Parent’s Day

July 30, 2010

in NHU

Once a year our primary school has a Parents’ Day in which we invite the parents to school.  In recent years we have made this a more active day by starting out with races between the various color groups the primary school is divided into.  The kids love the competition and they also enjoy watching their parents compete in each race after the students have competed.  The race I like to watch the best is when we carry a soda bottle full of water on the head.  It takes real skill and grace to do this.  For some reason our Ugandan brothers and sisters are much better at this than those of us from other places.  I think it has to do with the fact that their hair helps hold the bottle in place while on me, my hair helps the bottle slide right off.  After the races at the field we went back to the primary school so that parents could visit the classrooms, meet the teachers, and look at mid-term exam results.  The day ends with the announcement of the winning color group.  This year the pink team won.  As I was going home on Friday evening I was thankful for the good attendance by parents and the ways in which they were delighting in and enjoying their children.  In Isaiah 9:6 one of the names given to the Messiah is “Everlasting Father.”  What a comfort to know that even as we parent our children here we have Father God to go to when we need help and need a parent ourselves.

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Sponsorship Update

July 22, 2010 · 1 comment

in Newsletter,Sponsorship

We praise God for the many sponsors who God uses to help New Hope bring the Fatherhood of God to the fatherless each day. There are still sponsorship opportunities available.

If you are a sponsor or are considering becoming one and have questions about how the sponsorship funding is used in even more detail than is on our website, please contact us and we will be happy to answer your questions.

Kasana Children’s Center Basic Child Sponsorship

We praise God that 372 of our Kasana Children’s Center children are sponsored. We have 23 who do not yet have sponsors.

Kasana Children’s Center Post-Primary Child Sponsorship

We praise God that 31 of our secondary and post-secondary children have second sponsors to help meet the higher costs of post-primary education. 117 do not yet have second sponsors. We have an especially large need among our sons and daughters who are currently attending university or vocational school or will be starting this September.

Kasana Children’s Center Hope House (Baby House) Sponsorship

We praise God that we have 17 regular sponsors of Hope House.  13 more sponsors are needed to fully fund our current operating costs.
Note: These costs can and do change as we take in more babies and when we move into our new Hope House (currently under construction) this number will increase as we will be able to care for more babies.

Kobwin Children’s Center/Amuria Child Sponsorship

We praise God that 19 of our children at Kobwin Children’s Center are sponsored. We have 2 children who do not yet have sponsors.

We praise God that 11 of our children in Amuria are sponsored. We have 3 who do not yet have sponsors.

New Hope Uganda Staff Sponsorship

We praise God that 19 of our staff have sponsors. We have 65 staff who do not yet have sponsors.

Family Group Sponsorship

We praise God for our seven Kasana Family Groups. Child Sponsorship primarily covers education costs, and that even with growing much of our own food, there are still significant costs to raise a family of 16-20 kids. In light of that, we have recently started our Family Group Sponsorship program. We would antipate that this would typically be taken on by a small group, missions committee or church, but is certainly open to individuals as well. For more details, visit our website or contact our sponsorship office.

Each of the 7 Kasana Family Groups are in need of sponsorship.

We praise God that our Kobwin Family Group has had a recent commitment for half sponsorship. We have a half sponsorship remaining.

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New Website!

July 22, 2010 · 2 comments

in Newsletter

We are happy to announce in our first-ever “E-Newsletter” that we have a NEW WEBSITE. In general, the site offers a much more comprehensive view of New Hope Uganda. We believe the new site will give a clear picture of who we are and what God is doing here. We are also want it to be a tool to keep our friends and partners informed. We are committed to keeping the website updated and providing consistent and timely new information. We encourage you to check in on the website frequently and tell your friends about it. We would also love your feedback and suggestions.

We hope you will take the time to explore all of the website but there are a few key features to point out for now.

Online donations:

We are very excited that online donations are now possible. It is both user-friendly and secure. When you go to the donations page, you will notice that there are three options: one for U.S., one for UK, and one for Canada. Each could be used by any person but typically we think that a person would use the option from their country for tax purposes. The U.S. donation button is unique in that there are ZERO FEES for Visa or Mastercard. This is really exciting. The Paypal accounts for UK and Canada also offer low fees of just over 2% for credit card use.

