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.
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.
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.
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.
Walking the path to our new facilities in Namayumba.
Why leave a place of comfort and abundance to live in a place of poverty and pain? For many Ugandans the idea of going to any Western country like America or the Uk for work or school would be like winning the lottery. They see what is portrayed on the TV about Americans and those from other Western countries, being rich and having all the comforts that this life offers – and they want it badly. Often times it is hard for them to see the realities that people in those countries also have struggles. So, when they see us moving back to Uganda, they wonder why? What are we thinking, especially Denny, who grew up in Uganda and moved to the US, what would cause him to want to come back?
God is Sovereign Over Our Lives
Recently, I had such a conversation with a lady in Namayumba. She was interested knowing all about what the States were like – the food, the weather, if we had farms and cows. She was thrilled to learn that my grandpa was a farmer and had cows -she thought it was the most amazing thing. She went on to ask about the jobs available and if it would be worth trying to go so, she could send money back to her family. (It is extremely expensive and nearly impossible for a Ugandan to obtain a visa to the US – only about 40% of all who apply get approved).
My answer to her and others who ask is always to look to God and trust Him. God is sovereign over all of our lives. He is the one who ordains where people are born and the time period in which we live. He has a reason for one to be born American and another to be born Ugandan. He knows the pains and struggles that each one of us face and it is His desire for each one of us to trust in Him to be our everything – provider, healer, sustainer of life, etc. It is important that whatever state we find ourselves in whether rich or poor, in good health or bad our hope to be the Lord. Maybe God will allow you to go to the USA one day but know that there is more to life than having lots of money, big houses, and fancy things. Yes, you want to be able to provide for your family, you want greater opportunities for education and better health care – but know that God knows you and he loves you – He will provide for you whether he allows you to go to America or for you to remain in Uganda. And know that wherever God allows you to be and whatever He entrust to you, He requires you to be faithful.
Our Eyes Are on Eternity
After asking whether she should go to America, she then asked me what I loved about Uganda and why I would choose to live here? And why would my husband after having reached America would come back?
There is so much that we love about Uganda. Yes, there is poverty and hardships – not as many comforts like in the US – but where Uganda lacks, she makes up in abundance in other ways. I love that people here still have time for life – for family and friends – people are willing to go out of their way to help others. I love the beauty in God’s creation. There is so much to love about Uganda.
For us it is simple – this is where God has called us to live – to serve Him, to preach the Gospel and disciples others in Christ. We have come to the point in our lives where we recognize that there is more to this life than having lots of money, big houses and the latest things – which are not bad in themselves – but our eyes are on eternity. We could stay in America and “chase after money” and live a “comfortable” life (let’s be honest – the struggle is real no matter where we live – we all have bills to pay, mouths to feed, struggles and pains of this life), but we know that those will soon fade away and all that will remain is what is done for Christ. Our hope is in found in Christ alone! As Paul wrote to the Corinthians “that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” And to the Philippians he wrote “I count everything else as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” and that he was “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Our prize is Christ. Our reward is in heaven – where no moth or rust can destroy!
Be Faithful Wherever God Has You
Studying the Bible
Wherever the Lord has you – whether in America or in Uganda or any other part of the world – may your eyes and your heart remain steadfast on the prize – Christ! It is easy to get tangled up in the things of this world – the struggles of life can easily lead us astray – but know that God loves you and cares for you – His only desire is for you to turn to Him and trust Him, believe that He is your all in all!
We have a busy but exciting month ahead of us, as we have two weeks of outreaches planned for the community. Over the last month, we have been moving up and down getting things prepared. We are pumped to see all that the Lord does over the next few weeks for His kingdom and for these communities!
Medical Camp
Our goal is to tell the community about Christ. Many of the people in these communities live in extreme poverty and can’t afford to go to the hospital or visit a local clinic, so they will often go without treatment for simple things, such as colds, or cuts – but with the poor conditions and poor access to clean water, minor illnesses and cuts can often turn into more serious conditions. One of the ways that we can connect with the community and open doors to share the Gospel is by meeting their physical needs. We see that even in Jesus’ earthly ministry, when He and his disciples went from villages to villages preaching the Kingdom of God, they would heal the people, or he would feed them and then share His message with them.
