GREATER RIVER LIFE

It's not just a shoe drive

2013-04-19T21:01:00.001-07:00

God has been so gracious to me in my life and I don't ever want to take any thing lightly or for granted the opportunities he provides or brings my way. Like many of you must be knowing already,I started a children's ministry in uganda over seven years ago, to primarily instill godly values and discipline into children in my village and also as a way to spread the word and love of Jesus in action to children at a young age just like I was privileged to know him earlier in my childhood.
Along the way through many lows God has brought us to a place where we now run our own school offering free academic education and a good biblical foundation which we believe will impact their lives in a very special way and also change their surroundings. One thing however has touched my heart so deeply that I felt the need to share my testimony on the great 'asset' called shoes!! As far as I can remember in my life growing up in Uganda is that I never owned more than one pair of shoes, and the one pair I owned took me to school, church, played soccer with it and went with me everywhere I went.
Now that is for almost the first 15 years of my life , first of all boys shoes for some reason
were always more expensive than girls shoes and growing up with a single mother who had to play all roles including taking care of herself without any external support, I was even very lucky to have a pair of my own, by then actually we used to purchase second hand everything from a big open air market with products that came from Europe and the US and I mean everything to your imagination!! Before the mighty Chinese introduced brand new cheap products to our markets....
Now recently very good friends and partners in the ministry initiated a shoes drive for our children in the village of Kyoga, and the results have been so amazing, it's only a few days ago that I felt so inspired to write this blog to testify of my own story and what shoes mean to me and those poor little children.
One of the most captivating shoe memories I have is when I was a teenager at 15 years and I remember one of my cousins I was staying with had to give me one of her own pair of shoes for me to wear to school, and my cousins were girls for your information!!!
Just imagine having a 15 year old American boy teenager wear girls shoes to school, church, weddings and everyplace... It was so embarrassing but I didn't have any other choice and one thing I used to pray and declare was that if I got money 'one day' I would have a closet full of shoes.. Because I vividly remember that if my shoes weren't torn from the many miles to and from school, the abundance of rain in uganda or the beautiful game of soccer!! Something was eating away my one pair of shoes and oh yes one day they even stole the only pair I had at a school soccer game. I had removed them on that fateful day to use them as goal posts or parameters for the opposing side, by the time we came back from a counter attack on the opposite side my shoes and school shirt were taken and to this day you and I haven't heard of the whereabouts of my black shoes and school uniform, I do however still remember how mad my mom was and the whooping I received that day.
I am not just writing a fun and sad story but a story to thank everyone who has been a part of this successful shoes drive, and also to let you know the impact you are making in a child's life you may probably never meet and most importantly not taking for granted the conveniences we have in this country.
On behalf of the great team and leadership we have at Kuza Africa here in the US and in Uganda thank you so much for being the hands and feet of Jesus.
I now 'own' six decent pairs of shoes and I am content with that number!!!!
With gratitude,
Andrew Paul Kizito
Founder
Kuza Africa
www.kuzaafrica.org

The Best Teacher

2013-01-03T10:08:00.001-08:00

John 14:16
'And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever'

Happy New year friends, it's a blessing again to share with you what God impresses on my heart... I really do take this ministry very seriously that's why I always wait to have a new message inspired by God's Spirit.
As we all know this is a brand new year and a time for all of us to reflect on Our lives and how we can better ourselves,
having said that, life is not a simple resolution list, but a work in inevitable progress!
As a father for the first time you get so excited about your new child and you want to be the best dad in their world , the same applies to any new challenge marriage, job, career or anything you are engaged in at this point.
From my point of view and little experience it's very hard to make the best mature decisions while maintaining your excitement and wanting to do the best for the people you love or thing you love
For example getting a new job and getting some good money and you suddenly storm the mall every weekend purchasing
all the things you ever dreamed of or say being a movie fanatic or a party thrower.
Whatever you enjoy doing or aspire to do we all need someone wiser than us to show us the way to do it.
In my case it is being a good father, personally I didn't get to see my father as he died before I could even register memories of him, so having no figure to physically learn from, I was so unprepared and unsure of how to handle my new responsibilities.
Now, this being a new year I know some of you might be graduating from college, some getting married, some starting a new business or whatever it is you are starting on this new year or maybe you want to have another chance at the things you have been unsuccessful at, I want to remind you that we all have the best teacher available upon request !!
The Holy Spirit is our guide in all things not only on Sunday or when you are in trouble but even when you are stuck on the highway and you need wisdom on how to change your tire!!
I tell you I have found myself in situations that were so difficult to navigate out of and it did take God himself through the Holy Spirit to get me out of there!!!
The Scriptures say that he will guide and teach us in all things, my friends don't allow yourself to succumb to failure, regret and defeat, we have a way out of these things that bother us terribly, the Holy Spirit of God will help you, Jesus calls him the helper, that is one of his main roles... So please don't carry all the problems of the world on your head.
You have help ready for you as you begin this year strongly, remember he will never leave you nor forsake you, but you need to ask, the scriptures also say that he is our ever present help in times of trouble so call upon him today and explain your limitations like you would to a friend .
I may not be the most perfect father or husband in the world but I tell you this my friend that whenever I am faced with situation that requires me to act immediately and I can't reach for google!!!
The Holy Spirit is always present and he always provides the solution or idea that I need at that point to make it through, take advantage of him today.
God bless you and keep you in his love
Let me know how this blog is blessing you.
Go out and overcome all your challenges today in Jesus name.
Blessings
Andrew Paul Kizito
www.greaterriverchurch.org

What Christmas means to me

2012-12-26T08:25:00.001-08:00

Dear friends I am glad to finally be back with our blog, the best news is that I can now do this on my phone at my convenience without sitting down at a stationed computer. I just found out about the app for blogger this morning and as God provides time, I will be writing more regularly and keeping you updated on the ministry here at Greater River.
Now we all know it's Christmas time and everybody is running crazy about gifts and
dinners and these beautiful things but it is very important for us not to forget what Christmas or the birth of Christ is all about and what does it really mean to us especially now in the year 2012.
Please thoughtfully read this message and may the Lord speak and minister to you.
Isaiah 9:6
1- For unto us a child is born... One of the greatest joys is to welcome a child, God has given us the opportunity to welcome a child in our midst, it is a blessing, therefore we have a reason to rejoice!!!

