Joy of a Child

2012-02-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

VALENTINES DAY AT JOY OF A CHILD UGANDA

Tomorrow the world is celebrating love and sacrifice. People around the globe are preparing to show their loved ones love in numerous ways.

At Joy of a child we wish to celebrate this day in a very special way. We want to offer love and sacrifice to our kids. We at the ground will be here with the kids showing them the love of Christ and spending quality time with them. We want to extend this opportunity of showing love to even you who are very far from JOAC Uganda. We believe that you can show love to our kids through donating some gifts to them. They will be so happy to know that they are thought about and loved by the people near and afar. You can donate a gift that you wish.

You can also make a gift towards our pressing needs as specified below:

HOUSE RENT:

Thank you all who have been praying and contributing towards our house rent. As mentioned in our previous communication, our house rent has been increased to 3,131$$ from 2087$$ As was the case last year. We are so happy that God has provided a great deal of the rent with only a balance of 345$$.

KIDS RENT AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES:

Also in our previous communication we mentioned the need of school fees and school supplies for our kids given the beginning of their academic year a few weeks back. Most of the kids have not yet had their school dues cleared. Please pray and contribute towards their school. All of them have dreams that they wish to realize, please sacrifice and show the love towards realizing their dreams. Below we bring to you each of the kids and their dreams:

Keith

Keith is in Primary four at St Lawrence Primary School. He is very humorous and a good dancer. His dream is to one day become a pilot.

Davin

Davin is in Primary Five at St Agnes Primary School. He is a gifted dancer and worshipper. His dream is to one day become a lawyer.

Patrick

Patrick is in Primary Seven at St Lawrence Primary School. He is a gifted footballer, dancer and worshiper. He has a dream of one day being the president of Uganda.

Conrad

Conrad is in Primary Seven at St Aloysius Primary School. He is a gifted footballer, artist, and dancer. He dreams of one day becoming a teacher.

Joshua

Joshua is in Primary three at St Agnes Primary School. He is a talented footballer. He also loves connecting cables to make simple lights. His dream is to become an Engineer.

Joseph

Joseph is in Primary three at St Agnes Primary School. He is very energetic and enthusiastic. He loves playing and watching football. His dream is to become a Lawyer.

Emmy

Emmy is in Primary Six at St Lawrence Primary School. He is a talented dancer and footballer. His dream is to become a Doctor.

Arafat

Arafat is in Top Class at St Agnes Primary School. He loves playing football and climbing trees. His dream is to become a Policeman who will arrest criminals and restore law and order in the country.

Shiba

Shiba is in her last year of tertiary education, doing tailoring at St Francis Institute. She is mother to Kamari. Her dream is to become a successful tailor who will be able to generate an income to take care of her son and sickly mother.

Moleen

Moleen dropped out of school because of lack of funds. She is very hard working and loves smiling. Her dream is to go back to school and become a teacher.

Ruth

Ruth is in Primary Six at St Aloysius Primary School. She loves doing house chores, watching movies, and reading. Her dream is to one day become a teacher.

Shivan

Shivan is in Primary two at St Agnes Primary School. She loves carrying babies and playing with them. Her dream is to one day become a Doctor.

Kakuru

Kakuru has a quiet spirit. She dropped out of school because of lack of funds. She is very hard working and helps out at the JOAC home with cooking and doing other house chores. She also loves being around kids. Her dream is to one day go to tertiary and become a hair dresser.

Afusa

Afusa is in Top Class at St Agnes Primary School. She is very jolly and loves carrying babies. He passion is to become a loving mother and a teacher.

2012-02-03T01:43:00.000-08:00

Dear friends of Joy of a child,

Hope this finds you all well. We are glad to report that our kids at St Agnes School have now made two weeks at school in their first term. The other kids at St Lawrence and St Aloysius Schools have made one week in School. We are so much thankful for the prayer and support you have given towards their education and the Joy of a Child ministry as a whole. We are in particular thankful to the Elgin Church, Illinois that has faithfully stood with us in ministry for the past two years. Special thanks go to Pastor Adam, Matt, Jen, and Daniela that have come to Uganda and witnessed the work on the ground at JOAC.

Our journey in ministry as JOAC is steady, exciting, but also very challenging. We are so excited to see our kids grow physically and spiritually, adopting goals for their lives and now pursuing them through hard work with their education. Our role has always been to guide them and provide the physical, emotional, social and spiritual support that they need to achieve their dreams and overcome the challenges that come with becoming who they want to be and what God wants them to be.

This time of the year is one of the most challenging to us at JOAC. Our kids have begun their first term of school this year on credit, without paying their school fees or school supplies. It was so hard to let them in. It involved so much bargaining with the school administrators. We thank God that the kids were given a grace period to have their fees and supplies cleared. In 10 days, the schools need the kids to have their school dues cleared. The schools are tightening their grip mostly because of the high inflation in Uganda which has seen prices of most utilities go high; hence running the schools needs money urgently.

Our kids are growing physically. The school uniforms and shoes we bought them two years ago no longer fit them. They are too small for their bodies now. As a result, their schools have complained about this and need them to acquire new uniforms. Recently, Patrick and Davin were sent home because of small unfitting uniforms. The kids need new uniforms.

Shiba our oldest beneficiary, now in tertiary doing a course in tailoring will be starting her second year and last year of school this term. Being in her last year means a little rise in school fees and school supplies, and also a need for more hard work. Please pray that God will provide for her and see her through all the challenges that she is facing with her family and education.

Keith is our kid who was involved in an accident on Christmas day. He is using crutches to move, but his situation is improving. He is already back to school, very positive about school and enthusiastic to start the new term. However, he is finding it challenging to walk to school. He is missing the times he used to run so fast to school and back for lunch. He now can’t have lunch because he cannot beat the lunch break to run home for lunch and back to school for classes. He urgently needs to pay to always have his lunch from school.

Please pray with us as we are now financially finding it hard to run the ministry. Our monthly budget to run the home has always been 1.200 US dollars but what we have at hand is almost half of that amount.

Our rent has also gone far higher than what we have previously been paying per year. We now have to pay 3.131 dollars from about 2.087 dollars. We currently have 725 dollars for rent.

As you pray, please remember JOAC. And we invite you to make some contributions towards our budget if you feel guided by God to do so.

Please send your contributions/donations/gifts by following this link: https://joyofachild.webconnex.com/donate

Blessings to you all as we partner in ministry!

David and Esther Kamanzi

2012-02-03T01:35:00.001-08:00

Dear friends of Joy of a child,

Our rent has also gone far higher than what we have previously been paying per year. We now have to pay 3.131 dollars from about 2.087 dollars. We currently have 725 dollars for rent.

As you pray, please remember JOAC. And we invite you to make some contributions towards our budget if you feel guided by God to do so.

Please send your contributions/donations/gifts by following this link: https://joyofachild.webconnex.com/donate

Blessings to you all as we partner in ministry!

David and Esther Kamanzi

2012-01-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

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)

2011-12-16T06:47:00.000-08:00

THE JOAC SCHOOL REPORT AND XMAS WISHES 2 U!!!!

The kids on their first day of 3rd term

Greetings from Joy of a Child Ministry!

We are glad to report that our children came to the closure of their third term. We thank God for the good improvement in their perform ance-which is a result of good discipline noticed in them. Arafat and Afuusa were promoted to top class. There work was good and encouraging.Arafat was recommended for being social to his friends and enjoys playing football. Afuusa relates well with friends and enjoys both indoors and out door games. Afuusa’s writing has improved greatly. Please pray for them as they go to Top class next year.Shivan was promoted to primary two. Shivan cooperates well with others and she is a good girl at school. Need to improve in her reading and writing next year.Joseph and Joshua were promoted to primary three. Joseph cooperates well with others, he can take care of himself and his performance is good though he needs to improve in Music and oral literature. Joshua is a well behaved boy though he needs to improve in his week subject like English, Literacy, local language and religious education. Keith was promoted to primary four. There was improvement in Keith’s performance this term though he needs to work on his weak subjects like English and Math. Absenteeism from school has affected Keith’s performance.Davin was promoted to primary five. He has also improved in his performance though much effort is needed in Mathematics.Ruth, Emmy, Brain, were promoted to primary six. Ruth’s performance was really encouraging and we praise God. Emmy needs to improve in science and social studies. Brain has improved in his performance.Patrick and Junior were promoted to primary seven. Patrick’s performance was good . Junior needs to improve in all his subjects. Please pray for them since this will be their final year in the primary school. At the end of 2012 they will be sitting for the National Primary Leaving Examinations which will determine their entry to secondary school. Be praying for them.Shiba Naluyima will be finalizing her tailoring course though she needs to double her efforts. Pray for her.We extend our sincere appreciation to all our supporters for the generous giving throughout this year.

Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year 2012

David and Esther Kamanzi

2011-11-24T00:25:00.000-08:00

Joy of a child today

Joy of a child ministry is gaining ground here in the Western part of Uganda. Because of your prayer and support, overwhelming things have been happening, with people in the community, government bodies like the police recognizing the ministry`s work in this part of the country. A few months ago, we were called upon by the police to rescue a mother of triplets who was stuck on where to go after being abandoned by her husband. Today, Jacqueline and her kids have a place they call home. When the staff of JOAC shows up at local police stations, they are quickly recognized as the “the people that help children”. Wow! With this we are saying “EBENEZER” God has brought us this far.

Well, we just wanted to bring to you what has been going on at the JOAC ministry.

David an Esther on holiday:

David and Esther with one of the New Hope Senior Board members

David and Esther had a short holiday at New Hope Ministries in Luwero. New Hope is an organization based in central Uganda that takes care of children, and runs a number of schools in the area. Before starting the Joy of a Child ministry, David studied child care and family at the New Hope Institute. This time around they designated it as a place for their vacation. They went with their one year old son Daniel. At the vacation, they met the New Hope directors from whom they learn t a lot of things like how a ministry board functions. According to David, the vacation was a great time of rest and a self realization that always, after a long time of hard work, the body needs to rest. Esther has fond memories of the hospitality that they received at New Hope, she says it was a great refreshing moment for her. She also loved the family setting at New Hope where, whereas family parents don’t live in the same house with their ministry kids, they still sufficiently carry out their parental roles as they concentrate on other responsibilities such as managing their biological families.

Baby Daniel on his feet:

Daniel running around the house as his fans cheer

We celebrated his first birthday a month back, with goat roasting and a few drinks that were donated by JOAC friends. It was a great ceremony, but the main celebrant-Daniel, commonly known as “Jojo” could hardly maintain the few steps he would start. During the chilly evening, he was throwing a few steps then falling down, and then up on his feet again, for several countless times. He is a darling in the house, seeing him walk as he plays with his dolls brings joy to the JOAC family. He is the tinniest in the home and everyone, including little Afusa carries him around, sometimes mistakenly dropping him to the ground. Baby Jojo loves music, he plays the drum, he cant stand the sound of a guitar or a piano being played in the house. Music gets him up on his feet, and he has the best dancing groves ever. He has mastered his dancing moves which have become iconic in the house.

