God Stories
This is a podcast produced by Anchored International Relief. Anchored International Relief is a non-profit relief organization that focuses on bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups around the world and train and raise up chaplains to respond to any incident within the US or abroad. This podcast will showcase what God is doing through our ministry and highlight some of the people that are involved in our ministry sharing how God is using them through Anchored.
God Stories
Hope Rising in Naluko: Faith, Food, and Transformation in Uganda
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In this episode, we explore the transformative work happening in Uganda through the efforts of local church leaders and community members. We discuss challenges such as poverty, spiritual dryness, and lack of access to education, and highlight how faith and community initiatives are bringing hope and change.
Key Topics
- Challenges faced by the community in Uganda, including poverty, witchcraft, and lack of access to education
- The role of the church and faith in transforming lives and communities
- Innovative approaches like farming God's way and listening groups to spread the gospel and support community health
- The importance of support, prayer, and community involvement in sustainable development
- The ongoing need for resources such as water, transportation, and education facilities
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Welcome to God Stories, the broadcast ministry of international ruling. Where our mission is to share the love of Christ with others around the world. We disciple and raise up leaders to preach the gospel to unreached people, minister to the inner city and poverty-stricken areas in the U.S. and abroad, provide support to local police and ruling organizations in response to natural disasters. We work to train up chaplains in the police and civilian industry. And we assist churches in training teams for mission in disaster response. We hope you're blessed by what you hear in this next half hour or so about what God is doing through this ministry.
SPEAKER_02Welcome to the program, guys. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Before we get into our program, I do want to invite all our viewers and listeners in the Southern California area to our annual missions update and fundraising dinner. It's happening Saturday, September 12th at 5 p.m. at Calvary South O. Sea in San Clemene. Our event is entitled Bringing This Hope, and it's based on Hebrews 6.19, which is the theme verse of Anchored Relief. This promises to be a time of fellowship, encouragement, and rejoicing as we share all that God has allowed us to do for his glory in this past year. The dinner's free. However, we need you to sign up so that we can make sure that we have your meal prepared. You can sign up on our direct link, which is www.anchoredrelief.org forward slash dinner. Or you could go to our website, anchoredrelief.org, and click on the link. Well, as we get into our broadcast, I want to introduce you to the three young men that I just spoke about, and I work closely within Uganda. And I wanted to start by letting each of them introduce themselves and tell you a little bit about their testimony. So we're going to go in alphabetical order and we're going to start with Abby, then Kayongo, and then Oscar. And what I'd like you to do is just tell us a little about yourself, how you came to Jesus, and what you do for Calvary Chapel. So, Abby, we're starting with you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, thank you so much. Uh, it's such an honor to be a part of this conversation with our senior pastor and the my brothers Yoskhan Kayongo. I'm so glad to be here. My name is Abbe Badigsawa. I am serving as an accountant for our ministry here in Naluco, Uganda. And uh I met Jesus when I was 13 at a local proceed in our village. Uh some group of uh pastors and and and fishers came to our village. Uh they preached, and that's how I met Jesus. Uh, so it's a joy to be part of what God is doing. We are in local Uganda, and we I just want to thank each one of you uh who is praying and supporting this makes play. Uh thinking I thank you for taking uh time to support this ministry, praying for us and and supporting us. Thank you for taking care of the people of Uganda. Uh may God bless you so much.
SPEAKER_04That's great. What about you, Kayongo?
SPEAKER_05Hi everyone. I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm Kayongo Yona. I'm the as I'm the church admin, and uh I serve also as the banker signatory, principal signatory, and uh I'm glad that I'm serving alongside Pastor Gary and the entire team here in Naruto with everybody. We love God and we love people. Um, how I came to know Christ was when I was in my high school. That was in 2012 when I was in senior two. It was at school, and uh we had um a mission, a missionary that came to visit our school through scripture union, and uh this man came and preached, and from the teaching I was touched by the word of God, and I gave my life to Christ on that uh in that fellowship, and then from then I started following Jesus and also going to church, and then I found myself serving the Lord also. So I'm so grateful for the work that the Lord is using me in ministry, and uh for the years that I've served with Nauruko Calvary Chapel. It has been a great testimony in my life, and uh, thank the Lord that is doing great wonders, and a lot of things are being done in the community. We thank you, everybody, and we love you all. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Amen. Thank you, Kayungo Oscar. What about you?
