We thank the Lord for the progress which has been made on the Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus and on our 17 acres the past two years! Thank you all for your prayers and support!
Note: If you right click on a photo it will be enlarged. Many of these pictures were taken from from Pictures and Vision for the R.A.U. Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus web page however there are also many new ones. Enjoy and praise God with us for what He has done and will surely continue to do! The vision and mission of Reaching Africa’s Unreached was planted in my heart way back in 1977 when Leonard Ravenhill challenged me with Romans 15:20. That flame was rekindle with my first trip to north Uganda and southern Sudan in 2007. My testimony can be found here.
August 2011Footings dugBringing foundation stonesBottom of the footings pouredFootings nearly done
The foundation is complete…thank you Jesus!!Front view of the R.A.U. GuesthouseSteel for concrete roof supports are set (Northeast corner of the house).Our bedroom is in this cornerLooking down upon inside walls. They will be brought up to roof height with venting along the top of corridor walls so that hot air can escape through the center roof vent thus creating our “African Bush air conditioning” :-)!We want lots of air flowing into the rooms thus the vent bricks. We will get fine metal screening in Kampala to put over the vent bricks and windows to keep out those nasty malaria biting mosquitoes.Sam in standing in the future north doorway. The breezeway runs through the entire center of the house so that the north-south winds can freely go through the whole house. Nurse Sam likes his Texas Longhorn shirt….you non Longhorn fans be kind now :-).Here Salongo, an expert, helps select the right trees to cut for our roof rafters.The upper part of the rafters will rest on this top beam once it is poured.Tying the steel for the top beam.Our trucked arrived with our water tanks, electrical supplies, and roof materials from Kampala. The truck had three blow outs and got stuck twice and had to be offloaded and reloaded both times. The roads from Gulu to Moyo are very,very bad. The Lord has granted grace and our supplies are now safely here at the site. Thank you for your prayers…please continue!Our God is good and He is good all the time!Taking shape!More rafters upThis 5000 liter tank will gravity feed our rooms. Our hope is that the water will be warmed in the attic for our baths. September ’13 Update: Our baths are cold, maybe during the hot season they will be warmer!October 2012The first iron sheets are up!Southeast viewEast Side of GuesthouseNovember 2012Garage Doors SetThis big window will bring a lot of air into the Hall of Tyrannus….very needful during the hot season!Plaster workLate December 2012
Inside CorridorFront
Front Veranda CeilingStone work around the base of the veranda.
Setting our outside 10,000 liter water tank. Water is pumped into this tank from our well. It gravity feeds our our attic 5,000 liter tank as well as future facilities.Thank you Jesus!Tile work in the Hall of TyrannusBreezewayGuesthouse kitchen counter topThe glass has now been installed in the windows and doorsThe first of four toilets set.All our vents have screens over them to help keep out those nasty malaria biting mosquitoes!Lower Kitchen CabinetsNorth Side of Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus June 20th 2013Starting work in battery/power roomThe battery room is finished!We have 4 operation 230 watt solar panels. We also can power the Guesthouse via generator if need be.We have electricity in the middle of the African bush 🙂 !Our working Kitchen!Our first table in the Hall of Tyrannus. By God’s grace at this table people’s bodies and souls will be nourished.Our first triple bunk bed is in place. All it needs now are its mattresses and mosquito nets. WE want to build 4 more.Touch up painting.Lots of work on the grounds to be done and all by hand for now.
Dedication Service August 10 2013. More photos as well as videos are here.
August 2013Widening our driveway entrance so that our 40′ container will be able to enter when it arrives.The graders last pass on the drivewayThe nicest driveway in Northwestern UgandaOver 1,100 Global Study Bibles and 3,500 christian books for distribution to pastors and others are on their way ..PTL!Faithful Seguin Texas brothers loading the RAU container.
RAU road sign. Its frame and poles are in the container headed to us.Soon this will parked at R.A.U….PTL!Refurbishing the remaining four tukalu’s on the land. They are not far from the Guesthouse. Many of the native pastor’s will feel more comfortable staying in these instead of the Guesthouse. We hope to build 4-5 more. They cost about $500 to build and will sleep 4-5.
