Patong Outreach - Aug 2009

“He has sent me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” (Zech. 2:8).  Jesus is after glory…His name to be glorified in the people and the nations that know Him and the ones that don’t.  “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” (Jn.17:1b).

Our only cry is “Glorify your name, Lord, in ALL the earth!”  He is doing just that in village after village all throughout northern Uganda!

We have just returned from four days in Patong, which is very rurally located in northeastern Uganda, in the district of Pader. This area was hit the very hardest during the war, with the most deaths, devastations, and still the highest number of unreturned abductees. The gospel is urgently needed, the preaching of the Word with power, to truly see the transformation of hearts that will eventually transform a nation.

We sent a small team of intercessors a week ahead of us, to find the believers in the area and begin uniting them
in prayer. And then Benjamin led the team of 30 Acholi plus myself, a mixture of staff and community volunteers serving in evangelism, music, children’s ministry, cooking, Bible teaching, and preaching. We piled into our three reliable vehicles and road over dusty pitted roads for 5 hours to this northern area which has recently been a camp of 45,000 plus people during the peak of the war.

Upon arriving, some of the team set up our speakers and equipment in a large open field for the evening crusade. Others began cooking beans and cornmeal for the hungry staff and believers working with us. And, the rest began prayer walking around the village and meeting grounds.

As late afternoon approached, the cultural praise and worship began on the open field ground, intercessors continued to walk the area quietly, and the crowd began forming. About 6 pm Benjamin began preaching with passion and anointing to over a thousand people. He then led them right into ministry time, with the Holy Spirit moving mightily in their midst. There were healings, deliverances, and many giving their lives to Jesus Christ.
The move of the Holy Spirit continued until almost 10 pm that evening under a clear and starlit night. Jesus glorified His name amongst hungry and hardened hearts alike!

Saturday morning began with early morning devotions and sharing for the team, some having been up all night in prayer. Then several of the team began a children’s crusade on the grounds. There was singing, Bible study programs, a large Jesus march through the town center, and then a feeding of several hundred children.

At the same time, door to door evangelism was organized by the rest of the team members. They divided into pairs and shared the love and salvation of a living Savior in large areas of outlying villages. Over 60 came to the Lord Jesus in salvation that morning!

As these other events were taking place, a small group of intercessors led by Kenneth were in their own arena of spiritual warfare. Kenneth is a Ugandan military Brigadier, who was captured by Kony at the start of the LRA war almost 20 years ago. He fought as Kony’s right hand man for the whole length of the war. Then the Ugandan military recaptured him a few years ago. By that time, the war was coming to an end, and as he was retirement age anyway. He was free to live a civilian life, although in great danger of revenge and hostility from his own community.

But Kenneth became radically born again a year and a half ago! Since then he has never stopped coming to the House of Prayer downtown - day and night ministering to the Lord, getting grounded in the Word, being discipled, getting more and more delivered, discipling others, and coming with us on every prayer and mission event we have been on since his conversion. He was keen to the spirit world prior to salvation and since his salvation is just as keen now to the voice of the Holy Spirit. God speaks to him freely in dreams and open visions, and he gives himself continually to the ministry of prayer and the Word. He, as well as several others at the House of Prayer, are some of Benjamin and my strongest prayer covering on the ground here, going with us wherever we travel, and keeping a hedge of constant prayer surrounding us.

That Saturday, Kenneth felt from the Lord that he was to pray on a certain mountain nearby and as he looked for a guide to take him there along with three other prayer warriors, they found a boy with a story. The mountain that God was pointing out to Kenneth was in fact confirmed by this boy to be a place of constant animal sacrifice to the gods of the surrounding villages. They set off on a 2 hour hike to the top of the mountain to pray with the boy guiding them.

The team spent some time praying on the mountain, repenting for the sins of the land, committing the whole district and villages back to God, praying the Word, and worshipping together. As they began their descent down, they found they were being surrounded by very angry villagers and chiefs from three surrounding villages, demanding why they were “frustrating their gods.” They encircled Kenneth and the team and demanded restitution of a goat immediately so they could offer it to their gods and appease their anger.

Kenneth refused and began to share with them about the love and power of a living God. They became angrier and threatened to harm him if he didn’t grant their request. They allowed him to make a phone call to Benjamin, thinking he would be asking for help from him to grant their demand. Instead, Benjamin loaded up three believers from the larger village we were in into the truck and headed off to locate Kenneth and his team on the foot of the mountain. They found them surrounded by furious villagers and chiefs. Seeing that Kenneth was about to be hurt, Benjamin motioned for him to get into the truck.

The following two hours found Benjamin and the three believers with him sharing the gospel earnestly with these angry men and reasoning with them that their dead and powerless gods were in no way able to save, love, or deliver any of them. They shared the power of a living Savior and His incredible love and sacrifice for every man, woman, and child.

