Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Bethel Children




This hansom young man is 10 year old  Elisa Mushaija.
He previously lived in a nearby village with his
parents, but when both of them died of AIDS,
one of his relatives brought him to the church.

This young man is one of our awesome sons,
Godfrey Ndyanabo. He's 10 years old. When his father
died of AIDS, his mother left him with some neighbors
and moved to another district. Then, the neighbors
brought him to the church. 

This great son of ours is called Francis Mugarura. He's the
older sibling of Augustine and Vastina. Nothing was
ever known about the father, and their mother died. 
This is one of the older boys at Bethel, Denis Turindwamukama.
He's 7 years old and was brought to the church
by his mother after his father had died of AIDS.



This little guy is Edison Mucunguzi. He's 5 years old.
As his father was dying, he sold everything to pay for treatment.
When he did eventually pass on, he left his wife and 
children with nothing. 


Saturday, April 13, 2013

Ibrahim Kyambade

Hey all! This little guy is Ibrahim Kyambade (or Ibra for short). He's 3 years old and has just come to stay with us here in Masaka, but will hopefully someday be able to stay in Kagarama. Anyways, Ibra needs a sponsor as soon as possible due to medical needs.

Ibra's mother recently died in childbirth along with what would have been her third child. Because Ibra and his elder brother were not the biological children of the woman's current husband, they were left without parents. While the older child was taken into another orphanage in the area, they were not able to take in Ibra  due to the fact that he tested HIV positive, so he's been staying with his grandmother. However, the grandmother's health hasn't been good, and she's not able to properly care for Ibra's needs. When we heard that he had been sick and needed help, we felt burdened to care for this child of God. He has many medical needs that need to be taken care of as soon as possible, which is why we're so urgently looking for a sponsor. If you've been touched by his story and feel led to help out the new son God has given us, please contact us as soon as possible! Blessings!!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

More Sponsorship Children!

These are some more of our awesome kids at Bethel. If you feel let to sponsor one of them or just want to know more, contact us at lmichelle14@yahoo.com, emily.c.holliday@gmail.com, or surrenderuganda@gmail.com. Blessings!

This is one of my wonderful sons, Augustine Turyasingura.
He's 11 years old and is the middle child of the three
in their family. (His older brother is Francis, & his younger
sister is Vastina.) Random fact, "Turyasingura"
means "we shall be victorious."

This is one of our little guys, Barakatu Rubagasira.
He's 5 years old and along with his two siblings
 (6 year old Shakira & 3 year old Sharifu) were refugees from
the Dominican Republic of Congo. Their parents fled with
the children, but both died after reaching Uganda.

This is one of my beautiful daughters, Beaty Nabukera.
She's 5 years old and has two older siblings (Sarah and Joseph).
After their father died, their mother brought the three
to the church and left them there. She's a bit shy around us right now,
 but we know that as God starts to work in her heart, she'll open up!

This is one the awesome daughters God has blessed me with.
Her name is Catherine Barireta, and she's 8 years old.
She's the middle sibling of Clinton (10) and Sam (6).
 Don't let the picture fool you! She loves to smile and is a really sweet girl!

This is Clinton (Catherine and Sam's older brother).
He's 10 years old, which makes him one of the "older kids" in Bethel.
As with many of the other boys his age,
he steps up to help out and work whenever help is needed!

This sweet son of ours is called Daniel Nimwesiga.
He's 4 years old and has one older sister, Maxencia (6).
Their father was killed in a fight around Christmas time,
and afterwards, the mother left them at the church,
unable to care for them herself.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Hope Restored!


Right now, I feel like jumping up and down and screaming like a little girl. I feel like embarrassing myself completely by dancing around like a maniac. I feel like shouting to the whole world how good God is. (I also feel like I haven’t written a blog post in a really, really long time, but that’s beside the point.) Our God is good and faithful and absolutely amazing.

A new church we ministered to.
The majority of last week I was in Western Uganda with Mommy, Daddy, and my brother Eddie. The plan was to go minister to a church there and then a few days later go to Kagalama (which actually we found out is Kagarama… but they pronounce “l” and “r” the same! What?!). But anyways, I went thinking that I would be listening to Daddy, Mommy and Eddie preach, and then do all my work in Kagarama. Ha! Was I wrong. The Saturday before we left, I spoke at a youth prayer and fasting day at our church because God had really been laying it on my heart to speak His words and thereafter, receive His blessings. After that absolutely amazing experience, I thought that the calling of “speaking the words God gives me” was over and done with – and I was relieved!!  Speaking is not my forte. But God, as happens SO many times in my life, had a different plan. We ended up preaching in two different villages - spending Monday and Tuesday in a village called Nyamishwiga and one day in a nearby village, Rwampanga (yeah, try to pronounce those!). So, three days of ministering, and guess what?

I was called upon to preach.....

   ...Three times. 

As I listened to God’s words come out of my own mouth and felt the power of the Holy Spirit within me, I came to the realization of how great our God really is. I saw Him moving in peoples’ hearts and encouraging them – through an 18 year old girl from the middle of Nowhere, Kansas who has no college education and has never taken a public speaking class in her life. And again I was reminded of a verse that I shared with people so much before coming to Uganda,

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…so that no one may boast before Him.”
-1 Corinthians 1:27 & 29

And this one:

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
-1 Corinthians 1:17

But do you know what happened after that?

P1 and P2 classes.
God’s abundant blessings began to be poured out, and I didn't even realize it! After ministering for those three days, we left early in the morning on Thursday to go see our kids in Kagarama. Can I tell you how awesome our God is? When we arrived, what I saw made my heart overflow!! Where our children had been devoid of hope and afraid, God came in and did a mighty work! As we arrived, my sons and daughters all came rushing to the car. They surrounded me as I got out, full of smiles and laughter and greetings. One of my little guys even came up and hugged me – that’s a first for my children! God placed a divine hope within our sons and daughters! He has started opening their hearts to the love that we have for them, and they’re responding. God is SO good! I wish I could put in words the overwhelming joy I have just thinking about how God is moving in my children, but words simply cannot express. Not only that, but when we reached home in Masaka, God’s blessings continued to be poured out. I received awesome news about provision for our children, provision for the buildings, and sponsors. God is SO good! And He is faithful. Glorify His holy Name! Praise Him! He is worthy of all the honor, all the glory, all the praise. Worship and praise His name with me, because He is a mighty, caring God who will NEVER fail us, and will ALWAYS fulfill His promises!   

 Blessings!


With Tumusiime
 (one of our 2 new little guys)
With my children! (Plus some!)