Trip to the U.S.
I had a great trip to the U.S. where I met many great people, and I had many opportunities to tell the African Hearts story and give God the glory. Thank you all who were very nice to me and opened up your houses and just gave your time to listen to me. God bless you for that. There was so much to do and many meetings, but I was also needed back home. I have promised to return to the U.S., Lord willing, to make up for the meetings I never made.When I returned home Dec. 20 I received a very warm welcome from my wife and friends I work with at African Hearts. Finally all the boys were so very excited to see me! I have not had time to meet the boys in the slums yet, but the welcome I received from the boys in the homes and the band was inspiring. I constantly had people around me all needing my attention, but I feel bad that my body is letting me down. It is weak and sleepy, and I need prayer for good rest and strength. I am very thankful to all my colleagues who have worked tirelessly while I was away, and I have received the following reports they shared with me.
Band
The festive season has been a busy time for the band, and as such, there is great harvest. Our band was given the opportunity to perform at one of the biggest malls in the country to perform Christmas carols with no financial expectations. Our intention was to advertise our band for more business, but I am happy to report that actually this turned out to be the most blessed time. When the children perform, they give out literature about African Hearts and the band. As such people give their pocket change to African Hearts, and on average, we receive about $60 every time they perform. This is going to help us with Christmas and help us purchase new uniforms.
I cannot mention the band and forget to talk about what God is doing in the lives of our young men. Awori, the first boy served by African Hearts, is now leading the band. We have come to a place where we are seeing the fruit of our investment in the lives of these boys that were once viewed as hopeless. In a different development, another boy Musoke Musa went to South Africa to represent Uganda in the Coca Cola Youth Soccer Tournament. All this is possible because after belonging and playing in the band, these boys earn their self-esteem back and therefore are able to explore other fields and interests. Another young man, Samuel Dibbya, will be touring Denmark, Norway, Germany and Poland for four months with a Christian band in January. We are very proud of all these young men.
School
I have been told that the school closed really well, and many children were promoted after very hard exams from the teachers. We are receiving calls for new applications even before the next term begins. This year we are adding on two classes, so in 2012 we shall have classes Nursery to primary 6. Construction is going well to have all these classes and the vocational class ready for first term to begin in January. We are also planning to have music classes as part of the curriculum. We have trained one of the older boys with the aim of having him train others at the school in tailoring so that children can graduate with a skill. Some other boys from Kampala are making the bricks as well and building the next phase of the construction.
The school held an annual end of year concert which was a big success. It attracted about 800 people including area government representatives and officials. All of them thanked African Hearts for helping the community and promised to work with us. There are still opportunities to support a child in the African Hearts Junior School at $30 a month. Next school term begins on the 30th of January, 2012.
Slum Ministry
The outreach is going well. This year while I was away,the team at African Hearts was able to resettle 11 street children back to their families and communities. I was told there was an increase in the number of children who had come to the streets, and some of these, depending on their situations, could easily return to their families before they could start depending on drugs. We are planning to follow-up and work with families to address the children's grievances. African Hearts leaders have made plans to have a big Christmas party for the street children on the 23rd December, so I am just going to join in at that point. I will be sharing the true meaning of Christmas to all the people that will come. This year the band is not going to the slums because the boys have to perform Christmas carols at Nakumat Shopping Mall.Homes
The children in the homes are very happy. I have had some personal time with the boys in Ssenge as I was leading the devotions. Also I got to look at their report cards, and they all performed very well. Some were even number one in their class, and others had pretty good grades. We have designed a holiday program for these children, two of our cows in the Ssenge home gave birth to all male calves. The boys are so happy and taking good care of them, so we are trying to extend the cow pen. There was also a special moment when all the boys in the Ssenge Home went to visit their brother George who was reunited back with his family. They told me that after going back to his family, George put together a soccer team and invited the boys in Ssenge to play against his team. It was a big blessing for the boys to meet with George again, and they stayed with him for a long time. They also invited him to come home for Christmas which he is going to do.
The boys in the Kampala Home are mostly busy with Christmas carol performances, and I am spending the whole day Friday with them. Please pray for one of our community boys Mutyaba Isaac who lost his mother this week. African Hearts supports this boy by paying for his school fees. He lived with his mother as the father died long time ago, and Kim, as we normally call him, has many brothers and sisters who were dependent on their mother. I am contacting some agencies who work with girls to consider helping his sisters. We are also praying that some relative stands up to take care of the children, or else African Hearts may take them in.
Please remember to pray for the following needs:
1. Furniture for all the new classrooms2. Sponsorships for the needy children in the school
3. Land for African Hearts to begin self-sustaining farming
4. The new boys we are planning to bring into the Ssenge Home soon
5. Wisdom as we plan for the next year
