Winnipeg Discipleship Training School

Previous Post - Update 2- Soroti Outreach - by Michelle

Hello everyone,

Greetings again from Soroti, Uganda. We have had a really good week. Over the weekend we were able to go to a praise and worship gala where there were several different church groups and organizations that were leading different praise and worship songs. Our team sang a couple of songs and got to enjoy the rest of the show.

Yesterday three of our team members Paul, Stacie and Brenden went to a church in a village, they were able to hang out there pretty much all day, Stacie shared her testimony and Brenden also spoke at the church. When they got back our team made dinner for the YWAM Soroti base, we made french toast (a typical North American breakfast).

One of the ministries of YWAM Soroti is a home for babies and children who have AIDS or HIV. Their are also some children there without HIV who have lost parents but most of the kids are HIV positive. Last week a 2 1/2 year old boy named Timothy died at a hospital in Kampala. Please pray for his family and the other people living in his village. Also please be praying for the ywam staff that work with these kids, although they realize that death is a possible outcome for many of these children it never gets easier to lose a child.

God bless,
Michelle

It is now our third week in Uganda. Only 4 more left- it is going by quickly. Today and yestarday my Ugandan friends braided my hair. It took 8 hours, I really like it. They laughed because they said Mazogoo hair (white persons hair) is much different to braid then black hair. I am really making good friendships here. I really love the people.

Last week I got to work in a home for babies whose parents have either died from AIDS or cannot afford to take care of them. Over half of the babies are HIV positive. I loved being with them, some are so tiny, when I bathed them they fit perfectly into the little basin.

The weather has been very hot, and I am burnt but hopefully it will turn into a tan. I love the music and worship here. They pretty much dance at every worship service. I love hearing all the different clapping and harmonies. The children get right into it as well. Two more weeks in Soroti then we go to another place called Jinja.

Take care,
Robin

Hello everyone,

Greetings again from Soroti, Uganda here in East Africa. Our DTS outreach is going really well so far. This week two of our students had the opportunity to teach "Bible time" in one of the local schools, for two hours every morning. Twice this week our team went to a local hospital. The first time we went to visit and pray with people. We went to the women's ward first and then the men's ward. Next we went to the children's ward where we talked and prayed with the kids and their parents. We also gave each family a package of cookies, the children were grateful for that. The next day we went back to the hospital to clean the maternity ward, spending the morning there cleaning the walls and floors. We will be going back tomorrow morning to clean another ward.

The other day we had our team broken into three different groups, with two of our students going into the villages to visit with families whose children have AIDS or HIV, three of our team members visiting a group of low income families (who YWAM Soroti has been working with them to help them save money and to learn how to better manage their money), and myself and one of the other team members with going to a mobile clinic where we were able to help sort and distribute medicine.

Please pray for our team as we continue to serve in Soroti. Pray for continued unity within our team. Pray that God would show us how to work together, show us where each others giftings and strengths are so we can support each other.

God bless,
Michelle F. - YWAM Staff

We recently received a brief, but excellent update from our outreach team now serving in Soroti, Uganda.  Lindsey, one of our excellent students, writes the following:

Greetings from Uganda! I only have 15 minutes at the internet cafe, so this will be short, but I thought you may be interested in hearing a bit about how things are going for our team so far. When we arrived at the airport in Entebbe after a grueling 40-something hours in transit we expected to be greeted by the YWAM staff from Soroti, who were supposed to be picking us up. Although some of us realized that Africa time is a little more laid back than that in the West, we left the airport after about 4 hours of waiting and got a hotel.

To make a long story short, we ended up spending two nights in hotels until we were finally picked up and brought to Soroti. What probably happened was the email with our finalized itinerary did not get through, so all they had was an old email saying we were arriving two days later than the actual date. Anyway, the wait was actually a good thing. It gave us some time to get used to the culture and climate, and our team did some bonding in that time as well.

Uganda reminds me so much of Nigeria, where I lived two years with my family. I am the only person on the team who has been to Africa before, so some of the comments my teammates make are just hilarious. Today is a national holiday, so we have the day off, but tomorrow we are going to be starting to work with some of the ministries YWAM is involved in here. For example, tomorrow some of us are going to a youth service and sharing our testimonies, and some of us are going to be doing "Bible Time" at a local school. Prayer Requests: - Calming of nerves for me as I give my testimony tomorrow. - Health and unity for the team. That's all I have time for right now.

In Christ,
Lindsey

Throughout last week the DTS excitedly (and bit nervously) made their last preparations before outreach. There is only so much you can prepare a group for when going on a cross-cultural missions trip. When we sent them off on Tuesday to Uganda, we knew they would face challenges, but we were confident it would only grow in them a maturity and understanding on the challenges of serving God anywhere.

On Tuesday we sent 5 students and 2 staff to Uganda for the next two months where they will be serving in various minsitries. We received our first update from them this morning, having faced their first cross-cultural missions challenge. The missionaries meant to meet them at the airport didn't show up and the phone numbers we were given did not work. While not at all an uncommon mix up when serving in missions, the team was a bit shaken by this unexpected introduction to Africa. [UPDATE: As it turns out, the mix up was as a result of a clerical error on the Canadian end of things NOT in Uganda.  Live and learn!]

In reality, though, we were prepared for such events, the leaders securing the team housing in Kampala until alternate travel arrangements can be made. For those experiencing this for the first time, it could seem as though our leadership were unprepared or that the African missionaries were irresponsible. In truth, Ugandan culture functions of a very different set of values and practices, not at all better or worse, just different. It can be difficult adjusting, but that is all part of the discipleship process. In some ways, it is good for the students to experience this early on.

JP and the rest of the staff will remain in Winnipeg over the next few months doing local outreach. It too will have its challenges. However, we expect both groups to not only be impacted in their own lives, but to make an impact of the lives of the people they are called to serve and minister to. When we consider the heritage of martyred missionaries, we cannot help but be thankful for the freedom and resources we enjoy as His people today. However, where much is given, much is required. Lord make us faithful!

Stay tuned for further updates!

[UPDATE: The team has connected with YWAM Soroti and will be heading there soon.  Again, the mix up was a result of an error on the Canadian end,  NOT in Uganda.]