Hey everybody! It’s Deuce here with some great new stuff for you in this blog. First, we have a first impression of our ministry in Uganda from one of our mission pastors from Tyler. Then we have some exciting new video of our ministry and some special needs for Pastor Emmy’s own family. So enjoy!

Reflections from Trip #6:

We asked Steve Rumpf, Global Outreach Pastor at Grace Community Church, to share his impression of our ministry in Uganda. He and Jay Ferguson just got back from an eight day visit a couple of weeks ago. Here are Steve’s words:

In John’s Gospel we read that Philip said to Nathanael, “Come and see!” Two thousand years later Jay Ferguson said to Steve Rumpf, “Come and see!”… And, so I did. Now I understand why so many people are impressed with the ministry of Pastor Emmy in Mbarara, Uganda. The sights and sounds of the children at class or the Believers at church are still strongly embedded in my mind. The PCM journey from such humble beginnings to the current scope of ministry to the future possibilities for huge impact on Uganda is refreshing.

I, for one, have never before been carried on the arms and shoulders of a gang of kids as I was as we entered the school compound. Ferguson was somewhere behind me, but all I could think about was being dropped! Dropped, I was not. What a fun yet scary, yet humbling, experience of being greeted by excited school children of all ages.

My job was two-fold. I was Jay’s videographer / cameraman and I also met with 19 of the PCM pastors to map out a strategy for future biblical leadership training conferences. 700 photographs later – after visiting five of the church sites and spending hours at the school – I had a good “picture’ (excuse the pun) of all that The Spirit of God has been doing with Emmy, Sarah, and the leadership team in Mbarara. Impressive to say the least.

The partnership with supportive Believers in East Texas is expanding on a monthly basis and the leadership at Grace Community Church is in process of determining what our commitment to leadership training can look like. Please pray with us as we seek God’s will on this.

Steve Rumpf

Global Outreach Pastor

Grace Community Church

A closer Look at Pastor Emmy

We thought we would take some time in this post to help you get to know Pastor Emmy a little bit better. A lot of times we talk about PCM only being two years old, but that’s just the USA part.  PCM was actually started a long time ago as a burden that Pastor Emmy and Sarah had.  I’m sure many of you would love to hear Pastor Emmy’s full story of his childhood, how he and Sarah met, and how the vision for Parental Care Ministries began. Well, we thought you might as well hear it from Pastor Emmy himself! You can check out his complete story in three parts on our pastors/ churches page of the website.

http://www.pcmonline.org/churches.php

Plus, we also have some new videos on our website. We have updated our videos page so you can check out some of those videos here:

http://www.pcmonline.org/video.php

We often hear testimonies about Pastor Emmy and his amazing vision and leadership such as what Steve shared above. However, because Emmy is so selfless we rarely hear of needs that he has personally. Well this week he was asking how he could pray for my family specifically so I asked him about his family as well. He let me know that he is concerned because two of his children and two of his adopted children are about to start secondary school for the term, but they are still trying to get the money to pay for it. My immediate thought was that we have a great leader of our ministry who is now overseeing the care and discipleship of almost five hundred children and he may not even be able to afford for his own children to go to school. If he were in this position of leadership in the States we all know that he would be doing very well financially, but he has done what was necessary to follow God’s call to help children who cannot help themselves.

So, I asked him specifically what they need and here are their specific needs:

His daughter Faith is 16 years old and is in Senior Level 3 now. She goes to school in Mbarara and her term fees are $513 for a term which is 4 months.

Faith Nnyanzi

His son Daniel is 13 and is in Senior Level 1 in Kampala which is 6 hours away. His term fees are $432.

Daniel Nnyanzi

Emmy and Sarah also have two of their adopted children with needs:

Winnie is an orphan. Her Dad died of HIV Aids and Her Mom is also very sick struggling with HIV and they cannot tell whether she will live through this year. Winnie has lived as Emmy and Sarah’s Child for 5 years now. She is now in Senior Level 4 and her term fees are $482.

Winnie

Amos Byamukama is also an orphan. His dad died of HIV. His Mom is also positive with HIV. He just got back from seeing his mom because she is very sick now. He will go to school with Daniel in Kampala and his term fees for Senior Level 1 are $432.

Amos

Please pray with me that God will meet their needs, and if you feel led to help with one of these children please let us know. We are excited because when we start building on the new land we will be able to offer classes for these older children, but we do not have room for them at our present schools.

