Good Beginnings in 2024

by Jacob Lee

www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org

I pray that, in 2024, you who are reading this would find your joy and strength in the LORD who is faithful. Would you intercede on our behalf in this way for Carol and me as well as the ministry of Reaching Africa’s Unreached?

On a personal note, I pray that I see the primacy of my walk centered on worship, prayer and the reading of God’s Word. May that be your heart, too!

Truths I purpose to move forward with in 2024:

• I need to be willing to make sacrifices to find true fulfillment. (Matthew 16:25)
• I must consider the commitment involved in serving him. (Luke 14:25–33)
• Success isn’t always what we expect, and laying the groundwork is just as important as tending and shaping. (1 Corinthians 3:6–9)
• Temporary suffering is nothing compared to the ultimate rewards. (2 Corinthians 4:17–18)
• God’s word always fulfills its purpose. (Isaiah 55:11)
• I am certain that God sends believers to share the Gospel with non-believers (Romans 8:28). I aim by God’s grace to become more like Jesus , who was the “Prince of Preachers“, and to help others find faith in Jesus! Let’s support each other in this!

May this conviction remain mine as a missionary throughout 2024: “I rejoice in the many great individual missionaries throughout history. Praise God for their work, but I often wonder if an unhealthy perspective has been promoted when it comes to missions, emphasis being placed on individuals and not the local church. THE CORRECT EMPHASIS, I believe, needs to be upon the local church…the way to storm the gates of hell is through the local church and not individualism! I believe Satan trembles far more at a local church being on fire to reach the unreached than an individual, a couple, or a para-church mission organization!“

“The Great Commission is an invitation not just to individuals but to local churches…The Gospel+ Commissioned Individuals+ Local Churches=World Evangelization.” (Emphasis mine)

~Dave Harvey

We started 2024 with the heart and soul of Reaching Africa’s Unreached on January 3rd: training the faithful who train others who will train others…..

The church in the Sub-Saharan region is growing quickly and needs more leaders who know the truths of Christianity well and love Jesus.

We were happy to have Pastor Jason Van Bemmel and Bob Brown with us from Jan 2nd-12th. Their sons, Jeremy Van Bemmel and Caleb Brown, also came. Jason is the lead pastor at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church (PCA), which has been a long time loving supporter of Reaching Africa’s Unreached for which we are so grateful. We thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated Caleb and Jeremiah. These young men threw themselves into all the opportunities put before them–from hard labor in the hot sun, to participating in the training, greeting the attendees, playing frisbee, mingling with the crowd in Yumbe, trying new foods and more! They are both fine young men and a testament of fruitfulness to their parents.

We had at RAU 71 church leaders in the Hall of Tyrannus January 3rd-10th from the West Nile Uganda, and from Refugee Settlements in Uganda (from both South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan). Many languages and tribes were represented. Sixty-one of the men slept at RAU. Our RAU crew did a stellar job feeding and caring for them. Carol and Zorah handled registration and made sure each attendee received their resource bags. Carol cared for the men throughout their stay advising on health issues and getting medicines for those that had received instructions from the nearby clinic on what was needed. Zorah also kept attendance and certificates were given out on the last day of the training.

The bulk of the time was spent studying homiletics (preaching) and ecclesiology (the church). Our first half day was spent working through R.C Sproul’s excellent small book, Saved from What?. I believe it to be of prime importance that in each module the gospel is front and center. We cannot think about the “gospel” too much and it is not something that simply “gets us in the door” or from which we “move on“! Jason and Bob are both excellent teachers! They also put together helpful outlines of each lesson which church leaders can also use to teach others. Throughout each lesson, the ESV Global Study Bible is what we used together. At the start of every session we worshiped through songs and hymns. As Jason said, “one of the best ways to teach congregations beautiful and transforming truth is through song.” Each morning we had an excellent devotional with Bob Brown.

