Saying Goodbye

When our mission team left the U.S. to come to Uganda and work for the Lord, they said goodbye to friends and family, with (probably) 100% confidence, that they would see each other again.  When we took this team to the airport 2 days ago, we said "Goodbye, and see you soon," with anticipation that we'll meet again in a few weeks, when all of us who remain here in Uganda, also return to Georgia.  Every day, several times daily, we are bidding someone goodbye, but generally with the expectation that we will see that person again.

 

Yesterday morning, as we were having our team devotional and prayer time, Pastor Moses came with the news that Dickson, one of our 7^th grade students had died in a local hospital from malaria.  As I write this, my tears-which at times I can hold back- fill my eyes.  Even talking about malaria for me is very difficult, since I can only think of it as the disease that took Richard's life.  And yes, I still ask God, "Why?"  Just as we did as we sat around the table, and questions began to form about this young man, who was about to take his final exams to enter high school. 

 

As many children in Africa, Dickson did not have an easy life.  His parents had both died; he lived with his grandmother, who had been very ill recently, then a few weeks ago, she also died.  Pastor Moses had considered having Dickson come and live with him so he would have a safe and stable home.  When Dickson became ill, he was taken to a clinic, tested for malaria and received treatment.  He improved and returned to school, but then began to get sick again.  He was taken to the hospital and started on a different medicine, but he did not respond.   He had trusted Jesus as His Savior, so we know he is now safe at home in heaven.  He will never again be hungry or sick; he will not sleep on the cold mud floor with rags around him.  He will not wonder who is going to take care of him.  He is in his eternal dwelling – and I hope that he and Richard have met again! 

 

During our prayer time, Pastor Moses read from Job chapter 14, which says:

 

"He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue (v. 2) "Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass." (v. 5).

 

We all say goodbye many times in a day, expecting to see our family member or friend or co-worker once again.   But there will come a time, when that goodbye will be final for this earthly walk.  Only if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, will your goodbye be just "See you later."  This is the way I am comforted when I think about Richard.  We are separated from now on this earth, but he is in heaven, waiting for the time when I will say my final goodbye to this earth, and join him and Jesus in our heavenly home.

 

I want my time here to count, to make a difference.  That is why I am here in Uganda, even though the journey is painful.  I don't want to waste any more time, since I know that our time here is fleeting, and we all, like flowers, will quickly fade. 

 

Dr. Brenda

 

 

 

 

 

 

During a rain storm break, Joel shared the Gospel with the workers. 11 of them came to know Christ!

 

The Trusses are UP!!!!!! Praise God!

 

Final Day

This is probably the hottest night it has been all week. Some of us running around doing last minute packing and some of us sitting around shooting the bull. I can't believe we leave in the morning to return home and see are wonderful families and maybe eat some American food.

     Our stretch and blessed was as usual . Very few stretches and many blessings. What another incredible day we have had.

     Me being on the construction team has been an awesome God adventure. When we left this morning to go and work on the church, there was not one truss on the roof. We had ten trusses built from the previous days and four more to go. We immediately starting setting the trusses with the Ugandan builders and their laborers. We were moving really well until a God storm started brewing in the distance. Then the bottom dropped out , the rain came tumbling down very heavy. As we scrambled to get out of the weather, we all ran into the existing church (including the builders and laborers). As I looked outside the door and watched the rain I thought about an opportunity that was at hand. But apparently God had moved in the other team members as well. Aaron begin to look for the Evangecube. Then the next thing I knew Joel had asked all of our visitors to gather up. (Wait a minute I think we are the visitors here.)  Anyhow the Ugandans circled around him and God started to use Joel in a mighty way , just like he has with all of us this week. Joel poured his heart out and shared the gospel. As I started to pray for these men, It just hit me that again God had a plan that was different than us just hurrying up and trying to finish setting trusses. I believe I heard someone say that ten of the men gave their lives to Jesus. Praise the living God. God allowed us to be used by him again. Thank you team for obeying the Holy Spirit. God had given us a real cool refreshing breeze to complete the evening. We went back out after quitting hours and completed setting all the trusses.

