Empower Uganda President Joyce Ouko and her husband Pastor Julius Ouko, almost immediately after their recent trip to Karenga (read their compelling report about it here), went on to conduct a training in Tororo, in eastern Uganda, more than four hours journey from the Ouko’s home base in Kampala. Here is Joyce’s report from that trip.
By Joyce Ouko
We cannot stop thanking you for Empower International Ministry’s timely response to reach out and equip the African church and its backbone the family. I believe God is using Empower to equip his church in Africa, as many Ugandans testify.
Pr. Okumu Charles, born of Tororo but a missionary in Arua, invited us to do a training in Tororo after attending a recent training in Arua (read about that training here). Charles with his wife Leah warmly welcomed our team to Tororo.
This training had its own favor. When we reached Tororo, we realized about four Pentecostal Bishops humbly attending the Empower training. We felt honored by their presence, and gladly welcomed them. In Uganda, Bishops cannot just attend a seminar if they are not the preachers. The Bishops did not simply attend the training, they also carried leaders from their churches in their cars throughout the training. One of them had branch churches in Kenya, he invited them the second day to attend, and we started realizing on our registration, could only understand Swahili language, this was even taken care of during the seminar.
Testimonies from the training
After the training, the Bishops together with the Tororo pastor’s fellowship held two meetings specifically to evaluate the Empower seminar. The meeting host, Bp. Paul Mugonaihasa from Abundant Life Church, told us that “the Seminar was very good, eye opening, and was really needed. It is already transforming families; they urgently need to be given another opportunity for the pastors who missed.”
Bishop Joseph Wanzala, a lead pastor, Divine Rescue Church, Malaba, oversees a number of churches in Malaba, is a retired Tutor for National Teacher’s College , attended the seminar with his wife Judith. He said he read through the whole material and evaluated it before he could continue with the training. He is a researcher and a trainer, and after reading through the material said that New Man, New Woman, New Life in Christ is one of the best organized books he has seen, and he has included it in his library for training leaders. “This training has left us yearning for more, because of the order of its material and the facilitators,” he said. He has committed himself to use his influence to reach out to many leaders and people of influence with this life changing material to restore the family and church in Africa to God’s intended plan.
Esther was encouraged in her work in women’s ministry in the church. She said that the seminar has given her clear light on apostle Paul’s teaching “women should keep quiet in the church,” which she learned was written to a specific situation. She had felt confused as a woman leader in her church, wondering if she could speak in the church or keep quiet (as other church leaders teach). From the Empower teaching, she has understood the context of apostle Paul’s words as well as the scriptures that talk about how women are created in the image of God and given equal responsibility and blessing to serve God. She says she felt a special kind of liberation to freely serve God and help fellow women to do the same with the biblical knowledge she received. She likened this insight to those she imagined Mary, a woman who sat at Jesus’s feet, received as Jesus ministered to her.
Bishop Stephen Onamuna is the lead pastor of Royal Palace Global ministries, as well as a retired Tutor of National Teacher’s College. He testified of Empower teachings being very unique in the way people interact, they pour out their hearts, speak about their pains and confess to their spouses. He saw, as a result, reconciliation taking place in families. Sometimes it is small things that minister differently to different people. He was blessed by the facilitator’s humility and being social. He raised a concern to Empower finding a way to specifically address the gap of those whose spouses are not Christians. Pr. Stephen also made our movement to the training venue easier by picking us up every morning in his car.
Roselyne Onamuna, a pastor’s wife, testified that certain things became clear to her but through this training. She said God spoke to her in a very special way like her eyes were opened to see clearly what the Word says about man and woman.
Winnie Odongo said equality was well explained, it made her understand shared responsibility. After the seminar, she said she went and shared everything with her husband. He received the message, which has resulted in a shift in their family. Before, culture had a very high influence, now many things have changed in their family, they are very happy as a couple with their children. The teaching was easy to understand making it also easy to implement.
Pr Okello John, Lead pastor, Glory Life Centre, said them as pastor’s fellowship could not wait to hold a seminar in the same venue (Abundant Life Church) to implement especially the approach of Empower after their evaluation meetings. He reported to me that the seminar has been very effective, each category of people were ministered to effectively. He requested that Empower come back very soon.