Contact us page:

You will not see any email addresses on the site. This prevents us from becoming part of internet spam searches. However, if you go to the contact page, you will see the ability to get in contact with the area of the ministry you have a question or comment about. As we have already been testing the website, this feature has been working very well. If you know someone who wants to get in contact with us, please direct them to this page.

Blog:

Our blog will explain how God is working here and little “slices of life” on a consistent basis. We hope to have entries from a wide variety of staff and to update this every few days. The blog also gives you an opportunity to comment. This could become a fun “meeting place” for friends of New Hope. You can also sign-up on our RSS Feed button ( little brown square with a white dot and two curved lines at the bottom right of the website) if you would like to receive an email each time there is a new blog entry (more information about that below).

E-newsletter:

This information was originally sent out in our e-newsletter. If you are not already receiving this, please take a minute and sign up by clicking the “Email Signup” button in the website header. We do know that some of our New Hope family do not have email or easy internet access. We are still considering ways of keeping these partners informed. However, for the most part, the e-newsletter will take over for our paper newsletter. There are two reasons this is exciting. First, this will save us quite a bit in costs, enabling us to use even more of the resources God is providing directly in Uganda. Second, because of both the much lower cost and ability to communicate instantaneously, it will allow us to be in contact much more often than previously. We are planning on publishing bi-monthly and perhaps more often as needed.

Video:

We are trying to put all New Hope videos on the site. There are probably some that you have not seen before. Check them out. At this point, we do not have the full-length New Hope video partially due to the limitations of bandwidth here but hope to soon. We also hope to have a new Kobwin video in the next couple of months.

Audio:

We are experimenting with putting some sermons and other talks online. It does take some time to do this, so we are interested in the interest and use of these talks. We encourage you to download or stream one of these talks and let us know if you would like to see more of them posted.

Staying Informed:

If you want to keep up on the very latest from New Hope Uganda, you can. At the bottom right corner of the website, you will see a . Using that link, or by typing our web address into your favorite RSS reader, such as Google Reader. Doing so will bring NHU into a list of all the other web sites you like to keep up with. See a short intro to Google Reader. Or, watch a step-by-step guide to how Google Reader works.

Expandable:

Our website is infinitely (not quite) expandable. The only real limitation at this point is finding the time to make additions. So if you think there is something that is not on the website that should be, please let us know. We hope you enjoy the website!

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Chronological, Historical Change Through Reading

July 22, 2010 · 3 comments

in Newsletter,School

By Nabagesera Jessica, Investment Year Coordinator, NHU Staff since July 2005

Keep reading, keep reading…

This new slogan, which has recently replaced the traditional “they say”, is now the talk of many of our secondary school students. I have picked it up myself because it is a mark of history in our nation.

This is the result of the ongoing campaign here in the New Hope community to all read through the Bible chronologically over the next year and a half. When it clock strikes 10:30, a reminder bell rings and all work and school comes to a stop; its Bible reading time… Amazing.

Children and staff all get out their Bible.

I mean, everyone gets down to serious reading of the Word. Even the pre-schoolers look out their classroom windows waiting for who is coming to tell them the story of the Bible for that day.

You may wonder how and why this a big deal and worth of sharing. Culturally, as Africans, we are not so keen with reading. I mean, we read maybe for exams and things like that, but it is much easier for us to sit and listen to a speech or sermon for three hours than to sit and do focused reading for 30 minutes. Secondly, we usually get facts of life and truths (even the Word) passed on to us through other people, like elders.

It is easier to believe something because “they say” than to take the trouble to find out for oneself.

But this is not the case anymore here, especially with the children. They are now eagerly digging into the Word and getting amazed by the truth they are discovering for themselves. They are so proud about the new venture whereby they do not have to believe something from the Word of God because so-and-so said so… but because they have beheld it themselves.

Please pray for us that the Word of God does not stay in our heads but gets to our hearts; pray for a Godly people in a Godly nation as we keep reading, keep reading…

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Relationship – Josh Craner’s year with NHU

July 22, 2010 · 6 comments

in Newsletter,Volunteer Testimonials

By Josh Craner

Josh Craner is 29 years old and resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. He worked as an elementary school teacher for six years prior to his year at New Hope Uganda’s Kasana Children’s Center and will be returning to the classroom this fall.  Along with a passion for helping kids he enjoys playing and writing music and has produced two albums that contain songs written and performed by him.

