I love spring! The brilliant colors of the trees, the grass, and the flowers signify new life and always remind me of the new life we have in Christ! As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, I wanted to highlight for you some of the blessings we are celebrating in our ministry in Uganda this month.
New Bibles for our New V127 children
Whenever we receive a new group of children, we send $15 per child from our general fund to buy them each a new Bible. What a treasure for them! The smiles on their faces say it all! I wonder if we are treasuring the Word of God the way our children in Uganda are? In the midst of all of their challenges, they inspire me every day. Pray for each of them as they are studying and growing both in their educational pursuits and in their walk with the Lord.
Farmland!
Our team in Uganda has been diligently working to clear 5 acres of our land to get it ready to plow. They have just finished that part of the process, and are now waiting for a tractor to come the end of this week to start plowing and then planting. We will be planting banana trees, potatoes, corn, cabbage, eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, and peppers! This is such an answer to prayer! The thought of growing fresh fruits and vegetables for our V127 families is so exciting. If all goes well, we should be harvesting later this summer!
Solar Energy
Our facilities have long been struggling with the high cost of electricity and the lack of stability of the Ugandan electrical grid. We experienced this firsthand during our time there, as the electricity would go out frequently and often for days at a time. As you can imagine, this is an incredible challenge for our teachers at school and for those in our dormitories. As Herbert said “This is not an environment where you want to be in darkness.” After lots of research, we have decided to move forward with the installation of solar energy at both our Victory House and Victory Primary School. Later this week we will be sending $13,500 from our construction fund to purchase the needed supplies. Praise God for his provision and for all of you who continue to give and support all of the aspects of our ministry.
Bakery
It’s been on our hearts for some time to build a bakery to employ some of our graduates, provide bread for our school, and also make celebration cakes and other baked goods for the community. After much prayer and planning, we have determined that the wisest path forward is to use this as a step that prepares us for the future. We have already run out of housing space for our teachers, and our dormitories are almost at capacity. To meet all of these needs we have decided to add another building like Victory House on the same property.
We plan to put our bakery on the first floor along with additional teacher housing, and then build another boys and girls dormitory on the two floors above. This is an ambitious project, but we are excited about continuing to provide safe spaces for our children and teachers, as well as develop a business that will be a blessing to all! Pray with us as we embark on this new journey. We will share more details in the coming months.
Prayer Needs
- Sharon Mutoni: One of our students who is dealing with debilitating headaches that affect her mentally.
- Isaac Musazi & David Mugabi: Their father just stopped cooperating with our team in Uganda after pulling their older brother and sister (Elijah and Rebecca) out of school last year. We are sad to lose them, but trusting our Lord to take care of them and meet their needs.
- Mary Nankinga: One of our vocational students who had a disagreement with her mother and disappeared. She let her sister Angel know that she is ok, but we are hoping to get her back in school this next term.
- Teacher Sylvia: One of our favorite kindergarten teachers. As often happens n Uganda, if one person in the family has a good job, they end up supporting many extended family members. Sylvia was also dealing with the father of her children, who was an increasing burden in many ways. She left her children with her mother and went to Dubai to work as a house maid, to try to make enough money to support those she left behind. This is so sad, as she is one of the best and brightest.
The overwhelming challenges of the culture and society are hard to articulate. Thank you for being willing to get involved in the lives of all of these students, as you invest and pray for them.
Finally, for our family in Uganda and the challenges they face, and for each one of you and the challenges you face, we celebrate the living hope that we have through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all of this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have has to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1: 3-9
Much Love,
Jan