Excerpts from New Peninsula Uganda Partnership Prayer Newsletter

March 2013

TRANSFORMATION:

Below is a story from Vinnie (slightly edited)

Esther was married many years ago. She had a wonderful wedding, nice husband and lived happily with her husband.  But when she gave birth to her two sons, they were both epileptic. With the stigma of having epileptic sons the husband left her.  Esther and her two sons lived a very poor life.  But in that kind of life, she found two more children who had been abandoned by their parents. So she had four in total.

Esther lived as an outcast in the community as people think epilepsy is a curse. She was lonely, isolated, rejected and felt she was a disgrace.

We met Esther over three years ago. She and her children were living in very poor conditions. The only place she had found to stay with her children was in a corridor where someone kept his rabbits and one little pig.

When we met Esther, we built her a house and we loved her and her children. She learnt business skills. She started making soap, smearing creams [Vaseline-based skin moisturizer] and other things of the sort from the locally available materials. Now she makes a good living and lives in a good house.

As a result of showing her love and making her feel she is not alone but with us, life changed. She chose to take a course in the Bible college, and there she met a very nice man who was interested in her. She finished her school, and married her new man.   Esther is a happy woman now, happily married and serving God.

With a humble touch we have seen lives change for better.  There are many other stories like this.

We thank you very much, as we can tell these stories because you have been standing with us.
 

PRAISE POINTS:

• The preparations for Deborah and Andrew’s wedding are going well.
• The revolving loan program is going well and many people have benefited and are also learning some good business management skills.
• The work on completing the Bethany Church building is almost finished.
• The children whom Bethel Church supports for education have done well with their studies.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. Pray for the children who have finished school, that they will be accepted into the courses they desire
2. Members of the Victory Church in Busamaga have outgrown the building they have been renting and it is no longer available for them to rent.  Pray for God’s provision so a church can be built for them this year.
3. Continue to pray for Deborah and Andrew’s wedding, that it will be successful.
4. Pray for the leadership training which has started, that it will be a tool for people to grow and serve God.
5. Pray for our members who are persecuted over their new faith in Christ.  Persecution has become part of our Christian life here that we no longer talk about it, but men and women continue suffering silently.

Excerpts from New Peninsula Uganda Partnership Prayer Newsletter (February 2013)

The first Sunday of the Month at Bethel is a prayer and fasting day. After the church service members in leadership roles remain behind to have an extra time to pray and seek God, and to discuss the updates and prayer items to share with us. The most recent ones are listed below.
 
Vinnie wrote: “Thank you for the recent funding, we have been able to:

• give out a good number of goats to widows. We shall send you photos soon.
• boost our revolving loan scheme. Last week we had training for over 200 people.
• pay our sponsored children's school fees.
• buy the children's bible club store materials: this coming Saturday they will be doing their shopping.

“The Introduction (engagement function) of Andrew and Deborah last December went well” (see photo below). 

 

 
PRAISE POINTS FROM BETHEL LEADERS

1. The revolving loan scheme has reached many poor people and there are good testimonies in the communities. The poor and those in need who are usually neglected have been able to earn a respectable income, which has made them self-sufficient and sustainable.
2. The children we support for education have passed very well. We now have some children who are in college. We thank God and we thank you for giving us a hand in that area.
3. We have a good number of youths who are saved and very active in the churches as a result of our bible club children's programme. The church is growing because of that programme. Some children have even brought their parents to the Lord.
4. New converts especially in the new churches are increasing in number.

PRAYER REQUESTS FROM BETHEL LEADERS

1. Pray that the bible club store will go well this coming Saturday.
2. Formal leadership training has started.  Pray that God will use it to raise His leaders to do the work of ministry in a good way and that those starting the training continue to the end.
3. Pray for the Bethel leaders as they try to help the poor children to go to school, sometimes it is a challenge to them as they also have children who go to school. Pray that God will intervene in their personal situation.
4. Pray that God’s Spirit will lead us as we respond to Bethel’s needs.
5. Pray for Emmanuel and ElShaddai Churches. It has come to the time we agreed to bring back the leader we sent to them. But the new leaders taking over seem not ready to do the work.
6. Continue praying for the new converts in all our new churches. They still face persecution from their families.
7. Pray for Deborah and Andrew's wedding, scheduled to take place on the 16th of March - but they don't have enough funding for it. Pray that God will provide for them as they are His faithful servants.

DEBORAH’S PRAYER REQUESTS (through Cathy McInnes)

1. We are planning to start our wedding meetings but how to begin is our greatest problem, pray that God will guide us in every planning process
2. My house isn't enough for us to live in. This pushes us to get a bigger house which is costly, and yet Andrew hasn't got a job.  So pray that God may intervene for provision in getting a good house which can accommodate all of us
3. This year Trisa (Deborah’s daughter) is changing school: this is quite expensive and challenging to a child, so pray that she will quickly fit in the school and for God's protection upon her.
4. We resume Bible Club classes on Feb 9th:  I have lots on my mind planning for the wedding and the time coming ahead, so pray for God's wisdom to be upon me on how to balance all these commitments.
5.