As I sit here at my brother’s house in Denver, reflecting on this past year at New Hope Uganda, my heart is full of emotion and awe. I’m in awe of all that God did in and through me over the course of this year. I can honestly say that I have no regrets; each and every day was incredibly meaningful. If I were to sum up my experience with one word it would be “RELATIONSHIP”. My relationship with God has developed in incredible ways and my love for Him is deeper than it has ever been. I trust Him so much more than I did a year ago. God is so good and His ways are best. He has proved Himself over and over again to me. I went into this year with some expectations but God far surpassed anything I could have dreamed up.

If I were to sum up my experience with one word it would be “RELATIONSHIP”

In addition to that, I am amazed at the many relationships that developed.  My heart is so full of love for my Ugandan family. I am thoroughly enjoying being here with my American family and I know this is where God has me right now, but I also miss those I had to say ‘see you later’ to. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that I have family around the world. I don’t use the word “family” lightly. As Christians, we are part of a huge family of believers where God’s love is what connects and unites us.

Now the question remains – How do I summarize my year at NHU’s Kasana Children’s Center? I must give a little history before I answer that question. I first came to Kasana in June 2008 for three weeks. I had the awesome opportunity of helping Constance Dobb’s in her remedial class and becoming a  part of the Jonathan Family (20 children who live on-site at Kasana with Family Group parents) . Those three weeks were incredibly full and God started planting the idea of coming back to NHU for one year. When I heard about the New Hope’s Institute of Childcare and Family (a five-month course), I felt God was telling me He wanted me to return to take the class. This is all to say that God had a plan and I’m amazed at how He brought it to reality.

Jonathan Family

I applied to be short-term staff with NHU and I was accepted as the foreign staff schoolteacher. I also applied to the Institute for the January 2010 class and was accepted. So when I left America to join NHU’s team in June 2009, this is all I really knew I would be involved in, along with being a member of the Jonathan Family. I also knew I would be teaching a few guitar lessons to some of the foreign staff kids and a few of the teens in my family group. As I look back now, it’s amazing what God had in store. The above-mentioned involvements ended up being a small piece of the puzzle.

Before I explain some of the wonderful opportunities God provided, I want to say that all that transpired has everything to do with Him and has nothing to do with my abilities and strength. He showed me time and time again that in my weakness He is strong. I was only able to accomplish that which He planned and purposed and gave me the strength and grace to do. I say none of this out of pride but in humility and awe. I am totally blown away that God blessed me in such incredible ways this past year while also blessing others through me.

My involvement with the Jonathan Family was so incredible. God taught me a lot about parenting through this experience. From the very beginning, I felt like a member of the family. I was able to be involved in multiple ways: teaching devotions weekly, tutoring one of the older boys several evenings a week, encouraging, correcting, laughing, teaching two of the boys guitar, baking cookies with the kids, playing football (soccer) with them, having the kids over to my house for dinner, going to Musana Camps for a family holiday, swimming in Kampala, and so much more. God showed me that I don’t have to have biological children, nor be married, to be able to be a ‘father’. The kids in Jonathan family are and always will be near and dear to my heart.

Foreign staff students

The foreign staff students I taught were also great. I enjoyed getting to know them and their families.  This experience was very different than all my other teaching experiences. I really enjoyed the challenge. During my five months I taught a variety of subjects and ages at various times during the week. I taught all the older kids drama and art. One of the highlights was working with the drama class on a play. We wrote it together and they performed it at our parent night. I also taught math and science to five of the older kids in the afternoon. I taught the younger kids (ages 4-9) math, reading, writing, science, and PE. It was a large age span but I enjoyed the challenge. Most of my teaching time was devoted to four students who ranged from 5 to 7 years of age. One student in particular made huge progress in reading, writing, and math. Another highlight of my teaching experience was working with Julia Dangers, Jay and Vicki Dangers’ youngest daughter. She was such a joy to work with. I praise God for the opportunity to get to know her. She brought so much joy into my life. Because of Julia’s amazing sense of humor, it’s not hard to find yourself laughing with her.

