by Brendan Kimbrough | Feb 26, 2026 | Africa, Discipleship, Health, SAMS Missionaries, Uganda, Water
Ugandan Healthcare Projects Advance thanks to Apprentices Guided by Good Leadership
For the past nine years Patrick Lutalo, a Denver-based commercial carpenter and a SAMS Bridger, has spent many nights huddled over blueprints while on a video call with his construction workers and apprentices working in Uganda. This close coordination has been the key to his leading others in the work to construct the kind of healthcare facilities that are much needed in this rural part of sub-Saharan Africa. Patrick and his team of construction workers have been so busy building its meant that Patrick travels back to his native country up to three months out of the year. In partnership with the Church, Patrick’s organization has already completed a maternity clinic near Mityana, called the Naama Maternity Clinic, a much-needed facility in a country that annually tops the ranks with some of the highest birthrate populations in the world. In its first year of operation in 2022, the clinic had already helped mothers deliver over 400 children there, and today it is in constant use.
Naama Maternity Clinic was finished in 2022. It is in constant operation today.
Outpatient Healthcare Center
Today Patrick and his team are beginning the final phase of a building project to construct the 18,500 square foot, two-story Outpatient Healthcare Center in nearby Myanzi. It’s been a three-year project that Patrick and his team of workers plan to finish in December 2026. The ultimate goal of the facility is to serve the surrounding rural communities with outpatient care in this region of central Uganda currently with a population of over 100,000 people. The Anglican Diocese of Mityana is partnering with Uganda Christian University to staff the healthcare center once it’s completed with nurses and other healthcare workers. It will provide and enable much needed preventive healthcare and annual exams, women’s healthcare combined with public healthcare, radiological and lab services, as well as immunizations and disease research.
Water and power needs
Even though the plans are to begin occupancy of the Healthcare Center this December, water and electricity are crucial next steps for the Center to be fully operable. Patrick and his team are currently looking for those with expertise in establishing a well-water system as well as a power system for electrical generation. There is no current piped water supply anywhere near the healthcare center, but fortunately, the water table in this part of Uganda is very high and so the team doesn’t anticipate that finding water will be a problem, especially with the rivers and the Lake Wamala watershed close by. However, they are looking for someone with the resources and the expertise to construct a well water and filtration system to connect to the hospital’s tanks.
Additionally, the healthcare center will require either an off-grid standalone Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system with battery storage or a hybrid system that combines solar panels with a backup fuel-based generator in order to reduce the size and cost of the battery bank, ensuring continuous power during low sunlight periods. Patrick and the board members of Teach Men to Fish, the non-profit enabling these projects, are seeking resources and expertise to build and install this kind of standalone power system.
Apprentices Sustain the Projects
Over the past 30 years Uganda has placed much emphasis on healthcare and education across the entire country. This has significantly improved health outcomes for many people, and the young people of Uganda are better educated now than they have ever been. And yet this has created a problem with many well-educated young people available and desiring to work and support themselves, but who cannot find jobs. Uganda’s economy simply can’t supply the kind of labor demand needed to employ its young people, regardless of their education level.
Patrick experienced this firsthand while in Uganda in 2017. He was worshipping at the Cathedral in Mityana one day and met some young people there. They were mostly teenagers with some who were in their 20’s who needed work. What they shared in common is that they hadn’t had the opportunity to go to school. Patrick listened to their stories and afterwards he asked himself, “What can I do to help? How can I begin to address this situation?” He also heard how many of these young men’s friends were migrating to urban areas in Uganda with no skills, but in search of work. Many were making the wrong choices and getting in trouble.
Patrick’s Call
Patrick realized that the Lord had blessed him with a family and a good job in the United States. He’d had an opportunity to go to school, acquire skills, and even apprentice in the U.S. Yet he had continued to travel back to his homeland to visit family and friends. One day while in Uganda he found himself in the town of Mityana where God began laying in front of him an opportunity to help those in need. God didn’t ask Patrick to start something he didn’t know how to do. He called him to start the same kind of relational apprentice program that brought young men into fellowship with one another centered on the Gospel and learning a trade together. He began the program in 2017 and designed it so that it took three years for the participants to complete. They began by learning the fundamentals: How to use a carpenter’s square and a tape measure, and they progressed from there learning how to use power tools, work with concrete, masonry, rebar, to conduct field surveys, read blueprints, render plaster and many other skills. They took field trips to building sites. In their third year they put their skills to the test by building the Naama Maternity Clinic, and with just apprentices and other workers and with Patrick travelling back and forth to train and oversee, they completed construction in 2021.
