Saturday, December 16th, 2023
As we transition into 2024, we are thankful that God’s vision of the Resource Center Project is expanding. As of this writing, December 2023, the Missionary Home on WID’s 5-acres in the Village of Ntenjeru is close to completion. Our hope and prayer is this home will provide a place for missionaries, Pastors, educators, leaders and all faithful servants can serve and stay in the village with our friends. It is within walking distance of the church and school WID planted many years ago, so we feel our roots are well planted in this community.
Posted in Project Updates, Short Term Missions, Uganda | Comments Off on Ministry Expansion
Saturday, October 26th, 2019
Below is the statistics from the May Medical Mission Trip. As is well documented, this is a team effort and we are so grateful for all those how contributed their time, talent and treasures in the capacities they did. Lots of volunteer hours of preparation go into these trips, lots of prayers, lots of packing! We thank you for your support in making it a successful trip.
Patients:
Prescriptions:
Through the generosity of our supporters, WID was able to deliver to the 5 villages in the Mukono District surrounding Lake Victoria (Ntenjeru, Bunakijja, Lulagwe, Mpunge, Seeta) –
Posted in Newsletters, Short Term Missions, Top News, Uganda | Comments Off on 2019 Medical Mission Trip – Statistics
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019
There was a huge celebration at the Summer Terrace Gardens in Mukono City on October 11th. The city honored through marching bands, school children singing and dancing, and dignitaries acknowledging the Reverend, Doctor Kefa Sempangi for the philanthropic work he has been doing in Uganda for decades. And BTW, turning 80 years old. He is truly ageless.
We are very grateful as a ministry that God has allowed the partnership between the local Presbyterian Church, their leaders and Word InDeed Ministries over many, many years. Even our founder, Stephen DeMoss was a young college school student when he first went to Uganda and was being introduced to the Pearl of Africa. The inspiration for ministry began running through his veins so many years ago.
Pastor Kefa has been instrumental in so many things relative to progress in Uganda following the Idi Amin brutality. The most well know is Pastor Kefa’s leadership and mentoring so many homeless, fatherless children when he started the Africa Foundation and is still today called “Daddy” by thousands of adults in Uganda.
As someone who helped establish the First Presbyterian Church of Uganda, an articulate pastor, author, and father too many orphans, I am thankful for the local church partnerships we have with Pastor Kefa at the helm.
It was through reading his inspiring book, A Distant Grief, that I developed a keen interest in traveling to Uganda and made the trip in 2012 on my first medical mission trip. Fast forward 8-years later, I’m looking forward to returning again and feel extremely blessed to call Pastor Kefa and his wife Olivia “good friendsâ€.
We wish you a very Happy Birthday Pastor Kefa! May God continue to use you and keep you healthy to continue to mentor and preach the Good News in Uganda!
As the year 2019 is soon coming to an end, now is a good time to update all our friends and supporters of the great projects and progress which is going on through God’s blessings and Word inDeed Ministries.
This little girl was with her family at one of our clinic’s this past May, 2019. She reminded me of the James 1:27 scripture and how we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, wherever we go. PLEASE PRAY for our ministry and mission to live out James 1:27.
We continue to have a total of 64 students in our program and what started with just 2 schools, has now expanded into seven village schools as the children grow older and transfer to high school and vocational training. We have two university students currently being sponsored through WID. Edward K. is pursuing his Bachelors of Entrepreneurship and Project Planning at the Mukono Christian University, with the intention of learning ways to help the local church benefit from projects and expand the gospel at the same time. Another young man, Jonathan B. is seeking a degree in Clinical Medicine and Community Health in Kampala. We have a young man, Deo K. also attending Westminster Seminary in Kampala and he hopes to graduate with his degree in 2020. Should God continue to bless the support of his pursuit of a Bachelors Degree in Biblical Studies (we are seeking more scholarship funds for Deo), he hopes to be planted in a village church when God opens that door. In the past year we have had two young students graduate from hairdressing courses, and they are now working in their field. There are also two young men who are doing vocational training in welding, working as interns and hoping to be self-sustaining in their future careers.
This picture above of Frank was sent to his sponsor, Christina, who has been sponsoring this young student for 7 years. Christina had the opportunity to meet Frank during one of our medical mission trips and has supported him in special ways, like writing a letter of encouragement to him as he’s struggling right now in high school. Our counselor, Jovelet, makes regular contact with our students to ensure they are attending school, hearing about their progress, and letting us know when there are special needs or attention required. Like in Frank’s case, we were able to let him know that there are people caring enough about him and that he needs to continue to work toward his school graduation. WID is thankful for the many sponsors we have who continue to provide the financial resources so these kids stay in school.
WID is in the process of fundraising for the Ntenjeru Covenant Junior School to be properly wired for electricity and light fixtures. Currently the adjacent church has basic wiring, but when the school is fully ‘electrified’ the potential for growth in teaching tools, electronics like laptops to introduce the children to modern technology, and even the possibility of using the school for evening outreach and vocational studies will open many doors for the students and the community.
