“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 ESV)

 Why Uganda? Walking through downpours in the mud, seeing a gecko in your shower, humidity, power outages, poor internet….. Someone call the WAHMBULANCE! Yes indeed, living here isn’t a thing of convenience or high comfort but it is awesome and freeing! We are here because we desire to live out God’s will for our lives. We all have gifts and a purpose in His grand plan for humanity but unless we are willing to follow Him no matter what, we won’t be living as He desires. In other words, life won’t be as fulfilling. Africa may not at all be where the Lord wants you.

 Maybe it is right where you taking on something you never would have imagined before. The bottom line is this and nothing less: Being in the center of God’s will is peaceful even in the midst of discomfort. We are slowly getting used to the discomforts. Debra caught a cold probably on the flight so please pray for her speedy recovery. It didn’t slow her down much as we went to the guardian lunch and celebration and see the kids. She got a lot of great pictures! The guardians for all the orphans who live in the slums of Naguru have sacrificed so much to provide shelter for the kids. The celebration was for them as well as recognizing the progress that has been made. Sadly, not all who want to move to the new facility can come due to space limitations.

Many of the guardians will be coming with the 86 kids in the program. There was a lot of games, singing and lots of food! They feed you well. Claire (shown above), who has been the Ugandan driving force behind the ministry is so connected and in love with these kids. The history behind where we are today started with her. We will be working side by side with her. Many of the kids remembered me and are embracing Debra. She has a way of working the crowd when it comes to pictures and her gifting will be a huge asset. With her eye, you can expect to see an accurate lens into the heart of the ministry of a.k.a Hope.

The joy in these kids’ hearts is evident. They have been through trauma far worse than most of us could imagine but with love, they are grateful for having food, shelter and water. I whine about internet!? We look forward to learning about each one of them and the interactions we will have with them. One of my first desires of Interaction: Water Balloon Fight!! I will be able to be one of them! One of the beauties of what we will be doing is that we get to write a lot of our own job description since our role will be different in many ways. In the midst of the “work” of the ministry, we will be able to also engage in the “play” with these kids.

These are kids who are close to each other. They share a common struggle. They are a family unit who stick together. they are very excited about going to their new home but we know for many of them, this will be a big adjustment for them and could have its own struggles. Please pray for them and the guardians. Moving 86 kids and guardians 185 west will not be an easy feat either. With the elections looming on February 18th and the climate being tense, the timing of the move will be crucial especially with school starting February 22nd. Debra and I will have to leave the country during the elections for safety reasons so we will travel into Rwanda until everything settles.

The outgoing Country Director left today to visit someone for several days so Debra & I are on our own! YES!!! You heard that right! We are going to Fort Portal today to check out the kids’ new home and all the work that has been done, get the lay of the land and start determining where we will live as well as talk strategy. So expect an update soon.

If you want to partner with us financially, we have not reached our goal. You can do that here. Every little bit helps! The same goes for supporting the ministry. If you are interested you can go to this link to check it out! You can also go to the “Donate & Links” page above to access all sites.

Thanks for your support of us and the mission of a.k.a. HOPE! You are making a difference in the lives of people who have Hope!