Jesus says, “Yumbe is Mine!”

On November 30, 2013September 22, 2024 By Jacob LeeIn Uncategorized

I pray you all had a good Thanksgiving and are continuing with a spirit of thanksgiving in your hearts expressed through your lips and actions. Carol and I are grateful for the innumerable blessings we have received over the years. Most of all, we are grateful for God’s grace and mercy demonstrated to us through Jesus Christ! I am also thankful for my many African friends and my sweet wife being here with me. Through these lovely people and by God’s grace the sting of missing family/loved ones is lessened on days like Thanksgiving.

Last time I wrote you about an upcoming meeting with pastors in Yumbe. Yesterday (the 29th), Pastor Abraham, Nurse Sam , Alfred and I left in the morning and returned in the evening to RAU. We met with the only three evangelical pastors of this city of 35,000. There were also several pastors from the district with us, as well as a few church workers. Yumbe district has around 500,000 people and very,very few Christians.

Each person shared their hearts, praises,difficulties and hopes for their people to be reached with the glorious gospel. Pressures against Christians in this district are constant and strong. I was humbled by the brothers and sisters great faith in Jesus in the midst of difficulties. What an honor to work shoulder to shoulder together with them for the glory of Jesus! You who partner with us are also linked to them!

I was told this was the first gathering for pastors from different denominations (Baptist, Pentecostal, Anglican, Calvary Chapel, Independent and Lifegate. [Lifegate is my home church which has sent us out. Lifegate is a member of Sovereign Grace Ministries ]) We gathered together with the expressed purpose of working together to see Yumbe town and District full of praise and worship of Jesus. Upon arriving home I had the following message from one of the attending pastors in my email: “Praise Jesus, dear father in the Lord! I hope you reached well. I praise God for finally remembering Yumbe people through RAU. I am praying with you for His will be done. Thank you. ______ from ______ Church. God bless you greatly.” I had opportunity to share with them the vision and mission of Reaching Africa’s Unreached and how we can work together with them to reach Yumbe with message of redemption found only in Christ Jesus. I also told them about many people praying for them and the spread of gospel in Yumbe. They all were greatly encouraged!

Pastor Abraham’s older brother, Ponziano, wrote me an encouraging word along with a brief history of Yumbe. This is what he wrote, “That place Yumbe has been a stronghold of Islam in northern Uganda since from the time of Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1886 to 1889. It also became the backbone of Idi Amin’s regime because Amin, being a Moslem himself, trusted in the loyalty of people from Yumbe because of their religion and made many of them commanders in his army and gave them high ranking government positions, including the vice presidency. It came to be that young people from Yumbe despised higher education which they felt was not necessary to advance in the military and in the government of Amin. When the tides changed, the people of Yumbe had double the tragedy from the aftermaths of Amin’s atrocities: they not only suffered revenge from the rest of Uganda as did all of West Nile, but they also were the least educated of all the West Nile tribes and therefore most ill-prepared to re-integrate back into the fabric of civic participation at the national level. Evidence of this may still be apparent on the ground. Yumbe is therefore a virgin land for the gospel because neither the Catholic Church nor the Protestant Church who partitioned colonial Uganda between themselves ever established shop in Yumbe. So you guys are where Apostle Paul boasted of being – going where no one else has been to preach the gospel before, so that he would not be working on the foundations laid by someone else. So take pride in this privilege the Lord has accorded to you, taking care to lay a strong foundation with the workmanship of the Holy Spirit who has opened this door to you because of His great mercy and love for the people of Yumbe. And may God be with you and confirm His work with bountiful harvest of souls!”

I awoke early this morning with an extra energy in my step, I am physically tired but refreshed in my heart to see what the Lord is doing in Yumbe! I am grateful for you my friends…your prayers and support…thank you! Romans 15:20 was indelibly printed upon my heart in 1977 by Leonard Ravenhill when he quoted it to me in his office. It brings great joy to my heart to hear Ponziano quote it in relation to Yumbe!

In February we will have a special retreat here at RAU for pastors/church leaders dedicated to Yumbe leaders and those called to minister in this Muslim district. Kevin Turner, who was just with us, will be bringing a team at that time to help us in the retreat as well as our outreach to Yumbe and Moyo Districts.

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There will be many future trips to Yumbe for discipleship and evangelism in the years ahead. I rejoice in that!

Jesus says, “Yumbe is mine”! We all say “Amen”. Can I get an “Amen” from you?!!

