Winter 2016 Edition Newsletter

For the Love of Africa Ministries, Inc.

Winter 2016 Edition

    YOUR GIFT IS DOUBLED

         “Building Brick Upon Brick”

     By: Dr. Gilbert Birungi, Africa Team

We are very excited and in much joy today as we break ground for our new permanent Mercy Junior School. Construction will begin immediately! The children of Mercy Junior School are very excited!!! They see our dream coming true. We want to appreciate FOLA and all our supporters who are giving towards this project. Thank you for all your support! We humbly request that you continue to partner with us, as we still need finances to finish Phase I, before we begin Phase II. Your donation will be a much needed blessing to us. We are saving this generation and looking forward to our future! Together, we are making a difference!

Your gift up to $55,000 will be matched dollar to dollar by a very generous donor. Please help us meet our goal by our deadline of December 31, 2016.

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Mercy Junior School

 “The Year of Humble Beginnings”

By: Mary Linette, USA Team
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Dr. Gilbert Birungi and I became acquainted while working together on a medical mission in a remote village in Uganda, Africa in 2011.  In May 2012, we began corresponding via email and after several months of correspondence, we felt God was calling us to begin working together as a team.  On October 31, 2012, we opened Mercy House Children’s Home and in February 2013, we started Mercy Junior School. Since that time, we have added an education sponsorship program, financed some medical surgeries, and completed several water projects.  It has truly been an adventurous ride!!! We are thankful to the Lord for what He has accomplished these past 4 years. 

“It was in the early part of February 2013 that in one week 5 children showed up wanting to go to school, even though we did not have an ‘official school’ yet at that point. The following week 5 more children came and the week after, 10 more children came. We found that God did not need our help to start the school! By sending the children, He started it all by Himself!” 

First school year graduation in 2013

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First 5 students being taught on the floor 

When the Lord provided the finances, we did “officially” open Mercy Junior School with 20 students in a city slum village called Katanga in Kampala, Uganda, Africa. This area records the highest criminal cases in the whole country. Many children who grow up in this area end up as "street children” because of child neglect, child abuse, and many other unfavorable circumstances. Without an education, these needy children do not have a chance in life. Our aim is to help change these children’s destiny and help them see life from a different perspective...

Continue to read more from this article on the next page... 

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

Meet Veronica Babirye and Brian Mwesigwa, two disadvantaged children who have made amazing progress at Mercy Junior School.

TEACHERS CORNER

Doreen Nkosi, a teacher in Mercy Junior School, talks about how she developed a passion for becoming a teacher and the pathway that was created for her to pursue her heart's desire. Read it!

THE NEW MERCY JUNIOR SCHOOL

Read about the plans and goals for building a larger, permanent school that can handle our growing number of "at risk" children, and how you can help! Read it!

HOW TO HELP FOLA

Learn additional ways you can be a part of helping For the Love of Africa Ministries. Read it!

Amazon Smile: This is a simple and automatic way for you to support us every time you shop on Amazon, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same prices and selection as on Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a percentage of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to “For the Love of Africa Ministries.” Simply go to smile.amazon.com and login to your Amazon account. Select “For the Love of Africa Ministries” as your choice of charity. Then have fun shopping!

Schnucks E-Scrip Card: Your purchases create automatic contributions to FOLA each time you shop using your Schnucks E-Scrip Card. You may contact us, complete our website online contact form, or email us at fortheloveofafricaministries@gmail.com with your name, address, phone number and email address to receive a Schnucks E-Scrip card. We will send you your new card in the mail.

Urgent Need for Mercy Junior School

     We are Building Mercy Junior School

        "BRICK BY BRICK"

    Urgent Mercy Junior School Need

After a very exciting FOLA board meeting on October 15, 2016, we want to announce the launching of Mercy Junior School’s Building Fundraiser.  The donations are coming in!!!  One of our faithful donors has generously offered to match dollar to dollar, up to $55,000, any donations we receive by December 31, 2016.  We have already raised approximately 50% of Phase One.

To comply with the Ugandan government, we must construct a larger permanent building that could house all of our students or we will be forced to close down.  Currently, one of our classrooms meets in the church and we need a second classroom by the beginning of the 2017 school year, which begins in February.  We are so thankful for our growing school of 179 students, which also creates the need to begin construction immediately.

The plans have been on the drawing board since early this year and were finalized on Mary's most recent trip to Uganda in August.  We are very excited about the school proposal, as it will allow us to educate more children in a proper learning environment. 

