In 1998, Beth and Bubba Stahl went on a mission trip to Uganda sponsored by International Commission in Dallas, Texas. They were part of 30+ teams from all across the United States. Beth and Bubba spent the week doing hut-to-hut with Pastor James Tegiike at the Namatoke Baptist Church in eastern Uganda. Uganda has been in a revival since the early 1980s. They saw over 250 people come to a personal faith in Jesus Christ during that week.

   Following that week, after the other mission teams had gone home, Bubba spent an additional week doing follow-up with Pastor James and six other Uganda pastors, all leaders in eastern Uganda among the churches. During that week, Bubba heard these seven pastors share their vision of planting a church in every village of Uganda with a pastor educated in basic Bible training, with a clinic and a school to provide a spiritual, mental, and physical ministry for the people. As they taught the new believers from the week before, Bubba began to get a vision of partnering with these pastors and the calling and vision that God had placed upon their lives.

   These pastors were all farmers making about $1,200 a year from the surplus of their 8-10 acre farms. Pastor Bubba came home and shared with his church of the opportunity to support an indigenous missionary/pastor for $100 a month, allowing him to lease his farm and work full time in ministry to pursue the vision of a church, clinic, and school in every village. Soon his church was supporting the seven missionary/pastors. Within a few years they had formed their own ministry in Uganda, registered with the Ugandan government, and named it TreeLife Ministries, Uganda. Since those early days there has been over 1,000 new churches planted as a result of this ministry.

   They began a Bible and trade school for the bush pastors who had never had any theological training. They were taught basis Bible and pastoral ministry subjects as well as a trade such as plumbing, electricity, masonry, carpentry. Then the ladies began enrolling and formed their own classes in Bible and women’s ministry with trade classes teaching family ministry (health and hygiene), cooking with herbs rather than oil, herb gardening for profit, and creating beads and other tourist items for income.

   The pastors made us aware of one of their students who wanted to go to medical school and the church sponsored him for $150 a month for the three-year medical degree. When Doctor Samuel graduated, they began the Kakombo Clinic out of the Kakombo Baptist Church. Then a young lady who wanted to go to nursing school was sponsored, then another for the teacher college. Soon there were several students graduating in the fields of medicine, education, and theology who were able to be equipped for the calling upon their lives.

 In 2009, the TreeLife Ministries, Uganda purchased a 30-acre farm to provide food for their growing ministries in the villages. Then in 2011, they purchased another 25-acre farm. The produce of these farms provide food and support for the orphans in the schools they sponsor. A “feeding program” has recently begun with chickens, cattle, and goats on the farms, which has improved the health of several hundred orphans.

   Each year following 1998, Pastor Stahl has gone on mission trips to Uganda. In 2000, he did his Doctor of Ministry degree field project in Uganda, teaching bush pastors a Balanced Evangelism Ministry, which resulted in 400 new churches being planted. He conducts pastor conferences each time he goes to Uganda. In 2007, he wrote a book entitled The Salt Block; Heartwarming Stories From a Cowboy-Pastor. He and Beth dedicated all of the royalties from that book to the missions ministry in Uganda. They formed Salt Block Ministries in 2008 from those royalties and other donations.

   Salt Block Ministries exists to equip indigenous Christian leaders in developing nations by partnering with them to help with their education and ministry expenses.