Godfrey has spent the whole week in Obongi discipling the new believers there. Please continue to pray for him and the new RAU church plant in Obongi town. Thank you for your prayers for our outreach to both Yumbe and Obongi. Please continue in your prayers and giving which enable us to do what we are doing.

There is no new news on the container. Thomas, our faithful brother who has been working with us, has been sitting in offices days and keeps being told to come back the next day. We are in the process of asking the political leaders in Moyo, with whom God has given us favor, to be giving additional pressure for it to be released to us. Please keep praying for its release. We need it to arrive before we return to the USA for Christmas. Please also pray for its release and the $3000+ for clearing fees.

Over 1,100 Global Study Bibles and 3,500 christian books for distribution to pastors and others are on their way ..PTL! — Over 1,100 Global Study Bibles and 3,500 christian books for distribution to pastors and others are in the RAU container which is still being held in Kampala. Pray that is makes its 2 day trip north to us SOON!

There is a tremendous amount of water which comes off the Guesthouse roof which is lost. Water is a very precious resource to us, especially throughout the dry season. The dry season runs from December to March. I have received a bid to harvest this roof water. To dig an 80,000 liter in-ground tank, purchase strong gutters and a pipe system to bring the water to tank, with labor, is $9,000. This would be a secondary source to our well and could gravity feed the tukalu guest living quarters and be used for irrigation. It also could be pumped into our above ground tank for the Guesthouse if it is needed. When we have had groups here we have often run out of water and then are dependent on a generator. Fuel is much more expensive here than in the America and it is often difficult to get. I believe this water harvest system to be a wise investment and would be a helpful tool for many years to come.

We leave Entebbe for Texas on December 17 to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. We sold our vehicles when we made our move to Africa. If anyone from the Seguin area has a vehicle we may use to get around in while Texas please let me know. Thank you!

Your prayers and support are as equally important as us physically being here. Only together can we advance the faith of Jesus where He is not known!

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support.

Jacob(for the both of us)

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

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReachingAfricasUnreached

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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

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! Jacob Lee

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.

*If you have questions on donations please email me at JacobLeeRAU@gmail.com

Memories, Ministry, Malaria

On November 21, 2013December 28, 2013 By Jacob LeeIn Evangelism, Missions, News and Status Updates, Uncategorized3 Comments

Memories, Ministry, and Malaria

by Carol Lee

I hope this letter finds you well and hoping, not in the things of this world, but in things that cannot rust or be stolen and that have eternal value. I also hope that, though long, this letter will excite you and not bore you. There is so much to tell!

Many times in the past, when days were flying by and life seemed hectic, I had often found myself thinking, “Stop the world and let me off!” This is NOT the way I feel now, though the days are flying by and there are many things on the RAU daily agenda. I am immensely blessed in being allowed to live this adventure we have been called to. I am much more keenly aware that life is ministry and that it is about reaching out to include as many others as we can while we “hold on to [and hold out] the word of life.”

“So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the One bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of His good pleasure – is God. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world by [emphasis mine] holding on to [in other translations: “holding out”]the word of life….”

Philippians 2: 12-16 (New English Translation)

I am being challenged more and more in the attitudes of my heart to do what these verses are exhorting – working out what God has worked in so that there is no hypocrisy, maintaining an awe and reverence for the One who is working in me so I don’t begin to think I deserve what only comes by grace, doing everything without grumbling or arguing because it is unthinkable that those who have received so much could be ungrateful or argumentative, and holding on to the word of life, because we are nothing without Christ, who is our life. And, how can we hold out the word of life if we, ourselves, are not holding onto the word of life? If these characteristics are not continually growing in us we cannot shine as lights in the darkness because we ourselves are in darkness.

I was bemoaning to Lucy (our cook) the other day, after receiving unexpected visitors and people with needs, and telling her that my heart is so unlike Jesus’ and that I need God’s help to be more open and willing to share what I have and not to grumble about those He sends my way. I see others who have so much less than I do being so much more gracious and hospitable. It is built into the culture here. Even if I don’t want to hurt someone in my helping by just handing out money as if it’s the answer, [When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor by Corbett and Fikkert], I can at least be like Peter and John who said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you.” (Acts 3:6) I can pray for them, I can offer tea and sincere concern, I can offer a job which will allow them to earn money and, sometimes, we can also give money if it is appropriate. But my own heart needs to be filled with light and ready to shine in the darkness!

I am sorry that it has taken me coming to a foreign mission field to see this more clearly. In America, it was all too easy to hide myself in work and home and busyness.

