missions

Tendo Bible Camp•Campaigns Grid•missions

Tag: missions

Grounds & Utilities

In September 2021, the Lord provided Tendo Bible Camp with a piece of land in the heart of Namayumba, which was formerly a banana planation. Once the land was purchased, we went forward in making it useful for the ministry. With the help of our friends from GR.Church in Grand Rapids, MI we were able to put up a meeting hall, a small kitchen & storage room, and toilets.

Fallen & Rebuilt

February 2024 – The winds and the rains blew, and our temporary meeting structure fell down. Thankfully it happened at night when nobody, but the grounds keeper was around, and nobody was injured! Prior to it falling down, Denny was already looking into the cost of making it more secure and even expanding it to make it larger for the number of campers we get. After Denny shared with a guy from one of our supporting churches what had happened, this man anonymously gave the amount needed in order to rebuild the meeting hall. With his sacrificial gift we were able to reconstruct the building with cement beams, added a new roof, a stage area and to expand the hall. This coming January, we have another friend who is planning to come to help install all the electrical work, so that it is prepared for when we have electricity.

Water & Electricity

Being out in the village, far enough away from the main city, we ran into main problems – 1. No running water and 2. no electricity. We began praying for the Lord to provide us with both as it was extremely expensive to keep hauling in water for each Saturday and every camp.

Running Water

In May 2023, the Lord provided us with a Well through the generous giving of several different individuals. The drilling truck was brought in, they went down 85 meters deep and we have water! Praise the Lord! And because it is our own well, the water is clean and drinkable!

We still need to construct a tower for the tanks to sit on and to make it more functional, but we praise the Lord for clean, running water. This water is a huge blessing for this community, as this area is a very dry area!

Electricity – Still in the Dark

We are still currently off the grid and without electricity. The nearest transformer is located on the property of a politician who does not want anyone tapping into his supply, so the people in the area suffer by remaining in the dark. We are praying for the Lord to provide the provisions for us to be able to put up our own transformer and get connected to the power grid. This would open so many doors for the gospel to go out in this community. Would you pray for the Lord to provide us with electricity.

May Holiday Camp Week 2024

Our May Bible Camp was incredible! Campers showed up full of energy all week and God’s Word was taught each day! We had a wonderful week learning what the Bible has to say about Creation. We are grateful for the exceptional team that the Lord brought together to serve the children and teenagers this week. Reverend Nelson Kibaya guided the teens, while teacher Mary led the younger kids. Derrick excelled in leading the singing. Our gratitude extends to all the leaders and volunteers at Tendo, who make these Bible week camps appear so seamlessly easy. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to pray for and support our ministry.

Here are some photos and updates about each day during the week.

Day 1

Camp has begun! We are so thankful for this week of Camp! Our campers ages from as young as 3 years old all the way up to 20 years old, and often times we have even older as some of the parents like to come and participate in learning and fun.

Day 2 –

On day 2, we had more than 300 campers registered and the energy at camp was through the roof! We continued with our theme of Creation, looking specifically at the angelic beings. This is a very sensitive topic here especially because our community is predominantly witchcraft backgrounds and also the charismatic churches around make understanding this topic more difficult. The campers had many questions, and we are thankful to Rev. Nelson, who faithfully used Scripture to answer their questions.

A few weeks prior to camp beginning, “red eyes” disease (pink eye) broke out in the country, and we were praying that it would not affect any of the kids coming to camp, but sadly we did have some kids with the disease that we had to take them back to their homes so that it would not spread to the rest of the kids.

Something special this week is how our big boys, who are usually evidently showing disinterest in the lessons and teaching, are very attentive and asking very fundamental questions as the bible lesson is taught…. Our hearts are full, and we can’t wait for what the Lord has in store for us tomorrow….

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” – Romans 10:14 KJV

Ivan.

