LHM—Uganda Delivers Messages to Youth on the Go

Mobile phone usage is the largest growing avenue of communication for people in Uganda between the age of 13 and 35 years. Out of more than six million mobile users in the country, young people use cell phones for more than just sending and receiving text messages (also known as SMS). They share pictures, listen to music, and exchange emails. A few even surf the Internet or hear radio broadcasts directly on their phones.

Recognizing this importance of mobile phones, Lutheran Hour Ministries in Uganda has begun using this new avenue of communication to reach out to young people and expand ministry outreach into different communities. For example, at the end of each radio program, listeners are encouraged to respond via SMS with questions or comments.

“Text messaging is a great way of enhancing response from recipients as it’s less intrusive than a phone call,” said Charles Bameka, the director of LHM—Uganda. “Plus by using a web-based text messaging interface, we have a detailed record of our SMS ministry.”

Bameka reports that the SMS ministry yields about 40 responses for every message sent to a thousand individuals.

“Many of the respondents appreciate receiving a reassuring Christian message in the midst of life’s daily challenges,” he observed.

To read more news and updates from Uganda please visit the LHM—Uganda blog.

Devotion: Fragrance On The Hand Of The Giver

The owner of a large estate once gave his gardener some red roses to take home to his wife. The flowers, however, never made it to their intended recipient. On the bus that afternoon, the gardener sat next to a widow who spoke of her loneliness. Knowing his wife would understand, he gave the roses to the lonely widow and brightened up her day.

But the widow didn't get home with them either. At the grocery store, she came upon a tearful young girl. The girl's mother was very ill. "Here," the widow said, handing the flowers to the girl. "Give them to your mother; tell her I'll be praying for her tonight."

Gratefully, the girl accepted them and took them to her mother. The roses cheered the bedridden woman, but even she didn't keep them. "They're too beautiful not to share," she told her pastor when he came to visit the next day. "I'd like the church to have them." So the pastor took them and placed them in the sanctuary where his congregation could see and enjoy them. After the service, the minister gave single roses to some of the church members as they left. The beauty of the flowers was extended once more before they wilted.

There's a beautiful poem entitled, "Flowers Leave Their Fragrance on the Hand of the Giver," and the words are true. Every good deed, every selfless kindness, every thoughtful action which comes from a heart full of faith -- a heart touched by the abundance the Lord has freely given -- has a way of blessing the giver and multiplying the gift. Like the ripple effect of a stone tossed into water, the circles that emanate can reach many unseen shores.

So it is with the greatest love of all. Jesus' redemptive work on the cross comes to us through God's Word. By the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we are made clean and acceptable to God through faith in the salvation Christ has won for us. God's fragrance, the perfect sacrifice of His Son, is offered to everyone.

It is free. Share it the next chance you get.

THE PRAYER: Thank You, Father, for Your love. Help me today and always to have the courage to pass it on. Amen.

Biography of Author: Pastor Charles Bameka has directed LHM-Uganda since 2002. From an office in Kampala, volunteers and staff help people in need through Equipping the Saints, Bible Correspondence Courses, and the This is the Life TV program. Ministering to those living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (more than 500,000 are afflicted with this disease) is a critical aspect of LHM's mission there.