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!
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
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
The news has repeatedly reported that South Sudanese are starving. Every person I’ve met desperately needs food, medicine, and security. Desperate people who heard about the food delivery to the churches were ready to attack us! The number of those in need exceeded all our capabilities. As usual, we loaded 12.5 tons of food products. Many from the crowd testified that they had not eaten for the last several days. We could not feed everyone, and therefore the help was designated for the members of the church only. The rest of the crowd of ca 1500 people did not disperse and demanded to help them even though their names were not on the registration lists! This was a difficult test for me and the church’s help committee. God gave us wisdom, and we announced that the food delivery was exclusively for vulnerable people, such as widows, disabled, elderly and schoolchildren. Thus, we distributed food and non-food products to people in need. And thanked God that everything went well.
The church in Southern Sudan in the state of Nimule was founded in 2000. Now Pastor Lozo Jofri is working here, he is a citizen of Nimule. About two years ago, he fled to the Ajumani refugee camp in northern Uganda. Not so long ago, he was asked to return to reopen the church. We thank God that he is doing well, and the church in Nimule is growing. Pastor Lozo is doing his best to reestablish other churches that were abandoned because of the conflict. To date, four Baptist churches are open again. Despite the economic difficulties, the number of returning believers is growing daily. Pastor Lozo, in a private conversation, shared with me that his family had not eaten for two days. He planned to send his family back to Uganda to feed his wife and children. I told the relief committee about the request of Pastor Lozo, and they unanimously decided, to include him and his family in the food distribution.
Our brothers and sisters were touched to tears and we thank everyone from the heart for the food delivery to the needy churches in Nimula. Please extend our gratitude to all the churches in the US for the timely assistance to feed thousands of South Sudanese refugees. We sincerely love you!
Viki is 40 years old and a widow. The Lord blessed her with 4 children. Her husband was serving in the army and later was found drunk and dead in his home in 2017. After that they weren’t able to afford to live in Juba, the capitol of South Sudan, they moved to Nimule which is located in the Southern part of the country. She bought food in Loa and brought it to the market in Juba in order to sell it. On the way home, the truck that she was driving in turned over and several passengers were injured while others were killed. Viki was badly injured, and her right arm needed to be amputated.
The Civil war reached the Loa area in July 2017. Viki and her children fled to the border of Uganda and were hiding in the woods. They crossed the White Nile on a boat and were left without food and water and they were forced to drink dirty flowing water. Now they are living in a refugee camp in Bidi bidi, Uganda. Here she turned her heart to the Lord and joined the church. She is trying to earn money, so she could buy food for her children. Viki is thankful for God for His mercy and asks for prayers for her family.