So here I am…in Northwestern Uganda…learning to love a new way of looking at the world – at those around me. I am truly thankful! But please don’t think that you have to leave where you are to live this out!

One of the biggest blessings of being here has been meeting awesome people as they come with their gifting and their love and desire to partner with us in what the Lord is doing in this part of the world. First, there was our longtime beloved friend, Ron Zeiner. Last week, it was our beloved “Tennessee Trio,” and this week it is beloved friends and brothers in Christ, Kevin Turner and Ron Day. Jacob already knew them; I knew of them, “but now my eyes have seen them!” And, oh! What a revelation it has been!

Kevin, Jacob, and Ron on their way to Yumbe

Great times of fellowship in the Hall of Tyrannus

Meeting Kevin Turner for the first time is like standing in front of a gushing fire hydrant – intense! But what a refreshing, intense blast it has been getting to know him! His love for Jesus is intense. His passion to make Christ known is intense. His love for people and ability to show compassion is intense. His knowledge about anything and everything is intense. And…his silly antics…are totally and intensely hilarious. We all have laughed so hard that I am sure our veins are coursing with pure endorphins. Though, initially, some looked at him with wide-eyed wonder, they are seeing and appreciating his genuine love for Jesus and for them. They are enjoying looking at the world and their own life in Christ through his eyes. They are being encouraged in their faith, prayed for and cared for. Thank you, Kevin, for your friendship and partnership and generosity! Thank you for sharing with us what the Lord so uniquely and beautifully has done in and through you.

On the morning Kevin and Ron left three mambas were found 200 yards from the Guesthouse. Before they were killed Kevin gave us all a first hand lesson on them.

We are immensely blessed by Ron Day and his gift of film making. God called him as a youngster to have an impact by capturing artistically and beautifully the works that the Lord is doing around the world through His people. Ron’s hope and desire is that through well made films, people will hear the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, be moved and want to invest themselves in missions…and maybe even MOVE! He has been generous with his time and resources and has been busy capturing on film the various places and activities in which RAU has been involved and getting glimpses of life and landscape so that all who see his film will feel they are right there with us. We look forward to seeing the finished product! Thank you, Ron, for serving Christ and us in this way!

Kevin and Ron arrived on Tuesday evening, November 12, ferried by Patrick Bukenya in his vehicle from Kampala. They took the long and scenic route via Arua and were able to get some great footage along the way of some of the wild life…and no, I am not talking about Kevin! While Sam and Kevin joined together in “harassing” the monkeys and calling their relatives names (“Your mother’s a monkey!” and, “You give birth to monkeys!”), Sam was praying that Kevin would not try the same shenanigans on the bull elephants that they stopped to film.

Having arrived late on Tuesday evening, we “allowed” them one recoup day – Wednesday.

On Thursday, Abraham took the crew to Metu Mountain for open air preaching in the market. It had been raining and the roads were a mess. Immediately after preaching, Jacob began to feel sick with what was most certainly a bout of malaria. The joy of being stopped by a husband and wife on the way back who wanted to respond to the message that was preached was more than enough to overcome the misery of malaria. Back in Moyo, Jacob had his blood tested but, because the one who would read the test was not there, he started on Coartem immediately and went to bed. The next morning the blood test came back ‘negative’, but Nurse Sam says that was because he took it too early. All the symptoms that hung on for four days definitely pointed to malaria (which Jacob defines as “flu to the 10th power“.)

On Friday, Abraham, Jacob, Ron, Kevin,Alfred, and Sam took a day trip to Yumbe. (Yumbe is a city of 35,000 with less than 100 evangelical believers in it.) Though Jacob was ill with malaria, he felt he simply could not miss the landmark meeting with the few pastors of the city for strategizing effective ways of reaching out to unbelievers and also for the strengthening of the believers. Jacob remarked afterwards that he couldn’t have planned it any better if it were his to plan. He was thrilled with how the meeting went and was impressed by Pastor Ben (one of the three evangelical pastors in Yumbe), who has truly been a light shining in the darkness in his life of servanthood and integrity in the community. Pastor Ben wrote Jacob an email which expressed his deep gratitude and the joy and encouragement he felt in having others come alongside in support. He stated that the few believers there had felt very discouraged in their outreach to a difficult place, but the encouragement of partners was immeasurable. The Lord knows our needs and He is building His church! It is wonderful to be a part of that work.