Asia gives her life to Christ:

Asia (second left) with her JOAC friends

In JOAC we reach out to people from different backgrounds, both Christians and non Christians. Asia has been struggling with her life and that of her little girl Shina. All along, she has been a JOAC beneficiary under the young women`s program. She has been coming to the ministry for counseling, and sometimes material help for her and baby Shina whom she gave birth to at a very tender age. However, she had never committed her life to Christ during her contact with Joy of a Child, because of her Muslim background which she never wanted to let go. Today, we want you to celebrate with us, for the Lord has finally touched Asia. She recently confessed Christ Jesus and is now a brave girl that yearns to know more about the gospel of Christ and testify against the lies that she has been believing in her past Muslim faith. Please continue praying that she stands strong in the Lord, and that God will enable and provide for her to back to primary school in order to secure a bright future for herself and daughter. You should also pray for her protection and that of her daughter, because, they have often been threatened by the Father to Shina. He is an irresponsible man that wants to forcefully take custody of Shina, yet he cannot really take care of her. And besides, Shina is too young to leave her mother now. She is only three years old and needs her mother more.

School holidays:

The kids will engage in programs such as this during their holiday

All the JOAC school going kids have been doing their end of year exams for the last one week. These exams will assess their capabilities to qualify for the next class(es) or not. We actually have confidence in all of them. During their monthly tests, most of them have been doing well and improving in their subjects of study. Ruth that just joined school this term is very impressive with her hard work at school. Through her test results, she has progressively proven to be an aspiring academic giant. Tomorrow the St Agnes primary school chaps (six Joac kids go to this school) will receive their last term report cards and begin their holidays. While the St Lawrence and St Aloysius chaps (two and three go to these schools respectively) receive their report cards and holidays on Friday next week. All our kids will have their holidays till the 5^th of February which will see us engage them in constructive holiday programs that will keep them at par with good spiritual, social, physical, and psychological progress.

Meanwhile, the other girls at the JOAC home have began to study English. They are being taught by Joseph (a JOAC volunteer).

Thank you for praying and supporting the JOAC ministry.

Coming up:

Holiday and Christmas program

Blog by: Joseph Ochwo (Communication Department)

2011-11-03T00:50:00.000-07:00

HOME FOR MOTHER AND HER TRIPLETS

David handing over items to Jacqueline

Paul cites in the book of Acts 20 how it is more blessed to give than receive.

A month back we ran a story about a mother of triplets who got abandoned by her husband of fourteen years after giving birth to triplets. As a result, she embarked on a journey soliciting for help from Good Samaritans. Together with her oldest boy, Fred, as her baby sitting helper, they moved hundreds of kilometers to Mbarara where they lodged at a church for a couple of days. Upon going to police for help, the Local Police contacted Joy of a Child ministry for help. Because of insufficient space at the JOAC home, Jacqueline and her four children have been staying at a Muslim lady`s house, who by the grace of God accommodated and fed her for about a month beyond the seven days she had previously promised. This is because the house we had earlier identified for her accommodation was taken by someone else and besides, it was so expensive yet we needed to have a long term solution for her. We wanted her to start a small business to sustain her and her family, hence the long wait as we figured out things.

A month at Asiat`s house was not been easy for Jacqueline and kids. They have been battling sickness, and Jacqueline has been fighting anxiety and worry. This demanded much of our prayer and an effort to often visit her. Joseph and David often went to visit, encourage and draw plans on what she exactly wanted to do for a living.

David, Asiat and Jacqueline doing shopping

Today we have good news for you. Because of those of you that prayed and those that gave financially, Jacqueline and her kids have finally got a home to stay. It has not been easy task getting her a house but we thank God that on Monday he directed us to a house that we rented for Jacqueline. We paid for two months in advance. The two roomed house will have Jacqueline and her kids use one room for accommodation and the other for running a business (most likely dealing in groceries).Yesterday as Joseph and David went to Jacqueline`s new home to help with her shopping, a smile had finally shown up on her face and there was less worry in her speech. “At least I have where me and my kids can sleep” she said, as her triplets shied away at the look of strangers that had come by to have a glimpse at the triplets (to some it was their first time to see triplets). There was a warm welcome from some of Catherine would-be neighbors. Two old ladies came thanking David and Joseph for doing such a good work of taking care of Jacqueline and her kids. Both of them said they will offer whatever they can to help Jacqueline. It was an amazing moment to see that these two elder ladies, who are undoubtedly living in abject poverty were willing to offer the little they can to see that Jacqueline and her kids are happy.

Well; Jacqueline, Joseph, David and Asiat then embarked on a two hour shopping for Jacqueline`s house hold items. We made sure that we minimize the expenditures as much as possible so that we save a reasonable amount for Jacqueline`s business. We bought one mattress, a mosquito net, food, and a few other house hold items. David and Joseph helped arrange Jacqueline`s room and helped her tie the mosquito net.

As we were about to leave, Jacqueline seemed emotional, probably trying to figure out how she will handle her new home alone. She begged us to always come and pay her a visit, something we shall of course always do.We have designated a period of about three weeks for Jacqueline to make a market survey for her business. We shall be monitoring the progress of her ideas and also provide any possible advice to see that Jacqueline comes up with an everlasting business idea that will sustain her family.

Please continue praying and supporting Jacqueline because there are many more needs pending as far as improving her living is concerned.

Joseph handing in items to Jacqueline

David arranging the mosquito net

2011-10-26T01:53:00.000-07:00

A story of Small beginnings

A simple idea has grown into an unbelievable number such as this.

The story of how the JOAC Kids` Church started may sound like a fairytale if not well perceived. It is so weird but true. One Sunday morning as everyone was preparing to go to Church, about 4km away from the JOAC Home, an idea just popped out of Auntie Jen, then a volunteer with JOAC. “Why don’t we have church here today” she said. Uncle David quickly replied, “Yes, we should have church here”. News quickly spread to the kids in the house, they excitedly embraced the news, some anxious of how church will be like at home. Without any wastage of time, they carried the few chairs in the living room out into the JOAC mango tree. A couple of boys grabbed pencils and papers, and they wrote something like “Welcome to Church” on the JOAC gate. Auntie Esther drove off to Nsikye to pick up the women she reaches out to for fellowship at JOAC. She found most of them already gone to their respective churches, the few that were around got into the car and in no minute were seated right under the JOAC Mango tree. The kids and most congregants were grinning their teeth, some probably thinking, “This is another joke”. But hey……the worship that was enjoyed that day was incredible. The JOAC kids led the entire program with one of them being the days` preacher and comically being called the “The Pastor of the day”. It was hard of an experience for all of them to lead worship, lead the program, and preach in the front of people, it was a time to break away the shyness, unexpressive hearts in them. Auntie Jen was the main preacher of the day; she shared a remarkable sermon that blessed everyone. This day is still memorable to the JOAC community for it fulfilled the scripture “where two or three are gathered, God is in their midst”. Indeed God was in our midst and he ministered to us a lot, the Kids testified of the goodness of the Lord in their lives.

Today the JOAC Kids` Church membership has grown into the unbelievable. It is hard to comprehend how what started as a family fellowship has grown into a big congregation that renders all the JOAC chairs insufficient. Last Sunday the number was so big that some stood up throughout the service as others sat on the ground.

"The chairs are not enough so we can sit utilize the ground"

Rehearsals for Sunday service have become an enthusiastic experience for the JOAC kids and members from the community, especially the college students. They come to JOAC, spend about three hours rehearsing worship, and dance, some even forget that it is time for dinner back at their College. Receiving visitors at Sunday has become a common scenario, with visitors sometimes coming from as far as Kampala and Bushenyi. Two weeks back we had the wife to the Nyamitanga village chairperson come to fellowship with us and shared with us the word of God. It was such a blessing to also hear her testimony of how God healed her from diabetes and high blood pressure through her constant prayer and fasting.

Last Sunday we were privileged to host Moses a Christian student leader from a High School in Bushenyi. He was also the day`s preacher, his youthful message excited the Kids and the youths in the congregation and blessed many lives.

Moses (a Christian student Leader preaching) at the service

Another visitor was a local businessman who came to the Kids` church after hearing the morning worship at the JOAC compound. He and his younger brother had always gone to congregate at a church in Mbarara town which is quite a distance from their home. Last Sunday God directly led them to the JOAC kids’ church and they vowed to congregate with us every Sunday. The businessman also pledged 20 plastic chairs for the JOAC Kids` church. Another lady who visited from Kampala confessed of how she had lost all her money and business to a fake witch Doctor. She got convicted by the Holy Spirit to give her life Christ. Early the next morning she was at the JOAC house, asking to be led to Christ. Uncle David and Auntie Esther led her to Christ.

We don’t want to underestimate the good things that are happening here, we call them miracles instigated by only God, please join us in thanking, praising, and celebrating his power and grace.

By Joseph Ochwo

2011-10-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

Joseph graduates, Sunday streams hope

Joseph and David after arriving for the graduation ceremony

Joseph (our volunteer in the communication department) graduated from Uganda Christian University with an Honors degree in Mass Communication on Saturday. Uncle David was one of the people together with Joseph`s family that attended his graduation ceremony in Kabale. It was an amazing and inspirational moment when the kids came to learn that Uncle Joseph had graduated from university. Most of them vowed to work very hard in their education to attain a university degree as they looked at Joseph`s graduation photos. Ruth the girl that just resumed her studies and was leading Sunday service, wished she was the one that had just graduated. “I wish I was the one that had just completed my studies like Uncle Joseph” she said.

