We attended Easter service at Elim Church. It was so good to see our church family after months of being away. We were asked to greet the church and reintroduce Alexis, since the last time she was there she was only 3 weeks old. Now, she’s 5 months. Following the service, we joined the pastor, his family and the secondary (high school) students (boarders) for lunch Ugandan style…matooke, rice, irish (potatoes), beans, g-nut sauce.  And after lunch, we went to a friend’s for bbq American style…hamburgers, hotdogs, cole slaw, fruit salad. We were blessed to enjoy a bit of both cultures on Easter.

How did you celebrate Easter?

Pastor Butch & Alexis

Pastor Butch, Ricky, Matt

Students serving food

Sitting in the living room this morning, I heard a beautiful chorus of voices singing in Luganda. The sound seemed to get closer, so curious to know where the sound was coming from, I looked outside. And just over our compound wall, I saw what looked like a cross. I called Matt to come quickly and he walked out our gate to see a procession of Christians walking past our house singing and carrying a cross. I was blessed by their act of declaration of the Lord’s crucifixion.

We are proud of our staff in Uganda for kick starting this year of ministry! While we we’ve been in the US, our staff team is training a new group of leaders, organizing the youth outreach, recruiting new leaders for the upcoming training and managing the leaders who are currently teaching Walk Pure in the high schools.

A couple staff and some of the leaders who’ve been trained

Want to change a life? Want your life to be changed? You will have that opportunity July 21-August 4, 2010. Join the Living Water missions trip to Kampala, Uganda, where you will minister to youth in the schools, help with an all day youth outreach event for thousands of youth, try authentic Ugandan food, and experience a new culture! YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS YEAR’S TRIP led by Rochelle Wamsher and Sarah Ewing. For more information, contact us on matt@livingwatermin.org.

Thank you to all who made this event a success. We had a wonderful time again at Palazzo di Bocce. It was so good to reunite with friends and church family we hadn’t seen in a year. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time fellowshipping, playing bocce and of course eating the declicious food. For those of you who were unable to attend this year, you were missed! Hope to see you at the next annual fundraiser for Living Water.

The miniature beach balls were a big hit with the 50 children we ministered to on Saturday. Steve told the story of Noah and the Ark then each child received their own coloring sheet. Maggie and Angela led the children in some children’s songs, which they enjoyed. Bonny passed out a Noah’s Ark coloring sheet to each child. The children took their time coloring wanting to do their best. We also played outside with the children. Each child got their own miniature beach ball! They were so excited. It was a really fun time teaching and playing with the children.

Today, we had a prayer and share breakfast for pastors in the area. We prayed together for the youth of this nation and we shared with the pastors about the bible school we will be launching in Jan 2010. The aim of the bible school is to train youth pastors and leaders. As far as we know, this is the only bible school of its kind in Kampala. Senior and associate pastors are also welcome, but our main focus is to train youth pastors. We want to thoroughly equip them to raise up next generation leaders in Uganda. The pastors were very excited and seem eager to send young people from their church for this training. Please pray with us as we launch this training school in January for God to bring the right people who will transform this nation!

Last Friday, was our monthly youth outreach. We had a sports eve as they call it here. We had a volleyball tournament Buganda Royal’s college team versus the Revolution leaders team. More than 50 young adults turned up to the event and had a wonderful time. There was also a time of relay games.

Through these outreaches, we aim to attract young adults and college students to get them involved with our leadership training program. We want to see them excel in their leadership skills and abilities and from among those who do well, we select the leaders who will teach the youth in the high schools. Below are some photos from the event. Enjoy.

In the US, it’s back to school time for children, youth and college students alike. The same is also true here in Uganda. Whereas the college students are beginning a new school year, the elementary and high school students are wrapping up the last term of their school year.

We are going back into the schools to teach Walk Pure for the last term of the school year. In the last term, it’s a bit tricky fitting in all ten lessons because it is the shortest term of the year, with only 5-6 weeks of teaching before the students begin their year end exams. Our leaders are committed to working diligently to see to it that they complete the Walk Pure teachings. Most of them have started teaching this week. Please pray for the students receptiveness to the purity message and for the cooperation of the school administration. We want to finish this year strong!