is his story to share but after we spoke for some minutes and we prayed with him he said that he had just been asking God to send someone to speak into his life!!!!! I am so humbled to be a part of the opportunities God presents. Please pray for Pastor W..

Alfred, Arlene & Pastor W.

As always the Holy Spirit was faithful in giving me wisdom and words to share as I spoke on how God used Joseph and the woman at the well, challenging the church in not holding past sins of neighbors or those who enter the church against them but to show compassion and love just  like Joseph did to his brothers and Jesus did to the Samaritan woman. I thought a one point that perhaps I should stop speaking as the competition between the pounding on the tin roof from the rain and our sound system was making it so no one could hear but I was told to keep going. Even the downpour of rain on the metal roof making a very loud rumbling sound inside the small church did not deter the work of the Holy Spirit as He spoke into hearts as He brought 4 to saving knowledge to Jesus Christ. In closing Pastor Geoffrey said he had been challenged by the words I spoke in accepting those who came into his church.

Although the rain causes the red dirt to get slick and cling to everything it was considered to be a blessing as it had not rained in some time.

Pastor Aaron suggested a new place to eat that was close to where we stay but I do not think we will go there again. I tried but just could not eat (sorry Chad you probably would have enjoyed it) the fish I ordered as it was swimming in a kind of gooey thick sauce made with ground raw peanuts. Pastor Aaron said he liked it so he traded his chicken in seasoned broth with me and although it was not a whole lot better it was eatable. But I must say the presentation, cooked in banana leaves, was
beautiful but the taste, for me, not so much.. 

 
 Banana leave presentation

 

  Fish fillets in peanut sauce

After arriving back at our residence the staff came to my room and said I had a visitor and arriving at the office I was greeted by the Assistant to the Commissioner of Prisons, he was delivering the blankets that the Commissioner had requested that we purchase for the prisoners. He knew we were starting prison ministry tomorrow and he wanted us to have them ..... even though it was Sunday afternoon. I so like the way this Prison Commission stays on top of things and brought the blankets to us so we did not have to take a day to hunt for a supplier or pick them up ourselves.

Blankets for the prisoners

Alfred called Pastor W. to see how he was doing and if he had a mid-week service which he does have. We told him we would have to see if our schedule permits as we would like to attend one of his services. We will just have to see what God does with that.

It will be early to bed for me tonight a tomorrow will be a full day.

Thanks again for your partnership, much love and blessings to each of you.

That none would be lost,

Arlene