The institute class, "on a Journey of Transformation and Relationship"

The institute was a life changing experience. I thought I understood God prior to the class, but I came to realize how little I actually knew. His Word has become alive for me and I know that it is TRUTH. Through the course, God healed me of some hurts from my past that I thought were dealt with. I finally accepted, for the first time in my life, that I am made perfect in His image. He showed me His love in so many amazing ways. Like the institute principal Keith McFarland said so many times throughout the class, “We are on a Journey of Transformation and Relationship”. This is exactly what it was. To go into details would take too much space but let me just say that I have such a better understanding of who God is and who I am in Him. With this knowledge, I am better able to love others.

Back in August, God allowed me to go on an outreach to Kobwin, which is NHU’s site for kids who have been impacted by Joseph Kony’s LRA rebel group. We brought 60 teens from Amuria for a five-day retreat. It was an incredible time of healing and freedom. Those who came were either abducted by the rebel group or lost parents during the senseless violence that occurred in 2003 in Amuria. Over the course of the retreat, there was singing, playing, small group activities, prayer times, and teaching times. We saw a lot of healing take place. Kobwin site is currently caring for 21 teens full-time. This has been a dream in the making for a long time and is now a reality.

The music group that met at Josh's home once a week grew into a team that led worship once a month.

Now on to all that God did in the area of music during this year. As I said, I knew I would be teaching a few kids guitar but I had no idea that this would blossom and develop into an amazing adventure. When word got out that I played guitar and sang, a few teens came to my house wanting to learn new worship songs and to learn some new guitar techniques. These were not the same boys that I was already teaching guitar to. Soon the numbers grew and God told me to open up my house on Sundays after church. Before I knew it, there were 10+ students at my house every Sunday afternoon. I was teaching guitar, singing, new worship songs, and truths from the Bible on worship. After a few months of meeting, we decided to start a worship team. We started by putting on a worship night once a month and were then asked by the church to lead Sunday service once a month. By the time I left Uganda, the group had grown to nearly 15 members consisting of a keyboardist (who learned to play in about two months), bassist, several guitarists, and quite a few vocalists (some of whom are able to sing beautiful harmonies). These are amazingly talented young people who learn music very quickly. Some of them already knew how to play before I came and others started learning for the first time. It was amazing to watch them grow and develop their talents and abilities and gain a real understanding of what it means to worship God with more than just music. Several of the boys have written songs that Shawn Zimmerman and I were able to record. We are still working on this project. God is raising up a new generation of worship leaders at Kasana. I’m so excited to say that the group is continuing even in my absence. God brought another adult leader to take my place and it has given me so much peace knowing that the group will continue. I know God has great things in store for this team. It’s amazing to be able to say that I was not only their coach but I am their friend. We formed very deep bonds with one another. Their hearts for God are so inspiring and I look forward to hearing all that transpires this next year and in the years to come.

God also allowed me to be a mentor/counselor for several of the boys in the group and some who were not involved. I was able to see amazing growth in their lives and privileged to watch God restore relationships. I had no idea what to do most of the time but God is faithful and He guided me through these wonderful experiences.

These are only some of the highlights of the past year. To tell of everything would take far too much time. I am in awe of all that God did during my year in Uganda. I’ve never felt so connected with a community away from my Utah Home. Like I stated at the beginning, this year could be summed up with one word – RELATIONSHIP. I have been so blessed by the incredible relationships that were formed during my stay. Saying good-bye was very difficult and there were many tears. I have hope that my connection with NHU is far from over but it’s all in His hands. God has created a very special community at New Hope Uganda’s Kasana Children’s Center and I’m so thankful that I am a part of the family.

{ 6 comments }

Musana Camps offer a setting for God to change lives

July 22, 2010 · 2 comments

in Musana Camps,Newsletter

By Dave Bouffard, Executive Director of Musana  Camps, NHU Staff since Jan. 2010

Every time I travel and am away from my children for a few days, I notice subtle changes in their growth.  One will seem a little taller, the youngest looks a little older, and the other has mastered some new skill.  It’s not something I always detect when I’m with them everyday. Growth in ministry is often similar.  When you are in the trenches day after day dealing with the ups and downs of successes and challenges, it can be hard to see progress.  However, when you take the time to look back, it can be amazing to see how much change has taken place.  This is definitely the case at Musana Camps.  In a very short period of time, we have seen God take a vision he gave Jay Dangers and start turning it into reality. It is absolutely incredible to see what God has done, how He has done it, and who He has used to do it with.  All of it is has been according to His plan unto His glory. We are so blessed to be a part of it!

