A Recap of 2014. The Embrace of 2015 At KCC

A Recap of 2014. The Embrace of 2015

praying over the water purifier at elishama junior academy

emma and bonyo

emma

robert weds ruth

bonyo

lauren carr and sophia jenkins at joy lwanga's home

the vine christian pit latrine

Happy New Year and greetings from Kampala Uganda! It is our prayer and hope that God has continued to sustain you all in good health. Our prayer is that you are all enjoying a fresh new year by the Grace of our Father in Heaven. We thank you for your continued prayers and support for the Ministry in Kampala. It is because of your prayers and the love of God that holds us up to thank God for another day to be in His service. We thank God for the past year 2014, and all that we were able to do. We thank Him for all the blessings, triumphs, struggles and challenges that were faced. We, especially give God the glory because of the Testimony that continues to be built in His service. And, now we not only thank Him for 2015 but give praise for yet another year in submission to Him. Every other year, Kampala Church of Christ (KCC) adopts a theme that gets to run through the lives of the members. The theme for 2015 has been an inspiration from the Book of Ezra 5:8. This year’s theme is Serving with Diligence.

KCC is a Bible based teaching church and as such, studying the Bible is very paramount in the lives of the members. The Book of Romans is what KCC has adopted to start off the year. The weekly sermons and Bible study classes will be derived from the Book of Romans. We are all waiting upon the Lord and how He will bless the body through the Book of Romans.

Against this background, we would love as always, to allow us part of your time to give an update of the many things that God has continued to do in our midst. We thank you for always giving us an opportunity to share our Testimony of God’s exploits in this part of the world where many lives are being changed for the sake of Jesus Christ. We kindly implore you to pray through these letters as God leads.

Christmas at Kampala Church of Christ

2014 was a great year and as always Kampala Church of Christ celebrated the end of it with the usual Christmas festivities. The Sunday School children’s Christmas party was held on 12/6/2014. The Annual KCC Christmas dinner was held on 12/14/2014. The Christmas Carols candle lit service was held on 12/24/2015. The Christmas day service was held on 12/25/2014. The Over-Night end of year prayer night was held on 12/31/2014. Several turned up at the church to participate and be a part of all these events towards the end of 2014. We give praise to God for the KCC family to bring together the KCC Church plants, the KCC community and children in and around Kampala to come together to celebrate these festivities every year.

As 2014 was concluding, several changes were also advancing in so many areas but especially with our young adults and youth program. The Living Streams flow ministry (LSF), is a vibrant youth ministry of Kampala Church of Christ that meets weekly for Bible Study, Prayer and fellowship. It is a magnet that has attracted hundreds of youths from different churches around Kampala. We take pride in how KCC has had to offer an alternative to the many worldly activities that take place in such a big and busy city. KCC has had such an immense impact on the community of youths through the LSF Ministry. However, two of our key young and passionate leaders have had to leave and follow their careers in life. 

In December 2014, Emmanuel Trinity Ruchekeri was reallocated to live and work in Norway through the United Nations Refugee Program. Emmanuel had lived as a refugee in Uganda for over five years. Over the years he became a very active member of the church, received Christ and was baptized, participated and led the Church Choir, he grew in wisdom which led him to lead the LSF ministry as its chairman, a post that he held at the time he left. We have all seen the glory of God work in this young man. From a young man who didn’t speak or write in English to becoming a very fluent and gifted speaker, preacher and teacher of the Word of God in English. The youth ministry and the church will greatly miss the presence and gifts of Emmanuel.

As we were still nursing the wounds of Emmanuel’s departure, another of our young leaders left to go and work in South Sudan. Joseph Bonyo, miraculously got a job in the Month of December 2014 to go and work in Southern Sudan at a place called Bor. We praise God because the work and Ministry he joined is founded by the Churches of Christ. His new job will not only involve working with computers and teaching in the church founded school. This new job will require him to evangelize the people of Sudan with the Word of God as well as help to plant churches in the communities of Bor. Joseph Bonyo had also risen to the ranks of leadership at KCC. He was one of the key leaders in LSF. Together with Emmanuel, the two young men were very zealous to spread the Word of God through visiting the sick in hospitals, home visits, planning reach out activities and so many other ministry related programs that helped keep the youth busy and relevant to the call of God in their lives. The Youth Ministry will greatly miss the talents and gifts in these two young men. However, we give praise to God for having given an opportunity to KCC to grow and firmly plant these two young men in the faith and Word of God. One of our cherished goals and objectives is to be a missionary sending church. With such developments coming to suffice, we humbly accept the call that God has bestowed onto us to not only reach out but to send out men and women to help spread the word of God to other places for the glory of God.