We now have new grass roofs on tukalu’s. Our next step is to fix the doors and windows.Our existing outdoor kitchen. We use it each day (except Sunday’s) to cook for a dozen or more workers. This is the way we will also cook for our future discipleship groups and short term mission groups. Propane is very expensive and difficult to get here. Lord willing, soon we can build a updated one closer with a small room for our cook and helper to stay. We need about $4,000 to complete it.We have been clearing and planting a native low growing drought resistant grass around the Guesthouse. In the foreground is one of our many newly planted mango and we have a trellis for passion fruit in the background.
September 2013
Great exhortation right outside Carol’s and my bedroom.Our large garage serves us well.
Carpenters at work.Hall of Tyrannus library
Our calling…Make disciples of all nations (people groups)! A tribal group from North Uganda.
The Mbuti Pygmies of Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Train up children in the way of the Lord.Demonstrating Christ’s love to the poor and needy.Making Jesus known where He is not known
Please pray for
Reaching Africa’s Unreached!
Any financially help you can give is greatly appreciated. We will seek to be wise in our stewardship of your gifts.
I paid another bounty out for a poisonous snake which was found by Muduga while working this morning. There was no consensus among us all on what kind it was however. It was small and according to everyone present very poisonous and deadly.
We are working to clear all the ground around the Guesthouse and refurbished tukalus.
We have cleared a perimeter around the house and planted it with a local grass that is drought resistant and does not grow tall. When healthy it chokes out all other grasses and weeds. We dug it up from another portion of our 17 acres.
Also, as I mention in my last newsletter we would like to put tile on the veranda of house. In my last encounter with a cobra we learned it was easy to kill it while in the kitchen and perhaps why it did not strike my bare foot (which was only an inch away ) was because it was on our tile floor. Because of kitchen’s slick tile surface it was difficult for a snake to move. Around the the Guesthouse we have 10 foot veranda on three sides and it is 15 feet in the front. Because of what we have learned about a snake’s ability to move on tile we would like to tile our veranda to create an extra barrier between the Guesthouse and snakes! It would also make it easier to clean. The estimation to do this tile work is $3000+-.
Over 1,100 Global Study Bibles and 3,500 christian books for distribution to pastors and others are on their way ..PTL!
We have many reasons to rejoice in our Lord and to be thankful for your prayers and support! Let me briefly share a few of those reasons which have recently come our way.
We have often asked for your prayers for protection. Even though we are not receiving persecution like the Corinthians in the Apostle Paul’s day, the truths contained in the verses below express well how the Lord has delivered from a “deadly peril” here at R.A.U. and has caused us to set our “hope” afresh upon the Lord and “give thanks…for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
“He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
2 Corinthians 1:10-11
This past week I almost stepped on a cobra! I left Carol’s and my room to go fill my water bottle for the night. As I was filling it in the kitchen I looked down and my bare white shiny foot was just an inch away from from a coiled cobra. I was using my excellent Coast LED flashlight as I had just turned off our solar power system for the night. I am praising God that I “just happen” to shine my light downward to see the cobra right next to my foot and it “just happen” not to strike. I was able to step back and call for back up. Thank you for your continual prayers! .
Killed cobra on our kitchen floor. Because of poor lighting the picture is not clear.
Thinking back on how we killed the cobra I have to laugh. First, Sam struck wide to the right with a voracious whack which snapped the stick he was using. Then Aldo our guard struck with his stick hitting it in the middle stunning it and then again holding it down with another whack. Then Stephen our other guard stepped on its head with his army boot…dead cobra!
We have been hard at work making a good clear perimeter around the house..about 60 yards at the narrowest point. As far as we can tell there are no holes into the house with the exception of the garage doors. We are actually thinking (not that I like this thought) that it may have been in the house all the while we have been here. Our “best guess” is that it was staying in a kitchen floor cabinet which we have not been using and just came out at night Maybe God used my very,very white feet to confuse the cobra but more likely it was because of your prayers and God’s gracious deliverance from “such a deadly peril” !
As you know from our past newsletters Carol was to accompany Gabby Bukenya, Patrick’s and Vickie’s 4 year old daughter, to California for heart surgery.They have arrived safely to Gabbie’s Aunt’s home where Gabbie will be staying. Gabbie and Carol are fine but very tired. They went via Dubai and their flight from Dubai to LA was 16 hours long!! Thank you for your prayers! Please remember to pray for Gabbie!
Carol will return here soon via a short stop over in Texas where she will be staying with Kenny, Anna, and our newest grandchild Keira. She will be with them three days in Stephenville. Josh, Becca, Eliza, and Ben are planning to make the trip to Stephenville. Carol is very excited to be able to see them all. In the midst of missing each them very,very much I am very happy that they can have this time together. I will look forward to being able to to do the same thing this coming Christmas. Please continue in your prayers that the Lord would continue to grant us grace in the midst of missing family very much. This is the most difficult hardship we face.
