Asa, the good. In the middle of the wicked kings came Asa, a righteous king who gave Israel rest and so the Lord gave him rest. Asa prospered Israel and its people. They lived in the tradition of the bad kings and the idols of other gods. Much like the ancient nation of Israel, is the country of Uganda, weak and helpless in the traditions of their fathers and their culture. Asa led them out of that and into a period of peace. The peace did not last for more than ten years as the nation of Ethiopia came to attack and destroy the cities of Israel, much like the Muslims are aggressively trying to stifle and destroy the Christian influence in Uganda. God saved the Israelites miraculously from the mighty Ethiopians, and that brings Hope to us going up against such a formidable Muslim enemy.
It’s true, the Muslim influence is on the rise and already very prevalent in Uganda, but not in the way you might think. People in Uganda convert to Islam for the monetary advantage. Muslim play on their poverty and offer to build a beautiful mosque on their land and raise the land value, extending jobs to workmen in the village to help build it. In return, they ask only that the people convert to Islam. The Muslims also have a university that Muslim Ugandans can freely study at. It’s not that they are converting the hearts of Ugandans to Islam, but they have converted their minds. But Islam isn’t an eternal solution to poverty or even an earthly one. The short term advantages to converting to Islam may be great, but they are only short term and do not last.
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Today is more work on Hope for many of the team; it is work at the hospital for some; and the clinic and share your faith conference for others. The clinic occurs at Nakatunya church and the share your faith conference is held a distance away at another local church. I’m headed right now to the clinic where several of the women of the team are prescribing and distributing medicine to some or the locals and a few of our male team leaders are sharing the gospel with those waiting in line and around the church.
There are two tents outside of the church near our transportation bus. The tents and the church are filled with people having their symptoms analysis and their medicine prescribed by Ugandan doctors. Then they walk out to the bus and receive their medicine.
Speaking of medicine, say a prayer for Mike Partain today as he is struggling with some health issues. He probably shouldn’t have eaten that fish eye, but seriously by in prayer for him that he would recover quickly.
The day wasn’t all paintbrushes and painted hands though. In the later hours we devoted ourselves wholly and utterly to the task of rescuing cobs of corn from their rough, husk cages. Alas, we couldn’t save them all. Several brave soldiers lost their lives in the pest attacks. They were destroyed to their core and we had to move on without them. The corn in Uganda is called maize and is a rough, harsh type that is good only for grinding into meal, which is what we intend to do with these. Corn is like our hearts, it takes the removal of our protective outer layers to uncover who we truly are. Not all of us are good. Some are downright rotten, but we all have an outer face, a protective wall to keep people from knowing the true person beneath.
For us in Uganda, we need to learn how to break down these walls and witness to the real person inside. That’s the challenge, but most of the ministries we undertake serve that purpose. That’s why we get involved and help. We just got a report that 13 people have decided to follow Christ because of the medical clinic and the evangelism team that helped lead them to the cross! Praise God!
Keep up with all of the news from Uganda by following my personal blog: theanonymousnovelist.com or liking the Hope Missions International Facebook page!
–Jared Allen