Hello and greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus. I hope you are all well!
We have been very busy, so my last update may have been a bit confusing. Today I will try to make things a bit clearer for you.
As most people know, one of our main ministries is to prisoners in the Uganda government prisons. In “normal” times, we would preach to about 2,000 prisoners every week. COVID has kept us out of the prisons for over a year now, but slowly by slowly, we have been allowed to begin teaching again, as long as we adhere to the rules for masks and social distancing. Our prison teachers are also being required to receive the vaccine so they can resume their normal schedules. We were so grateful when a few of the prisons invited a group of us in just to do worship and teaching, and then from there, to allow once a week Bible studies again.
We also had an enormous blessing for the prisons this last couple of weeks—an amazing couple in the US donated $15,000 for blankets for the prisoners, and we were able to buy 4,020 blankets and distribute them to thirty prisons. Most people ask why you would need a blanket in Uganda, but the prisoners sleep on the floor in concrete cells, and they only have a pair of shorts and a shirt. They get really cold at night, and the blankets protect them from mosquitoes, so there is much less malaria when prisoners can cover themselves. We had been praying about this project for five years, and now it has happened. We visited each of the prisons with the Regional Prisons Commander, and each prison welcomed us with joy, asking us to come back and teach the Word of God to them. We had to sign a guest book at each prison, and in “reason for coming” we always wrote “bringing blankets from Jesus!”
A few years ago, one of the young men we had raised graduated from school as a Clinical Officer (similar to a Physicians Assistant in the US). His name is Johnson, and he has helped run one of the small hospitals here for some time. His dream has been to build a maternity and pediatric clinic in his home area, because women and children get so little medical care in the villages, and often die for lack of that medical care. Another incredible couple donated $10,000 for building that clinic, and it will be called The Jesse Rich Memorial Medical Center. Construction has been going on for almost two months now, and it looks great. The $10,000 estimate was a bit short because the ground turned out to be slushy, so more materials were needed for the foundation, but we are raising funds, and the clinic will be finished before the end of the year. We are so excited about this!
We have been asked sometimes why we do so much humanitarian work alongside the teaching and preaching of the gospel of Christ, but every time we do something that takes care of peoples’ basic needs, we show that Jesus loves them. It is difficult to listen to anyone when you are hungry or sick, or your child is sick, so just as Jesus fed and healed people before He spoke to them about God, we try to do the same. There is no God like ours—one Who loves His people enough to send His Son to die for them! So we often introduce our Lord as The God Who Loves You. This draws people to hear the words of the God who cares, and because of that, many more people will spend eternity with us in heaven, and what a joyful noise it will be when we are all there together!
We work closely with the social worker from the Main Hospital here, but I will not show you many of the photos of the people that we have been able to assist there with food and medical. The photos are often too graphic for public viewing. But we were able to feed those in the Isolation Ward and the TB Wards throughout the COVID lockdown, and now we continue to help with medicines and food for many of the patients there. I will just put a few “clean” photos on this page, but just know that we do a large amount of medical assistance. This month someone brought a 14-year-old boy, Julius, from the village who had chronic osteomyelitis and his lower leg bones were filled with infection. They had been taking him to the local healer for treatment, but his leg had gotten so bad that when they finally got him to a hospital, the doctors said there was no hope but to amputate his leg. We know an excellent surgeon here in Jinja who also assessed Julius and said he did not have to have the leg amputated, then did surgery to clean out the bone and save the leg. Can you imagine being a 14-year-old boy and having to think about losing your leg? It was very expensive, and he will still be in the hospital for two more weeks for treatment, but it is such a joy to us all to know he will be able to go home and be a “regular” boy with both legs.
The same day we started helping Julius, a baby was brought into the hospital that had been stabbed in the chest and thrown in a pit latrine. We have been able to pay for his medical treatment, clothes, and soap, and for food for the auntie who is caring for him. We are so grateful that God gives us the opportunities to help these people in their times of desperation.
God is working for Called Christians these days, and we are so thankful to Him for that. Over two years ago, a vehicle that we had sold in the past was in an accident and ran over a young teacher who lost both his legs. He sued the man who hit him and won the case, but then the man had no money to pay him. So he got an attorney to help him find money, and they discovered that (even though I had signed the papers for the transfer of title) the title of the vehicle was still in the name of Called Christians. So they sued us for 300 million shillings (about $84,000 US Dollars). We also hired an attorney, but he advised me not to go to court because I would be seen as “deep pockets,” so my representatives, Aaron and Barbra, have been going in my place. This week the case against us was dismissed. Hurray and Praise the Lord! Better to pay the attorney $2,000 than to pay $84,000 for something that was not our responsibility. Now I hope God gives us the same favor with the National Social Security Fund who is also trying to get 50 million shillings from us ($14,000 USD), saying we did not file properly. Our accountant, another young man who was raised from here, is working with them to reduce that amount significantly. Satan hates us, but God is fighting for us.
I have probably talked too long here, but there are so many things going on and there are so many ministries to talk about that I haven’t even touched on. But I will add just one more praise before I go. About a month ago, three of our staff and one baby were on their way to Kampala to pick up the driving permits that had just been renewed (for the adults, not the baby!). On their way to Kampala, they were in a terrible rollover accident and went off a very steep embankment. They all walked away with only scratches, bruises, and one broken rib. A true miracle. Calvary Church in Albuquerque sent us the funds to repair the old vehicle or get another one. We were able to purchase a vehicle almost exactly like the old one for exactly the amount Calvary sent. We will repair the old one slowly, and then I will let the beginning drivers drive the old one and continue to crash it, while only experienced drivers will drive the new one.
Our friend and coworker, Deborah Roberts, went to the US on furlough on 22 April. She arrived there suffering from malaria but did not realize it was malaria. Six days later she ended up in the hospital in a coma. After some time, and to the great surprise of the doctors, nurses, and the CDC, she woke up. She was starving and malnourished, and her kidneys have not yet started working again. At this point, the doctors are hopeful that her kidneys may start working again, and she has a feeding tube. She is also able to walk up and down the hall now, but then she must sleep because it makes her so tired. Deborah is an amazing woman of God; please pray seriously for her.
May God bless you and keep you always! If you pray for us, please pray for some of these things:
- Complete healing for Deborah.
- Uganda may be going into lockdown again. Please pray that we do not need to.
- The completion of the maternity/pediatric clinic.
- Enough support funds to pay our bills and continue our ministries.
- That we may enter prisons fully again to preach the Word of God.
- That our Bible studies in the high schools bring great fruit.
- That all our women’s Bible studies grow spiritually and physically.
- That the Woottons, who have moved on to a new ministry God has prepared for them, get settled in and filled with joy as the Lord uses them to fulfill the vision He has put in their hearts.
God bless you and thank you for everything you do for the Lord.
Beverly and Called Christians