Report on the Mission to Uganda 7-20 July 2007

17 August 2007

by Robert Clifford

First of all a BIG thanks to all of you who supported the mission by your giving, praying and encouragement. We had a wonderful time- extremely productive and effective and we know that much lasting fruit will come from it and the effects will be felt further afield. The trip surpassed all our expectations.

I went with Ingrid Macmillan who assists me in the work at Roffey Place and Cheryl Grey who runs the teaching Centre in New Malden.


Robert, Ingrid (& friend) and Cheryl	Delegates enjoying the Word at Wakiso

We had a very long journey out having to change in the early morning in Dubai but we had a royal welcome at Entebbe airport from The Way of the Spirit Uganda team members and were each presented with a huge basket of fruit-yum yum! We soon felt like we were at home.

The work in Uganda is headed up by Agnes Kabatesi who has carried the vision for The Way of the Spirit ever since she was a student at Kingdom Faith Bible College at Roffey Place in the early 90’s. Now she is seeing the vision coming to pass before her very eyes. Agnes has to work to support herself and is assistant director with the well known Watoto Children’s homes. She is a member of the large Kampala Pentecostal Church which meets in an old Cinema in the City Centre which holds 2500 and has 4 services on a Sunday morning to fit them all in!

Pastor Deogracious Musoke laid aside his busy schedule for the duration of the mission to be our driver/guide/helper/meeting leader etc. I have known him for several years as he was a student of mine at Lamplugh House in Yorkshire when it was a Bible College. He was a real blessing then and proved to be once again during our trip. He made things very easy and convenient for us. He is a lovely and humble man of God and the Lord is using him mightily in that nation. He heads up the prayer for a union of 20,000 churches and has a daily radio programme to pray for people and for the nation.

It was also a blessing to have with us Joab Sonko who was one of my students at Roffey a couple of years ago. He was our main translator for the trip and did a superb job.

We began by holding a 2 day conference in Kampala in the basement of our hotel, which was very convenient for us! This was a very powerful time which consisted of times of teaching the word in the power of the Spirit and times of them doing The Way of the Spirit themselves and learning to receive revelation from the word. Some had already done the course and we got them (as the experts!) to lead the groups but there were many who had never done the course. One pastor had travelled especially to attend from Kenya and he really caught the vision and happily went away with the workbooks to take it to his Church there. Others were extremely blessed and it was wonderful to watch a room full of pastors/leaders and others reading and sharing the Word together in such an animated way. Over the 2 days we had about 200 or so different folk attend. We fed them lunch at a restaurant across the road. The man who owned it was born again and the food he prepared was varied and delicious including the famous matoke (mashed savoury banana - mmmm!). He did us proud. We were also blessed by an excellent worship team headed up by Julius who is Uganda’s top worship leader and recently led worship for Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar. We were taken into the presence of God.

Before we ended the conference, and we used this pattern everywhere we went, we got Agnes to speak and introduce her team and linked the delegates up with them so that the follow up would be effective and that the work could continue to thrive.

On the Wednesday we did a one-day conference in Wakiso near Kampala and that was an awesome day. The work there is headed up by a policeman Pastor Alex. He was very enthusiastic abut the whole thing except that he wanted us for longer than 1 day! There were about 70 attendees and the children from the nearby school joined us for the worship. One little girl took a shine to Ingrid and was with her most of the day and slept on her lap!! We used the same pattern as we had in Kampala and wandered how we could impart the vision in 1 day but with God all things are possible and many caught it.


Children join in with what’s going on!	Folk doing their The Way of the Spirit

We found that here, as all over Uganda, there is an incredible hunger for the Word. Uganda is ripe for The Way of the Spirit. Everywhere we went people told us that The Way of the Spirit is what they need in Uganda. Before we went we had read an article by Andrew Wommack which confirmed that this is God’s time for the Word to be given in this nation. We had the amazing feeling that we were being carried along by the Lord on eagles wings to feed these people and to teach them how to feed themselves. We were walking in a good work prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). Now we knew why we all had such an urgency from the Spirit to go at this time. The nation is wide open for this work and maybe God is calling you to go and give what you have. I virtually never knew what I was going to speak but the Lord filled my mouth with Words from His throne room and I think that Ingrid and Cheryl would say the same. God Himself was feeding His people and building His Body.

