A Building for the Future -Uganda
By Kimberly Rae Thigpen
Imagine you heard from a friend about a wonderful ministry that goes into schools with lessons that share the Good News of Jesus Christ. You’re the principal of a school in Uganda, and feel excited about your students having the opportunity to learn their value to God. You go to the address your friend gave you, but no, Source of Light is not there.
You search, ask people, and finally find their new location. After welcoming them to your school, a year passes. You share about SLM with a pastor you know who is starting a discipleship ministry. That pastor goes to the address you gave. Source of Light is not there. No one knows where they moved this time. The pastor moves on. You wonder, if the missionaries stop bringing lessons to your school, will you ever find them to be able to get more?
This has been James Byakika’s problem in Uganda. He has led the SLM Uganda DTB for ten years, but high cost of rent (and likely increased cost to renew) has forced their office to change locations nearly each of those years. “Many people would like to come to our offices,” James says, “but sometimes they come and find out that we had changed the place, so we lose them.”
A house on shifting sands is unstable. So is a ministry in changing locations.
The solution? Their own building, and not just an office. SLM Uganda proposed to build a multi-purpose building, with enough room for:
A long-term office location
This would mean no rent payments! Also, they wouldn’t have to move and disrupt the ministry work, losing connections and referrals.
Home for the Director
This would also save on rent, lowering support needs. And of course, having the Director living at headquarters has multiple benefits—no transportation cost, on location even when things are shut down due to Covid or social unrest, accessible beyond standard business hours, etc.
Place for their micro-enterprise
Many ministries would like to create some kind of small business to fill in support needs. Ambitious perspective might even imagine a ministry being fully self-sustaining. Such micro-enterprises are a joy to see, and often provide needed jobs or job training as a way to build relationships with seekers.
James’ vision extends even beyond this building, hoping for an extension someday where they can host SLM meetings and conferences. Currently, they set up chairs in tents.
Over this past year and more, much of “normal” life has been anything but. Delays, prices skyrocketing, and changes in the exchange rate from dollars to Uganda shillings all built up barriers to overcome.
Highest exchange rate of 2020: $1 = 3,878 shillings
Lowest exchange rate of 2020: $1 = 3,607 shillings
Current exchange rate: $1 = 3,534 shillings
God is not limited by earthly things. He summoned His children, and they gave. James states, “It was by the grace of God that we had the people and the churches who gave us the support. The churches and some individuals from the United States willingly and with love gave us the funds. God provided us with $27,895 to purchase land and build the house.” Hallelujah!
The construction of the new house office building has been completed. At this point, what is left is installing the electricity, getting water to the house, and putting in pit latrines. These things will cost about $7,880 total. James will “continue to pray to God to provide the funds.”
What a blessing to have a firm location for this great work. “Many people have been transformed,” James says about the work in Uganda, “and have become agents of change in the towns and villages they live in.” Did Covid cause problems for their work? “Covid really has caused problems, but yet it has been a blessing, because we have been reaching the people in their homes, where the parents have been reading the lessons with their children, and some of the parents got saved. We praise God for that. I request that you continue to pray for them to stand firm in the Lord.”
For me, personally, when I hear news from James, I think of the months I lived in Uganda, a place of great beauty and wonderful culture. I see the faces of the schoolchildren doing motions as they sing about prayer: “Telephone to Jesus every day— hallo!” A visit to one of their schools is an experience not soon forgotten. Uniformed children with short-cropped hair, in tight, organized lines of hundreds, beam smiles of joy and welcome to visitors. SLM having the open door to bring Bible lessons into public schools around the country is a privilege that should never be taken for granted. Such freedom may not last; these school doors may not remain open. While they do, may God’s people join hands with the national workers there and reach as many as possible. These children are the future of Uganda. Would God that tomorrow’s leaders be His own!
Having a headquarters for ministry will help the work in Uganda in many ways. We praise God with James for all the ways God provided what was needed. In His time, this building will be ready for use for the glory of God and growth of His kingdom.
The building could carry the same dedication James himself gives: “I pledge and commit myself to work for the Lord to reach the people with the Gospel of Christ, because I was called to do His work in Uganda.”
