Some of them are excited to go to kids church this morning.
They'll bring a bit of Africa to Kids Church.
Sorry before I start preaching I just wanted to give you guys a
bit of an accountability of the last 2 years. So obviously you
guys personally support Fred and I as missionaries, but also many
of you have given to different projects some of you sponsor
some of our children and last year, you'll remember sorry not
last year, 2 years ago. You remember that, we were raising
funds to build girls homes and many of you gave to that and so
it's good for you guys to actually see where your money is
going because we do have that guarantee that 100% of what you
give. Actually goes to the designated project and so it's
nice for you. To actually see what you have contributed to and
what you guys are apart of because this is also part of
your harvest as well. So if I can get the team to put the
slide up. Please that would be awesome. So 2017 that's what our
girls home looks like very
attractive right. And after our tour, we raised enough money to
build our for girls homes so it went to that.
And the awesome news is we raised above and beyond what we
needed, which was awesome. So on top of building for girls homes.
We were able to build 3 kitchens for the boys. The girls in the
school also to new boys homes that you can see behind this was
taken in November. I'm sorry as of now, it's fully complete the
boys section and they're living up in there and on top of that.
We still had more money leftover so next slide. Please we also
had enough money to build a babies home that people
generously gave the money they saw their house and gave the
profits in obedience to God and God put on their hearts to give
it to us for a baby's home that was like in our five year plan,
but not immediate plan and the amazing thing. God so good that
they put the money in our account 6 weeks later.
We had a random audit inspection from the Ministry of gender came
out to me, Tiana and they said to us please. Can you open a
babies home because there are no registered babies homes across a
number of districts, including Matiana and the surrounding
districts. So we've got millions of children. An many babies
where we've got nowhere to place them and so God had already
provided the money out of the obedience of these people. And
so we have built an 8 bedroom babies home, which was late 40
babies one mom looks after 5
children maximum. And if we keep going inside that.
You will see. That's the dining room, so we made it nice and
colorful our good old eBay Chinese wall decals. I love them
makes it nice and bright and that's also inside the babies
room. That's the daycare playroom for all the kids so
that's been amazing on top of that we still had some money
leftover. And so the next thing.
Oh, sorry that's baby. Christine that's sorry baby. Christine if
you've been following our journey on Facebook. You may
have seen that there was a baby. His mom passed away and she
passed away from internal hemorrhaging and it hit me hard,
because when I had destiny. I hemorrhaged and I was here in
Australia gave birth and so I was fine because I had doctors
here that could look after me. But here's a mom on it into a
different country exactly the same issues. She was exactly the
same age that I was when I gave birth to destiny 3, 1/2 years
ago. And because of where she lives and because of the medical
situation. She passed away. They couldn't help her and so it hit
me hard, and her father is quite old and mentally unstable and so
they just left the baby because firstly they thought that she
was a curse on the family that she had killed the mother and
secondly. They didn't know what to do with her. She was pulling
blood for 3 days and she they also couldn't afford formula
because formula is double the
price of Australia. Sorry I called Fred when I saw this baby
and I said honey. How would you feel about us bringing another
baby home and so we get our babies home sorted out and
friends like you no worries. Bring up is such a good husband
and sorry from the beginning, God said to us that we would
have her for a season. Like many people said to me. You know why
didn't you adopt her that well, she still has a dead and I don't
feel that their adoptable when they've got parents, regardless
of what situation that he's in at that stage but also God said
to us. She's yours for a season. It was very different. So we
hope for us and so we just have to be obedient to what God tells
us. Today and so we took her in that's when she was 2 days. Old
she was 2.0 kilograms. But she is now walking if you have a
look at the next slide that's
Hurley. That's her in January and she's walking and she's
doing really awesome, so that's baby. Christine so she's the
first baby that went into our babies home. We've now got many
were just added one last week, Baby Jeremiah. He was found,
they think he's about 2 months. We had to give him the name
Jeremiah. Because, nobody knows the name they can't track the
parents. He was just found under a bush in a district about 2
hours away from us, but there's no babies home, there, so the
government rang our local government who then called us to
go and get the baby so.
