Sharing

It’s the first day of spring as I finish off this update.  Yesterday and all last week was warm and sunny and today it feels like winter with cold winds and rain.  Still, I’m not complaining, as I have just scattered fertiliser across the garden and it is being thoroughly watered in.

August has been a month of sharing.  Firstly I have been wanting to be more equipped to share the Gospel and finally found something I could relate to.  The WA leader, Lorraine, of ‘Australia for Jesus’ sent out an invitation for a training session near me, so I went along.  They operate from an app on your phone which makes it very convenient.  After our training, we went out in pairs to practise what we had learnt.  One Person would present while the other prayed.  Being dyslexic, I wanted more time to practise so first-off I did the praying.  I was rather disappointed as the person I went with didn’t take the opportunities that I thought arose as we walked around.  I thought she didn’t have the boldness to start the conversation, so twice I started the conversation, expecting her to take over so that she could give the presentation.  Nothing eventuated.  Some of the other team members had given a presentation and one person had responded and given their lives to Christ.

I was so impressed with the presentation that I took the idea to one of our pasters to see if we might be able to introduce it to the congregation.  He suggested I get a few people together to get things going. I got together three guys who were open to be trained and asked Lorraine if she could come and train them.  In the meantime, I asked Lorraine if I could join her the following weekend to see how she shared with people.  I also practised the presentation day and night so I would have the confidence to present it myself.

The weekend came for Lorraine to train our new church team.  The guys were also impressed.  We paired up and headed out to share the Good News.  This time Matt, who was with me, suggested I do the presentation.  First he wanted to go for a long walk to find some fisherman.  On the way, I suggested someone who was sitting alone, but Matt said “No, let’s go further.” I thought, oh dear here we go, again wandering around without sharing.  Eventually we realised the fishermen were a little difficult to get to or occupied with friends, so we headed back the way we had come. As we walked, I saw a guy standing atop of a platform and suggested to Matt we speak to him.  Matt wasn’t keen, so I prayed “Lord if you bring this guy down, I’ll speak to him.” The next minute I see the man walking towards the steps.  My heart was pounding in my mouth.  Oh dear! Now I had to be bold.  I walked up to him and asked what the view was like at the top.  That was my ice-breaker.  I then realised he had a foreign accent and asked where he was from – Ecuador, South America. This was my opening to share.  He suggested we sit on the rocks where I went through the whole presentation, ending with him giving his life to Christ.  Francesco gave me his contact details, which I filled in online on my phone. This enabled him to immediately be sent some further information. As we parted, I gave him a Gideon’s New Testament and some printed information, promising him I’d call him during the week.  We met back with the rest of the team to share our good news and to hear they too had seen the Lord move in the heart of the guy they had witnessed to.  Lorraine promised to follow up with Francesco, as she lives close to him and arranged to pick him up for church with her and her husband.

That Sunday Matt, who is doing a Bible training course, gave a presentation after our 10:30am service.  It was on understanding a person’s world view.  I found it very interesting and insightful, something else I could keep in mind while sharing or witnessing for Christ.

During this time I have also continued to knit my beanies and having given the last lot to a guy who works with people on the streets of Fremantle, I decided the next lot I would try to sell to raise money for a centenarian in Uganda. I would like to share with you his story:  My friend Carlos, who is a local Ugandan, brought to my attention the need to help Solomon Mikwa, a Kenyan missionary who is now 100 yrs old.  He has lived a sacrificial life in Uganda for over 50 years and has established and built a church there.  He now needs an inside bathroom with toilet as he is finding it a little difficult to go outside even though he is still very active.

Solomon led a life devoted to ministry amongst a people, who despite similar skin colour, were different in every way. Today, a church building stands on land which will be bequeathed to the service of his saviour. All this was achieved through a life of selflessness, which although living a very full life has left him with a lack of the basic amenities of the 21at century. This is why we are raising funds to help with an ablution facility for him in his house/room to make it easier to maintain basic hygiene.  Some funds have been raised, but more is needed, as the project has already been started.

Carlos was 16 when he first met Solomon, who spoke Swahili and the local dialect of the people of the Rwenzori region. Carlos had relocated from Northern Uganda, which at that time in 1987, had been blanketed by a war.  Idi Amin had ruled Uganda from 1970 till 1978, when he was toppled. His removal from power left a vacuum, which threw Uganda into anarchy.  It was during this unrest that Carlos met Ps. Solomon, however, neither could understand each other because of their language barrier

As far as Carlos knows, Solomon came to Uganda as a business man pre-independence; a product of the Second World War.  There had been a union of the three east African countries, so movement between them was free. During this time he experienced business difficulties, which lead to problems with the authorities, his arrest and eventually the collapse of his business. The cause of arrest is unknown; his incarceration was short. Soon after his release, he joined a group of lay preachers and began to travel around preaching in public places to small gatherings.  This led to the establishment of a small worship group which he pastored And then mentored a local indigenous leader who eventually took over as pastor.  Once this was achieved, the mission would move on to another locale.