I am reminded again of Romans 1:16 “For I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD TO SALVATION FOR EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES.” It’s reality! We see it at work daily!

And that is exactly what they saw again that afternoon. The Gospel of Jesus Christ drawing and convicting men’s hearts to Jesus, for the glory of God! At the end of that two hours, the leading chief, who was also the main witch doctor in the area, gave his life to Jesus and rode with the team back to the central village where the crusade was being held that evening. He gave open testimony that night of his conversion, his renunciation of witchcraft, and his decision to follow Jesus as the Lord of his life. As a result of his testimony, many others in witchcraft and the occult were saved and delivered that night, and there was a mighty celebration in the camp!
Jesus again, glorified His name in the midst of us! At the end of the crusade, the Jesus movie played late into the night, drawing many others to the foot of the cross.

Sunday found us gathering all the believers from the surrounding villages areas and throughout the region for a mass worship service. I was asked to teach, and God put on my heart the message of “Breaking the old covenants and walking in the blessing and power of the New Covenant.” We had a tremendous time again after the teaching, seeing many salvations, healings, and deliverances. “You will KNOW the truth and the TRUTH will set you free.”

Isn’t this exactly what Jesus commanded us to do? “But GO….to the lost sheep….and as you GO, preach saying, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matt. 10:6-8).

After the service, a large crowd gathered at the river for a joyous Baptismal service. The closest body of water was muddy and stagnant, but the vibrant joy of Jesus, flowing like rivers of living water out of the bellies of His people, more than made up for it! There was singing, dancing, clapping, and rejoicing as one after another went into the water to make a public declaration of their living and committed faith in following hard after Jesus the rest of their lives! 60 were baptized that day, and again Jesus glorified the name of His Father through each precious life!

Mid-afternoon found people gathering in the large open field in the center of the village again for a soccer game between our team and the villagers. These times of fun, laughter, fellowship, and togetherness are not only healing and joyful, but they also draw the youth and adults alike into the circle of friendship to receive the gospel even more readily. It attracts those that may not have otherwise come, and we see how often the Lord has used sports evangelism, along with any tool or resource we have on hand, to bring people to the message of His saving love. And that is what He did that day. Following the game, the participants stayed and joined in the praise and worship that was beginning the evening crusade time.

Again the Lord moved mightily that night, and as the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of hundreds of people, many more gave their lives to Him in salvation, many others were healed, and others renounced witchcraft, the occult, and the powers of darkness that had bound their lives and their families. One life and one village at a time, Jesus is changing the land, from the inside out, and all for HIS glory alone!!

Monday morning we gathered with the Christian leaders in the area and those who joined us from the surrounding villages, and we listened to them pour their hearts out on the need for teaching, discipleship, equipping the believers for the work of the ministry, Bibles, literature, encouragement, and food. There has been a severe drought in the north because of an extended dry season. Although the rains finally came, the seeds that had been planted all died.  Therefore, crops are sparse, if any at all.

We brought with us sacks of cornmeal to distribute for the hunger needs, which we handed out to smiling and overwhelmingly grateful people that morning. We also brought Bibles with us, and the joy on the faces was indescribable! One of our staff taught the Bible distribution class to almost 20 church leaders that morning - on how to use the Word of God, rightly dividing it, personal and corporate Bible study classes, and then how to distribute the Bibles to many spread out families and villages requiring accountability to the Word as they give it away freely.

As we teach them, they will now go and teach others as they distribute the Bibles they received. They learned that morning that the Word of God is free, but not cheap. It cost Him everything - His own life to give us His living Word, and it cost other people much to see that it finally reached the hands of the hungry. To whom much is given, now much is required. And as they have freely received, they are to freely give.

Eagerly they embraced their Bibles, held them close, rubbed them, wept, lifted them up to heaven and breathed “thank you’s” again and again. As these go now and teach others, sharing with them the Bibles that were placed into their hands, they will bring back testimonies of how God’s Word is bringing more and more to salvation, to healing, and to deliverance just by the reading of it aloud.

We have seen this all throughout northern Uganda already, with over 6,000 Bibles distributed from border to border! They are accountable now to “go and do something with the Word, something that you have not already been doing” such as door to door evangelism, teach a children’s class, having a home Bible Study group, read it aloud in the market place among the non-literate, and any other such commitment.  As they do, they are to bring back testimony of what the power of the Word of God is doing on a daily basis as it is shining His light into the darkest of regions! Why should we ever expect anything less, when it is His Word, powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, that is delivering His people!  “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:47).

We also distributed teaching material for new believers translated into the Acholi language as well as Bible study material for the prison ministry and the home groups to now be conducted. We also had several solar powered “God’s Story” players. These contain 64 Bible stories in their own language from Genesis to Revelation including the gospel message. This is an incredibly powerful tool for the high number of non-literate groups in the area, and these men will now “run” with these tools, share them in scattered communities around, and live to testify of the goodness of the Lord in the fruitfulness of these seeds!

