Sharing Night - September 29, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.." Revelation 12:11a, NKJV

Hello Friends, 

As I mentioned in past blogs, we will be having a night sharing and the information is given below:

Date: Thursday, September 29th, 2016

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. 

Venue: Fellowship Hall, Northgate Baptist Church, Edmonton, AB.

Come join us as we share together the amazing transformation stories and testimonies of the Lord's goodness to us before, during and after the Marare trip! 

It is a story of partnership!

It is a story of collaboration!

Great joy!

Hard To Say Good-Bye!

"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." Acts 1:9, NJKV

You think of mixed emotions - sadness and joy - the early disciples must have felt these seeing the One they have left all to follow leaving them after His resurrection! On our last day at the the village, tears flow freely and emotions couldn't be curtailed from both young and old. 

In preparation for the send forth celebration, we were all dressed up like brides and bridegroom in attractive colours.

All dressed up with colourful dresses 

So we were seated in a classroom as the children sang from their hearts - songs like - "will you come and see us again?", "thank you for loving us", "do not forget us." The songs were rendered with great passion filled with sadness that we are leaving, but also with the hope that we will back! 

The comforting words of angels to the disciples as he was taken away from their sight are much more relevant in this situation. Here is it: "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11, NJKV

Fellow brethren at Northgate, let us walk alongside the village of Marare to finish the course and say boldly like Apostle Paul in his final farewell that, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7, NKJV.

The village of Marare sends their warm greetings to everyone in Canada, and so we departed the village. The group of six departed as transformed men and women as the experiences in the village were mutual transformation for both parties. 

Parting final dresses given to us 

Farewell picture taken with FH Mbale staff (dark because it was taken at night)

And from there we travelled to Kampala, to Entebbe Airport, to Kigali, Rwanda, to Belgium, to Montreal, and finally to Edmonton arriving at 9:30 p.m. on August 24.

In all of these, we can safely say thank you Jesus for you are good!

God is good, 

All the time; 

All the time, 

God is good.

And that is His nature, WOW!

We welcome you to our sharing night (date to be be determined) and we will individually be sharing how the mission trip impacted us.

On behalf of Marare six for 2016, we say thank you for your prayers and supports and may the good Lord bless and reward your labour of love - "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV.

SHALOM!!!

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Sunday Worship
"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” - John 4:24, NIV

A typical Sunday in Marare features two different services - first service is in English language and is from 7:30 - 9:30 A.M., while the second service is in local language and is from 9:30 - 12 noon.

The team from Northgate was asked to moderate the two services in conjunction with other church leaders. It was a great honour and privilege for us as a team to be a blessing to the congregation through prayers, sharing of testimonies and message of hope. In all, many came out to be prayed over for different issues and the Lord answered prayers. By the end of the day, there were eight people who committed their lives to the Lord - we give God all the glory.

Cross section of the congregation during second service

In your prayers, kindly remember the eight new souls who came to the Lord and ask that the Lord will establish them in His love.

One more day to go...... tomorrow (Monday) is the celebration and farewell day for the team......

Stay tuned.....

Highlights of Projects in the Village of Marare
Earlier I shared with you three of the projects that are underway in the village of Marare namely biogas projects, school building project and savings loan. Today I want to update you with other interesting projects that are alive and running in the village including dairy cow project, school garden project, cascade leaders' group and protected spring well project.

Dairy Cow Project
The dairy cow project is made up of 5 families. The FH gives a cow to the leader and she is expected to take care of the cow and ensures it calves and in turn gives the calf to each member of the team until everyone has a cow. This project is intended to help the families to generate their own milk, use the waste from the cow to generate biogas. We visited with one of the leaders in this dairy cow project and she shared amazing story of how through this project and others, she has been able to take care of her family and in fact had started building another modern house.