Our PCM family would also love to pray for you and your family if you have any specific needs.  We meet for our staff meeting once a week and know that prayer is the foundation of everything we do.  We finally had a chance to take a picture of the four of us!  Please be in prayer for us too as we work to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in Uganda.

Dear PCM Bloggers,

Our PCM team has just finished a week of family camp at Gull Lake in Hickory Corners Michigan.  We were invited to be the ministry focus this week and it was an amazing week to be with fellow PCM Board Member Ambush and his Gull Lake staff, counselors and campers. People from all over the midwest (Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky came together to here about what PCM is doing in Africa.  The main speaker of the week was Pastor Larry Kiser from Richland Bible Church.  Larry did an awesome job of sharing some stories and parables that Jesus shared by the seashore as well as preach about practical parenting to help us all with our children.

Each day we were blessed to share something about PCM…….how the ministry began, the incredible needs and how God has abundantly provided, details of the school, all about our pastors, and where we are headed in the future. The response was literally overwhelming.  Twenty one new children in Uganda have a new American family to love and pray for them!!!!!   We shared the story about Pastor Charles teaching our children to make beads and we had so many ladies purchase beads.  We sold a ton of them.  Deuce and DC had their hands full all week keeping up with all of our new supporters.Wahoooooo as Pastor Emmy would say. We were also able to share our new tshirt with the new design in various colors.  People continued to come to our ministry table up until the very last day of camp.  Especially the camp counselors!

The encouragement we received as a ministry just blew us away.  We now have a whole new following of loyal fans in the midwest area.  Some of our new fans are ready to get inside the Miracle Van and join us touring Uganda with an upcoming trip.

This is truly an incredible family camp run by some real professionals.

The spiritual growth and connecting that occurs as a family at Gull Lake Ministries is really a very big blessing and comes with a very BIG PCM APPROVAL.  Not to mention, the weather was absolutely perfect.  No 104 degree temps like back at PCM headquarters in Texas. This place was an escape from the  Texas heat. It’s such a fun place for the family!

You can check out this incredible place at  www.gulllake.org It is an incredible value as well.  

Thank you Ambush, Hoedown, Chief, Blue Ranger, Igloo and all the GLM staff. We can’t wait to come back.

Today we headed back to Kampala for the long ride home. Along the way, we visited six pastors. One main purpose for our visits was to follow up on the “Cows for the Kingdom” program. The pastors we visited have all received cows from the generosity of PCM donors.

The idea, for those of you who may not know, is to provide pastors with a cow, the milk from which they can give their children. They can also sell the remainder for a profit, and earn an income to support their families further.

Emmy wanted to leave the hotel in Mbarara early in order to meet the pastors and get to Kampala in time for dinner. He said he’d be at the hotel to pick us up at 7:30 am. You have to understand that 7:30 am Africa time usually means 8:00 am, maybe, if they’re early. So, you can imagine my surprise when we’re eating breakfast and Emmy comes into our dining room at 7:10 am, like he was a grandparent showing up for Grandparents’ Day at my school or something.  We hustled our bags out of the hotel, and away we went.

Visiting the pastors is always a humbling experience for me. These are men who love the Lord and truly serve Him, even to their hurt. One of the pastors who we saw was Pastor Amos. Amos is a coffee and banana farmer who lives literally out in the middle of nowhere. The “road” (using that term in its most charitable sense) is really a cow path. But, sure enough, Emmy the driver negotiated it successfully in the Miracle Van. Amos’ church is located 10 miles away. He covers that distance on a bicycle, unless his chain breaks or he flats, at which point he walks. He’s been serving that church in that way for 15 years. It’s an honor to provide a cow for that man. He is so grateful for his cow (although I’m not- ask Rumpf- that sucker put down his head and almost charged me- never seen a white guy before, I guess).

The cow was impregnated when he got it, so he will sell the calf for more income and use and sell the milk. He is so humbled by the fact that you would care to provide for him in this way, this man who has to think at times that the world has forgotten about him. His was the last house we visited. We were running late, and Emmy called him to ask if we should come (we really didn’t need to, at that point). Amos practically insisted that we come, and of course we agreed. When we showed up at his house, he led us into his very tiny parlor and asked Rumpf and me to sign his guest book. As we did so, we noticed that his last visitor was in 2007. Three years without anyone visiting him! We were very humbled by that, and thankful that God would use us to bless this man just by our presence.

