Meagan, 18, shares her favorite story: "I went to Cecilia's house and shared the gospel with her and her husband, Peter. They loved God's story. I asked if they knew where they were going when they died, and they were taken back a little bit. Peter said 'no,' so I explained heaven and hell. They weren't ready to accept Christ, so I asked if there was anything that they needed me to pray for. Cecilia pointed to her little baby who was sick with malaria; the baby was laying there barely awake or moving. I prayed over the baby and said I would come back tomorrow to see them and check on baby Justine. They also said their 16-year-old boy sitting was mentally challenged since birth. I was running late, so I said I would pray for him the next day! When I returned, the husband wasn't there, but Justine was looking a little better. I sat and talked with Cecilia and then prayed over Frank, who looks and acts like he's 5 years old. It was very heartbreaking to see him sitting there not active and drool coming from his mouth. Cecilia told me that he won't let anybody touch him but her, so praying over him wasn't easy. I went back again and was surprised to see Justine crawling around and playing, perfectly healthy! I just wanted to thank God for healing Cecilia's precious baby girl. I talked with Cecilia and prayed over Frank again and then left. On Thursday, Cecilia finally accepted Christ and I was so excited!! I prayed over Frank again and could see a huge difference in him. He was walking around and trying to talk. I went back again and sat with Cecilia again. She kept thanking me for coming back every single day and showing love for her and her children. Justine was as happy as ever and Frank was looking great, playing, trying to talk, smiling, and walking around. He was still drooling, but he was letting me touch him and kept going into the house and finding little gifts for me (even if it was just a bean or piece of plastic). Cecilia told me that she could see a huge difference in him since I had been praying for him, and I told her that it was just God working. I grew extremely close to Cecilia and her beautiful family and was sad to leave them, But I know that God is watching over them and that one day Frank will be healed." As we show love, walls are broken down, and reconciliation between God and Cecilias can take place.
Sterling and Anahi, a young, newly engaged couple who served in Uganda, share some of their thoughts: "Thank you. I could say it a hundred times, and still not have said it enough. Thank you. Thank you from our team. Thank you from pastor Benjamin, a Ugandan who was in the village with us, and who marveled at the sight of the works of God. Thank you from pastor Molly, who will be leading the church that you helped plant there, in Mkandwa. Thank you from Sandy and Richard, two young men who were healed physically in Mkandwa. And thank you from Saidat, Sekamanya, Peter, Waswa, and the dozens of others who were healed spiritually, who were redeemed and brought back to relationship with their Creator, and who are pursuing to know Him further through the study of His Word still today.
Uganda was David, Susannah, and their four children's first mission trip. It was a joy to watch God us this family in a powerful way. David served with two of his children, Mary Frances (14) and Will (9), while Susannah ministered with Blake (17) and Louisa (11) in a neighboring village. Here are a few of their stories:
· Louisa was speaking to a woman in Saaza village on Friday and she told Louisa that, “Some blond-haired boy much too young is sharing the Gospel in Gayaza.” These two villages are almost 15 miles away from each other and yet The Word spreads quickly. I’m so glad we didn’t cheat Will from this amazing experience in Uganda by leaving him behind because he was too young.
· Susannah spoke to a well-versed older man for hours over a few days who was skeptical about Jesus; after a few days and much prayer with his wife, the husband and wife, Charles and Harriett, asked Susannah to come in to their home, “We’ve been waiting for you.” She continued studying the bible with them and, sometime after, he told her interpreters that he was ready to accept Jesus Christ. His wife cried and the rest of the team did also. They told Susannah that they were both HIV-positive but their outlook on life was forever changed knowing they now had accepted God’s gift of everlasting life and forgiveness. We gave them no money or food or any other benefit. Only the greatest gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and God graced them to accept this gift by faith. They were overjoyed and later he became the Person of Peace for the village of Saaza, who will lead the people there to create a new church.
· On the trip to the airport in Entebbe, we had to pass through a security checkpoint where they always require you to get out of the vehicle for inspection. As we rolled down the window to speak to one of the stern looking Ugandan Military Police holding an AK-47 machine gun, our driver said, “These are missionaries. They are heading home now to America.” At first, Susannah and I started looking around for who he was talking about. We had never ever thought of ourselves as missionaries. It felt like we were in a movie. And yet I asked the officer as he contemplated, “Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?” He responded with a big smile, “I am born again! You may pass.”
