Favor

Favor was dropped off at the church over a year ago when she was just a baby. Olivia, a beautiful and talented sister of George William, took her as her own. She lives at the church with Olivia, her mother, George William and others. They gave her the name "Favor" and she captures everyone's heart with her tiny delicate beauty.

Margret's Voice

"Margret's Voice" is a program designed to help the people in Bunga Village. Last year, after visiting the village and seeing the needs there, Michele Hendrix, pictured below, began a sponsorship program. After the heart-breaking story of Margret and her children, Michele was moved to pay for her house rent and business rent. When she proposed the idea to her church family and friends the sponsorships grew to over 40 families! The women are required to attend Bible study each Thursday afternoon. Olivia teaches the Bible studies. She is pictured alone below and also with Pastor Lawrence and his wife Daisy. Pastor Lawrence oversees the distribution of funds each month. The women participate in craft projects where they meet for fellowship and make beads, jewelry, mats, bags and sandals. We brought them back to sell here and the money will go to get supplies for other projects. Each woman was paid for the work that she did. Justine (see other post) headed up the craft projects. The women with the white tshirts with the red emblem on the front are all part of Margret's Voice. Margret and her sons are pictured below and are doing so very much better than last year. Most of the women in the Bible study groups were in Margret's Voice. They are mostly widows and most are on AIDS medication. God is truly being glorified through this project and his servants Michele, Lawrence, Olivia, Justine and others. If you would like more information, or to sponsor a family, see Margret's Voice on Facebook. The sponsorships are $25 per month. This helps a struggling family not have to choose between medication and food, and gives hope to those who have so few choices.

Soccer Balls

We brought sixty soccer balls with us and about 30 pumps. We had a great time giving them out! At the church they were used for volleyball (with an invisible net), four square (David taught them and John is swatting to make it fair), and soccer in a nearby field. On our way to Jinja we gave some to kids we saw on the streets near the coffee plantations. They were so excited!! We also gave them to many new friends. Thank you for donating them!

We had money left over from the donations of friends, so we were able to help the families in several ways. We bought several solar lanterns to help with the lack of electricity. We bought Bibles to donate to a prison ministry, set a family up with 200 chicks to start an egg business, and gave some money to help with school fees and window repair. Thank you for setting us up to be able to help a little!! We are so thankful!!! We are home now, and we miss our new friends so much!

George William

George William is a precious man who greeted us on the street before we arrived at the church with the warm greeting of "You are most welcome!" He assists the pastor in many, many ways. He was Daniel's translator for his small group. His mother, Noellina, also known as "Mama George," owns the church property and lives in the adjacent home. George William lives there as well, sleeping on the dirt floor of the church sanctuary. He has done this for about six years, sleeping on a mat with no mosquito net.

He was overjoyed to receive the hymnals, as he is one of the worship leaders and is so eager and hungry to learn. He is one of the most gracious people I have ever met. I will never forget his amazing smile and kind manner. I would love to bring him more music materials one day!! We love you George William!!

Justine and Fabian

Justine was my beautiful translator for my small group Bible study!! It was such a pleasure getting to know her! She is "mum" to one of my favorite people, Fabian. She said that I could share her story with you.

She grew up the daughter of devil worshippers. Her father was a harsh man, and at age 14 she was sacrificed to the witch doctor to become his wife. After twelve years of marriage and four children, he died. This was a very hard time for her. With little to care for her children she was looking for answers. She found herself at the Bunga church where she heard the gospel and gave her life to Christ. Her husband's family owned her land and were so upset that she had become "born again." They tried everything to kick her off the land including bribing the police officer and breaking out her windows. God protected them and provided for them, however, and she has been able to remain in her home, despite the fact that the devil worshipping shrine is right next door.

Even though Justine and her children had barely enough for themselves, she took in two boys who needed a home. Their mother abandoned them after their father died and they had no one to care for them. These boys were our dear friend Fabian and his brother John. They have been such a blessing to her all these years. Fabian came to Griffin with the choir in 2007 along with Andrew. They have always been good friends and Fabian grew dear to our hearts as well.

Now Justine shares her home with her sister Mary who is also a widow. All together there are ten people living in her home when all are home. The mud walls need repair as do the still broken windows. Mosquitos fly right in and there are not enough mosquito nets or mattresses for everyone. They do have electricity but have to go to the well for water. You can see her pictured in front of a typical outdoor kitchen where she is cooling sweet potatoes over the fire. She and the boys have made a brick kiln on some borrowed land and will either sell the bricks or use them to rebuild the walls of the home. They temporarily borrow a plot of land to plant corn and a few other crops.

They gave us beautiful gifts and we were so honored to be able to visit in their home. Pictured is her son Brian with Fabian, Mary, another precious friend Olivia, and Christine. Justine was a joy to me and I can't wait to see her and Fabian again!!