Amos is just an example of what we saw everywhere we went. Pastor Reuben, Emmy’s chief assistant, is raising seven children in a mud house that is falling apart. We saw instance after instance of men living in humble circumstances, serving God well. They were all so thankful to you. Providing these men a cow would be analogous to someone giving you a really nice car, or even a small house—something of tremendous value that is to them a living example of God’s superabundant provision and grace. And, it’s not just a handout for these pastors. These men are some of the hardest workers I’ve met in my life. These cows are an opportunity for them to work hard and provide income. But, hard work it is, and it’s all on them. Those of you who have given cows to this program can feel good about what you’ve done. If you feel led to do so, please talk to Mark about going on one of these trips some day. You’ll have an opportunity to see how hard these men work, yet how well they live in the joy of the Lord. It is a true blessing.

We arrived in Kampala tired, dusty from the trail, and rejoicing again in what God is doing through PCM in Uganda. We’re heading home now, but we’ll be back. Being here is an experience in the “pure and undefiled religion” that James talks about. It was a great time seeing my dear friends and hugging my kids. Thanks again to all of you who support PCM. Please pray for Steve and me to have a safe trip home, and we’ll see you in Tyler, Lord willing.

It is amazing what a big difference two years makes, when the Lord is in control. Today, we went to the PCM orphanage and school again. When we went on Saturday, I was so busy knocking out the to-do list of video, photos, and testimony we needed to stop, look around, and appreciate what God has done. I had the opportunity to do that today. In just two short years, God has used the faithfulness of all of you to: i) provide clean water for the kids, rather than pulling it out of the river, as before; ii) completing the dorms (what will soon be only the girls’ dorm) with plaster and a portico on the outside, protecting the kids from the rain; iii) nearing completion on another set of dorms, which will house the boys; iv) two new classroom buildings, one a dedicated classroom, and one that serves as a classroom during the week and the church facility on the weekend; v) bathhouses and bathroom facilities that provide much cleaner, safer, and more modest facilities for both the boys and the girls; vi) a major gate entrance and fencing surrounding the entire property; viii) a culvert that diverts water and prevents erosion that was eventually going to destroy the school kitchen, and ix) landscaping throughout the facilities that, again, prevents erosion during the rainy season.

That’s not to mention uniforms, blankets, better food, mattresses, teacher training, and dozens of other things that Bub could remember, but I can’t. The point is that I was completely overwhelmed by God’s goodness and provision, working through the hearts of so many of you. I know I’ve said it several times during these blogs, but thank you again for your generosity and faithfulness. God has used you to perform a dramatic work in the lives of these kids.

We traveled to one of the churches in Kakagate, pastured by Januario (which sounds kind of Latin, don’t you think: “Don Januario”). Anyway, the purpose of our trip there was to preach to his church and several others, as well as several of the pastors in Emmy’s network. The funny event of the day came during the preaching portion of the service. Emmy led off with about a 10 minute introduction of Rumpf. Rumpf did a very good sermon about being available to God and not prejudging others, preparing to share the gospel at any time, in any place, to any one. It was your standard fare, 35-minute American sermon. Emmy asked if I planned to teach, and I said “no”, thinking with my American brain that the service had gone on long enough. Little did I know that Emmy was going to do a 30 to 45-minute “summary” of Rumpf’s sermon, adding his own points for good measure. When he finished, Pastor Januario stood and told us that these pastors had done such a good job presenting God’s Word that he was not releasing us, requesting instead that we continue preaching. And, the people agreed! I had a couple of barely illegible notes on spiritual gifts, based upon extensive preparation from the 25- minute van ride to Kakagate over bumpy roads, but it was all we had. So, I presented it. Emmy followed with another summary, this time a “brief” 15 minutes. We were afraid that it would keep going, and that we’d have to remember our commencement addresses from high school and give those. Fortunately, however, I think my message beat them into submission.

In an American church, or certainly one in my hometown, the congregation would have responded to two hours of preaching by calling out a mob to lynch the pastor. But these folks were staying with us, following along in God’s Word and taking notes. Amazing.

