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Mt 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Oli otya! Good evening!

My name is Francis Choi, currently a PhD student at UIC. My wife is Theresa Choi, who served as a student missionary to Uganda for the last 5 years. Last summer I went to Uganda and served as a missionary for one year together with my wife. We both served the UBF ministry at Makerere University, the top university in Uganda. It is hard to briefly summarize all that I experienced living and serving in this developing country. Although it has only been a few weeks since we’ve returned from Uganda, I feel it has been much longer because of how different our lives are now in the US. Uganda, although a beautiful country teeming with wildlife and dramatic landscapes, is not a comfortable place to live for those accustomed to first world benefits. At the same time, I felt very much at peace in Uganda as I learned to be fully present in the moment and appreciative of life each day. Ugandans often say “I thank God for my life” and genuinely mean it in the midst of many hardships. I can only thank God for giving me the opportunity to experience the privilege of mission life abroad. It was the adventure of a lifetime. Looking back I can testify God has been my good Father who poured out His grace even when I was faithless. He was my strength in times of weakness and my great hope in times of challenge. Though I had nothing much to give, God could work through my small efforts to bless the Ugandan people, moreover blessing me through them. In accordance with God’s will, I hope my family may return to serve African mission again in the future.

I held onto Matthew 6:33 as my key verse for mission life: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Coming to Uganda initially was not an easy decision to make. I had just received a promotion at my work and was earning the highest salary of my career. I was on a clear path towards rapidly achieving my financial and practical goals, and going to Uganda would disrupt that. But after considerable prayer, God moved my heart to sacrifice for His kingdom. I held onto the promise that God would provide every necessity when I simply sought His kingdom in my heart. I can testify God truly did provide everything we needed in Africa, including an apartment right next to the church (through Dr. Joseph and Esther Chung), a loving spiritual community and wonderful ministry responsibilities. Moreover, I can testify God opened my heart to see His Kingdom grow, both in my heart and in the hearts of others, even if it started out very small.

There are 2 simple but major lessons I’ve learned through my mission life: 1) Have faith in God and 2) The greatest life is to live for His kingdom. Regarding faith, I learned my life is in God’s hands, therefore I can trust Him for everything including my physical health and safety. Before going to Uganda, I was very risk-averse, often calculating and opting for safety. But life in Uganda exposed me to all kinds of risk every day, from riding on reckless bodabodas (motorcycle taxis) to eating questionably prepared food and traveling to unfamiliar, even somewhat dangerous areas alone. Allergies and diarrhea lost weight. I had to learn to surrender my life to God, whether it was regarding my safety or comfort or even future security. Regarding the Kingdom centered life, I could experience how blessed it is to participate in God’s Kingdom work in a foreign land. Initially, I hoped to spend more time volunteering for a NGO in Kampala while serving the ministry. Sometimes I struggled because I thought I should find a paying job. But Dr. Livingstone Kang, the director of Makerere UBF, asked me to serve in full time ministry work. Dr. Luke Lim also allowed me to volunteer for the medical clinic.

As a part of my ministry duties over the year, I was given the task of helping lead our small group fellowship each week, called Cornerstone. This fellowship started off small with 1 or 2 students, but through some prayer and effort, God grew it over the year with many students attending. I’m praying it may continue to grow with committed members. I really enjoyed meditating on God’s Word by preparing Sunday messages as a part of the messenger team. I also invited many young Makerere students to the ministry for Bible studies and fellowship. I had many Bible students, including some whom Dr. Joseph gave to me. Though not all of them remained or came faithfully, there were a few brothers under my care who really loved our ministry and committed themselves, including Paddy Andrew, Griffin, Pious, Ronald and Fred. I’m praying for each of them to grow into future leaders for the ministry and Uganda overall. I really learned much through Bible studies with Makerere students regarding Ugandan life. Many students suffer from poverty, sickness, financial insecurity and even hunger. Theresa and I tried our very best to serve our students spiritually and practically, though we did not have much to offer. Our house became a station for young people who came and had both spiritual and physical food.

I was also privileged this year to visit Rwanda and support M. Daniel Yang in his new ministry through outreach on the campus and delivering the Sunday sermon. Through my time with him and the Rwandan brothers and sisters, I could also witness the growing power of the Kingdom as M. Daniel had around 25 Bible studies a week with hungry souls. The kingdom of God truly starts small like a mustard seed but eventually grows to become a large tree. Coming to Uganda, I only had a small heart for the people, but by the time of my departure my heart was full of God’s love. Theresa and I were sad to leave all our friends and students whom we prayed for and taught the Bible to. But we know God will continue to do His mighty work in Africa, especially through the humble sacrifices of the missionaries and native leaders. May the Lord continue to do His good work and bring it to completion for the salvation of souls in Africa. Amen.

*Related article - http://ubf.org/world-mission-news/north-america/student-missionary-report-theresa-choi