My family and I joined staff at New Hope on the first of this year as I came to serve as the Executive Director of Musana Camps.  After my wife and I spent our first five months here as students in the New Hope Institute of Childcare and Family, I began focusing full-time on my responsibilities for the camp.  I am very excited about what God is doing at Musana now and for its future.

But first, a bit about how it got to this point. Syd & Andrea Sparks have been a part of Musana Camps from the beginning serving as the only full-time staff until my family arrived.  They have experienced both disappointments and joys in the process of establishing the camp.  Pioneering a ministry like this out in the African bush has not been easy, yet they will be the first ones to share about how God has blessed the development of the camp as well as their personal lives in profound ways.  Our Ministry Coordinator, Uncle  Jonnes Bakimi, recently said that Musana Camps today is similar to what Kasana Children’s Center was like 20 years ago!  Clear progress has been made and it is nothing less than evidence of God going before us and establishing this ministry

Here’s a short list of some of what has been accomplished in the past two years since the inception of the camp:

  • There are now three full-time staff families from the USA and one full-time Ugandan staff person serving with the camp: Syd & Andrea Sparks, Dave & Andrea Bouffard, Nathan & Kendra Jackson, and Medie Kanyike.  Pastor Nswemu Nathan, an Estates Officer for NHU has been instrumental in the establishment of the camp as well.  Five full-time Ugandan security guards watch over the property as well.
  • Approximately 74% of the purchase agreement price has been paid for the 713 acres of land we have acquired, including the squatter compensation that is applied to the balance due for the property.  Most of the squatters have been compensated for their homes and gardens and have now moved off camp property.
  • A detailed site development plan was completed by EMI (Engineering Missions International) and volunteers from North America also completed surveying of the property.
  • A basic rustic camp site has been built including: a duplex cabin (has been used for staff housing thus far) w/water tower and ground cistern, a storage shed, a composting latrine, two shower stalls, three safari tents w/concrete pads and anchored canopies, a volleyball court, and swing set.  These basic facilities can currently accommodate approximately 30 people.

    Two of the three safari tents set up as a basic shelter.

  • Several short-term missions teams have come from the US and Canada and provided essential equipment and manpower for the camp.
  • A team from Bellingham/Lynden, WA  conducted a medical clinic and treated nearly 750 people from our surrounding communities.
  • Three out of the seven Family Groups from Kasana Children’s Center have now come to the camp for a retreat and the remaining four are scheduled to come over the next two school holidays.
  • The first retreat of people from outside of NHU was held for a group from Kampala Deliverance Church.
  • The Sparks have nearly completed the construction of their home and are now living there.
  • We have partnered with community members to improve the public access road leading to the camp.  Much roadwork has been done and much more still remains.

We are very grateful for what God has done and for those He has used to do it.  Our greatest priority now is to finish the process of purchasing the land, including compensating the last few squatters.  We are confident and trusting God to continue to provide the remaining $50,000 needed to finalize the transaction. Would you make a donation to help us meet this goal and finish the purchasing of the land? Please prayerfully consider if He is calling you to be a part of meeting this need!  Though it can seem a bit daunting, when we consider what God has already done, we are encouraged that He will continue to faithfully provide for  Musana Camps.  We are also very glad land is so much cheaper in Uganda than it is in the U.S.!

Please pray for us as we go through the process of compensating the last few squatters.  The few who are remaining have been challenging to work with and we hope the compensation process will be an opportunity to build deeper relationships and reflect and reveal the glory of God to them.  This has been our heart from the beginning.

It has also been our heart to offer a setting that God would use to change lives. As we have begun using the camp, we see that God is doing just that. During this first two years, over 275 people have come at different times for retreats, family holidays, volunteering, and more.

When we run into other organizations which are ministering to children in Uganda and we mention the camp, there is almost always an immediate interest and excitement. It confirms that there are currently very few such options in the country. We are currently working out the details for a ministry in Jinja to bring the street children they work with to the camp in August. Although the beginnings of Musana are small, our God is big and is powerful to transform lives.  The following comments show how the Lord has already used Musana Camps to influence the lives of some of the recent guests.