Yeah, so that's been awesome
next one please. On top of that we had enough money for school
library, so all those paintings that you can see on the wall
from the very talented George.
So he told you he's studying to be an art teacher well, he's
already 100 times better than me at heart and you can see it goes
all the way around the room and he did it from his memory.
Amazing and so we've been able to set all of that up King
Schools gave us some iPad. So it's our kids favorite lesson
of the week. They get to go there 4 times a week for
reading groups and we have made a lot of our own readers and
things but we also collecting some to take back from Kings
this year, which is awesome, so that's our school library and
on top of that we still had some money still leftover.
Will keep going reading?
Atkins rating levels have improved dramatically since
then. We had enough money to build a forestry project. So we
were able to buy 27 acres of land. It's about 40 minutes away
from hope village and Fred. My husband, you know, he's very
laid back. But when it comes to work is a good task master so if
we could just go back 1:00 sorry to the forestry project. Thank
you so he would make his workers of 8 workers. They had to plant
2, 1/2. Thousand seedlings before they're allowed to have
lunch so if you want to come and
volunteer. Then feel free it's a really good so great, you know
exercise diet program and you can look like George of the end
of it, you see sorry they have planted 1000. So it's all done
by hand. They had to clear it all by hand. And then dig the
holes plant them all and so in the future. Why this is good.
It's to help us to be a bit more self sustainable. So you plant
them close together and then at 5 years do you harvest every 2nd
one which can be used for
scaffolding? All the buildings would love that here and then at
10 years, you get to actually harvested for Timbers and you
make quite a good profit so on top of that since we've
purchased the land last year. It's nearly doubled in value
already so that's been awesome as well. They've just put a
massive big highway right next to where I land is entire at
which is awesome. If you've been to Uganda. So we have been able
to do all of that with the money that we raise from the last
tour. So it has been incredible and that's just accountability
back to you guys, so that you know exactly where your money
has gone too. And that it actually has been used for what
we told you that it would be useful and if we can go to the
next one now. Please so this is now heart village. It's really
good to see it with a drone so for those of you who know the
story. If you don't know this story. I moved to you got a 6,
1/2 years ago, so it was just over 6 years ago that we
purchased the first five acres of land on your right hand side
an now we are at over 15 acres and this is been 6 years.
Isn't God amazing? We literally started if you can see where the
words hope villager that's what all of Hope village like looked
like it was just trees and shrubs. We've had to clear at
all. When I say we I mean, Fred and the team, not many I sit
behind the computer. No, I. I overlooked the projects. But we
have fenced all the way around. You can see if you're moving
from the left where the words hope villager at the top that's
our girls compound so in the future. That's going to have
five of those quadplex is so 20
houses in total. With next is the boys. I'll have full
quadplex is which is 16 houses in total. There's always more
need for girls because boys are more of a superannuation plan
for families so they tend to try to marry the girls off younger
all. They just don't care as much about girls education, then
going across is our first school
building. So we started a score up to grade 3 this year, going
to grade 4 next year, going across where the white roof is
that's our timber church coming down. We've got a volleyball
court in a netball court, but that's where our future medical
clinic and admin will go the netball will stay coming down
again with the clumps of grass are that is now fully grasped
off and we're going to have 3 volleyball courts there. We've
started a volleyball community competition and then coming down
you can see our soccer field so we have soccer community
competitions as well. Getting out into the community and a lot
of those people, then come to church so it's great for
evangelism. Then, coming across we've got at dairy project in
the middle used to be a piggery. We've now converted it to a
dairy 'cause. We was struggling to make enough money with the
pigs, whereas with the cows there. A lot easier to feed pigs
eat so much food and sorry and then our kids get fresh milk
everyday so that's being great and we obviously have enough
food. You can see how green it is and then coming across we've
got the babies home, there as well, then down the bottom. It's
too wet to plant on there's a River that runs through their
Creek. And so that's where we've got all fruit trees and the
elephant grass to feed the cows.