On Saturday, Jacob stayed home while Ron and Kevin, Abraham and Sam took another trip. The plan was for Ron and Kevin to experience a small village church, to do some preaching and to encourage the believers. Ron, again, had opportunity to capture these experiences on film. On Sunday, Abraham picked up and delivered Kevin and Ron to the churches in which they would be preaching. (Jacob and I stayed home.) Kevin was a trooper in that, though suffering with a skull-splitting headache, he could not be held back from preaching…for two and a half hours! “For the joy set before him…” Ron had the joy of praying with a young teenage boy who wanted to receive Christ in response to his message.

Sunday night, Abraham, again, took Ron and Kevin to the open air meeting in the Moyo market. It was a difficult evening, to say the least. First, Kevin, still with splitting headache, preached, stopped briefly to go behind the vehicle to vomit (pain-related nausea) and then preached some more! Amazing. Second, the crowd was less than attentive – they were there for buying and selling. It was, however, an encouragement that several came forward to confess their need of a Savior. One man, in particular, came forward resolutely, stating, “I really need to be delivered. I need the Savior.” Only on the other side of time will we know the full fruit of this effort…”the foolishness of preaching.”

It’s Monday now. Jacob is feeling a bit better and has decided to go with the team to Obongi. We had talked to him the night before about taking one more day to rest, but he was resolute in declaring, “How can I ask people to be willing to suffer in delivering the gospel, when I am not willing to do so myself?!” It’s Kevin’s turn to rest so he can be relieved of his massive headache and hypertension. Ron is on task with his camera in tow. Abraham’s vehicle has new shocks which he installed this morning. And they’re off! Once again, this is a strategic visit – to encourage and strengthen the few believers who are in Obongi and to strategize. Godfrey, whom Jacob is helping to prepare to pastor there, has been in Obongi all weekend. A number of people were added to the church in Obongi during the evening open air preaching. We look forward to enjoying the fruit of this effort.

It won’t be long and this team visit will also be a past tense experience. One of the most difficult things in having people come to and go from RAU, as I mentioned before, is the “going” part. There is a huge vacuum there that pulls us into a bit of a funk. We are impacted by our visitors in what they give while here, but, also, by what is missing when they leave!

One sweet salve for this wound is that in one month from now we will be back in Seguin and Texas to enjoy some sweet reunions with family and friends for Christmas. It will be refreshment that will re-energize us to return in January and to refresh others as we ourselves have been refreshed!

Some things to pray about:

1. We are still waiting for the container to be released so it can make its way up here. Pray for safe transport here.

2. We still do not know the exact location of the Land Cruiser. The last we had heard, it had not yet left Japan. Please pray that it, also, would make it to us safely.

3. Wisdom and funding for church plants/evangelism in Muslim dominated Obongi and Yumbe. Discipleship of young men to be shepherds there.

4. Future pastor retreats at RAU and more housing for the pastors when they are here.

Some praises:

1. We had had some difficulty with the water pump and were worried that there might be a problem with it. Praise the Lord, it turned out to only be a “switch” problem. Our generator is in Kampala for repairs so right now we are borrowing Abraham’s to pump water.

2. Most of the building is done and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel There will always be something that needs fixin’ or building, but we are happy, for the time being, to be done with the greatest portion of it.

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support.

Carol (for the both of us)

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

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReachingAfricasUnreached

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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

Jacob Lee

*If you have questions on donations please email Jacob at JacobLeeRAU@gmail.com

Everything is yours Lord!

On May 13, 2013 By Jacob LeeIn Uncategorized

A dear friend and sister in the Lord pointed Carol and me to this beautiful song on YouTube. All the pictures and words have greatly touched my heart in a very special way. It brings great joy to my heart at the great privilege which has been given to Carol and me by our Lord and King!.

We are moving ahead with joy!!

More from David Sitton

On April 10, 2013April 10, 2013 By Jacob LeeIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Missions, Uncategorized

This is a great followup article to my last post!

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Reckless Abandon: The Risk is Right When the Reward is Christ

by David Sitton

The summer siege on Tiananmen Square in 1989 was temporarily halted by one man who dared to face-down a Chinese tank. It’s an image that captured a century-defining moment of reckless defiance against the tyranny of communism.

One lone rebel walked calmly through the frenzied, fleeing mob toward the enemy. He then stood unarmed, directly in the path of the advancing tanks. The lead tank tried to swerve around him, but he repeatedly side-stepped into its path with defiant, yet non-violent hand gestures. Rather than crush the young man, the tank eventually stopped its engine.