We ended our 7-day training with preaching practicum breakout sessions, for Ma’di, Aringa, and Arabic-speaking groups with team leaders. Each leader attending had to pick out one of five different texts using the handout below which was created by Jason. They preached in their local tongue to their group. Team leaders were assigned by me to critique the 20-25 minute messages using Jason’s handout as a guide.

A few days after the training, one of the young leaders wrote this message to us: “I’m really very grateful for the training. I have learned a lot. May the Lord Almighty bless you and the people who gave us the training in Jesus name, men. Pastoral preaching is the book that has really impressed me.”

On January 10 &11th, we (Carol and I, Marylanders, Jason Van Bemmel and son Jeremiah, Bob Brown and son Caleb, Ugandan co-workers Henry and Mindra) traveled to a village in Yumbe district (95%+ Muslim population) for evangelism in partnership with Pilgrim’s church and the local church members of Ambelechu. We were in a village trading center on a market day. Many received Aringa-English Dual language gospel tracts as well as the Gospel of John. We had open air preaching from a top the Land Cruiser, which is my most favorite preaching spot. Long time friend, Pastor Jason, and I both preached, Jason from John 10 and I from Mark 2:1-12. For many years, Jason has been eagerly anticipating such an opportunity. This was his sixth trip to RAU and Bob’s fifth. Onduga Charles, RAU’s Aringa co-worker, as always, was on  AS HE interpreted for both of us! Not sure how his voice held out–he preaches with such energy. For a bit, it looked as if technical difficulties would block the Jesus film from being shown but, in the end, all went well–many heads working together! Charles estimates that there were around 2,000 people there watching and listening to the video!

They will listen!!

“And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved” (Acts 28:24). How does Paul respond? Paul, the defendant, delivers a verdict. He tells them their rejection actually fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy (Acts 28:25–27). Then he says, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen” (Acts 28:28). They will listen. …” (  Paul Billings: They Will Listen: Evangelistic Confidence in a Cynical Age )

Many came forward processing faith, saying they had never heard such a clear explanation of the Gospel. In these evangelism events we always seek to work hand in hand with local churches. In Yumbe, it is with Onduga Charles and his team from Pilgrim Church. On a side note, when it comes to baptisms, I do not baptize but insist that local leaders do so. RAU is here to work with and along side local churches in evangelism, discipleship and church planting.

The incredible Youth Group from Pilgrim’s church in Yumbe loves to serve, sing, pray and dance! They certainly drew the crowd at Ambelechu market! Some served by setting up/running sound, others by passing out the Gospel of John and RAU’s dual language tracts, and some by praying and worshiping joyfully.

For some time now, we have been looking for a way to help a young lady with a troublesome physical defect. Please keep young Jovia in prayer as she was taken to Entebbe to CoRSU hospital for reconstructive surgery. She has macrodactyly on her left foot (unusually large toes). This problem has made it difficult for her to walk, wear shoes and it has caused her the grief of being teased at school and home. Her home is in the Metu Mountains where RAU has been working since 2010. Some wonderful donors have contributed for her to get surgery. The reconstructive surgery has been successful and she has been discharged. Praise God! She will use crutches for the next two weeks until she has a review. Please pray for a full recovery without complication. Thanks to all who contributed toward her surgery and the cost of travel, lodging and food! We really appreciate Nurse John Bosco who traveled with the young girl and family member for the initial review and, then, for the surgery. Whether here or in the USA, it’s always best to have an advocate who can help navigate processes and speak on behalf of the patient.

  Back home and getting her dressing removed for review of the healing process. Looking good! She will go back to CoRSU at the end of January for the specialists to see how she is progressing and if further work will be done.

We are in the midst of the dry/hot season which typically lasts from mid December through March. During this time there is very little to no rain and strong, dry winds from the north blow through carrying a lot dust from the Sahara and ash from all the bush burning. It is the time for our drip irrigation to be set up in our demo box gardens from which we all eat. We are also adding cow manure to the soil. The drip irrigation units are our from agricultural partner  Missionary Agricultural Resource Services(M.A.R.S.) which has supported RAU since 2013. We also have been hard at work making water channels in our demo mango orchard. RAU currently has nearly 1000 grafted mangoes. The RAU land slopes and during the heavy, monsoon-like rainy season the erosion has been a problem we work on each year. The newest plot of land with the young mangoes suffers the most. Lord willing, the channels we are making will carry our water out to the bush effectively, helping to protect the soil on the demo farm.

