Pilgrims on the road to Kampala

There is a shrine in Kampala, the capitol city of Uganda that was built to commemorate 22 young Ugandan catholic martyrs who were killed by sword or fire for their faith in 1885.  On June 3 of each year there is a pilgrimage to Uganda that draws over 1.5 million people to visit the shrine and commemorate their sacrifice.  There is a small lake at the site where the executioners were said to have washed off the blood of the martyrs and pilgrims dip themselves in the lake seeking blessing.  Many of these pilgrims walk for days and even weeks with nothing but their clothes and a few provisions, stopping to stay the night at different catholic churches along the way.  During our last visit to Uganda in May we witnessed hundreds of people walking to the Namugongo shrine to participate in the memorial.
As we observed these weary travelers, Cyprian commented that Romans 10:2 describes their condition:
“For I bear witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge”.
This is a great reminder of why God has called us to go to Uganda to come alongside our Ugandan leadership team to establish Frontier Force Bible Institute.  Peter reminds us that:
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,”  2 Peter 1:3
Our FFBI course this month will be “Jesus’ Developmental Plan for Healthy Disciples & Leaders.  We will spend the week of September 12-16 studying the way Jesus recruited, trained, observed and released his disciples.  Each of our 9 rural churches will send their pastors and key leaders to apply this teaching to their own ministries.  We are excited about this material as it clearly communicates the principles of discipleship that Jesus modeled for us to use today.

First Frontier Force Bible Institute Class

We are delighted to have Carleen Elledge, Scott Friesen and Karen Swanson join us from Vintage Grace Church in El Dorado Hills California.  Vintage Grace shares a common passion for church planting and dynamic discipleship with our rural ministries and we look forward to connecting El Dorado Hills with Uganda.  We will depart for Uganda on September 7 arriving late in the evening on September 8.  Our VG team will return on Sept 20 and Kathy and I will return on Sept 29.

We have been missionaries with New Missions Systems International for nearly 8 months and are so thankful that God brought us here.  NMSI exists to “Proclaim Christ and make disciples globally” through 5 strategic focus areas.  We invite you to read this report and see how our ministry in Uganda works toward accomplishing these strategic focus areas.

Church Multipication.  Helping to establish vibrant, caring Jesus-following communities that consistently replicate themselves is also a focus of Frontier Force Christian Ministries.   The Wabinyira House of Prayer was the first FFCM church planted in 1999 and has been a catalyst in the establishment of many more churches in rural Uganda.  In 2015 Kinyoni village in the Masaka district of Uganda was the site of FFCM’s most recent church plant.  This brings the total of FFCM church plants to 9.

Community Transformation.  We also seek to help communities solve important local issues like health, clean water, sanitation, and education.  FFCM currently runs a primary school in Madudu village with plans to expand underway and a dental/medical clinic near Zirobwe in Luwero district is being developed.
We are partnering with international organizations to provide low cost, sustainable bio-sand water filtration systems at the household level.  We are working with Local individuals and business to provide these filters to homes in the villages where FFCM churches are active.  In May we delivered a Tiva Water filter to help purify water from this source in Rakai district

Global Youth Ministry.  Uganda has a median age of just 15.5 years old making it the second youngest country in the world.  Over half the population are teenagers or younger! A ministry of NMSI called YouthHOPE is committed to transforming the lives of global youth and equipping the church to meet their holistic needs.   YouthHope has developed excellent training materials and programs that have been used in other parts of Africa.  We are looking into the possibilities of bringing this training to Uganda.

Marketplace Ministries.  In addition to being one of the youngest countries in the world, it is also among the lowest in per capita income.  Providing job opportunities is a strategic focus of both NMSI and FFCM.  Over the years FFCM has helped with startup funds and training in agriculture and small business. FFCM is helping churches to develop income by planting trees on their church land.  A eucalyptus seedling that costs about 10 cents will grow to a tree that can be sold for 10 dollars in about 5 years’ time.  A pine tree seedling can be even more profitable over 10 years.
Trinity Bridal is a new business that collects used wedding gowns and makes them available for rental in Uganda. Trinity Bridal has a store in Kampala and we are developing a new location in Mukono.

