Greetings from Uganda—I pray the Lord is blessing you today with all good things!
I am going to whine a little bit, and then get on with the “good stuff.” I am normally a very healthy person—I eat good foods, work out five days a week, and when I get sick, I’m usually over it in a day. But my body has made it perfectly clear in these last few months that this “tent” is temporary! I had severe malaria in November, the entire compound and I tested positive for COVID in December, and then in January, I got some kind of gut infection that I thought might be the end of me. On top of all of that, I am having to go back to the States for knee replacement surgery in May because there are some days I can’t even put my foot on the ground. Prayers would be appreciated! Now I’m done with the whining, and I’ll move on to the good things!
Uganda schools opened again after 22 months of being closed—the longest school closure in the world! A large number of the high school girls got pregnant during the lockdown; in the past, pregnant girls and nursing mothers have not been allowed to attend school in Uganda. But there are so many girls in this condition right now that the government has ordered the schools to allow them to attend, and to make the necessary changes to cater to them. I’m excited about the group of young girls that Ann Wibbenmeyer was mentoring during the lockdown. They came daily for Bible study and discussion and some games, and none of the girls (a group of eight to twelve, depending on the day) got pregnant! They even did a “Promise Ceremony” together to promise purity in their lives. Ann is an amazing teacher and mentor to these young women, and their lives are very different from so many others their age.
All our ministries have finally opened, the last being Iganga Prison that allowed us back into the facility this week. Most places (except for the schools) had opened up by mid-November, and then Omicron hit in December, and everything slammed shut again. Now Uganda is open, except for the COVID tests required to come and go at the airport and the borders, but this week the government announced that everyone over the age of twelve must be vaccinated or face a large fine and six months of jail time. Several fifteen- and sixteen-year-old missionary kids were sent home from school this week for not being vaccinated. This is going to be a very difficult time here as we work through this mandate from the government.
I want to mention a few of the ministries that are fully operational again. First, we teach the Bible in seven government prisons, and we help with several physical needs in these facilities, as well. These prisons were very happy to have us back, and the prisoners were thirsty for God’s Word. One prison was even secretly letting us in during the lockdown because they felt that the prisoners needed the teaching more than ever before! We work really well with the Officers in Charge of these prisons, and they call us to help in certain emergencies, such as when an entire prison gets scabies or another contagious disease. We also take a bus to the Jinja prisons to pick up the prisoners who are too sick to be treated in the infirmaries and take them to the hospital, get them treated, buy their medicine, and take them back to the prison. We also buy food and medicine for any of the prisoners who are admitted to the hospital. It gets expensive, but it is a small price to pay for being able to freely go in and share the gospel with hundreds of inmates every week.
Our outreach ministries are going great as well, with more and more people coming to hear the teaching of the Word of God. We have been doing a Bible study in a low-income area called Danida for almost 20 years, and it continues today. The Danida Bible study is now being taught by Jeremiah Ntale, and his wife Lydia teaches the children. They have such a wonderful ministry!
Joseph Mukarani, along with a small group of Called Christian staff, goes to another area called Bugembe, and at first the people were hesitant to come hear the Word of God. There are so many cults and false teachers in that area that people were very skeptical of one more pastor. But as this group taught and evangelized, more and more people came to listen and ask questions. A few would seat themselves a little distance away and appear to be “busy” while listening, but they eventually came closer and joined in as well. This was the place where, during the lockdown, people invited Joseph and his group secretly into their homes to continue sharing God’s Word with them. “The fields…are white for harvest” (John 4:35).
Another wonderful work that is being done through Ann Wibbenmeyer is a small Bible School for women. Once a week, the pastors’ wives in Jinja (along with one or two other ladies) have class from 9 am to 1 pm and are just now moving on from Old Testament Survey to New Testament Survey. They have been meeting (except for a mandatory COVID break) for a year and a half now and are amazing students. In fact, they are so amazing that they are now going one at a time with Ann to the village of Waibale, where they are teaching the same Bible School to several of the women there. The village ladies started about six months ago and are going through Inductive Bible study, but really struggle with “Observation,” because they have trouble separating what they are reading from what they have heard from pastors in the past. It is a joy to know that all these women are learning and loving the Bible and are also learning to teach it.
All our young men and women are back in school now, and even if they hated school in the past, they are thrilled to be back in the classroom. The isolation and separation were very difficult for this gregarious society. In my last update, I mentioned several of the young men that we sponsor in school. This time I want to mention one young woman in particular–Joanita. Joanita had finished Primary School, but her family could not afford to send her to Secondary School, so they sold her off to be married to a much older man. Our church leaders in Lumuli heard about it and rescued her on the day of her “marriage,” and took her to her aunt in Jinja for safety. We have been sponsoring her for school since then. She is very bright, lots of fun, and way too young to have been married!
We still struggle daily with government paperwork and attempts to get large amount of money from us. We went through an audit by the NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) Board and passed, another by the NSSF (National Social Security Fund) and passed, and another by the local health department, and also passed. Now, we are being audited by Uganda Revenue Authority (like USA’s IRS) and they say that we owe back taxes of $6000. Our auditor (who is one of the young men we put through university many years ago) is going to our final meeting with them next week to see if he can reason with them to get that amount reduced.
My final big announcement is that our School of Ministry and Worship will be opening again on July 1! Deborah Roberts will be coming back from the States to direct the school, and it will be taught by different pastors and leaders. We are so excited for this wonderful development.
We have many praises and prayer requests:
Praises:
- The kids are back in school, and ministries are open.
- Our young girls and women are eagerly learning more about the Bible and the Lord.
- People are eager to hear the Word of the Lord!
- Deborah’s health is improving, and she is coming back to direct the School of Ministry and Worship.
- Bev has a scheduled date for her knee replacement surgery.
Prayer Requests:
- Sufficient finances to continue to run the mission.
- A successful knee surgery for Bev.
- Protection for our staff, kids, and compound.
- Bev is teaching at a marriage conference in March, and a pastors’ conference in Jinja in March.
- That all of our Bible studies and outreaches continue to go well, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ be spread.
Love always in Christ,
Beverly Rich