Days 3 & 4

Wooooow day 4 done and dusted….. Everyday comes with special blessings and we are always amazed at what God is doing in the lives of our campers and staff. Today was amazing. We enjoyed every bit of it… From the games, to the singing and the lesson, not forgetting the food. One of the best moments at camp that campers and staff look forward to is the theme song…. Today the energy was different at the time of singing the theme song that we had to do it again and also do it at the closing time. The campers have got it now with all the actions and it’s so much fun. The lesson today was on the creation of Man as God’s special creation. With this kind of community, it’s very important to emphasize to our campers how special they are and that they are loved by God. It was an awesome lesson today and we give glory to God.

A number of our campers had contracted “red eyes” and a number of them were missing from camp since we had asked them not to come if they were infected.

Day 5 – In Pictures

Day 6 – Final Day of Camp!

Last day! Then came the last day of our camp this holiday. What an amazingly action-packed week it has been. We praise the Lord for a fruitful ministry this past week. Today we more than 330 campers. The last day of camp is my favorite… We get to witness the campers respond to the gospel message. Today we had over 60 campers trust Christ for salvation…. Praise the Lord indeed…. This is why we do what we do and it brings so much joy to all of us here when God draws these little souls to Himself. We also had an award ceremony to reward the campers that were extra ordinary in different aspects during the camp week. We praise God for an exciting week and we thank all our partners for all your support…. My heart is full…. And to God alone be the glory.

A Surrendered Life – January Camp 2024

This is the 6th camp edition at Tendo Bible Camp just amazing at what God has done. 150 from Monday to 320 by Saturday the last day of camp. We had it all from siblings carrying their littles siblings to teenage mothers and parents dropping off their little ones. These campers were all amazing and very energetic. One of our young men who used to live in the area, but his family relocated, walked 3 hours one-way, every day to come!

Games, soccer and volleyball. Singing new songs to the Lord and learning from the Bible everyday. Stories kept us on the our seats learning about a surrendered ife from Eli, Samuel, King David, King Saul, the cross and eternal life. We praise the Lord for keeping all the campers healthy and safe, we only had one case of Malaria. Emma, came to camp not feeling well. He had spent the night before at an overnight at his church, where he had already not been feeling well. His pastor told him he would be fine and that he would anoint him with oil. But when he came to camp in the morning, he was in bad shape, Denny ended up taking him to the hospital with server Malaria.  The hospital was a local government hospital so he had to go around looking for medical supplies – syringes, gloves, medication, etc, Imagine going to a hospital – yet you still have go find your own treatment. But we praise the Lord, Emma made a quick recovery and was discharged on Sunday.

One of our big challenges in the ministry is most of the local churches and pastors in the community are apart of the health, wealth and prosperity gospel movement. They do not teach a true gospel, but they use the young people and brainwash them to do whatever benefits them, mostly to make money or have a following. Please pray with us that we will stand firm in teaching Biblical doctrine and for the young people to see the truth as they are studying God’s Word. Also, pray for a Bible-Believing, Biblically-sound church to be planted in the area, where we can send the young people, knowing they won’t be wasted by false teaching.

We praise the Lord for the 13 campers who gave their life to Christ, we give God all the glory because this is what it means for all involved in serving! Again we are thankful for Dustin, Layne, Maci, Alexis and Sadie for joining us for the this week. They did an amazing job ministering to the kids with big love, compassion, with great smiles and big hearts for the kids and energy! They brough the heat and boosted the campers at Tendo Bible Camp. The Ugandan team – Derrick, Becky (Music), Isa, Geoff, Jacky, Jackie, Irene, Pr Dan, Duncan, Charity, Roger, Mary, Ivan and Okama, all made it look effortlessly easy, they are the best team to have and work with. We thank the Lord for allowing us to serve along side of them.

We are also so very thankful for everyone who has partnered with us in making this a success every year and every camp so far! Your faithfulness in praying and your generosity in giving of your finances are the reason we are able to do what we do at Tendo Bible Camp in reaching the youth for Christ. Thank You! Our next Bible Camps this year will be in May and August.

