Update from China

Since it began two weeks ago, Girl’s Club on Friday nights has been a real hit.  Shannon and Barbara are thrilled at the response.  For girls between the ages of 13 to 21, there just isn’t much to do around here. Karaoke clubs and bars are about the only place to hang out. Shannon and Barbara are trying to fill the need by providing a good environment where girls can come and just hang out.  Each meeting’s plan includes games, crafts and activities.  The girls in the house are also invited to meet and spend time with our guests.  Christmas has been this month’s theme.  The girls are hearing the story of Christmas and learning all about Christmas culture.  The first week they made Christmas cards and started baked dough ornaments.  The Christmas cards came with a twist. The girls were encouraged to make two cards, one for themselves and the other to be delivered to patients when Trudy and her volunteer helpers go caroling at our local hospital.  Both cards and ornaments turned out wonderfully.  The girls had a blast and some wonderful relationships are being formed. Thank you for lifting this and all the activities at OFH.

In the vine,
Tim and the clan

Meet the Masindi team!

Here are Richard and Suzan Angoma – can you see their love for Jesus radiating in their smiles? Richard is wearing the wide brimmed hat and Suzan is on his left. The Angomas direct Family Empowerment Ministry located in Masindi, Uganda. They are pictured here with some of the youth who are part of their discipleship and mentoring projects. Please pray for their ministry. They help hundreds of internally displaced Ugandans from Kitgum that were forced to flee because of the LRA. The LRA has traumatized these families. Some were abducted and forced to commit horrible atrocities, others watched loved ones hacked to death in front of them and all of them are trying to rebuild their lives with Jesus as their foundation. Richard and his family opened their 500 acre farm and gave each family a place to start cultivating. He and Suzan have committed their lives to bringing hope and healing through Jesus. Suzan is a nurse and regularly gives medical care to all the community. We sponsor a small Rabuna Fi project at the farm for women. There is a tailoring school, weekly Bible Study and they make beautiful bamboo earrings. This ministry is amazing! Look for more updates coming soon! ~Vicky

Ants…..

In Africa ants are a favorite food. Here are a few pictures of the tasty little buggers . These pictures were taken at the farm in Masindi. One anthill I saw at the farm was twice the size of a Toyota Land cruiser!

~Vicky

Harvest Time at the Farm in Masindi

One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is patience (Galatians 5:22) and l believe a farm is one of the good places to learn this virtue. At Canaan farm the past few weeks till now we have been harvesting maize (corn) planted in the months of June and July. It’s been quite a hectic process right from the time of planting to the harvesting - hectic, but we truly enjoy it!  You can see how the entire community has joined hands to help harvesting.

 

So far we have only harvested 16 of our 35 acres. At the end of each hard day’s work l always get the opportunity to share about  my  faith or just  get people to talk about  what’s God doing in their lives and finally to pray together. It’s such a joy to see how God is touching the lives of the rural farming community in His special way.  Please pray God will bring us good buyers. The yield from this harvest will carry our families until the next harvest, God willing!

~Richard Angoma

Faithful ‘disciples’ take the Word to neighboring village

These faithful saints share the Word of God with one of their neighboring villages after completing preparation training. God used them mightily!  Many from the village came forward at the end to receive Jesus and prayer.  I sat in the audience stunned at what I was witnessing.  These men and women, who are almost too shy to speak during our weekly Bible study, were boldly proclaiming the Word of God to the people of this village. They were leading worship, sharing from their hearts, and praying for the sick and those receiving Christ.  It was truly amazing! What a faithful God we serve.  


The name of the village:  Munotam, means ‘white people, think of us’.  Interesting…

Prayer Requests and Praises

This weekend our guest house in Kampala was broken into. We had one of our chaplains from Sudan at the guest house watching over it while Brian and Jill are on furlough. Our security guard came to the door asking for a drink of water and when Lino opened it there was a group of guys waiting to break in along with our security guard. Lino was severely beaten and they told him they were going to kill him. One of the thugs asked Lino, "who was going to save him now?" Lino responded with the confidence that only God can give, " Jesus Christ will save me."  

For an hour Lino fought off these four thugs until they were able to tie him up and proceeded to strangle him. Lino was able to stab the guy with his finger and he stopped choking him. The events that proceded next were a complete miracle. As they were taking stuff out of the house, Lino was able to free himself enough to deadbolt our steel garage. Then, whatever the thugs heard they ran. 

This weekend we celebrated thanksgiving and although much was stolen and the house virtually destroyed we are thankful it was Lino who was trained to handle these men. Our guest house is often a place where people come and take refuge and the Lord knew who to have there at this time. We are thankful for Lino's life and the stuff that was stolen is only material.


