|
[Missions] Uganda
|
|
|
|
|
Newsletter
from the 
missionaries in Uganda
|
|
Missionaries Mike
and Rosemary Johnston live in Musaka (just West of Lake Victoria on the
map)
 Masaka
is a town situated about 80miles South of Kampala, the capital
city. Masaka Town is the regional capital
for the 4 districts of Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule and Kalangala. Its
population
is about 70,000 and most of them are children. This region has been the
worst
hit area in the whole of Uganda
by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For a long time it was the area with the
highest
percentage of sufferers in Uganda.
In addition the district of Masaka suffered more than any other during
the 1979
Civil War to remove Iddi Amin from the presidency of Uganda and
again in the second
Civil War to remove President Milton Obote from power (1985/86). The
result of
all this is that many breadwinners have died leaving many orphans. The
poverty
is clear for all to see even though the region has good soil and
climate. Hopelessness
and apathy rule many of the people in Masaka.
But there are now lots of signs of development, roads are being
repaired, new buildings are springing up, there is hope for Masaka!
Source:
www.masaka.co.ug/Home.htm
Testimony
A
couple of months ago Rosemary and I
were on our way to the property to work when we realized we had
forgotten
something. We returned to the house. Resting on our
grass was a
young man with a large bandage on his neck and his 6 year old
daughter. I
rushed into the house and the two "visitors" moved on.
Actually
he was moving so slowly and painfully and so unstable they didn't get
far
before I came out of the house. The fellow was obviously very
sick.
We decided to offer whatever assistance, transportation at
the
least.
We caught them at the
corner and ask if
they could use a ride. They had been around the corner from
us at a
Catholic charity that helps AIDS sufferers with some food and
medicine.
On the way to their home we talked to them about the Lord and His
provision. When we got there we let the young lady out and
continued
talking with Miiro (pronounced Meelo). He made a decision to
accept
Christ and we prayed for his health in general and the "chronic
drainage" from his neck.
Miiro had been
working as a builder but
because he was terribly sick had spent the previous month on his back
in
bed. He had reported at the office next to us to have his
medical forms
and treatment transferred closer to his home. His wife had a
stall
selling market produce but because he had gotten so incapacitated she
left that
to take care of him. No income, no nothing, no safety net
here.
We left him home and
after our work we
dropped by some food. For the next few days we would stop by
and check on
them. AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, he began to improve immediately; we
could see the
changes each day! We gave them some food to carry them along
a bit but
when he didn't need constant care anymore we decided to let them sell
our
excess produce from our gardens at their stall. The wife gave
her life to
the Lord and they started coming around Sunday evenings for some Bible
study. The wife was soon selling everything we could deliver
and they
move from having no cash to having capital. They would pay
for the food
when we delivered it. They paid school fees for the two girls
and they
went back to school.
Miiro went back to
working a day here
and a day there. He was laying bricks, mixing sand
and cement by hand.
We had a few days worth of brick work we wanted to get done
and he and
another guy worked like no one had ever been sick. The family
had come so
far; they even paid 3 months rent off. By Easter they had
gotten back on
track. They are making it on their own now by the grace of
God.
Building
links with the Community
Easter is a big
holiday here, a time
for special meals. We had excess matooke so the two young men
that work
for us put it in the shade out by the road to sell. The
villagers around
us, who have cursed us, broken our fences and abused us, came on Good
Friday,
20 or 30 at a time lined up to buy our matooke; even the guy who used
to steal
it. ‘How the tables turn’ - Generally, they had a
hard time adjusting to us
coming into the area, but we are making progress to breakdown those
walls.
We
would like to thank you for your continued support both financially and
in
prayer. This
enables us to continue extending
the Kingdom
of God
in this part of the world. Thank
you and
may the Lord bless you all.
Dear
John & Joy,
Mike and Rosemary’s
orphanage at the moment consists
of 5 children that they have taken in. They could take in
more but the
building for the orphanage is yet to be constructed…thus
they have a small
house next to their home where the children sleep (in the same
compound).
The children all attend school and work on the property as you can see
from the
photos. This is a great work. 3 of the 5 were HIV
when they came
and now they are not! God has healed them! They
were not attending
school and had no hope of a future but now all of them are tops in
their
classes. Mike and Rosemary pay for their keep and their
schooling and any
medical they need. They work on the goat project which raises
goats to
give to local people who want to raise goats…effectively
enabling them to start
their own goat-raising business. They give them both male and
female and
the know-how to deal with all the goat issues. They also
raise crops on
the 27 acres to sell to support the ministry and feed themselves and
others who
have nothing. As soon as they have the funds they will build
the
orphanage, medical clinic, church, community hall, and
school. They have
done an outstanding job of clearing the land, fencing it, planting and
harvesting the crops, building the goat pens, interfacing with the
local people
and raising the orphans. Anyone visiting there would fall in
love with
them an and what they are doing
PLEASE ADD MIKE & ROSEMARY AND THE WORK
THEY ARE DOING IN UGANDA
TO YOUR
PRAYER LIST.
|