A cascade leader, also a leader in the dairy cow project

Cascade leader standing beside her current house

Cascade leader standing in front of her new house under construction

School Garden Project
Through the partnership of Northgate, FH Marare acquired 3 acres of land to plant and harvest crops in order to feed the school children.  With this project, training and supplies as well as seeds and cuttings are being supplied. Oxen and Ox-ploughs were procured to assist the process and enhance the learning experience for students. The younger students will enjoy meals of porridge, while the older classes will have meals of beans and posho (a dish made from corn flour).
We visited the school garden project (picture below) and the people of Marare pray for rain - please let us keep them in our prayers that God will send rains to the land in abundance.

Marare School Garden Project

Cascade Leaders' Group
FH philosophy of raising and developing leaders from grassroots is really effective. To avoid cultural invasion and achieve program effectiveness, FH select reputable and respectable household leaders from the village and train them various skills for survival and sustainability. While there, we met with the cascade leaders in their meeting and they showed us one of their lessons for that day which is to learn about cough- its prevention and cure. Through these various trainings and self-empowerment, the cascade leaders now move back into the village to train other people. With this strategy, the people are more eager to listen to the cascade leaders as they see the evidence of transformation in their lives.

An FH Staff in teaching session with the cascade leaders

Protected Spring Well Project
As anyone knows that with clean potable water, one can prevent so many water-borne diseases including cholera, dengue fever, diarrhoea, polio, typhoid, malaria, to mention but few. When FH got to the village of Marare, the source of water in the village is a puddle, unsettled water that is unsafe (see the picture below). However, through the protected spring well project, the village now has safe, functional and potable spring well. These protected spring wells also have chlorine bucket which is intended to be used on demand basis. When this water is not being fetched by the villagers, it runs to the rice field down the hill.

A natural spring before the project

Protected Spring Well

An FH Staff standing in front of the chlorine bucket

Through all these projects, FH in partnership with Northgate, ensures that the village is sustainable and able to fend for herself, be a good example to other neighbouring villages.

Stay tuned!

That They May Have Life

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10, NIV

Through our interactions with the school children, we brought hope and life to them. The children were open to us through many activities. Here are examples of activities that we engaged in:

Bubble Gun Expedition - Pure Joy in its finest

Jules leading the troop in the bubble gun expedition

It is amazing to see the children running after the bubbles and were very happy. Asking Jules what the experience meant to her, she said it is "pure joy in its finest."

Ugandan Netball
Muzungu (white person) Katryna trying to keep up with the girls as they play the Ugandan netball. When I asked Katryna what she thought of the experience, she exclaimed that she was confused because she did not know the rule to the game, plus the fact that she does not know who is on her team - though the girls know who their opponents are!

Muzungu Katryna playing Ugandan netball

I came to serve
The expression, "I came to serve" came out of Danny's mouth as he reflects on time spent with adults in the village. He wears lens of a servant looking for opportunities to serve and add values to the villagers. This expression of servanthood was exemplified in Danny as he rolled up his sleeves during the filling of new school foundation with sands; engaging the construction superintendents in dialogues on improving the construction project and in getting to know other adults in the village.

Danny at work

Who am I Lord that these people love me unconditionally?
As Moses asked the Lord, so also Diniz continually asks the same question - "Why me Lord?' As Diniz reflects on his time in the village so far, he came to a conclusion as to why the Lord will choose to use him, this third time to come back to the village. Everywhere Diniz turns to, everyone loves him (both young and old). Through this humbling experience, Diniz recounted that he has experienced a mutual transformation and has learnt what it means to be genuine from the villagers.

Diniz and school girls plus a little boy

Personal transformation
What a blessing to be able to break away from the busyness and demands of life. From Felix's perspective, coming to the village has really helped him to experience the open heavens and to be a blessing to the villagers. Things he had seen or heard in the village have opened his eyes of understanding to be grateful in all things!

Felix at work....

I can do all things through Christ
I never thought I will have the energy I had in carrying the wheel barrow full of sand. In fact, coming to the village was nothing short of a miracle for me and since arrival I have experienced the strength of God in overcoming my limitations and weaknesses.

