Update Ryan

Kwo Manyen Goes Regional

Well it's time for another update on what is going on.  as January concludes and February arrives a shift takes place in my youth ministry here.  From the last blog you know that the outreaches have stopped.  In essence summer break for the Ugandan kiddos has ended and it's back to school.  Let me give you a glimpse into a students life here.  They probably get up around 6 am and some of them start walking then.  The distance really depends on what school in town they go to.  There are no distinctions like school districts here, everyone goes where they think best.  Those who have money send even their 9 years olds half way across the country to get a good education.  Those who dont pick the school closest and hope its a good one.  So they leave at 6 am in the morning and most of them get to come home around 4 or 5pm at night.  When they come home they are taken up by many chores.  So the best time to reach students is summertime.  Now that they are back in, things change a lot.  As some of you know from prior years I go into the schools and do Romans road presentations.  That is what I plan on doing this year.  Oh ya by now some of you are saying why did Ryan say something about being regional.  Well I have friends that I have known for a long time and they have a primary academy that is trying to change all the rules as to how kids are taught in Uganda.  It's a good thing.  Lets just say the system is here is broken but nobody is humble enough to say so, or invested enough to change it.  So year in and year our Uganda pumps out students like Hostess cupcakes.  Its not till they are exposed to the rest of the world that they realize they have been given something much less than they paid for.  Okay off that tangent.  My friends Keith and Lisa Coggins have an academy and it is in Gulu(an hour forty five West of me).  They have asked me to teach twice a month the same program that I've been teaching the kids here in Kitgum.  I am so excited for this opportunity to have an entire year to invest in a group of about 100 kids.  So I would ask for your prayers for these 100 kids, that in the course of this year their hearts can be impacted for eternity.  Pray that they would be the ones that change their country and the world for that matter. 

Posted 2 days ago by Ryan Tomás McCabe

Update Ryan

The End and the Beginning

As some of you well know for the last 6 weeks we've been going to different locations around town and doing Bible studies.  Our target age group has been 9-13.  During the six weeks they were presented the Gospel and various teaching on the fundamentals of the faith.  I think anything can be taught its just the method that you teach.  I am grateful to Richard who translated for all the gatherings.  So last week was the final week.  So how did it go?  Well in all locations we had multiple kids come to Christ.  Secondly from two of our studies we have 15 kids joining us in the main church.  The vision of these Bible studies was firstly exposure to the Gospel and the second was getting them to come to the church to join the others in Kwo Manyen.  I do believe that both of those things have been accomplished.  There were many times when I told the Lord that if he wasn't going before me I wasn't going.  It was an awesome time and I hope that every school break we can do this.  I used to be a huge fan of the youth conference, and I still think they are beneficial.  However I would rather be in a community and get the opportunity of meeting them where they are at, at little to no cost.  I want to thank all of you for making this possible.  The many who support by prayer and financial giving, I wouldn't be able to do this work had it not been for you.  Please keep all the kids in the different areas in prayer, our desire is for them to join us at the church.  So as we end up one program others are in the works to get started.  One of them being school outreaches, again going for the same age ranges.  So pray for favor with the schools.
   Okay so maybe you want to hear a little about the house.  Well its almost finished.  The grass should go on this week.  The interiors walls will be plastered and door frames added next week, then the next week will be the finish on the floor and then I'll move in.  I want to thank everyone again.  I had only put aside 3/4 of the money for the house.  So far the cost has gone far beyond that and God has provided every step of the way.  So thank you for answering His call, whether through prayer or through financial support.  

Posted 1 week ago by Ryan Tomás McCabe

 

Update Ryan

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot.......

