Tuesday, October 2, 2007

THE BUGONGI COMMUNITY

Bugongi as our community is called in Kabale is derived from the English word "algae" which normally grows in swampy places or water logged places.
Bugongi used to be extremely water logged and swampy and most of the lad was covered with water. Even now, during the rainy season many parts remain water logged.
This has resulted in children in the community ever being sickly with water borne diseases like diarrhoea, worms and malaria because of mosquitoes.
Not only are children affected, but even the adults are sick from time to time and many have died of diseases like Malaria. Malaria has claimed the most of lives in our village next to AIDS.
We thank God for friends who have periodically donated drugs to treat the sick people in our community.
The Bugongi community in Kabale as it is called, was known as a place of a lot witchcraft and idolatry, when we first came in, in 1997. There was also a lot of prostitution and drunkards coupled with thieves, robbery and murder.
Men and women alike were spending their little earnings on alcohol. Most of the girls in the community had resorted to prostitution for money and live hood but ended with unwanted pregnancies and given birth to children without responsible fathers. Some of the children do not know their fathers. And end up loitering the streets in search of food and sometimes stealing. Unfortunately most of the girls in the community have ended up dying of AIDS. It is a big problem for children to go to school because many families have up to ten children most of who are grandchildren or distant relative who are in most cases orphans. When we reached here the situation was beyond our capacity.
We launched out in prayer and intercession with a lot fasting and supplication.
With time we broke the strongholds of the devil and people begun to repent of their evil ways and run to church for salvation and hope in Christ. Witchdoctors begun to run away to other places because the community was becoming too hot for their witches and evil spirits. One stubborn witchdoctor was struck by the hand of God as he vehemently started to fight against the church, he died in one week. Bars too, started to close down one by one, there was a bar after every two houses, but now they were closing down. One man though he has not come to Christ, turned his bar into a shop. There was a house near the church with a small room housing 20 prostitutes, with prayer, most of them turned to Christ and the rest abandoned prostitution for other jobs in town. Some have since got married.The church was now filled with former prostitutes and drunkards.
Within five years the church shelter was too small for the growing numbers. We started to pray that that God would provide land that would house the church. In 2002 God provided a piece of land where we have since put a temporally church structure.
We are praying that God will provide funs to build a house of worship that will accommodate the growing numbers of people that are turning to Jesus as their master and Lord every week.
Today we have a membership of 200 believers, and the numbers are still growing. People are happy, they now have a place they call home, though it is still temporary.
Revival Tabernacle is home for several ministries, that target helping needy children and orphans to raise them into godly leaders. We also have ministries that target women, discipleship and Missions.
With several ministries like House of Hope, Child sponsorship program, Food distribution-Mercy ministry, Awana children discipleship and Sunday school, Rock University scholarship Kabale chapter, and Evangelism, we need a stronger and bigger building for offices and meetings and members need a auditorium for worship services in order to grow into God honoring leaders.
Please pray for us as we aim at reaching more and more people in our community until Bugongi is totally transformed.
Our vision is to build a Christian school to help teach our children in a god fearing way. We also plan to build children homes in the community as well as a community clinic.
With your prayers this vision will one day become a reality.
If you want to be part of this, write to Pastor Johnson at: jbakashaba@gmail.com

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