   Well Joel just came in and asked if I would pop some popcorn. Someone had agreed to clean up the mess so I guess I will finish this up and join my team with some good ole American popcorn.

   Many other things were taken care of by the rest of the team.  Thank you Lord Jesus for an awesome time here in Africa. Thank you to all our viewers for checking in on us. Maybe you have been thinking about coming on a trip with HHFM, I encourage you to do so. Do not put it off. You will  experience some of the most awesome God experiences you could ever imagine.

Steve M.

Wednesday

Steve & Mark just popped some popcorn the old fashioned way- on our new gas burners. Everyone is attracted by the smell and ends up circled up and sharing the freshly popped treat!  We are now having a wonderful time of fellowship, telling stories and laughing with new friends and old.  It's been a very hard and strenuous day but you wouldn't know it from the way everyone is cutting up. It's amazing how serving God just seems to renew your energy and strength.

Back in July, 63 children at the Busia school prayed to receive Christ.  During this trip we have been trying to disciple them and teach them how to grow closer to God.  Today, we gave each of them a bible of their very own. For some of these children it was the first book they've ever owned.  We walked them through the books of the bible and taught them how to look up verses and stories. They were so excited and really wanted to learn.

Two team members, Jennifer & George visited some of our sponsored churches. In order to sponsor a church, a group or individual donates $1000 to build a church building and then agrees to support the pastor with $50 each month for three years.   We visit those churches periodically to see how their attendance is growing, what new programs they have started (such as youth group or bible studies) and to find out what their needs are.  The churches were very excited to see our team members and made them feel very welcome.

The construction team was successful in getting 10 out of 14 trusses built for the roof along with banding prep work done for the rest. They can't wait until the morning when they get to start putting them up.   They have recruited some African construction workers to help.  Some of them are not believers so the guys now have two jobs to do.

Lots of work done today- all to the glory of God!

Tomorrow is the last day for the team.  But for now, as I am writing this, the men have begun swapping hunting stories and the ladies have slowly started heading off the bed.

Good night to all of our readers. Halleluiah! Amen!

 

God is in Control

Today was another AWESOME day here in Busia, Uganda.  The construction team today continued working on the roof of the Church.  We got the base plates down and some more wood cut for the trusses.  We got to meet the builder here in Uganda that will be taking over to finish up the roof once we leave.  His name is Benard, and after spending the day with him working and talking we found out that he is a born again believer!!  It was another hot day but a very blessed day for the construction team.  Today was the last day of sports camps and it was another successful day.  The team played soccer with many and over 11 kids gave their life to Jesus!!  Sara McCord  worked with over 100 of our kids today getting information and updated pictures for the sponsors.  This afternoon all teams got done around 3 and went back to the mission house to get ready for the Bush Church service.  We left out at 4pm to go to the Church where we were going to have service at.  However God had a different plan.  On the way to the Church the vans got stuck in the mud and were unable to get to the Church.  So after finally getting unstuck which took all the men and about an hour we decided we could not continue to go down the muddy roads.  So we turned around and headed back home.  But there was a church on the way back that is part of the Grace Calvary Christian Ministries Organization with Helping Hands.  Pastor Moses said we should stop there and have service instead, so we did.  It is amazing how God works!!  God knew the Church we needed to go to and it wasn't the one that we planned for.  Joy's son Bryan gave the message and the Holy Spirit used him to present the Gospel where many got saved!!!!  It has been an Awesome trip so far and we are looking forward to see how God is going to work over the next few days as we finish up this trip.  Thank you all for your prayers and support!!!

Joel

On the way to a Church in the bush, we got stuck in the mud....3 or 4 times...

 

Jim and Mark building some 40 foot long boards for the truss

 

Ron and Steve preparing to put the trusses on the wall

 

We had Chicken for Dinner

Another great day in Uganda. God showed us yet again that He is in control and it is His plans that will be followed. Construction went well today, everyone was safe and they got a lot accomplished. They even let me help a little. They are doing a great job working with the "lumber" that is available here, and all of the changes that God has made to their plans. Tomorrow sounds like it might be the best day of the trip for them.

