MY TRIP TO KENYA

Jeremy Rodgers and team from Forgotten Children Ministries, Indiana, were coming to Nairobi Kenya for a one week's mission( 1st to 5th July 2009. We had talked about meeting together in Nairobi and share about the possibly of Forgotten Children Ministries partnering with Revival Tabernacle Ministries to help children in Kabale community.
Kabale and Bugongi in particular has got so many orphans and helpless children on the streets. The church has been doing all it can to help but the situation is beyond appauling. We thank God for friends that has come in to help. We are so grateful for People For Missions that support our church orphanage. We appreciate all our dear friends that sponsors children for education. You have made a big difference.
The need, however is still so big!
Monday, i left for Nairobi and it took 20 hours in the bus. I was welcomed by my long time friend Stuart Katwikirize and stayed with his family.
On Wednesday evening i met with Jeremy and Matt and we shared about the possibility of partnering to help disadvantaged children. We agreed to build on it when i visit the US sometime late this year.
I had an opportunity of meeting many other friends in Nairobi.
I had a good time.

Awana kids get Uniforms!

"Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them..." Luke 18:16

Nothing excited the kids in our community, two days before going back to school like receiving Awana Uniforms last Saturday. It was the best gift before they went back to school.
Lots of children have been added to our church now, especially with the beginning of a child sponsorship program that helps pay tuition for 70 children now. Also many children have been hearing of the great stories of what goes on during Awana sessions. Changed lives of Awana clubbers have also been a motivation for kids to join Awana. Parents also feel their children are safer with Awana. Over a hundred children have been registered to have trusted Jesus for salvation. Most of these were notorious on the community. But have been totally transformed. With the increasing numbers of new children, it became a problem to share the few Uniforms available, therefore many children would attend Awana without Uniforms. These children feel so bad to see their friends in Uniform,when they don't have. Some have failed to turn up some days because of this. By the end of last year, we had registered 50 new children attending Awana, but now the number has gone up to 90.
We thank God for Yvonne Valasek and the Prestonwood Church in Dallas who donated to our church 50 new uniforms and books, which were distributed last Saturday. Many children were so excited to put on Awana Uniform for the first time. Children run around every where showing every body their new Uniforms. They were so excited! Some children who had not turned up because of bad weather felt bad when they were told of what happened. More Uniforms will be given out this Saturday.
Every Saturday clubbers turn up at 2:00 p.m and go to their classes and then counsel time. We do games last because the field we use for games is a bit far from church, and would interfere with other programs. We pray that God will give us our own field some day. Children enjoy every part of the program, especially game time. Children are ever looking forward to another Saturday when they will come for Awana.
Awana, which evangelize and disciple children, has been a tremendous blessing to our community. Our community which used to be a terrible place with so many street children and kids that are un able to go to school; fighting all over, stealing, raping and doing all sorts of evil things, has been transformed. It is a common scene every where now to find kids in groups singing gospel songs or reciting memory verses. Children are now well behaved. It is amazing that even the few that are still in bad groups feel ashamed of themselves and no longer do bad things in the open. Children discipline their fellow children who are found misbehaving! We can see great leaders in these children!
Several mothers have believed Jesus and come to church because of their children. People on our community even non members of our church praise our church and the big work that has been done. Our community has been transformed! And the transformation cycle continues.
We thank God for Jerurina, our Awana commander and all the leaders and teachers. They have done a recommendable work. Most of these children had never heard of Jesus. Many did not know a single scripture verse. Most of them had never stepped in the church. But these leaders have done a great work in the lives of these children.
David the Awana Missionary in Uganda, has been instrumental in training these leaders so that they are equipped to help our community.
Thank you all dear friends for your support and prayers. We are ever so grateful to Miss Yvonne and the Awana leaders at Prestonwood Baptist church. God bless you for your love and and support, you have made a difference in our church and community.
To reach us write to us at: jbakashaba@gmail.com.
And in case you want to help Awana in our community in anyway, please write to Yvonne at:yvalasek@prestonwoodchristian.org
May God bless you.

