Thursday afternoon, we received a phone call from the manager at the hall we rent for the college service basically saying that we were being booted out of the hall Friday because someone paid more money. Nevermind that we had booked before this group, yet money NOT LOYALTY or consideration prevailed. What were we going to do? There wasn’t any way to inform everyone ahead of time. Matt had just passed out over 100 flyers at one of the university campuses, inviting people to the service. Canceling the service was not an option, so we began looking for an alternative venue. Door after door kept closing. As a last resort, the manager of the hall offered us a spot on the open grass field. We took it. The service must go on.

There was a concrete platform area where we set up all the equipment. After some persuasion, we were given a 2 spotlights and a wire to connect to run power to it and our sound equipment. Thank the Lord too that it didn’t rain (we are in the rainy season). The chairs provided were not nearly enough, so many were left standing or sitting on the grass. It was a new way of doing the service. At first, I was a bit distracted with the new environment, but as I began to focus and enter into worship, I really could sense God’s presence. It was refreshing ministering under the stars, breathing in the cool evening air, and well, doing something for the first time. God certainly wasn’t moved by the situation, but He used the situation to move in our lives.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Hebrews 10:39

This past week, I ministered in Gaba Bible Institute’s chapel service. GBI was started by a missionary friend, Jeff Atherstone. They have a wonderful campus in Buloba, just outside of Kampala, that is currently accommodating 150 students with the potential to accommodate 300 students.

We are back in Uganda after being in Nairobi, Kenya for one month to deliver Moriah Faith and then spending 2 months in the US. We enjoyed our time in the States, visiting with friends and family, hosting our 5th annual Living Water fundraiser, ministering in 3 different States and seeing snow.

While we were in the US, we were blessed with sound equipment for our college service…thanks be to God and to Grace Ann Arbor! Yesterday evening was our first time to use the new equipment and it worked so well.

In a week’s time, Brett and Bobbie Scudder, along with their 2 children Emma and Ethan, are coming to serve with us for three weeks. We will be introducing them to the ministry work we are doing here and to life as a missionary. The Scudders are looking to move to Uganda, at the end of this summer, to work with us for an extended period of time.

Using the new sound equipment -

The Scudder Family -

Last night, we had a powerful service at Frayo. Hungry for God, the young people praised and worshiped with all their might. As we all pressed in, we could feel God’s presence in the room and the front filled up with those seeking God for direction. After worship, Matt delivered a word about moving away from comfort and embracing the unknown in order to enter into the promise land. The main text was from Numbers 13.

Frayo is a service for young adults between ages 20-30 years. Frayo is a slang word for Friday. The vision of Frayo is to develop leaders through refreshing worship, relevant word and real relationship with God.

It’s a blessing to be used by God to minister to others and see their lives blessed.

We had a great time celebrating our Leadership Academy graduation. We had 20 graduates with this intake. Graduates shared testimonies about what they’ve learned through the classes. Matt encouraged them to put into practice the training they’ve received. Pastor Africano, our guest speaker, commended them for completing the race. It’s exciting to release these leaders into their churches and communities to make an impact for Christ.

LEAD Uganda, a Christian based organization in Kampala, is teaching Walk Pure to the students they sponsor for education. The young man who will be teaching Walk Pure to the students was trained this year in our Walk Pure program. He’s excited to teach these 50 students and share with them about God’s plan for
purity for each of them. We are thrilled to be able to provide them with the
workbooks. God continues to use Walk Pure to touch more youth.

LEAD Uganda is a faith based organization which sponsors underprivileged children to get an education. LEAD Uganda stands for Loving Educating And Discipling leaders in Uganda.

We hadn’t heard of overnights until we moved to Uganda. Overnight meetings are quite common in Uganda. These overnights consist of prayer, preaching and praise and worship; they begin around 7  or 8 p.m. and continue till early morning.  On Friday, I was invited to preach at an overnight meeting for youth. From 11:00-12:00 p.m., I taught on Seven Steps to Answered Prayer to 150 people gathered to pray all night!

This Leadership class had 20 graduates! With more than 30 attendees, 20 of them did not miss more than 2 out of 10 classes. This class was hosted at Nakawa Pentecostal Church. Pastor Luke, the senior pastor, faithfully attended all the classes and has made us feel welcome and appreciated. Together, we are raising up leaders in Uganda!

The past couple of weeks, students have been coming back to school. Some of our leaders have been on campus at the bazaars passing out bibles and inviting campusers to Frayo. These bazaars are held especially for Freshers (freshman) who are new to campus and university life.

In lieu of the new semester, what better way to make students aware of the service than to hold service on campus, which is what we did. We enjoyed a great service – Price led us into an anointed time of worship, followed by Sifa Kilele (Joyful Noise), who had people laughing with their humorous skit. Next, Matt delivered and inspiring Word challenging us to a life of sacrifice to see the lost on campus saved. After the message, Streams of Life astounded everyone with their dancing skills then everyone enjoyed sweet fellowship and snacks.

Next month’s service will be held at our usual venue. Many of the students came up to us after the service sharing how much they enjoyed it and have not ever experienced a service like it before. It’s been exciting to have Christians of all denominations attend as well as non-Christians.

“Wow, we really needed to hear that message. It’s been a rough month for students, escaping from school and coming back drunk. Now, we expect things to change.” – Matron @ Eagles Nest School

Matt ministered today on moving from the safe zone to the faith zone, encouraging the youth to not be content with living a life of complacency, but instead to live a life of growth and constant change for the better. The main text was out of Exodus when the Israelites felt trapped – they had the Egyptians closing in on them on one side and the Red Sea on the other. They began complaining to Moses that it would have been better to have stayed in Egypt as slaves rather than move on to the promise land. The Israelites would have rather stayed in a life of complacency because it was safe rather than step out in faith to go to the promise land, because they feared unfamiliarity and the unknown. How easy it is for us to get stuck in a rut or to get comfortable and never step out or challenge ourselves to change. Although we might not be living in the best of conditions (spiritually, mentally, physically, financially), we would rather stay “comfortable” than risk being “uncomfortable” by trying something new. God is calling us to step out, to make a change, to grow, to go from glory to glory and He will help us when we take this step, whatever the challenges.