Prayer Request 9-15 March

James and Sonya Herron, IMB Missionaries

Uganda East Africa

Fishers of Men (Upper Buvuma Islands)

The vision of the International Mission Board is to see a multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ

Prayer Request for Monday 8^th March—Sunday 15^th March          

As Jesus was returning to the Father after completing the task of purchasing our redemption, He commanded us to make disciples. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV)  If we expect to receive the blessing of our Savior, we must be obedient to this command and make disciples. 

Our major focus is to lead our pastors and church leaders in discipling new believers to become committed follower of Christ.  Recently during a Sunday morning worship service, praise and worship time, two person accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.  After these new believers were introduced to the congregation, the pastor asked who would be willing to disciple these new believers.  Two persons volunteered and they introduced themselves stating they would disciple them in their spiritual growth. 

This was very rewarding to see the pastor take initiative in assuring the new believers will be disciple and the congregation willingness and able to begin the process of discipling these n new believers.   This is an indication that the leaders are getting the message of their need to guarantee new believers will be properly disciple.

Pray for us as we teach mentor and model biblical discipleship to these pastors and church leaders and they teach, mentor and model discipleship to others who will do the same.

Pray for the Herrons this Week:

9^th—15^th March 

•           Our travel to the island this Monday and Tuesday 09^th—10^th March, as we meet with our church’s pastors to encourage them and their leaders  and continue discipleship training at a local church 
•         Our prison Ministry Wednesday 11^th March 

            —Pray for the a inmates commitment to grow in their relationship with Christ

            —Spirit let train and Bible studies from us to the inmates

            —Well-being and safety of the inmates and Prison officials

            —Sonya as she minister to the women inmates

            —James as he minister to the male inmates

             —that we faithfully proclaim God’s Word 

• Sonya and James safe travel to Kampala Thursday 12^th March for James
• Language Training

           —God would give us the ability to speak, hear and comprehend Luganda as we

utilize the language in the community and in teaching God’s Word 

           —Language evaluation next week

           —Our witnessing to our language teacher

• A boldness and ability for our team to bring the light of Christ to the people on the islands of                         Lake Victoria
• Upcoming Mission Teams

          —Greenwood Baptist Church Thomasville, North Carolina  

• For Sonya and James to have a closer walk with the Father this week

Thanks for your prayerful support.

In HIS service

James and Sonya Herron

 "...before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language...." Revelation 7:9 (NIV)

Prayer Requests for Week of 22-28 February

                                                                                                                

James and Sonya Herron, IMB Missionaries

Uganda East Africa

Fishers of Men (Upper Buvuma Islands)

The vision of the International Mission Board is to see a multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ

  

In the spring of 1996 we had a 1992 Dodge van, which we just finished paying the car four year car note. That van was stolen in front of the apartment we were renting.  The car was in need of repairs, and when you drove the car over 30 MPH it would begin to shake and vibrate violently.  I was sure the thieves would abandon the car after driving a short distance, but I was wrong.  We never saw that van again. 

Through this incident God taught me a very important stewardship lesson. I came to accept the fact that all I had in my procession is God and I was a steward of what he has given.  I realized the van we used was given to us from God and it was not lost, God knows exactly where it is and who had stolen His van.  My response to this incident was to pray for those who had stolen God’s van. 

When we were led to serve as home missionaries in Illinois, we were able to leave family, friends, jobs and home because we are stewards of what God has provided.  When God directed us to Uganda we were able to leave family, grandchildren, friends and the security of our culture and language to go where He directs, because we are stewards of God.  We should allow ourselves to be used as He sees fit. 

Continue to pray that we are good stewards of the time, finances and talent God has given.  Thanks for your faithful pray support of us as we serve Him in Ugandan.

Pray for the Herrons this Week:

22^nd—28^th February  

Our travel to the island this Monday and Tuesday 23^rd—24^th February, as we meet with our church’s pastors to encourage them and their leaders  (Sonya, Madison and James)

—Pray for a safe travel as we will be on the waters for approximate three (3)

hours during this week

—pray for wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit as we seek to conduct

ST4T training (Chronological Bible Storying Training) at Kyanja Baptist

Church

  Our prison Ministry Wednesday 25^th February  

—Pray for the a inmates commitment to grow in their relationship with Christ

—Spirit let train and Bible studies from us to the inmates

—Wellbeing and safety of the inmates and Prison officials

—Sonya as she minister to the women inmates

—James as he minister to the male inmates

—that we faithfully proclaim God’s Word 

26^th—27^th February James and Minster Team Partner Joseph, speaking at a conference on the mainland—Najja Trading Center

—God give us the message for the people

—God will direct who is to attend and spiritually benefit from this training.