End Of Year Christmas Party

On Wednesday December 20th, Tendo Bible Camp was able to hold its 3 annual End of Year/Christmas celebration. It is during this time that we get to celebrate all that the Lord has done through the various discipleship programs and camps here at Tendo in Namayumba. The turnup was overwhelming with over 400 children and youth in attendance this year. With the help of our team and 15 volunteers’ children and youth had a wonderful time. The grounds were filled with laughter and rejoicing as the day was filled with various activities which included football (soccer), volleyball, board games, face painting, music and drama.

Through the generous gifts of our partners, we were able to have a table filled with food, where everyone was able to have enough to eat and drink.

Amongst all of the festivities and food, there was a time of praise and worship to the Lord and the gospel was presented. It was a beautiful day of rejoicing.

On Friday, December 22nd, our team from Tendo Bible Camp were able to take 80 of our young adults from the Sunday Fellowship to a beach in Entebbe. It has been a joy to walk with these young people this past year, seeing many of them make decisions for Christ and to watch them grow in their faith. We pray that the Lord will give us more time and opportunities in the New Year to continue to have an impact in their lives for Christ.

At the end of every year, we love to celebrate with the children and youth what the Lord has done throughout the year.
Youth from our Monthly Sunday Young Adult Fellowship enjoying the day at the beach.

We are so thankful for all of our partners who have supported us this year! It is because of your generosity and faithful partnership that we have been able to have an amazing year and eternal impact in the lives of these young people. We look forward to what the Lord will be doing in 2024!

To God be the glory!

August Camp 2023

What an amazing week of camp at Tendo Bible Camp this past August! The team in Uganda did an amazing job running the show and making sure the campers had a wonderful week filled with fun and growing in the Lord! We praise the Lord for the great work He has done in the lives of the campers, staff and volunteers this week! The games, the music, the food! Everything was on point! When we have 14 young people, some being as young as 6 years old willing to walk over 15 miles to attend Bible Camp… To God be the glory, great things He has done!

The theme for camp this week was Resolve to Follow Christ: Lessons from Daniel. Our wonderful Bible hour teachers for the teens were Pastor Zeddie Muzungu and Rev. Azarias Nelson Kibaya. The Children’s lessons were taught by Teacher Mary, who has been our children’s teacher since our very first camp in April 2022, and on Friday, Teacher Florence, one of the volunteers who came with Pastor Zeddie stood in.

Throughout the weeks, the campers had the opportunity to learn lessons from the life of Daniel, what it means to stand courageously and faithfully, even when the society around you doesn’t. Each day, the teens had the opportunity to discuss and act out different ways they could apply the lessons they were learning. The children learned several verses throughout the week and had different crafts to go along with their lessons. On Friday, the children learn the Wordless Book and were able to go home with their own copy.

When asked what they had learned one camper, Jasime Matovu 8 years old said “From the story of Daniel, I’ve learned that God does not want us to worship idols any other gods. He wants us to worship Him alone.”

We praise the Lord for His work in the hearts of this young people!

Come Rain, Come Sunshine, Camp Must Happen.

The week began out slowly because of rain. On Monday there were we only about 150 campers, which we know that when it rains things will be slow. We have learned to adapt to the community we are serving here, rain means families go to the garden until the afternoon and when many of our campers live as far away as 7 kilometers or more, the rain affects their movements, as they walk from home to camp. When we first started out here in Namayumba, the rain meant no one would turn up at all, but praise God we can now say come rain, come sunshine camp will happen! Wednesday was another rainy day, but praise the Lord on this day the young people still showed up in big numbers as we had around 250 campers! Even on the rainy days the campers remain joyful and energetic to play the games with each other and participate in the discussion during Bible hour. of 250+ campers! Even through the rain the campers remained joyful by playing with each other in games and participating in group discussions during Bible hour.

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday were Hot Sunny Days!

The rest of the week we averaged 250+ campers each day and on Saturday we had well over 300, pushing 370!

Each day, we drive to Busunju Village and pick up about 50 young people. On Friday, 15 of these young people walked the 12 Kilometers to the camp because they did not see us at the usual meeting place and they thought they were going to miss out on camp!

