Several months ago, I remember a short-term missionary
asking me why Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) had an armored SUV with bullet-proof
glass.
“This is Africa,” I explained. “This place can blow up at any time. It’s inherently unstable.”
Well, this past month has given me a taste of just how
unstable. Several weeks ago, the mayor was
beaten up by the police and tear gas was fired twice.
Next, Kampala’s shopkeepers closed their stores to
protest a government fee on imported goods.
The shopkeepers said they were determined to keep their shops closed
until the government eliminated or softened the import fee.
When we arrived at church Tuesday morning, we found the
building locked. I wasn’t expecting that. The church staff ended up going over to a
local café and prayed there. It was very
encouraging to see the church staff undeterred by the day’s events.
On Wednesday morning, I called the building manager to find
out if he could open the church for us.
He told me, “The situation is not so good. We will not open the building.”
Since Ugandans tended to understate things, I knew this meant
things were pretty bad. Later that
morning, the U.S. Embassy issued a security warning about “planned
demonstrations.” So, I texted church staff
not to come in and about 700 church members telling them our evening worship service
had been cancelled.
The police presence in downtown was about double the usual
amount. Things were generally quiet
except for when the riot police walked by.
It seemed like things were safe enough to return to the church building,
so a few of us walked over and talked the building manager into letting us in for
about an hour. It took some talking to
him because he was under strict orders not to let anybody in.
Once inside, we rushed to make preparations for Sunday’s worship
services and the children’s ministry classes.
Afterwards, I treated the church staff to a goat and rice lunch at
Uhuru, the same restaurant that was practically engulfed in tear gas the week
before. I couldn’t thank them enough for
their great dedication and courage.
Next, we planned how we were going to prepare
for Sunday’s worship services should the building be closed for the remainder of
the week.
By the grace of God, we remain UNDETERRED. We are convicted by our mission from God… to spread
the Good News in Kampala!
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since
what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.
Undeterred from Kampala,
John Eastham
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Far Reaching Ministries
North American Headquarters
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Murrieta, CA 92563
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