We also have purchased up the top where the boys home in the
school is straight up from there. We we own 1, 1/2 acres
at the top there were a future secondary school will go and
vocational training center and we're currently praying and
believing for the piece of land. That's right next to it
right above the church that you can pray for us and
believe for that as well, and then on the Just on the
outside. You can't see it. But we have one and a half acres
on the other side for future boarding section as well so
that 60s of what God can do if you just very pedia.
I think that's
I think that's it right or there might be one more oh. Yes, what
we're raising money for this year, so this year. We're
raising money for we need for more classrooms. We run out of
we've run out of classrooms. You see are so next you our grade
force needed classroom to start studying and so we're raising
money to build grades 4:00 to 7:00 classrooms and also a
computer lab. We want to teach our kids technology because when
they're University. They they are expected to know technology.
But most kids out in the villages have never seen or
touched a computer so we need to
get them skilled. Even if they don't go to University it will
help them to get admin jobs. All different like if they want to
run their own business, they need to do all of those things
as well. So we're raising money for that. We are also raising
money to build a multipurpose center. So where are churches if
you go to the next slide please as I said it's made of Timbers
and iron sheets? Which Fred and the guys built an it's just dirt
floor on the inside in Uganda. There are not many rules. But
when it comes to churches. There are rules. As always, so the
rule in Uganda. If you don't
have a brick. Church you cannot marry people so it's one of the
issues that we're facing is we've got a lot of people in our
community and in our church that want to get married. But we
can't marry them legally. So we want to be able to build a brick
structure, so that we can marry them because a lot of them are
cohabiting and they want to get their lives put into order. So
we want to be able to help them to do that and a lot of churches
in other places where they do have a brick building, they
would charge a lot of money and people can't afford it. So we
want to offer that as a free service to the community. We
also there are no community
centers. In any of the 5:00 surrounding districts, which are
millions and millions of people. The closest is kampyle which is
the capital city, which is an hour and a half to 2 hours drive
away. So our choir have never performed lokoli in Uganda
because there's no Community Center to perform at an all the
churches are dirt stages. So it's very difficult to do a lot
of what they do undo it. So we want to be able to put on
concepts for the community and allow different local artist to
come together and do that as well, and also it's a school
auditorium. So it will get a lot of use so that's what we are
raising money for. For this year, so if you would like to
give then we're going to. I'm actually just going to take up
the offering. Now, if that's alright. I'm going to get out of
order. 'cause I feel that God wants to do something a bit
different today. Like user when I prayed she goes tells me not
to have notes for some reason, when I come to Kings. I'm not
allowed to have notes When I'm preaching so we're going to do
some ministry time at the end, so I want to take up the
offering now floor 100% hope and on your cheer their envelopes.
It's tax deductible were registered in Australia as I
said 100% of whatever. You want to give you don't have to give
please don't feel any compulsion to give but if you would like to
give in to continue to support the ministry and what we're
doing over there. There are different options on the
envelope. You can select a project that you feel passionate
about if you don't have a particular passion than our
current need is the school. So you could select school and
there's credit card facilities on there. There's debit card
facilities or you can put cash in and just put your details and
put your email address. If you'd like a tax receipt for that. If
you just want to give you can feel free to throw something in
the bucket as they're coming
around in A. Are we ready to do that? I've really thrown a
spanner in the works. Hey I'm good at that it's alright
'cause I'm leaving soon.
So we're going to give you like 10 seconds and also, if you just
want to give something back hard at the end. We've got the table
at the back. We've got if possible, cilia, so you can just
give my card if you would like.
That we would. Love you to contribute to what we're
doing over there and continue to further the Kingdom.
So I can't sing for you.
You don't run away.
So I'm just going to start oh yes. There's another flyer on
card on your chair thanks. It's for Mount Kilimanjaro. Some of
you might have a bucket list, where you want to climb Mount
Kilimanjaro. It's not technically one of my things on
my bucket list. But I know that there are many people who would
love to do that. We have got a team of volunteers who came
over. They organize those trips. They've done it themselves
before and all of the money. That's raised for that trip goes
to 100% hope so. You can go and.
So feel a bucket list requirement will also then
contributing to the organization. So if you
want. More details just grab the card. That's on your
chair about that as well.