Loi

Loi's whole name is Aloicious. He and his two siblings are dropped off everyday by his mother at the church property. Without asking, she just leaves them there and picks them up at the end of the day.

With no school fees, he and the other village neighborhood children play around and may have some porridge at the church for lunch. With no education, they do not know English. Most of the interactions David and John had with the children were without understanding one another. A few of the older kids have had some English instruction.

David fell in love with Loi. They were almost constant companions. It took David several days to figure out his name! David was intrigued by Loi's ingenuity with inventing toys and one day the two of them constructed a wheelbarrow together with some scraps. He has a sweet smile, too! His small sizes belies the fact that he is six years old!! David will miss him so much!!

Innocent, Chris, and Grace for Education

We so enjoyed getting to know our new friend Innocent who lives in Seeta on the side of a hill that overlooks Lake Victoria. His story is remarkable in how it is woven into God's story of inspiring work being done in the name of Jesus here in Africa. Innocent was born in northern Uganda - the 10th of ten children in very poor conditions. His first pair of shoes were given to him at age 16. That was also the age he began secondary school, finishing at 21. He was working as a security guard at an orphanage when he met Chris Hinson, a teacher at the Bedford School in Fayetteville, Georgia. Chris asked him the simple question "Do you like being a security guard?" Innocent knew that if he was honest he might lose his job, but he believed in telling the truth. That was the moment that began a great relationship. Chris helped fulfill Innocent's dream of getting his University degree to become a teacher so that he could positively affect young men of Uganda to make a difference for Christ in their country. We spent a day and a night with Innocent at the home built through Chris' non-profit organization, Grace for Education. The vision is for twelve young men to live in the home as they complete university or vocational training. They will be discipled by Innocent and will join him in reaching out to widows and orphans in their community. At the moment, Innocent encourages high school boys with whom he is developing relationships. We were able to introduce Andrew Kalungi to Innocent and put the wheels in motion for Andrew to be mentored by Innocent at his new high school.

The house is amazing!! We were the first to spend the night there. The progress was faster than expected and the result is beautiful! Chris will be overjoyed when he arrives next week!! We painted a ceiling, helped with a few details and painted some Bible verses on boards for him to use. The view of Lake Victoria from there is breathtaking. Innocent lives there with his niece Mackline. His fiancé Dorothy helped host us. There is electricity and running water, with beautiful tiled showers.

Innocent and Dorothy are ready to marry but there is the problem of the "bride price." In US dollars it is at least $2400 (or the equivalent in cows and goats) for him to pay her Muslim parents. He also has to come up with money for the wedding. This amount is far beyond what he can do on his own anytime soon and so he is trusting God to provide. They are honoring Christ while they are waiting, but of course they want children! The culture around them is much different, though as we have found. Most people go ahead and live together and have children without marriage or the bride price. We are praying for cultural change as well as the money for Innocent and Dorothy!!

The address for Grace for Education, a non-profit, 501c3, is 6130 Hampton Overlook Court, Cumming, Georgia, 30041.

God has done great things for us!!

We are so thankful!!! Our prayers and your prayers have been answered! Andrew and Innocent were able to meet as we spent the night at the Grace for Education house in Seeta. They connected well together and Innocent was able to suggest an excellent Christian school for Andrew in his area. Their connection was one answer to prayer and then we were able to overcome several obstacles and enroll him in a wonderful school with high standards and Christian principles. Innocent will oversee his education and mentor him on holidays. Seroma is the name of the school and it is all boarding. His mother and grandmother are thrilled and a young cousin will stay with them to help with the garden and animals. The school is three to four hours away from home depending on traffic. The great thing is that he will be with his friend Simon, pictured at the school with Andrew. Innocent is pictured with Otis. He himself has quite an amazing story I would love to tell. He will be an excellent role model for Andrew who really needs a man in his life. Andrew's father was a muslim who had three wives and abandoned them. Multiple wives are common especially in the past generations. Andrew's family is Christian. They walk one and a half hours one way each Sunday to the nearest church. The nearest school for him was a Muslim school and that's where he was before. He walked ten to thirty minutes to school depending on how fast he walked. There were no other students in his village who valued education like he does and so he has little support and no one to help with homework questions. Now he is fully supported at the new school and will have much more study time. Before, he arrived home around six p.m., ate his only meal of the day, helped with the garden and animals and then tried to study before dark. After dark there are only candles. He did not even have a flashlight! On top of that there was the worry of rain raining into your bedroom in the night. We are so thankful for all God has done to get him to a better place!!!!! Thank you to so many of you who have prayed for him and for us. We are all well! Our very long trip home starts Friday afternoon and we would appreciate your prayers for patience, sleep, and flexible attitudes. Thank you!!!!