Sunday streams hope

In God there is a place to hide, a shelter that is a stream of hope to the hopeless, down-trodden, weak, and poor. Last Sunday`s worship at joy of a child was just that-it brought hope to the congregation. Worship was fantastic, led by the kids and Uncle David. There were three visitors one of whom came from Kampala and was the days` preacher. Harriet shared from Roman 8:28 (Everything happens for good to them that love God…………………..). There is nothing that triggers hope when we are in love and fellowship with God. For when anything happens in our lives, we look at it as an opportunity for God to manifest his glory in our lives and the lives of others. Sometimes when we go through tough situations, we tend to curse, regret, complain, and forget about God. But God requires us to know that he is with us in all situations, and he still knows us as his children. There is hope in Christ and thus we need to thank him for whatever situation that we are going through. The JOAC church members from around the community are bonding to the church than never before. They are slowly holding onto the grip of the church`s activities. For instance, the girls from the Nyamitanga Business and Secretarial Institute have got themselves involved in the Sunday worship. They last Sunday came for worship rehearsals, and are also very excited for next Sunday`s rehearsals, these always take place on Saturdays prior to Sunday worship. Natukunda Lillian the lady we talked about in the last blog, also attended church last Sunday with her two children. However, her situation has worsened, she got kicked out of the house she was previously staying in, and is now braving the cold in one of her village`s dilapidated church building. JOAC conducted a charity drive after Sunday service, asking church members to contribute anything they could towards her welfare. Their contribution was very little but significant. Some gave money, and others gave clothes. Remember most of our church members don’t really have enough for themselves but they were able to share the little they have. JOAC has become a stream of hope and love to Lillian and her kids. We are praying that our church continues to demonstrate love and give hope to the hopeless and hurting world.

THE JOY OF A CHILD WEEKEND

2011-09-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

A JOAC weekend day out at a public Swimming pool

Like all other weekends, last weekend was fun and a time of interaction with the kids and members of the Nyamitanga community. We always engage the kids in a time of relaxation and recreation to kick off their weekly stress of waking up very early and walking to and from school, and studying so hard. It is also vital to note that the kids always look forward to weekends, where they have so much time for themselves, their colleagues, family parents, the staff, and other members of the community. Here we bring you the weekend experience at the JOAC ministry:

Saturday

The excitement that fills up a JOAC weekend

Saturday is always the major day that ushers the kids into the weekend fun. The kids wake up to all sorts of curiosity of what will happen throughout their day. They of course have to do their house chores before anything else, they later have breakfast in which they engage conversations of how their week of school experiences. This Saturday the kids had a run with Aunt Esther, something they had taken quite long without. They jogged around the JOAC spacious compound for about 30 minutes before doing an athlete’s competition in which Emmy took the first lead. Later that evening the kids did their worshiping and dancing rehearsals for the next day`s Sunday service.

Sunday

Natukunda (2nd left)with her two boys and Cousin Sister after the service

Sunday is always a great day that the kids participate in. They lead the service, lead worship, do the dancing, and one of them shares in the Sunday school before the day`s preacher. Last Sunday some of the boys went to minister at Day-star cathedral in Mbarara town. Clad in their iconic ‘police’ T-shirts and blue jeans, they excitedly set off for ministry early morning before the JOAC service. It was quite hard for the service to go on without them as most of them that lead the service and worship had gone away to Day-star cathedral. But God filled the vacuum with Uncle David leading the service and also most of the worship. The church is steadily growing with mostly youthful members from the Nyamitanga Business and Secretarial Institute. The church also receives visitors every Sunday. Last Sunday we received a young woman who came with her two little boys. Natukunda as she is called shared with us her horrible story of how she was sexually abused by a man while in her teenage. She ended up having 3 children with him. The man has of recent left her alone with the kids. Amazingly, Natukunda has in God, she knows and acknowledges that it is God that is seeing her through these tough moments, and that God will take care of the rest.

Joseph Stressing a Point during his Sharing

Uncle Joseph shared in the main service about “compromise” which he blended with his testing moments at university. He shared through giving examples of the biblical Joseph and Daniel who never compromised their faith. He also cited people like Samson who compromised their faith and ended up badly. Joseph`s testimony focused on standing by his faith even where his fellow classmates couldn’t. For example, everyone in his class would cheat for an exam and he wouldn’t because of his faith, his classmates would in turn insult him and call him stupid for not engaging in the practice. Joseph was rewarded by God for not compromising his faith. He is graduating with an honor`s degree on Saturday. He scored very good grades topping his class. The Sunday message was inspiring and encouraging to mostly the youths who attend our church.

After the service, everyone went for lunch and came back to celebrate one of the church members` birthday. Clare turned 19 and the whole church was there to celebrate her day. Everyone wrote sweet words which were presented to her. A cake was made for her, and everyone got treated to a soda. Dancing was the peak of the moment before Clare and her friends went back to their college for further celebrations.

Birthday girl, Clare (left) with a friend from her college

Members attentively following the birthday program

Clare prepares to cut her cake with the help of Aunt Esther

Clare`s college friends dancing the day away

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

THE 5K RACE & WHAT GOD IS DOING AT JOAC

2011-09-28T01:11:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

On behalf of the Board Joy of a Child Uganda, we greet you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We wish to introduce to you the 5k race and also call for your contribution through participation. The aim of the race is to raise funds for the Joy of a Child ministry in Uganda. Your participation and contribution will provide food to a starving child in Uganda will educate a child, help save a generation from the ugly poverty and generally enhance a child`s spiritual, mental, physical, and social growth. Please register and read more about the 5k race by clicking here: http://joyofachild.net/5kevent.html

You can also have a look at what the Lord is doing at JOAC in the details below:

About Joy of a Child Ministry:

Joy of a child (JOAC) is a Christ driven ministry based in the south western Uganda town of Mbarara, with over 83,000 people. The ministry is reaching out to some of the world`s poorest children through the love of Christ, by providing a home, education, love and care of the heavenly father to the down trodden kids of this society. Most of who have been victims to poverty, disease, violence, guilt, rape, and societal neglect. JOAC strives to meet the holistic needs of these children; spiritually, socially, physically, and psychologically. Some other beneficiaries to this ministry are young girls who are currently involved (or recently left) commercially sexual exploitative situations that they have been forced to, by their own parents or the pressures of living.

Below is a description of some of the activities/departments that are involved in the JOAC ministry:

The Child Care Department

As mentioned in the above introduction, Joy of a Child is home to about 13 children living under one roof, 6 girls and 7 boys including Shiba who in spite of currently living with her Mum, is directly part of the home and comes in at anytime she wishes. The child care program does not only provide a bed, food, and shelter, but its paramount aim is to provide a constant flow of love and care to all the children in the house. This is instigated through the fatherly figure played by David and the motherly figure played by Esther. They are both figures that hold the kids’ behaviors, growth, and responsibilities accountable. They have over the time seen a connection of heart develop between them and the kids, giving them a security that they never had before. Through them, God is steadily blessing the kids with love, security, and care amidst the many challenges that come with parenting such a big number of kids. David and Esther thank God for the blessing that has come with the Uganda board, who have been their advisors, prayer partners, co-decision makers in the ministry and mostly in the challenging moments of ministry. They testify that such challenges have been learning opportunities to them.

The Education department

We thank God for education, for it is the backbone to not only society, but also a child`s development. Almost all the JOAC kids attend school, except for a few. And this has come as a blessing to give the kids a future and hope. Two are in their middle class of Kindergarten, Shiba is in Tertiary doing a tailoring course, and the rest are in Primary school. Their academic performance has been fair as some are academically sounder than the others. They are all in their third term of school which determines whether they will be promoted to the next class or be demoted. We thank you our partners for your constant prayer and support towards the kids` education, and please continue praying for their academic excellence.

Outreach program

The JOAC outreaches are conducted during the kids` holidays from school and also weekends when they are all available. Last holiday we held a gospel crusade with the kids in a nearby trading centre, and a number of people gave their lives to Christ. The kids have been ministering in different churches, conferences, and seminars through music, dance, and drama.

Extension program

JOAC has seen God change lives through its extension program. This involves the beneficiaries to the ministry who leave outside the JOAC home mostly the young women who are always reached out to on weekends by Esther or sometimes come to the JOAC home for counseling. Brian is also on the extension where his education and spiritual life is being supported and monitored.

The JOAC Church

The church is now about 3 months old and has seen a steady growth, with members from around the community. The church has impacted the community spiritually and also the lives of its members given the testimonies that come about every Sunday. There is generally something happening in the spiritual ream of this Muslim dominated community through the church. Below is a video of one of our earliest church Services:

God bless you,

The Board Joy of a Child Uganda

The JOAC weekend

2011-09-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

A lot of activity went on this weekend!

On Saturday the kids did their house chores as usual, had their breakfast and later kicked for games in the spacious JOAC compound. This always helps them to put off the stress gained during a week of school. Later in the evening some of the boys under the “Hot Steppers” dancing group attended a conference at Nyamitanga Resort where they got an opportunity to do ministry, they did what they do best-danced. In their iconic T-shirts dubbed “Police”, the kids zealously trekked the 10 minutes` walk to the Resort where the conference was being held. They performed in the midst of the congregation that had filled the resort`s conference Hall to capacity, receiving cheers for their amazing dancing strokes. One thing that we thank God for is the confidence that the boys have gained towards ministry, they bravely face the crowd and do what they are meant to do-serve God in dancing, they passionately dancing.

In the night the kids rehearsed for Sunday`s worship, they did a couple of songs, identifying a worship leader for each song before retiring to sleep.

Sunday was tricky because it had rained a lot in the night. The rains had mudded the grounds of the mango tree that shelters the JOAC church. More still, a few members from outside the JOAC home attended the service, most probably because of the heavy down pour. This time around, only one outsider, who was attending the church for her very first time attended. Rains always disrupt many activities here because of poor roads. Though challenging, the rains (and this being a rainy season), Identifies a need for a tent that will provide shelter for the JOAC kids` church.

The worship was amazingly okay, with Joseph playing his acoustic guitar and Kanan playing the local drum, as the rest of the kids and the congregation joined in the worship. The kids enthusiastically testified about the good things that God has done for them throughout the week, and Conrad Junior one of the kids shared a sermon from Psalm 119:105 during the Sunday school session. Uncle David shared in the main service about “the power of the tongue” he took the congregation through the book of Genesis 1 and 3. He later announced a week of reading and studying the book of Genesis. All the kids and staff are expected to participate in this.

By Joseph Ochwo

The JOAC Report

2011-09-13T05:06:00.000-07:00

Kids end their Month Long holiday

Some of the kids going for their first day of school

Last Monday marked the beginning of the third term of school for the JOAC kids this year. They for the last one month enjoyed their holiday with the JOAC holiday program. Though not fully executed due to some setbacks, the program served its purpose well. Its major purpose was to engage the kids in activities that would develop them physically, mentally, and spiritually. When asked about how his holiday went, Davin (one of the older kids) enthusiastically answered, “perfect!” Not only did the kids have enough time for themselves but also for ministry, their colleagues, and the community at large. With the two days` open air evangelism held at Nsikye market, the kids danced, played games with kids from the community, testified about how God has changed their lives, danced, and sang praises to God. They also attended a teens` conference at one of the churches in Mbarara where they ministered in dancing, and singing. Not only did they bless their teenage colleagues but they were also ministered to through the word of God that came from different guest speakers at the conference and the ministry from other teenagers from around Mbarara. During their holidays, the kids also got involved in doing African crafts; they made soccer balls out of banana fibers among other crafts. These are being sold at Esther`s crafts shop, the income from this is used to meet some of the needs at the JOAC home. Ruth one of the girls has been enrolled in Aloysius Primary School for Primary Five, her classes commenced on Monday and she is all excited about being in school again, making new friends, and pursuing her dream of becoming a Nurse.