Our first outreach this month is a medical camp. We have invited the community and 4 other villages for a free medical checkup. Over 1000+ people are expected to turn up. And everyone who does come will personally hear the Good News of the Gospel.
A team of 9, including two doctors, are coming from the USA to work along side of a local doctor and his nurses to treat the patients. The others on the team and a few local churches and their pastors, will be assisting with sharing the Gospel with each person and counseling them.
Pray for us as we prepare to receive and serve the people.
We will be posting daily updates on our Facebook page (Nuwagaba’s in Uganda) and on our Instagram (TendoBibleCamp).
Youth Camp
Youth Bible Camp 15th – 20th , August 2022 The Armor of God
Second Term Break is here. Kids and youth are home for a month! Camp is coming! Over 200+ students ages 5 to 17 will be coming each day.
Our theme: The Armor of God from Ephesians 6:12-18!
Guest Speaker: Pastor Zeddie Muzungu, from Calvary Chapel Kampala
Pray for us as we continue to prepare! Pray for the student’s lives to be transformed by the preaching of the Word. For decisions to be made for Christ.
Pray with US
We covet your prayers as we proclaim the Gospel to this community! Pray that we will be bold in speaking the truth and will have wisdom in discipling each person that God leads our way!
Namayumba is a small settlement along the Kampala-Hoima road in Wakiso District in the Buganda Region of Uganda, approximately 47 km(29 miles) northwest of the capital city, Kampala. The nearest large town to Namayumba is 7 km (4 miles) away in Busunju.
village life, open market
families open small shops to sell products to earn a living for their families.
There is an estimated population of 22,100 people, with a little more than half being female. Over the last several years with the expansion of Kampala and people leaving the city, Namayumba has been growing in population at about 6.67% per year. Being in the Buganda Region of Uganda, the main language spoken among the people is Luganda. Most of the people living in the community live in poverty. They live in small one or two room homes with little to no access to electricity and water. Kids wearing the same clothes -day in and day out – from Monday to Monday. Access to food is limited to what is grown in their small gardens and what they can afford at the small open markets along the main road. Along the way, we will be sharing more stories to help you get a glimpse of what it’s like to live in Namayumba.
How did we get to Namayumba?
Denny grew up in Kiwatule-Ntinda, Kampala, we met in Kampala and have spent much of our time before getting married in Kampala. There is a lot happening in Kampala regarding churches and ministries, Bible schools, etc. But once you leave the city access to the gospel begins to dwindle. Biblical training and education become quite limited. We knew the Lord put it on our hearts to what to serve in a community that was indeed in need of the gospel and Biblical training.
In 2014, we came back to Uganda to hold a reception for our family and friends as we got married in the state and to also follow up on some ministries we had going on. Denny had friend he had grown up with in church that was connected to a pastor in Namayumba and he knew we had a desire to serve out in a village setting. One Saturday, our friend took us out to visit the Pastor and the church. Denny had the opportunity to preach the congregation and Cassie had the opportunity to share with the ladies. It was from there that our hearts were drawn to the community. As we went back to the states, we continued communicating with the Pastor and staying connected with the church, with hopes that one day we would return and serve there. We made another short visit in 2017, by that time the land that the church was meeting was taken back from the landowner, leaving the congregation without a home – so they began meeting under a tree at Pastor Patrick’s home until they could relocate. After some good time the church was able to relocate and we were able to help them buy the iron sheets for the roof of the church.
Our first visit to Namayumba, Uganda with Victory Community Church
Denny and Pastor Patrick
Fast forward to 2021, after many delays, we made the move back to Uganda fulltime. We arrived in May, while the COVID pandemic was still messing up the world. When we arrived things in Uganda were slowly opening. Denny jumped right into making plans and meetings with Pastor Patrick. There were still some restrictions, schools had started to reopen, life starting to return. We had made plans to begin a youth fellowship at the end of June. Everything was going as planned, but then on night in June the president of Uganda announced that due to increase in COVID cases and hospitals being overrun by patients, there would be another 48 day lockdown. All transportation stopped, both private and public, only government and those with special permission were allowed to travel. Schools and churches were closed. Everyone one stuck at home. This was the 2nd lockdown in Uganda. Life was extremely hard for people, as most people work to live. There were no stimulus checks, no government assistance. We began counting down the days until we could pickup where we left off, after about a week the president came back on-air and said that he was restarting the 48 days, so where we thought we’d be free in July, now running into August.
