Matt recently met this young man (see photo below) who leads an ultimate frisbee team. A former Muslim, now a Christian, he formed this team to engage troubled youth into a fun activity, which serves as a way for him to minister to them. He was thrilled when we gave him an ultimate frisbee. We were happy to be a part of reaching youth in our community.

Christmas is about giving and we were excited to join our Pastors in distributing shoes to children for Christmas. Our pastors have a school for underprivileged children in Nakalnda and wanted to give them a special Christmas. So we joined them on the trip to the island. To add to the shoes, we contributed cookies and candy to make the day extra special for the children who otherwise wouldn’t get any gifts or treats for Christmas. After a 20 minuted drive, followed by a 20 minute boat ride, we reached the island. The children, parents and teachers were assembled on the lawn, anticipating our arrival.

After greeting everyone and appreciating them for being there, Pastor shared a bit about the year and encouraged the parents to continue to support their children. Then, as the children sat down on the ground, Angela shared the Christmas story with them and led them in singing Baby Jesus. Next, we had the children form two lines where Matt and some of the teachers helped each child to find the right size shoe. Then Pastor gave them cookies and Angela passed out the lolly pops. The children and their apprents were very appreciative. 

What a way to tangibly share God’s love. In the same way that we gave them a gift, God gave Jesus as a gift to them.

Alexis, our little missionary 

 Pastor Butch (our pastor in Uganda)

We enjoyed attending the staff and leaders Christmas party this year. Usually, we are in the US at Christmas time so we miss out on this event. It was a fun and lively evening with entertaining questions and answers, merry dancing, delicious cake and food and joyful fellowship. We had a truly fun time celebrating Jesus’ birthday as well as what He has done through us this year…touched 7,000 high school students lives!

We showed The Nativity movie last week, at a local church belonging to a pastor friend. The church was packed full with people watching (some maybe even for the first time) the story of Jesus’ birth. We even showed it a second night because the local council man wanted more people to see it!

Jesus is the reason for the season!

To bless our staff for their work this year, and for a special Christmas gift, we took them for a nice lunch at Java’s Café then for a “field trip” afterwards. Joannie ordered scrumptious American style pancakes with strawberries and maple syrup! Tevin and Agnes ordered eggs and samosas and Kristine ordered an ice cream sundae!

After breakfast, we ventured off for a field trip to Sseko Designs. This organization makes a unique style leather sandal with changeable straps. The money earned from the sale of the shoes goes towards supporting young ladies with a college education. Each of these young ladies spends about 9 months working in the organization before receiving a scholarship.

We had an enjoyable time seeing and learning how the sandals are made. The girls were delighted when we told them they could get a pair. They got to pick the straps they wanted for their sandals. Then a lady working for the organization showed them how to lace the sandal and a few different designs for tying the strap.

For more information about Sseko Designs or to purchase sandals, visit www.ssekodesigns.com.

With 75% of the people in Uganda being age 30 and under, there is a real need for youth leaders. This is the heartbeat of our ministry raising up next generation leaders. This year alone, we have trained more than 50 quality leaders who are reaching out to the youth of this nation, mentoring them and guiding them in life skills according to God’s way.

Recently, a local pastor we work closely with, asked several of these leaders we have been training to teach at a youth conference at his church.  About 50 youth attended the conference where the leaders taught on things such as self-evalutation and self-development as well challenged them to read the bible more.  The youth responded well and left the conference changed.

Wednesday and Thursday, we hosted a Courtship Conference for our leaders at the youth center. Finding a mate is a hot topic among this age group.  We had about 50 people attend between the 2 days. Our missionary friends Brent & Virginia Earwicker were the guestspeakers for the conference. They did a great job. It was nice to have them share for a number of reasons. One being that they have a godly marriage and second they are pretty well versed in local cultural views so they knew which ideas to touch on. There was much discussion about the cultural way versus God’s way as well as the world’s way versus God’s way. We really emphasized finding a mate, courting and marrying according to God’s best way as prescribed in the bible. 

We have received a lot of positive feedback and we are excited to see these leaders eager to do things God’s way!

We are proud of the leaders who have completed the leadership teachings and training. Way to go! At the Graduation ceremony, we enjoyed a delicious cake, fellowship, food and a charge from Pastor Africano, our guest of honor. Even greater than all this, was listening to all the wonderful testimonies from the leaders, how their lives have been changed through the Leadership Academy. One graduate even shared thanks from his mother, who noticed the transformation in his life! Another graduate’s father shared how much his son has changed – the joy he has that even when you tell him something bad, he still smiles and stays calm! This father said that he wants to join. We have two more amazing testimonies to tell you about….be watching for them in our September e-newsletter. You won’t want to miss them!

On Thursday, at the center, we had Orientation for the new intake in the Leadership Academy. At the end of the session, an invitation was given for a few of the students to share why they had come to the academy.  One young man, smartly dressed and exuberantly shared, “My friend used to wear bangles up his arm, but now he even cut his hair! He was worldly, but now he is so different! I had to come today tosee who had impacted his life so much to inspire such a drastic change in his life.”

It is thrilling for us see God impacting these young people and changing their lives through our program to the point that their friends what to come and join!

Raising up Next Generation Leaders in Uganda

Saturday, we barbecued Ugandan style with roasted beef on a stick, roasted matooke (green banana) and boiled cassava. Ugandans like to eat and meat is a special treat. So, this BBQ was a way to say thanks to our leaders who have been faithfully serving alongside of us this year in teaching in the schools, organizing the youth fest and helping with the camp. We had a fun time together, eating, laughing, sharing and playing volleyball. Certificates were also awarded to leaders for things like Best Attitude, Most Dedicated, Best Smile, etc.Thanks, leaders, we appreciate you!