Unto us a child is born!!!
That means joy, happiness, smiles and merry in the place of our sadness, grief and misery, there is a child in our midst therefore lets rejoice and be glad.
-2
Unto us a son is given.. Not to Jews alone or a chosen few but to all of us unto us all of God's people a son is given, he is a gift Freely given, therefore it's our responsibility and choice to receive him in our lives.
-3
His name will be called wonderful:
He is full of wonders and great things, miracles, blessings, gifts, abilities and so much from God he wants us to see and enjoy!!
Taste and see that The Lord is good!!

4-
Counsellor..
He says in his word that come and let us reason together, though your sins are as red as scarlet they shall be made as white as snow.
He is a friend he wants to have a relationship with you and me, a one on one relationship not just a Sunday or group affair.. He wants to comfort and listen to you and speak words of wisdom and counsel to you.

5-
Mighty God
What a blessing to serve a mighty God who is able to defeat all the challenges In our lives, he is stronger and mightier than the situations In your life. All you need to do is ask him, call upon him in the day of trouble and he will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you have not known.
6-
Everlasting father
He is the father to the fatherless, many of us either didn't have a chance to have a father or lost them, but I tell you my friends he is an everlasting father, he never kicks us out of his house because we are older than 18!!! we are always his children.

Let us take advantage of this love and just enjoy the love of our father!!! He is waiting with hands open wide to love on us...

7-
Prince of peace
You and I can agree that there is apparently no peace in our world, in our nation, schools, work places,even In our homes and bedrooms!!!
Thank God he is not only giving us peace, but he is the prince of peace... He wants to give you peace today, he is here to calm the storms in your life, when the fires are raging he wants to be your peace, when the bills are over due he wants to give you peace, when there is no food on your table, he wants to be your peace.Whatever the circumstance might be, he is able to give you peace because he is the prince of peace.
So dear friends as we celebrate this festive Christmas season let us reflect and
Remember that this gift God has freely given is for us, for you and me. It doesn't matter what you didn't receive for Christmas just be content that you have the greatest priceless gift of all, The Lord Jesus Christ, give him 100% access into your life and see the difference he will do in your life, he will turn it all around for the good, Again taste and see that The Lord is good!!

Enjoy this season and New Year's celebrations responsibly and we will see you on the other side of 2013!!

Blessings,
Andrew Paul Kizito
www.greaterriverchurch.org

LAST MISSION TRIP UPDATE

2012-12-11T09:43:00.002-08:00

LAST MISSION TRIP UPDATE

Dear friends it’s been a very short 9 days in Uganda and I am happy with all the progress we were able to achieve, thanks to the support of you my family in the U.S and here in Uganda, I could have never managed all this by myself.

For those who have been following my blogs, on Saturday we had our last day on the ground with the children we minister to, the ministry board suggested that we plan an early Christmas party and also get a chance to give away the rest of the care packages I brought with me from the U.S., it went very well.

Before the celebrations I was able to visit with some of the teens who had gone astray and just talked to them to revive their spirit and hopes that had disappeared.

It’s so amazing how a good thirty minutes of one on one ministry can make a huge impact and bring visible results. that was always my vision to offer direction, encouragement and hope, so I bless God so greatly that he has allowed us to see the fruits of this ministry.

Also just seeing how the then kids now teenage moms, and younger adults who didn’t want to get involved are now personally coming and you can see through their eyes, a cry please we need more of this!!.. So keep us in prayer that we can wisely use this opportunity to be fully effective as God would want us to.

Our volunteer instructors led the children in games and songs and quizzes for prizes, the kids enjoyed this a lot and so did the adults who were present.

We prepared a big ceremonial meal of pilaf rice and beef and each child had their own bottle of soda a Fanta orange and Mirinda fruity.. Kids for some reason just love these two brands, so it was just amazing to see them enjoying that.. Sodas go for 1000 shillings each, which is about 60cents U.S money.. But it is so expensive for families here..

Actually they only drink sodas at weddings, parties and maybe when they perform well at the end of a school year.. That was a great sight to see and just let the kids be kids.

After the meal we had more requests for sponsorship from parents and we made more sponsorship packets, so hopefully we can get each of them a sponsor to get them through school even as our building facility starts to materialize.

We gave out more packages to those who had not come earlier in the week and at around 6pm we had to literary chase the kids away to go home as they didn’t want to move an inch! as they were opening their packages and showing each other what they had received.

As we made our way to the car to leave, some of the kids came with letters to their American friends who had sent the gifts.. This is amazing because I didn’t tell anyone to do that, they actually also made banana fiber dolls and handmade toys to send to American children!!

All in all it was a great experience, though very short and fast not what I expected ,I didn’t get a chance to see most of my relatives and friends but it was just as great to do the work of the master,

Now I look forward to meeting my family back in Colorado. I will keep you updated on how everything goes.

Thanks for your prayers and support, God bless and I will talk to you later.