Please pray that these men will get caught and that the Lord will be glorified through this.


~ Far Reaching Ministries 

Amazing Story of God's healing

I met a man and his wife at the Nimule hospital. Their story touched my heart so much that I could not stop praying for them. The wife was admitted with an unknown disease. She was unable to walk or talk. The family said she was already dead. Her husband said, “I knew God was going to heal her. I just believed God and refused to listen to what others said.” It took two months before the doctors realized she was suffering from sleeping sickness. After four months she was finally able to talk again and can now walk with a cane. The whole family testifies that God supernaturally healed her. Now she shares with all who will listen that Jesus has healed her and He will heal any sinner who desires salvation. You can see the picture of the whole family here. I thank God that He is able to save to the uttermost.

~Pastor Michael Alahai Tombe

Which Insect do you think is the most dangerous?

Check tomorrow to see if your answer was right!

-          Sudan , Africa-

-          Vicky Bentley and Alison Jalinski

Attention Skilled Tradesmen

The chaplaincy training center in Nimule, Sudan is in need of upkeep and maintenance. Therefore, we are looking to put together a construction team to replace windows, paint and do various construction projects. If you are interested in joining this special team and possess skills in the areas of: carpentry, masonry, painting or tile laying, please visit our website for an application for short-term missions. The cost of the trip will be $1900 and will take place approximately the last two weeks of February 2010. 

For more information, contact Ed Gauntt or Emily Brady at (951) 677-4474. 

Thank you and we look forward to serving alongside of you in Sudan. 

Our airplane and landing strip in Sudan

Today we got to help MAF coordinate with the local government as our Nimule airstrip is being repaired. The renovations will mean our strip is 1500 meters long and 15 meters wide. This airfield has: enabled pastors and missionaries to safely bypass dangerous LRA territory, evacuated staff members who needed urgent medical care, and brought us all kinds of needed supplies. Below is a photo of our airplane on the ground here in Nimule.

 ~Vicky

Gift

As the community leaders came forward to thank us for coming, they offered this great gift of appreciation to FRM. 

Surrender

At the conclusion of our program we invited any who desired to stand and join us in a prayer to surrender their life to Jesus.  This precious little girl stood, raised her hand to heaven and closed her eyes to pray.  If only we all surrendered at this young age and allowed God to use our lives for His glory, imagine all He would do.  We are sure that God has great plans for this one, His precious daughter.

Women's Bible Study

A group of women danced and sang as they came to welcome us to their church for a teaching by Vicky Bentley on our hope of heaven.  Approximately 100 women gathered from throughout the area to join us in worship, prayer, teaching and fellowship.  They were very appreciative and welcomed up with open arms.

Love Pack Distribution

These packs are a once in a lifetime treat to most of these children.  They included a school uniform, a Love Covers shirt, a mosquito net, and pencils and paper.  They were as excited and content to receive paper and pencils as many children in the USA would be over receiving something like an IPOD.  It was wonderful to see their joy as they received and opened their packs.

Teach the Word of God

More than 1,000 students of all ages came to the program on a day when they were supposed to be home from school.  Many showed up hours before the program was to start, eagerly anticipating the day.  The school is made up of several small huts that barely provide shelter.  Nearly 200 children were packed into this classroom, crowded and hot, yet attentively listening as we shared the gospel.  What a blessing these incredible children were to us all!

Love Covers; Obbo, South Sudan

The FRM Nimule team set out this past week with a truckload of packs (more than 1,000) filled with great things for the children in need at Obo Village. The drive from Nimule took about 7 hours on dirt roads – some areas were fair, some a bit on the bumpy side, some a lot on the bumpy side.

Our Love Covers Project in Obbo, Sudan

Today we loaded the FRM lorry with 1200 Love packs filled with mosquito nets, blankets, school uniforms and supplies. We are all ready to go to Obbo and anticipate God will do a great work. We will be sharing about Jesus in a VBS style and showing the Jesus film (in Acholi, the local dialect) every night! Please pray many souls will be won. Our desire is to plant our next Calvary Chapel in Obbo in 2010. We will post more next week when we get back!

            Agape, Vicky

Allison and Therese in Kampala, Uganda

November 5, 2009: Therese and I went on embark to the Waird place (Internet Company) who is located all the way down town. It was about an hour and a half walk. Internet here is so challenging at times! It was fun walking, trying to avoid the bota bota’s (motorcycles). Therese and my hearts were touched when we almost reached our destination and we were approached by a child who needed money. Sadly, parents put their children on the streets to make the families money. How much heart breaking to see God’s children hurting. It breaks God’s heart so much!