Visitors

We have had several visitors passing through KCC in the last year. We give praise to God for the gift of hosting visitors, a gift that has made us unique over the years. We had Bill Farrar and Nancy Harbrone visiting in Kampala. It was great visit that led to the Baptism of ten people at our new church plant in Mityana at Mityana Church of Christ. Two Water purifiers were installed at our two school locations at Ndejje at the Elishama Junior Acadmey School and Wakiso at the Vine Christian Academy. Safe and clean drinking water is now available to the school children and communities of Ndejje and Wakiso. We give thanks to Bill, Nancy, North Central Church of Christ and the Lwere family for having provided the funds, the planning, and installation of the water purifier systems.

Sophia Jenkins and Lauren Carr are two young ladies whose parents Dave Jenkins and Greg Carr were among the missionaries that helped plant Kampala Church of Christ in the 1990’s in the heart of Kampala. The Carr family was the first to leave and later followed by the Jenkins. In between we have had several missionaries working with the Kampala church. The Jenkins later returned to Africa to plant another church in Rwanda and now they are back in the United States. It was amazing for most of the older KCC members to see the two girls all grown up and coming to visit a ministry their parents helped establish several years ago. The girls attended the Sunday worship service at KCC and thereafter were treated to a lunch at Joy Lwanga’s home, one of the longest serving members of KCC.

Andrew Taylor visit

On 12/14/2014 KCC was honored to be visited by Andrew Ndale Taylor. Andrew had also come to visit in Uganda to check out ministry possibilities especially in Northern Uganda. Andrew was especially interested in some of the KCC ministries like the Vine Christian Academy and how the school started. He was taken on a tour of the school and was able to gather a lot of information. He was also able to interview our manager of the school Mr. Mbazira. He made several notes on the daily activities of the school and its impact on the community of Wakiso.

Evangelism/Training

In the last year we had a number of trainings to equip our leaders serve better in the areas where they are gifted. A Bible Study Training workshop was held and several attended. This year of 2015 we would want to at least have Monthly Trainings and workshops in different areas of ministry. On 1/29/2015, Phil Palmer Director of World Bible School Africa (WBS) conducted a WBS workshop at KCC. The Workshop was targeted at recruiting more servants to fish for more students in and around Kampala. Invitations were passed out at all our church plants. We had over forty turning up to attend the workshop. Kampala will be blessed because WBS lessons in Swahili and French have been made available. Kampala continues to have a big population of French and Swahili speakers. This is going be such a huge blessing for several of our members and others that read and speak French and Swahili.

KCC was called upon to go and help with marrying Walyomu Alex and his wife in Jinja on 12/13/2014. KCC Pulpit Minister Okello Patirck answered to the call to go and wed the couple. We give praise to God for such opportunities that keep presenting themselves for us to go out and minister onto others with what we have to offer.

The Jinja Church of Christ hosts an annual women’s conference that brings together women from all over Bugsoga region in Jinja. On 1/23/2015 the women gathered up in Jinja for sharing and teaching from the Bible. It was an honor for KCC to be called upon to send one of our women leaders to go and participate in blessing the women. Mrs Robina Sawka was selected from Kampala to go and bless the women. The Theme for the women conference was BE COMPLETE IN CHRIST –Colossians 2:9-10. Over seventy women attended the conference in Jinja.

Mrs Robinah Sakwa sharing at the jinja women's conference

the women at the conference in Jinja

We give praise to God for yet another opportunity to spread the Word of God and invite others into the Kingdom this year through the Lets Start Talking Ministry (LST). A team of three young women and a gentleman will be coming to Kampala from May 18th to June 26th 2015 to help people learn English through conversational English practice. For a number of years KCC has been in partnership with the LST organization. Several have not only gone through these classes but have received Christ as their personal savior and Lord. We are all in great anticipation of what God is going to do through Team 2015 in Kampala.

