Plenteous Redemption

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Prayer Letter | March 2023

March 2023

Brethren, we salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus:

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)

February and March have been filled with professions of faith in Jesus Christ. The only effectual substance in the air is the gospel. Otherwise, it’s unclear how we have come to be blessed with such a consistent harvest, but we are thankful! Responses of this sort provide great motivation for our hard-working church members. We are praising the Lord for his increase.

An example of the response to the gospel we have seen here recently can be illustrated by the events of Sunday, 12 March 2023. I was privileged to preach both Sunday School and Sunday morning messages. I preached about the Future Reign Of King David, and as the sermon began, I noted that this would not be the type to bring lost souls to the altar for salvation. I was wrong; three souls made professions of faith in Jesus Christ that morning, and five others who had recently trusted the Lord were baptized. This is a great example of the vast gulf of understanding between the Lord’s use of a sermon and man’s.

Kristin continues to teach the ladies from Masaka Independent Baptist Church at our home. Through this teaching and the lady’s Sunday School class on Sunday mornings, many have grown spiritually. Kristin and Mrs. Sally Stensaas teach the Lady’s Sunday School class, and as of late, they have begun including Ugandan ladies in the teaching ministry. We are blessed to see growth and a renewed focus on spiritual truth.

March 30th and 31st, the brethren and I went out to the village of Kyasenya. This was an extension of our Village Public Ministry, and the Lord blessed our efforts. The church in Kyasenya, currently called Katwe Baptist Church, is a new church plant. They have been meeting faithfully under a tarp strapped to a few poles attached to a house. This church may have reached a point where they need a church building. A goodly number of people attend, but they have lost some. It seems they couldn’t get past the lack of a building. To make matters worse, the local charismatic groups have used this detail as a tool for recruitment. They visit the attendees of Katwe Baptist Church and pressure them to switch churches using their established building as a lure.

Regardless of this difficulty, the brethren remain faithful. They have installed new poles on the backside of the same house, creating a larger space. They need a few more poles and nails to prepare for iron sheets, and brother Keith will help them purchase them. I will send them the money necessary to finalize their work; this will serve as a conducive temporary meeting place. Please pray the Lord will provide them with some land and a goodly place to assemble in the future.

As for our time there, the Lord was good. Musumba (Pastor) Ssebanja, the man ultimately responsible for leading the church plants in this area, is a taskmaster. On the first day, Thursday the 30th, we fellowshipped together around the word of God. I taught them through Jonah chapter 3. Their responses were blessed, and the word of God helped us all. After four hours of Bible teaching, we had lunch together. When lunch finished, we spread over five villages and trading centers and preached the gospel for four hours. We had a wonderful time serving the Lord together. That night we had the opportunity to sleep in our new tent, which was brought to us from the US. The next day, around 5 am, the rain began and was relentless for most of the day. In Uganda, especially in the village, rain shuts everything down. Therefore, it was a great time of fellowship and spending time together.

Over the two days, eleven people made professions of faith in Jesus Christ. We packed up in the rain on Friday around mid-day to head back to Masaka. That evening Musumba Ssebanja had a tent meeting of sorts. We received the report that numerous people came and stayed for the preaching until 9 pm. When the preaching finished, the people stayed and spent precious time together. The following Sunday, two of the eleven came to church; responses of this sort provide a helpful boost to new village churches. Please pray for them as they continue to get this church plant organized.

My family and I drove to Kampala early in March for an airport run. Kristin’s dad and stepmother visited us for two weeks. We were blessed to have them with us; they were so excited to see their grandchildren. Video and telephone calls do not compare to the value of face-to-face companionship. Furthermore, my family spends an overwhelming part of their time in our home; it is just the nature of the ministry here. It was a blessing for my wife to spend time with her father and have adult conversations.

In Mid-March, we received the news that Adrian’s visa paperwork was completed. Please Continue praying. We will need to renew all four visas, my work permit, and my family’s dependent passes in just a few months.

To close out this prayer letter, I want to add a note from Brother Gross to those of you who sacrificed on his behalf. He is eternally thankful, but he has written a thank you in his own words:

Dan 2:28 “But there is a God in Heaven….”

Greetings, Brethren; I rejoice with all I am in the LORD. He has shown himself exalted and Almighty through your sacrificial giving to me, my mother, and my siblings. I am sure there is no way I could have built a house for my mother to run to from a somewhat contentious environment if it weren’t for our LORD, who has provided through you, my beloved. May the rich God abundantly bless and supply all your needs. No ink can express how thankful I am to my God for you all,

Amen.

Thank you dearly.

Brother Rutabagyisha Gross

Thomas, Kristin, Bethany, & Adrian Irvin

Ambassadors for Christ | Uganda, Africa