| Hello again! It’s been too long since I have updated you about the “goings-on” in Uganda and my furlough in the USA. Today, February 5, marks the twenty-third anniversary of the date Jess and I stepped onto Ugandan soil to serve as missionaries with Jay and Sunny McLaughlin. It seems like a lifetime ago. Jess and I went out to serve for life, but I don’t know if either of us ever thought of life as being twenty-three years. It has been an amazing and incredible journey and shows no sign of ending yet. |
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| This furlough that I am on has been busy but so much fun. I have been meeting with friends, family, and supporters, and making new friends and finding new supporters. I love being with people, and God has given me so many opportunities for that, despite COVID-19, and I am feeling indescribably blessed. I started this stateside journey in South Carolina in late November, and it was so cold. I slept and slept and ate and ate—hibernation with breaks for food—no complaints there. My fabulous friends, the Moores, always make me feel at home, and I don’t feel guilty for catching up on much-needed sleep, and I definitely started on my “furlough fifteen” weight gain while I was there. Then I spent time in Texas with my family, and friends that I have known since kindergarten. God showered special joy on me by giving me time with them all. I spent Christmas with my “family by blood” for the first time in thirty years, and it was wonderful. Texas was still pretty locked down, so I didn’t get to speak in many churches, but the ones I visited were beautiful, warm, and friendly. After Texas, I was in Albuquerque for three weeks. Calvary Church was so welcoming and treated me almost like royalty. Of course, this is where most of my work (this is a working furlough) of connecting with people, talking about the mission, and garnering interest in prayer and financial support takes place. The Lord opened the doors for me to be interviewed on the radio, and to be on stage with Pastor Skip one evening to feature the work God allows Called Christians and our staff to do with and for Him. I visited with longtime friends and made so many new friends while I was in Albuquerque. I loved being there. Now I am in Colorado where I get to visit with friends, spend time with Jess’s and my kids and grandkids, and speak in churches and Bible studies. I even got to spend a day soaking in a hot spring. I still have several places to visit, and then I will be getting on a plane back to Uganda on March 14. |
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| As I am traveling the USA, I am also in constant contact with Deborah Roberts, who is overseeing the work of the mission back in Uganda while I am on furlough. She and I chat for a long time every day on WhatsApp and through email, to ensure that we are on the same page with the work there. So many things have happened with the mission during the severe COVID shutdown. We lost several staff members, and in April, the Wootton family will be moving on to another place that God has called them. I am excited about rebuilding the mission and ministries from almost scratch. I know God is going to do a wonderful work. Called Christians is beginning to get back into a few more normal ministries. Pastor Isaac Wootton has been running a half-day School of Ministry to help local believers and some of my staff know the Word of God better. He has also been holding church services (although at a reduced number) since November and does a shortened version on the radio and Facebook on Sunday afternoons. |
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| This week will be the first time our prisons pastor, Joel Mugoya, has used Zoom to share his teaching in Kirinya Main Prison. For several months, he has been sending in written Bible studies to be read, answered, and returned to him for marking, and for prayer. He will continue with that in the other prisons, but we are excited that the men in Main Prison will get to see and hear him on the big screen TV that the Officer in Charge has purchased. Our prison bus still goes to the prisons five days every week to pick up sick prisoners and take them to the hospital. The prisons are grateful for that ministry because it helps keep the death rate in the prisons down by a large percentage. Many blessings to all the people that helped us buy that bus three years ago. One of my main desires and goals for the prisons was to raise funds to buy blankets for all the prisoners. That need touched the hearts of an amazing couple in Albuquerque, and they have donated $15,000 toward buying blankets for the prisoners! Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace and moving of hearts. |
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| The village and outreach ministries have started again in Iguluibi and Danida, and Ann Wibbenmeyer is leading classes on the compound for the wives of many of the young pastors that serve with us. She also has a pre-teen and early teen girls’ Bible study that meets five days a week. They went this week to Prayer Mountain to have some time in prayer, teaching, and drawing closer to the Lord. Called Christians is also starting some new outreach evangelism and Bible studies in local areas. This last week, they were able to go out to the nearby area of Bugembe, and that first time was a great success. The hospital is allowing us to go inside in small groups again to pray at patients’ bedsides, as long as we wear masks and follow the Standard Operating Procedures set forth by the President. That is such a needed ministry—people long for prayer—and we are overjoyed to start that again. As usual, there are bumps in the road. For instance, two of our vehicles need major repairs, and all the others need small ones; but God has His hand even on our vehicles, and soon we will have them all up and running again. All the schools were closed, but they are beginning to open again “slowly by slowly,” so most of my young people will be going back to classes very soon. |
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| And in case you are interested, I have been able to share a video on my Facebook page that focuses on the mission and work in Uganda. God is working in Uganda and through Called Christians. Satan hates us because we spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we have a fabulous covering of prayer, and God is fighting for us in every way. If you have the time to pray for us, (we thank you for those prayers), here are a few prayer requests:Pray that our ministries, both old and new, will raise up disciples who raise up other disciples, so the Word of God spreads through all of Uganda.Pray that our finances are enough to support the mission and all its ministries.Pray that our vehicles would be properly repaired and last for a long time without any major problems or breakdowns.Pray that our staff loves the Lord and loves to serve Him.Pray that there is unity in the body of Christ on the compound and in our ministries.If you wish to give financially to the work of Called Christians, the link for giving is: https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=692d6b God bless you always and forever! Bev |