276 children. 3 days, 2 hours each place, 3 preaching points, 3 complete VBS’ a day: Marathon VBS at Nakivale! So, we had our very first VBS out at the refugee camp. It was quite the learning experience. I had for months been considering doing something like this. There are children everywhere at the camps, and little or nothing seems to be done for them from a ministry standpoint. Overall, it went very well. The kids were super excited, and even though Anna taught the lesson through an interpreter, they listened intently. The Betty Lukins stuff we were sent was great for this. I had put the word out about needing toy cars and other prizes, and my father’s church, FBC of Bellfower sent a box full of these, which arrived three days before the VBS. Excellent timing! The cars, bracelets, and necklaces were a tremendous hit, as well as about 30 wooden crosses, which we used for memory verse prizes (these nearly sparked a riot when we tried to hand these out to the winners – this was another one of those learning experiences I mentioned). Tom and Cheryl Tracht, some of our fellow missionaries here in Mbarara, came with us and their kids, and were a HUGE help to us. We had songs (in Swahili), a memory verse for the week (also in Swahili), the Bible lesson each day, and a craft (they loved this). At Ngarama, even some of the adults colored pages (I don’t think they had ever colored before) on the last day. Our adult workers at each of the places were extremely helpful. We couldn’t have done this without their aid controlling the children and relaying instructions. The whole experience, albeit physically exhausting, was very positive, and I look forward to the next one we do, probably near the end of January.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday, I’ll be conducting their first Lord’s Supper at Sangano. The church just organized under a Constitution not long ago, so this is an important step. Pray for me that this will go smoothly. I am acutely aware of how this will likely set precedent, so I want to make sure it goes well. Continue to pray for the churches at Nakivale Refugee Camp in Uganda.

Greetings! Jeff and Carla Bassett have gone on furlough for a bit, so Djuna and I are managing the ministry out at Nakivale. The day after Jeff left, a massive storm landed on that region, and the wind tore the roof off the church building at Sangano. We had some funds in savings to help buy the car we need, so we were able to fix the damage, but now we have that much less with which to buy a car. I am grateful I had money in savings to deal with this emergency, however. As you can see, the damage was extreme, and had to be dealt with right away, because further rain would destroy the walls without a roof. I sent Djuna back on a rented truck with the iron sheets and other materials yesterday, and they will have it repaired in time for services on Sunday.

We still do not have a vehicle, so we were unable to get out there last week, and it’s looking like we will be stuck here this week also. We have a man in Kampala looking for one for us. The difficulty is that we need a quality vehicle that will not cost us a fortune in repairs in the future, but that kind of quality costs. God has graciously provided for this through the sacrifice and generosity of His people, but we still need a few more grand to get in range of the kind of vehicle we need to endure the terrible roads we travel twice a week ministering in the refugee camp. Pray our old car sells for the amount we are asking, and that we can get the right “new” car to replace it, one which will handle the roads well and endure for the long term without a lot of huge repair bills like we had with our first car. We want to get busy, but cannot until we have a vehicle to take us out there (public transport is too expensive for the long term).

I would like to expand the English class to include Juru and Sangano also (two classes on Sunday afternoon after church, and another at Sangano on Wednesdays while I’m out there). This will in time include literacy classes as well. On Wednesdays, I will be teaching through Genesis with the men, while Anna teaches the ladies. Afterwards, we do visitation with Djuna in people’s homes. I will be conducting a VBS in August, so pray for this. I’ve never attempted a VBS on this scale, and it will be a first for the camp. We could easily have three hundred children combined for all four preaching points. It’s exciting, though, and I look forward to the challenge of it. In September, I will be conducting my first baptism service on the field. We have many getting saved and needing scriptural baptism. In addition, we have many needing to be scripturally wed. God has recently supplied the toy cars we will be giving the boys for Christmas, which is awesome! We are planning to make little gift bags for all the children, boys and girls, as well as for the adults with contents more suitable for them.

We just organized the Sangano church under it’s own constitution, with Djuna as Pastor. When Jeff returns, we intend to start two more churches at two of the the other trading centers on the road to Sangano. We will be organizing Juru, Ngarama, and Kabazano as well, and leading these churches to start a church of their own, which will make 8 churches we have started, total. In time, we will need to start a Bible Institute out there, and continue to expand the churches. We intend to make the camp Baptist, and through it, have access to Congo, which is where BIMI got it’s start long ago.

Pray about our house in the States. As you well know, the lovely economy our President and his cronies have created for us has made selling our house impossible. We had been renting it, but then our tenant stopped paying her bills. She has moved out and we are seeking a new, hopefully more responsible, tenant, but in the meantime we are having to pay the mortgage on the house. This is siphoning money that should be spent on what we are doing here. We have survived so far, but this combined with the car thing has put a big strain on our finances. It is difficult to have the liberty to do things here like you want when you’re losing money on all this extraneous nonsense. Pray the house will sell, or that we can get a responsible tenant. I need this albatross to be removed from around my neck. Thank you for all your prayers!

God bless you!