A HEART FOR AFRICA

“A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul...”  Proverbs 13:19

God has given me (Jenni)

a heart for Africa for as long as I can remember. As a student my first exposure to African culture was in the country of Haiti (right). I was only 14 and loved it. This summer Matt has been assigned to lead the Royal Servants mission team to Uganda. Our whole family will be joining him and I can't wait! 

My first memory of wanting to go to Africa was when I was five years old when I saw a documentary about sponsoring children in need. I’ve been blessed with the chance to serve in Africa four times, including Zimbabwe for the summer of 1989, and living in Mozambique for a year in 1998. I was also able to work with African refugees in Minneapolis full time in 1999-2001.

Having served the last several summers as a family in Scotland, Uganda will be a huge change for us! We will have the opportunity to serve and do outreaches with our partners; “Youth for Christ” and “Pathways to Hope.” Ministry will include discipleship and evangelism in schools, slum areas, orphanages, through sports and with street children, teen mothers and women coming out of prostitution. Some of the impact we will make are in areas of educational, vocational and agricultural training.

While the whole world is in need of Jesus, I have dreamt about the opportunity to bring a team of students (and our own Halseth children) to Africa.  This summer will be the fulfilment to that dream. The strong physical needs on this continent are surely close to the heart of Jesus. We pray that our students (and our children) will be able to experience that heart of Jesus in a powerful way this summer. Thank you for your partnership. Your gifts and prayers make a difference in countless lives!

UGANDA—CHALLENGES FOR PRAYER

UGANDA STATISTICS
FAST FACTS—Please Pray!

· The average Ugandan lives on less than $1.80 a day.

· 38% of children chronically undernourished or stunted.

· 30% are illiterate.

· only 25% of young people remain in school past grade 6.

· There are 2.5 million orphans, including 1.2 million orphaned from AIDS.

CHILDREN IN CRISIS
Did you know that nearly 50% of the population in Uganda is under the age of 14? Children are the most vulnerable victims to corruption. Thousands have been abducted for use as child soldiers in occult-powered militia groups or forced to become sex slaves. Also numbing poverty deprives many children—including up to two million orphans—of care, finances for education and hope. Pray especially for street children, who are most numerous in Kampala, and for children living in the north where wide-spread terror and countless atrocities have occurred.

CHURCH UNITY
The Church in Uganda has seen both wonderful breakthroughs and immense obstacles. There are numerous divisions in the Church, and the proliferation of independent and single-congregation denominations makes true unity a massive challenge. Syncretistic practices and false teachings are multiplying even as the Church grows. Pray for reconciliation amoung churches and that the Holy Spirit might lead Christians into all truth and that all falsehood might be cast aside.

SUPERFICIAL CHRISTIANITY
The majority of Ugandans identify themselves as Christian, but materialistic attitudes, polygamous practices and non-biblical worldviews – all affecting lifestyle – are common. For many, being “Christian” simply means not being Muslim. Pray for renewal that would turn nominal Christians into true disciples of Jesus Christ.

*Above info from; Operation World—7th Edition; www.operationworld.org