SPEAKER_06Well, praise the Lord. Uh uh Oscar is uh Makai. Uh I'm glad that God is faithful and uh He just picked me from wherever I was. Uh I I came to know Christ uh in 2019. That's when actually Carver Chapel came to start in Naruto. I was working at the hospital facility that time, and then when church came, when they planted church in Naruto, uh it was this Sunday when they were preaching and teaching about the story of power, how powerful God made power. Uh Jesus Christ made him when he was going to Damascus to destroy or to arrest the people who are Christians who were there. And so I was seeing the life, how God changed the life of poor. I was like, I think the same way God can change my life and can do good work in me. Uh that's when Pastor Abraham was teaching, actually. So I called for people who would want to receive Christ as their Lord and personal savior. And the voice was in speaking in my ears that man, you need to take a decision, you need to make a decision. And so I stood up and then I had to confess Jesus Christ. Uh, and uh from that time I've seen a great change in my life. And then God has continued to work in me to the extent that I has called me to serve him and serve his people. And teach them the way I was taught. It's been a blessing, serving a coverage apple, and I serve with youths and children, uh, and help on some uh on the four colleagues, my pastor, Basinger pastor, and the and the rest of the team to see that the community of Narako can be uh reached out through the gospel of God of Jesus Christ. So I'm glad that I'm here serving and serving him uh the blessing. And I thank you guys for standing with the church, standing with the ministry here in Uganda, and for Pastor Gary to continue standing with the ministry here, coming to Uganda to USA, see that the people of Nawakan be really taught to be uh enriched with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_04May God bless you.
SPEAKER_02Well, amen. Well, Oscar, I I'm gonna start with you. I have a question for you. So, can you describe the the village of Naluko and what the people are like and what challenges that they face every day?
SPEAKER_06Wow. Uh for the past years I've been in Naruko, for the past nine years I've been here. Uh I've found different challenges. Uh before I can I may speak before the church came here, the change which we had most was witchcraft around this community. Uh people didn't know God, didn't know Christ. They were always uh enslaved in the culture, cultural uh witchcraft, uh worshipping idols, kind of. So uh when the this happened, they came to Christ. For that was the challenge number one, change number two. Uh there was uh children, they were having no like someone to attend them, especially we may speak on the academics, education was not there, like because of the poor schools we are having around. Most of the time, children are not accessing education and not accessing schools. So it was one of the challenges, and then another challenge is uh it is a I may say a a background which is living the poverty life. Whereas it was difficult for people, it was difficult for some people to access education, access medication, access um food at a point and many challenges that would rotate on poverty life. So uh those are some of the challenges that have uh I I was in the community. Since I will I will speak about again therapy issues. The community had nowhere to run for medication. Uh like we've been braced that sometimes Anchor International Reef can hold on uh medical camps in this community, but this is something that happens once in a while, which cannot happen all the time. Yeah, so that's one of the challenges that we are facing in our school, hospitals, uh life that is is a poor living life, kind of so uh those are things maybe we can say they have been a bit difficult. But thank God uh the children that have been malnourished in this community has been also a challenge. When people are not having what to eat, children are not access uh are not having food to eat, it's been making them to deteriorate and to find them being malnourished. But thank God uh uh Bank of Hope is here and is be supporting in that area. We thank God that that solution is a bit solved, uh, and we thank God that for the people that are supporting that. So those are some of the challenges that we have been facing. Future life, we thank God the church is here and the children are fed, and the elder are also getting uh taught the word of God. So witchcraft is a bit reducing. Um I thank God that I'm seeing witch doctors are also burning their those characters, their gods there and coming to Christ and to start to shipping, sebrising indeed.
SPEAKER_02Praise the Lord. Yeah, for I think for our viewers and listeners that that don't know that Uganda has a public school system and education is is free, however, you still need to provide uniforms and usually money for feeding and school supplies and things like that. And um, you know, a lot of the families in our village are extremely poor. And many of the children are are left with with one or maybe both grandparents, and uh sometimes uh you know an elderly woman may have eight grandchildren that she's trying to take care of and and just trying to struggle to put food on their table every day. And so when it comes to to coming up with the money that they they need uh for the uniforms and and everything, that they just don't have it. I mean, uh to them, twenty dollars is is you know enough to to feed their family for for more than a week. And and so, you know, it's just so hard in that environment. And Uganda is one of the poorest nations in in the world, and and I would say our district is one of the poor districts in Uganda. And so, you know, our goal, our heart is to bring hope into the village, and not just any hope, but the hope of Jesus Christ. And and we do it physically through you know the feeding center and the church and our farm and garden. Um, but I'll tell you, it it's just uh an everyday challenge. So um let's go to Kyongo. Kyongo, what do you think the greatest challenges in ministry are for you today? What's what do you think the the biggest struggle is in ministry?