IMMEDIATE PRAYER REQUESTS

*THERE IS A HUGE NEED FOR CLEAN WATER ON THE LAND WE ARE BUILDING

-we pray for provision to drill water from the ground,clean water is half a mile away,making the building process slow, as well cooking and cleaning, the children carry the water in 20 litre jerrycans over their heads.

*THERE IS A FINANCIAL NEED TO COMPLETE THE WALLS, ROOF,AND FURNISH DESKS AND TABLES FOR THE CLASSES BEFORE SCHOOLS OPEN IN FEBRAURY 2013

* WE NEED WISDOM TO HIRE GOD FEARING TEACHERS AND INSTRUCTORS WHO WILL RUN WITH OUR VISION OF .. 'RAISING UP GOD FEARING, MORALLY UPRIGHT AND SELF SUSTAINING CITIZENS'

* WE NEED A REGULAR FINANCIAL FLOW TO SUSTAIN THE MINISTRY

-We talked about starting a small scale bakery that can provide bread, cakes, doughnuts and other comfectionary needs

- This will engage the young people in our ministry and also provide skills and some source of income

- An Estimate of $ 2000 Is enough to start this bakery project.

* QUATERLY OR MONTHLY SPONSORSHIP FOR CHILDREN

- This will enable children in our ministry in uganda access high quality christian education, meet basic needs and also facilittate teachers school workers and volunteers.

PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER GIVING A TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFT TODAY:

YOU CAN SEND YOUR CHECK TO

2340 S TROY ST AURORA COLORADO 80014

OR GIVE ONLINE ON OUR WEBSITE

www.greaterriverchurch.org

IT'S A WRAP!!

2012-12-08T14:21:00.001-08:00

SATURDAY 8 2012

Greetings dear friends and loved ones.. My trip to Uganda is coming to an end today. I bless God for all the great things he has done and the ability to get most of things I had in plan done.

I thank you for all the prayers and the support in all ways.

Today Saturday we are wrapping up the activities for my stay but the ministry will continue, by the grace of God we have a fully functioning board of directors working tirelessly and for free to make sure everything goes well.

On the plate today is another give way of care packages I brought from our church New Life Community Church, I was given three boxes of toothbrushes, toothpaste, booklets, pens and pencils and more all in a single package for each child, I wish you could be here to see the kids buried in excitement as each one for the very first time in their lives would own a real toothbrush and use toothpaste to clean their teeth, as opposed to using little dirty sticks and ash or to keep their teeth clean daily.

Now just a few days ago, when we gave away the kids care packages we had two full grown fathers who came and they wanted a package for themselves thankfully we had more than enough. But it’s interesting because African men don’t get involved in things like this.. let alone got to do with little kids and teenagers in God related activities. So we thank God for that, actually one of the men came to me, shook my hand and thanked me. Can you imagine this small package preached the great message of the love of Christ to men who would have never made it to church and all the glory goes back to God.

We shall also have a big meal and drinks for the kids from the whole village, we pray we cook enough food to feed all of the them.

We shall also prepare sponsorship packets today, because some of the parents or guardians I have talked to, say they want their kids to go to school, they just cannot afford it. So we pray that we can secure sponsorship for the children through you our partners and well-wishers.

Alright I have got to run and get to work and later pack for my journey back home to the U.S tomorrow night.

Keep us in prayers and will talk to you again very soon,

Andrew Paul Kizito

www.greaterriverchurch.org

UGANDA MISSION UPDATES (12-6-12)

2012-12-06T16:50:00.001-08:00

Friends,
blessings and greetings from Uganda. Thank you for all the prayers and support.
The last two days have been crazy busy and I didn’t get the chance to write, but we praise God for good health , safety and work is going well am trying to get as much as I can get done before heading home to the U.S on Sunday.
   Sunday I was able to get a rental car for easy access to and from the village, that's a blessing!! However I just realized I didn't know how to drive until this week!! The way people drive here is worse than New York City. So my 'good' driving from the U.S is earning me very Loud Honks and the rest that comes with that!!
I visited my former home church on Sunday and got a very warm welcome and they even had me share my testimony and experience in the U.S and I never felt so humbled to stand before the pastor who helped me get into ministry almost 15 years ago and give a good report of what God is doing in my life.
   Monday we were able to get some legal stuff taken care of as far as the school is concerned, we registered that with the Government here and when the school year opens in February 2013 we will be up and ready to run.
   Tuesday we went through the mapping of the Land again with a local engineer and I gave them the kind of picture I envisioned for the finished structure and they are now designing that and by Friday we shall have all the measurements and full costs of the whole project finalized.
   I was also able to get some video and pictures of the area we are stationed I will send you some hopefully tomorrow.
   Wednesday we started digging the foundation for the classroom blocks for the nursery/kindergarten school and two elementary classrooms as well.
We figured it will be better to start on something small that will be ready by the beginning of the year even as we wait for provision for the main structure which might take almost six months or more to finish.
On Wednesday we also met with some of original group of young people we started working with in 2007 and shared how we can be more effective in reaching this community here with the blessing God has given of the school and ministry center.

Today Thursday we left early to get more supplies to work on the foundation and get the walls up, in order to be ready for the school year beginning February 2013.

We were able to give away the packages from the children’s ministry at New Life Community Church and the kids were so happy and couldn’t keep their eyes off their packages.

We had to leave to them in amazement and head on our way to another meeting with the leaders of the children’s ministry.

Time check 5:53 pm

I will keep you updated, blessings and thank you again for the prayers and support.
Andrew Paul Kizito

www.greaterriverchurch.org

UGANDA MISSIONS UPDATE

2012-12-01T23:34:00.004-08:00

Greetings to you dear friends and loved ones, it is a blessing to be able to write to you about the progress here in Uganda, East Africa.

