Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Uganda Trip

My wife, Eve, and I are on our way to Uganda today. We will be staying until August 7th. Please pray that God will continue to work through us to make a difference in the lives of the people of Uganda.

I will be following up with my evangelism team to make sure they have implemented our plans that we came up with while I was there at the beginning of the year. I will also be speaking at Christian Life Church for Easter services. He is risen!

Eve has big plans communicating with our orphan ministry to make plans and realize needs for the summer mission teams. She is also very excited about a women’s prayer summit that she will be attending and speaking at. I pray that God will speak through her to move hearts and empower these women.

I will try to keep you all posted, but it is hard to get an internet connection and time all at once. It is a mad rush to get as much accomplished as possible in the short time we are here.

I look forward to returning to the United States and working on mission team project plans for our summer return.

Because of Him

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

Monday, March 29, 2010

No Unemployment in Heaven

There is no unemployment in the Kingdom of Heaven! I have used this in many of my sermons, but I find it a particularly crucial message in today’s times. So many times, we let our thinking be based on the kingdom of this earth rather than the Kingdom of Heaven. In the world, we feel there is a law of scarcity at work. For example, if someone at work gets a promotion, we feel threatened, and instead of rejoicing freely with their success, we instead feel jealousy because it could mean less for us, or so we think. However, Jesus asks us to do something far greater. He models out for us a giving lifestyle. He gave freely, not expecting anything in return, and demonstrated that when you give, there is a return that comes from the Father.

Acts 20:35 reads, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

During this time of economic hardship, we tend to fight for our own. Our minds turn more towards lack of resources. However, we have much to be grateful for! In God’s Kingdom, there is always enough, but are we, as God’s people, being generous with what we have been given or are we hoarding treasures on this earth? Are we living like this is the end of the story? Or, are we eternally focused, Kingdom minded, and believing that there is no unemployment in the true Kingdom and our Father is truly a provider who loves to give good gifts to His children?

“Five simple words will ensure you will always have a friend and a job: ‘What can I do to help?’” – Dick Foth

Celebrate gratefully and give deeply! Jesus is our supplier!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Seeking Prayers

I write with sad (but not tragic) news today. One of our orphans in our orphanage village in Seeta, Uganda, Africa was bit by a stray dog this week. The dog was running through the village chasing a pig. When our child tried to divert attention and "shoo" the dog away, the dog turned and chased after the child. The child, not knowing better, ran away. The dog bit the child in the calf. The child was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Thankfully, the child will be just fine! There will be some painful healing in his future, but he is expected to fully heal (with the exception of some scarring). Please pray for this child and his recovery!

Many blessings!

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

Monday, March 15, 2010

Great news about our future school!

As many of you may know, we are planning to build a permanent school in the village this summer. The UKids mission team will be in Uganda to make this happen this summer, and they have been hard at work fundraising for the project.

In fact, they just completed a fundraising event, the Bowl-A-Thon, in which they raised $22,000! Praise God!!

We are challenging donors with buying a classroom for $7500 each. We have at least 5 of the 15 classrooms purchased. I am calling donors to help with this cause. Please help us provide a permanent school for our children.

We staff this school with all-Christian faculty so the we can make sure the education that our children are receiving is in line with our faith and our mission. We built our temporary school structure last year, and the results from that have been tremendous! We sent 17 children to the prestigious St. John’s this year after their entrance exams were so phenomenal! What smart children led by a brilliant staff!

Please consider donating to this cause! Every little bit counts! If you are part of a prayer group or church, see if you can challenge your fellow members to cover the cost of a classroom or two!

Please call on your community to help you with this cost! We appreciate all the help you can give.

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

I am back in the United States!

The flight touched down Friday, and I am officially back in the United States from my trip to Uganda. I am feeling much jet lag, but all in all, I am excited to be back. It had been so long since I had visited Uganda, almost 2 years! The three months I spent there was busy yet refreshing. The atmosphere and culture in Uganda is much different than here, and now that I have been back a few days, I realize how much I miss that. There, I am placed in front of enthusiastic audiences, people that are eager to learn about and speak to God! People that are overly eager to feel the Spirit! It is so much fun to speak to a Ugandan audience. This is part of the reason I encourage pastors here to visit Uganda and to speak there. It will truly change you in a great way.

I will be returning to Uganda around Easter for another trip. I am excited to return again so soon, but for now, I am enjoying the change of pace in the United States.

One thing that has been nice since I have been in the States, mostly because I took the weekend to recuperate, is the quiet. I feel like for the last three months, I have been working 24 hours a day! It was work that I love and that I feel passion for, so it was not burdensome, but it was hard, busy work nonetheless! In Uganda, the entire time I was there, I was always in touch with someone… My presence was always requested by someone. And if you think I am joking about 24 hour work day, there were some sermons that started around dinner time and lasted until sunrise the next morning! I am not joking!! Time flew as it was lively and fun and His presence was known, but the next days those hours of lost sleep catch up to me! I will make a point to fill you all in on everything that was accomplished and needs that were discovered while I was in Uganda. Keep posted!

Blessings,

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

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