Uganda October 2019 Day 2

The day began with a piercing blue sky and God’s creation on display. The mountains on the horizon were enormous and green, covered in lush vegetation. God had blessed us with the perfect prelude to worship and praise.

Pastor Fred picked us up and brought us to his church, the 11th church plant he has started over the past dozen years. We were met like royalty as children poured out of the church building, smiling, waving and excited to get the first look at these very special guests. A short Bible study was concluding as several women and children ushered us to our seats of honor.

However the honor did not belong to us, but to the most joyful, uplifting worship we had ever experienced. Woodmen worship is great, but these members of the body sang with abandon unmatched. They gave opportunity for members of the body to share and two spoke of God’s healing and provision for them and their family. Song followed song and the unbridled joy was evident not only on the worship singer’s faces but the enthusiasm of the congregation as well.

The Spirit of God is active in Uganda...and so are the children. As the service progressed we were smothered with smiling children who wanted nothing more than to sit beside us and on our laps. Well, maybe a little bit more. Pastor Kevin’s watch was passed around from child to child who all wanted to look at it and try it on. I guess Kevin took his watch off because he was told he needed to preach for an hour but had a 30 minute sermon. God blessed and as Pastor Fred translated we all agreed that God spoke through Kevin with the best message he ever preached.

The nearly three hour service sped by and we finally were able to sadly tear ourselves away, being followed by a couple dozen children waving and running after the van as we headed to Fred’s home for lunch. We were met with such generosity that words cannot describe.

Fred and his wife Edna live in a humble home, which he is building, shared by 14 other family members, only five of which are theirs. The rest are extended family that he is now responsible for since his father, who was poisoned by his closest friend, passed away two weeks ago. Fred is a bi-vocational Pastor, working at CURE as the spiritual director and pastoring his church while farming a subsistence one-acre farm to feed his family. The amount of food placed before us was overwhelming and his family waited in another room until we had finished eating, wanting us to be fed first and then they would eat what was left. If that was not enough, his 18-month old daughter had been taken to the hospital the night before to receive IV antibiotics for pneumonia and he and his wife already had taken her back this morning at 7:00 a.m. for her second dose. There was never a complaint or any indication that this was a huge sacrifice. We were all humbled by their generosity and genuine hospitality.

God is at work in Mbale and Satan is attacking the Body there and this incredible servant and his family. Please pray for them and the ministry there. Islam is growing at a mind boggling rate. Mosques are multiplying, and we drove past the largest Muslim school/college in East Africa. The campus is composed of dozens of buildings on hundreds of acres. Their goal is to build a Mosque every 5 kilometers (3.7 miles). Pray.

We have been here a short time, but are convicted by the blessings we have and the lack of awareness and gratitude we give to God for them. Thank you to each of you who gave to make this trip possible and for your faithful prayer.

- Bruce Deitsch

- Bruce Deitsch