Missions
God's Word and Work For God's People
In the Eastern part of Africa (the land of ancient Cush), in the beautiful country of Uganda (often described as the Pearl of the Motherland), at the source of the great Nile, where the "river … was parted and became into four heads" (Gen. 2:10), lies the beguiling rural community of Mbale. That Eden-like "Up-country" town, which is about a 4-hour rugged drive from the capital city of Kampala, displays the paradoxes of a region that is lush savannahs and tropical forests, struggling to move forward in a technological world. poverty, border wars, AIDS and other debilitating diseases are rampant, without the infrastructure and systems to which the disenfranchised in the Western world normally have access.
Mbale's socioeconomic needs are great. More that half (55%) of the 100,000 people who live in its villages are below the $1 per day international poverty line; 51% are children under the age of 15; only 2% attain the age of 65 or older (World development Report). But the area is correspondingly rich in religion conversation opportunities. In excess of one-third of the population (34%) are reportedly non-Christians (CIA World Fact Book).
Ameliorating the quality of life for villagers and winning souls for Christ are the focus of Pastor Willie E. Bruce, Jr., and Min. Dr. Heather M. Bruce. After a mission trip to Uganda in 2000, Pastor Bruce obediently answered God's call to become involved in helping the villagers of Mbale. Pastor Bruce in 2003 teamed with his wife, Min. Dr. Heather M. Bruce, PhD., who's concentration is in Organizational Change and Sustainable Development, revisited Mbale in an effort to learn ways to take charge of and sustain, their own development, and to assist with noted individual and systems deficiencies that stand in the way of them doing so.
Rev. Bruce pastors Word Healing Outreach Ministries, Inc. (WHOM,I), in Fort Washington, Maryland. He and his wife, Dr. Heather Bruce, founded the non-denominational, missions-oriented Christian church which derives its purpose and focus from its founding Scripture of Isaiah 6:1-8 (…Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me") and the dictates of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). Embracing its vision, every member of WHOM,I serves as a minister in the body of Christ. Each accepts and obligation to make disciples for Christ, teaching and spreading the Word of God to all nations of people at home and abroad, tending to the needs of the homeless, those afflicted with HIV/AIDS, orphaned children, the aging, and building capacities for those in need of education and vocational training.
Following Christ's example of true discipleship, WHOM,I fosters a close, caring relationship that allows it to understand the needs of the villagers while influencing by example the direction of their Christian walk. The annual mission that is taken to Mbale is a natural progression of the continuous involvement in the lives of the people, maintained through the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Mbale. According to Interim Dean Bertram Melbourne, what distinguishes the mission work of this dynamic entity is truly its fervent desire to do God's work while preserving and nurturing respect for God's people.
In November 2005, Pastor and Dr. Bruce spent two weeks in Mbale, doing the work that one would normally have expected of a large team. Using their own resources and designated contributions from church members, family, friends and well-wishes, this dynamic duo provided the means and worked alongside the community to bring about changes at so many levels. For instance, the mission:
- Cleansed and tiled for hygiene purposes the baptismal in the First Baptist Church of Mbale, which is used by all the churches in the region for Christian Baptisms;
- Erected a 35ft. x 18ft. bricked, tin-roofed shelter to accommodate the children who previously held Bible study and worship service under a mango tree. The Youth ministry, the Vocational Training program, and a number of pastoral and church community meetings and activities will also use the shelter
- Shipped a container of used clothing and hygiene products;
- Purchased and installed a water tank and filtration system to provide potable water to the church and community;
- Installed showers and toilets for community use and a separate one for the Pastor and his family;
- Held workshops on health, hygiene, nutrition and women's issues in five remote villages, teaching wellness through nutrition and prevention, and sensitization about the realities and treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria and dysentery--the major causes of death in the area;
- Conducted pastoral conferences in five distant villages, studying the Word of God, issues of pastoral care, church management and administration, and understanding the needs of the pastors who have no income since their flock is so very poor and cannot provide much for their upkeep;
- Held married-couples workshops on how God intended the family unit to function, and issues of partnering, abuse and parental care and guidance;
- Established a micro-credit system to advance small amounts of money to the poorest of the poor to assist with income-generating activities--a program renowned for its ability to help the poor out of poverty toward an economically-sustainable life;
- Began laying the foundation for starting a vocational training school;
- Provided training for women in Mbale and remote villages to build and use fuel-efficient stoves out of bricks, mud and cow dung to replace the wood-intensive traditional two stones that are still commonly used. The stoves use one-third the fuel to cook twice as much, thereby allowing for the necessary boiling of water for drinking which was not being done on account of the high fuel wood requirement;
- Provided 85% of the funding for a youth conference that focused on issues that are pertinent to the role, responsibilities and challenges of emerging Christian men and women taking their place in society.
To learn more about the work of WHOM,I in Uganda and other places in Africa, or how you too may help to make a difference in the lives of people who are still not used to seeing God's hand through dark missionary faces, you may contact Pastor Bruce on (301) 203-1079 or visit him at WHOM,I , which holds worship service at 4:30 p.m. on Sundays at Southminister Presbyterian Church, 7801 Livingston Road, Ft. Washington, Maryland, 20745.