Sorry. As we're doing that I'm just going to stop preaching
'cause, we don't have long left.
Is that alright?
Well, that distract you too much
what can I get going? Rogan hand up if you have been here
before and you've heard my story before hand up if you've
never heard the story before.
Oh, if you OK if you haven't heard this story. Before, you
can jump on the Internet. What's the name of the documentary.
There's a documentary that 1009 do. Dan it can tell you
more of the story. I just usually not tell the story
because so many people have heard it. I don't want to go
over it again. But you can jump on and hear more of our
story.
Thanks 'cause Mom African heart you can Google that and it will
come up for you and just tell you a bit more about how we got
started. But today as I've been praying this week and asking God
what he wants me to preach that I really felt good to just keep
saying the word faith and I was like OK God. So where we going
with this. And for those of you.
Uh-huh goodness in a sack coming
already. Lose everything.
Those of you know actually we pareda baby 5 weeks ago.
But during that time.
God lifted our faith like never
before. And it's still up.
I can I can stay here, and I could cry but my faith is
still high?
And today I really feel like.
There are people who is sitting here and you've had promises
from God and.
You have been waiting a long time for those promises to come
to pass and you've nearly given
up on them. But I want to tell you that God is not a God that's
limited by time. God's not
limited by anything. Thanks, I told myself,
I should pack tissues.
And.
When we were going through the whole journey with
Miracle Baby Miracle.
God gave us so many promises and we know that those promises some
of them have come to pass and some of them will come to pass.
We know that and I can stand here today and even though we've
lost a baby. As such on the Earth. We haven't lost baby
forever. I can stand here and declare that God is still good
because God doesn't change, even when our circumstances change.
You can go through anything in your life, but you need to
remember that God doesn't
change. And you know, God didn't promise us an easy life.
We know that this world is filled full of sin. We know that
this world is full of problems. It's full of temptations, but we
don't have to focus on that.
We have to focus on what God's
doing. And you know, God is always at work, and there are
things sometimes that we see in the natural but we've actually
we need to take our eyes off that and start to listen to what
the spirit is speaking.
Because that's what faith is all about the Bible says that we
walk by faith and not by sight. But so often as people. We want
to walk by what we see we want to walk by what we experience.
You want to walk by the natural circumstances around us when
things are going well. We're up here when things are going bad.
We drop down and we sometimes like this in our journey. But
God doesn't want that God just wants us to keep going like this
with him. Yeah, things will knock us down, but we've gotta
get back up. And you know, we were believing some miracle to
be raised from the dead and to
be honest. We still feel like
that God could. That's how much faith, God has given us because
we were praying God, either razor from the dead or give us a
picture of her in Heaven and still to this day. God hasn't
given us a picture of her in
heaven. And so we walked away from that grave and I said to
Fred but I still feel like God could raise their and he said.
Even Maine and so God said to us, though. When was standing by
her grave the one thing God said to us having done all now stand?
And someone needs to hear that today, having done all now
stand. You've done what you can do now, just standing like God
do what he needs to do and keep
moving forward. Now we were fasting in the lead up to that
and I was kind of like or do I keep fasting for another 3 days
and belief. It got to bust that grave open that God said to us
just stand. You've done what you can do now stand and move
forward. And so I want to tell you today that we need to stand.
There are too many Christians sitting down right across the
world in church and out of
church. Too many of us sitting down not doing what God has
called us to do and sometimes it
doesn't make sense. I don't know why God wanted us to believe the
miracle to be raised from the
dead. I don't have all the answers. I can't stand here and
give you all the answers. I am human but one thing that I know
is that we were obedient to what God God told us to do and even
to this day. Some I've heard like different you know things
people say different things.
You know, do you regret? What you did now I don't regret it, I
know that I was obedient to? What God told us to do, but the
problem is, is that too many of us are living in fear and fear
is the opposite of faith, too many times. We are surrounded
with fear and doubt and we live. Our lives, according to the fear
of people. It's probably one of the number one fuse and it's one
of the number one things that stops us from doing what God has
called us to do.