The school headmaster, Micheal Kaggwa who also helps manage projects for WID, has taken on a huge gardening project on property owned by WID. This property sits across a valley from the school and church, so thankfully it’s not too far away! In an effort to have resources to help feed the numerous children that live on campus in the boarding section and those who attend day school, fruit trees, cabbage and other vegetables have been planted with the hopes of providing valuable, nutritious foods for the children. Our ultimate goal is there will be additional fruits and vegetables to sell and provide income to cover the costs of running the school.
Last year the campus was expanded with a large chicken house. There were a few challenges along the way with the baby chicks and loosing some to a virus, but today the house is full of layer chickens and providing food for the children who attend the school.
Micheal told me once that ‘he cannot turn away a child just because they don’t have money to pay school fees’. All this to say that even though he only has 24 students in Ntenjeru school which are receiving a scholarship through WID out of the over 300 attending, there are still many children who are abandoned or without parents to help provide financial support for the school tuition. Many children have come to find the school campus a place to call “home†because they are getting food everyday, a place to sleep, and an education, not to mention the loving care of the staff and leaders like Micheal and his wife Miriam.
With the new gardening project in the works to help out the school, one resource which is dearly needed is WATER to keep the new plants and trees alive. A borehole was dug on the property a few years back and capped so that it could be available as soon as funds allowed for the pump house and holding tanks to be established.
WID need’s approximately $8,000 to complete this project. Because the borehole sits low on the valley side of the property, the pump house is needed to build and store the solar powered system because there is no electricity on the land. The pipeline needs to be constructed to bring the water from the borehole up to the top of the property where the managers house is, and where the holding tank will sit. We are praying this project can be commenced before the dry season starts and finished so that the property can continue to be a growing, garden resource, and for the immediate community surrounding the land so they can also have access to cleaner water.
WID is truly so grateful for the partnership with the Palm Beach Atlantic University, Gregory School of Pharmacy. Next May we will embark on our 8th year of doing medical missions in the Mukono District of Uganda. God has richly blessed this partnership as we have had the opportunity to provide quality medical and dental care to the people in these remote villages. Also, with the partnerships over these years with other NGO’s, like Hope Smiles (https://www.hopesmiles.org), Sole Hope (https://solehope.org) and Wings for Women (https://www.wings4women.org), our capacity to facilitate such a variety of needs is only because God continues to bless these endeavors.
In a follow-up outreach event in September, Wings for Women sponsored and empowered the local Uganda female leaders. These were women who helped in May’s clinical outreach to return to the four villages we visit to reeducate and reaffirm the support for the women through medical services. This is an inspiring thing to see happening.
We are also forever indebted to the numerous individuals that make sacrificial giving toward these medical mission trips. Part of our outreach and evangelism allows for educating young girls and boys in best practices to keep themselves safe and healthy because the statistics of HIV and Aids is still very oppressive in Uganda. We consistently have the opportunity to share the Gospel through handing out Bibles in the native Lugandan language. We provided 500 pairs of shoes to school children made by Sole Hope. AfriPads were given to school girls to help them stay in class, and 500 mosquito nets were handed out to families in need. I can also say from first-hand experience since 2012, these medical clinic’s have saved lives. There are young children today that are thriving and attending school because they got medical attention they needed during these clinics, where otherwise they would not have survived. God has ordained these by healing, changing and transforming many lives.
Your support both financially and prayerfully is sincerely appreciated. We cannot do what we do without both, so thank you for taking the time to read our update.
Blessings,
Lisa Sorensen
Word inDeed Ministries.
Posted in Project Updates, Top News, Uganda | Comments Off on Guess Who Turned 80?
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019
Let’s start where they end!
One agenda item for our UMM (Uganda Medical Mission) 2019 was to host a “Special Tea Party” for all the ladies who had started to work on the sewing projects which was being spearheaded by Wings for Women, an NGO dedicated to helping empower women and girls through education, business training and healthcare initiatives. We had invited close to 100 ladies from 5 surrounding villages in the district of Mukono to join us for start-up business training, breaking bread (no gathering of gals is complete without food) and bonding. We wanted to hear their stories and I do know they like hearing about ours too.
In all my worldly travels one thing is certain when it comes to women, we all experience the same struggles, subjection and joy in so many aspects of our lives. The remote villages of Uganda are no different, feeding the kids who are not always yours, finding a way to support yourself, keeping safe from harm, these are major concerns for the women in Uganda. Also, finding good health care is almost impossible given their remote locations and the cost associated with obtaining it.
The ladies from the sewing clubs are at various stages of training and production of their “creations”. They have been provided manual sewing machines, material and tools for the trade, and those with a motivation to learn, grow and pursue excellence in a new profession. We can see a financial success after only 2-years of funding these projects.