God has and is still so faithful, those of you who remember I mentioned to you that that we would be travelling to build a children's ministry and resource center, but all was said in faith with nothing in the bank to show for it!!

Long story short, God provided and I am now here, I arrived Friday night 11:00 pm after a number of connections from Denver to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Kigali and Kigali to Entebbe Uganda.. A very long flight but I thank God for safety and good health through the whole process.

I was met at the airport by my mom and some friends and family and we drove straight home to my friend’s house where I am residing in Bukoto a city suburb.

God is gracious, my friend has internet access in his house which is making it possible for me to stay in touch with my family through Skype, viber and magic jack free calling to any U.S number, now that is a blessing!!!

So yesterday Saturday I made my first attempt to go to the city I was born and raised in, but I tell you four years can make a whole big difference in a growing country, more people, more cars, less space and lots of changes!! I made it there without any help via public means and was able to see a few people I knew then, which was nice...

Later on in the day I made my way to the village where they had been waiting impatiently for my return, now this is the village where I used to spend my Christmas holidays and go into the forests to look at monkeys and hunt for wild birds... so to go back to do something that is going to help the community, that is profound and I thank God so much for allowing to use me at such a time like this.

We had planned on giving away care packages nicely done by the children's ministry at our church , but postponed that to Monday when more kids are notified in the community and also have an opportunity to do evangelism through that, I know with all my heart that this is going to make a big difference in families here.

Now one of the reasons I felt so led to set the ministry in this area is because not so many people care to go into these isolated communities , most people want to go to cities that are more established which is okay, but I really believe in making an impact in small communities because when people are enlightened, taught and trained in the right way, they obviously love their home towns they will most probably stay and make it better, and the better it becomes the more people are attracted to it, they then start investing, and before you know there is a lot of growth, and in the long run this prevents overcrowding in the bigger cities, you get less crime, because people can find work in their local areas, they then build stable families and instill good values.

Now we need a lot of prayer and I believe this is God's timing, yesterday as we prayed and dedicated the construction to the lord, in our meeting there was a little girl I could notice from almost 6 years ago from one of our ministry visits, she was carrying a baby , so I asked whose baby it was and she said with a lot of fear, ‘that is my baby’, Now this is the trend in these little villages, families cannot afford to even pay for the subsidized government elementary education, so they keep their girls from school and have them work in fields, their dreams are broken and no hope, so they start having babies, but in my opinion 14 year olds should not be mothers, they still have their own growing up to do!!!

So I ask for your prayers and support that we can establish the school as soon as possible, even as we build this multi-purpose structure that will house the school, library, ministry auditorium, counseling and guidance center as well as a home for children who have been neglected by these teenage moms who once over burdened by the responsibility they run off to the city and never come back leaving the children to their grandparents.

Next week Monday we shall start unloading the bricks oven , and start mapping out the foundation , please keep us in prayer, and if you feel led to give any gift to towards this work .. Please go ahead and send that to

GREATER RIVER 2340 S TROY ST AURORA COLORADO 80014

or go to our website www.greaterriverchurch.org to place a donation online

I will talk to you on Monday blessings and love from Uganda

Andrew Paul Kizito

www.greaterriverchurch.org

NOW IS THE TIME

2012-11-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

Dear friends Its been a long while since I wrote on our blog, I was busy finishing up school, working on different ministry projects and doing my best to be a good husband, father and pastor as well.. so I pray you bear with me.
In the next couple of days I will be in Uganda East Africa on a mission trip I shared with you the last time I wrote. God has been so gracious in providing funds for me to travel and also be able to break ground for the Chidlren's ministry and resource center that will be a center of love, hope, education, mentoring and evangelism.
I would be a cheat if I dont testify on how God made this possible, at the beginning of this year we had over 15 people desiring to travel with me and we were a hundred percent sure everything would go as planned, but as the months drew near, family commitments, financial difficulties and other unavoidable circumstances made it very difficult for our friends to be a part of the November mission trip.

Panic started to set in as I was the only one who would make it but didn't have airfare available, now a few months earlier we had started making bricks for the building structure, and I was getting so worried about the bricks getting destroyed by the heavy rains if construction didn't take place as scheduled, and the hopes of an entire village dashed if somebody didn't go, mind you we announced the trip at the beggining of the year. At the very last minute, friends God not only provided the amount I needed to purchase my ticket but he also provided a very good price you cannot find for an International ticket anywhere around December, Praise to our God!!!

Just to give you a background of the village we are doing the ministry, It is a small village with almost 1,500
people living there, mainly older people in their 70's and older, taking care of their grandchildren who are usually abandoned by their young parents who go to the capital city Kampala to seek a better future, the parents only come back once a year for Christmas holidays or new year celebrations.
The main religion is the African Traditional Ancetral Religion, where the worshippers believe in praying to their dead ancestors for every aspect of their life, rain, good crops, a good harvest and health for them and their families.
With that background and their age, It is almost imposible for them to listen to preachers or even pay any attention to anyone trying to introduce anything new that will 'distract' them from their ancentral beliefs which they vow to keep and most times inherit all the 'regalia' from up to 4 generations.

