FHLM MAY 2021 NEWSLETTER
Greetings:
Hello from Masaka and all of us at FHLM! It has been a VERY wet May here! Most people could never imagine that one could be ‘’chilly” living on the equator, but we have been just that this month! William is walking around in the Centre with a winter coat and a ‘touke’ on. I’ve actually resorted to putting on shoes and socks. I have to say, I’m so very thankful to now have a car in this rain and not have to be on the back of a boda, slip sliding down the roads like years past. Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
Well this is what we were up to in May:
Director’s Update:
Assistant: We are still in the process of collecting Social Worker Resumes and praying over the best fit for the ministry and youth. In the meantime the FHLM Directors thought it good experience for Eddy, our S4 leaver, to assist me in the office. Hanisha has taken to calling him Mr. Secretary. He has been a blessing, helping to run errands, assisting with filing & reports, communicating with the youth’s non-English speaking guardians and being a presence at the Centre. Of Course such work comes with compensation that will also assist his family with living expenses.
Centre Happenings:
Bible Study: This month’s Bible Study theme was GOD’S PROMISES.
Eddy and William kicked off the month with a reading from Isaiah 49:8-26. Eddy shared about God making His promises come to pass. That we, as His children, have His favor and we are to be patient for in our season He will make it happen.
Benita & I read from Psalms 119:49-56 with our key verse being 49 “Remember the Word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope”. We emphasized that the Word of God is FULL of His promises and we shared with everyone just 7 of the 7,487 promises that God has given His children in the Word. When we are steadfast to follow and hope in His Word, it will bring us comfort.
Milly & Hahisha spoke to us about God’s Promise of Deliverance, Exodus 5:22 to 6:11. Milly said that God chose Moses and used him just as he was. We may also have hard times and challenges but the Lord has a perfect plan and will deliver us from our trials. If God delivered the Israelites after 430 years of hardship and captivity, He will do that for us too.
Oliver & Joshua ended the month with Jeremiah 33:1-11, God Promises Restoration. Joshua stated that when you have problems and are confined, call to God and He will answer you. In your darkest night God’s promises are there for you. He will show you great and mighty things. (verse 3) Oliver also compared James 5:15 to the verses in Jeremiah, saying that when we offer up prayers in faith He will not fail to answer. That it is all about asking God, and calling on Him!
Each week as I participated in study with our youth I was so blessed to see how God has transformed them into Godly leaders, capable of deciphering and teaching His Word!
Visitors Welcomed:
This month was a month of visitors at FHLM. The morning of the 12th we welcomed Dr. Roy Brown from Israel. Mr. Roy taught the youth about the “Lands of the Bible” using maps of the Bible and of Modern Day. He shared about the 12 Tribes of Israel, the Geographical Areas of the Bible like the Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Mount Carmel, Beer-she-ba. He also gave the youth Biblical reference for each area, like Joshua and Judges, and shared a bit of the Bible related stories of the areas. He also showed us his personal pictures of modern day Jerusalem; the Temple Mount, the Garden Tomb, the city, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, along with the area around Mount Carmel and Haifa.
This gave us all a better understanding of the whole picture of Israel, all the cities, and places we read about and learn about in the Bible. We are thankful for this teaching!
In the afternoon of the 12th Pastor Brian Mukisa from Hilltop Church came and spoke to the youth about Careers: How to Make Your Dreams a Reality? He started by stating that everyone has a Dream in life and asked us all our dreams. Brian then talked about working for your dream to become a reality and fighting to reach the goal that you have set. He really emphasized that God has given each of the youth an opportunity to fulfill their Dreams through this organization and they should value what God has blessed them with. The youth really enjoyed Brian’s talk with them and were thankful for his time.
On the 22nd we welcomed Pastor Darren Hall from the U.S. to the Centre. He joined us in our Bible Quiz Day! It was a fun day learning about the Word of God! Team Hope lead during the Quiz Question session but during the Rapid Fire Round—finding Bible verses- team Shalom pulled a head for a bit. In the end team Hope won the day. But really everyone was a WINNER because they were learning the Word of God! We are thankful that Darren always visits when he is in Uganda and for his continued love and prayers for the ministry.
Movie Day: We had our monthly movie on the 15th. The youth voted and we watch another Veggie Tails cartoon before our feature movie. This month we watched Pistachio. It taught the lesson of listening to your parents. Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—
Our movie feature was Miracles from Heaven! It is a movie based on a true story about Beam Family. Little Anna, the middle child, gets a rare intestinal disease. This trail tests the family’s faith, especially the mom, Christi. She tells her pastor that she doesn’t have faith anymore and that she can’t even pray but her very sick and dying daughter, Anna, never waivers in her faith. She even shares Jesus with another sick girl in hospital. That said this is what a few of the youth learned from this inspirational movie:
- Immy: Anna taught me that God loves us even if we’re not overcoming our problems. She didn’t give up on God. She knew that He is always with us!
