As some of you may know, July/August marked our second annual, month-long, Women's Disicpleship Course. What set this year apart, however, was the diversity among the women attending the class — a direct result of the various visits and conferences in the towns and villages of north, south, east and west Uganda over the course of this past year. Over 30 women from six different parts of the country, communicating in four different languages via translators, united at our home base in Nansana for one purpose: to be trained.
We met with each of the groups individually so that we could personally share what God had put on our hearts. We told them about our vision for a training center in Nansana where they could come, perhaps even just for a semester at a time, and take Bible college classes. We spoke about hands-on training in nursing or farming to help equip them with a tent-making skill when taking this message to the regions beyond, regions difficult to reach for a non-native speaker. And lastly, we told them about the space we had already rented to set up what is now known as the Grace Women Home; a dormitory for like-minded women to encourage one another in faith, growth, and discipleship under the covering of a loving environment. You should have seen the glimmer in their eyes!
We dream of women coming from all over East Africa for this kind of training - training on how to love one another, to prefer one another, and to serve one another... training on how to see the sacred in the seemingly minute practicalities of life... trai
ning in the Word of God and then training on how to feed others... t
raining to be the effective ministers that 2 Corinthians 6 speaks about because we have been conformed to Christ's image. We believe that this training takes place inside and outside of the classroom and this home will be open, rent-free, for women with this same desire.
There is a great worship song in Uganda with the words, “it's already been done.” None of God’s children have any need that has not already been considered by God, though the way may not be known to us. I had to remind myself of this in the beginning of my time in Uganda this past month when the way seemed very much hid. It began as I prepared the material to assist in teaching a First Aid & Hygiene class for the ladies that came from six different churches in all parts of Uganda. I have no background in this subject and this was further complicated in that the class must consider the ladies limited resources and constraints. Yet, Christ cared for these ladies. As I sat across from Annette, one of the ladies from our Mityana church, while she fired off questions about what to do in the situation of a snake bite, I was at a loss.
"The Word of God ignores size and quantity and lays all its stress upon quality. Christ, more than any other man, was followed by the crowds, yet after giving them such help as they were able to receive, He quietly turned from them and deposited His enduring truths in the breasts of His chosen 12. He refused a quick shortcut to the throne and chose instead the long painful way of the cross. He rejected the offers of the multitude and rested His success upon those eternal qualities which He was able to plant in the hearts of a modest number of redeemed men. The ages have thanked God that He did."
Hearts are stirring all around the world regarding women’s discipleship. Here’s a glimpse at what God has been doing.
Excerpts from Massachussets, America | Jenny Perry
This morning Exodus 35:25,26 was read with brand new significance as we considered and prayed for women in missions all over the world: "All the women who had ability and were wise-hearted spun with their hands and brought what they had spun... And all the women who had ability and whose hearts stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair." Each one operating in a particular call with a particular gift or ability as a member in particular, to benefit the whole (here, of Israel, as the tabernacle was being built and adorned). Then, in Exodus 35:29, "the Israelites brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all men and women whose hearts made them willing and moved them to bring anything for any of the work."
I had to remind myself of this in the beginning of my time in Uganda this past month when the way seemed very much hid. It began as I prepared the material to assist in teaching a First Aid & Hygiene class for the ladies that came from six different churches in all parts of Uganda. I have no background in this subject and this was further complicated in that the class must consider the ladies limited resources and constraints. Yet, Christ cared for these ladies. As I sat across from Annette, one of the ladies from our Mityana church, while she fired off questions about what to do in the situation of a snake bite, I was at a loss.
This morning Exodus 35:25,26 was read with brand new significance as we considered and prayed for women in missions all over the world: "All the women who had ability and were wise-hearted spun with their hands and brought what they had spun... And all the women who had ability and whose hearts stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair." Each one operating in a particular call with a particular gift or ability as a member in particular, to benefit the whole (here, of Israel, as the tabernacle was being built and adorned). Then, in Exodus 35:29, "the Israelites brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all men and women whose hearts made them willing and moved them to bring anything for any of the work."