With that in mind, the percentage of children is outnumbering that of adults, as the older folks succumb to sickness and natural deaths, the children take leadership of the home and in so doing they cannot complete school as they have to work long days in the fields to take care of the youngest ones and the cycle continues on and on and on.
That is why our ministry is very very important in this village, this sunday while sharing with my home church I mentioned that in this age of modernity, In ' 2012 ' people still brush their teeth with small sticks from a special trees because they cannot afford a toothbrush, let alone soap to wash their bodies and clothes to stay clean and healthy.
Praise be to God that I will be taking hundreds of toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, clothes , pencils, pens which I believe will make an impact you cannot even imagine.
The Structure we are going to construct will house a Ministry Auditorium where children will be ministred to the love and word of God in action in their respective ages, a full functioning kitchen and dining area to serve balanced diet meals, a well stocked library with all relevant text books necessary for academic progress and success, once we install electricity we shall be able have computers in there as well something new to the entire village, special housing units for children who have been abandoned, neglected and those who have lost their parents to the deadly AIDS epidemic in the country.

In an effort to have a regular positve and spiritual impact we plan to have classroom blocks for a pre-school / kindergaten program and with God's provisions we shall add elementary level classrooms all with the mission of raising up God fearing, responsible and self sustaining citizens who will in turn teach others.

So my friends I ask you to pray for me as I travel this week for safety, good health and good weather for us do everything on plan and safe travels back home to my family.

We welcome gifts and donations of any size to help us in the daily operations of this ministry and the construction process.
We estimate the entire building project will cost $50,000 to complete hopefully by the end of 2013.
Prayerfully consider writing us a check to
GREATER RIVER 2340 S TROY ST AURORA COLORADO 80014
or donate online at www.greaterriverchurch.org
We shall have a phone giving plan at the beginning of 2013... Let us know if you would love to go with us next year and volunteer in building, serving and blessing the children of the small village Kyoga in Uganda, East Africa.
Check out the pictures of the bricks and the picture of how the Children's Ministry Center will look like at completion.

Email us at:
greaterriver@gmail.com

Blessings on you today..
Andrew Paul Kizito
ONCE FINISHED THE MINISTRY CENTER WILL LOOK LIKE THIS.

YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE VILLAGE HELPING TO STACK THE READY BRICKS.

ME TEACHING ONE OF OUR FIRST CLASSES IN 2007

www.greaterriverchurch.org

FAITHFULNESS...THE KEY

2012-09-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

Luke 16:10

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

   This powerful verse speaks volumes by itself, and i tell you there is nothing in this world as good as seeing answered prayer !! Today i am just going to testify about God's faithfulness and promises.
     About 6 years in my dormitory i began to think about the events that had shaped my life, unfortunately most of them were very unpleasant and i will share those at the right time.
   My mind shifted from myself and went to thousands of 'me' who were caught in a fishnet of poverty , abuse, neglect and despair..e.t.c i started asking God how i could be of help to that one child i have never met, whose story similar to mine i have never heard.
I vividly remember a voice speaking to me in my heart very clearly to 'Do Something'. I was still in school , didn't have any money , didn't know anybody important or sponsors for that matter.
   Our dialogue continued and i mentioned to God in honesty that i desired to help, i desired to make a change but how could i start? The voice told me , 'Start with what you have' i looked at my self , i was making 50,000 ugandan shillings (25.00 US Dollars) per month!! yes per month for 12 hour days monday through friday as a nursery/kindergarten teacher.
God promised me that if i was faithful he would be faithful and would make my willingness to help others materialize, if i stayed faithful 'with what i had'.
Long story short i shared the idea i had with some good friends of mine and decided to go my maternal village many miles from my city home every weekend to just talk to children and pre-teens about the Lord and also address the issues of life regarding health, adolescence , sex and social everyday situations alike.
The begginning wasn't easy but we stayed faithful, saving money from my meager salary from which i also payed my rent, bus fare and food!!! We poured love, hope and direction to these kids we were not related to, actually some of them from Muslim families and some from homes with occult and witchcraft shrines in the backyard.
Fast forward God opens doors for me i get a better job , i start travelling the world and later settle in the U.S and he lets me meet wonderful people who share the passion and vision i have for abused, neglected and disadvantaged children in the Country of Uganda.
I remember one time while working as a baby sitter for some friends in the state of Massachusetts i was making 50.00 per week working from sunrise to sunset and yet still sent money to support the ministry we had started, many times i felt like giving up..but by the grace i stayed faithful.
As i write this blog God has given us the opportunity and the resources we prayed for six years ago and that was to build a decent structure where we could meet with the kids and just bless them with good words, clothes, hygienic needs,a balanced diet meal and also regularly monitor their progress by way of a school that teaches the academic curriculum with a huge emphasis on biblical and godly values.
This week with a very good gift from a generous family we started breaking ground for bricks for the facility that will be a center for hope, love , enrichment and growth in the body, mind and spirit.
I just felt like sharing with you this awesome testimony and journey God is leading us on..i encourage you my friend, whatever God has laid on your heart it doesn't matter what it is ask God to show you how you can make that first step, by using what you have in your hand. If you don't have anything, you have some faith, maybe smaller than a mustard seed but God can use that if you let him!!!
So my friends i ask you to pray with us, in November this year we believe to travel to Uganda to lay the building foundation for this ministry that is going to change and transform lives in our small village and our country of Uganda at large.
I pray for you too that God will give you the patience and bless you with the people who will walk with you through the journey of your calling.
Please visit our website and see how you can be a part of what is doing in our ministry.

blessings,
Andrew Paul Kizito
greaterriver@gmail.com
www.twitter.com/greaterriver
www.facebook.com/GreaterRiver
www.greaterriverchurch.org

In this picture i am teaching a class in 2008 in the early days of our ministry.