SPEAKER_05Well, thank you so much for that question. Um ministry is such first of all, ministry is such a beautiful thing. Um however, it's also it's also uh heavy. And uh just like we see Paul, Timothy, and we see Japhetha also had struggles and they faced all these challenges while serving God. They went through a lot of challenges. Similarly, here in Naruto, and uh we have also faced so so many challenges, and one of them is the spiritual challenges. Um spiritual challenges have been so rampant in the community in a way that uh there has been always discouragement and dryness. When Calvary Chapel Naruto had just started its services in the community here, at first people came up with the ideas and names about church, and they said church was actually from Illuminati, which was uh totally different, being that they had never seen any church that preached the word of God the way Calvary does, teaching the whole council of the word of God, going book by book, verse by verse, and chapter by chapter, that was so strange to them. And so in them, they were actually going to churches where they teach the word of God, and they don't have access to the Bibles, and in them there was actually this challenge of spiritual dryness, and uh in that it brought discouragement to the to the community and to the servants, and especially also to the leaders that uh were leading by then in back in 2018-2019, and also in the early years of COVID, it became a challenge to the servants in reaching out to those people because of their spiritual dryness and discouragements were so rampant by then. So preaching became hard, and uh uh it was not just coming from the communities where they are uh like they were resisting the word of God from being preached, but it was a hindrance or a factor that was actually resisting the word of God from spreading to the ends. But as we know God is faithful, God put ways of making sure that the word of God could reach out even to the people uh that cannot have cannot access Bibles, and uh that's when we came up with uh a program and church was uh was given proclaimers, and we were able to reach even to those people that were in different corners of the village through those proclaimers by simply listening to the word of God through those proclaimers. Here it helped so many people, and uh uh it helped the people like the the deaf, so sorry, the blind people that cannot access reading the word of God uh physically by vision, and then those that are weak and cannot walk to the churches, even those that are hopeless and have actually given up on God. So this paved the way for that. And uh we thank God for the provision of the proclaimers, and up to date we thank God that faith comes by hearing is still pushing on, and it is stretching to the ends of the other villages and the other counties and villages and and and uh other places, even beyond the district of Iganga. So there was also spiritual attacks, it was also the other discouragement or challenge that was so rampant in the community. Um as we have heard that there was a lot of witchcraft in the community, and so in that we had so many people coming to church, and uh these were people that had never accepted Jesus Christ before, and we had to take them through studies, and Pastor Majok, who was the senior pastor by then, had to engage them in uh in so many classes and eventually gave their lives to Christ, and that spiritual attack, all the spiritual attacks that they were facing in their families, in their homes, that was curved. Um, and also there was also an issue of rejection whereby people hoped that uh we were not like them, we were different. And like they used to think we are not like like any one of them, uh even when we were the same color, they would still think we were not like them. So, like we would sometimes uh face that challenge when going out to reach out to the community with the word of God. However, that was calmed down a little, and uh now we cannot we we can say that that challenge is almost going away. There is also a consistent uh hunger outbreak in the community uh due to the um due to the conditions that are unfavorable in the country, especially uh after they have cut down trees in various communities. There is no like time that is like that is known that and that that during that time rain can be there. So it is a challenge that right now trees are not there, and uh it is when sunshine comes, it scorches every kind of plant, leading to drought, and also loss of the few crops that are planted on the ground. And that lead that has been always leading to to to hunger in the in the community, and uh many people have faced it. But we thank God for uh the anchored board. and a team at large that has been able to always provide food for the hunger, the elderly and those that are desperate when it comes to such hard times.
