MISSIONS NEWSLETTER

Pastor Chuck & Arlyn
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

A very Happy New Year to you from PFU in Mbale, Eastern Uganda!

Please forgive me for writing to you like this but I felt that you might like to hear a little bit about what is happening with this much needed ministry in eastern Uganda.

As you may be aware, the number of men and women held in prisons in Uganda has continued to grow in recent years. In addition, nearly sixty per cent
of these inmates, who are mostly young men, are simply on remand or awaiting trial.

These young men have frequently lost hope and are quite desperate as they reflect on their ruined lives. As a result, they are often very open and
receptive to the gospel of Jesus Christ who we know wants to provide them with a fresh start and a new meaning and purpose to their lives.

However, this ministry is not easy and few local people are willing or able to follow Jesus’ command in the great commission in this particular field
or to take heed of His teaching in Matthew 25:36 – ‘I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

For many years, this challenging ministry has been spearheaded in Eastern Uganda by Mary Eteu, often under extremely difficult circumstances. Mary
is a widow bringing up her children alone. Just this last year, her landlord forced her to close her business for some months leaving her without a regular source
of income. However, at the same time, she continued to faithfully carry on this ministry, totally reliant on outside support and donations to enable her to visit the many prisons in eastern Uganda.

My name is Martin Hayter. I am a missionary from the UK who has been living and working in Uganda for nearly two years. I have been called by God to
support and bless the work that He is doing through many local people here. I have the complete support of and am fully accountable to my church in Canterbury, England.

I believe that this is an extremely valuable and fruitful ministry. Over the last two years, I have accompanied Mary into a number of different prisons and
have seen God mightily at work and, as a result, many have come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Just over the last couple of months, I have had the privilege of visiting three prisons with Mary. It has been very exciting to see the gospel fruitfully
preached to the unsaved and discipleship lessons being carried out with the believers, many of whom have come to faith whilst in prison.

In addition, through the wise use of donated money, we have been able to show the love of Christ in practical ways through the donation of sleeping mats for the prisoners, soap and washing basins for them to use and even medicines for the sick.

In accordance with my calling, I have sought to help Mary with this ministry. By qualification, I am a professional administrator and, in recent years, have
worked as an accountant for a Christian charity. Over the last few weeks, Mary and I have worked together to produce (for the first time ever!) an annual
budget for this ministry. We hope and believe that the introduction of some financial management will improve the running of this ministry and will give confidence
to donors that their money is indeed being wisely used.

To put it very candidly, this highly commendable ministry is being restrained and hampered by a lack of financial resources. According to the
prepared budget, for less than £200 a month, this ministry, which is serving thousands of prisoners over the whole of Eastern Uganda, could be put on a much
firmer foundation.

I would like to let you know that this letter is not a general circular. If you have received this letter, it is because you are one of a relatively small
number of people who have either supported this ministry in the past or have had some other contact with Mary. I will not use your contact details for any other purpose.

I would very humbly like to ask you whether you would prayerfully consider whether you are being called to financially support this ministry,
either through a one-off gift or, preferably, by a regular monthly donation. Should you feel called to support this ministry in this way then please let me know and
I can forward the details of a UK bank account, operated by a Christian charity called ‘Stewardship’, which could receive your donation in a very accountable manner.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter. My prayer for all of us is that 2009 will be a year when we come to know and experience the love
of Jesus in a new and even deeper way. I look forward to hearing from you.

God bless you,

Martin