"Helping Africa's most vulnerable children today, so they can help Africa tomorrow."

Christine (one of the ladies who works with the slum ministry) invited Paula and me to her church, where her husband is the pastor.  They had pity on us and told us to come in the middle of the 4 hour service.

Giving a "testimony" turned out to be a big laugh for the congregation as two translators both tried to get the other to take over.  The guy lost.  

 

Their praise team was awesome!  The Ugandan people have phenominal beat and tone and harmony (including the slum women, without music).  How great to praise the Lord together!





Another highlight was attending the 30th anniversary of the African Children's Choir (Music for Life).  It was also a groundbreaking for their new choir training center that John designed.  Richard (whose wedding I showed you pictures of in the first blog) will be overseeing the building as eMIEA's site manager.  .   



eMIEA designed the original master plan of this campus in 2004 - 2007and oversaw the construction of all but one of the buildings

 

 

A tour of the girl's dorm showed how beautifully they each "design" their daily blanket folding.



Yusef, one of the members of the specific African Children's Choir that was nominated for a Grammy award, is now working for eMIEA (currently on the Amazima project - see previous blog).

 

 

We were treated to a delicious African meal and then a sensational performance.  The children acted out a play depicting how "Daddy Ray" Barnett started the African Children's Choir after seeing little ones (who had lost homes and families to horrific slaughter) singing in dignity and hope.  They also showed us their village dance.  Below are a group of the children singing the Ugandan National Anthem.

 

The current choir & former choir members (including one who is now making her own popular recordings) performed many beautiful songs and dances for us.  

It was awesome to hear testimonies of some of the former students and hear their accomplishments.  The children are trained in singing for a short while and then go on tour around the world.  Each student is in the choir only one year, and then the money received from the tour is used to put the children through primary school, secondary school, and usually university (while staying in the ACC dorms and being mentored by ACC staff).  ACC (now working in 7 countries) has helped with vocational training for 52,000 vulnerable students, has taken 42 choirs on tour (now two per year), and has been instrumental in  training thousands of boys and girls to be godly, honest, hard-working professionals now serving the Ugandan people.  Their motto is "Helping Africa's most vulnerable children today, so they can help Africa tomorrow.         

"Do unto the least of these..."

It was great to finally meet and spend some time with John and Paula's "adopted" son, Thomas, who has now graduated from university,

and is working for Mission Link, International, whose Kampala headquarters were re-designed by eMIEA from an old movie theatre.  Below is part of the complex used for church services, but Mission Link also has (among other things) a large ministry to African widows (including helping them to start a small business), a work with lepers, pastors' training centers, and medical ministries.

 

Next on the agenda was the groundbreaking for Amazima's secondary and boarding school, which eMIEA designed and will be overseeing the building of.

Katie Davis Champ, author of the New York Times Bestseller "Kisses from Katie", founded  Amazima as a sponsorship ministry to feed and send Ugandan children to school, while teaching them the word of God.  Katie came to Uganda to teach kindergarten as a senior in high school, lost her heart to the children, and came back the next year to stay.  Katie's philosophy:  "I am just doing what God called us to do as children of His  - feed His sheep and do unto the least of His people."  

 

Below are some of Katie's 13 adopted children,

and a few of the children the school will benefit.  In addition to providing meals for around 1200 children Monday through Friday, Amazima provides medical care, health training, Bible Study, and vocational training for orphaned and vulnerable children.

 

We ended our time away from Kampala with an awesome hike in Uganda's beautiful rainforest, with monkeys chattering above us.

 

Uganda - a land of breathtaking views but heartbreaking needs.