Sunday evening on the way back to the guesthouse three of our group (one Ugandan and two Mzungu) decided to go into a bar and share. A table of three men invited them over to visit. They come to that bar nightly and had been there for a while already that night. The Word of God was shared. They told the men they could have eternal joy instead of temporary happiness from their drink. The men said they don't get any happiness from their drink, they just numb themselves from their hopelessness. The four men invited our three men to come back the next night.
Monday night our men returned and did not find the four so they went door to door sharing. Apparently the barmaid went and told the men that our guys had come and they hurried to the bar. When our men returned to the bar they were greeted eagerly. The men said GOD had given them new birth and they were now followers of Christ. They wanted prayer so that they would have additional peace. The four men from the bar shared with the barmaids and asked if they could meet again the following night.
Tuesday night the four men were there along with six friends they were sharing with. Those six wanted to follow Christ. The next night eight more. One of the men owns some properties and is making them available for three house churches that are being started for these men and others they are reaching. A special baptism ceremony has been arranged for them this weekend. We serve a mighty GOD!
Eric
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Day Something-er-other - Meghan
Africa continues to be the most amazing place. The Lord has been doing amazing things and these people have blessed me more than I can say. These people, even those who are in the slums, or the teenagers in a school we were at (they had been through more than I can imagine) have such JOY in their Savior. It's gotten to the point where I kind of see their poverty as a blessing. That may sound strange but in the U.S. we have so much. So much stuff. We may not always realize it but we rely on our stuff. We never have to worry about if we'll have another meal, if we'll have enough money for our rent in the slums, if we'll be able to get medicine for all the diseases and illnesses. We have the assurance of a roof over our head, clothes on our back and food in our belly. It's easy to forget that all of that comes from God. We are blessed by Him and we are blessed by Him so that we can bless others. These people know that it is the Lord who provides. They know that HE is enough. His grace is enough. Having so little makes it easy to see that we are nothinhg on our own, that without Christ we are hopeless.
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes from Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of you who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only hold true to what we have attained. Brothers, join in imatating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself."
-Philipians 3:7-21
This is what the Lord is showing me through these precious people.
MeghanBooth
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes from Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of you who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only hold true to what we have attained. Brothers, join in imatating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself."
-Philipians 3:7-21
This is what the Lord is showing me through these precious people.
MeghanBooth
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Today
What an amazing day the Lord has made!! This morning i was mistaked for a movie star! I got the honor of leading my adoring fan to Christ! And a woman offered to marry me!! :) As the day progressed it got even better!! After we went to eat lunch we went to a sex slave rehab center. I had the privilege of sharing my story with 13 victims today! It was so awesome to talk to somebody who could relate to me and what iv been threw. After we shared we played sports.. They got skill.. Tomorrow we see orphans!
Follower of christ,
Adam
Follower of christ,
Adam
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day 4 - Adam
Today was the hardest day for me so far. My translator (Universe) has to ship back out on a UN Peace keeping mission. All though iv only known him for a few days i feel as i have known him my whole life. Its a bond that cant be broken. Please keep this man in your prayers. My heart breaks for the children here. There life is full of witchery and witchcraft and Muslims and false idol worship. One child stood out from the rest to me today though. She was a Born Again (Christian) and so i asked her if i could pray for her and she said she would love that. I asked her what her needs are and she said " All i want is wisdom so i can serve my God" This broke my heart. She was by far one of the poorest people iv seen here and out of everything she could have asked for she asked for wisdom. I know many people who live in the United States ( including my self) that would have asked for Money, Power, or Physical health or a bright future, ect. We who call our self Christian' in the United States have more money than these people could ever wish to have yet we ask for more. We have better health than almost any other country yet we ask to be better. We have more Power than any other country in the whole world. Yet we want more. Is there not something wrong with this logic? Of course there is! I witnessed to a man today and he was also bed ridden from malaria. He said he had no hope. Till we showed up at his front door. He gave his life to Christ today and now has hope. Some men were in a bar and some members of the team witnessed to them the other day.. The holy spirit convicted them early on.. As soon as they heard the message. The translators phone rang off the hook all night from these men. They had so many questions. So today the same people went back to meet with them. Before they could even get any words out the men said they wanted to give there life to Christ. And that they wanted to go to OTHER bars and tell OTHERS about Christ. The slums broke my heart today. We talked to a group of women who smoked pipe to get rid of the pain. As we explained to them that this god that they worship will not last forever they began to listen. Then Satan fogged all there eyes.. All except one. She gave her life to christ right there! :). Im seeing how Jealous my God truly is. He doesn't just want the wealthy and and physically healthy. But he wants the poor and physically sick, the drunks, the naked and homeless. My God is a beautifully jealous God. I don't know how many people really read this but if you are then tomorrow or on the day that you read this just open your eyes to the poverty that all around us. It may not be physical poverty. But look at all the spiritual poverty that we have in our "Christian" country. The United States is a lot like Uganda in a way. EVERYBODY here is a Christian. But only a few are Born Again. I feel that this is exactly the way the United States is. I feel that we have forgotten who really provides EVERYTHING in our life. And because of this we are Lazy in our walk with Christ.