The remaining week, we averaged 250 campers each day and on Saturday, we had well over 300 campers, pushing 370!

We are excited about the numbers of campers, because that is the number of individuals coming to hear the Gospel and how to have a relationship and how to grow in the Lord. We have seen real spiritual growth in the young people who have been with us since the beginning. Their knowledge of scripture has increased, and they are allowing what they have been learning to take effect in their lives. To the glory of God, we have parents who have visited us to give testimony of the transformation of their children and how sitting under the teaching of God’s word has impacted them and it is transforming families! Praise the LORD.

There are a lot of preparations that go into putting on a weeklong camp, with us in the USA raising support, we had to heavy depend on our team in Uganda to take care of all the details and to run the camp! We could not be prouder of our team! We praise the Lord for His faithfulness and for their faithfulness to serving these kids. 

Youth Camp Activities, Uganda, Africa

We are also so very thankful for those who stand behind us with their support both prayerfully and financially! You are the real heroes, as we would not be able to put on these camps or run our daily/weekly programs with your continual support! May God bless you!

Tendo Bible Camp is only possible by the generous support of our partners in the ministry! For us to continue with the ministry at Tendo, we need to raise $3,000/monthly support! That would be 30 churches or individuals giving $100/month! If you can’t do $100/month, maybe you can $50, or $25. Every bit adds up! If you would like to partner with us, you can give at abwe.org/give account number 0170261 or you can send a check to ABWE DONOR SERVICES, PO BOX 8585 HARRISBURG PA 17105; MEMO: Account #0170261/Nuwagaba. Every gift goes towards reaching youth with the gospel in Uganda.

Hello! Let Us Introduce Ourselves.

Hello,
Greetings from Uganda!
We are, Denny & Cassie Nuwagaba, missionaries to Denny’s home country. We have four young boys – Asher, Korbyn, Jaden and Rhys. We love God and desire to serve Him. Our passion is to reach the youth of Uganda for Christ and to see them discipled in Him.

Having been born and raised in Uganda, Denny is able to relate with many of the struggles and hardships that most of the young people here face on daily basis. Coming to the Lord at a youth camp, Denny has always had a heart for the youth in his home country to know and love the Lord. When he dedicated his life to the Lord, he asked God for someone to walk along side of him, to do the work with him –  I came to Uganda June 2009 on a short-term mission’s trip. We both loved the Lord and desired to serve Him and His people in Uganda. After a few trips back and forth to Uganda between 2009 and 2012 – Denny arrived in the US April 2013 and we were married June 2013.  We spent 8 years in the States. In those 8 years we worked to build a home in Uganda, joined ABWE – began support raising, we also welcomed 3 boys into our family – Asher, Korbyn and Jaden. After 8 years in the US, we made the move back to Uganda in May 2021. Two weeks before we moved back, we found out that we were expecting another baby, Rhys joined our family in January 2022, here in Uganda.

We currently live in Kampala but serve in a small village community about an hour and half northwest of Kampala, called Namayumba. We have been partnering with one of the local pastors and his church in this community for several years now. When we relocated back to Uganda, we knew that we wanted to continue working to reach this community with the Gospel. By the grace of God, since we have returned the Lord has opened up doors for us to setup a community center in the village, called Tendo Bible Camp.

We have a great tasks set before us in reaching the youth of Namayumba for Christ. Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world, with nearly 70% under the age of 25 – most of these young people grow up in absolute poverty and face extreme adversity from a young age – abuse, abandonment, limited access to clean water and electricity, limited to no access to education. Living in such conditions leaves people feeling hopeless and desperate for a way out. They become easy targets for those who want to take advantage of their situation. Through Tendo Bible Camp, we desire to share the love of God with the young people that come that they may learn of their value in Christ and that they would live for him. We pray that God will use us and Tendo Bible Camp to transform the community of Namayumba, for His glory.

Please stand with us in prayer for the Lord to open hearts and transform lives through the preaching and teaching of His Word.

In our next post, we will go share more details about Namayumba, how we got connected and the vision for reaching the community with the Gospel.