For more information on RAU’s Mercy Ministries: 1) Agriculture 2) Clean Water 3) Dental and Medical clinics, go to this link: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/agriculture-project/

As seen above, one of the means for RAU to walk out 2 Timothy 2:2 is by ensuring that every church leader has a Bible; if they can read English or Arabic, we do our best to put in their hands a good study Bible. By God’s grace, since 2013, we have received at RAU around 30,000 ESV Global Study Bibles, many Arabic Study Bibles and some local language Bibles. On the way are 20,000 ESV Bibles, 500 ESV Pew Bibles, and 500 Concise Study Bibles. In the boxes above we received many Story of Redemption Bibles…PTL! All the study Bibles are set aside for leaders. I am very happy about the ESV Bibles coming which we can also give out to church members. In much of Uganda, as well as many Sudanese, English is known and read because of education being done in English.

The quote below highlights one of the reasons we want to get good Christian literature to hands of church leaders:

“The printed page is a missionary that can go anywhere and do so at minimum cost. It enters closed lands and reaches all strata of society. It does not grow weary. It needs no furlough. It lives longer than any missionary. It never gets ill. It penetrates through the mind to the heart and conscience. It has and is producing results everywhere. It has often lain dormant yet retained its life and bloomed years later.” Missionary Samuel Marinus Zwemer ( 1867– 1952). 

For me, one the greatest means God has used to grow me in Christ is by reading the writings of godly men and women, many who have been dead for many years. One of the gifts God gives to the church are teachers. In my opinion, the person who believes that just “me and my bible is enough” is someone who doesn’t recognize his own limitations or appreciate what the Bible has to say in Romans and Corinthians about the Body of Christ. Praise God for the universal Body of Christ with various gifts that God has given to build up his church! We believe that Ugandan and Sudanese church leaders (and others) deserve the opportunity to access good Christian literature.

God has graciously given us connections with book publishers and distributors in America as well as Bible Schools and Bible Training Centers, both formal and informal, throughout West Nile Uganda and in nearby refugee resettlement camps (South Sudan, and the Republic of Sudan). I would encourage you to look at the various short videos on my YouTube channel highlighting some of these places and opportunities. https://www.youtube.com/@jacoblee2082/videos

With these connections and the increasing demand for both Bibles and good Christian literature, we see the Lord setting us in a position to be a distribution center for resources. Our specific geographical location for this calling is definitely God ordained! I am seeking to get two used 40-foot containers from Kampala here to RAU for expanded space to store these materials and keep them free from the elements and the many rats in our area. To purchase the containers, load them, transport them from Kampala northward to us (the last part of journey is on dirt roads), off-load them, make a slab to set them on and put a protective roof over them, will cost RAU at least $20,000.

If you, your church or organization could help us with that, it would be greatly appreciated. By helping, you would be a part of strengthening one of the areas of the world upon which the Lord is pouring out his Spirit and rapidly growing His church. The need is great for mature church leaders. Current estimates for church leaders in our area are that 90-97 percent have received little to no biblical training. Please help us change that. RAU Donation page: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/donations/

Below, in the first picture with stakes, is where the two containers would be set. The other pictures are of the current containers and the spaces in which they sit. We currently have four and one has been absorbed into the home Carol and I are living in.

A privilege which Carol and I cherish is to invite and host other mission-minded, Gospel-ignited people to whom we can pass on wisdom gleaned (what to do, what NOT to do, how to find the Grit to Stay, Grace to Go) on the mission field. Such is the blessing of having Micaiah McClymont here for the next 5 weeks. The Lord has impassioned her to live a life of cross-cultural, Gospel service and she is going to great lengths to find the place and venue in which to do that. What a joy to have her here, to find mutual encouragement in Gospel focus, and to serve the Lord together with her, if even for a short time. Micaiah is an RN, an avid reader and language learner, an others-minded, ready-to-get-her-hands-dirty-in-service, Jesus follower. We greatly look forward to these coming weeks with her.