On the Thursday we were able to visit Pastor Deo’s home, Church and school which was such a blessing. His wife Josephine has her own clothes shop and gave us each a wonderful African outfit which she and her ladies had made. Then it was on to visit one of the Watoto homes near Kampala. These are orphanages with School attached. We were just so overwhelmed by the experience we had there. Broken and shattered young lives are being restored. Children orphaned through Aids and war being mothered and fathered. I felt like I was in the Garden of Eden. The views all around were stunning and this seemed like a little piece of heaven in a dark world. It was the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Love poured out of the folk we met, who showed us round, and they see themselves as raising up Uganda’s future leaders. I had to hold back a river of tears I was so moved at seeing an example of God’s love in action in such a practical way. Wherever we went in Uganda we found that churches all had vision for practical works to meet the needs around them. It wasn’t just talk but a reality, God’s love in action. You can find out more details on www.watoto.com including information on their world famous choir which visits the UK in September-well worth a look.

We then returned to Kampala to visit The Way of the Spirit office which is in a prominent place in the centre of the City and we prayed there and dedicated it to the Lord’s work. It is open office hours all week and staffed by volunteers. It is a rallying point for those doing the course and also hosts The Way of the Spirit groups and hopefully will be a venue for teaching days in the near future too. It coats £150 a month to rent and then there are the running costs and they need shelves and office equipment. If you want to be part of supporting the work there on a one off or regular basis please contact Penny Jones in Norwich 01508 520003 or thewayofthespirit@tiscali.co.uk.

We then travelled up to Jinja in the dark, Agnes’s car breaking down on the way!! We also had trouble finding our hotel and when we arrived all the electric was off (not an uncommon occurrence in Uganda)!! A very long and full day-we slept well that night I can tell you!! Our hotel was on the edge of Lake Victoria and the night sounds were deafening-frogs and crickets and goodness knows what else. I shared a room with a little Gecko!! We saw lots of birds including huge cranes and Kingfishers.

For the 2 day conference we met in the Town Hall and our organiser was a man named Winston Churchill!! Heard that name before somewhere...The Conference was a great success but we had to break through here spiritually much more. But many caught the vision here, were arranged into groups and there was a follow up meeting on 4 August from the Kampala team.

On the Sunday morning we all preached in different Churches around and near Jinja. I preached in Winston Churchill’s Church and was surprised to find 45 Dutch teacher trainees there for the service!! I preached a Gospel message, starting, where else but in Genesis! Then I went with Ingrid to preach at another country Church. The worship was very lively, I have to say with lots of dancing and singing. They really enjoyed Church and being together. We had a great time.

In the afternoon we became tourists and visited the Source of the River Nile as discovered by Speke. The water takes 3 months to reach the Mediterranean Sea!! Then we went to Bujagali falls (rapids) on the Nile which was quite spectacular.

Monday we travelled to Kiyindi for our final conference. This was a first for The Way of the Spirit. The Centre there is run by Pastor Dan Kayondo and the work has been supported over the years by Gerry and Rose George who are in Kingdom Faith Church in Crawley. You can find out more on their website http://www.advanceinternational.org .

Many travelled long distances to be there and there were about 25 from the islands of Lake Victoria who slept in the worship Hall for the duration of the conference! Charles Semwega travelled from Rwanda to be with us too. These people were very hungry for the Word and it was wonderful to see them beginning to get revelation from the Word. Ingrid began the conference by taking them through the story of Abraham which was superb and had a major impact on them.

We did feedback sessions at all the conferences, after we had run the groups, to try to help them learn to share their revelation from the Word and there was some great stuff coming out. By the end of the conference Pastor Dan had agreed to coordinate that region and at least 9 groups have begun. It all came together wonderfully as it did wherever we went.


Lunch for the delegates	Group Leaders are appointed in Kiyindi

We returned to Kampala on the Wednesday afternoon having seen the Lord accomplish all that He had desired to. He had poured out a revelation of Himself and His love and left them with His living Word so that they could continue to learn of Him. We were full of Joy to see what the Lord had done-all Glory to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we could ask or imagine.

The team in Kampala are keen to follow up all that has been strengthened and established there and please pray that this will be done diligently and well. There is huge potential there for growth. More teams need to go out from the UK to fan the flames there and to pioneer into new areas of Uganda that are also crying out for the Word. Is God calling you perhaps? Maybe you need to get trained and equipped? There is the main Bible reading course to study, then the part time teacher’s course and now there is a full time course again. The need is there, so get ready to go. You have been blessed to be a blessing.

Pastor Robert Clifford