Pray for Uganda (February 2009)

05/02/09

 

Bicycling pastors, inheritances for orphans and improving Christian schools: BMS worker in Uganda, Graeme Riddell, shares stories and prayer needs in anticipation of the BMS day of prayer.

All in a day’s work for a pastor

 

Pastor Kiiza works hard. He sometimes cycles up to 40 kms a day to visit and encourage the different churches in his district. His own church is very small and the 30 members and children gather in the living room of one of the elders’ homes for prayer, teaching and praise as the church owns no land of its own. As he travels around he not only has to counsel people spiritually but also faces the difficulty of not being able to meet people's demands and expectations for practical help.

Land and materials to build a church, support for food and school fees are all needs brought to Pastor Kiiza which he cannot fulfil. Most pastors in Uganda have little or no income and are not paid for the work they do.

Pastor Kiiza’s story is not unique. He is one of hundreds of pastors working in villages across Uganda. Many are supported by BMS World Mission’s partner the Baptist Union of Uganda who run regional conferences for pastors, provide some practical help and emergency relief where possible, and help with further training through theological colleges and the School of Ministry Programme.

Please pray for:

• Pastor Kiiza and hundreds like him, that they would deepen their faith and grow strong in the Lord as they encounter many challenges in their work

• Pastor Alex and Pastor Paul as they lead the Baptist Union of Uganda and seek to support pastors across the country

• BMS missionaries Arthur and Nicky Magahy teaching theology and training pastors of all denominations at Kampala Evangelical School of Theology and supporting Baptist pastors through the BUU School of Ministry

Justice to the poor

 

Annet Ttendo, UCLF director, teaching community legal rights

The pastor knew that in the village they would be unlikely to have decent access to ARVs or the level of nutrition needed to help combat disease.

But it was their long-term future he was also concerned about.

 

Word had reached him that the house and land the children were living in with their guardian was to be sold by the lady for her own profit leaving the children with nothing when they grew up.

 

Legally the property belongs to them and the non-related guardian had no rights of ownership on the property at all.

 

After explaining the law and giving him some advice on mediation, Pastor Alphonse returned to counsel the woman not to sell the land but to hold it in the interests of the children’s future welfare.

Exploitation and injustice are not unusual in Uganda with land grabbing, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect common place. To this end, Uganda Christian Lawyers’ Fraternity who BMS World Mission supports, tries to demonstrate practically God’s love and heart for justice to the most marginalised in society.

 

Please pray for

• UCLF project director Annet Ttendo leading the organisation and planning strategy

• The UCLF legal education, legal aid and criminal public defence departments as they work to bring justice to the people of Uganda and demonstrate God’s love to them.

• BMS mission personnel Caroline and Steve Sanderson, Matthew and Anna Price and Jenny and Graeme Riddell involved with the work of the UCLF

Raising standards in Christian schools

The primary seven results came out across the country in Uganda this week. Significant numbers of students, particularly in rural areas, failed to get the results that would enable them to continue on to secondary school.

Maria who attends Calvary Baptist in Kasese was one of the fortunate ones who passed and has now gained a place in a government secondary school (although she is still struggling to find the money to pay for her uniform and other scholastic materials). For the majority of those who didn’t pass, life now means returning to work on the land, or fighting to make a living in the informal sector in the towns and cities.

 

More than 50 per cent of Ugandans are under the age of 18 and providing education for them as a means of poverty eradication is seen as a priority for the government, the private sector and the church. Unfortunately the standards of education are poor with government spending on education a fraction of what is needed to meet demand.

Please pray for:

• Teachers in BUU schools: that they would strive for excellence in their teaching and model Christ to their students.

• BUU National Education Coordinator Juliet Galiwango and the BUU education board working on a national strategy to support the church schools.

• BMS mission personnel Chris and Christine Leach and Graeme Riddell supporting the work of the BUU education department.