By God’s grace we are ready for 2022

We are standing on the edge of a new season—one for which we have longed and prayed fervently! Our first retreat after the COVID shutdown is about to begin. We were holding on to our expectations a bit loosely as a huge part of moving forward depended on the USA teaching team (Jason Van Bemmel and Bob Brown from Maryland) being able to make their flights without any hindrances. We are THRILLED to learn this morning that they landed safely in Entebbe and are now on their way to RAU via van!  Our hope is that they may be able to catch up a bit on their sleep before they have to hit the ground running tomorrow morning when the first of 5 Module retreats for 2022 revs up!

Much like the experience of so many, the last two years of COVID disruption have challenged us and also grown us—personally and ministry-wise.  Every bit of “normalcy” is all the more appreciated after the long period of restrictions and inconveniences.  We praise the Lord for this!
Looking forward, our calendar is filling up again with many wonderful events. As mentioned above, our plan A is to have 5 Modular Retreats for our Church leaders from the Moyo area, Yumbe, Obongi and the Sudanese Refugee settlements. The hope is that we can get the 45 leaders who will be in attendance through all 5 Modules this coming year and not to stretch it out over too long of a period. The Retreats will include Biblical teaching as well as Agriculture and Economics/Business.

 RAU – Module 1 – Gospel Basics – Detailed Overview
Helping Without Hurting in Africa will be the main business text we will be using. We want to be ones who help without hurting.

E.D. Burns in his book The Missionary-Theologian: Sent into the World, Sanctified by the Word wisely states: “The implications of this story (“The Rich Man and Lazarus” Luke 16:19-31) are staggering. If people do not have eyes to see the glory of God and ears to hear the truth of God in the Bible, they will not be convinced of the gospel no matter how many amazing and awe-inspiring works they might witness, even the raising of a known villager from the dead. Feeding them, rescuing them, providing jobs for them, ‘loving on’ them, and any other methodology emphasized over and against the sufficiency of the Word of God, will not finally deliver them from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light. Now, some will object that this is callously calling for neglecting the legitimate holistic needs of suffering people. However, supplying the Word of God as the forefront emphasis of our ministries does not rule out other ministries of compassion and mercy; it just prioritizes and puts ministries of works and ministries of the Word in their proper place.”

The box gardens are ready for demonstration and the grounds of the campus have been cleaned and made ready for our visitors.

Additionally, RAU is working very diligently toward the goal of clean, accessible water for surrounding villages in the Moyo District, as well as a special project for the hospital where there is still no reliable running water, especially in the surgical theater and the maternity ward. As per now, patients/family members have to daily bring a jerry can of water with them for their own needs and the water needs for the hospital.  This is a heavy burden and RAU would love to help lift that burden.
Included in our goals/plans for 2022 is discipleship and evangelism in the Metu Mountains, and in Yumbe and Obongi Districts.  There is a great need for consistent encouragement and teaching/equipping in these areas. COVID really disorganized many churches and the effects of not meeting together seriously undermined their progress. We are praying fervently (with tears) that the Lord of the harvest would thrust forth laborers into the harvest fields. There is more work than can effectively be done by those on the ground here.  Jacob also prays and longs for the recommencing of the Christian-Muslim dialogs in Yumbe District.  At least, he has been able to have some heartening interactions via email with one Sheikh/Imam and we are hoping to receive him here for a visit after the retreat.
Jacob and I are keenly aware that many groups are asking for that “year-end” gift.We also ask for your consideration in partnering with us in  the ministry needs for this coming year. Just this morning, we were praising the Lord for the many donors who have been faithful and generous up to this very day. That is a huge encouragement to us and our way of seeing that “where God guides, He provides.” Thank you so very much for your love, and prayers and gifts. Our commitment to our donors is that we will be faithful to use the money wisely, effectively and with an understanding that so many of you are giving sacrificially. In our last newsletter, “Settling Back In”, specific prayer and financial help needs were laid out. Please take a few minutes to look over them and pray.
While we dearly missed our beloved family during another Christmas season, Jacob and I are blessed and thankful that we had wonderful slots of time with each one of our children and their spouses and all the grandchildren in 2021. Though we cannot always be near them, we have the privilege of lifting them up in prayer each day, interceding for their good in God. We love them all so much and are proud of each one!

Your partners in walking out 2 Timothy 2:2 with our Ugandan and Sudanese brothers and sisters in Christ,

Carol and Jacob Lee
Love and Blessings from both of us!
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The greatest evil is having the gospel and not doing everything within our power to get it to those who do not have it!

Sowing seeds of love and kindness should not be separated from preaching the gospel of sovereign grace but completely intertwined with it!

When at least 35% of the world; “the unoccupied fields”, have no access to the gospel, we (believers) must all do all we can to reach them. We who are saved owe the gospel to every lost person, most especially the 2.4 billion who will not hear unless someone breaks into their “unoccupied field” with no thought of their own life!

I am sure that none of us will say when in heaven that we prayed too much, we sacrificed too much, proclaimed the gospel too much, and were too passionate to get the gospel to those who have little to no access to this gospel of grace. Let us together press on to make it our  ambition to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named! Our goal in our gospel witness is to take our eyes off the “risk” and place them on the cause for the risk. When God compels us like this he often will not tell us the risks…after all there are no risks for the all-knowing, all-powerful God. So let us be AMBITIOUS (Romans 15:20) to see that ALL are reached with the gospel of grace (Romans 1:16) in ALL places…there are no closed doors to the gospel, just some which are more difficult to go through!

Jacob Lee