We had a team doing church visits today and they were able to encourage some pastors, and their followers. We also had Sarah shopping for the kids yet again today. Now ladies let me tell you she has bought 60+ pairs of shoes in the last couple of days, new bedding, and some clothes as well. I know it does not sound like work, but she had to trace the kids feet to find the right shoe size and then match the tracing to shoes in town. The bedding was mattresses that some wonderful sponsors had donated. She has done a wonderful job.

Today I got to go to sports camp where I got my first chicken. We went to Pastor Samuel's school and church. They have little money, little land, little resources, and a bunch of love for God. I think his school had the most parent involvement that I have seen here. They even have a PTA. They are trying to build a new addition to their school and they need several pieces of tin for the roof, so they organized groups to raise money and they have bought 10 pieces so far. Each piece costs what a week's wage here would be. They were awesome. David led a great camp today and Kim taught the ladies. Several people were saved today it was wonderful. When the church leaders came out with two chickens I had no idea who they were for, but I knew it would be funny. One chicken was for David, the leader, and the other was for "the son of Joy". That is my new tribal name Bryan, son of Joy. We had chicken for dinner. They killed them outside of Mom's room and she had to go to the other side of the property and cover her ears while they did the deed.

The most amazing thing of the day was when we heard about one of the latest church plants. When we were here in July we went to a land site to pray for the Village of Eden. We attracted a crowd who wanted to know what a bunch of mzungus (white people) were doing out in the bush. Well some people got saved that day. One of those people donated a small piece of land and they built a small stick and tarp church there. Since July, they have grown to 30 members. When we asked Samuel how many of those 30 were new believers, he said with a smile, thirty. I have grown so much this trip, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for the rest of the week.

Bryan E.

The sports camp group watching a soccer game

The construction guys building pieces of the truss

 

Joel preaching in a bush church last night in the rain.

 

Mark and Jim leading a Sunday school yesterday morning in Church

 

Amazing Glory

Today was one of most awesome days I have experienced in a long time.God has blown us away with his amazing glory one more time.The Holy Spirit has been moving about so freely today that I have had to keep pinching myself to make sure I was still on earth.We started out with Sunday school and I had the 3-5 year olds. We talked about God making us and the fishes, now how cool is that? Later during the service, the  worship praise and worship service reminded me of what it must have been like on the day of Pentecost. The language barrier was of no importance, the spirit was speaking to souls not ears. We then went down to the river for a baptizing and the spirit just got stronger. 

Later that evening we went to a bush church.  The bush church was indescribable. It took place under a tarp and stick church that raised the roof with song and praise . Joel told us about sin and God cleaned the hearts of the people and then added a good rain to bring us closer together and clean a little dust off too. Just when I thought that it couldn't get any better they gave a love offering of chickens. This brought me to my knees. They gave the best they had. When was the last time I gave to God the very best that I had? We finished the night with a praise and worship service at the mission house. For all the many blessings God has given us today.  I sure wish I could give you some of what I feel tonight. Also, thank God Dr. Brenda got back safely.
Love in Jesus, Jen

 Update on Jeff S.
Jeff was feeling much better today, and was walking around.  He is in a larger hospital in Kenya that has capabilities to do Cat scans and ultrasounds should his condition change and we need to evaluate further.  We are still watching and waiting, since after such a fall as he had, a person can still develop problems.  Plans have been made for him to fly home with a medical escort, so please continue to keep him in your prayers, for God's protection and healing.
Dr. Brenda

Steve M. Preaching this Sunday morning

David sharing at a bush church.

