As we continue to seek the Lord here at home, we want to encourage you to pray for our brothers and sisters in Africa as they face the likelihood of the coronavirus spreading through their communities. People in many African countries are now being required to remain at home, and to refrain from gathering together in churches and church groups; and the reality is that many cannot remain at home unless they are also prepared to starve at home. Bishops and Rooted in Jesus coordinators have shared with us that people are suffering from fear and confusion, lacking information, finding it hard to get food, falling prey to conspiracy theories and false stories of cures, and worried for the future. But they tell us too that they are remaining steadfast in prayer, and encourage us to do the same. Please, one person wrote from Tanzania, whenever you pray don’t forget that we pray for you too.

A moving and encouraging report from Uganda

Many of us are seeking as ever to place our trust in the Lord, to thank him for our blessings, and to minister to others in whatever way we can. People seem open to talking about God, people tell us from around the country; and we are finding ourselves having some surprising conversations here in Somerset too, as we set out to buy our food or take our daily walk.

We have just published a moving and encouraging report from Uganda on our blog. It’s from a pastor named John, called to plant a new church in a remote area with no Christian tradition, sharing his challenges, his blessings and his prayers for us all as in our own ways we face the new coronvirus situation. Whatever difficulties we face, John faces more – and he does all this with very few resources. Read what he says here.

Moving forward together

Here at the Mathetes Trust we are working together on new books and translations for Rooted in Jesus. We are about to publish the Rooted in Jesus Junior Team Manual in Swahili, thanks to Gaspar and Abel in Tanzania who have translated it. Rooted in Jesus Junior is being translated into French, and we have started to work on Rooted in Jesus Book 5, which will be a transitional book which aims to help those who have completed the course continue to grow in their faith together as they minister to others. Translations into other languages are ongoing. Perhaps the Lord is enabling us to dig new foundations for the future.

So let us continue to remain rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. And let us be encouraged by John, who reminds us: “There are big missions and little missions. There are missions that require our skills and expertise and missions that require only a smile and a kind word.” The little ones, we can all do.

Posted 17th April 2020 by Alison Morgan