HE FLOWERS APPEAR ON THE EARTH; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice
of the turtle is heard in our land” (Song of Songs 2:12). It is remarkable to see the operations of God’s hand in our lives. We begin our journey with nothing, knowing nothing, and God, through the means of a miniscule faith (as a grain of mustard seed) we place in him, slowly works out his purposes in and for us, day by day, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:28). Through the arduous and difficult trials (yet blessings in disguise) of sun and rain, we, like plants, grow. At long last, the buds of our boughs blossom into beautiful bouquets:
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding ev’ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.
So too have we expereinced God’s goodness in Africa. God has long been leading us, not merely to, but also in, this great continent, that he might “fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11), “to save much people alive” (Genesis 50:20).
Upcoming Marriage
We at Bible Baptist Church are pleased to announce the very near marriage of John and Angela, to be held on Saturday, July 8th, here in Uganda. We expect a large gathering of all the regular church members, many members of Angela’s family, a couple friends of ours from the States, and, of course, the parents of us two (John and Jesse). It will be the first official, church-style wedding that we will hold (officiated by a pastor friend of ours, Greg Schoof), and, God-willing, merely the first of many. For the blessing of precious memories, and for those of you unable to attend, we will be recording many of the things happening that day, and will be posting some on our YouTube channel, especially the wedding ceremony.
Ministry Results from June Over the month of June, we unabatingly continue to experience harvest-time for the kingdom of God. There were 831 people led to Christ those quick 30 days, as well as 50 persons attending their first discipleship lesson. As people are kept from falling by God, we saw 9 new converts finish the discipleship lessons, and 2 people became soul-winners.
I (Jesse) am finally reaching the concluding section of the book of Romans in my exposition, and remark how profitable and edifying it has been to preach through Paul’s magnum opus. People 
have regularly expressed to me their excitement to hear the mid-week sermon, and I have strongly felt God’s very divine way of communicating important and timely truths by means of faithful, line-upon-line preaching of God’s word. Please pray God would continue to give us wisdom in the study and teaching of God’s word, which is the key to developing this “little flock” into a mightier and more mature army for the Lord. Probably the most significant work we will ever do in Africa is the training of future evangelists and pastors, as this is the Biblical recipe for
world-evangelization. But alas, how long it takes to nourish them up in the words of faith and of good doctrine! We must exhibit tremendous patience with Africa, because it is, sad to say, a
spiritually neglected continent, despite what many are led contrarily to believe. Becoming a preacher of God’s word is truly a gargantuan task, and one which we must not look lightly upon. We are seeing how we might most effectively train people, one further development of which we will discuss perhaps in next month’s letter. Please pray God will continue raising up nd equipping men of God in this church who will turn Africa “right-side up.”
Good News: We are officially 501(c)(3) non-profit
We also have spectacular news about the status of our ministry: we have been approved by the IRS for the much-desired-after status of 501(c)(3), charitable non-profit! This is significant for at least three reasons. First, donors and patrons can give to this work of God in Africa without the fear that their contributions will be greatly consumed on tax-burdens of the U.S. government, 
because it means Baptists for Africa (as an organization) is not obligated to pay taxes on its donations. Secondly, this important status, with the responsibility that goes along with it, will give those who give to this ministry another layer of confidence in the financial transparency and accountability this ministry possesses. And thirdly, all donations to this ministry (as far back as April of 2022), provided they were made to the official account (and not our personal ones), qualify as deductible on tax-return filings of the donors. While certainly not all of our benefactors will take advantage of this, yet to make available the option could not be a bad thing. There has been and currently is only one simple way to donate in an official capacity to this ministry, and that is through the Business PayPal account of BFA, which can be accessed from the donation information on our website (baptistsforafrica.org).
If you ever have any questions about this ministry, or even Bible questions related to the teaching we produce, we encourage you to contact us by email or WhatsApp. Most people mistakenly think we are almost entirely inaccessible to personal inquiries here in Africa, not remembering perhaps that we are well along into the 21st century where communication is so easy and rapid. May all who seek and serve our Lord in sincerity rejoice in what he is accomplishing here in Uganda, and may the God of all grace continue to grant us his favor as we walk according to his word.