SPEAKER_02And also we have always had a problem of uh a problem of of uh something like we can call uh like finances finances servants have already served and uh um many times there has been an issue with finances like they have to incorporate incorporate two things ministry and then uh going for work whereby they haven't been stable at ministry in other words they have been we've been losing uh servants in that way as they have been going to look for a way of supporting themselves uh elsewhere whereby the church hasn't been able to financially support their needs and and in that uh many of uh the what the servants have ended up going and looking for greener pastures um but we thank god that we god has been faithful and uh our uh he has been able to give the leaders the me the the the vision and the and the and the knowledge and also the the way of calming that down by still discipling more servants the uh the young ones uh through those discipleship classes they have come up and have uh entered in the shoes of those that have gone to look for the greener pastures and also God has brought support from uh from the anchored team that has been able to support a few though they are not all that are catered for but at least a few of the staff of the servants have been at least catered somehow for some of their needs and we thank God for that yeah yeah it's uh boy it's a constant um struggle I know for all of us as we minister in the community especially when when you know we're gonna do a supplemental feeding and and we say okay well let's let's minister to those that are in the most need and it's everybody and and so um then what what we've done is identified well well let's reach out to the elderly the widows the the orphans and let's minister to them when when we do a food distribution but it it's it's never enough and I I my prayer is that we could do more and um you know we're we're gonna talk in a minute um it maybe Oscar can can talk a little bit about the garden that we have at church or the small farm and and what that means to the community I don't know if we lost Oscar. Looks like we kind of lost Oscar um well I guess Cayungo it looks like it might be just you and me right now. So until they come back in um you know um Cayungo talk about the the the growing or farming God's way uh garden at the church and um and what that means to the church and the community and the feeding center.
SPEAKER_05Well about the garden this is a garden that uh is situated at church ground and uh it is a garden that is basically you we are using to we are first you are using it at the as a demonstration garden and uh it is a garden that we are using a way called farming God's way this is a special way of of farming whereby we use everything by nature without including anything manufactured and uh we just use everything by nature like animal produ uh animal products or raise uh remains and then we use those remains as manure and fertilizers and then we use the plant uh remains as mulches and as later manure also so farming God is where it has been impactful uh since it started uh it is producing vegetables for uh we have a series of vegetables planted there like the carrots the onions the skumawiki we have the um the various types of vegetables planted and grown for the benefit of first the church and also the malnourished children who are at the feeding center and uh the couple of days that when these greens that are re uh that are rich in vitamins are provided to the feeding center they are prepared specifically to boost the body or the systems of of these children that are being taken care of at the feeding center and also for their nourishment as well and uh they have been taking these greens to the feeding center uh weekly and uh they have been so important to the health and uh building of the bodies of these children are we and also the other part of the greens that we uh we live at the church compound is is is given to those uh that cannot actually afford what to eat like the old people that are having nobody to take care of so we always give them to also support them in a way of helping them when they cannot have anything to eat so it has been hopeful and it is still hopeful and so we thank God for the provision um and of this program and uh but also we continue asking for the support for m for the broadening of this uh garden because we are aiming at producing a larger quantity of vegetables and cereals that can support the feeding center and basically the children that are at at the feeding center as we also hoping for the number of these children to grow high and uh also be able to support them in that way.
SPEAKER_02Well that's that's encouraging and exciting you know one of the things that really excited me I think uh either you or Oscar sent me a picture of the type that we had gotten on a Sunday and what we did is we reached out to the church and just said if you have anything that that you can give in order to help us to feed the the elderly and the vulnerable in the community can you bring it to church and um I'm I'm hoping we could put up on the screen a picture of of one of our offerings where we had a pumpkin and I mean we've gotten eggs we've gotten uh some some grains and and different things that you know people are giving not out of their abundance but out of their poverty and it just reminds me of the the story of the widow's mite and how the community themselves are are reaching out. I also think it's important to for our viewers to know that in our area this the the farming has largely been monopolized by sugarcane growers and what they will do is they'll come in say somebody has five acres and what they'll do is they'll come in and they'll offer them what the equivalent of about $50 cash um to use their land for five years. That's not $50 a year that's $50 for five years um basically $10 a year. There's no way that they can survive on it. All of their land uh gets used up um and and they can't even grow their own food. So one of the things we call call the garden a demonstration farm is that we're trying to show the community that you can grow food that you can feed your family with that you can live on so we're out of this cycle of constant dependence on on supplemental foods being brought in and and not only that but but from the excess you can can sell that and make enough to to take care of all your other needs and and so way more than you would ever get um just doing the the running to sugarcane growers. And so also farming God's way it's amazing when when you put a normal um garden next to what we're doing with farming God's way and the different methods biblical methods that we're using we see the yield is about three times