Fundraising Goals:

Phase I:  The Ground Floor will consist of a public library, computer lab and vocational center, cafeteria, nurse’s station, and offices (The Ground Floor will be used as classrooms until completion of Phase II)

Phase II:  The First Floor will consist of 7 large rooms, which will be divided into 4 inner classrooms and will accommodate 560+ students

Phase III:  The Second Floor will be a dormitory that allows paying

students to live on campus, which is a common practice in Uganda

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Facts:

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·         In Uganda, there is no public school system

·         Most families earn about $365 per year; cost to educate one child is about $360 per year

·         Land for the Mercy Junior School has already been purchased

·         We have already purchased 20 acres of farmland to help provide food for our school

·         For many of our children, Mercy Junior School provides their only meals per day

·         Our building project meets Ugandan government requirements so school remains open

·         Your financial support is critical to provide free education to poor disadvantaged children

·         Educated Mercy Junior School students help stamp out illiteracy

·         Allows the school to take in more paying students, which brings sustainability

·         Helps bring support to the community with the ground floor public library

·         Provides employment for Ugandan teachers and staff

For updates and progress on the Mercy Junior School fundraising, follow us at our website or on facebook.

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Please consider "For the Love of Africa Ministries" in your year-end giving.

Schedule of Upcoming Events with Dr. Gilbert Birungi

Dr. Gilbert Birungi

The Board of Directors of For the Love of Africa Ministries is very excited to announce that Dr. Gilbert Birungi, who is For the Love of Africa Ministries’ managing partner in Uganda, Africa, will be visiting the USA from September 16, 2016 through October 17, 2016. This would be a great time for each of you to get better acquainted with him and learn more about the work that he, Mary Linette, and For the Love of Africa Ministries is doing in Uganda.

Below is a list of the speaking engagements and commitments we have scheduled while he is here.  WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE EACH OF YOU TO VISIT US AND PARTICIPATE IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING EVENTS: 

* Sunday, September 18th @ 10 AM — IMPACT Church, 1201 Burns Ave, Lake Wales FL 

* Saturday, September 24th 9:30-11:00 AM Brunch — Red Bank Library, 120 S Red Bank Rd, Evansville IN

* Saturday, September 24th @ 4 PM--6 PM — Bowling Fundraiser with Dr. Gilbert and FOLA team. PRE-PAID TICKETS REQUIRED (see FOLA team member) @ Franklin Lanes, 1801 W. Franklin St., Evansville IN

* Sunday, September 25th @ 10 AM — Cornerstone Assembly of God, 3900 Kratzville Rd, Evansville IN

* Saturday, October 1st @ 9:00--11:00 AM — FOLA Open House, Jill Kidwell’s residence, 893 W 19th St., Jasper IN

* Sunday, October 2nd @ 10 AM — Living Word Fellowship Church, 1051 E Riverside Drive, Evansville IN

* Tuesday, October 4th @ 11:30 AM — Forest Hills Wesleyan Life Center, 2746 Claremont, Evansville IN

* Sunday, October 9th @ 10 AM — Calvary Temple Church, 5050 N 1st Avenue, Evansville IN

* Wednesday, October 12th @ 7 PM — Abundant Life Community Church, 7333 Sharon Rd, Newburgh IN

*** If you would like to schedule Dr. Gilbert Birungi for a speaking engagement 

while he is in the USA, please feel free to contact Mary Linette by

Facebook or by email to fortheluvofafrica@gmail.com ***

Special Announcement

Dr. Gilbert Birungi

The Board of Directors of For the Love of Africa Ministries is very excited to announce that Dr. Gilbert Birungi, who is For the Love of Africa Ministries’ managing partner in Uganda, Africa, will be visiting the USA from September 16, 2016 through October 17, 2016. This would be a great time for each of you to get better acquainted with him and learn more about the work that he, Mary Linette, and For the Love of Africa Ministries is doing in Uganda.

Below is a list of the speaking engagements and commitments we have scheduled while he is here.  WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE EACH OF YOU TO VISIT US AND PARTICIPATE IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING EVENTS: 

* Sunday, September 18th @ 10 AM — IMPACT Church, 1201 Burns Ave, Lake Wales FL 

* Saturday, September 24th 9:30-11:00 AM Brunch — Red Bank Library, 120 S Red Bank Rd, Evansville IN

* Saturday, September 24th @ 4 PM--6 PM — Bowling Fundraiser with Dr. Gilbert and FOLA team. PRE-PAID TICKETS REQUIRED (see FOLA team member) @ Franklin Lanes, 1801 W. Franklin St., Evansville IN

* Sunday, September 25th @ 10 AM — Cornerstone Assembly of God, 3900 Kratzville Rd, Evansville IN

