FHLM AUGUST 2024 NEWSLETTER

GREETINGS:

Praise God for His goodness! Greetings to you all from hot, sunny and dusty Masaka! We are still in dry season, but the storm clouds are on the horizon and we are happy for them, as both the crops and we are crying out for those Equatorial rains. James 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

DIRECTORS UPDATE:

NOTE: Glory be to God for His grace that has abound in my life! My whole being thanks God for His grace as I am so unworthy to serve, but I thank Him for allowing me to do so. With that said I humbly share with you what the Lord has done here in Masaka in August.

YOUTH UPDATE:

END OF TERM: On 13^th August the secondary youth ended term 2. William, Pamela and Mark are the only youth officially finished with the term. It was a bit of a jumble for a few weeks because four of the youth, Immy, Pius, Ruth and Charity were at school in internal Mock Exams from 12^th to 24^th Aug. They attended school the regular hours, 8am to 5:20pm, taking these exams to prepare themselves for their National Exams that are in Oct and Nov. That meant we only had a few of the SOAR Youth and Ronald at the Centre for programs. But some of the community youth, Precious, Kizza, and others, joined us.   

WILLIAM: During the holiday he took Top Up Classes in Chemistry, Math, and Biology. The teachers helped him understand topics from last Term that weren’t explained well. He also said that they were taught new topics in Chemistry and Biology. He was also given exercises and Biology and Math to reinforce what he had been taught. This will help him when Term 3 starts, as he will be ahead of the other students. He is very thankful for these extra classes!  

EDDY: He went off to university on 19th Aug. He and I traveled to Ishaka, in western Uganda, to get him registered for university and settled into his hostel. He is sharing a room with Joshua Kakeeto, one of our pervious SOAR Youth, who is still at campus upgrading his credentials. Eddy’s Fresher Orientation started on 26^th and his pharmacy lectures at Kampala International University started on 2^nd September.      

OLIVER: She completed working and teaching at a tailoring shop in Entebbe and finished up her 2nd Semester Break Research Project. As you have read she’s been rather busy! She sent me her results for her 2nd Semester at University Kisubi. She received these marks: 2-A+, 2-B+, and 1-D+, which she was not happy with, but over all a good semester for her. She will be starting lectures for 1^st Semester of 2^nd year on 9^th September. We pray for her the best in her last year of university!            

CAMP: From 23^rd to 27^th August William, Pamela, Mark and Ronald went to Scripture Union Camp at Kisosso Parent’s Primary School. This year’s theme was “Consider Your Ways”—Haggai 1:7. Here is what they learned, experienced, and their testimonies during the 4 day camp.

• Pamela: Through the workshops I learned that a person has two important days in their life; the day they are born and the day they find his or her purpose. I also learned that I need to obey God’s word because it can open up doors for me. I really enjoyed my experience with the other campers and the opportunity I was given to minister praise & worship. I testify that during camp I was able to get alone time with God and He talked to me a lot. I am thankful to Aunt Rita and the ministry for giving me this opportunity to attend camp.
• Mark: I learnt to consider what I do and to always put God first in everything I do. I also learned that God helped the Israelites to move form sorrow and then were saved and found a good life with God. Also that when someone helped you, you should endeavor to remember him and not forget what they have done for you.  
• Ronald: In SU Camp I learnt many ways of praying, finding God, and fighting evil. I also enjoyed the camp activities.    

PRAYER REQUESTS: We are going on our annual SOAR Youth Outreach and Ed Trip starting 7^th Sept. This year we are off to Gulu for 6 days severing in the community and also visiting the eastern side of Murchison Falls National Park. Please prayer for God’s journey mercies, and His hand of protection as we travel the 11 hours up to Gulu. Also for God to use our team mightily as we share with widows, help in a community playground build, and visit a youth prison. Thank you! Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

YOUTH PROGRAMS:

Our Term Holiday theme is PRAYER! Colossians 4:2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. (NKJV)

BIBLE QUIZ: On 3^rd August we had a lively Bible Quiz with Aunt Shakirah as the chairperson and myself as the timekeeper and judge. The two teams–A and B pitted against each other as Shakirah posed different bible questions to them. Team B was ahead by a lot until we went into “Sword Game”, were opposing teammates are fighting against each other to see who can find a verse and read it first. After three rounds Team A brought the score closer, but in the end Team B won! It was a fun day with lots of joy and learning. 

BIBLE STUDY: During the month we covered Genesis 25 & 26 and then studied Matthew 7:24-29, Romans 5:1-5 and Philippians 4:10-20. The latter chapters are our Outreach Trip Theme verses, so we wanted to do a deep study in them to prepare for our trip.