Kids` academic performance:

This time around we bring you the kids` performance, this is meant to give you an idea on how to best pray for each kid’s education and future. A number of them have got the privilege of going to school. Two are in Kindergarten, seven are in primary level, and one is in tertiary.

ALafat Turibamwe:

Alafat is 6 years old and in middle class at St Agnes School. In his last term school report, the teachers describe him as a social, loves sharing with others, and listening. He is a sports kid who enjoys climbing ladders, running around, and playing soccer. He can read three letter words draw pictures and name them, and he has a great handwriting.

Afusa Kansangye:

Afusa is 5 years old; she is in middle class at St Agnes School. In her academic report, the teachers describe her performance as good. She is musical, loves singing, dancing, and teaching her colleagues how to dance. Afusa is also very artistic; she loves drawing, painting, and shading pictures.

Shivan Kamanzi:

Shivan is 6 years old; she is in primary one at St Agnes School. Her academic report describes her as disciplined, freely expresses herself, and loves cooperating with others. Shivan is very good at reading, English, art and craft, Music, and doing physical exercises. She took on a position of 28^th out of 44 pupils in her class.

Joseph Kwikiriza:

Joseph is 8 years old; he is in Primary two at St Agnes School. In his academic report, the teachers describe him as disciplined, good at expressing himself, cooperating with others, and personal responsibility. Joseph took a position of 10^th out of 58 pupils in his class.

Joshua Mpumwire:

Joshua is 10 years old; he is a Primary two pupil at St Agnes. His academic report describes him as a disciplined boy. He loves helping out others, and is good at playing Soccer. Joshua was the 37^th out of 58 pupils in his class, thus a concerned need from his teachers to improve on his academic progress.

Keith Akandwanaho:

Keith is 10 years old; he is a primary six pupil at St Lawrence Primary School. His academic report indicates that he is good at agriculture. With a position of 13^th out of 30 pupils in his class, Keith needs to improve his effort on weak subjects such as, English, Religious Studies, and Science which he performed poorly. He also needs to improve on his punctuality, because he reports for classes late (this is because Keith`s school is far from home, he has to always come back home for lunch, if he were to pay for lunch at school like his friends, he would be pretty punctual).

Davin Tinyefunza:

Davin is 14 years old; he is a primary four pupil at St Agnes. He is fairly good at Science and Social Studies. However, he needs to improve on his English, and Mathematics which have been cited as his weakest areas of performance according to his academic report.

Emmy Arinaitwe:

Emmy is 13 years old. He is a primary five pupil at St Lawrence Primary School. In his academic report, Emmy`s strength is shown in Mathematics, where he scores a fairly good mark. However, he needs to improve in the rest of the subjects. Emmy was in the 17^th position out of 48 pupils.

Patrick Rwendire:

Patrick is 14 years old. He is a primary six pupil at St Lawrence Primary School. In his academic report, his academic muscle is shown in science and social studies. However, he needs to improve in English and Mathematics. Patrick was the 10^th out of 34 pupils.

Naluyima Naswiba (Shiba):

Shiba is one of the girls on the JOAC extension program. She stays with her 2 year old baby boy at her drunken mother`s place, a few minutes’ walk from the JOAC home. She is now pursuing a course in tailoring. However, her education has suffered due to the hard differences she holds with her mother. She expects her to work for money to cater for the family food and rent. It is very challenging to her in that it has affected her studies a great deal. Her last term`s academic report indicates a general poor performance which needs improvement. The report indicates that she does not regularly attend classes. Shiba needs prayers from you (the reader). If she successfully pursues her education, it will definitely change the face of her living, and probably that of her family, it will bring hope.

Mbikize Conrad (Junior):

Conrad is 13 years old. He is a primary six pupil at St Aloysius primary school. His academic report indicates that he is a well behaved boy. However, his academic performance is poor and needs improvement. He only managed to do English fairly, but all the other subjects of his study were poorly performed.

P.S:

There are other girls like Molleen and Kakuru in the house who are not in school, but still believe God for an opportunity to get into school. We also believe God to provide for the schooling of other kids on our extension program. These stay with relatives or friends. If a door opens, they will be put into school.

By Joseph Ochwo

(JOAC Communication department)

JOAC Gospel Outreach Harvests Souls

2011-08-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Mathew 28:19-20)

Last weekend, Joy of a child ministry responded to this call by holding a two day open air evangelism in the hard to reach community of Nsikye, And surely the Lord saw them through the challenges that were set ahead of them.

On Saturday, the kids and staff armed with the word of God left the JOAC home in the afternoon, moving in a soldier like manner, carrying bibles, sound equipments, and instruments to Nsikye trading center. As they trekked through people`s homesteads and shops, curious faces were glued to them, probably asking themselves what the young kids got to do with the sophisticated equipment in their hands. With challenges such as lack of electric power to run the PA system, given Uncle David`s futile attempts to borrow a generator, the program took long to commence, not until someone offered to extend electricity from his house to the open air ground.

As the sound equipment was being set and Uncle David loudly calling upon the people to come hear the good news, the kids played games with their counterparts from the community. Shop managers, housewives, idlers, passerbies, had a reason to stop whatever they were doing to feed their curiosity, as they watched Aunt Ruth from Bushenyi, Uncle David, and the JOAC kids worship God through the loud speakers. More Young and old people drew to the grounds as the worship intensified and the JOAC dance force (Police) ministered through their modern upbeat dances sending the crowds into wild cheers. Some of the JOAC kids were once part of this community, and here they were, a mirror reflecting the new creation that God has changed, given Joy and hope, which they were now displaying through gospel music, dance, and skits.

Sunday was yet another day to remember. This time the open air began a little earlier than the previous day, given the earlier organization and presence of a generator to run through the day. The kids as usual began with playing games with their counterparts, the ‘Police’ did their dancing, but when Ruth and the kids began worship, there came a heavy down pour that lasted for almost two hours. Everyone dispersed the open air grounds and took shelter in the nearby shops. The rains stopped close to 7pm, but this didn’t stop the JOAC team from starting the worship and evangelism again.

At the end of the ‘Gospel weekend’, not only were the young and old amused by the games, worship, and dance display, but most of them saw joy, love, and hope brought into their community. The two day event was supplemented by the preaching from Bishop Elijah (Joy of a Child Uganda Chairperson), which saw 18 souls redeemed to Christ, because of what they had seen, touched, and heard.

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

JOAC GOSPEL OUTREACH PHOTO ALBUM

2011-08-14T03:51:00.000-07:00

Today is day two into the gospel crusade being held at Nsikye trading centre here in Mbarara, the kids yesteday ministered in games, dance, skits, and worship. Four people gave their lives to Christ.

JOAC CELEBRATES CULTURE

2011-08-11T02:36:00.000-07:00

According to the Uganda National Policy, culture is the total sum of the ways in which society preserves, identifies, sustains, and expresses itself.

There millions of cultures in the world. Every country has their own, every city has their own, every town has their own, and every center, road, street, house and even people have their own. This, of course does not apply everywhere however this is the case in many places. Culture defines people`s activities, food, language, songs, dress code, world views, and so much more.

In Africa though most of the culture is more less the same, there ethnicity, tribes, and clans that are different in their traditions such as food, language, songs, dances, and activities. Uganda is endowed with a rich and diverse cultural heritage, which includes sixty-five indigenous communities with unique characteristics.

Here at Joy of a Child, a bunch of kids come from different tribes and so have differences in their cultures.

As a result, the JOAC family has been celebrating culture since last week. The idea that came from Uncle David has already seen three cultures celebrated. Foods, riddles, songs, and dances have been celebrated each evening. First was the Bakiga culture. Bakiga inhabit Kabale, Kanungu and part of Rukungiri districts in South Western Uganda. Conrad one of the boys belongs to the Bakiga culture. He prepared the Bakiga staple food; Bitakuri (Sweet Potatoes), Ebihimba (beans), and Ebishooli (boiled maize/corn) for dinner. Later on, Kikiga songs were sung, coupled with the Kikiga dance which involves energetic jumping up and forth.

The Banyaruguru culture was represented by Joshua. He colored his face with millet flour and wrapped a cloth around his shoulder down his legs portraying his agricultural and fishing culture. He prepared Obundu (Millet bread) and fish. Much as most of the kids had tasted the ball like Obundu before, Joshua prepared it differently. He covered it with the whitish flour and placed it in a basket. As everyone was chewing the bread, Joshua would pick a ball of the Obundu with his right hand, make a hole in it using his finger and deep it in the fish soup before swallowing it. Noticing this, everyone was driven into laughter, but this is what identifies Joshua`s culture of eating Obundu.

Next was the Buganda culture. Baganda belong to the biggest tribe of Uganda, with over 4.1 million people. Buganda culture is overseen by a king under Buganda Kingdom. Aphusa and Arafat who belong to the Baganda prepared Matooke (Green bananas) and Ground nut paste sauce. They climaxed their celebration with the Kiganda dance which involves wiggling waists.

Other cultures will be celebrated in the course of this week including Danelle` American culture where she will also cook an American and displaying the American culture, this will also double as her farewell. The celebrations have changed the JOAC status quo of having meals from the dining table, as almost all the celebrated cultures involve having food from one plate or basket, and sitting in a circular manner on the ground.

NB: Updates:

Danelle leaves for the US on 18^th August.

Ruth had her primary six entry interviews today.

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

JOAC Develops New Holiday Program

2011-08-08T01:50:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 19:15, Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.

The Joy of a Child kids will be having their one month’s school break on Wednesday, they have had a few days of sitting for their end of term exams, and Wednesday will not only be their holiday but also a day of providing accountability of their term`s work through their school reports. Referring to the above scripture, we wish to avoid the many atrocities that laziness brings by when the kids get on holiday. In Uganda many parents have faced trouble as most of their kids concentrate on watching television, and being idol in the community. As a result kids have turned out to be hooligans, young boys have embraced abusing drugs, theft and violence, and many young girls have gotten pregnant. Most of these programs cost money and so through your prayer and support we are going to engage the kids in the following programs that will cover their holidays. These programs are not only for this holiday but also other future annual holidays.

