Far Reaching Ministries Blog

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year!!

We hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas as you celebrated the birth of Christ. We pray that this year would find each of us drawing closer to Him.

Here in Uganda we began the Christmas season early with a Women’s retreat. The theme of the retreat was God’s Gift to US. The women of Calvary Chapel Kampala went away for 2 days to the YWAM (Youth With a Mission) conference center in Jinja. The idea behind the retreat was to focus on the wonderful gifts God has already given to us. The main teachings were: Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Gifts of the Spirit, the Word of God and Heaven. At Christmas time it is so tempting to begin to list the things we do not have and the things we want to have but during this retreat we were blessed to be reminded of how much we have already been given and even have still to come. The teachers were Lynne Kelly, Therese Macfarlane and myself. Therese, a missionary from Kitgum, was the main speaker. It was truly the Lord’s plan for us to have Therese speak. Originally we were to have someone else but at the last minute they fell sick. Therese truly was ready in season and out of season. The Lord used her to speak to the women in a way that brought more than half of them for prayer during our afterglow session. For some of the women it was prayer for repentance or rededication and for others to be filled with the Spirit and to know their giftings. We praise the Lord for the work He began during that retreat in lives of so many. We pray that the women will remain steadfast, holding on to and applying the things they have learned.

At Calvary Chapel Kampala we celebrated on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve we had a Carols by Candle Light service. The choir led us through the story of Jesus’ birth through song and the reading of scripture. After the service we had a “bring and share”. This is the equivalent of a potluck. Even though there were many guests there was plenty of food for everyone. There was such a feeling of fellowship and communion as the church body shared this Christmas Eve meal together. On Christmas morning we had 2 services. The service consisted of singing both worship and Christmas songs. Pastor Josh gave the message in the form of a story. It was amazing how though I know the Christmas story and have read or heard it many times, to hear it told again in such a unique way made it so much more real to me this Christmas. The next highlight of the Christmas service was the children’s play.

The 6 – 8 yr Sunday school class acted out the Christmas play to music. It was fun and very entertaining too see the little angel and shepherds dancing around! After church we went with some of our friends to Brian’s family’s house for Christmas dinner. We truly had a Merry Christmas.

Please pray for us as we will be in the United States for 30 days to fulfill the requirements of Brian’s visa. Please pray that we will find favor with immigration upon arrival in the US and during his interview. Thank you for your prayers and support throughout 2008. May the Lord bless you and use you as we enter 2009.

In Him,
Brian and Jill Kanyike