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FW: My Uganda Mission Trip Prayer Team
e3/Uganda:2013
x | 
David S. Schorlemer
Executive Vice President &
Chief Financial Officer
STALLION OILFIELD SERVICES
950 Corbindale, Suite 300 | Houston, TX 77024
713.275-4162 (Direct) | 713.724-4169 (Cell)
++++++CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE++++++
The information in this email may be confidential and/or privileged. This email is intended to be reviewed by only the individual or organization named above. If you are not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination or copying of this email and its attachments, if any, or the information contained herein is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately notify the sender by return email and delete this email from your system. Thank You
| |||||||||
15 of 94
FW: My Uganda Mission Trip Prayer Team
e3/Uganda:2013
x |
David S. Schorlemer
Executive Vice President &
Chief Financial Officer
STALLION OILFIELD SERVICES
950 Corbindale, Suite 300 | Houston, TX 77024
713.275-4162 (Direct) | 713.724-4169 (Cell)
++++++CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE++++++
The information in this email may be confidential and/or privileged. This email is intended to be reviewed by only the individual or organization named above. If you are not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination or copying of this email and its attachments, if any, or the information contained herein is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately notify the sender by return email and delete this email from your system. Thank You
From: David Schorlemer
Sent: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 8:01 PM To: 'bkinney@ccatexas.org'; 'john.young2@ubs.com'; 'burtmoritz@earthlink.net'; 'tpierce@caldive.com'; 'Christian.Post@hp.com'; 'inkling1016@yahoo.com'; 'Jeff.Berkhouse@ Subject: My Uganda Mission Trip Prayer Team
Gentlemen,
I wanted to thank you and your families for your abundant prayers during our trip to Uganda to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and tell the story of God’s love for His people. God did amazing things all throughout our journey. We were welcomed by humble, soft-spoken, beautiful Ugandan people. They were so grateful for our presence and their happy, joyful children were a blessing. As you read this, I want you to imagine walking alongside me on the dirt paths of a Ugandan village on a hillside overlooking a river valley and sitting by my side while we ministered to the Ugandans because you were there with me in spirit.
As we arrived at the mother church and other venues throughout the week, we were greeted with a chorus of drums played by the children, a group of children singing and rhythmic dancing. They celebrate the greatness of Our Creator with an enthusiasm that brings joy to your heart. They honor God with every aspect of song (instruments, voice and dance). Throughout the week I wept with joy over how they worshipped. This was a beautiful thing to see the youngest to oldest worshiping with a smile and enthusiasm. Ugandans feel a need for God in ways that some who live in so many comforts of the West today do not. This alone has inspired me to rely more on God and be in constant relationship with Him.
The Ugandan nationals (partner churches) were humbled by the way we sat with individual villagers to get to know them and understand where each person stood in their relationship with our Creator. Although many villagers carried a title of a specific denomination, some were trapped in works over God’s grace and in condemnation or a feeling of hopelessness for their situation. Our mission was not to strip them away from their denomination but rather to help them know the Jesus of the Bible, help them capture the individual relationship with God that He desires and have them embrace God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) and to access their inheritance of God’s bounty for each of them.
As we sat on a mat or small stool in their humble mud-hut or handmade brick homes to begin a bible study, one family shared how happy they were to be walking in the love and grace of Christ, freed from condemnation. In several situations, I could see the hopelessness and despair caused from living with AIDS or the death of their husband or their uncertainty about receiving School Fees for their children or other difficult circumstance melt from their face as they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. They had captured a genuine joy and love in their hearts. They were beginning to realize that they had been living in the past or worrying about the future and now were opening their heart to things eternal.
Our discipleship meetings were new to the Ugandans, as we taught how new believers could learn to read and study the Bible, seek the Holy Spirit's personal message and respond to His message through action. This technique allowed God’s word to be revealed in their own time as infants in Christ. We focused on not teaching so as to help them realize they could continue these studies even after we departed. This enabled them to remain engaged and learn how to study on their own. Most often, I started our discipleship study with Matthew 6:25-34 - Do Not Worry - and they all loved to hear these words and many of them came out of their shells to discuss what was revealed to them in this passage. Even those who were illiterate would give the common Ugandan “mmm”, a quiet gesture of peaceful agreement.
Late in the week, our team went to the Jireh Orphanage (http://www.us2uganda4life.
After almost a whole week of sharing the story of God's love with villagers in the surrounding communities of Masaka, we were rejuvenated by the orphans who honored us in song for what we were doing for their country. How God's family is so sweet and full of encouragement. It is beautiful how He uses the broken to deliver His message of love to us. This was a haunting and mystical experience in a beautiful sense. Most of us shed tears of joy as we watched the children so joyous during these songs. The presence of the Holy Spirit was intense.
The family that ran the orphanage was an older couple that have seven of their own children, all adults now or finishing college. The leader explained how they run a primary and secondary school for over 300 children and they teach them that God is involved in ALL subjects including math, science, literature, etc. He spoke in their presence about teaching the children that they have been chosen to become the leaders of Uganda and they will take with them the love and majesty of Jesus Christ into all areas of Uganda and other parts of Africa and maybe even to America someday. It was very inspiring for all of us to hear these words.
A few stories I wanted to share:
· Susannah spoke to a well-versed older man for hours over a few days who was skeptical about Jesus; after a few days and much prayer with his wife, the husband and wife, Charles and Harriett, asked Susannah to come in to their home, “We’ve been waiting for you.” She continued studying the bible with them and, sometime after, he told her interpreters that he was ready to accept Jesus Christ. His wife cried and the rest of the team did also. They told Susannah that they were both HIV-positive but their outlook on life was forever changed knowing they now had accepted God’s gift of everlasting life and forgiveness. We gave them no money or food or any other benefit. Only the greatest gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and God graced them to accept this gift by faith. They were overjoyed and later he became the Person of Peace for the village of Saaza, who will lead the people there to create a new church. · On the trip to the airport in Entebbe, we had to pass through a security checkpoint where they always require you to get out of the vehicle for inspection. As we rolled down the window to speak to one of the stern looking Ugandan Military Police holding an AK-47 machine gun, our driver said, “These are missionaries. They are heading home now to America.” At first, Susannah and I started looking around for who he was talking about. We had never ever thought of ourselves as missionaries. It felt like we were in a movie. And yet I asked the officer as he contemplated, “Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?” He responded with a big smile, “I am born again! You may pass.” | |||||||||
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