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Dear friends,
This is Rachel Guy. Nine years ago, I started my Uganda ministry named His Love and Sonshine when I was 16 years old after I went to Uganda on a missions trip with Sixty Feet. Sixty Feet is an organization that does the following work, "Sixty Feet provides a Gospel-centered continuum of care for critically vulnerable children that includes minimizing contact with the law, providing for critical needs, and supporting long-term restoration." https://sixtyfeet.org/ I was asked by the leaders of Sixty Feet if I would consider starting a ministry for Gateway Nursery and Primary School around 6 months after I had been on a trip to Uganda and visited the school as part of the trip. Through this school, children are provided with a Christ-centered education. Our ministry was started simply to partner with the school so that they could keep the school doors open as we partner with the school by helping with financial needs. For 8 years we sent funds over for teacher’s salaries and a little over a year ago we changed to doing child sponsorship. We have currently 15 children left in need of sponsorship. Through child sponsorship we partner with Bright Point which is an organization that partners with non-profit organizations, such as ours, to help them set up and handle the logistical aspects of child sponsorship. Through your sponsorship, it helps to pay a child’s school fees, and you’re able to become pen pals and pour into the child as you both write notes to one another. I wanted you all to hear firsthand from Pastor Ernest who heads up the school and he and his wife, Mama Catherine, also have a church and children’s home separate from the school. They are local Ugandans who are incredible Christians who have been married for 50 years and have taken in over 200 children for a little over 40 years. Pastor and Mama would take in children from many different backgrounds and situations and one of those ways was through taking children who were once imprisoned. Sixty Feet would rescue these children and would bring some of them to live with Pastor and Mama and in turn a mixture of children they rescued, and local children would attend Gateway Nursery and Primary School. Just for context, it is illegal for children to beg on the streets for food. Children as young as three years old would be imprisoned for begging for food, and God used Sixty Feet to rescue children from prison along with helping children who were imprisoned due to other crimes and much more. Pastor and Mama state, "The school was started on April 23rd, 2011, after getting Sunday school classes for church because they were used as classes to help the children we had during that moment. We started with three teachers, one cook, one cleaner, and one security guard. Afterwards, we got children from the village members and that's how we kept on increasing. In 2012, Sixty Feet brought 48 children it got from the prison, and it helped to add on the classes since that year, each year we have been getting more children from the community mostly the vulnerable. In 2013, His Love and Sonshine joined us, and it's been supportive to us with paying teachers' salaries because we couldn't continue the school with vulnerable children and parents. In 2017, God enabled us to construct a school, and up to now the school has increased to Primary 7 which is 7th grade. For eight years we have been having primary levels. In summary, that's how the school started, and we are thankful to God for all the people He has used to see that our school has been able to reach so many thus far. Please send our greetings to all friends and the family. We love you so much and pray for you always. Much love, Pastor Ernest and Catherine." Now the school has around 220 students, and we changed from sending teacher's salaries to doing child sponsorship! We have now just 15 children in need of sponsorship. In order to sponsor a child, go to this site and click, “become a child sponsor.” https://www.hisloveandsonshine.org/ God is moving!
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Hello friends, I wanted you all to see the incredible impact your prayers and financial gifts have had on Teddy and her family!!! Thanks to you all we were able to provide food and other items for Teddy and her children after her accident and we were able to remodel some of her home a few months ago. Thanks to your financial gifts for Teddy recently we were able to provide food and other items for her and her children last week.
Charles, our amazing child sponsorship coordinator, told me that when it rains water gets into her home and so he suggested we build a wall of bricks around her home. Through the money you all sent last week Charles was not only able to get the items for Teddy and her family and have them delivered but per his suggestion we were able to use the rest of the money you sent to build the brick wall around her house to prevent water from coming in. Also, another amazing picture is of Charles and our LIV team in Uganda team went to Gateway to speak with Pastor Ernest and Mama Catherine about the details for their pro-life training for the youth at Gateway!!!!!!! They went to Teddy's house and prayed over her as seen in the picture above!!! Dear His Love and SONShine team, I cannot thank you all enough for your love for the people of Uganda! Through your generosity, we were able to help Teddy Suubi and her children a few months ago when she had the accident, and we were also able to help her now. We had the funds that some of you had sent over for her just a few days ago sent to Charles, our child sponsorship coordinator, so he could buy items for Teddy and her family. He took all of these pictures while buying the following items for Teddy and her family!!! He bought a sack of rice, beans, maize flour (posho), sack of sugar, cooking oil, box of bar soaps, pack of Vaseline, & a pack of toothpaste.