Mighty is our God, and greatly to be praised!

As the team loaded up to leave that day and begin the long and bumpy five hour journey home, it was again with part of our hearts left behind with “Please come back and bring us more. We are so hungry for the truth, so hungry to be taught, and so hungry to see our land changed and turn to Jesus.”

And we will go back! It is only as you, our dear friends and partners in the gospel, keep sending us and going with us in prayer, that we can keep on going.

A portable Bible School will follow now in Patong with our trained team of Bible teachers who will live in the camp with the people and teach the Word daily for 2 months. They will continue doing door to door evangelism as a part of the practical training. They will also hold children’s clubs where hundreds of children and youth will be taught the Word of God daily, many of them bringing their parents to salvation at the same time. They will have weekend community outreaches and teach community health in the mornings before the Bible school starts focusing on nutrition, sanitation, and disease prevention. They will have counseling and preparation for the Trauma Counseling team to come in and follow the Bible School training. Then they will celebrate at the end of the 2 months with a large baptism service for all the new believers, a graduation celebration, a Bible distribution, and a commissioning for church leaders to be set in place.

If a church is needed in the area, one will be planted with strong leadership and oversight. There are about 6 small churches in the area now, averaging 50-100 people each - and that is in an area of over 50,000 adults with still much occult and darkness. Each of these little churches will see great growth and strengthening, spiritually and numerically, throughout the Bible School.  And gradually the darkness is being extinguished by the light of His glorious gospel!!

Along with planting a church in many of these rural areas, a simple physical structure may be put in place. However, this is difficult because of the post war resettlement. People are trying to resettle in their villages after a 20 year war.  They are having to rebuild homes out of the dry and barren ground, often with no tools, roofing material, or water supplies. The tools that were given by government agencies to help people rebuild were “pocketed” in the midst of the corruption that is still so existent in the land. Oftentimes, people go back to their land to find that their wells have caved in, and that there are no remaining bricks left where their homes used to be. On top of all this, the long drought they’ve just come through has made the hope of “starting over and having a better life” very grim.

Having to build a simple church structure in a village that is doing all they can to survive and rebuild homes for their families and children is an overwhelming thought for a resettling community. Meeting under a mango tree is not always conducive in the changing seasons, although that does take place in many areas. The small mud huts that people live in are also not conducive to house church meetings because of their size. So the joy at seeing a church structure go up is uncontainable! Even with simple bamboo poles and tarpaulins for the roof, it is as priceless as a palace. The singing and dancing, shouts of joy, and uncontainable celebration that reaches on for miles is a testimony of the treasure this house of prayer is to whole community.

We are beginning to believe God for greater and greater resources to put in better church structures with the growth of His Kingdom. Along with planting a church, there is the follow-up, oversight, strengthening, continued teaching, and equipping that must go on. Our teaching teams make the journey around to see the work of God continue to grow with strength and stability.

We are also believing the Lord to help us put in place a small income generating project with each of the churches being planted that will help support the new pastor and the church community. They will be better able by having a livelihood to tithe and spread the gospel faster. Some of the projects may be in the form of seeds for agriculture, cows for ploughing their fields, chickens, goats, or a pig project. At least this is a beginning for sustenance and increase to come to and through the body of Christ in these rural areas. We have already completed oxen and chicken projects in one area, and are seeing great unity and fruitfulness blessing the church families.

These are the people that Jesus loves! Of these He says, “I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they shall be called the sons of the living God.” (Rom. 9:25,26).

As we reach out together to others to see them gathered as lost sheep into the sheepfolds and see their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you and I both are laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust will never destroy! Where the thieves can never break in and steal, nor can the stockmarket destroy! These will be the only treasures that will ever really last! And their value far surpasses any earthly wealth!!

As we have done these missions in Palabek, Padebe, Nebbi, Bya Bya, on the Sudan and Congo borders, and many other places - almost 100 locations now, the light of the glory of God is shining brighter and brighter all over northern Uganda! As the work goes on, the harvest is plentiful and the laborers few! We pray daily, “Lord send us more help - those who will labor with us financially, by serving, through prayer, and by coming to see for themselves.”

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19,20). I believe Jesus really meant that when He commanded us to obey it, and the same command is for all His children.

Pray how God wants to use you, your time, your resources, your love, and your obedience to disciple nations and advance His Kingdom.

May we challenge you to roll up your sleeves and be willing to make sacrifices for His kingdom, knowing that no sacrifice you ever make will even come close in measurement to the sacrifice He made for you!

May this be your testimony and mine one day, spoken from the mouth of Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your Lord.” (par. Matt.25:21).

We can only advance his Kingdom together! He needs you and we need you!

Much love from the whole Favor of God Family,
Carole