The best thing about my time at Musana Camps was sitting alone thinking about my life.  I learned to talk to God in my own free time and to depend on God only.
Dinah, a secondary school student
The best thing about my time at Musana Camps was resting from work, going to swim, and spending time with God.
Annet, a primary school student
My time at the camps taught me how to make good decisions and to ask for help when needed.  It also taught me to be real in everything I do.
Aziza, a secondary school student
We had an amazing time there and the team is still talking about it. It was hands down the most refreshing, relaxed, hassle free and effective retreat we have had to date and we definitely plan to be back sooner than later. Some of the pics are up on our facebook page and we have got a lot of response from people who would love to hold their events there.
Enock, a Kampala church leader

As we look back and see all that God has done and is doing at Musana Camps, one word comes to mind: Faith. Faith that God will accomplish his purposes through Musana Camps and through us.  In the challenging times, it is faith that produces joy as we look not through our own eyes at our circumstances, but through God’s.  In the times of celebration and joy when we count our blessings and see what God has done, it is faith that gives us the proper perspective of giving him the glory for it all.  Perhaps you will appreciate this excerpt from a devotional that God recently used to encourage my wife and I as we look to the future at Musana Camps.  It is taken from Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts and is entitled, “I Will Bring the Victory:”

“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57.

O My child, have I ever failed you?  Have I ever turned My back on you, or forsaken you?  Have I not been your refuge and your strong defense?

I have protected you and kept you in sickness and in health.  Yes, I am with you to help you now.  Fear not.  My purposes will be fulfilled in spite of your weaknesses, if in your need you rely on My strength.

My will shall be done regardless of the flaws in your life, if you count on the power of My righteousness.  I do not work only in cases where there are no obstacles; but I glory in overruling the prevailing circumstances, and I take pleasure in bringing victories in those places where no victory is anywhere in sight.

Count on My coming.  Know that whenever faith brings Me on the scene, everything is changed.  Darkness is turned to light.  Grief is turned to joy.  Sickness to health.  Poverty to My sufficient supply.  Doubt to faith.  Anxiety to trust.

No negative force can occupy the same place as My Spirit.  When My Spirit comes in, all these things must go.  Yes, they shall go!

Ask for the victory.  I will come and bring it.  Don’t look for the victory – look for Me, and you will see the victory that I will bring with Me.  After I have come, you shall behold the miracles I will do.

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School Days – life at Essubi Eppya Vocational Primary School

July 15, 2010 · 0 comments

in NHU

     

Our school has 349 children in preschool through Primary 7(P7). They range in ages from 4 years to 18 years old.  A bit different than your average primary school in the West?  But, not so different here.  Some schools even have students who are older!  Our kids really get along well, in general, which is such a blessing.  We rarely have fights, in fact so rarely, I can’t remember the last one!  Oh, we have our mischievous ones, believe me!  Variety is the spice of life!

On any given day, we have our routine like any school. Devotions in the morning at 7:30 am, the classes up to our Bible reading time at 10:30, when everyone at Kasana reads the Bible or listens to Bible story for ½ hour. The kids really love this time as does the staff!  We are all reading a daily chronological Bible; it has been such a blessing! Then we have break and our compound sounds like schools all over the world – children laughing and playing, enjoying a bit of break in their routine of studying, plus a cup of porridge to refuel, ’til lunch.

Our remedial classroom has just started being open during break for kids to come and visit, read, help out, color…. This is new but I am sure the number of activities will grow as the number of students coming increases along with their personal requests for activities.  There are also those who would rather run ( there always seems to be time for a quick game of football(soccer)! Or swing on the cross bars or an actual swing. The students pictured here are “reading the room” together in the remedial classroom.

Our day continues with more lessons, then, lunch here at school, with more lessons after lunch. And as we close at 4 pm, most of our students ‘enjoy’ a long walk home with friends ( our kids come from one to seven kilometers from the school).

At Kasana, we are blessed to be able to feed our students twice a day.  We also have electricity, a medical clinic and a good supply of books, which is quite a contrast to our neighboring schools.  The Father looks after the fatherless in so many amazing ways!

Like most children at any school, our kids probably give these things little thought.  But if you spend even a little time in our school yard, you will notice right away that our children are happy, learning and growing in the Lord….without even realizing it, at this point.

