Monday, August 17, 2015

Seasons

Dear Beloveds,
Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. We trust that the Lord has been gracious and merciful to you all and has kept you in perfect health and peace from the last time we communicated.
Since coming back to America, it has been a different season in our lives and as we keep adjusting and praying and seeking Him daily, He keeps revealing His plans and mysteries in our own lives and in the lives of the people we are serving, praise Him!

We waited to update you on what is happening from our end, because were waiting for some good news to share with you all regarding what the Lord is doing in Uganda.
Last year in August, we were privileged to be a part of a new class of students who had enrolled at Kingdom Life Training Center and as the months progressed, we got to know each of them deeply and go attached to their unique personalities and stories. We have watched the Lord do a great work in most of them with awe and seeing the glee in their faces as they continually discovered higher truth in God's word as we taught is priceless. Every month, they came for three days for 10 months. Last week, they came for their last class and graduated on saturday the 15th! We were disappointed not to be there, but through photographs from our team mates, we felt a sense of worth to the Kingdom. As we looked at each person in their graduation gown, our hearts were filled with joy knowing that we helped plant seed in some of them and helped water seed in others and to see the work come to completion was amazing. We thank God for counting us worthy and faithful of this call and we thank everyone of you who made this and continue to make this possible. It cannot be over stated that christianity in Uganda is miles and miles wide, but an inch deep; the need for discipleship is enormous and that's why we are grateful to be able to contribute in this humble way. It's our prayer that these amazing servants of the Lord will put what they have learnt from the school into use and disciple and grow God's kingdom in the different villages they come from and wherever the Lord will take them.

The happy graduands pose for a group photo.
Valerie Pade made delicious cakes for the occasion.

We also had a huge surprise that none of us had expected. One of our students was pregnant and she expected to give  birth this week. She was determined to complete her course and graduate before giving birth and so she came for the last class on wednesday the 12th. on Thursday the 13th, during class, she got her labor pangs and before long, she had given birth in one of the rooms at school! The good thing though, our team mate Valerie is a trained midwife and she had the help of other three ladies with some nursing experience, so, Susan was in excellent hands and she preferred to give birth from the school rather than the hospital because she knew she would not get better attention and service there than the one she was given at school. She gave birth to a bouncing baby boy and her class mates roared in praise and worship to the Father for this good news! We never thought such a thing would ever happen at school and thank God our team mate, Sol, always has kits ready in the store for just in cases like this. The mother graduated on Saturday and she left with two things; her son and a certificate! Keep praying for this baby, that as he was born in Lord's school, he will live his earthly life for the Lord.

Here is a few minutes after arriving to the Earth!

The mother smiling with the Nursing Crew that helped her.

Our second class will continue and they will graduate sometime mid next year, depending on how the electoral process goes in Uganda, it's something for you to pray about and we are excited for them.

It's not only the ministry side that has been exciting, also, i (Ruudy) received a long awaited envelope in the mail last week from USCIS with my citizenship appointment date, yay! September 15th, 2:05pm is the date and time in Detroit. I am trying my best to study and prepare for this and we want to thank all of you who have been praying for us in regards to this. Even though we rejoice and celebrate for this news, we still have to continue praying for favorable outcome from the interview and the oath thereafter.

On the side of our ministry in Soroti (Loveworld Community Development Initiative), we are glad to inform you that our application for a 501(3)c status for Loveworld Foundation here in the States has been granted, meaning that you can now get tax exemption for all your contributions towards sponsoring a child, sponsoring a pastor, sponsoring a purity activity and any other giving to the foundation. For more information about this foundation, you can check out our website (though it's still going through some construction) at www.locodi.org or send us an email.

Requests:

1. If any of you has any of the following things that you could donate for use in the ministry in Uganda, we would be glad for your partnership as these would go a long way in helping the ministry there.
  • Your used/ old laptop.
  • Your used/ old iPad.
  • Study Bibles.
  • Used/ old camera.
  • Used/ old phones.
  • Used/ old kids study Bibles and materials.
2. In order to repair/ replace our spoilt laptop, we have decided to start a special fundraiser for it by asking for your pop cans/ bottles. You can donate these to us and then we can take them to meijer and get the cash. No amount is little, we would appreciate if you got back to us and then we would discuss about pick up options. We can also help cut your grass for a small donation towards this special project. This project is specifically for people who live in Michigan.

3. We are still short on our fundraising goal and we feel we have reached and asked everyone we know. We need to tap into new people; some of these could be your work mates, church, church mates or friends. We would be glad if you introduced us to your circle of friends, they may not partner financially, but they may know someone who could and may also partner through prayers. We appreciate those who have already responded to this request.

Prayer Partnership.

We are calling for your prayer partnership with us in the following areas:
  1. We need physical healing in our bodies and would appreciate if you prayed with us.
  2. we also need prayers for new opportunities and favor as we continue to do more fund raising.
  3. Pray for our students who have just graduated and those who are still at school that the Lord will continually work and mould them into his own image and that they would do what the father created them to do and walk in his perfect will.
  4. Pray for strength and rejuvenation for our team mates who are continuing to do the ministry work in Uganda in our absence.
  5. Pray for us to keep falling in love with the Father and with each other every day, so that we may become a very strong and unbeatable team for Him and for His glory. Pray especially that we may enjoy this season of our lives and the next season that Father has prepared for us and for us to always be ready in season and out of season.
  6. Uganda is already in the political and election season, please pray for the peace of Uganda and for the peaceful electoral process so that the leaders whom the Lord has ordained may get elected in a relatively free and fair process.
Finally brethren, we want all of you to know that we continually mention you in our prayers to the Father. We know some of you are still grieving the loss of your loved ones, some of you have been sick and are still sick, some of you are discouraged at heart, some are emotionally tired and frustrated, we understand what you are going through and empathize with you. However, we would like to urge you to always run and drink from His well, drink his living water and be refreshed. Remember, he is your rock, your shield, your strong tower, don't run away from him but run to him and be in the company and community of fellow believers. For whatever light affliction(s) you may be going through, they are just but for a moment and can not compare to the glory that is awaiting those who persevere to the end. Be encouraged in the Lord and be safe in his shadow. We love you and thank you for giving us an opportunity to live out our dream in Uganda, Serving Our Savior and King! God bless you, we love you dearly,

With You, For Him, 
R&B Olupot.