Tributes to Thelma Howie

It is with a mixture of joy and sadness that I have to record the death
of Pastor Thelma on 11th August 2009.
She was truly a handmaiden of the Lord, and through her commitment to work for the growth of the Kingdom, Abundant Life International Ministries was born.
There are many thousands of people now in the Kingdom, who have left the devil’s domain, as a result of the faithfulness to her calling.
I rejoice that Mama Thelma is in the presence of the Lord today, although I am sad that she is no longer at my side in ministry.
We worked in the vineyard together, but I know God is faithful, and is with me, and will enable me to carry on the work which Pastor Thelma and I began together only 4 years ago.

There have been many tributes to Thelma from the harvest field in Uganda, and some of these are noted below, in memory of her blessing to the body of Christ.


Moses and Jemimah Male, Gaba Community Church, Kampala, Uganda
We appreciate God for having allowed us to be a part of Mama’s life. She was such a great mum and a hero in our lives. Ever since 2005 the lord has used her in our lives in such a great way. When I was in Northern Ireland last year for six months, I felt like Mama and Papa were the right people in my life. You are a great Mama, and we miss you, especially for being part of the great call God has placed on our hearts, but we know that we will meet you again in glory.


Pastor Daniel Baliraine, Prayer Tower Church, Iganga, Uganda
The motherly and lovely touch of Mama Thelma is something we miss greatly yet we know that she is alive though not in body. So she shall continue to touch many through the people she came in contact with while moving here across planet Earth.


Geofrey Chelibe, Executive Director, “My Fathers House”, Children’s Home, Mbale, Uganda
Mama was a mother, grandmum, and friend who showed love and care and who was so concerned about everybody that she wanted to see people have a smile. She had a smile that we shall always remember and we would remember her for laying hands on my wife, Susan, whose pregnancy was overdue, and soon after she prayed, my wife went on labour and we had Patricia.

Mama loved Mbale and the children at “My Fathers House” Children’s Home.


Pastor Peter Kasirivu, Senior Pastor, Gaba Community Church, Kampala, Uganda
In life God brings people our way and after they have gone you realise that meeting them was not just a chance or coincidence but Divine Providence. That is what I feel about Mama Thelma Howie. I knew her for just four years but she made a very huge impact on my life and on my ministry. She was a mama to all of us who knew her but she was also a woman so passionate for God and for His work. She was a woman from an up-scale environment yet she related to people without thinking of their state in life. This taught me humility that no school or sermon could do to me. She and her husband Papa Ernest have amazed me at their heart of generosity. Their support for God's work is hard to match, it truly shows they understood what it means to both give of themselves and of their substance.

I know Mama Thelma has gone to rest in her master's bosom but her message will ring on and her works of service will always speak. My wife Irene and our church family at Gaba Community Church are so proud to have known her.

My favourite message from Mama Thelma was during her teaching in one of our conferences here in Soroti, Uganda and it was called MOVING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. I loved it so much that I asked her to preach it again at another conference.


Pastor Samuel Macho, Living Word Worship Church, Mbale, Uganda
Concerning Mama Thelma I would say her tears of love and compassion touched our life as family and the church. I believe that many who came across her were touched too. We shall live to remember her for that.


, Director and Uganda representative of Abundant Life International Ministries and The Howie Christian Charitable Trust

Mama was an open book that was available for everyone to read. Wherever she went, that place became a centre for encouragement, evangelism, instruction, and a place where everyone wanted to hang out. Her life was like a patchy yard where the kids play, more than a golf course green with no kids around.

Mama in her virtue of love ignored the dust in search of a child’s laugh. She smiled at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. She wiped away the tears of all those she came into contact with before wiping up the spilled milk. She picked up the child before picking up the toys. Her love for God and humanity grew stronger through the trials she faced in life. She crawled with the baby, walked with the toddler, ran with the child, and stood aside to let the youth walk in adulthood.

Because of the lifestyle Mama led, she became the key that opened salvation’s message to thousands of hearts world over. Homeless and abandoned children in Uganda have been given a home in a beautiful residence called “My Father’s House”, thousands have access to clean water, all done in the name of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

No wonder God loved her more than we did and took her for Himself. We shall always remember you Mama as we strive to reach where you have gone.

Rest in peace Oh! Handmaiden of the Lord.


Pastor Apolo Massa, Miracle Life Church, Mbale, Uganda
Mama Thelma's life was dominated by a consuming love for the Lord, Humility and passion for the lost and hurting, and an overwhelming confidence in the Lord. She displayed great concern for those in need. She was simple and loving, She counted herself and all she had as belonging to the Lord. To her the Lord was everything that made for real life.

Mama Thelma has gone to be with the Lord but her life and ministry live on through the lives she touched. In a sentence she was a woman full of God.


Pastor Wilson Sentongo, Mulette Community Church, Mubende, Uganda
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent to all other virtues. Even in such moments it is worth saying that: God is Love, His nature and Law is always Love. Every manifestation of God’s creative power in Mama was, is, and will always be God’s unchanging Love.

Mama will always melt trillions of hearts and lead friends of humanity to open up the only places where Mama had not yet penetrated, to pierce the clouds that envelope the entire nation.

I acknowledge before our God, the golden gift of Mama, which God greatly bestowed unto us unselfishly, filled with God’s Spirit, very Lovely Mama, non discriminative, very versatile and ambitious with such a high level of integrity, a wise decision maker with tender love and care, and many more attributes. A worthy Mama in this century of progress.

Mama we will always miss you and deep in our hearts will your memories forever be.
Rest in eternal peace Mama Africa.


Pastor Henry Sewanyana, Family Victory Church, Mubende, Uganda
A woman of God – of unwavering faith and commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ and His work, Her selfless smile and faintless faith is always remembered. Your work and encouraging words and wisdom still sound louder in our hearts. We are living epistles written through your labour in Uganda.
May your soul rest in eternal peace.


Samuel Sombi, Masaka, Uganda
Mama’s real absence was felt during the Masaka crusade. Memories of Hoima of how she would stay with us till late to just talk to us came back to me. I miss the motherly talk Mama used to give me during that time. May her work be carried on.