On our way back to the school to say our goodbyes, Rumpf drew some interesting comparison to Uganda, which has more of a western, Christian worldview, and other nations he had visited that were predominantly Islamic or Hindu. Rumpf was impressed by the relative lack of poverty, the depth of the people’s joy, and the cleanness of the area as compared to the surroundings of those other nations (trash everywhere, a heavy feeling of oppression, lack of education and personal freedom, and the like). It caused us both to reflect and give thanks for the redemption we enjoy in Christ, not only through salvation from death but also from the common grace that comes from a nation operating from a basic Christian worldview. The Church brought not only the gospel to Uganda (and to America, for that matter), but Christian values that resulted in hospitals, strong liberal education, (in the original sense, meaning an education focusing on reading and writing, with literacy with the goal, so that people could read and understand God’s Word on their own), the rule of law, private ownership of property, and many other things that come with a nation that originates from a Christian worldview. I was grateful to have come from a nation built on the gospel, encouraged that these things are being taught in my own school back home, and that they are being taught in the PCM school. As Rumpf observed, these are the potential future leaders of Uganda, and they are being taught everyday from a Christian worldview. To a great degree, the kids have a remarkable faith. As we left the school, all 200 of the kids laid hands on us, praying for us and sending us off. The depth of those little prayers was incredible, and it’s an awesome thing to have 200 little hearts who innocently love Jesus praying for you.

Rumpf summed the day up well when he said:

I’m impressed by the lack of extreme poverty resulting in starvation, the depth of joy, and the humility of Pastor Emmy. “He’s the real deal. I’m excited about the future value of a partnership with PCM. We’re really seeing future potential leaders of Africa here, coming out of this church and school.”

There is a popular song in Uganda, referring to this nation as “the Pearl of Africa”. Though by no means perfect, an underdeveloped country by most any standards, Uganda certainly has the potential to be a shining jewel of hope for Africa. And, PCM is a big part of spreading that hope throughout Uganda and, maybe some day (Lord willing) Africa.

Heading to Kampala tomorrow, by way of a world-wide church tour (just kidding—about four churches). I’ll talk about the Cows for the Kingdom program with the pastors tomorrow, assuming I can get the Internet in Kampala.

From Jay in Uganda:

Have you ever had one of those really great worship times, when you were gathered with a community of believers, and you felt such intimacy, such joy, such closeness to the heart of God that you were overwhelmed? Did you know you can experience that kind of worship, even when you only understand about 50 percent of what’s being said?

That’s what happened today. It was such a joy to watch all of God’s people at the Mbarara church this morning worship, and to join in that worship. There was wonderful singing and dancing (even the two rhythmically-challenged white guys in the room joined in!).

As Pastor Emmy addressed his congregation, he did so with great humility, but coupled with the authority that is given to him by God. Those of you who are supporting PCM might at times be wondering what kind of a man Pastor Emmy is. We all know and love the Barrets, and trust Mark and Monica, but what about Emmy? Rumpf captured what we were both thinking when he said that Emmy is the “real thing”—a humble, godly servant leader. We saw this for certain as he rebuked his congregation for some political lobbying that had taken place at church on several Sundays leading up to a local election. He told them that politics was in a separate realm of authority given by God than the church, and that they were not to bring their politics with them to worship. He rebuked them gently, with patience and love, and they received it well. It was obvious that it wasn’t done for our benefit (I mean, who in their right mind would rebuke their congregation for messing up in order to impress visitors! Put another way, if you had a board member present, as well as a pastor of an American church with whom you wanted to build a relationship, wouldn’t most pastors wait until NEXT week, when we weren’t around, to counsel their people?) It was a very authentic moment that revealed a lot to me about this man and how he leads his people. This ministry is in very good hands from the Ugandan end.

Rumpf did a great job of bringing the blessings of Christ from America and Texas. The people loved him, like we do. I had a Holy Spirit moment, as well. Rumpf and I just assumed Emmy would be preaching. Toward the end of the worship singing, right before he got up to introduce the offering and prepare for the sermon, Emmy leaned over to us and asked, “Which one of you will be preaching?” We were both thoroughly unprepared for that. I hopefully looked over at Rumpf, who boldly swelled up his chest and uttered, “Not me.” I looked down at my papers, and I had two Bible verses written down-that’s it. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would speak through me. I got up and preached those two verses. God got me through it. It was not the best sermon ever preached, but Rumpf said it went okay. Nobody to praise but God on that one!

In the afternoon, we met with 15 of the PCM pastors to discuss our continuing pastoral training plans.

We had some ideas about what to share with them over the next several years, but really wanted their input to see whether our ideas were relevant to where they were with their congregations. Turns out that the issues pastors face in Uganda are pretty much the same ones they face in America. It just goes to show you—human nature and the community of Christ are all universal- same issues, same struggles, same solution, same redemption.