Open air Evangelism:

We are planning open air evangelism this weekend at Nsikye trading centre, just a few minutes’ walk from the JOAC home. Nsikye has a stronghold of Islam, poverty and prostitution. Parents send their Daughters into prostitution in order to secure bread for their homes. The kids yesterday started practicing dances for the event. After church, they spent most of the afternoon and evening passionately practicing to reach out to this community. More dance, worship leading, and program leading rehearsals will go on in the course of the week. Most of the open air will be led by the kids, some will preach, others lead worship, and most of them will give testimonies of how God saved them from the traumas of living without their parents, some being tortured by their own parents, and being harassed by the harsh conditions of this world. We shall use a hired PA system to amplify our sound. Please pray with us for a big harvest. We believe God for a great harvest and a change of lives as we obey the great commission in Mathew 28:16-20.

Refugee camp ministry:

We are also planning an outreach to Nakivaale refugee camp. Nakivaale is about an hours` drive from Mbarara where JOAC ministry is base. The camp is comprised of shanty houses with over 4000 Somalis that have fled their war troubled country along with other refugees from Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. People in the camp suffer from complex diseases like Malaria, water borne diseases, HIV/AIDs among other diseases. They have heartbreaking stories of what they go through every day, like lack of food, women going through rap, and other attrocities. A team of 3 JOAC staff members and 12 kids are being prepared for a two days` ministry at Nakivaale refugee camp. The purpose of the ministry is to bring a message of hope and reconciliation to the refugees through an interactive football tournament, hygiene sensitization, women`s ministry that will involve counseling to address the issue of sexual abuse, and the JOAC girls will teach them how to make sanitary pads which skill some of them can use to start up small sanitary pad making businesses. As all these programs go on, the message of Christ will be paramount. We are in need of funds to address this ministry of which dates we are yet to set. The estimated budget for this includes the following:

· Budget: 15 people

Food: 2 lunches, 1 dinners, 1 breakfast, water – 265,000

Transportation: 400,000

Accommodation: 375,000

Sound System: 200,000

Interpreters: 40,000

Generator: 120,000

6 soccer balls: 210,000

Total: 1,610,000 shs (644 US Dollars)

New Hope Summer Camp (Musaana Camp):

The kids also need a time to relax and have a fun family vacation off to some where they have never been before. Most of them have never been past Mbarara, and to them Kampala City is only a mystery, they have never seen sky scrapers or even traffic lights; they always ask about these curiously. The suggested place of their vacation during their December holiday is Musaana Camp. Musana Camp is located on beautiful Lake Victoria approximately 90 km from the capital city of Kampala. The site includes a white sand beach, equatorial forest, spring-fed stream, and grassy hilltops speckled with trees… plenty of room to run, play, and marvel at the beautiful creation that God has laid out. The kids will not only have a chance of visiting Kampala for the very first time but also have activities such as–swimming in Lake Victoria, volleyball, ladder ball, hikes and sharing the word of God with other children. Camping costs will be 15,000 shs (6 US Dollars) per kid; transport will be about 1,000,000 shs (400 US Dollars). You should please start praying towards this and a donation towards this is highly welcome even before December.

Football tournament:

JOAC has in the past hosted a football tournament with the kids from around the community; this has in turn drawn some kids to Christ. The Nyamitanga Kids Club team, in which most of the JOAC boys belong, hosts a bunch of other football teams from around the community to play matches. This is aimed at giving the kids training on the importance of how international football can be used in ministry. After the tournament, the kids will have praise and worship after the tournament.

Kids` camp:

The kids will also have a bible camp, in which they will team up with kids from other churches to have a five day full of fun, games such as net ball and football, praise and worship, door to door evangelism, and most importantly the word of God. The camp is aimed at getting the kids to know God better and building an intimate relationship with him. The camp will involve responsible and godly young people from the local participating churches to act as leaders and overseers of the children. The camp is estimated to host 200 kids plus staff and leaders. The estimated budget is 3,000,000 shs (1,200 US Dollars), roughly 14,900 shillings for each child for food, lodging and transport for five entire days.

Please pray with us and if you feel led by God to donate towards our holiday programs, you are welcome to do so.

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

Joy of a Child Ministry Report

2011-08-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

God has been moving in all aspects of the Joy of a Child ministry. First and foremost, a miracle of running water just happened about two weeks ago after two months of shortage. It is hard to understand the magnitude of the problem unless you ever tried to fetch contaminated water in a far place away from home; this is what the kids would do a couple of times in the day, carrying 20 liter Jerry cans of water on their heads. This water would be used for cooking, laundry, bathing, and drinking after boiling, but it was not the best to use.

Another miracle of provision just happened, Ruth, one of the girls in the JOAC house will be going to school after years of lack of schooling because of the school fees problem. She will be having her primary six entry interviews in one and a half weeks, please pray that she excels and also pray for the other girls to have a miracle of joining school.

Daniel the youngest kid in the house and every one`s joy, finally began crawling after months of waiting. He had gone past the five months` crawling period common in most babies. But here he is, crawling to everywhere.

Double birthday celebrations:

It was their first time to celebrate a birthday. Asia and Moleen had never had their birthday celebrated until Danelle a US volunteer with JOAC threw them a birthday party. Both girls who share a hard story of their lives had a smile put on their faces as they had everyone share their big day. They were made sandwiches and taken to a swimming at a luxurious hotel along their friends, Shiba and Diana. They spent the whole day at the pool till evening when they got back to the house where Danelle made them cakes to climax their celebrations. After everyone taking a share of their birthday cakes, they were prayed for. This was a great moment for them to be shown much love and care.

Visitors

The ministry last Tuesday hosted a team of three ladies from Wisconsin, USA for three days. Colleen, Dianah, and Kate were joined by Amanda, Colleen`s friend who is now staying in Kisoro in South Western Uganda. Amanda stayed for two nights while his colleagues stayed for another day. She taught the girls how to make cheap and affordable sanitary pads. The excitement that filled the girls is unbelievable, they learned how to make sanitary pads for themselves and in future, they wish to go commercial, this will earn most of them a living.

The ladies were also a blessing to the kids, besides bringing them so many gifts of playing, reading, writing, and art material, the team also taught the kids games and songs. However, time was insufficient because their time here saw the kids go to school in the morning and come back in the evening. Every evening they had new games to teach and time to spend with the kids.

Queen Elizabeth vacation

Friday was their last day here; they left at 4:30 am for Queen Elizabeth National Park together with Joseph, David, Esther, and young Daniel whom they offered a vacation to the luxurious game park. The trip to the park seemed long but fulfilling as dawn unfolded. Before reaching their final destination, the team often ran into a frenzy of screams as they often got stopped by the early morning Buffaloes that were crossing the road. With its fascinating history, the Queen Elizabeth national Park was put in place in the first quarter of the 1990’s in 1925, with a department set up to stop the Elephants from marauding villages and destroying cultivation- the overall aim being to keep the within certain boundaries, protecting both Elephants and people. As a result, a series of game reserves, sanctuaries and national parks were established over the years. At around 7:30 am, the team was at the park`s information center booking a tour vehicle and boat ride for their trip. At 9:00 am, the team set to the wild. They first saw Buffaloes, Antelopes, Kobs, many bird species, before everyone went into wild screams at the sight of the hard to find lion and lioness; these took almost an hour to find. After the lions, a hunt for Elephants began, a long trip was made to the south of the park, before the tour guide quickly whispered, “Keep quiet, there it is”, and the driver stopped as everyone had their glimpse of the giant animal. It came from the wild and shyly crossed the road to the other side of the jungle. Satisfied at the sight of the wild beast, the team went on to look for more elephants but with no success. A trip was made back to the information centre where bookings of accommodation and the evening`s boat trip were made. After a couple of hours of resting, the team made their way to the dock of two giant passenger boats. Many tourists were waiting as the two boats brought back a turn of tourists. After the first team of tourists had left the boat, the team along other tourists hurried to the boat, each taking their spacious seats and having their life jackets on. A lady guide made a few explanations before the two hour trip began. As the boat sailed to the horizons of Kazinga channel, Buffaloes came into vicinity sending many into wild cheers as cameras made their shot sounds to grab the moment. At one point Hippos were seen having a great time with the Buffaloes. A look at them clearly indicated an enjoyment of each other`s company; they always flapped their bodies in and out of the water in form of entertaining the tourists. A few crocodiles, birds of different species were also all over the place. At the set of the sun, the guide directed everyone`s gaze to two lions that were on the other side of the channel, they were playing around the bush. This scenario took several minutes before the boat was sailed back to the dock.

The team later had dinner before resting at the Mweya lodge where a traditional music band was playing live African traditional music. After the band`s performance, the JOAC team met an American Doctor who doubles as a musician. He grabbed his guitar while he and Joseph took turns to play some songs to the relaxed revelers. Early in the morning, the US team headed to Entebbe airport as David, Esther, Daniel, and Joseph went back to JOAC. On their way out of the park, they met a herd of elephants, some feeding in the bush and others crossing the road.

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

JOAC kids taught expression and honesty

2011-07-22T10:46:00.003-07:00

There are often unique features in different families as far as parenting and child behavior is concerned; specific families have their secluded ways of bringing up their children into being responsible citizens or grownups. In the African culture most children are less expressive of their feelings not only towards their parents to their siblings and others as well. They are unable to express to their parents if they feel they have been wronged or if there is any sort of conflict. In the African culture you also find something called the ‘gender difference syndrome’, in which a male child is brought up to think that he is superior to his sisters and all females in the world. In the Bagisu culture of Eastern Uganda, male circumcision is a cherished custom. A circumcised male child is privileged to command total respect from all people, both female and uncircumcised male. Such a child is considered to be more of a man, and more honored, than even a far older, mature, uncircumcised male. For instance, he is eligible to share a conversation with older circumcised men in his community where as his uncircumcised counterpart is not, no matter the age difference.

An African male child is taught that work such as cooking, washing dishes, fetching water from the well, and doing laundry, is work typically meant only for the females and not men. In the most remote areas of Africa where this way of thinking is strongly held on to, men laugh at fellow men who wash dishes, cook for their wives, or any other kind of ‘female work’.

Joy of a Child, however, is different. There is a uniqueness to the culture of the house as far as child expression is concerned. First and foremost, brotherhood has been engrained into every kid. They are always reminded that they are brothers and sisters and so they need to treat each other with love and respect. To further encourage the children to express themselves, the house holds a ‘family court’ in which the kids express their complaints about each. Corrections are conducted under the guidance of the staff, and forgiveness bridged between the warring parties. This is always finalized by the formally warring parties hugging and becoming friends again. Also during the family court, the kids have a chance to express what they feel about the elders (house parents or staff) in the home, in which the elder involved also asks for forgiveness from the child. Family court is held every Wednesday night and all the kids always look forward to it, not to get an opportunity of judging others, but to put things right amongst themselves. This unique form of free expression has taught the kids honesty, love and forgiveness.

