FHLM DECEMBER 2022 NEWSLETTER
GREETINGS:
Happy New Year!! I hope your Christmas was a blessed as mine!! Sorry that I didn’t get a November Newsletter emailed to you all but if you’re interested to read what went on please visit this link. Thank you! https://faithhopelovemissions.org/
DIRECTORS UPDATE:
Sad News: On 5th Dec Kellen had her last day with FHLM. She has left the ministry to go to Kampala to be with her beloved husband. He has been working for a resort in Kampala for the last 5 months and it was very hard financially and physically for Kellen and children to be away from him. There were many tears and sad faces on her last day, but we all wish her the best and that our Lord bless her and her family.
That said, we are praying for social worker applications to be received and for the good Lord to grant us wisdom as we start the interview process.
Word For 2023: Every year around November/December I start praying to the Lord and asking Him to share with me His Word for the New Year! This time is was a bit different because I kept getting two different chapters of the Bible with very similar verses. He gave me Joshua 1:8-9 and Deuteronomy 31:6-8. Each of these verses God is speaking to Joshua about being “strong & courageous “ and “knowing that God is with him and he is not to fear”. I will stand on these words from the Lord for the coming year!!
YOUTH PROGRAMS:
Worship Day: On 1st Dec we had a day of praise and worship to our Lord! After Pius, Milly, Precious and Pamela gave their testimonies thanking God for the protection and provision. Both Timothy and Pamela shared the word for the day. Pamela led with the Topic: “Something You Cannot Handle” and spoke fromGenesis 3 (about the fall of man) and 2 Samuel 11:2-5 (David’s transgression). She said that we should not think that we can handle anything without Christ. So in everything we do, we should remember that without Christ we can’t do anything. David’s sin continued even to his children. Every sin starts small and it keeps growing. God should be thought of, always ask God on what to do.
Many people have thought they can make it but have ended up failing because Christ is not at the center of what they are doing. This was a power message and a blessed day!
Cooking Day: On the 6th Uncle Charles taught the youth how to make vegetable fretters. It was the first time that Uncle had led a baking or cooking session with the youth. He said it was a fun experience. We all enjoyed the yummy fretters!
Life-Skills: On the 8th Aunt Emmy and Uncle Patrick from Scripture Union Masaka came to the Centre to speak to the youth about Friendships & Sexual Purity. She used 2 Samuel 13:1-22 as her main text. She shared that we are to be cautious of the friends that advise us, as Absalom used bad advice from his friend Jonadab. She went on the share the differences between lust and love and spoke at length about Absalom and Tamar.
After she had a “free talk” with the youth and asked them several questions on how they would have dealt with a situation like Absalom and Tamar’s. She ended the day by asking the youth to open up about “sex myths” they had heard i.e. if you have sex with a condom on you’re still a virgin or if you remain a virgin till your married you’re not experienced and your husband/wife will leave you, etc. I’m thankful to God that we were able to have such a teaching! May God bless Aunt Emmy for her teaching skills. I pray that all the youth take to heart all that was discussed.
Christmas Week:
Craft Day: On the 12th we finished up decorating the Centre with garland, lights, and other decorations that we have made over the years. That day we made Christmas ornaments out of old Christmas cards. Then we hung them on Centre’s Christmas tree. It was a fun project!
Movie Day: On 13th we watched the Christmas classic, Chronicles of Narnia; Lion Witch And The Wardrobe. Here are some of the youth’s comments and lessons learned:
- Pius- Father Christmas’ gifts were symbolizing the full armor of god
- Milly- When we tell someone the truth and they don’t except it, like Lucy encountered, we are not to give up. Also, like Peter, God gives us positions. Though we want to run away we are to stand and believe.
- Pamela- Aslan was a symbol of Christ’s love and sacrifice. Also Edmund only saw himself and his wants. He was stubborn. We are the same, we can reject God and have a bad character, but we are to hope in our Savior.
- Justine- I see Aslan as Jesus he sacrificed himself for Edmund and for us all
- Nathan- When we war for truth, help will come and you’ll overcome the battle.
- Eddy- There is power in unity and teamwork. Look at when Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy finally came together they accomplished much.
Christmas Party: On the 16th , our last open day before breaking for the Holidays, we had our Annual Youth Christmas Party. The day was filled with the love and joy of Christmas. We had in attendance the FHLM youth, some community youth and a few from Hilltop Church and Abbana Uganda. We were extra blessed because Joshua made if back from university for the party! We opened the day with a great praise & worship session, then broke for lunch. After lunch we enjoyed a lot of fun and laughter when we played outdoor games. We finished the day by wishing Jesus a Happy Birthday! We sang to Him and celebrated His life with a birthday cake that we had baked the day before. We than gave each other Christmas presents, I read the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-16 and ended in prayer. I was such a wonderful day!
Baking: On 22nd and 23rd most of the youth came to my (Aunt Rita) house to bake for Christmas. We spent the two days baking Christmas cutout cookies, coconut cake, oatmeal scotches, a birthday cake for Jesus, and chocolate coconut balls. Eddy and William wanted to make an avocado cake, so we tried it out. It turned out to be pretty good!
Christmas Day- From Christmas Eve till Boxing Day (26th Dec) most of the FHLM Youth were at my house along with Babirye, husband Ambrose, Baby Murungi, David, and his fiancée, Mable. After attending Christmas morning church service we all came back to the house to finalize the food for luncheon. In total there were 16 of us for lunch and the day’s events. After lunch many played cards or just rested. In the evening we had a campfire, and we sang praise and worship songs, and most of us shared what we had been thankful for in 2022. I think we ended around mid-night and everyone, yes all 16 of us, stayed overnight! The next morning, Boxing Day, we all had breakfast together and most of the youth left. The older ones, David, Babirye and co stayed on till 30th Dec.
This Christmas was such a blessing for me to have all my kids around and have the house filled with so much joy! Everyone said that they want to make this a Christmas Tradition!
BELA BULUNGI (GOOD-BYE):
All in all the month of December was very joyous for me and my family here! I thank the Lord all of you and for His abundant provision, protection, and love He has given us this Holiday! May you all have the same in the coming New Year! Most of all I thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ, that He brought into this world for our salvation.
Much Love and Blessing to you in 2023!
Rita Bulegeya
Director -Faith Hope Love Missions
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