Now let’s get back to the tea cups. For the special tea party, I packed 14 cups and saucers of Fine English China that were mostly Royal Albert, plus a few random, very old, extravagant examples of “tea time” decadence. Lot’s of bubble wrap and snuggled amongst socks, soft cuddle toys from my nephews kids, and some silk flowers to accent the tea cups as table decorations. After all, I knew we would need at least 10 tables for the tea party. That meant 10 displays for the ladies to visually enjoy. Our well-laid plans were all put in “go with the flow” mode as soon as we arrived at the church hosting the event, First Presbyterian Church of Ntenjeru. It did not matter that we arrived early because none of the tables were in the sanctuary, the invited ladies had already started to arrive 2- hours early, and understanding when you are doing anything in this sort of capacity in a third-world country, you have to give it up to God and not get stuck in the details (lesson learned Lisa)!
While we waited for the tables to arrive I had to encourage the ladies to get up out of the plastic lawn chairs they were sitting in and enjoy the small table and wall displays of a couple of the sewing clubs, showing off their creations. Shirts, dresses, children school uniforms, and the big commodity was the AfriPads! Once they got moving, it was refreshing to see the barriers dropping and the chatting amongst villages and different tribes. Women just doing what we are so good at – talking! This also gave the Wings For Women team time to unpack and decorate the tea cup centerpieces.
The tea cups were housed for so many years in my mothe’s beautiful Danish-teak china cabinet. It was a classic piece of furniture that housed so many of my mom’s treasures. Ester Sorensen taught me so much about entertaining and making a beautiful presentation for your guests. She had very little to work with, but saved money religiously to purchase beautiful silverware and had a pretty large collection of crystal glasses and Danish serving platters. When we had family gatherings in the Scandinavian tradition I was raised, your table and presentation spoke a lot about the person you were and how you cared for your guests. The food of course was always prepared like masterpieces of gastronomic perfection.
I believe she started collecting the tea cups when I was a little girl growing up in Keswick, Ontario. My fathers various adventures and occupations, although always organically moving, afforded us a comfortable and loving household. I never went hungry unless as punishment for misbehaving! It was often well deserved for me to have to go to my room and miss dinner. That’s just the sorta gal I was!
The memories of helping my mother prepare the grand Danish buffet meals and dressing the table with all the meals necessary paraphernalia will forever make me smile. I recall also that the finishing touches of a beautiful coffee/tea cup and some amazing dessert was the ultimate end of a multi-course meal. Even when family or friends of my Mom’s would just pop-in for a visit, a cup of tea in the fine china was always part of the routine. There was no saving them for the special occasions. Everyone deserved to drink in the special tea cups.Â
I would have to speculate these tea cups first traveled from their inception in England to the retail stores in Ontario that my Mom found them during the 1950s to 1970s. Then fast-forward from Canada to Florida in 2017 when my Mom, Ester Christina Sorensen, had to give up living alone at 96 years of age. That’s not to say the teacups did not travel many different places within Canada during the course of their tenure there. My Mom and Dad moved many times that I can remember. At one point when I was 15 years old and we were immigrating to USA, I was making my 8th move with my parents. Considering the fact that I spent the first seven years of my life in one home, there was a lot of transition over the next several years. Needless to say, I am a very good packer today. After minimal discussion of what to do with these dishes, I knew I just couldn’t send them to Goodwill or Salvation Army right away. So, over a course of several trips back and forth from Florida, Ontario, Florida, the set of tea cups traveled to America during 2017-2018.
Those and numerous other treasures sat in boxes and suitcases for several months in our guest room in Florida. It was becoming one of those burden’s after watching Marie Kondo’s suggestions of asking, “where’s the joy” coming for me and these tea cups. It was kind of an organic transition from holding on to these treasures to remember my Mom, her mentoring me in being a hostess with the mostest, to wanting the joy of sharing these memories with some beautiful ladies in Uganda at a special tea party.
During May 2019 the teacups traveled delicately transatlantic, stuffed between bubblewrap, clothing, silk flowers and paper doilies; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a brief layover and then on to Entebbe, Uganda. The necessary 2-hour car ride to Mukono City to be unpacked in preparation of the Tea Party could have been deadly for the tea cups. Having a back tire of the van we were in almost totally fall off, could have resulted in a potentially life threatening encounter for all of us. The vehicle we were in apparently didn’t go through security or safety checks because there were no tire bolts visibly holding the wheel in place just 15-minutes from our pick-up at the airport. All I can say is that God was totally protecting those tea cups and us to make sure they made it to the party in one piece.
The Day of the Event
It was a Friday, and the event was to have been “published” locally to the women in the communities who had, or were too commence in the sewing projects. We had extended the invitation to a few others, specifically some women who were being considered for ‘Business Grants‘. Three years ago we had an event at the same church and inquired of the ladies what their needs were and where they felt significant support could be developed. One of the recurring modalities was through sewing.
