Winter 2024 Newsletter
MISSIONARY STORY
I love to read biographies of great missionaries, not because they were great but because they gave all they had to serve a great God. One of my favorites is the story of Gladys Aylward. At age 18 she became a Christian at a revival in Edmonton, England, and dreamed of taking the good news of Jesus to China. She applied to become a missionary but was rejected because of her low level of education and difficulty learning languages. Gladys didn’t give up on her goal of reaching China so she continued praying, reading about China, and saving her money she earned as a maid. When she heard about a widow named Jean Lawson, a missionary in China in need of an assistant, she took a train through Siberia and eventually made it to China, though facing many trials along the way. Gladys and Mrs. Lawson restored an old Inn which housed mule train drivers who were told stories of Jesus, His offer of eternal salvation, and His great love for all people. When Mrs. Lawson suddenly died, Gladys carried on the work and eventually became the ‘official foot inspector,’ after the practice of foot binding in children was outlawed, allowing her to share the Gospel of Jesus in surrounding villages. On these trips she found many orphans in great need so she began bringing them back to the Inn and caring for them. When Japan invaded China in 1937, she eventually had to flee to safety taking more than 100 children on a 28-day journey through the treacherous mountains. God was with them the entire journey and when they finally arrived in Sian, Gladys was extremely sick and malnourished. She eventually returned to England for ten years to share her stories about the need for the gospel in China. When she tried to return to China, she was denied entry by the communist government, so she went to Taiwan where she set up an orphanage and lived out her days serving others until her death in 1970.
Her story reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:38-39 “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Uganda Mission Update Kibajjwe
A BIG THANK YOU to ‘Cornerstone Community Church’ in Louisville, KY for their ‘Christmas offering’ to rebuild ‘Cornerstone Baptist Church’ in Kibajjwe, Uganda. The church was constructed 2 years ago to quickly provide a meeting place for the church members of Kibajjwe (see photo below), who were then meeting under banana trees, to have a roof over their heads during the upcoming rainy season. The original church was built of bamboo and wood and will now be rebuilt using brick, an iron sheet roof, and bars on the windows and doors to keep everything safe. Pastor Julius and his workers have already began rebuilding the church and will hopefully have it under roof by the time we visit in late January. Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” The Lord is good, you can trust Him!
Uganda Mission Update Ndejje
‘New Life Baptist Church’ Ndejje is finally finished and has a weekly attendance of about 28 – 30 adults and more than 30 children. Our ‘Unreached4K Uganda’ director/overseer, Pastor Geoffrey Mbabazi, is serving as senior pastor assisted by Pastor Badru who is in training. The church is meeting weekly for exegetical Bible Study (walking through the text verse by verse), Minister/Leader training where everyone is given 7 minutes to prepare a sermon or lesson and share it with the entire group, outreach and evangelism events every Saturday, and Sunday worship with biblical preaching, praise and worship, and fellowship. The church is built in a predominantly Muslim village with many Christians scattered about and when we visited last July, the Christians were skeptical that we were actually going to provide a place of worship and bible study for them. Thanks to ‘New Life Baptist Church’ in Danville, as well as other ministry partners like you, their dream has now become a reality. During this past Christmas Season, they had hundreds of children come for their first annual ‘Christmas Celebration’ where they played games, were given gifts, had face painting, sang and danced in celebration of Jesus’ birth, and obviously enjoyed a lot of great food.
Uganda Mission Update Bembe
Pastor Charles Katongole of ‘Bembe Baptist Church’ is doing a wonderful job leading the Bembe church through weekly Bible studies, Sunday worship services, children’s ministry events, and even a football (soccer) team to reach the young people of the village with the Gospel of Jesus. Every Sunday, about an hour before worship, they now have several Sunday School classes where various age groups gather together to study the word of God. They, like the Ndejje church, also had a great ‘Christmas Celebration’ with nearly one-hundred children and adults coming to celebrate the birth of our Savior. They spent the day playing games, singing and dancing, hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through teaching and stories, and of course, enjoyed some delicious food and ice cream. Please continue to pray for and support ‘Unreached4K’ as we lead the 3 churches surrounding Bombo, Uganda to reach those separated from their creator with the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Ukraine Mission Update
Thanks to your prayers and donations, Pastor Paul Dudka at Revival Baptist Church in Vizhnitsa, Ukraine spent the past few months working extremely hard to take the Gospel to surrounding villages. In October, he started his 6th church plant in the village of Yablonytsia with more than a hundred children and adults hearing the Gospel for the first time. In November, Pastor Paul led a seminar in the village of Shepit, where many elite guests such as former heads of administrations, community leaders, education officials, deputies, and others, came to hear him speak on the topic of “Forsaken, but Not Forgotten,” and he reminded them that they are not forgotten by the Lord Jesus. Also, in November, Pastor Paul’s father passed away and because of his father’s influence, nearly 150 people heard the Gospel of salvation at the funeral. The third week of December, he had a special Christmas event which brought together families of fallen and missing servicemen who heard him speak about how salvation through Jesus Christ is a free gift to those who have lost hope. His team then presented gifts to children and food packages to their families. Just before Christmas, Pastor Paul had a 5-day ‘Christmas Celebration’ to reach out to the orphans who have lost their fathers in the war and the many widows in the surrounding area. He distributed more than 250 food packages for the widows and 250 presents for the orphans. Please continue to pray for and support Pastor Paul in his ministry to all those in Ukraine during this terrible time of war.
Pastor Paul’s sixth church plant in the village of Yablonytsia.
“Forsaken, but Not Forgotten” seminar in the village of Shepit.
Pastor Paul’s 5-day Christmas celebration reaching widows and orphans who have lost their fathers in the war.
Facebook Ad Mission Update
To make a tax-deductible donation by credit card, please visit the donation page of our website.
You can also send a check payable to ‘Unreached4k’ to 4713 Railroad Ave., LOUISVILLE, KY 40258
Unreached 4K, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Please visit our website to learn more: Unreached4k.com