what a you know traditional garden will produce and so um you know it's it's really exciting we invite the community in we invite the parents uh from the feeding center to come in and you know give them seeds show them how to plant and then send them out to plant and and a lot of the the the kids the families in the feeding center are doing that that's why in the very beginning of of the feeding center ministry kids would graduate healthy and then within a matter of a month they would be back malnourished again and because there's nothing to change that cycle and so so that this is what really brings hope and and recently we're able to to add a water system to the the church so that we can water this you know irrigate the crops and everything and that's been uh a blessing it was actually a blessing from from one of our our donors and they just really had a heart to to see uh clean water provided and and so we want to do more of that we want to do more wells and and uh there's such a need for for clean water today and so um you know as as we work and as we minister you know I what I one of the things I've heard so often is oh you know things in Africa they're never going to change they're always poor you know it's like throwing money down a black hole and and yet you know Kayongo and Oscar and Abby that they're they're just their own lives are are living proof of when we pour into people and and you just do it one person at a time you know what that means. So Abby welcome back and thank you our internet uh I tell you internet that's internet the internet went off and yeah so sorry for that so so the viewers are getting a a little taste of what it's like you know power goes off internet goes off i mean the fact that we even have internet in a a remote village is a is a miracle in itself but it is not consistent and so um you know that this is kind of what what we all face on on an everyday situation so um so abby while you were off we we talked about you know the hunger situation we talked about the garden and um and and trying to change the thinking of the community so that they can plant food instead of leasing land to the the sugarcane growers but but here's a really important question abby that you can answer and that is what does the love of chr and the message of the gospel mean to the people of Naluka why is it so important that we're not just there doing good things but we're we're sharing the love of Jesus in a real way in a physical way but also sharing the message of the gospel why is that so important? Yeah I think that's so important uh and it is evident it is evident especially when we see uh people coming to church coming for midweek service you know these are people living in poverty but they keep coming to church they keep uh coming to praise God uh with happy faces smiling uh some of them going back home not having hope for for a meal for the day they keep coming to church they keep coming for fellowships i and and I think that's that encourages me and gives me strength uh that the word is working I mean God is working in the people of Naruko you know this is a village uh that's full of witchcraft you know we uh with the so many shrines but we see people coming to church the old women the elderly uh that cannot dig they come to church actually uh coming with the offerings bringing from the little they have bringing to church these are people that don't have uh they they if if if some can afford a meal a day but you know they keep coming to church and bringing offerings from bringing eggs bringing uh portions of the food they have so that shows me that uh uh God is working in these people Naluko and it's a blessing to to see all that happening amen amen so Abby what what does it mean to you to know that people in America or around the world are praying for you guys and are are giving the support um the work that you guys are doing yeah it means a lot it means uh a lot to us uh uh to see that people who have never been to Naluco though some have been here but uh I know majority have never been here supporting people here supporting the feeding center uh bringing these malnourished children to life uh uh the kids that were on the dying stage you know helping uh with with uh with supporting the church so it means a lot to me seeing uh these children coming to life uh with the support pro uh provided uh by God through the people uh partnering with Anchor it means also a lot to us to see lives being changed and the gospel being preached and and the this community being transformed through the ministry that we are doing well play praise the Lord and you know I too I'm just so grateful for for the the people that that have have given and to to support the work and I see Oscar's back and uh welcome back Oscar thank you um so I do have a question then for for Oscar now that you're back and and um let me see if you're well you went dark there you go um nice shirt by the way um so Oscar you're in charge of children's ministry at the church and and so I there there are so many different challenges I mean I know when when um school is in session the number of kids reduces to maybe a hundred or so and then when children are on school break and they come home that we could have as many as 400 children that that come on a Sunday and what tell me uh what do we do for these kids when when they come on Sundays so they just come in get a Bible lesson and go home what what do we do for them all right so um it's a blessing that we we at least receive children that they can come and know Christ which was not there before actually when you were see around the churches uh they are not having church children church for the children which is which has been making children in this community actually to grow having no idea about who Christ is but thank God their time coverage up and we when they come actually they they arrive during the morning they do their praise um uh then after praise they they they actually have time to pray with with the rest of the children workers uh we having aunt Rebecca we have aunt Aris who helps them to uh to guide them and they we do have time for worship then for praying and the uh surprising these kids are always having offerings they and they offer they give thanks to the Lord um which is a good habit that they they will grow know that the giving thanks to the Lord is a great thing and the and it's really important in their lives and then after we do divide classes we have the age from one to age um actual age 10 they've been the same class then from 11 and above we also take them in a different class whereas now we teach them we actually we thank God that we've been able to receive Bibles before we have already been having