You Blessed Arua With Your Prayer and Giving!
July 2006

My friends, this is the Uganda we have seen. Praise the Lord that not all of Uganda lives this way; however, towns like Lira and Arua where we have ministered know this scenario well. Into this atmosphere of despair comes the Living Water, Jesus Christ! He heals the broken-hearted, gives hope for the present and the future, replaces death with life, and gives the receiving soul a new home with the Father.

The battle for the souls of men and the souls of nations is always real. In a demonic fortress like Arua the stakes were high and your prayers ultimately won the day. The enemy tried to throw us off track with delayed flights, reservations mysteriously being erased from the airline computers, stolen travel documents, rain storms, and even a team member whose heart stopped while we were still in London.

Praise the Lord, He showed His power and plan in every situation, including the jump-start of our friend's heart, through the power of prayer only! As our team of 23 people stood united with the local committee on the closing day, we could rejoice that well over 4,000 people had come to Christ! We hosted 400 pastors from Sudan, Congo and Northern Uganda at our residential pastor's conference. Our team distributed much-needed textbooks to the high schools and a water well was dug in a Muslim community.

In spite of the small Christian community in Arua, thousands came pouring onto the grounds each evening as they heard of the Water of Life Festival. Captain Aniku Godfrey came to Arua to visit his ailing grandmother in the hospital, but God brought him there for another reason. Even though at 26 years of age he was an officer in the Ugandan People's Defense Force and the prestigious Presidential Guard, Aniku was searching. He saw a poster on a wall about our festival and since the hospital his grandmother was in was close to the festival grounds he decided to come over with his four bodyguards.  Aniku had also been struggling with several physical problems that could eventually impact his career. As I gave the invitation Aniku ditched his bodyguards in the massive crowd and came forward to receive Christ. He later told a friend that when he prayed to receive Christ, his physical ailments went away within minutes. This young man came to see his grandmother, but also gained a new Father!

I am already eager to return in September to Arua to take Bibles to the new believers and assist in following them up. Pastors have already spoken of the many new believers in their churches as a result of the festival. We also anticipate sponsoring several new church plants that come as a result of our ministry, and have the joy of being able to sponsor the pastors of these newly planted churches for up to two years.

Jesus told us very clearly to go into all the world, taking His message and power with us. Not many people want to go to places like Arua, but Jesus wanted us to go there and you helped send us and protect us through your prayers and giving. Thank you so much.  I also want to tell you that all the finances we needed for Arua came in just in time! Praise the Lord!

With Eternity In View,

Dan