Â
Ntenjeru Church was the hosting village where the first sponsored sewing club started. It was well received 2-years ago and it was something the ladies had been asking for years, a way to become self-supporting. Through a collaboration of Word inDeed Ministries and funding from a few women with sewing hobbies in USA, we were able to start by providing 10-manual sewing machines, tables for working and supplies like zippers, threads, buttons and material to start some projects. We established a sort of protocol, totally “will this work” mentality. Now that we have 4-Villages with sewing clubs, the momentum is excitedly perpetuating.
I was fortunate in 2018 to participate in the graduation ceremonies for the first sewing club. It was quite an event with all the ladies who completed the course dressed in graduation gowns like you would wear during a university graduation. There were village leaders and pastors giving speeches and official diplomas were handed out. Given that ‘gift-giving’ is one of my love languages, I put together small gift bags for each of the women with a small sewing kit, scissors, notebook, pens, and a Lugandan, King James Bible. Of course no graduation is complete without cake, so we had some of that also. For the community in attendance at the graduation, it was a visual acknowledgement of positive transformation and equipping these women. They now had skills to use to support their families.
The decision to give out the tea cups was one I felt very excited about. I knew the ladies who would be gifted the tea cups would cherish them as much as my Mother did. A fine, English Bone China cup & saucer like these don’t make it to remote villages in Uganda on a regular basis, so I was very confident they would be regarded highly and preciously.
Some of the ladies I had come to know over the past few years during my mission work in Uganda had also come to know of my mother, Mamma Ester she was lovingly called, because she had been knitting cotton wash cloths for the ladies for several years. My Mom had lots of time on her hands during retirement in Florida, and she earnestly wanted to participate in making things like the wash cloths for the ladies I would be meeting during my mission trips.
There is in a video from 2013 (https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=lH8L2t2Mv60) which my Mom shares her little story about making the wash cloths. It makes me smile every time I watch it.
Knowing that there would be so many ladies at the event who would want to take the cups home, I realized I would have to come up with a special way of making them a prize for one person sitting at each of the tables at the event. After the training and during the time of fellowship when all the ladies were eating I addressed them with microphone in hand and translator by my side.
I told the ladies the story about the tea cups, coming from my Mom from Canada to Florida and now here to Uganda. I explained that they meant a lot to me and that the value was so much more than the cup itself, it was because of the history and the value they had to my Mother that made them so very important to me. I also explained that my Mom would be soon turning 98 years old and was not able to look after herself anymore and was living in a special home where she was getting attended to for the needs she now had at the ripe-old age she was. I then asked that the oldest lady who was sitting at each table to please stand up so we all could acknowledge them. First there were some laughs and then the glances as the ladies looked at each other. Some tables you could see that they wondered, ‘Am I older than her?’ Other tables you could hear some discussion, and the truth is most of the people out in these villages don’t know the dates of their birth because the record keeping of such things is not done, even today. Women give birth and often the history of their children are never memorialized, even to the extent of knowing who the birth parents are. It’s a sad testimony to the village-tribe culture and the lack of value in information like birth statistics.
Eventually the ten ladies were standing and I asked everyone to applaud them for their participation in the sewing clubs and told them these would be the ladies who could take home the tea cups that were in the center of each table. There was even more applause and the traditional chanting in the high pitched squeal that the ladies do to show their excitement when each of these ladies reached for their treasure. So, the elderly ladies in our group were the ones who received the cups in honor of the elderly lady who once owned them.
This is the tale of the traveling tea cups.
Posted in Uganda | Comments Off on Tale of the Traveling Tea Cups
Monday, July 23rd, 2018
There was a frenzy and excitement in the air! No one had seen anything like this happening before…was it really happening at this little village school?
With careful preparation and some basic resources, PAINT…it was a beautiful community project that the children were extremely excited about and the teenage boys saw as an opportunity to learn how to become painters. All hands were on deck…and hand prints were everywhere to prove this fun project was one many participated in.
WID is grateful for so much that happened in May, 2018 during our annual medical mission trip with Palm Beach Atlantic University and the Gregory School of Pharmacy. One of the new projects that birthed out of a ‘Share’ on FaceBook was to paint a mural at a school we hold an annual clinic. We had the blessing of a very talented artist this year join us on the mission trip, Mrs. Alex DeLange. Â When she said, “buy the paint for me, and I will paint a mural for the school”, (plus she paid for the paint-Win-Win for WID and the school).
Watch a brief video regarding the project.
