Posts from — August 2011

Following a Uganda information meeting this past April, several people from Common Ground Christian Church (CGCC) have responded and are pursuing the opportunity of joining a CGCC team that will be moving to Northern Uganda in 2013 and serving alongside a ministry called Restoration Gateway (RG).

I (Steve) recently returned from leading a trip to Uganda to provide an opportunity for this potential team to put their feet on the ground at RG and to use this trip as the next step in confirming whether God is calling them to continue pursuing this opportunity. We invite your prayers for all the people that are praying about serving at RG and that God would provide wisdom and clear next steps.

Four people from the trip have written some great blog posts and we encourage you to read them below (The four posts following this one.) Also, be sure to check out the pictures from the trip from by clicking “View Photos” below. There are over 300 pics from: our travels to Uganda, time on the ground at RG and our day at Murchison Park which included a boat ride down the Nile, waterfall hike and safari. (If you missed pictures from last year trip, you can check those out here.)

Liz and I had always felt a call on our lives to work with orphans. We were only a little surprised when we felt God calling us to Restoration Gateway (RG). We knew the Holy Spirit was moving us to invest in the orphans. I was very surprised, though, when God also put it on my heart to invest in the lives of the teachers. It became evident to me from the first time I walked into one of the classrooms.

As soon as the kids started their independent work, one of the teachers came up to me and began sharing his story with me. I had an opportunity to hear the stories of three of the four teachers. They were so eager to be known! Their stories moved me to tears. So much of what they shared was wrapped in sorrow and uncertainty. All of their stories involved living at RG and not being able to spend very much time with their families or loved ones because all the money they earned went to helping those families survive. Two of the three had to support their family because their father had died and there was no one else to take care of the family. They all three had such a burden for providing for their families! I was able to talk to them and share some scripture about the hope that God brings and the beauty of Christian community. Even though they had all been born again, they were eager to hear more! Although they thought I was teaching them, they were teaching me just as much!

Even though their stories were sad and moved me to tears, they all continued to share the joy they have found in Jesus. Their love for the kids at RG is evident in the way they interact with them, hug them, speak to them with patience. God was using the teachers and their stories to remind me that the redemption and salvation that is found in Jesus brings life and joy even in the midst of the worst circumstances. Having gone to RG to work with the orphans, I was grateful to God for calling us to go even deeper while we were there.

(Written by Aaron Munson – Common Ground Vision Trip to Restoration Gateway in Karuma, Uganda: July 2011)

*Re-posted from CG Vision Trips Blog

After about a ten minute walk through the Ugandan bush, we end up in Opio’s village. His village is three mud huts, which he built, surrounded by bush. Here we are, sitting in a mud hut with a 24 yr old Ugandan man who is a new brother in Christ. This is where he lives with his wife. He offers us each a bottle of Pepsi and a package of crackers for our dinner. He did not eat with us. This probably cost him a whole week’s worth of wages. The first thing he asks us, after we are all seated, is what are the gifts we have received from the Holy Spirit. After an awkward chuckle and some glances to each other we realize he is totally serious. How amazing to take God’s word as Truth. In his mind, in Africa, the Holy Spirit is real. We are humbled. We were there for 3 ½ hours, as he asks us question after question about verses he had read in the Bible, but did not understand. Lit by a lantern, we searched the Bible with him, trying to help him understand what the Bible meant when it said things like “In the beginning was the Word…” and “We have been justified by faith”. Kids are running in and out of the 20 square foot mud hut space to check out the white people. This does not distract Opio. He is hungry…hungry for knowledge and understanding. What he doesn’t know is that we are learning from him. We are humbled. He wants what we have in America…we find ourselves longing for what we see in him…faith.

This is the night we saw what we had been hearing about. God is moving in Uganda. People want to know Him. He is real to them. He answers prayer and He heals. Praise Him for what He is doing and we are thankful we got to see just a glimpse.

We were able to go to a showing of the Jesus film the next night in a similar village. About 50+ people were packed into a tiny space to watch the story of Jesus projected onto a bed sheet in front of a hut. After the film an invitation was given and several accepted Christ that night and were baptized in the Nile the next morning. It was powerful to see. It was surreal to us.

The rest of the week was filled with learning about Restoration Gateway (RG), meeting with people, playing with the kids and spending time in their school and hanging out with the local workers. We learned a lot about what RG is doing in Northern Uganda, what their needs are and where they are headed in the future. We can honestly say we have never in our lives seen such clear God ordained ministry reach out so effectively to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of an entire community. It was both exciting and overwhelming to witness.

