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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

Emanuel (9 year old girl from our local community)—had broken her wrist which healed badly and is now deformed.

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.

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:

 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.

Thank You!

Carol (and Jacob) Lee

Web Site: www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.com
Blog: www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReachingAfricasUnreached

——

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 deductible as 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.