We reached the Waird Company and was assisted and departed to head back home. The last thirty minutes of our trip it started to rain heavily. It felt so refreshing and nice. By the time we reached our house there was no dry spots on our clothes. It was an amazing walk; the rain reminds me of God’s refreshing that is so sweet!

 

November 6^th 2009: Another day in the great pearl of Africa- Kampala, Uganda. Therese and I decided to embark on a great adventure to the Acholi quarter, a village within the town where displaced people from Northern Uganda live. Two of our staff members live there with their families so we set out to visit them. Along the way we found the local car wash!      

November 6^th 2009: Therese and I left the guest house at 7:45am for the one and a half hour walk to the Acholi quarter to meet with our gardener’s wife, Joyce ( the women hugging Therese). As we walked up the hill a little girl grabbed my hand. She decided I was her very own “munu” (white person in Acholi) and reluctantly let go of my hand only after we left the market behind. Praise the Lord, the Creator of those children, they are are so adorable and sweet – I want to adopt them all!  We were warmly welcomed at Joyce’s home. She gave us a tour, as we walked I noticed tombs nearby the houses. Further down we met women working on paper beads.  They were so beautiful! We said our goodbye’s about 11:00am.

                ~Alison~

We are half way there!!

Praise God! We were granted funding today for 500 Love Packs! Please pray as we prepare to help children in Lukwor internally displaced camp in Kitgum. We will keep you updated as we plan and reach out in Jesus' name!

Shannon

The new dove at our Kampala, Uganda guesthouse

Being a missionary means we wear all different “hats.” Today we pulled together working on a mosaic in the entry way of the new apartments at our Kampala guesthouse. Kenny, the worship leader at CC Kampala, drew the dove and filled in its shape. He got too busy to finish it so we all pitched in to get it done. It was so fun, Therese and I felt like it was putting together pieces of a puzzle. It was definitely a great way to “de-stress!”  Anthony, the construction worker who came to grout and cement our artwork got to here the gospel message. Please pray for his salvation! Agape, Vicky

Calvary Chapel Vladimir - Pastor Pasha Baranov

We recently had a six person team from Calvary Chapel Bible College in Siegen visit and minister with us this month. They spent most of their time in Saint Petersburg, but have made it a point to make it as far as Vladimir. We had great two days of ministry and fellowship together. God has opened a very surprising door for us to minister in a public school. WOW! It has happened so spontaneously, from my perspective, but it was great! We had a concert, an interview with the team and the kids in the day time, sports fellowship in the evening (sports games) and bunch of IDS kids came over to our church youth group the next evening. So the kids had a chance to hear the Gospel and also some great Bible teaching. 


Please pray the seeds that were planted would be watered and start to grow. Ron Castro has sown some seeds many years ago and we are able to continue the good fellowship. We are invited to do a Christmas program in the same school in December. 


Please pray for those dear souls. Poor kids are so lost in this modern thinking.

Our New Bore Hole

This bore hole serves as the main source of water for the Infant Orphan Care Center in Kitgum, Uganda. Praise God, as this has been in the process for some time now.  

Update on the farm project in Massindi, Uganda

This letter is from one of our African laborers in the field. May it bless you richly.

Greetings in the precious name of our lord Jesus Christ. I must apologize for taking a while without hearing from me. I have spent most of my time at the farm the past couple of months with virtually no opportunity to use my computer. It has been very busy at the farm, sometimes it seemed overwhelming but God has always given us the strength and grace to continue His work.

A brief update on things here are as follows: The women weekly bible study continues with a number of new faces giving their lives to the Lord. Suzan has been taking the ladies through the gospels and she has found the New Testament commentary you gave very useful. The ladies who have been regular at the bible studies are growing and maturing in their faith. The harvest is indeed ripe but the laborers are few, there is great potential of reaching much more for Christ if there were more men and women ready to serve. We continue to mentor some young school going men and women hoping that in future they will be kingdom builders.

Last month we organized a two day pastor’s conference, we invited a number of pastors from Kigumba over to the farm to have a time of prayer and to study John Maxwell leadership principles. It was a good time of fellowship with the local pastors and a time to learn from each other.

There has been a lot of work going on at the farm on the agriculture side of things and the tractor has been so useful. This season we have plowed and planted 30 acres of maize. About 15 aces will be ready for harvest by the end of this month and another 15 acres will be ready by end of November.

Our crops have been a testimony of God’s blessing, especially with the unpredictable rains that are regular across the country. Our crops have received rain just when they needed it and l believe we may be the first in the country to have a harvest of maize this season. We are most grateful for the support of the tractor, l know l have said it in the past but l can't help but express my appreciation every time l see what we are now able to do. We are now capable of doing work we only once dreamt about.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us when harvesting starts. We continue to pray all goes well during the harvest. Our major challenge right now is storage and we are trying to make some local maize cribs. We hope to use the revenue generated from the harvest to support the work next year. Please continue to remember us in your prayers that God will continue to lead us and give us wisdom in all that we do.
I have attached a few pictures from the farm of the maize field. I have also attached Tabitha’s completed house.

