Testimony
I lost my mother to HIV/AIDS when I was six months old, and my father passed away from HIV/AIDS when I was seven. My father had three wives and a total of thirteen children. Because of our big family, some children were not able to go to school, but fortunately, I was. After my father passed, I went to live with family friends who raised me and sent me to school; thanks to them, I received an extensive education.
In 2009, the family I was staying with invited witch doctors into their home to perform some rituals which later had an adverse effect on all of us. In the house, some of us at times were possessed by demons; they made us run away from home and were extremely destructive, causing some of us to get seriously ill and sick in ways doctors could not discern. The situation became so severe that we were taken to an evangelical church in our community by our neighbors.
After praying for us, we had an opportunity to hear the Gospel. I responded positively to the gospel and accepted Christ Jesus as my Lord and Savior, being baptized in October 2010. I joined that church and was a member there until August 2011, when I moved to live in Rukungiri. Since I accepted Christ, a lot has changed in my life.
My perspective of who God is changed. I have come to know that there is a living God to whom I was made a child through Christ. Before I thought God was what we worshipped whenever witch doctors came and performed rituals, but I now know that was evil. I used to believe that witch doctors were a source of help and knew everything about life and considered them as priests of God. Since I accepted Christ, I learned that Christ is Lord over all things even over the witch doctors. I realized that witch doctors work for the devil to steal, kill, and destroy people’s souls.
Praise God for all the work Bryan and Elizabeth are doing in Kikarara!
We thank God for you, our friends. You choose to stand by us, love us, pray for us, encourage us, financially support us, and bless us and the people we serve in this community. Kikarara is a difficult place, but your support enables us to reach the people with the Gospel that changes their lives from darkness to light and from hopelessness to hope in the living God through Christ Jesus; may God abundantly bless you and your families.
Testimonies:
Naboth and Medias faced years of heartache due to multiple miscarriages, societal judgment, and financial struggles. They found hope through home visits and prayers and began attending church regularly. They asked us to pray for them in their struggles. We shared the Word of God and prayed for them. We believed God with them in the Word and prayed for the fruit of the womb. By God’s grace, they have been blessed with a healthy baby. They are now praying for financial blessing from the work of their hands to build a permanent home and continue serving the Lord.
Speachi, a 45-year-old widow, was living with a man who married another woman. We visited her home, where we shared the Word of God. She asked us some questions about marriage, among others. She then came and started to attend Sunday services with us, giving her life to Jesus Christ. She then realized she needed to ask the man she was living with to return to his family and let go of the relationship. It was and is a testimony of how God can change the hearts of men and women through the power of the gospel. She says she is now living a peaceful and joyful life and is committed to living as a Christian.
Amos, a 26-year-old man, struggled with alcohol addiction and a troubled past, including imprisonment and failed relationships. Through our home visits, we invited Amos to church on Sunday to attend church service with us, and he eventually gave his life to Christ during one of the church services. He was able to overcome the stronghold of addictions that had bound his life. He is now sober and actively serving in the sound department of the church, assisting with technical duties during services.
Praise and Prayer:
- Praise God that despite a severe drought, He has sustained us with food, and no one from our church or our community has died because of starvation.
- Praise God for His faithfulness in transforming lives, restoring relationships, and saving souls.
- Praise God for His provision for our ministry’s needs.
- Pray for our ushers and intercessors who prepare the church and pray for the congregation.
- Pray for our Young Ambassadors, our children who meet every Saturday to prepare songs, skits, and Bible verses for Sunday services. Those who memorize at least five scripture verses receive an award.
- Pray for our Adult Choir as they practice every Saturday to enhance worship services.
- Pray for the Leaders’ Classes, held every Saturday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. These classes focus on effective service in God’s Kingdom.
- Pray for our Foundational Classes held every Sunday from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM, teaching the basics of the Christian faith.
- Pray for our study of the Gospel of John as we learn about Jesus’ works and teachings.
- Pray for the home visits and rotational fellowships where we share the Gospel and build more substantial connections with the community. These help us better reach our neighbors and communities with the Word of God.
- Pray for funds to construct the permanent church. The bricks are made and ready.
We praise God that Mukombi has been drawn to salvation. Mukombi, 25 and single, was a drunkard and misused whatever money he earned. We met him one day on our way to the fellowship and invited him to visit. That day, we taught the gospel from John 5: 1-10. He was convicted of his sins, stopped alcohol consumption, and gave his life to Christ. We pray that God may continue to grow his faith.
We see God at work in the life of Kato. Kato and Evas are blessed with five children, ages one month to 16 years. We met this family through home visits and found that Kato was a drug addict and drunkard. He had sold his piece of land to compensate for the things that he had destroyed during his fights in bars. and his children were not in school. He was amazed that we would visit him because he believed his lifestyle was not liked by religious people. We shared the Word of God and committed to pray for him. He accepted Jesus and stopped drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. He became a member of the Church and continues to attend Bible study and fellowships. He started making bricks from his land and built a permanent house. God has helped him work and sell crops like rice, ground nuts, and beans to be able to put his children back to school. The community is amazed at what God can do through a life dedicated to Him. They see the life of Kato as a testament to the power of God at work, that even criminals can reform and change for good. Through the holistic transformation of Kato, many have been drawn to Christ and God’s Embassy Church. They realize that if Kato can change, others can be transformed. We praise God for each day that passes that we see God work in the lives of His people.
Pray that God may pave the way for a school and medical center, in our community, which is far from the main town. We pray that this can also help spread the gospel in our community.
One of the challenges we face as a church and a community is the straying elephants that come looking for food and destroy the gardens. They are so big that we cannot chase them away unless we have a crowd. They come at night, and that is also the time when you cannot gather a crowd quickly. The impact of these elephants is big, and they are threatening food security within the community.
We also face a challenge in our area as the government suspects rebels, especially in the areas around the park and on the lake shores of Lake Edward. These rebels are targeting churches and other big gatherings. The churches have stopped all overnight prayer events to avoid these raids.
We praise God that the fruit trees we planted have started giving fruits, and we will harvest them for the children to enjoy when they come to church. We also praise God for Pastor Steve’s visit to God’s Embassy, which blessed us with gifts for the children and the medical outreach. We praise God for the water tank that collects water, and our neighbors come to fetch clean water; we bless through this water collection.
Update regarding the Church Structure:
We praise God for the unity in our church as we made and burned eighteen thousand bricks. We desire to make enough to build a permanent church structure, as termites are eating away at the structure we have.
The members of Kikarara are now making bricks to replace their temporary wood structure before the termites cause severe damage. For our projects in Uganda, our team takes the initiative to engage the local church in constructing a public gathering place. Our funding provides a solid concrete beam system reinforced with sturdy iron rods to ensure the structure’s resilience against storms. The church community actively contributes to the project by providing bricks to fill the walls, resulting in a highly successful partnership between our team and the local church members. We need about $18,000 to build this structure and include a water tank so God receives glory for every rainstorm that produces fresh, clean water to drink.