The fruit of all this vocational training is the Lord’s doing. The Diocese of Mityana benefits the community with new healthcare capacity. The people of the region benefit with better health outcomes. Healthcare professionals benefit from gainful employment by treating the sick. The young apprentices benefit by learning skills as part of a trade that will help them become self-sufficient. And Patrick – how does he benefit? Patrick says, “The Lord led me in all of this, and has surrounded me with people who have been willing to help me. It has been the highlight of my life. Hard work, travel, and many long hours, yes, but to see young people come alive to Jesus and to make fishers of men themselves while learning how to build with skill, integrity and hard work in supporting themselves and their families – that has brought me such joy and gratitude to God. All glory to him! He has been so, so good to me, and I know he has many, many more good things in store for his faithful people in Uganda.”
Patrick Lutalo is called to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission by spiritually mentoring young people as they learn construction skills. He moved to the United States for higher education and began a career in the construction industry. As he reflected on the poverty and hopelessness of many youth in Uganda, God inspired him to share his skills in his home country in the context of Christian discipleship. With the support of his church family in Colorado, of which he has been a part since 1993, Patrick started the non-profit Teach Men to Fish. The program focuses on spiritual growth of young people to bless their community with hard work. As he equips young people to live a responsible life, he exhorts them to share with others instead of accumulating wealth. He does not want them to miss out on understanding the inheritance of the kingdom of God. Patrick travels to Uganda for three months annually. He is husband to Miriam and father to Edith, Jennifer, Abigail, and Isaac.
Learn more about Patrick
Teach Men to Fish website
Donate to help support healthcare and young apprentices in Uganda
Exterior wall plastering, windows and roof truss construction underway last year (2025) of the Outpatient Healthcare Center
In October last year the Diocese, workers, community leaders, and people from the area celebrated the topping off ceremony when the final roof panel was placed. In 2026 workers are concentrating on all of the interior finishing work.
“Topping Off” ceremony October 2025 where the US and Ugandan flag and the cross of Christ are placed on the Healthcare Center
Architectural plans of the Outpatient Healthcare Center
by Brendan Kimbrough | Mar 14, 2024 | Discipleship, Netherlands, SAMS Missionaries
Johannes Vanderbijl is an ordained Anglican priest and SAMS Missionary serving along with his wife, Louise, in the Netherlands, at Christ Church, Heiloo. He has been earnestly writing over the last four years about the life of Simon Peter with two published books to date that have been well received: Breakfast on the Beach (Langham Publishing: 2021) and For the Life of the World (Langham Publishing: 2022). Both books focus on Peter’s ministry of making disciples using Jesus’ four-fold method of discipleship. The books are written chronologically, and Johann situates these early disciples’ lives in the real world, the day-to-day, nitty-gritty of their lived experience.
What follows is an interview with Johann Vanderbijl about his most recent book, a narrative commentary of Galatians, and how it and his other books relate to discipleship.
Johann, thank you for taking the time to discuss your upcoming book. You are focusing your first in a series of commentaries on the Apostle Paul and his Letter to the Galatians, but you have written it in a narrative style. Why did you choose to start with Galatians, and why a narrative style?
After writing in a narrative style about Simon Peter in my first two books, Langham asked if I would consider writing about Paul in the same manner. I’ll be honest – I’ve struggled with Paul all my life. I saw Paul as the John Wayne of the New Testament: a tough guy who never does anything wrong, a ‘cowboys-don’t-cry’ kind of person, whereas Peter was far more relatable to me—more expressive and emotional—hence why I felt I could write about Peter.
So, I thought, how am I going to approach this with Paul? As I was contemplating and praying, I had the idea: why not tell Paul’s story using his letters chronologically? Thus, I draw from what we are told about Paul in Acts and elsewhere, using anything that could describe Paul at that moment. I incorporate elements from his other epistles and utilize his own language as I compose these books. This volume is the first in a series of commentaries, and Galatians was his initial letter; hence, I chose to start with Galatians.