The Most Perfect Day

Wow doesn't begin to express it. Blessed doesn't begin to describe it. The Uganda Team experienced a day of great victory and renewed determination.  As news about Jeff's condition became more and more encouraging we realized what a miracle we have all experienced through that situation, Yesterday the construction crew realized that they were not going to be able to accomplish their goal of putting the roof on the new church without another miracle. They desperately needed a crane which is something that you don't see here in Busia. In fact, when it was mentioned at "Stretched and Blessed" last night, we all laughed a little bit. This morning the guys kept the faith and kept working. They finished putting the roof on the front porch and God honored their faithfulness with the provision of exactly what was needed - a crane. That alone is going to be quite an attraction here and when the roof goes on and this church is completed, we believe that God will be glorified in ways that we can only now imagine. The enemy has fought this church with everything he has but all he has are lies and deception. We know who wins in the end!
The rest of the team traveled to one of the bush churches for sports camp today.  We visited Pastor Joseph and the people at Syonga Church for Sports Camp and a Women's Conference. Kim taught the women while David Ray led the rest of the team in playing different sports with the kids. First the children put on a wonderful program of singing and dancing then we all got a tour of the grounds.  Syonga is in a beautiful area and today the wild lantana and daisies were blooming - it was just breathtaking. The kids gave a demonstration of the way that they play soccer- with a ball made of rolled up plastic bags and banana leaves. Then they learned some new games like Extreme Frisbee.  Jennifer and I worked with 100 or so nursery age children doing crafts and singing songs while Joy and Sarah did the same with P1 students.  These children are so beautiful, so well behaved and so attentive for their age.  Larry, David and the other guys were able to share the plan of Salvation with the older kids and several children accepted Christ today. God is so good and does honor the obedience of his servants. We all were blown away by the way the day turned out and just praise God for his faithfulness. After lunch we headed back to change for a service at another bush church.  This is a small congregation which is quite a distance past the end of a dirt road.   Bryan and Sarah both shared their testimonies tonight and we all were blessed as were the wonderful people of this little church. David Ray was the primary speaker and though he always says he's not a preacher, he sure had everybody fooled tonight. First he sang a beautiful song which was straight from his heart and then gave his own testimony. We all could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as he spoke and gave the plan of salvation.  Several more were saved and will be discipled by their pastor - what a wonderful harvest day!  Oh well, Aaron is yelling at me asking what chapter I'm on so guess I'd better say bye and go get ready for church tomorrow. We're teaching Sunday School - can't wait to see what God will do with that!  Blessings and love to all of you at home! 
In His Love!
-Carol C.

Brian sharing his testimony at a bush church.

The guys building the first truss for the church

Nurse Pam doing a checkup on a student

Work Day 1

Today started out great.  Breakfast at 6:30am, devotionals following and on the property at 7:45.  The construction crew unloaded and immediately went to work putting the roof on the church.  The construction of the church (previously destroyed by a strong storm) started last October with this same crew.  They were like a well-oiled machine.
Also, at the property, Dr. Brenda and Pam went to work on medical and Sara shopped for shoes, mattresses and mosquito nets for our children with the money their sponsors sent in.

Meanwhile, in another part of Uganda, the 2nd half of the team headed to into the Bush.  Helping Hands has 4 Bush Schools in addition to the school in Busia. We visited the first of the four today, Nakoola. David, Larry, Carol, Jennifer & Mike did an awesome job playing games with the children and singing songs but, of course, the main goal was to share with them the love of Jesus. About 300 children heard the message!  While the kids played, their mothers attended a teaching seminar with Kim.  About 40 women were in attendance as they talked about Raising Spiritually Healthy Children.

We broke for lunch at 1pm and had the usual, rice, beans, tortillas, potatoes, cabbage, and a mystery meat.  Then we headed back to work.  The construction crew tried to get their first truss up on the roof and with about 20 guys we lifted the heavy truss. Jeff S. was up on the roof guiding the truss into position when the truss gave way and knocked him off of the wall.  He fell 15 - 20 feet to the ground and landed on his back.  We immediately ran to help him and told him not to move.  He wanted to get up but we kept him still.  Dr. Brenda, and Pam came to check him out.  He was laying in a puddle of water and after talking with him a little we decided to move him out of the puddle.  We used a ladder and a piece of plywood to make a backboard and carefully slid the board under Jeff while keeping his head, neck and back immobilized.  We moved him out of the water and made arrangements for transport to a medical facility.  There are no ambulances here, and no real hospitals so we called a friend that had a flatbed truck and used this to transport Jeff to the clinic.  The power at the clinic was shut off as it has been in the town for most of the week so they could not take x-rays or do anything. So our next option was to cross the border to Kenya and take him to a "hospital" there.  Once there they got x-rays and from what the Dr's can see there are no broken bones.  They will keep Jeff overnight and monitor his condition.  On our last report,   Jeff was joking, talking, eating and ready to get back to work on the church.  He even got up and walked to use the bathroom.  This is truly a miracle and we praise God for his favor. Jeff still has a headache and because of that Dr. Brenda decided to move him to a different hospital that can do a CAT scan.  We just want to cover all of the bases.