Posted in Uganda | Comments Off on New Mural for Ntenjeru Presbyterian Covenant Junior School
Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Medical Mission Trip to Uganda
By: Steve Nester, Walgreens Staff Pharmacist
Our team of 23 traveling from USA was excited about going to Uganda for a medical mission trip this past May, 2018.  This was our sixth collaborative trip to Uganda with Palm Beach Atlantic University (“PBAUâ€), Gregory School of Pharmacy (“GSOPâ€) and Word In Deed Ministries (“WIDâ€). Our group included newbie’s P1, P2, P3, and more seasoned P4 pharmacy students. We had three GSOP “repeat†alumni-graduates a/k/a missionaries, two professors, plus a PBAU nursing student.  My wife Lisa, as the partnering representative of WID, also had their own team of missionaries who support the ongoing health and education initiatives they are doing year round in Uganda. My official role was as a PBAU-GSOP Preceptor.
Part of our trip preparation included meeting at GSOP twice a month starting in January where the students researched and presented on the disease conditions we expected to encounter, i.e., HIV, Malaria, PDI’s, STI’s, typhoid, parasites, GURD, along with the potential treatment options.  We thought we were abundantly prepared to offer medical treatment, as well as spiritual encouragement to the people in the villages around Lake Victoria. We were blessed with even more resources this year by including a dental team from Hope Smiles, a non-profit based out of Tennessee that has a clinic in Jinja, Uganda.  Additionally, WID had arranged for a family planning team from Uganda Women’s Health, an agency doing family planning education, cervical cancer screenings, and offering birth control implants. We hire Ugandan doctors and nurses to assist us with the clinics and have many translators participating to assist us with the language barrier as most people in the small villages speak Lugandan.   We had a lot of moving parts for this medical mission trip.
The four villages we served were very excited about getting free medical care from “the Mzungu’s!â€(a/k/a white people). We saw approximately 800-patients during the 5-clinic days, which was more than we anticipated. My hope was to utilize my photography gifts more this year and devote more time in relationship building with the people I knew.  But there were many needs, many patients to see, and now we had more agencies involved with this trip so photography was last on my ‘to do’ list. Our first 3 days could be described as “challenging, exhausting and overwhelming†during our 12-18 hour days.
We acquired most of our drugs from a US-based international resource, Kingsway Charities, Org., mainly due to inconsistencies in obtaining quality Ugandan pharmaceutical sources. The first challenge we experienced upon arrival was Ugandan Customs and the National Drug Authority confiscated our drugs at the airport. We thought we had all the proper paperwork, but we have learned to expect the unexpected while in Uganda. Long story short, we had no drugs for first clinic day and as of today, we are still awaiting the release of our drugs by the NDA. We had to scramble with local pharmacies to obtain what we needed on a daily basis, which obviously added additional trials given we were scheduled for these clinics and obtaining large quantities of drugs in small towns is extremely difficult. We are hoping the “still in date drugs†will eventually be released and can be available for next year. Luckily some vitamins and first aid supplies that Walgreens donated made it through in personal suitcases.
Some of the ailments we treat are skin disorders, parasites, malaria, PID, PUD, malnourishment, and hernias. We screen for HIV, Malaria, H Pylori, Diabetes, and more. Â This year was special because we used electronic medical records instead of paper. It was a little rough at the start as we were getting used to it, but the LAN that we set up worked pretty well for places with no electricity.
Despite the challenges, it is always such a joy to serve the Ugandan villagers because of the joy and appreciation they exhibit in spite of their poverty. Â Through Word In Deed Ministries, we are able to sponsor students at these village schools, which actually started because the pharmacy students on mission wanted to support the orphaned children in school. The schools where we do our mobile clinics are affiliated with local Presbyterian churches and we have enjoyed watching these children grow up over the past 7-years. We are honored to serve with the same Ugandan doctors, nurses, pastors and translators year-after-year, developing longstanding relationships.
We were also able to fund 14 surgeries and bring a couple of kids to city hospitals for care by providing the financial resources for treatment and transportation. There is way too much to relate in a brief account like this, but one of the most important opportunities is to love on the children and families and to give them hope.  I highly recommend you get “out of your box†and see where you can serve others. They will be better off for it and so will you.
Posted in Uganda | Comments Off on Get Out of the Box
Wednesday, October 18th, 2017
Acts 22:16 Have you been Baptized?Â
Below is a very personal account of one of our missionaries who joined us in May, 2017 for the Palm Beach Atlantic University, Gregory School of Pharmacy Medical Mission trip. Â This is another beautiful testimony of why mission trips are so valuable.
****************
For those who don’t know me, my name is Chelsea Harlan and I am here to tell you about my experience on the Uganda Medical Mission Trip. So I could probably talked to you guys for hours about all the experiences that I had in Uganda that I will never forget, but one big one that really stands out, is how I got baptized in the Nile River on our fun day. I wanted to start by giving you a little background.
I grew up in a Christian home, with my grandfather being a pastor and going to church every Sunday. But in my church getting baptized was a personal choice. I remember accepting the Lord into my heart at a young age (I believe at church camp), but I never made that next step to asking to be baptized. I’ve always believed and had faith and I remember watching my friends in the church and my cousins getting baptized, but for some reason I never really felt to desire to and my parents never forced it.