Bolaji at work

Over the course of 3days, the new school project is progressing accordingly.....

1. Foundation with quarried rocks

2. Foundation filled with sand

3. Foundation covered with cellophane, overlaid with wire gauze, ready for concrete

Next time, I will update you on the status of the school project. Stay tuned and continue to keep us in your prayers for the remaining days in the village.

You Came to Visit Me.....

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Matthew 25:35-36, NIV

One of the highlights of the journey to the village of Marare is to have personal relationship with the people - young, old and adults! There is an element of personal touch and deep sense of appreciation accompanying visiting someone in their homes. During the visit, we were able to see the sponsored children and their family members; listened to them as they appreciate the investment of the sponsors and especially Northgate Baptist Church.

As part of the visit, we were also able to see the outcome of investment in different initiatives in the village such as Diary Farm Project, Biogas Project, Savings Loan, to mention but few. 

Bio-gas project: 

To know in detail how cow dung, cow urine and water can be converted into natural gas for cooking and for generating electricity, I want you to come out to the sharing night (date will be communicated to you shortly). In short, the cow dung (waste from the diary farm project) mixed with water is being compressed to generate natural gas and guess what, it produces no smoke (no carbon monoxide), and the waste generated from the biogas are also collected and can be used as pesticides, organic manure for the soil as well as for treating the laterines.   

See the demonstration below:

Turning ON the gas line to the stove

Let there be light..... :)

Gas line to generate power!

Feeling at home with the family

Savings Loan:

Members of the savings loan conducting their weekly meeting! To date, they have been able to save over 65,000 Uganda Shilling (UGX).

Savings Loan Group having their meeting

Our next assignment in the village is already cut out for us. The school is expanding as the population of students has increased tremendously in last six years from about 30 students to about 500 students. So, a new building is being constructed to accommodate this expansion. Next time, I will update you how we all rolled our sleeves and get to work......

Stay tuned.....

Great Joy in the Village......

"So there was great joy in that city." Acts 8:8 NIV
Talk of great joy, joy that is associated with nothing but God Himself as the true source! That was the feeling this morning on arriving at the village of Mbale! The school devotion has already started and when we came into the sanactuary, the whole room erupted with praise and we were greeted with great joy both from young, old and adults.

Diniz being warmly embraced by the people; behind him is the headmistress

See the expression of awe in the headmistress; he is next to Livingstone from FH

Listening to the devotion from the children, I can confidently say that the Scripture is true that, "Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." Psalms 8:2, NIV. 

Following the devotion, we were taken outside for a time of welcoming as the children sang beautiful songs and we were also given an African name based on individual personality and career/professions:

Sitting from L - Right, awaiting the naming ceremony:

Uncle Moses, Diniz, Danny, Bolaji, Jules, Katryna and Felix

Here are the African names associated with each person with its meanings:

• Diniz - He was considered as a grandparent having been to the village 3 times. So his previous name - Mulisa meaning leader, strong and handsome man, was kept as is.
• Danny - named Hatondi meaning creative and innovative person
• Bolaji - named Muyiyi meaning an initiator
• Jules - named Mulesi meaning one who cares
• Katryna - named Sangalo meaning happiness
• Felix - named Messo meaning one who is very alert, awake and knowledgeable)

Throughout this experience, the kids swarm around us and were very happy to see us. Here are some pictures showing how team members bonded with these children:

The significance of this gesture from the children reminded us the words of Jesus to his disciples saying, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there." Matthew 19:14-15, NIV

In the next post, I will update you on some of the initiatives in the village that are currently underway. Stay tuned.....

We Are Well Able to go to Mbale
"And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." Numbers 13:30, KJV

Despite all the enemy threw at us, we can confidently say like Caleb that we are going up at once to Mbale to declare the kingdom and love of Christ in the village. Kampala to Mbale is a 5 hours plus' ride, plus traffic, and of course bumpy roads.