The depth of the pastors’ insight was very encouraging. We’re going to be able to share a lot with these folks, but we’ll learn much from them, too. I think the general idea will be to come once or twice a year over the next three years. Please pray that God would be glorified through our time with the pastors over the next few years, and that their congregations would be transformed through our sessions together.

We must be heading in the right direction, because Rumpf and I have both faced some unwanted attention. We have faced some heavy spiritual attack over the past few nights as we slept (or attempted to sleep). But, God has given us victory and rest in His Son’s name. What a blessing to have a great Provider and Protector.

I’m going to try to give this sleep thing another try now. Good night.

From Christie in Orange, Texas:

Justin and I attended North Orange Baptist Church twice yesterday.  I guess Justin did more than attend, because he was the preacher!  He gave a strong, clear message from God that challenged us to ask ourselves, “Which kingdom am I building?  Is it an earthly kingdom or an eternal kingdom?” I wish I had a picture of him preaching, but I thought it might be a little strange to pull out my camera during the sermon. 

Last night at their evening service, we presented PCM.  North Orange is the church Justin grew up in and the church his parents and sister’s family still attend.  The presentation was a great time of sharing what God is doing through PCM as well as in our lives.  It was nice to look out and see many familiar faces who were excited about hearing what Justin is doing now that he’s a “grownup.”  Everyone was so welcoming and supportive.  Thank you, Pastor Scott, for the privilege of being at North Orange this weekend.

After both services many people came to our tables to find out more about our ministry and to buy t-shirts and necklaces to support PCM.

The really neat part of it is that 7 more children were sponsored by the members of North Orange!  What a blessing these sponsors will be to our Ugandan children.

One last thing…during the evening service there was a thunderstorm, and the power even went out for a minute or so.  It was fine because it came right back on and the storm was over when we were finished and heading out to the parking lot.  But as we walked to our cars, we saw an amazing thing.

It was a huge double rainbow stretching across the entire sky above the church!  Justin’s dad said, “I think this is a good sign for your ministry!”  We pray that we will continue to see God’s blessings and provision for these sweet Ugandan people.

Day Three- Visiting the Kids

One of the great things about my trips to Uganda is the realization of all they can teach us about who we are as image-bearers of God. I really believe that all of the nations, or people groups, within the Body of Christ are important, because each reflect certain aspects of the nature of Christ more fully than others. As westerners, we seem to be better suited for the life of the mind. We tend to be focused on our theology, what we believe about the nature and character of God, the full meaning of Christ’s atonement for us on the cross, and the like. But, begin talking to us about spiritual warfare, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the life of the spirit, and most of us American Christians will start looking at you like you have three heads. “Wait a minute.”, we tend to say or think “Don’t go weird on me or anything. I like my faith where I can define it and get my arms around it.”

Conversely, African Christians have no problem with the life of the spirit. The Holy Spirit is very real and a constant companion to them. They tend to have a keener understanding of spiritual attack, the work of demons, how to deal with them through the power of Christ, and of many of those things that, quite frankly, make most Americans uncomfortable.

One is not better than the other. There is some element of truth in the old adage that the African church is “a mile wide and an inch deep”. That’s one of the reasons were here, training pastors to train their people. It is absolutely essential to have both a deep understanding of theology, and a belief in and understanding of spiritual things. That’s why it is so important for us as believers to embrace all of our family, this “new nation” that God has brought together. By better understanding and learning from each other, we can become more fully-orbed followers of Christ.

That overflowing of the Holy Spirit is evident in the lives of these people. Rumpf, who’s been to way more places than I: places like West Africa, other parts of East Africa, India, and South America, says that he’s never seen people more joyful, gracious, grateful, kind, and loving anywhere in the world. That was very poignant for me, and a testimony to the Spirit shining in the lives of these people.

I learned a lot from a bunch of kids today. Today we spent time at the PCM school and orphanage. We passed out the letters and notes of encouragement that many of you sent to the children you sponsor. They are so grateful; one thing that hit me so hard is that they really do consider you their family. They refer to you as “their family”. They ask me about you: how you are doing, are you healthy, how they can pray for you. I gave one of my kids, Frank, a necklace with tigers on it and a book that my wife and children prepared with pictures and notes from our family. He acted shy when he received it. Later I caught him asking Emmy’s daughter. Grace, to read it to him (he’s a little guy). Grace had the book with her later, and I asked her why. She said that Frank had asked her to hold onto it so he wouldn’t lose it. I later saw him wearing that necklace. It meant so much to him that someone cared enough for him to invest a little time, a little encouragement: a few minutes’ investment that makes a lifetime of difference.

