August Update – Thankful for steadfast love! ❤

August Update – Thankful for steadfast love! ❤

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Here is the latest from Uganda


Lockdown

The lockdown has been eased somewhat, with more transportation allowed and some public places allowed to open, but churches and schools are still closed. The government has said that they will remain closed until they receive shipments of vaccines. They are hoping for some Johnson & Johnson vaccines to arrive this month. As we shared before, our rice and beans fund has been sustaining many families. Herbert told me that a group of pastors came to him and asked if they had any food to share. That’s exactly what they did! Your five loaves and two fishes have been multiplied and are feeding not only our own families, but many others as well! Thank you so much for giving to our Rice and Beans fund!


Schools

Most of our children have finished their curriculum for the end of the school year from home. This has been a difficult undertaking, but they have persevered. Please pray that they will be able to return to class when the new school year is scheduled to begin in Sept.


National Exams

I shared with you a few months ago that in March & April 2021, many of our children were taking their P7, S4, & S6 national exams. We just received the results for P7 and S4 and all of our children passed the exams! We are so proud of them! They have all worked so hard in such challenging circumstances and their hard work has paid off.

For our kids in P7, their scores will determine what secondary school they can attend. Shibah, Isaac Musazizi, Becky, Emmanuel Miracle & Joseline all received great scores with Joseline coming out on top. She has dreams of being a doctor, and is now well on her way!

Our kids in Secondary 4 (Hawa, Zula, Georgina, Jovia Namubiru, Joshua Aliima, Phionah, Zaake, Deborah Kirabo, Jovia Kisakye, David Senabulya, and Jeremiah Katumba- who had the highest score!) now have a decision to make. Pray for them as they look at their options for vocational school or continuing on to S5-6 & potentially college. Herbert and the team are meeting with each of them individually to evaluate their scores, listen to their dreams, and help guide them in the best path forward. Our higher education fund fills in the gap between the cost of sponsorship and the cost of vocational school or college. We are excited to provide our kids with these opportunities to continue their education!


Victory House Phase 3

We are getting closer and closer to having a dormitory for boys as the construction on VH Phase 3 continues! As of today, the concrete casting is done, the dormitory ceiling is in progress, and the finishing work will all begin tomorrow. It’s amazing how God is continuing to provide for this project. We just send whatever comes in each month, and trust God to multiply it and use it for his glory. That’s exactly what he’s doing! Thanks so much for your faithful help with this important project.


Exciting News!

I am so happy to share with you that Noeline Akiiki, our longtime administrator for V127 in Uganda, was recently engaged to be married! Noeline is thoughtful, sweet, kind, compassionate, diligent, smart, and hard-working and she is a critical part of everything we do. We couldn’t be happier for her as she and Joel plan their new life together. Their wedding will be Dec 28th. We sure wish we could be there to celebrate with them in person, but we will rejoicing with them from across the ocean!


V127 Grandchildren

Finally, as we continue to rejoice in God’s faithfulness, love and provision, I wanted to give you an update on our two V127 grandbabies. 🥰

Joyce was in of our first group of children in 2013. She lost both of her parents to HIV and took care of 4 siblings as a young teen herself. We watched her study and grow & become an accomplished young woman and we were so privileged to attend her wedding in Oct of 2019.

Below is a new picture of her baby girl Jada, who is blessed with two parents who love Jesus and love her! Praise God!

Annet was our very first V127 child. She was on her own, just trying to figure out how to finish school when we first met her. We watched her blossom into a beautiful young woman with an incredible gift for fashion and design, and rejoiced with her as she married Edward, the assistant pastor of Victory Covenant church. This is their beautiful Eliana, who is checking out the photographer and no doubt has a lot going on in that precious head of hers. So so grateful for the next generation and the impact they will have, all because of the love and sacrifice of each of you.


“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬


I love this passage. I look at each one of our V127 children (all 147 of them ❤️️) as our “Oaks of Righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor”.

So thankful for you…

Much Love,
Jan