So this is what I wanted to point out with going to Uganda; I was going on 25 years, my whole life, of not really having that desire to “EVERYTHING†up to the Lord, to put it all at his feet, have him wash away my sins and fully accept him, but within six or 7 days, so a week in Uganda I had that desire.
And it probably was because when you ask me about Uganda, the first thing that comes to mind is LOVE.
Love and joy and gratefulness for the things that the people do have, because they give EVERYTHING up to the Lord. These people have so little, but are living like they have everything they could ever need or ever want in life, because they put all their trust in the Lord, because they have so much faith.
I saw how these people have so little, yet still exert love and joy. They were always happy, always singing/dancing and praising. I saw this and knew that that’s how I want to live. I want to be happy and exert love and joy in any situation I’m in or no matter where I’m at in life, because I have enough trust and faith in God that it’s His will. That no matter what happens He will take care of me, but to live like that I knew I had to give EVERYTHING up.
When I say my decision to get baptized was quick and unexpected (I mean you guys know Dr. Marrsingh, I said one thing and ten minutes later we’re all standing in the Nile River), it was… but it wasn’t rash. I knew if I wanted this I had to hand everything over to HIM. It may have been unexpected, but it was the right decision for me.
And of course, nothing you experience in Uganda can be expected. I sat in your same seats year after year, listening to past students come up here and talk about all their amazing experiences and how you always leave a piece of your heart back in Uganda, and what you get out of the trip is worth more than anything a simple medication could do. But, words can’t describe how Uganda works and changes your heart for the better. No one can prepare you for how the LORD can work on your heart if you are open to HIM.
So I encourage you if you are thinking about going, keep your mind and your heart open to the Lord, and you will be surprised at what work the LORD does. It may sound selfish, but the countless medications we dispensed, the numerous patients we counseled and the crazy amount of kids we played with was astounding, but the work the LORD will do on you is eternal and will always be more powerful than any kind of medication dispensed.
So with that I would like to end in a bible verse Acts 22:16 –
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.
******************
Posted in Project Updates, Uganda | Comments Off on May 2017 – Nile River Baptism
Monday, December 26th, 2016
We received this email below from our Ministry Partners in Uganda. It’s refreshing and a great reminder that small donations can accumulate to make a difference in the lives of so many people. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our donors and your continued support and faithfulness makes all this possible. Please enjoy the commentary below from Pastor Micheal as he shares the details of projects accomplished in Uganda, through the faithful support of many.
Blessings, Lisa Sorensen, December, 2016.
Email received on December 22, 2016 – captioned ‘Christmas Wishes’
On behalf of Ntenjeru community Presbyterian Church and Ntenjeru/Ntanzi Covenant Junior , let me take this opportunity to thank WORD INDEED PRESIDENT and all BOARD MEMBERS for the entire support , advise and encouragement you have given and provided to us this year 2016.
These support includes;
Funds for gutter. These gutters really are helping us so much . We had a tank which has been in place for all most four years without using it but now we are using that since gutters were bought.
School latrines: At the school we had a big challenge of using church latrine yet it was not enough for the school population since it was constructed for few people. As i talk now, school latrines are well constructed and it can handle all th school population.
Soccer field: This was unbelievable because i never had this in my mind. Around this area, there is no any school with a soccer field and our school is the first to have this. I believe with in six or eight months from now this soccer field will be ready even though drought due to climatic changes has been a challenge to the growth of grass.
Church chairs: We received more than 100 plastic chairs which was finished by the school pupils. Pupils finished church chairs because by the time we opened up the school we had nothing to start with. But now all church members are happy and sitting in the church during services comfortable.
Funds for the floor: This is one of the great great thing which made pupils and me very excited. Since we began, pupils have been sitting in dust in four rooms but now all classes have good floor yet plastering in four rooms is not in place but pupils are enjoying classes now.
Drilling water: The new bore hole was already dug yet it is not incomplete but we have a hope that very soon it will be completed.
Free medical treatment and services: We appreciate for the free medical services ever given to us every year. This service has helped very very many people who can not access medical services due to poverty . Lives of many people have been saved through surgery, cancer screening and HIV testing and counseling.
School tour at Botanical garden: This has encouraged pupils to preserve the nature and the environment clean. In this, pupils have started planting fruit trees around the school.
School fees for pupils: Thank you very much for paying school fees for needy and orphan pupils. I know and i believe this will change their lives and families greatly.
Thank you all for the bibles, mosquito nets and school text books donated to our school and the pupils. Really malaria cases have been very few among our pupils due to mosquito nets given to them.
Also thanks goes to those who bought jerry cans where by every church member received a jerry can.
Speech day funds: Board members thank you very much for the speech day funds. In fact these funds made our speech day a special one and all parents were very excited for the drinks and lunch given to them.
