The trip to Africa was a wonderfully fruitful time of seeing God’s hand on His church in Africa. I was blessed with the opportunity to train pastors and leaders in ministry. In Uganda I was joined by my daughter Victoria and the Hatzfelds from our church, and we were able to minister both in northern Uganda and Southern Sudan. As nearly twenty-five thousand a day come to Christ in Africa the impact of the church is growing faster than the training and Bibles can get into their hands. Africans are coming out of witchcraft and Islam at an incredible speed. In Malawi I prayed with a woman who was the first in her Muslim family to be Christian and she was fearful of what might happen. In Uganda I had a pastor introduce himself by saying, “I was a Muslim cleric but now I am a pastor for Jesus”. In Southern Sudan I spoke with pastors who were raised in witchcraft, and showed the signs of it, but now lived for Jesus.
God is exploding into the culture and hearts of many people in Africa. I was able to be in Southern Sudan when they celebrated their independence from fifty six years of war and genocide. The church has shown great courage in Africa during times of great hardship. I believe they are an encouragement to us by their perseverance and faith during persecution. One Episcopal pastor told me the Muslims destroyed one hundred and fifty church buildings during the war, but they have rebuilt two hundred and fifty.
It cost twice as much as I thought it would to complete the work this year, and this is mainly due to the hardships of transportation and eventualities (e.g. access to supplies, military checkpoints, police stops, accidents, gas shortages, communication problems, power-outages, cultural differences). None of these prevented the work of the Lord.
God has always provided a way, but you can be sure the enemy will try to stop it.
Church planting is alive and well in Africa but they need our training. I am convinced that two of the greatest needs they have is training and Bibles. The Bibles need to be printed in Africa, and we can help them with this. The training can also be provided, and we can continue to bring it. We also have technological resources that could help them as well. Gone is the need for us to reach them, the church is alive and well in Africa and they now have something to teach us. I am glad we can work together to build the kingdom of God. The church is God’s plan for missions in the world and we are blessed to be a part of it.
Thank you for your prayers. At times during my trip it was clearly your prayers that allowed me to do the work of Christ. Your prayers protected the team of people ministering in northern Uganda. And above all else you have shared in the work of God in Africa. Praise God for His incredible mercy in our lives. I’m sure there will be more to say, but for now I pray God’s face will shine on you no matter what part of the world you are from.
I am not sure why I was pulled to read this blog, but as I was reading what you wrote I felt the presence of God. It wasn’t so much the way it was written, though it is inspiring, it was more the content. Thank you for sharing this. It helps me to remember that sometimes, even though I feel like I am going through hard times, I should be always grateful for all of the incredible things that God does in my life. And how fortunate I truly am to live in a country where I can worship and love my God openly, with no fear of jail, or death.