Uganda Report By Travis Kolder

Dear Friends

Thank you for your involvement in my recent trip to Uganda.  Words cannot express my deep sense of appreciation for everyone’s prayer and giving that made this trip possible.  I want to take just a few minutes and share with you the impact that our team was able to have because of your help.

We were incredibly well received by the people of Uganda.  During our trip, we held a pastors’ conference and a crusade for a small rural village in the district of Kamuli.  Due to a number of circumstances, we arrived at the village six hours late, yet we still found a church building crowded with excited believers cheering at the arrival of those who had traveled so far to share with them. The people were hungry to hear the words that God had given us for them.

By the time the crusade and pastors’ conference were over, Paul, the leader we were working with in Uganda, estimated we had about 500 people in attendance.  The Lord met us powerfully, especially on the last day.  Several messages the Lord gave us that morning to share with the people really brought a change to the church in the village.  One man came to know the Lord that day while several others were healed after we prayed for them. One young boy (five or six years old) was brought to a member of our team because he could not walk.  A few weeks after our trip we received an e-mail saying this boy was walking after receiving prayer from “the pastors” (they called us all pastors) who came to the village.  Several other healings happened while we were at this village.  Praise the Lord!

After our three days in Kamuli, the rest of our trip was spent encouraging believers in Entebbe, which is the second largest city in Uganda.  I was privileged to be able to spend an evening encouraging a 17 year old young man who became a pastor of around 20 people through the default of another pastor who left the country.  After our time together he looked at me with tears in his eyes and told me if no one else was touched by our trip to Uganda, his encounter with us made the whole trip worth it.  In Entebbe I also ended up speaking at a city wide youth conference, an all night prayer meeting, and a church pastored by an evangelist who holds crusades all over Africa .The Lord prompted  me to preach on the cross of Jesus Christ that Sunday morning, and I was blessed to be able to lead four people to the Lord.

No report could be complete without describing the impact the trip had on me.  Aside from those who came to the Lord and were healed, I may have been the person most impacted by the trip.  I found myself deeply challenged by the example set by our African brothers and sisters who passionately pursue Jesus, though it is not any more acceptable in their culture than in ours.  Seeing Christianity lived out without any American influence was eye-opening. It was truly a “must experience” event, and I want to encourage each of you to consider whether the Lord would have you make such a journey. 

Finally, I want to take a moment again and thank each and every one of you for the support that I felt before, during, and after our trip.  Many of you sacrificed so that this trip could be a reality. In the near future, I hope to host one or two nights where I tell about the trip in more detail and show pictures. If I’m able, I will make the dates available to you all so that you can hear and see more about this trip.  I would love to hear from each of you, especially if you have questions or thoughts about what I’ve shared with you.

I hope this letter finds each of you blessed.  Please be in prayer for our Ugandan brothers and sisters who are striving with us to serve Jesus and impact their nation.

Love,

Travis