This is how Solomon ended up in Western Uganda, settling down to pastor & preach the word from the Bible.  It was here he met and pastored Carlos and his mother, becoming very instrumental in mentoring Carlos in his faith.  Today, a church building stands as a testimony to Solomon’s faithfulness to his calling.  Solomon has a small dwelling on the grounds of the church, which needs an internal bathroom.  Carlos has taken up the task to see that this centenarian is provided with basic ablution facilities.

If you would like to contribute, please let me know.  I’m also selling some hand-knitted beanies, which you will see on Gumtree, to help raise funds.

Another area of sharing I’m involved with is collecting bread that would be thrown out if charities didn’t collect it.  Before Covid, it would be taken to church, where it would be distributed to those in need.  Since Covid, we have been unable to distribute it at church and although much is still taken to those living in government housing, much is still thrown out.  I haven’t collected bread on Saturday since January, passing the job over to my friend Lorna.  However, since church has once again opened up, I have begun to collect on Sunday evenings instead.  As many of you know, I hate waste; it really disturbs me to see bread thrown out.  The bread I collect is shared with my neighbours, pensioners and taken to church on Monday for a couple of Bible study groups.  One Monday as I walked to church, I dropped a loaf to one of my neighbours, Greg, who lives close to the church.  As no one was home, I called in on my way home. Greg, who wasn’t home at the time, sent me an SMS, thanking me for my delivery adding “Next you’ll be handling out fishes!”  He was having a dig at my Christianity (‘the loaves and the fishes’).  Later that week I tried to locate a few plastic fish to hang on his door, but unfortunately couldn’t find any, so when I personally handed him a loaf the next week, I apologised there was not fish with it.  He laughed.  One day last summer he had been passing my place en route to the beach, and as I came out of the garden bushes he proclaimed “Look its Moses in the bushes!”

After a couple of weeks of great sleep, I have had a bout of restless nights again, which usually means I sleep in until 7am.  A sleep-in doesn’t mean I wake refreshed, but exhausted and heavy-headed with no energy or enthusiasm for my morning jog.  If I’m going for a jog, I like to go just before sun up so that it’s quiet and cool.  After this spell of not jogging due to either sleeplessness or rainy mornings, I eventually forced myself out of bed.  That morning about midday I was wondering why my legs were aching.  I realised it was due to lack of exercise for nearly two weeks. This has made me more determined to get on top of sleep once more, and so I have decided to drag myself out of bed, no matter what!

As August draws to a close, the sun is rising earlier and setting later with occasional rainy days interspersed with delightful warm sunny days, which has encouraged spring growth, pushing out buds on my deciduous plants, including the blackberry, jujube, pears and figs.  The family of bobtails have not only been making the most of the sunshine, they are venturing further around the garden.  I have also spoilt them with treats of apple to keep them happy.

Photos:  1. One of Mum’s orchids    2. A recent one of me    3. Spring flowers    4. Solomon reading The Word of God    5. The church Solomon built in Uganda    6. A painting by Mum recently given to me by one of her friends    7. Mum’s Bluebells

Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for His continual blessings.  I’m very grateful that WA has been free from Covid and pray it remains that way.  Pray with me for NSW, VIC and QLD which are having difficulty restraining the virus and for the rest of the world, which is suffering terribly from the ravages of this pandemic.

Please continue to pray for all the health care workers around the world, the scientists working on a vaccine and for those working on fighting this plague.

Pray for the continuing unrest that has enveloped our world.  For those without hope, to come to the knowledge of peace and love that can only be found in Christ.

Please continue to pray for Emma who has recently been diagnosed with Leukaemia.  Pray that the chemo and therapy given will see speedy results and for the Lord’s healing.

Please keep in your prayers the world’s economy, that it will soon pick up and that the Lord will help industries and businesses that are suffering from the lockdowns.

Pray that those who don’t yet know the Lord Jesus will have their eyes opened to His love, peace and saving grace.

I praise God for all our supportive friends and prayer partners as we help each other through these difficult times.  We all need each another in different ways and it’s reassuring and encouraging to know friends are not too far away, thanks to technology and prayer.