Category: Uganda

June/July 2024

This summer Bob went to Uganda to minister with his long-time friend and ministry partner, Emmanuel Rucyaba in two locations. The first few days were spent in facilities at Kairos Hospital teaching a group of leaders and potential leaders. Although he is in good health, Emmanuel wants to prepare others to eventually carry on his work when he is physically no longer able to do so. The teaching subject was, “Aspects in the Development of a Leader“ and was received eagerly by these young men.

While at Kairos Hospital Bob took a tour to see what had changed since his last visit. The biggest improvement was the installation of solar panels (notice the roof). They greatly reduce the cost of energy and eliminate the need for the generator.

In the second week, Bob and Emmanuel went to the farm owned by Emmanuel’s ministry. There is a church building on the property and several other churches in Emmanuel’s network  in the surrounding region.

There we had a three day conference for pastors, elders and their spouses with 70-80 participants. There were also a few other church leaders who had been invited, who are not part of Emmanuel’s “Life Ministries Christian Centre“ church network.

At the end of the conference they requested Emmanuel to hold a similar but larger seminar next year, where additional church leaders could attend. All in all there was a very positive response to the teaching they received at the conference.

The farm has developed further since Bob’s last visit in 2023. The dairy herd has transitioned from African cows to cross-bred cows that produce more milk. For that reason the farm is now self-sustaining.

Emmanuel is in the process of developing a larger dairy project with farm equipment, milking machines etc. that will enable the farm to sustain a much bigger herd of cows. This will result in a surplus of income to support other aspects of the ministry.

Seeta and Kampala

Bob’s Report:

After returning from the north, the rest of my trip was spent in Seeta, where Kairos Hospital is located, and Kampala, where Life Ministries has an out-patient health center and a private Christian elementary and high school.

At Kairos Hospital I was encouraged to see that a nurses’ residence has been completed at the back of the six acre property. This is a great blessing to the nurses – allowing them to live close to their work and save time and money on transportation.

Kairos health center in Kampala is doing very well with many local residents taking advantage of their services, such as vaccinations for babies, which are offered every Tuesday.

The Kairos elementary and high schools are not only giving children a good education but are also an outreach to the community. There are several children from Muslim families who attend the school and have received Christ.

This year I have made ministry trips to both India and Uganda, so the next ones will probably not be until next year. I am glad that I can continue these trips after having moved back to Minnesota and plan to do so as long as possible.

Thank you so much for your prayer support and interest in the ministry of Bread of Life.

Ministry in northern Uganda

Bob’s report:

The first week was spent in the north at two locations where there are Life Ministries churches – Bweyale and Kambini. At both locations we held general meetings as well as special sessions for the pastors. I am especially glad to minister in northern Uganda because they have suffered greatly in the past due to a war caused by rebels. Many villages were destroyed and unmentionable atrocities committed by the rebels which resulted in a mass migration of people to central and southern Uganda. Now that the war has been over for several years, many have returned to their homes but often with deep emotional wounds. By coming to minister the gospel to them I can at least show them that there are believers who have not forgotten them and their suffering.

When I ministered to the pastors in Bweyale I was drawn to a young pastor named Martin, who has a very gentle spirit. He interpreted for me during some of the sessions and towards the end of my time there I interviewed him. His story deeply moved me as he told me about his upbringing. Both his parents had been killed by the rebels during the war so Martin went to live with his uncle who was a pastor. The Lord must have done a deep work of healing in Martin’s heart, because when you talk with him you would never imagine the trauma that he must have experienced when his parents were killed. Martin began his ministry at age sixteen and now does a lot of traveling throughout Uganda to teach the Bible to believers in addition to pastoring a church in Bweyale.

While staying in a guest house in Bweyale I had some conversations about the Lord with a young man at their reception desk, named Jeffrey. One morning I gave him a tract and when I returned in the evening I asked him if he had read it. He said that he “couldn’t find anything wrong with it” so I asked him if he would like to pray and give his life to Jesus. He said yes, so I had the joy of leading him in a prayer. I told him how important it is to read the Bible and offered to buy him one, which he was grateful for. If the Lord brings him to mind, please pray for Jeffrey – that he will read the Bible, go to the church close to the guest house and grow to be a committed disciple of Jesus. 

The photo below was taken at a session for the pastors in Kambini. Both in Kambini and in Bweyale I was impressed and encouraged to see that pastors in both locations are glad to work together for special projects like evangelistic outreaches, whether they are part of Life Ministries or not. Several of the pastors in both locations attended our meetings, although they are not in the Life Ministries network. 

In November of last year I had planned on attending the 30 year celebration of Life Ministries Christian Centre – the ministry that my friend, Emmanuel Rucyaba, founded and leads. Unfortunately, there was an outbreak of Ebola at that time with the possibility that the government would declare a country-wide lockdown. Just a few days before my flight, Emmanuel advised me not to make the trip because I might get stuck in Uganda. It was disappointing to miss the celebration, but Emmanuel and I decided to postpone my visit for a few months until there would be no more danger of an Ebola epidemic. So on March 16th I fly to Uganda for two weeks of ministry with Emmanuel. 

Bob