We will update you on his condition tomorrow. Please pray for Jeff, his Dr's, the safety of the team and our ministry. 

More Team Members arrive in Uganda!

I think it is time for an actual "Uganda" update!  It is Wednesday evening, and the rest of our team has landed – they will spend the night near Kampala, the capital of Uganda,  and will arrive in Busia tomorrow afternoon.  We then have a very busy schedule for the next week – we will be putting a roof on the new church building; you may remember that the church we had been building for Busia Calvary Baptist Church was destroyed by a storm a couple of years ago, and we had to rebuild.  Finally God has provided funds and a team to put the roof on – so that is a great blessing.  We'll be posting photos soon on the progress.

 

We are also doing Sports Camps in all 4 of our bush schools; we expect several hundred children at each school – what an excitement will be in the air as the kids learn to play volleyball, Frisbee, and baseball and then they teach US a few things about soccer, which is their favorite sport here in Uganda. 

 

In addition, we will hold revival services at several of the churches that we have helped to plant; do follow-up with our orphans for their sponsors; and do some medical work also.  We had a wonderful response to our request for help with mosquito nets, mattresses, and blankets, so Sarah and the team will have lots of items to distribute to the children.

 

One thing I am very happy about is our plans for discipleship.  We had many children at our school in Busia who accepted Christ when we were here in July.  Our team will be holding small group sessions all week with these students to talk about their spiritual growth; to teach them more about walking with Jesus; and to encourage them in their daily lives.  Bryan Everett (Joy Breedlove's son) will be working exclusively with the high school students – so please be in prayer for these discipleship sessions.

 

A HUGE prayer request:  we will be meeting with the owner of the land that we hope to purchase for the Village of Eden.  Please pray for God's favor, that the owner (who is actually the chief of the tribe that owns the land) would agree to sell the property at the price we are able to offer. 

 

Thanks to all of you for helping us to reach the unreached!

 

God is good – all the time.

Dr. Brenda

 

 

 

 

Dr. Brenda and Sarah met with Congolese widows, rape victims, and those affected by AIDS- to share the love of Jesus

 

 

 

 

 

Women of the Congo

During our work in the Congo, we met with about 300 women, most of whom were widows and victims of violence during the numerous Congolese wars.  In various parts of the country, there continues to be rebel forces, who attack and rape women, steal, and murder.  I met with one woman, named Mujuni, from the village of Walikale – this is considered one of the most dangerous areas of the Congo, where rebel forces continue to attack.  She is a widow with 5 children, and had been raped in August.  The attack was so vicious that she required surgery and had traveled to Goma, a larger town, for treatment.  She was at the meeting and talked with me – it was difficult to know what to say.  I encouraged her, and helped her some financially  but these measures seemed very inadequate to address her suffering. We prayed together, and I asked God to comfort her, and let her feel His love – I know that He is a great God who knows the number of her tears.

 

Although there is no way to compare sufferings, I could not help but think of my grief with the loss of Richard in my life.  But I am comforted with the knowledge that he is safe in the arms of Jesus.  I tried to share this comfort with the women who gathered for any measure of hope for their lives.  I have never been able to fully relate to "widows" until now; now I can speak to them in some small part with empathy, knowing how it feels to suddenly be faced with a future without your husband at your side.  I know that sharing about my loss will be one way that God will use Richard's death to make a difference in this world. 

 

Despite being surrounded by the tragedy and devastation of the Congo, and the tragedy of Richard's death, I can still say with confidence that God is good – all the time, and yes, my Redeemer lives.

