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September saw the Wickhams sliced down the middle. Andrew, Charlie and Annie travelled to the UK in order to attend Andrew's sister Mandy's wedding.. Whilst Keeley, Christy and Joseph remained in Uganda. And as disappointed as we all were that Ugandan immigration would not give us a passport for Christy; God used Keeley's time in Kampala mightily by having her as Guest Speaker at Heritage International School's "Spirit Week." Keeley prepared five messages ranging from "God our father," to "What is the importance of the cross?" The final day ended in a time of soaking in prayer where all the High School students had hands laid on them and were prayed for by the teachers. One girl, from a non-Christian family wrote that she had had a deep experience of God that week, and had really committed her life to the Lord.
Upon his return from England, Andrew was straight back to work with a Sunday-School workshop. But this one was a bit different because only two teachers were in attendance! You may remember hearing us talk about Nelson and Lucy from The Living Gate Revival Centre? Well, for some time they have been speaking to Andrew about the church situation in their village – Potedo. The church is there but so far no one has done anything about the children. Lucy said, "They do not even know one Bible story!" So Andrew gave Nelson and Lucy the task of trying to find just one person who would commit to teaching the children of Potedo village, and then we would bring them down to Kampala to start the training programme. Two potential teachers were found – Olivia and Florence – and on 16th September, the teacher training began! These two ladies, filled with the passion to teach children about God, were prepared to come down to Kampala for the first time in order to receive some help. Over two days, basics such as how to use the Bible to teach children were talked over and by the end of the second day Florence and Olivia had started to get the idea. We pray that they will return to Potedo and be able to share the 12 lesson programme we made together with the children there.
As Keeley has been getting into her new role as housewife and mother, she prayed for God to use her as he needed now that she is not tied to full time hours. She became involved recently in medically evacuating a friend and colleague, Mick, the Heritage School Maths teacher, who found himself in a local hospital suffering with kidney and liver failure. Organising the flight home, liaising with the British High Commission, not to mention Mick's friends and family back in the UK was a fraught experience. There were many times during the week before he left when it didn't look like he would make it. A particular frustration came after a night of the doctor trying to get him medically fit to travel (this included Keeley and two friends donating a pint of blood each) ended in a refusal by BA at Entebbe airport the following morning. Praise the Lord KLM took him on a stretcher the following evening and he was reunited with his brothers, sisters, children and parents. We have just heard today that Mick passed away peacefully on the 6th November with his son and daughter holding his hands. He received the last rites which gave him peace and we trust God's grace and believe that he is now with his Saviour. Please pray for the family as they deal with this devastating loss and for the Heritage students, some of whom knew him very well and will be grieving for some time.
Focus on.. Christopher and Godfrey
For almost two years Andrew has met with Christopher and Godfrey every week for Bible study and discussion. We started because they felt led to teach Bible lessons in a number of Primary Schools, so for the first 18 months a programme was made for them to teach and each week we met to discuss the Bible Passage. More recently our meetings have turned to general topics and Andrew has been able to get some interesting insights into Ugandan cultural viewpoints on: giving generously, tithes and offerings, what is church?, and the questions raised by the book of Genesis.
Christopher and Godfrey are great people. Meeting with them gives Andrew real hope for Christians in Uganda in amongst the questionable values, conduct and teaching that pervade many local churches. They hold weekly meetings with local street kids and are starting to see fruit from their commitment. And they are not afraid to question what they see around them when it doesn't match what they read in the Bible. Praise the Lord!
It is sad that many who go to church on a Sunday, leave the building unchanged. But there are some, like Christopher and Godfrey who are commited to the gospel, act on it, and really have a desire to get to the bottom of the deeper questions, and we thank God for them and ask for your prayers for them as they continue to grow in their faith.
We are now very much into the Wickham Party Season (woo hoo!); Charlie turned seven in September, and it was Christy's second birthday last month. And for those of you interested in the old timers... Andrew had a birthday in October as well!
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