Dec. 24

Ministry Partners,

It was an early morning today as the drive was going to be quite a distance. We decided to resort everything that was in the van and then have breakfast which was juice, bananas, sausages, deep-fried plantains, tea and pancakes at least their version of pancakes. They actually are more like a glorified chapati but much smaller 3 to 4 inches and I do not think they use any baking powder or any other leavening as they were very thin and actually pretty tough. There was no syrup so a bit of jam helped. and I actually took my banana with me to have at lunch. 

When you got to our first prison today we found that the OC was someone that I had met before. She greeted me warmly and said she was so glad to see me again. It’s interesting that at some of these prisons there seems to be no hassles were welcomed in and we can begin our program right away, it was outweighed today. There were some 700 prisoners there with 20 women that they brought in from an adjoining area. 

The power of the Holy Spirit was evident again today as many received Christ and prayed the forgiveness prayer. Two prisoners said they had rededicated their lives today and a number of prisoners commented on how the forgiveness portion had impacted their lives.

After we finished the crusade it was nice to be able to gift each woman with a donated scarf. I was so surprised when the OC told me that they would have to take the scarves from the ladies and put them with their other personal things because of the fear of them strangling themselves with it but that they would return it to them when they went to court or when they were released. My heart hurt when she told me that. 

And like before, the crocheted cap from the Canby Foursquare women was a big hit with the one mother with a baby boy. She was very pleased to get a new pair of blue and white socks and a blue and white crocheted cap.

It appears on this trip that one of the ways Satan is try to discourage us is that our equipment is having issues. The portable sound system that we use now will no longer charge so we will not have the use of my headset and microphones at the prisons where we go that have no electricity. At both of the prisons today we were thankful that God helped us project our voices. 

It appears that the wonderful little camera that was given to me by a friend will not charge. I think I just need a new battery for it but it is something we would have to get in Kampala city and were not going there were actually going in different direction tomorrow. There just isn’t something you would find in one of the villages. Then there is my computer which is now having huge issues and being difficult when I tried to upload photos or just work on it generally. 

So welcome to my world right now, I hope I can continue to do this blog as it’s important to keep you informed about how we are doing and what we need you to specifically be praying for. Please know I will do my best.

                                                               A baby's free ride

I just heard a report from Pastor Peace that the truck has broken down and she is staying with the Bibles while the driver goes to get parts.

We are seeing God do marvelous things here but I think it’s also important for you to hear some of the struggles that we are dealing with. Some struggles just make you laugh at her funny and then there are those that make the work we are doing much more difficult. I can’t imagine being here and not having faithful prayer warriors, like you, that are willing to stand with us in the fight to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our second prison today was a small one that I had been to before but all the prisoners there were new to me. We were warmly greeted by the OC and his staff but he said I could not have a photo with him because he did not have his uniform on. I was thankful he agreed to allow his staff to have a photo with me because they were in their uniforms. The sun was hot today so I was glad that the prisoners were seated under the overhang of a long building in the ladies that they brought in from another area were able to sit behind me under a tree.

What better to spend Christmas Eve day then sharing the gospel and hearing prisoners tell how the Holy Spirit impacted their life during our time there. My heart is full and blessed.

At one point the sky began to cloud over and I kept asking Jesus to hold back the rain until we had finished. Praise his name, that’s exactly what happened, as I prayed a prayer over the prisoners and the administration and then saying goodbye ……. it began to rain.

Those in town are trying to go to the village for Christmas and those in the village were trying to get to town so we were caught in a traffic jam that took us quite some time to give back to our hotel. I have so much to do tonight to get my room back to, get this blog done and to shower. We will be leaving in the morning and doing prison crusades along the way for the next nine days.

Please continue to pray for: 

• Open heart for the Gospel 
• We would continue to find favor with prison administrations 
• Health and energy for the team
• Travel safety fir both teams
• A powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit
• For me personally, good sleep & pain free back

Happy Jesus Birthday to you and your families.

That none would be lost,

Arlene