One aspect of my approach is to portray Paul’s childhood, drawing partly from speculation based on some of his previous statements—that he hailed from a family of Pharisees, came from Tarsus, and was taught by Gamaliel, etc. I piece these details together in a conversational form. Sometimes, for example, he converses with Barnabas, while at other times, I incorporate the leaders of the church in Antioch because they were sent out by the Church there. Therefore, the leaders respond to the news they received from the Galatians about the Jewish Christians who had gone there, demanding that they become Jews before becoming Christians. All of this is presented in a conversational style.
What were some of your key takeaways of Galatians?
I am currently writing on First and Second Thessalonians, which have more of a typical Greek style and structure, whereas Galatians feels like an explosion. It reads like a massive rant; Paul hardly greets them before exclaiming, ‘You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?!’ You can sense the emotion, making it a tough book to start with.
I also found that some parts of Galatians don’t flow smoothly because Paul jumps around in his writing. Consequently, I felt the need to fill in some gaps by explaining what he was saying, especially when there was an Old Testament background. In those instances, I would have another character say, “In other words, you are saying…” This approach mirrors other commentaries where a narrator would clarify statements. Since this is a narrative commentary, another character addresses Paul’s statements, shaping how I write it.
As I mentioned before, I always saw Paul as a kind of John Wayne, a super-masculine character. However, I’ve changed my perspective. While I still see him as masculine, of course, I now perceive a lot more emotion from him, especially as I read his other letters. He weeps over those who do not believe, he struggles and longs for Timothy and the Thessalonians. So, my opinion of him has evolved; I now see a much more tender side to this man. The anger he exhibits in Galatians stems from genuine concern for them. It’s essential to remember that Paul was an ancient Middle Eastern man who expressed emotions like rejoicing, and I try to reflect that cultural context appropriately in certain points of the letter.
A narrative style seems very accessible to everyday Christians. Did you have them in mind when you wrote this commentary?
The interesting thing is that when I began writing this, I had oral learners in mind. I thought of places like Gambela (before the Netherlands, Johann and Louise served in Gambela, Ethiopia, where Johann was Dean and Principal at St. Frumentius Anglican Theological College), and other remote areas in Africa. However, it turns out that young Americans have been deeply moved by my narrative books. Some even suggest that Americans are increasingly becoming oral learners, and there seems to be evidence for that.
Here in the Netherlands, people are also reading it because they enjoy stories – they read novels. Whether they believe it is another matter; they may not read the Bible at all, but they will read a story about Peter’s or Paul’s life and ministry.
Another audience I had in mind was those who would never travel to the Middle East. I think of Christians in South Sudan or Ethiopia who, despite their desire to better understand the Bible, are unlikely to travel to Israel, let alone Greece or Rome. Therefore, I wanted to depict Galatians in story form, with as much detail as possible. There are many aspects in the Gospels and the epistles that are specific to certain geographical locations and are taken for granted by Christian authors, making it difficult for someone sitting in Africa to fully grasp. That’s why I endeavor to paint a vivid picture of a particular setting or describe everyday elements like what they might have been drinking, the aroma of cooking, or the light from the burning oil lamp.
You’ve said before that one of your overarching aims in your writing is to help the church to be better disciple-makers. Why does that seem to be such a challenge now, do you think?
Part of the issue is that we’re accustomed to certain methods that no longer yield the same results. We rely too heavily on outdated approaches. The way people engage with truth has evolved. For example, street evangelism in the Netherlands isn’t effective anymore. Here, it’s more of a gradual process. You spend time with friends, discussing mundane topics like the weather or pets. Then, eventually, someone might inquire about your occupation, and that’s when the door opens slightly.
However, you don’t rush in; you proceed cautiously, gradually introducing discussions about faith through storytelling. Why? Because everyone can connect with stories, and it’s less intimidating. I share personal narratives interwoven with Jesus to create opportunities for deeper conversations. It’s about establishing rapport and slowly dismantling barriers. That’s essentially what I aim to achieve in my books and now with the Galatians commentary. They are approachable, readable, and as readers engage with them, they encounter truth in narrative form.