Now you know three months ago if you had told me to believe that
someone to be raised from the dead. I probably would have
like, I know that God can do it, but I don't think I would have
had the faith for it. That's the honest truth. But God raised our
faith, so much that I have seen it now in the spirit and I know
it's going to happen. And we as a church need to start believing
for more. Because the Bible tells us in John, 14, that we're
going to do even greater than
what Jesus did. Now we say that we believe that we can
say Amen, but what are we actually doing about it? Are
you raising your faith to believe for those things?
Because too many of us like I said, we sit back. We live a
comfortable life. You don't have to go be a missionary. There are
times even when I'm overseas well. I can sit back and be
comfortable. That's the truth doesn't matter where you are.
You can sit back and just get into this complacency, but gods,
telling us it's time to stand
up, and fight. We have to fight the good fight.
Where is our faith?
Too many of us feel like we have to be silenced because of what
politics say or what the world says or what this person says or
it's judgmental, it's whatever I'm not telling you go and judge
people. I'm telling you go out in love, but let your face start
to rise up? What do you believe
in God for? Are you believing God for a miracle? Are you
believing God to use you to? Do miracles signs and wonders?
Because that's the season that we're about to enter into a
really have seen God's drawing a line in the sand and there are
too many people standing on that line with one foot, either side.
There are too many lukewarm Christians who just do their bit
of church do their bit of world stuff come go do as they please.
But they're not actually being affective in the Kingdom.
So it's getting sick of it and there's a time coming
where God's going to say make a choice a horrible cold.
You know for me, I want to be
hot. And recently what I've been praying friend I've been praying
is that God would remove 100% or fear of Man of us because we
don't want to be limited by that. We want to be able to walk
100% in faith just in obedience to God and you know throughout
the last 6 years of me being in Uganda. It's the one thing that
God keeps repeating to me over and over again and I've said it
has so many times, but it doesn't change listen and obey
that's all that God wants for us and Fred and I at the start of
each year. We ask God to give us a word for our family so that
year. And this year, God gave us the word intimacy and I'm saying
to Fred a few weeks ago was like why don't don't understand why
God gave us that word intimacy like surely it should have been
a word like faith or miracle based on what we've been through
in these few months and then I was asking that God? Why did you
give me that word or us that word intimacy with all that
we've gone through and God said to me will faith can't come
except by having intimacy with
God. And so many times were asking good. We want this God,
we want this but where is your Internet time with good because
out of your intimacy with God that's when your faith is going
to rise when your faith rises that's when you can be obedient
to what God tells you to do regardless of the outcome. You
don't even worry about your Plan B option. When we stood up here
and we declared that America was going to be raised from the
dead. There was no Plan B option. We had the capsule in
the car ready to go.
We had a baby bag packed.
We had everything ready for her because we believed.
And we know that we serve a God who can raise people
from the dead.
I would have lived my life in a
billions to God. What are you doing with your life?
Are you living in obedience to God or are? You too
worried about what the person next? Do you think?
It's time to take the limits
off. We've got to get up and
we've got to get free. I was reading the story of the Figtree
this morning. In Mark and Jesus is hungry and he sees his fig
tree he goes with fig tree and it's got no fruit on it.
Any curses the fig tree and nothing happens on
the outside physically.
And the next day, the disciples and Jesus are walking back
passage about 24 hours later.
And then they say that this victory is weeded out from the
roots. And I'd and the disciples remembered what Jesus had said
the previous day.
Sometimes, when God calls you to do something in faith
and cause you to do something in obedience. You
will not see the results straight away. But let me
tell you something is happening deep in the roots,
something is happening deep in the spirit world that you
cannot see and you are releasing something over
your life and over the peoples lives around you.
It's time to lift our faith.
What promise are you holding
onto? What thing are you believe in God for? What is God called
you to do where you keep reasoning it through with your
natural minds. It's time to step out in faith and actually do it.
I'm not even gonna take much
longer. Because I feel like it's time just to do some
business with board.
Face. Where do you say that?
You know the Bible says that faith without works is dead.
