Dec. 27

Ministry Partners,

Greetings from Kasese, Uganda.

Today was a travel day for us and it was interesting to see that the main road that we traveled on all the way here was more like the village road. At one point Pastor Aaron stopped and asked seven men on motorbikes if we were on the right road because it sure look like the village road. But they assured us that it was the main road to Kasese.

On the way here we can see the beautiful mountain range of the Rwenzori Mountians. I first saw them a far distance away the other day. That day the mountains were capped with clouds that were very low which made it look almost like they were frosted. I hope that I will be able to see more of them before we leave the area since Pastor Aaron says that they have some wonderfully high peaks.

At one point, I had Aaron stop at a gas station for me and when I was standing by the van waiting for Aaron one of the girl gas attendants came over, stuck her hand out and said, “Toilet?” I knew she wanted money but I just started chatting a bit with her as she did speak English. Well of course, it was a great opportunity to begin to talk to her about Jesus. She told me that she knew Jesus and I asked her if that was just something she knew in her head or had she ever asked Jesus to be her Savior to which she responded, “No”. I asked her if she would like to have Jesus as her Savior and have a personal relationship with him to which she responded yes. 

What a privilege it was for me to lead her in the prayer that would change her life forever. Pastor Aaron appeared and I had him get in the van and get her an English Bible and a discipleship booklet.

I just love these unexpected opportunities to share the love of Christ.
Thank you for her Lord but just one more…….. and one more……. and one more, please.

We found a place to stay but then went down another block to see if there might be something else. 

 While driving down the street I saw this beautiful old woman so I had Aaron stop the van and I got out, introduced myself and gave her a scarf and a tract. I was thankful when I asked her if I could take a picture of us, she nodded yes. I have not been able to do much of that on this trip because our scheduled has been so tight trying to get to prisons.

We found an okay hotel and got all settled into our rooms. I liked this one because you actually park in the small center courtyard of the two-story hotel so you know your van will probably not get broken into and you do not have to unload absolutely all of your supplies. There certainly are no-frills in this one though as there is not even a place to hang my clothes. Amazing how many things I take for granted. 

The bathroom here is interesting you can either stand by or sit on the toilet while you take a shower. I guess I should have appreciated more last night’s nice bathroom with its square toilet, the first one I had ever seen here.

We walked up to the second floor with the restaurant was to check out their menu and as I sat down I looked across the street and there was a mosque. We probably will not stay here again if we are in the area as I do not like being woke up at 5 o’clock if I am actually sleeping that long. Nevertheless, it will be a night for earplugs but I hope they work better than the last time I tried to use them. 

I talked with the chef and we had that same conversation about the coleslaw, adding pineapple to. He said he would as well as add extra cheese to the pizza since they normally barely put a sprinkle of it on here. This is an adventure so I will see what actually makes it onto my plate.

Well, the salad was good but the pizza, oh my goodness, although the cheese was a fair amount the sauce is not to be found and the ground beef pieces were so crispy they were like rocks. Perhaps this is the last time I would try to order pizza here in Uganda.

Well it is 20 minutes after 7 PM so I think I will take my shower and at least rest for a while before going to sleep. We were told to make sure and use the mosquito nets because of the mosquitoes here so that means that after I shower I also put on the stinky mosquito spray.

The mosque has been busy for the last 30 minutes and I am not sure how much later they will go. 

That is all for now. We go to two prisons tomorrow so please pray for:

• Open hearts for the gospel 
• A huge outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
• Favor with the OCs and guards 
• Safety on the roads 
• Health, energy and a fresh anointing on the team 
• A good night’s rest for the team

That none would be lost,

Arlene