We are rejoicing that R.A.U.’s first 40 foot container has left Seguin Texas and is heading our way. It is due to arrive at R.A.U. in mid November. Carol and I have so many great friends and a home church, Lifegate, which is very,very supportive who have helped with this. Without their gifts and hard work this would not be happening. Christ’s love is so evident in their lives for us and Jesus mission (John 20:21)! Thank you to all who donated items for the container and the money to ship it. Thank you to each one who worked on it’s shipping and packing! There were so many things given the packers were not able to get everything in the container and many things had to be left. Lord willing, at some later point another container can be sent. To see everything which was given and pictures of the loading visit this link here. Please pray for its safe arrival to us!
Last time I wrote about how the Lord is helping us get ready for the container here at R.A.U.. Being in a remote area of Africa presents unique set of challenges for us! When the container arrives we will first off load it. Then we will have the truck drive to a spot where I will have a slab poured (one of my many projects to complete). We will tie the the back of the container with cables that are in it to the base of a tree. Then the truck will pull forward to drop the container on the slab. The plan is only an idea in my head now, please pray that the idea can become a reality :-)!
After R.A.U.’s founding in 2010 and it’s receiving of Ugandan NGO status our first phase has been to purchased land and have a place where pastors,evangelists, church leaders, and church planters could come for refreshment and strengthening in the gospel of grace so that they could be an encouragement to their congregations and actively be a part of spreading the gospel by planting churches in unengaged villages and among unreached people groups. There are 3,000 such groups in Africa with a number of them not far from R.A.U.. In September we want to bring in our first groups of pastors to the Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus.
We also wanted to have a place for teams to come on short term mission trips and share their gifts with the people. Currently we have three American teams and one from Kampala coming. Because of gifts and prayers of many we are closing in on completing Phase I with the finishing touches to the Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus, work on the grounds around the Guesthouse, planting of fruit trees (97 planted so far) for a future income for the ministry, and Tukalu guest quarters. Praise God for His abundant grace, provision, and the people who have helped make this happen.
We continue to ask for your prayers and generous support to carry out the vision and mission given to us by Christ. We are seeking to be good and wise stewards of what is given us making every dollar stretch to the maximum for God’s glory and spread of the glorious gospel to the unreached! Thank you very much!
Here are some the needs and that lay before us to complete:
1. Finishing up the refurbishing of our four existing tukalus on the land. The four have now been roofed with new grass. To repair the doors, windows, and plaster them will require an additional $1000. 2. The building of 4-5 more tukalu’s to house pastors/evangelists/church planters for discipleship. Each tukalu can take care of 4-5 people and they are inexpensive to build. To build one tukalu is around $500. 3. $1000 to dig a pit a new double stall pit latrine for the tukalu quarters with an outdoor bathing facility. The existing pit latrine is about to cave in and there is no place to bath. (See our previous newsletters on the reason we are building these tukalu quarters ).
4. $4,000 for an outdoor kitchen and attached living quarters (one small room and bathroom) for Lucy, our cook/helper. The current one is about to fall down is some distance from the Guesthouse. As stated in an earlier newsletter we need an outdoor kitchen to be able to cook for large groups with wood and charcoal. To get propane gas for our indoor stove is hard to obtain and expensive. It also opens up the room Lucy is now staying in for guests.
5. The pouring of a slab for the container: $800
6. Prayers for the safe arrival of the Land Cruiser which is on its way from Japan. Prayers for continue protection, wisdom, good health, and anointing in our teaching and evangelism.
Pressing Onward and Forward for Jesus and His Mission,
Jacob
“I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”
Hudson Taylor (Missionary to China in the 1800’s)
God’s most gracious providence and favor has been shown on our behalf yet once again! I am reminded of a sermon I preached from Esther 6:1 on the loving providence of God. I rest and sleep in peace each night because the God of the Bible is indeed sovereign and rules over all things! This scriptural truth brings great comfort to my heart and encouragement as we work to bring glory and honor to King Jesus!
“It just so happened” “that on that night the King could not sleep…” (Esther 6:1 ff)
“It just so happened” that the road grader which works on the road in front of R.A.U. around once a year was near.
