We have just finished another retreat for pastors from Yumbe District. Please pray for them. What a blessing for us to hear their stories of faith!
Just like our last time with a different group from Yumbe, we were so moved by their exuberant worship and prayers and their desire to link arms with other believers in the area to reach out in Christian love and unity to those who have not had the privilege of knowing and loving Jesus. Bob Gad and I shared the teaching sessions (we had 9 long sessions between the two of us.) Our emphasis was on the fundamentals of the faith and on becoming ones who have a heart for discipleship. Pastor Bob, from Kampala, did an excellent job of, not only teaching, but inspiring and spurring on the pastors to go back and equip their churches to be ones who are ready to serve in humility and to share what they have learned with others. It has been a week of pressing 2 Timothy 2:2 into their hearts and thinking (teaching the faithful who will in turn teach others.) It was a delight to be able to send them home with the many resources which your donations have allowed us to purchase and ship here. In the link below you will hear the testimony of one pastor who beautifully expresses what many of them feel after the retreat is over.
Bob Gad
Above are the resources pastors at RAU retreats have been receiving. We are praying we can get another shipment of Global Study Bibles and Christian books as supplies are dwindling. The 1100 Global Study Bibles and books which came in the container are great,great blessing!
We are breathing a happy sigh of satisfaction this afternoon before we start up, again, tomorrow washing sheets and towels in preparation for the next retreat this coming Tuesday. Normally, we don’t like to have them back to back because it is such an intense time, and we need some time to prepare for the next one, but circumstances made it difficult to do it differently.
This coming week we will have the privilege of hosting pastors and church leaders from another area, 17 from Obongi and 1 from Maracha. We are happily busy doing exactly what the Lord put it in our hearts to do! The Lord has open the door to us in West Nile Region of Uganda.
The week before this, Sam and I were busy running around in Kampala, doing what was needed to bring the Land Cruiser back here to Afoji. We also were able to see Anzo (Mindra’s daughter) receive an eye examination and and set up a date for eye surgery at Mengo Hospital for June 17th. It was a time crunch to get everything accomplished, but it was a joy to finally be driving back to RAU in our Land Cruiser! Since I had never driven in Uganda before, it was a welcome relief to have Bob Gad along to do most of the driving. I tried my hand at it on the last leg of the journey from the ferry at Laropi to our home at RAU (Afoji). I am slowly getting use to driving on the wrong side of the road, sitting on the wrong side while driving and shifting with my left hand :-). Now that we have the Land Cruiser we are planning with Yumbe pastors a month of outreach (July) in Yumbe District for discipleship, evangelism, and medical care.
For those who have asked, small packages and letters may safely be sent to:
Jacob & Carol Lee, PO. 55, Moyo Uganda, East Africa
Our “wish lists” may be found at Amazon (Click on the “Wish List” link and type in our names)
The greatest evil is having the gospel and not doing everything within our power to get it to those who do not have it. May the Lord grant each of us His followers the wherewithal to be obedient disciples!
Tax deductible charitable donations may be made via PayPal. PayPal also has a way to make reoccurring monthly gifts. To do so please click their link below. PayPal deducts a small amount from each gift as a processing fee. All gifts given through PayPal are now tax deductibleas Reaching Africa’s Unreached has 501 c3 tax exempt status as a charitable organization. If you wish to write a check you may write it out to R.A.U. and mail it to Lifegate Missions, 395 Lifegate Ln., Seguin Texas 78155.
Sam and I spent most of one day at Mengo Hospital Kampala with 8 year Anzo and her father Mindra. They live near us at Reaching Africa’s Unreached and Mindra has been helping us a lot at RAU. We have had a consultation with doctor for this sweet little girl who has suffered from congenital cataracts from birth. The good news is that she can be helped with surgery. We will be back in mid June for that and afterwards she should be able to see clearly…PTL!
The doctor who examined Anzo stated the hospital wants to help children in the West Nile Region who have eye problems but finding the children,transportation to Kampala, and care in the hospital has kept them from being able to help. This very well may be a way RAU can be a part of helping children with eye difficulties in much neglected rural village areas of Yumbe and Moyo Districts. We are already working with a hospital in Kampala for children with cleft pallets, club feet, etc. This is just another opportunity for us to show the love of Jesus.These children are forever changed and their families/clans hearts are softened to hear the good news of Jesus Christ!
This was Anzo’s and Mindra first burger and fries.
I had a very encouraging conversation with the Mengo hospital administrator in charge of the eye department. It does looks like we will be able to partner together to help other children in Northwestern Uganda (West Nile Region). Their funds from a grant will be soon running out and they may not be able to continue doing the surgeries for free. The administrator stated when their grant is is fully used if we could contribute at least $200 we could still bring children there for surgeries. What do you say?
