Yes it is right for me to feel this way

Over the past several weeks, Denver and I have traveled to many villages and churches here in Uganda.  We have come to bring them God’s love and His word. 

We were blessed to take with us a team from Uganda who does singing and dancing ministry and also children’s workshops.  If you get a chance to look at our facebook page, you can see several of the pictures of them and what they do.  Thank you Gloria, Josephine, TK, and Princess Samantha.  You truly will be part of our family forever.  Also to our special friend and brother John Robert who drove the team through the country and took such care to watch over us all.  We love you.

Because of limited internet we have been unable to post blogs all the details but it has been an amazing experience and so many lives have been touched, including ours.  Our journey began in Entebbe Uganda at Tabernacle of Christ Church and then continued to Miracle of Faith Church in Mukono.  As we were leaving Mukono, I wrote a blog that I was unable to post because we didn’t have internet.  Although there is much to tell about all the travels, I have decided to still post the blog about Mukono Miracle of Faith Church. 

More to come as time allows:

We have spent the past twelve days in Mukono, Uganda. This is the second preaching Conference during our time we will spend here in Africa this year. For this Conference we returned to Mukono where we had preached our final two days of the previous trip to Africa last March. We did eight days of teaching at the Miracle of Faith Church as well as open air conferences for three nights and a soccer tournament that was sponsored in our name.  When I think of my brothers and sisters in Mukono, I have a greater understand of Paul’s writings to the church and the Miracle of Faith church is like my church of Philippi. 

Paul writes:

I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.  God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Yes, it is right for me to feel this way about the people of Mukono and God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.  When we travel and preach the Word of God, we give all we have of ourselves, both financially and spiritually. The refreshing of the spirit is critical in order to be able to continue to give.   Our family at Miracle of Faith Church always fills us in a way that leaves me bounding with joy.  

Pastor Margaret, George, Rolant, and everyone at Miracle of Faith Church hosted our time; covering our hotel, transportation, and food cost. The church also took a daily offering for us to help cover the cost that will allow us to travel to an orphanage in Katogwe and to bless the children there with school supplies.  This is an amazing thing for a church that is still believing God for a building to worship in and chairs to sit on but they have understood what God teaches on sowing a seed and have put their faith in God to provide what they need. This takes great faith to great faith to let go of what you have, not trusting in money but trusting in God and I know God will bless them for this because He is faithful to His word.

George our host asked us if they could host a soccer (football to Ugandan’s) Tournament in our name.  When he ask it did not seem like much of a request to us and we agreed.  Little could we know how much of an outreach this was. Many teams competed prior to our arrival but we were able to attend the final day; and two final matches, first the under 16 age and then the under 11 age group.

After the final match ended we were supposed to say a few words to the group and crowd and give a few small love gifts to whomever we wished and award the trophy for the final match. These boys, many of them orphans, hung on our every word not knowing we had uniform to share with them when we were done speaking. We shared where we are from and how we came to Africa. 

The tournament was built around HIV /STD education, and counseling.  We shared connecting the information on the pamphlet with the response of the crowd. Some took the pamphlets others did not. Some read them others did not. We likened this to the way people treated God and His Word. Many people just ignore it; some read it thinking they know what it says and others look deeply into Jesus and learn from what He has said. The game of life is coming to the final goal. Will we champion by faith in Jesus or lose the Game without a score?

Then we began to recognize the volunteer coaches, team captains, and goal keepers with Jerseys. We awarded Honorable mention jerseys to the losing runner up teams and gave recognition to the organizer with a few journals and jerseys as well.

The audience was so touched by our love that they announced that each Year they were going to hold the Denver & Stacey Tournament adding events as they are able. The amazing part is they just wanted to use our name and never ask anything from us other than our recognition.

If you could have seen the love of the children for us – players and non-players alike- Children whose clothes themselves were beyond repair sharing smiles and love for no return. The leaders encouraged the teams to give each other gifts at the conclusion as sportsmanship. We were blessed when two teams agreed to share their gifts to honor us; a simple plastic cup so full of love that it is priceless.

The church also blessed us by allowing us to bring four of the boys from Abba House and hosting them as well.  Mukono welcomed them with open arms.  Julius, William, Grace and Emmanuel have made us proud with outstanding behavior and participation.  These four boys have not had many, if any, opportunities to leave the orphanage on field trips, so to see them so well behaved was a breath of fresh air.  . Each of the boys was able to help in the conference in many ways. They all helped with the daily children’s lessons and children’s worship.  They also assisted with translating, worship, sound systems, setting up the open air conference, and many other things that I’m sure that I am forgetting to list.   My heart was overflowing with joy every time I saw one of them getting involved and helping. My family is growing every day and I now have four more sons and the family in Mukono counts them as their new sons as well.  It was very difficult to let them go at the end of the time but I know already that God has a plan that will lead us back to spending even more time with them.

 There were too many details of the conference to give in one short blog but Denver spent many hours teaching this week on the finished worked of Jesus Christ, the Blood Covenant, Breaking the spirit of poverty, Right Thinking, and the High Priest. I also did a teaching on Healing and on the final day, together we did a marriage teaching. Many people testified to healing of spirits and of bodies throughout the conference.

One special testimony came from one of the boys that had traveled here with us. He told how for the first couple days of the conference he was seeing there was chapatti for sale and he was wishing that he had some.   Then on the third day I gave him 1000 shillings (about 40 cents).  One chapatti cost 500 shillings so he bought one and had enough left to buy another the next day but then Denver taught on sewing a seed and so he decided to sew the 500 shillings (20 cents) instead.  God blessed him with 2,000 shillings, so he bought chapatti and again sewed part of the money, and then God blessed him with 5,000 shillings. 

I actually saw all the boys sewing money into the offerings more than once and this blessed me because I could see that they were hearing Gods word and putting their faith in Him and not in the 500 shillings that they knew would get them a chapatti.

 This is the heart of the people here.  They may not have much to give by American standards but like the widow with two bits, they give all they have, and it does up.  What they have all given will buy some school supplies for others, and soap for widows. 

We will continue to pour ourselves out as offerings these weeks to come, but we leave Mukono full and ready to give. 

Philippians 1:9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.