Uganda Journey of Compassion: Did It Really Make a Difference?

“Does a Journey of Compassion make any lasting difference?”

A good question that I am often asked.

It seems to me that there are two criteria for answering: first, check out the fruit that is immediately apparent; second, what are the long term developments.

Following the Journey, we received reports and testimonies from both team members and Ugandan pastors. A number of these were posted, expressing a deep sense of gratitude to the Lord for all that He had done both in us and through us. It always gives us life to recognize those times when God does something significant in our midst.

Robert Mponye, who was our main contact and oversees a large number of churches in western Uganda, wrote the following:

“For the last two weeks I have had testimonies from all profiles of people, from the least among the community to the governor of our District.

Pastors have been ignited to help their flocks to heal the sick. They have practiced it, and of my key pastors, Johnston said, 'It is simple but it works!!'

Healings and miracles have been real and instant to many who came for medical treatment. One particular lady told me in Bulera village, 'I came for treatment but I have been prayed for. Now I am healed and need to go back home and do my daily work. How grateful I am!', she exclaimed.”

“On the first clinic in Bamunanika, one woman came to me and said with a grateful smile, 'I have waited for medicine in the main hospital for four days, but didn't get any one tablet! But now I have got all the medicine I need for free in just hours! How can I thank God for His love for me?'

I have just had Mityana District Pastors' meeting today. I have even a greater reason to write this report after hearing from all the pastors of what took place in their communities when the Impact Nations Team went to minister to their villages.

All the pastors have one statement: ''God visited our District in a more personal way''

What the impact this mission did has not been done, ever before, in Mityana District. Today Dr Fred called and said to me that the District governor has requested that the Medical Treatment be conducted at least once a year. What the Impact Nations JOC has done in Uganda, is one of its kind and the first medical outreach that has reached the largest area in one time!

The Church in the community has been recognized NOT just for preaching the Gospel, but more so, for showing God's love in action! This has caused the communities to realise how much the Church is valuable to them. One guy who was a muslim a few days ago(now Christian) has told me this evening, ''Thank you for being there for our community. We feel part of the church now' How encouraging!!”

Indeed, we are all very encouraged. God’s transformational work is marvelous.

But now I want to look forward from the time of the Journey. Jesus told us to look at the fruit if we are going to accurately assess what has been planted.

In Bulera, Pastor Hannington works with almost no money, running a school for 149 children. For many, the 6 oz portion of maize porridge that he is able to feed them is the only food that they eat in the day. He does this by growing maize (corn) on the acreage behind the school. But in a couple of days, Impact Nations is helping to send a farmer from Robert Mponye’s church to Harare, Zimbabwe for a month of training with Foundations for Farming http://foundationsforfarming.org, a terrific organization that Impact has been associated with for a few years. The net result will be that crop yields will increase by a factor of three. By this time next year, Hannington’s land will produce enough food to feed two good, plentiful meals to all 149 students every day. The same will be true for the 400 students and 100 orphans that Robert takes care of. Over time, this will be introduced to all of the churches in the Mityana district. The impact on quality of life will be huge.

We were able to connect Robert with Tim Stewart who oversees Impact Nations in the Philippines. Tim and his team have provided safe drinking water to over 50,000 people in the last two years. Robert will be sending someone to Tim and his team to be trained in the technology and the distribution strategies for the Bio-Sand Filter http://http://www.impactnations.com/page/biosand-water-filters. During the Journey of Compassion, our medical team identified typhoid and dysentery as among the most harmful and prevalent diseases that they treated in the villages. While there, Robert and I met with the Governor who asked us to help with this problem. Again, the quality of life is going to be greatly improved in the district. “Fruit that remains.”

Robert called me with some very interesting news. The local authorities, medical people and church leaders were so impacted by the mobile clinics that we conducted, that they have begun to meet to plan out how they can collaborate to conduct their own mobile medical clinics. [The clinics that we conducted in 6 villages were the first ever for each of these villages.] This is very exciting news. One of our greatest goals at Impact Nations is to help people get started in new things, so that they can carry on after we have gone.

One of our featured Impact projects is to provide electricity for Pastor Hannington’s school in Bulera. It will mean that there will be adequate light in this windowless building for the students to study; they can install fans to make it tolerable for the students in the equatorial heat; teachers will be able to do their lesson preparations at the end of their teaching day (most cannot afford even candles at home, preventing them from working there). Perhaps most important, Pastor Hannington is planning on evening classes, not only for educational enrichment, but to provide a safe place for those of his students who are abused or neglected at home. There are more details of this hugely important project on the websitehttp://http://www.impactnations.com/group/bulerauganda/forum/topics....

And of course, there is another way that Journeys make a lasting difference.

I was reading over some of the testimonies from the team. After a team member prayed, a; deaf boy suddenly could hear perfectly; a woman with a broken leg stood, then walked with no pain; fevers left instantly, tumors and cataracts disappeared; I suppose hundreds were healed of chronic back and joint pain. A number of blind people began to see–in fact, one team member saw 3 blind people healed. It was interesting to see how many Muslims responded to seeing the gospel in action by opening their hearts and lives to Jesus.

Journeys seem to be a way for God to move people to a new level of faith, confidence and authority. They also stimulate a new way of thinking–out of Journeys come new possibilities, new methods, often a new sense of purpose. The result is transformed lives and communities–a lasting difference.

(The next three Journeys are: Nicaragua May 2-14; Haiti June 13-25; Nicaragua August 15-27)