At the start of this year, Biblica Uganda in conjunction with KCC came together to provide an easy access and affordable way of acquiring the newly printed Luganda Bibles at the price of only $10 (28,000/=). This is the cheapest price there is for the new version of the Luganda Bible. The new version has an introduction, red letters and other important information. This Luganda version is the first of its kind. Luganda is a widely spoken local language that is spoken all over the country. It’s a blessing for KCC to be an outlet for these Bibles and to make use of this opportunity to bless others.

Vine Christian Academy

God continues to bless the children and school of Vine Christian Academy. Several projects are being completed or are in plan for startup. Among the few major requirements for the schools operation was the need to construct a standard latrine for the school. The pit latrine has for the last several months been under construction. We are glad to announce that it has been completed this Month of January 2015 as projected. We give praise to God for yet another milestone in the lives of the children of Vine Christian Academy and the school.

The School’s Sign post has also been erected at the school main entrance. This will help cement the physical visibility and identity of the school in the community of Wakiso. We give praise to God for these and other developments at the school.

the vine christian sign post

Part of the other urgent requirement will be fencing of the whole school in time to come. We ask you all to continue in prayer for God’s providence in this as well. Right now, the whole school site is open and the security for the children and property is an urgent need. The perimeter wall is also a legal requirement from the District Education officials. Our plan right now is to slowly start on the wall especially now that the pit latrine is done and ready for the children.

As the school term commences on 2/2/2015, we shall be adding another class of Primary 2. God has been so faithful. We thank Him for providing all that is required for the schools operations since itsestablishment a year ago. Special thanks go to the sponsors that have given, prayed and supported the school to operate and achieve most of its objectives this far.

For the most part, last year during the school breaks, four of the Vine Christian teachers have been undergoing an upgrade teacher training scheme at the Rafiki Foundation school in wakiso. We give praise to God for the Rafiki foundation that chose our teachers to be trained at no cost. The teachers are now fully equipped to meet the academic demands of the children.

We also give thanks to God for a plan to buy a cow for the school children very soon. The plan is to buy a cow that will help provide milk for the children and their families. Through a donor, money has continued to be saved for a cow. We shall be able to buy an exotic cow that will produce milk to nourish the kids with vitamin and protein in their diet. We give praise to God for the gift of sponsors and all those that continue to bless the school.

Robert weds Ruth

The year of 2014, was climaxed with the wedding of one of our own Ruth Nanteza Sebagla. Ruth is very instrumental in the KCC school projects committee, the Virtuous women ministry and many other related ministries at KCC. Robert Senyonjo and Ruth Sebagala were wed on 1/3/2015. We give praise to God for their new life in holy matrimony.

Church Plants

We praise God for the church plants that God has allowed us to start and the challenges that come with them. The challenges give us a platform upon which to learn, plan and submit ourselves to God as He leads and guides us to grow His Kingdom. We give praise to God for the resilience of some of these churches that have had to endure in the midst of all sorts of adversity. Mityana Church of Christ and Kasangati Church of Christ continue to battle and feel the challenge of lack of space to congregate. Both of these churches have stood at the mercy of land owners and land lords for quiet sometime. The threats of being deprived of space to worship is one reality that faces these churches every day. These churches have continued to operate at their current addresses as a result of the good will and perhaps good intensions of some of the land owners but as time goes on, and as these churches continue to impact the communities, some of the land owners have started developing an urge for a need of rent for the space occupied by these churches. Despite all these challenges, we continue to pray and encourage our church plant leaders to emphasize home based churches and Bible study fellowships as it were in the olden days of our Faith. At this rate, we may have to adopt strategies for long term plans to acquire land for church plants wherever they are established in the communities. This will ensure sustainability and growth of these churches. We ask that you pray for the plants of Mityana and Kasangati.

For instant updates about the work and activities of the KCC ministry, please visit our face book page at Kampala Church of Christ, you may also visit the Vine Christian Academy page at A Leap of Faith Mission School – Wakiso. You may also want to visit the blog at Livingrays@blogspot.com

Prayer Requests

1. Thanksgiving for God’s provision and the opportunity to embrace new challenges in Ministry

2. Pray for the process of the selection of Elders for KCC

3. Pray for the LST Team that will be working in Kampala in May and part of June 2015

4. Pray for the New Testament Churches of Christ Umbrella in Uganda and how all our churches can be more united to working together

5. Pray for the future plans of KCC and its church plants

6. Pray for God to provide for the completion of the urgent physical requirements for Vine Christian Academy. Thanksgiving for all the help through the Christian Relief Fund and the sponsors.