Annet’s daughter Sandra who had teeth problem. The life of this child really changed . She had teeth problem since childhood and she was unable to laugh and talk in public. But now, teeth problem is a proverb to her and she enjoys laughing and talking in public as i talk now.
Crusade funds: Thank you also for funding us to make our crusade possible.Through this crusade , i believe lives of very many people will be changed.
Am continuing appreciating the work my sister RACHEL KABEJJA is doing. Thank you for your good behavior and trust continue with that spirit also in 2017 . Although some are misusing your name badly and reject plus abusing you, don’t fear your not the first person to be rejected and abused even JESUS CHRIST was abused and rejected but He continued serving God’s kingdom until He completed God’s mission. So, i want to encourage you, continue serving the needy and God’s kingdom with that humble heart you have your reward is in heaven.
Further more, Word indeed board directors and members, thank you very much for what you have done for Ugandans especially people in Mukono district and the entire communities of Ntenjeru/Ntanzi, Mpunge, Bunakijja and Lulagwe. Continue with that spirit in 2017 and be the same yesterday, today and tomorrow as our God is.
Lastly, i like to wish you all a happy christmas as JESUS is born in our families , ministries , churches and in our jobs not only that but also a developmental and a joyful new year 2017.
We love and praying for all of you. Kaggwa Micheal – Headmaster, Ntenjeru Covenant School and Pastor in Training, Ntenjeru Presbyterian Church
Posted in Uganda | Comments Off on 2016 Update from Ntenjeru, Mukono District, Uganda
Wednesday, June 29th, 2016
Our partnership with the Palm Beach Atlantic University, Gregory School of Pharmacy has been a foundational support in keeping free medical clinics as part of what, and how, Word In Deed Ministries can evangelize to the people of Uganda. Â We are thankful to God for this blessing and pray that as long as these students are willing to serve in Uganda, we will continue to be in partnership with them.
Below is a journal reflection from Mrs. Andrea Mezentsef. Â She has traveled to Uganda 2-years in a row (2015 and 2016) and we are thankful for her heart for missions. Please read so you can get an idea of why we feel mission work is so important, and continues to be one of our core values.
PHR 4512: Pharmacy Missions-Uganda Reflection by Andrea Mezentsef
It was during the first few weeks of pharmacy school that I was first introduced to the Uganda medical mission trip. I recall listening to the students from various mission trips speaking about their experiences and how life changing these experiences were for each of them. For some reason, after learning about all the mission trips, I remember being drawn to Uganda. Similarly to Jonah (from the Bible), I hid in fear. I can recall trying to bargain with God and asking to go to Honduras instead; where I felt I would be more useful. After all, how can a mere first year pharmacy student be useful in Uganda? At least in Honduras I would be able to be utilized as a translator. Looking back now, I can see how wrong I was. I did not need to wait to have more pharmacy-related knowledge in order to go to Uganda. God had already chosen me to go to Uganda and out of fear, I hid.
People often say “everything happens for a reason†but contrary to this belief, I believe in what God’s word says. In Ecclesiastes 3, the Bible says “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heavenâ€. I believe God allowed me to go to Honduras in 2014 in order to begin preparing me for what was to come in Uganda. When the time to sign up for 2015 medical mission trips came, I did not hide in fear.
It was in May of 2015 that God allowed me to serve in Uganda. I felt an immediate connection to the people of Uganda. Seeing the streets of Entebbe and Kampala brought back past memories of a phase when I lived in Brazil. Seeing the villages, the simplicity of the roads containing only its red soil, and seeing both children and adults waving to us as we drove by, made me feel safe, at ease and home. Experiencing the joy, the gratitude the people of Uganda felt for whatever we were able to do for them, and seeing how much faith they had in God, made me grow spiritually. For the first time in my life, I shared my testimony of the hardships I went through after my father passed away. It’s interesting to see, how sometimes we wonder why we have to face certain obstacles or certain situations, when very often the answer is simple and right in front of us. The answer is: God want us to grow! God wants us to be able to connect with His children (here and in other parts of the world). When we read the Bible and learn of the miracles Jesus performed, this makes our faith grow stronger. Sharing one’s testimony, speaking about what God has done in our lives and how he has saved us, also makes the faith of the people of Uganda and our faith grow stronger. God continues being the same God we read of in the Bible. He is a powerful, almighty God and He will forever be. Although God had a purpose to use our 2015 team by evangelizing, serving, and helping the people of Uganda, it was the people of Uganda that God used to awaken a fire in me. God placed an immense amount of love in my heart for Uganda and for its people, and so I had to go back to Uganda in 2016.
Being able to return to Uganda for the second time made me see the people of Uganda in a different light. We, Americans, are often comparing our standards of living to that of other countries. We live in a materialistic nation where we are labeled by what we have and what we do for a living. We often think that the more we have, the richer we are; and this is not necessarily true. I have learned so much from the people of Uganda. I learned that they are happy because they have God in their lives. I have also learned that the people of Uganda are not poor! These people are rich of love, happiness and they are full of the Holy Spirit. They are rich because they have learned to completely rely on God.