We travelled to the village in one bus and all along keeping one another's company. The leg room in the bus is nothing to be compared to what you get in Edmonton LRT or ETS. So next time you are tempted to complain in the train or bus, remember some people are somewhere who are glad to just have the means of transportation from point A to B with less concern about the comfort of the ride.

Oh did I mention that the roads are bumpy? Yes, very bumpy and one more thing, the cars are driven on the left side of the road as the wheel is on the right. Most of the time, I get confused on the road as we move along, thinking to myself that the driver is not right! Of course, he is right but I have been stereotypically wired to think of driving on the right side of the road.

As we approached the village, we saw school children - young and old - leaving for their various homes. The children are all dressed in different school uniforms and it is such a wonderful scene with different combination of colours. These children, as I later learnt from Moses, trekked at least 4-5 km one way each day to get to school (i.e. 8 - 10 km in total for each day). The sad part is that many of them trek on empty stomach to and from school. While this blog is not principally intended to solicit for anything, I want to use this platform to appeal to you (and may be share this with your Facebook friends) to consider helping these school children. With about $30, you can feed one child with school lunch for 3 months (one semester)! - That is less than 0.50 cents in a day. May the Lord touch your heart(s) and use your resources to be of blessing to others.

Okay, we arrived finally in Mbale and went straight to our guest house. As we got out of the bus, having been in one tight position for a long time, we were stiff and needed to stretch our legs and entire body - see Jules, Danny and Krystina in action!

Jules - touch your toes

Danny and Katryna - Stretch in action!

Our assignment begins in full swing tomorrow morning! Pray that God will empower us with His strength and sufficient grace to do His will. Ask God for His protection on the team and success of the assignment. Talk to you soon..... Stay tuned......







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Co-workers in God's service

"For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:9, NIV

On departure from the guest house this morning, we headed for the Food for the Hungry (FH) Headquarters in Kampala. At FH HQ, we met with Trish and she introduced us to other staff members working with FH Uganda to see that the programs are implemented in various villages.

We are all co-workers in the vineyard - God's field! God bless the FH team Uganda and their staff as well all the FH satellite offices including Mbale.  From this moment onwards, we are beginning to have proper perspectives of the assignments ahead of us believing strongly in the promise of Christ in Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]" AMP.

FH Bible Anchor

Trish, the team and Moses

How Pleasant When We Dwell in Unity

"How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!" Psalms 133:1, NIV

The enemy loses when we stand together shoulder to shoulder with one accord. It was a reunion this morning for members (and all of us) of the team to meet with Christine, Sam and their two adorable sons - Shalom and Solomon.

Since pictures are worth more than thousand words......... see for yourself:

The team with Moses, Christine, Shalom and Solomon

Solomon and Shalom winking :)

Christine and Sam

Diniz & Christine; Sam & Felix chatting

We are on our way to the village..... stay tuned.

Above All, We Give Thanks! - Arrived Entebbe International Airport

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south." Psalms 107:1-3, NIV

Today, we give thanks to the Sovereign God whose grace and mercies never run out of stock. Despite all that the team faced since the inception of the trip on Friday, August 12, we made it safely to the Entebbe International Airport, Uganda at 10:20 P.M., local time, August 15, 2016.

Of course, we were all tired but there is an acute sense of joy and accomplishment we felt as a team. The journey from Amsterdam to Entebbe was a smooth sailing and we also touched down briefly in Kigali, Rwanda to pick passengers travelling to Amsterdam enroute Entebbe!

While we were planning to board our flight at Amsterdam, we recognized that we don't have a 'crucial form' called affidavit of purpose that we ought to present at the custom on arrival at Entebbe. As would any person, we were somewhat worried what to do and right there we discovered that two of the team members have theirs and we wrote the names of others on one of the forms. Right there, we sensed that that was another wrinkle the enemy is trying to put across to us to discourage us. We firmly agreed that the Lord will grant us favor on arrival.