- Eddy: Some things must happen to us as Christians or born again in order to know and understand how powerful and great our God is. But although we go through such hardships, God is with us.
- William: It’s good to wait patiently on the Lord because He can never forget His own people.
- Oliver: We should put all our faith in God, as Anna did. She also saw God’s signs in the butterfly and saw hope in many things. When we put our faith & hope in Christ we will be able to see God’s miracles every day.
FUN Day Out!: On the 29th we were blessed with an whole day outing to Lake Mburo National Park. Since were only gone for the day we set off by 7:30am. We stopped off at our usual petrol station in Lyantonde for our “no the road breakfast” and got to the park gate by 10:15am. As soon as we entered into the park we saw lots of zebras, impala, warthogs, and bush bucks. I even saw a banded mongoose family near the road. We went straight to the lake to register for our mid-day boat safari. As we cruised around the lake we saw many hippos, several crocodiles & water buffalo, and many bird species including fish eagles. Hanisha was so excited to see the hippos in real life and to hear their grunting sounds. Eddy really enjoyed seeing so many different animals, like the crocodile, up close. After we had our lunch at the park Student Centre we headed out for a game drive. God really blessed us! Not only did we see all those animals again, but also topi, and a herd of 15 giraffes! It was the perfect end to a wonderful day of adventure and fun!! We thank God for the journey mercies, the provision, and the joy of the day!
SOAR Youth Update:
Monthly Featured SOAR Youth:
Babirye Namutebi (Babz): has been with FHLM since January of the 2014. She is now in her 3rd year of studies at Ndejje University where she is majoring in Computers in Secondary Education with a minor in Divinity. She is very active in the universities’ Christian Union and at the beginning of last year she was given a leadership role on the C.U. Board as Secretary.
She has been studying hard through the COVID period and despite doing on-line lectures, and Zoom meetings she passed all of her exams last year. Though COVID prevented her from doing her first internship last year she was able to get some firsthand experience by teaching the SOAR Youth Centre computer skills at the Centre. We thank God that she will be able to start her 1st school internship in June at a secondary school in Bombo, UG teaching Computer & Christian Religious Studies.
Babirye has become a beautiful woman of God. She is a natural leader and the other SOAR youth look to her as a role model, and admire her accomplishments. She continues to use her gift of singing at the university chapel and whenever she is back in Masaka she joins the Hilltop Church praise & worship team. We are blessed to see how God has guided and transformed her over the years. To God be the glory!
William: At the beginning of May William’s father, John, was again gravely ill and transferred from Masaka Referral Hospital to Kampala Regional Hospital. William spent the first week of May attending to his father at hospital. They once again ran a battery of tests, but can’t pin point the exact disease, as they believe he has some form of Parkinson’s disease. By mid-May John was released to come home but he and the family still need your prayers. Thank you!
Youth of the Month: This month Eddy was given the honor of Youth Of The Month for his always willing to assist attitude and hardworking manner. He helped to feed the rabbits in William’s absence, and he jumped in to assist the secondary 2 youth in revising and preparing to return to school. We are grateful for Eddy and his commitment to the ministry, his fellow youth and the Lord! Congrats Eddy!
School Starting: School for the Secondary 2 students, William, Hanisha, Benita & Milly, resumed 2 weeks earlier than we expected. That sent Eddy and myself scrambling to pay school fees and purchase school requirements for them in time, but by God’s grace we completed the tasks. On 14th May, they returned after being out of school since March 2020, due to COVID restrictions. They joined Immy and Justine at school, but only for a week, as the girls completed their end of 2 Term exams on the 20th and had a 2 weeks out of school before they start Term 3 on 7th June. This “staggering “system is helping the school and teachers cope with all the COVID requirements.
It really wasn’t a Holiday for Immy and Justine, as they both took Math prep studies during their time off, but they are thankful for the “additional teaching”. I want to thank their sponsors for helping to make a difference in all the lives of our youth and helping their future become bright! May God bless you richly!
Joshua: He was back from Kampala International University between 2nd year 1st Semester studies and Hospital Practical from 22-30 May. It was so wonderful to have him around the Centre for a few days!!
bela bulungi (good-bye):
By God’s grace, provision and prayers from you all we are able to continue serving the Lord here in Masaka! We thank you all!
Love and Blessings,
Rita Bulegeya
Director- Faith Hope Love missions (UG)
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