December 2016 Conference
Pamaraka village, Mwelo sub-county, West Budama County, Tororo
district, Eastern Uganda, December end of year 2016 conference.
I am so privileged to present to you this report on our December conference, We had wonderful moments of great teachings on New Testament Christianity, handling many different important topics and distributed the wonderful gifts of Bibles, Reading glasses and the clothes for pastors, village bishops and church leaders who attended/participated in our five day conference. Everything was done and received with much joy and gratefulness of heart.
This time we were able to get 80 bibles, a bundle of 120 pieces of clothes (shirts and Blouses) and 15 Reading glasses. Our donation of the original 300 pairs of reading glasses has all been distributed. The year 2016 has been a great success and blessing indeed to NTFI/BFU ministry. Appreciation and many blessings to all our donors, Board of directors and all our praying friends who stood with us this year and made NTFI/BFU missions in the poor village Churches a great success. May the good lord bless and reward you abundantly.
This time my bicycle was not in a good shape so I started my journey on Sunday 4th in the morning with my luggage using a boda-boda [hired motor-bike with driver] from
Lusenke (home) to Kayunga. Then I took a taxi-van to Jinja [second largest city in Uganda] Taxi Park where I again hired another taxi-van to Poyawo main highway taxi stop/stage. Pastor Katandi again hired a boda-boda and was able to ride safely from Namayingo to join me. He came with pastor Otenge from Sijagajo, Namayingo district. He is one of the pastors who attended some of our conferences in Namayingo District. He desires so much to attend every BFU conferences, in order to learn and understand more about God’s word but due to long distances they cannot be with us in all our conferences. This time pastor Otenge was able to make it to the Pamaraka conference with Pastor Katandi.They found me at Poyawo stage along the highway, I boarded a boda-boda and then we moved together on a typical village dusty road to Pamaraka (conference venue) where we found the organizing team waiting eagerly with great joy for us. They received us with great joy, and we had a wonderful time together that evening.
On Monday 5th in the morning, Pastor Joshua joined us from Kampala. He came with the bibles and the bundles of clothes. Pastor Okurut Robert also joined us from [far away] Bukedea on the same day. Our conference started at 9am on Monday 5th at the Pamaraka Win the World ministry church house and continued very well to the end. The number increased from 70 on the first day to 200 on the last day. We expected more people but there was a serious challenge of famine which made some leaders not to come because they had no food to make contribution, they shied away embarrassed, something which was not an issue for all are welcome because everyone understands how tough the situation is, due to a long drought which has destroyed their gardens.
Most of our participants were mature active and key leaders from different denominational village churches. Different pastors, church leaders and bishops worked together and made every necessary preparation. We had a wonderful time in teaching sound doctrine of New Testament Christianity. And every one of them received the
message with joy.
We also had sessions of questions every morning before we begin the teaching sessions. Through searching of the scriptures, we were able to address every question, every morning for the five days. One of the bishop stood up and made a comment saying ‘we have been in ministry for many years and have been teaching, but this teaching has opened my our eyes and understanding that I feel I need to get the deeper understanding and walk in truth with Christ.’
We then did the distribution of Clothes and reading glasses on our fourth day. The gifts were received with great joy and appreciation. When I explained to them about how Brother Danny out of much love sacrificially donates and mobilizes for donations/funds towards BFU regardless of his blindness, they were so touched that some of them received these gifts with tears. They can’t imagine how God is using a person from a distant land who knows them not, to commit himself and many others as well on their behalf, teaching them the Word of God and to support the gospel work which God has given them to do in the remote bush villages of Uganda. They are so challenged and committed to follow the truth, teach others and continue seriously in preaching the gospel of salvation.
We gave out only 15 reading glasses but every glass was a great remedy to the owner because they have been having difficulty in reading for quite a long time. And it has been their prayers that God may help restore their reading sights/abilities. It was a surprise for them to see again those words very clear using their new reading glasses and every one of them were enjoying reading their new bible. We went with our Sawyer water filter which helped us to filter all the drinking water during the conference and we were able to save quiet good money which we use to spend on buying drinking water at the conferences, but no longer since the arrival of our Sawyer filters.
We then did the bible drive, foot washing and praying for the sick on Friday. It was another moment of great joy, songs of praise and the sweet trills of the village Christian women. More report
coming………………..Bishop Bita James Oloo (Jimmy)
December Conference [continued]
After the Bible drive, all the village pastors and elders team prayed for us, prayed for the entire ministry of NTFI/BFU, praying for our board of directors and all our all our donors.
They are so grateful to God for the great blessing that he gave them through BFU ministry. The Sound teaching/doctrine of BFU ministers has helped the pastors and all church leaders to acquire true knowledge of God’s word, and this will help them a lot to do the gospel work in a rightful way. Many preachers have been going to the village churches
but they only teach them prosperity gospel and take advantage of their ignorance by deceiving them that if they give special seed faith offerings, God will give them the anointing to become rich. In that way, these preachers end up taking even the little the village Christian has, making them even poorer than before. This year 2016 will always be remembered throughout all churches in west Budama as the year of the beginning of
a great revival in the history of the church all over west Budama. BFU ministry has changed the system of leadership in this land. Great unity is now among the pastors and church leaders from the different sub-counties like never before, as a result of BFU teaching conferences.
For the first time in our land, a bishop comes in the form of an ordinary village minister of God’s word, humbled to the extent of washing the feet of the village church leaders as a sign of humility and his great love for them. Bishop Bita comes not in great glory and honor like other bishops and great "anointed men of God" but his heart is full of God’s love, knowledge, and understanding of God’s word. He comes riding a very long distance through village high ways and goat paths on the back of a boda-boda [motor bike] with his companions covered with road dust and dressed modestly like a poor village person, but loaded with special and expensive gifts on the back of his boda-boda. Boxes of brand new native bibles (special working tool for village gospel minister), and bundles of clothes to cover those who are in desperate need for clothing, and bicycles to
help ease the transportation of village gospel ministers as they travel many miles doing God’s work, Many pairs of reading glasses to save the sight of many who could not read anymore. Says pastor Joseph, chairman organizing team, in his Closing remarks on behalf of the entire village teams of organizing pastors who took part in our conferences in west Budama land since the beginning of this year. The bishops who took part in our conference to the last day also confessed that BFU was sent by God to open the eyes and minds of God’s people toward the true knowledge of his word. They promised to continue uniting together and holding seminars as they continue in the truth and teaching their people as well.
We then closed our conference in joy at 3pm, and BFU missionary team (Bishop Bita, Pastor Joshua, pastor Katandi and Pastor Okurut) were dismissed in much love by the village team of beloved fellow ministers. Pastor Katandi and pastor Otenge rode on the boda-boda safely back to Namyingo. Bishop Antony Owor who was one of those who
attended our conference, offered us a ride in his car to Iyolwa taxi stage. Pastor Joshua boarded a taxi safely back to Kampala, Pastor Okurut also boarded a taxi which took him safely back to Bukedea and for me, I went to see my mom in Osia village where I spent the weekend and ministered in their Sunday morning service. Then on Monday morning
I took a taxi to Jinja, then another taxi to Kayunga and finally a boda-boda to Lusenke.
Since I came back from the conference, I have been receiving at least five phone calls every week from the village pastors. Some of them are calling to testify about the great impact and spiritual change which is happening to them as a result of BFU missions to their churches. and others call to ask me for scripture references and more information/detail on the different topics which I have been teaching in our conferences.
May the good lord bless and reward you all, our dear board of directors, all donors and all our praying friends all over the world. I wish you all a blessed and prosperous new year 2017.
Bishop Bita James Oloo (Jimmy)
