Recently, we at Journey Church had the opportunity to be involved in a Relief Effort in Uganda. Because in part of our efforts, two pastors there, Pastor Festo and Pastor Nathan, were able to purchase some much needed supplies  for refugees coming out of the Congo into Uganda. The Congo has had an escalation of rebel fighting and so many people have had to flee. Kisoro, the city that our group in April visited, borders the Congo, so refugees have come into their city. As you can see from these pictures, the two pastors were able to provide for some of their needs.

 Here is an email we received from Pastor Festo:
"Thanks once again for the generosity and compassion for the Congolese refugees. We combined the money for the refugees and made it a joint effort. We bought beans,maize flour,soap,body jelly,salt,matchboxes and snacks.
Two villages were covered and about 150 peaple received portions of these items. A particularly moving scene was a crippled mother of twins. We gave her some clothes in addition to the food items.
The distribution had a great impact on the community as we received many thank you messages "

 July 2008 Mission Trip to Uganda

On July 14^th, 2008, six men from Journey Church along with 20 others from all over the country met with Call to Africa Jinja Uganda. Our goal was to let the spirit of God be our guide and do whatever He calls us to do.

     What an amazing experience and what a challenge every day was. We learned so much about our faith, how we worship and true hope. We spent seven days between Jinja and Eganda, ran two medical clinics, treated hundreds of people, filled over 4500 prescriptions and got to share the Love of Christ with thousands.  We were honored guests at a Pastors conference in Jinja and a Women’s conference in Eganda.  We visited countless small villages, schools and orphanages, sharing the gospel with puppets and music and skits. It was so amazing to see, and even more so just to be a small part of it all.

The people of Uganda were the kindest, most humble souls I have ever met. Everywhere we went we were greeted with the warmest, most inviting smiles.  The children were everywhere and all they wanted was to hold our hands and lead us around the neighborhoods and school yards. Everywhere we went God protected us from evil, guided us to the places of most need and used us to bring testimony and share the love of Christ. It was a testament to our God that Salvation and Healing, Joy and Faith are truly happening all over the world.  Our God Saves and we fall on His Grace.

If you have the opportunity to go on a Mission Trip…Go! It will change your life. If you are thinking about it, make it a matter of prayer. Let God guide your steps. Ask Him to make it as clear to you as possible and he will. Don’t worry about the time constrains or the financial burden. God will make all that happen as well.  Know that the God of the Universe would not put such a challenge on you if He did not feel you could handle it.

Finally, the anthem of a week spent totally exposed to God’s will for all our lives was sung over and over again on the busses and in the crowds. From the mouths of the sick to the hearts of the healed, “You Make Everything Glorious…And I am yours. Thank you Journey Church for helping make this trip possible.  For all your prayers and support. We are called to make a difference all over the world and though only 6 of us took the trip, you all were there in our hearts and minds as Uganda is with us now.

God Bless you all.

Jay Hirshberg

April 2008 Mission Trip to Uganda