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“The King will answer and say to them, “truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.”” Matt 25:40 Every human being has been created uniquely by God in His own image. God defined the value of every human being with the shedding of His Sons blood. Yet I still find myself assessing people to decide wether or not they are worthy of my love, my time or my consideration. It’s easy to look at an oncoming person in a crowd and decide that their grumpy attitude, or their prideful demeanor, disqualify them from a good interaction with me. We practice reactionary kindness. We practice reactionary grace. We practice reactionary love. I will bless and welcome you in a way that is directly corespondent to my assessment of your character. We find ourselves loving those that love us and hating those that hate us. Yet what greater reason could I have for being kind to someone than knowing that they bear the image of my creator. What greater value is possible to have than the worth of Jesus Christ’s own blood. Who am I to place a standard of worth higher than that. My kindness, grace and love should not be a reaction to an individual directly but a reaction to the value God has defined for human beings in the Gospel. We can love people before assessing wether they are worthy of it. The Gospel empowers us to show preemptive kindness. ...

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Josh 1:9 I hope this letter finds you abiding in the strength and love of Jesus Christ our Savior, As with all of you, and the rest of the world; this month has been a roller coaster for our family. We started the month in expectation of teaching our pastors the book of Jeremiah, for things to continue normally at the clinic and at BAM and to enjoy a visit from my parents at the end of the month. But it didn’t take long for all of that to change as the country of Uganda began preparing to battle the virus. ...

“He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know me,” John 10:13-14 This month is a blur in my memory. Each day went by so slowly, but now looking back it’s as if no time passed at all. I myself (Noelle) left our two-room, temporary apartment only a few times, so my concept of time and days has become very skewed. But here we are at the beginning of a new month, and I hope I can share with you what God has been doing here in Gulu, Uganda, even though I have not been directly involved with almost any of it. ...

Dear Friends and Family, Please watch this video and check out our October update… &feature=youtu.be We are excited as always to share our hearts with you all. Around 17 months ago God led my family into the pursuit of overseas missions with our good friend Luke Buescher. After confirming our calling, we met regularly to pray for about 6-7 months before God gave us clear direction: We were to join Terebinth Ministries and minister to the physical and spiritual health of the Acholi people in Uganda, Africa. ...

“So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” Psalm 63:2-3 In the month of January God gave me (Matt) the wonderful privilege of attending the annual East Africa Calvary Chapel Association Conference. It was my first time to attend this conference but I hope it will not be the last. Although I love the church as a whole, I have a special place in my heart for the Calvary Chapel movement, that seeks to permeate the world with the Gospel through sharing the Love of Jesus and simply explaining the words of God. It was wonderful to sit in the “sanctuary” and behold what God has done and is doing in this region of the world in and through His bride. Jesus touched my heart as I worshiped Him alongside men, of all different tribes and languages, who have separated themselves from the deceitful pleasures of this life to love and serve the King of Kings. All of us were stirred and filled as we looked at Jesus words the seven churches in the first chapters of Revelation. It was a perfect way for me to start the year, filling my heart with expectation for what God has in store for 2020. My prayer is for there to be a church in every village that rightly handles the Word of Truth and believes in the transforming power of Jesus death and resurrection. ...

“The Lord sustains all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.” Psalms 145:14 As you may know, our primary ministry here in Uganda is the biblical training of pastors at the Terebinth School of Discipleship. However, God has surrounded that ministry with a few other ways for our team to reach the Acholi people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A more recent addition has been the widows’ ministry. As we take our students through the whole of Scripture one of the themes we highlight is God’s heart for the widow and last year God opened the door for us to not only teach our pastors about His heart towards them but to partner with them practically. We train committees at our students’ churches and give them supplies to provide healthcare, food, discipleship, fellowship, and work to the widows in their areas. By God’s grace we’re hearing a lot of testimonies, and seeing a lot of families come to know the Lord because of this practical display of love. We even have a witch doctor enrolled in the program who is receiving discipleship. We hope and pray she responds to Christ soon. In the month of February, God opened the door to triple the number of widows in the program, and we pray that He will continue using this ministry mightily. ...

“I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” 3 John v4 The month of December was full of ups and downs, but the one thing we feel overall about it is joy. Last year we did nothing American to celebrate Christmas besides cinnamon rolls for breakfast and reading the story of Christ’s birth in Luke. The day passed slowly, and ended up being kind of miserable because we didn’t sleep at all that night, hearing the discos throbbing music and the public showing of movie after movie, as loudly as if they were inside our bedrooms, all though the night. This year we decided to be a little more traditional and put up a few lights and decorations, do a gift exchange with the kids, and invite some dear friends, 3 single ladies over for dinner, since their families had traveled for the holiday to different villages. It was not quite a white Christmas, or a comfy cozy one, but it was restful and fun for all of us. And the disco got rained out, which was an answer to prayer for us (both for sleep, but also for the sake of our community and discouraging them from celebrating in ungodly ways). ...

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matt 13:44 Last month we told you briefly about a coming training for some pastors in our community. In the recent months we have seen an increase in attempts of suicide in our area, our own clinic treating several cases within a months time. Matt spoke with the pastors in the Terebinth School who are from our village of Adak, and they decided to gather pastors and leaders from every church in Adak for a special training. Nearly 50 leaders met for 3 days to learn about Biblical counseling, and how to minister to the people in their church who are dealing with depression, suicidal thoughts, or even just having a hard time. Matt was also able to speak for a few minutes on the value of life, and how we should not dismiss or look down on people dealing with these issues because Christ placed a high value on them by offering His own life for them. In all it was a good training. Please continue praying for God to work in our village and community, in the churches and especially in the lives and families of these pastors and leaders. ...

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 When we moved here to the village of Adak, God gave us a burden for our neighborhood and a desire to see the Gospel come to life in our community. Within a few months of being here, I (Matt) started a bible study on Tuesday nights for the youth of the area. We pray that some of the seeds that were sown at that time will continue to grow, but it didn’t take very long for us to see that we needed a different approach to reach our neighbors. Then, at the time that we were closing down that Bible study I started meeting with one of our neighbors who’s name was Daniel. Together Daniel and I read and talked through the entire New Testament and the impact that God’s Word had on Daniel’s life was tremendous. The same week we finished Revelation, Daniel left to another town in order to study nursing. With Daniel gone Noelle and I started praying for further direction from God concerning our village and within a short amount of time we had around 15 men meeting in our home every Wednesday night to fellowship and study God’s Word and Noelle started a separate study with a couple of the women from the community! Our goal with these studies is to lead people into developing their own relationships with God where they know how to pray, how to read the Bible for themselves and understand it, how to memorize scripture, and most importantly give them an understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise God for his faithfulness to seek out and save the lost. ...

So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:12-14 In the month of August I had the awesome privilege of teaching at the first pastors conference put on by the Northern Uganda Calvary Chapel Association. This Association was formed in 2018 as a way to help shepherd the Calvary churches in the area. The theme of the event was servant leadership and we took 2 days to look at Jesus example of washing His disciple’s feet. The Holy Spirit guided us as we taught and touched the hearts of the pastors who were listening to inspire them and challenge their methods of leadership. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and growth and we are thankful for what God did. Please pray for us as we prepare to teach at a few more conferences coming up. ...