Bibles for them uh thank God through air that we and the the rest of the poor that supported the Bibles for our kids that they now kids can access the Bible we've been teaching them how to read which was a like a challenge to them and they they were happy that now they know how to open the Bible to get chapters to get books and they know which books are in Old Testament now which are in Old Testament which is a blessing for sure uh and so then we before we have been having a challenge I think that was like uh two years ago we had a challenge that children those kids would come from their homes when they are very hungry and when we are teaching they are crying they are telling you uncle we are hungry aunt we are hungry and which was really heartbreaking to us like who would teach them would be teaching when they are crying so we we asked God how and we prayed and present God sure it's been a pressing that for the past two years uh these kids have been receiving breakfast and they are glad the they they be thanking God for their breakfast
SPEAKER_06For God that is providing for them. I just they studied they they studied the word spiritually, they they are fed, and then physically they are they are enjoying. So, which is a blessing from the road that God is blessing these kids here in the community. But we're having one challenge, as we were talking before, that the challenge we are having here is education. So most of the kids are not accessing education, they are not accessing schools. Reason one may be poverty, at the home, they are not capable of getting school fees uh uh for paying at schools, and again, the schools here in the village we are having a a government school, and government schools, their schedules and their teaching, they are not all that much, you know, they are not that much interested. And actually, most of them do not have our child classes, which is a challenge that even to them when we give them Bibles, other they don't know how to read. Those are from families that can access good schools, they are capable of reading Bibles, and those are not capable of accessing good schools, really they will be hearing from the rest of their colleagues who are studying from a better school. So it's heartbreaking that I wish, how I wish that even God can bring coverage upon our call. My prayer, as we have been trusting God, seeing him working, I wish he can we can God provide for us, that even these little kids can can be with us at church. In the weekdays they get access to school, then in the Sundays they get access to study the word of God. It will be a blessing for sure that even these ones we are taking care of at the feeding center, at the Uncle Hope feeding center, sure when we graduate them, they will be coming to us uh and they continue working in the same, in the good doctrine, physically, spiritually, and display-wise. So it's a blessing, it's a prayer request for sure for me that then we can continue building these children uh to be a better generation tomorrow. That's a prayer for me for sure. But without God, that children are coming, parents we encourage parents to continue sending them, and when they are coming and you see them carrying them, bringing them for church. That's a blessing for sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I was just reading uh a statistic that our report that um the schools in the local parish in particular have been singled out by the government for intervention because of persistently poor academic performance. And you know, and and what's what the officials are saying is that it's child absenteeism, child labor, hunger, and other barriers to education, which which we know are real. But you know, there's so many that we know that that will graduate from P7. And so that means they've been seven years in school and they still can't read. And so it it's just heartbreaking. And so what does that do for these kids? Is is uh that you know, they just they they don't they can't read, so they really can't find good work, and then they they wind up, you know, alcohol is very cheap there. I mean, um, you know, for the people in the US, the little kids uh juice packs that that we give them, they actually sell alcohol that way, and it's really cheap. And and so what happens is these these kids turn into alcoholics uh at a very young age, and you know, they'll spend their money on you know what few shillings they have on alcohol, and because they have no hope. Uh they have no hope for anything. And that also um, you know, teen pregnancy is is very high. Uh it's really hard to get statistics in in in our area because you know, uh I'll tell you traditionally it's kind of left out. And so we're the last ones that that that people think of. And so our heart at Anchored is to to show the community, tell the community we haven't forgotten you. God hasn't forgotten you. Jesus loves you and he's here, and there's hope in him. And so, you know, I know that I'll tell you, if someone said, Well, what do you want to do in the community? Well, we've already talked about it. We'd we'd love to be able to do a school, we'd love to be able to do a um, you know, a medical clinic or uh uh a hospital, but you know, again, uh it takes resources. And so we're just asking people to pray, pray for for us and and you know, the for God to provide what we need. You know, we know my pastor Chuck Smith always used to say, where God guides, he provides. And so we know that as he calls us and and that he'll provide for us, but you know, I'm I'm just asking our our listeners all over the world, maybe God's calling you to be a part of that and and um you know and and helping with that. And and you could do that um on our website at uh anchorrelief.org. And you can click on donate and you can give to that, you can give specifically to that, whether it's 8,000 um or a contribution towards a uh digging a water well, um, you know, production well, or whether it's it's money for for food, or whether, you know, we're we're just hoping that we can get you know a grant for for a school and a hospital, and not only just for the physical building, but obviously, you know, we've got a higher staff and and maintenance and everything else that goes along with that. So um, you know, I know I know that God's not poor. And so, but we do ask you uh because we also know that God answers prayers. So we talked about the children. Kyongo, can you talk about the youth? You know, so we're talking people 18 and older, and I know Cayongo and Oscar, you're both you know, help with that, but tell me, you know, what is it that we want to do with the youth that are in our ministry? They're really the hope of Uganda. So what what do we want to do for them?
