Amazed, Humbled, and So Richly Blessed

I made the decision to come to Uganda almost 1 year ago. I never expected to see and experience what I have seen, smelled and felt. The Holy Spirit is engulfing my mind and heart each and every day. I am not sure that I can adequately express what all has happened; but I would like to tell you about some of the changes that God is laying on my heart. When we first arrived at the mission compound, we were greeted by Joy, it was a blessing to not only see her, but to be with her here in Uganda. It has been a long journey getting here, not counting the seemingly endless plane ride. We got situated in our rooms and then we met for the first time as a full team; we met up with our 4 new German friends in Amsterdam. We were blessed with little notebooks with our names on them with a special, individualized note inside from Joy. What an amazing woman of God, she inspires me to step out on faith, because once you do that the rest is entirely up to God.

The blessing that I have received from coming here have been innumerable. I know that when I return home on Saturday afternoon that I will not be the same person that I was the day I left to come here. I have been amazed by how the Holy Spirit has filled each of the team members, in very special and very individualistic way. This filling is coming on a daily basis and sometimes an hourly or minute by minute basis. We have played games with some of the most precious children that I have ever seen. The joy that they have comes out of them in every thing that they do. The times that we have gone from hut to hut have been some of the most special times for us. We have been able to immediately reach out and engage them in conversation and they hang on every word we say. The kindness that I have seen has been such a blessing, and at times a struggle.

I woke up Sunday with the phrase "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." I thoroughly believe that this has become my theme for this trip; it has been said everyday by someone, somehow. I have seen worship in a whole new light, and I have experienced prayer in a way that I have never felt before. I have been deeply convicted about many things and in many aspects as to how I live my life. My most consistent prayer is that I must rely on the Holy Spirit to help me take home the changes He is making in my life. I want to make these changes not for myself, but for the glory of God in my actions, thoughts, and attitude. I have learned to look at people differently and be more focused on their eternal well-being than their physical, which is astonishing, considering the living environment here. In the preparations for this trip, I was able to see God provide in amazing ways. Having stepped out on faith, God has showed me that all that was just the beginning. He has provided in so many ways. My first thought is to be amazed at how He has provided in the most basic sense. But the fact is that He has provided in ways that only He can provide, He has left no room for anyone to deny that He has fulfilled His promise to be faithful to us. I regret that I have not lived my life with this kind of understanding.

I want to thank everyone who had a part in helping me make this incredible, life changing journey. You may never know all the things that have happened here, but one day in heaven, you will receive your reward for your obedience. Thank you very much and may God pour out his blessings on your life as He has on mine.

In Christ,

Michael Jones

By the way, all of the Blackshear Place team members wanted me to let everyone know that we will all be in the 8:08 service on Sunday, so that means you have no excuse not to join us! :)

Mungu Wu Baraka

Hello friends a family! We have been working hard here in Uganda and the fruit of our labor has been amazing. The Holy Spirit is moving through us and people are coming to Christ. Jesus says that "the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few" so true. The hearts of people are tender to the Spirit and there is only so much that we can do. God has anointed this team and we have been blazing through the villages like a burning torch sharing the Gospel. Revival is happening here in Uganda and it's awesome to be a part of what God is doing.

Today over ten people prayed to receive Christ as we were doing hut to hut evangelism. God is so good! All the time! Why? because it's His nature! This is something that the Uganda believers say all the time, but it's so true, He is good!

We had two church services today that were outstanding! Greg and Joel preached and it was awesome, GO GUYS! I wish all of you were here to experience worshipping with the Uganda people. Oh, do we have a lot to learn from them. Their worship is so beautiful! There is dancing, clapping, singing, jumping and much more. I can't wait to come home and show you all my new dance moves, lol. Their love for Jesus and their passion to make Him known are convicting and powerful. They encourage us greatly in their relentless pursuit of God and love for Him.

Mungu Wu Baraka (God of Blessings). This is a song that is sung here and talks about the blessings of God. We are truly blessed to have Gods approval here and it is so evident in the work that is going on. Many blessings to you and I leave you with this challenge. Go! Be the blazing torch of Jesus in your neighborhood, your work place, your school, and your home, because the harvest is ready, but the workers are few.

Hello everyone! We have had a fantastic couple of days. Yesterday (Saturday) the team was up and ready to go out to the bush first thing in the morning. Chris, Nathan, Connie, Leoni, Stacy, and Jonas went out hut to hut speaking to people close to the church. It went great - several people prayed to receive Christ and lots of seeds were planted. Everyone else stayed at the church and had activities for the kids. They had a blast with the games, songs, and the lesson about Adam and Eve. At two we had a great church service with Pastor Patrick and his church.

This morning we had church at the school in Busia. Everyone helped out with a Sunday School class. It is such a blessing to teach these kids. They are so eager to learn and they love Jesus. We also had baptism in the river after the service. It was incredible - and hot!

This afternoon we had a great soccer match - Americans and Germans against Africans. We had a lot of fun and were able to share Jesus with the crowd that was there to watch.

We are all having a great time - we are learning and growing and looking forward to more good days this week. The weather has been good and the power is on! Thanks for all your continuing prayers.