When you talk to our older sons and daughters, those who have gone on, you find that they DO know that Essubi Eppya gave them a good start and that it was the Father’s doing!  “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it(!).” Proverbs 22:6

- Constance Dobbs, EEVPS Remedial and Counseling Program Coordinator; NHU Staff member since Aug. 2003

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What’s Up on the Weekend?

July 9, 2010 · 1 comment

in NHU

Usually as people head into the weekend, we think of what we will do with our time away form a job or school.  So, what do Kasana kids do on the weekend for “fun”.  By the way, you don’t hear people here talk about what they are going to do for “fun”.  They just do it as it fits in.

First of all, Friday afternoon, usually means lots of washing of clothing is going on.  Then, there is a wide and varied array of clothing to be seen everywhere for the next day or so as everything dries.  Ironing comes later and gets squeezed in there and there, as most family groups have one coal iron( known as a ‘pas’ ).  Then, you can see random football games going on, even netball ( a game somewhat like basketball for the girls).  Girls play football, too, but usually not on teams, just I small games in their compounds.

What I love is the creativity of kids at play and even more, the universality of play.  For example, we don’t have mud pies, but mud chapaties.  Anything round can become a steering wheel for make-believe vehicles and little boys worldwide seem to be able to make vehicle noises at the youngest of ages!  And, even juice boxes can become cars with racing engines.  Yep, anomonapia is very universal!!

There are some other very creative exams I have seen of late that I thought you would enjoy. One is the train of children connected by ropes of banana fibers, with a driver and conductor – just like our Matatus (van taxis) here!  There is the make -shift jungle gym: the rack on my “new” truck that is meant for a tarp.  Jumping into the thick grass behind where the truck is parked can go on for seemingly forever and day after day. But, my favorite is the “African Slip and Slide” .  I asked the kids in Jonathan family to wash the tarp for the truck.  Their eyes lit up and smiles crept in. “Yes, Jajja, we will do it!”   I kept a serious face and thanked them for being willing, knowing exactly what they were thinking of this task for a hot Saturday afternoon.  This is not the first tarp they have washed but this time, they chose the steeper of the two hills in our family, with joyous results!  And, the tarp got very clean.  Thank you Father that you bring joy in unexpected ways, continually!

- Constance Dobbs

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Staff Support

July 5, 2010 · 0 comments

in NHU

It has been wonderful getting to know and becoming a part of the NHU staff over this past 21 months. Although it has been a joy working with the children here, recently, it is the staff who have been most on my mind. Besides the sometimes overwhelming nature of the work we are doing, there often seems to be no real stopping point.

Almost all of us here live where we work. If one is not careful, it is easy to neglect time with God, time with family, and time for rest. It is easy to be running on empty and still feel like one is not doing enough. In our Institute of Childcare and Family classes, we learn that as adults working with hurting children if we are motivated primarily by the childrens’ need, we will soon be driven to exhaustion or worse yet hardened by despair (because of the seemingly endless nature of the need).

One of the areas we have been working on is staff development and support. We are now using small groups as a part of our regular weekly staff fellowships. We have seen these groups become one way of consistently supporting and looking out for one another.  Spending time together helps remind us  that our work here comes from His calling and that we are each one part of the team—and ultimately, God will meet the needs, not us. Keeping that in mind, we are also attempting to find ways of including consistent recreation and rest in our lives while at the same time continuing to be used by God to help meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the children we serve. We would really appreciate your prayers in this area.

- Tal Anderson

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Preparing the Way

July 2, 2010 · 1 comment

in NHU

As I have been spending time in prayer for guidance in how New Hope staff can best reach the children and what we should change or add to what we’re already doing in the area of their spiritual development, I felt God lead me to study John the Baptist.  As I studied his life, I realized a simple and obvious fact: John the Baptist wasn’t the Messiah- the one who would bring healing, forgiveness, and hope; his job was simply to get people ready to receive the One Who would. 

At times I can can be overwhelmed with the magnitude of my task and can take on burdens that are not mine to carry… and then God gently reminds me that my job is not to be the Savior- just to point the way to Him!  My job isn’t to bring healing to over 600 emotionally broken kids, to make sure all of our kids know and love the Lord, or to even make sure that our staff are doing these things!  My job is to prepare the way for Him to do what only He can do!  This perspective makes it all of a sudden possible- and so exciting!

 - Jennie Dangers, Children’s Spiritual Development Coordinator

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