SPEAKER_05Well, about the youth that we have back here in Uganda and particularly in Aluku and the surrounding communities around. Uh we have a big number of youth living in this com in this com community, and uh many of them um have got an advantage to actual accessing school. And as we talk now, some of them are coming back for their holidays. So as church we are planning to engage them in uh in a in a retreat that uh is going to take some two to three days that we'll have, and this is actually particularly organized when they come back for holidays. You see, for those that are holiday makers, and uh we are going to have it at church, at church's grounds, and uh we'll have them at least receive received at church and taken through some classes of teaching, through the word of God, and also engaging them in church activities and uh basically that the things that would love to continue seeing uh these brothers, the youth that uh can get engaged in one uh most of them have acquired skills from either tertiary stations, universities, or even other schools of learning. And these schools that they have acquired, we needed them to actually apply them to the young ones and also those that have not accessed schools uh here in the community and particularly in church. And some of these people have skills that are that are uh vocational, like building, some have attained the skills of building, some have have attained skills of of carpentry, some have attained these other vocational skills, meeting and and uh and so many others. And so would love them to have these skills imparted in the community members and the church members so that they can also acquire them and use them for the sustainability of their families. And this would also help to reduce on the number of people in church and the community that are unemployed, whereby if they can be able to acquire these skills, they can use them to make different things that they can later sell off and get money, uh, that later can also be useful in their homes to reach out to those needs they have. So that's number one uh activity that we are looking at, um, having them back here and they get um they get uh engaged with other members of church so that they can be trained. Then also for the youth still we can um I think we can have them uh to see that they are the future the future the the future church, we still need them. We we would love not to lose them. And how to keep them, being that they have been able to acquire some of these skills, they may intend to run away to go further in search for green pasture, and so being that we are in a deep village, when some of the infrastructure are set up here, at least a number of them can be able to apply and work around, and that will be made mainly keep them around, but also not only being available for work, but can they can also be available to minister and serve the Lord even beyond this community, and also we have these youths that have not really gone to school but they are in the community, and these youth, some of them have come from oh they come from uh backgrounds that are not well off unhappy backgrounds in a way that financially they are unstable, they are having no hope. The only hope they have right now is in Jesus, and uh these are girls that they are girls and boys who are getting married at an early age, and they have kids, they have children, they have formed small families, and uh these children they are ending up, their children are ending up um in in bad situations sometimes, and uh we would love to see that these youths at least can be able to be mentored uh back here, so we would love to have frequent uh engagements here in church, and uh would love to have activities that would keep them, and some of these activities that can keep them around are activities that will actually require some finances in buy some items and of course uh these activities that would keep around these youth so that they may not get away or get astray. And uh these activities that require some finances, like uh a lot of things that are needed to be built for them to be kept around, um when they are kept around here. Uh, that is when they come around for the fellowships and for the teachings and for the discipleships and things to do like that. So also we have a category of youth that uh that are available, but these are youth who actually join who have joined the church and they have gone gone ahead to join to also be part of ministry. They are serving the Lord, they are what they are doing whatever God has show uh has given them, and then they are they are variable for a time they are variable, but when it's time comes for them to reach out the community in spreading further the word of God, they have no facilities to reach out to the different communities, so in this the facilitation to reach out to the different communities in terms of resources, in terms of transportation for the church, it is said it's becoming a problem. So we particularly don't have the means of transport for the church that can actually be used in outreaches, and these are people that are uh their hearts are to serve even further and reach out to the communities with the gospel, but it is becoming it's becoming a challenge in transportation. So anyone that can pray about that, please let's keep in prayer, praying about the means of transport for the outreaches at church and for the other activities at church.