* Saturday, October 1st @ 9:00--11:00 AM — FOLA Open House, Jill Kidwell’s residence, 893 W 19th St., Jasper IN

* Sunday, October 2nd @ 10 AM — Living Word Fellowship Church, 1051 E Riverside Drive, Evansville IN

* Tuesday, October 4th @ 11:30 AM — Forest Hills Wesleyan Life Center, 2746 Claremont, Evansville IN

* Sunday, October 9th @ 10 AM — Calvary Temple Church, 5050 N 1st Avenue, Evansville IN

* Wednesday, October 12th @ 7 PM — Abundant Life Community Church, 7333 Sharon Rd, Newburgh IN

***If you would like to schedule Dr. Gilbert Birungi for a speaking engagement 

while he is in the USA, please feel free to contact Mary Linette by
Facebook Message or by email to fortheluvofafrica@gmail.com.

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 From the President's Desk

By: Mary Linette, USA Team

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Dr. Gilbert’s Arrival

I will be heading back to Uganda, Africa for a 3-week mission trip and upon my return to the USA, I will be bringing Dr. Gilbert back along with me.  We are very excited about his visit to the USA, as it has been something that Dr. Gilbert, Cissy, and I have been praying about and believed for over a year. We really feel it’s the timing of the Lord and His will for us.  Dr. Gilbert shared with me that there were 700 applicants the day of his interview and that only 50 of them were approved.  He said all the Doctors and Pastors in front of him were turned down and his was the only one approved.  Also, we have known of many African people who have applied for an American VISA countless times and have been turned down, but Dr. Gilbert’s was approved the first time.  We believe it was truly God’s hand of favor upon his visit.  

Please pray for us and feel free to join us at any of the events listed on the first page of this newsletter.  If you would like to have him speak at your church or event, please feel free to contact me.  We will try to incorporate whatever is possible into our schedule.
  

Mission Trip

During the upcoming mission trip we will visit and take necessities to prisoners in a Ugandan prison, hold a 3-day Mercy House Women’s Conference, participate in ministry work in our Katanga slum, and take a 5-day trip to the remote village of Masindi/Paidha where we will hold crusades, a conference, and a 2-day Medical Mission.  We would appreciate your prayers for this trip.

Katanga Slum Outreach—WOULD YOU PLEASE HELP ME FEED THESE CHILDREN?

KATANGA SLUM

Mercy House, under the leadership of Dr. Gilbert and Pastor Isaac, began a new church plant in the Katanga Slum area where we completed our first two FOLA water projects.  The church plant, which began at the end of May, is growing very fast.
  
I feel called to hold a one-night “feeding station” for 300+ (# depending on how much money I raise) needy children in

COOKED FISH BONES USED AS FOOD

this Katanga slum while I am in Uganda, as there are many hungry children in this slum of about 70,000 – 80,000 people. 

This is the worst slum in the whole country of Uganda, where many murders, rapes, and much prostitution take place. Poverty runs very deep in this slum, most children never go to school or are educated, and many go to bed each night with hungry bellies.  

MOMMA MARY WITH KATANGA CHILDREN

On one of my recent trips, I came to learn that THEY EAT COOKED FISH BONES(without any meat on them except right behind the gills) as food in order to survive.

Medical Missions:

We have been working diligently in our medical missions program, as we have financed numerous medical surgeries and dental procedures. We also have helped to finance our first ever eye surgery.  Please see pictures below of our patient, John Michael.

 MOMMA NANDUTU, MARY, JOHN MICHAEL

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Updates

By: Dr. Gilbert Birungi, Africa Team

JOHN MICHAEL AFTER SURGERY

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Greetings to all of our good friends, supporters, partners, well wishers, and everyone who believes in the work we are doing through FOLA in Uganda, Africa. Since Momma Mary came back to America, we have been missing her. People are waiting for her coming back to Africa. 

We want to thank all of you for your endless support, majorly for the current project of the Canaan Farm Project. In addition to the 2 acres we already own, we have very recently purchased an additional 18 acres of land. (See pictures below.) This is because of your support and hard work. In Phase Two, we plan to construct a storage barn, begin digging this land, and raise more animals for food for our Mercy Junior School and Children's Home. Would you be willing to give towards the completion of Phase Two?  

CANAAN FARM PROJECT

The people we work with here in Uganda, including me, are excited that in September I will travel to the USA. This is awesome to us. I can't wait to meet all of you—my new family members and friends. You have believed in me even when you have not ever met me in person.   I know that God is on our side and that we shall have a good time. I know we will be sharing great testimonies of the work we have accomplished together with FOLA. 

I am looking forward to building long-lasting friendships and relationships with each of you, just as I have been doing in working with Momma Mary over the past five years. I want us to become friends. 