The Little Seeds We Sow

2012-09-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Little Seeds We Sow

^Psalms
126:5Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Just the other day I was looking back, its only been a few years ago and was amazed at how God has really blessed me with almost everything I prayed for and dreamt of as a young boy, it’s so amazing to realize that God really is at work in our lives , we many times just don’t realize it and so often we focus on the things we don’t have, our failures , disappointments and what people say about us or even more commonly judge ourselves in comparison to our peers and friends we grew up with or went to school with.

Did you know that every day we sow seeds in our lives, into our kids, our loved ones and people we know and those we may never know or even meet.

It saddens me a lot ,it shouldn’t though whenever I hear that, ‘ what we are today is at a greater portion due to the seeds we have sowed in the past..’ Very hard to swallow…… especially if you have sowed more bad seeds than good ones… seeds take many sizes and shapes, technically everything we do is a seed or a fruit. Think about it!!!

The words we say to ourselves, the time we spend and how we spend it ,the places we go ,the people we meet and how we interact with them and what we gain from these relationships , all these are seeds that will affect us or the other parties for the rest of theirs and our lives.

Now most of you know that I am a pastor and one of the most difficult things to mention in church is teaching people or asking them to give money.. Because the first thing some people will think is that you want to take and use their money for your personal use and probably become rich from it, I thank God for my wonderful congregation who give so cheerfully and generously.

But the truth of the matter is that, giving money in the house of God is actually giving to God out of our love, honor and appreciation to him..

Now how this money is used is a concern many of us have and that’s okay!! Granted. but shouldn’t bother us that much if our intentions are right and are geared towards God and his service…do your part and let God deal with his men or women on the ground.

Giving our money is probably so hard because it represents our hard work, sweat, and the pain we go through to get it..but giving a portion of it say 10% is very hard for us to do.. Believe me!! But when you do with a cheerful heart and willingness within, you are sowing a seed that won’t only return to you in the short term but fruits you will enjoy for a lifetime!!

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver

So I looked back and remembered the times I gave so much of my time serving in the church, singing, cleaning, preaching without pay and how painful it was for so many years and actually most of the time it was routine but my soul was out of it completely. But thank God he still counted those seeds.

Imagine a farmer waking up so early in the morning, breaking hard ground, weeding the ground, planting the seeds, pruning, making scare crows, more weeding, and then waiting. And actually sometimes losing all his seed to pests.

All this stuff is not fun to do.. But the fact that you do it regardless of the process, painful as it may be sometimes in heavy rains, very hot sunny days, I tell you right now One day!! the fruits will come and when they do ,there is no better joy than reaping a hard earned harvest!!

By the way this can take a span of three to twelve months!!! A year to be precise..!! (If you are dealing with crops)

Scripture tells us to continue doing good for at the right time we shall reap a harvest if we do not faint.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up

So my friends in everything you do, be it giving your time, sharing your resources, spending time with people that you love or people who love you.. know in your heart that you are sowing seeds and one day most importantly you will stand before the throne of the Almighty and he will say,Well done good and faithful Servant!!

Matthew 25:23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

This is great to know and look forward to but I promise you even before then. Our God is the creator of heaven and earth he will reward you generously even here on this beautiful planet!!

Keep up the good work and keep sowing those little seeds especially when no one is watching and there is no expected return..

Much love and blessings,

Andrew Paul Kizito

AUDIO VERSION
https://soundcloud.com/kizitopaul/the-little-seeds-we-sow

www.greaterriverchurch.org

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greaterriver@gmail.com

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Taking Back Ours

2012-09-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

It’s always a blessing for me to get on the laptop and share with you my heart and the messages God places in my spirit. The Lord has placed urgency inside me to address daily life issues from a biblical standpoint and to encourage the body of Christ to fully live the life our savior died for.

As followers of Christ we many times live below what God has intended us to, but I believe with all my heart that once we realize whose we are and the sacrifice he made for us to be free, we can live in the ‘promised land’ even here on earth regardless of what is around us, be it hard economic times, strained relationships and all the evil that surrounds us today.

Speaking of hard times that are obvious to us each day especially here in America it is very easy to be distracted, disappointed and even lose the ‘Joy of our salvation’ David in the bible after sinning against God by killing one man’s husband and committing adultery on her, after realizing his mess he earnestly pleads to God to not take away his holy spirit and the Joy of his salvation.

^{Psalms 51:11}Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation

The most important thing in David’s life was not the woman she had stolen and killed for, not the majestic palace he was living in or even the power he had as king. What was most important was being in the presence of God or more clearly living with the presence of God each day of his life, and additionally having the Joy that only God gives.

When you read in-depth the story of David’s fall into this sin, you also realize that the child that was born as a result of his uncontrolled sexual desire and greed died after a brief illness. Now David doesn’t dwell so much on that knowing that he was being punished for his acts, he instead pursues what is most important: Having the Holy Spirit present in his life and also the JOY that God gives.

Many of us ,me included make mistakes every day, we lose things that we treasure so much ,in this economy the most valuable ‘asset’ is having a job, expecting a child and having a roof over our heads etc. etc. but none of these things beat the Joy that God gives.

Imagine why do we go to school, work long hours, some people even steal or con others for a quick buck? We all want to have that state of satisfaction, we want to be happy, we are seeking Joy in the wrong places, in drugs, sex, shopping, education, having children all these may to a certain point make you happy but true happiness comes from seeking, finding and maintaining the presence of God and his spirit in our lives ‘EVERYDAY’

That’s why we need to go back to the root and source of our joy , peace and content. Do we want to have fulfilled relationships? Exciting family moments? Have successful careers and achieve our ambitions? The secret is going back to seeking God and his righteousness and the rest shall be added to us (Matthew 6:33)

God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places but to enjoy them, maintain them is our job everyday , let’s take back our families, let’s take back the gifts God bestowed on us, let’s raise our children in the way of Lord and enjoy the fruits of our labor by seeking God daily, involving him in our decisions, inquiring of him before making major and minor moves and I promise you God will direct our paths..