—Traveling grace to and from conference

 Language Training

—God would give us the ability to speak, hear and comprehend Luganda as we

utilize the language in the community and in teaching God’s Word 

—Language evaluation next week

—Our witnessing to our language teacher

 A boldness and ability for our team to bring the light of Christ to the people on the islands of Lake Victoria

Upcoming Mission Teams

—First Baptist Church O’Fallon Mission Day this Sunday 22^nd February

—Greenwood Baptist Church Thomasville, North Carolina   

 For Sonya and James to have a closer walk with the Father this week

Thanks for your prayerful support.

In HIS service

James and Sonya Herron

 "...before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language...." Revelation 7:9 (NIV)

Why Are We Here?

School Children at Kyanja Primary School (VBS)

³I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. ⁴ For Your faithful love is higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches the clouds. Psalms 108:3-4 (HCSB) 

Why Are We Here?

Why am I here?  What are we doing here?  How many times have you ask yourself this same question?  I don’t know how many times I have asked myself this question.  In fact, I believe that I would be wealthy if I had a dollar for all of the times that I have asked this question. 

Serving as missionaries in Uganda has called for many why questions.  Why do I have to contend with corrupt officers demanding a bribe or why must I pay a $100.00 fine when I've done nothing wrong?  Why must I struggle with learning a very difficult language?

 Why am I subjecting myself and family to being so far away from our families and friends, missing births, birthdays, holidays, family reunions and other special occasions?  We have a five month old grandson we have held in our hands.

When I think of these whys, I also wonder:  

School Children at Chiko Baptist School

• Why,God would allow His Son Jesus to take my place on the cross and take on all my sin.  “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God….” 1 Peter 4:18.  
• Why did Jesus give His life for us? “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life-a ransom for many." (Mark 4:25).  Or 
• Why did Christ rise again for our justification? “…It will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Romans 4:24-25.

When I fathom the depths of Christ’s love for the world, I know exactly why I am here. So that a multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ.  I envision a multitude from every island of Lake Victoria knowing and worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ.  And when I think of what Christ has done for me, my serving Him in Uganda is my reasonable service to my Savior.

Thank you for your prayerful support of our ministry in Uganda.  

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Some Pictures of our work on the islands...Enjoy

Discipleship Training at Kembo Baptist Church 

Approaching Island Village Landing Site 

Teaching Chronological Bible Storying (CBS) at Chiko Baptist Church

Ministry Leaders Meeting with Staff of Chiko Baptist School

Black Boards given to Chiko School (At Bottom)

Pastor Jeremian and Wife (Ziiru-Muto)

Pastor and Deacon Seinya

                                                            


                                   


                                 
                                 

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised !

We are back!
We praise the Lord for a great month of discipleship and evangelism training in March.  We had twenty-five pastors/church leaders representing eight (8) churches present.  These church leaders came together for training and to assist Kibibi Baptist Church, in reaching their village with the Good News of Christ.  After the training, we went hut-to-hut into the village and shared Jesus with the villagers.  We had four teams going and a team preaching in the village square.  We praise God for drawing these people into His Kingdom.  With the assistance from another local Missionary, Gene Wright, we showed the Jesus video to the residents of this village.  The Lord blessed our efforts with thirteen (13) people accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 

Please continue to pray for us as we do the work of reaching the peoples on the Islands of Lake Victoria.  Pray that we continually seek God’s direction and wisdom as we serve in Uganda.

The Ziiru-Muto Challenge

Have you heard or read the account of Elijah, the man of God, confronting 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah in a contest of the “… God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel…” verse the pagan gods, (I Kings 18:20—39.) As you may recall from this Biblical account, the prophets of the false gods were unable to call down fire on their sacrifices. They called upon their gods from morning until the evening sacrifices. They beat themselves until they were bloody, but there was no response from their gods. Did their gods not care about their plight? Were they asleep or otherwise busy? Were they unwilling or unable to come to their aid, hear their cries or see their efforts? Elijah called upon the God of creation and fire came from heaven and consumed his sacrifice. This is the classic confrontation between good and evil, right and wrong, light and darkness, God against Satan.



There are still these types of confrontations occurring around the globe when the Gospel of Christ confronts darkness, evil spirits, tribal paganism and unbelief. There was a confrontation between a man of God and a witch doctor on October 23rd in the village of Ziiru-Muto on an island bearing the same name on Lake Victoria, in Uganda. The confrontation did not take place upon a mountain. There were not eight-hundred fifty prophets against a lone man of God. While there was no fire from heaven, there was a confrontation between a young preacher and a false prophet that took place in the midst of a group of villagers.



