Last year in April, we held had a mission trip spanning 3 East African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Our purpose when traveling to East Africa was to fulfill the Great Commission by preaching the timely Word that God was speaking to the church in East Africa. For Uganda, the theme was “The Refiner’s Fire”.

In addition to this spiritual message, The Lord had placed in our hearts a burden for the economic welfare of the church in West Nile.

If you checking the economic statistics, you will see that West Nile Region is the second poorest region in the country of Uganda. More than a quarter of the population in the region makes a living out of the subsistence economy, with 16.9% being considered poor.

One of our brothers, Brother Martijn, spoke to the church leaders about how to nurture ideas and build them into successful businesses regardless of what region they are. He gave examples of business ideas they could do, and mentioned practical steps on how to start.

After this presentation, Pastor Temitope was inspired to talk about the power of fellowship among believers and how what God has blessed us with are the skills the world is using to build itself. He explained that what the believers needed to be successful was there with then. To make the points our Brother Martijn had presented more practical, Ps. Temitope pointed at a lady in the congregation and asked her to stand. He asked her if she had a business, what she did, and what she needed to expand and bring it to the next stage. She informed all that she was a tailor, and she had a tailoring business that she desired to expand but was limited because she didn’t have the market to support the expansion.

Immediately, Pastor Temitope asked the congregation, “Who here can help our sister?”. Immediately, another lady stood up and said that she was an entrepreneur with a chain of primary schools with hundreds of children who needed uniforms tailored at least twice a year.

These women had been in the same room maybe hundreds of times, but neither of them knew that they held the key to the other persons challenge. It was obvious that God had gathered these women in one place for a reason and therefore Glory Train Ministries felt called to assist with fulfilling that purpose. It was our privilege to donate the first sewing machine of several that she needed to buy in order to expand her tailoring business.

What is wonderful about this experience is that it didn’t end as many stories end with a missionary giving money and leaving. No, rather, it was about empowering the Body of Christ to provide for each other, because that will sustain itself for many years to come.