And we're not saved by our works were saved by Grace through
faith. But faith and works have to go hand in hand and too many
times. We kind of sit there like a God? What do you want for me
to do OK God? Show me the opportunities and then God tells
you something and then you like OK. God now confirm it 3 times
or God do this for me, so I know that's definitely you and God,
saying no you know, my voice. I've told you what to do just
get up and go and do it.
Where are your works with your faith? Where's the
action? Where's the action of the church?
You can say all the right
things. I can stand here and say all the right things, but
what's the fruit of your life, telling us?
People read your life before they ever gonna read a Bible.
What is your life say?
Because people are looking for something different.
They're not just looking for a personal socio come to church Oh
yeah, it's alright I did a.
My laptop my life stand out like we should be real. I'm not
saying Don't be real but.
Where is our faith in what we're
doing? People can see Jesus in you or they can't see it
in you? It's as simple as that people can't just be a
little bit of Jesus inside that although nothing.
God doesn't want to share he's tired of sharing.
So many times we have.
Al lives and we have a section forgotten. We have a section for
the things of the world.
What doesn't want that?
God wants you 100%, yeah, you're gonna sing, but God Forgives
you. But too many people are caught up in secret things as
well, and it's stopping you.
You have doubt.
Satan tries to make us doubt
good. You know after we had to bury miracle, it was like.
Straight away this thought popped in our head.
Did I really hear from God that was the first thought and I was
like Satan he little trigger?
I know that we heard from God I don't doubt it.
Do I understand why he didn't raise it no, I don't.
But I still believe that he's good.
I want us to stand to update this morning.
There are people here today and you don't know Jesus?
And you know what I don't have all the answers but Jesus does.
He knows it all.
He created you, he knows everything about us.
And if you don't know Jesus this morning.
Then I want you to find him this
morning. He's already heat is
waiting for you. Waiting for you to come home.
Do you know Jesus? I just want you to put your hand up?
Is there anyone here that doesn't know Jesus that wants
to know Jesus this morning?
Going to take some time.
And I believe that there are
people here today. Like God, has spoken to you, God's given you a
promise he's given you a dream.
He's given you a word, but you haven't seen
it come to pass yet.
And you're starting to doubt you're starting to wonder
good did you really say that did I miss it?
There are some of you.
You feel like you've been sitting for too long.
And you feel like you need a new measure of faith. You know, God
gives measures of faith.
God can increase your faith today.
And today I'm going to ask you to be bold because God
wants us to be bold.
When the Holy Spirit came upon Peter and John they got this new
level of Boldness and authority?
Months prior prior to that they're standing there and
their denouncing even knowing Jesus in a few months later.
the Holy Spirit hits them hard and they start preaching to
thousands. They stand in prison and then they stand
before the people who crucified Jesus and they tell
them it doesn't matter what you say we're going to
proclaim the name of Jesus?
I want you to stand out come out
the front this morning. It doesn't matter if it's not
comfortable if you want God to meet you if you want God to do
something like I said there's sometimes requires a work with
your faith. Sometimes you need to take that step forward and
say God you know what I'm going to stand firm on this promise
and this word that you gave me I'm going to stand firm. It
doesn't matter about the doubts that have come in. It doesn't
matter about the time 'cause God. You are not limited by
time. But God I surrender that dreaming that promise back to
you. Again, I surrender that word back to you again.
There are some of you who need A miracle in your life.
And the good thing is that we serve a God who does miracles
signs and wonders. We're just the vessel.
We can believe for it, but let me tell you go to the
one who doesn't.
Do you need a miracle in your
life today? You're stuck in something and you just can't
see your way out of it, it might be a health someone's
a doctor has given you a health condition diagnosed a
health condition over you.
You know what it's a fact it's a physical fact.
But it's not a spiritual truth with God.
So you need a miracle in your life today, you'll marriage
might be in a problem.
God can restore he does restore.
You might need a job you haven't been out to get work?
What can give you work today.
It doesn't matter what it is God can do it for you.
God is not limited by time is not limited by money.
He's not limited by the natural that we can see.
Feel standing back they wanted to close your eyes and just
start worshipping God. I'm going to ask the quieter come and
pray. Going to come pray for this morning for everything
to come free.