Karamoja Okkens

Our little girl is growing fast! Happy happy birthday Megan, we love you so much!

The rainy season seems to be nearing its end as we have experienced some very hot days lately. It did not turn out to be a very wet year. We have been thankful that we have not repeated last year’s experience of such horrendous road conditions. For the most part travel has been unaffected. However, we are concerned that the harvest has not been very good. For many it will be a challenge to feed their families adequately. We welcome your prayers for our Karimojong friends. We know that even with a poor harvest God is able to provide in ways which amaze us and we pray that He will. Please pray as well for our Mission that God would grant us wisdom when requests for assistance come to us. We want to respond in ways that honor Christ and adorn His Word. With this in mind I was recently reminded that Jesus knows so well the pains of hunger. I was at the medical clinic for our mid-morning preaching and prayer for patients. I was sharing from the beginning of Matthew 4 where Jesus fasted...

You remember we asked for prayer for Martha and Nangiro Michael. We were encouraged to see Martha in church yesterday! Thank you for your continued prayers.

For a number of weeks now I have been leading a ministry to the local secondary school (high school). Some years back we expressed our interest in doing something like this but at that time the school administration told us it would not be possible. With new staff, I decided to renew the offer this year. I was warmly welcomed. Every Thursday afternoon, Jenny Knox and I go to the school and participate in a students’ Bible fellowship meeting. The meeting is attended by some 30-40 students and 1 or 2 teachers. After prayerfully considering how we might supply what is lacking in the faith of many young believers here, I decided to bring teaching on some foundational Biblical doctrines such as: repentance, faith, justification, adoption and sanctification. It has been fun to guide students and teachers through the scriptures and learn what they teach about these basic gospel truths. After a teaching time we divide the guys and gals for some follow-up discussion. Our ministry has b...

You have seen pictures before of Caleb's friends enjoying Saturday play dates. A little while back I realized that this time could be our family's little ministry. If nothing else, the kids would enjoy some playing they wouldn't get at home and would enjoy some lunch they may not get at home. I have also thought to pray more faithfully for these boys. Today I gave the kids coloring pages of a Roman soldier to color and then talked briefly about Ephesians 6 and putting on the armor of God. Not all the boys were there today including the one that would have helped even more bridge the language gap, but we still read the passage in Karimojong and then said a few things about it. No major preaching session, just decided to grab a little moment. I have been encouraging my kids to think about how they are sharing Jesus with their friends by the way they play with them. And yes, to grab little moments. You can keep Naru, Losili, Tony and Bob in prayer with us. That God would draw ...

Please pray with us for Nangiro Michael and his wife Martha. These Karimojong neighbors have suffered great loss. Their baby boy died yesterday after suddenly coming down with some illness. This alone brings great sorrow, but that isn't all. Last Sunday Martha's mother died from an illness she was struggling with for some time and about one month ago Michael and Martha's only other living child (4 yrs.) died of a snake bite. The sorrow is great in this family today. For several weeks now they have faithfully been attending church with us. Please pray that our Mission would be able to comfort and encourage this family, that the Lord would draw them close.

But on the 6th....flexibility when living in Uganda! Our Mission team and most of our clinic staff enjoyed the 4th together...on the 6th. Everyone had fun playing volleyball and a few other games then went inside for a somewhat traditional 4th of July meal. I guess many of our African friends weren't too sure the hotdogs were actually meat (our we sure of that?!), but enjoyed it all very much.