Prior to traveling to Uganda, it was recommended for us, students, to read a book called “Kisses from Katieâ€. There was one particular part of the book that really spoke to me. The author of “Kisses from Katieâ€, Katie Davis, wrote about having to return to America from Uganda in order to fulfill a promise she had made to her father of pursuing a college education. While being home, she explains that the biggest culture shock she had experienced since returning home from Uganda was the “huge disconnect†she felt from God. She goes beyond to explain it by saying “I have stepped out of my reliance on God to meet my needs. I “miss†Jesus. He hasn’t disappeared, of course, but I feel so far from Him because my life is actually functioning without Him.†What Katie meant by “functioning†is that if she felt sick, she was able to quickly see a physician or visit her nearest pharmacy, when she needed to go somewhere, she was able to jump in her car and quickly get to her desired destination. From being able to “function†without God, Katie had forgotten what it was like to fully rely on God. Katie had forgotten what it was like to come to God first when facing an illness, when in need of something or when she felt sad. She had also forgotten what it was like to ask God for guidance when feeling lost. Katie had now found herself having to set time aside in the morning to pray, meanwhile in Uganda she explains she was in constant communication with God. In Uganda, Katie may have appeared physically poor but she was completely dependent on God and was spiritually wealthy as she ever was.
After returning from Uganda in 2015, I remember I would often cry whenever I thought of the people of Uganda (especially the children). In my eyes, they did not have what was necessary for them to survive. Now, after returning from Uganda just a few days ago, I find myself smiling whenever I think about Uganda. I smile because I can still hear the sound of the children’s laughter and their singing in my mind, and this sound is more beautiful than any other symphony, concert or orchestra. I smile whenever I think about Uganda because they have taught me what is like to completely be dependent on God. I smile whenever I think about Uganda because thanks to the people of Uganda, my team mates and I have grown spiritually. Similarly to what it’s written in Psalm 96:3, I have declared “his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all people†in Uganda and I have grown spiritually because of it. I can honestly say, I have learned more from the people of Uganda, than they have learned from me.
In addition to having experienced spiritual growth, I feel I have also grown professionally. I was able to work two days with one of the local Ugandan physicians, Dr. Robert, and was able to bring what I learned in pharmacy school for the past three years into real life. Dr. Robert is an intellectual individual who showed expertise in a variety of disease state topics. I enjoyed having him as preceptor for two days, and was able to see he enjoyed having students to teach. Dr. Robert made sure to address the disease state areas of my interest and also made sure to strengthen the disease state areas that I needed reinforcement on. Asides from working with Dr. Robert, I also experienced personal growth by stepping out of my comfort zone. Throughout the duration of time spent in Uganda, Dr. Maarsingh and I were the ones chosen to lead in worship every morning. In the past, I had never been the one to lead any group in worship, so in the beginning I felt a bit uncomfortable. Every morning prior to singing I prayed to God to calm my nerves and for Him to allow me sing and to accept my worship.
Spending ten days in Uganda cannot measure the impact this tiny little country located in East Africa had on me. The Ugandans have taught me what is like to be completely dependent on God and most importantly, they have taught me what love is. The love I feel for the people of Uganda is not just a simple and momentary spark I am experiencing because I have recently returned from Uganda. I felt this way ever since my first visit to Uganda in 2015. The love I feel for the Ugandans is similar to a flame that cannot easily be extinguished and I will continue to feel the same way forever. I will always remember the villages, the red soil, the laughter of the Ugandan children, and most importantly, I will always remember how spiritually rich the people of Uganda are. Just thinking about them warms my heart. I am thankful and content that God has allowed me to serve, to learn and to be blessed by the people of Uganda. I hope and pray, by God’s grace, that I will be able to continue to serve and be blessed by the people of Uganda by returning to Uganda next year.
Posted in Kampala, Newsletters, Short Term Missions, Uganda | Comments Off on PBAU – Gregory School of Pharmacy Returns AGAIN
Tuesday, February 9th, 2016
With the support of private donors, WID has been able to hire a Ugandan counselor to travel back into the remote villages and jungle areas surrounding Lake Victoria to speak with the children and families that have been ravaged by the HIV/Aids epidemic. This young woman was someone I met during our first visit to Uganda in 2012. Â She was a single, pregnant woman, trying to make positive changes in her life. Â She worked hard to receive her education in counseling and graduated this year, 2016. Â Her heart has been to go into these villages where she counsels young girls and boys about protecting themselves from being another statistic of the disease that has orphaned so many in this country.
Below is a summary from recent visits to the schools and surrounding villages where she has gone to share the love of Christ with these children and families.
Posted in Uganda | Comments Off on HIV/AIDS Support in the Villages of Mukono District
There has been a critical error on this website.