Happy Birthday Blessing Patricia

Yesterday was Blessing's birthday.
She made 6 years.
This was the first Birthday that happened on a Sunday. Blessing got the opportunity for other children in Sunday School,to sing for her the Happy Birthday song and rejoice with her.
The Sunday school teacher prayed for Blessing that she will have many more years and enjoy her Birthday.
After service we had Lunch with Blessing as a family as we rejoiced together with Blessing,with a few friends.
Later on we went home and Blessing cut the cake with her brother and sister and served the rest of the family members.
Blessing is the second born into our family. Incidentally she and Paul our first born son celebrate their Birthdays in the same week.
Paul was born on the 29th May and Blessing was born on the 24th May. Incidentally i was also born around the same time. I remember my Birthday on the 30th of May.
May God bless Patricia Blessing with many more years. May she live to become a blessing to her generation.

REVIVAL CONFERENCE 2009

"My life will not be the same again" said one Pastor from the rural churches, who had been going through a tough time and facing different challenges in ministry, until this last week, when we had a revival Conference that marked the turning point for many ministers and believers. We hold this conference annually, in the month of May. People from different places attend this conference. This year's conference was attended by hundreds of believers and Pastors, especially from rural places. People from villages are so hungry for the word of God, because such opportunities are rare. And yet they go through many challenges and are troubled by the powers of darkness. In most villages, devil worship is so rampant but as the Gospel penetrates deeper and deeper into these villages, many people give up the practices and trust Jesus with their lives. We have planted churches in most villages and we continue to plant more. We planted 7 churches last year and this year, we are determined to plant many more, despite the big cost of planting churches. However, though people come to Jesus, some still have the soul ties because of covenants they entered into with the demon world and so they need to be set free by the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Different preachers and teachers of the word were invited to minister to the saints in this week long conference. Many believers were set free from demonic oppressions and many healed of their diseases by the power of God. Even unbelievers came in and gave their lives to Jesus. One lady from our community had suffered for a long time from demonic operation and she had spent her money to witch doctors, who could not help her. She visited different hospital and her condition worsened, she could not sleep, she was tormented by evil spirits every day. Evil spirits would strangle her every night and for three years she could not sleep. When she heard about this conference, she came and gave her life to Jesus, when we prayed for her she was set free and she testified that all pain had gone and she could now sleep. "For the first time, i slept like a baby after i was prayed for" said Anne. Many other people were touched by the power of the Holy Spirit and were revived. Many ministers who were weak were restored in the strength of the Lord and they went back determined to serve God!
Thank you friends for your prayer; God moved mightily by his Spirit and all who came were blessed. God provided miraculously, we had enough food to feed the 800 people that attended this conference.
God bless you.

OUR KIDS BACK FOR HOLIDAYS

Today our children have come back for holidays. We thank God because most of them have improved so much on their academics and they have performed well.

The children are so grateful to their sponsors for taking care of their school needs. It is a miracle to most of them to sit in class without getting worried of being chased from class anytime. Before this, every day they knew anytime they would be chased away for not paying school fees.

Thank you so much for giving unspeakable joy to these young ones.

Our children express themselves comfortably in English, now! They look to their future with great hope! These children have great dreams, some say they want to become head teachers, and others say they want to become Engineers and Medical Doctors. We appreciate all sponsors of these children that sacrifice a lot to put these children in school. Your gifts are not in vain.

With your support, we were able to buy each child a new shoe, so they will be able to start a new term in June without getting worried of the school shoes. Some already had torn apart shoes, whereas other had no shoes at all. Some were depending on borrowing shoes to be able to go to school. This new school does not permit pupils on bare feet to enter the school.

The children were so happy to go home with a new pair of shoes.

Praise God, we recruited a new staff called Grace Nafuna. Grace has a heart for the children and for the last one month that she has been in office, there is a tremendous difference. Please pray for her as she handles our children. Most of these children have had terrible experiences in the past and needs a lot of care, love and prayers.

We believe out of these children we shall great people in future.

God bless you friends.

KABALE CHILDREN-HAPPY EASTER-2009

Happy Easter friends! Our children are so grateful for the love that many friends have shown them. Our children celebrated this Easter with great joy. Yesterday each child received a mosquito net, thank God for the donation given to us by Debbie and Logan. Malaria is a killer disease in our community. Malaria is caused by Mosquitoes. Because of this many children and parents have died of Malaria. Therefore sleeping under a net is very important in Uganda, since this is the best way and the simple way to avoid Mosquito bites. Unfortunately, these nets are so expensive for ordinary Ugandan and many families can't afford them, leaving their lives vulnerable to the killer disease. We are so grateful for the support of Debbie and Logan Cox. We were able to get nets for 50 children. The children and their mothers were very excited for getting the nets. We are praying that the remaining children in the Sponsorship program will also get the mosquito nets. Many other children in our community would also be happy to get the nets. We are so grateful for the love and support from all of you dear friends. You have made a great difference in the lives of these children.
Though most of them lost their parents, your love and care has given them much hope, so much so that they feel they have parents out there. These children love the Lord and they are such a blessing even in the church. The community praises them for living Christ-like lives. We see in these children future great leaders that will impact our community and the communities around. Keep praying for these children, that they will of the Lord will be done in their lives.
God bless you!

