Prepare the Way Ministry Week 2 - Part 1

by Linda and Bill Campbell

March 23, 2006

Greetings from Uganda,

March 7-13, 2006

This was a week of great adventure in the Lord. We prepared to go to Koboko in northern Uganda. Koboko is located about one mile east of the Congo border and ten miles south of the Sudan border.

Intercessors were praying. Our alarms clocks were set for 2 AM as we had planned to get an early start. This was important because the dirt roads in the north are in very poor condition and vehicles must go very slow over the many bumps and pot holes. There is a rebel army called the LRA which stands for Lord’s Resistance Army. These are demonized men who kill and mutilate innocent people. They run cars and trucks off the road, rape and kill the women, steal the men and children for the army. Whites are especially attractive to them. The roads are patrolled by soldiers from 6 AM to 3 PM. Anyone on the road after those hours are made to remain in an extensive wild game park called Pawach Park, which is fenced and patrolled by soldiers, until the next morning. As we forced ourselves out of bed at 2 AM, we noticed that it was raining heavily. Of course, everyone in Uganda knows that you can not move out until the rain has stopped. Our team started showing up at about 5 AM.

Bill had been sick from food poisoning the day before and was not sure if he could travel. As he stepped out in faith and loaded into the van, God’s strength surged through him. It was a God thing because within three hours, our driver was starting to doze at the wheel.  Bill has mastered the challenges of driving on the left in a land where the largest vehicle has the right of way. He was quick to respond and drove us the remaining seven hours. After passing Pawach Park, two young soldiers asked for a ride. They remained with us for over two hours, unknown to us, while we were on the roads where LRA have been sited.

When we arrived in Koboko we found that no reservations had been made for us at the only western motel in the city and it was now fully booked. We came to learn that Koboko has no running water or electricity. Due to the poor hygienic conditions there was a current outbreak of cholera in the city. However, our great God had already made provision for us. Bill’s high school friend, Dan Peters, pioneered a Christian radio station in Koboko two years earlier. We passed the station when we arrived in the city and decided to stop by and greet our friends. Clara, the manager of Spirit FM, invited us to stay in their guest room. The station has a generator with 24 hour electricity and running water. Clara is a wonderful cook and cared for us with excellence. We really enjoyed our time there. The rest of the team stayed near by in an African style motel nearby.

Tuesday was the first day of the pastor’s training. Village and city pastors came from Sudan, Congo, and Uganda. There were over eight tribes represented including the Kakwa, Dinka, Lugala, Basoga, Bayora, Sudanese, Congonese, and Bali. We had five different language groups present. Bill preached each morning on valuing the presence of God. We worked to break off the dullness that developed due to the hard life and darkness of the culture. Each day after lunch, Bill taught a course on integrity. Advancing the Kingdom is the African branch of Faith Bible College. Through them, we are able to offer college credits with the possibility of a college degree to the students. Bill taught in English. The interpreter translated into Kakwa. Someone then translated the message into a third language for the person sitting next to them if they didn’t know Kakwa.

It was really amazing. We had women who could neither read nor write. They were looked down upon by the community. We wanted them to see how much they are valued by God. The people started to love us. It was overheard in the native language, “This must be God. They have put their lives at risk to come to northern Uganda.” Last week a man was murdered in the town during the darkness of night of Koboko by the LRA.

On the second day, there remained some blockage in the spirit realm. At the end of the message, Bill called for people to repent of their sins, the sins of their city, and the sins of their ancestors. God put a heavy intercessory burden on Linda and she cried tears of repentance for northern Uganda. People were on their knees crying for generations of evil, repenting, and asking for mercy. Their faces showed that God was doing a deep work within their hearts. It was so beautiful to see tribes that had hated each other for centuries, praying together. We broke for lunch. When everyone returned for the school in the afternoon, joy was radiating on the same faces that were dull and hard just one day before. It was evident that a heavy burden had been lifted from their hearts. People were becoming free and it showed during their worship. The dancing was a response to a spirit that had been set free.

The people came ready to receive on the third day. The presence of God was enveloping the place where His presence was becoming welcomed by the people. All fifty pastors responded to the invitation to receive prayer to be filled with the fire of God’s presence.

God deeply reached into the hearts. Testimonies were shared. God healed a woman of deafness. She had been very ill. Her family thought she was dead and had placed her in the ground. She coughed and was brought back up. She recovered other than deafness. God broke the deaf and dumb spirit off of her and instantly healed her. She was able to hear the faintest whisper. We all knew that we were standing on holy ground. The worship leader was unable to sing. Seconds after prayer, she was able to praise Jesus in a beautiful song. Another lady had closed her heart to any preaching. She was tormented with evil voices day and night. On this day, she opened her heart to the Lord. God’s presence was so strong on her, she fell, and she shook, and cried. When she got up, she was completely changed. Other told of how they had come to the meetings by divine appointment. George William was such a young man. His father died, and he was no longer able to attend University. He returned to his village in Koboko. We walked into the church on the first day and after prayer, he went down and remained in God’s presence while God transformed his heart. People shared how they have never experienced God’s presence on them before.

Thanks for praying,

Bill and Linda Campbell