God
In August, Greg Matthews, EMT, and 4 other trainers flew to Uganda for a 3 week intensive training seminar of members of Samaritan Emergency Volunteer Organization, providing SEVO with nearly 50 new Ugandan EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians). As a result of Greg’s work in Uganda, SEVO has now been blessed with an ambulance, and a pilot project has now been set up, 5 new SEVO offices covering the “black spots” along nearly 50 miles of highway. These are areas of excessively high accident and death rates between Kampala and Luweero.
A lot of awareness-raising is being done by SEVO members, including parades with the ambulance. Posters have been put up to help people know to call their local police or SEVO directly for emergency medical attention. So many rescues have been done, and lives saved, just since August, from transporting a critical pregnant woman to the hospital, saving a severely injured child hit by a car (her friend was killed instantly), tending people in a rolled-over bus, and a police officer hit on his motorcycle.
In early September Pastor Rick Sawczuk came to Uganda from Everett, WA, to attend and speak at our annual Foursquare convention in Jinja, and to visit me and our ministries in the Luweero area. He was with us for 6 days.
|
|
A follow up to Pastor David Kasule’s arrest in August, God has done some amazing things. His church rallied mightily in supporting David’s family in his absence, and they lacked absolutely nothing. Not one person left the church in spite of vicious, unfounded gossip about David’s arrest. After his release, David and his acting pastor, Cherengat, who is a police officer, met with the Luweero pastors to teach them about their own legal rights. As a result of this and Cherengat’s advice and help for David, his superior sent him on a temporary, menial assignment to Kampala. When it was discovered that Cherengat has been with the police force for 18 years, this superior officer was written up, and Cherengat was returned to Luweero, for which we praise God.
David returned to the prison the week following his release and found the pastors he’d been imprisoned with there being led in 3 days of prayer and fasting by the Anglican reverend. Many to whom they’d given Bibles had now become saved. Now the prison officials themselves invited David to come and minister during a massive outreach campaign being done by churches in Kampala to the 1000 or so men in the prison ward where David was held. That will happen on Saturday, October 7th.
There are many scriptures that show how God Himself defends us when we are persecuted for our faith. To see God move on behalf of someone like this is an exciting thing; it gives courage and boldness to the believers, just as in the book of Acts. Psalm 35: 1 says " Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me, fight against those who fight against me". Verse 4 says, "May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay."
Isaiah 54:17 says, "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me, declares the Lord."
We are literally seeing these things happen. The man who sued David, starting the whole arrest scenario, has closed down his business. The court bailiffs and the administrative police who arrested and battered David, are themselves being arrested this week. The crooked magistrate, whose car was used by the bailiffs to arrest David and to haul him to prison, has been sweating, and doing her best to hinder those arrests and to divert the investigation. I suspect the law will catch up with her as well.
Please continue to pray for Pastor David as he continues to walk out these various court-related issues. It will probably be a few months yet before everything is totally settled. These trials have affected and strengthened all of us, the church, David’s family, and the community. The Spirit of God is moving in a mighty way in the church.
Pray also for David’s physical healing, as he’s suffering a lot of pain in his shoulders as a direct result of the police abuse. A medical exam determined that he has damage to his head, neck and shoulders.
Kate, David’s wife is currently in the hospital with her 5th pregnancy and very high blood pressure. She is on bed rest to lower the blood pressure, and when it comes down to a safe level, the baby will be delivered. Birth is not a real “family affair” here, so not a lot of information is given to the husband, or even to the wife/mother herself! Kate is either expecting a very large baby, or is carrying twins. So please pray for her too, for God to see her safely through the remainder of this difficult pregnancy, and for the health and well-being of the baby(s) as well.
Thanks for praying!
Margaret