There is nothing like a ‘gender difference syndrome’ at JOAC. Both boys and girls share the same roles in the home. Just like the girls, boys cook, serve the food on the dining table, wash dishes, do laundry, baby sit Daniel, and fetch water.

The uniqueness of Joy of a Child is that the Kids have been taught how to freely express themselves and respect each other regardless of gender, age or background.

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

Toys for rich kids would change the lives of Africa`s poor kids

2011-07-22T10:43:00.003-07:00

In the article ‘Let the rich forego toys for their kids, buy food for starving ones’ published on 20^th, July, 2011, in the New Vision (a Ugandan daily). The author, Dr. Opiyo Oloya, a Ugandan Doctor living in Toronto, urges rich families to reduce on their expenditure on Kids` toys in order to save the starving world. He says, “Here then is my simplistic proposal. Let every middle class family on the globe, in the developing and developed worlds, forgo toys for their children for the next several months, including the coming Christmas which is just five months away. In lieu of the toys, let them fork the money into a global fund for feeding starving children in Somalia and elsewhere where children are struggling to survive”. What Dr. Opiyo forgets to mention is the fact that his proposal would solve more than just starvation, but also other major problems that children in the developing world face, like lack of education and proper medication.

Over 28 million children in Africa are malnourished and most of them also lack proper education. According to the USAID 2005 report, there are 46 million school-age African children who have never stepped into a classroom, and out of the 300 million people who die of Malaria annually in Africa, 90% are children.

The $ 2.78b fortune Nintendo made last year in profits would be enough to equip several schools with reading material, and also stock drugs in the ill equipped hospitals and medical centers.

According to Dr. Opiyo, his children hardly use a particular toy for more than a week. As time goes, a better toy gets on the market, and when the new one is bought, attention is diverted from the previous. The now ‘abandoned toy’ is stored in boxes, almost brand new. Opiyo says that this habit is common in the developing world but has also sadly invaded the middle class families in the developing world. Unlike kids from the developing world who seek entertainment from the toys they make with their own hands with any metal and wood they might salvage, their developed counterparts seek entertainment from luxurious manufactured toys and watching movies. This justifies the difference in the obesity rates between the poor and rich kids. According to the American Heart Association, the number of obese children aged 6-11 has raised from a mere 4% in 1971 to 17% in 2006.

If rich families forgo toys for their children and instead give their money to help developing countries for at least five months in a year, not only would the poor African kids have food on their tables, an education, and good medication, but the rich kids would have other means of entertainment like having regular exercises in their play grounds. This would greatly reduce the obesity rates that they suffer. This kind of sacrifice would produce a two-way benefit.

As Joy of a Child Ministry, we believe that giving is better than receiving, it releases God`s blessings onto whoever has given. Give today towards the Joy of a Child ministry, and you will be saving and bringing joy to the heart of a child.

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

Joy of a Child News

2011-07-19T06:29:00.001-07:00

Lots of things have been happening at Joy of a Child Ministry.

Lots of thanks go to those of you that have been constantly praying for the ministry especially towards the prayer requests that were stated in the previous blog. God has been faithful and he is doing great and marvelous things at Joy of a Child.

As mentioned in the previous blog, one of the major challenges at JOAC is lack of clean water. After losing out on the well where the kids had been collecting water for laundry, bathing, and cooking, last week God provided. Some liters of water were purchased from the local water suppliers. The water is less to last for a couple of weeks but has been of a great help so far.

Danelle the JOAC volunteer from the USA has been doing an incredible work with the girls, conducting their bible studies, and teaching them Mathematics and English.

Saturday was a concert day at St Agnes where most of the kids go to school. They had for about a week talked about the concert, where their five year old school would highlight its achievements through traditional Music, Dance and Drama. The most interesting thing was that all the kids would participate as their parents and guardians watch. The JOAC kids were blessed to have Uncle David, Aunt Esther, and Aunt Danelle attend. From 12:30pm through the whole day, the kids displayed their God given talents. No one ever knew that Davin was such a good drummer, it only occurred to them during the concert. Other talents were also discovered in the other JOAC kids, this gave them a chance to be applauded and encouraged, and such encouragement builds their self esteem and enacts in them more passion in what they do.

Sunday was Kids Church as usual, with the kids leading the service. There were visitors from Kampala; Leon, Isaac, and Ivan. Ivan shared in the Sunday school and also prayed for the kids. Uncle Joseph shared in the main service about faith. Later in the day the kids had a debate. Debates are very popular in Ugandan primary schools. A motion is designed and two groups split into opponents and supporters of the motion. The kids` skills in speaking English and also arguing out issues are tested, points are given, compared and the winning group is declared. At JOAC the chosen motion was “Teacher is better than Doctor”, turns were taken for every speaker to present their points. One would stand and say, “Mr. Chairman, Secretary, and the audience, I am here to say ‘Doctor is better than teacher’ (or otherwise)” before giving in their points. Well, at the end of the debate, the opponents to the motion were declared winners. Another debate was announced for next Sunday, the kids have been given time to think and suggest the motion.

Blog by Joseph Ochwo

JOAC News and Prayer Requests

2011-07-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

It is now six days since Aunt Jen left for Kampala after her two months of volunteering with Joy of a Child Ministry. She was such an amazing and initiative lady who benefited this ministry a great deal. The kids are definitely missing her so much. This morning before she boarded her flight to the US, she called and talked to the kids, most of them went into joyful screams when they were told that Auntie wants to speak to them. Each spoke for a few minutes because they were hurriedly going to school. They are surely missing her so much.

Danelle the new volunteer from the US has already got into the JOAC system; she is slowly getting bonded with the kids and young women in the home. They are surely enjoying her presence and ministry. Danelle has also began volunteering at Holy Innocents Children`s hospital.

We thank God for the new keyboard that was donated to David by Hillary Musinguzi. This has supplemented the worship in the home mostly the kids’ church Sunday worship.

The kids` church is expanding every Sunday with more members joining from around the community, the chairs (from the JOAC seating room and dining) have not been sufficient for the growing number. It is our prayer that we shall have over 500 chairs for the kids` church; this means a vision of over 500 church members. We believe that as time goes by, we shall be able to penetrate this Moslem dominated community through our Sunday services. We have sometimes had Muslims join us for prayers. We in the process encourage them to bring their friends along the next Sunday. We are yet to see Muslims give their lives to Christ and start an intimate walk with him.

Prayer Requests: As a ministry we believe in sustainability through prayer. We therefore present to you dear readers, partners, and friends our needs asking you to pray with us as we trust God for provision.

1. Because of drought, we have had no clean water for the last two months. The boys and girls have been collecting contaminated water from a well quite a distance from home. We have been using this contaminated water for cooking, bathing, laundry, and drinking (though after boiling). It has not been the best, with some members getting sick of Typhoid. Better still this has tried to manage the crisis for some time. However, the Lady owning the well has turned her back against us (probably due to our over consumption). She has barred us from collecting any more water from her well. We therefore ask you to pray with us for the purchase of a 10,000 liter tank that can be filled by local trucks selling water.

When we have rains, the harvested water would also reduce on the water bills. With this, we shall have water for the entire season and we can easily manage future water crisis.

2. A few days back we had our Ugandan Board members hold a meeting to discuss the challenges faced in the ministry and possible solutions. One of the major challenges discussed was the habitation of the JOAC girls and boys in one house, as it is currently. Given the fact that these kids come from different backgrounds, this proximity has been challenging behaviorally. And therefore, the board resolved that it is better for the boys and girls to be separated. This means that, for a better management we need a house for the girls. It is something that is quite expensive, but as you pray with us, we believe that God will provide.

3. As reported in an earlier blog, Uganda`s inflation rate is growing worse. Prices of most items are going higher by day. Products have almost doubled in price, and this has not exempted the food prices. This has put us as a ministry in a tight corner, because of the price changes, our budget (mostly food) has been affected so much. We therefore ask you to pray with us that we shall be able to purchase a piece of land that we can use to cultivate our own food to cater for future uncertainties such as this impromptu inflation.

4. Our kids` church needs a 500 sitter tent which will manage the scorching sunshine that the members suffer every Sunday as they hold their service in the trivially sheltering mango tree shade on the JOAC compound. After a thorough research by David, it was found out that the tent and chairs would also be used as a source of revenue for the ministry through hiring out the tents and chairs to different events like weddings, seminars, conferences, and various parties that are held around Mbarara. The money collected from this would be a supplement to some of the needs in the JOAC home.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support!

Blog by: Joseph Ochwo

Memorable Birthday and Farewell party at JOAC

2011-07-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day of celebration at Joy of A Child home. A mood of happiness filled the atmosphere as early as morning when, as the kids prepared to go to school whispers of the coming evening party filled their ears, lighting up their faces with joy. The birthday boys-Junior and Joshua were equally happy and curious of the day, it was their big day and they enjoyed hearing the whispers of their coming birthday celebrations. The day would also double as Jen`s farewell party. Jen has been a volunteer with JOAC for the last two months, serving God in her fullest, she has blessed all the kids and the young women in the house and community. And here was a day to celebrate her good work with JOAC and officially say good bye. Jen seemed happy but also sad that she will be leaving the next day for Kampala then the US-her home.

In the noon Esther and David went shopping for the days` food. They bought three chickens, Matooke (green bananas), rice, and other food stuff. One of the JOAC board members donated sodas and a music system for the kids to party. The girls and Esther prepared the food, Danelle another volunteer tried out peeling, and WOW she fit perfectly in this Ugandan activity.

By the time the kids got back from school the party mood had intensified, they immediately got involved in the preparations; among other things getting the chairs out into the compound and arranging the party ground.

At 9:00pm, food was ready and so was the party. David announced the commencement of the party. The birthday boys-Joshua and Junior wore their best and sat on the same chair smiling ear to ear, it was their big day and there was a reason to smile. Jen looked beautiful in her dress as she held some kids in her arms.

Food was served, the birthday boys were served first before others. There was a variety of local food and fruits like Avocados, watermelon, and pineapples, sodas were also displayed on the table. One had to pick a soda after being served food. After food, ice cream was served by Jen.

A cake that bore the words, “happy birthday Joshua and Junior, and farewell Aunt Jen” was cut by the three celebrants before Esther giving everyone their share.

Joshua and Junior were later prayed for and so was Jen.

Jen gave a farewell speech, she thanked everyone for their love during her stay, and promised to come back when God provides.

The party was climaxed by a dance that went to almost midnight. The kids displayed the best grooves ever.

This day will always be a memorable day for the kids, a day of mixed feelings of joy and sadness, a day they ate the best food, danced and said good bye to their beloved Auntie Jen.