Also, with the money you all have given Charles was able to hire builders who are simply able to build a small row of brick to keep the water out of the same living area that you all were used to actually repair back in May. Charles shared his deepest gratitude to you all!!! He said that he was able to see Teddy and her children!! He said she is feeling much better. I thought it was important to bring a contrast to the beauty and broken aspects of life for people in Uganda and America. According to the Statistica site they state, " This statistic shows the age structure in Uganda from 2012 to 2022. In 2022, about 44.78 percent of Uganda's total population were aged 0 to 14 years, 53.52 percent were aged 15 to 64 years and 1.69 percent were 65 years old and older." Uganda - age structure 2022 | Statista In America the same site stats, " This statistic depicts the age distribution in the United States from 2012 to 2022. In 2022, about 17.96 percent of the U.S. population fell into the 0-14 year category, 64.91 percent into the 15-64 age group and 17.13 percent of the population were over 65 years of age." In America, statistically speaking families have between 1.94 children while in Uganda they have 5.5 children. The Statistica shares, " The typical American picture of a family with 2.5 kids might not be as relevant as it once was: In 2023, there was an average of 1.94 children under 18 per family in the United States. This is a decrease from 2.33 children under 18 per family in 1960." While according to the CIA website they state, "Uganda has one of the youngest and most rapidly growing populations in the world; its total fertility rate is among the world’s highest at close to 5.5 children per woman in 2022. Except in urban areas, actual fertility exceeds women’s desired fertility by one or two children..." According to Fidelity, "According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), American workers made a median wage of $1,139 per week in the first quarter of 2024, which would add up to $59,228 per year." According to the World Bank, "Accelerated growth may reduce poverty (measured at the $2.15/day international poverty line) from 41.3% in 2024 to 40.1% by 2026." Resources: Average salary in the US in 2024 | Fidelity cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uganda/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/718084/average-number-of-own-children-per-family/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/270000/age-distribution-in-the-united-states/#:~:text=This%20statistic%20depicts%20the%20age%20distribution,were%20over%2065%20years%20of%20age.&text=This%20statistic%20depicts%20the,65%20years%20of%20age.&text=depicts%20the%20age%20distribution,were%20over%2065%20years Uganda Overview: Development news, research, data | World Bank Sharon is one of the sponsored children at Gateway and sweet Alicia shares of the impact sponsorship has had on her!:)
Alicia shares, "What drew me to sponsor Sharon is reading that she wants to be a pastor when she grows up. I thought, "This precious girl has spirit and no 'box' to keep it bound up by! I can't wait to see what the Lord's plans are for her. Whatever His plans include, I know I'll be blessed having her in my life, and I pray she's blessed by having me in hers! People ask me all the time, 'Do you have kids?' My reply used to be, 'No, but I have a cat.' (It's kind of a pet peeve of mine when people refer to their pets as their children or grandchildren. Love them, yes! Try to change their entire species, not so much..lol. Why I got swept into the madness, I'll never know ). I digress. Now, when people ask if I have any kids, I enjoy telling them about child sponsorship through His Love and Sonshine!" Timothy is one of the sponsored children at Gateway and sweet Kareen shares of the impact sponsorship has had on her!:)
Kareen shares, "Sponsoring a child through His Love and SonShine Ministry is one way I can obey God’s commandment to love, encourage, and give to a child in need. I believe the most important thing I can do for my sponsored child (Timothy) is to pray for him and his family. Timothy is from Uganda where Christian persecution is on the rise. And so I pray for him and his family’s protection and for the teachers and students at his school. James 5:16 says, “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availed much.” I believe this with all my heart! I count it a privilege to pray for Timothy, his family, and for his school and home. That God will provide for them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That He will meet all of their needs. I’ve only been sponsoring Timothy for a few months, but it brings me joy to receive letters and updates on his progress and to see him grow and to know that he’s learning and doing well in school and that God is taking care of him. I am blessed to be able to be a part of the wonderful work God is doing in his life. Kareen Van Deman Child Sponsor His Love and Sonshine Ministry" Dear His Love and Sonshine family, This is Rachel. First picture is of Loy and her father Second picture is of Henry’s wife, Irene, and his 3 daughters who left to right are Shalom, Blossom Cherish, Cheryl, and also Loy who is one of the sponsored children. Third picture is of Henry and his family. I was