Another factor is the lack of familiarity with Scripture, which is why I write my books – to reconnect people with the Bible through storytelling. However, I believe the issue runs deeper. Many individuals decide to follow Jesus without truly grasping the implications. When we evangelize, our primary focus is often on winning souls, neglecting to convey the profound transformation that following Jesus entails. Jesus frequently emphasized the cost of discipleship to prospective followers. Starting the journey of discipleship on the wrong footing can make the entire journey much more challenging.
It is evident, Johann, that there is a common motivation between your writing and the time you spend with others, wouldn’t you say?
Whether it’s the preparation you invest in writing or spending time with others, it’s all part of a journey. Jesus spent at least three years walking with his disciples before the crucifixion, prompting us to ask: are we truly willing to invest in a small group of individuals until they can replicate our efforts? That’s the essence I glean from the Gospels. Jesus invested time in his disciples, gradually preparing them to carry on his work. It took three years before he felt confident leaving them, instructing them to teach others to do the same.
Paul exemplifies this approach as well. He traveled with disciples like Timothy and Silas, walking alongside them on their journey. Nowadays, however, it often feels more like a microwave process: quick and superficial. We focus on conversions, then pass new believers on to pastors, saying, “They’re your responsibility now.”
In my parish, I’m endeavoring to shift this mindset. I’m teaching parishioners that each of them is a disciple-maker, capable of ministering without constant reliance on the pastor. This aligns with Paul’s emphasis on pastors equipping members to do the work of ministry. The hierarchical model of a professional priesthood has, in many cases, hindered disciple-making. Ordinary Christians are God’s vessels for connecting with diverse individuals. Each person’s journey is unique, requiring tailored approaches to sharing the gospel.
I don’t consider myself special because of seminary training. Anyone can engage in disciple-making if they’re willing to learn how to share their story and the story of Jesus. Therefore, we prioritize training our members in storytelling. In my preaching, teaching, and writing, I strive to present the truth of the gospel through storytelling, encouraging people to walk with Jesus.
Johann, thank you for taking the time to sit down and talk.
Galatians: A Life in Letters by Johannes W.H. van der Bijl, Langham Publishing. Available online through multiple sellers at the end of March.
Johannes and Louise van der Bijl Missionary profile
by Brendan Kimbrough | Oct 9, 2023 | Discipleship, Kenya, SAMS Missionaries
Lucy Chaves is a SAMS Associate Missionary serving mostly in western Kenya in conjunction with Kenya Connection, a ministry that she leads. She recently was in Kenya meeting with ministry partners in three areas: Siaya County the primary town within the Diocese of Maseno West, in Kilifi County among the Giriama people in an area that is predominantly Muslim, and in then in Nairobi.
In Siaya County they adopted a local primary school that was founded by the Anglican Church. They worked with the parents of students and with the students themselves, encouraging them in the faith and in their studies. Two of their students have both qualified for government scholarships for college.
The Giriama parents in Kilifi County were very responsive to instruction and counseling in encouraging their children to seek Christ and excel in their studies. Most of our students in Kilifi are Muslim and the Kenya Connection team experienced the spirit of unity despite the different religious backgrounds. Parents were asked to express at least one thing that they appreciated about their child, which is not an easy thing to do, especially in a culture where feelings of love and gratitude are demonstrated rather than said. Thankfully, many parents rose up to the occasion and affirmed their children. The team is grateful for the partnership they have with Reverend Moses and Mrs. Jane Oduor, and their leadership and mentorship.
In the Nairobi, the Kenya Connection team has approximately 45 students in High School, and the team emphasizes discipleship and responsibility to the students, while encouraging the parents to be active and present in their children’s life. They host a six-month discipleship program for those who graduate from high school. The program also includes job skills training and a newly established apprenticeship program. Following this meeting, staff member Asherry Wesonga, dedicated his weekends to setting up discipleship/fellowship for the parents. We have formed a relationship with the C.S Lewis Institute and we have been allowed to use one of their resources, The Ufalme experience which was tailor-made for Kenyan audiences. This is a double blessing for us because our media team in Nairobi helped the C.S Lewis institute to film the Ufalme project.
