06 September 2012

Pouches of Prayer ~by Vicky Bentley

This October, Anne Graham Lotz is coming to Uganda! For the past two years, she has been preparing for Rooted in More of Jesus, a series of workshops to equip the leaders as Warriors of the Word! She said, “We at AnGeL Ministries are standing on tiptoe in our spirits to watch God build up His people by rooting them in the Word, establishing them in His Holy Spirit and allowing us the privilege of loving them in action!” 

Richard & Suzan Angoma
Amen…We also cannot wait to watch God revive this land we so dearly love. For the last few months Lily Eastham and I have had the privileged of serving AnGeL Ministries. In August, Tim Turner their Special Events Coordinator came to finalize all our plans for the seminars. 
Tim, Lily, and I set off from Kampala for Gulu. I arranged for us to visit Canaan Farm…which any of you who know Richard & Suzan, or have been here, can testify it is like a little slice of heaven on earth!!!!! Seriously, you feel God’s presence in the moist African air, you see His artistic demonstrations of love painted across the sky every dawn and every dusk, you sense His arms of love as the women of Rabuna Fi welcome you will ululations and hugs, and you will never get tired of witnessing life springing forth from death as the farms come alive each season and the saints press closer into Jesus…
 
We started with a grand tour of the ministry climaxing when Richard & Suzan crowned their vision statement by telling Tim how delighted the people of Uganda are that “the daughter of Billy Graham would come all the way to Uganda!  I was beaming as we crossed the road leading up to the Canaan Vocational Training Center (where the women of Rabuna Fi meet each week for Bible study, literacy training, fellowship and income generating activities) because I knew Tim was in for a special treat... 
 
Pouch of Prayer
The women greeted Tim with a song of praise to our Savior and King, Jesus Christ, in their native Acholi language. Lily and Tim were speechless ~ such an outpouring of worship toward God and love towards us, as brethren in the Lord, is unforgettable. It whets the appetite for heaven!
I asked Tim to share the vision of Rooted in More of Jesus. The room exploded with applause…you see these women really do understand that only Jesus can heal. They are all victims of the violence that displaced and nearly destroyed the precious people of the northern-most regions in this beautiful and bountiful “Pearl of Africa.” Tim and Lily had no idea because their joy in the Lord swallowed up the pain. Jesus is ALIVE in these sisters and the broken, bereft, bitter women they used to be died and they dwell in His love – whole, holy, and HUNGRY for more! 
Looking at their faces shining in His glory I shared that they would be with us at this conference…even though they do not yet know enough English to grab hold of the message, they were already ushered in by the Holy Spirit….


Pouches of Prayer sewn at Rabuna Fi's Canaan Vocational Center
Each bag they loving sew is their entrance card! Jesus gave them front row seats…because they are interceding for the brother or sister whom will receive the “pouch of prayer” at the registration table! The women of Rabuna Fi are asking the Father to lavish the guest who will hold that bag with exceedingly great and precious personal promises, the fullness of the Spirit, and boldness to carry to the uttermost ends of Uganda what Jesus taught them through Anne. It was for sure a holy moment….those ladies erupted in praise and I just know the angels joined right in with us!

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins…
God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which
He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up together,
and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come He might show the
exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus…
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them…
you who once were far off have been brought near
by the blood of Christ…Now, therefore, you are
no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and members of the household of God…built on the foundation of…
Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone…in whom the whole building,
being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord…
you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
~Ephesians 2:1-22~

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