texting with Principal Henry of Gateway school yesterday and I had noticed in the second picture above, that he sent me yesterday, that there was a new child in the picture. He shared with me that he and his wife have brought Loy, one of the sponsored children to stay with him and his wife and their 3 daughters. I asked why Loy’s father is unable to care for her. This is the message Henry shared with me regarding why Loy’s dad cannot care for her. It is horribly tragic the lives that many live in Uganda such as Loy’s family’s story. Henry sent the message over a voice text but he also wrote down the reasoning as to why below. I thought it might be powerful to hear the voice of an Ugandan share about another Ugandan’s life as I think it just carries more weight when hearing it rather than reading. If you want to read what he wrote see below. Henry shares, “Loy's family comprises around ten family members. This family depends on casual work like digging. They hire land where they can grow food for survival. They do this coz the family head no longer works coz he was a fisherman and they were abandoned from carrying out any fishery work. Three years back, he was found out that he's diabetic and has ulcers, so he no longer works as before. For survival, they are hired to dig for others so as to get money for family basic needs like sugar, fees, medication among others. Their home is on a plot of 50ft by 60ft so they can't carry-on cultivation on this piece of land thus begging the rich with enough land to allow them put their gardens on their land. Anyway their welfare is not good. Each child is given a piglet to take care of such that if it grows, it's sold and pay for fees but has l said, space is the challenge to them. That's the little l know about this family.” My dear friend, Janelle King, who is a Fox News Correspondent and more asked me if I would write an article on the Peach Pundit site regarding my most recent trip to Uganda!:) Check it out:) OpED: Uganda-One of the poorest countries yet filled with a rich soul and grit – Peach Pundit
Dear His Love and Sonshine friends, I wanted to thank you all for your love for the people of Gateway Nursery and Primary School! Thank you to those of you who have donated money for Teddy and her family who were able to receive basic items and food for her 8 children thanks to the funds you sent! Five of her 8 children who were and are living with Pastor Ernest and his wife, Mama Catherine. All of Teddy’s children have been impacted by your generosity. This is all thanks to YOU! Since Teddy has been released from the hospital she is also living with Pastor and Mama. Pray for her health and for her to continue to improve. The doctor said she will. Also, due to the funds you all donated for Teddy and her family, we were able to use the rest of the funds to repair her home!! Charles, sent me a video of Teddy’s home that I had sent to you all and seeing the horrible condition it was in and with all Teddy is going through my board and I felt that it was important to repair her and her children’s home. See pictures below. Thank you all for all you have done and do! You all have no idea the impact your prayers on behalf of the children at the school, your sponsorship and love for the people means! We love you all, His Love and Sonshine Two updates regarding Teddy Suubi, the mother who was in the uber accident who 5 of her children go to Gateway and 2 are sponsored at the school. I just got this amazing update from Charles, our child sponsorship coordinator about Teddy Suubi. Charles said , “ I Also have some good news, Teddy is improving every day, yesterday she was able to go to church and attending the service and pastor Ernest told me that. Teddy Sung 3 songs nonstop, God is good. Today Teddy, she gained the energy and she was able to go back to hospital for the review, and she had an appointment with the doctor. I will definitely be keeping you posted on her situation, so we're still waiting for her to come back and tell us her checkup results from the doctor.” 2. As you may have seen in the previous email Charles sent a video of Teddy Suubi’s home and the horrific condition it was in. See video of the home currently. Our ministry has decided, thanks to Charles wisdom and my board, to use the rest of the funds sent specifically for Teddy Suubi’s family and funds from another family who have donated throughout the years, to repair her house!!! I will send pictures and videos that Charles takes once the repairs have been completed! |
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Rachel GuyWhen Rachel Guy was in elementary school, she was fascinated by children in African countries; her heart was particularly drawn to children who had been orphaned. At the age of twelve, the country of Uganda became the focus of Rachel’s interest and concern when a close family friend, Nancy Wellham, invited her to join her on a mission’s trip there. It was on this trip that Rachel visited Gateway Nursery and Primary school and fell in love with the people there. Four years ago, Rachel was shocked when she was invited to start a ministry for the school. With humility and gratitude, she said, “Yes” to this unlikely adventure with God. Archives
October 2024
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