Dr. Brenda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Brenda at pygmy camp...sharing Jesus with those who do not know Him

 

 

 

 

 

Mike preparing to give out bags of maize (corn) at a pygmy camp

 

 

 

 

 

Unreached people of the Congo

Some readers may wonder why we are talking about the Congo in our "Uganda" blog – well, that's because me, Mike and Sarah McCord, along with Pastor Moses, crossed the border from Uganda over to the Congo this past week and spent 2 days visiting and planning our future ministry there.  Our vision is to plant churches, and we visited the sites for 3 new church plants – two of these are located in pygmy camps. 

 

The pygmies of the Congo are one of the most neglected people groups in the world.  They live in small settlements in jungle areas, some far into the bush with little contact with the outside world.  The groups in these remote areas are classified as "unreached" people – and these are the people we want to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  One of the more remote camps we plan to work with has about 200 people, but then farther into the bush, are scattered families and we want to gradually go into the bush to share with these families also. 

 

We visited 2 of the camps, and gave out bags of maize (corn).  At one camp, there were many more people than we had bags of maize.  My stress for that day was watching a young mother with a small child strapped on her back, picking up pieces of corn that had dropped on the ground.  Several of the children also knelt in the dirt, picking up stray pieces of corn to take home.  It is a stark reminder of the many children in the world who go to bed hungry. 

 

Sharing the gospel with the pygmies – seeing many hands raised as they received the Good News – was the blessing!  Now we need to do discipleship.  We have 2 young men who will be having church services in each of these pygmy camps.  They both need bicycles to travel to and from the camps, so if anyone wants to help with this need, please email me.  Bicycles are about $100 each.

 

It has not been easy, traveling without Richard at my side, sharing the stresses and blessings of the days.  So I ask your continued prayers for God's comfort.

 

Thank you all for your love and support and for helping us to take the gospel to those who have never heard.

 

God is good –all the time!

Dr. Brenda

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah greets children in a pygmy camp in the Congo - we are starting a church here!

Giving bread and juice and sharing Jesus at an orphan school in the Congo

A sponsored child with a picture of his sponsor in his school notebook

The children lining up for their lunch

Congo Update

What a journey!  It took us 2 days of traveling to reach our ministry site in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  This included 3 hours getting across the border and many long hours of rocky roads and very high mountain roads with no safety railing.  We saw United Nations troops throughout our travel in the Congo; we were stopped frequently by national and local police, but we did not encounter any hostility and eventually they all wished us a good journey and let us travel on.

 

God IS good, because we arrived safely in Goma – which is one of the larger cities but it is not a a pretty place; in 2002 Mount Nyiragongo erupted, pouring red hot lava onto the town, leaving dozens dead and mounds of molten rock in its wake.  There is very little greenery or anything growing, because the whole town is still just black rocks everywhere.  It reminded me of Haiti, with piles of rocks, crumbled buildings, and debris.  The Congolese people have suffered for years from civil wars and it is considered by many sources to be the poorest country in the world.

 

Pastor Florentine is our Congo contact, and has already been hard at work.  Although exhausted upon our arrival on Thursday evening, we were excited to visit the home of a local man who has offered his home to start a new church, where Florentine will be pastor.  It's just the man, his wife and Florentine for now, but we are confident that God will grow the church. 

 

It is now Monday, close to midnight, and I'm writing from Uganda, having arrived here around 5:00 p.m.  We did not have internet access in the Congo, so I'm just now able to give some details of our Congo ministry.  So I'll add more tomorrow – it was an incredible time there, and God has a great plan as always.  Thank you for being a part of it!

God is good – all the time!

Brenda

 

 

 

Update from Uganda

We are at the border of Uganda and the Congo– our journey has taken much longer than we had anticipated – roads are really bad especially closer to the border; there are mountain roads which make the going much slower.  We could not make it all the way tonight, so we stopped just on the Uganda side of the border and will leave at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, and we expect still about 5 more hours of travel.  Everyone is doing well, please continue to pray for our team:

Dr. Brenda

Mike and Sarah

Pastor Moses

Sess (our driver)

We will be visiting the place tomorrow where we hope to plant a new church; also doing evangelism and then a church service.  Friday we will visit a school for AIDS orphans and also meet with women who have AIDS and other problems stemming from the Congolese wars.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support.  God is good – all the time!

Dr. Brenda

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