Moyo – is a small town in northern Uganda! Once again, we stayed in the Catholic center for guests. On 3-4 May, our group went to the nearby refugee camps. Having arrived in one of the camps, we were delighted that there was more organization, less garbage, there were practically no tarpaulin tents. People live in houses made of clay with thatched roofs, everything is neatly folded and clean in the yard.
The purpose of our trip was to conduct an open-air evangelism in the camp. We put the sound equipment near the market and the local church choir began with the program. Children are among the first to hear the sounds of music and songs and came running to the evangelism. After the sermon by Dr. Salter, a local brother named Joseph, shared his testimony how he found Christ and called for repentance! Many of the local preachers speak loud and are almost shouting but he spoke calm, confident and very sincere.
About fifty people responded to the call to accept Jesus Christ. I thanked Joseph for the testimony, and he said: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I grew up on the street without parents, but God showed me that He is my father. Therefore, I am not ashamed to speak of Him.” Truly, the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
Dear brothers and sisters, local churches ask us to help them acquire vehicles and equipment in order to hold more such events in all camps. Thank you for your prayers and participation in this ministry!
This is another sad story about a widow named Joyce Epi. She is from Kajo Keji in South Sudan. Many years ago, her husband, Marla Pilipo, died after a long illness. Together they have two boys and one girl! Unfortunately, the children have become addicted to alcohol.
The two babies next to Joyce belong to her daughter, who left them in the care of her. For the past three years, she has been very sick. When she visited the hospital for help, they demanded $100. Since she didn’t have funds for the treatment, she was returned to the refugee camp without receiving any assistance. Due to the illness, she is completely blind now.
Being in this condition she has to care not only for herself but also for her grandchildren. One of the problems is that the food ration she is receiving is not enough for a month. Also, her tent is in a terrible condition and when it rains it is impossible to sleep.
The food that we brought to the camp was a help in time. Joyce shared: “We have already eaten our monthly ration and were just waiting for death. I thank God that He helps in time and does not leave His children.” She thanked from the heart for the cornmeal, salt, soap, and beans. Thank you for your generosity! May God reward you!
Supa Oleng? This is a warm greeting in our Maa-language. Here in Kenya, all is well. It rains occasionally, and we are thankful for it! The children study well in school, they are diligent and are already preparing for the Christmas holidays.
The parents of our class are very grateful for your contribution to this private school! We understand what these children need most is to get an education. This will prepare them to be ready to cope with the difficult demands of modern society.
The water tank you bought, really helps us a lot! Children can drink clean rainwater. We use the water to prepare dinner, and none of the children have ever been sick from it.
After receiving your support, we were able to pay school tuition for 3 students who visit the high school. We paid 10,000 shillings per child. I used part of the funds to buy a school table, a jump rope, and a ball. The rest of the fund was used to buy food for children! Thank God, we have new children in this academic year who are 6 years old.
The school is growing and therefore I wanted to make a sign indicating the location and name of the school. We suggest calling it the “OLOIKA ECDE Learning Center.” Thank you for your generosity towards these children and their families. Many thanks for helping our school and for my family personally!
Edward Dima, the head of the Union of Baptists of South Sudan, repeatedly asked us to help with the purchase of Bibles in Arabic! South Sudan is the only Christian country where Arabic is spoken. Thanks to a ministry in Israel, we were able to satisfy their request!
In the refugee camps in northern Uganda, getting a Bible in Arabic is not easy. We are glad that people can now study the Word of God in their native language! Thanks to all who pray for the ministry in Uganda!
Ministry in Uganda – President of New Fields Ministries Willi Dick
Having arrived in Nairobi and bought several dozen bibles locally in the Maa language, we went to a church not far from the capitol. To my surprise, when asked: “Who among you can read?”, Only a few out of a hundred people raised their hands. When asked: “Do you want to receive the Bible as a gift?” Everybody raised their hands! I promised to give the Bible to each of them if they learn how to read! After encouraging them with an example from my personal life, and telling them how I learned English, we left. In July of this year, we started literacy lessons and we had 25 students. We hired teachers for this and the first lessons are were held in the recently constructed building! Thank God for that!
Arriving in the north of Uganda, I couldn’t wait to give Wiki the help collected for her. On April 21, after dinner, we finally found a car and went with the pastor and his assistants to the Bidi-Bidi camp. This camp holds 270,000 people and they are all refugees from Southern Sudan. When we were approaching the camp the sky became dark and thick clouds formed. Shortly after, the rain started to pour! I was lucky to sit in the cab of the truck but my friends with pastor Alfred sat in the back of the truck and got all wet.
Vicki happily greeted us and invited us to her shack and she had water standing in her entrance. In a small, dark room, we sat down, and Vicki began to tell her story.
“I grew up with four brothers and sisters in Loa, in Southern Sudan. My parents live in Juba with my brothers. My sisters fled to Uganda, just like I did. Unfortunately, none of them know God! At the age of 18, I got married and gave birth to 4 children, three boys and one girl. After 12 years of marriage, my husband left me. In 2017 he was killed by rebels, unfortunately he didn’t know Christ.
In 2010, after our divorce, I began to seek God and accepted Jesus as my Savior. In 2013, after the outbreak of the civil war and the bombing of Juba, my children and I fled to the south of the country in Nimule. I had to leave my home and my work as a hairdresser. When the war reached Nimule, we fled to the Bidi Bidi camp in northern Uganda!”
The life of the widow, especially with the amputated hand is very complicated. Today, she cuts grass in the camp and tries to sell it to earn something. Her eldest son, who is 19, helps her when he can. He built two houses for his family. We were glad to hear that at least the UN doubled the food ratio per person and again gives out 12kg (26lb) of beans and people no longer starve as they did before.
When we asked how we can help her, Vicki replied: “I want to go to the hospital to get a prosthesis for my arm. With a prosthesis it will be easier for me to learn how to sew. If I had a mechanical sewing machine, I could sew things and sell them! ”
I handed her an envelope with the words: “This is from your brothers and sisters in the United States. They care about you and they wanted to help somehow. ” She modestly took the envelope, put it on the bed and said: “I thought that God left me behind and forgot about me.”
Ministry in Uganda – President of New Fields Ministries Willi Dick