P.S Listen to the Audio version on the link below:
http://soundcloud.com/kizitopaul/taking-back-ours

Blessings to you as you fully enjoy all his benefits,

Andrew Paul Kizito

www.greaterriverchurch.org

www.twitter.com/greaterriver

www.facebook.com/GreaterRiver

greaterriver@gmail.com

IF ONE MAN CAN..

2012-08-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

In my last blog 'God is knocking on your door' I highlighted a number of issues hurting our society today, among them gun violence which has led to so many deaths at a repetitive pace. Whenever i turn on my phone to read news updates, I am greeted with some tragedy somewhere next door, on the highway or at a workplace. This doesnt mean that evil hasn't been going on but in my opinion its like we are having worse news each day and you rarely hear anything good, peaceful and encouraging.
In our church service as i was speaking God led me into the story of Abraham and how he was able to save his family from destruction, we all have heard or read about Sodom and Gomorah and how much evil was going on in that city..it was too much that God was fed up of the unrighteousness and wanted to just wipe out the entire city.
^{Genesis 13:10}Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹²Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
Verse 13 gives you the idea of what was going on and if you compare the two, their situation clearly relates to the state of our society especially here in the west where we have access to everything we need and don't need as well.Unfortunately whenever there is so much in abundance there is an outbreak of sin and rebellion towards God. No wonder King Solomon in

proverbs 30:8 asks of the lord

'give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

9Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God.'

However at the end of Solomon's life he succumbs to his fear...he had so much wisdom and wealth and he ended up dishonoring the name of his God.

Back to Abraham he gets a visitation from the Lord and the Almighty reveals his plan for Sodom which was to destroy it completely but as we read earlier his relative Lot was in the city as well with all the wicked people.

when you read chapter 18 of Genesis you will be shocked to see how wicked the people were, both young and old were so evil that at the sight of the angels only two of them the 'whole city' was so 'excited' and wanted to sin against them and Lot as well when he wouldn't let the two men out of the house for their evil sexual pleasures..

That is how wicked Sodom was....and so is America and the west!

Am not getting off track but the point here is that we can still save a generation , we can still save our families, we can save our cities from the wrath of God, bretheren it sounds outdated but God has not changed he is still a holy God who hates sin and he still punishes those in rebellon

Yet he is still a God full of Love and compassion and just like Abraham when he knew there was only a handful of rightoues people in Sodom he pleaded on their behalf to God until God said that he would spare the city if there was only ten righteous people there, unfortunately there was less than ten and God saved them and destroyed the rest of the city.

We have our families that we love so dearly, kids that we adore, assets we have acquired, and dreams we build each day.. only God can keep all this intact, while his hand is over our possessions they will stand, while his hand is over our children they will survive the dangers of this wicked generation, while we drive back and forth he will surround us with his protection and we will see our loved ones at the end of the day.

If one man could do it for his family in a far land, you can do it for your family, church, school, community and country as well

2 chronicles 7:13

¹³“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

God is waiting for us to humble ourselves and admit that we have fallen short, he wants us to seek him, he wants us to turn from our wicked ways and he promises he will forgive us, we his chosen ones and he will also heal our land.. and all that dwell in it..

God is looking to raise up the John the Baptists of this generation, he is looking for men and women who will pray and seek his face without fear or shame and the revival will come, not only through big stadium meetings but from our kitchen tables, from our bedrooms and family reunions.

Will you be the one to bring our nation back to God? start with your family, with your workmates, with your business group and so on and so forth..

share this message with the people you love and let's spread the fire of revival..

blessings

Andrew Paul Kizito

www.greaterriverchurch.org

www.facebook.com/GreaterRiver

twitter @greaterriver

greaterriver@gmail.com

DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR CONFIDENCE

2012-08-26T01:49:00.002-07:00

Hey friends, here is a short clip from our service about holding on to our faith..there's more video messages on our youtube page..
www.youtube.com/user/greaterriver
www.greaterriverchurch.org
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UNDER HIS SHADOW: He's Knocking on Your Door

2012-08-21T21:22:00.001-07:00

UNDER HIS SHADOW: He's Knocking on Your Door: Greetings to you all my dear friends and followers on this blog, i thank God for technology and where its taking us..but most importa...

He's Knocking on Your Door

2012-08-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings to you all my dear friends and followers on this blog, i thank God for technology and where its taking us..but most importantly for the communication of the gospel and creating a platform for even the 'small peoples' to share to a local, national and global audience which would be otherwise very hard if not impossible.
So today as you may have noticed on our title, 'He's Knocking on your Door' you might be wondering who is knocking, why is he knocking and whose door are you talking about? well this message is inspired by numerous events happening in our world today and i will do my best to relate it with the word of God.
As you must be noticing our world is falling apart, especially here in the U.S there is a lot of deaths from gun related violence in the past few weeks almost at a repetitive rate, talk about the mass shooting in a movie theater here in Aurora, Colorado which is actually 5 minutes from my residence, the shooting in Wisconsin at the Sikh temple and many others as you have heard and read in the media.
That's just a piece of the pie, there's alot more happening for example the protests against the Chick a Filla restaurants for their support of biblical marriage, i cant help but wonder in negative amazement how our world is changing, minds have been completely been convinced that 'wrong' is the new 'right' and to also realize that its now the coolest thing to be gay and also be proud of it in broad daylight!!! Flash back 50 years ago at least where i come from it was almost unheard of.. or even something we just read about in the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorah. The other day in a popular entertainment magazine i saw a bunch of handsome and talented male musicians posing with their 'kids' as mom and dad..this is ridiculous, unacceptable and a reproach to the institution of the God ordained family and most especially to the church of Christ which is so sleepy, quiet and even compromising with the situation instead of condemning it publicly.
We are so afraid of losing popularity and donations that we have let things happen before our very own eyes..and that brings me to the point that GOD IS KNOCKING ON OUR DOORS!!! yes church we might not be the cause of the stuff and chaos in our world but we need to wake up and practice our faith, speak against the evil that is surrounding us.
God is knocking on your door usher, he is knocking on your door husband, he is knocking on your door school teacher , he is knocking on your door, preacherman, he is knocking on your door handyman etc..etc..

