THREE SIMPLE WORDS PROCLAIMED BY MOSES ABOUT A GOD WHO CARES FOR HIS PEOPLE ... A PROCLAMATION THAT TRANSCENDS ACROSS ALL ETERNITY ... EVEN TO INCLUDE A CHURCH BUILD IN A SLUM VILLAGE IN MBALE, UGANDA IN 2018
It is impossible for us to comprehend with our human minds the magnitude of what these three simple words mean, even as we watch God unfold miracle after miracle in the work HE has chosen to do in the Namatala Slum! And just when you reach the point that you really don't think it can get any better ... well, IT DOES!!!
For those of you who have been with us on this amazing journey called Mission Mbale, you know that we have witnessed more than our share of "WOW GOD, THAT WAS REALLY AWESOME!" miracles over the past few years! Well, if the events of the past few days are any indication, God obviously has no plans for stopping any time soon as He continues His work to transform this slum village referred to by the news media in Uganda as "a cesspool of humanity" into a village being radically transformed through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!
The following pictures tell the story of an unfolding dream that the people of Ebenezer Baptist Church have embraced since Sunday, September 10, 2006. It was on this day that a group of five individuals began meeting in a home is this village filled with hopelessness for the sole purpose of bringing the love and hope found in Jesus Christ to the children and families who called this place "home". The journey has been long and hard filled with days, weeks and months of discouragement. And yes, there were definitely times of doubt as to whether the vision would survive, especially on those days when hundreds of children would show up to hopefully get a small bowl of posho and beans and there was nothing left in the storeroom to prepare for them. We can only imagine the heartbreak and discouragement that these Kingdom Warriors must have felt as they told these precious children, most of whom didn't eat unless they received a meal from Ebenezer, that there was no food.
BUT, these faithful children of the most high God continued doing the only thing that they knew to do and kept praying and believing that one day their heavenly Father would lift them up and establish them on solid ground ... and each time He was faithful to re-establish their ways. They continued pushing forward, worshiping in make-shift sanctuaries, and feeding the children as the Lord provided and trusting that He would look upon their struggles and in HIS perfect timing provide for them a permanent church to worship ... AND GOD KNEW!!
The following pictorial timeline of events is solid evidence that GOD CERTAINLY KNEW the plans He had for these five faithful church planters!! As only God could orchestrate, He chose to reveal these plans during the same exact week wherein twelve years earlier these five faithful church planters were preparing to establish a new church in a home. As you will see in the pictures, on September 6, 2018, the 40' x 60' revival tent which had served as Ebenezer's sanctuary for the past 3 1/2 years was taken down and moved just outside the walls surrounding the church property to it's new temporary location (another God story all on it's own), and ground was broken to begin construction of Ebenezer Baptist Church's permanent home, a 750 seat sanctuary in the very heart of a village that is now filled with hope and excitement! And ALL the time God is good ... because that is His nature!! What a mighty God we serve!!!
Thanks for standing with us and being a part of what God has allowed us to join Him in doing in bringing a future and a hope to this village of over 28,000 populated in majority by children under the age of 14 ... a village that only a few short years ago was looked at as being "hopeless". And how has God chosen to bring about this unbelievable transformation? By transforming futures and hopes through the love of Jesus ... One Child At A Time!!!
ALL FOR HIS GLORY!!!
The Mission Mbale Family
9/6/2018
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The Tent's Last Stand! Let the work begin![/caption][caption id="attachment_1990" align="alignnone" width="300"]
The Dismantling of the Tent Begins![/caption]
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Tent Being Set Up On the New Temporary Site Only Yards Away From It's Original Home![/caption][caption id="attachment_1959" align="alignnone" width="300"]
All Clear For Construction To Begin!!![/caption]9/7/2018
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Progress Is Not Without It's Costs ... We Lost The Large Mango Tree That Had Provided Shade For the Growth of Many Beautiful Relationships Over the Years![/caption][caption id="attachment_1962" align="alignnone" width="300"]
As Day One Progressed, Each Worker Took Their Positions and Began "Breaking Ground"...[/caption][caption id="attachment_1963" align="alignnone" width="300"]
And By the End of Day One of Construction Much Ground Had Been Broken ...[/caption][caption id="attachment_1977" align="alignnone" width="300"]
And Transformation Into An Official-looking Construction Site Had Been Accomplished!![/caption]9/8/2018
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Materials Began Arriving By the Truck Load ... Gravel, Rebar, Sand, Bags of Cement, etc. ... Each Thing Finding It's Own Place In What Has In Only Two Days Become a Full-blown Mission to Build a Church To the Glory of God!!![/caption]
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The Footprint of Ebenezer Baptist Church Was Beginning To Take Shape ...[/caption][caption id="attachment_1968" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Even As the Profile of the Tent Rises Above the Wall As a Testimony That the Gospel Message Continues To Be Spread In The Midst of Yet Another "Make-shift" Worship Site ... BUT the Next Move Will Result In the Fulfillment of a Twelve Year Journey of Trust!!![/caption]9/9/2018
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What A Day Of Rejoicing That Will Be ... Celebrating the Beginning Of Construction of Their New Church Building!!![/caption][caption id="attachment_1996" align="alignnone" width="300"]
And It Is Only Appropriate That God Chose To Represent The Very Beginning Of His Plans For This Church In The Service ... The #99 Soccer Jersey In This Picture Was Being Worn Fifteen Years Ago By A Young 14-Year Old Girl In America Named Kristen Moore! It Was This Young Daughter of the King That God Used To Plant the Seed From Which Mission Mbale Would Take Root ... ONLY GOD!!![/caption][caption id="attachment_1995" align="alignnone" width="300"]
OH YES!!! WHAT A DAY OF REJOICING THAT WILL BE!!![/caption]What a glorious first week of construction this was ... PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!
TO BE CONTINUED ...
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