Short Term Mobilization.  God is doing great things all over the world, and Short Term mobilization as all about providing opportunities for people to experience what God is doing.  We love bringing people to Uganda to introduce them to the love and dedication of the church that God is building in rural Uganda. The picture below is a team from Hessel Church in January 2016.  In September we will be bringing a team from Vintage Grace church in El Dorado Hills California to see first-hand the ministry of Frontier Force Christian ministries.

Thank you for your prayers and support of God’s work in Uganda.  We would love to get together with you and tell you more transformational stories from Africa.
If you would like to learn how to invest in our work in Uganda
please visit our ministry page

“Watch to see where God is working and join Him in His work”.

 Henry Blackaby, author of ”Experiencing God”  reminds us that God is at work building His kingdom in the world and as people of His kingdom we are invited to take part.

11 years ago, God introduced us to what He is doing among the rural villages in Uganda, and we have been part of the ministry of Fro               ntier Force Christian Ministries ever since then.  We listened to Cyprian Masembe tell of his vision of:

• Reaching out to a lost world with the good news of Jesus Christ by planting churches in unreached communities.
• Strengthening existing church plants in order to realize spiritual and numerical growth.
• Making disciples who will make disciples.
• Showing the heart of God the Father to orphans, widows, the elderly, and the needy
• Setting up income-generating projects to sustain the ministry.

God has used our partnership with Cyprian Masembe and the FFCM team to: Plant 9 churches in rural villages in Uganda, Develop leaders from within the original churches who are now planting new churches, Conduct yearly Bible Conferences and Pastor Training conferences, Plant 2 schools, Build a training farm, help villagers with income producing work, and have begun building a medical/dental clinic.

God is truly at work in Uganda and we invite you to join with us as we continue our involvement in God’s work in Uganda.

In January of 2016, we will once again lead a team to Uganda to work alongside our FFCM partners as we experience what God is doing.  This will be Andy’s 10^th trip to Uganda and Kathy’s 5^th.  We will be conducting a Bible Conference, conducting a Pastor’s conference, planning for future ministries of FFCM and shoulder to shoulder encouraging our African brothers and sisters, experience what God is doing in Uganda.

Andy will be teaching at the Pastors Conference and Bible Conference, and coordinating the trip with Cyprian.  Kathy will be teaching women at the Bible conference and teaching and encouraging Pastor’s wives at the Pastor’s conference.

The cost for the trip is $2,500 per person.  This will cover the costs of airfare, food and lodging, and ground transportation for our team.  It will also cover the costs of conducting the Bible Conference and the Pastor’s conference. These yearly conferences are a highlight of the year not only for us, but our African friends as well.

On Sunday I was talking to a Ugandan man living in Santa Rosa who has been to many of these conferences and He was a great encouragement as he said ;

When you come and teach the Word of God, it changes things.  It makes a difference. Please don’t stop coming to Africa!

We invite you to join with us in what God is accomplishing in Uganda. You can be part of the team by:

• Praying for our teams Health, safety, effectiveness and our continued friendship and partnership with FFCM
• Contributing to the costs of our trip to Uganda.
• Begin to ask God if He would have you to visit Uganda and experience firsthand what God is doing. Half of our 2016 team will be experiencing this ministry for the first time.

Please fill out the response from at the end of this letter and mail it to Hessel Church. 5060 Hessel Ave. Sebastopol, CA.  Or if you prefer to give online, follow this link https://secure-q.net/Donations/HesselCh/5639 and indicate “ 04 Sodestrom” in the list on the form.

Henry Blackaby defines missions as:

“Missions is God finding those whose hearts are right with Him and placing them where they can make a difference for His kingdom”

We are praying the God would touch your heart and you would join with us as we serve His kingdom in Uganda.  Thank you for your interest in God’s work in Uganda

Serving the Kingdom with Joy
Andy and Kathy Sodestrom
I would like to support Andy and Kathy’s trip to Uganda:

_____ I commit to pray for the team as they serve the Kingdom in Uganda

_____ I would like to contribute $ ________ to the cost of the trip

_____ I would be interesting in joining a team going to Uganda in the future
Checks can be made out to: Hessel Church, 5060 Hessel Ave, Sebastopol, CA  95472

All donations are Tax-deductible