Halls

Halls
July 2015

Friday, February 16, 2007

Simba Ulanga Remains in Prison - Churches are making a Stand

Greeting to you all once again.

I once again went to see Simba in prison; he was of good cheer, a nice smile as he wore his slippers and his wrap around "skirt". These types of "skirts" are often worn by men in the coastal regions of East Africa which is where Simba is from.

I brought him some peanuts and about one hundred tracts to give out. I had to first eat some of the peanuts before handing them in through the rusty bars. Different people continue to try to poison him since he has been in prison so I was asked by the prison guard to eat some peanuts first, a precaution against any possible poison.

He received his peanuts with a smile, but had some concern for his wife and children back home. Simba’s wife has been very sick over the past weeks and his kids’ school fees are due and there is no dad at home to help out or supply an income. I assured him that we would help with the kids’ school fees.

I was only given seven minutes with him before I was asked to leave. We prayed together and off I went into my free world. Simba’s court date was held last week Friday. The judge did show up this time but it seemed the case went no further. His next court date is the 16th this month.
The head of security in the prison is a Muslim man. He says he likes Simba to be in this prison because the whole environment of the prison has changed for the better. There is a different spirit now that he is here. Simba has been busy preaching the kingdom to all the inmates who also enjoy him being there with them. 39 Muslim inmates have given their lives to the Lord due to Simba’s preaching.

Outside the prison walls various church leaders have written a serious letter to the President of Tanzania (who is himself Muslim) in protest of the religious freedom of this country not being respected. They are also planning a "peaceful" demonstration and will march through Kigoma town to end up at the front door of the regional governor’s office the 17th this month, the day after Simba’s court date the 16th. If there are any objections spoken or stones thrown by any Muslim onlookers this demonstration could very well become violent. Demonstrations here are generally very tense.

There are spiritual strongholds over the nations of Africa that go deep into the occult and these are not easily broken. It will take thousands of pure hearted Christians fasting and praying to break the authority of the demonic realm. A challenge that not many understand nor would they be willing to count the cost of such a spiritual battle.

My spirit is stirred and angered how the enemy has lied and deceived the people of these great nations for generations. I ask myself, where is the power of God, where is God’s presence? Africa is spotted with literally millions of churches, yet where is transforming presence of God? The people of these so-called "Christian Nations" like Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi and others will - given certain circumstances - turn and kill and even butcher their neighboring village though they are all church goers.

God, where have we gone wrong? We know how to "do" church and we continue to bring people to church rather than to bring them to God. We have our bible schools and great missionaries from the West that have been here for hundreds of years teaching truth, and this is all good but if the spirit and power of God is not present, will there ever really be a transformation taking place in Africa? The culture here is a power and spirit culture, this is where the real soul of the African lies and this is what I believe must be targeted and understood in order to see spiritual transformation. Biblical truths without a Spiritual revelation are only words, the mind hears but the soul and spirit do not perceive. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth.

I do not mean to preach but I weep when I read reports like I just read yesterday from Darfur and I quote, "They were raped, they tied them and put cotton in their mouths, then they lit the cotton and burned them to death." The Economist Dec 2nd-8th 2006. This is happening right now, today, even as I write

Thank you for the responses on behalf of Simba. Jette, my wife, has taken the scriptures and prayers sent by some of you, has printed them out and I will give them to Simba. Some of you have shown interest in financially supporting Simba. He sends a big thanks to all of you. God bless you! We continue to raise funds to ensure that all of Simba’s writings are translated into English and French. A big job.

Blessing to you all.
Lyle

Prayer Points:
- Simba’s family at home 1000 miles away, healing for his wife.
- Peaceful demonstration- Salvation for the head of security in prison.

Bank Information:
Payments within United States:
Checks made out to "UZIMA" with a separate note designating it to Simba Ulanga.
If transferring funds electronically, please email uzimausa@ywamuzima.org specifying what the donation is for.

UZIMA
Attention: Gaylen Beardsley,
P.O. Box 1875,
Silverdale, WA 98383-1875
Phone: +1-360-308-9756

Wire transfer: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Washington State / East Bremerton Branch
Routing number 512006217
Account number 1482166871