Every one of those kids felt the same way about your notes and letters of encouragement. I heard the excitement in their voices, and saw it in their eyes. I hope each of you can come to Uganda someday and hug your child. In the meantime, just know that God is using your sacrifice to reap a harvest that is beyond measure. I’m praying that you feel the full weight of that blessing, and that it brings you to tears of gratefulness for the God who loves you and allows you to be mightily used by Him to “care for the widows and orphans in their distress.”

Speaking of gratefulness, Rumpf and I experienced another helping of it when we went to see the new property. As you may know, PCM has made the down payment on a large piece of property just outside Mbarara. The plan is to expand the school and ease the crowded conditions at the Mbarara campus by moving out to this land. Thanks to the generosity of a large donor and several others, the property has been purchased. There’s still money to raise, but we’re on the way. I’ve got to tell you: it is absolutely gorgeous land. It has a million-dollar view of the surrounding hills, banana trees, and water. It has all the room PCM needs for its future. I had the privilege of seeing the faces of these kids as they walked onto the property for the first time (they had never been there before). They were screaming, running around, running up the hill faster than I could catch them with my video camera. You’ll see the photos and video soon.

But, what really amazed me was the spontaneous eruption of gratefulness that came from the mouths of these kids. As they ran around the land, playing with each other and climbing trees, I heard outcries of “praise Jesus!” “Thank you, Lord.” Three girls began gathering grass as mementos, all the while saying “God is good”; “We are grateful for you, Lord”; “Thank you, God, for your provision for us.” I really believe my own kids are pretty grateful for what they have, but I’ve never heard or seen anything like this from the mouths of little ones. It is such a testimony of the work that the PCM faculty and staff are doing, tying their provision to the Hand of God. I think it’s also the lives these kids have lived. They had nothing; many of them were abused and mistreated. They have a home, people who love them, both in Uganda and America. They realize that everything they have, every good gift is from their Father who loves them and provides for them. It is really overwhelming and challenging to me as a parent to see how rich they are in joy, and how God delights in providing for their grateful hearts.

In that spirit of gratefulness, I want to thank you with every fiber of my being for your provision for this ministry. You are the hands and feet of Christ in the lives of these kids, and reveal to them the loving Fatherheart of God. Today was a very good day.

Day Two- Arrival in Mbarara

Today we arrived in Mbarara. We landed in Entebbe this morning, tired and punchy, and began the “long ride” to Mbarara. We bypassed Kampala, where the African Union is holding their annual meeting. All along the road from Entebbe, there were posters of Mohamar Khadafi, the dictator of Libya. Emmy was sharing with us that Muslim groups in Uganda have funded the posters as a way to promote Khadafi and, by extension, Islam. He shared that Muslims were paying other Muslims to convert spouses and friends to Islam. Now, don’t get me wrong: if there was anyone on earth who was in need of a good PR campaign, it’s Khadafi. But this news, in addition to last week’s bombing in Kampala was extremely challenging to me. It is frightening the lengths that folks will go to in order to see Islam furthered in Uganda. It made us so thankful for the work that Emmy, Sarah, the teachers, and everyone with PCM Uganda is doing to educate, nurture, and equip the next generation to love and serve Christ. (By the way, if you have to pay people and blow things up to get folks to follow your god, is he really worth following?)

The encouraging thing is that God’s Kingdom is expanding in Uganda. As we passed Kampala, Emmy told me that a house church in Kampala is now part of the PCM network. Pastor Justin (imagine that ;o)  leads the Kampala church: a man whom Emmy led to the Lord, and who has received an admirable degree of Bible training. The church is meeting in two homes, and has a growing total of 50 members. They are praying that God would provide a permanent facility for them, either through buying and building or renting space. One of my favorite authors, Tim Keller, notes that when Christianity spreads through the large cities, it spreads through the world. Please pray that this exciting new ministry will continue to grow and thrive in this city of four million people.

Our trip to Mbarara was fairly uneventful, except for a little car trouble with the Miracle Van. It threw a fan belt. We pulled over on the side of the road and took a look at the engine (which is the definition of futility for me: I was a decent lawyer, but when it comes to engines, pretty much my only gig is to look pensively at the engine with my chin in my hand and give a thoughtful “hmm”-that’s all I’ve got). By God’s grace, however, Driver Emmy is a master mechanic who makes McGyver look like, well, me. He pulled off that fan belt and we kept on going. Who knew that a fan belt was optional equipment on an engine? What’s even funnier is that this was the second belt they’ve lost-I wondered why there was no A/C. As I thought we were going to be broken down in the middle of nowhere, two mzungus (white guys) in a completely foreign country, I wasn’t the slightest bit apprehensive. Bub and I always talk about “riding the current” of the Holy Spirit when we’re over here, letting Him guide and protect us every step of the way. I pray that I can live that way in familiar, “safe” Tyler, Texas.

