This morning’s reading in Alexis bible reminded me of a recent encounter I had with a lady and her baby. Paraphrased from Isaiah 58, it basically says that we should share our food with the poor, give clothes to the needy and give the homeless a place to stay.

Last week, as I was walking to a nearby duka (small snack shop) from the office, I came across a young lady with a small baby tightly bundled in a thick blanket. The lady looked distressed so I inquired how she’s doing and asked to see her baby. I was stunned when I saw the baby’s face; his skin was patchy and looked as if it had been burned. Through conversation with the mother, I found out that she washes clothes for $1/day! This is the money she uses to buy food and take care of her baby. She washes her baby with laundry soap because she can’t afford to buy bathing soap. Deeply moved by her desperate situation, I bought her some food and had one of our staff take her and the baby to a clinic. The baby was quite sick.

Grace came by our office this week, to say thank you. It would be easy to think, oh we’ve helped her, we’ve done our part and move on, but God is asking us to take it a step further and to give her a job that she can do in addition to her other work.  This will help to supplement her meager income so she can buy the other things she needs for her and the baby.

Please pray for Grace that God would give her joy, strength and wisdom. Please pray for us as we encourage and mentor her.

We are proud of the leaders who have completed the leadership teachings and training. Way to go! At the Graduation ceremony, we enjoyed a delicious cake, fellowship, food and a charge from Pastor Africano, our guest of honor. Even greater than all this, was listening to all the wonderful testimonies from the leaders, how their lives have been changed through the Leadership Academy. One graduate even shared thanks from his mother, who noticed the transformation in his life! Another graduate’s father shared how much his son has changed – the joy he has that even when you tell him something bad, he still smiles and stays calm! This father said that he wants to join. We have two more amazing testimonies to tell you about….be watching for them in our September e-newsletter. You won’t want to miss them!

On Thursday, at the center, we had Orientation for the new intake in the Leadership Academy. At the end of the session, an invitation was given for a few of the students to share why they had come to the academy.  One young man, smartly dressed and exuberantly shared, “My friend used to wear bangles up his arm, but now he even cut his hair! He was worldly, but now he is so different! I had to come today tosee who had impacted his life so much to inspire such a drastic change in his life.”

It is thrilling for us see God impacting these young people and changing their lives through our program to the point that their friends what to come and join!

Raising up Next Generation Leaders in Uganda