Seeds Planted in the heart of Uganda!
It was a road I had traveled many times before as I sat in the front seat of Pastor Fred’s truck. The traffic in the capital city was slow and congested and the dust was everywhere. As I prepared for our 6 hour journey I couldn’t help but think of what God had planned for all of us as we would once again be joined with many of the pastor’s and leaders in the villages. These are men and women that I have come to love and appreciate through the many hours and days we have spent together learning about God and His Word. Pastor Fred and I were on a mission, we had come to fulfill a vision that God had placed in my heart earlier in the year. I really felt like the Holy Spirit wanted us to do something real tangible for these 30 churches. Our goal was to plant monetary seeds into each of these churches, money they could use to help fulfill the vision God placed in their hearts. The vision seemed big at the time God placed it in my heart, yet one thing I have learned over the years, nothing is too big for God no matter where you are in this world.
Pastor Joseph and his church would host this leadership conference during our time together. We had done this many times before in different villages and each time the power of the Holy Spirit always had something new and unique planned for us. We would gather each day, early in the morning and we would spend time worshipping together. The Ugandan people love to worship God and I love to worship with them. Each day was new and exciting; it was like fresh manna from Heaven being dropped right in our laps. The pastors and leaders are so hungry for God and His Word. As the Holy Spirit would open our eyes and hearts, you could sense His presence and you would hunger for more. We would spend the whole day talking, sharing and growing together in our faith. Many times during the day I would have them share what God was teaching them. It was a joy to hear the clarity and depth of what they were learning, it blessed my heart! These are churches that we have planted in these villages where there has never been a church before. I am so humbled and honored to be joined with this group, to God be the glory.
We had this really cool idea on how we would end this leadership conference. As I mentioned earlier; God gave me this vision of planting $200 in each of these churches. It was like sowing seed into the hearts of these amazing people and watching the seed take root deep in their hearts. And once we watered that seed we would see incredible fruit for the Kingdom of God. I had brought envelopes from home and the night before the final day Pastor Fred and I filled those envelopes with money that was donated by so many wonderful people who support this ministry. Pastor Fred wrote the pastor’s names and the names of their churches on each envelope. We had converted the dollars into schillings and prayed over each envelope. Two hundred dollars goes a long way in Uganda and these pastor’s had no idea what was coming their way. At the end of the conference we presented each church with their seed money, words can’t begin to express what this meant to each of these churches. It was God saying to them, keep going, keep trusting and keep believing! There were two churches that received $500 each because they are in the midst of building new churches because their old ones are too small. That afternoon we loaded up the truck with our team from the capital city and we headed back to Kampala knowing deep in our hearts the mission was accomplished and the lives of thousands would never be the same.
One final note, after returning home to Colorado, I was contacted by Pastor Fred and he informed me that two of the churches took their seed money and bought land for their church! To God be the glory!
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8