Pastor Saphen, Kyanja Baptist Church and Pastor John of Gunda Baptist Church arrived in the village of few Christians, days earlier to begin evangelization among the approximately five-hundred people. A few days later, I arrived with other pastors to the excitement of 23 professions of faith and eagerness among villagers for the upcoming Bible study and worship services being held on Sunday. The day prior to this village’s first evangelical worship service, our team went from door-to-door inviting residents to Sunday’s Bible study and worship. Pastor Saphen was approached by the local Witch Doctor who began to declare his authority. He informed Pastor Saphen that he could make a fire, place himself on the fire and not be burned. He boldly proclaimed, before several village witnesses that he possessed great powers and had the ability to perform miracles.



Pastor Saphen challenged the witch doctor to a contest. He told the Witch Doctor to make a fire, sit upon it, and demonstrate his powers and the power of his gods by not being burned. Pastor Saphen stated that he would ask his God, the God of Creation to demonstrate His power and supremacy over the Witch Doctor and his’ gods by allowing the Witch Doctor to be burned from the fire. The crowd of witnesses shouted agreement to the challenge put forth by the Pastor. They wanted to see whose God was more powerful, the god of the Witch Doctor or the God of Creation. The Witch Doctor, under great pressure to perform, refused to accept the Pastor’s challenge. The people then saw that there was no power in the Witch Doctor or his gods. The word of the challenge spread throughout the village and on the following day, many of those who had been witnesses attended worship service.


There are many challenges similar to the one faced by Elijah on Mount Carmel and the one between the young Pastor and the Witch Doctor that takes place throughout the islands of Lake Victoria. Times and places may differ, but the challenge remains the same, good verses evil, light verse darkness. Men of God who confront evil, sin and false prophets throughout Uganda need the same determination demonstrated by Elijah when he faced the prophets of Baal and Asherah. Please pray for our team as we meet darkness head-on by shining the light of Christ to the Basoga and other tribal groups living on the islands of Bavuma.

A Dream Comes True - From the Waves

Dispelling Hopelessness and Darkness on the Island

The waves on Lake Victoria looks like those in the Atlantic Ocean on Coco Beach, Florida. As we approached the small village of Lukalu on Bweema Island, a lady, we will call her Stella, directed the boat’s pilot to a small spot near the beginning of the peer. The pilot did a good job in landing the boat in rough water.

The mid-aged lady welcomes us to the village and volunteers to take us to see the LC, the village’s Council Leader. Stella escorted us to the LC’s home and waited with us while others went to seek him. As we waited we talked. Stella tells us that she is tired of living her life the way she has been living and is looking for something better. She also states that she had dreamed that visitors would come and share with her some “good news”. When she saw us approaching she knew within her heart that we were the ones she had dreamed about. Stella is searching for answers to life questions. She shares accounts about her failures and feelings of emptiness. She begins to cry as she reflects on her life and sense of hopelessness. We are able to share with Stella the “Good News” of Jesus Christ. Stella during our visit, receives Christ as her Lord and Savior.

During our meeting with the LC, we were welcomed and granted permission to conduct Bible studies which will lead to a new church plant on Bweema. The LC and several leading members of the village were excited about the possibility of a church being developed in their village. As we left the island, Stella joined others in pushing our boat from the shore and stood there smiling, encouraged and expectant as we struggled through the rough surf. There are many men and women like Stella, waiting for their dreams to come true. Those waiting for us to bring the Good News of salvation that only come through Jesus Christ.

Please pray with us as we minister on the six islands and eleven villages we are attempting to reach with the Gospel. We are endeavoring to begin new Bible Study groups, preaching points and churches in places where none exist. Please pray that the Father provides Resources for:

• Our boat – a used one being repaired

• Boat motor and necessary equipment

• Port space on the mainland and island

• Training needed to safely operate and pilot the boat

• The National co-laborers

• The people yet to be reached


Thank you for your prayerful support.

James and Sonya Herron

40/40 Training in Zambia

ZAMBIA

We are at the end of a month long stay in Zambia where we received intensive training directed at improving our understanding of African culture and sensitivity in working with Nationals.  We witnessed and shared our faith in local communities and stayed 3 nights with a family of 7 in a small village.  We had the opportunity to taste many "delicacies"  such as caterpillars, locust and mice and work side by side with our Zambian family in the field and in their home.  We have loads of great pictures that we will download in a few days.