(Written by Stacy Okland – Common Ground Vision Trip to Restoration Gateway in Karuma, Uganda: July 2011)

*Re-posted from CG Vision Trips Blog

I remember a few weeks back at Common Ground, Jeff Krajewski made the statement that our Father desires for each of us to have a powerful story, in which we allow Him to work through us. That statement really resonated with me and in the past few weeks I have been reflecting on what is my story to tell and do I allow God to really use me the way He has made me?

During our time in Uganda, we had the opportunity of meeting a man who has been faithfully living out his own story. Dennis is a painter at Restoration Gateway and welcomed half of our team into his home for dinner. I immediately noticed his hospitality and kind demeanor towards all of us as we entered into the table his lovely wife had prepared for us. After introducing ourselves and getting to know each other a little bit, my teammate Aaron asked Dennis to tell his story.

Dennis’ kind and gentle countenance quickly shifted to a very concerned and serious expression while he began to recount his life. He started talking about how the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) had completely demolished Northern Uganda in the past decade. They would ransack villages and take children to become soldiers and kill all that were left behind. He described how people in Southern Uganda and across the world feared going into Northern Uganda due to the havoc that the LRA was causing in the early 2000′s. Dennis accepted Christ in October of 2002, and in December of that year he was awakened in the middle of the night by the LRA and ripped out of his home to become a soldier. I will never forget his face as he was describing his story. There was so much emotion and turmoil as he described the atrocities that the LRA had committed.

He explained throughout his time with the LRA, he kept in the forefront of his mind that with God all things are possible. He did not blame God for the situation but would consistently pray and lean on Him for courage, strength, and hope. Three months into being with the LRA, they announced that they were going to cross over into Sudan. Dennis decided that night that he would try to escape– he would rather die in Uganda then cross over into Sudan with the rebel army. At night the child soldiers were enclosed in the middle of seven camps of soldiers. He began to pray and cross into each camp slowly. All seven guards he would pass by were asleep that particular night. So after two hours of prayer and walking through the camps, God freed Dennis from the LRA.

He began to explain how God had worked in his life since then. He is now working at Restoration Gateway where he answers questions fellow workers have about the Lord. He also is a leader in his local church and teaches others Christ’s ways. During our stay there, he read us passages in the Word and asked our opinions on different spiritual matters. It was so obvious that he had such a hunger for truth. I will never forget Dennis’ story. In his life, he has become a vessel for hope, truth, and the love that God has for each of his children. My hope is that each of us can hear his story and share with others the power and protection that the Lord has for His people.

(Written by Beth Hahn – Common Ground Vision Trip to Restoration Gateway in Karuma, Uganda: July 2011)

*Re-posted from CG Vision Trips Blog

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6)

• Why would 11 strangers say “yes” to living together, sharing bunks, toilets and cold water showers while spouses, friends, children, parents and loved ones are thousands of miles away?
• Why would we say “yes” to the journey God has each of us on, when everything (and everyone) is saying “no”?
• Why would we say “yes” to a potential long-term move that requires us to walk away from careers, comforts, Cokes and candy?

The 31-hour trip that culminated with a painfully long stretch of a 3 mile, crevice-infested road was a reminder that our “yes” had dropped us deep into the bush of Northern Uganda…a place rich in both beauty and faith but full of stories of pain, suffering and loss.

Our “yes” lead us to the mammas caring for 70 orphans that they now call theirs. Our “yes” lead us to other American families willing to sell all that they had to answer God’s call in their lives. Our “yes” led us to orphans and workers on the Restoration Gateway site, learning and sharing in the hope that lies in the hands of their Creator.

And, on that 2nd night spent in Uganda, as we stood under the endless black sky filled with stars, we breathed in those words “…but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace”. There we began to find where our “yes” had ultimately led us – the God of Indianapolis is the God of Uganda and He has called us here to Africa…this last week of July. And we said “yes”. Some of us will return for long-term stays, others may come along later, while others still will go home to serve God there. We said “yes” we will come knowing that life and peace will follow.

(Written by Laura Hill – Common Ground Vision Trip to Restoration Gateway in Karuma, Uganda: July 2011)

*Re-posted from CG Vision Trips Blog

Yesterday we took advantage of some free state fair tickets from the local newspaper and spent the day at the fair. Highlights from the day included: looking at fish in the DNR building, seeing the full range of animals from the farm, the little hands on the farm activities, family elephant ride, and all the staple fair food treats. Good times!

In March of this year, we put our house on the market and we are excited to share that after four months and over 25 showings, we sold our house! Thanks Lord! We officially closed on our house at the end of last month.

With the sale of the house, we immediately pursued a rental option and were lead to a great rental property through some friends at our church. It’s right by Common Ground and it’s going to be great being so close as we attend CG’s Kingdom Living Training School beginning in August. We are already moved in and we will be in the rental for the remainder of our time in Indianapolis, until we move to Waco, TX in August of 2012.