After two days of flying and a day of driving the first October mission team has arrived safely at the Helping Hands mission house. Everyone made their connections and all of the luggage and ministry supplies arrived. The team has settled in and is ready for their first day of ministry.

Guiding Hand of God

God continues to build and grow and shape our Helping Hands team. During the past month, we've had some changes - one of which involves Mike and Sarah McCord. They joined Helping Hands one year ago, and have been wonderful Godly additions to our team. Now God has called them to continue their ministry through Helping Hands in Uganda. We have been praying for staff in Uganda - we need people on the ground full-time to help with our medical ministry, the schools we support, mission teams, teaching, and so much more.

God has given Mike and Sarah many skills and they are using them for His Glory. They will spend 6 weeks in Uganda in September/October of this year, and plan to be in Uganda full-time beginning in January 2012. Please pray for God to continue guiding all of their steps and ours as we continue preparing for what God is doing in their lives and in the life of Helping Hands.

And The Winner Is.....

Helping Hands Second Annual Legacy Golf Tournament "South" was held this past Thursday in Adel, GA. We all had a fantastic day of food, fun and fellowship. The teams were all great and handled the south Georgia heat really well. The winning team was made up of Debbie Cole (Dr. Brenda's sister) Keith Powell, and Marti and Norm Johns (both in their 70's).

Thank you to Mike and Sarah McCord, Susan Huguley, Barbara Bell, Loren Hildebrant, and Steve and Luke Moon for all your work in making the day a success. A very special "Thank You" to Debbie Cole and Mema (Dr. Brenda's Mom) for putting the tournament together and doing such a great job. Thanks also to the Perkins family who provided a great place for us to "bunk" while in town. And finally, thanks to all the hole sponsors, gift donors, and players who invested in this event and ultimately our ministry.

Next year's tournament will be lateMarch/early April. Be watching for the exact dates in the near future.

Prayer Requests

This is Arafat and his guardian. Arafat is a third grader at the Helping Hands School in Busia, Uganda. Four weeks ago he was run over by a motorcycle. He suffered severe injuries and has just been released from a hospital. Though he was very weak, and probably should have still been in the hospital, he WALKED to church last Sunday. Dr. Brenda said he looked as if he would not make it long in that condition. She made the decision to take him back to the mission house for constant supervision. He has a colostomy bag and requires much attention and a clean environment. In the last two days Arafat has made significant progress. Praise the Lord! Please remember Arafat in your daily prayer. Please remember Dr. Brenda, Pam, and Joy as they try to take good care of him through this difficult time.


7 year old Derick with his mother. Derick has some form of cancer which has disfigured his face to the point that he cannot eat. He is also having trouble breathing. Dr. Brenda took him and his Mom to a hospital in Kampala this morning. The doctors there thought Chemo would help him, so they administered one treatment today and suggested that he stay 10 days for additional treatments. Please pray for Derick as he undergoes these treatments that will probably make him very weak and sick. Pray that through these circumstances, Derick's family, who are Muslim, will come to believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Hello Muzungu

Everywhere we go in Uganda, we hear “Muzungu, Muzungu!” (white people). The children flock to see us and the adults crane their necks to look. In some cases it is because we are an oddity; in others cases, it is because we are rock stars! (or both!) But nowhere were we bigger celebrities than at the Mawero Calvary Baptist Church, sponsored by my extended Scroggs family! Two years ago, my family members all contributed to a fund to sponsor the first Helping Hands Foreign Missions church plant near Busia, Uganda, and my son Reed and I finally got to visit it ourselves! Pastor Douglas, his family and church leaders welcomed us warmly and expressed sincere gratitude all day long today!
We set up a medical clinic inside the church and treated about 130 people. After the clinic, we had a worship service led by Pastor Moses ,director of the Grace Baptist Association, Pastor Douglas of Mawero and Pastor Loren Hildebrant of Flat Creek Baptist church, my home church. After we left, the Ugandan pastors showed “ The Jesus Film” and had revival services. Throughout this wonderful day, dozens of Ugandans received salvation. Praise God!
The low point of the day was when a little boy, maybe 4 or 5, wandered up to the crowd with his baby brother on his back. Dr. Brenda thought he was an HIV baby, severely malnourished and dehydrated. We washed his eyes and put eye drops in them. Then she handed him to me to hold & try to rehydrate. I got a Nutri-grain bar & trail mix out of my backpack, mixed a bottle of Pedialyte & fed small bites & sips to the boys. After an hour or so, the baby was revived and both boys even sat up & smiled for me! What a blessing that was! Dr. Brenda and Pam stayed after we left and walked the Mawero neighborhood with some of the church men until they found the boys’ family and home. Dr. Brenda made provisions to make sure the boys would receive proper care.
What a day of blessings this certainly was!

Submitted by: Beth P. Suggs

Teams in Uganda!!!

We have teams on the ground in Uganda right now!  Among the team members are some of our board members whose mission is to look and God willing find land for the Village of Eden!!! To follow the progress of the teams click on the Uganda blog link on the right side of this page.  Feel free to leave comments.  It is always encouraging for the teams to see comments on their posts and to know people back home are praying for them.  You can also subscribe to each of our blogs and receive notifications when we write new posts.  Just click on the "follow" button to the right.