In Love,
Adam Patterson
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
In Love,
Adam Patterson
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Gayaza -Kampala Rd,Kampala,Uganda
Day 3/Day 4
Day 2 and 3 have been such a whirlwind. Yesterday we were going to go to a prison in the Katanga Slum. It rained so heavily that morning that we had to skip out on that part. So went ahead and went to the Garden City Mall. Callie and I were set on chicken and mushroom pizza but the pizza place was closed. So ordered chicken fried rice from The Woc. Not 5 minutes after we ordered, the pizza place opened. We were all a little disappointed. From there we went to the most fun gathering I have ever been to. A Ugandan baptism. Very very different from a baptism back home. First of all, it took place in Lake Victoria. That's only the biggest lake in Africa. Africa is a rather large place if you haven't already heard. Second of all, there were close to 40 Africans singing in Lugandan and dancing as their brothers and sisters in Christ came walking out of the water. The people coming out of the water were even dancing! The last reason I had so much fun is because I met my new best friend. He didn't say much. He was three years old and his name is Musa. I will definitely be showing everyone pictures. One of the ladies getting baptized passed him off to me so she could get in the water. He rode on my shoulders the whole time as we sang, danced, and watched the people be dunked. I never actually saw him smile. But someone said he had a grin on his face while we were bouncing to the song. That put a smile on my face. I'll never forget those eyes, there was so much pain and sorrow, but at the same time they could switch to pure joy in one second. After the baptism I didn't want to let go, but his sister came to me and said "We must leave now.". Those words cut like a knife. When she took his hand to walk away he looked back as they climbed in the van, smiled, and waved. I thought I was going to lose it.
After the baptism we went to a local ice cream place and it was amazing. I had orange ice cream and the bottle of sprite. Part of the sprite ended up on Kenneth(one of our translators). A group of us wound up ministering to two men in the ice cream shop. After that we came back to the hotel, ate dinner, and crashed.
The next morning we visited another slum. Would you believe that we converted a Muslim missionary by telling the story of the woman at the well, AT the well!?! Well believe it. Because it happened. More on that later.
In the afternoon we visited another slum. I got to share the gospel with a catholic witch doctor. I was terrified. But Benon helped me through it. She didn't accept Jesus, but it was clear on her face that a seed was planted.
That's all for now.
One love
Tucker
After the baptism we went to a local ice cream place and it was amazing. I had orange ice cream and the bottle of sprite. Part of the sprite ended up on Kenneth(one of our translators). A group of us wound up ministering to two men in the ice cream shop. After that we came back to the hotel, ate dinner, and crashed.
The next morning we visited another slum. Would you believe that we converted a Muslim missionary by telling the story of the woman at the well, AT the well!?! Well believe it. Because it happened. More on that later.
In the afternoon we visited another slum. I got to share the gospel with a catholic witch doctor. I was terrified. But Benon helped me through it. She didn't accept Jesus, but it was clear on her face that a seed was planted.
That's all for now.
One love
Tucker
My God is an awsome God
Today was the hardest day for me so far. My translator (Universe) has to ship back out on a UN Peace keeping mission. All though iv only known him for a few days i feel as i have known him my whole life. Its a bond that cant be broken. Please keep this man in your prayers. My heart breaks for the children here. There life is full of witchery and witchcraft and Muslims and false idol worship. One child stood out from the rest to me today though. She was a Born Again (Christian) and so i asked her if i could pray for her and she said she would love that. I asked her what her needs are and she said " All i want is wisdom so i can serve my God" This broke my heart. She was by far one of the poorest people iv seen here and out of everything she could have asked for she asked for wisdom. I know many people who live in the United States ( including my self) that would have asked for Money, Power, or Physical health or a bright future, ect. We who call our self Christian' in the United States have more money than these people could every wish to have yet we ask for more. We have better health than almost any other country yet we ask to be better. We have more Power than any other country in the whole world. Yet we want more. Is there not something wrong with this logic? Of course there is! I witnessed to a man today and he was also bed ridden from malaria. He said he had no hope. Till we showed up at his front door. He gave his life to Christ today and now has hope. Some men were in a bar and some members of the team witnessed to them the other day.. The holy spirit convicted them early on.. As soon as they heard the message. The translators phone rang off the hook all night from these men. They had so many questions. So today the same people went back to meet with them. Before they could even get any words out the men said they wanted to give there life to Christ. And that they wanted to go to OTHER bars and tell OTHERS about Christ. The slums broke my heart today. We talked to a group of women who smoked pipe to get rid of the pain. As we explained to them that this god that they worship will not last forever they began to listen. Then Satin fogged all there eyes.. All except one. She gave her life to christ right there! :). Im seeing how Jealous my God truly is. He doesn't just want the wealthy and and physically healthy. But he wants the poor and physically sick, the drunks, the naked and homeless. My God is a beautifully jealous God. I don't know how many people really read this but if you are then tomorrow or on the day that you read this just open your eyes to the poverty that all around us. It may not be physical poverty. But look at all the spiritual poverty that we have in our "Christian" country. The United States is a lot like Uganda in a way. EVERYBODY here is a Christian. But only a few are Born Again. I feel that this is exactly the way the United States is. I feel that we have forgotten who really provides EVERYTHING in our life. And because of this we are Lazy in our walk with Christ.
In Love,
Adam Patterson
In Love,
Adam Patterson
Day 3 - Adam
Yesterday some people told us that "if only i lived in america i would be able to sin no more" i find this interesting because i was under the impression that if only i lived in the slums.. if only i didn't have the distractions that america has.. But Jesus saves from the American dream. today has been different than the others. it started slow on about on rain. so we were not able to go to the prison. We ate lunch at the normal place (garden city mall) I GOT PIZZA!! :) Next it was to the baptism. before the baptism Eric bet me 20,000 euro's the i couldn't catch a pelican.. i took that bet.. i lost..Then came the baptism! It was so amazing to witness and be apart of this experience! It was in a lake (one of the largest in the world) they baptized so many people . I took a lot of pics. Soon after i got the chance of a life time to witness to a witch doctor! It was so compelling! i could feel God completely speaking threw me! this has never happened to me before.. i loved it.. Its amazing what you can do when you put your self in situations where God is all you have to fall back on. His name is Tom. Please pray for him.
I'm a mzungu,
Adam
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Gayaza -Kampala Rd,Kampala,Uganda
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