Kampala News - 6/5/2014

Greetings,from Kampala Uganda. God is good!!! Praying that this finds you all healthy and being sustained as God has always done. We take this opportunity to thank you for your continued prayers, support and encouragement in all our efforts to serve God. Thank you for journeying with us, we appreciate each and every one of you and your support in this work. Thank you for your partnership. We are sorry for taking such a long time to send out our periodic newsletter. It’s been a few busy Months. We thank those of you who follow us on Facebook and for keeping abreast to what is happening in the Ministry. This time round, we would want to share with you all about the progress and challenges that we are journeying through at the recently established school at our church plant in Wakiso – Vine Christian Academy (VCA).

We are now in our second term of school. It’s amazing what God continues to do and we would love for you to get amazed with us for this school that started just started in February this year. The amount and speed of progress that has been registered so far can only be credited to God. There are a number of updates about what God has done over the last few Months.

 The first term was closed off on 4/19/2014. We are glad to report that most of the kids have improved. Some of them can read, write, and make out objects, count and spell letters. We give praise to God. Our prayer is that the standard at Vine Christian is sustained even to greater heights.

At the start of the second term, the school has been able to design a school uniform for all the kids and more uniforms are being made for the rest of the new and added sponsored children.

WATER AT VINE CHRISTIAN

 A few months ago, we were blessed with a donation of $5000 through the Christian Relief Fund (CRF) from Dave and Cubby Bartenan. These funds are meant to help build a Well at the school. One of the most challenging problems in Wakiso is a lack of accessible water sources. The water that is used at the school is bought at a fee and it’s ferried from a far off stream in the village. We have been able to talk to several potential water well builders and we believe God for more funds to have a productive Well built at the school grounds very soon. This Well, at its completion will not only be accessed by the school but the neighboring community as well as we preach the Gospel to those who are spiritually and physically thirsty. However, in the meantime we have gone ahead and bought a 10,000 liters water tank that has been installed at the school to harvest rain water as we continue to pray for more funds for the construction of the Well. As of now, we give Praise to God for the rains that are sustaining the school with consistent water.

GROWTH AT VINE CHRISTIAN

 The number of children that are sponsored at Vine Christian has also increased. We give praise to God for CRF who have done such a tremendous job to look for and encourage several sponsors to help the needy children. As of now, we have over fifty children who are fully sponsored. Plans are underway to add more self-sponsored children from the community. God continues to be so gracious with the humble beginnings of the school. At the beginning of the term we went ahead and hired another two professional teachers. We now have four qualified professional teachers at the school. We give praise to God as we endeavor to provide quality education to the students of Vine Christian Academy. We thank God who continues to provide for all the needs on this journey of a Leap of Faith.

Towards the end of last term, all the classes were shifted into the main building, as such there are no more classes meeting under the trees or on the school compound. There is still so much to be done though, to create more space inside the main building. Plans are underway to break down some of the walls inside the building in order to create more light and space for the children. 

The sanitation at Vine Christian

 As God continues to provide, plans are underway to construct a better and more sustainable pit latrine that will have the capacity to accommodate the population at the school site. This is one of the biggest challenges at the school. The latrine that is being used currently is too small to serve all the children. One of the Kampala Church of Christ members, Phillip Rudasingwa, an architect student has devoted to help by having a plan made for the entire

school land so that any additional construction that will be made on the grounds shall be done according to plan. We are anxiously waiting for the completion of the drawn up plan to start the initial work on the latrines. Please continue to pray that the plan for the entire school shall soon be on paper and ready for use and that it will be comprehensive and realistic to accommodate the needs for the future expansion of the school.

Community outreach at Vine Christian

On 5/1/2014, Vine Christian Academy kids were blessed with new shoes that were donated by USAID through a friend of Kampala Church of Christ. Several kids at the school and others from the community of wakiso were able to get new shoes. Several missed out as well, for there was only two sizes that were available for all the kids. We give praise and thanks to God for the way the school is becoming an open gate of blessings and practically exhibiting the love of God to the rest of the community in wakiso.

HEALTH AT VINE CHRISTIAN

 As we spend more time with the kids, we are discovering that a few of them have HIV Aids and they get sick all the time. One of the Kampala Church of Christ members, Perusi Zawedde is an HIV Aids community counselor who volunteers with one of the biggest Organizations in the country known as the Aids Information Centre, Uganda. Through her connections, we are making plans to take a big team of doctors to test all the kids and the community of Wakiso on various diseases that range from HIV Aids,

 Cancer, T.B, and others for free and at no cost. Please pray that the initial community sensitization exercise will bear fruit in having several turn up for testing.

WFC in session at KCC

EVANGELISM AT KCC

In Kampala, God continues to work with and through us as we continue to reach out to the lost. On 5/11/2014, we had over eight people participate in the Monthly Welcome to the Family Class (WFC) at Kampala Church of Christ. The WFC ministry is an Evangelistic tool to reach out and teach people about the Bible. It is usually the gateway through which new converts get to learn more about God. Out of this class, one person committed his life and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Personal Savior.

Daniel was baptized on 5/18/2014. We shout out our praises for the power of God that changed and gave new life to Daniel in Christ Jesus.

TESTIMONIES

God’s power continues to be felt in the lives of His people at KCC. There is so much to thank God for. Michael Simbwa recently was able to complete his University studies. He will be graduating with a Degree in Finance sometime in October this year. At one time Michael had dropped out of school due to lack of school fees and with no place to stay. He tried to do several jobs and activities to survive in Kampala. He came to church and his life started to take a turn. God picked him up from the doldrums and he started school, the rest is history. He now shares a Testimony of the power of God in his life. God is good.

 Mark Muyanga is another Testimony. Through struggles and challenges, he has been able to complete his studies as well. Mark has earned himself a Diploma in Clinical Medicine and Community Health. We kindly ask all of you to lift him up in prayer as he would want to continue farther in his studies to become a full doctor. We ask that you pray, contribute or share his story with others as we believe God for a doctor in him. Mark is a very committed church member and a talented young man. Please lift him up in prayer.

We also give praise to God for Mr. John Sakwah who was recently elected to serve as Board Member on the LivingStone International University Board in Mbale. John is also one of the most committed leaders in the church. He and his wife Robinah lead the Prayer and Intercessory Ministry at Kampala Church of Christ. We give praise to God.

There is so much to thank God for which cannot all be written down. We thank you for all your help, your faith, your prayers, your encouragement, support and love always. Thank you!!

Prayer Requests

1. Thanksgiving for all the plans and progress of Vine Christian Academy

2. Thanksgiving for Michael Simbwa, Mark Muyanga and John Sakwah on God’s providence and

   promotions in life

3. Pray for the leadership of Kampala Church of Christ and all the Ministries of the church

For more photos and updates, please visit our Website that will soon be launched at WWW.Kampalachurchofchrist.org. Visit our blog for pictures and more at livingrays@blogspot.com. Visit our Facebook Page at Kampala Church of Christ. Visit our Face book for updates with Vine Christian Academy at A Leap of Faith Mission School Project- Wakiso.

Thank you. God bless Isaac Sanyu