Tomorrow (Dec. 8, 2013) for church, please dress warm and wear shoes with good traction. We ask all able bodied sure-footed people to arrive early to help assist others to the front door, as the parking lot is nearly an ice sheet.
Youth group and Adventure Club are officially cancelled tonight (Wed., Dec. 4, 2013) due to the weather. However, the snow is supposed to stop by 6 pm, and the parking lot is plowed and will be salted. Pastors Paul and Jennifer will be at the church watching Christmas movies and have hot chocolate for anyone who happens to make it. Adventure club age children will need a parent to remain with them.
The annual Thanksgiving potluck dinner is Sunday November 24th after church service. We will be showcasing our multi-ethnic heritage. Be sure to invite your family and friends. We invite all to remain after worship service for our Multi-Ethnic Thanksgiving Potluck fellowship. After the meal, we will be decorating the church for Christmas!
Join us in praying for those who have suffered tremendous loss from the devastating typhoon that struck the Philippines. We are partnering with the Wesleyan General Conference of the Philippines to bring disaster relief to the affected areas. A special account has been set up in the Wesleyan Emergency Relief Fund to bring immediate assistance to the most needy. 100% of the donations will be used for the Philippines disaster response.
Donate Here:
The main Wesleyan Church for the district of Busia is Busia Community Fellowship, which in addition to a church, also runs a school and orphanage.
Entrance to the church
Clean water is a need pretty much everywhere in Uganda, and wells, especially bore hole wells (mechanically dug to clean underground water sources) are community gathering places. The church in Busia has a bore hole well on its property, so several times daily people, usually children and adolescents, come to fill up jugs of water. In some more rural areas we visited, children walk four miles round trip every day just to get clean water.
Although we did not get to get a formal performance, Busia has an award winning choir. At the last competition they won a goat. Here is a video of their practice.
The Mission House
All the church people called the place where we spent our nights in Busia the mission house. Pastor Lucas maintains the rent on this home for use by guests, be they other pastors or short-term missionary guests. The house is very typical of many homes in Busia, made of baked mud brick and covered in stucco, and located in a small walled compound (although certainly not everyone lives this well). Continue reading
Would you like to move from bitter to blessed? In the month of November, we will study The Story of Ruth, learning from the examples of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, and learning about the gift of redemption. Each week we will have special guest visitors telling us part of the story.
Series begins on Sunday, November 10th, at our 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service.
Something to notice, there is only one light bulb for this whole church
Our primary ministry task in Uganda was to teach during their two-week long intensive-format pastoral training. Dr. Alfred Kalembo taught Discipleship. Rev. Harrison Jani taught Leadership. Rev. Fred Cromer taught Church History. Rev. Paul Tillman and Mike Smith team-taught Bible Doctrines. The last count I heard was 56 pastors came for training, and some pastors got together and drove for several days just to attend. Continue reading
According to census data Uganda is predominately Christian, with Roman Catholics being the largest denomination. However, I wonder if many claim Christianity because it is though the Christian churches that many people receive social services. Uganda also has a significant Islamic community. After introducing us a former Muslim, now converted to Christianity, Pastor Lucas said, “I love it when a Muslim comes to faith in Christ. Some people say they are Christians, but after a while you don’t really see them, [I could relate to that statement.] but when a Muslim comes to faith in Christ, you have them! They are committed.” Many people also actively practice, or are at least culturally influenced by, traditional African religions, which are often animist.
The all-day drive out to Busia was our first real chance to see what Uganda is like. While the best way to get to know a place is through the people, we also learned as we looked out the windows and asked questions. This is not a complete survey of Uganda, but reflects what we saw.
Furniture building and selling
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