Dear Friends,
It’s hard to believe that a new season is here already. I do love the fall! Praying for each of you as you adjust to a new and very different school year, and as we all continue to navigate this new season of our lives.
Our friends in Uganda are also entering a new season, with changes to school formats and new challenges. We just received word that the Ugandan kids who are in candidate classes, P7, S4, and S6 (those who have to take national exams) will be returning to school on Oct 14th to complete their second term. All other children have been asked to homeschool the second term and work to be able to fully return to their classrooms in January to begin their third term instead of starting a new school year at that time.
This is a very difficult endeavor, for most of our children don’t have an educated parent, electricity, or any kind of support at home to make this work. As Pastor Herbert says, “For most of these kids, the church is their home.”
So our team is springing into action to enable continued instruction for our children who are not permitted to physically return to school at this time. They are hiring secondary school teachers to work with our secondary kids in small groups in our church building. Our primary school teachers will be working with our primary school kids in our school building informally, without uniforms, social distancing and practicing good hygiene to keep everyone safe. Practically, they will be using both the church and school buildings to homeschool our students. It is a big undertaking, but I am excited that our kids will be learning in a safe environment and receiving food while they are there as well. (Thank you to all of you who continue to contribute to our rice and beans fund!) We have an amazing ministry team in Uganda that continues to fight for the welfare of our children with tenacity and creativity. We are so thankful for them!
New Children
We received 9 new children into our V127 family this month, and I’m excited to tell you that 8 of them have been sponsored! We are incredibly grateful for new sponsors who have joined our family, and we are excited about the way God continues to expand our ministry.
Please pray for a sponsor for Shakira. She and her mom were abandoned by her father, and she hasn’t been in school for the past two years. She is 14 years old, beautiful, and loves to sing. We will be excited to see who God chooses to invest in her!
Project Updates
Pastor Herbert and team have been hard at work searching for the right piece of farmland for us to use for food and educational purposes. They have looked at many options, but haven’t found the right parcel of land just yet. Continue to pray that God will give them wisdom as they continue the search.
The concrete has been poured and is curing on the second floor of Victory House! If you haven’t seen it yet, go to V127.org and watch the construction process up close. It’s a bit different than the way we do things here.😊 We continue to rejoice in God’s provision for this project, which will provide a boarding section for our students as well as more teacher housing units. Whatever comes into our construction fund each month is sent to continue the work. Currently, we still need around $11,000 to complete this project. We’re getting so close!
Thank you to those of you who have recently written letters to your children. They love hearing from you! We hope that our new website has made this even easier with the letter template, where you can write and submit your letter, even attach a picture, right from V127.org. That’s just one of the many great features. (Also check out the V127 sponsored children page, where you can see all of our kids and their sweet faces! You can also see those who are in higher education, and what they are studying, as well as those who have graduated from higher ed! So cool!)
Be encouraged today, my friends, that just like his children in Uganda, God is calling us to be strong and courageous. Our challenges are many, but our God is greater than all of them. Our strength comes from the presence of God in our lives and the working of his Spirit in our hearts.
Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Josh 1:8-9
Much Love,
Jan
*Don’t forget to pray for your child today!*