SPEAKER_02Well, so many, so many needs that that we have, and you know, again, I mean here at Anchored, we wish that we can meet them all, but you know, um we're just praying God God provide for for those things you want. I mean, I was just thinking about the youth. I looked up a couple of statistics that in our Busoga region that that um more than 25 percent, so you know, maybe close to 30 percent of the girls ages 15 to 18 um have either are either pregnant or have already born one child. And so, I mean, it's just really hard. And when you look at that in terms of the literacy rate, you know, in in um nationally, the the literacy rate is is you know around 70 percent. But in our region, the literacy rate is way, way below that. Um even in kids going to school, you know, um going on to secondary school after primary school, 62 percent nationwide, 10 in our area of kids that go from secondary school into post-secondary education, um nationally it's 17.5 percent, but in our area it's 3.3 percent. And so, you know, that's been kind of been a recurring theme on on uh the program today is just the need for that. And um, but you know, as we're we're drawing to a close here, I'm really excited too for um how the church is growing and and being used by God. And you know, um Kyongo talked about the the listening groups with the proclaimers, where you know it's just a uh, and we'll try and put a picture up of a uh a digital audio device that has a crank on it and has a solar panel, or you can plug it in and it's it's loud enough for 50 plus people to hear. And so what happens is we have these listening groups, and people gather from all around this the area of this listening group just to listen to the word of God. And and they're getting saved. And and some of these areas, we we may have 16, 90 people that that you know, we've had to split off the groups, and they're asking us, can you plant a church here? So that's the next step is that that we um plant churches in our region and that we're we're able to to see the message of the gospel grow because you know nobody has really has cars, and I mean they don't have horses or donkeys or anything. So wherever they go, they're gonna they have to walk. And we do have people that that walk two hours to church and and then two hours home. And I mean, that's just it and from a western mindset, you know, if we have to drive more than 15 minutes, we're upset. And so, you know, it it there is such need, but there's there is hope, and the hope is Jesus Christ, and so we know that if we can get people praying for us, that that um and just praying for God's provision that that we can um see God do just more and more miraculous things. Um there are ways that you can keep up with us on our Instagram. Our Instagram is at Anchored Relief. We do have a blog um that we we send out updates on our blog with pictures and you know more descriptions. And that's if you want to subscribe to that, it's anchoredrelief.blog, anchoredrelief.blog. We also have uh texting. Um at and if you text air a I R to 949-432-9282, then every time we post a prayer need or something on that, and and I guarantee you we will not flood your message inbox with a bunch of spam. So um, you know, we we put out updates when when it's really the the most important. And then if you want to contact us, you can contact us on our number, our office number, 949-432-6777. So again, text air to 949-432-9282. Um you can follow us on Instagram at Anchored Relief or on our blog, anchoredrelief.blog. Well, guys, thank you for for being on the program today. Uh, it was really blessed. I know we had some technical difficulties, but that is life, especially in in our area. Um, so Abby, would you mind closing us in prayer? And and let's be praying for all the people that are giving that that God would bless them.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Um, let's pray. Uh, Father God, we thank you for such a wonderful time that we've had to talk about your ministry and the work that you're using all of us to do, oh God. Father, we thank you for everything that we've shared, oh Father. Uh, we just bring to you every need that is surrounding your ministry, Father. We pray that you may just continue making ways where it seems to be nowhere, Father. Continue opening the uh windows of heaven and show us, oh God, with blessings, oh God. Father, we pray uh for everyone partnering with anchor to support your ministry. We pray that you may bless them and we pray that you may strengthen us and equip us, oh Father, to keep serving you faithfully and with joy. Bless each channel of us, oh God, and sound us with your your spirit, oh God, and protect us and and heal the sick, oh God. And Father, we pray that you may continue watching over us and our families and everyone that is connected to us and the academia of God. We love you and bless your name. In Jesus' name we can believe. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_02Alright, thank you guys.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. Okay, welcome. Uh that's good to be here. Bye.
SPEAKER_00We'd like to thank every single one of you for listening to God's stories. To connect with us, go to anchoredrelief.org and follow us on Instagram or follow us at our blog at anchorrelief.blog. You could also subscribe to our YouTube channel, as well as our Apple Podcasts and Spotify. To subscribe to our text thread, text the word Air AIR to the number 949-384-9282. Again, that's 949-384-9282. Or you can call us directly on our office line at area code 949-432-6777. That's 949-432-6777.
SPEAKER_01The proceeding was a production and broadcast ministry of Anchored International Relief.