On arrival, we went forward to the immigration to purchase our visas. At this point, let me tell you that God answered our prayers for the visas as the process for the visa has been changed recently and all visitors were expected to have obtained their visas at the embassy of Uganda in their countries of residence. As many of you who prayed regarding this visa application, please give thanks to God because He answered miraculously and we got the visas without any incidents, in fact it was cheaper than we budgeted for.

Do you remember the affidavit of purpose I mentioned earlier? Well, after we were done with the lady at the immigration office, we thought we were going through custom but alas! Not so! We were directed to the baggage claim area where we got all of our bags and from there exited to meet bro Moses! Praise God, another answer to prayer. What a marvellous God we serve!

From Left to Right: Bro. Moses, Jules, Diniz, Katryna, Felix, Danny and Bolaji

More Than Conquerors......
"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31, NIV.

After a night rest in Toronto, we returned to the Airport to continue the journey to Amsterdam through KLM airlines. The flight was scheduled to take off at 8:45pm but was delayed due to poor weather and tornado warning for Ontario. At long last, we departed Toronto International Airport at 9:45pm in good spirit knowing that God is for us and nothing or no one can be against us.

The team arrived Amsterdam, August 14, 2016

Arriving at Schipol International Airport, we sorted out our connecting flight to Entebbe for tomorrow, Monday August 15th. In it all, we give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercies endure forever. Having not rested nor changed our clothes since Friday (3 days ago), we finally got to refresh and change our clothes. Now we are ready for tomorrow morning's flight to Entebbe scheduled for 10:45A.M. (Amsterdam time - 2:45A.M. Edmonton time!)



Continue to intercede on our behalf that God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion in Jesus name. Amen.

Next post will be from Uganda, until then stay tuned.........

Be Still.......

Earlier I told you that we were going to RUN to catch the next flight.... Did we catch it? All the team members ran as though we were at Rio 2016 running with Usain Bolt!

At last, we found the boarding gate and were told that the flight is gone! So we missed it! I heard you sighing and thinking, "so, what are you going to do?" As all of these were going on, the Lord comforted us with His assurance and promise from Psalms 46:10 - "He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." In the end, the team were comforted and encouraged knowing that the Sovereign Lord is in PERFECT CONTROL and that we can safely trust Him.

As we are confident of the Lord's leading in this journey, we obtained God's favour and the flight was rescheduled. So tonight, we will be staying in Toronto and will be leaving tomorrow through Amsterdam to Entebbe. With the rescheduled flights, we will be arriving Uganda on Monday.... As for the details, please stay tuned.

For all of those praying for us, thank you and continue to intensify your intercession that:

1. In the end the Lord will be glorified and exalted as He had promised.

2. Pray that Holy Spirit will continue His work of encouragement in the hearts of every team member.

3. The team's family members will be at rest and peaceful with all these detours and delay.

Stay tuned.....

Lord, in your name we go......

The team at Edmonton International Airport Departing for Uganda

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." Luke 10:1-3, NIV.

Despite all personal struggles, the Lord's will prevailed and the team were unified in spirit and purpose. Now that the first leg of the journey begins, the flight going to Toronto is now delayed and has shortened our connection time in Toronto to 30 minutes....... Well, if it's God's will to catch the next flight in Toronto, giving the limited connection flight, we will RUN, RUN and RUN!!!

I will keep you posted......

2016 Marare Mission Trip - Ready, Set, ......

This year a team of six will be travelling to Marare, Uganda. The trip starts Friday, August 12, 2016. We shall return on August 24, 2016.

Keep us all in your prayers that Jesus Christ will use us for His glory, and that we shall return with multiple testimonies of the Lord's goodness.

Stay tuned for more post.......









From Left to Right:  Danny, Felix, Katryna, Bolaji, Jules and Diniz