This month’s study on 6^th August in Genesis 25:1-34 stood out to me. We read about the death of Abraham in verses 1-11, but before he died, he took another wife Keturah and had other children from her. In verse 22, we saw the power of prayer when Isaac interceded for his wife Rebecca. Then we see Rebecca taking another step of asking God what was wrong with her pregnancy. In verses 27-24 we learned that we should not allow the things of the world to take us like how they did Esau, and that we should not despise our birth rite as he did. Here are some of the comments from the youth:  

• Eddy- He shared about of the importance of the genealogy. When we know our family we can know where there are blessings and where there are curses. If curses we shall know how to deal with them. We see such a curse as Abraham took long to have a child and Isaac too, so Isaac took a step to intercede and break the generational curse. So, we should know our generational curses.
• Immy- She said that we should not despise what we have, as Esau did. If you don’t value what you have, you will lose it.
• Ronald- He shared on verse 5. Abraham giving his property to Isaac because he was a son of the covenant. Despite the many children he had. He sends the sons of the concubines away to leave Isaac in peace.
• Mark- God blessed Abraham with many children as He had promised, so He fulfilled His promise. Mark added from verse 6, that Abraham never wanted conflicts among his sons. It’s good to share among your children with what you have to avoid conflicts. Treated other equally, never leave anyone ungiven.

MOVIE DAY: On the 10^th we watched an oldie but a goodie, War Room. Many of our youth and none of the staff had seen this movie, so it was a wonderful way to introduce our holiday theme of prayer. Through this movie we learned the power of prayer. Here are some of the comments from what the youth and staff learned.

• Pamela said that Elizabeth at first didn’t know the enemy she was fighting with. As a Christian you might use a wrong weapon against the enemy, but the major ones are prayer, the word of God, and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
• Ruth shared that prayer is important and she learned that confession, like Tony did to take back the company things he stole, is very important.
• Shakirah supplemented that we should not only repent, but also do restitution–taking back what doesn’t belong to us.
• Precious said that God puts people in our lives to sharpen us, like Ms Clara sharpened Elizabeth.
• Eddy said that we need to allow God to fight for us, as He fought for Elizabeth and the family. Also to repent in prayer, so when we go to church our heart is fully cleansed.
• Charity said that we should pull up those that know nothing about prayer and share, like how Clara did for Elizabeth. Also that before we make a decision we should first seek advice from spiritually intelligent people.
• Ruth said that some things that happen in our lives are due to God directing us. Like when Tony was about to cheat on his wife and got sick, so we should not complain.
• Immy shared about showing goodness no matter what. Elizabeth’s husband was not treating her well but later on he changed. This is recognizing God in our lives.
• Joshua said that the friends you have determine how you behave. If your best friend is a non- believer then you’ll follow, so choose wisely. Also when we pray we must remember that God’s answer to our prayer isn’t always a yes, but also a no. This is for our own good. Then he quoted Proverb 18:21

CRAFT: The 21^st was the first of our Term Holiday programs. We learned how to make Salvation Bracelets. Each color of the bracelet represents an item and verse related to salvation: black- representing sin (Romans 3:23), red-representing the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:8), white- representing purity (Psalm 31:1), blue- representing baptism (Mark 16:16), green- representing growth (Psalm 1:3), and yellow- representing heaven (Psalm 21:18-21 and John 14:2-4). We learned the meaning behind each color and the verses so we can teach this to the 35 widows that we will be ministering to while we are in Gulu for our outreach trip. After we had done with the theory, we had to go into the practical of making the salvation bracelets. We had fun learning and even Juliet’s son and daughter joined in the fun.    

BIBLE BASICS 101: On the 22^nd I taught the younger youth, Pamela, Mark and Ronald, some fundamental Christian needs about the Bible. We discussed the main message of the Bible. Then we went through how the Bible was inspired by God, who wrote the books, and why. We reviewed the Bible’s structure, and all 66 books of the Bible helping to understand their genre. Finally we talked over Israel’s place in the Word and where we, as Judo Christians, fit in. I also gave them a few acronyms; B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) and G.E.P.C. (God Eats Popcorn Contently-to remember the books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.  As both Mark and Ronald are new believers they said this really helped them.  

SPECIAL GUESTS: We were blessed to have Pastor Ricky Dodzweit and his wife, my friend, Sarah, and their two children visit us at the Youth Centre on the 31st. After all the introductions, Ricky opened in prayer and jumped into the topic theme for the day, ‘’ The Hem of His Garment’’. He opened with a general explanation of where we, as Judao Christians, fit into the Jewish culture and faith. Then he posed a question to us all ’’What does prayer look like?’’. He shared various pictures of prayer, from Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane to the High Priests in the tabernacle, and discussed each one with us. 

He then focused on the TALLIT (prayer shawl) that is worn physically by Jews and its spiritual significance. He explained that the Tallit is like a “little tent” in which people use to represent a personal “tent of meeting/tabernacle.” He said that we, as Christians, should have our own Prayer Closet, where we meet with God daily. Ricky shared various verses that drew us into a deeper understanding of prayer and our need to prioritize prayer and the things of God in our lives. He shared this saying that we should keep on our hearts, “Make the things important to God and important to you, and God will make the things important to Him to be important for you.”

DIRECTOR’S NOTE: It was truly a blessing to have Ricky, Sarah and kids stay with me at my home for the weekend. On Sunday I attended River of Life Church with them and Ricky peached a wonderful and insightful sermon. I am thankful for such lovely friends. I am looking forward to their next visit to the Centre and my home!    

BELA BULUNGI (GOOD-BYE):

I thank everyone for their continued prayers, support, encouragement, and love! May you be blessed back 100 fold for these blessings to us.  

In His Grip,

Rita Bulegeya

Director -Faith Hope Love Missions

reetsindiego@yahoo.com