June 15–21 Vignettes from Pakwach

Stories from Ronald and the Ugandan Team in Pakwach

From June 16–21, Ronald and the Ugandan team continued serving in the Pakwach region, working with several churches across different village communities. What began as a replacement plan after our team could not go because of the Ebola situation has become something far more amazing and wonderful than we could have imagined.

God did not cancel His mission.

He raised up His people.

This week, Ugandan men and women from different regions — Gulu, Lira, Kampala, Paidha, Pakwach, and nearby communities — stepped into the harvest. They trained churches, went into villages, visited homes, preached in schools, prayed with families, counseled the broken, and began gathering new believers into homes of peace.

And the stories are overwhelming.

One team went into a village called Jopaomach, serving through Yahweh Adoration Church. There, God gave them a local chairperson — a community leader — who became a true person of peace. He began taking the team from home to home, telling them which families needed prayer and where the gospel needed to be shared.

That day, 19 people received Christ.

But the best part is what happened when the team went back to visit the people who had responded. They did not just count decisions and move on. They returned to love them, encourage them, and begin the work of follow-up.

In one home, a woman had asked for prayer for her husband because he was trapped in alcholism. The team prayed. The next day, the husband was home waiting for them. He had been waiting since morning. They shared with him, prayed with him, and he gave his life to Jesus!

That is the gospel moving from a message into a household.

In another village, Kennedy and the team went to a school expecting to speak to teachers. But the teachers said, “You need to speak to the students too.” So they gathered the teachers and students together — about 250 people — and the team preached the gospel.

Around 120 students and teachers received Christ.

The school leaders then asked for more training. What started as a simple visit became an open door into a school, a generation, and an entire community.

Another team met people who were brewing and drinking alcohol. This could have been a place many would have avoided. But the team went with compassion, not judgment. They talked with them. They listened. They prayed. One person gave their life to Christ, and the others asked the team to return the next day for counseling and more conversation.

That story reminds me that Jesus is never afraid to step into broken places. He meets people in the middle of pain, addiction, confusion, and need. And when His people go with love, doors begin to open. Hearts soften. Faith comes by hearing. The wayward come home.

Pastor Boney, who came from the Lira area, served in the Patua community. In one day, his team reached 154 people, and 13 received Christ. He spoke about the joy of being part of this mission and the beauty of serving alongside leaders from different areas. This is multiplication in motion: leaders being trained, sent, and strengthened as they go.

Then there was Sheila, a 20-year-old young woman from Kampala. She served in Wankawa, where her team reached about 149 people, and many responded and received Christ. But the most powerful thing Sheila shared was what God did inside her own heart.

She said, “I should not be a sitting Christian.”

Sheila said her heart is now beating for the youth. When she returns to Kampala, she wants to start a house church in her home so she can disciple people her own age and send them out to make more disciples.

This is what we have prayed for. Not just converts.

Not just events. Not just outreach reports.

We are praying for ordinary believers to become disciple-making disciples.

Felix shared another beautiful picture of what we call a “home of peace.” His team was serving through Breakthrough Community Church in Patua. He said the homes were close together, often with extended families gathered in one compound. When the team entered one home, people from the surrounding homes gathered too.

They prayed. They preached. People listened. And then something amazing happened.

One family gave the team firewood, dried cassava, and even a small gift of 700 shillings to support the mission. They were not only receiving the message. They welcomed the messengers and helped the mission continue.

Felix said, "We found three homes of peace and

started three house churches in one day."

That is exactly what we mean when we pray for movements of God. The gospel enters a home, the Word of God begins to be shared, people gather, and a new spiritual family begins to form.

Brother Solomon shared how this is already becoming discipleship, not just outreach. He met with a small group of about eight people in a home connected to a woman named Barbara. They opened Acts 5 and began asking simple discovery Bible study questions: What do we learn about God? What do we learn about people? Is there sin to avoid? Is there something to obey?

The people participated. They answered. They wanted the team to come back. One person, Joan, said, "I will gather people at my home weekly for fellowship because I want this to continue."

These are usually the untold little miracle-moment-stories behind the public numbers we share. The gospel is being preached, yes. But new believers are also being gathered into homes, opening up Scripture together to DISCOVER how to enjoy, obey, and follow Jesus.

Across these days, Ronald and the team worked with multiple churches, including Yahweh Adoration Church, Wankawa Church, Patua Community Church, Breakthrough Community Church, and others.

And on Friday, the 19th, 14 people entered the Nile river and were baptized, proclaiming the name of Jesus as SAVIOR AND LORD to all who watched.

This is why we pray.  –  This is why we give. –  This is why we train.

God is raising up Ugandans to reach Uganda.

He is opening schools, homes, families, and villages. He is calling young believers like Sheila out of the seats and into the harvest. He is using pastors like Boney, Felix, Solomon, Francis, Kennedy, Eric, Rose, and others to carry the gospel into places we could never reach on our own.

And maybe the most beautiful part is this: the work is not dependent on us being there. We could not go. But God was already there.

We sent resources. Ronald gathered the team. The churches opened their doors. The believers went into the villages. And God opened hearts, homes, schools, and entire communities.

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So please keep praying.

• Pray for every new believer to be followed up well.
• Pray for the homes of peace to become healthy house churches.
• Pray for the young people who heard the gospel in the schools.
• Pray for those battling alcohol and brokenness who have asked for counseling.
• Pray for Sheila as she returns to Kampala with a fire in her heart to start a house church among the youth.
• Pray for Ronald and the whole Ugandan team to have strength, unity, protection, wisdom, and joy.

God is doing more than we planned.

He is doing what only He can do.