One Aspect of Health – Hygiene Wellness Approach
Vibrant Christian souls require the service of healthy bodies to do God's work. WHOM,I conducts classes on health, hygiene, and nutrition. The session is geared toward an orientation of wellness to alleviate the number of illnesses to which the children and adults are prone.
In addition to the workshops that it holds, WHOM, I tackled the difficult task of improving the sanitation of the church toilet that is used by the community and the pastor and his family. It replaced the unhygenic hole in the ground with a porcelain flushable ground bowl that lessens the problems associated with shared toilet seats.
WHOM, I constructed a separate toilet and shower stall for the pastor and his family, and a shower unit for the community and baptism candidates to use.
Fuel Efficient Stoves
Funding material and training for women to build fuel-efficient stoves to replace the primitive two-stone technology that consumes 3 times more wood to cook a meal. The new stoves, which are built from bricks, dung and mud, heat faster and accommodate more than one pot at a time. They therefore provide the much-needed opportunity for women to simultaneously boil water for drinking purposes while the meal is cooking.
Meeting Church and Community Needs
Bible study and worship services for children, and other church meetings were held under a mango tree, seated on the ground. Rain and intense heat therefore regulated assembly for God's word and work.
WHOM, I erected a 35 ft. x 18 ft. bricked, tin-roofed shelter that now accommodates the children, the youth ministry, the vocational training program, and a number of pastoral and church community meetings and activities.
Water & Sanitation
Water is essential to life. Its scarcity and/or pollution can reek havoc on the health and well being of a nation. To prevent the spread of skin and bodily transmitted infectious diseases, our 2005 mission cleansed and tiled for easy maintenance the only baptismal that is used for christian baptisms by all the churches in the surrounding districts of Mbale.
Women and children often walk for miles to fill water from the same streams and bore holes from which the animals feed and wash themselves. The water is therefore full of impurities and not good for healthy human consumption.
WHOM, I is actively involved in helping to bring clean water to the church and community. It purchased and installed a water tank and filtration system to provide potable water to the church and community. It is hoping to do the same in at least three of the outlying villages. It also is targeting the provision of vats to catch rainwater, which is currently and untapped source of potable water.
Goat Project
Support for a catalytic poverty alleviation goat project that seeks to provide each widow with an animal. Every recipient is trained to care for the goat that it may provide good milk and eventually produce many young. The only stipulation is that first kid produced by the goat is to be given back to the project that another widow may benefit.
Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Poverty through Micro Credit
The Lugishu Project
The Lugishu or "Village" Project is based on the assumption that if the poor, who are without the collateral for conventional loans, are given access to credit, they will be able to identify and engage in viable income-generating activities. These include simple processing, manufacturing, weaving, tailoring, storage, marketing, transport and other services.
The project focuses exclusively on the poorest of the poor. Priority is therefore given to women-the dominant group in this cohort.
Prospective borrowers are organized into small homogeneous groups of 5 to facilitate participatory interaction and solidarity based on trust. Only two members in a group qualify for an advance at the same time. But the group remains collectively involved in the projects since the eligibility of the other members is dependent on the repayment performance of the borrowers within the group.
Fundamental to the project's design are lending conditions that are particularly suitable for the poor:
- Very small amounts are given without any collateral;
- Repayment is by weekly installments spread over 1 year;
- Eligibility for subsequent assistance depends upon repayment performance on the first advance;
- Individual project activities are self-chosen, quick income generating, and employ the skills that borrowers already possess;
- Group members and the Oversight Committee that WHOM, I has established in the field, are responsible for close supervision of project execution and repayment policies, practices and procedures.
- Credit discipline and collective borrower responsibility through peer pressure are the control mechanisms.
- It encourages compulsory and voluntary savings, to minimize the risks that the poor confront.
Jesus Loves the Little Children and So Do We,
We believe that they are truly the hope for a future that could be brighter only if they are equipped now to face it with a winning strategy for change.
There are literally thousands of beautiful little children who have been orphaned by the devastation of HIV/AIDS and border wars. Most are transient, without homes as they struggle to raise themselves and often their siblings without adult or financial help. They sleep on and feed from dump heaps, and fall prey to fatal illnesses and predators alike.
WHOM,I was happy to learn that the mortality rate of this cohort dropped significantly as a result of the blanket project it funded to give each child a new blanket that served to protect them from mosquitoes, the cold and pedophiles. Through the adopt-a-child project we are hoping to provide support for children to go to school and for their care in a home environment.
These children love to learn and are often very bright. They excel in the bible study classes that are conducted by the women of the First Baptist Church of Mbale. They proudly recite verses of scripture from the Old and New Testament and take an active part in the life skills and other training that is provided. So eager are they to serve the Lord that the shelter we built to house their service has long been overcrowded.
But many children are unable to attend school due to a lack of school fees and school uniforms, which are required for school attendance. In its children education project WHOM,I is seeking to partner with other churches and organizations to fund fees, uniforms, books, and teaching supplies to enable a larger number of Christian children to receive formal education.