“It just so happened” I met a man at church where I preached , who is a brother in the Lord and who is in charge of road maintenance.
“It just so happened” that when I told him we had a container coming which could not make the turn into R.A.U. he volunteered the grader he “just so happens” to supervise. He “just so happen” to volunteer the grader to widen our driveway entrance and to smooth out our driveway. All this just for the cost of the fuel!
Widening our driveway entrance so that our 40′ container will be able to enter when it arrives.
“It just so happened” it was not raining when the grader worked on our driveway in the midst of the rainiest month of the year when the grader was here working on our driveway.
R.A.U.’s new wider entrance
“It just so happened” that after the grader “just so happened to finished” a torrential monsoon rain hit hard.
The grader’s last pass on the drivewayThe finishing touches were done by hand
And lastly, “it just so happens” that a roller was coming down the road packing it and will park at R.A.U. and roll/pack our drive in the morning.
It is always the right time to make a friend!We were able to level out 7 loads of miram (a sandy/rock/clay mix) before the roller arrived.The nicest driveway in Northwestern Uganda
God’s abundant grace, mercy, and love has been given once again to us…thank you Lord and thank you all who are praying for us!
RAU’s new widen entrance…thank you Jesus!
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Providence
by J. I. Packer
“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Pro. 16:33).
“God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.11). If Creation was a unique exercise of divine energy causing the world to be, providence is a continued exercise of that same energy whereby the Creator, according to his own will, (a) keeps all creatures in being, (b) involves himself in all events, and (c) directs all things to their appointed end. The model is of purposive personal management with total “hands-on” control: God is completely in charge of his world. His hand may be hidden, but his rule is absolute.
Some have restricted God’s providence to foreknowledge without control, or upholding without intervention, or general oversight without concern for details, but the testimony to providence as formulated above is overwhelming.
The Bible clearly teaches God’s providential control (1) over the universe at large, Ps. 103:19; Dan. 4:35; Eph. 1:11; (2) over the physical world, Job 37; Pss. 104:14; 135:6; Matt. 5:45; (3) over the brute creation, Ps. 104:21, 28; Matt. 6:26; 10:29; (4) over the affairs of nations, Job 12:23; Pss. 22:28; 66:7; Acts 17:26; (5) over man’s birth and lot in life, 1 Sam. 16:1; Ps. 139:16; Isa. 45:5; Gal. 1:15-16; (6) over the outward successes and failures of men’s lives, Ps. 75:6, 7; Luke 1:52; (7) over things seemingly accidental or insignificant, Prov. 16:33; Matt. 10:30; (8) in the protection of the righteous, Pss. 4:8; 5:12; 63:8; 121:3; Rom. 8:28; (9) in supplying the wants of God’s people, Gen. 22:8, 14; Deut. 8:3; Phil. 4:19; (10) in giving answers to prayer, 1 Sam. 1:19; Isa. 20:5, 6; 2 Chron. 33:13; Ps. 65:2; Matt. 7:7; Luke 18:7, 8; and (11) in the exposure and punishment of the wicked, Pss. 7:12-13; 11:6. (L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 4th ed.)
Clear thinking about God’s involvement in the world-process and in the acts of rational creatures requires complementary sets of statements, thus: a person takes action, or an event is triggered by natural causes, or Satan shows his hand – yet God overrules. This is the message of the book of Esther, where God’s name nowhere appears. Again: things that are done contravene God’s will of command – yet they fulfill his will of events (Eph. 1:11). Again: humans mean what they do for evil – yet God who overrules uses their actions for good (Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23). Again: humans, under God’s overruling, sin – yet God is not the author of sin (James 1:13-17); rather, he is its judge.
The nature of God’s “concurrent” or “confluent” involvement in all that occurs in his world, as – without violating the nature of things, the ongoing causal processes, or human free agency – he makes his will of events come to pass, is mystery to us, but the consistent biblical teaching about God’s involvement is as stated above.
Of the evils that infect God’s world (moral and spiritual perversity, waste of good, and the physical disorders and disruptions of a spoiled cosmos), it can summarily be said: God permits evil (Acts 14:16); he punishes evil with evil (Ps. 81:11-12; Rom. 1:26-32); he brings good out of evil (Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; 13:27; 1 Cor. 2:7-8); he uses evil to test and discipline those he loves (Matt. 4:1-11; Heb. 12:4-14); and one day he will redeem his people from the power and presence of evil altogether (Rev. 21:27; 22:14-15).