Future plans and items for prayer:

1) On Wednesday January 24th, Carol, Micaiah McClymond , and I will be the the speakers at the Pilgrim Church’s Youth Conference. It is a district-wide conference and our Aringa co-worker, Onduga Charles, is expecting 250-300 Youth, Later in the day, we head to a nearby Yumbe town to do one-on-one evangelism with Aringa-English Dual language tracts. Later, I will preach from a top of the Land Cruiser for open air preaching, and, when it’s dark we will show the “Jesus” film in Aringa. Pray for ongoing discipleship and evangelism outreaches in Yumbe District, Obongi town, the rural Metu Mountains, throughout Moyo District, and through our co-workers in the nearby refugee resettlement camps.

2) Pray for Micaiah who is here through ABWE’s Short term Mission’s program. Pray the Lord would continue to fill her heart with passion for the nations and that the Lord would grant her wisdom and direction where to walk out that passion.

3) Pray for upcoming ministry events: A. Good Soil Roots of Faith New Testament with ABWE co-workers. Last year Roots of Faith Old Testament was completed with the same ABWE team. B. Helping Without Hurting In Africa lessons 11-20. Last year the authors taught lessons 1-10. C. Hill Country Fellowship Burnet Texas, one of RAU’s loving/supporting churches, is bringing a team for ministry and to see, firsthand, the work of RAU.

4) Praise the Lord! An anonymous donor gave RAU funds to do a second dental outreach in the Hall of Tyrannus with Hope Smiles Jinja. Last October the Hope Smiles team of 12 saw 487 patients, did 243 Deep cleanings, 56 Simple cleanings, 323 Restorations and 425 Extractions. Each person received Madi-English or Aringa-English dual language gospel tracts which they could read while waiting to be seen. Some received Bibles as well as books in Arabic (Sudanese who came from across the South Sudan border which is 2 kilometers away).

5) We are continuing to work on getting an Uganda FM radio license so that we can establish a strong Christ-centered radio station on the RAU campus. Pray for wisdom and the favor of God as we work through the many details.

6) Pray for 21,000 bibles on their way to RAU. Pray for the funding for setting up of two more containers as RAU seeks to be a distribution center for Bibles and Christian books. I wrote more about that above.

We love you and pray for you, our beloved family and friends and supporters!

With love and gratefulness,

Jacob and Carol Lee

www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org 

What we do now in the Lord and for Him will echo throughout eternity for His praise and honor….all else is dust in the wind!

“It is our conviction that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16) and we have been entrusted to proclaim it passionately and rightly. Our dependence is upon the Holy Spirit for the power to preach, teach, live and endure all things for the sake of the elect. (1 Timothy 2:10). As Christians, we are called to lay down our lives so that the Gospel will be preached to all. As ones who are confident in God’s sovereignty and passionate for His glory we seek to reach the many that have never heard of the Savior and His work of reconciliation. We understand that this work cannot be accomplished in our own strength but only through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. The means He uses in His people are cross-centered living, sacrificial and loving service, Bible-soaked preaching/teaching, fervent intercessory prayer, and Christ-likeness.” (From Reaching Africa’s Unreached Mission & Vision Statement)

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Checks also may be written out to “RAU” and sent to our secretary Beth and she will deposit them into RAU’s account : Lifegate-RAU, 395 Lifegate Ln., Seguin, TX. 78155

Mission & Vision Statements: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/about/

Mercy Ministries: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/agriculture-project/

Blog Posts: www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org

Donation Page : https://reachingafricasunreached.org/donations/

RAU’s YouTube Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRmHafoBSemE7jS8kEHCG6Q/videos

RAU is in partnership with ABWE: www.ABWE.org