These children have no hope for corrective surgeries unless someone comes to them and helps them…just like the Lord did for us! The Lord is providentially bringing these children from Moyo and Yumbe Districts right to us. We cannot turn away from them! We have opportunity to help an additional two children with cleft pallets from Yumbe District and from Moyo District a child with severe club feet, another with knee issues, and yet another with a wrist problem. Please pray for these children and help us help them.
We also had hopes, when in Kampala, that Carol and I could buy an ’06 Land Cruiser. Pastor Patrick had spotted one for us. Just after arriving in Kampala we were told the vehicle was sold to someone else. I should have felt very disappointed but I was not. I am a firm believer in the sovereignty God! I remember RC Sproul once stating, “If there is just one rogue molecule in the Universe God is not sovereign.” I agree! We did everything we could and the door was closed to the ’06. I knew the Lord had something better for us and He did! The next day a ’02 Land Cruiser was located which was in better shape and with fewer miles. It has everything we wanted with the exception of a winch and right kind of roof rack. Hopefully we will be able to get the winch later. We have had a big rack made for it which will be helpful to carry things and be used for a platform to preach from in villages. I am sure George Whitefield would have done the very same thing if he, too, had had a Land Cruiser.
Now we will not be hindered from going out from RAU for discipleship, evangelism, and medical outreaches. We will also have the means to mobilize and bring children from the West Nile for corrective surgeries.!
A group of pastors will be arriving from Yumbe Tuesday and will be with us until Friday and then the following Tuesday through Friday another group from Obongi will be with us. These pastor/leadership retreats are the backbone of RAU’s mission and vision!
For those who have asked, small packages and letters may safely be sent to:
Jacob & Carol Lee, PO. 55, Moyo Uganda, East Africa
Our “wish lists” may be found at Amazon (Click on the “Wish List” link and type in our names)
The greatest evil is having the gospel and not doing everything within our power to get it to those who do not have it. May the Lord grant each of us His followers the wherewithal to be obedient disciples!
Tax deductible charitable donations may be made via PayPal. PayPal also has a way to make reoccurring monthly gifts. To do so please click their link below. PayPal deducts a small amount from each gift as a processing fee. All gifts given through PayPal are now tax deductibleas Reaching Africa’s Unreached has 501 c3 tax exempt status as a charitable organization. If you wish to write a check you may write it out to R.A.U. and mail it to Lifegate Missions, 395 Lifegate Ln., Seguin Texas 78155.
I have so much joy in being able to relay to you the mercy and faithfulness of our God in allowing us to see harvest at RAU and to show you what your work has done. Often, Jacob and I think about the fact that if it were not for you and your financial and prayerful partnership, and your joyful obedience to the Lord, we could accomplish nothing. As Pastor Josh Jordan from our home church, Lifegate, preached this last Sunday (which we were able to hear via Skype) RAU is only a conduit of your gospel generosity! I have had the opportunity to thank many of you who have given and my theme has been how God’s faithfulness through the faithfulness of His people spurs us on to be faithful in our calling here in Uganda. It is the beautiful cycle of giving and blessing that we see in 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 that is described in agricultural terms: the Lord’s people plant (cheerfully and generously) and receive a bountiful harvest; this yields an ever increasing harvest of righteousness that glorifies the Lord and produces thankfulness in people because they experience the mercy of our Savior. Thank you all for giving, whether it be money, prayers, personal visits, encouragement or love…it will, all of it, yield a harvest of righteousness as we see the Lord’s people blessed by it and God receiving glory in it! May we become transformed by the Gospel in such a way that the world will see that we have been with Jesus!
The following are areas in which we clearly see growth and blessing:
1. The physical structures are completed. That is a tremendous relief and it is gratifying to see these goals completed.
2. The land has been cleared and tilled and crops (G-nuts, beans, maize, cassava, and soybeans) have been planted. Jacob has, I think, given a good accounting of exactly what a big feat that was. As I am writing this, Jacob just finished paying the ones who did the planting and it started pouring rain! The timing couldn’t have been better! We await the harvest, the selling of which will allow reinvestment into RAU ministry. The first planted G-nuts (ground nuts or peanuts) are already sprouting out of the ground. I am grateful for Jacob and his diverse talents, all of which the Lord is using here! I am also grateful for the local people that work at RAU. They are showing themselves to be diligent and a joy to be around! It is a mutually beneficial relationship.
50 more grafted mangoes ready to plant
3. While we had a few postponements of Pastors’ retreats, they are all back on the schedule…all six of them. (As if to give example to Romans 8:28, the postponements worked for the good of giving time to get the plowing and planting done.) Even if there has been a breif hiatus in retreats, we have still had, almost on a daily basis, pastors dropping by for resources which RAU is so blessed and privileged to have available for them, thanks to many donors! It is encouraging that they not only want the resources, but truly enjoy the fellowship and discussions on Christian living and the Bible. In upcoming retreats, we are truly looking forward to serving each and every pastor that attends a retreat by providing them with teaching and resources, but also in getting to know them and their specific challenges as pastors. We want them to go back home encouraged and spurred on to serve their people as Christ’s Under Shepherds.