HOUSE OF HOPE-HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

"Pure and undefiled religion before God... is this: to visit orphans and widows in the trouble..." James 1:27

To the children in Kabale House of Hope, April 1^st will always be remembered with great joy! This is the day when all the 16 children with their house mother started staying at House of Hope.

Whereas to the rest, April 1^st is marked as “fools’ day”, to the children in House of Hope, it is the day that restored hope in their hopeless lives. Most of them having spend most of their lives on the streets of Kabale with no place to call home, with no good food to eat apart from trash thrown into the garbage bins, with no clothes to put on and no bedding in the night coldness of Kabale! Early that evening, on April 1^st 2007, one by one, with their torn clothes packed in polythene bags, the children entered the gates of what was going to be their new home! The children are forever grateful to Mark and Margaret Noblin and Yvonne, under whose guidance together with the church leadership, the children were prayerfully selected from many other children and directed step by step. Mark and Margaret took time to help the children to adjust to the new life. They taught them what it means to leave in a home as a family.

With all hopelessness, hunger, torture and suffering put behind them the children started living together as a family, with Evas Tumuheirwe as their house mother, her self having three of her orphans in the children home.

It is now two years ago and yet the memory of what the Lord did for these children is still as fresh. Celebrating the two year anniversary the children were treated to a grand dinner at the House with roasted beef, chips (French fries), fruits and a coke. The children were so excited and one by they testified of the goodness of the Lord.

John Twesige with his trademark, “God has remembered me”! Recalled what the Lord did for him and how God remembered him, he said he never expected this. John was on the street since his child hood and came to church to play games one Saturday during AWANA classes with his friend Bruce also in the House. They gave their lives to Jesus that day and when they opportunity to come to the children home came they were among the first few! He had lost hope of finishing school. John would keep going in and out of school for lack of school fees and food. He has since gone back to school and is now in S.3.

Bruce said he was a thief not because he enjoyed it, but because he had no way to get food. Having lost his mother and Father, when he was still young, they only person to look to was his aging grandmother, who also had no one to take care of her. Bruce says, many times would be beaten, he thought at one time that he would be killed, when he was severely beaten and was left to die but somehow he survived. He says he can’t imagine he now shares the love of Christ to other boys who are still on the street.

Andrew, who had been on the street for ten years said, he had lost hope of life. He was tired of living and wanted to die. He wasted his life smoking and he didn’t hope he would be a live by now. But he said God was so good to him. He is so grateful to God who had mercy on him. He gave his life to Jesus and went back to school. Andrew today recite many scriptures and in English.

Komu, Joseph and Nicholas are brothers and sister, they say after the death of their father, their livelihood now depended on their mother. But tragedy fell on them, when their mother got sick and was paralyzed and since then was disabled. They dropped out of school, well-wishers would help them go back to school but only for a short period and they would be chased again. Joseph changed schools 5 times. Nicholas decided to go to the street for survival. The sisters begun to work as house helpers and baby sitters to earn some living. Komu is grateful to Danielle and her family who give her support. She is doing well in school.

All the 16 children have a story to tell. They are now happy, they sleep well, eat good food and clothe well. They are all in good schools and they are doing well in school; they value their education so much. Gone are the days when the school authorities would chase them every other day for lack of school fees. Some of them kept changing schools because of defaulting. They have big dreams! Some of them want to become Medical Doctors, Engineers, Nurses and teachers.

We are so grateful to the People For Missions who fund the feeding, health care accommodation and clothing of these children. You have made a difference in the lives of these children. Thank you so much.

Thank you all friends who have contributed in one way or the other to make these children what they are today. Your prayers and support have made them to be what they are.

We still have a challenge of raising their school tuition; we need your prayers and support.

Also pray for us that God will provide more resources to help many other children who are still suffering on the street. Our dream is to build a children village with 10 houses, a school and a clinic to help the suffering and homeless children.

In case you want to support these children in any way, please write to us at: jbakashaba@gmail.com