The peaceful protester climbed onto the hull of the lead tank, crawled under the tank gun to the driver’s hatch and, on live television, was seen talking to the driver. It is reported that he demanded that the tank commander, “Leave my city. You have no right to kill my people!”

The captain restarted the engine to carry on with his mission. But the man jumped off the tank and quickly re-established his bold stance, again blocking the forward progress of the tanks.

Moments later, three by-standers ran in to pull the man away, and they all disappeared into the crowd. It is believed that the gutsy young man was a 19-year-old student, who was abruptly arrested by secret police and became one of many that were brutally executed during the military crackdown in Beijing. He was never heard from again.

What are we to think of an incident such as this? Why would he be so reckless, knowing he would surely be executed for such foolhardy insubordination? Evidently, the atrocities of a communistic dictatorship were so oppressive that he was compelled to forfeit his life in an effort to stop it or at least to delay the inevitable, if only for those few moments he could control.

The “tank man” is to be admired. However, such risky heroism is not as rare as you might think. American soldiers overseas and firemen on the home-front often display similar “tank man” recklessness in their vocations. Lives are frequently sacrificed in order to establish a military beachhead or to rescue people from burning buildings. Somehow they muster the courage to endanger their own lives for others, convinced the cause is worth it. They risk their lives with reckless abandon. The dictionary defines the individual words this way:

reckless /ré-kləs/ adj: marked by lack of proper caution: utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action.

abandon /ə-bán-dən/ n: to give (oneself) over unrestrainedly.

reckless abandon /ré-kləs ə-bán-dən/: to give oneself unrestrainedly to the cause of Jesus and the promotion of His kingdom without concern for danger and the consequences of that action.

In mission, then, are we to be recklessly abandoned for Christ and the gospel among the nations? Or should we only go into the world with the gospel where we can safely do so? What do we do when we find that it’s impossible to manage the risks or to minimize the dangers to reasonable levels? Do we go—no matter what? Or do we wait until red carpets are rolled out for us?

It seems as though many in the West believe we should attempt to engage only those people groups that present “reasonable risks” to our missionaries. The not-so-subtle assumption is that missionaries should be routinely evacuated out of danger zones.

Why is it presumed that American missionaries have the “right” to require safe living conditions? Believers in the rest of the world assume that following Christ is naturally hazardous to their health! They live as lambs among wolves, expecting to be mistreated because wolves mistreat lambs (Matt. 10:16-25). Why do we think we should be exempt from what Jesus said would be the normal experience of His followers?

If it is admirable for our military men to die on foreign soil for American freedom and laudable for firemen to risk their lives for citizens in peril, why are missionaries dubbed as irresponsible fools when they choose to remain in hazardous situations with their families, “risking their necks” (Rom. 16:4) for the gospel of Christ?

Here is my rationale for sending missionaries with the gospel into hostile surroundings: Risk assumes the possibility of loss and is always determined by the value of the mission. The gospel is so valuable that no risk is unreasonable. Life is gained by laying it down for the gospel. If I live, I win and get to keep on preaching Christ. If I die, I win bigger by going directly to be with Christ (Phil. 1:22-24) and I get to take a few tribes with me.

I conclude that “losing my life” for the gospel is literally impossible because my years on this earth are worth far less than the value of the eternal gospel. This is what Paul means when he declares: “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).

If this is true, there is no meaningful risk for me as a carrier of the gospel of Christ. If some tribal chief chops my head off, he’s doing me a favor. Think about it. If I get to (not have to) lay down my life in some remote jungle swamp, but God uses my death as an object lesson to turn their eyes to Christ and the gospel gets established among them, that isn’t a bad “risk” for me. I didn’t lose; I won! It was the bargain of a lifetime because Jesus is worth a lot more than my little life.

If we, as gospel ambassadors, are unwilling to suffer even as much as soldiers and firemen, could the reason be that we don’t treasure Christ enough or value the gospel enough to sacrifice significantly for its advancement into unreached regions? Is Jesus simply not worth the risk to many of us? Where is the line, over which, it is no longer worth it to go with the gospel?

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David Sitton served as a church planting missionary in some of the remotest regions of Papua New Guinea during the 1970’s and 80’s. The Lord enabled him to make first contact with several previously unreached tribes and the establishing of 34 churches. In 1994, David founded To Every Tribe and, the following year, The Center for Pioneer Church Planting on the south Texas / Mexico border where he lives with his wife Tommi. David serves to train and launch church planting teams to those still without access to the gospel of Christ. David is the author of two books, To Every Tribe With Jesus and Reckless Abandon.