Hey Everyone,
    It's that time again when everyone looks back over the year and wonders, how did I do?  The Apostle Paul told us that we forget what lies behind and strain for whats ahead, that being the goal of knowing Jesus even more.  It's easy to hold onto and rejoice in past victories but the important thing is not what was but what will be.  This is easy for most but sometimes hard for me.  I seem to have a super sensitive memory, where things that happened long ago ring in my ears like they were yesterday.  These are good memories and also bad ones.  Anyhow this year has brought me many blessings in the ministry.  In March of this year Kwo Manyen was born.  For almost 7 months I prayed and asked the Lord to let me start a youth ministry.  One day after seeing the kids ministry really struggle with the older kids as well, i decided I would have a program for them that morning.  I didn't even really know what I would teach, I guess I just used a backup sermon.  It was that day that I asked the kids if they would want to come and Saturday and that next weekend Kwo Manyen was officially born.  Since that time it has been an amazing journey.  March thru May we saw few kids unless we invited and when they did come we only shared the Romans road with them not knowing if they would come again.  Sunday was our main group of kids, coming faithfully.  After the summertime when I came back things went back into full gear.  The first few weeks were mainly rebuilding.  Now we have a core group of kids who come every week and the awesome thing I know a lot about them.  I don't say this to credit myself, but I'm excited because I really know them.  It's a step in my ministry moving from being a mentally itinerant pastor to being a shepherd.  It has taken me a long time to move beyond shallow ministry of teaching but not really involving everything to what we're doing now.  God has really blessed Kwo Manyen and I'm excited to see what will happen in this new year.  What's my goal? That these kids who know their stuff and live the life! Uganda is very much like the Bible belt of America.  Everyone's a christian and the culture is supposedly Christians but the truth is people are not living according to the Bible, but its the acceptable lifestyle here.  I want these kids to know that with the Gospel and Salvation comes a changed life.  No life change, no salvation(better said Gods Spirit in us bring about new life and fruit).  And the best part as we know is the Holy Spirit is the one who brings that about and of course in each decision we make a choice for or against sanctification.  The ministry was also allowed to do several outreaches in schools this year hundreds of kids heard the Gospel.
    Okay I know this is going long but bear with me.  This summer was an awesome time for me to spend time in America.  I was blessed by everyone that I had a chance to see.  It was a great time of refreshment.  As with any year there are always emotional dips and swings.  Coming to America I was in a relationship with a really sweet girl, but as some of you know it didn't work out.  The details are unimportant.  God blessed me with an awesome care team while I was there, and I got to spend some quality time with a lot of new and old faces. okay I've grown tired of writing :)
    Thanks to everyone who made 2013 great!
Here's a quote:
Be at War with your Vices, at Peace with your Neighbours, and let every New-Year find you a better Man.  ~Quoted in Benjamin Franklin's 1755 Poor Richard's Almanac, December

Posted 1st January by Ryan Tomás McCabe

 

more here 

Update Ryan

A Week of Crazy

Hey Everyone,
    Well today marks the end of our first week doing Kwo Manyen programs all over town.  We did a total of 4 programs, probably getting to share with over 75 kids.  Some lessons from the first week: Make sure there are no adults around.  Okay why is this a lesson?  Mainly because on Monday our program in Lolojo had three adults.  They treated it like a home fellowship and even took over my leading of worship.  While its cool that they wanted to worship the Lord like that, this program caters to a certain age group.  Part of my ministry philosophy is to be a little goofy as I communicate the truths of the Bible.  That is really hard to do with adults around.  Lesson #2 Kids under 10 are out of control.  In two separate places we had a hard time keeping the attention of the older kids because the younger ones or as I call them Matidis(an anglicized form of the acholi word for small).  Yesterday they were out of control in a place called Munbunyo.  Hopefully in all the noise the kids got the Word and that's what's important.   Well next week we'll be at it again.  So keep these kids in prayer, that many kids would come to know Jesus.

Posted 21st December 2013 by Ryan Tomás McCabe

 

more here 

B is for Beyond

the name KKAB was coined by one of its original members, Ryan McCabe back in 2010. it was kind of a play with Acts1:8 and Buzz Lightyear. 'Beyond' is where each of us in the original team are:Ryan is in Kitgum, Tom is in Texas, I am in Wi, and will visit 3 more states and 2 more countries before I return to Uganda the 31 March.
It has been a difficult year -but, even thru the extremes, His hand is evident. Thanks for your prayers and patience.
Pray for Summer and the Grubers as they are in Lotim in an intensive training until April.
Pray for me as I prepare to 'visit' what has been home for the last 15 years. Its sinking in -I'll transition to living in America and visiting Karamoja...
Pray for success in securing US visas for the KACHEP management team, manager Mukisa and chairman Loumo. We desire that they would join me on a 'final' fundraising tour and meet faithful supporters who wish to continue lifting up Karamoja as I take my leave. its time to become less as others become more.