Our trip to Mbarara culminated with a visit to the famous “chicken church”.

Here, on my third visit, I learned that it actually has a name: Sanga Pentecostal Church. Steve Rumpf spoke to the congregation, encouraging them that the gospel is moving worldwide, and that we are all a small part of a big work that God was doing. I was once again struck by how much we have in common with these folks. As we closed our eyes to worship, God knitted our hearts together in a way that is so sweet and wonderful that it simply must be observed to do it justice. In I Peter 3:9, Peter tells us that we in Christ are a new nation, a holy priesthood. That means that my people are not primarily American, or Texan (as much as it pains me to say it). These are our people: made in the image of God, redeemed by His blood, and called to His purpose. What a blessing to be in the presence of my people. Our God is an awesome and mighty God.

Oh, and you guessed it: they gave us another chicken. (I can see it now: “Do you have anything to declare, Mr. Ferguson?”).

Hope this makes sense. If it doesn’t, please blame it on jet lag. I’ll be more fresh after some sleep.

My name is Jay Ferguson. The first thing you need to know about me is that I am not Mark Barret. Quite simply, PCM is Mark’s life, his mission, his God-given purpose. I love it dearly, but I can never love it as much as he does. I say all of this because it’s my prayer that God will use me to convey to you the power of what He is doing primarily through the passionate ministries of two men who live on opposite sides of a big pond.

We arrived in London this morning. To say “arrived in London” is a bit misleading. We’re spending 12 hours in Heathrow airport, 30 minutes west of London. not even sniffing the city. With me is Steve Rumpf. Steve is the international missions pastor at Grace Community Church, and he’s a hero of mine. He’s like, 93 years old or something, and he’s still kickin’ it for Jesus. He’s not sitting around in a boat somewhere fishing his life away (not that fishing isn’t fun, or that those who work hard shouldn’t do it every once in awhile, or more than once in awhile- it’s just that I admire those men and women who define “retirement” as “serving Jesus in some other, or more defined, manner than I did before.”) Anyway, when I grow up I want to be Steve Rumpf.

We’re Americans, so of course we have to go over here to “do” something. (We can’t just “be” with our brothers and sisters over here, can we? I say this with a smile on my face, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my three times in Mbarara, it’s that the ministry of presence, of communicating that “I came halfway around the world just to show you that Jesus loves you, and I do, too”, says so much more than my weak words or tasks ever could.

Truth be told, I’ve been over here three times, and this is the lightest agenda I’ve had. Our main purposes are to: i) Introduce a systemic pastoral leadership development program to Pastor Emmy, gaining his wisdom as to what and how much of it should be taught to the 40-something pastors under his care. Once we get his feedback and input, we will begin coming once or twice a year for the next three to five years to help equip his pastors on a continual basis; ii) expose Rumpf (for some reason, everyone calls him by his last name) to the fullness of PCM’s ministry, so that Grace, along with other churches, can be more involved in what God is doing here); iii) get video and photos to help promote the upcoming Hoops of Hope initiative to raise support and awareness for PCM (a task which is really laughable given the fact that I’m sure Stevie Wonder is a better photographer than I—you’ll recognize my photos—they’ll be the ones in which half a kid’s face is cut off—if they’re good, they’ll be Rumpfs). Mostly, though, I’m here to see my dear friends.

I’m writing this in our home away from home in Heathrow, the Yotel. To the uninitiated, the Yotel is like a motel in the airport, but with rooms that are the same size and design as George Jetson’s outhouse. They are part lunar landing module, part hotel room, part closet, modeled on those Japanese business capsule hotels—if Imelda Marcos had let Neal Armstrong design her shoe closet, it would look a lot like that. It’s actually quite pleasant, though: significantly better than sitting in the airport lobby all day long.