The doctrine of providence teaches Christians that they are never in the grip of blind forces (fortune, chance, luck, fate); all that happens to them is divinely planned, and each event comes as a new summons to trust, obey, and rejoice, knowing that all is for one’s spiritual and eternal good (Rom. 8:28).
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
~Ephesians 3:20-21~
These are the verses which come to my mind as I think back over our first three and half weeks here in Africa. Since July 22nd we have been here at RAU making the Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus into a home and place of discipleship. God is blessing and helping us by His grace and with the help of many here and in America! The RAU team,Carol,and I are all very,very grateful!
I have a number of praise reports to give to you! God is good and He is good all the time!
* In our past newsletters we have been updating you on the 1999 Land Cruiser we have been saving up to purchase. When we last wrote we still needed $8,000 to purchase it, ship it to Mombasa Kenya from Japan, drive it to Kampala, pay taxes, and outfit it for the bush. I am happy to report to you these funds have been graciously and lovingly provided. The vehicle has been ordered and we should have it in 6-8 weeks. Currently whenever I need to go to Moyo for supplies it has nearly taken up a half a day as Sam and I have to walk until we can find a boda (motorcycle taxi), do our shopping and then find one for the ride back. This vehicle will not only help us in this way but will also allow us to go out to minister more freely. Praise the Lord for this provision!
*In our last newsletter Carol shared the need of security and the funds necessary for that provision. The Lord, through His people, has graciously granted us the funds to take care of this need for one entire year! Hallelujah!
*We have also been able to do some more work on the Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus and grounds because of the gifts of God’s people. PTL! Our goal is to have a place where pastors,evangelists,church leaders, and church planters can come for short discipleship retreats and return to their congregations refreshed, strengthened, and encouraged to plant churches in the unreached villages and people groups in their geographic areas.We also want to be able to graciously host short term mission teams which would come to share their God given gifts with the people. So far three are planning to come before Christmas. With $5,000 more we could be fully operational. There are so many details which, now that we have been on here, have become evident as optimal if we are going to run smoothly.
* The RAU team has planned for a dedication service to be held on May 10th from 9AM to 2PM to give public thanks to our God and King for all that He has done. It will also be a time to thank all those who have helped us in this journey. Pastors from local churches and from churches in South Sudan as well as Kampala will be in attendance; also local, district and federal political leaders will be invited. A meal will be served. The woman from Abraham’s church as well as the women from a church near us will assist in the cooking and serving. There will be time for speeches and also a time of RAU leaders sharing their vision and plans. Abraham is sending invitations to key people, but we have been told that there may be any number of others who want to come and see what is happening! I wish that all our American supporters could be here! In March of 2010, RAU was formed, land was purchased; ground was broken for the building of the Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus in August of 2011. Now, two years, later I am writing from an area which was African bush land just two years ago! Our Lord is to be PRAISED!
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
Psalms 127:1
* We now have over 1,100 Global Study Bibles ready to be shipped out in our container. Our plan is to show pastors, evangelists, church leaders and church planters how to use them during our retreats and outreach conferences. The fruit from these Bibles and other things in the container are immeasurable! Blessed be the Name of the Lord! You can view the list of things which are being put into the container here. The container has a long and arduous trip to get to us.To buy the container, insure it, and ship it from Seguin Texas to RAU is $20,000. A couple is willing match up to $10,000 to get this “ark” to us. Please help if you can. Specifically notate that your donation is to go towards the container costs.
We are here,Lord willing, long term. We strongly believe that an integral part of discipleship is relationship. I have actively been working on that since 2007 but always knew that short term trips were not the answer for us.Relationship involves, not only “quality” time, but also “quantity” time. In this regard Carol and I had our first Ma’di language lesson on the the 1st. Maggie, Pastor Abraham’s wife, is our instructor. Along with lessons we, of course, will have time to practice with others all day long. One of the things which is difficult for me (and there are many ) is the tonality of the Ma’di language. There are no real written helps either. Maggie is hand writing flashcards and copying a few primary school readers for us. There are none to purchase. There is a Ma’di New Testament but the Old Testament has not been translated. Please pray for us in this and becoming familiar with the culture.
Please also pray that the Lord will continue to give grace at those times when we begin to think about our family and friends. Those times are the hardest for both Carol and me.
Pray over the needs, give as the Lord leads. We appreciate all that everyone does in praying, loving, supporting and giving! Thank you!
Reaching Africa's Unreached 