its time to move beyond
in His timing,
Jean

September Rains, and October Heat

Update on Ryan

As I write this update its now the month of October(as if you havent noticed).  While all you on that side of the world are watching the colors of the Autumn leaves, life continues on here.  It took many years to get used to not having real seasons.  We have seasons of course, wet and dry.  For the last month and a half I've been adapting to the changes in temperature.  Living next to a giant green mountain had its perks, cool weather even when it was really hot.  Kitgum on the other hand is lacking mountains but at least there is a river that borders the town.  Every day these days is like the mid nineties and as many of you experienced this summer, its not a very nice temperature.  I mean if I had a pool that would be a great temp to live at, but sadly I am lacking a pool.
  So I have now taught the church and a few other ministries for a month.  It has been a good switch for me because teaching in town is a bit more fun.  In the village I taught things rather simply knowing that the people I ministered to were less educated.  So extra illustrations, and little jokes here and there are lost in the silence.  In town I can use all those extra ways of keeping people attentive and applying the truths of scripture to their lives.  It has been a challenge, and I like challenges.
   I have all these different ideas I want to put forth in this new area of ministry but I want to move slowly.  One of the ministries on my heart is to get the youth involved in the church.  We have a few but I desire to bring many youth into the church.  So please pray as I plan school outreaches in the coming weeks.  I want to open a door for further ministries.  The other day I tracked down all the schools in town and they're really spread out.  It's funny how every town is different in their layout.  The kids have to walk a long way to get to their schools.  So please pray for open doors in the schools and step one of my plan to reach the youth of this town.  As for me personally I ask that you would pray that God would fill me with his Spirit daily, and that I would long for what He longs for
  Oh I almost forget a few last things.  First thing I have started a page to raise funds to get a well for the farm in the village.  We want to provide work for people year round and abundant water.  All we have to raise is 2500 dollars and we can put one in so far we have $350 here is the link www.facebook.com/GiveABoreholeToMoruKo?ref=tn_tnmn  Please help us to make this happen.  Secondly my motorcycle was stolen over 2.5weeks ago.  We are still keeping our ears open for whatever news may come, but it could be a lost cause.  Pray that in the case God still wants me to have a motorcycle that he would provide the funds a good one probably costs $1500.  Please commit these things to prayer.  Thanks for reading

from here

For Tom and Jean

Dear Lord,
You know our friends so much better than I do. You know their sicknesses and the burden they carry. You also know their heart. Lord, we ask you to be with our friends now as you work in their life. Lord, let your will be done in our friend's life. If there is a sin that needs to be confessed and forgiven, please help them to see their need and confess.
Lord, we pray for our friends just as your Word tells us to pray, for healing.We  believe you hear this earnest prayer from our hearts and that it is powerful because of your promise. We have faith in you, Lord, to heal our friends, but we also trust in the plan you have for their life.
Lord, we don't always understand your ways. We don't know why our friends have to suffer, but we trust you. We ask that you look with mercy and grace toward our friends. Nourish their spirit and soul in this time of suffering and comfort them with your presence.
Let our friends know you are there with them through this difficulty. Give them strength. And may you, through this difficulty, be glorified in their life and also in ours.
Amen.

Written by Sarah,
and I am sure also in the Name of Ryan, Mukisa, Miriam, Summer and Melissa

Attention Deficit Devos

Episode 31 Chinese Finger Traps

The Diary Of Ryan McCabe

Ryan Mission Video 2012

Attention Deficit Devos

Episode 32 You're Just a Kid

Attention Deficit Devos

Episode 33 Hungry?

