Last night I met with the board of 4 Him in Africa for our
regular monthly meeting, but for me it was anything but a regular meeting. Our
meetings are such a blessing as we look at the things that have been
accomplished knowing that it is all a miracle. Our ministry is funded by
donations and no matter how big our need has been we have always had the funds
when we needed them. Last night was no different, because there was much to
celebrate.
As we began to discuss new business I realized our next
topic had the potential to cause problems. You see I came prepared to present a
motion to feed the children of the Omubihembe Village in South Western Uganda.
We learned during our last mission trip that the drought had hit the Ibanda
district quiet hard, but we did not realize how severe things would get. A
couple weeks ago I came to realize that this village was suffering because most
of the families depended on their crops for their livelihood. Without the crops
they could not eat or purchase the other needs that were provided for by
selling produce.
This information hit me particularly hard because the
Lifesong School located there is one that we partner with and over the last few
years we have gotten to know many of the children through our visits. The
Omubihembe village got my attention early on when the parents responded so well
to a request made by Pastor Simon, who we work with in Uganda, to help build a
school for the children in the village. When you realize the size of the sacrifices
made by the parents to help fund and build the school it warms your heart. It
only takes one visit there to see that the children are happy and the parents
are grateful for any help we can give them. We were able to help them finish
the school last year by funding the roof and when we came to the school in the
spring the children were happy and the school was beautiful. Some of you have
helped us buy desks for the school this year which is making it even better for
the children.
When I heard that the children were hungry and they were
not even able to stay awake and do their school work it broke my heart. To
think a child tries to sleep at night, but can’t because of the hunger pains
they are experiencing it makes me want to do something. Then there is also the
issue with the children who do not attend the school, because they cannot
afford school fees. We know there are many who don’t attend especially the
orphans in the village. How will they eat and survive? I sent Pastor Simon into
the village to see just how bad things were and when he reported back we found
that there are 350 + children in the village and many are not getting a meal
each day.
After
doing many calculations Pastor Simon and I have come up with a plan to feed the
children and last night I presented it to the board. I think it is because God
has been teaching us how to do business through faith that it was not even an
issue with the board and we all agreed that we must go forward with the plan to
feed the children. The first thing we need is to build a storehouse for the
school. As all the feeding will occur at the school there must be a place to store
the food, so the board approved funding for that. Then we have to buy cooking
utensils, plates and cups, and the board approved funding for that. Then we need
to put up some type of facility to cook the food so we have some money approved
to help with that. (All the cooking is done over wood fires) Our plan is to
feed the 160 children in the school a simple breakfast and then prepare lunch
for all the (350) children in the village.
Today I started a campaign to raise the money for this
which is quiet a large amount. We will be feeding the children every day until
May. I notice when I posted something on Facebook that it did not draw much
attention. That is to say if I post a joke or an interesting story it is not
unusual for 50+ people to like it and another 15 or 20 to comment. Today’s post
that were asking for help only had a couple of likes and one or two comments.
My question to you is this, why is this so hard? I know most of my friends on
Facebook personally and all of you can afford a few dollars. Most of you are parents, great neighbors, and faithful friends. This is one of those
times when I really need you to get involved with what we are doing. I remember
a few weeks ago I received an e-mail from Simon with the estimates for feeding
these children and I thought “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND”!!!!! As I started to reply the thought came to
mind, am I telling him that God cannot afford that much? The truth is I don’t
think God cares how much it cost He is more interested in our obedience. For
that reason I had to decide whether or not He wanted me to take action. I am
telling you that my heart has ached since that day and after listening to the
board last night it makes sense for us to go forward. Won’t you reconsider and
help by first making a donation and then asking someone else to do the same. I
know we can’t save all of Uganda, but I think we can make a difference in one
village.
