Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Moving Rapidly Forward!

Praise God! Jesse, Hadassah and I have so much to share as we continue moving forward on this journey God has us on. The Lord has a real call upon the young adults of Uganda, and it becomes more evident everyday. We continue to be amazed that the vision he gave us of the Lord sending out arrows of light from this region into North Africa is one that is reiterated and confirmed by so many that we have met, here and in the US. He really has an inheritance stored up for this orphaned generation, if they will say "yes" to Him!! We believe that is why we are here, to serve them in their primary call to love Jesus with their whole being, and then in the call to reach the nations with the Gospel.

To that end we have begun putting down roots here in Uganda. We have moved into our home, which is too big for us, but we feel instructed to use it as a base of operations for the time being. We have a separate building on the property that we are renovating to use as a kind of dorm. We plan on hosting a full-time live-in internship that will be a community approach to discipleship. Prayer and worship will play, and already does take, a central role in our day-to-day lives, and we see it as the fuel for all that we do. God has already brought together an inspiring group of Ugandan young adults through past trips from the US, whom we fondly call the interns. They have rallied around us and are helping us adjust to life and teaching us many things. We love seeking the face of God with them! The Lord has already opened doors for Youth Ablaze to minister to the youth of the whole region through a regional gathering expected to bring 500 youth! We are praying and fasting, asking the Lord for his guidance on how best to serve them. Right now our main focus is on hosting the team from the US who are coming in July. We have a full schedule of Boot camp, Open-air preaching, VBS, youth conference and ministering in schools. Please pray for God's grace on the whole team, Ugandan and American, for health, safety, and for the power of God to be manifested!

On a more personal note, we have been struggling with some sickness and believe it is the enemy coming against the Holy momentum that is building. We ask for your prayers that we would know how to stand against the devil, and that we would walk in victory. Also, we have taken in a young girl named Christine. She is 13, her father died many years ago and her mother has completely rejected her. She is very bright, speaks English, loves school and loves the Lord. We prayerfully have taken her in and are supporting her. Please pray for the Love of God to penetrate and heal all wounds in her heart, that she would know her purpose and the Love of her heavenly Father.

We will write again soon, as we now have Internet access at home.We thank you for reading and may God bless you so much!

3 comments:

Teri said...

Hi Rachelle, Jess, and Dasah,
You guys are in our prayers! It's so great to be able to read about what's going on there. I'm especially happy you came to our CITH to show us pictures and fill us in on everything before you left. I saw Sarah at a garage sale I had weekend before last and she told me the centipede in the bed story! It was delightful to see her and hear about your safe arrival in Uganda. Thank you for serving God. It's inspiring and encouraging. I should talk to Brit this week but it looks like she can't come to camp after all. I am so bummed! So I'll have to really work at getting her together with us some other time.
"Lord, please put your healing hand on the Digges. Remove all sickness Lord and bring strength. Also, give them wisdom and revelation as they minister to these young Ugandans. Pour Your Love through them. Because of Jesus, Amen"
xoxo Teri Hallenbeck

Anonymous said...

Rachelle,
What a beautiful young woman you are! Jesus shines so brilliantly through you. Your words and wisdom so eloquently illustrate the depth of your love and commitment to the Lord and His work. I am immensely impressed, and blessed, by your maturity and beauty, both in the Lord and otherwise. I look forward to reading your posts in the future. Marissa asks for Hadassah often and has committed to praying for her daily.
In His Love,
Tracey Drange

Unknown said...

Hay it's awesome to hear what you are doing. I'm praying for you and will keep reading. Jonny