At 9:00 AM, Tom Apusen, Mike Strouf, Jen Strouf and Barbara Kiel went to the town of Kyahi. This is the same town the other half of the group went to on Day 4 of the trip. The reason our group did not all go to Kyahi on one day, is to prevent the town from being overwhelmed with too many "muzungu" or white people (Bro. Apusen is only half-muzungu) at one time. Another reason is that Pastor Eliab did not want to portray that his church is heavily supported with American money. Ugandans would actually go to a pastor and ask for their share of the American money. Because the houses in Kyahi and surrounding areas are separated by great distances, it was better to actually drive down the narrow dirt road instead of walking from house to house. The people were very receptive and no one refused the John/Romans Bibles that we were passing out. The Bibles contain the information for Life Radio and many people who receive the Bibles eventually get saved listening to the radio. Door-to-door soulwinning has a different flavor here in Uganda. Ugandans are among the most hospitable people we have ever met. They will let you in their homes, if you simply knock on their door. They will sit you down, get something to feed you, and do it gladly. It is an insult for guests to refuse the hospitality of the hosts.
Anette invited us into her home. She walks about 2 miles over the mountain to church and has been doing so faithfully now for 9 years. She lives in a typical mud dwelling with very little possessions but has the love of God in her heart.
The city of Kyahi sits high on a mountain and provided a commanding view of the surrounding area. Bro. Stensaas pointed out town after town without a Gospel witness.
The church in Kyahi has a school for Nursery to P3. This would be the equivalent of Kindergarten through 3rd grade in the States. The school is adding additional grades every year so they can eventually teach all 14 levels of school. The goal of the school is to train preachers and Christian workers.
Our group was able to sample some of the Ugandan food for lunch. We had rice, matooke (mashed cooked bananas), g.nut soup (beef with peanut gravy). It was delicious and very filling.
At 5:30 PM, Barbara Kiel had the privilege of teaching Mrs. Stensaas' Bible class at the church. It was time of games, singing and Bible lesson.
Mike Moyer, Trevor Gilreath and Jordan Gilreath left at 10:00 AM and headed to the Municipal Hospital in Mbarara. They were able to pass out about 1,000 John/Romans Bibles. To God be the Glory, they were able to see several people trust Christ as Savior. Out of courtesy to the patients, Bro. Moyer did not take his cameras and only took pictures with his cell phone. Bro. Stensaas tells us that the quality of health care in government hospitals is basically non-existent. Basically, people go to the hospitals to die. Being there and seeing the conditions first-hand confirmed the reality of what he was talking about. Bro. Stensaas also mentioned to us that 1 out of every 5 people you shake hands with in Uganda have Aids. Although, there is much physical sickness; the spiritual needs are much greater, and we were thankful for the opportunity to get the Gospel to so many today.
We finished off our activities with another great meal provided for us by Mrs. Stensaas.
Until next time…