The scriptures say in 1Peter 4:17 17For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

You and I can do something, we can start with bringing back prayer into our homes, they have taken it from our schools but not from our kitchen tables or living rooms, how about those prayers with our kids before bedtime, how about the morning prayer before mom and dad went to work?

Holy scriptures say in 2 Chronicles 7:14 ,'if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'

So there you go!!! We can start with a simple thing like prayer and i tell you a family can be transformed, a circle of friends can be changed, a marriage can be restored, a nation can be brought back to its knees in surrender to God and our world can be a better place.

But how sure are you that's gonna work? this is the dotcom generation!!! i tell you one thing 2,000 years ago a group of 120 unschooled and despised fishermen prayed and waited on God and were filled with the Holy Spirit and guess what? millions today have been touched by the obedience and sacrifice of those precious disciples of Jesus.

God is knocking on your door my friend... and mine as well..let us open up and make our families, schools, work places and world a better place.

Blessings,

Andrew Paul Kizito

www.greaterriverchurch.org

greaterriver@gmail.com

Like us at facebook.com/GreaterRiver

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http://youtu.be/I3ULpjjCO8s

A NEW SEASON

2012-08-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

A NEW SEASON
Hey friends i know it and feel it from the bottom of my spirit that God is moving us into a new season.
Whenever you see alot of stuff happening in your life and you get to that place of giving up? remember that you are only a few moments from a breakthrough.
I would like to share a verse from Genesis 26 and its about Isaac in the midst of a terrible famine in the land, and ofcourse the first idea is to move out and look for greener pastures for his family,animals and his servants.But God intercepts and tells him to stay!!! as you will read below in the verse...Isaac obeyed the Lord and stayed and the Lord blessed so much that even his neighbours asked him to leave because he was wealthy!!!
Your breakthrough maynot be in changing your address or job or career but its listening to God and knowing that he can bless you from exactly where you are...the blessing of God will penetrate the desert to give water to his children, the blessing of God will break loose prison doors, the blessing of God will make a way in the wilderness!!
But one thing i want you to take home is that Isaac didnt just sit and wait for God to bring food and plough the ground for him..noooooo.. he sowed a seed ,planted crops and the scriptures say he reaped a hundredfold in the same land of famine, and in the same year of a severe drought.
Do something today and God will release the supernatural increase....

Genesis 26

New International Version (NIV)

Isaac and Abimelek

26 Now there was a famine in the land —besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. ²The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. ³Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. ⁴I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring^[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[b] ⁵because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions. ” ⁶So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

^{¹²Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. ¹³The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. ¹⁴He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.

¹⁶Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us. ”

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GOD'S THOUGHTS TOWARDS YOU

2012-07-06T23:30:00.003-07:00

GOD'S THOUGHTS TOWARDS YOU

2012-07-06T23:30:00.001-07:00

2012-06-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Under his wings

This last week i had a not so good experience while driving a Uhaul moving truck back to the store location. As i was turning into a gas station to fuel it up, a fast speeding small sedan out of nowhere hit my truck driver seat side with my 9months pregnant seated next to me, it was something i didn't anticipate but BOOM!! one minute changed the tone of the whole day and everything just changed, police came in ,documents exchanged and all that legal protocol. Anyways one thing that really hit my head so many hours later is how God protects us even when we are unaware of it.

One thing that i try , and i mean try!! is keeping my heart and mind connected to God even in the midst of the busy-ziness of life..I can tell you one thing for sure that keeping myself connected to God has kept me covered , protected and secure even when i am caught off guard.

Psalms 91:1 states that 'He that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.' The word 'Dwell' means to 'remain', 'to live as a resident'

abide: means according to the Merriam-Website to remain stable or continue in a place

in other wards if we remain in God,with our heart ,mind and spirit connected to him,we shall live as a resident in his shadow!!

what a great place to be under God's shadow..just think of a very hot day and all you long for is a tree shade and once you get into that shade life just comes back!!

Imagine living under God's shade everyday,every night and second of your life..

Life is full of hot situations, Big bills, difficult people who unfortunately many times are the people we love most, friends and family and what you need most of the time is a shade, a secret place away from all the 'heat of life...

God through his word promises us, that when we remain in him,he will always provide protection and coverage when we need it, why? because that's how life has been designed it is not easy , it will never be ,but with God around us, under his shade we can be sure that even when we are attacked,challenged he will not give us up!!!

Just like the accident we were involved in, had i been in my little Mazda 2 , i would still be in hospital or even dead from the impact of the crash.. but God covered us in the fortress of the strong body of the Uhaul truck that day at the right time!!

When you get a chance please read the whole chapter of Psalm 91 and you will discover how God loves us so much and how he protects us when we remain in him.

Blessings

Andrew Kizito

www.greaterriverchurch.org