In His Name,

Richard

Income Generation Project Update

The ladies in Kitgum, Northern Uganda, are making these crafts and are praying about selling them at the local bakery. The money that is generated from these will go to support them and their families. They would love for all you you to help them by praying for them as they seek the Lord's will in this matter.

Here are some pictures of the ladies working and some of the crafts they are making.

Another Soul Won For Jesus Christ

Pastor James and the team prayed for Stephen Wani who was once involved in witchcraft but now he accepted Christ as his personal savior and he brought all his chums that were given him by a witchdoctor and were burnt on Monday Sep-14^th

These were the man's charms, he burned them and turned his life around for Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord!!

Riots Rock Uganda's Capital

My return to Uganda was punctuated by the most violent riots in recent history. With 24 causalities and over 93 injuries reported, last week's riots surpass the victims of the 2008, 2005 and 1993 protests combined. 

The violence started in Kayunga District, 46 miles northeast of Kampala, over the government's refusal to grant the Prime Minister of the Buganda Kingdom access to the district to prepare for the Kings upcoming visit. Historically the land has belonged to the kingdom and those to whom the King has distributed it. More recently, however, in the absence of legal documentation, the land has been 'purchased'. As the road blockade and riots demonstrate, their remains a sharp dispute over ownership. One which isn't likely to be resolved quickly or easily. A friend recently shared her concern with me, "This issue has the potential of returning Uganda to 1985!"

Josh Carlson

Riots in Kampala, Uganda

On Thursday, September 10, riots broke out in Kampala.  The frenzy started over a “king” from a Buganda region (“Buganda” is one of the main tribes in Southern Uganda) of Uganda being denied access to a certain area.  It became a dispute between those in support of King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi of Buganda kingdom and the government under President Museveni.

The riots lasted several days.  Bullets flew and things were looted and burned down.  The police came in with tear gas, and eventually the military were called in to stop the uprising.  A total of 21 people died.  One of those people was a two-year old little boy.  A stray bullet from the streets came into his house and shot him down.
 

These riots were a reminder of the unstable world we live in- we should only put our stock and our hope in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom He will one day establish when He returns as the Prince of Peace. 

Please pray for Kampala, pray for the families of those who have lost their lives, pray again the corruption and tribalism.  Pray most of all for the believers here to reach out to the lost and make the most of every opportunity.

God bless you!

-          FRM Kampala

Take our picture, please!

As an American, I have become very accustomed to having my photograph taken. I am ashamed to admit that I shy away from the camera…often times annoyed about not being photogenic enough or just not in a picture taking mood. I have to say that I have changed my view on this issue since my recent trip to Africa. Most, if not all of the children that I had the privilege of meeting in Africa have a much different attitude about photographs. Even the sight of a camera makes their personalities come to life immediately. From shy to ecstatic individuals, they shout and dance at the prospect of having their photograph taken. They are even more amazed at the ability to see their photograph immediately on the screen before them on the digital camera that I held in my hand. Much to my surprise, my camera broke the language barriers that stood between these precious children and me. It was a beautiful sight to see fifty or more kids jumping for joy in unison as they become instant friends. I did not have to speak their language to understand the joy they shared at this simple device that I used to look at as an annoyance. I will also say that many of the kids were shy at first and as soon as they saw the camera, they wanted to be my new friend. At a scheduled stop at the Dura IDP camp to show The Jesus Film (to the kids and adults), I didn’t quite know what to expect There were three Muzungus (white people), three interpreters and hundreds of Africans, but much to my surprise, it was my camera that made these kids come to life. What a blessing it was to see that for a brief moment, these children who have so little and were born in a war torn country, were able put aside the troubles of this world and just be kids! I look forward to the opportunity to visit my new friends in the future and pray that God will use these children to change the future of Africa. 


Kelly Mejia
Far Reaching Ministries 

Making the most out of what they have

    There is a saying in Africa that Christianity is miles wide but only an inch deep. Vicky Bentley was given the vision to not only teach the women and children of Sudan but to disciple them so that they may fully understand the glory of God. She set out hosting bible studies that continued to grow but soon realized the hardship the ladies endured by trying to make it to the bible study. If the ladies spent their time at the study then it would take away from their time to earn money to support their children. Most of the women had husbands that had gone off to the war and were left to fend for themselves and their children. This is how our income generation project was formed. Now the ladies of Rabuna Fi are able to come to the bible studies and earn money to feed their families.