Attention Deficit Devos

Episode 34 The Fellowship

Attention Deficit Devos

 In today's episode we'll look at the game of Jenga
and its spiritual significance

Episode 35 Jenga

Review from Ryan

Last week after 6 months I returned to visit the town I once lived in, in Karamoja. It is a blessing to see so many faces that I know. On the flip side there is always a different feeling when you revisit the past. Almost like when you work somewhere like a restaurant and stop working there, whatever it was before is never the same afterwards. It's like entering Disneyland through the service entrance. I realize now that Karamoja was training for what I'm doing now. It was the beginning of a treacherous journey to find what God wants me doing. Aside from all that reflection the Lord allowed me to lead Mariano(the boy who translated for me while I was there) to saving faith. It was truly exciting seeing as he was the first person I led to Christ in Karamoja. Since coming to Kitgum I've found God has me to be on the harvest side of His kingdom. Anyhow I digress the trip down was great. It was good to be there for Miriam's Birthday and to encourage the team. The next section of my trip was not so great. I had to visit OPC to pick up some panels and batteries. While I love seeing the gang at OPC I dread the roads that have worsened greatly. The whole trip was like driving over a lake not knowing what was below. At one point a dip in the road took my vehicle to new depths(on the hood to be exact). That was enough for me after getting the panels we headed back the scenic and long way. After two days myself and Godfrey headed back to Kitgum. As we move forward in time a bit we come to Saturday. As some of you know started a youth ministry in the village around a month ago. Since that time we've seen over 11 you give their lives to Christ. It's truly an exciting time and a huge opportunity for discipleship. In fact the discipleship has already begun. So far we've covered the two natures, forgiveness of sin, repentance and faith. It's an honor to lay those foundational truths in the lives of the youth here in the village.
The work on the Bible training continues. I've finished the rough draft of the Old testament Survey and have moved onto the New Testament. As for my training with Jonah(the Ugandan guy I live with) we're also wrapping up in the minor prophets. In these few weeks he's gone from little to no knowledge of the old testament to knowing the order of the books and a basic summary of them. My goal for this last month and May is to take him through the survey course and the introductory teaching course. It's a lot to attempt but I think it's possible. I think that's enough for now. Enjoy

Happy Birthday Miriam

Happy Birthday young woman :-)

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag :-)

Thanksgiving

So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

Packing and Resettllement of Ryan McCabe

From  Ryan's Blog

So this week is crunch time. The beginning of my move to Kitgum is beginning. After several months of checking things out and helping out around Calvary specifically with the worship team, the time is now. It is funny that but a year and few months ago I was doing this same thing, moving. However when I moved up to Karamoja there were still things that remained here and i expected over time that the room would be gone. However each time I came for a visit I found the house the same, except for some stored items. So overtime I made things a little better, a lil more comfortable. Now on the horizon is a move that is not based on in an out time but on full time. So this last week I have been organizing and tearing apart my house, sorting clothing, and dealing with hoarded stuff that should have gone long ago. and even Picture albums(yes they still make those). So as my house becomes more barren I prepare for what will be and no longer for what was. It is an exciting time and one that can be scary. So keep me in prayer.

Will be praying for your new start....

Pig roast

So, now we're back. Much against Jean's wishes, we put the pig-roast off until after Ramadan (no kidding), although her arguments were compelling. That is, if they're going to install a power-source and loud-speaker and use them almost continuously for a month, surely they won't mind a little roast next door. . . Hey! It's not like we were going to invite them, or anything! Joking! Even if they have lost their sense of humor, we still have ours, right? The celebration marking the completion of our stone house is slated for 17 Sept - of course, it isn't actually 100%. But it should be by the
following week and then we'll move in. We've lived in tents for 13 months, which, considering the patriarchs of Israel, isn't all that much. But we'd planned for only 2 or 3. The date was set so Miriam could attend before jetting off to Germany for fund-raising. Sadly, we couldn't time it for Ryan, who's left us for greener pastures, but what to do . CHOW! That's what! I've always thought that one of the greatest guilty pleasures in being a Christian was bacon, and roast pork is the next best thing. Yee-haaa!

Video

A lil bit of catch up

Hey everyone,
    As some may have seen or heard through Facebook I am back in the states
for a period of six weeks.  So I need to do a bit of catch up.  The process of
coming to America involved getting into a plane.  The lucky company this
time to carry yours truly was Brussels Airlines.  For the most part it was a good
experience.  Before we took off on the first 8 hour leg I noticed how the seats
were really light and not so comfortable.  It was later that I read in their magazine
how they lessened their carbon foot print by giving the customers cheap seats........

More on:

lil bit of catch up