Joy of a Child

Joy of a Child Uganda 2012

Happy New Year to you all our friends and partners!

We are so sorry for the sluggish communication that we have demonstrated for the last two months. This is partly because of the festive season that kept most of us busy and part of our staff on holiday. Today we wish to bring to you what has been going on at JOAC from the festive season till date.

Christmas Party:

“Merry Christmas!” is a blessed and festive greeting towards Christmas at Joy of a Child. This year`s Christmas was no exception. December sparked off the kids` ego to celebrate the birth of Jesus. On Christmas day, all of the kids woke up to join into the celebrations, with joy and smiles written all over their faces, as they wished each other a merry Christmas with an assurance of enjoying their day with great food, church, and a crowned enthusiastic get together with other kids from around the community at Lake View Hotel. Remember, we religiously take the kids for a special outing to Lake View every Christmas, where they dance, sing, eat and interact with other kids. We were blessed to take 30 kids to Lake View for Christmas fun; they sang, danced, interacted, and ate their best. This was a special treat!!!!

Keith:

Keith`s smiling face. He is recovering terrifically

John 10:10, states that the devil comes to steal and destroy. After the kids having a great time of celebration of the birth of Jesus, the devil wasn’t happy and so he tried to cause tragedy.  Due to our transport challenges, as Keith and Patrick were traveling on a Boda Boda (local taxi motorbike), they were knocked down by another speeding Boda Boda. Patrick escaped without any injuries. However, Keith was seriously injured, dislocating his knee bone. He was quickly rushed to Mbarara hospital where he has been undergoing treatment. The good news is that, because of your prayers and support Keith is recovering so quickly. He can now walk around using crutches. He says he is prepared to go back to school this academic year. Glory be to our God! Please pray that he will recover fully.

Conference in Bushenyi:

As part of our holiday program, we aim at engaging our kids in lots of activities to have them grow into responsible people and citizens of Uganda. But the most important of all is that we do make sure that they grow into an intimate relationship with God. We had our kids go for a conference in Bushenyi early this year, where they were fed on the word of God and great worship. The kids say they liked it and that they learnt so much from the conference. They also interacted with other people and made new friends.

David and Esther`s vacation:

Worship at the New Hope envisioning 2012

After a hard work last year and into early this year. Organizing and monitoring programs for the kids` holiday, Christmas and New Year, David and Esther needed some time to refresh for the next task of the year. They had a fulfilling vacation at New Hope Uganda in Luwero for a week. Their vacation also coincided with a spiritual conference at New Hope. They were blessed to attend part of the sessions at the conference. God spoke to them, giving them resolutions for the New Year as regards Joy of a Child Ministry. They came back last week with new energy to run the JOAC activities.

 Sunday Service:

Our first Sunday service together this year was yesterday. The JOAC kids` church has started off with new energy and anointing. We had the kids do the worship and lead the service as usual. Ruth one of the kids shared the mini sermon and David shared in the main sermon. His sermon was about the kingdom. He encouraged each member to share their festive season experiences. Most of the kids shared about their trips to relatives or friends. Uncle David and Aunt Esther shared about their vacation at New Hope. Uncle Joseph shared about his trip to Burundi, Jinja, Tororo and Mbale. Most of our members were not with us yesterday because they are still on holiday. The Nyamitanga Business college students who make the biggest percentage of our outside congregation will be joining us soon as their semester commences.

Kids start school today:

The JOAC kids, who go to St Agnes School, are starting their academic year today. Arafat, Afusa, Joseph, Shivan, Joshua, and Davin are all excited for the start of the school. They were all smiles yesterday as they arranged their uniforms and other materials to start off school.  However, they went without their paying for their school fees and most of the school supplies. Please pray that God will provide for their school fees and school supplies for this academic year. And also pray for their academic performance, that God will give them knowledge and wisdom in their education. The rest of the kids will be starting school next week.

Rent for the house:

We have lived in the JOAC house for about three years. It’s a great house to us compared to the previous one we were living in. This house has great bath rooms, running water and a spacious compound, good environment security for the kids. However, the rent of the JOAC house has been increased by our landlord due to the general price increases in items around the country courtesy of inflation. This is an incredible to us as a ministry. Please pray for God`s provision towards the rent and also for a future house of our own as Joy of a Child Ministry.

By Joseph Ochwo (JOAC Communication department)