These two months, I have mostly been preparing for our trip to Burundi. However, I took a weeklong trip to visit Baptist radio stations around Uganda. Several years ago, there were eight Baptist radio stations in Uganda, but unfortunately, half of those stations have closed for one reason or another. Today, there are only four stations left. I tried to encourage all of the technicians and operators by showing them I care for them and making sure they are strong, because what is the point of starting new stations only to have others close down? I got all of their contact information and started a WhatsApp group so they can talk about problems, if needed, and I gave them music that they could add to their playlists. They were all very happy!
But the long trip on bumpy dirt roads beat my truck to pieces! The headlights were falling out, and the battery was tilting into the radiator. I spent a lot of time welding supports and strengthening everything. Long, bumpy, dusty roads just clog up everything so fast, so I also added a snorkel and a second air filter in parallel, which really boosted my power. 😁 The truck is a 1996 Landcruiser—old, yes, but now doing well as my work truck. It is a much-needed tool in the ministry that I just cannot function without.
I also worked on finding, breaking, and buying bolts to use on the tower in Burundi. We first broke a few bolts in a vise to test their tensile strength before buying all 550 bolts. I also made an Excel spreadsheet back in February to do all the calculations needed to build a tower—and to show how many bolts I needed. I know, boring stuff to talk about, but still very important. We are now planning on going down on June 12 to build the tower. Please pray for everything to go well.
We are also rejoicing that Kitendi Baptist Church is continuing to grow. We have been working with them for about 11 months now. One thing that has been so good is the Bible-memorization program that I started. I hand out a sheet of paper to everyone with about four to five memory verses for the month. I tell them to take the sheet home and just spend five minutes every day going over the verses after dinner or before bed. It has really put a lot of excitement in the church when even small children say verses in front of everyone. People say, “Wow! This is a great program. These kids are really learning the Bible here! I have never seen this in any other church!” We also started some “potluck” fellowships that have been a big hit.
The big sign we put up for the church months ago has also been helpful. Now, when we are out soul winning, everyone we meet says they have seen the sign and know where the church is. The Saturday soul-winning group is growing too. Including my family, we normally have about 14 soul winners who regularly go out. During the past 2 months, we saw 34 saved out soul winning and 25 visitors to church. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
In His service,
Gregg, Angela, Caleb, Hannah, Timothy, Virginia, Micah, and Zachery Schoof
Bro. Kenneth with 550 bolts for the radio tower