Two weeks of activity to cover

2011-07-06T00:03:00.001-07:00

There has been an update absence for the last two weeks, however, lots of activities have been going on in the Joy of A Child Ministry and here we bring you the last two weeks and this week’s upcoming activities.

Arrival of new volunteer: On the 23^rdJune, David and Jen traveled to pick up Danelle from Entebbe Airport. Danelle is a new volunteer from USA who got to know about JOAC through her Father, Phil, who has been a JOAC partner for the last nine months when he visited. Danelle’s arrival at the Airport was 10: 15pm. Tired but excited, she was welcomed by the eagerly waiting Jen and David who later took her to the hotel where they would spend a night before the next day’s journey to Mbarara. With weather similar to that of Ecuador, where she has spent half of her life, Danelle experienced a few surprises like driving on the left side and reddish dirt on the road as they headed to Mbarara. As they arrived at the JOAC home, Danelle was welcomed by the sweet smiling faces of the kids. She has had to adjust to the food, family life here, bathrooms without running water and other things. Danelle optimistically says that as time goes on she will get more adjusted.

Rwanda trip: 28^th June saw Jen, Danelle, young Daniel, David and Esther go to Rwanda. Rwanda is different from Uganda as far as the roads, traffic organization and neatness is concerned. David who was driving for the first time in Rwanda occasionally got in trouble with the Police over sometimes driving on the left side instead of the right, and also keeping his lights off because the roads were fully lit, but because of his negotiation and humor skills, he often got pardoned. In Rwanda they stayed with Esther`s cousin, her husband, and their baby. Rwanda had lots to offer, they among other things visited the genocide memorial site, visited the Youth with a Mission base where they had a free meal and internet. They also had an outreach to the widows whom Agnes (Esther’s cousin) reaches to through helping them start businesses, during the outreach, Jen shared with the over 20 widows from the book ‘Living in Love with Jesus’ and also gave her testimony. Another outreach was at a secondary school where David shared his testimony and Jen and Danelle shared with the students about “transforming the world and not letting the world transform you,” at the end of their sharing, 13 young men gave their lives to Christ.

The JOAC group also visited Esther’s siblings who now stay with her Uncle’s widowed wife, before Esther got married to David they were under her care. During the visit Esther shared with them the effects of the 1994 genocide which did not spare some of her family members, she even showed them some of the people that killed some of her family members. Rwandans are still healing from the genocide, as most of the people know and live around the people that harmed and killed their relatives and friends.

God miraculously intervened when Esther lost her passport and car documents. After lots of praying and searching for the documents someone called and gave back the documents.

2^nd July was their return travel day, having missed the kids at the house so much; everyone looked forward to the time with the kids again. As they reached the gate Jen yelled “Family!” the kids were excited and showered them with hugs. To crown the comeback excitement, David took several rounds driving around the compound. Later in the night there was a dancing competition in which all the kids and staff participated. Excited by her dancing moves, the kids chose Danelle overall winner of the competition.

Sunday service: As described by David, this Sunday was a unique one. The numbers went further higher that all the chairs in the JOAC house made it to the compound (Church) and still weren’t enough for the congregation. As usual the boys led the service, led worship and Junior, a young boy of about 13 shared in the Sunday school service. His sharing was incredible; he was introduced by the service leader as ‘Pastor Junior’. With a smiling face he took it to the front holding his bible with both hands, seemingly timid. The soft spoken Junior started with his testimony. One time he witnessed a man killed by a speeding car, when he got back home and shared with his Mum about the fatal incident, she harshly replied saying, “I wish it were you that had been killed”. In tears Junior also shared about his economically struggling family that often got chased out of the house over defaulting rent. This is how David met him, they had been chased out of the house by the Landlord, and God miraculously brought David to his rescue. Since then he has been able to receive education through the JOAC ministry. His sharing and testimony drove some congregants into tears.

David announced Jen’s leaving the next Thursday, it was very sad for some of the members of church, mostly the JOAC kids and family. Jen has bonded with them in a very special way over the last two months of her volunteering. She shared in the main service, mostly highlighting what she has learned during her stay at the JOAC house. Towards the end of the service Jen was officially released and prayed for by the congregation.

Upcoming events:

Wednesday: Double birthday celebration for Junior and Joshua and Jen’s farewell party (she has purchased ice cream to mark the second time most of the kids have tasted it).

Thursday: Jen leaves for Kampala for a few days before leaving for the US.

Blog by: Joseph

Hard to Let Jen Go

2011-06-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

It is a few days remaining before Jennifer Kost; a US volunteer with JOAC leaves, Jen is staying for roughly not more than seven days. Today is her last day at St Agnes Primary School where she has also been volunteering; next week will see her go to Rwanda with a couple of other JOAC staff for a four day trip, then come to JOAC home for a night before leaving for New Hope, Kampala, then Entebbe Airport for Chicago.

It’s hard to tell how many hearts will be torn by her departure, but it will be an overwhelming number. Jen is going to leave a big vacuum in the heart of everyone that has seen her all- day gentle smile, and experienced her bubbly presence. Her impact on the young and old within the JOAC home and around the community can hardly go unnoticed.

Jen`s ministry has impacted mostly the girls, she has been teaching from her favorite book ‘Living in Love with Jesus’. Her sharing from the book has had several girls give their lives to Christ and vow to start an intimate walk with him. Some of the girls have had to open up their hearts for healing, through sharing their hard experiences in life, like sexual harassment from the people they least expected. Jen`s ministry has won her trust from several girls. At one point Shiba, one of the JOAC beneficiaries wrote Jen a letter describing how she had been abused by her own Mum, Jen talked to her and she got better. Moreen another girl staying at the JOAC home let Uncle David and Jen hear her story of her Uncle occasionally forcing her into sex and threatening to kill her if she dare told anyone about his sexual advances on her, after a series of Jen`s teachings. After Jen`s teachings, Ruth another girl who hardly smiled and often locked up her emotions let out the other side of her, a very intelligent bubbly girl!

More beautiful things have been done through Jen`s ministry, one vital thing is her initiative to start the Joy of A Child church, through her idea that we start a church here at the home, Jen`s idea turned out to be God`s, David had for a while thought of starting a kids church but he did not know when and how. But one Sunday morning when everyone was prepared to go to a church far away from home, Jen suggested, “why don’t we have church here?” everyone became positively receptive of the idea, the kids were marveled, soon they would be program leaders, worship leaders, and some preachers in the church. The church is slowly growing and has survived three weeks now. Jen has ultimately been the preacher in most of the Sunday services.

She has been a blessing to everyone in the JOAC ministry and it is very hard to let her go. We pray that God will bless her for the very good work she has offered to this ministry.

Blog written by: Joseph

Hope in the Midst of Uganda’s Sky Rocketing Prices

2011-06-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

The inflation rate in Uganda has gone very high prompting the prices of various items to go way higher than they have ever gone in the new millennium.

Ugandans are feeling financial pressure because of the higher prices in food. For instance, Posho which was previously affordable by most of the population now costs a fortune to an average Ugandan who lives on less than $1 a day. A kilogram of Posho is now at 1,700 shillings and the prices could go higher by day, a few months back, such an amount would get you almost two kilograms of Posho.

Millions of Ugandans are living below the poverty level, and they go through the day without most of the necessities in life because they can’t afford it. This inflation is most likely leading to more atrocities than good; more children are likely getting malnourished because of the rise in the prices of food, more Ugandans are likely dying in the hospitals because of lack of enough medical care (a few days back an infant died due to over bleeding because of lack of enough medical care from the hospital), more children are likely withdrawing from school or losing quality education because they can no longer afford the rising prices of tuition fees in the institutions of learning mostly in the privately owned institutions which offer the most quality education compared to the government institutions. More pregnant women are likely aborting because of the hopeless feeling of how they will sufficiently provide for their babies, more mothers are likely dumping their children onto the streets because they don’t know how they will take care of them in the midst of the sky rocketing prices of food and other items.

We at Joy of A Child have however not lost hope, we believe that God is entirely the provider of good health, food, education; and nothing in this world shakes the King of Kings. Therefore, in this challenging season we believe God will provide, where others see no hope, we are seeing hope. Just a few days back when Uncle David went shopping, he was shocked to find that the 50 kilograms of Posho he had a few weeks ago bought at 65,000 shillings (about $30) now cost 85,000 shillings (about $40), the Ground nut paste (a delicacy in the house) had doubled in price, the price of beans had also gone higher than the previous, these he didn’t buy because they were too expensive to fit the JOAC budget.

As previously noted, God is the provider in this home; Uncle David then checked out the JOAC garden of beans whether they were ready for harvest, indeed they were ready for harvest. Joseph, Auntie Jen, Conrad, Moreen, and Ruth set out to the garden (about 15 minutes walk from the house) for the harvest; they harvested a sack of beans that has seen the kids through a number of days. Today being a Saturday when most of the kids are home, around seven of them have gone back to the garden to make another harvest of beans.

The garden is only half an acre, if it were bigger; the harvest would be a lot better.

As we go through this moment of inflation in Uganda, please pray that the situation will get back to normal. Continue praying for the JOAC ministry, that God will continue providing for every need, we also need more land that will see the ministry grow more food.

Blog by: Joseph

Weekend of Fun and Talent Displayed

2011-06-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday

Athletics, dance, music composition, singing, birthday celebrations graced the JOAC home weekend.

Saturday commenced the moment with as usual Auntie Jen calling upon everyone for a morning run; it started with physical stretches and a 20 lap run around the JOAC compound field. Most of the kids participated and for the very first time, almost everyone finished running the 20 laps.

The kids later did their house chores, cleaned the house, cooked lunch, collected water from the well, and did their laundry.

In the afternoon it rained quite significantly. The rain enticed Jen to run and dance in it. First Kakuru joined her, followed by many of the boys. They showed off how far they can slide in the mud without falling. After playing, they got to work collecting water from the rain and overflowing gutters.

Saturday night was a games night which after a few games like ‘Simon says’ turned into a dancing competition. Auntie Jen brought up the idea, and Joseph helped to be co-moderator of the competition with Auntie Jen.

The kids paired up for the competition, with the rest of them making their choice of the best dancer out of the pair. The best dancers were on an adjacent side, they all smiled as they were announced winners. The losers often frowned but afterwards would afford a smile after being caught up by the excitement bug again.

All winners in the pair went for another competition, the crowd (which were also the judges) nominated out the worst competitors leaving room for the best.

Finally Auntie Jen won the competition.

Sunday

Sunday got everyone in an enthusiastic mood of the church service, as usual, breakfast was prepared early. The day was also Auntie Esther’s birthday, and as is the norm in this home, the kids stalked up Auntie Esther to get her an early morning shower (pour cold water on her as a birthday wish).

