Selah Who we Reach…..

The Ssese Islands, located in the Kalangala District of southern Uganda, are situated on Lake Victoria.  The 84 Island archipelago is home to approximately 75,000 people made up of mostly Buganda tribe, an original Bantu kingdom of the Great Rift Valley.  Life revolves around fishing for most of the villagers who make a meager living from each day’s catch.  There are numerous struggles and challenges faced daily on the Islands; HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, insufficient income to pay school fees for children, alcoholism, illiteracy, homelessness/slumlords, teenage/child mothers.  Perpetuated for decades, these dysfunctional lifestyles and behaviors have been passed down to each consecutive generation.  With much prayer and much love this cycle can be broken, and healing, recovery, and restoration can begin through the ministry and practical application of the Gospel of Jesus.  To learn how we operate and minister to the people of Ssese please read the next section on; “What We Do”.

Psalm 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.

  

 Selah What We Do…..
Celebrate Recovery Leadership Training
 
We believe as the scriptures have taught us, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10. Foreordained and called of God, Selah has been sent to reach the beautiful people of the Ssese islands. Now six years into the mission we have focused the ministry on a few areas that are making the greatest impact:
1. Ita’s House. This project is a women’s home for young single mothers and their children. During Uganda’s two years of Covid lockdown, the schools where completely shut down. That idleness among Uganda’s huge population of young people created an epidemic of teen pregnancy. Today these young mothers are mostly living at home with an incomplete education, little or no vocational skillset, and a very dismal outlook on the future. Selah is creating a loving and caring family-oriented environment where the young ladies can grow and heal from neglect and abuse. This training center is a sustainable home: rain harvesting, solar, bio-digester, agriculture. The children will be homeschooled, and simultaneously the ladies will be trained in homeschooling their children. When the ladies are ready and able, they will receive vocational training, business, and entrepreneur skills. The home structure is a routine of prayer, bible study, chores, school/education, counseling, group learning, and community projects. We believe that this pattern is able to be sustainably maintained and duplicated throughout the islands with the potential to reach thousands.
2. Child Sponsorship. Selah is committed to helping children receive a good education. We believe that as we reach out to children and their families with the love of Jesus that their live will be changed and transformed. Through regular parent meetings we support the family as a whole and give clear guidelines and expectations for both children and parents. Additionally, Selah regularly distributes care packages with basic home and hygiene necessities to the parents. This ministry has been successful in that most of our children and many parents have received Jesus. Yeah!
3. Celebrate Recovery. This Christ centered and biblically based ministry is able to reach out to all manner of people who have suffered from addiction, dysfunctional lifestyle, abuse/trauma, bad/harmful behaviors, and depression/wrong mindset. Selah teaches the lessons over the radio, reaching many thousands, and also holds local in person meetings. Each meeting includes, a time of worship, biblical lessons or a personal testimony, gender specific small group, and fellowship at the end of each meeting. We have seen so many come to Jesus and become free from every type of hurt, habit, or hang-up.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
4. Spreading the Gospel. We take the great commission that Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19-20 very seriously, and as our great privilege. Selah plans and organizes gospel crusades in conjunction with many local pastors. Each crusade we travel with our team to one of the 84 islands and stay four days. During our stay we set out to accomplish the following:
a. Door to door evangelism. One on one witnessing where we get to pray for individuals, families and invite them to our outdoor meetings. Many people give their lives to Jesus right on the spot.
b. A time of teaching. During the day we hold a seminar. Because of the large team of pastors and leaders we bring to these events it avails us to take advantage of the time and teach through the scriptures on a particular theme.
c. Outdoor worship and preaching. Just before the sun goes down, and the villagers are returning home from work, we set up a stage. After an hour of praise and worship with lots of dancing, we preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Then we give a call of salvation and many people come to the Lord.  Our team of leaders’ collet the names of these individuals for follow-up.
d. Baptism. After the times of witnessing and teaching we invited those who gave their lives to the Lord or rededicated to be baptized. This is such an amazing with singing, rejoicing, and so much joy in the Lord as we complete the crusade.
 Selah Who we are…..
Pastor Jason and Yvonne Lewallen
have served in a wide variety of roles in the local church before following the call of missionaries to Uganda in 2016.  They have been married for 20 years and have 10 adult children and 10 grandchildren whom they love and adore.  It is their passion to see souls saved and set free by the power of God’s love through an intimate relationship with Jesus.    
Selah CF Board of Directors
Pastor Paul and Claudia are original founders of the ministry and currently serve on the board of directors.  They also serve faithfully in their local church and host regular Bible studies in their home.  We are so grateful for their friendship and service in building the Kingdom of God.
Abel and Jill Martinez have served on the board of directors since 2021.  They are dear friends as well and love spreading the good news of Jesus around the world.  They are pursuing their studies in biblical education and vision of serving the Lord as fulltime minsters.