4. Medical Outreach is happening in more of an unexpected, but beautiful way. As our RAU vision for a Medical Clinic on site is a “down the road” plan (even if we had the funds to start building right away) it is encouraging to me to see that there are ways we can help immediately. Out of our Kerwa outreach, where RAU was able to not only work in a clinic there, but provide medicines, we identified a child with a cleft lip and palate and then, later, another child with an even more severe cleft lip and palate. (This has already been reported on in another post.)
Two happy moms and their babies who received cleft palate surgery
These children, whose lives have been clearly changed, opened our eyes to see others who have deformities or disease that can be corrected/treated if only they can receive the appropriate surgery or intervention. The following children have been diagnosed with correctable conditions: (all photos were taken with the permission of the parents)
Anzo ( 8 year old daughter of one of the men who helps on RAU property, Mindra)—she has bilateral congenital cataracts. She and her father, Mindra, will be traveling with Jacob to Kampala where Anzo will be evaluated at Mengo Hospital, which has a department specifically dealing with eye disorders. The hope is that she will receive corrective surgery in the near future. At this time, her day vision is very poor and she can only see up close with squinted eyes.
Anzo
Ezron (3 year old boy and nephew of one of the men who works at RAU)—has severe knock knee or genu valgum. He would initially be taken for an evaluation at CoRSU in Kampala (where the infants with cleft palate had surgery.) At CoRSU they have a special pediatric orthopedic clinic.
Ezron
Richard (a 5 or 6 year old boy we saw at a church we go to often)—has bilateral club foot. The father, Michael, who is a teacher in South Sudan, said that he had attempted several times to find a way to get corrective surgery for his son, but was unable. Our plan, if we have the funds to do so, would be to take Richard to CoRSU Hospital in Kampala for surgery. In his case, also, we would first need to get an evaluation by a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. They have clinics every Monday for evaluations which includes x-rays and blood work.
Richard
Emanuel (9 year old girl from our local community)—had broken her wrist which healed badly and is now deformed.
Emanuel
Without forgetting or undercutting our primary calling to pastors and church leaders, we would like to bring these medical needs to your attention so that, if you have a burden from the Lord to help meet them, you could specifically allocate funds to help these children.
We thank God for the encouragement of seeing fruit! We pray that it will be the Lord who receives glory through cheerful sowing and reaping and grateful receiving.
Planting
2 Corinthians 9:6-12
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
For those who have asked, small packages and letters may safely be sent to:
Jacob & Carol Lee, PO. 55, Moyo Uganda, East Africa
Our “wish lists” may be found at Amazon (Click on the “Wish List” link and type in our names)
The greatest evil is having the gospel and not doing everything within our power to get it to those who do not have it. May the Lord grant each of us His followers the wherewithal to be obedient disciples!
Tax deductible charitable donations may be made via PayPal. PayPal also has a way to make reoccurring monthly gifts. To do so please click their link below. PayPal deducts a small amount from each gift as a processing fee. All gifts given through PayPal are now tax deductibleas Reaching Africa’s Unreached has 501 c3 tax exempt status as a charitable organization. If you wish to write a check you may write it out to R.A.U. and mail it to Lifegate Missions, 395 Lifegate Ln., Seguin Texas 78155.
We have completed one more milestone at Reaching Africa’s Unreached. When the Lord opened the way in 2011 for RAU to purchase the 17 acres we now have, it was wild African bush. It was full of brush, thorns, huge termite and ant mounds, snakes, and tall thick grass. By God’s grace and a lot of hard work it is now all cleared and the whole acreage is ready for crops. The soil is fertile and we are praying the Lord will bless it with many wonderful harvests which will help supply funds for the ministry. Please continue in your prayers for us. Thank you!
There were many hard days of work to for us to get to the place where we could plant anything.
Sectioning off the land
Digging holes for seeds
Planting
We have many grafted mangoes planted and are planning on planting many more.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. “
Join me as I take you on a walk around Reaching Africa’s Unreached’s Guesthouse and Compound
Words cannot express my gratefulness for you! Together, we are pressing on to make Jesus known in areas where He is not known. The Word is being preached and taught. The mercy and love of Jesus is being demonstrated to those who cannot receive help because of their circumstances. Please continue in your prayers. Thank you for your sacrificial giving! I give thanks to the Lord for all you who have prayed and given to bring us to this point. May Reaching Africa’s Unreached always be used to spread the fame of King Jesus!
Reaching Africa's Unreached 