The third JOAC Church’s Sunday service was great as usual, led by the boys, more new people came in to attend the church service. All of them were students from a neighboring business and secretarial college.

The girls were so vibrant and easily got involved with the affairs of the church’s program, most of them gave testimonies of how God healed them, and how he placed them in leadership positions at their college. One of the girls said she is Moslem, but from the look of it, she was enjoying every bit of the Sunday service. We pray that in the process of regularly attending church with us, God will touch her and bring her into a personal relationship with him.

Auntie Jen shared in the Sunday service about how God brings us from ashes to beauty. Most of these kids have experienced life on the streets, and they testify that God has brought them from that place to a place of redeemed lives in service to Him.

In the afternoon after church, Auntie Jen shared with the girls her last topic from the book ‘Living in Love with Jesus’ most of the girls from the college attended and even brought their friends. Auntie Jen’s teachings from this book have impacted most girls from within and around the community for the last three weeks.

Thereafter Auntie Jen and the girls danced to the music that the boys were playing on the JOAC compound. Every Sunday afternoon, the boys bring out a system to the compound; they play danceable gospel music that takes them through to the evening. Of late, the boys have been composing songs, one of the songs may easily turn out to be the JOAC anthem, and it is entitled ‘He is the Joy of A Child’. Joseph helps them compose the songs and even record them. The boys are eagerly waiting for a time when they can record their music in a professional music studio; they already have two songs to their name.

Auntie Jen enjoyed the fairly heavy rain down pour, unlike everyone who feared to get out into the rain, she got a small rain coat that barely covered her whole body and started collecting rain water into a big water container. The boys later joined her; it became fun when the boys even started playing football in the rain.

Monday

Fun was extended into Monday morning, a school day that was also Ruth’s birthday; the kids woke up early morning to celebrate her birthday. They cunningly encircled her, each pouring cold water on the screaming Ruth.

Auntie Jen, who also volunteers for about five hours at St. Agnes School where most of the kids go for school, postponed her day at school until Tuesday, and offered to take Ruth out to town for a special birthday treat. It was definitely a great experience for her. They got sodas, sweets, and Ruth’s ears pierced. It was a blessed morning. Ruth repeated, “I’m so happy” all morning, and later shared that it was her favorite birthday (because she had never celebrated one before).

A lot of great things have been happening here, we really feel the hand of God in our ministry, and are so impressed at what He’s doing.

Blog written by: Joseph

Photos by: Joseph

Another public Holiday, the young girls get their first swim

2011-06-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Just last week the kids enjoyed their first public holiday in this term of school.

Yesterday was yet another memorable day for JOAC, it was Uganda’s Heroes’ day, somewhat of an equivalent to the US’ memorial day. On this day the country honors those that have had a job well done; this includes veteran soldiers, and also civilians.

Well, at JOAC, just like last week’s Martyr’s day, Heroes’ day was celebrated by everyone’s presence at home; this always brings the first joy and vibrancy at home. The kids had an early morning breakfast of maize porridge and steamed Matooke (green bananas) with a ground nut paste blend.

After breakfast, Auntie Esther and Auntie Jen called out everyone to have morning physical exercises in the spacious compound. They all rushed to join them; they began by making physical stretches before starting their 20 lap run around the field (this was different from last week’s when they ran around the house). Under the grip of the blazing sunshine, the kids, Auntie Jen and Auntie Esther braved the moment, Patrick one of the older kids was in charge of counting the laps finished by every participant, and Joseph took the photos of the runners. As different ones successfully took several laps, others backed off the race, you could easily tell that they are worn out; some blamed this on the heavy breakfast. Auntie Esther lamented “my stomach is full because of the heavy breakfast, I can`t run anymore.” Auntie Jen, Emmy, Shivan, Ruth, and Moreen were the ones that persevered and ran the full 20 laps. Emmy took the first lead in the long race. He started the race after everyone else and still finished first.

After a quick rest, the kids suggested that they have a 100 meters race; they designated one section of the field that would take up the high speed race. Different ones paired up for the run, others ran in a group. It was very hard to tell who the winners were in this race, most of them tied up.

After the running, Uncle David suggested that he takes Auntie Esther, Auntie Jen, and two of the youngest girls in the house (Afusa and Shivan) for a swim in town. This would be Shivan and Afusa’s first swim. Throughout their dressing to go for the swim and their trip to the swimming pool, excitement was written all over their curious faces.

At the pool they were amazed by the color of the water as they shyly changed to their swimming outfits. There wasn’t a pool for the kids, so this meant that they were to swim in the adults’ pool. Auntie Jen and Auntie Esther were the first to get into the pool before each taking hold of the girls for a swimming lesson. Auntie Jen held Afusa while Auntie Esther held Shivan. There was fear in the girls soon after getting into the pool; they scram as their bodies kissed the water. Afusa’s fear didn’t last long; she got confident enjoying Auntie Jen’s hold in the water as she kicked her legs backwards. Shivan’s fear lasted longer, at least as long as she kept in Auntie Esther’s arms, she often yelled “Auntie, I want to get out, please get me out of the pool”. It was not until the pool boy offered to take hold of her that she started enjoying the water, her face lightened up and her giggles slowly intensified as she gained confidence. The pool boy seemed much more experienced in handling kids and teaching them how to swim, he often told Shivan “Relax, feel at home, enjoy!”

By the time Uncle David came to pick the girls, they looked so confident in the water, they were playing in the pool steps something they wouldn’t dare do a few hours ago. Back home, the girls had much to tell their colleagues, at the JOAC night fellowship, they thanked God who got them the privilege to go for a swim.

JOAC Children Celebrate the Weekend in Style

2011-06-06T04:42:00.000-07:00

JOAC kids experienced a spectacular weekend of joy and fun.

It all started on Friday morning when the kids stayed home from school, because it was a public holiday. It was surprising to Jen, one of our volunteers, when she heard the kids playing and talking loudly outside her window around 7:30am. By that time the kids have already gone to school. Jen got up from her bed only to be greeted by this eager announcement “Today we are not going to school; it is ‘Matas Day.’” They actually meant “Martyr’s day,” a day celebrated in Uganda every 3^rd of June in honor of the Christian converts who were lynched because of the orders of Kabaka Mwanga (King of Buganda) in the 1880s. Buganda was the biggest monarchy in Uganda in the 1800s, and it controlled most parts of the country before she became a state.

The King of Buganda who by then bore powers over life and death decreed that all Christian young men who had embraced the new ‘foreign belief’ introduced by the European Anglican and Catholic missionaries be put to death if they don’t renounce Christianity. Several converts were burned to death as act examples to other people that wished to embrace Christianity. On Martyr’s day, thousands of pilgrims trek from different parts of Uganda and other East African countries to Namugongo shrine on a hill situated in the North of Kampala that inhabits two huge Anglican and Catholic churches.

So here were the kids enjoying one early weekend privilege at home and making everyone happy about their presence. The day’s program immediately kicked off with everyone joining Jen in her morning physical exercises. The boys and girls together with Joseph, David, and Esther ran several times around the JOAC compound and house followed by physical stretching exercises that were entirely instructed by Jen.

After the almost three hour physical exercises everyone seemed so tired (physical exercises are rarely done except for Jen). As some took a bath to rid them of the sweat others rested under a tree shed. Jen, David, and Joseph later joined the kids under tree to teach them new songs and dances, the singing lasted till lunch time.

The kids spent most of the afternoon doing house chores while some did their laundry while Jen, David and Esther ministered to about 15 young women. Jen shared with them from one of her favorite books “Living in love with Jesus” that she is currently reading. The book is about being set free from sin and being able to live in the grace of God. Her sharing ministered to the girls a lot; all of them committed their lives to Christ.

In the evening the elders of the home, Jen, David, and Esther went to watch Joseph play in a band at a certain restaurant in town.

Saturday as usual was another day for the kids to do house chores, relax, play games around the compound and do more laundry as they prepare for their coming week of school.

Later in the evening David briefed the house on JOAC’s second church service. He tipped the kids on how to improve their ministry in leading the church service, leading worship and also sharing sermons.

Rehearsals on Sunday’s worship songs were also practiced before everyone retired to their beds.

On Sunday the kids woke up as early as 5:00pm to prepare for the day (they are always enthusiastic about the coming service). They prepared breakfast, arranged the chairs under a tree on the compound that for the second time was to double as a church. A lot of the women that committed their lives to Christ on Saturday, came to church on Sunday.

Later in the morning Esther rushed to pick other members for the JOAC church service. To everyone’s surprise she came back with an overwhelming number of children, young women, and older women.

Two of JOAC board members also joined the service minutes after it had started; other members would later join them because they needed to give in their biographies for the ministry’s website and also attend the board meeting that was for scheduled later in the day.

This Sunday, being JOAC Children’s Church’s second gathering had doubled in attendance since last Sunday.

Just like the latter, the service was led by the JOAC boys who were entirely in control of the program, leading worship, and even preaching in the Sunday school session. Brian one of the boys shared and also shared his moving testimony on how his life has drastically improved, God having gotten him off the streets and given him a home at JOAC. He said he now has enough to eat and drink, unlike before when he would go days without food.

Joseph shared last on “sin and repentance”. A couple of kids responded to the message giving what they have learned.

(Pictured above: Conrad (Junior) presents the World Cup Trophy he carved out of wood and painted to JOAC.)

Other board members came after the church service; each wrote their biographies for the website before they held a board meeting.

Various issues pertaining the Joy of a Child Ministry were discussed looking at a way forward for the growing ministry.

They among other things discussed the possibility of expanding the ministry in the future, starting an income generating activity to create a self-sustaining ministry, and also the need to attend to the kids more as they get to know them better.

Afterwards the kids danced, and Joseph helped the boys write a rap about Joy of a Child in both English and their native languages. The kids recorded their mix and really enjoyed the creative outlet.

As is the Sunday norm, the kids shared what they learned from the Sunday messages after their dinner.

Blog by: Joseph

Pictures by: Jen and David

Joy of a Child Children's Church

2011-06-02T00:04:00.000-07:00

The Joy of a Child family has started a church that will meet every Sunday called Joy of a Child Children's church. The gates will be open to everyone in the community to join us for a service outside. Sunday's service was very successful even though it was our first time. Kids from the community came because my wife Esther went into the town and picked kids up that wanted to go to church. The Joy of a Child family members took ownership of this service. We had the kids translating, leading the service, and singing in the choir. It was a powerful morning to watch God's hand at work. We are looking forward to the weeks to come and to share the events with you on this blog. Thank you for reading!

Our New Blog!

2011-05-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

Today we have started a blog to help our supporters, friends, and family to see, on a more regular basis, what is happening here in Uganda. More information to come... :)