I’ll have to leave soon to catch our flight to Entebbe. I’m excited to be among my friends in Uganda, because of what they teach me. You see, I am a man of the mind. Like so many other American Christians, I have a natural tendency to live more in my mind and strength than in the power of the Holy Spirit. Francis Chan said it well: “even in our daily living we can look more like the prophets of Baal as we live our lives, running around in a frenzy, trying to fix our problems, not stopping long enough to call on the power of God Almighty. Yet as children of God, we are not called to trust in our idols or ourselves. We are made to be like Elijah, who did not question whether God would show His face…He prayed and asked for help, and God sent down fire from Heaven in response.”

We’ll help PCM and our brothers and sisters in Uganda, but their great gift to me, one of the big reasons I keep coming back, is that I get to see fire from Heaven. The Holy Spirit’s doing some heavy lifting in Uganda, and being here reminds me that I am to live, not as finite, fallible man, but as one who is indwelled with the power of the Almighty, living God. Like Emmy, like Rumpf, like Bub. What a trip!

Hey PCM Bloggers,

Trip #6 has begun and we will have a team on site soon.  Keep checking for the latest updates from PCM board member/5 year planner extraordinaire)  Jay (Mr Ja) Ferguson and Pastor Steve Rumpf from Grace Community Church.  Their mission will be primarily one focused on pastoral training and planning for the next 3 years on how we can better equip 43 rural Ugandan pastors with some sound Biblical teachings .  They will be at school and also in the village attending church and checking on all of our new cows. Pray for them as they travel to Uganda, make their way through the city of Kampala and hit the tiny dirt village roads.

One of their missions will be to do some preliminary work for our big fall event, Hoops of Hope. Austin Gutwein, the founder, will be coming back to Tyler to do an event for PCM. He is 15 years of age and has raised over 2 million dollars for African orphans in just a few years.  He will be in Tyler 9/26-9/27 and be speaking at Brookhill, All Saints, Grace and Whitehouse schools.  The actual  event will be held all day Saturday 10/23 at UT Tyler with many teams of 6 participants with each  person shooting 1000 free throws. Funds raised before the event will go entirely to Parental Care Ministries.  The website for this combined project involving so many in Tyler will be  www.iluvhoops.org.   Keep an eye out for it inAugust. Wahooooo as Pastor Emmy would say. We will be sharing much more about this event as time get closer. Much thanks goes out to Grace pastor Stephen Wickliffe for his tireless efforts and abilities to coordinate the event so far.

We are also grateful for Nigel and his family and small team from Wales.  You see Nigel is one of our global friends who has visited our school site and rural churches several times. His church, the Emmanuel Church, of Wales with just 30 people have raised nearly $40,000 USD to cover for the entire cost of the new boy’s dormitory.  It is an awesome structure that dominates our southern boundary of our current property.  They just spent over a week in Uganda plastering the old girls dorm and even painting it. Check it out…….doesn’t it look great.   THANK YOU NIGEL.  Mr Ja and I have met Nigel and his wife.  He is such a humble man and an example for us all of what we can do with what the Lord gives us.  Nigel is a handy man and works from job to job……..not always knowing where his next paycheck will come from.  I do know for sure the Lord is smiling at the work his team has done this past week.

Finally another piece of exciting news. PCM has joined forces with Bill Kirby, a local marine biologist.   Check out his blog here .  Along with the help of our own PCM board member Les Jeske, we are going to start some tilapia ponds on our new land.  These tilapia fish are very tough, can survive and grow in almost any condition and are even native to AFRICA. We will be digging ponds soon, growing the fish,  and watching our children’s diet grow in protein.  Praise the Lord.  We are so thankful for our banana plantations but varying the diet is so helpful and more healthy for our children. We will feed them all the fish they can eat and we will sell the rest to help buy other foods. Stay tuned as this project starts to grow this fall……

Finally, pray for me……blog boy……..PCM Director Epa.  This is our 6th trip and the first i will be sharing the blogs with you from Tyler.  I have so much confidence, respect and admiration for these 2 men that will be riding in the Miracle Van this next week. However,  it will be hard on me to concentrate on my other job, thinking of the pure joy they will experiencing with these children, the worship they shall be able to hear and the love from the Ugandan people they shall receive.  It is very hard to describe as i have tried, but when you go……….you just never forget it. Helping meet the needs of so many others, it is what HE has called us to do.

We can’t wait for the first report…….until then

Blessings to you all,

Epa

1 John 4:18 “there is no fear in love,  but perfect love casts out fear”

Some of you have asked how to help for this trip.  You can still provide a special snack or help for our special meal after church for this Sunday. We are thankful for the generosity of those who have already sent something extra or a letter for the children. THEY ARE GOING TO LOVE IT.