Thanks to Sue Williams for this update from her niece, Laura Fieg Kasibante, in Africa:
April 23, 2019
 |
| Laura and Chief (back), Max, Zionne and Judah |
Greetings from the Kasibantes in Nkumba!
Our
family has adjusted well to life back in Nkumba, Uganda. The past two
years have been spent partially in Georgia, USA with my family, and also
living in Lubowa, near the International school where I was teaching.
In October, 2018 we moved for the 7th time (since being married) to a
new house…our OWN house! It is an incredible blessing to no longer be
renting. We are so thankful to the Lord that He has provided a wonderful
home, in a large compound, where we are free to settle, plant and
invest our lives. It is also very convenient to the church. It is only 4
minutes walk to House of Prayer Nkumba. The whole family is enjoying
getting to know our neighbors, and appreciating the beauty of the nature
that surrounds our home. We have guest bedrooms-let us know when you
want to come visit!
We
are in a season of settling and investing into ministry. Chief was
given his last US visitor’s visa before Zionne was born, and the visa is
now expired. This means we will stay as a family in Uganda until Chief
obtains a US green card/citizenship. Pursuing this is quite an
investment of finances and time, so we are waiting on the Lord’s timing
of when to begin this process. I am currently homeschooling Max (5) and
Judah (3), leading the children’s ministry, and is also involved in
women’s ministry. Chief continues to lead the church; he preaches 2
services on Sundays, teaches in the Bible School, and is currently
teaching the book of Joshua for the Wednesday night Bible study.
Since
we are staying through the summer, I had the idea of doing a Vacation
Bible School. Everyone is excited about the idea. Someone blessed us
with a kit I chose called “Roar! Life is Crazy but God is Good.”
I feel that the theme fits both my life and the lives of the children
here in Nkumba. I also love that it is a safari theme so I know it will
be easy to find supplies for decorating and crafts....and everyone loves
songs with African drumming! It is exciting to live in a place where
kids are free to run and play and attend church activities.
However,
during school holidays many children live in homes with very little
structure. Parents live one day to the next, working for survival,
leaving their kids to the neighbors or older siblings for care. This
usually results in kids running and roaming around the community, often
watching whatever is playing on the shopkeeper’s or neighbor’s TV. Meals
are sometimes hard to find. Very few children have anything to really
“look forward to” during school breaks.
We
believe offering an annual holiday Bible program will be a great
platform to bring home the kingdom of God to these little souls. Jesus
said, “Let the little children come to Me, for the kingdom of God is theirs.” (Matt. 19:14). Despite
80% of our community being Catholic, many Catholic parents allow their
children to attend our growing Sunday School program. We have more than
100 children coming to our church on a Sunday morning; investing in them
is important to us.
As a community church, we feel called to provide
opportunities that can show them the love of Christ and give them
opportunities for spiritual growth. We will have times of dancing,
singing, prayer, Bible time, crafts, meals, and other interactive
activities. We are intentionally laying the right foundation in these
young lives because they are the church and the hope of tomorrow.
Please labor with us as we embark on such a wonderful journey of transforming and redirecting lives of the children in Nkumba.
The “ROAR” holiday Bible school will go from 9 AM -1 PM from May 20-24th.
Here are the ways you can labor with us:
PRAYER
-God’s spirit to be upon the entire event. That all glory would go to God!
-Logistics of running the program: finances, volunteers, organization, parents, children, supplies, food
-Salvation - for both children and their parents
-Volunteers
- that the Lord would give us wisdom, to effectively serve the
children’s needs, have teamwork, be committed, that we would also learn,
stay healthy, and have enough people to be successful!
-That we can start on time every morning
-Nice weather
-Clear communication between everyone involved
-Safety with food, snacks, play, etc (and, if needed, we would have a nurse on duty)
-Enough sponsorship to enable at least 40 children to join this program.
-Joy! That despite chaos and unexpected events, we would have a blast the entire week...remembering that God is good!
GIVING
Please visit this SoKind website
if you are interested in giving. You can sponsor a child for just $16.
If you feel led to give more, we have other needs you can donate towards
as well. A few of the requests are things that we will continue to use
throughout the year and future Bible School events, like playground
sand, tents, and tables. Any amount helps! The sooner we receive the
funds the easier our preparations will be! (Ed. Note: You can also go to Laura's Facebook page for more inormation.)
God bless you!
Love,
Laura Kasibante
House of Prayer Children’s Ministry Director
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