SNAKE MEAT ON OUR LAND. YOU HUNGRY?

Since I am a licensed doctor, I would like to meet people in medical field, as I am sure we can share experiences. I would also like to learn more about the American medical field, as I am interested in expanding my knowledge. I would like to build a medical clinic and hospital in Uganda, Africa. 

I have learned from Momma Mary that African culture is very different from American culture, so I am anxious to learn, firsthand, more about your culture. I hope to meet all of you when I come in September. God bless you mightily. 

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Testimony 

By: Dinavence Nahurira, Children's Home

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My name is Dinavence. I'm 15 years-old. I have 2 siblings and 3 step-siblings. My mother died when I was 6 years old and I started staying with my stepmother, who mistreated me. 

MARY & DINAVENCE

I became sick with typhoid fever when I was 8 years old and my stepmother never minded to take me to the hospital, but when my father saw me, he did take me. My father died when I was still sick. My stepmother never minded to take me to the hospital, so I spent 2 more years sick. Later I was taken to my grandmother's house where I stayed 1 year. All this time I had developed holes on my intestines and feces could just come out. I had to tie a polyurethane bag around my waist (See picture below) to hold them and when it was full, it would be thrown in a pit latrine. 

There was a woman named Pastor Rose, who was the pastor in a nearby Christian church. My family never wanted Christianity, as they belonged to a cult church where people were deceived and manipulated in the whole region.

One day Pastor Rose announced there would be a free medical mission at her church and they took me there. When they took me to the doctor’s room, I met Dr. Gilbert Birungi, who was moved with compassion. He saw me and immediately took my photos, talked to Pastor Rose and my grandmother, and said that he was going to do his best to look for help to me get operated on to save my life and save me from the pain I was in.

HER INTESTINES PROTRUDING

Later he connected me to their friend who was a doctor in the Hoima district, which is near our home district. I was operated on and became very well. When my family saw this, they gave their lives to Christ and became born again. 

My stepmother was not happy and began doing witchcraft on me to make me sick again. All she wanted was to see me and my mother's children suffer. So Dr. Gilbert requested my grandmother and Pastor Rose to allow me come to Kampala, so as to study and have a bright future. They accepted and that is how I came to Kampala. 

In Kampala I started staying with Dr. Gilbert, who took good care of me and got for me sponsors for my education and teachers to give me coaching. I couldn't even write my own name. I had stopped studying in the village and also the standard there was very low. I kept on improving. Now I'm in Primary 6 at Divine Purpose Junior School in Kampala. I thank Dr. Gilbert, Momma Mary, and my sponsors so much for all they have done for me. Now I can achieve my dream of becoming a doctor, so that I can help those in need, just like I was helped.

DINAVENCE 2016

I was the first child in the Mercy House Children's Home. From the start I felt accepted and loved by Dr. Gilbert. Even when he married Dr. Cissy, the love and care continued. These two have become my spiritual parents and I look up to them. They have shown me the right path in life. Life at the children's home is good. I love the other children there and they are like my real siblings. We play, do homework together and help around the house. 


I thank Momma Mary and the FOLA team for their support to us because we have enough food, clothing, and get an education. I love it when Momma Mary comes on her trips to Africa, because she brings us nice things from America. I hope to also see other FOLA members and I pray for them a blessing for all the work they are doing to help us in Africa. I pray for my sponsors that God may give them all that their hearts desire.

Going After the One

GOING AFTER THE ONE

Jesus always went out after the one.  The one with the withered hand, the one who was blind, the one who was lame, the one with the issue of blood, the one at the well, and the one who was demon possessed.   

JESUS CARES ABOUT THE ONE!

Sometimes we get so caught up in the business of life that we forget about taking time for the one.  Ordinary people like you and I must step up and to begin again to care about the one.  Heroes don't wear capes.  Heroes see the need, are moved with compassion, and then go meet that need.  Heroes are often quiet, unassuming people who simply won't accept that they can do nothing.  We, like they, can do something.  We can feed one!  We can minister to the needs of one.  We can educate one.

Will you help feed just one?

 

If we can change one person’s destiny, like Jesus did, we can then
begin to change a village, a community, a city, and then a nation.
It all begins by helping just one!

Will you help make a difference in one child’s life?

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge
fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9)

For the Love of Africa Ministries cares about the one!
Would you join us and help us care for JUST ONE?

We must not let the enormity of the problem prevent us from stepping forward and saying "I will help the one." Please join us in saying, “Yes, I will commit to helping one child grow and thrive. Together we can make a difference!

Please visit our website fortheloveofafricaministries.com

to see how you can help just one!