Some people had given donations to a benevolence fund – through their giving we were able to bring food supplies to some widows and Jjajja’s with small children who had been struggling to provide for their families due to the lockdowns. They were extremely grateful and praising the Lord that He had not forgotten them!
In August some of the restrictions lifted allowing us to drive again. Schools and churches remained closed. In fact, except for the small window of time between February and May that some upper primary and secondary classes were allowed to open, schools had been closed since the beginning of lockdowns in April 2020. And schools would not reopen until January 2022, making it the longest closure of schools in all the world because of the pandemic. In the two years of school closures, teen pregnancy and child marriage increased dramatically. Kids were 2 years behind, the older students had given up on returning to finish school and instead turned to jobs and making money. Kids were isolated at home. Many among the youth were distressed and depressed suicide rate increased.
We spent 40 weeks going from Genesis through Revelation, sharing the Redemptive story of Christ with the students.
With schools and churches still closed, the Lord opened the door for us to begin reaching out to the youth in Namayumba. Groups were only allowed to meet up in certain numbers. We found a small Garden/Restaurant/Club that had enough grounds and space to rent, where we could meet. We decided to hold it away from the church property for number of reasons – churches were still technically closed, and we didn’t want to get them in trouble, if we held it at a particular church then others from the community would not show up as they think it was just for that church, and also the church property did not have enough space for playing. On the first Tuesday, we had 20 students show up- we brought some meat to roast, played games and then shared a message from the Bible. Each week more and more students showed up – at one point we thought we were going to have to cut it and turn some away in fear that we would be shutdown by the local authorities due to COVID restrictions. But nobody ever did and the kids kept coming. We went from 20 to 70 -100 teens. WE originally had plan to keep it to just the older students – ages 13 and up, but they continued to bring their younger siblings, so eventually, we had to do something with them as well. In September, Denny began walking through the Story of Hope with the teens – beginning in Genesis and going through Revelation – sharing the redemptive story of Christ. Most of the students did not have Bibles of their own, so we reached out to friends and family back home and we were able to by over 80 Bibles to give out to the students, which help them as they walked through the study. Later, we started the Adventures in the Story of Hope with the younger children.
playing games at our first youth meeting in August 2021
We began with 20 students and each week the number kept growing!
We spent 40 weeks going from Genesis through Revelation, sharing the Redemptive story of Christ with the students.
A Place To Call Home
Seeing that we were quickly out growing the space we had been renting and desiring to have a permanent place among the community, Denny began looking around for land. And by the grace of God, He led us to the perfect place to call home. In December, we were given a gracious amount of money from our home church in Grand Rapids, Michigan to help put up some structures to make the place functional.
Tendo Bible Camp located in Namayumba, Uganda
Pavilion – Meeting Hall for Camp and Youth Fellowships
The students learned about the Fruit of Spirit during the week of Camp. Each day we had a guest speaker.
We shifted to using our new place at the end of April 2022 with the opening of our first weeklong camp! Since then, we continue to meet each Saturday for our youth fellowship. Many of the teens have shared with us how thankful they are to have a place where they can come not only to have fun but to learn more about God and to grow in their relationship with Him. With the opening of our new location we thought and prayed over what we should call this special place and with the help of some of our ministry partners we have come up with Tendo Bible Camp. Tendo is the Luganda word for praise. It is our hearts desire for every person that comes to Tendo Bible Camp leave praising the Lord for His work in their lives.
We are beyond excited to see all the ways that the Lord is going to use this place for His glory. Follow along as we share stories and testify of the goodness of God in the lives of the youth here in Namayumba.
