2019 in East Africa concluded with back-to-back conferences at our headquarters, one on water accessibility for local leaders, and the other on the Bible for area youth. Ugandan cooperative Peter Kimbugwe reflects on the events below. Briefly talking about this November trip (the NuWaterWorks and Youth Bible conferences), it was such a blessing and honor for us to participate in organizing and presenting these two power-filled conferences to our society. It was such a great encouragement for us to be directly involved in planning and presenting at the conferences in different ways. At the same time, we were also blessed to briefly travel to Kenya with our wives for the first time ever, fellowshipping and encouraging our Kenyan brethren, who have always been traveling to Uganda for the most part. Though it was a quick and brief visit, it was of great impact to meet these families and enjoy the presence of each other, and moving around with the district water officer to see the condition of different water sources and discuss possibilities of improving them. It was of a great benefit hosting these two conferences on our property, primarily because this served as a way of opening up a door for the local community leaders and the youth to come and discover who we are and what we do. It set a precedent for us in the area for a smooth future relationship with the local authorities and the society itself. We gained their trust through the outstanding standard of organization and wisdom that was displayed through words and actions. They were moved by the knowledge our team had about water, sanitation and related issues, and the ability to offer reliable solutions to their water problems as they stop thinking as individuals and start working together as a team. They were also amazed at the clean and organized environment, the seating arrangement, and the treatment they received from a group of people who were united and well organized to serve them. They enjoyed it all to the extent of not wanting to leave when the conference came to an end. In the same way, the youth turned up in big numbers, even from as far as Kampala and beyond. They were all touched by the organization, the meals, and the speakers, coming up with a coherent kind of message on the same theme but through different dimensions considering God’s desire to deliver His people from their suffering. Many youth shared that they were challenged to learn God’s word from the wisdom that was demonstrated by the speakers, each of whom exhibited great wisdom as they spoke from God’s word. This was also evident in the way the youth testified about their experience of attending the Bible conference.
There were some youth who showed great interest and desire to come and learn at the Institute if there would be an opportunity for them to attend. There was one that came to me repenting and asking for forgiveness, because of the way he had been viewing and taking us to be, due to the way he was misinformed about who we are. He said he was very amazed on hearing the way we taught and realized that he was totally misinformed. I would conclude considering the whole process as answered prayers, God meeting our efforts and paving for us a way that has opened up a door for many people to know who we are and what we do, which is a great step towards the re-booting of the Institute.
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