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| Kids in Kagalama drinking their porridge |
I haven’t slept for about 22 hours now, so forgive me for
any bits of this post that seem more scatter-brained than normal! Currently I’m
on a plane headed to London, then L.A., and then finally Hawaii! Yes, I know,
short notice for many of you (which you may find to be a reoccurring theme
throughout this blog post, sorry about that). But anyways, I’m going to visit
my parents for a little over a week while my dad has a business trip there. It
helps enormously in allowing me to renew my visa for the rest of my time in
Uganda, plus I’m more than excited to see my parents in person rather than on a
computer! (Don’t worry though, for those of you who sponsored me for this trip,
I’m not using your money for this!)
So, now: I’m thousands of feet in the air and on a pretty
good lack of sleep, but I just cannot get myself to fall asleep (and I’m not
one of those people who has trouble sleeping on planes). But I’ve seen God move
too much in this past week for my mind to rest. I’ve witnessed too many prayers
answered and provisions made and people touched to even begin to fall asleep!
But, really, this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and focus enough to
even begin to tell you everything that’s happened. And yes, be warned: this
blog post might end up being rather long – my apologies!!
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| The church the children in Kagalama currently sleep in |
Towards the end of my time in Masaka over Christmas, I
stayed a few days in a hotel in Masaka town. Honestly, I was somewhat angry at
God because I wasn't ready to go back to Kampala yet, I was pretty sure I
wasn’t supposed to stay with EAC much longer, and I just felt like I had no
clue where my life was going (yeah, a little melodramatic, huh?). But as
always, God was weaving all these little “hiccups” in my life into the
beautiful tapestry of His plan. Because of my staying in that hotel, I ended up
having a conversation with Pastor Queen Betty Kasozi that has changed my life
forever. Pastor Betty, along with her
husband Gerald, have become my Ugandan “Mommy” and “Daddy” over the past few
weeks since that conversation, and now it seems unnatural to call them anything
but Mommy and Daddy. So, that’s what I will refer to them as throughout this
post. But anyways, in that conversation, Mommy ended up telling me about a
group of about 35 orphans who stayed and slept in one of the churches they
planted in a village in far Western Uganda. The Spirit touched my heart at that
time, and as the conversation progressed, I eventually asked Mommy if we could
go there. I wanted to see for myself the need and look for any way I could
help. So, the way it ended up, I went back to Kampala for about a week – during
which I had time to really seek God out and drink in His word – and the calling
to this village became even stronger. So, last Monday (January 14th),
I went to go visit the kids at Okoa, Mommy, and Daddy, and they told me we
could go to the village – Kagalama - in the Rubirizi District. It’s “deep in
the bush” and about a 5 and a half hour drive from Masaka, but with the company
of Mommy, Daddy, and my sister, Deborah, the time passed pretty quickly. Before
we even arrived at the church, I knew the need. I knew by the houses, roads,
clothing and small towns along the way that the need in Kagalama was huge.
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| Going to look at the land |
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Meeting with the family who was selling the land
& signing the papers! |
Oh, but when we arrived! I saw the one room mud hut that
served as both the church and the sleeping quarters for the children, the mud
hut of two small bedrooms and one main room that was the house for “guests,”
and I saw children in great need of medical attention. But I also saw God’s
provision. It wasn’t as though He called me into this with nothing – because He
also showed me the wonderful people taking care of the kids, the friendship and
camaraderie among the children, and the faithfulness of the believers in that
tiny little church. And what’s more – the land. While the land that the
church/children’s living quarters were on was quite small, “coincidence” had it
that there was a piece of land for sale right next to the church. With the
clear calling I had felt to this village, I knew that this land was God’s wide
open door for His work to be started there. So, after working everything out,
Mommy, Daddy, and I purchased the land just a few days before I left for
Hawaii. It still baffles me to think about it! I had passed my fundraising goal
for this trip and knew that God had something big in store for that money, but
I never imagined something THIS big!! Now the next step is to register as an
official orphanage with Uganda and the USA (so donations can be tax-deductible
in the future). We’re also hiring a contractor to draw up plans and estimate
the cost of building dorms, a clinic, school rooms, a kitchen, and toilets. It’s
SO exciting to see God’s plan falling into place, but at the same time, it’s
scary! I mean, why would God choose someone like me for this work? But then again, why would He choose someone
like David, or Saul/Paul, or Josiah (the 8 year old who became a king – Judges 8)?
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness’.”
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
And again, “But God chose the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the
strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the
things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast
before Him.”
(1 Corinthians 1:27-29)
Just as it has been throughout this whole trip, everything
is for God’s glory. By choosing someone like me for this work, He gets the
credit (as He always should!) – because there’s NO WAY I could do this on my
own.
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Mommy, Daddy, Deborah and I with the
kids and workers at Kagalama
(in the background the guesthouse is on the left
& the church is on the right) |
But anyways – let me get off that tangent and wrap this up –
it’s long enough as it is!! So…. Here’s the deal – when I get back to Uganda
(which I’m actually on my way back now - it’s taken FOREVER to write this
post!) I’ll be moving in with Mommy and Daddy in Masaka. We’ll start
registering the orphanage, planning the building, starting a sponsorship program, and everything else that goes
along with the start up of an organization. It’s going to be a TON of work, and
yes, as everything else in this world, it costs money. I’m not the type to ask
people for monetary donations, but I guess that I’m just saying this to let you
know: buying the land swallowed up almost all of my funds, SO – if you want to
get involved, in any way (donating, sponsoring a child or a worker (more details on that to come), encouraging us, giving advice), the door is WIDE open. And if you’d like to
contact me to know more, shoot me a message on Facebook or an e-mail (
Emily.c.holliday@gmail.com). I’d
love to answer your questions and let you know how God’s been moving!
So, that’s all for now! Thanks for sticking with me through
this super long post! But I hope you can hop on and get as excited as I am for
this work! God has some HUGE things in store!
Blessings!!
